Rebecca Brisk: Alien Slayer

She laughed. “Story of my life. You wouldn’t believe my initial reaction when I found out that mandatory alien checks were not a normal thing.”

“You know what? I think some red and white roses would be perfect. You sound like the two of you haven’t been dating long, hence the white roses, which means purity. And you obviously love her, hence the red roses. We’ll throw in some small blue ones around the edges, and whala! The perfect bouquet for your lovely lady. I’ll even give you all the credit for picking them out.” She grinned, putting a sample of the bouquet together as she spoke. She handed him the finished bundle. “Well? What do you think?”

There goes the confidence.

“Uhm, well, they should. It looked pretty in my head.” She paused. “What, like different shades of the same color? That could work. You know what her favorite color is? Or we could go patriotic. Those colors always look great together. ---Unless you want colors from a different flag,” She quickly added. “That’s cool too.” 

Just not the Red Queen, if he liked his head firmly attached to his neck that is.

Aliens were one thing, but how her world depicted a genie was only getting worse.  Perhaps he was vain, glad he actually had a full head of curls, over a little ponytail.  Unless that was implying this genie in question had hair that long…and a goatee?  Heavens forbid, one thing Cyrus never intended to ever do was grow facial hair.  Then he wasn’t sure that was possible, had his own curse pretty well froze him as he was the moment it was enacted?  “Were they worried children may believe anyone could be a genie?” he choked out, not sure if he was trying to fight down laughter at the thought or just having trouble finding his voice.  “It seems every land needs its odd tales.”

Cyrus finally did find his voice, in the form of a laugh at Rebecca’s question.  “Normally they travel together, there are times you may see one Tweedle without the other.  Although I have no idea which one is Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee; I have only ever seen them together and from afar.”  The Red Queen normally just shouted Tweedle and they both would turn, so he wasn’t sure if they actually had the extra part of the names or that was just made up by the people of the realm.

Truthfully, he realized as they made their way through the long, emerald hued blades of grass, there seemed to be no time to show up where Percy didn’t seem out of sorts.  Perhaps it was because most came to see him when they were wanting a portal to another realm, or faster travel through Wonderland?  They’d need to be sure to have Alice with them; she could ask him for most anything and he’d agree.  Odd really, considering his first meeting with the White Rabbit included the curious young woman pulling him out of a bag by his ears.  “She does have tea with the Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse.”  Dark eyes glanced upwards, gauging the time of day by where the sun was in the sky.  “She should be making her way through Tulgy Woods, we may be able to meet her on the other side.”  So long as she didn’t stop to trade riddles with Cheshire of course.

“Well, given how the Genie described it, it made us all know that being a genie wasn’t the best job in the world. At the end of the movie, though, Aladdin wished for Genie to be free, so I don’t think any little kids wanted to be genies when they grew up.”

“...They don’t sing, do they? Because that would be weird.” She couldn’t even imagine it. Some things in Wonderland were too weird, even for her.

She stopped. “Hatter. The Mad Hatter? He’s my favorite!” Walking forward again, she continued. “Honestly I’m not quite sure why he’s always been my favorite, but there was just something about him. I used to think that he had an encounter with aliens...nobody believed him about it, and he just grew madder and madder as time went on.” She shrugged. “That’s probably not the case here, but you know...” She sighed. “I was a lonely child.” She shrugged. “Anyway...how far is Tulgy Woods?”

She thought for a moment. “She sounds like she likes things simple, but still a bit vibrant, you know? How about some blue daisies--- see what I did there?” She grinned. “---with some pink tiger lilies and some pink or white bleeding hearts on the edge of the bouquet? OR, or instead of the bleeding hearts, we could do some goldenrod flowers on the edges! What do you think? Too much?” 

She really only had this job to get herself back on her feet. Alien slaying payed good enough, but it wasn’t often that she got those opportunities.  She was still new and learning about what colors looked good with what, but she had a good feeling about this arrangement.

She suddenly became very calm. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Fitz.” She held out her hand for him to shake.

“It’s alright. Aliens can do that to you. They also can eat your brains, but mostly they just mess with us. Now, about the flowers...tell me about the girl you’re getting them for first, then I’ll help you.”

Mind it sounded as though he was about to be questioning the validity of her tale.  Not based on what these beings called aliens thought her appearance to be, but more on this friend.  “That is a very strange name, I am not sure if I mean your friend’s name of the land he comes from.”  The genie smiled, odd it rhymed a bit.  Perhaps this Mork would do well in Wonderland as well, if he enjoyed riddles and other such nonsense.  “He sounds to be a good friend, if he is willing to assist you in your work by scaring them away from your own home.”

Obviously stories were altered over time, and even when they moved from one realm to another.  Details about Aladdin were unchanged, the same as Jasmine but he was almost appalled at the depiction of a genie.  “The genie, he was completely blue?”  This was hard to swallow; tall as mountains, hideous to behold and all the rest, that he’d grown up hearing.  But none ever said they were blue and…did she say he sang too?  Cyrus wasn’t tone deaf, but he certain didn’t sing.  “I must admit some relief that none of the stories were true.”

The Red Queen…apparently she was included in Alice’s story as well, which he supposed made sense in retrospect.  “We should be able to stay out of her way, the most you might run upon a Tweedle.  I do not believe the Red Queen is likely to remove your head, that was ore the Queen of Hearts,” he explained, mind wandering for a brief moment. The one had vanished awhile ago, the other he wasn’t sure of.  She seemed cold, but he knew sometimes people acted a certain way to hide something.  Only he wasn’t sure what, and was in no hurry to get close enough to the monarch to find out.

Nodding, he gestured towards the oddly checkered path amid the tall blades of grass.  “It sounds of great interest, one does find themselves longing for adventures after so much time solitary.  Alice on the other hand, she absolutely loves to explore, I believe you both may get alone quite well.”  That and they both loved making new friends, for however long they would stay.  A soft laugh as they walked, he nodded at her assumption of Percy.  “The White Rabbit is fussy, so long as we are not interrupting his tea he should be fairly agreeable.  I am unsure where Alice was heading, but she is usually easy to find.”

She nodded. “His skin was blue. And his pants, too. He also had a black goatee and ponytail.” She was trying her best to contain her laughter from his reaction to what the cartoon looked like as opposed to him. “Remember, this was a family story, they wanted to keep him kid-friendly, but not completely human.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness. Wait.” She looked at him, her eyes widened. “Tweedles? As in Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, Tweedles? Do they travel in pairs?” Of all the places to randomly get teleported to, Wonderland was where she ended up. 

She smiled. “I hope so. She sounds pretty cool.” She decided to wait before describing to Cyrus what Alice’s cartoon self was like. He was still processing what his cartoon self was. “Okay. We’ll just have to make sure we don’t interrupt him, then.” She nodded. “Where are we going to check first? Where would she most likely be?”

He almost froze in shock when he looked at her face. “Uh, You okay? Oh gosh, there’s not something in my teeth, is there?” She self consciously covered her mouth. “I swear, if there’s lettuce in my teeth...I’m sorry, I thought I checked earlier after lunch...” After checking her reflection and seeing no food in her teeth, she turned back around towards the stranger. 

“Whew, I thought it was me for a second there. You, on the other hand..you okay, ‘Faizy’? Look at me and tell me the truth. Have you had any encounters with aliens lately?” It really was the only explanation she could think of. “Aliens can really make you crazy.”

How had he missed the weapon she carried?  Cyrus looked at it curiously as Rebecca explained the use, which was far more than what the one he had could do.  Not that he would complain; a sword was a sword, it mattered more the holder knew how to use it than anything else. “That sounds to be a difficult task, and a lonely one if you are the sole person able to perform the task.  It also seems those with ill intent have a common goal of controlling whatever realm they find.”  For a moment the genie wondered if that weapon of her’s would take care of Jafar just as easily, then again he was quite human.  Evil, probably leaning towards a sociopath but other than that, human.

“Aladdin?” That particular name was familiar, although he had a feeling the story might be different.  “A poor boy who rose in the social ranks to wed a princess, many did wonder how he managed such as he was more or less known to be a ne’er do well.”  Cyrus grinned, shrugging at the talk of how the genie was described in the story she knew. “Genies in some tales in my land are said to be hideous to behold, and tall as mountain once freed of their bottle or lamp.”  He never considered himself vain, but was extremely glad to find that to be untrue after being cursed.  “Alice makes fast friends with most everyone she meets, aside from the royalty in this realm that is.”

Rebecca did have a valid idea, and he was surprised at how quickly she came to the conclusion on what he was.  Then if she knew the story of Aladdin it really shouldn’t have been shocking.  “Alice is always up for an adventure, and I must admit now that I am far more free then I have been in a long time I enjoy seeing what I can.  Percy on the other hand, he’s the one that must be convinced as he would be the only way out of Wonderland, and to return.  While I am sure your land will be interesting, I believe Alice will want to return here.” As would he, if he could not return to Agrabah and call it home then Wonderland was the next best thing.

She nodded. “Well, I’ve gotten used to it. Besides, after this long, the aliens are absolutely terrified of me. The rumors that spread about me with them are crazy...that I have pointy teeth, and other nonsense.” She grinned. “I’m glad they’re afraid of me. Keeps more of ‘em away, thanks to Mork from Ork.” She did have one alien friend, the only non-human she completely trusted, but it had been a long time since she had last seen Mork. He was the one who spread most of those rumors.

“...It’s a little different in the story I know...” She explained to him a short version of the film. “The funny part is, you look more like Aladdin than the Genie himself. Although...blue would be a great color on you.” She added sarcastically. “I bet you were glad to find that wasn’t true, right?” She paused. “Sounds like Alice and I might be good friends.” From what Cyrus said, she sounded nothing like the cartoon. “Oh, gosh. The Red Queen is here, right? She’s not...she’s not gonna cut my head off, right? Because I really like where it is right now.”

“I’m sure you’re right, but maybe you two can explore my realm a bit once we open the portal. I’m sure you’d like it, once you got used to it.” She had a feeling that once their journey was over, it would be hard to part with them, and even though she hadn’t met Alice yet, she knew it’ll be hard to say goodbye.

“Okay, we can finish our conversation on the way. First, we find Alice. Then Percy so I can get home. He might be more willing to help friends than a random stranger..” She started to walk in one direction, then stopped. “Actually...you lead. I don’t know where anything is here.”