Chapter Twenty: Mojave Desert (Former Site of
the Project Geo Base) – 2012
They all watched in horror and disbelief as the Sphere
lifted itself from the crumbling navy blue warehouse that was once the top
secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base and vanished into the cloudy sky above. Of everyone
who stood and witnessed the bizarre takeoff of the alien artifact, only Lisa
was unsurprised by the display. She knew sorcery when she saw it, and Facilier
– The Shadow Sorcerer – displayed powers that equaled that of the Guardian,
having moved the Sphere from its
previous location and cloaked it upon its entry somewhere within the
troposphere and stratosphere. It was the perfect plan orchestrated by Dr.
Facilier – obtain the Guardian’s abilities, take away those of all the
sorcerers from the Fantasia realm
thus preventing anyone from stopping him, and steal the only gateway between
reality and the Disneyverse.
(Marvel Note: Facilier "cloaking" the Sphere in its entry into the sky is a hidden reference to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier and its capability of cloaking once its airborne, as seen in The Avengers.)
Facilier believed that he was the only powerful being in
all universes, but he made one critical error: he let the offspring of the Guardian live. Almost immediately after
the Sphere vanished into the sky, Lisa went to Sheryl, who was still bundled in
her oversized clothes as they were carried by Elendriel. “Sheryl,” she
addressed the misshapen creature that could barely focus her lopsided eyes in
the daylight. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I need you to focus.”
(Authorial Note: Livingston wasn't certain whether or not he wanted to make Sheryl the official main hero of the story until he saw how much the real Sheryl gave off a superhero flare in her modeling photos and wanted that to reflect in her character. He also felt necessary to bump Sean Thomas up to main protagonist status for the series, although it is another version of the character entirely. Sean Thomas himself won't be the main hero of his own story until The Disney Access.)
Looking
away from Lisa, Sheryl centered her attention on Gigi, whose motionless body
was laid on the ground. “M-My…moth…er…”
“She has died.” Lisa bluntly told her.
Close nearby, Sean heard what Lisa had said and was
distraught, looking over to Gigi’s body. Ciciley, hearing the news of the death
of the woman she gave her son so much grief over, noticed the sadness in his
eyes. She sighed, feeling a bit ashamed of herself, especially after witnessing
Gigi’s bravery when dealing with Facilier.
(Character Note: Ciciley's reaction to Gigi's death was originally meant to be cold, with her assessing that "one threat has been neutralized." Livingston thought the reaction was too heartless and would made Ciciley come off as incredibly antagonizing to readers, a viewpoint he did not want to give on the verge of the story's final battle. His initial decision to make the death an eye-opening experience for her has, in retrospect, influenced her personality change in Marvel Mayhem.)
“Sheryl,” Lisa again calmly addressed the tiny creature
held in Elendriel’s hands. “I need for you to focus. Focus on reconstructing
yourself back into your human form. Break Facilier’s spell.”
“I…c-can’t…s-so…weak.”
“Sean.” The ears of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent of the same
name perked as he heard Lisa say his
name, but he soon noticed that she was still addressing Sheryl as she said it.
“Facilier killed your mother. Took
away her magic – the only thing that kept her alive in this world. He now
intends on controlling this world and countless others with her magic. The only one who can stop him
is you. Because you are the progeny of the Guardian. Your mother’s magic
literally runs in your blood. You possess her capabilities, and you must use
them to stop Facilier. You are our last hope. Now…focus.”
Sheryl heard those words not in the voice of Lisa Marie,
but the man behind the disguise – Yen Sid. On his command, she did as he
requested and concentrated on whatever strength she possessed in her small,
disfigured form. Facilier might have taken away her body, but he didn’t take
away her spirit. This spirit was what she used to do as Yen Sid instructed and
reconstruct her body back in the form she gained in her resurrection. She began
to grow heavy under the hold of Elendriel, who immediately dropped both Sheryl
and her clothes as soon as she saw her small form glow in a golden hue and
increase in size.
(Narrative Note: The idea behind the spirit of the Guardian being the drive in her abilities highlights the fact that the true power comes from within the soul - the soul of the original being that is carried on through the different reincarnations. This is what makes Facilier's sorcerer power different, as his drive comes more from hat, as well as his "Friends on the Other Side.")
Again buried beneath the pile of her clothes, she was
obscured from the people who looked on her transformation with interest, which
included Fury, Sean, Ciciley, Elendriel, Sammi, Rapunzel, Flynn, Pocahontas,
and the Avengers. Her form shifted beneath the clothes until a tanned female
human hand emerged, followed by the arm that it was attached to. The other arm
and hand, as well as two pairs of legs, soon emerged from the pile as well. A
head with a beautiful face that was partially hidden by long, flowing blond
hair finally appeared with a neck and torso. Sheryl’s reconstruction back to
her human form was complete, although it was still unclothed with only her
buttocks covered by the pile of clothes she emerged from. She was also lying
face down on the ground, leaving her front covered as well.
The reconstruction appeared to have taken a toll on her,
as she was seen and heard breathing heavily into the dirt. Despite her
exhaustion, Lisa nodded in approval of her success in reforming herself. Her
eyes moved away from Sheryl for a moment to look to Gigi. With one sorceress
back in form, another was lost to the world that she was reborn into.
--------------------------------
Once Sheryl regained her strength, she quickly went to
work on burying Gigi with help from Rogers, Sean, and even Ciciley. While the
others stood by and watched them bury a friend to a couple, a mother to one,
and a hero to many people that day, Sammi shed tears and Pluto whimpered in
sadness. Lisa stood with her arms crossed and her face lacking any emotion –
the fashion of Yen Sid. After Gigi was buried, Sheryl used her magic to conjure
a headstone from the ground and chisel in words that read, “In Loving Memory of
Joanie ‘Gigi’ Navarro-Thomas – The Noble Guardian of this Marvelous World and
Many Others.”
(Narrative Note: This is the first time the "Marvelous World" subheading from the story title has been referenced in narrative. It is mentioned again later in the epilogue, multiple times. The phrase itself is, of course, a direct reference to the main setting of the Marvel Universe.)
“She was my mother,” said Sheryl, addressing the audience
of mourners, only a couple she personally knew. “I never got a chance to tell
her that before she died. The truth is that this is the second funeral I’ve had to tend for her. In another world, much
different from this one, she was born Joanie Navarro and died Joanie
Navarro-Thomas. Her first death didn’t come at the hands of some sick man, but
from natural causes. Her death, even though premature, was natural; but she was not a natural woman. She was resurrected into this world in this
very spot as ‘Gigi,’ a name given to her by a good man who stands with us now –
Agent Sean Livingston. When she saw him, she thought he was me…or the man I
once was before I died in the same
world as her and became ‘Sheryl.’
Although I am
sad over my mother’s death, especially over the circumstances through which she
died in, I shed no tears. I’ve shed enough from her first funeral. I only thank God that I had the chance to be with
her one more time before I lost her again. As Gigi, she was just as brave and
wise as when she was Joanie. My master, Yen Sid, or ‘Agent Lisa Marie’ as many
of you know him in his current form, tells me that I am the last hope for this
world and others from the Disneyverse and beyond. I have my mother’s magic in
me, and you have my word that I will
protect these worlds with every power in me. All I ask is for you to believe in
me…because I will not
let you down!”
(Narrative Note: Sheryl's eulogy, specifically the last statement, is later mirrored in Joanie's speech to the sorcerers of the Fantasia realm in the final tale from A World of Disney Christmas.)
Sheryl’s eulogy-turned-motivational speech was met with
many approving nods, including those from Fury, Lisa, Ciciley, and Sean. She
was filled with hundreds of emotions as she delivered it, but only one stood
out to her the most – anger. It was anger for the man who took her mother away
from her. It was anger for Dr. Facilier, the self-proclaimed Shadow Sorcerer.
Sheryl knew that her first mission as her mother’s successor was to stop
Facilier from taking any more lives and conquering any other worlds. Shortly
after the conclusion of her eulogy, Pocahontas and Rapunzel stepped forward
with small assortments of forget-me-nots that were plucked from the desert
ground, setting them at the bottom of the headstone.
(UP NEXT: An Incredible Reunion!)
No comments:
Post a Comment