Breakfast that morning was another buffet-style affair. This time there were one-serving cereal boxes and vats of muesli and grapefruit halves, as well as the usual cooked items. Henry helped himself to muesli and a plate of mushrooms, bacon, sausages, baked beans, hash browns and fried egg. He left such exotic items as black pudding and kippers to the locals. From the way Joe, Mac and Sam would happily devour them, he assumed that some British foods hadn't come over with the Pilgrim Fathers. His blonde Mom had said that the kippers were both delicious and available in Maine. He had had sea food for breakfast before, just not normally smoked fish.
"How are you feeling this morning, Mom?" he asked Regina, when she joined him.
"Still somewhat sore, but generally better. Those charms and potions were, well, magical! A night in Robin's arms helped as well. His touch is also magic!"
"TMI, Mom!"
"In a couple of years' time, Henry," David told him, "Ava will be making that comment about your touch."
"Not with our children present, she won't, Grandad!"
"My boyfriend is the best!" Ava declared, before kissing him deeply.
"Actually, darling," Henry pointed out, "since I accepted your proposal back in the Caribbean, I'm your fiancé. It's about time we got the rings and made it official!"
"There's still time, Henry. I'm not yet seventeen and you are about two years my junior!"
"We'd be married by now in the Enchanted Forest…"
"And she'd be dead from childbed fever, Henry!" Regina told him. "I'm glad we are in this world. And I said I wanted to send us all somewhere horrible!"
"I've got the two best Moms in the world!"
"First equal with Swan? I'll take that. I like Emma. She's what Snow would be like if she was both blonde and not an idiotic blabbermouth!"
"I was ten!"
"And my mother killed my true love!"
"You've got Robin!"
Henry sighed. When his brunette Mom and Grandma started arguing, it often tended to end up with the death of Daniel being brought up. As much as he loved his Moms, he had to admit Regina Mills had never been the "forgive and forget" type!
For all the concerns about a vengeful SPECTRE, the day's events started peacefully enough. Kew Gardens and the nearby Hampton Court Palace were worth a visit. The latter in particular had allowed the children, including Reuben and Louise and their respective parents. In addition, Jon, Penny, Dan, George and Jigger alongside the Doctor, Rex, Harry, Ginny, Jack, Bond, Modesty and Willie were serving as an extra security detail. Harry and Ginny had brought their three children along for the experience too. As it was the Monday of the half-term holiday, the tourist attractions were reasonably busy. Still, there were plenty of opportunities to be given a "Real Tennis" masterclass and to get lost in the palace's celebrated hedge maze.
A ploughman's lunch was put on for everybody in the restaurant. There was the usual buffet of bread, cheese, ham, butter, pickles and chutneys, plus salad, pork pies, sausage rolls, chicken drumsticks, pickled onions, Scotch eggs, potato salad, coleslaw and sausages. It was a hearty, but simple (and very tasty!) meal.
Once their day activities were over, the parties returned to their hotel (or homes, for those who lived in Greater London) to change for the banquet at the Guildhall. This began with cream of parsnip soup, followed by salmon en croute, followed by beef wellington, followed by bread and butter pudding with custard. The meal finished with coffee and mints. Throughout the earlier courses, there were constantly being refilled water jugs, as well as the finest beers, ciders, wines, spirits and soft drinks.
Lois sighed. "If only I didn't have to stick to the soft drinks! Still, you will be worth it!" she sighed, rubbing her bump.
"We can make you feel better later!" Diana assured her. "Clark and I intend to give you a night to remember!"
"You always do, Themyscira!"
Hippolyta and Regina were asked to make presentations to the assembled dignitaries, including Boris Johnson the Mayor of London, Theresa May the Home Secretary and many more. All were, of course, briefed on the top secret worlds that existed hidden from normal life. Hippolyta was an old hand at diplomacy, which was good, as her friend was not noted for being diplomatic. Still, she was able to give an effective presentation concerning life both in Fairy Tale Land and Storybrooke. There was even a slideshow of Storybrooke life. Thank you Henry!
"Any questions," Regina asked. Hippolyta had ended her update on Themyscira with a Question and Answer session and it had led to some lively debate.
"Did you think about the natives of this world when you brought everyone here?" someone asked.
"Sorry, but no!" the former Evil Queen admitted sadly. "As I said at the United Nations, I was a bitter and twisted woman back then. I didn't know or care whether the new world would be occupied, yet alone what any inhabitants would feel about us if they found out we had arrived.
"Now I know better. The wizards, meta-humans, aliens and, yes, ordinary people have been very kind to us over the last year-and-a-quarter or so since then. A number have become personal friends. For instance, Wednesday Addams is a regular visitor to Storybrooke and there is a permanent portal between Themyscira and us."
"Thank you," another speaker noted, "for your honest answer. You were lucky to escape death at the hands of SPECTRE yesterday. Do you blame the UK for your predicament?"
"I blame SPECTRE alone for my abduction and near-murder. Queen Hippolyta told me she shares my opinion. If Werner Blofeld was to appear in this room, we would kill him. Otherwise…"
"I'm not in the room, but I don't need to be!" a familiar voice sounded over the intercom system. "SPECTRE will be avenged tonight!"
Thick, choking clouds of smoke emerged from the air vents. Immediately, the evacuation protocols were started. Everyone was led outside by the security. Everybody that is, apart from Regina and Hippolyta who were grabbed and had chloroform-coated rags held over their mouths and noses by SPECTRE agents with night-vision goggles and gas masks.
By the time the authorities had assembled everyone in good order and checked everyone was present, the two ladies had been carried to a lead-lined van, injected with additional capsules of the squid ink-based serum and were being driven to meet Blofeld in his new lair.
"Where are they this time?" Diana asked.
"The previous headquarters is still empty," Sam replied. "That Blofeld is a feared opponent. To take them both captive again from a heavily-guarded building…" He shook his head. "Smoke bombs with timers in the air vents. The loudspeaker system hacked. How?!"
Athena and Henry were sitting with Ava, worrying again about their respective grandmother and mother. Nicholas, Grace and Sappho came up, with Reuben and Louise accompanying them.
Joe and Chloe were helping to collect evidence from the crime scene. "This Blofeld is good!" the Amazon grumbled.
"Well, you don't become a criminal mastermind without some skills," her boyfriend pointed out. "He has helped keep SPECTRE a name of terror in the world."
"What's this?" Chloe asked, finding some sort of receiver by one of the smoke cartridge fragments.
"Part of a wireless-controlled remote detonator for the cartridge," the Doctor told her. He activated his sonic sunglasses. "Hmm. I might be able to track down the frequency of the signal and track its origins using the Tardis' scanners."
"In the meantime," Dan Robinson announced grimly, "CCTV cameras around the area were hit by a massive EMP around the time of the incident. SPECTRE are not an amateur outfit!"
Regina awoke. She was seated in a chair, her wrists bound separately to the arms and her ankles likewise secured to the legs. A further length of rope secured her torso and upper arms to the back of the chair. In addition, some sort of cloth had been used to gag her, very effectively by the way her attempts at speech were reduced to a few muffled noises. Since there were similar noises coming from directly behind her, Regina correctly assumed that Hippolyta was likewise silenced and secured to another chair tied back-to-back with hers. She tried magic, but suspected that more of the squid ink-based serum would have been injected. She couldn't conjure a spark, yet alone a fireball!
"This time," she heard Werner Blofeld announce, "there will be no cries for help! Your death is set for twenty minutes from – NOW!" She heard a ticking sound start. "That is the countdown set for this base's self-destruct mechanism! This entire building shall be blown to kingdom come! Goodbye, Ms. Mills, Queen Hippolyta. What, no witty retorts, Ms. Mills?!"
Regina's barely audible and entirely incomprehensible reply might have untranslatable, but the tone and the fierce glint in her eye were unmistakeable signs that if she ever could use her magic, or even her bare hands, on Blofeld, he would be a dead man. Hippolyta was likewise silently promising pain.
Blofeld smiled before picking up his cat and leaving for his mini-submarine and a lead-lined cargo ship to France.
A familiar blue box was hovering over London. The Doctor was busy tracing the signal from the remote detonator. "There!" he exulted. "That abandoned office block is the source!" He gave a growl. "The energy reading from that place suggests a massive bomb is about to go off!"
He looked around. The entire party was in the Tardis. Wonder Woman and Troia were bearing swords that could slice through atoms and shields almost as tough as Captain America's vibranium one. Bond had the larger Walther P99, as well as his usual PPK. Sam and Joe had their usual W.I.N. automatics and Modesty her Brevete and a weird looking metal longbow and quiver of equally unusual arrows, in addition to her kongo baton. Willie, of course, had his harness of throwing knives, David and Killian their swords, Harry his wand and Emma her pistol and magic. He himself had his sonic sunglasses and his wits. Wit, words and a sonic device. That's all I need!
"No time to delay! I can only detect two lifeforms, close to the bomb and apparently immobile. Any bets on them being Ms. Mills and Queen Hippolyta?"
Blofeld's mini-sub was winched aboard the lead-lined ship, registered to an obscure shipping company that was actually a SPECTRE-front. He disembarked and picked out his cat. Time to head for France and from thence to the Swiss Alps.
Regina and Hippolyta were frantically struggling against their bonds. Both knew that, barely able to move or speak, they would be helpless when the self-destruct sequence activated. Hippolyta hadn't felt a telepathic probe from Diana, but knew she would be searching for them.
Suddenly, a distinctive whining and groaning noise sounded and the Tardis materialised. The door opened and the rescuers emerged. Joe ran up to Regina and Hippolyta, removed their gags and then cut them free with his penknife. Meanwhile, the Doctor used his sonic sunglasses to disable the self-destruct system.
Once she had felt her circulation flowing normally again, Regina pulled Joe into a tight hug. "Thank you!" she cried, before kissing his forehead.
"Don't mention it!" I like Robin, but I kind of wish I had tried to set Regina up with Dad. She would have been a cool stepmother. Having Henry as a stepbrother would have been great too!
Once the queens had been helped back into the Tardis, Henry had hugged Regina tightly whilst Robin kissed her deeply. Hippolyta was being hugged and kissed by her daughters, granddaughter and in-laws. The Doctor used the Tardis' phone to call in back-up to examine the building. He then went out of the Tardis and used his sonic sunglasses to hack the mainframe once more. That done, he rushed back into the Tardis. "Captain Jones, how do you feel like a bit of piracy with violence in the Thames Estuary?"
"What are you on about this time, matey?"
"Oh, we've got a boat to catch…"