14
~Friday, October 27th, Archives of the Twin Blades
Timmy walked down the halls with his godparents still laughing behind him. No amount of scowling and grumbling made them stop, and each time he did finally manage to stop them long enough to yell about his plan being perfectly fine, they had only to look at him for another second before bursting into giggles all over again. He eventually gave up sometime after midnight.
"Girly girl! So pretty and flowery and giiirly!" Cosmo sang horribly off-key as Wanda floated by him, howling in laughter and clutching her sides, tears running down her face. Timmy's face burned a bright red as passing Heroes paused to stare at him, baffled looks on their faces.
"Keep it down out here!" Raine Sage declared as she walked down the hallway, an irritated expression crossing her face, "You're near the infirmary; Danny Phantom is still in recovery. Orders from Caleb are that no one enters the sick bay until he awakens." The brunet grumbled under his breath. Yet more things to bring down his mood.
"Can you at least tell me where he is? I need to tell him about my latest plan and get some help on it." he sighed harshly and leaned to one side in an attempt to look around the half-elf, "And how is he? Is Danny getting any better?" Raine lifted her hand to her chin in consideration, gazing at the boy with a softer look.
"Still in a coma, but healing well. The majority of his more severe injuries are reduced to surface wounds. We've surrounded him with ecto crystals to help keep his ectoplasm fully supplied in the process," she reported quietly, "but the regeneration will still take time. Give it a few days more at the most." A sigh and she gestured back down the hallway, in the direction Timmy had come. "Caleb is in the Symphonia exhibit, second floor of the Archive. You'll need to take the elevator down." Timmy glanced over his shoulder, nodding at the directions as another pair of Heroes walked up to Raine and asked her some questions of their own. "I'm sorry; Level Two Heroes are beyond this point. You're looking for the Level Three infirmary down that hall..."
"Thanks, Raine. Good luck with Danny in there." the young immortal finally sighed and walked off, Cosmo and Wanda perching on his shoulders as their laughter finally faded.
The Symphonia exhibit was one of Caleb's usual spots to hang out at for what the majority of the Heroes called 'Moping Time'. Whenever he got moody, the android would head straight for one of those spots and sit there for hours, sometimes days, gazing off into the distance and lost in whatever thoughts were running in his head.
Timmy found him sitting at the base of one of the statues, a blonde in chef's clothes and sporting a long red cape. The redhead was just staring off again, a slight frown on his face as though he was thinking something over and not liking the results of it.
"Mornin', Caleb." he called out in greeting and Caleb blinked, looking over at the brunet in mild surprise.
"Huh, so there is a variation of it that my system doesn't respond to. Interesting." he mused aloud and tilted his head, narrowing his eyes, "So what did you break this time, Timothy?" Timmy grimaced, his fairies taking flight as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ah, why do you ask that? It's not like I show up here only when I break something!" he griped and Wanda cleared her throat loudly to not-so-discreetly attract attention.
"Hanuman's Rod." she stated and Timmy winced.
"Well, yeah, I guess that broke recently and I didn't replace it yet, so..." he relented and flinched again at Caleb's aggravated sigh, "But that's not the main reason why I'm here this time!" The angel gave him a flat glare and Timmy rubbed the back of his neck again. "Look, the guys and I got this idea on how to rescue Tootie and Romi, and get my mana back. But I need the robot copy of me to fill in for one spot."
"Which one?" Caleb asked, eyebrow lifting, "If you use the Mike copy, you'll give yourself away. Use the Michael and you'll do the same thing." Timmy shook his head adamantly, ignoring Cosmo's renewed 'Girly girl' song.
"Lemme explain it first, okay?" he griped, "I have one more identity that no one knows is actually me. Long ago, I sorta wished myself into being a girl. I named myself Timantha while I spent the day like that. Everyone thinks Timantha is my other cousin, so I can take that identity again and no one will be the wiser." Grinning, he pointed at himself while Caleb stared at him in disbelief. "I'll wish myself into being a girl again and we can use the Michael robot to act as Timothy Neogene during the time I'm a girl. This way I can be in two places at once; Neogene at the Halloween party being staged to reinforce my identity as the Heart of Dimmsdale and be a distraction for Remy, and Timantha on the rescue party going into the Buxaplenty Mansion!"
"And how are you going to explain Timantha having magic as powerful as Timothy's? Hmm?" Caleb questioned, scowling at him. The brunet waved it off, still grinning.
"Got it covered! I'll make a couple of bracelets and claim that I'm using magic jewels." he replied easily, "There's so much magic stuff going on in Dimmsdale that nobody'd think twice about it!" Caleb thought it over briefly, nodding slowly.
"The probability of that working is fairly high. I'll agree to that." he replied and slid off the pedestal, "Let's get to work then. I'll have to activate the Michael duplicate and have him updated on everything you've been doing so he can take your place without any odd discrepancies. While he's downloading the new information, we'll pick up a new staff for you to use and gather the mana shield generators." Here the android smiled smugly, tapping a fingertip against his nose. "The final touches were completed a few hours ago. They just need to be attached to each armor's utility belt and a mana-based reflector shield will be available to your teammates at the press of a button." Timmy lit up at the news and Caleb chuckled. "I'm quite impressed with what I can come up with when I put my mind to it, yes. We're still trying to analyze the schematics for the Fairy Portal, but it seems like it operates similarly to the Fenton Ghost Portal so we'll have to wait for Danny to awaken and be at full health again before we start trying to build a version of our own."
"That's great!" Timmy exclaimed and looked towards his fairy godparents happily, "See? My plan's already working out for us!"
"I dunno, Sport. You said that you never wanted to be a girl again." Wanda replied with a forced laugh, "So..."
"He didn't say 'I wish'!" Cosmo pointed out less than helpfully, smiling widely as Timmy nodded in quick agreement, "If he wants to be a girly, magic-using girl, he can still wish it!"
"Yup! C'mon, Wanda! What could go wrong with that?" the brunet pointed out and she only sighed in resignation, a faint smile on her face as she shrugged.
"Don't say I didn't try to change your mind." she only answered cryptically, "But it seems like Caleb's got the idea of what I mean."
The android was indeed grinning widely, snickering to himself as he headed out the room.
"This is going to be most entertaining." he mused aloud.
Within the hour, Timmy had in his possession a box with the new mana shield generators for all the magitech armor Team Turner sported and a replica of the Blue Crystal Rod, and was now watching a perfect copy of himself standing at a massive computer station with his bare hand pressed against a flat panel. Eyes closed and perfectly still, the duplicate of Timothy Neogene -called Michael- was in the process of completing his download of all the latest developments going on in the battle to free Dimmsdale from the Dark Spire threat.
There was a second one standing by, dressed in the classic pink outfit Timmy was most comfortable with, known as Mike. He usually took to being a statue in the Dimmsdale exhibit, posing as 'an artist's rendition of what Timmy Turner may have looked like if he had lived to be a young teenager'. Other than that, Mike existed simply to help things run smoothly in the Archives, just like a majority of the other androids in the complex.
Michael finally opened his eyes and pulled his hand away, slipping a blue-black glove back on. Caleb nodded and gestured towards the copy as he headed over to join Timmy.
"He's been brought up to speed based on the reports Danni brought and whatever information I glean on my own time. You'll have to fill in the blanks by telling him all that you've said or done since she left the Ivory Tower." he explained to the brunet, "Just the major events; I doubt he'll need to remember any little details that aren't really relevant to what you're planning." Timmy nodded eagerly, ready to head back home and finish up his preparations there. Caleb paused, then gave that strange smile again. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Michael be the Timantha replacement while you remain as you are?" he asked again.
"Caleb, I've got it all planned out! This only works if I become Timantha!" Timmy protested hotly, "I've thought it all out and everything!"
"And I still say you're overlooking one important detail, but it's your afterlife. Do as you wish." the android chuckled, "On another note, when do you plan on attacking the next Spire? You haven't cut off a target from the network recently, right?"
"When Tootie is rescued, we'll isolate the next Spire, Spire Two, and then head in with the virus again. By knocking out the control units and replacing them with A.J.'s fake signals, we can get the Dark Spire to destroy itself for us." Timmy replied.
"I still don't like this." Wanda sighed, twirling her wand in her hands as she looked over at her husband in concern. The green-haired fairy was happily poking at Michael's head, the duplicate simply standing there and ignoring him as he waited for further instructions. "Anti-Cosmo said to stop destroying the Spires because they'll reveal a secret once they've fallen. Something tells me that this secret is going to be very bad for everyone, so..."
"But Wanda! The Spires are even worse!" her godchild blurted out, "If we just let them stay up there, Remy will perfect the nullification field and the whole world could lose fairy magic!"
"We'd also lose mana-based magic. The planet will become sick and wither away." Caleb added and glared at Wanda, "That would violate my vows and I will not stand for that. The Spires are going to be destroyed; we'll deal with the matter of this mysterious 'secret' afterwards." The fairy sighed helplessly.
"Fine." she muttered, "Still think it would be better to have another Hero do it for us."
"Well, this should do it for now. We'll head back home and I can make my wish there, then let Michael know of any recent changes." Timmy remarked and looked up at his godparents, "Cosmo, Wanda! I wish we were home, with Michael coming along!"
"Yay! Double the Timmy, double the fun!" Cosmo cheered as he and his wife waved their wands and the group vanished in a burst of smoke. Caleb waved away the excess magic puffs and grinned again.
"Wonder how he'll handle being a girl on the verge of puberty? Ah, what fun that will be." he mused and walked off, humming cheerfully to himself.
Undisclosed location~
Tootie kicked at the door repeatedly in frustration. Magic of any kind was useless to her now. Though she still had her bracelets, she didn't have her dagger or the Laser Blade, and for her to cast any spell she needed to use a focus. Her weapons had been her focus all along. With them gone, the little mana she had for casting magic remained trapped in her body.
"Stupid, lousy, rich brat!" she fumed, slamming the sole of her boot against the metal door again, adding to the multiple dents and scratches that were beginning to cover its surface, "When I get outta here and get armed again, you are so gonna pay for everything!"
Romi watched her godchild vent and sighed, gazing over at the few items they had been left with. Tootie still wore the magitech armor and belt, but it had been emptied of all its useful gadgets and weaponry. There was a small bag full of something that Timmy had given her, still tied up so it could be that Remy had already peeked inside and deemed whatever was in there not that helpful in escape. A small watch was also left there, to let them know what the time was, but they weren't exactly sure what day it was considering the number of times they had both been put to sleep. The little room they were trapped in had a single bathroom to tend to bare needs, but no spare clothes meant Tootie was stuck with the same outfit she wore under the magitech suit, black tank top and shorts.
Needless to say, Tootie was highly displeased with their... accommodations.
"What did Timothy give you anyway?" she finally asked the Goth. Tootie had taken a break from kicking the door to sit against it and wait for the panel beside it to open. That was something they had learned recently; a narrow panel in the wall by the door would open at odd times and a tray of food would slide through it. Being so narrow, the only way a drink could be sent in was in a pouch, so they would also get small transparent plastic packages of water. No utensils; the first time she got her hands on a plastic knife, Tootie had immediately used it to cast Thunder Arrow on the door and break out. The two of them made it as far as the end of the hall before a squad of destroyers blocked off the corridor. One blasted them with a gas that knocked them out and when they awoke, they were back in the room, the door was replaced, and no more trays came with utensils.
"Just some mana crystals he botched up on making." Tootie sighed, folding her arms behind her head as she leaned against the door, "I tried to pull the mana from them back when we were fighting Bender's goons, but I couldn't get it out. So I ran out of magic. Wish I knew how to work them, then I could have enough to sock this door with another spell once I find a new focus." She crawled forward towards the bag and opened it, reaching in to pick out a crystal. "They're pretty soft for crystals. Nothing at all like the ones Caleb has in his body." she added and showed it off to the fairy, "See?"
The 'crystal' was perfectly round and the size of a marble, shimmering iridescently. The core was full of color, swirling like some magical soup trapped in a bubble. It distorted slightly as Tootie pressed on it between her fingers. Romi blinked up at it, eyes wide as she trembled slightly.
"...orb..." she whispered brokenly and snapped back to alertness at Tootie's confused stare, "Ah, well. Um..." She slipped her hands together into her sleeves, hiding them from sight as she tilted her head in consideration. "It's not a mana crystal. That much I know. It's a special kind of magical orb. Timothy must have gotten them from Cosmo and Wanda."
"But Timmy said he made them himself." Tootie pointed out, tipping out a few more of the little pearls from the bag and into her hand. Romi twitched, her eyes glued to the small pile of orbs.
"He couldn't have. Not these kinds of orbs, at least." she insisted. Tootie shrugged, poking at the marbles of color. "A-anyway, to get the magic from them you have to eat them."
"Eat them?" Tootie echoed in disbelief and laughed, "Are you serious?" Romi nodded. "What makes you so sure of that?"
"Fairy World used them as emergency rations for fairy soldiers on the battlefield. When the soldiers ran low on magic from fighting, they would eat these to replenish themselves enough to return to base safely and recover while fresh fairies took their place." the fairy godmother explained, reaching out hesitantly to poke at one herself, "Now, they're mostly used in hospitals and magic-deprived areas as magic boosters to keep up a fairy's strength. In Dimmsdale, something like this would be very helpful to godparents in nullification zones." She finally picked one up and brought it closer to herself, gazing into the swirl of color. "To think Cosmo and Wanda had access to these... why would they run out of magic so often if they could eat these and transfer it into the wands themselves?" Tootie sighed and shook her head.
"They didn't, Romi! Timmy made these the night we took out Spire Three!" she argued and picked up one of the orbs herself, "Well, if these restore magic, then down the hatch it goes!" The fairy looked up in surprise as Tootie popped it into her mouth, chewing experimentally.
"You can't mix magic!" Romi cried and clapped a hand over her own mouth, startled by her outburst. It was too late anyway; Tootie swallowed and tilted her head back with a smile as a faint glow washed over her before fading.
"Mmm, tastes like candy." she murmured and opened her eyes, looking down at her free hand, "And I feel more mana flowing through me, so it worked! Want to give one a try, Romi? Might help you recover from passing through that nullifier field." The fairy blinked up at her in shock, then shook herself off and looked down at the orb she still had in one hand.
"Well... I suppose there isn't any harm in it." she murmured and steeled herself before shoving the orb into her mouth. Her cheeks ballooned out in an unladylike manner as she bit down on it, then slowly went back to normal as the orb shrank to a more manageable size.
"Sucking out the juice from the middle of the candy? Cheater." Tootie teased, laughing as Romi lifted both hands to hide her mouth in embarrassment, a pink flush coming over her face as she lit up with the same glow her godchild had only moments ago.
"It's very sweet." she finally said after swallowing the rest of the orb, "But there's a slightly bitter aftertaste. The orbs Fairy World produces are sweet and don't leave an aftertaste." Tootie blinked in surprise.
"Really? I didn't notice an aftertaste." she remarked and picked out another one to taste it more carefully. She concentrated on the flavor as she chewed and swallowed, then shook her head. "Nope. Sweet, but no weird aftertaste. Maybe you just got a botched one? Or is it different because a human made these and not a fairy?"
"That might be it. You wouldn't taste it because you're human, too." Romi replied, but she still sounded uncertain. Tootie sighed and dropped the rest of the orbs back into the bag.
"Feels late and my legs are tired from all that kicking." she muttered, "I'm gonna take a shower and crash for the night. You feeling better now, Romi?" The fairy nodded, silent as she considered the bag on the floor, a faintly suspicious look on her face.
Neogene Manor~
"...and if Danni calls you 'Lover', be annoyed. I hate that nickname!" Timmy declared as he paced back and forth in front of Michael. The android sat at a desk in the brunet's bedroom, watching him in confusion as Timmy recounted all the most important things he could think of.
"Oookay..." Michael remarked, glancing at the fairy couple beside him, "Is that everything? I got data on Mark Chang, Chip Skylark, Vicky, Anti-Cosmo..." Timmy nodded.
"Seems about it." he agreed and sighed, "Man, it's so late, it's early. I want to just get to bed and be done but I still need to finish that last wish." Cosmo and Wanda snickered behind their hands, and Timmy shot them both a glare. "I still don't find it all that funny, guys. That first time, you turned me into a girl without my permission! Using the words 'I wish' and 'girl' from my mouth like that doesn't give you a good excuse in my head!"
"But this time, you're actually asking for it!" Cosmo declared and laughed harder, rolling around on the table as Michael lifted his arm to avoid getting bumped into. Timmy opened his mouth to argue that, halting at the sound of his phone going off.
"Who's calling this late?" he wondered aloud, pulling out his cell phone and flipping it open, "Hello?"
"I'm sorry to wake you up, Timothy, but..." the feminine voice on the other end apologized.
"Ah, no, I was already awake, Mint. That's okay. What do you need?" Timmy asked sheepishly.
"It's about Anti-Cosmo. He's showing signs of waking. I thought you'd like to know." Mint reported softly and the brunet lit up in joy.
"He is? Thanks so much! I'll be right there!" he exclaimed and hung up, turning to his godparents excitedly, "Guys! Anti-Cosmo's waking up! I wish we were at the Ivory Tower!"
"You wanna take him too?" Wanda asked, a concerned look on her face as she jerked her thumb at the android. Michael stood and folded his arms over his chest.
"May as well. I'll need to add new data to myself now that he's awake." he remarked and Timmy sighed, nodding.
"Yeah, I wish all of us were at the Ivory Tower." he amended his wish and the group vanished in a burst of magic smoke.
Ivory Tower~
Mint stood by, looking over the instruments as Timmy sat next to Anti-Cosmo's bed, Anti-Wanda perched on his shoulder, both of them anxiously waiting for the anti-fairy to wake up. Cosmo and Wanda floated nearby, expressions on their faces that were an odd mix of jealousy and concern. Michael stood to one side, watching the scene impassively.
Finally, Anti-Cosmo flinched and slowly opened his eyes, looking around himself in confusion before settling his gaze on Timmy and Anti-Wanda.
"Welcome back, Anti-Cosmo." Timmy murmured tearfully, smiling down at him, "We missed you." The anti-fairy struggled to sit up, accepting his help silently before settling back against the pillows with a sigh. "How are you feeling?"
"Like wreaking lovely mayhem across the land, but I'll settle for tormenting that little cur of a boy." Anti-Cosmo grumbled and managed a smile as his wife flew down to hug him, "Easy, love; still have a bruise or two that haven't quite healed yet." He sighed again and looked back up at the brunet. "I suppose you didn't heed my warning and destroyed another Spire. Am I right?" Timmy's guilty expression was answer enough and the anti-fairy clicked his tongue reproachfully. "You're not very good at following directions either. You take after your father far too much."
"What did you mean when you said the Spires falling would show the truth?" Timmy asked instead, ignoring the veiled insult for now, "What truth? How could it be worse than leaving the Spires up?" Behind him, Cosmo and Wanda tensed, staring between their godchild and their anti-selves.
"It's something that was very well hidden since..." Anti-Cosmo replied carefully, then smiled deviously, "Well, since before you came to be as Timmy Turner. You shouldn't worry too much about it as long as you remain as you are. So, tell me, dear Timothy. Who are you?" Timmy frowned at the question.
"I'm Timothy Tiberius Turner, using the name Timothy Neogene. I'm a Hero for Dimmsdale, with only good inside me." he declared almost arrogantly, "I'm human and immortal, cursed with eternal life with the potential for eternal pain. I'm Cosmo and Wanda's fairy godchild and the Heart of Dimmsdale. I'm the leader of Team Turner and cousin to Danny Fenton, who is leader of Team Phantom. I'm just an average boy that no one understood, and now I am The One Who Stands Beyond Death's Reach. That good enough to say who I am?" Anti-Cosmo smiled wider, his arm around Anti-Wanda's shoulders as she curled next to him happily.
"Almost perfect. You still refuse to accept you have darkness within you, which will cost you if you don't get over it, but all in all, not bad." he replied and winked, "If that is truly how you see yourself, then there shouldn't be any more worries. The Spires can be destroyed, but only if you do it with your little friends. Anything else will raise some rather powerful eyebrows." Timmy snorted and laughed.
"Well, it's not like I can just have any old superhero fly in and pick 'em out like weeds! 'Course I'm gonna tear 'em down with the gang!" the brunet agreed and waved at Michael, "Oh, and I wanted to introduce you to my robot copy. This is Michael; he's gonna be posing as me for a few days while I go undercover as Timantha." The android waved as Anti-Cosmo nodded in greeting, then looked up at the brunet in confusion.
"Timantha?" he echoed and Timmy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Well, see, what happened is that Tootie and Romi got kidnapped when we took out Spire Three and we're pretty sure they're being held at Remy's mansion. To distract Remy so me and some new members of Team Turner can rescue her, we're throwing a party in Dimmsdale Park on Halloween. Remy will probably open his mansion to do a counter-party and I can only go in as a totally different person from either Timmy Turner or Timothy Neogene to keep him from finding out what we're doing." he explained in a rush, "So the only identity I have left is a girl named Timantha. But everyone thinks Timantha is another cousin of mine so I needed to have Michael pose as Timothy Neogene so I can be Timantha and no one will suspect anything and so no one can accidentally blow my cover if Remy tries to stop me and the gang on the rescue."
The anti-fairies began laughing, which set off the fairies again, and Timmy sat there with an annoyed look on his face, arms folded over his chest.
"Geez, I still don't get what's so funny about it." he grumbled.
The group left after confirming that Anti-Cosmo was to stay in the infirmary a day or so longer to fully recover. By the time they returned to the manor, Timmy was far too tired to make the wish to become Timantha and decided to do it in the morning. Michael simply shrugged and headed out to a spare room to sort through his new data and get it all filed away neatly in his head.
Morning came late for Timmy, as having stayed up so late meant he overslept far longer than necessary. The phone ringing on his bedside table finally got him up and he growled a greeting into it as he sat up in bed, pajamas a rumpled mess.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. It's noon." Michael announced cheerfully. Timmy growled again, making a vague attempt at finding his own clock to confirm the time. "I suggest making your wish now. I've already taken your place at the Ivory Tower with the rest of your team. We just finished up a broadcast announcement of the Timmy Turner Foundation's Halloween Blast Party. Should be airing on television and radio about now. We paid for good commercial time."
"You did what? And when?" Timmy blurted out, snapping fully awake.
"I'm also getting a few looks in regards to my lack of Cosmo and Wanda. I don't know what you plan to do about that, but I've already set up your cover story. Timantha is late in arrival because she's sleeping off her jet lag. Apparently, since she has no fairy godparents of her own, she has to travel the normal way; on a plane."
"Darn it, darn it, darn it!" the brunet griped, scrambling out of bed and rushing to a full-length mirror hung on one wall. He raked his fingers through his hair with one hand, the other still clutching the phone to his ear. "I can wish Cosmo and Wanda to you to act like they're granting wishes for you, but why the heck didn't you warn me about all this sooner?"
"I tried to wake you up earlier, but you threatened to have me turned into sack of concrete mix, so I just left you to sleep in. The party had to be announced immediately, or there wouldn't be enough time for Remy to do his counter-announcement and party planning." Michael replied with a faint sigh of exasperation, "This was your idea, after all. I'm just doing what you told me. I couldn't wait for you to get up to start; it would've been too late by then."
"Right, right. It's Friday, right? We should get lots of views on that commercial, then, if it airs in the middle of all those drama shows." Timmy muttered, still trying to straighten his hair, "That leaves us with four days to get the party set up, plan the rescue and get prepared for it all."
"Three and a half, actually. Anyway, I'll see you at the Ivory Tower, then?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit, as Timantha."
"Good. Lunch will be served shortly." With that, the phone hung up and Timmy blinked at it in surprise.
"But robots can't eat." he muttered and smacked his forehead in irritation, "Ugh! Stupid! Robots can't eat! His cover's gonna be blown 'cuz of a lousy sandwich!" He tossed the phone onto the bed and took a deep breath. "Cosmo! Wanda!" he shouted and the fairies appeared in a blast of magic smoke, clad in pink nightgown and green pajamas, hair in curlers and clutching a nickel like a teddy bear.
"Well, good morning to you too, Sport." Wanda growled sleepily, glaring at the brunet from behind her face mask. The couple waved their wands, instantly making themselves over in their usual clothes and hairstyles for the day.
"Sorry." Timmy apologized sheepishly, rubbing his head, "I'm late for a lot of things already, so I need to make my wishes to get this all set up."
"Yay! Girly time!" Cosmo declared and laughed, kicking his legs in the air. The brunet rolled his eyes.
"Right. Okay, here goes." he muttered and inhaled slowly, bringing up a calming air around himself, then releasing it with a slow exhale. "I wish I was a girl! A girl named Timantha!" he declared, thrusting his finger into the air in a wide sweep.
"One instant sex change, comin' up!" Wanda called out, she and her husband twirling their wands before pointing them at the brunet, blasting him with fairy magic. Smoke billowed out from the explosion, filling the room and leaking out the windows. The fairies waved their hands in front of their faces, looking around for their godchild worriedly. "Timmy? Are you okay?" Wanda called uncertainly.
"I'm okay!" the young immortal declared in a far more feminine voice than before, "Ack! My voice! I sound like a girl!"
"That's 'cuz you ARE a girl!" Cosmo laughed, waving his wand to finish dissipating the smoke and reveal the now female magic-user standing before them in pink pajamas. Timantha blinked up at them, then spun around to look into the mirror again, hands flying up to her face as a smile spread.
"I am! I'm a girl! This is great! This is perfect! This is...!" she exclaimed, then glanced downward and froze, an expression of horror replacing her excited look. Color drained from her face a second before she shrieked, leaping back from the mirror with her hands as far away from her body as possible, "Aaaiiieeee! What is this?"
"They're called breasts." Wanda grumbled, rolling her eyes, "Girls have them at about this age. We tried to warn you, us and Caleb."
Timantha hugged herself, trying not to think of what she felt under her arms as she zipped towards the bathroom in a panic, slamming the door shut after her. Another shriek and Wanda sighed again.
"And girls don't have that either." she added loudly. Cosmo fell out of the air in hysterics, rolling around on the floor.
"I can't go out like this! I'm a freak!" Timantha yelled through the door, "How am I supposed to live like this?" Wanda waved her wand, poofing her godchild back into the bedroom. The brunet was still clad in her pajamas, shaking as she clutched handfuls of her now waist-length hair and pulled it around herself like a cloak.
"You'll live like a girl. You wished it, we dished it. Remember, this was your idea!" Wanda pointed out and bodily hoisted Cosmo up off the floor, "Out, Cosmo! It's girl bonding time and you have to go do something not stupid in our room!"
"Okay!" the dapper fairy agreed cheerfully and was chucked out of Timantha's bedroom with a 'Whee!' of delight. Once he was gone, Wanda turned back to the girl with a sigh and waved her wand again, this time poofing in a large cardboard box labeled 'Girl Clothes' and setting it on the bed. Timantha stepped over to it and opened it gingerly. Her face burned a bright red as she picked out the first piece of clothing she saw.
"Wandaaaa..." she moaned in agony and the fairy godmother sighed in exasperation, folding her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot in the air.
"You want to be a girl for your plan? Then you're gonna have to learn to put on a bra!" she declared in a no-nonsense tone, "You wished for this!"
Ivory Tower~
Michael paced the floor in a believable anxiousness as the majority of Team Turner waited eagerly nearby. As Timmy had predicted, every member of the group bought the story that had been put together in the span of a few minutes; to them Michael was Timmy Turner posing as Timothy Neogene and always had been. Timantha would be a totally new member joining them for the purpose of rescuing Tootie and Romi, after which she would then return to her own Hero duties in some far off country or whatever.
"Dude. Flowers?" Chester asked with a laugh as he took in the sight of A.J. twitching nervously in place, a large bouquet of daisies in his hands.
"She didn't seem to like the dead frog last time, so I'm going with a tried and true classic." the boy genius replied out of the corner of his mouth, "Now shut up; you're making me more nervous! It's been ages since I saw her!"
"If you want to impress my best girl friend, you need to do better than daisies from the corner shop." Trixie huffed, eyebrow raised, "Roses would have been a good bet." She curled her fingers over her mouth to hide a smirk. "...Or the latest issue of Skull Squisher..." she added under her breath.
"How many cousins do you have anyway, Timmy?" Elmer asked the brunet in confusion, "And why don't they live here in Dimmsdale? Wouldn't it be easier than having them all over the place?"
"They like where they live just fine, I guess." Michael replied with a sheepish grin, rubbing his head, "And I've got about four cousins that I know of for sure. Cousins Danny and Jazz Fenton, Cousin Timantha Turner, and Cousin Rudy Tabootie; all of them are Heroes of their own towns." He waved a finger around in the air, the smile still on his face, "Danny and Jazz are still trying to cover for Danny Phantom, and Rudy's skills are pretty much useless here since we use magic and not chalk, so Timantha's the only shot we have at getting somebody past Remy."
The teleporter nearby glowed suddenly and all eyes turned towards it in eager anticipation. A beam of light shot up from it, the image of a teen girl and two floating fairies forming in it. When it faded, Cosmo and Wanda put on smiles and waved weakly at the group before fluttering over to sit on Michael's shoulders.
"A.J., you look like a fish." Chester teased out of the corner of his mouth as the group let out cheers and greetings to the brunette that stepped off the teleporter. The girl was clad in a pink and white blouse with matching pink skirt, white stockings and shoes, and a pair of dainty white gloves. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, a large pink ribbon holding the rest of her hair in place and topping her head with a bow. Round pink earrings completed her look.
"Um... hi?" Timantha greeted in return, waving just as weakly as the fairies had before her, "So... you guys are Team Turner, huh? I'm Timantha. Nice to meet you." A.J. clapped his mouth shut and hid his blushing face behind the bouquet.
"She got prettier." he mumbled, giving Chester a sidelong glare as the blonde nudged him teasingly.
"Cross yer fingers she ain't got a boyfriend yet, then." Chester returned and stepped forward to shake the girl's hand. "Yup, that's right! We're the Others! Well, most of us, at least. I'm Chester, that's A.J., Elmer, Sanjay, and Trixie. We make up the Others, which is like the heart of Team Turner. Vicky, Mark Chang, and Chip are getting stuff set up for the Halloween party so they're not here yet." He faltered at introducing Apollo, who was giving Timantha a glare that spoke volumes for what he thought of her. "And this is... um..."
"A fairy godparent. I know. I'm an ally of Fairy World so I can know about them even though I don't have one." Timantha answered quickly, fidgeting under the glare, "Nice to meet you, too, um..."
"Apollo." the fairy godfather grumbled. He said nothing else, which didn't help the young immortal relax at all.
"Timantha! Girlfriend! I've missed you soooo much!" Trixie declared, shoving Chester aside to throw her arms around the pink-clad teen in a huge hug. Michael clapped a hand over his face as the fairy couple snickered. The plan was moving along unexpectedly well, despite the shakiness of being confronted by a fairy godparent who appeared to be considerably sharper than the rest of the group.
"I've... missed you... too... Trixie!" Timantha managed to wheeze out from the crushing embrace, "Air!"
It took the group a few minutes to settle down in the conference room so that Timantha could get 'caught up' on what was going on. A.J. presented her with the bouquet, then squeaked and scurried to his spot at the table, sinking in his seat as far as he could go. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that, just sighed in relief that it wasn't a dead frog he tried giving her. Those things were still gross. As the android had said in the phone call, lunch was being served to them now, and Timantha twitched nervously as a plate was set before Michael. Cosmo and Wanda glanced at each other with the same apprehension before giving their true godchild a helpless look. Before arriving at the Ivory Tower, Timantha had made her second wish for the day, for Cosmo and Wanda to act as Michael's godparents until Tootie and Romi were returned to the group. She had wanted to make a wish to help the android pass more easily as human, but wasn't sure if doing so would cause any weird glitches in Michael.
She hoped he had a good excuse to skip lunch.
But to the shock of all three parties, Michael simply picked up the sandwich and bit into as naturally as though he'd always eaten meals.
"What's the matter, Timantha? Surprised that a dead kid can still eat food?" Trixie teased and laughed as the brunette shook herself back to alertness.
"Ah, well, uh... yeah, kinda." she stammered to cover herself, "I don't really know all of what happened to... C-cousin Timmy, so most of this is still, like, new." Cosmo and Wanda had recovered a bit more quickly than she had and quickly slipped into their roles of chattering and scolding Michael for getting a late lunch and running off without 'his' fairy godparents, the android looking appropriately abashed and trying his best to appease their humorous wraths.
"But you know enough to be able to help us out, right?" Chester asked worriedly and Timantha nodded quickly. "Okay, so now that that's done, let's get to planning out what we're gonna do today. School doesn't open until Monday, since Dimmsdale's still freaking out over the Spire falling."
"Everyone's got a mana shield generator now. I got the package from one of Caleb's robots earlier today and passed them out to the gang." Michael explained for Timantha's benefit, grinning widely, "With those, we won't have to worry as much about anything really dangerous hitting us and it's a quick way for everyone to get their own personal Boltzman's Shield without me having to run around like a maniac casting it." Trixie stood up, clutching a few sheets of paper in her hands as a determined expression came over her face.
"We worked really hard on this yesterday, Chester, so I hope it helps you out tonight." she told the blonde, "Apollo, A.J. and I put together as much as we could for reopening Timmy's case, using the files from the Black Hound disc and the pictures taken of the weird thing that was buried in the playground." She held the papers out and Chester accepted them, reading them over carefully. "Will it be enough to get Timmy's case reopened as a murder investigation?"
Michael twitched slightly and Timantha smacked herself over the head mentally. That had totally slipped her mind! All the times Team Turner had made contact with Caleb and the Archives, and no one had made mention of Timmy having died as a result of a murder. Until this moment, the angelic android and all his creations believed he was a victim of circumstance, and acted accordingly.
"Looks like this'll do it. Thanks a lot, you guys!" Chester replied cheerfully, "With this, we'll nail Remy for sure!"
Another twitch. Timantha was finding the idea of staying a girl more ideal with each passing moment. Caleb wouldn't punish a girl, right? Right?
"Next is putting fliers up for the Halloween party in the park. We have a couple of boxes already printed, but we won't get the big stock until tomorrow." the blonde went on, tucking the sheets into a folder that he stashed in his backpack, "So we should get started on passing those out today and posting some wherever we can get Remy to see it."
"We can try the malls, arcades, anyplace that Remy is bound to show up at." Michael agreed readily, "We'll plaster them all over the place! With that many posters of my face for the party, he won't be able to resist having to throw one of his own to stay in the game!" The Others cheered, finishing their lunches more quickly so as to get started. "You guys go on ahead. I gotta let Timantha know what she can do to help out for now." he added, "She's our secret weapon, like Mark is, so we can't let Remy know that the two of them on our side just yet." Chester threw him a thumb's up as the rest of the teens began heading out, Apollo poofing into Trixie's pendant after giving Cosmo and Wanda another suspicious glance.
"All right! We're starting at the Wall-to-Wall Mart, so meet us there when you can! Might as well get Mark to come back here so we can keep him undercover and junk, right?" he pointed out and hurried after the rest of the Others. Once they were gone, Michael whirled around and glared furiously at Timantha.
"Murdered? You were murdered? Why didn't you tell Caleb about this change sooner?" he snapped.
"I forgot!" Timantha shot back and the android threw his hands up in exasperation.
"How could you forget to mention that you were purposely killed by Remial Buxaplenty?" he exclaimed and turned his glare on the fairies, "And you two didn't correct him on this?"
"We forgot!" Cosmo piped in helpfully, rubbing the back of his head with a laugh as Wanda smacked her hand over her face.
"This complicates things." Michael sighed, "A murdered Hero... steps will need to be taken to bring justice about, and security for the Ivory Tower and your friends will have to be increased to cope with this new information, moreso since Remial has your mana in his possession..."
"No." Timantha growled, attempting to fold her arms over her chest. She still wasn't quite used to having something in the way of that so she planted her hands on her hips instead, "No changes! You guys changed up things here enough as it is with the S-List and all! Caleb said that Dimmsdale's problems had to be dealt with by Dimmsdale Heroes, right? So butt out and let us do it our way!" Michael sighed again, more harshly.
"But the fact you got murdered means that Caleb's protection of the Heroes can be compromised!" he told the brunette and gestured erratically, "Don't you get it? If you were able to be killed off by some punk kid while under Caleb's jurisdiction of a Hero, then that means we're not doing the best we can to keep you all safe and alive to continue the lines! First Danny Phantom, now you..." He covered his eyes with one hand, groaning softly, "We're just not able to keep up as well anymore. So many Heroes and so few fully functioning artificial mages... We need you to tell us everything that's going on so we can be better guardians. How the heck can we do that if you 'forget' to tell us things that change everything we know about a situation?" Timantha shrugged helplessly and the brunet shook his head. "I'll report in on this later, and I'll be taking a copy of the Black Hound disc and any other records you have about this too. Caleb needs to know, not just to archive it, but to improve on how he's keeping his promises."
"Fine, but only if you tell me how the heck you were able to eat a sandwich." Timantha argued, jabbing a finger at the tip of the android's nose, "Caleb can't eat; none of the other robots I've ever seen can eat! How did you pull that off?"
"Modification. I have a small incinerator that was recently installed." Michael replied smartly, patting his stomach, "Caleb's latest upgrade; I'm testing the prototype for him since I'm going to be actively posing as a human. If it works out well, the vital androids and Caleb himself will all get one installed too." Timantha blinked at him and sighed in exasperation, looking over at Cosmo and Wanda with a flat glare. They merely shrugged and smiled weakly; what magic didn't fix right away, technology was stepping up to do the work instead.
"Great. I'm living with the Bicentennial Man here." she griped, "So Mark will be coming back here? You'd better send him back to the dump instead. He hates clean places and he'll be able to relax better in the comforts of his ship than here." She picked up the bouquet and handed it to the android, "Put these away. I have no clue what the heck these are for. Meantime, while you guys deal with the posters, I'm going to go and check on Anti-Cosmo. Maybe he can tell me more about what he discovered about the Spires." Michael nodded and hurried off with the flowers. Cosmo and Wanda hesitated in following after him.
"I don't like the idea of you being alone with Anti-Cosmo for any reason, Sweetie." Wanda murmured worriedly, "You know he likes to pull fast ones to get loose and cause all kinds of bad luck. With all the negativity around because of Remy's speech, he's bound to be back to full health by now."
"Yeah, and then he'll get right to making me feel even more stupid!" Cosmo wailed, clutching his wand tightly, "Why can't we stay here and make fun of you?" Wanda jabbed him with a frown and he grunted comically before holding his stomach and amending himself, "I mean, look after you!" Timantha only shook her head, pointing at the door.
"I wished it..." she remarked warningly and the couple sighed.
"...and we dish it." Wanda relented, "But at least promise you'll be alert and careful around Anti-Cosmo!"
"I'll be fine! Now go and keep my cover already!" the brunette exclaimed, throwing up her arms as the fairies poofed away, "Geez! Whatever happened to TGIF?"