On Halloween night, the New England town of Salem, Massachusetts was apparently being haunted by the ghost of the witch Milissa Wilcox, who was burned at the stake in 1778. After Velma received a distressed call from her friend Arlene Wilcox, a distant descendant of the accused witch, the Scooby Gang arrived to help, despite being warned off by the town's mayor on the way to her house.

After a brief meeting and an explanation, Arlene was quite relieved to have her friends there for moral support and to investigate things for her. She had no problems paying for their stay and providing enough food for them. In her eyes, it was a small price to pay for Mystery Incorporated to be there on the scene for her. They were outside and investigating it already after just arriving.

What she hadn't anticipated was trying to light the fireplace for extra warmth and having it explode right in her face. Her scream of fright was cut off as she was body-slammed backwards by something thick and heavy. She fell to the floor next to the couch, over ten feet away from the fireplace.

Arlene counted herself lucky that she hadn't been too badly burned or lost any hair because of the fire, then she screamed as she looked at the slightly charred face of the unconscious man that was mostly sprawled on top of her. A matching little girl's scream rang out and Arlene froze, because she couldn't see any little girl.

What Arlene didn't know was that little girl was invisible on the man's back and her hands were now pinned between Arlene's chest and the man's neck. The girl's screaming eased off and then the man's head moved slightly with the sounds of slapping.

*

“Uhhhh.” I groaned and felt something hitting the sides of my head. “I'm up, I'm up.”

The slapping stopped and I took a deep breath as I opened my eyes to see where I was. I felt like I was laying on something quite nice and comfortable, then my eyes came into focus and I stared into a beautiful woman's eyes.

“Oh! I'm terribly sorry! Let me just get up and...” I stopped talking when my arms didn't move. I glanced to the side and saw the reason why. I didn't have arms anymore. “That's a bit of a problem.”

The woman stared at me like she didn't know what to do. My head was pretty much buried in her cleavage and I didn't have arms to rectify that situation.

“Please give me a minute or two before you freak out, all right? I'll explain everything as soon as I grow my arms back.” I said and cast several diagnostic spells on myself. “Oh, and my legs, too.”

She just stared at me and didn't move or react.

I closed my eyes and felt for the Force. It was a lot stronger here than on the last world, so I created several needles and positioned them to inject directly into the charred stumps of my limbs. In my quite reasonable attempt to protect Gloria completely, I had apparently given up my own protection past where she clung to me.

I was silently grateful that she was still hugging my neck, because that could have been a complete disaster. Not that I would have known. Losing my head would have stopped me from thinking about it. Of course, I had a fleeting thought that I didn't know what had been slapping my head if Gloria's hands were pinned. It wasn't really important right now, so I pushed that thought aside.

I opened my eyes again and the woman was now staring at the needles injecting me with bacta fluid. “It's okay. The fluid will let me regrow my limbs in about fifteen minutes. I'm boosting it with healing and regeneration as well.”

“You... you are... regrowing your limbs.” The woman whispered.

“Surprisingly, this is the first time I've had to do so. I usually only have to regenerate my skin and muscles, heal bones, and regrow my hair.”

The woman blinked her eyes at me for several seconds.

“While we wait, can I introduce myself?” I asked and she nodded. “My name is John Hansen and the pretty little girl strapped to my back is Gloria Colorado.”

The woman's eyes went over my shoulder and back to my face. “What little girl?”

“I lose my protection when travelling and the illusion spell stays intact. That figures.” I said with a chuckle and ended the spell.

“AH!” The woman gasped.

“It's okay. She's more afraid of you than you are of her.” I said and the woman looked surprised. “Her hands are trapped between us and she can only safely touch me without being in pain.”

The woman gasped and she braced her hands on my shoulders and pushed up with a grunt.

“Thank you.” I said as Gloria quickly pulled her hands out and then dug them into my hair.

The woman let go and panted a little. I cast Healing and Remove Negative Effects on her. She gasped and stared at me again.

“Yes, that was me.” I said. “May I know your name?”

“I... it's Arlene. Arlene Wilcox.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Arlene.” I said. “You need to wait another ten minutes for me to offer to shake your hand.”

Arlene gave me a pointed look. “How can you stay calm in a situation like this?”

“What situation?” I asked and she looked surprised. “Oh! You mean getting to rest against a beautiful woman in a cozy house while I recover.”

Arlene nodded.

“I usually wake up in much more dangerous or harrowing circumstances.” I said and Gloria giggled. “Hey, this is your first trip and the first time I lost my limbs. Don't judge me.”

Gloria giggled again and her fingers started playing with my hair.

“Do you want it long enough to braid?” I asked and she tapped her right hand on my head. I cast a Hair Growth charm and she let out a laugh as my hair grew about a foot long.

Arlene just stared at me.

“I've had a lot of practice raising kids.” I said as an explanation. “So, where are we?”

“You're at my house. I just inherited it from an ancestor and it might be haunted.”

“I can check for spirits and remove them as soon as my arms finish growing.” I said and she looked surprised again. “It's the least I can do for providing a very comfortable place for me to rest my head.”

Arlene blushed and looked away from me.

“Please, don't be embarrassed.” I said in a soft voice. “I'm sure you have dozens of men wishing that they were where I am right now.”

Arlene blushed even more. “No, I... haven't really... there's no one trying to...”

“I'm sorry I pointed it out.” I said and she turned her head to look at me. “Someone so nice shouldn't feel like she's alone.”

Arlene's blush faded and she looked into my eyes. “You've lost someone, haven't you?”

“Yes.” I said. “I don't really want to talk about that, though.”

“Is it too painful?” Arlene asked and her hand lightly touched my cheek.

“That and when trying to talk to a woman, you should never bring up the women from your past.”

Arlene smiled. “What if she asks about them?”

“Minimize the details and try to not let her think that she has to compete with a memory. Reliving the past is not the point of being with someone. Making a new future is.”

Arlene nodded slightly and then had a thoughtful look on her face.

“It's a bit early to decide what our son's name is going to be.” I joked and she blushed. “How about we have a date or two first and see where things go?”

Arlene looked at where my face was planted in her chest and then into my eyes. “We're a little past a second date's requirements, don't you think?”

I laughed softly and she smirked at me. “You have a valid point, Arlene.”

“Then I'll expect a home-cooked candle-lit dinner and some romancing tonight, even if it is Halloween.” Arlene said.

“A fair price to pay, my dear lady.” I said and gave myself more boosting injections and cast more spells. The hands and feet were the difficult parts and I wanted it done as soon as possible.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

“Open up, you witch!” A man's voice rang out from beyond her front door, as did several shouts of 'burn the witch!' and 'give her the trials!'.

“Oh, no! The townspeople still think she's me!” Arlene said.

“Who?” I asked.

“The ghost of Milissa Wilcox, a witch that the townspeople of Salem burned at the stake in 1778.” Arlene said. “The ghost apparently looks like me and now the townspeople are after me!”

I chuckled and she look affronted. “Relax. I'll handle this.”

“How? You still don't have hands yet!”

“Who needs hands when you can cast magic?” I said and cast the voice changing spell and then Sonorus on myself while also casting Silence on Gloria and Arlene. “WHO DARES TO ATTACK THE HOME OF MY DECENDANT?” I yelled in a feminine voice. “BEGONE FROM THIS PLACE, OR I WILL CURSE YOU ALL WITH BOILS AND SORES!”

“She's using witchcraft! Burn the place down!” The man's gruff voice shouted.

“IDIOTS! FIRE CAN NO LONGER HARM ME, FOR I AM ETERNAL!” I yelled and then cast the boils and sores curse on everyone outside the door as I also cast the flame snuffing charm. “SUFFER FOR YOUR SINS! HA HA HA HA HA!”

The townspeople's screams were pretty loud, so I waited for them to run away before I cancelled the Sonorus and voice changing spells, then ended the Silence on Arlene and Gloria.

“There. All handled.” I said and felt my fingers form. Another minute or so.

“What did you do?” Arlene asked.

“I played a Halloween prank on them.” I said and felt energy flow through me as my Prismatic Regeneration finished. I pushed up off of her with my regrown hands and she looked a little disappointed that I was healed. I smiled at her and easily picked her up, to her surprise.

“Oh, my.” Arlene whispered and looked a little flustered.

“We can cuddle for real later.” I promised and she blushed. “Let me just check the house for you.”

“I'll wait here.” Arlene said and sat down on the couch.

I chuckled and created a wand. “I don't need to go anywhere.” I said and cast the human reveal spell and then the spirit reveal spell. Nothing appeared. “Your house is clear.”

“How can you say that? You didn't do anything.” Arlene said.

“Magic is like that.” I said. “Shall I get started on dinner?”

Arlene gave me a skeptical look for a moment, then nodded.

“I'll be done in fifteen minutes.” I said and she looked surprised once more. “Magic, remember?”

“Oh. Okay.” Arlene said and I left her in the living room to go to the kitchen.

I created one of the cookers from the Firefly galley and did up a couple of steaks with all the trimmings. I also made a bottle of wine and conjured a nice tablecloth and candles to set on the table. I placed golden plates and silverware down for two people and waited for the ding of the cooker. I placed the food on the plates and then turned off the lights of the dining room.

It was too dark, so I conjured candles for the chandelier and lit them to create a soft warm glow. That was perfect, so I went to the living room and saw Arlene sitting there with an odd look on her face.

“You peeked.” I guessed and she nodded. I held a hand out to her. “I'll explain everything as we eat.”

Arlene hesitated for a moment, then she took my hand.

I eased her up off of the couch and then bent over her hand to kiss it. “I formally greet you, Arlene Wilcox of the Wilcox Family.”

Arlene blinked her eyes at me and didn't say anything.

“It gave me an excuse to kiss your hand.” I said and led her into the dining room. I sat her down and created a stool for myself, since I was still wearing Gloria on my back.

“You do realize that you still have a little girl strapped to your back.” Arlene said.

“I'll set her down after I feed her and put her to bed.” I said and she looked surprised. “I told you that she can't touch anything without feeling pain.”

“Oh. I suppose... how will you... if she can't touch anything...”

“Her blanket.” I said and pat the cloth tied around me. “I'll make it bigger and she shouldn't have any trouble with it, since she's felt my magic already.”

Arlene nodded and tried the steak. “Oh, my.” She whispered and chewed on the forkful. “What is... this is...”

“Delicious, I know.” I said and cut off several small pieces and mushed them, then used the levitation charm to float them over my shoulder. The enthusiastic chewing sounds let me know that Gloria approved of the taste as well.

We ate the meal and I explained the basics of my travelling and some of my other abilities. Arlene kept looking around at the candles and things as she ate and sipped the wine. I was sure that she was waiting for things to explode or disappear or something, because what I was telling her was pretty far-fetched.

When the food was gone, I stood and went around the table to take Arlene's hand. “May I escort you back to the living room to wait? I'll just be a few moments as I put Gloria to bed.”

“The guest rooms are taken already. My friends are here to visit and investigate the witch's ghost.” Arlene said and then looked at Gloria. “You can put her in my room.”

I smiled warmly. “Thank you, Arlene.” I said and helped her stand. “You won't even know she's there.”

“You don't have to go that far.” Arlene said and looked into my eyes. “Are you always this much of a gentleman?”

“I spent a long time as part of a Queen's retinue, so maybe.” I said and she smiled. I led her to the living room and sat her down. “I'll be right back.”

“It's the last door upstairs.” Arlene said and I left to take Gloria to bed.

I entered the room and it was fairly large. I went to the far wall that didn't have a window and cast an extension charm on it to extend it another ten feet. I stepped inside and quickly made a bed, a television, and several other things for her to look at. Then I realized my mistake. I removed the television and other things and left the bed.

“Pull your feet up, sweetie.” I said and Gloria did so as I slipped the backpack off and sat on the bed. I turned around and cast Engorgio on the backpack several times.

Gloria giggled as her backpack carrier grew and filled the room.

“Don't touch the television.” I said as I made one appear and she shook her head several times. “It's voice activated, so have fun looking for things to watch.”

Gloria looked at the bed she was on, that was completely covered with the blanket. “No sleep?”

“You can go to bed when you're tired. We're not really on normal time now, considering who we are.” I said. “Plus, you can always sleep while I'm carrying you around.”

Gloria smiled at me and held her arms out for me.

I knelt and pulled her into a hug. “Goodnight, sweetie.”

“Night night.” Gloria said and let me go. “On!”

The television turned on.

“Doggy!” Gloria said and the channels changed to show funny dog videos. She started giggling, so I left her in her new room and closed the side of the backpack to hide her from view of the rest of Arlene's room.

I went downstairs and Arlene sat there with a thoughtful look on her face. I sat beside her and put my arm on the back of the couch behind her shoulders. She didn't look at me as she accepted the non-verbal invitation and cuddled into my side and I put my arm around her.

“You're really from another world.” Arlene asked.

“Another Earth, actually. Born and raised in Kansas. I was a farmer for the first part of my life and I loved it.” I said. “When I get the chance and the free space to do so, I recreate the view I had and then I enjoy it almost as much as I did back then.”

“Only almost?” Arlene asked.

“It's not my first farm. The one I worked hard to create. To make food to feed thousands of people. It was a rush to know that without me, those people might not have had enough to eat.”

Arlene was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke. “What are you going to do here?”

I tightened my grip slightly and she cuddled in a bit more. “I've got a child to raise now. I hadn't planned it and I'm not going to complain about it. I'm going to teach her everything she needs to know to survive and be healthy, then I'll teach her everything else and to have fun.”

“You're not staying, are you?” Arlene asked.

I sat there and thought about it. “The times I've travelled, I've always ended up in the middle of something. I do my best to help resolve whatever it is, and I usually meet someone along the way. If nothing too outrageous happens to force me to move on, I usually stay for as long as I'm able.”

Arlene fell silent for several more minutes before she spoke. “I am never lighting the fire in that fireplace ever again.”

I barked a laugh and looked at her to see her looking back at me. “I seem to remember us skipping a step or two in our dating.” I whispered and gave her a passionate kiss.

She seemed to melt in my arms and then she kissed me back just as passionately. Her hands rubbed my bare chest and she moaned a little as she gripped my pectorals. She broke the kiss and the look in her eyes told me that she was more than ready for the next dating step.

I gave her another kiss and then unbuttoned her pants. She looked surprised that I didn't try to take her top off first, then she moaned loudly as I pulled her underwear aside and licked her.

“Ohgodohgodohgod.” Arlene muttered continuously as I kept kissing and licking her while I pulled her pants all the way off. When I pushed her backwards onto the couch to get a better angle to work her over, she wrapped her legs around my neck and I had to silence her yells of pleasure.

I would find out a short while later as she begged me to do her as hard as I could, that she had never had anyone go down on her before. I whispered into her ear as I plowed her field, that I would eat her out whenever she wanted.

She came so hard that she had convulsions and I had to slow down, just so I wouldn't hurt her. She started breathing normally a minute later and then she started moving on her own. I actually had to ease her frantic movements, so that she wouldn't hurt herself. She pulled my head down to shove her breasts into my face and ignored my efforts.

She was going to ride me as hard as she could while she could, and that was that. I figured that I would bring an end to it by letting myself go and poured myself into her. Boy, was I wrong.

“AHHHHH!” Arlene screamed as she had another orgasm from it, then she slammed her lips to mine and sped up her movements. She kept going, and going, and going.

Half of the couch was damp from how many times she came, so I let out another load inside of her. She screamed again and that seemed to be enough for her. She collapsed on top of me and her breathing was heavy as she gave me several light kisses on my lips and cheeks.

“That was... so good.” Arlene whispered and took several minutes to get her breathing back to normal again. When she did, she sat up and smiled, because I was still hard inside of her. She started to move again, then she froze and gasped as she stared over my head at the doorway.

I tilted my head back and saw a sight that I never thought I would ever see. Fred, Daphne, and Velma stood there with shock on their faces. I couldn't let Arlene's apparent petrification continue, so I make a joke to diffuse the situation.

“How long have you three been voyeurs and liked seeing other people having sex?” I asked them.

Fred immediately turned around, Daphne blushed like crazy and also turned around, and Velma... well, she gave us both a pretty intense look.

“I never considered voyeurism a valid turn on for a healthy sex life.” Velma said and walked over to us. “However, Arlene is a good friend of mine and seeing her enjoying herself on what appears to be a superb physical specimen, has stimulated and fired off quite a few neurons in my brain.”

“That was not the response I expected.” I said.

Velma smiled and then pulled off her thick sweater to reveal a very packed bra, which was a surprise.

“Um... I firmly believe in monogamy.” I said as she opened her bra and tossed it aside.

“Arlene, do you mind me borrowing your date for a bit? I need to work off what the two of you have started in me.” Velma said.

Arlene shook herself a little and then she leaned over to kiss Velma pretty soundly. “He lets you do whatever you want, so try to be respectful and careful.”

Velma looked down at her friend's vagina and back at her face. “You weren't careful. That's pretty stretched.”

Arlene laughed and slid up and off of me. “He went down on me and made me go four times before I had to beg him to stop and give it to me.”

Velma and Daphne gasped and Fred made a gagging sound.

“Don't I have a say in this?” I asked.

“Yes. Do you want to suck on my clitoris now or later?” Velma said and pulled off her skirt and panties.

My mouth dropped open at the absolutely beautiful vagina in front of me.

“By the look on your face, I'd say now.” Velma said and straddled my face and sat on my mouth.

Both Fred and Daphne fled.

“Mmm, that's wonderful.” Velma said as her hand gripped me to hold me steady. “Thank you, Arlene.”

“You're welcome.” Arlene said and then Velma laid down and sucked my entire penis into her mouth.

“HMMMM!” I moaned and dove into her womanhood to show her every trick and play that I could as she deep-throated me easily. I wasn't sure why it was suddenly okay to cheat on a woman that I had just slept with, then I felt that woman's tongue competing with mine. I opened my eyes and there was Arlene trying to get in on the action, too.

“I'm sorry. I can't just sit here and not do anything.” Arlene said.

I stopped licking and moved back to let her in and she kissed me and started licking Velma in my stead. “I thought you said no one ever went down on you before.”

“They haven't. Not on Velma, either.” Arlene said. “We always seemed to have boyfriends at the wrong times.”

“Those stupid bastards.” I said.

Arlene and Velma laughed, the latter choked a little on me and stopped moving.

“Sorry about that.” I said and kissed her ass as an apology.

“Hmmm mmm.” Velma hummed and went back to work.

What followed was a pretty interesting time. The two women didn't fight, or compete, or even tried to do the same thing at the same time. Even though they had never been with the same guy before or at the same time, they worked well as a team and kept me very busy and very happy.

Who would have thought that the smart and shy Velma was an expert in sexual experiences? I sure didn't. I did suspect that she was hiding a pretty great body under the thick sweater, though. I wasn't disappointed. She was the epitome of curvy sexiness and I had to admit that I sure as hell enjoyed her a lot.

I bit, licked, kissed, rubbed, and played with every damn inch of her. The entire time I kept telling her how honored I was that she would let me enjoy her like this, how great that she liked sharing with her good friend, and how she had taught someone like me a few things about seeking pleasure from a woman.

Velma was blushing pretty hard when I pulled out of her for my fourth load, at her request, to give her a taste directly. I did so, thanking her for the pleasure, then I rolled Arlene over on top of her and did her, too. I gave her the same treatment, with the licking and compliments, and then I drove deep inside of her and gave her my fifth load.

Arlene started to scream her pleasure and Velma kissed her to keep her quiet. I pulled out of her and went back inside Velma to make her scream for me, too. I didn't stop until my sixth load was shared between the two of them and we laid in a pile on the enlarged couch. I didn't even remember doing that and making more room for us. Arlene was already asleep, completely exhausted. I cast Sleep on her anyway, just in case.

“Jinkies.” Velma said as she cuddled into my chest.

I chuckled and she smirked at me. “Yes, I was waiting to hear you say that.”

“I know.” Velma said and looked at me, searchingly. “You know all about me, somehow. I want to ask how and I also don't want you to answer.”

“You want to figure it out.” I said and she nodded. “I would offer to answer questions; but, you'll get it almost right away if you asked the right one.”

“What's the question?” Velma asked.

“Who are you really?” I responded.

Velma thought about that. “Does Arlene know?”

“Kind of.” I said and she raised her eyebrows. “I told her and she hasn't made the mental connections to what it really means.”

“Which I would do nearly instantly.” Velma said and I nodded. “Have we ever met before?”

“No.” I said.

“Have you seen me before?”

“Yes, hundreds of times.”

Velma went quiet and rested her head on my chest again. “Personally or recordings?”

“Recordings. If I had ever met you personally, what just happened would have happened a very, very long time ago.” I said and kissed the top of her head. “You have always been delectably scrumptious.”

Velma blushed and looked at me. “I need my glass to see you properly.”

“Do you want me to fix that for you?” I asked and she gasped. “By the look on your face, I'll take that as a yes.”

“Please.” Velma whispered. “It's such a hindrance sometimes.”

“Then close your eyes, beautiful.” I said and she blushed again as she did so. I performed several diagnostic spells and found that she was extremely nearsighted. I couldn't heal her with bacta or healing spells, because that wouldn't work. What would work was a permanent transfiguration.

I used a wand and changed her oblong eyes into perfectly spherical ones and then healed them to make it permanent. The slight bags under her eyes became more pronounced with her eyes fitting into her sockets better, so I transfigured the bags into normal taught skin to remove them.

I conjured a mirror and held it for her to see herself. “Okay, try opening your eyes.”

Velma slowly opened her eyes and then blinked about a hundred times in a few seconds. “JINKIES!”

I laughed and she looked at my face. “I told you that you were beautiful. It's not my fault that you doubted me.”

“It's not that.” Velma said. “You just reformed my eyes into perfect spheres.”

“You can feel the difference.” I said and she nodded. “I removed the little bags under your tired eyes, too.”

Velma gasped and looked back at the mirror. “I didn't even notice!”

“I didn't, either.” I said and she looked back at me. “Not until I fixed your eyes, then I did.”

“I won't need glasses anymore.” Velma said and then looked slightly sad.

“About that.” I said and held up her glasses. “How would you like special ones?”

Velma looked at me for a moment. “How special?”

I took out a copy of Albus Dumbledore's glasses and Velma looked very interested in them. “We can't let anyone think you've changed.” I said and popped the little lenses out and then made them bigger, popped Velma's out and replaced them with the magic ones. “Try them on.”

Velma didn't hesitate as she sat up and put them on.

“Your breasts are amazing, by the way.” I said and she blushed.

“Hush! I'm busy.” Velma said and looked around. “I don't see anything differently.”

“No? Look at me.” I said and she did.

“Jinkies!” Velma gasped. “You... you...”

“What does it say?” I asked.

“Your name is John Hansen and you are not from this dimension.”

“That's not what it says.”

Velma smiled. “John Hansen. Age 1,839,854 years old. Dimensional Planeswalker. Earth 100,000,001.”

“Now look at Arlene.” I prompted.

“Arlene Wilcox. Age 23. Heiress. College Graduate. Earth 95,281.”

“I guess I've had too many jobs over the years to list.” I said.

“John, these glasses... if anyone else ever...”

I held a hand out for them and she handed them over. I held them for a moment and vanished them.

“Yes, they are too dangerous to...”

I created a new pair and handed them to her. “They are keyed to you. Anyone else trying to wear them will only see blurs, like they were looking through your old glasses.”

Velma put them on and they still worked. “You are too good to be true.”

“So, you figured it out.” I said with a smile.

“As soon as I saw your status.” Velma said.

“I knew you would get it right away.” I said and cupped the side of her face.

“Do you always know what you're jumping into when you travel?” Velma asked.

“No. Some I recognize and a lot I don't.” I said. “I mean, I didn't even know this world would have you in it until you literally walked in on me having sex.”

Velma laughed and her breasts jiggled enticingly. “I have to say, your question definitely got me thinking.”

“Like I said before, I didn't expect that... or this.” I said and slid my hand down to her chest. “Why would anyone ever say no to you?”

“They didn't like that I was smarter than them.” Velma said and bit her lip to stop her moan from escaping as I massaged her breast. “I really should go and help my friends with this witch thing.”

I bent over and kissed her nipple, then moved up to kiss her lips. “Your glasses will help immensely with that.”

Velma caught her breath. “Costumes and disguises are revealed and seen through!”

“I wouldn't give you something that you can't actually use, Velma.”

Velma gave me an intense stare. “John, I want to tell you something.”

“Go ahead.” I said. “I'm already in a moral quandary about making love to the two of you. You can't really make it worse.”

“You can be monogamous to more than one person if they all agree to it.” Velma said.

“Well, damn. You just made it worse.” I said and she looked pleased. “Now I'm really torn between staying here for a nice and stable life or going along with you and the gang to all the different and interesting places in the world for your adventures.”

Velma gave me a searching look. “There's a factor I'm not seeing.”

“I have to take care of a four year old girl.” I said.

Velma nodded. “Then I'll make your choice for you. You will stay here and be a great man for Arlene to live with, raise your little girl, and I'll come back for a visit occasionally to screw your brains out.”

I was a bit surprised by her words and didn't react for a moment.

“I'm glad you agree.” Velma said and stood up. “I need to shower and then go find my friends.”

That made me nod. “Allow me.” I said and cast several cleaning spells on her and then switched her clothing with the air around her.

Velma looked down at herself and then at me. “You are quite handy, John.”

I held up two fingers that had just recently been buried inside of her and kissed the tips before I blew the kiss at her.

Velma laughed and leaned over the couch to give me a kiss. “We're staying here for a week, so I'll see you later.”

I nodded and watched her walk out of the room with a sway to her hips that hadn't been there earlier. I laid back down and hugged Arlene to my chest. I can be monogamous as long as everyone agrees. I thought and closed my eyes as I formed a blanket over us. What an odd concept that was.

*

I woke up when the Scooby Gang entered the house and they were all happy and excited.

“We figured it out again!” Fred said. “My trap worked perfectly!”

Daphne laughed. “Yes, Shaggy and Scooby set it off and scared the witch into falling into another hole and getting trapped.”

“It was a valid strategy, even if it was accidental in the end.” Velma said. “I'm just glad that no one was hurt and the perpetrators were caught.”

“That was some nice detective work there, Velma.” Shaggy said with a laugh. “You figured out who it was and how they did it.”

“I always do.” Velma said and didn't say how she knew who it was. “Hello, John. Can you wake Arlene? We figured it all out and need to explain.”

“I'm awake.” Arlene said and yawned. “Tell me what happened.”

To my surprise, they all sat down on the oversized couch and then told us all about how it was Arlene's secret twin sister that had been hidden from her since birth and she wanted to scare Arlene away and gain the inheritance herself.

“She must be the younger twin.” I said and everyone nodded.

“I never knew I had a sister.” Arlene whispered.

I put my arm over her shoulders. “We can go visit her in jail tomorrow.”

“We can?” Arlene asked, surprised.

“Sure. You're family. She only tried to scare you away from the inheritance because she didn't know how you would react to finding out you had a sister.” I said and everyone looked surprised. “I bet she is just as confused about the whole thing, too.”

“I never thought of that.” Arlene said. “I wasn't the only one kept in the dark all these years.”

“Exactly.” I said and kissed her cheek. “You can try to get to know her, now that you know about her.”

“What if she turns out to be exactly like she's shown herself to be tonight?” Fred asked.

“That would be the proof that separating them as babies was a choice that changed her for the worse.” I said and Velma nodded. “If just talking to her and hearing her life story can help her, we should try and let her know that someone else cares about her, even if she doesn't care about hurting others. Just because she's a bad guy, doesn't mean we have to be bad to her.”

Arlene leaned against me again. “Thanks, John.”

“If I'm going to be staying here from now on, I want to help as much as I can.” I said and she blushed a little and then kissed my cheek. I looked around at the gang. “You guys look tired and underfed.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Scooby said and Shaggy nodded.

I formed jogging pants over my lower half and did the same to Arlene and gave her a bra as well before I pushed the blanket off. “Give me about fifteen minutes and I'll have a feast ready for you.”

“A feast? Really?” Shaggy asked, his voice hopeful. “You know how much food is in a feast, right?”

I nodded and stood up. “A twelve foot long table and covered in dishes at least a foot high.”

“YEAH!” Scooby and Shaggy yelled and hugged as they jumped for joy, and everyone laughed.

*

The week that the gang stayed for their visit, passed by like it didn't happen. We toured the town, ate at the small diner that had a difficult time keeping up with Shaggy and Scooby's bottomless stomachs, and hung around the house. Velma never stayed in her room and always shared the large couch with Arlene and myself. It was a great time for all of us.

Gloria only screamed for a minute after touching Scooby to pet him when the gang was packing to leave. I was really glad that I had silenced her for that. I pet Scooby as well and scratched behind his ears to make his foot tap and Gloria laughed and laughed.

“Hehehehehe.” Scooby laughed as well. He loved kids, apparently.

“Thank you all for coming by.” Arlene said and hugged each of them before reaching Velma. “You make sure that you keep your promise.”

Velma smiled and gave her a quick kiss. “Postcards from the places we visit and calls when we're near a phone to let you know we're all okay.”

Arlene smiled and stepped back.

I stepped forward and shook Fred's hand. “You keep them safe. If you need anything, you call me and I'll get it to you as soon as possible.”

Fred laughed. “What if I wanted a rubber ducky the size of the Mystery Machine?”

“Don't turn around.” I joked and he really did turn and look.

“I think I'm ready for that glass of warm milky.” Fred said with a slightly scared expression.

“I told you not to turn around.” I said and hugged Daphne. “Be safe and use that taser when anyone tries to grab you.”

“You're lucky that I didn't just use it on you.” Daphne said.

I chuckled and whispered in her ear. “Fred's a bit of an idiot. You have to tell him straight out that you like him, or he's not going to get it. It's all on you, because he's too afraid you'll say no if he asks you out.”

Daphne looked surprised when I let her go.

I winked at her and shook Shaggy's hand. “I left a super-sub sandwich in the back of the Mystery Machine for you.”

“You're the best, man!” Shaggy said and pulled me into a hug, then ran for the van.

I turned to Velma and she had an expectant look on her face. I didn't say anything before I took her into my arms and kissed her passionately for several minutes. I broke the kiss and she smiled. I bent over a little more and hugged her to put my mouth by her ear.

“I know we only met a week ago; but, I've had a secret crush on you for hundreds of years. Being with you has changed that and made me fall in love with you completely.” I whispered and kissed her cheek. “I want to give you a communications device. You can call me from anywhere on the planet. If you ever need me, I'll fly in to rescue you.” I let her go and handed her the small communications device.

“I... don't have any pockets.” Velma said, her face bright red.

“You don't need them.” I said and flipped up her sweater collar and attached it to the underside and flipped it back down. “Just tap it and say my name.”

Velma's hand touched her collar there and looked into my eyes. “I will, John. I promise.”

I gave her another kiss and stepped over to Scooby. “Here's your super-sub sandwich.” I said and gave him a large brown bag.

“Ranks, Ron!” Scooby said and ran off for the van.

“Bye, Doggie!” Gloria said.

“Rye, rye!” Scooby said and slammed the van's back door shut.

I walked back over to Arlene and put my arm over her shoulders as we waved to the van as it drove away. Fred left the giant rubber ducky, though. What a coward.

“You really do know all about her, don't you?” Arlene asked.

“Yes. She's the brains of the operation. Fred's the muscle. Daphne's the eye-candy and gets all the attention. Shaggy and Scooby are the comic relief and make the whole thing fun for everyone.” I said and turned to hold her in my arms. “They are a great group of friends and work well together.”

Arlene looked into my eyes. “You regret not going with them.”

“Yes, and no.” I said and her eyebrows went up. “Some of their adventures are a bit ridiculous and they travel all the time and go all over the world. It would be great to see all those places in person with friends around me; but, it's also travelling all the time. I'm more of a homebody and usually only travel when its necessary.”

Arlene gave me a searching look. “You're really going to stay here with me?”

“For as long as you'll have me, Arlene.” I said and kissed her as passionately as I had kissed Velma.

*

I spent my days with Gloria, working through her issues. After a session inside the pensive and Gloria's memories, I discovered the problem she had. The 'images' for things in her head weren't updating like mine did when I touched them. She kept getting new images every time, so I would need to teach her how to change and adjust them to stop her from always getting new ones without choosing to.

The quick solution was to sort through them and I pulled out the dozens of extra copies, which freed up a lot of space in her head. Gloria hugged me for half an hour after that session and didn't let go even once. Then the real mental work began.

Trying to get a four year old to sit still and meditate was an arduous task, so I distracted her with cartoons on the television. Once she was concentrating on one sole thing, her mind cleared right up and it was easy to go through.

The afternoons and evenings I spent with Arlene and she quickly fell madly in love with me. That was fine with me, because it meant we were both monogamous and only Velma seemed to be an exception to Arlene's possessiveness of me. She never interfered with my time with Gloria, though. She knew how important she was to me and we were all happy in that big house.

It took Velma six months before she came to visit. She was alone, too. The gang apparently had a fight and were taking a break for a while. I knew this happened several times over the years and also that they would be called for an interesting case to investigate and would come back together, realize how much they missed each other, and stay together for years more.

That was a great month. I admitted to both Arlene and Velma that I just couldn't help myself by indulging in Velma when she was there, because I loved her. Of course, I had already told Arlene that I loved her before that. Arlene didn't feel left out at my admission, which was a relief. In fact, she seemed to revel in Velma as much as I did.

The Scooby gang contacted Velma and she gave us both kisses and left on the first plane to get back to them and to the work she loved. Investigating was in her blood and she needed to keep searching for things and figuring things out. We wished her well and saw her off without making her feel guilty about leaving us behind. That wasn't what friends do. We supported each other in everything.

I wasn't surprised that they never called for help, even when they were in some pretty precarious situations. They were fiercely independent and they weren't used to relying on anyone but themselves. I completely understood that.

*

I eventually opened a Holistic Shoppe and filled it with little bottles of my patented Hansen's Harmonic Tonic. Had a tummy ache or heartburn? Take a sip. Had a cut, bruise, or open sore? Pour some of the tonic on it and it would clear right up. Had a headache? Rub some into your scalp and wait a few minutes (Warning: May cause hair growth!). The signs in the windows were great advertising.

Arlene still had a reputation as a witch, so I completely harnessed the townspeople's mentality and plastered her face on the bottle and said it was a magic witch's brew. I also only opened between 2pm and 5pm every day. It was odd hours; but, my target audience was in that time bracket.

After the sixth time the old men tried to burn the shop down and were unsuccessful, a crying little boy entered with a badly scraped up knee and his slightly bigger sister was holding his hand.

“Mister? Is it true?” She asked me.

“I should probably say no.” I said and she looked sad. “You can keep a secret, right?”

She nodded.

“Then yes, the tonic is magic.” I said and picked up a bottle before walking over to them and I knelt with one knee near them. “Is it just the knee or his hands, too?”

“How did you know?” She asked and let the boy's hand go to show that it was damaged, too.

“I fell off my bike only a few dozen times when I was a kid.” I said as I flicked my hand and made a cloth appear, to the surprise of both kids. “Let me just wipe that off for you and we can see how hurt you are.”

The two of them watched as I applied some of the tonic to the cloth and dabbed at the palm of his hand, then I wiped away the dirt there.

“Oh, it seems you weren't hurt at all.” I said and they stared at the now healed hand. “Let's see that knee. I bet it's not as bad as it looks.”

The boy held onto his sister and shoved the knee out towards me. I chuckled and used more tonic on the cloth and dabbed at his knee for several moments and then wiped it off.

“Yep, I was right. You're perfectly fine.” I said and both kids looked shocked.

“Mister, I... you... how much is a bottle?” The girl asked, a little nervously.

“I already opened it, so I can't sell it.” I said and she looked sad again. “I can't have an open bottle in the store, so you better take it.”

“REALLY?!?” Both kids yelled.

“You can have the cloth, too.” I said and gave them both.

“THANKS, MISTER!” They yelled and ran out of the store.

The next day, I had four women looking around at the shelves of the identical bottles of tonic in glass cases.

“Is that all you sell?” One woman asked. “I was hoping you had a creme for... well...”

“Wrinkles or veins?” I asked.

“Oh... um...” She glanced at the other women briefly. “Veins on my thighs.”

“Soak a hand towel in the tonic and wrap it around your thigh. Wait five minutes and your skin should thicken up enough to hide them.”

“Really?” She asked, surprised.

“As long as the towel stays wet, you should be able to do both thighs before it starts to evaporate.”

“That... that's great.” She said. “I'll take two bottles.”

“You only need one for the towel.” I said and rang up the purchase. “That'll be five dollars.”

The women let out little squeals of surprise and I was swarmed with them ordering a bunch of bottles. I filled their orders and they all left, quite happy.

The next day, a dozen women were there and talked to me about all the uses for my tonic. They bought four bottles each and left with smiles on their faces.

It didn't take long before a man started showing up outside the door and would stare inside and then he would leave without coming in. This happened for about a week before he finally decided he couldn't wait anymore and opened the door. When he walked in, he hobbled a little.

“Welcome to my humble little shop.” I said and he gave me an odd look. “Yes, I make the tonic.”

“But, the bottle...”

“There's no such thing as a male witch, so who would believe that I made a magic tonic?” I asked him.

He seemed at a loss for words.

“So, what seems to be the problem?” I asked to try and prompt him to speak.

“I broke my foot years ago and it hurts like crazy. I used some of the tonic on it and it felt better.”

“Then it stopped working.” I said and he nodded. I turned around and created a chair, then turned back as I walked around the counter. “Have a seat and let me take a look at it.”

He looked skeptical for a moment, then sat down and sighed in relief.

I popped his shoe off and he gave me a stern look, so I laughed softly. “I'm just going to touch it a little and see what's wrong. I'll leave the sock on.”

The man nodded and watched as I examined him.

“Yes, you have two badly healed bones in the upper foot. The tonic absorbed through the skin can only do so much. If you will let me, I can apply it internally.”

“How?” The man asked and I pretended to go behind the desk to retrieve a needle. “Oh, hell no!”

I laughed again. “Relax, it's just the tonic in a needle. You won't even feel it.”

“Can you see the size of that needle?” He asked and leaned back a little.

I knelt and gripped his foot tightly. Before he could to anything except shout, I vanished the two damaged bones and injected the bacta into the top of his foot. I repaired his sock to hide the little hole the needle had made and the man seemed too shocked to move or react.

“Just let that sit for ten minutes and you should be good to go.” I said and stayed there and held his foot steady. “By the way, I am a doctor.” I said and produced the credentials I gained in the last world.

When the time was up, I let his foot go and put his shoe back on.

“There you go. I hope you have a great day.” I said and walked back over to the counter to pretend to put away the empty needle and dissolved it instead.

The man sat there and stared at me.

“What? Is there anything else wrong?”

The man blinked his eyes at me several times. “How much for the treatment?”

“What treatment? You're not hurt, are you?” I asked and the man looked surprised.

He stood up and gasped, then he stomped around the shop for a good five minutes before he stared at me again.

“If you have any more troubles, stop on by. My open hours are from 2pm to 5pm.” I said.

He took the hint and left at a fast walk. There were a couple of people on the street that saw him and looked amazed.

The next day, my shop was full of customers again. They all had little things wrong with them, so I helped them all as best as I could. I soon became the town's unofficial doctor of holistic medicine and they stopped trying to burn the shop down.

*

Years passed and Gloria grew up to be a very frustrated ten year old. She knew she couldn't touch things without cramming their information into her head, and yet, she wanted to get outside and touch everything. She would practically growl like a wolf sometimes, too. I always hugged her and kissed her cheeks to get her to laugh when she did.

“I know that feeling all too well, sweetie.” I told her and pet her hair. “We have a few more years and techniques to master before you can subject yourself to the things in your room, let alone all of the things out in the world.”

“But, John...”

“Do you want to go on another motorcycle ride?” I asked.

“YES!” Gloria yelled and jumped on me to hug me.

“Grab your blanket onesie and we can go.”

“I love you!” Gloria said and ran over to her closet without a door and pulled out a body shaped blanket. She slipped it on and it covered her from neck to toe, even her hands. “I want to be a pony this time!”

I chuckled and cast the illusion over her to give her a horse tail, a mane, and horse ears in rainbow colors. “Your wish is my command.”

Gloria ran over to the full length mirror and grinned. “I'm so pretty!”

“You didn't need the onesie for that.” I said and she ran over to me and hopped onto my back.

“You have to say that. It's your job.” Gloria said.

“Yes, your pretty face and long black hair has nothing to do with how pretty you are.” I said and walked out of her room and down the stairs. “Arlene! We're going for a quick ride!”

“I'll have supper ready for when you get back!” Arlene called out.

“I said a quick ride!” I countered. It was still morning.

“I know! Have fun, you two!”

“She really likes me.” Gloria said.

“She really does.” I said and left the house and created a motorcycle. “We've got about eight hours to have some fun. Any preferences?”

“I want to see the mountains.” Gloria said.

I nodded and started the motorcycle up, then drove down the long twisting driveway before pulling out onto the open road. I cast Notice-Me-Not spells on the motorcycle and us, so that the cops wouldn't pull us over for excessive speeding. I gunned the engine and Gloria let out happy sounds at the speed.

*

A sixteen year old Gloria was an even bigger handful than she was as a ten year old. She wanted to go outside by herself and unsupervised.

“Gloria, we've been over this.” I said and put my hands on her shoulders to look into her eyes. “You only need another year or so of practice before you can handle the information overload.”

“John, I've been handling the things you're giving me.” Gloria said. “I even started to properly update the old images.”

“How are you doing with the meditation?” I asked with a smirk and she sighed.

“You know I can't get my mind blank like I did as a kid.”

“Really? I seem to remember a particularly pretty rainbow pony that loves riding on a motorcycle.”

“John, I outgrew that!” Gloria exclaimed.

“No, someone laughed at you and you gave up enjoying it.” I said and she looked away. “You need to realize that it's perfectly fine to like what you like. Who cares what other people think if they aren't family or friends?”

Gloria looked back at me. “John, I...”

“Keep looking through the datapad and try to find something that you really like or want to try. Once you find a good focus, getting you back into a clearer state of mind will be easy.”

Gloria gave me an odd look. “John, I... I don't want to be here when Velma visits.”

That was a shock to hear and I stood there and stared at her for several moments. Gloria started to blush and tried to push my hands off of her shoulders to get away. I held on and she stopped struggling. I moved in and hugged her tightly and just held her for about ten minutes without saying anything.

I eased the hug to a light embrace and then pet her long black hair. “I'm sorry that her being here makes you uncomfortable.”

“It's not that. I like Velma. I do.” Gloria said and blushed again.

Then I got it. I stopped petting her hair and cupped the sides of her face. “Sweetie, please don't be jealous.”

Gloria blushed deeply and ducked her head.

“Unlike us, Velma and Arlene don't have a lot of time to spend with those they care about.”

“Arlene spends a lot of time with you.” Gloria said and lifted her head to look at me again, almost in defiance.

I chuckled and let her face go. “You know what I mean.”

Gloria opened her mouth briefly and then closed it and nodded.

“You also know that I'm struggling with being monogamous with more than one woman.” I said and she nodded again. “Velma and Arlene have been good friends for a long time. The thing is, I'm sure they are using me as a bridge to let themselves admit that they actually love each other.”

Gloria blinked her eyes at me for a moment and then she got it. “Ohhh. That makes a lot of sense.”

“I do my best to not come between them until they want me to.” I said with a smirk.

Gloria laughed and then gasped and smacked my chest. “That's awful!”

“No, it wasn't. That was a great double entendre.” I said and kissed her cheek. “I'll try and keep our antics confined to the bedroom, all right?”

Gloria gave me a pointed look. “You could just not have sex in the house. At all.”

“You've met Velma, haven't you?” I asked.

Gloria sighed. “Okay, you have a point. She's pretty voracious.”

I laughed and hugged her. “You keep looking up those fancy words and applying them properly. I'm so proud.”

Gloria couldn't stop her laugh and pushed me off. “All right. Fine! I'll stay in the house.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” I said. “Do you want to try another spell?”

Gloria gave me a pointed look. “John, I don't have a lick of magic in me. It won't work.”

“I gave you the skill a bunch of times.” I said.

“It doesn't stay, you know that.” Gloria said. “I don't know why, though.”

“You can't keep the Force, either.” I said and pet her hair. “Besides some of our main attributes, we aren't as similar as I thought. My skill set seems to be made for adaptability.”

“I haven't found mine yet.” Gloria said.

“You're only a teenager. It took me several worlds and a thousand years to figure mine out.” I said and she huffed. “I didn't have someone like me along to help, so it shouldn't take you long to figure it out. Once you learn to meditate and get your head sorted better.”

“Geez, John. Give it a rest.” Gloria said with a roll of her eyes.

“I love you, too.” I said kissed her cheek again. “See you later.”

“Make sure you wash up before coming to my room again.” Gloria reminded me.

“I always do, sweetie.” I said and walked out of her room, then I paused and listened.

Gloria concentrated hard and the image of Trained Assassin formed in front of her. “I need to get that stealth move down, Ocean. Show me again.”

I held in my laugh at Gloria's resourcefulness and I went downstairs to wait for Arlene, who was picking Velma up at the airport. It was always so nice when she visited for more than a week.

*

Life marched on and I taught Gloria what I could. A lot of my skills were based on the things I could do and not necessarily on the lands I controlled. The abilities I had gained over the centuries had become my staple and I only referenced the land granted spells and abilities when it was necessary and not all the time.

Unlike me, I suspected that Gloria was a normal Planeswalker. She wouldn't gain the things I could do and she would be severely limited by the lands she controlled. The problem I now had was her touch reaction. It had taken me nearly twenty years to get her mind to the point where it could adapt to the information she would gain.

What I couldn't do was stop her mind's automatic reaction to too much information. She had ingrained that into her psyche as a baby and even after intense training, she still had that reaction when touching something old, like Arlene when they accidentally brushed up against each other at the kitchen sink.

I hadn't heard Gloria scream that loudly in a long time and I reacted in the same way I always did. I yanked her away from Arlene and picked her up in my arms, cuddled her into my chest, and whispered sweet nothings to her as she cried and cried. It didn't matter that she was now 24. All that mattered was calming her down and plucking the extra information out of her head.

“I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to touch her.” Arlene said, looking devastated. “We both reached for the last plate and...”

“It's all right.” I said in a soothing voice. “It was an accident. She screamed because she gained all of the information of your changes during your entire life up until this point.”

“What? I thought... just the current...”

“I thought that at first, too. It wasn't until I started going through her head and seeing the things in there that I started to realize she gains the copies for each change that what she touches goes through, no matter how minor.” I said and pet Gloria's hair and kissed the top of her head. “Her blanket has about sixty versions of itself in her head. Whenever she touches it, if I remove any, they reappear.”

“Oh, no.” Arlene whispered.

“I'm working on getting her ability to shove the copies off to storage and away from her consciousness to leave just the current one.” I said and hugged Gloria tightly as her crying stopped. “It's a work in progress.”

“I'll be more careful from now on.” Arlene said.

“No, it's okay.” Gloria said and wiped at her eyes with a cloth I gave her. “I'm the one that needs to be more careful. I've been trying to deal with touching normal things and building up my tolerance. The plate only has six copies in my head, so I thought it was safe to touch again.”

Arlene didn't look convinced.

“Once I start gaining lands, I should be able to channel my copies much better.” Gloria said.

“Gloria, we discussed this. You know what I had to do to gain my first land.” I reminded her.

Gloria nodded and then lifted her head from my chest to look at me. “I had a neat thought about that.”

“If it's something that can negate you getting thousands of images of the same land in your head from all the changes it has gone through since it came into existence, then please fill me in.”

“I have only a little problem when touching the things you create, because they just came into existence.” Gloria said. “If you convert a plot of land into one of your lands, I think it should only have that one change, because it didn't exist before that point.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “If you're wrong, you could go catatonic when you touch it.”

Gloria took a breath and let it out. “I want to take the chance. I can't keep using the magic generators you shared with me.”

“Yes, you can.” I said.

“It doesn't feel right.” Gloria said. “It feels like I'm using an accessory as a main power source instead of using the lands I'm supposed to. The accessories are meant to help with creating magic, not replace the lands I should be using.”

I sighed. “All right. If you're set on this, we'll head out to Johnson's old farm tomorrow. If you do start cascading images in your head, they'll at least be similar and I can pick you up before you gain a hundred or so.”

Gloria smiled. “Thanks, John.”

“Don't thank me until it works.” I said and walked over to the door with her still in my arms. “For now, you're going to your room and you're going to rest, all right?”

“Can you stay for a while?” Gloria asked.

“For a few hours. Arlene and I have a date tonight.”

“John, I'm not feeling up to that right now.” Arlene said. “I think I need to rest as well.”

“Are you sure? I was planning on using some massage oils tonight.”

Arlene shook her head. “I definitely don't want to feel greasy.”

I chuckled. “Okay, no massage oils. Dinner and a movie tomorrow night?”

Arlene nodded and I took Gloria to her room that was covered in her blanket. Gloria changed her clothes into the underwear I had made out of her blanket and she climbed into bed.

I transfigured my clothing into a brown onesie with teddy bear ears and paws for hands to make her laugh. I climbed into bed and she only peeped a little as she hugged me tightly and gained the teddy bear costume, then she sighed in relief and drifted off to sleep. I held her for several hours before I drifted off myself.

In the morning, I took Gloria out to the old land and then converted the field into the same one as on the Kent farm. I gave Gloria a look over my shoulder and she nodded. So, I slipped off one of her shoes and her sock, then she very slowly put her foot into the soft dirt of the new field. She jerked as she felt it and then she beamed a smile at me.

“It's just a field! A brand new and created field!” Gloria said and then she gasped when she gained control of it. “Oh... my... GOD!”

“It's a rush, isn't it?” I asked and she nodded. “Do you want to try a few others?”

“Yes!” Gloria said and hugged me tighter. “Please, please give me more lands, John! I can feel my magic just aching for me to use it!”

I chuckled and had her put her legs back around my waist as I went to the next field and made another farming field.

Gloria moaned as she gained control of it and then she gasped again. “I have a spell!”

“What is it?” I asked.

Instead of telling me, she held out a hand and a little bird appeared there.

“Sparrow of Sight.” Gloria said and the sparrow took off and flew into the sky. “Oh, my god! Oh, my god!”

“Take it easy and relax.” I said to calm her down. “Close your eyes and tell me what you see.”

“I can see... the graveyard... the town... the horizon... it's so beautiful!” Gloria said and her arms tightened around me even more.

“How about a couple of forests next?” I asked.

“What will I gain? Do you know?” Gloria asked.

“You're just starting out, so maybe a squirrel or something.” I said. “If you're lucky, you'll get Growth or even Giant Growth.”

“Please, please hurry! I can't wait!” Gloria said and kissed my ear. “Hurry!”

I laughed and went to the next field and converted it into a forest. “You're going to get a lot more information with all the trees, so be ready for that, all right?”

Gloria nodded and carefully put her foot down on the land. She let out a little scream, then she smiled. “I need another! I can feel something half formed in my head!”

I moved over to the next field and made another forest for her.

Gloria put her foot down and only gritted her teeth without screaming this time. “I got an elf!” She said and then an elf formed in front of us.

Before I could stop it, the elf touched her hand and she gasped.

“I have another forest magic now!” Gloria said and the elf nodded to us and walked into the forest.

“I guess I need to make you another forest and you can give that elf a friend to hang out with.”

“Yes, please!” Gloria said and I did just that.

The second elf touched her hand and then walked off.

“Elves are awesome!” Gloria said and I nodded.

“I can't do lakes or mountains here.” I said and it was her turn to nod. “We'll take another day trip in a few days and I'll make them for you.”

Gloria kissed my ear again. “Thank you, John. Thank you very much.”

“I promised to do as much as I could to help you, sweetie. I won't do anything less than that.”

Gloria nodded and put her leg back around me. “Sock and shoe, please.”

I put them back on and she only twitched slightly at the sock. “We should stick around for a while and see if you can make more elves.”

“That's a great idea!” Gloria said and kissed my ear several times. “I can get a forest for each elf! This will be so great!”

“You also won't need more forests than this. Just keep making elves and they will give you the magic you need, even for the colorless spells.” I explained.

Gloria made a happy sound and then slobbered all over my ear, which made me laugh. She eventually made a dozen elves and she also gained Regeneration, Growth, Grizzly Bear and Tangling Vines. All in all, it was a great day for her and her emerging powers.

I wouldn't realize until that night during my date with Arlene that I hadn't tried to give Gloria privacy the night before while she changed, or felt uncomfortable with her being naked in front of me or having her pretty much making out with my ear that day.

It was an odd feeling for me, considering she was 24 and I was a hell of a lot older than that. I had raised her since she was four and I was surprised that I felt relieved that she never once called me dad or father. That was not a thought that I should have had.

“John, are you okay?” Arlene asked and took me out of my reverie.

“I'm fine. I just had an epiphany about my life and it made me temporarily forget that I'm supposed to be romancing my decades long girlfriend.” I said and leaned across the table to kiss her.

“What was the epiphany?” Arlene asked.

“I'm surprisingly okay with being in love with more than one woman, despite my strong feelings to remain loyal to only one of them.” I said and she smiled.

“I'm very happy to hear that, John. Very happy.” Arlene said and didn't say anything else.

I gave her a searching look and she shook her head at me, which meant she would probably tell me later. I was okay with that and continued the date for the rest of the evening. We ended up in bed and she was a bit more enthusiastic about it than she normally was. She was 43 now and not as young as she had been.

When we were laying in bed after having quite a nice time, Arlene spoke. “Velma's retiring.”

“Oh.” I said and immediately remembered Gloria's reactions to Velma's visits as she got older.

“She wants a nice and quiet place to stay and write a book. Maybe two. Maybe a whole series about the gang's adventures.” Arlene said.

“That's years of work, even if she kept it to just a brief description of each case.” I said.

“She said about a decade, give or take a year for the publishing company to read the first drafts of each book.”

I chuckled. “Of course she already has a deal in place.”

“She has always been really smart.” Arlene said.

“You're preaching to the choir.” I said and she laughed softly. “When will she be moving in?”

“You're not going to argue about it?” Arlene asked.

“It's your house. I can't really tell you to not invite people over, can I? I'm one of your guests.”

Arlene sat up to look at my face. “John, you've given me all the money you've made at that sham of a store you opened years ago. It's more of a clinic than anything else.”

“You just don't like that people keep thanking you for living in sin with me.” I said with a grin and she laughed and smacked my chest. “If you want Velma to stay here with you for the rest of your lives, I'm perfectly okay with that.”

Arlene gave me a searching look and then smiled. “You really are, aren't you?”

“No. I hate it and I'm going to protest it and add a stipulation. We can only have sex on days that end it 'Y' and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.”

Arlene looked stern for a moment, then she realized what I said. “You bastard! Every day ends in 'Y'!”

“Wait a second, they all do?” I asked and pretended to look like I was thinking hard about it.

Arlene laughed and dropped on top of me to kiss me.

*

Gloria was a little upset about the new living arrangements, until I reminded her that we only had to wait another 40 years or so to have the house to ourselves or to move out. Arlene and Velma would be very old women by then, especially if they continued to refuse my rejuvenation tank offer. The longer they waited, the longer it would take to work.

I knew that point of view was callous of me; but, I've outlived a lot of people during my travels. To me, it was just a fact of life. Even so, I was still going to sorely miss them when they died, just like the others I've lost in my life. Losing the people you loved always hurt, even if you were resigned to losing them beforehand.

What surprised me was that neither woman wanted children. It wasn't that they hated kids or anything, they just didn't want to be mothers. It wasn't a part of their mindset, apparently. Neither of them had a maternal instinct or bothered to pretend to have one. It was a little rare to meet a woman like that and I just happened to fall into this world and found two of them. The sex sure was great, though.

*

A decade passed and Velma published six books before she quit. The pressure to meet deadlines was too much for her older brain to handle anymore, or so she said. I didn't mention that she probably ran out of material or was starting to forget the details and didn't want to be reminded that she couldn't remember them. She also refused my offer of reviewing them in a pensieve.

I loved her and she could be a damn stubborn woman over the simplest things. I eventually stopped asking if she wanted my help with anything and she didn't complain about it or even mentioned it. She was spending a lot more time with Arlene, too. Without me.

I was sure that they were finally getting to the point that they realized I wasn't quite needed to bridge their relationship. This was confirmed when they approached me on the couch with worried looks on their faces.

“John, we... we have something to tell you.” Arlene said, her voice nervous.

“We want to get married.” Velma said, not bothering to beat around the bush. “To each other.”

I looked from Velma's confident face to Arlene's nervous one. “Well, it's about time you two admitted it. I almost thought that you were going to stay quiet for the rest of your lives.”

Both women looked shocked.

“What? I'm not stupid. I know you both love each other. I just happened to be a great excuse for you to be together and not have anyone say anything about it.”

Both of them didn't say anything.

“I know you both have money saved up; but, I want to pay for the wedding. No expense will be spared, either. You both want a lavish wedding, right?” I asked and they nodded. “Then you'll get it.”

“John, I... this is... how can I say...” Arlene stammered.

Velma took a quick breath and let it out. “She wants you to know that this is a family home.”

That brought my plans to a screeching halt. “Wait, you're not just kicking me out of your bed, you're kicking me right out through the front door, too?”

“It sounds horrible when you say it like that.” Arlene said.

“Would me saying you're asking me to get out of your lives, sound better?” I asked and both women looked embarrassed. “I thought you would be civil about it at least.”

“We are being civil.” Velma said.

“You could have waited until the wedding was being planned and brought it up while discussing where you will live afterwards. I would have easily bowed out to get out of your way. I love you both very much and I want you to be happy.” I said and they looked even more embarrassed. “Telling me that you're cutting me out of your lives one moment and then telling me to leave the house in the next, feels like a kick in the gut.”

“John, we... we do care about you. A lot.” Arlene said. “We just... we're getting older and...”

“..wasting time with me isn't a part of your lives anymore. I get it.” I said and stood. “Do you want me to leave right now or can I have a bed to sleep in tonight?”

“You're being an ass right now.” Velma said.

“No, being an ass is me telling you that I changed my mind and that I'm rescinding my offer about paying for the wedding.”

“You're right. That really makes you an ass.” Velma said, her face slightly angry.

“It's a good thing I'm not an ass, then.” I said and stood as I reached under the couch cushions and pulled out a briefcase. I plopped it onto the couch and opened it, then pushed it towards them. “A hundred thousand dollars should buy you a nice wedding, shouldn't it?”

Both women stared at the suitcase and didn't respond.

“I hope you both enjoy spending my money after hurting me so much.” I said and walked over to the doorway. “I'm staying for the night, just because I need time to prepare Gloria's room wherever we go.”

Both women gasped and looked up from the money.

“You completely forgot about her in your schemes?” I asked and they looked guilty. “I bet you also forgot that I'm the town's doctor and I have to close the store that everyone depends on when I leave.”

“No!” Arlene gasped. “Salem needs that clinic! You can't leave, John! I didn't realize...”

“You were just so happy to finally have the woman you love as a permanent part of your life that you completely ignored everyone else and their needs. I could take being pushed aside, because I expected it. Removing me from your lives completely was a surprise and a mistake. The whole town is going to suffer for that choice.” I said with a shake of my head and walked out of the room. “Good luck in your happy lives together.”

“John! WAIT!” Arlene yelled.

I quickly went up the stairs and entered Gloria's room. I locked and silenced the door and Gloria didn't say a thing. She just held her arms open towards me and I walked over and let everything I was wearing dissolve, except for my underwear, just like her. I climbed onto the bed and laid down in her arms to rest my head on her chest.

“It's okay, John.” Gloria whispered and pet my hair. “They were greedy and didn't realize what they asked for would hurt you.”

“You heard?” I asked and she nodded. “I don't understand why they would want me gone right away. I would have left when they got married, because you don't live with other people after that. You need to start living your lives together and others would interfere with that.”

“Maybe they wanted to start right now and didn't want you here as a distraction.” Gloria said. “I'm sure you would have been kissing their cheeks and grabbing their butts.”

“I admit to the cheek kissing; but, I won't grab anything sexually if I'm not sleeping with them.” I said. “Foreplay with clothing on is okay if you're already having sex. I would never do that with someone I wasn't sleeping with. That's just disrespectful.”

“Maybe they don't know that.” Gloria suggested.

“They've known me for thirty years already. If they thought I would assault them when they want to be together without me, then they don't know me at all.”

Gloria held me for quite some time before she spoke again. “Even if Velma's glasses let her look at everything, she definitely wasn't seeing what was right in front of her.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “We're packing up and leaving in the morning.”

“Packing?” Gloria asked, slightly confused.

I chuckled. “Removing everything I've made here.”

“Oh.” Gloria said and then giggled. “This place is going to be completely empty.”

“Yes. When they kicked me out, they didn't realize I would take everything I own with me.”

Gloria laughed and kissed the top of my head. “I want to stay long enough to see their faces when they get up in the morning and see everything gone.”

I chuckled. “That's a good idea. Now they can feel what the townspeople are going to feel like with the store closed and empty.”

“You're not going to tell anyone you're leaving, are you?” Gloria asked.

“Tell, no. Leave a huge sign saying I was kicked out by Arlene? Yes.”

Gloria laughed again. “They won't be able to lie and say you left for no reason.”

“Exactly. I'm not the bad guy here. I was happy for them, too.”

“I know, John.” Gloria said and hugged me. “I know.”

*

The looks on Arlene's and Velma's faces were priceless when they entered the kitchen to make breakfast and everything was gone. The stove, fridge, table, chairs, all of the appliances, and the food.

“That was totally worth the wait.” Gloria said with a laugh and I cancelled the See-through Wall spell.

“It really was.” I said and started the motorcycle. “Velma wont notice the glasses she wears are just normal glass for a while.”

“Nice.” Gloria said. “Say, can you make me look like a bear? Like an actual bear and not just the onesie costume.”

“Sure.” I said and cast the spell. “Why a bear?”

“I want to laugh my ass off at all the people that are gonna scream bear... then scream that he's riding on a motorcycle.” Gloria said.

I laughed and gunned the engine. We tore down that long and winding dirt driveway in only a couple of seconds and then we were out on the open road. We passed by the middle of town and the large billboard I had made with the reason I had to leave and close the store. The townspeople just coming out of their homes to start their day, looked pissed when they saw it and read it.

Gloria laughed when a man noticed us and screamed. She kept laughing when he said the bear was eating the driver of the motorcycle. I laughed as well and had to admit that it was a pretty good prank.

*

We travelled for ten years and we went everywhere. We visited every national monument, every natural and unnatural geographical location, and every tourist spot on the entire planet. We even visited the Bermuda Triangle, which was an experience. The sudden storm that started up and tried to sink us, was easily dispersed with several casts of 'Gust of Wind' and 'Wind Gail' in the opposite spin of the storm.

The boat's driver was surprised that he didn't have to turn around. When we reached the center, we found dozens of ships, planes, boats, two helicopters, and an ocean liner.

I gave Gloria a pointed look and she nodded. “We'll be right back.” I said to the driver and cast the bubblehead charm on Gloria and myself and dove into the water. Her onesie was impervious, so she didn't get wet or touched the water with bare skin.

What followed was six hours of plundering and laughing as we ransacked several fortunes in gold, jewellery, money, and items that would be worth a lot of money. The driver of the boat was shocked when we offered him a cut and then handed over all of the paper money. We wouldn't need it when we left this world anyway, so he could have it.

He promised to name his kids after us, even though they were four and six already. Gloria and I laughed at the absurdity and he drove us back to the dock we came from in Bermuda. After a quick check to make sure it was found in international waters, we got to keep the treasure.

We didn't actually want it or need it, though. We actually used it as donations to various governments, in the guise of returning their property, to get into the best museums and have tours of things that no one else in the public had seen yet. It was a great time and we both enjoyed it immensely.

My training of her continued and Gloria slowly started to adapt to her powers. I still thought that it was odd that I couldn't give her any abilities that weren't from a land or from a creature from that land. We still hadn't found out what her skill set was, either. I wasn't in any rush to find it, considering I still had to make lands for her to gain. It was just too risky to let her gain a land without me changing it first.

*

Twenty years later, we returned to Salem to see how things had been going for the town. It was a thriving metropolis now and I slowed the motorcycle down to admire all of the up-to-date stores and things. The billboard was long gone and my little shop was now a barber shop.

“Things have really changed around here.” Gloria said.

“I'd say so.” I said and turned down the road to get to the old place we used to live at. We arrived at the long and winding driveway and it was still there. It was also paved and had a sidewalk on it. I drove up it and it was a lot smoother than the old dirt driveway it used to be.

“Oh, wow.” Gloria whispered in my ear when the house came into view.

“It's exactly the same.” I said and came to a stop and parked the motorcycle.

“What are you doing here?” A fairly familiar voice said from the front porch.

I turned my head to look at an old woman sitting on a porch swing. “It's nice to see you too, Velma.”

“Do you realize the mess you left when you told everyone why you left?” Velma asked. She had an extra chin on her face and a turkey neck. Otherwise, she looked the same, except with dark grey hair.

“I didn't want you to lie and say I abandoned the town on my own.” I responded.

“They ostracized us for nearly fifteen years until most of the older people died off. After that, the young people just ignored us.” Velma said. “It was almost as bad, honestly.”

“Who are you talking to, Honey?” Arlene asked as she waddled out onto the step carrying two glasses of some kind of liquid. She was pretty fat and hadn't aged well at all during the last thirty years.

“Someone she blames for leaving, even if she was the reason.” I said and Arlene gasped and dropped the two glasses. They must have been plastic, because they bounced and splashed the liquid all over the place.

“Now look what you've done.” Velma said and got up to slowly walk over to Arlene.

“It's you. It's really you.” Arlene said.

“Yes, it's me. Gloria convinced me to come back to see the old place before we moved on.”

“You're leaving again?” Arlene asked and started crying. “No! They'll hate me again! Please, you have to stay! The townspeople need you!”

I sighed. “We came through town. This house is the only original thing around here.”

“I had it declared an historical site.” Velma said and led Arlene back to the porch swing and sat with her to hold her. “No one can fight against us or make us leave here.”

“I'm glad you got what you wanted.” I said and she nodded. “How's the old gang?”

“Mostly dead.” Velma said. “Fred had a heart attack six years ago while trying to teach his grandkids how to build traps. He died happy, according to his wife, Daphne. She followed him peacefully a year later.”

I nodded for her to continue.

“Scooby was a dog and died of old age after I retired. He was almost completely blind and could barely walk.” Velma said. “Shaggy just couldn't have him put down. After Scooby died, he went a little crazy and was sent to an old age home. He never came out. I believe he thinks he's still on an adventure and he's going to wake up and be young again.”

“Jesus.” I whispered, quite sad at how things turned out. “Why didn't any of you accept my offer?”

“It's not natural.” Velma said and looked at me from foot to head. “People get old and die. It's a fact of life. You are violating that fact.”

I huffed and then chuckled. “It's not the rejuvenation tank that keeps me young. I'm not a part of the normal life cycle anymore.”

Velma blinked her eyes. “Why didn't I see that before? You're a dimensional hopper. You usually ride out an event and then move on, unless nothing significant happens. Then you stay around for as long as you want and usually have to be pushed on.”

“Replace 'pushed' with 'exploded' and you're pretty close to the truth.” I said and Gloria giggled. “You're too old to giggle, sweetie.”

“You like hearing me giggle.” Gloria said.

I glanced back over my shoulder and she grinned at me. “Good point.”

“If you're going to blow yourselves up, why did you come back here?” Velma asked.

“No! Don't leave me again!” Arlene exclaimed.

I looked at her crying face. “I didn't leave you, Arlene. You got rid of me, remember? You kicked me out. I wasn't going to stay where I clearly wasn't wanted anymore.”

“No, I... I love you. You were always there for me and...”

“...you completely gave me up to be in love with Velma. It's a little too late to have regrets, don't you think?”

Arlene shook her head and I sighed.

“We actually came to give Velma something.” Gloria said and pulled something out of her backpack. She hopped off the back of the motorcycle and walked over to the porch as she shook it out. “I hope you enjoy staring at this for the rest of your life, knowing it was John that found it and gave it to you.”

“What is it?” Velma asked and looked at the old and worn flight jacket.

“One of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.” Gloria said and tossed her the jacket and ran back to the motorcycle.

“No!” Velma gasped.

“Now you know that John has always been smarter than you.” Gloria said. “Let's go.”

I waved at Arlene and she waved back weakly. Gloria hugged me from behind and I turned on the motorcycle and drove around in a tight circle.

“What is it?” Arlene asked.

“It's... it's a fake. It has to be a fake.” Velma said.

I created a pair of Albus Dumbledore's glasses and tossed them to her. She glared at me and I smirked at her, then I revved the engine. As I pulled away, she put on the glasses and gasped again.

“What is it?” Arlene repeated.

“Amelia Earhart's Flight Jacket.” Velma said, her voice full of disbelief.

Gloria laughed and we drove off to find a nice secluded spot to make the transition. It took us an hour to find a nice strip mining operation.

“Are you sure you want to try this now?” I asked as we pulled into the right spot for the explosion to not cause a lot of damage.

“Yes. We've gone over your memory and mine a dozen times. I'm sure it will work.”

I nodded and we climbed off of the motorcycle, then I made her a blanket backpack to climb into. “Hug me as much as possible and concentrate on the feeling as we travel. I might not remain conscious and I can't really capture the right feeling.”

“Don't worry. I've got this.” Gloria said and pulled the straps tight. “Kneel down and get the straps on your shoulders.”

I did so and she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested the side of her head against mine. Her legs went around my waist and she crossed her ankles. I formed four barrels of explosives and the detonator that I had used the last time to blow myself and Gloria into this reality.

I recreated exactly what I did the last time and made sure that my magic covered all of Gloria like I had before, then I suddenly felt my arms and legs be left out of the magic. Gloria must have sensed it as well, because she moved her arms and rested them on mine. Her protection seemed to flow out a little and it covered my arms again.

Gloria unhooked her ankles and let her legs drop down to rest on either side of mine. “I can't reach your feet.”

“It's a small price to pay for your complete safety.” I said and willed it to be true as I pushed the button.

*KAAABOOOOOM!*