Chapter 3: Escape from Wonderland
It did not take Maureen Robinson long to fly the jetpack from the sky-island to the Palace of the Queen of Hearts on the surface of Wonderland. Nor, as luck would have it, did it take her long to find Penny. Maureen saw her daughter, who was illuminated by the light coming from the room behind her, waving at her from a balcony high up in a tower of Cora's massive Palace. Penny moved back into the room as Maureen brought the jetpack in for a landing on the small balcony before entering the room, herself.
Penny immediately threw her arms around her mother, sobbing tears of joy. "Oh, mom! I knew you would come for me!"
"It's alright, Penny," said Maureen, returning her daughter's hug as best she could with a jetpack strapped on. "I'm here, now. But we have to get back to the Jupiter 2 as soon as possible. Your father wants to be off this world no more than two minutes after we are back!"
Penny folded down the jump-seat on the jetpack, and prepared to climb on when she and her mother became aware of another person standing outside on the balcony. Both Maureen and Penny gasped when the woman came into the room, blocking the way to the balcony where they had hoped to take off from.
"Queen Cora!" said Penny. "Oh, mom, we're trapped!"
Maureen said nothing. Instead, she drew her laser pistol from its holster and pointed it at the Queen of Hearts.
Cora shook her head and laughed mockingly. "Seriously, Mrs. Robinson . . . ? Do you actually think that your strange weapon can hurt me, much less kill me?"
"Let us pass!" said Maureen firmly. "You cannot have my daughter!"
Cora shook her head condescendingly, and began walking to where Maureen and Penny were standing. She only managed to take two-steps before Maureen fired the laser, the beam striking Cora in the center of her chest.
But the laser pistol had no effect on the witch, who stopped about eight feet away from Maureen and her daughter. Then, Cora vanished in a swirl of blue smoke. And before Maureen could react, the witch reappeared in another swirl of blue smoke about a foot away from her. Maureen felt a sharp pain in her chest, and when she looked down, she saw that Cora's hand had actually penetrated her chest. Maureen gasped as she felt the evil woman's hand tighten around her heart.
"Oh, you foolish, foolish woman!" said Cora. "I would not have to do this if only Penny had agreed to stay and you had agreed to let her! But because you both chose the love of family over power, you leave me no choice! Now, to ensure Penny's cooperation, I must cast the Curse of the Empty-Hearted on her so that she will obey my instructions out of love for me!"
"But you can't make me love you by using magic!" said Penny. "No magic can make one person love another! Every genre has its immutable laws! I have read a lot about Fairy Tales, and I know that that is one thing that magic cannot do! You can no more cast a "love spell" any more than our ship can exceed the speed of light!"
"But I do not need for you to actually love me, Dearie," said Cora as she twisted her hand slightly in Maureen's chest to make Penny's mother suffer. "The Curse of the Empty-Hearted can only make those ensorcelled by it think that they love the one who cast it. And that is all that I need to guarantee your cooperation so you will heed my lessons!
"But to cast the curse, I will need to assemble the necessary ingredients. Now, I have plenty of chimera blood and viper's eyes. The only thing that I currently lack is the heart of the person that I hate the most." Cora looked at Maureen with a near-maniacal grin. "And that would be . . . ah, yes, that would be you! The one trying to take my daughter away from me! So, naturally, I had to make you come for her so I could take your heart for my spell!"
Sudden realization came unbidden into Maureen's mind. Gritting her teeth against the pain of Cora's magical grip, Maureen said, "You . . . made that Caterpillar give us those magic beans!"
"Very good!" said Cora. "But not completely right. You see, Mrs. Robinson, I WAS the Caterpillar! Shape-shifting is one of my many talents! Though why you should have used that ridiculous flying contraption on your back instead of the other two beans has me puzzled. But, no matter. Now, I will take your heart to make Penny my new daughter!"
"Penny is not your daughter!" said Maureen gritting her teeth against the pain.
"Ah, but she will be," said Cora cheerfully. "And now, Maureen Robinson, you will find out first-hand why I am called the Queen of Hearrrrr – ugghhhh!"
Cora went down hard as the heavy candlestick wielded by Penny Robinson like a baseball bat struck her on the side of her head with a loud thud. As Cora fell to the floor unconscious, her hand slipped harmlessly out of Maureen's chest. Though surprised by the unusual attack, Maureen felt otherwise unharmed. She then looked at her daughter, who was breathing heavily and still holding the candlestick, ready to strike Cora again if she so much as moved. But the witch did not move. Still, Maureen knew that there was no time to waste.
"Penny!" said Maureen. "Get on!"
Seconds later, Maureen and Penny Robinson were flying as fast as the jetpack would allow back to the sky-island. Following the homing beacon, mother and daughter were able to land as close as possible next to the Jupiter 2, the water coming up to the tops of their boots when they set down. Penny smiled with joy when she saw her father coming down the landing gear gangway to greet them, and unstrapped herself from the jetpack's jump-seat, running to her father for a big hug."
"Thank G-d you are both safe!" said John with as much relief as reverence. Maureen smiled warmly as she began to remove the jetpack. John said, "Leave the jetpack, Maureen! Everyone else is strapped-in and ready for takeoff! The second the two of you are strapped-in, we are go for liftoff!"
John scrambled up the ladder to the flight deck and was in the copilot's seat seconds later. Just as he got there, Maureen called on the intercom to let him know that she and Penny were strapped in. Turning to Major West, John said, "Are we go for liftoff, Don?"
"Ready when you are, John!" Major Don West began to call out the launch sequence. "Deutronium Annihilation Drive on-line!" said Don.
"Check," said John.
"Anti-Gravity Drive on-line."
"Check."
"Uncage Gyros."
"Gyros uncaged and operative." This was followed by a loud humming noise. The Jupiter 2 was ready to lift-off! Then, John said, "Is the portal probe ready to be launched?"
"Probe is on standby, John," said Don. "The real question is will it work?"
"Well, we'll all find out in a few minutes," said John. "Now, get us out of here, Don!"
"And the monkey flips the switch!" said Major West. Moments later, the Jupiter 2 rose off the sky-island and climbed into the sky as the landing legs retracted.
On the surface of the sky-island above Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts appeared in a swirl of blue smoke where the Jupiter 2 had been only moments before. She scowled at the silver vessel as it climbed higher into the sky.
"NO! COME BACK!" exclaimed Cora, as she cast several fireballs at the departing vessel to force them to return. But the witch was surprised to see the fireballs stopping several feet away from the silver craft before striking its hull, bouncing harmlessly away. Cora then enveloped herself in blue smoke, but when it cleared, she was still standing where she was, unable to teleport onto the fleeing ship. "What sorcery is this?" said Cora aloud! "What is preventing me from boarding that ship?"
The Jupiter 2 shook slightly as Cora's fireballs bounced off. Don turned to John, and said, "Force field holding, John!"
"It was designed to protect this ship from micrometeorite strikes at near relativistic velocities," said John thankfully. "And apparently, it is also effective against the magic of an evil witch . . . !"
Don nodded, and said, "Ready to fire the probe, John?"
"Do it, Don!"
Again, the Jupiter 2 shook slightly as the probe rocket carrying one of the magic beans launched from the ship, exploding seconds later, forming a multicolored, swirling portal several miles ahead of their flightpath. "Alpha Centauri, here we come!"
On the surface of the sky-island, Cora said, "So, that was why they used that flying rucksack to rescue Penny, instead of the other two beans," said Cora thoughtfully. "Well, if I cannot bring their ship down, I shall do the next best thing!" Cora waved her hand and the many colors of the portal changed to a swirl of green and purple.
Cora shook her head. She had offered that stupid girl Penny Robinson a kingdom in exchange for being her daughter. And yet the foolish wench chose "family" and "love," instead. But worse yet, Penny had dared to strike her with a candlestick, and that could not go unpunished.
"You may have struck me on my head, Penny Robinson," said Cora with a bitter smile. "But I shall stab you in your heart . . . ."
Aboard the Jupiter 2, John and Don noticed that the portal's colors had abruptly changed. John said, "Don! Cora must have done something to the portal! Take evasive action and we'll try with the other bean from a safer distance!"
"It's no good, John! I can't break away from the portal! We're being pulled in!"
The Jupiter 2 flew for the portal and . . . .
. . . . emerging from the portal, the Jupiter 2 flew low over what looked like a small town; a small, Earth town. Below them were buildings and roadways with cars and trucks. From the angle of the sun, it appeared to be late afternoon.
Don said, "John, do you think that we made it? Do you think that this could be the Earth Colony on Alpha Centauri?"
"I don't know, Don," said John as he studied the town below them on the scanner as he searched for a place to land. "It's possible. I mean, we have been lost in space for over three years. That would have been plenty of time for Jupiters 3, 4, and 5, to get there before us, and start setting things up."
"So, what now, John?"
"Well, I don't think that we have many options open to us, Don," said John. "I suppose that we should set down to find out where we are."
"Where should we land?"
"The space in front of that building looks big enough," said John. "Set us down, there."
Don brought the Jupiter 2 to a soft landing in front of a yellow, two-story building with white trim. Atop the grand entrance to the building, John and Don saw a sign in English that said, "Storybrooke Town Hall" in gold letters.
"Storybrooke," John?" said Don. "I thought that the first Alpha Centauri Colony was to be named after Gus Grissom."
"I don't think that this is Alpha Centauri, Don . . . ."
From behind them, the Robot came up the elevator, and said, "Warning! Warning! My sensors detect dozens of humanoid lifeforms congregating around the Jupiter 2."
Looking out the main viewport, John and Don saw that there were several people milling around the Jupiter 2, and many more on the porch of the Storybrooke Town Hall. John noticed a small group, apart from the rest. A woman wearing a tailored, grey dress who had dark, shoulder-length hair was conversing with four other people. One of them was a man with short, blonde hair. The other two were women, one with her dark hair trimmed into a Pixie Cut, and the other with long, blonde hair who was wearing tight denim jeans and a red, leather jacket.
After speaking with the woman in the grey dress, the man held up a megaphone, and began directing the crowd away from the Jupiter 2. The woman in the leather jacket came with him as the two, dark haired women stood observing on the porch of the Town Hall.
"Dad! DAD!" said Will Robinson as he scampered up the ladder and ran to his father and Don. "Is this the Alpha Centauri Colony?"
"No, son," said John. "We appear to be in a town called "Storybrooke."
"Well, then, where are we?" said Will. "Are we back on Earth?"
"I don't know, son," said John. "The people that we can see look human enough, and the signage, at least the sign over the building we landed in front of, is in English."
The Robot said, "My sensors indicate that we are on Earth. However, it is not our Earth."
"You mean we landed on an Earth in a parallel universe?" said Will.
"Affirmative, Will Robinson," said the Robot.
"Well," said John. "I guess the only way we can find out is if I go outside and meet the natives." John went over to the ladder to go to the lower deck.
Don said, "Maybe you should take a laser rifle with you?"
"No, Don. Whatever else, these people do not appear to be hostile. They are probably more afraid of us than we are of them."
"If nothing else, they do not appear to be panicking," said Don. Outside, Don could see several people setting up a sawhorse and orange ribbon barricade around the Jupiter 2 as the blonde man and the woman in the leather jacket directed people to stay behind the barrier.
"Then I had better go out unarmed," said John.
"I want to come with you, dad!" said Will.
"No, son, I want you to stay aboard the ship, for now," said John. "And Don, I want you to be ready to get us airborne in a moment's notice."
John climbed down the ladder to the lower deck to find the rest of his family and Dr. Smith crowded around the lower viewport, which offered a better view of what was outside than the viewport on the main flight deck. John saw that Judy and Penny were waving to the people outside the ship, which he took to be a good sign.
Maureen came up to John, and said, "You are planning to go outside, aren't you." It was a statement, not a question. John nodded, and Maureen said, "Well, be careful, Professor Robinson."
"I will," replied John. "But I don't think that these people are hostile. If nothing else, they seem to be reacting to our arrival with cautious order."
"That's strange, dad," said Judy. "You would think that spaceships land in their town every other day, from the look of them."
"Be careful, daddy," said Penny.
John nodded and opened the airlock to the landing leg gangway. Even before he got to the bottom of the gangway, he could smell that the air was fresh and sweet; completely unlike the air on the Earth that they had left three years ago. The second thing that he noticed was how few people were gathered around the ship and on the street. A town this size back on their Earth would have anywhere from two to three times the number of people that he could see.
Professor John Robinson was so distracted by the pleasant surroundings that he found himself in that he barely noticed the blonde man that he saw earlier walking up to him slowly and steadily. The man wore nice, but casual clothes, but John noticed a gun holster and a badge on his belt. The man stopped about four feet away and smiled warmly as he extended his hand, which John took in a firm handshake.
"Hello. My name is Professor John Robinson; Skipper of the Interstellar Earth Ship Jupiter 2. Can you tell me where we are, ah . . . ?"
"Nolan," said the man. "Sheriff David Nolan." Sheriff Nolan motioned for the blonde woman in the leather jacket to come over. John also noticed a firearm and a badge on her belt. "This is my daughter, Emma Swan. Emma, this is Professor John Robinson."
"I'm pleased to meet you, Professor," said Emma, who also shook John's hand. "Dad, Regina and Mary-Margaret want to speak with the commander of this ship, and have asked me to escort him to them."
Professor Robinson nodded, and said, "Let's go, then." He followed the woman the short distance to the porch of the Town Hall. When he was almost there, the woman in the grey dress stepped forward, took his hand in a surprisingly firm shake. "Hello. I'm Professor John Robinson, Skipper of the Earth Ship Jupiter 2."
"My name is Regina Mills," said the woman with a polite smile. "I am the mayor of this town. Welcome to Storybrooke, Professor Robinson." She indicated the other woman, and added, "And this is Mary-Margaret Blanchard." The woman nodded, and then Regina continued. "Now, I guess that we should go inside to my office to discuss your arrival in our town."
John nodded. Then he turned and waved to his family looking at him from the lower deck viewport. Smiling, John turned back to Regina and Mary-Margaret, and said, "I suppose that we have a lot of questions for each other."
Regina glanced at the Jupiter 2, raised an eyebrow, and replied, "You think . . . ?"
John shrugged, and followed Regina and Mary-Margaret inside the Storybrooke Town Hall, while aboard the Jupiter 2, the Robinson family, Major West and Dr. Smith waited on pins and needles for answers to many, many questions . . . .
End of Part 1
Keep watching this site for Part 2: When Henry Met Penny
A "Once Upon A Time" / "Lost in Space" Crossover Fanfiction:
When the Jupiter 2 lands in Storybrooke, Mr. Gold sees the Robinson's ship and the remaining magic bean as his way out of the cursed town and back to the Enchanted Forest. To do this, Mr. Gold makes a deal with Dr. Zachery Smith to help him take the ship. But Dr. Smith has ideas of his own. And matters get even more complicated for the Robinsons and the Mills/Swan/Charming families when 13 year old Penny Robinson and 14 year old Henry Mills discover that they have fallen in love with each other . . . .
Author's Afterthoughts
First, let me say that ever since I took up the hobby of writing fanfiction, I have wanted to write a story that used "Lost in Space" as one of the Fandoms. I was almost six years old when LiS first came on TV in 1965, and it instantly became my favorite!
Today, about 50 years later, I would have to say that "Once Upon A Time" is my current favorite. And since I only write crossovers, the two seemed like a logical combination for a fanfiction project.
Part 1 takes place in the Wonderland Universe of OUAT. Part 2 is set in Storybrooke, and I hope to have it posted by the end of this year (2015.) Please let me know what you think of this story, and wish me luck with completing Part 2 (which will include my own idea of how "Lost in Space" could have ended!")
As I finished this story, I just realized something about my OUAT crossovers. The Mills women do not do so well in my stories when they are up against a girl named "Penny." Just check out my "Once Upon A Time" / "The Big Bang Theory" crossover, "The Evil Queen Meets Mr. Spock," to see what I mean.
You know, I probably should write a "Once Upon A Time" / "Inspector Gadget" crossover set in Oz, just so I can have Zelena have a run-in with someone named Penny, so I may have a complete set . . . .
All kidding aside, I would like to thank two fellow hobbyists on this site, Argonaut57 and horacethepig, who helped me with this project extensively by providing advice and encouragement. Their assistance was indispensable.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this story to Guy Williams, Jonathan Harris, Bob May and Dick Tufeld; whose portrayal of Professor John Robinson, Dr. Zachery Smith, and the Robot respectively, were a BIG part of my childhood. And a big round of thanks also goes to June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright, and Bill Mumy, for the same reason.
Thanks for the memories . . . .