Chapter 21:
The Bandit Kingdoms had existed on the edge of Ooo society for well over a century. Whether it was the mountainous terrain that seemed to isolate one domain from another, the poor soil that kept the peeps here in poverty, or the chaotic spirit of the locals that seemed to foster banditry and violence, those broken lands seemed made for making warlords. Jake Junior had passed through this place on her way into exile. It was the one place nobody would come looking for her, and yet it was the one place she could earn some quick cash and get passage to Jungle Kingdom.
As the sun rose, she slipped out of bed, gathered on a robe, and joined Finn in the little dining room in the center of the car. She'd slept better last night. Her dreams had been much better. It gave her hope that the ugly dream with Liz was just that, a dream. More to the point, she was feeling more positive than she'd felt since the night she'd made her move on Bill. She felt wanted–felt loved.
The terrain outside the car was familiar as she filled her plate. This was one of the larger Bandit Kingdoms. A man called Bertoli ruled these lands. "What we doing today," she asked? "And how do you want me dressed? Fuck-toy or something else...?" "We'll be doing a little walking in rough ground," Finn replied. "Wear something sexy, but put on some walking shoes." "Showing off, or...," she asked? "Could be both, Jake," Finn chuckled. "Maybe I like watching that ass move in a short skirt." The shapechanger flushed to her hair. Wearing a sinister smile, the King said, "now that we're in this new place, I'm taking advantage of what you bring to the table, Jake. You're pretty. In a short skirt, and a tight little top, men look at you. When they're focused on you, and the way your body's moving, they don't focus so much on what they're saying. As you guessed, I use that. In the right now... come here." Because apparently the King was going to use that himself.
Rising, Jake Junior moved to Finn's side of the table and settled into his lap. The King slipped his arms around her. It was distracting as hell, making eating a tough proposition. Every move he made seemed almost to caress her, and she was almost ready to throw food–and caution–to the winds and fuck him right there, to hell with anybody who could see, condom or no. In the end, she got up from the table feeling a little hungry still and a lot frustrated as Finn went into the shower and got dressed. When he'd come out, it was her turn. Returning to her own room, she started gathering on clothing. Finn stood at the door, watching, as she shimmied into a pair of silky panties and one of the innumerable short skirts in her suitcase. Over that, she went with a red top that made her tits stand out, exposing a fair amount of cleavage, and she finished the look out with a pair of plain hiking boots. It was now time to go.
Finn, who'd checked out when there was no more skin to see, was already outside. There was no platform here in this little town, and Jake had to be careful going down the stairs so that her skirt didn't ride up and show the semi-transparent panties she was wearing. Her face was hot as she took in the sight of a gaggle of dudes all standing there talking to Finn, and every last one of them stopped what they were doing to take a gander at the fuck-toy. The confirmation of how this scheme worked both explained the endless selection of pleated, flowing short skirts, sexy minis, and stiletto heels that had come with her new wardrobe and set her heart to pumping and her face to flushing. She almost wished he hadn't told her the truth of things because it made it harder to actually do the job. But you lose in more than one way if you don't, she reminded herself. Finn was her salvation. She lost her father's brother and her own salvation if she failed to take care of him.
In the far east, Chicle entered the lab space he shared with his parents to find his mom hard at it, nose to the grindstone. The tasker for today was working out the precise amount of material they needed to get a critical mass. Each robot warrior needed a nuclear heart to operate. That meant they needed two-thousand nuclear cores. They'd hoped that efforts to steal the needed material from the Jungle Kingdom would bear fruit, but now his father had reported on a second option. One of the patsies in the nymph-kingdom had told him of a treasure trove of nuclear material hidden on one of their islands.
It was material that was centuries old, and it would be less potent than they might like. At the same time, it was available. They needed to figure out what they could do with it. Lolly glanced up from the simulation she was running to find her son there. He'd been working long hours keeping their slaves on topic. The machines were running day and night, building out their army. The things they'd been hearing about her niece's robot army alarmed her, though. She gave them no more than a fifty-fifty shot at surviving the looming confrontation with Bonnibel. Bonnibel's machines had laser-beam weapons, and they were stuck with gunpowder and swords. Gumbald saw no choice but to fight, and she'd decided that she would go down swinging at his side rather than be slaughtered out of hand.
Offering his mom a hug, Chicle asked, "what we got?" With a heavy sigh, Lolly replied, "we can power the machines with a small, highly-purified batch of material, but the resulting reactor is very unstable. It's likely to meltdown if cooling or control rods fail in the slightest." Chuckling, the youth responded, "but it's not like we'll be standing next to them, is it?" His momma was the perfectionist. She liked things to be put together to a T. Bonnie had always preferred working with Lolly because she was so meticulous. For Chicle, it was a drag. His mom could get uptight, and that kept them from using answers that were 'good enough'.
Taking a deep, deep breath, and brushing hair out of her eyes, the plump matron said, "it will go well. We mostly need to bluff her, while we build our alliances." That was what her husband had said, though she'd been having trouble believing he meant it. Still, he'd been flitting about, going to meet with whoever Gordon Wells wanted to introduce them to, so there was that. "I'm not sure we can do more than a few hundred units with the material Gumbald found, Chicle," Lolly sighed. "We just use these to steal more," Chicle retorted. "We get our hands on one of those flying ships, and we take some of our guys to this Jungle Kingdom. We can get lots of material then." Lolly nodded. She'd done all she could, for now. They had a path forward to power the robots that they had rolling off the assembly line. It was time to sleep.
As the sun set over the town of Clusone, Finn and Jake Junior came strolling up to the villa that Cerelia had lent them through the evening gloom. They'd spent a fair amount of time climbing in and out of old ruins and looking at the ground. Jake had spent a lot of that time keeping her skirt down as the pack of horn-dogs did all they could to peep her panties. The words Finn had spoken that morning had done a number on her. She was used to thinking of herself as ugly–as a monster hiding in plain sight. She'd become completely unused to the idea that somebody could want her. Until this morning.
She still saw the same things she'd always seen. The fat fuck who was already scheming on how to make bank on Finn's reactor machine. The would-be warlord who was thinking of how many blades or guns he could have manufactured with all that sweet, sweet electricity. The bitch who'd replaced Bertoli was using her pheremones on Finn to turn his mind to mush so she could get the machine for nothing. She saw them and saw through them all. Except she'd started to see other things too. The fat fuck, having gotten a glimpse of her panties, wanted to see more. The warlord wanted to fuck her–maybe even to take it. The purple-skinned cunt was jealous because she just knew Jake was the reason that her pheremones weren't working. The King wasn't hungry, because he was gettin' busy with the little sexpot in her micro-mini and see-through panties.
And that, of course, brought her back to Finn himself. She'd altered their relationship. It wasn't the same after she'd started things up with Billy, but she'd really changed things up now. She was no longer a niece. She wasn't even an in-law. It was like Finn had been liberated from the burden of having to treat her differently, and he was taking full advantage of that fact in every way a powerful man could. She was pretty, and he was showing off her charms to all these fucking losers, knowing how much envy he was raising.
His Majesty was handsy all day. Taking her by the arm in possessive fashion. Resting a hand on the small of her back–and sometimes lower. It was all calculated to make those men stare at her–at the territory His Majesty had marked out. The King got to fuck her, and they were never going to touch her. The whole thing had her feeling like a seething ball of conflicting emotions. She was worried about this place and focused on protecting him. At the same time, her panties were creamy because the thought of being dangled in front of powerful men like a tasty treat made her horny. Having him stand there and watch her get dressed like she was his fuck-toy just made the hunger sharper.
The food-taster and the bodyguard were waiting on them as they came up to the house, and the bodyguard threw the door open. Jake immediately preceded Finn through the door, sniffing for trouble as she did so. Finn watched her working a moment before following her inside. As the King passed him, his bodyguard stopped him, saying, "I went to the chemist's, as you asked, Your Majesty..." The giant handed the king a small package of rubbers–magnums. With a smile, Finn told them, "we should be good for the night."
They knew what that meant. Get lost. The pair moved to the limo and hunkered down for the night opposite the door, leaving the big man alone with his latest. Inside, Jake Junior had just hung up her jacket, revealing the tight little red top she was wearing, her perky knockers jutting out and pointing in opposite directions. They were nice handfuls, and Finn decided to get himself a handful.
"I don't like this," Junior murmured. "This place... These people have lots of reasons to go traitor-mode..." And, after years in the gangs, she had a serious sense for who was a back-stabbing dick. "But I have this sexy bodyguard," Finn teased, as he slipped his arms around her. "I'm serious," Junior complained. "Me too," Finn said, as he clutched her to him. Simone had once told her mom that Finn had fast hands. Seeing was believing. He had a hand on her left thigh, and the other cupping her right booby as if he was weighing it. And all so casual, she hardly noticed until he was workin' her over.
"F-Finn," she squealed! "Yeah," he whispered in her ear. He stopped when she pushed his hand away, but his hands were right back at it when her resistance ceased. She was getting creamier by the moment, and she really wanted him to listen. At this rate, she'd be on her back getting the shit screwed out of her. Finn was apparently not much interested in conversation, though. He clearly wanted pussy instead. As his deft fingers slid the hem of her skirt up, up, up, she moaned, "baby, we don't have any... any... I don't wanna' get pregnant..." That last came out in a plaintive tone, because, when you got down to it, she wanted him to fuck her. She wanted that big dick. Finn let go of her titty and, for a moment, she thought he was going to stop. And then he dangled a wax-paper packet in her face. Oh, shit, thought the shapechanger.
Pressing his finger against her joy button, the big man said, "these feel kinda' damp, baby.." Jake Junior gasped, her thighs clenching together. "You creamy, baby," he whispered, as he rubbed her button? "Tell me what made you so hot that your panties are all wet..." "You showed me off...," she moaned. "To all those men... Y-you were showing me off." "Yeah," he said. "Mmm, Lord Enzo wants to fuck you. Did you know that? I heard him talking about it when he thought I wouldn't hear it... His little prick won't even touch the sides, though..." The shapechanger moaned in heat. That was nasty! The big man slid his hand down the front of her panties and stuffed two fingers inside her, as he whispered, "bet they're all dreaming of fucking my pretty toy, but I'll be the one actually doing it."
Back in the Candy Kingdom, Jay Mertens came jogging through the early evening darkness, doing his best to quell the anger inside his heart. He'd been at this for days–really since the accident where he injured the little maid–with patchy success. He missed his son, and his mind kept going back again and again to what it must have been like. He wished he'd gone himself. The knots in his knees had been bothering him, and he'd asked his boy to go out to work in his place. Now his son was dead, and somehow he was still alive. It should have been Quillan here instead of him.
As the newly young hero tried to outrun his grief, two men stepped out of the shadows ahead of him. "Hey," announced the burly, green-skinned fellow on the right. "Hey, yourself," Jay retorted. The men moved to block him. "You didn't buy a membership," the Elbownian on the left announced. "Don't need one," Jay replied. "This space belongs to all." His mind suddenly conjured up the image of his dirk–sitting on the chest of drawers in his quarters. Shit, he thought. He didn't have anything to hand but harsh words.
In amiable tones, the tall fellow said, "listen... We don't want to have a fight, fellas... Any of us could get hurt..." "Only one t'be hurt'll be you, if ye don't pay up," growled the green-skinned giant. A soft, feminine voice announced, "they're some of the worst robbers on the streets of this city, Jay... What they'd think about hurting you... well, it wouldn't make much of a book..." Annabelle. Annabelle was here, somewhere.
For a moment, Jay wondered if he'd heard that in his mind, but it was plain as the noses on their ugly mugs that the two robbers had heard those words too. They were staring around them, looking for whoever had spoken those words. "You could smash them, Jay," Annabelle purred. "I know the power inside you. You could end their worthless lives with ease..." "Go away," he growled! "I don't want you around!" The two robbers were getting very nervous. Fight or flight. He could see it in the smaller man's eyes. They didn't want to mess with magic, but they wanted money.
Reaching into a pocket, Jay took a little of the pocket-money his mother had shared with him. Throwing it on the ground before them, he growled, "take it and go." The smaller man would have done just that. The bigger man drew a knife. Jay stood there, staring him down, as he stepped forward. "Will you kill me," Jay growled? "Is that it? For a few coins?" The thug stared him down, his expression uncertain. "We got the cash," the small man hissed. "Bottles for both of us." The thug finally seemed to think better of this encounter. Stepping back, he put the dagger away, and the two men padded back into the shadows.
A shadow out the corner of his eye brought Jay's face around. "I'm disappointed," she said. "I want nothing to do with you," Jay retorted. "I want no trouble, and I want no part of what you're trying to do here." "Do," she echoed? "What do you imagine I'm trying to do, Jay?" "You're stirring trouble," the half-breed growled. "There's been enough trouble." The shadow chuckled drily. "Perhaps, Jay," she allowed, "or maybe I'm seeking something else. Something you have." "I have nothing...," he started to say. His mouth snapped shut. He was the King's son. He had... enormous power, if he chose to wield it. A shiver of fear went down his spine. The tall man dashed off, racing away from that soft sultry voice. The last thing he heard as he lost sight of her was that irritating giggle.
Back in the Bandit Kingdoms, Bronwyn Rainicorn strolled up out of the evening darkness to find Finn's bodyguards camped out in the back of the limo, playing cards. She'd been directed to this villa by the men watching over the train, and she'd expected to be pounding on the door. Now she found her key to the entry there in front of her. Of course, that begged the question. What were they doing out here? Knowing that they'd spent a miserable night in the hallway outside her suite in the Suncoast, Bronwyn had her ideas.
Coming up on the limo in full view of the occupants, she knocked on the window to get their attention. The burly man from Warrior Kingdom put down his cards and, with an admonishment against cheating for the banana, he stepped out of the car. Bronwyn's pretty face was well known to the King's official bodyguards. She was 'on the list'. Without a word, the giant opened the door for her, allowing her into the small villa.
Bronwyn couldn't help noticing the flush on his face. That told her that Finn was entertaining someone. Hardly a surprise, really. Roselinen's antics had more or less pushed the pack of them away, and Finn was a pretty horny dude. As the guard shut the door behind her, Bronwyn scanned the room, finding Finn's clothes thrown carelessly on top of the couch, along with a short little skirt and a pair of panties. Yeah, bangin' somebody. Rolling her eyes, the half-bear went to the couch and picked up Finn's pants and folded them. Taking up his jacket, she went and hung it. As she went back for his shirt, a high-pitched squeal announced some anonymous slut was getting her rocks off.
Chuckling, Bronwyn headed for the villa's bedroom, shedding her dress as she went. "Uh... uh...hhhnnnh," howled the King's lover. That voice sounded familiar somehow. Hurrying along, the curvy hybrid shimmied out of her panties, and then popped off her bra, leaving both on the table by the bedroom door. The King's evening meal was in full cry as her hand reached for the door, and Bronwyn licked her lips in hunger, wondering who she'd find. Turning the knob, she jerked the door open.
There was Finn, laying sprawled, full-length on top of her aunt. Jake Junior had both arms and legs wrapped tight around the big man's shoulders and hips. That giant dick was ensconced deep in Junior's nook, and Finn was screwing her within an inch of her life. Was she taking it raw? Bronwyn couldn't help but wonder. Was Finn going to fuck his son's ex-wife and knob her with his baby?
As Bronwyn stood there watching, Junior threw back her head and gave vent to a tremulous wail, as Finn scratched her itch but good, burying his pole in her steamy oven. From the look of the sheets, they'd been at it quite a while. Bronwyn had left Finn laying in the mess a couple of times herself, but he never complained about it. Leaning down, the big man got his lips around Junior's ripe, plump left titty, sucking hard on it. Junior wailed in climax again, her hips bucking and jumping. That seemed to do for the King of Ooo. Taking two more strokes, the big man drove his thickness in deep. Back arching, the big man groaned as he achieved release. Junior was panting in heat when he got done. Leaning down, he captured her lips and began to kiss her, their tongues swirling. "Well," announced Bronwyn, as she came sauntering over.
Finn's head whipped around to find his other new girlfriend coming towards the bed. By the look in her eyes–and the fact that she was wearing her birthday suit–far from being disturbed by the fact that he was banging her aunt, Bronwyn was turned on. She wanted dick. Pouncing on her man, the plush puppy caught his face in her hands and brought his rough lips to hers. Moments later, they were kissing just as enthusiastically as Finn had been kissing Junior.
The big man's fat dick jumped, causing Jake Junior to sigh breathily. She wanted to go again. Finn drew back, the fat dong sliding out of her nook, leaving her feeling empty. As Junior watched, Bronwyn expertly stripped the rubber off Finn's pecker. Shocking the sexy shapechanger, her slutty niece put the end of the condom to her lips and upended it, guzzling down all Finn's sticky goo in one long gulp. Finn's cock jumped to life at the sight and Junior was hot as a firecracker seeing that too.
Finn skipped nary a beat. His left hand gripped Bronwyn's lush ass, stroking and squeezing that big mass. His right reached up and got to grips with her heavy lower-left titty, hefting the big fun-bag and tweaking the thick tip. "Oooh, baby," cooed Bronwyn. "Like my big titties?" Finn liked every piece of her.
As Junior watched, her boyfriend pushed her niece down on all fours beside her. Getting up behind her big, round ass, the King of Ooo gripped his fat pole, aiming his slimy pecker at her hot slot. "Oooaaaaa," moaned Bronwyn, as she felt that huge thing opening her pussy. Junior licked her lips as she watched her niece taking that big pecker raw. A corner of her mind vaguely recalled that Bronwyn, like the other pups, couldn't take the pill. There was a chance Finn was going to get her preggers. Reaching under his nasty girlfriend, the King got his hands on those giant titties and began squeezing and stroking them as he began to bang her hard and fast.
As the King of Ooo relaxed with his girlfriends, across the sea in Jungle Kingdom, his daughters were anything but relaxed. Star was irritated with Fionna. She was irritated because they were, collectively, supposed to be laying off of the dangerous shit. They were, collectively, supposed to be 'grown up' and living the lives of responsible adults. No more adventures. No dangerous shit for the thrill of doing dangerous shit. On Fionna's side, she knew she was in hock, but she had a simple answer for her sister's irritation. She had the name of the boat that carried the illegal guns away. But that was a matter for another day. In the right now, they had to deal with the idiots making guns on the down low for suspicious peeps.
Star had immediately called their stepmother when Fionna sent her the pictures. While Cherry had copped to there being a couple of 'off-books' factories making untraceable guns that the mob used for its activities, the place Fionna had found wasn't one of them. The Capos were just as irritated as Star. These guys were cheating them of their cut and bringing heat on top of it. Indeed, the angry gangster standing next to Star was all but steaming.
"No Capo," rumbled the gangster. "No recognized crew of any kind." Star grunted. This was starting to look like the thing with the warehouse all over again. "They're sloppy," the gangster rumbled. "Just making shit out in the open on the day-shift. Almost like somebody with more money than sense running this." The nymph grimaced. Yeah, there were some nobles running amok behind the scenes. She would have to get this squished. Fast.
Keying the send button on her phone, the wood-nymph wonder texted a succinct 'go'. Her dudes went rushing into the foundry from all directions. The whole business went off without even the hint of a fight, and even the talkative security guard rolled over without raising a fuss. No, this was not a gang operation. Omerta wasn't involved here, though some people might be seeing some broken bones and bruises over the next few weeks as the Capos reminded peeps that they were still around. In the right now, it was time to ask some pointed questions.
As the sun rose the following morning, Bronwyn found her honey sitting at his portable terminal, working away. She'd become accustomed to that. She'd fall asleep in his arms and wake up to find he'd showered, dressed, and gotten to work. The plush half-bear perched on the corner of the table, crossing her legs artfully, though he'd certainly seen it all before. Sounds of splashing water told her that her aunt was scrubbing off the evidence of last night's activities.
"Wasn't sure Roselinen didn't scare you off," Finn rumbled. Rosie had made it clear that she wasn't a big fan of the multiple girlfriends. "Let's just say we have worked things out," Bronwyn replied. Nodding at the bath, she said, "so you won't end up in hock for that." Finn sighed. "Not creeped out to be bangin' Billy's ex," Bronwyn asked? She wasn't disturbed by the fact that he'd been plugging her aunt. She was more curious than anything. With a shrug, Finn reminded her, "he's married to four of my old girlfriends..." If anything, the oddity was the fact that she was Jake's daughter. Of course, Junior had sort of squashed the taboo when she got hitched to Billy.
"Wasn't expecting to see anybody until I got home," Finn remarked. With a shrug, Bronwyn said, "I came out to meet you to make sure you took your vacation." Finn sighed heavily. The yearly Royal Vacation. The girls had decided that each and every year he was taking a vacation away from them and everything else. Or else. It was one more of the ways that they controlled him. At the same time, well, what was the sense in complaining about somebody trying to look after you? "We're going to the annual family reunion," she said. The one that Finn's side of the family had more or less been shut out of. He now knew why. Between the fact that Jake Junior was actually still among the living–and likely to actually be there–and the fact that Jake had dumped Lady, the family-reunion had become something of a shit-show.
"Not sure why it won't be a shit-show this year, either," he admitted. He was dating Kim Kil Wan's daughter, and Kim was in a snit over that. Jake was still with Samantha, and all the pups were pissed at him over it. Now, if you added the fact that Finn was kinda-sorta bangin' Junior too, it was a recipe for a whole lot of angst. "It probably will be," Bronwyn agreed, "but daddy's not coming because grampa might come, so there's that. TV and Pearl are feuding, so they're probably not coming either. It's likely to just be you and us girls. We'll make s'mores and sing around the firepit." That made him laugh. Finn, two of his girlfriends, and their female relatives sitting around a campfire eating. What could go wrong?
Junior came out of the bathroom, half-wearing a robe. Sauntering up to Finn, she kissed his cheek. There wasn't a lot of point to embarrassment at the moment, considering how Bronwyn had found them. "Ready for breakfast," Finn asked, as he reached for his phone? As he chatted with the food-taster, he pulled the shapechanger onto his lap. The minute the banana had the order and had hung up, Bronwyn occupied his other knee. "I'm not supposed to take any of the girls on vacation," Finn murmured. "But you're going to the family reunion," Bronwyn chuckled. "It just so happens that we'll also be there, because it's our family too." That made Junior chuckle too.
After breakfast, the trio headed out to the train, finding that the King's servants had things squared away. The locomotive was fueled. The limo was tied down again. A nice, toasty fire was going in the King's private car. All was ready for their journey. Finn was planning to ride through the night and arrive in the Suncoast in the morning. He had a couple of things he needed to square away there before officially heading off on vacation.
Of course, any thought that they'd be spending the ride snuggling got quickly blown away. Finn was all business as he sat down in the parlor of the private car. There were calls to get made, and the King wanted a report from Bronwyn on what was going on with the bond offering. There was a whole lot of money at stake with a whole pile of people depending on the outcome. He was delighted to hear that things were progressing well, giving him hope that they could get through another year.
Better news came in on the rescue effort, with Sarah able to report that the rescue mission was finally getting under way. Billy had arrangements in hand to house a hundred-fifty thousand in Tequila Kingdom, and Maja was well into the process of cobbling together the rescue machines. Promising that he would thank the witch properly the next time he saw her, Finn moved on. Lunch was had by the side of the tracks in a small village, while they waited for a half dozen heavily laden freight trains to pass, with dinner being taken on the move.
As the day drew to a close, Finn put up work in favor of spending a little time reading to his kids over the phone. Then, as the clock in the parlor chimed for ten o'clock, the attendant banked the fire in the stove, and Finn climbed into bed with his ladies. They'd be in the Suncoast in the morning.
The sounds of his lovers snoozing was a pleasant reminder of happier times. He'd gone to bed countless times with Simone and Emeraude on either side of him–so much so that he wasn't used to sleeping alone anymore. A part of him wanted to put work aside, just to enjoy the moment, and he would gleefully have just lain there all night, even if he didn't really need it. Just as he was pondering whether to get up or maybe enjoy this a little longer, JJ suddenly snapped awake, her face whipping back and forth.
"Jake, what," Finn murmured, as he sat up beside her. "We're in danger," she hissed, as she climbed out of bed. Finn replied, "you had another dream." "We're in danger," she insisted, and she went out into the hall. Climbing out of bed, Finn joined her there. "W-where are we," she asked? "Mountains," Finn replied, "we're maybe a hundred miles or so northeast of the Suncoast." "Mountains," she rumbled. "The train... It's going to crash." "Jake," Finn complained. "I saw it, Finn," she said. She was headed for the platform at the end of the train. "Wake Bronwyn," she said. "Do it, Finn!" The big man hesitated a moment. Deciding to humor her, Finn went in the bedroom and shook Bronwyn awake.
"Finn... wha...," Bronwyn burbled? "Jake says she sees something," he murmured. "She wants us up." Groaning, Bronwyn climbed out of bed and gathered on a robe. Joining Finn in the hall, she found her aunt standing out in the chill on the platform at the end of the car. Strolling up the length of the car, they found Jake Junior staring into the darkness. They were high in a mountain pass, rolling downhill. "There," Jake said. "That's where the train goes off the bridge."
Finn's hackles went up. She sounded so certain. His mind went back to Bill's explanations on how they'd saved Ooo and the Ark. They'd used Lady and the Pups' ability to see a little of the future to teleport the whole of the Ark back into a stable orbit. "Get dressed," Finn told the pair. "No time," Jake howled! Before them, a brilliant orange flame blazed into sudden, vibrant life and disappeared just as quickly. Somebody had just blown up a section of the bridge. Finn's keen mind did the math. There was no way the driver could stop in time. Indeed, the train shuddered, as the crew slammed on the brakes, but on those slippery, downhill tracks, the train lost speed at a glacial pace.
Staring at the approaching doom, Finn's mind went down the list of answers. He'd sworn off using the Quicksilver Curse. Things were quiet with Sybil at the moment, and he didn't want to wind her up again. "Teleport," he shouted?! "No," Bronwyn shouted back! "Don't know this spot well enough!" She'd never tried it from a moving platform. "Hang on," shouted Junior. Wrapping her arms around her niece and boyfriend, she jumped from the moving train. Concentrating like she'd never done it before, she thinned out her body, creating a massive parachute. Hold it, she told herself. The thought repeated itself like a litany in her mind. She had to hold it until they reached the ground–a long four-hundred feet down.
The assassin strikes! Had to throw in a cliffhanger, right?