Chapter Twenty-One - Recruits and Revenge
Wendy gripped her necklace yet again that slow Monday, her mind constantly returning to the boy who had turned her life upside-down. After their "daring rescue," Peter told the boys to return home and relieve Flameburst of her duties (she had agreed to watch over Gip that morning). They said their goodbyes to Wendy only after she promised she would return soon. Tiger Lily surprised everyone when she pecked Jon's cheek and took off without a word. Violet and Ruff exchanged smiles before the boy left with the others and led them back to the tree house. Peter and Tinker Bell, meanwhile, flew them over the ocean but had to walk the rest of the way to the Darling residence for fear that someone in the neighborhood could see them flying. Mikey then made Peter promise that he would come for them as quickly as possible and Nana licked him farewell. Violet and Jon said their goodbyes and left Wendy to see them off by herself.
"I don't suppose your father will be out again next weekend?" Peter had asked, hopeful.
"It's a possibility," she smiled. "He's always off and about. I'll let you know what's going on if you happen to drop by."
Tinker Bell had surprised her with an embrace, a wry smile on her lips. "This doesn't mean we're friends or anything, but…I think you're ok."
Wendy smiled and returned the gesture. "Likewise, Tink." Turning to Peter, she shyly wrapped her arms around him, her heart skipping a beat. "Do be careful. I don't want anything happening to you or the others." She closed her eyes when Peter tightened his hold on her, shivering when she felt his lips brush uncertainly against her forehead. With a wink and a mischievous grin, Peter and Tink took off down the street, vanishing from sight.
Now, back in school, Wendy found herself constantly distracted. It gave her comfort that Violet, too, had found someone she cared for greatly in Ruff. The two girls gushed about the boys in whispers and giggles, asking each other questions about things they still didn't know about the real island of Neverland and the theme park, as well as its inhabitants.
Stepping into her English class, Wendy and Violet noticed how Mr. Fuller glanced up from his work to watch them enter. Swallowing her fear, she smiled politely and walked with Violet to her seat, keeping her head up and shoulder back. "If Peter could live trapped in that room with only him for company for four years, then I can handle him for forty-five minutes five days a week." Fuller gave no indication if he knew they'd learnt about his identity and deeds though he always seemed to stare them down when they least expected it. When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, the girls sighed in relief as they walked out the door.
"Thank God," Violet breathed. "I never thought English could be so suffocating."
"I just hope he keeps away from us and the island," Wendy whispered as they walked down the hallway when she heard something slam into one of the lockers. Raising her head, she looked around and was shocked to see one of the football members shoving a boy into a locker wall. "Violet," she said, her eyes never leaving the boy. "Who's that? I haven't seen him."
"He's new. I heard he's related to Ms. Seaworth," Violet answered, frowning as she saw the scene unfold. "That jerk! Fred ought to control those airheads!"
"What's the matter, nerd? Ain't got nothin' to say?" sneered the jock.
The boy refused to answer. He was a lanky young man, with floppy black hair falling into his brown eyes which were shielded by a bulky pair of glasses. His sweater seemed to be too big on him, and his legs dangled as the bully held him up off the floor.
"Hey, Ricky!" Fred struggled to make his way through the hallway, frowning in disapproval of the boy's actions. "What's your beef?! Leave him alone, wouldja? He's going though a lot right now-"
"Yeah, that'd be me," the bully, Ricky smirked. "How 'bout it, nerd? Where's your lunch money?"
The boy remained silent, earning a blow to the stomach. He crumpled to the floor, coughing as the pain raged through him.
"Stop!" Wendy cried, making her way towards them.
"Wendy!" Violet hissed, hurrying after her. "Wait up!"
Ricky looked up to see who opposed him, raising an eyebrow as the girls stepped forth. "Goth chick and British girl? You're kidding, right?" He laughed at them. "What're you gonna do? Tattle on me?" he snickered.
"Knock it off or I'll report you to Coach!" Fred snapped, worried that he might lash out against the girls.
Ricky sneered at Fred. "Puh-lease. I own Coach Conway. He loves me. I can get out of just about anything." Grabbing the silent protestor, he let his fist smack the innocent's jaw, blood trickling down his lip.
"NO!" Wendy cried.
"STOP!" Fred shouted, reaching for Ricky.
With a wicked smile, Ricky pulled back his arm again, only this time, it didn't come. Someone was holding him back. Furious, he turned his face.
CRACK!
A cry of agony filled the hall, some teachers rushing out to see what was going on. Ricky lay crumpled on the floor, holding his nose as he thrashed in pain. Fred, Wendy, Violet, and the victim all looked up to see a figure wearing a green hoodie, flexing his hand. The boy knelt down to the beaten student and offered his hand. "Hey, you ok?" he asked, his voice reaching Wendy's ears.
"Peter?" she whispered, catching sight of his emerald eyes winking at her before returning his attention to the boy.
The boy sat there, dumbstruck, numbly accepting Peter's hand as he pulled him up. "I saw what you did, helping that guy and taking the beating for it," Peter told him with a smile. "You did good, really cool about it…next time, though, don't be afraid to let it rip. 'Kay?"
He nodded, stunned. Somebody actually thought what he did was "cool?"
"Got a name?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.
"…Ben," he said at last, still a little breathless from the hit to the gut.
"Well, Ben, I'll catch you later," Peter grinned, gently punching his arm. He gave Wendy and Violet a smile and nodded to Fred before taking off, vanishing into the crowd.
Fred watched him leave, blinking in shock. Looking to the girls, he raised an eyebrow. "…don't tell me he comes to school here, too?"
"Not to our knowledge," Violet shook her head.
Wendy went straight to Ben, touching his shoulder. "Are you ok? You should see the nurse."
"Yeah, he's gonna want to when I'm through," they heard Ricky cough, moaning as he struggled to sit up.
"Maybe, but you're going to see the principal, young man," a stern voice came from behind.
The teens turned to see who had come to their aid, Ben grimacing at the sight of his aunt. Christine Seaworth was a tall woman, with bright brown eyes and straight mid-length coppery hair. She adjusted her glasses and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at the jock, Principal Rigby and Coach Conway appearing behind her.
"Get up, Mr. Atkins," the science teacher ordered, her head held high.
"You own me, huh?" the coach asked, frowning so hard that the creases seemed to be etched onto his face.
"Let's go," Principal Rigby nodded, her short blonde hair bobbing as she motioned for them to move. "We're going to have a nice little chat…"
Coach Conway grabbed the boy and escorted him down the hall, but not before the boy glared at the others.
"Ben, why didn't you call for help?! What happened?" Ms. Seaworth asked, fussing over her nephew.
"I'm fine," he shrugged her off. "Really, I'm ok. I'm gonna be late for class." He took off without another word, leaving them all befuddled.
"Um…I'm sorry about Ricky, ma'am," Fred apologized. "Excuse me, I better go, too." Casting a look towards Wendy, he left in the opposite direction.
"Do you girls mind explaining what just happened?" the teacher asked, seeming genuinely concerned. The bell went off, signaling the start of the next class. "I'll write you both hall passes for your next class," she entreated.
The two friends exchanged uncertain nods before saying, "Ok."
"Then come to my classroom," she said, motioning for them to follow her. Treading down the hallway, with students scurrying to get to their classes, they entered the empty room and stood by the teacher's desk as she shut the door.
"Sit down, girls," she urged them, and they did. Taking her place behind her desk, she looked from one to the other. "What happened back there?"
"Well…we weren't there when it started," Violet began.
"All we saw when we left class was Ricky slamming Ben into the lockers, being a bully," Wendy added.
"Apparently he was picking on someone else but Ben got in the way and Ricky started picking on him," Violet pointed out, remembering Peter's words. "He demanded that Ben should give him his lunch money but he refused."
"Ricky punched Ben in the stomach and then-" Wendy stopped, wondering whether or not she should mention Peter.
"And then…?" Ms. Seaworth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"…well…there's a boy we know…he doesn't go to school here, though," Wendy stammered, thinking of some quick backstory. "I guess he came to visit and saw what happened. He…he punched Ricky and helped Ben up, and when you all came out, he ran off."
"In Fred's defense, he tried to stop Ricky…" Violet added, feeling sorry for the boy who fawned over Wendy and had Mandy fawning over him.
Biting her lip in contemplation, the young teacher looked at the students once more and asked, "What's that kid's name? The one who helped Ben?"
"…Peter," Wendy said softly.
"Peter shouldn't have punched Ricky, even if that was my nephew he was picking on. And he shouldn't have snuck in here in the middle of the day, or run off afterwards…but I hope you'll thank him for me for sticking up for Ben," the woman said at last, taking her glasses off and cleaning the lenses. "…Ben transferred here last week. His father, my brother, was in the Navy. He died recently and I just got custody over Ben. It's been…really hard on us, but he tries to move on like nothing's happened. He likes to keep to himself and avoids confrontation, but when someone's in trouble, he won't stand for it. Just like his dad."
Wendy saw how her eyes watered and her heart immediately went out to the woman.
"Now, then," Ms. Seaworth said, regaining her composure. "I'd better write you those passes so you can get to class." Scribbling notes on strips of paper, she handed them to each girl and thanked them once more as they headed off. Watching them go, she got the strangest sensation someone was behind her.
"Oh!" she gasped, placing her hand over her heart. "David! You scared me."
"Sorry," David Fuller apologized with a polite smile. "Everything ok? Those girls caused you trouble?"
"Them? No, they're angels compared to other students," she laughed, shaking her head. "They told me what happened to Ben, you know, my nephew? Got into a fight with one of the football members-"
"I heard and saw," nodded Fuller, a distant look in his eye. "There was a student who popped out of nowhere and helped Ben…he seemed familiar but I haven't seen him in this school."
"The girls said he's ok, he's just from another school. I'll bet he skipped class and dropped by to visit them," Ms. Seaworth shrugged.
"Did they say his name?" he asked innocently.
"Peter, I think," she responded. She couldn't help noticing how his eyes darkened. "Are you ok?"
"Fine," he said a little too quickly. Turning to face her, he lowered his voice and said, "Listen, Christine, I've seen that boy at that Neverland park. He's dangerous. Make sure you and Ben steer clear of him."
Her brows furrowed at this, perplexed. He seemed so mysterious about this, she wasn't sure if she was joking. Then again, high school girls couldn't always be trusted. "…I'll keep that in mind," she said at last. "Thanks."
He nodded, his eyes on her back as she walked to the office to make some copies of an assignment. Narrowing his dark eyes as they flickered white, he whispered, "I don't want to have to add you to my list of obstacles, Christine. Best if you heed my warning."
~NEVER-NEVERLAND~
"Um, hi, Ben."
The boy raised his eyes and saw Wendy and Violet beside him, each holding their own lunch trays. "Could we sit next to you?" Wendy asked with a friendly smile on her beautiful face.
He blinked twice, processing what he'd heard, and nodded at last. "Sure."
Taking their places, they made themselves comfortable, Ben looking back to his iPod.
"…we're sorry about your dad," Violet said quietly.
"And about Ricky," Wendy added.
He shrugged, glancing over at them. "Thanks, I guess." He looked away, an awkward silence hanging over them. Chewing the inside of his cheek, he slowly worked up his courage, asking after a few moments, "…you know that Peter guy?"
They looked up at him upon hearing the question, Violet raising an eyebrow as if to ask Wendy if she wanted to answer that.
"Well…yes. He's a friend of ours," Wendy spoke, poking at her pasta. "I hope he didn't startle you. I know we certainly were surprised."
"What school does he go to?" Ben asked, clearly curious.
"Well…um…he doesn't…go to school, I mean," Wendy responded weakly. "He sort of goes where he pleases."
Ben nodded, intrigued. "I heard he's one of those boys that live on that theme park island. Is that true?"
"Listen, he's special to us," Violet cut in, her purple eyes dark with seriousness. "If you tell anyone about what we're talking-"
"I just want to thank him," Ben interrupted her, just as solemn as she was. "He treated me like a regular person…my aunt sort of fusses over me, and when I speak up, those jerks pick on me."
Wendy could hear the sincerity in his voice and the reverence he had for Peter in his eyes. It was the same look when Mikey and Jon spoke of Peter at home after an adventure or encounter. Offering a grin, she suggested, "Would you like to come with us to Never-Neverland sometime? You could talk to him yourself and meet his friends. I'm sure you'd all get along just fine."
His face seemed to light up. "You think so?" His face fell, however, his hair falling over his eyes again. "But…he looks so cool. He wouldn't talk to me if I happened to walk in and visit…"
"You'd be surprised," Violet chuckled. "Peter may be a little conceited at times and a little…what's the word? 'Flighty'?" She gave Wendy a wink. "But he's a good judge of character, and when he likes someone enough to step in and stand up for you, then I'm sure he thinks you're pretty neat, too."
The light came back to Ben's eyes as he listened, shyly moving his hair out of his face. "…I'd like to go with you guys sometime."
"Great," Wendy smiled. "All we've got to do is set a date."
They split when lunch came to a close, the rest of the day going by in a blur. When they came out of school, the girls meeting with Ben once more, the noticed a strange boy they'd seen earlier that day.
"Peter?!" Wendy gasped, earning a grin from the boy. He sat comfortably in a tree on the school grounds, looking down at the group while they looked up at him.
"Hey Wendy, Vi, Ben," he greeted them, hopping down at once. "What's up?"
"Funny we find you here again," Violet smirked. "Stalking us?"
"I was bored am thought you'd be happy to see me," Peter replied, his fists upon his hips, legs spread apart. He still wore the green hoodie in place of the red coat he usually wore.
"Hey…thanks for what you did earlier today," Ben said, offering his hand to Peter.
With a wry smile, Peter shook it. "Anytime. Say, you haven't been to the island lately, have you?" When Ben shook his head "no," Peter said, "Then you've gotta visit sometime soon! My friends would love to show you around. It's lots of fun, I promise." He placed one hand over his heart, the other in the air as he made the vow, causing the girls to giggle at his antics. "With a little fun in your system, you'd make a great Lost Boy!"
"A what?" asked Ben, raising an eyebrow.
"What? Never read the story Peter Pan before?" Peter chuckled, bowing to him. "Name's Peter Pan, by the way. My friends are the Lost Boys. I think you'd be a great addition."
"Are you for real?" Ben asked, chuckling. He was skeptical, but something about this odd boy seemed genuine.
"Poke me if you like," Peter dared him, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Ben!"
The group of teens turned around, catching sight of Ms. Seaworth walking down the steps of the school and headed straight for them, concern shining in her brown eyes.
"Who's that?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow, unamused.
"My aunt," Ben grimaced.
She walked towards them, her eyes falling on Peter. "Ben…who's this?" she asked, although she had a pretty good idea of who it could be.
"The name's Peter," the green-clad boy answered, bowing to the lady. "Nice to meet you, Miss."
She couldn't help feeling flattered at his manners. His tone of voice was serious, and she could see in his face that he wasn't trying to mock her. So she politely bowed her head to him and gave a small smile. "Ah, yes. You must be the one who gave Ricky Atkins a broken, bloody nose while helping my nephew."
"The very same," Peter said proudly, holding his head up high.
Shaking her head, the Christine rolled her eyes at him. "Shouldn't you have been in school?"
"Maybe," Peter shrugged. "Miss, I don't suppose you'd let Ben come to Never-Neverland with the girls sometime? This weekend, maybe?"
"Is it safe?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"'Course it is!" he insisted, though Wendy and Violet exchanged dubious glances that said otherwise.
"…I'll think about it," she said at last.
"Aunt Chris!" Ben growled, blush coloring his face.
"If the answer is yes, that means I have to come along," she informed Peter.
His eyes widened at this. Pursing his lips, he thought a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. Snapping his fingers at last, he smiled brightly and bowed once more. "Sounds reasonable. See you later!" Taking Wendy's hand, he waved his farewell to them and took off, Wendy and Violet in tow.
"Aunt Chris, you're embarrassing me!" Ben snapped, adjusting his glasses and stalking off. Heaving a sigh of frustration, Christine Seaworth followed her nephew, praying to God that somehow this Peter boy wouldn't be a bad influence on him.
~NEVER-NEVERLAND~
Wendy had invited Peter in once he got the girls back to the Darling residence, and he allowed himself to stay with the family before Mr. Darling walked through the door. By then, dusk had settled, and Peter said his goodbyes to the children and dog, promising to relay their "hellos" to the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, and Tiger Lily.
"Please, be careful, Peter," Wendy added just as he was about to leap out the window. "You shouldn't be coming out here so often. If Shade caught you, I wouldn't know what to d-"
She gasped as he spun around and inclined his head just so, his lips cautiously brushing against her jaw line. With a shy, childlike smile, he vowed, "He won't catch me again. Nothing can stop me from seeing you all…especially you, Wendy." With that, he was gone.
Violet was taken home by Mr. Darling shortly afterwards, and the Darling children went straight to bed. Curling up in her bed, Wendy closed her eyes, instantly drifting off to sleep…
"She's such a pretty baby," Marian cooed, tucking her first child into the crib of the nursery.
"Of course she is, she's our daughter after all," George chuckled, kissing his wife's cheek.
Smiling, she left a nightlight on and shut the door as she left with George. Little Wendy was anything but sleepy, however, as she looked from one side of the ceiling to the next, blinking in boredom at the unlit lamp. Suddenly, a cool breeze wafted in, the window having been opened from the outside. The curtains fluttered gently as a ball of sparkling light zipped in, peeking over the side of the crib at the baby. Wendy's eyes grew wide at the sight of the tiny, glowing person, giggling and gurgling as she strove to reach up and grab the fairy. The fairy shook her head at her, pursing her lips in a pout, somewhat amused.
A shadow passed over Wendy, startling her. The infant turned over in her bed and raised her head, catching sight of a boy leaning upon the other side of the crib. He cocked his head at her, his lips in a half-smile, his eyes bright with joy and awe. "Hi, Wendy," he spoke gently, carefully stretching down a hand to her.
She squealed in delight, liking the sound of his voice. She immediately grabbed his forefinger, tugging it gently. He chuckled, a funny warm feeling filling him. Placing both hands in the crib, he ignored Tink's scolding. "I won't drop her," he insisted. Cradling her in his arms, Peter couldn't help the smile that grew on his face as the baby gurgled happily, touching his cheek. "You're so tiny," he whispered, amazed at how little the curling fingers on Wendy's hands were. Tinker Bell chimed furiously at this. "Of course she's not as tiny as you," Peter rolled his eyes. "Still…" An idea came to mind, his face lighting up. "Tink, make those pictures with your fairy dust, will you?" She rang indignantly, looking away. "Please, Tink?" he pleaded, making huge, watery eyes at her. She spat an insult at him before complying, waving her arms around and manipulating the light and dust around her. First appeared a mermaid, singing on the rocks of the lagoon. Wendy clapped her hands, delighted with the image. Proud of her work, Tinker Bell shifted the scene to Tiger Lily, dancing a tribal dance around a campfire. Wendy watched in awe at the moving figure. Again, Tinker Bell changed the scene to Mr. Smee, a bumbling, portly fellow who tripped over himself and fell flat on his face. Wendy giggled at this, pointing at the image.
Smirking, Tink waved her hands once more, changing the figure into a tall, sinister man, a wicked hook in place of his right hand. Wendy stared, her bottom lip trembling. She began to whimper first, and then, a soft cry began.
"Oh, Tink! Look what you've done! Get rid of that codfish!" Peter frowned.
Tinker Bell winced, realizing her mistake and blew out the image at once.
"Don't cry, Wendy," Peter whispered, rocking her as he floated off the ground. "I won't let that old codfish get you." Sitting criss-cross in the air, he settled her in his lap and pulled out his pan-pipes, playing a gentle, sweet tune for her. The music seemed to weave a spell over the baby, her eyelids drooping little by little, until she was fast asleep. Peter smiled as he put away his pipes, lifting the baby in his arms again and pressing his lips to her forehead. "Good night, Wendy lady…sweet dreams." Placing the child in the crib, his head jerked up when he heard footsteps.
"I'm telling you, George, I heard something," Marian insisted, opening the door to the nursery. The grown ups entered, looking around the dark room.
"Marian…did you leave the window open?" George asked, befuddled. "I could've sworn it was shut…"
"PAN!"
The iron hook came down with a "thunk!" into the desk once more, earning Peter's attention. "Huh? What? What'd you say?" Peter asked, shaking off the memory.
"I said that you ought to stop going back and forth so much, but apparently, I'm not important enough to listen to," the captain snapped angrily.
"You're right, you're not," Peter shrugged as though it were obvious, earning a rant from the pirate about how he shouldn't take concern for granted. "What're you so worried about?" Peter waved him off. "I'm fine. Besides, even if something happens to me, there's still Tink."
"Pssh!" Hook scoffed.
"And Ruff and the boys."
Hook rolled his eyes.
"And Lily."
"Uh-huh," the pirate murmured, not amused.
"And you."
"Huh?!" Hook gawked at him, stunned by his comment.
"Sure. I told you before, I can't fight Shade without everyone's help, you included," Peter grinned. "But I can manage just fine on my own. So quit worrying! You're starting to act like you're my father or something."
Hook felt a vein pop out of his forehead. "How dare you say such a thing about me, Captain James Hook!" He swung his metal appendage at Peter, causing the boy to laugh as he flew out of Hook's cabin window. "Later, Cap'n!" he heard Peter call to him. He grumbled angrily, though a bud of pride swelled within him. He never would have once imagined that he'd worry over Peter's safety.
"Rubbish," he told himself, shutting the window. "I only want him alive after all this is done so we can get back to business back home and I can finally kill him properly!"
But then, there was Peter's voice in his head, comparing him to a father figure. Hook had never dreamed Peter would become so casual with him like this, visiting every so often to check on the pirate and inform him of what was going on. They bantered, they argued more often than not, they laughed sometimes, and then, there were strange little things they'd say or share about what they thought of each other or of this whole situation. "Father to Pan?" Hook thought, stroking his chin with his hook. Looking to the window, he felt a smile grow on his face.
"…that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life!"
~NEVER-NEVERLAND~
"Hey, Fred!" Mandy waved, catching Fred's eye at last as he ran by the seats of the football stadium. They were taking a break during the game, the stadium lights shining brightly down on the players and audience.
"Hey," Mandy smiled, decked in her cheerleader uniform. "You're doing great out there!"
"Thanks," Fred gasped for air, a weak smile on his sweaty face. "You girls are doing great, too. Keep it up, it seriously helps us."
"Too bad about…y'know, like what happened with Ricky," Mandy tried to smile but it came out more as a grimace.
He sighed, clearly disappointed in his teammate. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Anyways, I better get going…"
"Fred!" Mandy called out, reaching for his back but quickly withdrawing her hand when he turned to face her. "Um…ok, like, I don't know if this is the best time, but…do you, like…maybe think we could…go out sometime? Just…us?"
Fred raised an eyebrow at her. "…you mean like a date?"
Her cheeks became red as she nervously laughed it off. "Well, when you put it that way…"
"Sorry, Mandy, but I can't right now," he shook his head. He gave her a sad smile. "Maybe some other time, 'kay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," she smiled cheerfully, her face still crimson. "Ok, well, I better get back to my troop! Later!" She skipped off, feeling Fred's eyes on her. Her own eyes stung with tears of humiliation and embarrassment.
"Hey Mandy! Ready to…Mandy?" one of her teammates asked, noticing her face. "Are you ok…?"
"I'll be back!" she said quickly, running out of the stadium. She ran until she couldn't go any further, falling to her knees at the steps of the school. Hot tears trickled out of her eyes, sobs wracking her body. "It's all her fault!" she wept, smacking the grass with her fist, bawling her eyes out. "I hate her! I HATE HER!"
"Hate who, Miss Sullivan?"
Mandy gasped as she realized she wasn't alone, covering her face. She could see the familiar face of one of her teachers peering at her through her fingers. "Nobody," she hiccupped. "No one, Mr. Fuller…I just…"
"Come on, Mandy. It's ok. You can talk to me," he coaxed her, offering her a handkerchief from his pocket.
She couldn't help but think about how she thought handkerchiefs didn't exist anymore as she accepted it, cleaning her face with it. "It's nothing…"
"Mandy, it's ok," he said gently, patting her shoulder. "What happened?"
Struggling to take a deep breath, she started, "…I…I really, really like Fred…I like finally got the guts to like go up and like ask him if he'd want to like go out with me…but he said…" She broke into tears again, and he got the message.
"I'm sorry, dear," he said comfortingly.
"It's all because of her," she snapped, blowing her nose.
"Who?" Fuller asked, puzzled.
"Wendy!" the cheerleader spat out the name like it was venom. "Wendy Darling thinks she's all that…Fred is totally into her…that's why he won't even look at me!" She cried into the cloth, not noticing how contemplative Fuller became.
"…you hate her that much?" she heard him ask.
"YES! I don't care what you say," she sniffled. "I'd do anything just to get rid of her! Her and those stupid idiots on that Neverland island! That was the night Fred finally stopped noticing me, and it's all their fault!"
"You'd do anything to get rid of them?"
"Anything!" she wailed.
"Good."
A creeping cold sensation filled her, her body frozen in fear. Her eyes caught sight of Fuller's eyes changing into a slanted, glaring white pair of lights, sinister and intimidating. With his hand on her shoulder, a rolling black smoke engulfed her body, making her go limp for a moment, her eyes drooping. When he removed his hand from her, her body stiffened, straightening up at once, her eyes snapping open. They were complete black, a blank stare upon her face.
"What's going on?!" Mandy's mind screamed, but to no avail.
Placing his lips to her ear, Fuller whispered, "You'll get your chance to get back at Wendy…but first, I want you to do something for me. I want you to kill Captain Hook and Tinker Bell."