The Search for Skarlet

Synopsis: The Rangers, the bots, the Justice Rangers, the Star Wars characters and the toons track down Skarlet, who is once again out for blood. They find her in Walt Disney World, just when Michael Theodore "Mickey" Mouse is hit with bad news: his wife Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is turned mute with the passing of her voice actress Russi Taylor.

This story is dedicated in memoriam to Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor.



‘I am the lizard king !’--Jim Morrison, The Doors

Chapter 1—Ralph Returns to the Internet

In the realm of video games, everything was relatively quiet. Vanellope was still out in the Internet, but she did return to visit Ralph every so often. She had found her dream life and everything was hunky-dory. Slaughter Race was the bomb when it came to video games online other than MMORPGS. There was one called Stratagem, where she had a campaign set up as an archer/thief and she was having a blast there.

Stratagem was quiet but a familiar friend appeared. It was Ralph as a Giant/Mercenary, wanting to start a quest for ‘elemental gems’ to assemble the ‘Sacred Chalice’.

‘Ralph ? Is that you ?’, Vanellope asked, dropping the inconspicuous look of her avatar.

Ralph, once he knew it was safe, shrugged off his avatar skin and hugged his friend tightly. He had so much to tell her, especially in the fact that there was a new driver in Sugar Rush who was the same age as Ralph. She was a new playable character that the makers had created. Her name was Carmella Sundae. She went by ‘Carmen’. Vanellope was intrigued that Ralph had made a new friend so quickly and evidently the two had become an item.

‘I see her once a day and we go to Tappers to hang out. She’s a dream.’, Ralph said, totally smitten.

‘Carmen sounds delightful. I’ll have to meet her.’, Vanellope said. It would be up to Vanellope to approve of this new girlfriend but it was obvious she was impacting Ralph’s life for the better. He was less insecure, more open and more gregarious than ever. He even was immaculate in his appearance. His once unkempt hair was drawn back into a metrosexual look. It certainly suited him and gave him a suave, debonair demeanor.

Chapter 2—Skarlet Infiltrates Sugar Rush

Skarlet had run all the necessary highways and byways of the sewers until she found a downed power line. Crackling with power, she transported herself along its surging path until she came to the Internet. The game she wanted to control wasn’t too far away. She could smell its sweetness.

Right in front of her blinked the neon letters ‘Sugar Rush’. Skarlet literally licked her lips in anticipation.

‘This will be exactly like taking candy from babies.’, she cackled to herself maliciously. She had to refill on the sweet blood she had once taken from Vanellope. There were so many characters it was hard to make a choice. That is, until she saw Carmella Sundae.

Skarlet could tell that Carmen was full of diabetes inducing blood. It didn’t matter whatsoever, because this victim would give her immortality. She would drain her completely. One would do the trick to make her the strongest combatant, nay, the strongest being in the Universe. Of course, she had to be inconspicuous, discreet and incredibly sneaky to drain Carmen’s life force.

    Carmen screamed.
'Who...who are you?!', she bellowed

Skarlet said nothing. She began to usurp her blood from her own power. Vanellope saw her from the distance and gave a knowing look to to Ralph. Ralph grabbed his mobile and covertly hailed Calhoun. She knew who to contact. The Kadic Warriors as well as the Big Hero Six. They would in turn, get in contact with the Rangers. Carmen couldn’t even fight back and even though Calhoun had started fighting back, Skarlet simply threw her head back, cackling.

‘Puny human rifles have no effect on me !’, she guffawed.

It seemed that poor Carmen was about to see the end of her reel or the blank page of her existence when the cavalry arrived.

Chapter 3—Can’t Say I’m Pleased to See You in These Circumstances

Scorpion was the first to reel Skarlet in.

‘Let the girl alone. We’ve been through this once before. It’s not my purview to hit a woman, but in your case, Skarlet, I’ll make an exception.’, Scorpion hissed.

‘You forget, I have the ability to turn into blood.’, Skarlet retorted, evilly as she liquidized and reformed behind him. Before she could start feasting on his blood, Sub-Zero froze her in place. Noob expertly transported her quickly out of the Internet and into the Other Realm.

‘This is not a suitable fighting ground. Granted, she will be returning elsewhere. I doubt she can return to the Internet again. Then again, Skarlet’s true abilities are totally unknown.’, Raiden said, lending a hand.

‘That really doesn’t make us feel that confident that you have her contained.’, Calhoun mentioned. Before they could be questioned any further, Raiden, Scorpion and Sub-Zero were gone.

‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’, Fix It Felix said, shivering a bit.

‘I think you guys are getting too worried. We should get back to Angel Grove. We’ve got a benefit to run.’, Kim mentioned.

‘I can’t say I’m pleased to see you in these circumstances. I’m still a bit on edge. I know I should feel safer but I just feel edgier.’, Ralph said, hugging Vanellope close. She was experiencing a bit of PTSD after seeing Skarlet again.

‘I’m just glad we didn’t need to fight Skarlet again.’, Aisha mentioned before all of them said their goodbyes. Kat still felt uneasy. She wasn’t certain as to why but she knew the encapsulation of ice holding Skarlet hostage would soon melt and she would be back for the blood she required.

Chapter 4—Hailing The Warriors into the Internet

Skarlet, although she was in a maximum security cell had been able to alter her physiology and escape easily into the night. Instead of going the most direct route into the Interwebs, she slinked through the dark web until she started picking off insignificant video came characters who were obscure. No one noticed until there was a kid playing Dug Pit, and Dug wasn’t digging pits or anywhere whatsoever. No characters appeared. In fact, the whole cast was missing. There were only tumbleweeds, vultures and the occasional chirping cricket.

The terrified gamer in Litwack’s Fun and Family Center quickly prompted Mr. Litwack.

‘Uh, Sir...All the characters in the game are gone !’, the young boy said, clearly shaken. Litwack soon saw the horrifying vision of a woman oozing into the screen, face distorted, her wolfish smile carved into her face. He could swear he heard shrieking laughter enough to make his blood run cold.

‘Unplug it, Dhani ! I’ve seen enough for today !’, Litwack said, his whole countenance turning pallid. He shook but was unable to unplug the game. Dhani had a surge of confidence and unplugged the game, but it was too late, Skarlet was free in other video games and had started engorging herself.

Meanwhile In Disney World, Minnie had lost her voice.

She had gotten contact from the Rangers and crew. The Justice League had gotten help from Diana, Zatana and Dr. Strange. It seemed that comic book heroes were teaming up once more despite they came from different movie universes and franchises.

‘So, how were you able to communicate with them even though you can’t talk right now ?’, Mickey asked, confused. Minnie pointed at the tablet she was using. It used a personal assistant named Cortana, who had become her voice temporarily.

‘Don’t be so sad, Minnie. This won’t last long. I’m sorry Russi died. We’re all going to miss her, she was so special.’, Mickey said, beginning to shed some tears. It was the same for every toon who lost their voice actor or actress. She was so distressed she began crying. Mickey gave her his handkerchief and Minnie blew her nose. He gently rubbed and patted her back sympathetically.

‘We can’t dwell too much on that. We need to get online, right away.’, Mickey stated, boldly. Minnie knew that although her voice was gone momentarily, she would be better suited to assisting the effort of cornering Skarlet and stopping her for good.

Chapter 5—United Against a Blood Tyrant

‘I’ve been online before. It’s quite the perilous place !’, Goofy said.

‘Ah, phooey. If we need help, we’ll recruit Knowsmore.’, Donald added.

‘Our battalion is stronger now. I’ve recruited more friends to help us.’, Scrooge chimed in. He had the Gummi Bears, Bonkers, Marsupilami, all toons from Toontown and obscure characters most people had never even heard of in the States, unless they had access to the Internet like most sophisticated folks.

‘Come on then, let’s get going !’, Tintin said bravely.

‘I suppose if there are friends in trouble, we need to help.’, Moomin troll agreed, regretfully. He and Snuffkin were a little bewildered at the Interwebs, but they had pals around them, battling it out for the survival of all toonkind.

Every last known toon, whether original character or time-worn icon was duking it out with Skarlet until Merlin brought in his enchanted silver vial and sealed her in it. Shrieking, screaming, clawing, bawling, she did everything she could to get out.

‘This isn’t a material you can just simply smash, dearie.’, he said. He had actually gotten help from Rumpelstiltskin, the most unlikely of resources. Rumple wasn’t exactly a villain perse, or an anti-hero. He was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, a chaotic force. Seeing others suffer had never really been his purview, not even when he was at his lowest or his worst. This particular magic had not enacted a ‘price’ as most enchanted equivalent exchanges do. At last, the worst of the warring was over. The so called ‘lost’ characters could be revived and Dug Pit’s game was reinstated at Mr. Litwack’s arcade.

Chapter 6—Dug Pit Thanks the Heroes

Before everyone left to their respective realms, Dug Pit had requested that the Themascirans give everyone passage to the video game realm for at least one more time. They did so without much prompting and Zatana offered them a trip to their home worlds once they had seen the characters and the vast video game realm they had saved so graciously.

Minnie began to feel her voice returning.

‘Oh, goodie !’, she said, happily. There were grateful tears in her youthful eyes. She didn’t know who her new voice actress was but it was as if Russi had never left. Russi, however, would never be forgotten and her soul would always remain closely tethered to Minnie’s no matter where she went or what she did. She would always honor her in every movement of every day.

Epilogue

The battle had taken quite a bit out of everyone. For the toons effected, simple primer, ink, toner and color was all that was needed to revitalize toons that had been drained of their essence. Skarlet had any toon blood taken from her. It was burned since it had joined an entity so evil and deemed unholy. The fire had completely destroyed it and it would never be seen or be of any use whatsoever. The video game characters went back to their typical lives, as did the Rangers. Each hero and heroine went about saving people or mundane work.

This silence wasn’t to last though. In the Internet, Megabyte had become restless. His henchbots had found a way to release him with the use of a virus. Although he didn’t want Hexadecimal’s help (knowing she’d be scheming on her own even to the point of shoving him out of the way), he needed her to break free from the Interwebs and enter other video game worlds he had only read about.

‘Yes, in time, all I have ever desired will be in my capable fingertips.’, he thought as he waited for his goons to bring the code eating virus. It was just powerful enough to rip through the coding that had created the cell that held him. The guards had been held in stasis by the virus. It didn’t render them useless, only unable to stop the prison break.

‘Hey, boss ! Where are we goin ?’, one lackey said.

‘There’s a little place called Knothole. There are relics there I require.’, he said.

‘Then let’s step on it. Let’s pick up Hexadecimal and get a move on.’, the other, more beefy, denser lackey chimed in. Though he loathed Hexadecimal, he knew there was no other way. With the getaway vehicle his lackeys had so masterfully created, the 3 were off, busted Hex out and then made a trip, through a virus tessaract to Knothole. Unawares, the residents of that quiet forest had no idea what they were about to face.

‘Time to infect.’, Megabyte said, a devilish smirk spreading across his face.

To Be Continued…