(no subject)
Fandom: Fairly Oddparents
Canon or AU: ???
Fic: Devil May Care
A/N: So, the scene I talked about in the first post is finally here. XD Also, I think I’ve written myself out for the day.
--------------------------------
Crocker’s back was to the console, which had a large screen on top. It showed what must’ve been the security camera--she saw Timmy, Chloe, and Tootie after the bell rang. Wanda bit her lip. Since Crocker had turned the sound off (or it had no sound--she wasn’t sure which), he hadn’t noticed he’d almost had guests. Her godchildren and Tootie had noticed she was missing, then, and correctly guessed where. She pressed her hand against the window and fought back a sob. So close, but they might as well be on another planet for all the good it did her.
Her captor looked at something on his phone before putting it down and facing her again. Her skin prickled.
“That wire will prevent you from trying to escape,” Crocker said, and Wanda unconsciously touched the wire sticking out of her neck. “It also allows me to control your magic outside the containment field.”
She tried not to glance back at the camera, though it was hard. She didn’t want to draw Crocker’s attention to her godchildren if she could help it. After all, Wanda had done enough wrong today. She didn’t need to put them in danger, too.
Where was Cosmo in all of this? Shouldn’t he be here, too, trying to rescue her? Another sob threatened to erupt, and she suppressed it with difficulty.
He pressed another button, and the chamber sank into the table beneath it. The table elevated so that she stood at eye level with him. She covered herself as best as she could, unnerved by how Crocker was eying her.
Crocker bent down and retrieved a familiar-looking book. Her heart sank. Somehow, he’d gotten his hands on a copy of Da Rules. That shouldn’t have been possible, but else was new today? Wanda scurried back as far as she could without falling off the table. Her heart was pounding hard again.
“I know who you belong to,” Crocker said and brandished the book. “But as long as I don’t say whose you are, you’re stuck here. With me.”
Wanda nodded reluctantly and glanced down again. She wished she hadn’t. She also wished that if he was going to do something like that, he’d do it already, so it’d be over with. It was a stupid thing to wish for, but she was running on little sleep and pain besides. Her nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
Silence lingered as Wanda watched him like a mouse watches a cat ready to pounce. Begging wouldn’t help; she’d learned that the hard way. Whatever compassion Crocker might once have had had burned away.
“You know, I can use your magic to do anything,” he said smugly.
“I know,” Wanda snapped. She was keenly aware.
When he moved toward her again, she almost fell off the table trying to avoid him. The wire yanked her upright. Crocker turned from her to press another button on the console, and she was paralyzed. She could probably still speak, but escape was impossible.
“Stop looking at me like that!” she blurted, goosebumps everywhere.
He smirked. “Like what?”
“I thought you wanted information to take down Fairy World,” she snapped. “This isn’t…this doesn’t…”
She wasn’t sure where she was going with that, and petered out.
Crocker scoffed. “Apparently, torturing you didn’t work the way I’d hoped--I will break you, though. And you are the first non-related female I’ve encountered completely under my control.”
“If you know whose fairy godparent I am, you know they’re going to come find you,” Wanda said. “They’re not going to let you get away with this.”
He shrugged. “Who said I was letting you go? Besides, by the time I’m done, between the magic I’ve stolen from you and what I have in mind, you won’t be able to stop spilling secrets.”
“I doubt it.”
He grinned. “I’ve planned all of this out. By the time your godchildren break in here, I’ll have moved you to another location, one they don’t know about. Or did you think I didn’t have a backup plan in case they managed to trick the security system?”
Wanda whimpered and clenched her eyes shut. She didn’t want to see this. Again, she reached for Cosmo. She strained against the limits of their telepathy, trying her utmost to break through the magical barrier surrounding this cave.
((Cosmo! Help!))
((Wanda?)) His voice was faint, almost like a stray thought in her mind. Maybe she was imagining it after all.
She heard cloth rustling and wished she could render herself deaf, too. Crocker moved closer and kissed her again; she bit him hard on the lips. Maybe that would deter him from trying anything else.
She opened her eyes and spat out blood. His lip was thoroughly mangled now, which gave her some dark amusement. Crocker was watching her. He moved backward, pressed another button on that damn machine, and electricity shot through her. Wanda tried hard not to scream this time and kept her lips clamped shut, but it was useless.
“Don’t. Try. That. Again.” Crocker warned.
Wanda glared hatefully. “Don’t touch me again, and I won’t.”
He kicked off his pants, and Wanda looked down. She stifled a hysterical laugh. Evidently, the same magic that had warped his body had also mangled other parts. It was almost impossible not to laugh, considering how her nerves were shot, and she wouldn’t escape this one intact.
A giggle slipped out, and Crocker glared. There was no way he wasn’t still a virgin. The laughter died when she recalled what Crocker had in mind. This wasn’t remotely funny. Unfortunately, it was either burst into tears or laughter. She felt like she was losing her mind.
She didn’t try to reach Cosmo again. There was no point. He couldn’t hear her. For his sake, she was glad he didn’t know what was happening. When and if she returned to Timmy and Chloe, she’d have to figure out how to explain it without going nuts. Or having Cosmo and Timmy fly off the handle. Chloe, she was uncertain about. Chloe didn’t get angry the way Timmy and Cosmo did.
She was back to mentally rambling, and it would’ve distracted her if a sudden sharp pain hadn’t brought her right back to square one. Just how many ways did he intend to hurt her? The pain had almost become a familiar friend after all of this torture.
It was worse to meet Crocker’s eyes, but he wouldn’t let her shut hers again. She found a random spot in the room to fixate on instead. It was pointless to tell him that fairy anatomy and human anatomy were incompatible unless the fairy turned into a human. Fairies were simply too small for that. She didn’t think he cared anyway.
The only saving grace, if she could call it that, was that Crocker was a virgin, which meant he’d have no stamina. He’d finish quickly and be done with her. She didn’t find that a particularly comforting thought.
She was tearing inside; Cosmo fit her like a glove because they were made for each other. Crocker, on the other hand, between what the magic had warped and her own anatomy, was making this excruciating. She found herself staring at the clock and waiting for him to finish and leave.
When he’d finished, leaving her dripping, he stepped back as if to admire his work. There was no end to the things Wanda wanted to do to him for this. She’d never been so angry and impotent in her life. The anger probably wouldn’t last. Already, she could feel the numbness creeping over her.
((Cosmo…)) she whispered. He was the only creature meant to be intimate with her. And Crocker was grinning from ear to ear. Heavens above, she wanted to kill him.
------------------------
Cosmo couldn’t leave Timmy’s room thanks to the last wish Timmy had enacted. Instead, he paced the air back and forth. The faintest whisper of Wanda’s mental voice brushed against his mind. Cosmo froze; with her words had come an even weaker sense of violation. Unfortunately, he could’ve been imagining it because of his fears. Part of him hoped that was the case.
((Wanda, where are you?))
No reply.
((Wanda!))
Still no response. If Timmy didn’t unwish this soon, Cosmo would go out of his mind.
“Cosmo!”
Chloe was close enough. Her summoning him would’ve broken the wish anyway, and he appeared in Dimmsdale Elementary beside his godchildren. He gave Timmy a dirty look. Timmy looked away, abashed.
“We think we know where Wanda is,” Chloe began.
“Where is she?” Cosmo demanded, shaking her. They were in an empty classroom across the hall from the janitor’s closet. School had ended about twenty minutes ago. Cosmo still couldn’t sense his wife despite possibly being in the same building. Something was nullifying her magic.
Tears pricked Cosmo’s eyes.
“The problem is that Crocker’s Cave now has a security system,” she continued. “We could blast it--”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go for it!” Cosmo said, and Timmy grabbed him by the collar to keep the fairy from poofing off.
“But,” Chloe continued, “something is suppressing her magic there. Breaking the security system would alert Crocker to our presence, not to mention if you came with us, it’d mean he’d have both of you in his grasp.”
“I don’t care,” Cosmo snapped. “Wanda’s in pain. I know she is.”
That last message had alarmed him. The Bond should’ve given him the full story, physically and emotionally. It seemed passive magic was suppressed, too.
Timmy and Chloe exchanged uneasy glances. The doorknob turned, and Tootie walked in. Cosmo had known Tootie had magic; he had sensed it since the first time they’d encountered her. Due to Da Rules, he couldn’t tell his godchildren. Did Tootie know Wanda was missing, too? Tootie already knew Cosmo and Wanda belonged to Timmy and Chloe and had known for years now. She was very observant; she must’ve noticed Cosmo was the only one accompanying Timmy this morning.
“What are you doing here?” Timmy demanded. He and Chloe closed ranks to conceal Cosmo, who didn’t bother shifting into another form. Times were desperate, and Cosmo would accept all the help they could get.
“I can help you guys get Wanda back,” Tootie said. Timmy and Chloe froze. The color drained from their faces, and they spun around to look for Cosmo, who stared back. He hadn’t budged.
“What are you doing?” Timmy hissed.
“He already knows about me,” Tootie said. “So does Wanda.”
“Knows what about you?” Timmy said and snapped at Cosmo, “Why aren’t you hiding? Why didn’t you change into something else? What is wrong with you?”
Tootie groaned. “I didn’t want to tell Miss Perfect over there because I hate her guts, but you’re not going to be able to storm that fortress without help. I can help.”
Chloe advanced, and Tootie’s eyes narrowed.
“Keep your distance, blondie,” Tootie said. She turned to Timmy. “I’m half-fairy. My mom is a human; we don’t know who my father is. Yet. Cosmo and Wanda couldn’t tell you about my powers because Jorgen swore them to secrecy. Crocker’s fairy detector doesn’t pick me up because I’m not full-blooded.”
Cosmo nodded. That strangely made sense. Crocker was bound to have overlooked something. Besides, he might not know half-fairies existed. A lot of people didn’t.
Timmy was glaring at Cosmo again. He grumbled, “You still could’ve told me.”
He might’ve added something unwise after that, but Chloe touched his shoulder to stop him. He glared at her, too, for good measure.
“We think the chamber he has Wanda in has magic-nullifying properties,” Chloe said.
“Are you insane?! Why are you trusting her?” Timmy snapped.
Chloe smiled sadly. “She’s kept your secret for years, Timmy. She claims she’s in love with you. Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t, but unless we want to tell Jorgen what’s going on and risk losing them for good, we must trust her.”
Tootie huffed. “I am in love with Timmy. That’s not up for debate. You have one half-trained fairy and one imbecile fairy. Between the two of us, maybe we can form a full fairy.”
At Tootie’s words, Timmy glanced at Cosmo. Unable to contain his agitation, he had commenced pacing the room again. Tootie smiled sadly.
“You need help,” Tootie said. “Four heads are better than three, right?”
“I’m not sure I’d say Cosmo is entirely there now,” Chloe demurred. “Or, well, ever.”
Tootie snorted, rolling her eyes. “My point stands. Partners?”
Timmy nodded, looking reluctant. Chloe did, too; she held out her hand for Tootie to shake, but Tootie’s withering look convinced her otherwise. Cosmo latched onto Tootie and hugged her tightly. Never mind that she wasn’t his godchild, and he knew that Wanda had been seeing her on the side to help her with her magic. He was so pathetically grateful for Tootie’s assistance that he didn’t care.
Cosmo burst into tears again, and Tootie reluctantly patted him on the back. She hugged him back, which he appreciated.
“All right,” Tootie said once Cosmo’s wails had subsided, “let’s get started.”
-------------------------------
When Crocker left, perhaps to let Wanda nurse her wounds, Wanda collapsed. She couldn’t stop shaking, and she wanted to stop focusing on the fluids running down her leg. Maybe she could get Timmy to wish away this entire day. For the last thirty minutes, she hadn’t been able to stop crying. By now, she’d convinced herself she’d only imagined Cosmo’s voice in her mind as a last-ditch effort to think someone might rescue her.
She curled into a ball despite the accompanying pain. Crocker had dumped her back in the containment chamber. She was still naked, but she didn’t care anymore. Reality had gone dull around the edges. Her wings fluttered like mad as if she could pick herself up and fly away. Escape was impossible; her body should know that by now.
She didn’t know whether Crocker had left to go home or was elsewhere in the Cave.
“Wanda?” The voice was familiar, though it took her a second to place it.
Ignoring how it jerked sore muscles, Wanda sat upright and peered through the window. Her godchildren and Tootie stood outside the janitor’s closet. Cosmo floated nearby, and Wanda’s heart clenched. Cosmo was here. He hadn’t abandoned her after all.
“We’re going to get you out,” Chloe promised.
“Don’t give up, okay?” Tootie added.
Cosmo sobbed, and it brought a slight smile to her face. It wasn’t a happy smile, but it was something. He gasped, “I love you!”
“I love you too, hon,” Wanda whispered, knowing they couldn’t hear her. She pressed her fingers against the window glass. “Please…get me out of here.”
Timmy stared into the security camera and gulped. “Cosmo thinks something terrible might’ve happened. But he’s just freaking out over nothing, right?”
Wanda shook her head as tears fell again.
“Hang on,” Timmy said. “Like Chloe said, we’re gonna get you out.”
Wanda’s lips twitched. Crocker must’ve left the building if his security system hadn’t alerted him to Cosmo’s presence by now. It might be safe for them to retrieve her. Then again, Crocker had said he wasn’t finished with her. He’d planned this way in advance. He might only be waiting for a chance to spring a trap on the others.
“Be careful,” she begged, knowing they couldn’t hear that either. “I love you all. Please. Be careful.”
----------------------------------------
The fairy detector blared as Crocker washed up. Sex was messier than he’d expected, and Wanda had been bleeding profusely when he’d left her.
He’d known Turner would show up with Wanda’s other half soon enough. Contemplative, Crocker toweled off and stroked his chin. While part of him was still angry at her for laughing at him, he felt too good to let it bother him for long. Nonetheless, the question remained: did he want Cosmo, too, for the complete set? Cosmo might get in his way. Plus, he would probably fight Crocker tooth and nail if he tried anything like the last stunt on Wanda again.
Of course, he could always paralyze Cosmo and make him watch. It held a dark appeal. Turner would be fresh out of magic at that point. However, if he brought Cosmo into the mix, he could still comfort Wanda. That would make it more difficult for Crocker to break her and get her to spill her secrets. No, he’d leave Cosmo be for the time being.
Satisfied with his decision, he tucked the fairy detector into his pocket as he stepped out of the boys’ locker rooms. People gave him strange looks and wide berths; it was well-known he was insane. They’d see when he proved them wrong.
There was no hurry to return to the Cave. He wanted Wanda to sit with what had happened and let it sink in. He’d known Turner and the others would be planning to rescue her. They might be able to use magic to break into the closet, but once they reached the Cave itself, all bets were off. Crocker had spent thousands of dollars to coat the Cave’s ceiling and walls in fairy nets. He’d had to call for a few loans since his teacher’s salary didn’t entirely cover it, but it’d been worth it. The overall effect meant that only his magic siphoning machine could access her magic. Wanda couldn’t.
There had been a hole in one of the nets if he recalled correctly, but that didn’t mean much. There was no way any magic had slipped past his notice. Whether it had or not, it didn’t matter. Wanda wasn’t going anywhere.
-----------------------
“We’re not going to be able to use magic to escape,” Tootie warned Timmy. “Is there another way out of the Crocker Cave?”
“There’s a route he takes with his van,” Timmy said. She nodded.
“Do you know where it is? Could you lead us to it?” Tootie said.
Timmy nodded back. His nerves were shot, too, and he glanced at his godfather. Cosmo rubbed his wand between his palms as if readying a shot at the security camera.
“Do you think Wanda can see and hear us?” Chloe said.
“I don’t know,” Timmy said. He turned to Cosmo. “I wish we had a Crocker clone to fool the retina scanner!”
Cosmo conjured it up, perhaps with too much anger, because the clone careened hard into the retina scanner. The fairy was trembling and suppressing more sobs. The door slid aside, and feeling rather like they were entering a monster’s lair, Timmy led them inside.
They landed in a pile on the floor since Crocker had yet to move the damn mattress into the proper position. Groaning, Timmy rolled out from underneath. Only Cosmo had landed well, although as soon as he felt the butterfly nets’ effects, he crashed to the floor, too.
Timmy held his breath as he passed into the main part of the lair. There was a huge containment chamber that hadn’t been in here before, and it was hooked up to a giant computer. A large container beside it contained pink fairy dust. Wanda’s magic. Timmy turned slowly to look at the chamber more closely.
Wanda huddled within, looking pathetic and miserable. She was bleeding, too, and crying with her head against the wall. To his horror and confusion, she was naked.
“Wanda?” Timmy called. Wanda’s head rose.
“Timmy?” she said hoarsely. The others were coming in, too, with Cosmo bringing up the rear. Something in the background grated--it sounded like the door to the secret exit opening. Timmy’s heart clenched. Crocker might have known they were here.
He was afraid to examine her too closely. Her gaze held his, and he’d never seen such abject misery in his life.
“Wanda!” Cosmo cried, joyous at being reunited with his wife. Timmy had to warn him somehow. He turned away from the chamber to face his godfather.
“Don’t,” Timmy said. Cosmo faltered. He’d been slower than the others because he wasn’t used to walking in his fairy form, which he was trapped in with the nets all over.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t look,” Wanda croaked.
“Why not?” Cosmo demanded.
“Oh…” Tootie breathed beside Timmy. “Oh no…”
“Did you really think I’d let you rescue her?” Crocker sneered, his voice booming over the loudspeaker. Wanda hung her head; her hair was sticking out at odd angles, possibly from electrocution. Her chest heaved with sobs.
“You’re not going to keep me from my wife,” Cosmo snapped, charging forward. Bereft of other options, Timmy tackled him. They rolled over, Cosmo on top, and it was too late. Cosmo’s gaze linked with Wanda’s.
“Oh…” Cosmo breathed. He didn’t say anything else, though his eyes filled with tears.
“Yes,” Wanda whispered.
The ground shook beneath their feet, and Crocker materialized out of nowhere. Pink fairy dust surrounded him, and Timmy growled. Wanda’s stolen magic.
For a minute, he was too angry to think straight. He hadn’t believed Crocker capable of depravity like this.
Meanwhile, Crocker had turned himself into a muscle-bound magical menace. Whatever contraption he wore on his back overrode the fairy nets. It looked almost like a jetpack, where the fuel tanks were probably magic. He took advantage of their shock and dismay and scooped Cosmo up off the ground. Cold, almost inhuman eyes raked Cosmo’s form.
For a split second, Timmy wondered whether Crocker intended to steal Cosmo away, too. He could see the thought mirrored on Chloe’s face.
Instead, Crocker threw Cosmo hard into the wall, hard enough to leave an impact on the metal. Timmy had to disable that magical tank or get control of it. It was the only way he would rescue Wanda and get the hell out of there.
“Cosmo!” Wanda cried. She pressed her fingers against the glass.
Timmy lunged, dodging attacks, and jumped onto Crocker’s back. He reached for the wires connecting the tank, and Crocker ripped him off. Timmy’s fingers had grazed the wires, but he hadn’t had the chance to do any real damage.
“I’m going to enjoy this, Turner,” Crocker sneered. He lifted his arm to toss him, too, when Tootie and Chloe charged. Timmy didn’t know if Cosmo was still conscious. That blow had looked impressive, and his godfather wasn’t moving. Crocker backed up to avoid getting caught by Tootie and Chloe.
The magic was still working, making Crocker larger and larger. He was almost as muscle-bound as Jorgen now, which struck Timmy as a very bad thing.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Carmichael,” Crocker said before he threw Timmy at the girls. They slid across the floor in a huddle and bumped against the wall beside Cosmo. Timmy sighed, relieved Cosmo was still breathing at least. He was bleeding from the head, and sparkling blood had left his hair sodden.
Crocker sneered at the children, reached for Wanda’s containment chamber, and vanished from sight, with any chances of them rescuing her today.
--------------------------------
Cosmo couldn’t get out of his head how Wanda had looked. He felt like he’d failed her; he should’ve woken up when Crocker had stolen her away. Maybe he could’ve prevented Crocker from getting her in the first place. There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach; yes, he was an idiot, but he could put two and two together on occasion. The message Wanda had sent to him, the sensation of violation accompanying it, and her disarrayed state pointed to one thing only.
He wasn’t angry, not yet. Disbelief and shock were in anger’s place temporarily. The others looked equally shocked, although they were recovering faster. Cosmo knelt down and brushed his fingers against stray pink fairy dust on the floor. Wanda.
His head ached from the blow he’d taken, but he didn’t care.
“We’ll get her back,” Chloe vowed.
Cosmo’s throat was tight, and he shook his head. “Maybe we should tell Jorgen.”
Jorgen had better resources than them, after all. Cosmo didn’t think he’d remove him and Wanda from Chloe and Timmy’s possession if Cosmo told him the truth.
At this point, it felt like his only option. Tears shook his small frame again, and he hugged himself. Timmy and Chloe rushed to hug him, too. Tootie stood apart, as she wasn’t one of his godchildren.
“We’ll have to tell Jorgen,” Chloe said uneasily. “Cosmo’s right. What choice do we have?”
Timmy laughed harshly. “What’s the world coming to that Cosmo’s right for a change?”
Cosmo wept bitterly. “It’s a world without Wanda.”
And a world without Wanda was not a world he wanted to live in.