“A witch ordered Alex to destroy the world, starting with the city,” Conner said. “We’re trying to get off the island so we can come up with a plan to stop her!”
Eventually, they reached the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan. Merlin transformed a pigeon into a small ferry and everyone quickly boarded it and sailed down the river toward Liberty Island. Conner was virtually speechless as he watched Alex’s magic consume the city beside them. His sister had come a long way from the bookworm in Mrs. Peters’s sixth-grade classroom.
The ferry docked on Liberty Island, and Conner reunited with his friends and characters from the Saint Andrew’s Children’s Hospital commissary. Charlotte and Bob were overjoyed to see that Conner and his friends were safe. They charged through the crowds on the island and gave him a huge hug.
All the pirates, superheroes, archaeologists, and Cyborgs appeared to be in great spirits given the circumstances, but their demeanors quickly changed when they noticed the body on Cornelius’s back.
“What happened?” Bolt asked.
“Rook saved Alex’s life,” Conner informed them. “He stepped in front of a sniper’s bullet before it hit her.”
“My God,” Bob said. “His poor father.”
“Where is your sister now?” Charlotte asked.
“She’s currently destroying the biggest city in the United States,” Conner said. “You know, typical teenage stuff.”
His mother let out a frustrated sigh. “Is there nothing we can do to stop the curse?”
“Nothing worth mentioning,” Conner said.
Lester swooped toward Liberty Island with Jack, Goldilocks, and Hero on his back. Everyone was relieved to see that the parents had rescued their child from the witches, and Jack and Goldilocks were thankful that their friends had gotten out of the city in time.
“There you are!” Jack said. “We circled the park but couldn’t find a place to land—the whole city is covered in vines!”
“Tell me about it,” Conner said. “What happened to all the witches?”
“We took care of most of them, but a few might have escaped the city,” Goldilocks said. “Any luck with Alex?”
Conner shook his head. “I wish I had better news.”
“I do—Froggy and I got married!” Red announced. “Oh, and I also killed Morina with a hand mirror. I know an afternoon of murder and matrimony sounds awfully tacky, but it was quite lovely.”
Froggy looked down at Jack and Goldilocks’s newborn son, and a wide smile stretched across his face. “This must be Hero,” he said.
“I keep forgetting you haven’t met him yet,” Goldilocks said. “Hero, this is your uncle Froggy.”
She passed the infant into Froggy’s arms. Froggy’s eyes became extra glossy at the sight of his nephew. Hero stared up at Froggy like he was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.
“He’s beautiful,” Froggy said.
“You should have seen what he looked like when he came out,” Red whispered. “I didn’t eat for days.”
While the two were being introduced, Conner was shocked to see that the majority of the Literary Army was scattered across Liberty Island. The card soldiers from Wonderland and the pirates from Neverland sat on the ground in handcuffs. The Winkies guarded the prisoners, and although Conner couldn’t put his finger on it, there was something very different about them—like the light had returned to their eyes. The flying monkeys were twitching, covered with static electricity, and lay across the grass virtually comatose—but Conner noticed a difference in them, too. He saw that Blubo was snuggled up in his parents’ laps, happily picking the bugs off their bodies.
“Wait a second—did you guys defeat the entire Literary Army without us?” Conner asked with an excited smile.
“We sure did!” Peter Pan announced. “The Dolly Llama’s crew and I fought Captain Hook and his pirates on top of the Empire State Building! Auburn Sally sliced off his hand and the captain fell to his death!”
The Mad Moth roared like a Triceratops to remind Peter of its involvement, which startled everyone on Liberty Island.
“Oh, and the Blissworm hatched from its cocoon and saved Tinker Bell!” Peter added.
“That’s the Blissworm?” Bree asked. “Boy, and I thought my imagination was warped.”
“What else happened while we were in the park?” Conner asked.
“Bolt electrocuted the flying monkeys on the Chrysler Building!” Blaze bragged about his brother.
“The Merry Men and the Lost Boys defeated the Wicked Witch at Lincoln Center,” Beau Rogers said. “And once she was dead, the Winkies and monkeys were free from her magic spell!”
“I’VE MADE MANY WOMEN MELT IN MY DAY, BUT SHE WAS THE FIRST ONE TO ACTUALLY DISSOLVE,” Robin Hood said.
“The Tin Woodman beheaded the Queen of Hearts in Washington Square Park, and our Cyborgs captured her card soldiers,” Commander Newters said.
Bree couldn’t help noticing that Trollbella and the Tin Woodman were holding hands. “What’s going on with you two?” she asked. “Are you guys like a thing?”
“If we must define our relationship in your uncivilized monster terms, then yes, we are a thing,” Trollbella said. “I’ve spent my whole life longing after Butterboy, but it turns out what I really needed was a Butter Tray.”
Conner was bursting with so much pride for all that his friends and characters had accomplished, he didn’t have room to be disturbed by Trollbella and the Tin Woodman’s new relationship.
“But who told you how to defeat the Literary Army?” he asked. “I mean, even I would have had to consult a librarian.”
“Your mom did,” Bolt said.
Conner was pleasantly surprised to hear it. “Really?”
“At first we didn’t know what to do, either,” Charlotte said. “Then I thought, What would Alex and Conner do if they were in my shoes? So I took a page from your book and wrote a story about meeting James M. Barrie, L. Frank Baum, and Lewis Carroll. I splashed the pages with a few drops of Portal Potion, stepped into the beam of light, and asked the authors how to defeat their characters.”
“And what did they say?”
“Sir James M. Barrie said Captain Hook’s greatest weakness was revenge and that he’d never give up a chance to get even with Peter Pan for cutting off his hand. Mr. Baum said the Wicked Witch of the West was so evil she could be melted by water, so it’s nice to know the movie depicted something correctly. Lastly, Mr. Carroll said the Queen of Hearts would never pass up an opportunity to chop off a unique head. I relayed all the information to Arthur and he put the plans into motion.”
Over the years, Charlotte had given Conner plenty of reasons to be a proud son, but hearing how she’d acquired the information necessary to defeat an entire army definitely took the cake. However, before Conner could shower his mom with praise, he suddenly froze and went dead silent—her methods had given him an idea.