The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2 - Chapter Eighteen (w/ Commentary Notes)

Chapter Eighteen: Project Geo Base – 2012

            Disguising himself as “Agent Lisa Marie” proved to be a slight challenge for Yen Sid. The master sorcerer had to become her, abandoning the mannerisms that defined him as a character in his world. However, considering the line of work that “Lisa” was in, Yen Sid found it easier just to be himself – through “Lisa.” Of course, his powerful aura could still be detected by the other agents he passed in the halls of the Project Geo Base, as each one stared upon him with intimidated faces. By then, Yen Sid realized that he was not wearing the sunglasses to mask Lisa’s blue eyes, which carried his piercing stare. Rather than put the sunglasses on, Yen Sid opted to intimidate the other agents. Perhaps my work here will be more discreet without too much focus on me, the sorcerer thought.

(Spoiler Note: The "masking spell" that Yen Sid and Mickey both use to maintain real world identities is used again later in World of Disney 3, when Anne-Marie - a reincarnation of Sean Thomas - attempts to turn herself back into him.)

            Passing by the door to the women’s restroom, Yen Sid heard odd noises coming from inside. Curious, the master sorcerer went inside to find his apprentice, Mickey Mouse (in the guise of “Agent Samantha ‘Sammi’ Solus”), sitting on the floor of the empty restroom and being licked in the face by his dog, Pluto. Seeing his apprentice with Pluto had greatly upset Yen Sid. He shut the restroom door behind him and placed a spell on the door to morph it into a section of the bathroom wall, preventing anyone outside from entering.

(Character Note: This scene marks Pluto's first-ever appearance in the World of Disney series. He was given a proper chronological introduction in A World of Disney Christmas, which is set a year after the events of the first story from Joanie's perspective, as a gift to Mickey from Yen Sid.)

            Mickey realized that Yen Sid was in the room and immediately stood up. “Master!” His voice as Sammi Solus sounded much squeakier than his real one when nervous. “I…I can explain!”

            “How long has Pluto been here?” To Mickey, Yen Sid’s voice as Lisa Marie sounded more intimidating than his real one.

            “I placed an invisibility spell on him, Master; s-so that no one would’ve known he was here the whole time.” Mickey saw the displeased look on Lisa’s face, mirroring Yen Sid’s actual emotion. “I-I’m sorry, Master.” He knelt down beside Pluto and rubbed Sammi’s fingers through Pluto’s fur. “I just couldn’t leave him there in the workshop all alone. And I wouldn’t dream of leavin’ him there now with that Clayton fella all tied up.”

            Yen Sid let out an aggravated sigh, but he considered Mickey’s reasoning for having Pluto in the top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base. “Are you certain your spell makes him unseen by everyone here, excluding you?”

            “Well, I…uh…”

            Mickey’s tentative answer was enough for the master sorcerer to decipher that his apprentice had in fact not excluded himself from the spell. “Modify the spell so that it does exclude you and keep Pluto in Samantha Solus’s quarters. After you’ve accomplished that task, return to me. The Guardian has returned to the base with Sheryl.”

            “Joanie’s back?”

            “She is not ‘Joanie’ anymore, apprentice. We would be wise to remind ourselves of that when we see her.”

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            “So you’re basically telling me that Banner and the Hulk have both been compromised?” Fury asked, after listening to a rundown of what occurred in the Disneyverse from Steve Rogers. “Well, I can certainly add voodoo to the list of things that can turn a nine-foot green man against me.”

            Fury and Rogers stood in the laboratory near the Sphere with Gigi, Sean, Sheryl, Barton, Romanoff, Ciciley, and Selvig. Stark sat by a computer console to the side, stripped of his Iron Man suit and wearing blue jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt; he sipped a cup of black decaffeinated coffee to help fight off the hangover that he had experienced upon re-entering the real world. Outside the boundaries of the laboratory, the Disney characters brought along with the group from their recent excursion were busy gawking over all of the high technology that surrounded them.

(Marvel Note: Tony's appearance depicted in this scene mirrors the casual look he takes on through most of The Avengers when out of his Iron Man armor.)

            “We’re dead, aren’t we?” Flynn asked.

            “I knew I’d see the lights, but these lights are much more beautiful!” Rapunzel exclaimed, staring upon the various colored lights blinking from the computers – most of which Pascal mimicked on her shoulder.

            Having already been impressed by the previous world she visited, Pocahontas was far much so within this new one. She wished Grandmother Willow, Flit, Meeko, and the members of her tribe could be there with her to see so many wonders. Then again, she was certain most of them would be terrified of it all, especially the more elderly members of her tribe.

(Authorial Note: Livingston considered Flit and Meeko accompanying Pocahontas in her journey outside of her realm but ultimately decided against it, thinking the characters' presence served no real purpose to the narrative, as they are comic relief characters and would not be given much to do.)

            Seeing all of the new characters brought into the base, Fury grew frustrated – specifically towards Gigi. “I am not running a theme park here. I can’t afford to have any more characters around.”

            “I know, and I’m sorry.” Gigi remarked. “I just couldn’t afford to let Flynn and Rapunzel remain in their world with Facilier and his gang having conquered it.”

            “And Pocahontas?” Fury gestured to the young native girl.

            Before Gigi could have responded, Rogers stepped in. “Uh, I’m the reason for Pocahontas being here. She wanted to see the worlds beyond hers, and I…I…”

            “Couldn’t just say ‘no’ to her?” Stark finished the Captain’s statement.

            Much as he hated to admit it, Rogers shamefully acknowledged Stark’s spot-on observation. “Yeah.”

            “Well, I don’t blame ya for doing what you did, Cap.” Ciciley said. “You were merely a victim of circumstance – caused by a certain alien who shall not be named because she doesn’t have a name.” She glared towards Gigi upon snidely adding the last half of her comment.

            Realizing that she was being insulted, Gigi angrily stated in her defense, “I have a name!”

            “You had to be given one by my son like some pet, because you can’t even figure out who or what the hell you are anymore!” Ciciley exclaimed, her tone noticed by everyone around them who stopped their activities and watched the scene unfold with interest.

(Narrative Note: The Marvelous World follows World of Disney in the format with the build-up of contention among the heroes who reunite shortly after a catastrophic event in the Disneyverse and prior to the final act of the story.)

            Gigi advanced on Ciciley, who didn’t budge an inch. “Is this your sick way of having fun? Putting down those who possess great power and abilities? I don’t know if you’ve realized, but you’re surrounded by people with great power and abilities. Captain America, Iron Man, and even the Hulk.” She saw how her words appeared to be cutting through the tough exterior of Ciciley. “You know what I think? I think you’re just jealous because you can’t be half of what these men are.”

            Without warning, Ciciley swiftly took a swing at Gigi. However, the sorceress was prepared for the cheap shot and used her power to stop Ciciley’s fist in mid-swing. Seeing her fist frozen in place just a few inches from Gigi’s face, Ciciley quickly became terrified. She tried to move it from the position it was frozen in, but she found it to be completely stuck in place. She then saw Gigi’s eyes glowing ghostly white – a sight that frightened her even more.

            Fearing the confrontation between the two women was about to take a turn for the worse, Sean and Sheryl simultaneously stepped in and said, “Stop! We’re on the same side!” They did not address the same woman, but rather the one that they were more associated with. The delivery was so perfectly in sync that it surprised both Sean and Sheryl themselves. The two looked to each other. As their eyes met, Sean felt a sense of familiarity with Sheryl as if he had met her somewhere before. For Sheryl, however, it was like looking into a living reflection of her past self.

(Character Note: Much emphasis is brought into this cognitive connection between a parallel counterpart of Sean Thomas and one of his reincarnations in order to express how in sync he is with a version of himself while in their presence. In some circumstances, it isn't as strong as it is in this scene, yet the two characters remain somewhat aware of the emotions and thoughts they share, especially during intense moments.)

            “They’re right.” Rogers spoke up, severing the mental link that Sean and Sheryl momentarily shared. “If we’re going to stop this guy Facilier and save Doctor Banner, then we’ll need to stop fighting each other and start trusting each other.” He looked to Stark, Burton, and Romanoff and added, “That’s what we had to learn in order to assemble and save the world.”

(Marvel Note: Cap references the conflict among the Avengers team from the film here. It reached to a boiling point before Loki's break-out from the Helicarrier. The death of Phil Coulson was the only thing that helped them to get over their differences and protect the world.)

            Gigi listened to Cap’s every word and she released the magical hold that she had on Ciciley’s fist. Ciciley immediately dropped her arm, shaking off the numbness that began to develop within it. Gigi’s display of sorcery didn’t convince Ciciley any less that she was a dangerous entity. Although she didn’t declare it vocally, she swore to put an end to the sorceress through any means necessary.

            All of the sudden, the lights and computers within the room went out, leaving the group and all the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives in total darkness. However, the darkness only lasted for a short time as the Sphere soon began to rapidly glow in a rainbow of bright colors and illuminate half of the enormous room. Upon witnessing the unusual occurrence, Fury exclaimed, “What in God’s name is goin’ on?”

            Elendriel, Sammi, and Lisa entered the room just as the event began. “All of the power in the base just shut down for no reason whatsoever,” reported a frantic Elendriel. “Please tell me we’re just experiencing a temporary outage.”

            “I wish we could be so lucky, big sis.” Sean uttered as he and the others kept their focus squarely on the glowing Sphere.

            The precipitous flashes of colors continued for a few minutes more and then the glow extinguished, leaving everyone in darkness once again. The base’s power returned as suddenly as it had disappeared, but the residents quickly discovered that they had unwelcomed guests in their presence. Doctor Facilier, Gaston (with Belle), LeFou, and the Stabbington Brothers were among the army of thugs that had infiltrated the Project Geo Base, holding each and every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent at gunpoint or knifepoint. Only the Hulk was absent from the group. Fury saw how Facilier’s militia surprisingly outnumbered them, and he gave the command for his agents to not take action against the intruders.

(Authorial Note: Facilier's army of Disney Villains was to be much larger in scale with the villains from other Disney Worlds, except for Jafar and Iago, to join in the fray. The Evil Queen would return as well, not having remembered her defeat to Joanie in the first story until Facilier brought back her memory of those events, prompting her to plot revenge. The idea was abandoned in favor of being saved for the fourth installment of the series, The Disney Access.)

            Facilier approached the laboratory, gawking at the high-tech surroundings. “Well, well…ain’t this quite the fancy hangout.” His focus leered over to Nick Fury. “You the big man in charge ‘round here?”

            “Did the eye patch give it away?” Fury jested.

(Marvel Note: Keith David, the voice actor for Doctor Facilier, currently voices Nick Fury in the Marvel Heroes MMO game.)

            The voodoo bokor chuckled and started to advance on the S.H.I.E.L.D. director threateningly. Gigi feared that the Disney villain would make a violent move and hurriedly made herself known to him. “Facilier! I give you what you want, and you leave all these people alone?”

            Nearby, Sammi looked unnerved from the deal that Gigi was making with the untrustworthy Facilier. She glanced over to Lisa, who remained unaffected. It was difficult to determine what exact thoughts Lisa had on all that had transpired in the base that moment. Sammi couldn’t tell if there was a plan of resistance involved or not. From Lisa’s standpoint on things, Gigi appeared to have control over the situation.

            Facilier approached the sorceress with a wicked smile. “You have my word on that, little girl.” As if in anticipation of what was to come, Facilier held out his hand to her to accept the object of his desire.

            Sheryl stood and watched in total disbelief as Gigi reached up and took Yen Sid’s sorcerer hat off her head with a heavy sigh. She would never have imagined the Guardian of the Disneyverse – her own mother – to have given up her magic so easily. Sammi shared the same outlook on the matter, her body growing tenser between watching Facilier take the hat from Gigi and the thug that had his knife pointed directly at her neck. As much as Sammi and Sheryl both wanted to make a move, the two apprentices knew how much Lisa would disapprove of their endangering lives.

(Authorial Note: Livingston chose to identify Mickey and Yen Sid by that of their real world disguises in fear of readers getting lost in visualizing the actions of the two while seeing their names in the narrative.)

            Facilier cackled as he held the hat in his own two bony hands. “At last, the power of the universe is mine!” He removed his top hat, exposing his permed hair, and placed the sorcerer hat upon his head. He then stood with his arms outstretched, waiting for the magic to happen. Of course, after a few short minutes, nothing happened – much to the chagrin of the hat’s new wearer. “What the…?”

            But then something did happen, and it was the complete opposite of what Facilier hoped for. A sudden jolt of electricity escaped from the hat and went through the Shadow Man’s body. He groaned in extreme pain and was brought down to his knees, right at the feet of a smiling Gigi. Facilier’s army of thugs, Gaston and LeFou most particularly, watched in immense dissatisfaction as the man who promised them wealth and power had been swiftly defeated…by a hat. Sheryl and Sammi, in the meantime, had breathed in relief after seeing Gigi’s submission was a ploy to subdue Facilier.

(Narrative Note: What happens to Facilier after putting the hat on is exactly what occurs when an unworthy wearer tries it. A similar result happens in A World of Disney Christmas with Mad Man Mooney when he comes in contact with the hat.)

            Realizing that Gigi helped them to gain the upper hand, Fury quickly ordered the agents to retaliate against Facilier’s thugs, disarming them and pointing their own guns and knives at them. Gaston and LeFou were the first to surrender, followed soon by the Stabbington Brothers. Free from Gaston’s confinement, Belle moved in slightly closer to Gigi, who she saw as her savior from the nightmare she had to endure for the past hours.

            Gigi knelt down, still smiling over the subdued Facilier. “You should’ve listened to Sheryl’s warning about the hat. Many like you have tried to conquer the magic, and they all have failed epically. I’ll be taking it back now, and you’re gonna tell me where Bruce Bann—”

            She grabbed at the hat and was abruptly caught off guard from the jolt she received – the same one that brought Facilier down. Her grip on the hat became unmovable by an unseen force. Another jolt ran through her body as she felt all of the energy within her drained. She looked down below her and saw how her shadow had shifted from beneath her to beneath Facilier. Her body grew chillingly cold and weak as it continued to receive shocks from the hat, which morphed from its glittering blue and white design to a black and purple one that literally sparked with yellow electricity.

            Facilier’s clothes changed as well. He now bore a long black robe that hid his slender physique, making him appear broader and more intimidating. Once another jolt from the altered sorcerer hat removed Gigi’s grip from it and sent her falling lifelessly to the floor, Facilier stood at his full height again. His eyes sparked in an eerie purple hue and looked upon all of the terrified faces – from both S.H.I.E.L.D. and his army of thugs.

            Raising his arms up high, he spoke in a deep, hallowed voice: “All hail…The Shadow Sorcerer!”

(UP NEXT: The Shadow Sorcerer strikes!)