The rights to Rex Milligan belong to the late Anthony Buckeridge. Those to Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling. Those to the Dana girls, Linda Craig, and others to the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Death in Paradise and Doctor Who are owned by the BBC. Those to the Tudors are held by Showtime Entertainment, although I am using characters that were all genuine historical people. Other rights belong to Marvel Comics, DC Comics/Warner Brothers/Hanna-Barbera, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Disney, Jim Butcher, Susan Cooper, Joss Whedon, the estates of the late Terrance Dicks, the late PL Travers, the late Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the late Enid Blyton, the late Charles Addams, the late Malcolm Saville, the late Ian Fleming, the late Peter O'Donnell and more. I own nothing and make claim to the same nothing.

Early August 2021

Lady Mary Pembroke-Robinson climbed out of the small swimming pool on the foredeck of the Gloria Scott. Her husband of the last week, Dan Robinson of the Baker Street Irregulars, was already drying himself off nearby. Their honeymoon was going well. After a few days in the Caribbean Islands, they were heading towards the East Coast of the United States, whilst still enjoying their honeymoon.

If you had asked Mary just over a year earlier, when she had still been the ghost of Queen Mary I of England, if she could ever have imagined being brought to life by the Godhead via a mystical gemstone alongside nine other prominent figures from the Tudor period, she would have laughed at you. Any talk of her being happily married to a Protestant would have been met with scorn. She may no longer have been the fanatical Catholic tyrant known to history as "Bloody Mary," and had reconciled post-mortem with her younger Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I, but it still would have added even more incredulity to the prophecy. True, some forty-six decades as a ghost had taught her that God cared little for human denominations. To have been brought back to life (and in her late teens, rather than the forty-two-year-old that she had been at her death) was a miracle beyond words, particularly when she fell for the man who was now her husband.

Amongst the ten granted a second chance at life were Elizabeth herself and both Mary's beloved mother Katherine of Aragon (now preferring Catalina, the original Spanish form of her Christian name) and her once-hated first stepmother Anne Boleyn. In a wonderful irony, the two former love rivals had fallen in love and married. The Crown had restored Anne's old title of the Marquess of Pembroke to her and allowed Catalina to legally style herself as her Marchioness. Each had adopted the other's daughter, as well as Katherine Howard, also restored to life.

Mary, alongside Bess and Kate (as Katherine Howard now preferred to be called) were entitled to be addressed as Lady as the daughters of a Marquess. Since Anne Boleyn (Gryffindor 1512-1519) had befriended several wizards and former young adventurers whilst still haunting the Tower of London, Mary, Bess, and Kate had been invited to join the latter. The Pembroke Girls may have only been operational for less than three months, but they were already earning themselves an excellent reputation.

Dan, the founder, and leader of the Baker Street Irregulars was tall, slender, and dark haired. Whilst he still looked only a few years older than he had when the four then teenaged sleuths had started up in London, that was only due to the use of the Royal Jelly Honey elixir vitae that his great-grandfather Sherlock Holmes had discovered. In fact, the Irregulars had solved their first cases back in the late 1970's and Dan was now in his late fifties. Considering that Mary herself was technically 505, that was not an issue in their relationship!

As Mary towelled herself off, Dan cast many an admiring glance at his wife. Her red-gold hair was complimented by the green bikini that she was wearing. Once they were dry, they lay down in a twin hammock set up on the deck and started kissing passionately.

"My love!" Dan exclaimed happily, their latest prolonged kiss finally over. "Unlike my great-grandad, I am so glad that I didn't let My 'The Woman' slip through my fingers."

Mary chuckled. "Choosing the right man is so much easier when love and not bloodline is the deciding factor. You want to make love to me. All Philip wanted to do with me was sire a son. Admittedly, the basic process is the same, but I know that you would be equally delighted whether I conceive a son, a daughter, or no child at all."

"You were thirty-eight when you married him, darling. In physical terms, you are in your early twenties now. If God wills it, we may still be parents. There are also IVF and adoption available if needed.

"Personally, I would love to be a father. If it does not happen, though, I will be perfectly happy to spoil Jeff and Liz's grandkids instead, as I have also told you before. If I have you, I shall be perfectly content."

Mary's response was to both emphatic and entirely non-verbal! Once they had come up for air, she reached behind her back to untie and remove her bikini top, tossing it onto a nearby sun lounger. Her bikini bottom quickly followed it onto the lounger. "There is nobody in view, my love, so why don't we share that love right here on this hammock…?"

Dan tossed his swimming trunks onto the lounger to signal his acceptance of Mary's suggestion.

From the deck, the massive black form of their beloved dog Baskerville eyed his humans with bemused affection. I could swear that Dan and Mary are worse than rabbits!

Storybrooke, Maine

Regina Mills held her two-year-old grandson Daniel Baelfire Mills in her arms. The son of the Prime Version of Henry and his wife Ava, he was a cute dark-haired boy with a smile that reminded Regina of Henry and David. Daniel will be a True Believer when he grows up.

Lucy, the daughter of an Alternate Future version of Henry and his wife Jacinda, a Hispanic Cinderella, was babysitting the younger version of her cousin Robyn nearby. She may have her mother's Hispanic features, but she had her father's love of fantasy and wonder. I guess that those Charming genes do make for good Fairy Tales. At least they have Emma's brains and not those of the two idiots… Regina broke off from that chain of thought. Even Snow turned out alright in the end, I suppose…

"Please can we all go for a walk along the docks, Grandma?"

"Of course, Lucy! I'll get Daniel's pushchair ready." It is a beautiful sunny day in the United Realms of Storytelling. Even the Good Queen is entitled to a day off with her grandchildren and niece from time to time.

Half an hour later, they were at the docks. The Jolly Roger was absent, but there were still boats from Agrabah, Arendelle, the Land of Untold Stories and many another Realm to look at. Regina listened idly as Lucy retold stories of the United Realms, whilst pointing out the boats from each Realm.

A longboat from Arendelle sailed into harbour. The captain was on the foredeck shouting about having narrowly escaped a kraken.

Regina sighed. So much for my day off! A Good Queen's life is certainly not dull!

"I thought that the Kraken was killed in the 1720's by Captain Davy Jones of the Flying Dutchman," Wish Realm Killian told Regina later that day. "He was commanded to by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Company, who held the Dead Man's Chest to control Jones. As far as I know, by the way, we are not related.

"Jones and Beckett are both long dead. Unless some Lubber has brought Jones and the Kraken back for an Eldritch purpose, presumably this is a similar extra-giant squid."

"That makes sense," Regina conceded. "That does not answer my main question, though. Just what the hell is one doing in Storybrooke?!"

"Maybe we should ask a friend, Mom?" the Prime Version of Henry suggested. "One who can speak telepathically with animals might help…"

Regina grinned, before heading for an energy portal and setting the destination to Themyscira. Since I did not get my day off, I might as well visit Hippolyta. She can come and talk to our squid, before we both have a girls' night out.

Hippolyta had been a close friend of Regina's ever since Ra's Al Ghul had tried to start a war between Themyscira and Storybrooke over six years before. The two queens managed to persuade the longboat captain to take them to the Kraken. Hello, you magnificent creature! What are you doing in the United Realms of Storytelling?

I was heading from Iceland to Japan, great queen, when I was drawn into this Realm via an energy portal. Some whale hunters had decided that I was a specimen who could earn them a fortune. Their enterprise is a vast one, so I was seeking the aid of the Mighty Godzilla and his allies.

A hundred-and-twenty-foot giant squid should not need such aid, my friend, but I have heard of some illegal whalers in the past. I shall contact my daughter Diana and ask her to investigate the matter.

Thank you, Your Majesty. I am sorry about attacking this vessel. Having only just come through the portal, I was disoriented and scared.

I shall convey your apologies to the crew. In the circumstances, I don't think that anyone could blame you for acting on instinct.

Thank you again, Your Majesty. May I seek sanctuary here, please? There is plenty of fish and plankton for me to eat and saltwater for me to swim in.

That would be my sister queen's decision, my friend, as these are her Realms. "Regina, our friend here was escaping from whalers, before being sucked into your domains via an energy portal. He is sorry for attacking your subjects' vessel, which was more out of fear and shock than malice. He also wishes to apply for sanctuary in the waters of Storybrooke and the United Realms."

Regina shrugged. "I have no objection. Warn your new friend, however, that if he attacks any more ships, Granny's Dish of the Day will be calamari…"

The Alchemists Arms, New York

On the outskirts of New York is what appears to any passing No-Majs to be an old hotel that had long since fallen into ruin. Most mages would see the same. Those in the know, however, would tap the front gate three times with a wand or stave or discretely Apparate within. The establishment had been fully and tastefully refurbished by Gomez Addams who had bought the place at a minimal price) and reopened it as a private members club for trusted mages and certain no-majs, empowered or otherwise. The Alchemists Arms is also the headquarters of the Secret Circle, a wizard taskforce founded by Stephen Strange. Ordinary invited members get access to a top-end restaurant, two themed bars for casual dining (one patterned after an American diner and the other after an old-fashioned British and Irish pub), four libraries, a games room, a ballroom, indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools, extensive gardens, a putting green and a quidditch pitch, all for a small annual membership fee. There are even rooms and suites available for overnight stays and a main conference room for Secret Circle general council meetings. Other than modest charges for food, drinks and overnight stays, there are no extra payments due.

Anne and Catalina Pembroke were in the pub on a triple date with Luna and Rolf Scamander and two No-Maj members in Rex Milligan and his wife Louise Milligan nee Dana. Thanks to access to the Royal Jelly Honey, the British former schoolboy chronicler and his American former teen sleuth wife were both looking far closer to twenty-five than seventy-nine and one-hundred-and-five respectively. Louise's younger sister Jean Dana-Craig and her wife Linda were babysitting her and Rex's adopted daughter Harriet. Rex is the Muggle Correspondent for The Quibbler and a godfather to Lorcan and Lysander. Luna and he had befriended Anne when she was still haunting the Tower of London.

Zelena Mills entered and made her way to join the party. "Bloody hell, my pretties, you would not believe the day we have had in Storybrooke. A kraken fleeing from whalers near Iceland was caught up in an energy portal and found himself in the United Realms. Thanks to a translation from Squid into English by Hippolyta, Sis has granted him sanctuary.

"Anne, Stephen has called an emergency meeting of the Secret Circle has been called for this evening. Rex, Louise, you have been asked to attend as liaisons with your community. We all know how you Former Young Adventurers can never turn down a mystery…"

"However much a couple of members of Mystery Inc might try!" Rex noted. "We can have the Balaska II seaborne in no time, Zelena. Well, at less Iceland is sunny at this time of the year. I don't think that any of us will be doing much sunbathing though!"

The various global intelligence agencies had agreed to 'kit out' the Former Young Adventurers with various vehicles and other gadgets to help them serve their country. MI6's Q-Branch had supplied four yachts: the hulking Nike; the mid-sized Balaska II; and, most recently, the smaller Gloria Scott and Bonaventure. Named after Louise and Jean's late Uncle Ned's passenger steamer, the Balaska II had been a 'wedding present' for Rex and Louise. Equipped with a sophisticated array of scanning and secure communication equipment and a whole arsenal of weapons systems, amongst other secrets, she had more than proved her worth over her more than three years of service. The Milligan-Dana-Craig family (including Linda's brother Bob Craig) considered her very much a home from home. The other three yachts were similarly endowed. The Nike even had a mini sub, the Poseidon, hidden on board, launched via a concealed underwater airlock door.

"Thank you, Rex, Louise. Anne, Catalina, we know that Dan and Mary are already afloat, but don't intend to interrupt their honeymoon just yet. If Bess, Kate, and the pair of you want to take to join us on the Bonaventure, we would be grateful for your aid."

"We shall need Jeff and Liz on board," Anne noted, referring to Dan's fellow Baker Street Irregulars Jeff Webster and his wife Liz Spencer. The strident feminist was never going to take her husband's surname. Their daughter Louise Webster lived with her husband Nicholas Zimmer and their month-old son Nathaniel in Storybrooke. "Otherwise, with Mary away, Bess is the only one of us who can fully operate our gallant craft."

"Good idea, Anne! That can be arranged." Rex thought for a moment. "It might be good to take the Nike along too, complete with a crew of wizards, metahumans and whomever else we can call up. We don't know enough about these whalers to rule out needing some heavy hitters."

Luna pulled a hand mirror out of her handbag, opened it, and tapped the glass lightly with her wand. "Harry Potter!" Within seconds, her reflection in the mirror was replaced by the image of her old friend. "Hi Harry!"

"Hi Luna!"

"Harry, are you able to organise a party to man the Nike? We don't know what sort of backup the whalers have available."

"I'll ask at the meeting tonight. Millie!" Millicent Potter nee Bulstrode, Harry's blood-adopted sister and the Auror department's archivist, came into sight behind Harry. In July 2016, Harry had rescued Millie, Pansy Parkinson, and Tracey Davis from a remorseless campaign of bullying and (in the first two cases rape) at the hands of some of their fellow Slytherin alumni, originally encouraged by the Carrows during their seventh year at Hogwarts nearly twenty years before. Harry had arranged with his old friend Diana Prince for them and Tracey's then long-term girlfriend and now spouse Daphne Greengrass to receive a course of therapy and training on Themyscira. During their time on Themyscira, Millicent had been chosen by the Six Goddesses of Themyscira to become their champion to the British Wizard World, the superheroine known as Wonder Witch. Also, during their time there, Pansy and Millicent had fallen in love. With their families about to formally disown them, Harry had blood-adopted Millicent as his sister that Christmas, two days before she married Pansy. Harry had also been the sperm donor for Sirius Harry Potter, the three-year-old son Pansy had conceived via IVF. Subsequently, eleven witches had been chosen by the Six Goddesses to become the enhanced beings known as the Furies. Pansy, Daphne, and Tracey were now the alter egos of the Furies codenamed Wrath, Protectress and Vendetta respectively, with Ginny Potter answering to Lioness when in costume.

Around Easter 2017, Harry and Ginny discovered, whilst imprisoned together with her on an alien planet, that their long-term friendship with the older American witch Wednesday Addams had blossomed into True Love. They married her that summer. Later, on Christmas Day that year, a hostile takeover of the British Wizard World by former Death Eaters and their supporters had seen temporarily exiled witches hit by a law that forced unmarried childless heiresses to marry and have children to keep the family Wizengamot seats. Caught by the law, Daphne had quickly taken Harry as a second spouse, resulting in both another True Love Match and the two-year-old Dora Greengrass-Potter, conceived in the traditional manner. Neither party had any problem with trying for a son or a second daughter on a regular basis. As recently as June 2019, an investigation into a magical break-in at the muggle Fidelity Fiduciary Bank in London had seen Parvati Patil (the alter ego of the Fury codenamed Grace) revealed to be a fourth soulmate to Harry and Wednesday and fifth to Daphne and Ginny, who was also a True Love Match with Tracey. Parvati's daughter Anushka Lavender Potter, the latest addition to the family, was barely a fortnight old.

The tall muscular Millie appeared behind Harry's shoulder. "Hi everyone!

"These whalers sound as if they need an arse-kicking! Wonder Witch will be only too willing to give them one! I am sure that the Furies will agree with me." She pecked Harry on the cheek. "Sadly, I doubt that our sexy spouses will be tanning in bikinis off the shore of Iceland!"

"There are hot tubs below decks in all three yachts," Rex pointed out. "The former has a sauna too."

"I might get to ogle Pansy's pert posterior after all!"

"Parv will be grumbling that she isn't back into shape after Anushka yet," Harry noted. "She is still just as gorgeous as ever to me...

"See you all tonight!"

Around the large round table in the main conference room at The Alchemists Arms, the Secret Circle general committee was in session. The members present were Harry, Ginny, Wednesday, Millie and Pansy Potter, Bill, Fleur, Ron and Hermione Weasley, Gomez, Morticia, Fester and Pugsley Addams, Anne Pembroke, Stephen Strange, Clea, Wanda Maximoff, Jason Blood, Madame Xanadu, Giovanni and Zatanna Zatara, Dr Fate, John Constantine, Harry Dresden, Endora, Samantha and Tabitha Stephens, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Will Stanton, Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles, Hadji Quest-Singh, Emma Swan and Regina and Zelena Mills. Only the largely retired Sar Dubotnal and Mandrake were absent. It was still probably the most formidable magical and mystical force ever assembled on Earth without them.

"I have spoken to Kingsley and my fellow Harry to the White Council," Harry Potter began. "Whilst they are unwilling for us to openly use sorcery, save as a last resort, until and unless it is set up that there are wizards openly among the whalers, they are happy for us to provide backup! Zee, John, Wanda, would you be interested in joining us for a pleasure cruise...?"

"Who is us, squire?"

"Magically, that would be Anne, Zelena, Rolf, Luna, Wonder Witch, Wrath, Lioness, Protectress, Vendetta and myself. Grace can look after the kids with Jamie. I am sure that there will be other Muggles, enhanced or otherwise, than Rex, Louise and the other Pembrokes along as well, John. Diana has already indicated to me that Wonder Woman will be there, alongside a certain Big Blue Boy Scout."

"As long as that grumpy bastard dressed as a bat isn't there, I'm in! What about you, Zee darling? A trip to the frozen north could be fun!"

"I'm in too. Somebody needs to keep my boyfriend out of trouble..."

"The mission is approved!" Stephen Strange concluded. "Ron, Hermione, if you and Padma, sorry, Justice of the Furies, are available, you might wish to join your family. I am sure that Harry would be delighted to have you at his side again."

"Neither Wizard Interpol nor the International Committee for the Ethical Treatment of House Elves are busy at the moment, Stephen," Hermione mused. "Pads is currently on leave from the Wizard Crown Prosecution Service. We are free to join your crew, Harry." Padma Patil-Weasley was the mutual second soulmate of both Ron and Hermione and the mother of the youngest member of their family, the one-year-old Sachin. In addition to Rose and Hugo, there was the two-year-old Hope, conceived after Hermione was abducted and raped by a muggle crime lord based off the Caribbean Island of Saint Marie. Ron had adopted Hope and fully accepted her as his own. Rex and Louise had adopted the same crime lord's elder daughter Beatrice, renaming her Harriet Jean Luna Milligan. Since both Ron and Hermione were based in the United States, Padma usually stayed at her and Parvati's old house next to her twin sister's dressmaking firm.

"You will all be most welcome. The Golden Trio is back together again! Evildoers beware!"

"Harry, Millie, you need to be spending less time with our Kryptonian friends," Hermione scolded. "You are spouting far too much cheesy nonsense!"