Pure Imagination, Pure Innovation

Synopsis: Twelve years after the events of "Parental Predicaments". The Disney kids, Paprika Talia Reubens, and their friends are now 12 to 13 years old. Michael Theodore "Mickey" Mouse has completed one of the most innovative business ventures yet - the acquisition of parks-and-resorts division from other media giants to ease their financial woes. Attending the announcement ceremony is legendary candy maker and entrepreneur William "Willy" Wonka, who wished to give Mr. Mouse suggestions on ideas for food offerings and some attractions.

‘Come with me and you’ll be

In a world of pure imagination

Take a look and you’ll see into your imagination

We’ll begin with a spin

Traveling in a world of my creation

What we’ll see will defy explanation !’--Lyrics from ‘Pure Imagination’ from the Original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’--Albert Einstein

Chapter 1—The New Rangers

HQ hadn’t changed much over the years. It might have expanded and improved. Every aspect of armor and mechs had been augmented, but Zordon hadn’t aged a day. In fact, if anything, the wizard seemed to maintain his youthful appearance. He had to marvel though at just how much Paprika Talia Reubens looked like her dad. She was the new magenta ranger and had been training diligently, just like her friends.

She, Alpha, Delta, Yvonne and Paul had all chosen their own abilities based on what they were adept in. Paprika had gotten used to transforming, fighting and all other types of offense and defense but it had been years since she, her friends or the Rangers had fought any sort of evil. Only recently had there been whisperings around the compound about Michael thinking about how to make the food even better and healthier at the parks. He had recently purchased Chuck E. Cheese’s establishment and the food giant had only recently begun to improve. The dance floors were relegated to one part of the building now but the animatronics had been repaired and updated. The robots no longer had the creepy ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ vibe to them. It had been annoying overcoming that stereotype but with the right type of PR campaigning, CEC was doing even better than ever. Alcohol was still served to adults, but with a limit. The arcades had been completely refurbished to reignite that sense of nostalgia. Many Generation Xers, Yers and Millenials were beginning to see just how fun the experience was and kids were starting to have a real appreciation for ‘older’ things. Just because some things were older, didn’t necessarily mean they were bad. 9 times out of 10, they were often more entertaining and far more multifaceted.

After hearing all the news about the newest CEC, the Rangers and team decided to go themselves to celebrate. It had been a long, hard day of training, and everyone needed a rest. While everyone was having a blast doing their own thing, Michael had a brilliant plan.

‘Minnie, I think I need to know who to contact tonight !’, he began, eagerly.

‘Who’s that ?’, she questioned, as the two of them faced off in a competitive game of putt-putt.

‘Remember the last con we went to ? It was a meeting of the minds for entrepreneurs.’, Michael recalled.

‘Oh yeah ! Willy Wonka was there. He gave you his card and said if you needed anything to pop him an email.’, Minnie added, astutely. Although it was late when the friends had finished their diversions, everyone else went to bed, but Mickey began to send an email to Willy.

‘Maybe he has some plans on what can be done about our menus.’, he mused. Minnie could only wonder what Mickey was mulling about in his incredibly innovative mind. With a sweet kiss on his cheek, she hugged him from behind.

‘I’m putting our babies to sleep with a story. I’m heading to bed afterward.’, she stated, sweetly. Mickey smiled, finished the email and turned off his laptop. Affectionately, he took Minnie’s hand and walked along with her.

‘Let’s put the kids to sleep together, my sweet Brie.’, Mickey said, poetically, though his pun was a little, how do you say, cheesy.

Chapter 2—Forging Ahead

It was that morning that Mickey received an email from William Wonka, the mogul of the chocolate industry himself. Willy was still a multi-trillionaire and among the ‘Top 10’ in Forbes’ ‘Who’s Who’. It was said that he even knew Warren Buffet personally and even Warren had gotten tips and tricks from the ‘bashda of bon bons’.

Mickey was euphoric because Willy had given he and everyone else and opportunity to see his world-famous chocolate factory. Of course, it was in...where else but Hershey, Pennsylvania.

'Even the Tour Ride is here !', Goofy geeked. It was his favorite ride in the whole factory. Everyone boarded the tram for the ‘Chocolate Train’. On the way, Willy explained that Mickey needed to expand his food options. He needed healthy options as well as allergen friendly products and gluten free ones as well. They wouldn’t be priced so astronomically high that patrons couldn’t purchase them. After all, the restaurants were on the grounds for the very purpose in keeping guests and faculty fed when they hadn’t enough time to either prepare a meal or were simply too slothful to do so.

‘I’m going to give you a copy of my book, Mickey. It’s called Delicious Success. I am planning to merge the chocolate factory as well as the global factories all over the world with your brand. I have seen you stand for quality, integrity, family values and most importantly, innovation and imagination.’, Willy said. With that said, there were dates that would be set forward in the future for the two to collaborate. Disney’s name would be attached to the factories here and globally but only when Mickey implemented the new options. Yes, it would take a while but the transition would be worthwhile.

Chapter 3—Fun in Hershey, PA

While the gang learned, they got to have a ton of fun. It was said that among all of them that they ate more chocolate than was healthy for anyone but luckily none of them had eaten that much chocolate since Christmas, Halloween or Easter.

With all the rides ridden and the waterpark swum in from one edge of the park to another, everyone got a chance to see Wonka’s estate.

The estate was elaborate and opulent. He had a real penchant and love for the color purple, but it suited him quite well. He had been eccentric, but he had married his childhood sweetheart Dulcinda. The two of them were expecting a baby, William Junior. She wasn’t that far along yet but Will was positively beaming as his wife directed them around the mansion.

    So, how are the Golden Ticket winners, Miranda, Violet and Veruca especially ?', Kimberly asked.

‘They’re all grown up and have children of their own. Charlie, on the other hand, is a co-owner of my chocolate factory. He has his own branches all over the world. Turns out the innovative, ambitious young lad is quite savvy in business, particularly in international exchange.’, Willy said, proudly. Willy hadn’t had a son of his own, but Charlie was considered a ‘surrogate’. Now, looking back on how much Charlie had grown, he was eager to see Will Junior come to be a stupendous CEO of the company.

‘I know that you’re improving your sister company as well. I have to hand it to Chuck. I do realize being an entrepreneur is challenging, especially in our changing world. I give you all my congratulations and kudos ! I hate to cut my visit short but the gardens need tender loving care. The plants enjoy it when I sing and play my violin for them. They particularly thrill to Dulcinda’s angelic tones, too.

The adults and children didn’t want to leave but knew that Michael was eager to start getting back to work. Chuck felt inspired. Everything was about to change, and business was about to boom. However, there was one slander named Arwen Shyster that wanted to defame all of them only because he had tried to con the entire lot of them years ago and, sadly failed.

Chapter 4—Enter Arwen Shyster

Arwen was a man who was precise, meticulous and direct when it came to getting what he wanted. He didn’t care what rules he had to break to get there. Eventually he always reached his goal, no matter who got in his way or who got hurt. A lot of people had named him ‘Juggernaut’ affectionately after the X-Men character. No, Juggernaut was nothing to mess with, and no matter what, people always got hurt when they tried to stop him from making ‘progress’.

‘Seeing them be so successful is making me ill.’, he growled to himself from a distance. He recalled in the past how he had gotten himself kicked out. He had threatened Mickey and crew with violence. Chuck knew this ‘jewel’ of a man well, too. Jealousy had overtaken him when he tried to contaminate the play areas with really horrible diseases and infect the kitchen with salmonella and e.coli. He was out to ruin any reputation he could, no matter how abysmal the cost. He almost infected himself with the last CEC he poisoned but he was caught, processed and barred from ever coming into a CEC or Disney resort for the rest of his existence.

‘I have to think of something...I have to stop Mickey from completing his plan. No, screw that. Both of them have to pay for treating me like I’m second best. Don’t they know that if they just try to see reason, they’ll let me run things my way the way they should be ?!’, Arwen thought to himself. He was already blinded by lustful rage and envy. Given the way he was dressed, however, there was no other method of entering into Disneyworld but by disguise. This time, he was going to be using an insect collection he had been keeping for years just for a nasty occasion like the one he had planned.

He just had to figure out which insects to use. It was a simple and diabolical plan. Roaches would form the first wave, followed by ants. The last straw would be fleas and bed bugs. If the fleas didn’t get people itching to leave, the bed bugs certainly would.

Quietly, Arwen reached into his trench coat and carefully handled the contents of his massive collection. It was volatile, turbid and pulsing to be released from its glass confinements.

‘Be free my dastardly beauties !’, he said in a whisper of reverence. He wasn’t anticipating on Ant Man, Wasp, Bumblebee of Teen Titans or the faeries to stop him. Scott Lang crossed his arms in disapproval.

“I don’t know who you are, but you have got a lot of nerve.’, he said, shaking his head reproachingly at Arwen. Even Cricket, his daughter, was facepalming in shame. Arwen called his forces to him.

‘If it’s a battle royale you want, then here you go ! On a silver platter !’, Arwen said, blowing the equivalent of a dog whistle, only for insects. The insects obeyed and created armor around his body. Instinctively, he took the first swing, flinging some fire ants Scott’s way. Scott dodged them but used his telepathy to break them up. As far as the roaches were concerned, they were still impenetrable and Arwen wasn’t going down without a fight.

Chapter 5—Dismantling Arwen’s Roach Army

No amount of fighting was going to break up the roaches and the suit made Arwen nearly invincible. Black Canary, however, had gotten tired of all of the fighting. With a super sonic scream all the roaches fell to the ground, on their backs.

‘Hope, get the jar ! That’s what he was keeping them in !’, she said, resourcefully.

‘How did you know ?’, she asked, curiously. She had sensed their distress earlier and her keen vision had spotted the jar on the sly. Easily putting 2 and 2 together, she knew this jar was definitely important.

Arwen sunk to the ground, completely defeated. Wasp returned to full size and handed him over to Scott to be processed. He was quickly taken to the authorities and dealt with promptly. As for the insects, they were treated humanely (even though some of them were disgusting) and allowed to live their lives unobstructed.

Chapter 6—The Grand Re-Opening of the Food Court

Paprika had been a bit miffed that she had missed her first opportunity for an actual battle. Yes, of course, she had participated in plenty battles before but she desperately wanted to meet Wasp, Bumblebee and Ant Man. Luckily, she had just the chance as providence would have it. The lot of them were waiting to eat something at the newly renovated food court. A recent addition had been the acquirement of CEC, wholly improved, including animatronics.

‘I missed the fight today. I could hear it from a distance but I couldn’t run fast enough !’, she complained.

‘It’s ok, Rika. You’ll get your chance again.’, Morgan (aka Cricket) commented. Morgan had seen Paprika fight and she could definitely hold her own. She had learned from the older Rangers and all that training had most certainly paid off.

Mickey made his announcement with Minnie before slicing the red ribbon at the food court. CEC opened their doors. It was a little surreal for Chuck and the gang to be standing aside the anamatronic versions of themselves but Chuck could now breathe a sigh of relief. Had he not gotten Mickey’s expertise or read Willy’s best-selling novel, the new and improved CEC wouldn’t be a reality.

Paprika took a seat with her friends and couldn’t help smiling, absorbing every detail of the battle that had just occurred.

‘Arwen won’t be a threat anymore. If he knows what’s good for him he’ll reconsider his ways and take a better pathway in life.’, Black Canary said as she dug into a Cobb salad. She sighed rhapsodically. Everything about the new food court was remarkable. The quality was bar none.

Everyone applauded. Mickey had come far and he wondered what Willy would’ve said about his achievements.

‘I just wanted to congratulate you on everything you’ve done. The pupil has exceeded the master.’, Willy said, with a giant smile.

‘Don’t leave so quickly, there’s a whole amusement park to discover !’, Mickey said, hospitably. He and Dulcinda savored the rest of their day at the park, especially in seeing their friends again.

Epilogue

In time, Arwen became a legal representative for Mickey and crew and decided to use his abilities for good. He was no longer jaded or feeling spurned. In fact, he admired how well Mickey and Chuck had turned the organization around. He too, wanted to learn how to fight, even if it was behind a desk doing the ‘bean counting’ as it were. No matter the task, he loved every minute and not only that, but due to his repentance, he and his family got to have special privileges in the park and enjoy VIP ride experiences.

‘Someday, my darling Megha will do this with her own children. She’s just a child now, but she’ll remember this forever.’, he thought as he held his wife and daughter close, watching the fireworks display at the end of the day.

To Be Continued...In the next episode, ‘ Screen Slaves’, Screenslaver returns and she recruits the likes of Mr. Mind, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Evil the Cat and Psycrow. She forms a new League of Super Evil. Voltorb, Dr. Frogg, Red and crew join the fight but realize that they’re in way over their heads when everything starts going their way !