"Ultimate Scream League"

Written by Joseph Label

By Halloween of a certain year, the Dream League all knew each other's true identities. The Dreamers were the heroes of Epcot City, and they've grown to bond and respect each other as dear friends. In fact, Scrooge McDuck, alias the Masked Mallard, threw a private Halloween get-together and invited his teammates' real selves to join in. All the teammates were invited to his mansion in Duckburg, neighboring city.

Scrooge looked dapper and fiercely elegant as a pirate captain. Like most ducks he was shorter than a human, but he always commanded authority in or out of costume. As a pirate he was in a red coat with gold studs and lining over a black vest with red designs, a white cravat, and on the top of his head was a dark yellow bandana tied under his large and stereotypical captain hat, which was black with a white dollar sign on the front (no skulls to be found!). Though an eye patch covered his left eye he still wore his pince-nez glasses on his bill.

"All men on deck!" he bellowed. He still had his cane, and he raised it high like a sword and practiced his swashbuckling moves he learned from years ago. "Haha-ha!"

The ever-faithful (and sarcastic) butler finished setting the plastic cups beside the punch bowl. "Sir, you're remarkably chipper tonight. Who are you and what have you done with the real Scrooge McDuck?"

Captain Scrooge narrowed his eye at his first mate. "If ye don't want to join the party, you could always rrrrretire." He had a habit of rolling his R's.

"But, sir…" The butler turned to show his masked face to the pirate. "If I retired for the evening…"

Duckworth was dressed like Kato from The Green Hornet. His entire wardrobe was black, from his sleek shoes to his chauffeur hat. His coat with long sleeves almost resembled a chef's work shit because of how the buttons were laid out on the chest. His gloves fitted him perfectly, and his domino mask finished the costume in style.

"… Who would protect you?" Even with a mask, his eyelids were almost always half closed.

Captain Scrooge was about to make a comeback, but a sudden, loud thud from upstairs in the mansion caught their attention. "Did you hear that?" the richest duck in the world said as his eyes scanned the ceiling.

"Something that goes bump in the early night." Duckworth cleared his throat. "Shall I investigate, sir?"

Scrooge knew they were in no real danger. It was probably just one of their friends having a weird aversion to the front door, but even if it was someone bad he was the stronger of the two. "Stay here, Kato. This time I'll protect myself." He hurried across the lobby and ran upstairs.

"I don't know if being the stingiest duck in the world constitutes self-protection," the butler muttered.

When Captain Scrooge reached the second story, he wondered why most of the lights were turned off when they were on before. "Hello? Who's there?" He cautiously investigated the corridor, room by room, cane ready to whack the tar out of somebody. "I think I know you… You must know me." He noticed at the end of the hallway the window was opened. It wasn't thirty minutes ago. Then he heard a door creak its way open… without anyone touching it. He could only stare at the evident haunting before he heard a voice in his head. It was a soft, creepy whisper.

Scrooge McDuck… Tonight is the eve of witchcraft and ghosts… Come and join me to the spirit realm…

Scrooge gritted his teeth and looked around him. "Alice! I don't care if it's Halloween; don't abuse your powers like this!"

Right after he said that, the door in front of him opened to reveal the first arrived guest. She was a young girl just reaching puberty. Normally her hair was yellow, but on this night she changed it black just for the occasion. She parted her hair in the middle and obviously spent a lot of time making sure her pigtails looked just right. Her dress was mostly black, but with two white, triangular collar folds. Her shoes, stockings, tight-fitting skirt and everything just screamed—

"Alice?" Scrooge asked. Her alias was Dreamchild.

The girl with the piercing blue eyes, pale white skin (painted) and ice-cold demeanor said nothing. Her arms folded on her chest, she merely waited for her 'true name' of the night to be said.

Scrooge rolled his eye. "Wednesday Addams, I prrrrrresume?"

Wednesday Addams narrowed her eyes slightly. "Good evening, Captain."

Scrooge wanted to scold the girl for taking Halloween to genuinely creepy extremes, but it was really hard for him to stay mad at the little girl with the super brain, a child he had grown to respect like an adult. "Alice, be a good lass—"

"Alice doesn't live here anymore." She was so quietly intense as she spoke.

"Wednesday, go downstairs and stay with Duckworth!"

"You didn't say the magic word."

"What? Please?"

"Now."

"NOW!" He tapped his webbed foot on the floor and shook his head as he watched her walk off with controlled grace. He didn't risk thinking to himself because she'd probably hear it, so he waited until he could safely say to himself, "Thank ye for not actin' this crazy every day, Alice." He closed the window and followed the girl downstairs.

"Where are your parents, Gomez and Morticia?" Katoworth playfully asked Wednesday. He was a little surprised kids these days knew about The Addams Family (he was most familiar with the original Charles Addams comics and the old John Astin TV show), but then again some franchises stood the test of time.

"Six feet under. Family tradition." The girl was the first to look to the door when the bell rang.

"Answer the door, Kato. The lass might be too much." The pirate captain stood poised and ready to greet whoever was outside.

The butler opened the door and was taken aback by a tall knight in polished armor and a shorter teenage girl in the weirdest costume yet. "Good evening, Sir Hercules and… Lady Ariel?"

"I'm not Ariel!" the new mutant said. Her skin was blue and her eyes had blaringly loud contacts (yellow), but her hair remained red. She was in white boots, a white unitard with long, vertical fabrics on her front and back, and a belt made of tiny, fake skulls.

"An X-Men reference," Wednesday said coolly. "How uncanny."

"Well, shall Not-Ariel come in? Do escort her, Sir Hercules."

The knight grinned, feeling surprisingly confident in the costume. He seemed to feel better when he wasn't Hercules Adelphos, period. "I bid thee good evening. And to celebrate this fair night, I shall not persecute witches."

"Turning to the dark side!" Ariel the supervillain cheered. "Don't prosecute tonight! Only party!"

"Get inside!" Captain Scrooge demanded. After Katoworth closed the door the old duck reprimanded Ariel. "Why are ye blue, Ariel?! Someone could see you!"

"But I'm not using my powers, Mr. McD," Ariel replied calmly. "Look, see my hair? It's still red. I just used paint and contacts."

"It's all just a costume, sir," Hercules said more cautiously. "She didn't mean…"

"The Captain will concede that Mystique is innocent," the in-character Wednesday Liddell Addams said. "Or else."

Scrooge eyed the girl. Let's see how in-character she'll be when she has to participate in tough simulated training the next day. "I see. It's an… interesting costume, Arrriel. But, my boy, your costume!" He smiled up to Hercules, one of his lowly—er—loyal workers when not in the Dream League. "Where did you get it? It looks like rrrreal armor!"

The young man grinned. "Thanks! Pa helped me. I had to make my own to fit my size." His armored fingers waved to Alice. "Hey, Wednesday!"

The girl only hinted acknowledgment. "Mortal."

The doorbell rang again.

"Let's see what wacky adventure ensues this time," Kato said as he opened the door. "Oh, Mistress Rose and—" His enthusiasm was killed when he saw the little bear beside Briar Rose. He pulled him inside and slammed the door shut behind them. "Bongo!"

"BONGO!" Scrooge erupted. Unlike everybody else in the Dream League, all of whom had real identities, Bongo was only Bongo and lived in the Overlook, and so he had an immediate connection to the Dream League in the public eye. "Are you daft?!"

Briar Rose, who posed as a familiar Hanna-Barbera character, smiled politely. "He wasn't seen by anybody, and he wasn't recognized."

Bongo was dressed like Super Mario without shoes and gloves. He was in overalls with gold buttons, a red shirt, and the recognizable hat with the white circle and a red M within. He looked like he was ready to jump on Goombas and fight Bowser.

"We shouldn't leave him alone," the disaster-prone girl continued. "Do you remember what happened last time?"

Alice finally broke character and stifled a giggle. "I confess, you look adorable, Bongo!"

Sir Hercules stared at Briar Rose in disbelief. He felt so awkward by her costume: a dominantly purple, form-fitting dress, shoes and headband with pink pantyhose, and an elegant green scarf around her neck. But the most notable change for the usually blonde beauty was that she changed her hair red just for the night. Yeah, he was uncomfortable—he had some feelings for Sunshine, so how did she know that Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo was one of his first childhood fictional crushes? Did DC steal his memories and tell her?

Hercules started to walk away, but Ariel grabbed his hand and kept him. She knew what was up, the sly smirk on her lips taunting yet encouraging.

"Oh, now the rrrreal Alice is back!" Captain Scrooge said to the child before returning his focus to Briar Daph. "I suppose… Just tell me in advance next time, will you?."

"I'm sorry, Mr. McDuck," she said. "It won't happen again."

"Give him a Scooby Snack!" Mystique demanded. "We don't have hippies and dogs here to steal them!"

"Scooby-Doo is still popular, as well?" Duckworth asked almost wearily. "Good Lord."

"Duckworth, I know your costume!" Mystique hollered.

"Really?" The butler was touched, almost amazed that so many kids knew about so many older shows.

"Yeah, he's from that Seth Rogen movie!"

"Ah. That explains it," Duckworth said in restrained disappointment.

Sir Hercules's armor clanked every time he moved. He invited himself for some punch. "And Ariel's Mystique is from the comics. She's not naked, like in the movies."

"I'm not goin' that far," Ariel said with a devil-may-care shrug.

Super Bongario hopped and skipped to the snacks table and started munching on things indiscriminately, until he was told to slow down by Duckworth.

Somebody opened the front door dramatically. "I'll tear your soul apart!" His voice was amusingly silly.

Mystique casually looked from her food to the door. "Hey, Don—WHOA!"

"Nephew?" Captain Scrooge adjusted his glasses as if it would help make his relative look less weird.

Wednesday tried her best not to smile. Bongario, his mouth full of snacks, stared helplessly at the Cenobite in the doorway.

"Now that is cool," Sir Hercules approved.

"What in heaven's name?" Daphshine muttered.

"… Sir Donald, won't you come in?" Duckworth seemed the least stirred. He closed the door after Donald Duck walked in to show himself fully.

To make a long story short, he was dressed like Pinhead from Clive Barker's Hellraiser if the terrifying antagonist was an anthropomorphic duck. His bill was painted white to blend with his feathers. His black latex suit had a robe-like skirt that trailed all the way down to his webbed feet, but his tail feathers poked through the back of his costume. Finally, all around his head fake nails appeared nailed in place, but it was just very careful make-up. Despite the nails being bogus they looked realistic, especially from a few feet away. He had a prop for his costume: a replica of Lemarchand's box.

"Who are you supposed to be, Donald?" Daphne asked. Her shock had passed but she was still unnerved.

The Cenoduck answered. "I'm an explorer in the further regions of experience. Demon to some, angel to others." His dour attitude dropped as he raised the box. "Anyone wanna try and solve this? The reward's great!"

Scrooge rolled his eye. "I always knew you were a pinhead, nephew."

"And good to see ya as a booty-stealing pirate, Uncle Scrooge!" Pinhead Duck mingled with the others, all of whom calmed down.

"You look awfully dapper tonight," Wednesday said to the last visitor.

"Thank you. I like yours! Wednesday looks neat on you." They both smiled.

"I like your costume, Rose," Sir Hercules said to Daphne. "I mean, Daphne."

"I only discovered Scooby-Doo a short while ago," she said. "But Ariel suggested this costume for me, and so…"

"Wait, Ariel suggested this?" He wanted to give his cousin a serious glare. He should've known all along!

Mystique the villain and occasional cupid drank her punch triumphantly as she watched. "Hehe."

"I love your armor, Hercules," Daphne said. "I'm impressed! It's so accurate."

"You know a lot about armor?" He was surprised.

"… Y-yes." She hastily changed the subject. "I'm just happy to see you. As always." Her smile melted his heart.

"Thanks." He offered a fistbump, and it worked.

Captain Scrooge and Katoworth watched their friends together, sharing cups of punch. "A fine evening this turned out to be, sir."

"Aye! Enjoy this holiday!" The old duck sounded more mischievous than before. "And rrrremember to buy candy from my companies! Heheheha!"

Somewhere in Duckburg not far from Scrooge's house, a famous chimney sweep was doing his nightly round in a very bizarre costume of his own. He was in drag! Dressed like a special nanny he once knew, he was in a white gown with a large skirt covered in soot, and a big floral hat with a red band on his head. He whistled merrily as he cleaned the chimney he was at, until he noticed you.

"Evenin', trick'o'treaters! S'pose you're wonderin' about me dress. Ohhh, I lost a bet, I did!" He playfully gripped his skirt and swished it to you. "Still, it keeps me warm at night, it takes most of th' soot off me, and it's stylish… for women. But it's Hallo'een, and it's a costume, so just fer tonight, eh?" He winked and smiled warmly to you. "Have a lovely night, guvnah. Be safe, and don't eat all yer candy in one go. Your tummy wouldn't let you hear th' end ov'it." He tipped his feminine hat. "G'night!"

Bert resumed his job. He whistled happily, as always.

His costume might have been weird, but he was right: Happy Halloween, everybody! Thanks for reading Ultimate Dream League!

Which costume was YOUR favorite?