"'Eye for an Eye', and soon the whole world is blind" Gandhi

Halloween Revenge

Two A.M. is the real witching hour. Take, for example one September morning at two. An observer in this particular town might have had their attention drawn to a back alley in a disreputable part of town.

There, in the shadows, there was a door. It looked like a very old door, possibly older than the bricks around it. The observer would have seen black smoke escape from a small space under the door, curling in the night air.

After a few minutes, the smoke was disconnected from its source on the other side of the door. The smoke spiralled into the air, and began to drift away from the downtown core.

It twisted in the air, with tendrils of smoke questing in many directions, as if seeking for something. In the distance, at the town collage, there was still noise coming from one of the frat houses.

Outside the door of the house, a young man sat on the steps shaking with rage, and trying not to cry. The smoke span toward him like a moth drawn to a flame. A single syllable wafted on the wind, if anyone had been listening. The word was. . . HIM.

Maynard Abernathy was a geek. He knew it, anyone who knew him knew it. Despite this, he had dared to dream of remaking himself after high school. College was supposed to be different!

They were adults now, not kids. It wasn’t supposed to be the same cliques and groups like before. He tried to join a fraternity, and had gotten laughed at for his trouble. He wanted to hurt the frat boys, make them feel like he did right now.

The smoke curled close to him, unnoticed. It began to solidify, taking a shape of a globe. Soon, it was a glass globe at Maynard’s feet. Inside the globe,. A dark storm raged, one that matched the anger in Maynard’s heart.

He was drawn to it, and soon it was in his hand, and he could hear it whispering. “Yes,” he said, “I understand. We will have our revenge”
He put the globe in his pocket, and made his way back to his room.

Soon, in his room, he was listening to the globe tell him that certain magical items would come into his possession, and with them, he would be able to enact vengeance on his tormentors.

So a couple of days later, while in the library, he wasn’t totally surprised when the Librarian got a glazed look on her face, and led him into a section of rare books, and pulled out a book that looked a thousand years old.

When he read the book, he realized it was a spell book, but he couldn’t see how the spells inside would help him. It was a spell that would temporarily transform him into a very attractive woman, who could get just about any boy to do just about anything. The other spell made a temporary mansion, which also didn’t seem to be helpful in his quest at that moment. . . .

Then, a couple of days later, while walking around, he came across a walking stick. When he examined it, the globe told him it was a summoning staff, and would call minions to his service when the time came.

He tested the staff, and the minion seemed scary enough, but he wasn’t very big, and Maynard worried that the guys at the frat would be able to beat it in a fair fight. If only he could weaken them somehow. . .

The turning point was when he went into town, and was drawn toward a second-hand store, and the owner gave him a box of clothes, marked Halloween costumes. Examining the contents, Maynard realized that they were all women’s costumes.

The first one looked like a magician’s assistant outfit, another looked like some kind of sexy biker chick, with fishnet stockings, high heeled boots, a bustier , and a choker with a bird symbol on it.

Another was little more than a one-piece swimsuit with the initials S.H. on the waist. Another looked like a typical fairy tale princess outfit. Another was a cheerleader uniform.

The rest were similar. The globe told him that the costumes would turn their wearers into the personalities that the costumes symbolized.

Suddenly, Maynard had an idea. . . .

A couple of days later, a unbelievably beautiful woman knocked on the door of the frat house. When the door opened, she sashayed in, and soon had the attention of all the males in the house.

“I am having a Halloween party. I would really like you boys to come, and to wear these costumes” She said Before she left, the boys were digging through the costumes, and making their choices. . . .

Halloween night, the boys found themselves in the strange outfits, feeling a little silly, as they made their way to a mansion they could have sworn had not been on that site the day before. ..

At the appointed time, the costumes performed their magic, and the frat brothers where turned into the women they were dressed as. They were regarding each other with shock, when Maynard summoned his minions and moved into the mansion to witness their humiliation firsthand . . .

But something had gone wrong! The transformed boys were WINNING!

The boy wearing the cheer outfit was dancing between minions, kicking them and punching them, seemingly at will. The girl in the magicians outfit seemed to have actual magic. The girl in the swimsuit had turned green and become a 7 foot tall monster. Even the girl in the princess outfit was holding her own.

When he came in, the girl magician turned to the biker chick and said “Diana! He’s here! Go!”

The biker chick jumped over a minion and landed in front of Maynard. She said. “We know what you intended. You assumed we would be helpless as females. But you didn’t really look at the costumes to see the kind of women we were going to become. We chose strong, independent women to emulate. For example, I am modeled on Black Canary. She is a fighter, a master of martial arts. And she has one special gift . . .“with that, She began to scream, and it soon moved beyond hearing range.

The globe in Maynard’s hand shattered.

The shattered globe released smoke and it curled around Maynard, as he fell to his knees and cried. The girl magician moved toward him and spoke, “Mrah erom on esuac dna ,deniatnoc eb ecnagnev, fo tirips krad!”

The smoke was soon inside a bubble, and unable to escape. She then approached Maynard and laid a slim hand on his shoulder. He was still sobbing, but now instead of being full of anger, it was clear he was full of remorse. “I … I couldn’t stop!” he sobbed.

“I know. Its over now. Let it go.” She said.

Just then an old man came into the room. The former boys, now girls, formed a circle of protection around Maynard, but the old man held up a hand, and said “Well done!”

The girl magician said “You are the one I saw when I transformed into this form, based on Zantana”

The old man said, “Yes. It was my fault that the vengeance spirit escaped. I dared not act directly, but I ’edited’ the spell book before he could find it, and left the clothes where he would find them, and I hoped that you girls would see the truth, which you did.”

He approached Maynard, who was still in tears on his knees, and said, “Young man, you have now learned the power, and the danger, of vengeance. Now, you need to make amends to these people that your desire for payback has hurt. Will you do that?”

Maynard looked at the old man, and then at the girls. “Yes. I will do anything I can to make up for what I have done. What can I do?”

The old man to the girls “We can possibly restore your male lives. There are consequences to us both to do so, but its not impossible. But if any of you prefer, we can make these female lives you are modeled on real. Each of you has to make the choice.”

The girl who had become a princess said “I modeled Princess Fiona, from the movie ‘Shrek’ But if I could stay a girl, I will take that.”

“So be it” said the old man, helping Maynard to his feet “Follow my lead, young man” And soon the two were chanting in a strange language, and the princess disappeared.

“Where did she go?” asked the girl dressed as Black Canary.

“She is now part of a touring group that performs the movie as a stage play.” said the old man.

So one by one, each girl was given a choice, and soon, just the girl dressed as Zantanna was left. She said, “Can I keep my magical abilities?”

The old man nodded. “I will take you as an apprentice, if you wish. Maynard too.”

“Me?” asked Maynard.

“You have potential, young man, now that you have let go of hate.” said the old man, “Plus, it will help balance the scales for what you have done here tonight.”

Maynard looked at the new girl, and said “And you? Can you forgive me?”

“I already have” said the girl, “And yes, I would like to learn more about magic.”

The old man nodded, and soon the mansion was empty for a moment, before fading into the night air. The three of them appeared at the back door where the smoke had escaped, and the old man let the two young people in, saying “Let’s get to work.”

"A person doesnt get mercy because they deserve it, Buffy. They get mercy because they need it." Mr. Giles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer