The Park, Saturday evening

[laidanegg]

Dick woke up on a park bench. He wasn't sure how he got here, but he did know one thing definitively... "It was all just a dream," he said. But he said it quietly so that nobody might hear it. In fact, at the moment it seemed as if his entire purpose was to be in the background if anyone with an actual speaking part wandered by

Comments

[mparkerceo]

Parker didn't notice Dick as she started badgering paid minions to set up:

* A huge bonfire
* A huge buffet
* A pen for the chickens to be sacrificed.

"Pour the flour into the circles! Put the coffee out for the loas! God, do I have to do everything? MUSH, MINIONS! MUSH!"

[laidanegg]

While Parker did that, Dick started reading the business section. Nothing but bad news there. He shook his head, but nobody would see that because of the paper covering his face.

[mparkerceo]

"I pay good money to you losers to set up my sacrificial altar! I expect it done right!" Parker ranted, wandering in front of Dick without looking down at him. She picked up a dis-used section of his paper to whap at one of her minions with it. "Flour first! Coffee second! Rum third! Legaba Eshue and Oya, how did I find such stupid help?"

She sighed and let the newspaper flutter back onto the bench.

[multiplez]

Z was wandering through the park, musing to herself about her lost love, Jack, and how she would get him back now that she was the most powerful voodoo priestess in all of Fandom, when she heard--another voodoo priestess!

How could this be? "How can this be?!"

[mparkerceo]

Parker whirled around, some sixth sense or the background music warning her she was no longer alone with her minions. "What? What? No!" She stomped one foot and pointed at Z. "No! I brought the offerings! I set up the altars! You can't take advantage of my good nature to appeal to the loas! I was here first!"

[multiplez]

"I don't want your weak little offerings," Z sneered. "I can do better. But you have to stop, you'll wreck all my plans!"

[mparkerceo]

"Ha! Ahahahahhahah!" Parker laughed maniacally. "No! Make me!" She held up a ceremonial knife menacingly. "I intend to lift the curse on my family and take over the family corporation with the sacrifice I make here tonight! What are *you* going to do?"

Still ignoring that guy in the background. Yup.

[laidanegg]

Dick turned to the comics page and chuckled quietly at Marmaduke. That crazy dog. He's probably eaten people in the neighborhood. How silly.

[multiplez]

"I'm going to rescue my true love, Jack, who was lost when he stumbled into a mysterious voodoo priestess's rites and was thrown into a demon realm!" Z declared. "And then I'm going to find that voodoo priestess and make her pay for all the time we've lost while he was being tormented by demons!"

[mparkerceo]

Parker blinked.

"This Jack... kind of short, dreadlocks?"

[multiplez]

Z's eyes widened and she drew her voodoo dagger, brandishing it high. "YOU!"

[mparkerceo]

"ME!" Parker waved her dagger menacingly. "He got in my way! Just like you are about to! If you want to share his fate, stick around to get stuck in the spleen!"

The drummers started their voodoo chant. It might have sounded like "Kokomo."

[multiplez]

Z paused to take off her hoop earrings, because she was not a fool, then lunged at her rival, waving her dagger in a completely ineffectual way. "You'll pay for that, bitch!"

[mparkerceo]

Parker lunged back, holding the knife completely wrong for anything except maybe hanging it from a Christmas tree, and spit out, "Fool! Meddling fool! You will be the first sacrifice to consecrate my ritual to the loa! And then? I'll WEAR YOUR EARRINGS!"

[laidanegg]

Also funny? Ziggy. The guy didn't wear pants and he didn't understand things. Dick wondered if he understood why he never wore pants.

[multiplez]

Z gasped in shock and lunged at Parker, dropping the knife in her shock and going for the hair. "How dare you! JACK GAVE ME THESE EARRINGS!"