While the fairies battled the witches in Central Park, General Wilson and his Marines were up against the fight of their lives. The Literary Army had the strongest, fastest, and most efficient opposition the United States soldiers had ever faced. The flying monkeys swooped in from the sky and yanked the Marines’ weapons out of their hands before they even knew what was happening. The Jolly Roger blasted their cannons at all the Marines’ Hummers and tanks, and at the rooftops where the pirates spotted snipers. Once they were virtually defenseless, the Winkies and card soldiers rounded up all the Marines in Midtown Manhattan and forced them to kneel in the middle of Fifty-Ninth Street on the edge of Central Park.
The Winkies and card soldiers surrounded the captured Marines while the Jolly Roger and the flying monkeys watched them from the air above. The literary soldiers only parted as the Wicked Witch, the Queen of Hearts, and Captain Hook came to have a word with the prisoners.
“Which one of you is in charge?” the Queen of Hearts asked.
Against his sergeant’s advice, General Wilson got to his feet and addressed the literary villains.
“I am,” he announced. “I’m General Gunther Wilson of the United States Marines. Who the heck are you people?”
“Now, now, General,” the Wicked Witch said. “That’s no way to speak to your new commanders.”
“The United States Marines only answer to one commander—and that’s our commander in chief,” General Wilson said.
“And where is he?” Captain Hook asked, and looked around the New York street. “He must step forward immediately and surrender the Otherworld to us!”
“She is in Washington, DC,” General Wilson said. “And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ll never get close to her. You see, we’re just a fraction of the United States military; the rest of it is surrounding the city as we speak. The minute you step off this island, you’ll all be annihilated.”
The Wicked Witch, the Queen of Hearts, and Captain Hook were amused by the general’s remarks. The villains looked at one another and howled with menacing laughter.
“Then we’ll disarm them just as easily as we’ve disarmed you,” the Queen of Hearts said. “This isn’t the first world we’ve conquered, General, and it won’t be the last. Soon the heads of your precious military and commander in chief will be mounted on our wall!”
“But you and your men don’t have to perish in the process,” the Wicked Witch said. “You and your men could join our army and be part of our great empire.”
General Wilson took off his sunglasses so the villains could see every inch of his disgusted and impassioned scowl.
“We’d rather die than join the likes of you!” he shouted.
“So be it,” Captain Hook said. “Mr. Smee, prepare the cannons!”
The pirates aboard the Jolly Roger loaded the ship’s cannons and aimed them at the Marines. The general and his soldiers closed their eyes and braced themselves for a massacre.
“On my count of three!” Captain Hook ordered. “One… two…”
Suddenly, the Dolly Llama descended from the sky and shielded the Marines from the Jolly Roger’s cannons. The floating ships were so close to each other, the pirates could see the whites of one another’s eyes. Peter Pan stood beside Captain Auburn Sally and Admiral Jacobson on the upper deck.
“Oi! Codfish!” Peter Pan called down to Captain Hook. “Miss me?”
The sight of Peter Pan made Captain Hook growl like a wounded animal.
“Peeeter Paaan?” he roared. “What are you doing in the Otherworld?”
“I couldn’t let you have all the fun without me, now could I?” Peter Pan taunted him. “Leave these Marines alone, Captain. Finish your fight with me before you pick another one.”
Captain Hook glared at the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up with so much hatred, it was a miracle his face didn’t catch fire.
“Smee, drop a ladder!” Captain Hook ordered.
Mr. Smee rolled a rope ladder off the side of the ship and it touched the ground. Captain Hook grabbed hold of the ladder and pointed to the Dolly Llama with his hook.
“After that ship!” he commanded.
Peter Pan stuck his tongue out at Captain Hook. Admiral Jacobson spun the Dolly Llama’s wheel, and the ship rose higher into the sky, with the Jolly Roger soaring after it. The flying monkeys also flew after the Dolly Llama to assist the Jolly Roger, but the creatures came to an abrupt stop when the Ziblings’ colorful jet zipped into their path. The superheroes and their adoptive father waved at the monkeys from inside the cockpit.
“Attention, Hominidae-Accipitridae hybrids,” Professor Wallet said through the aircraft’s speaker. “Resist your animalistic urges and spare yourselves from a cataclysmic fate!”
The flying monkeys scratched their heads and looked at one another in confusion. The Ziblings rolled their eyes at the professor’s terminology, and Bolt took the microphone from him.
“In translation: Just ’cause monkey see, don’t mean monkey should do,” Bolt said. “Ditch the flying ship and come with us! We’ll make it worth your while!”
Morph transformed into a pile of bananas to tease the monkeys. The winged creatures were tempted to go after the Ziblings’ jet, but they glanced down at the Wicked Witch for permission first.
“Tear that flying chunk of metal apart!” the Wicked Witch ordered them.
Since the flying monkeys were under the witch’s spell, they had no choice but to obey her. The winged creatures hurtled after the Ziblings’ jet with their claws raised and their sharp teeth exposed. The superheroes yanked on their aircraft’s gears, and the jet zoomed into the clouds.
“I DARE SAY, MERRY MEN,” shouted a boisterous voice. “WHAT SORT OF SELF-RESPECTING MAN REFERS TO HIMSELF AS A WINKIE?”
The Wicked Witch looked down Fifty-Ninth Street and saw Robin Hood, Little John, Alan-a-Dale, Will Scarlet, and Friar Tuck standing at Columbus Circle. The circle was a New York City landmark and had a tall statue of Christopher Columbus in the center of a roundabout connecting Fifty-Ninth Street to Broadway.
“WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT HIDEOUS WOMAN THE WINKIES TAKE ORDERS FROM,” Robin Hood said. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE IN LOXLEY CALL A WOMAN WITH ONE EYE, TERRIBLE CLOTHES, AND A HAGGARD FACE?”
“I don’t know, Robin,” Little John said. “What do you call her?”
“SINGLE!” the Prince of Thieves declared.
The Merry Men burst into a fit of haughty laughter. The Wicked Witch grunted at the insult, and steam piped out of her ears.
“After those arrogant men!” she ordered.
Also under the witch’s spell, the Winkie soldiers immediately sprinted down the street and dashed after the Prince of Thieves. The Wicked Witch sat sidesaddle on her magic umbrella and flew above her soldiers. Robin Hood and the Merry Men hightailed it out of Columbus Circle and ran north on Broadway, leading their followers to another part of the city.