Hi everyone! With Mind and his Monster Society on the loose, I thought it would be fun to check in on the Magic Lands, starting with the Wozenderlands. This chapter's a little different, but I hope you'll enjoy it. Next time: Back to Billy and the Justice League. What's the next step now the Wizard's Seal has been broken and the Shazam kids' secret has been revealed? Will they be able to crack Billy out of Dr. Sivana's Suspendium bubble? Stay tuned, and thanks so much for reading! :)


Part XXIX

The rising sun glittered and gleamed along the soaring spires of the Emerald City. Dorothy Gale watched it sparkle, then closed her eyes and breathed in the rich, loamy smell of her freshly turned garden. A little dog played in the grass beside her, romping and pouncing at the butterflies.

"You can take the girl out of Kansas…" a cheeky voice teased from behind them. The little dog yipped a happy welcome, and Dorothy quickly turned, brushing the soil from her gingham skirt as she stood and opened her arms to her friend.

"Ozma, you're back!" the girl cheered, embracing the kingdom's young ruler while the little dog pranced around and around them both. Ozma still wore her travel clothes, a checkered shirt and overalls, which she seemed to prefer to the ornate and sparkling gowns she had to wear at court. The little princess returned the hug but, behind her smile, her round face seemed pale and tired.

"Why, you must be plumb done in," Dorothy observed. "Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are out to breakfast with the Shaggy Man and his brother just now, but I could whip us up some pancakes and— Oh, you must tell me all about your trip! What did you learn? Did Glinda's Great Book of Records have the answers?"

"It may, my dear. I wouldn't know," Ozma said somberly. Leading the way up the stone garden path to the Gales' farmhouse – built on the palace grounds shortly after Dorothy and her family moved permanently from Kansas to Oz – she took a seat on the porch swing. Dorothy sat beside the troubled princess, her own rosy face drawn with worry.

"Oh my. What's happened?" she asked. "Wasn't Glinda there to greet you?"

"I'm afraid not," Ozma said, taking her friend's hand. "It seems no one's seen or heard from our friend since the strange attack that shook our realm. But I did learn one thing: our own Land of Oz was not the only one affected. While traveling our southern Quadling country in search of Glinda the Good, I received reports from Wonderland, Fantastica, the Land of Ev, the Kingdom Ix, Merryland, the Nome King – even the Vegetable Kingdom and the Forest of Burzee! All experienced similar catastrophes: the fierce tremors, the beams from the sky causing whole chunks of their lands to vanish! Buildings, trees, fields— The report from Wonderland suggested the destruction didn't seem random but mindful, as if someone was playing a terrible game."

"Why, that's just how it happened here!" Dorothy gasped. "It was good luck Locasta, the Good Witch of the North was on hand to help us rebuild, but… Oh, Ozma, I've just had a terrible thought!"

"What if our dear Glinda was caught in such a beam?" Ozma said.

Dorothy nodded. "And if so," the girl said, raising her chin, "what can we do to get her back?"

"Princess Dorothy! Princess Dorothy!"

A shambling figure scurried and scrambled around the Gales' wooden farmhouse toward the porch steps: a scarecrow with a painted face and tufts of fresh straw poking out from beneath his blue Munchkin-style hat. He stopped short, swaying awkwardly in place, when he spotted the two girls sitting together on the swing.

"Oh, Princess Ozma!" the Scarecrow cheered. "You're back!"

"Your news, Chief Advisor Scarecrow?" Ozma prodded.

"Of course!" The slouchy figure came to sharp attention. "The mirrors in the palace, Princess. They've all gone dark! Well, all but one, and that one… Well, I think you Princesses should see for yourselves."

"All but one, you say?" Ozma furrowed her brow. "That this should happen now, with Glinda missing…!"

The young princess squeezed Dorothy's hand tightly, then let go and jumped to her feet, already racing toward the palace entrance.

"Dorothy, the troubles we face are far worse than I feared. Come, both of you. As quick as you can!"

"Toto!" Dorothy called over her shoulder, and the little dog left off investigating a row of newly planted rutabagas to bound ahead, tail wagging and ears alert.


Ozma's throne room was a dazzling, airy construct of elegant wrought iron and mirrored glass. On sunny days, refracted light filled the room with shimmering rainbows. But now, the space seemed to have clouded over, the mirrored panels like darkened screens.

"Here," Ozma said, leading Dorothy, Toto and the Scarecrow to a standing mirror by the main dais, half-obscured by a once-jubilant flower display. With her friends' help, Ozma moved the wilting flowers and stood before the intricate silver frame, peering past her own reflection as if searching for something beyond the glass.

"Woof?" Toto cocked his head at the mirror, one ear raised. Dorothy followed the little dog's stare and blinked in surprise.

"Ozma, your reflection!" she exclaimed. "Why, it's changing!"

"So it is!" the Scarecrow said in wonder. "Whose face is that, Princess? She's lovely!"

"This is Francesca," Ozma introduced the glassy figure taking shape in the mirror. "She serves as intermediary and messenger between our world and Magic's Source."

"Magic's Source?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Glinda would know more," Ozma said, "but, from what I've been told, the Magic of the Fairylands is channeled through a mysterious Rock that hovers like a great diamond at the center of all realities. Long ago, this Rock was home to a powerful Council of Wizards, and it was they who used the Magic to forge Seven Magic Lands, of which our world is but one part. But hush now – it seems the Mirror Maiden is trying to speak!"

Francesca seemed to be struggling to maintain her image, her voice strained and oddly faint, as if trying to project a secret whisper across a vast distance.

"Princess," Francesca hissed urgently, "I come with dire news. Maxivermis Mind is on his way."

"Maxivermus…? Who is he?" the Scarecrow asked.

"A monster," Francesca said, her glassy eyes wide. "Set to overtake and consume our world. He and his Monster Society have accessed the Living Lightning and will soon break the Seal that has protected our lands for so long. The Wizard's heir and his Earthland companions are opposing this assault, but I fear they will be unable to contain Mind's threat alone."

"Then, tell us what we can do to help," Dorothy said.

"There is but one chance. Summon our world's Champion. Find the Wizard's brazier. The Council must be—"

Francesca's image vanished in a split-second flash of twinkling light and the mirror's glass went dark. A shadow fell over the throne room and Dorothy and her friends rushed to the nearest window, staring up at a swath of seething storm clouds forming over the Emerald City, spreading in blanketing swirls to block out the sun.

"The Seal is broken," Ozma realized. "The Monsters will soon be here."

"We surely can't stay put and let that Maxivermis eat the world," Dorothy said. "We have to find that brazier Francesca told us about. Does anyone know what it is? And who is this Champion we're supposed to summon?"

"First thing's first." Ozma marched to her throne, flipping up the velvet cushion to reveal an old patched hat and coat. Slipping them on, she tucked her curls under the hat and checked the coat's capacious pockets. Nodding in satisfaction, she said, "We must find out where Glinda keeps her Great Book of Records. That book records all events as they happen. It should tell us everything we need to know about the Champion and that brazier, including where it is and how to use it. It may even be able to tell us what's happened to Glinda!"

"I agree," the Scarecrow said. "And I advise we form an expedition! We'll have to move quickly, though. Those storm clouds are looking pretty bad out there."

"If those Monsters aim to take over our lands, it's best that I remain in disguise," Ozma said. "On this expedition, you're not to call me 'Ozma'. Instead, I shall be Tippetarius. Tip, for short."

"Who will I be?" the Scarecrow asked.

"You'll be King Scarecrow," Ozma said. "If those Monsters come looking for the ruler of Oz, then I will require a noble decoy to serve in my place. A decoy with brains as sharp as tacks."

"You couldn't make a finer choice," Dorothy said, smiling at the Scarecrow. "Though, I do wish you could come along, Scarecrow. We surely could use a brain like yours to help figure out how to summon this Champion."

"I'd be honored to help in any way I can," the Scarecrow said bowing low, only to freeze and turn his gaze straight up. "Uh, Princess?" He straightened and pointed toward the swirling storm clouds. "Princess Ozma, Princess Dorothy! Look there!"

A small dot of golden light had appeared at the storm's center, gradually widening into a pool. The light refracted off the silver frame of Francesca's darkened mirror, causing the air above the throne to shimmer.

"My goodness! It's almost like one of those Panopticon projectors they use to show moving pictures on a screen," Dorothy said. "Look! The light seems to be forming a word!"

"It's a word I've never seen before," Ozma said, moving closer to her friend.

"This must be magic," Dorothy said. "Perhaps Francesca is sending us a clue?"

"If that's the case, I think we should read it together," Ozma said, and the two girls gripped hands.

"SHAZAM!"

A bolt of lightning crackled past the roiling clouds, arcing through the throne room's window in an explosion of glassy shards. Toto ran into Dorothy's arms as she, Ozma and the Scarecrow ducked to the floor, shielding their heads. Outside, the pool of light rippled, then closed up tight as if, somewhere, a door had been slammed shut.

"Oooohhh…"

A voice groaned behind the throne. Toto sniffed, then barked, bounding past the glass shards to investigate.

"Toto, no! Wait!" Dorothy cried, releasing Ozma's hand to try to head him off, but the newcomer stood up first: a girl in her late teens with brown hair, blue eyes, and a look of total disorientation.

"What? Where? How did I get here!" she exclaimed.

"Seems to me, we spoke a magic word and you appeared in a flash of lightning," Dorothy said, staring up at the older girl. "My name is Dorothy and these are my friends. Tip," she gestured to Ozma, "and Scarecrow. Are you the Champion Francesca told us to summon?"

"I..I'm not sure," the older girl said, staring down at her clothes and hands. "My name is Mary. But, I don't understand. If the lightning sent me here, why didn't it bring back my powers?"

"Powers?" Ozma repeated. "Are you saying you're a witch? And if so, are you a good witch, or a bad witch?"

"I'm not any kind of witch!" Mary said. "Last thing I remember, I was in the Watchtower with my family trying to keep my parents from totally flipping out. The Justice League big shots had all gotten together and..." She ran both hands through her long hair and sighed. "It's a long story."

"Ours too," Dorothy said. "Someone or something attacked our world and now Glinda is missing and a monster called Maxivermis Mind is on his way to destroy what's left. So, if you are the Champion, you'd better come along with us."

Mary stared from Dorothy and Toto to Ozma and the Scarecrow, slowly starting to realize she really wasn't in the Earthlands anymore. "Don't tell me," she said wryly. "You're off to see the Wizard?"

"If we can find his brazier," Dorothy said. "Whatever that is."

"Come," Ozma said, already marching toward the throne room's ornate double doors. "We must move quickly."

"Where are we going?" Mary asked, jogging to catch up with the smaller girl.

"If I knew that, I could use my Magic Belt to get us there," Ozma said. "Since I don't, we'll need another means of transporation. Summon my friend the Saw-Horse," she ordered a nearby guard. "We'll need his speed if we have any hope of staying ahead of that Mind and his Monsters."

"Oh my god." Mary rubbed her face with her hands as if trying to wake up. "I can't believe this is real..."

"You know this Maxivermis Mind?" Ozma demanded.

"My Family and I fought him," Mary said. "But, he got away from us. If he's coming here—"

"Princess," another guard announced, "the Saw-Horse is ready for you. He's hitched himself to a wooden wagon he claims is built for speed."

"Thank you," Ozma said, and quickened their pace. "You'll have to give us the details on the way," she said to Mary. "For now, we're heading back to Quadling Country to find the palace of Glinda the Good."

To Be Continued...


References Include: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, Queen Zixi of Ix, and many other books by L. Frank Baum; The Wizard of Oz (1939); Return to Oz (1985); Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll; The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende; Shazam! Volume 1, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank; Shazam! (movie); Batman The Brave and the Bold; Shazam! #1-15.

Next Up: New updates for Mr Mxyzptlk's Eclectic Enterprise, Croaked, Alternative Data and Often Wrong are in the works, as well as the next chapter for this story. Stay tuned, and please let me know what you think. Your reviews are always welcome! :)