A Strange Fairytale (Part 4) by Domoviye

Lincoln, Nebraska
MCO Headquarters
July, 5th, 2007

Aww, all those things Teri won't do and Mouser thinks she isn't a good mix for her because of it. Talking with Larry Meyer and hearing the advice from Dr. Schultz [nice Peanuts reference], Teri isn't going to be able to avoid her past like this for much longer with who is back in the picture. Heh, Mouser does not know about Whateley or where it is, nice to see not everyone with powers being told about it automatically. Ow, she never bothered to learn anything about the school she was helping get mutant kids sent to. All those tales and she never put two and two together. Evil old bastard, yup, that's our Ito. Actually, you could try and do that, Mouser, but I doubt the car would survive the trip if Teri got in a really foul mood.

Oof, this is harder than herding cats, Teri is stubborn as can be about staying with Mouser. She saw the picture of Tiny Tim and still doesn't want to go, now that is pigheaded stubbornness. A video of Wondercute in action and Teri asks that, seesh. You had one bad incident when you tried to be a superhero, Teri, don't let it hold you back the rest of your life. One semester and if she doesn't like it can come back to continue homeschooling. With the friends she makes and the fun she will have at Whateley, I doubt that will happen. A stack of paper almost as tall as Teri, how many pieces of paperwork are there?

July 11th, 2007
Omaha, Nebraska

Abaris trying to flee as a summoned creature of his holds off a hero. Candy Knight, interesting he thinks of her as a low C-list hero. Okay, he is sick to think that about her. Crap, how close is his backup location to where Mouser lives?

July 20th, 2007
Lincoln, Nebraska

Ouch, AC is out during a hot summer. And I understand why Mouser doesn't call up her devisor friend for help after last time. Mouser in her human form, dang, it took a heat wave to do that. Teri, if the heat were really killing you your skin would already be red as a lobster [or whatever color it would shift to from an extreme sunburn] and you would guzzle down water like crazy.

Ice water swimming pool from a big Tupperware container, small size has its advantages. So this is what Candy Knight aka Melinda looks like, I hope she doesn't get hit on a lot by people with a candy fetish. Abaris drains other wizards of their essence, oh, he needs to be taken down hard. Candy's hair is cool.

A candy manifestor who is tough, and her armor is that durable, dang. Cotton candy hair, I bet she has to be careful around animals. Sugar-free and tasty manifested candy, she got the ultimate candy cheat power. What the what! But the candy was sugar-free, why did it trigger Teri?

I forgot how scary Teri can be when on a sugar rush, Mouser is having a rough ride. Yeowch! Poor Mouser had to endure all that to restrain Teri. Having to call Candy to get a ride back to her own house, did Candy lie about her manifested candy being sugar-free?

So Abaris is a cowardly thief in more than one way, great. Poor Teri worried about Mouser and what it would mean for her if Mouser weren't around anymore. Stay with Witch Mabel and run if the creep comes after her, good advice, I just hope Teri can follow it if the worst happens.

Aww, so that is why Mouser sent Teri to stay with Witch Mable, not wishing for her to suffer trauma like last time with a supervillain. So her candy has less sugar than the real stuff, just enough to give Teri a mild sugar rush, darn, I thought she was a solution so Teri could enjoy the candy she loves again.

Teri quite simply is one of the scariest fighters at Whateley if you get on her bad side. Demolisher might have a fairy phobia now thanks to Teri. Teri is one of the reasons why I wish there was a healer who could heal the mind and emotional trauma at Whateley, or at least accelerate and aid the healing process.

July 24th, 2007
Witch Mabel's House
Afternoon

If it smells as bad as I think that concoction will keep bad magic and solicitors away. It only lasts a month and takes a lot of essence, good reason to only use it when absolutely necessary. Darn, the anime Teri mentions isn't on any streaming service right now. Ugh, a summons in that shape is, a good spy unless someone watches it closely, and disgusting to watch closely. The poor tree.

Farmhouse Outside Lincoln, Nebraska

Abaris has turned that farmhouse into a supernatural house of horrors. He had a master and his master left him his collection of arcane writings, this is bad. Crap! A spell to cut through Witch Mabel's defenses that easily, I hope Teri saves her.

That Evening

Mouser has good taste in manga to introduce Teri to. Good thing Teri is so small and low to the floor to hear the sound of the intruder. Darn, Teri had it at first, but its long form and slime turned the fight in the favor of the creature. Witch Mabel comes in to help, but the eldritch centipede disappears with Teri and appears before Abaris...who is naked. I agree with Teri, cover up, no one wants to see that.

Pervert Man will from now on be Abaris' nickname. Teri misunderstands what Abaris wants in the funniest of ways. Bwahaha, you are never going to live this one down, Pervert Man. And it just keeps getting better, any lesser man would have died from embarrassment from everything Teri is saying about him.

Darn, he cast a silence spell on Teri. And punching the floor to break out, too bad that never works on magic circles. Abaris, you will have to deal with Teri's taunts until you free her even if they are non-verbal ones now. Darn, he can do that with the magic circle, that is unusual to be able to shrink it and move the circle and its occupant around like that despite her small size. Locking her in a room with just the basics, he has made a big mistake.

July 25th, 2007
Lincoln MCO Headquarters,
Just After Midnight

Witch Mable explains what happened and still gets chewed out by Mouser about how she was supposed to keep Teri safe. Larry Meyer is one of the few good MCO directors, I like him and hope nothing bad ever happens to him. The Analyzer and with a blue superhero mask on that Mouser has to resist laughing at.

“You're head of a citizen group who does citizen arrests and puts on anti-bullying and crime campaigns,” Mouser said.

Hey, anti-bullying campaigns are important, less bullying might mean fewer criminals in the future.

Not able to find the 4th location, Pervert Man has cloaked it well. Darn, magic to deal with magic, isn't that always the way. Analyzer, your people need to be on backup, too many showing up at once will make Pervert Man just rabbit out of there and probably take Teri with him as a hostage. Bunking down in the MCO HQ while Witch Mabel gets her chicken soup ready, I hope Teri doesn't get herself into further trouble before they can rescue her.

Abaris’s Lair
Morning

Ooo, thinking he is no better than Burgermeister, Pervert Man is in big trouble once Teri escapes. Ooo, the demon thinks Teri is a pixie and calls her ugly, he is an arrogant idiot. An Imp, it figures Pervert Man draws from the bottom of the barrel of demons to work for her. Teri is going to drown Pervert Man in a toilet, yikes.

Lemon water and green tea for anti-magic, what can't Witch Mabel do with her food magic? Weird dimensional magic, so that is how he made the farmhouse into such a nightmare. Larry makes good plans, I wish all MCO directors were like him, not bigots and good planners. Aww, can't we kill him and make it look like an accident? 100 yards in 5 seconds, that is just slightly over 41 mph, dang, Candy Knight is fast. A ghost chef in a kitchen, great, it is like a D&D haunted castle.

Darn, how can Teri escape from the magic circle if nothing can escape it without outside permission? Teri just keeps trying to batter the force field down until she bounces off it hard and goes silent, leaving Sicko worried and asking if she is okay. Calling up Pervert Man does no good and as he doesn't listen to Sicko who still doesn't know what shape Teri is in. Teri's bluff worked! Sicko stuck his hand in the circle to check on her and she bit down on his finger, reflexively pulling it back along with Teri. Ouch, Teri brutalizes Sicko and tosses him into the magic circle before leaving.

At least the ghost stayed in the kitchen, though that leaves one escape route out now. In the living room, Candy had some fun with whatever had been in there. A big, black door that leads into a void with something inside it, marking the doors to avoid, smart move, Mouser. A castle tower with a spiral staircase, did Pervert Man connect this building to pocket dimension when he altered it?

Teri, it isn't you, this place is just plain messed with dimensionally, I think a D&D group would nope right out once they opened their first door. Large black beetle-like bugs and they are doing the old one tells truth, the other tells lies bit about the two doors. It is a classic for a reason. Bwahaha, that is one solution to that old bit I never saw coming, Righty regrets ever being created at this point.

Mouser at the top of the tower, a floor covered in letters, a door on the other side, and a riddle. She has to spell out the riddle's answer by stepping on the right letters, the answer is a candle of course. Crud, tries to ignore the riddle and just leaps to break through the door, only to end up in a dungeon-like room with three werewolves.

“Bad dogs! No play with kitty!” she said, while aiming at the second one.

This is why you don't skip riddle puzzles.

8 doors and all that in the room, Pervert Man sure likes to make sure he has plenty of time to escape. Flying down the hall she sees the same thing, then once again. Righting I was here on the wall and yup, she is stuck in a magic loop. Heh, Teri complaining about the door gag's overuse in Scooby Doo in the 70s. Ouch, ghostly woman, and good thing Teri has her PK force field, or that could have killed her.

Now the doors are messing with her so the ghost is always in front of her as she tries to escape, that's cheating. Doing the Scooby door gag again to avoid the ghost she finally smashes a wall to escape only for the ghost to pass through the wall to follow her. This is ridiculous.

Mouser set the room on fire and left the werewolves howling in pain.

Walking around the room, she saw that there were a bunch of statues of different animals and similar markings on the walls. Another puzzle. “I've had some annoying supervillains before,” Mouser said, “but at least they weren't glorified DM's.”

It could be worse, he could have gotten Gary Gygax to design the traps and puzzles. Mouser uses a grenade to get to the next room...and a Balrog is waiting for her, darn it!

Smoke pellets and repeated blasts from her plasma gun right into its head kill the demon, fight smart when dealing with such things. Oh, it was a golem made of metal, Pervert Man must use the D&D Monster Manual to plan out his minions.

Teri raced down a bewildering number of corridors, trying to get away from the ghost lady, several demon dogs, a swarm of giant beetles, and a suit of armour with a really big sword.

Okay, now I can call Pervert Man a killer GM, that is overkill. Mouser to the rescue! Takes out some of the minions, but the ghost lady takes out the plasma gun, farewell old friend, you served her well. Teri takes out the beetles in a fury, Candy Knight shows up and takes out the suit of armor, but they still have the ghost lady to deal with.

A candy cross works on the ghost, huh, didn't expect that. The remaining minions are taken down and Teri tells them about Pervert Man and his plans. Obsidian splinters are embedded in the wood for the door to his main workshop, never use an obvious thing like that, rookie mistake.

No one expects the fairy powerhouse trickster! A last stand against these 3, Pervert Man, you have seriously underestimated your opponents.

Armor that she can repair herself at will, Candy Knight has an awesome power. Not slimy tentacles, he is a pervert to use those. Candy is in trouble holding off several ghosts as Pervert Man tries to ambush her with a glowing staff. Ooo, sounds like Teri might have broken one of his knees. Leg bent at the wrong angle, she did a lot more than I thought, Pervert Man is out of this fight.

The ghosts are gone and they go to help Teri, but she has come to an arrangement with the tentacle monster, eww. Thank you for saving Teri's innocence, Candy.

Lincoln, Nebraska
Mouser's Residence
August 25th, 2007

Mouser made the tentacle monster her pet, oh brother. I need brain bleach, bad Mouser. Aww, Teri wants a pet mouse or gerbil, she could ride them like a horse. Going to Whateley in two days and Teri is all packed except her good dress. Who and what was that call about that Mouser sent Teri to the store to get snacks as a distraction? Ah, the airline about Teri. And thus we get a road trip to Whateley with Mouser and Teri.

An hour Outside of Lincoln, Nebraska
August 26th, 2007

Teri singing along to a J-Pop song is cute. Wait, why was Mouser tense the night before? The call wasn't from the airline, it was a call about Burgermeister being back and she was afraid he would go after her if she took a plane. Crud, it is Burgermeister's airship, back and as terrible as ever. And they have captured Mouser and Teri, I hope they kick his ass and get him locked up in a prison for the criminally insane already.

Heh, Mouser does not know about Whateley or where it is, nice to see not everyone with powers being told about it automatically. Ow, she never bothered to learn anything about the school she was helping get mutant kids sent to. All those tales and she never put two and two together. Evil old bastard, yup, that's our Ito.

I liked the idea of Mouser just being absolutely clueless about Whateley due to not caring. Fits her personality and out of sight, out of mind ideals.
"Kids are safe, good. Don't need to know any more details, got stuff to do."

Oof, this is harder than herding cats, Teri is stubborn as can be about staying with Mouser. She saw the picture of Tiny Tim and still doesn't want to go, now that is pigheaded stubbornness. A video of Wondercute in action and Teri asks that, seesh. You had one bad incident when you tried to be a superhero, Teri, don't let it hold you back the rest of your life. One semester and if she doesn't like it can come back to continue homeschooling. With the friends she makes and the fun she will have at Whateley, I doubt that will happen. A stack of paper almost as tall as Teri, how many pieces of paperwork are there?

Originally I was planning on having Teri jump at the chance to go to Whateley, but as I've been writing this series, it didn't seem quite right. She's had a tougher time than I planned overall. So Mouser had to work at it.
And the registration forms have been said to be about 50-60 pages. So if they're not all compact and flattened, that could be about knee high to Teri.

Ouch, AC is out during a hot summer. And I understand why Mouser doesn't call up her devisor friend for help after last time. Mouser in her human form, dang, it took a heat wave to do that.

I like how I made Mouser able to shapeshift unlike in her original version. It helps show off her personality with how little she likes being in her human form, and only shows it in public if she doesn't have any other choice.

So this is what Candy Knight aka Melinda looks like, I hope she doesn't get hit on a lot by people with a candy fetish. Abaris drains other wizards of their essence, oh, he needs to be taken down hard. Candy's hair is cool.

I forget how I came up with Candy, but I like her power. Originally she was going to have milk chocolate skin, but for various reasons I changed it to white chocolate. And she does smell and taste like chocolate, which makes quite a few people hit on her.
Surprisingly Mouser is one of the few who doesn't actually hit on her, because chocolate isn't very healthy for her feline side.

I forgot how scary Teri can be when on a sugar rush, Mouser is having a rough ride. Yeowch! Poor Mouser had to endure all that to restrain Teri. Having to call Candy to get a ride back to her own house, did Candy lie about her manifested candy being sugar-free?

I had to have Teri go on one rampage, even if it was a short one.
And while Candy's candy is sugar free and pretty healthy, it's still a mild stimulant.

Aww, so that is why Mouser sent Teri to stay with Witch Mable, not wishing for her to suffer trauma like last time with a supervillain.

The joys of a stubborn child not talking about her feelings. Teri doesn't want to be a hero anymore, but Mouser thinks she still wants to be one. Fun times.

Teri quite simply is one of the scariest fighters at Whateley if you get on her bad side. Demolisher might have a fairy phobia now thanks to Teri.

I've said before that Teri is a rager. She just doesn't show it that often outside of sugar rushes, and usually doesn't aim to kill someone.

If it smells as bad as I think that concoction will keep bad magic and solicitors away. It only lasts a month and takes a lot of essence, good reason to only use it when absolutely necessary.

I like how I made Witch Mabel's spells work.
She's not flashy, and her spells are anything but quick, but they're interesting and generally effective.

Darn, Teri had it at first, but its long form and slime turned the fight in the favor of the creature. Witch Mabel comes in to help, but the eldritch centipede disappears with Teri and appears before Abaris...who is naked. I agree with Teri, cover up, no one wants to see that.

Pervert Man will from now on be Abaris' nickname. Teri misunderstands what Abaris wants in the funniest of ways. Bwahaha, you are never going to live this one down, Pervert Man. And it just keeps getting better, any lesser man would have died from embarrassment from everything Teri is saying about him.

This whole scene, and most of this story was written when I was severely sleep deprived. I wasn't sure where my muse was going when I wrote this, I was just along for the ride.
And it worked so well I decided to run with it.

Darn, he can do that with the magic circle, that is unusual to be able to shrink it and move the circle and its occupant around like that despite her small size.

Pervert Man isn't powerful, but he's very smart with lots of interesting tricks. If he was less focused on the academic side of magic, he'd be very scary.

The Analyzer and with a blue superhero mask on that Mouser has to resist laughing at.

“You're head of a citizen group who does citizen arrests and puts on anti-bullying and crime campaigns,” Mouser said.

Hey, anti-bullying campaigns are important, less bullying might mean fewer criminals in the future.

Not able to find the 4th location, Pervert Man has cloaked it well. Darn, magic to deal with magic, isn't that always the way. Analyzer, your people need to be on backup, too many showing up at once will make Pervert Man just rabbit out of there and probably take Teri with him as a hostage.

I hadn't planned on having Analyzer or the Lincoln Freedom Squad coming off as competent here. I'd originally planned on having a Helsing member sending in a hint. But I figured the longer Teri was a captive the worse it would be, and having an unknown third party just happen to call in when necessary was too deus ex machina. Analyzer was available, and this would actually fit his power, so he got to show off for a minute, while still being a bit whiny and annoying.

Ooo, thinking he is no better than Burgermeister, Pervert Man is in big trouble once Teri escapes. Ooo, the demon thinks Teri is a pixie and calls her ugly, he is an arrogant idiot. An Imp, it figures Pervert Man draws from the bottom of the barrel of demons to work for her. Teri is going to drown Pervert Man in a toilet, yikes.

Don't dis imps. Bruce the Imp from Thulia's story is awesome.
Sicko is just a less smart Imp who happens to work for a bastard.

Lemon water and green tea for anti-magic, what can't Witch Mabel do with her food magic

Well she did say she's not great with scrying. Generally her magic is good for healing, improving physical and mental traits, and a few physical affects.
So recipes for clearing the mind, like chicken soup and a morning drink, is right up her alley.

Larry makes good plans, I wish all MCO directors were like him, not bigots and good planners.

I like Larry. He's not going out of his way to be a hero. He just wants to run a clean shop, and keep people safe.

Darn, how can Teri escape from the magic circle if nothing can escape it without outside permission? Teri just keeps trying to batter the force field down until she bounces off it hard and goes silent, leaving Sicko worried and asking if she is okay. Calling up Pervert Man does no good and as he doesn't listen to Sicko who still doesn't know what shape Teri is in. Teri's bluff worked! Sicko stuck his hand in the circle to check on her and she bit down on his finger, reflexively pulling it back along with Teri. Ouch, Teri brutalizes Sicko and tosses him into the magic circle before leaving.

Getting Teri out of the circle was a problem. Having her play dead was the only thing I could think of that wouldn't seem like a cop out.
Pervert Man did have a reason not to listen. He was a bit busy dealing with two heroes breaking in. He's not great at multitasking.
And Teri is nice to people she thinks deserve it. If she thinks you deserve pain however, she can be your worst nightmare.

At least the ghost stayed in the kitchen, though that leaves one escape route out now. In the living room, Candy had some fun with whatever had been in there. A big, black door that leads into a void with something inside it, marking the doors to avoid, smart move, Mouser. A castle tower with a spiral staircase, did Pervert Man connect this building to pocket dimension when he altered it?

Yes he did. It was expensive to do essence wise, but it would have been impossible to do it any other way. His master had built it up over several centuries, Pervert Man had been adding to it.

Large black beetle-like bugs and they are doing the old one tells truth, the other tells lies bit about the two doors. It is a classic for a reason. Bwahaha, that is one solution to that old bit I never saw coming, Righty regrets ever being created at this point.

I thought of that solution years ago for a story that never got off the planning stage. I thought it was hilarious, and finally had a chance to use it, so I couldn't resist.

8 doors and all that in the room, Pervert Man sure likes to make sure he has plenty of time to escape. Flying down the hall she sees the same thing, then once again. Righting I was here on the wall and yup, she is stuck in a magic loop. Heh, Teri complaining about the door gag's overuse in Scooby Doo in the 70s. Ouch, ghostly woman, and good thing Teri has her PK force field, or that could have killed her.

Halloween, haunted mansion type building, I had to have the door gag.
And Pervert Man doesn't mess around with his monsters. Even if they aren't always the most powerful.

A candy cross works on the ghost, huh, didn't expect that.

She's a true believer, as long as she has the right symbol it'll work. Even if the cross is raspberry flavour.

No one expects the fairy powerhouse trickster! A last stand against these 3, Pervert Man, you have seriously underestimated your opponents.

Teri is just a bundle of surprises.

Armor that she can repair herself at will, Candy Knight has an awesome power. Not slimy tentacles, he is a pervert to use those. Candy is in trouble holding off several ghosts as Pervert Man tries to ambush her with a glowing staff. Ooo, sounds like Teri might have broken one of his knees. Leg bent at the wrong angle, she did a lot more than I thought, Pervert Man is out of this fight.

Candy Knight will never be an A List hero, but she's not a pushover. Being able to manifest weapons, items and armour at will is nothing to be sneezed at. Add in her light brick physique and she can be a surprising threat.
And Teri was really pissed with Pervert Man. He should be happy she only hit him once.

The ghosts are gone and they go to help Teri, but she has come to an arrangement with the tentacle monster, eww. Thank you for saving Teri's innocence, Candy.

I'd planned the tentacle monster a long time ago just for Mouser. I'd planned out the scene different at first, but it didn't really work with some changes I made, so I couldn't make it as funny as I wanted, but it worked overall.

Mouser made the tentacle monster her pet, oh brother. I need brain bleach, bad Mouser. Aww, Teri wants a pet mouse or gerbil, she could ride them like a horse. Going to Whateley in two days and Teri is all packed except her good dress. Who and what was that call about that Mouser sent Teri to the store to get snacks as a distraction? Ah, the airline about Teri. And thus we get a road trip to Whateley with Mouser and Teri.

Making Mouser keep Squidward, was not planned until about 2 months ago. I think Rose or Astro gave me the idea, and I decided it had to happen. Making Teri too innocent to understand why Mouser kept it around was all my idea, and too cute to pass up.
When I was explaining the idea to Amethyst, my 12 year old daughter was too innocent to understand at first as well. It was adorable, and then it became hilarious as she slowly understood what was being implied, the look of horror was memorable.

As for the phone call. We'll eventually learn what it was about.

Teri singing along to a J-Pop song is cute. Wait, why was Mouser tense the night before? The call wasn't from the airline, it was a call about Burgermeister being back and she was afraid he would go after her if she took a plane. Crud, it is Burgermeister's airship, back and as terrible as ever. And they have captured Mouser and Teri, I hope they kick his ass and get him locked up in a prison for the criminally insane already.

The big event is coming up.
The rematch between Burgermeister and Tink. It's going to be explosive.