It was a bright, sunny, and warm Saturday morning at Los Angeles International Airport, and the traffic was running in and out at a steady clip. Ranging from single-engine civil propeller-driven aircraft to massive two and four engine jet airliners carrying hundreds of people, the steady stream of planes moved through the airport and airspace in intervals of minutes, the morning sun’s rays dancing off polished fuselages and dazzling liveries from no less than a dozen airlines at any given time.
One plane in particular stood out as it descended to land. A twin-engine, wide-body aircraft, painted sky blue with all the colors of the rainbow running down its back and wrapping the tail. In white letters above the windows and over the wing, the words The Faithful Pony’s Flying Circus ended with the image of a little blue Pegasus with a rainbow streak behind it posed like it was dashing towards the nose. Smoke kicked up from its tires
Inside the terminal, two travelers were waiting for their ride out of the airport. A set of twins–a brown-haired boy and a girl–the rather tall boy wore a lumberjack’s cap, a pair of cargo pants, and an orange t-shirt with a blue pine tree on the front, while his statuesque sister was wearing a large loose violet sweater over a black top and a bright pink skirt over dark leggings. They were huddled close together, watching the screen of a tablet computer showing a YouTube channel with a loading stream.
The screen came to life, revealing the view of a fogged-up camera.
“Guess who?” a girl’s voice asked before a finger wiped the fog, revealing the grinning face of a young woman about the same age as the teen twins. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, with a pair of heart-shaped marks on her fair-skinned cheeks, she wore a dark green dress with a red devil-horn headband and a spider-shaped necklace as accessories.
“It’s me, Star!”
Star moved the laptop around and repositioned herself to reveal she was sitting on a bathroom sink. “I have some exciting news for you. Well first, Marco got kidnapped, and I blew up a bunch of stuff, including my wand.”
Star moved the laptop to her left hand so she could reach into the sink’s drawer. “And I was super bummed because I thought I was never gonna get to do magic again, but then I got… my new wa-!” She whipped out a brush with a piece of gum stuck on it, just as quickly realizing her error. “Oh.”
Rapidly she swapped it out for a pink and gold scepter with wings sprouted from its head. The face of the wand sported a single bright gold star that half of was completely black. “My new wand!”
Almost as an afterthought, Star added. “Oh and Marco’s okay. Say hi, Marco!”
The camera’s view became a blur, moving until it stopped on a light brown-skinned, brown-eyed young man with a beauty mark under his right eye, wrapped in a floral-print bath towel, pulling another around his head. Seeing the camera pointed at him, he lunged towards it. “Hey-!”
The camera went dark, and the stream came to an end.
Dipper Pines held the tablet out when it didn’t come back on. “Wait, that’s it? A week and a half of nothing and then less than a minute of stream.”
His sister Mabel was of a different opinion. “Seeing Marco fresh out the shower was well worth the wait.”
Dipper gave his sister a flat look. “Can you focus?”
Mabel tilted her nose up. “I have my priorities in order.”
Dipper rolled his eyes. “A lot’s happened since her last vlog, but we know she’s still here in our world.”
The smirk on his sister’s face turned into a beatific grin. “Which means I can meet her!” She placed her hands over her heart. “We’re going to be the best friends ever!”
“Yeah, and hopefully the world won’t come to a horrifying end.”
“Well, duh,” Mabel chimed. “We already beat one apocalypse; then we beat some robots, some mummies, some mutants, a band camp girl…”
“On that note,” Dipper said, “Did you see her wand? There was something definitely wrong with it, why was half of it black?”
“Well, it is her new wand.” Mabel took an instant to think. “Oh, maybe it’s an edgy new upgrade, to reflect the dark turn of Marco getting kidnapped.”
“That’s another thing that bothers me,” Dipper said as he leaned back into his seat and watched a taxiing jumbo jet pass by. “Someone kidnapped Marco and forced Star to blow up her wand? What happened?”
“She didn’t seem too concerned about it–she did kinda just mention that Marco was fine like it wasn’t a big thing.”
Dipper’s resolve to find out why only hardened. “These are just more questions to answer.”
A flash of color caught his eye, and both twins looked up in time to see the bright livery of The Faithful Pony’s Flying Circus pass as it made its landing roll. Dipper nearly rose from his chair, to follow the plane. “Hey, look at that.”
“Wow, that was a cute livery!” Mabel got up entirely and went to the window, smashing her entire face against it to follow where it went. “What airline was that?”
“I didn’t see.” Dipper replied as Mabel unstuck her face from the glass.
Mabel heard a buzzing from the bright pink purse she carried on her. She pulled out her sleek smartphone–with a cat shaped protective case and a shooting star sticker on the back–and looked at the message. “Sherpa says he’s three lights away from the airport.
Dipper nodded and got up. “Let’s go meet him.”
While the two began their long walk towards the terminal main entrance, a pale-skinned, black-haired woman wearing a green shirt and tight black pants standing further the other direction watched the colorful plane turn off the runway. Getting up and slipping on a thin black jacket over her shirt, she tapped an earpiece and spoke quietly. “The plane just landed. You’d better be in position.”
“You bet, I’m waiting at the front right now, Green Machine,” a young man with a Spanish accent answered.
The woman rolled her eyes. “I know that this is your scheme, and it’s a good one, but next time we do this? I’m choosing the codenames, Latin Fire.”
“Of course,” the young man assured her. “Now please, hurry up?”
Her smirk bearing a sinister confidence, the woman headed in the same direction as the twins.
@@@@@
Pulling up to the terminal, The Faithful Pony’s Flying Circus came to a stop and the terminal’s air tunnel connected the plane to the building. Despite the size of the aircraft and the distance it traveled, only one passenger disembarked from the massive jet. A short and curvy teenaged girl with long violet hair filled with streaks of white, stepped out of the gate and into the terminal. She wore a red dress under a blue jean jacket, and a cream-colored sun hat with a red ribbon. Stepping out of the tunnel, she looked back to the flight crew following her off and bowed.
“Danke, dass ihr auf mich aufgepasst habt!” Coming up from her bow, she wore a brilliant smile radiating her gratitude for both their fine flying, and for finally being on the ground after twelve hours of non-stop flight.
The pilot and co-pilot both tipped their hats to the young woman. “Gern geschehen, Miss Darlian.”
She waved and turned to head into the terminal. “Bye bye!”
As she left the gate and got on the moving walkway to take her to the terminal exit, she reached into the black purse she carried and pulled out a sleek glossy gray phone adorned with numerous stickers. Dialing a number, she brought the phone to her ear and let it ring.
After two rings, a young man answered. “Ay, what’s good, baby-girl?”
“Hallo, Sam, I’ve just gotten off my plane and I am headed for the terminal exit. Will my ride be waiting there?”
It took a few seconds for the young man on the other end of the line to reply. “You know I got you; you can’t miss him–he’ll be waiting near the exit holding a sign with ‘Pony’ written on it.”
Misao Darlian, a Swiss-born girl of Japanese and German heritage thrummed with excitement, a gleam in her gray-colored eyes. “Good! I am so excited to finally meet you and your family in person!”
“Me, the fam–shit the whole town hype. The Hills is gonna lose they mind when The Faithful Pony pulls up.”
The moving walkway passed a set of tall ultra-high-definition television screens against the wall opposite the window. As Misao looked up at the first monitor, she saw a comic book page featuring three high tech warriors in blue, red, and green beetle-themed armor firing blasters at a horde of monsters surrounding them.
“Big Bad Beetleborg Movie in doubt,” the caption read, “Second director for the film withdraws from the project, citing mental health-related reasons.”
Misao looked at the news report puzzled. She wasn’t too keen on superhero movies, but she always imagined that they’d be fun or exciting to make–not this one it seemed.
“I’m excited too!” Misao replied. “I’m going to High School in America! I will get to do all the fun things! High School parties, cheerleaders, and prom! And in Hollywood! It’s going to be like a movie!”
Sam let out a chuckle from his throat. “It’s more prime time TV than a movie. The only difference is the contract is longer and we can’t say ‘fuck.’”
On the very next screen was a news report featuring a red-haired young woman in a midriff-baring shirt and cargo pants battling a short Scotsman armed with golf clubs. The redhead, fighting with gymnastic agility and kung fu, was making short work of the golf club swinging maniac as bystanders ran for cover on a crowded Golf Course.
The headline read: “Kim Possible defeats Duff Killigan, saves newly opened golf course from destruction.”
Misao smiled and nodded her approval of a real hero. “It’s still good, ja?”
She looked to the last screen, and an advertisement displaying a sitcom starring an African American family.
“A family that takes the stage together, stays together!” the tagline read above the smiling father, mother, adult daughter, teen son, and preteen daughter. Off to the side, an elderly pair, clearly a grandfather and grandmother, stood back-to-back with their arms folded and looking sassy with their raised eyebrows and wise smirks. “From Our Family to Yours: The Family Sitcom starring a real family! Tonight at 8!”
“Better,” Sam reassured her. “Speaking of–my break’s almost over, I need to get on the set or Moms will whup my ass. See you at the studio, baby-girl.”
“See you soon, Sam,” Misao replied, before ending the call. Trying not to be overly excited, she failed–bouncing in place, overcome with nervous energy before she stepped off the moving walkway. “I am almost in Hollywood! I hope I get to meet more famous people soon!”
Making a right, Misao merged with Dipper and Mabel making a left from the other direction.
“I hope Waddles was okay taking the long way here,” Mabel said to her brother, unaware of the girl beside them.
Dipper sighed. “I still can’t believe you insisted he come with us.”
“He’d be crawling up the walls back home without me.” She giggled and let out a snort. “Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does whatever a Spider-Pig does…”
Dipper sucked in some air through the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, but I’m not sure about Grandpa…”
Mabel was insistent on the brighter side. “If Grunkle Stan can fight dinosaurs for him, then Sherpa won’t be bothered; no one can say no to a face like Waddles!”
On the second mention of Waddles, Misao looked up at the tall girl and her brother, and her eyes widened in recognition. With eager bounce in her step, she sidled a little closer to them. “Excuse me?”
Hearing German-tipped English, Mabel looked down at the small and round girl walking beside them. She lit up. “Oh, hi! You’re a cutie!”
“Are you from Mabel’s Guide to Life?” Misao asked.
“Huh…?” Dipper looked at Misao, noticing right away her exotic looks. He escaped staring, looking between her and Mabel. “Uh…”
Mabel gasped in joy from being recognized not only twenty minutes in LA. “Oh my gosh yes! I’m Mabel and I do have a Guide to Life!”
Misao clapped her hands together, she hadn’t even left the airport and already ran into a star! “I love your series it’s so cute and funny!”
Dipper raised an eyebrow. Cute and funny wasn’t something he’d call his sister’s YouTube channel. Mabel shot for cute when she worked the camera, but it came off as weird, surreal, disturbing enough get her channel threatened with deletion twice, and once got them a visit from a concerned Piedmont Police Department.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“You really like it?” Mabel asked.
“Ja, my friends and I love it so much!”
Now it makes sense, a German sense of humor. He thought.
“Well, it is always nice to meet a fan,” Mabel humblebragged, before she extended her hand. “And who would you be?”
Misao took hers and shook it. “I’m Misao, I am an exchange student!”
Mabel gasped. “Shut up! Is this your first time here?”
“My first time on my own, and definitely here in LA.”
“SHUT UP!” Mabel bounced up and down. “Oh my gosh you’re going to love it! Los Angeles is the most exciting town in the entire world! I mean I’ve only been here to see my Sherpa every couple of Hanukkahs, but it is so amazing.”
Dipper smiled; there went Mabel, making friends with a total stranger. It was always a sight to see and enjoy, more so when the stranger returned the enthusiasm and didn’t attempt to awkwardly withdraw.
Misao held up her phone. “I have a whole bucket list of places I want to go to.”
“Oh! Oh! Me too!” Mabel pulled out her own phone.
Misao laughed. “Your case is so cute! Share notes?”
“Hehe, thank you, and yes!”
Not even out of the terminal and she already sealed the deal. Dipper had a good feeling about this trip already. Or he did until he looked ahead of them and had his own moment of recognition–though the shock wasn’t a good one.
“Rodeo Drive?” Misao asked.
“I saved up so much money for it,” Mabel replied. “Venice Beach?”
“Ja, ja!” Misao confirmed. “Chinese theater?”
“Duh!”
Misao gave her a knowing look. “I bet I know what’s next on your list.”
“Come on, you don’t come to Los Angeles without even thinking of going there. We’ll say it together, okay?”
Misao nodded. “Okay! Ein, zwei, drei-!”
“Disneyland!” They shouted together and burst into laughter.
“Uh, hey, Misao?” Dipper asked with the doors of the terminal coming up.
Misao, still giggling, looked over at him. “Hm? What is it?”
“Your ride’s waiting for you, right?” He slowed his pace, and both Mabel and Misao followed suit.
“Hm, my host family was sending a driver, yes,” Misao confirmed.
Looking ahead, she saw who Dipper was looking art. Amongst the crowds of people milling in and out of the terminal, a swarthy, handsome, broad-shouldered man dressed like a stereotypical limo drive held a sign with the word “Pony” on it.
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh… I hope that’s him~”
“I don’t think it is,” Dipper warned. “Don’t make eye contact–I’m pretty sure that’s Señor Senior Junior.”
Misao performed a discrete double-take with disbelief. “Wait–the supervillain?”
Mabel looked ahead at the chauffeur's face, and a blush broke out across hers. “Oh man, I’d let him kidnap me any day.”
For the life of him, Dipper couldn’t even imagine why the son of a world-renowned thief and general menace was here trying to pick up a random German girl. He was, however, thankful that his preoccupation with the strange and unknown made it easy to spot him. “Just keep walking, pretend you don’t see him.”
“Mmhm, I know what to do in these situations,” Misao assured Dipper, though she was a little impressed with his decisive manner.
The “chauffeur” smiled when he saw his mark, talking with two other pretty tall kids, and held his sign a little higher. He held it higher still as they walked closer to him without her noticing.
“Excuse me, Miss Darlian?” He called after her with an obvious Spanish accent and whiny inflection that implied a distinct passiveness. “I am your chauffeur? To be bringing you to your host family…?”
The three pointedly ignored him and kept walking.
“Miss Darlian?” He stopped. “Did she even notice me?”
The pale black-haired woman brushed past him, and he stepped back. “Take a powder, I’ll get her.”
Dipper glanced at his sister. “Mabel? Look behind us, are we being followed?”
Mabel gave a quick discreet look back, and sure enough saw the black-haired woman in green and black walking towards them–her eyes hidden behind a pair of visor sunglasses. She looked forward, a little pale. “… Dipper, I think that’s Shego.”
Dipper broke into a cold sweat as they reached the doors. “Okay, okay… this is bad.”
Misao couldn’t agree more; Shego–the legendary henchwoman of some of the biggest names in supervillainy–being after her was more than cause for alarm.
She went to her phone. “I’m calling for help-”
“Don’t.” Dipper cut her off. “They don’t want to make a scene, so neither will we. Just be calm, pretend like nothing is happening, and we’ll get into our grandfather’s car and leave.”
Once more she looked at Dipper in surprise; it seemed like both he and his sister had their heads on their shoulders, like they were ready for this sort of thing. Passing through the doors, they right away saw a stretch limousine conveniently parked out in front of them, waiting for Misao.
Looking right and then left–and taking a quick moment to confirm the woman now all but sprinting for the door–Dipper was overcome with relief when he saw an elderly man start to get out of a white, 90s-era SUV parked just behind the limo. “There!”
He quickly took Misao’s hand and tore off into a dash with her and Mabel.
@@@@@
Despite being well on in years, Sherman “Shermie” Pines could boast he was sharper and quicker than most men half his age. Tough and strong from being raised in 1940s New Jersey and spending the better part of his life in Israel, even in his retirement he kept himself well-honed and alert in both body and mind. However hard he was though, that always went out the window when it came to his Grandkids.
Dipper and Mabel, from the day they were born he adored them, and he’d happily do anything for them–all they had to do was ask. So when, out of the blue, they called to ask if they could spend their last year of school with him in Los Angeles? He didn’t even bother with why, he demanded when they were going to show up so he could see how they’ve grown since he last saw them.
Seeing them hurry out of the terminal doors and then dash straight for his SUV, he was quite pleased to see that they were growing up tall and healthy like he and his little brothers did in their youth.
They also didn’t hate each other, like he and his little brothers did either.
He grew concerned when he saw them sprinting towards the car like they were being chased, with Dipper nearly dragging a young woman behind him. That wasn’t normal.
He opened the door and set one foot out. Like his younger brothers Stanford and Stanley, he was a tall and broad man, but more than the once long-lost former he kept himself in a physical condition that the once shamed and forsaken latter needed a girdle to give the appearance of. Whereas his younger brothers were various shades of gray, his hair was a complete white and had gone that way when theirs was still a rich brown. As customary when meeting his grandkids, he was wearing a nice shirt and pants, with a funny bowtie that he knew his granddaughter would love.
“Grandpa Shermie!” Dipper hurried to the passenger side of the SUV and opened the back door. “We need to go!”
“Kids what’s the hurry?”
“No time! We gotta go, a hot scary lady’s after us!” Mabel ushered Misao around the SUV and into the backseat, then climbed in herself. “I love your tie!”
Dipper scrambled into the SUV and ducked down, and Shermie looked down at him. “Oy gevalt, you're just getting into LA and you already got a lady tailing you?”
He looked back at the terminal doors, as Shego stormed out of the Terminal and sharply scanned the area. Shermie’s expression hardened, and he pulled himself back inside of the car. “On second thought… probably not your type.”
“Definitely not.” Dipper said from curled down in the footwell. Mabel and Misao too were lying down, staying out of sight.
Throwing the car into drive, Shermie calmly pulled from the pickup zone and drove away from the terminal–making sure to look nowhere near the woman’s direction as he departed. He made sure to quickly pull in front of another car in the lane adjacent, putting it between her and the view of his license plate before she could look after them.
The woman did a double take after the fleeing SUV and frowned. “Shoot, was that them?”
The chauffeur spilled out of the terminal and looked in the direction she went. Removing his fancy billet, Señor Senior Junior heaved a defeated sigh. “What just happened? Did they see through our disguises?”
The legendary henchwoman herself, Shego, pulled off her visor and scowled. “There’s no way they didn’t notice us. One of them must’ve recognized you… which I’m not even sure how.”
Junior pulled at his collar and looked away, but Shego noticed it. “All right have you been posting selfies again?”
Junior was appalled by the insinuation. “No! I’ll have you know father had me banned from most social media.”
Shego stopped, impressed by the prudence. “Oh… then why the nervous look?”
“… I… still have a Linkedin I use to post headshots…?”
Shego palmed her face and heaved an annoyed groan. “Of course.”
Dragging her hand down her face, she sighed and put on her visor again. “Okay then Junior, the ball’s back in your court. How’re we gonna get the girl?”
Junior rubbed his sharp chin. “There’s still a chance. After all, a good villain has a good contingency, right?”
Shego smiled and lightly punched his shoulder. “Just like I taught you. So, what’s the plan?”
“We wait; maybe do a few small-time burglaries of jewelry stores on Rodeo to keep us from getting bored. And we keep an eye on the internet, a girl like her can’t stay away from it for long.”
Shego smiled, and let out a dark, silky laugh. “It is always a breath of fresh air working with you, SSJ.”
It wasn’t until they got out of LAX and onto the highway that Dipper, Mabel, and Misao stopped cowering in their seats and got their seatbelts on. Leaning back in his seat, the five minutes younger Pine twin checked the mirrors and looked out the back of the SUV. No one was chasing after them throwing green bolts of energy, so it looked like they were safe for now.
“What are the odds, right? Ha hah…” he asked.
“Worse than you might think,” Misao muttered as she cast a look out the back of the SUV.
“@KimPossible you might want to get to LA, we definitely saw Shego and her hunky sidekick Señor Senior Junior, and they’re trying to kidnap people. #CallingYou #TweetingYou #ReallyWannaReachYou,” Mabel said into her phone.
Dipper looked at Mabel, alarmed. “Don’t you dare tweet that!”
“I wasn’t gonna!” Mabel defended, before elaborating. “I’m just sliding into her DMs.”
“Okay, but from here on our no social media. We don’t want them tracking us down.”
Mabel rolled her eyes. “I know Mr. ‘The Internet is just free advertising for where you are anytime.’”
“Exactly, that’s why I don’t use the internet ever,” Dipper muttered.
“Good man,” Shermie whispered aside to him. “I’m glad you could learn something from the Stans.”
He then switched gears. “Shego, isn’t she the one that causes nonsense with that blue idiot? Didn’t that nice cheerleader girl and her friend put her away?”
“They must have gotten out, because they were trying to kidnap our new friend,” Mabel said.
Misao looked at Mabel and Dipper. “Honestly, I don’t think I can thank you enough for the risk you took for my sake. That was so frightening.”
Dipper waved it off. “Hey, don’t worry about it.”
“We’re just glad we got you out of there,” Mabel reassured her.
Shermie glanced at his grandson and back at his granddaughter with an approving smile. What a way to start their trip, he couldn’t be prouder of them.
“You’ll have to forgive these two for being selflessly heroic, I don’t know where they got it from,” Shermie explained to his new guest with a good-natured laugh. “I’m Sherman Pines, their grandfather, but call me Shermie.”
Misao leaned into Mabel. “It’s good to meet you. Wherever they get it from, I’m glad they got a lot of it.” She hung her head. “I can’t believe how sneaky that was; I would’ve gotten into that car without a second thought and my mother would be paying ransom.”
She would not like that one bit.
On that note, she pulled out her phone again. “I should call my mother and my host family.”
“Why were they after you?” Dipper asked.
Misao began writing a text. “Plenty of reasons. My family runs a company that specializes in the kind of things people like them want, and I’m the most kidnap-able girl in the world.”
Mabel agreed. “Yeah, anybody could just pick you up under their arm and run, you’re so small and cute. I mean, I was thinkin’ about doing it myself!”
“Aw!” Misao cupped her cheek with one hand. “I’d let you!”
“We basically did,” Dipper pointed out, and Misao giggled.
She looked back down at her phone. “I suppose I should also call the police as well.”
Shermie barked out a less jovial laugh. “Leave it to the LAPD to protect someone? Hogwash, you’re safer in this truck than in the back of any precinct in this town.”
Dipper let out a snort. “Yeah, probably.”
Mabel shook her head. “Uh huh!”
Misao looked back and forth between all three Pines. “Are you sure?”
Dipper nodded. “Our experience with police has been that they’re not very helpful when things get weird.”
Pulling towards the exit lane, Shermie added, “No one trusts the cops in this town. You’ll learn to do the same, quick.”
Misao looked between all of them and found their unified distrust of authority oddly comforting. She looked at her unsent message to her mother, intending to alert her of the threat to her safety. “Well, I can’t stay with you–it’d put you in danger.”
Shermie scoffed at the idea. “Don’t you worry, I know a few tricks about staying out of sight and losing tails–they won’t find us. You contact your family and let them know you’re safe, and we’ll get you to where you need to be by the end of the day.”
“Believe it or not,” Dipper said, “But we’ve been through stuff like this before. Maybe not in the same league as supervillains, but we’re used to it.”
Mabel laughed. “Yeah, Dipper’s a crazy prepared monster hunter, and Sherpa used to fight Nazis.”
“It was one Nazi, an Illinois Nazi!” Shermie clarified.
“You still kicked his butt,” Dipper noted.
Shermie pumped his fist. “You’re dang right, I did!”
Mabel hugged Misao. “And I’m the heart and soul of this team that keeps everyone together! Don’t you worry about us or any bad guys that might be after you.”
Staring at her phone, Misao nodded and tapped the bottom of the phone’s screen with her thumb. “I doubt my Host family would be too thrilled at me bringing someone like Shego anywhere near them, either.”
“Where were you headed, if you don’t mind my asking–Miss?” Shermie asked.
“Beverly Hills.”
Mabel’s eyes lit up. “Ooh nice.”
“Well Echo Creek isn’t nearly as posh and gaudy, but it’s got a nice character all its own,” Shermie assured her. “It’s just as LA as the rest of it.”
With it being the latter quarter of the morning and the weekend, the legendary LA traffic wasn’t nearly as ferocious to the common Californian. It barely took an hour for Shermie to drive them from the dense city core to the relatively open suburban streets of Echo Creek, a town north of Route 5 and the LA River. Leaving the highway, he eased off the gas and let his passengers have a look around.
Right away Dipper noticed that there didn’t seem to be anything outwardly unusual or strange.
Doesn’t look like it’s been torn asunder by arcane forces or ancient powers and rebuilt into the image of an extra-dimensional traveler. He thought. Still… can’t be too careful. As soon as my stuff arrives, the first thing I’m doing is erecting a barrier around the house. Then I’ll have to grab some anti-magic contingencies, monster repellants…
Mabel’s thought processes were far from Dipper’s as she too enjoyed the sights. Ooh that boy’s cute. And that one. And that one! Oh he's hot too! And his girlfriend… oh my gosh, is that a fancy cake shop? I’m so going there. OH! I wonder if that haberdashery makes hats for pigs…!
Misao watched the almost night and day difference between the twins’ expressions. Er is wie ein Jäger auffer Pirsch. Oder hat zu viele Schlachfelder jesehen. Und sie is so verdammt gut drauf wenn's gefährlich wird. Mensch, ick glaub ick mag die.
“Anyway, while we’re out here, I need to pick up my pull list from the comic book shop,” Shermie announced, derailing their thoughts.
Dipper looked over. “Pull what now?”
Mabel leaned over his shoulder. “You read comics Sherpa?”
“Of course!” Shermie replied. “I’ve been reading ‘em since your great grandpa gave me a copy of Action Comics #1…”
His expression darkened. “… That Stan and Sixer destroyed by coloring in it…”
It went unsaid in their defense that they were both three, and he’d made the mistake of leaving it within their reach.
As Shermie pulled up to a stoplight, he continued. “Anyway, it’s something I do in my spare time, and it gives me something to leave to you when I finally keel over.”
“Ha like that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Mabel said with a clear undertone of talking about mortality sucks.
Shermie got the memo. “We’ll swing by the comic book shop near the house, and I’ll show you how to make your own list of stuff you want to read.”
“I don’t read comics though,” Mabel said.
“You read manga all the time,” Dipper pointed out.
“Yes, that’s manga. There’s a difference.”
Dipper rolled his eyes as he thought. Get trapped in one comic book and suddenly you’re an expert.
“Manga’s all right; I can’t see the attraction in reading about guys who look almost as pretty as Mabel here…” Shermie trailed off when a motorcycle came up alongside them.
It was a big heavy chopper, the motor loud even at idle. In stark comparison to its size, an old African American woman wearing a helmet and black leather jacket over a pink sweatsuit rode atop it–giving Shermie a challenging look.
Dipper looked at the strange old woman on her bike and paled. “Oh no.”
Misao looked at Dipper then back at the old lady. “Wait what’s happening?”
“Looks like an alte cocker wants a reminder of who the fastest driver is,” Shermie answered with a smirk, and revved the truck’s engine.
The old woman pointed at Shermie, hooked a thumb at herself, then pointed down the road–which the passengers of the SUV realized was effectively one long straight with no lights or side streets for over a quarter mile.
“Grandpa no!” Dipper pleaded.
“Sherpa yes!” Mabel cheered.
Misao leaned back in her seat and tightened her seatbelt. She did not expect to be nearly kidnapped, and she certainly did not expect her near kidnapping to put her in a car full of the oddest people… who were about to engage in a street race with an eccentric old lady. However, upon reviewing it comparing it to how possibly expected, safe, and civil the alternative was?
“MACH SCHNELL!” Misao shouted excitedly.
“I don’t know what that means but yeah!” Mabel cheered with her.
The light turned green. In the moment it switched, Dipper just took a deep breath and grabbed the dashboard in front and the frame of the door to brace himself.
And with a roar of engines at a combined 800 horsepower they were off.