Darryl McGee: The Tyrant of Thai Town

Poor Molly could only stand in frozen silence, gawking insanely at the sight before her. For what felt like ages, she remained this way; barely speaking anything other than an occasional strangled cry or two. It only took Darryl striking a tiny bronze gong in his hand to finally snap Molly out of her trance.

With a yelp, she shook her head vigorously and stared back at her younger brother in dumbfounded shock. "What the...WHAT'S GOING ON HERE" Molly demanded, "what's my brother doing here of all places?!" Exasperated, Clarence let out a mixture of a sigh and a groan before lightly rapping his knuckles up against the young lady's forehead.

"HELLOOO! Weren't you paying attention earlier" he asked indignantly, "since you don't exist, Darryl is no longer your brother!" This only seemed to make Molly even more frustrated and she demanded for a much more straight-forward explanation from Clarence. It was here that he revealed that since Molly was never born, Darryl was the only child her parents had.

"That doesn't explain why he's in this trash hole" Molly cried, "I mean...I'm aware Darryl is known for being a schemer, but I never once imagined him becoming a criminal!" With a weary sigh and a shake of his head, Clarence revealed that it was Molly's incessant "sisterly meddling" (as Scratch once called it) that helped keep her brother on a somewhat decent path in life. "Sadly...due to your parents woes, nothing and no one stopped Darryl from becoming influenced by the wrong people" he explained, "soon, his scheming went from boyish pranks to outright criminal behavior."

Molly gasped in horror at this reveal, appalled that her brother had fallen so far down in his life. Yet, at the same time, she questioned how her being with him even helped to begin with. "I mean...I tried once to help Darryl to not get into trouble so often" Molly stated, "twice if you count that time Scratched helped him become a Wraith." Clarence nodded silently in understanding, remembering just how boring Husk Darryl seemed to be in the family's eyes without his spirit inside of him.

He also remembered how the young man claimed being good just wasn't "sustainable" to him. Yet in spite of all this; he, like most angels, believed the good in him would win out...eventually. Meanwhile, Molly was still trying to wrap her brain around the idea of Darryl becoming some sort of mini crime boss.

"The reasoning is quite simple really" Clarence replied, "the more Darryl got involved with the local street gangs and other undesirables of society, the more 'pies' he was able to dip his fingers into." With these words, he proceeded to ask Molly if she remembered all the so-called "insider connections" the boy had in getting what he wanted. With a rather displeased look on her face, Molly nodded vigorously in reply; remembering all the times her parents got called into the principal's offices of every school the children attended.

"Mom threw so many answering machines out the window, in every house we moved into...it's a miracle we didn't get busted for littering" she groaned softly, "but what's that got to do with this current scenario here?!" Once more, Clarence referenced how Molly in the family left a wide window open for Darryl to become negatively influenced by others. Overtime, he worked his way up from working with run of the mill street gangs to some of the most dangerous crooks in L.A.

"Overtime, Molly; your brother's cleverness, computer skills, deceptive tactics and ability to work through all manner of red tape enabled him to gain the attention of some of the biggest crime bosses in California" Clarence said grimly, "by the time your parents decided to intervene, he had already scored millions of dollars in bets he scored in animal fights." No sooner had this been said, the shrill screams of a monkey cried out and Molly took a glance at what was going on. What she saw were two pairs of chimps in a fight circle, viciously screeching and jabbing at each other with knives.

Poor Molly wanted nothing more than to look away but for some reason, she couldn't move. She had no choice but to watch the chimp in the blue corner pounce at his opponent, armed with knife in hand. "YEAH! THATABOY, GIVE IT TO HIM" shouted one spectator, "CUT HIS EARS OFF!" Soon, several more spectators started shouting similar statements at the primates; most of which were bits of trash talk towards the opponent.

The whole time this was going on, Molly remained frozen in place; forced to watch the scene before her out of her own overwhelming sense of fear. Finally, the red corner chimp gained the upper hand and proceeded to retaliate. He sunk his fangs deep into his opponent's wrist, snatched his knife away and lunged at him with a fearsome shriek.

The two monkeys rolled about the fighting ring for almost five minutes until finally, the red corner monkey struck. First, he slashed his knife's blade across his opponent's face; causing him to wail in pain. Then, seizing the opportunity, he drove his knife deep into his chest. Of course, Molly was quick to turn away before the latter action ever happened.

But she could still hear the poor creature's final cries ringing through her ears, mere seconds later. Then, after that...only silence remained. The battle appearing over, Daryll stood up from his seat and rang his trusty gong; thus ending the match. This sound immediately caused Molly to snap out of her stunned state and shake her head vigorously.

"Oh! The match is over...thank corn" Molly sighed heavily, "I just wish I could unsee what I just saw!" Clarence nodded in full agreement with her words, all while trying to keep his stomach steady due to feeling nauseous from the animal brutality. Meanwhile, several spectators groaned in defeat while placing bag after bagful of cash at the foot of Darryl's chair. Afterwards, they left the warehouse with their heads hanging low and their pockets drained.

The young McGee lad simply cackled with malicious glee while waving at the "suckers" marching out in droves. Then, he proceeded to dive off his chair and land atop his bounty with a "splash." "HA-HA-HA-HA! Mom and Dad always claimed I'd never make money outside the law" Darryl decreed to the heavens, "WELL...NOBODY'S CAUGHT ME YET, SUCKERS!"

As she stood there, watching her brother cackle on like some kind of deranged supervillain; Molly couldn't help but shake her head in disappointment. Then, without even the slightest bit of hesitation, she proclaimed that Darryl would end up facing judgement for his actions...someday. "My dear...you have no idea how right you are in saying that" Clarence stated, "Darryl thought he could become the biggest and richest name in the nation until the cops finally apprehended him on his 12th birthday."

For about the "eleven-teenth time" that day, Molly gasped in utter shock and horror at such a reveal. But before she could ask for answers, Clarence was already three steps ahead of her in that regard. With a quick push of a button on his car keys, an object appeared out of thin air and landed in Molly's hands.

It was a newspaper and while Molly was a child of the new millennium, she knew full well what it was and how to read one. But nothing could've prepared her for what she would find on the front page. As she took a glance at the picture, Molly felt a sense of dread that was as bitter as eating a salty cupcake.

It was a picture of Darryl, still wearing his "crime boss look" but holding a number placard in front of him...the kind prison inmates hold for mugshots. Above this was an article title that left Molly feeling even more disgusted.

Darryl McGee: The Tyrant of Thai Town Incarcerated - No Sign of Parole

"What the what" Molly cried in disbelief, "but...how can they put my brother in prison, he's only a teenager!" In response to this, Clarence revealed that the state had already attempted to put Darryl in Juvenile Hall for his actions; a much more appropriate fate for young felons. But a month or so after he was put away, Darryl performed the biggest "prank" of his life.

"He placed super strong laxatives in the coffee cups of every teacher in the school" the non-angel stated, "it may not seem like much...but half of those teachers went into Sceptic Shock due to how powerful the laxatives were." It didn't take a genius to decipher what all this would lead to in the days ahead...attempted murder charges. Of course, Clarence was quick to remind Molly that all this wasn't what her brother intended.

"All Darryl wanted was to embarrass his teachers at the hall" he said matter-of-factly, "but after what happened, they took him right out of Juvie and placed him in the State Prison; a place more fitting for his criminal behavior." To say that Molly was horrified by all this would be a gross understatement. Even on his worst pranking days, she never imagined the idea of her own brother becoming a criminal.

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"But...I still don't understand" Molly murmured, "how did Darryl get out of prison and end up becoming a crime lord?" The instant she said all of this, Molly suddenly remembered all of the times her brother had been punished. Whether it was something on the levels of after-school detention or being sent to his room by the parents, Darryl always found a way out.

"In this case, he snuck in something from home into his cell" Clarence stated, "namely Heidi Hairy Legs, his pet tarantula." This reveal not only caused Molly to visibly shudder but also yelp and stumble back in alarm. As a result, she ended up falling through a garbage can...and I do mean quite literally, she fell through it.

"Guess that's one good thing about non-existence" she groaned softly, "I don't think I'd want to end up falling through another trash can in the same week." After taking a moment to recover, Molly asked what sort of purpose Heidi served in Darryl's big plan. "Simple, all he did was send her out wandering the halls of the school" the non-angel replied, "they were so terrified of her that it gave your brother the opportunity to sneak out his window."

Molly gasped loudly in both shock and amazement at this...mostly shock due to how easily scared people were of a tarantula. Still, she was nonetheless amazed by her brother's show of clever thinking; even if it was for evil. "I still can't get over the fact that Darryl became a criminal" she stated, "I always thought he hated going too far with his mischief."

Clarence nodded in understanding and revealed that there was a time, years ago when Darryl was remorseful of his actions (on occasion.) But whenever he would pull a mean-spirited prank, no one was there to help bring him back on the straight and narrow path again. "Your parents tried, many times" he said matter-of-factly, "but like I said earlier, their own affairs simply made the stress too much to handle and...finally, they just stopped trying."

This statement felt like an even heavier blow than the death of Grandpa Panit. So much so that poor Molly suddenly started to feel dizzy with grief. Add this on top of the earlier reveal of Darryl's rise in the criminal underworld and she looked ready to pass out.

After taking notice of this, Clarence felt the time had come for them to finally leave this place. With this in mind, he clicked the button on his car keys and his Ferrari came zooming towards their direction. When it came to a stop in front of the duo, the doors seemingly opened on their own; as if by "magic." "Come along, dear" he said while patting her back soothingly, "let's go someplace more...familiar.

Poor Molly was so overtaken by her emotions, she barely made a reply. The only thing she could remotely say to Clarence was a soft and barely audible "uh-huh." Once the two of them had got back into the car and buckled up, it suddenly took off flying into the sky. As they flew upwards, Molly glanced over the side; giving one last look to the vision of Thai Town before it suddenly faded away into nothingness.

Still, given everything she had seen so far; the poor girl could only wonder where they would be going next. "Don't you worry, young lady" assured Clarence, "we're going someplace that I promise will be...somewhat familiar and less unpleasant to you." Although a small part of her hoped for the best, Molly didn't trust it completely.

If places like Anyburg or Thai Town were worse off without her, she doubted any other familiar location will be any better. As the all too familiar onslaught of colors started filling the empty void again, Molly simply slumped down so low into her seat she was almost to the floor.

Although he wanted to try and raise her spirits before their next stop, Clarence ultimately decided now wasn't the best time for that. Instead, the duo simply floated in the void while the new landscape started to form around them. When it was finally over, almost a minute later, Clarence lightly tapped his fingers against Molly's ponytail.

"Wake up, Miss McGee...wake up" he called in a hushed tone, "we've arrived at our next stop." Molly's only response was a loud groan of despair, but she still did her best to climb back up to her seat. The moment she was upright again, she turned to the side and saw a sight that actually made her smile a bit with a gasp.

Down below her was the all-too-familiar sight of her forever home, Brighton. But as Clarence brought the car down to the ground, Molly could not shake the feeling that something unpleasant awaited her below. "Just...pull it together, McGee" she thought firmly while slapping herself, "whatever's down there can't be any worse than what you saw earlier."

The moment Clarence's car touched the street, Molly stepped out slowly and took a moment to observe the town. On the surface, everything seemed to look the same but something seemed...off about it all for some reason.

(First AN: Sweet baby corn! First, Molly sees her parents are in a bad spot. Then, her grandma; then, her brother...and now Brighton seems off?! What sort of changes await her in this twisted alternate version of her neighborhood? Tune in next time, to find out)

(Second AN: Some people may read this and think Darryl being a crime lord may seem out of his character. But as we saw in the show, he seems...scarily familiar with performing actions outside of the rule of law. The only difference is in said show; Darryl always had people like Molly, his parents, Libby or even Scratch to help bring him out of it.

Sadly, that's not the case in the Wish World's reality)

(Third AN: No animals were harmed in the making of this chapter)

(Final AN: Sorry if this chapter seemed short compared to the others. I simply didn't know what to add about an alternate universe version of Darryl. I hope what I showed here is acceptable and believable enough to all of you)