It was a quiet and peaceful day so far, but the Toon Force had school as Lionel wore his Pietro guise. The students were talking among each other until it was time for them to go to lunch as their teacher was out of the room until class would start.
"So, it's been quiet lately," Cherry said to the others. "Maybe we should meet up and hang out if there's nothing else planned for The Justice League training."
"I thought we were going to Neverland?" Atticus replied.
Everyone soon looked over at Thor.
"Sorry, guys, but I can't say much until Uncle comes over and says it's time." Thor shrugged.
"Oh, come on!" Cherry complained.
"He still hasn't said a word about when it's time to go there?" Mo asked.
"Sorry, I don't control his schedule," Thor shrugged. "If I did, things would be a lot different for me right now."
"Fine," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I guess we'll just try to be patient."
Eventually, everyone looked forward as the teacher walked in.
"All right, people, let's get started with today's lesson plan... A pop quiz!" Miss Grundy said as she walked into the classroom before her eyes widened and the lights suddenly went out.
"Bad news," Mr. Kraft said as he suddenly walked into the classroom. "The building's lost electricity so the school is closed until the lights can be fixed."
"Something tells me we know who's responsible for the electricity being out." Lionel whispered to the others.
"Either him or a blackout." Thor whispered back.
"Both sound possible." Atticus whispered.
The students then flooded out of the classroom and soon the whole school. The group looked at each other and shrugged before they joined their classmates out the school for an unexpected half day of school.
"You guys want McDonald's?" Atticus suggested.
"I guess we better get some lunch while we still have the time." Cherry replied.
"Yeah, some lunch at McDonald's sound perfect." Lionel said.
"Count me in." Thor nodded.
Patch was seen running over to Atticus, happy to see him after school.
"Hey, Patch, good to see ya," Atticus smiled as he knelt down to hug his dog. "Looks like we're taking the rest of the afternoon off from school today."
"I know school is important to you, but I love it when ou don't have to go to school." Patch smiled before licking his face in excitement.
"I can tell." Atticus said between laughs.
"We're gonna be heading to McDonald's for lunch." Thor told Patch.
"Cool." Patch smiled.
"Are dogs allowed in McDonald's?" Lionel asked Cherry.
"I don't think so." Cherry shrugged.
"It's okay," Atticus told Patch. "We'll eat outside by the playground area."
"I'll be fine as long as that Ronald McDonald doesn't ask us to play with him." Cherry rolled her eyes as they left school to get some lunch.
"Mm... Lunch, here we come." Thor smiled.
"This is going to be a delicious lunch." Patch smiled.
"Then again, what lunch isn't delicious?" Mo asked.
"Liver and onions with broccoli." Thor stated.
The others looked at him funny.
"She asked..." Thor shrugged in defense.
"Oh, kids," Mr. Kraft called as they all acted and looked innocent while Lionel tried not to look annoyed as he personally strongly disliked Mr. Kraft. "Your younger cousins are here so you can take them home with you. Guess the power outage crossed to the elementary or middle school too."
"Younger cousins?" The group asked in confusion before they came to see a couple of kids who wore pink and blue outfits.
"Yeah, I think they said their names were Steven and Nora." Mr. Kraft replied as he came into his car to get back home himself.
The group looked around before they made it into the principal's office as the kids were shown to be there before their faces looked familiar.
"Jack and Jill!" The group then realized once they saw who their "younger cousins" really were.
"Hi there, 'cousins'." Jill smiled.
"What are you two doing here?" Thor asked. "Here to join us for lunch?"
"Well, there's that," Jack said before winking. "But you're also due to meet your ring leader, Drell."
"That's something to call him..." Cherry rolled his eyes. "Well, where is he now?"
"He's going to meet you down with us at Looking Glass when lunch is over," Jill replied. "Alice is gonna help send us to where we need to go to meet this Peter Pan that you speak of."
"Good to know." Patch said.
"Let's get to lunch." Atticus said.
They soon met up at McDonald's while Jack and Jill looked confused and curious.
"And two cheeseburgers and fries for these two." Atticus said, finishing the order to the person up front.
"Very well," The cashier replied. "That'll be $30.45."
Atticus paid the money before nodding as he gave everyone their cups so that they could get some drinks.
"This just looks like a place with enough food for Sir George himself." Jack commented as he looked in the back.
"McDonald's has delicious food." Thor smiled.
"I'll take your word for it." Jack replied.
"I can't wait to eat." Mo said.
"Just try it, you guys," Cherry said. "It'll only kill you if you eat it every day for every meal for 30 days like in a documentary we watched for school."
Jack and Jill glanced at each other nervously.
"Real encouraging." Lionel deadpanned.
"I was supposed to help?" Cherry shrugged in defense. "Erm... Never mind that, I guess... How's everyone been doing lately?"
"Jack had a lot of fun meeting Aunt Alice's niece, Clara~" Jill smirked.
Jack simply blushed by the mention of Clara's name.
"Ooh." Mo smirked playfully.
"W-Well, why wouldn't I?" Jack asked while blushing.
"Hmm... Clara... Wasn't that also the name of a character from The Nutcracker?" Thor asked.
"Yeah, that's the girl who goes on the adventure with The Nutcracker and he saves her from the evil Mouse King." Cherry nodded.
"I like seeing that ballet every Christmas." Mo blushed.
"Really?" Lionel smirked. "Interesting to meet a tomboy with hidden depths."
"Yeah... I was dragged there when I was younger, but I loved it after seeing it for the first time," Mo explained sheepishly. "It's cool that you guys got to meet her though."
"Huh. Strange that Alice's niece has the same name as the character from the girl in the ballet." Patch said.
"Yeah," Atticus nodded. "Could it be a coincidence?"
"I doubt it based on what we've seen with The Avengers Grimm and The Sinister Squad," Lionel said to them. "It's pretty obvious when you think about it."
Eventually, the food was shared and Jack and Jill ate their cheeseburgers before liking them and eating more than a couple of bites.
"Good, huh?" Thor smiled. "I'm a Big Mac man myself."
"Delicious." Jack smiled back.
"It's the best cheeseburgers we've ever had," Jill added. "Then again these are the first and only cheeseburgers we've ever had."
"Well, that's good." Lionel said.
"Can we borrow one of your telecommunication devices?" Jack asked the Toon Force.
"You mean a cell phone? Uh... Sure." Cherry shrugged before she took her phone out.
Jack soon took it and punched in a certain number before waiting for it to ring.
"Hello?" Alice's voice asked.
"Aunt Alice, we just got lunch, and-" Jack began to say.
"Hello~" Alice smiled as she turned around from the worker counter, revealing herself.
"...How does she do that?!" Jack and Jill asked with wide eyes.
"You learn a few special tricks when you've been to Wonderland as many times as I have." Alice smiled innocently.
"Of course you do." Lionel said.
"It's great to see you again, Alice." Thor smiled.
"Great to see you again, my dears," Alice replied. "Have we finished up our little Happy Meals and are ready for a brand new adventure?"
"As we'll ever be, I guess," Lionel shrugged. "Make it so, Wonderland #1."
"Excellent," Alice said to them. "Come with me."
And at that, they soon left to go with Alice in her limo as Hatter drove them off to Looking Glass for a new mission together.
"Guess this can keep us busy if things are quiet for The Justice League," Mo said to the others. "Speaking of which, I hope Connor's doing alright with your grandparents." she then said to Atticus.
"Oh, he's getting the full experience of farm life." Atticus smiled.
"Sounds like he'll never get bored there." Mo smiled back.
"Nope." Atticus shook his head with a smile.
"So will we be getting any new allies coming with us in this mission?" Patch asked Alice.
"I don't imagine so aside from the child in question who you must meet for your quest." Alice replied.
"That's good." Thor said.
"Alright, let's do this thing." Atticus said.
They soon drove down over to Looking Glass. Snow White and Charles were standing in the meeting place with small smiles.
"Mother? Father?" Jack and Jill asked.
"We're here to see you out," Snow smiled. "Be very careful when crossing different realms."
"Especially in places you haven't been to before." Charles added.
"We will, Father." Jack said.
"And we'll stay close together." Jill added.
"Just remember to stick together, no matter what happens," Snow said to the twins as she knelt down in front of them. "There's nothing worse than losing your own twin through cowardice or at a villain's hands."
"Well, that wasn't suspicious at all," Lionel remarked. "Foreshadowing, anyone?"
"Does she have a twin sister we don't know about?" Thor wondered.
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Snow said mysteriously. "Just keep a good eye on the twins so that they don't get in trouble or there will BE trouble from me." she then warned The Toon Force firmly.
"Yes, ma'am." The Toon Force gulped.
"Good." Snow smiled.
"Yeesh! Nearly forgot how frightening she can be." Thor gulped.
Snow nodded sharply before she hugged Jack and Jill one last time. "I love you two so much," She said to them softly. "You'll always be my little prince and princess."
"We love you too, Mother." Jack and Jill replied softly in the hug.
The others smiled softly and warmly as they watched the comforting family time between Snow and the twins.
"How sentimental." Alice remarked.
Once Snow, Charles, Jack, and Jill finished their hug, it was time for the group to start heading for their mission.
'Well, here we go.' Patch thought to himself.
"Yes, it's time to visit the story about a boy who would never grow up, about the pirate who wished to kill him, about the island where fairies roamed, but this isn't the story you've heard before, because sometimes friends begin as enemies, and enemies begin as friends," Alice remarked. "Sometimes to truly understand how things end, we must first know how they begin."
"Spoken like a true narrator," Hatter said. "Now if only we had an author to tell OUR story, Alice my dear."
"That would be nice, Hatter." Alice nodded before she took out a shard of glass.
"What's this?" Cherry asked as she carefully held out her hand to hold it as it glowed.
"That's the magic mirror that was shattered and had different Fairy Tale Realms when I woke up in Looking Glass when we faced Queen Magda." Snow memorized.
"Correct," Alice nodded. "You see, when Rumplestiltskin and Snow White shattered the mirror, it brought out all kinds of different Fairy Tale Realms," she then informed The Toon Force. "Such as that one you have in your hands which would be the one to Neverland. Such a beautiful land, no wrinkles or growing old to worry about, even if the pirates are a bit of a handful."
"Whatever they have to throw at us we can handle it." Atticus said.
"You can count on us." Mo added as Patch nodded.
"Now, Drell sent a message while you were in school," Alice said to them. "He said you could either go to Neverland now or you could go end up where Peter was before Neverland."
"Well, I dunno about the others, but I for one am curious to see what Peter Pan's life was like before Neverland." Lionel spoke up.
"Yeah, me too," Cherry shrugged. "Though I feel like it's gonna be a bit dark and scary."
"I think we can all agree on that." Jack said.
"Yeah." Jill nodded.
"Besides, how will we know everything about him if we don't see what Peter Pan's life was like before he ended up in Neverland?" Atticus asked.
"Suit yourselves," Alice replied. "This shard when added to a bigger mirror will send you right to this Peter Pan you speak highly of, I just hope you know what you're doing."
"It'll be interesting, that's for sure." Cherry said as she held the shard closeby as it glowed.
"Almost looks like the glass coffin that the dwarves made for me and the tower that Sleeping Beauty was trapped inside of after she was put under her sleeping curse." Snow remarked.
"The Storybook Villains probably used the same material in your different stories." Mo guessed.
"Just put this to our magic mirror in the armory and you'll be transported instantly," Hatter instructed. "There's no turning back once you do though until your mission will be over."
"Right." Atticus nodded.
"And we'll be ready to face anything," Thor added. "I mean, come on, we've faced the worse so far, especially on Justice League/Toon Force missions alone."
"You didn't have to face Gelda and Wonderland like I did." Alice mumbled.
"At least we met each other?" Hatter asked Alice.
"Yes, quite right," Alice replied. "You always understood me better than my own family."
The Toon Force soon made it into the armory as they stood in front of the magic mirror that had a piece missing.
"Well... I guess this it," Cherry said to the others before she put the missing piece into the hole. "Off to Peter Pan we go."
After the mirror piece was placed inside, there was soon a bright glow and eventually, a gray landscape was shown in the mirror before showing a dark and cold evening as a woman was running with a baby in her arms. The others looked ready to jump in.
"Wait," Cherry said before stopping them. "We probably shouldn't tamper with this part of Peter Pan's story. This looks important."
"Right, if we mess with anything in the past, it might alter the present." Atticus agreed.
"So then guess we'll just watch for now." Jack said.
"Looks that way." Jill replied.
"It might not take too long." Cherry suggested.
The others looked at each other before they continued to watch. The woman was shown to be looking around, carrying the bundle in her arms as she ran and jumped as carefully and quickly as she could. She then looked around before coming through a gate, making it over to a place known as The Sisters of Prudence Lambeth Home For Boys and soon came to the front doors before setting her baby down in front of the doors. The baby was shown to be stirring and seemed to be wearing a necklace around his neck which resembled that of the musical instrument known as the panpipe.
"Come on..." The woman said softly as she set him down, looking like she was about to cry. "I love you, my son. I love you, my Peter." she then told him before she had to leave him at his new home.
"Oh, my..." Thor frowned.
As the woman left her baby at his new home, the door soon opened to show some light, showing that someone was inside.
"So he first started out at some kind of orphanage." Patch said.
"Well, I knew that Peter Pan had to have parents," Cherry said. "At least at some point in his life."
"He never had a real family," Lionel realized. "That explains it."
Eventually, someone came out and picked up newborn Peter, bringing him into the orphanage, seeing a note that was left in his blanket with him.
"Since we don't have years to watch his whole entire life story, let's skip up to 12 years later." Lionel suggested.
"Agreed, but how do we get the magic mirror to do that?" Thor asked.
"There must be someway." Patch said.
"Uh, guys?" Jack and Jill spoke up, pointing to the mirror.
The mirror seemed to be changing on its own before it glowed, showing the orphanage to 12 years later.
"All right then," Lionel said before snapping his fingers to give them all clothes to fit the time period. "Gotta get back in time! ...To the era of World War II! May we survive and be very careful out there."
"So, what happens?" Thor asked the twins. "We just jump into the mirror?"
"Yes," Jack nodded. "Then we'll be right there in an instant."
The others nodded as well as Jack and Jill demonstrated by jumping in ahead of them, instantly being in the orphanage setting as Peter and the other boys were waking up and getting ready for breakfast.
"Man, it looks like Oliver Twist in there." Cherry cringed at the setting.
"I know, right?" Mo added with a grimace.
The rest of the Toon Force soon jumped through the magic mirror next.
"Alright, we're here." Atticus smiled.
"Now we just have to make sure everything stays on track." Patch said.
They soon made it into the orphanage as the kitchen was getting ready for breakfast.
Patch sniffed the air before groaning. "Ugh... Is that supposed to smell like food?" he then asked. "It smells worse than the mystery meatloaf in the school cafeteria."
A woman was shown to be cleaning up before she checked the time and was on her way out of the room with a bell in her hand before looking over and glaring.
"Hi?" Jack and Jill grinned nervously.
"Street urchins," The woman glared. "I think you better vacate the premises before I call the authorities."
"Please, ma'am, let us stay," Jill begged. "We don't have any place to stay."
"And if you let us stay, we promise to help out with any chores around the house." Jack said.
"Yeah." Thor nodded.
The woman narrowed her eyes. Patch tried to do the puppy dog pout to help convince the woman into letting them stay.
"...I'm not fond of animals." The woman said, about to kick them out after seeing Patch.
"Please, ma'am, Patch won't hurt anyone," Atticus said. "Plus it might make some people around here a little happier to see a cute little doggy around."
Patch nodded as he began to do the puppy dog eyes to look cute.
'That should do the trick.' Thor thought to himself.
'Please let it work.' Mo thought to herself.
The woman simply looked annoyed, not falling for the trick, but decided to just go with it. "Fine, you can stay," she then said. "But if you're going to be here, you're going to work."
"We understand, ma'am." The group replied calmly and patiently.
"We won't let you down, Miss..." Lionel added, drawing out a bit.
"You will me know me as now and forever as Mother Barnabus," The woman replied strictly. "I don't want any trouble from any of you, especially the mutt or else you'll all be on the streets and left to fend for yourselves in this crazy war we're forced to be apart of."
"Yes, ma'am." The Toon Force Jack and Jill said.
"We promise not to cause any promise." Atticus said.
"Good then." Mother Barnabus nodded firmly.
"What can we do for you now, uh, Miss?" Lionel asked.
"Some of you can wipe down the tables in that room over there and sweep up the floor and arrange the plates and trays," Mother Barnabus suggested, pointing down the hallway. "The children will be up any moment to get their breakfast, NOW BE QUICK ABOUT IT!"
"Okay!" The group replied before taking off into the next room.