Chapter 3 - Mid-Noon At The Oasis

Chapter Three:
Mid-Noon At The Oasis
Meanwhile in the desert, the storm had hit the Titans full on. Cyborg had buried his face in camel Beast Boy’s side, but Raven was sat cross-legged, meditating in preparation for the crazy thing she was about to attempt. How did Mumbo’s magic work, exactly? He just waved his wand, said a nonsensical incantation and hey presto! – the whatever-it-was-he’d-wanted had appeared. There was no concentration, no emotional influence and he didn’t even always employ specific words. He certainly hadn’t since he’d taken on that genie persona; all he had to say was “Shazam!” and whatever he’d said – no wait, whatever he’d thought – immediately happened. Was that all she had to do?
Raven pictured in her trained mind a Persian Rug, big enough to fit the three of them on that could take them away from the sandstorm.
“Shazam,” she uttered.
There was a sudden blinding flash and her eyes snapped open, forgetting entirely that she was supposed to be protecting them from the airborne sand. She’d needn’t have worried, however, as the sight she opened them to was spectacular. They were no longer surrounded by the sandstorm – rather, the sandstorm was now below them and the intricately decorated carpet they were now riding on top of. The sky above them was clear and blue, but there was still a strong wind pushing against them – in fact, it seemed to be making them glide along the top of the swirling sands.
Cyborg and Beast Boy sensed that the storm was no longer battering them and uncovered their eyes too, Beast Boy turning back into his usual form.
“Oh man, I don’t believe it…” said Cyborg, “This is AWESOME!”
For once Raven had to agree with his terminology. She pulled down her scarf, revealing her face once more, and closed her eyes.
“We’re so high up!” said Beast Boy excitedly, looking over the side of the carpet.
Cyborg rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the screen built into his arm. “I’d better run a system diagnosis. I don’t want any sand to have gotten into my circuits.”
“Dude, you’re waterproof!”
“But am I sand-proof? I can’t take any chances, bro!”
“Guys, could you let me concentrate?” interjected Raven, “I’m trying to locate Robin and Starfire.” The boys promptly silenced and Raven focused on the thought of finding their comrades. “Shazam!”
…
“You may have evaded my plans for your annihilation,” went on Mumbo Jumbo, “But I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.” He pointed to his left wrist. “Or at least I would if I had a sleeve! That is the only disadvantage to my genie disguise.” His masked eyes narrowed and he started rubbing his hands together calculatingly. “Now, what would be the most satisfying end to you bratty teenagers?”
“SHAZAM!” said a voice. Starfire and Robin braced themselves for the worst, but then they realised the voice hadn’t actually come from Mumbo...unless of course he’d managed to perfectly mimic Raven’s raspy tone (which they wouldn’t put past him if it wasn’t for the fact imitating it would serve no purpose whatsoever!)
Even more bewilderingly, it appeared whoever had uttered the spell had been directing at the faux-genie, because he and his magic carpet had inexplicably been turned quite literally upside-down. Mumbo took a couple of seconds to register what had happened to him before looking upward – or rather downward – only to have the first law of cartoon physics come up against him. He dropped like a stone, grabbing his lamp hastily as he tumbled through the air with a bloodcurdling scream, landing awkwardly on top of another carpet below him.
“Nice of you to drop by, Mumbo!” teased Beast Boy.
“What? How did you-” Mumbo was stunned. He then clapped a hand on his bald head. “My turban!”
“Is this yours?” asked Cyborg, removing his fez and replacing it with the turban, “You know what, I think it kinda suits me.”
“Give me that!” shouted Mumbo, snatching it back.
Starfire, still carrying Robin, had glided down to meet them. “Friends Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy – we are so pleased to see you!”
“Raven? What just happened there?” The last time Robin had checked, her magic words had been nothing like Mumbo Jumbo’s!
“Let’s just say I picked up a few tricks from Mumbo,” replied Raven, eying the blue magician, who was sat beside her re-adjusting his turban.
“You may think you can play games with me, Raven,” said Mumbo, “But you do not know what you are up against. When you are in my world, you go by Mumbo’s rules!”
“Shazam,” said Raven dryly and the troublesome magician vanished in a puff of smoke.
Everyone froze in silence for a few moments.
“What did you do with him?” asked Robin, sounding surprisingly concerned.
“One of his usual tricks – I made him disappear. I doubt it will be permanently, though.” She looked upward at the still upside-down carpet. “He has a great deal of power over this world of his.”
Starfire set herself and Robin down on Raven’s Persian rug. “We need to work out a plan to defeat Mumbo while he’s gone,” Robin instructed, before breaking off abruptly. The Titans were just trying to make sense of his uncharacteristic behaviour when he collapsed onto Starfire’s side.
“Robin!” cried his sweetheart, patting his cheeks.
“He’s suffering from heat exhaustion,” explained Raven, “We must find an oasis where there will be water and shade.”
Starfire nursed Robin’s sweaty brow. His fair skin was already developing a tan from the exposure he’d had to the burning sun whilst battling Mumbo’s army. Raven was glad her outfit was very covering or else her ethereally pale skin would have surely acquired a terrible sun-burn.
She closed her eyes and pictured a large pool of sparkling azure water, surrounded by shady palm trees. “Shazam!”
“Friend Raven, you have truly mastered the art of the abracadabra!” was the next thing she heard.
She opened her eyes to see exactly what she’d imagined in her mind – down to the last detail, in fact. It appeared Mumbo’s ridiculous, culturally-appropriated world was now being influenced by her powers. After all he’d subjected them to over the last hour; it was about time he got a taste of his own medicine!
The carpet drifted towards the oasis and parked itself neatly on the sandy poolside, underneath the shade of the palm trees. Beast Boy rolled up his trousers and splashed around in the lake with glee, while Raven leant over the edge and dipped her cupped hands into the water, from which she drank. Cyborg filled his fez with cool water and handed it to Starfire, who was attending to the now conscious Robin. He drank gratefully, resting against a palm tree.
Beast Boy paused, up to his knees in the refreshing pool, watching Robin and feeling rather guilty about his condition. “I’m sorry I got you into this, guys. I should have realised that genie was a phony from the start – he never even showed his face. Me and my stupid wishes…”
“I do not begrudge you, friend Beast Boy,” responded Starfire, caressing Robin’s brow, “If it was an adventure that you wished for, we have most certainly received one!” Her optimistic attitude made Beast Boy feel a little less uncomfortable.
“Feeling better, Robbie?” asked Cyborg, who was crouched at his side.
“Yeah…I’ve just got a slight headache. I’ll probably be fine.” He rose back to his feet. “Right, team. Our first priority now is to escape from Mumbo’s world. Do we even know how we got here?”
“All I remember is a great flash of light,” said Starfire, “Before I awoke on the bed of sand and cobbles.”
“That was from the magic lamp,” explained Beast Boy, “After my last wish, there was this freaky glowing and I got hit by one of the beams and then everything went black!”
“Then it is as I suspected,” said Raven, who was walking towards them, looking truly stunning with the flaming sun as her backdrop, in Beast Boy’s opinion. She was beautiful, powerful, wise – how he longed to earn her respect! You never know, maybe – just maybe – there was still a chance…“We are trapped in a pocket world inside the oil lamp. Mumbo’s understanding of the Djinn may be primitive, but he must be aware this is a common feature of their magic.”
“Like the Tardis!” exclaimed Beast Boy.
“I suppose…there are some similarities.”
“And how are we gonna get outta this dimension?” probed Cyborg.
Robin snapped his fingers. “Why didn’t I think of it before? To defeat Mumbo, all you’ve got to do is destroy the source of his power – his wand!”
“But where is his wand?” asked Starfire, “I have not seen him use it since we arrived in his world.”
“You’re right Starfire…” Robin’s brow knitted. “…but that’s not because he doesn’t have it on him. There is one item we haven’t seen him without so far – his lamp!”
“Are you sayin’ Mumbo disguised his wand as a lamp?” confirmed Cyborg.
“I’ll bet Mumbo was trying to throw us off the scent. We’ve taken his wand away from him every time we’ve come up against him in the past. He thought that if he didn’t appear to have it on him, we wouldn’t know how to defeat him, and what better item to masquerade his wand as than another object typically associated with magic?”
“Knowing Mumbo, it’s probably the reason for this whole ‘Arabian Nights’ charade,” added Raven.
“I think you’re right, Raven. Mumbo hasn’t been up to his usual tricks during this scheme of his. He must have worked out the one way we’re always able to defeat him and come up with a plan to avert it, getting more twisted ideas in the process. He may be crafty, but he’s no match for the Teen Titans! Our mission now is to do whatever it takes to capture that lamp…but first we need to find Mumbo.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem…”
…
Meanwhile, in a sandy alleyway of the market town the Teen Titans had landed in upon first arriving in Mumbo’s world, there was suddenly an almighty CRASH! as a figure toppled onto a cluster of porcelain jars.
“Curse those pesky Titans!” shouted Mumbo, “Just wait until I get my hands on them! I’ll teach them not to mess with the AMAZING MUMBO JUMBO!”
He got back to his feet, dusted off his waistcoat and inspected his lamp. Once he had ascertained it was undamaged, he put two fingers into his mouth and whistled. His Persian rug flew back to him as quickly as it could and Mumbo hopped onto it, sitting cross-legged.
“Now to find those meddling brats. They may think they have seen the last of me, but they’re about to find out that I’m not the only one who can do a disappearing act!” He began laughing wickedly as the carpet rose into the air, amongst the circular dome rooves of the city. The Titans had to be out there somewhere – his world was only so big – and wherever they were hiding, he was going to find them.

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