Cooper Daniels walked proudly down the hallway of Plumber's headquarters. He had never actually been here before. Most of his assignments after graduating from the Plumber Academy were field work that required him to report in remotely. Plus he had lived quite a ways from Bellwood as a child, and still did technically. Needless to say he was excited to be at the heart of it all. Even more exciting was that Magister Max Tennyson had personally requested his transfer here. Cooper hadn't spoken to Max frequently in the years since he took the young technopath under his wing but Cooper always thought of him as a strong mentor and like a second father figure.
Needless to say, Cooper was excited to find out what his new assignment would be and was honored that Max had picked him especially. Part of him wondered though, whether he would see his long time childhood crush Gwen Tennyson. He had long ago accepted that she was with Kevin Levin, begrudgringly as it may have been. However, he still held affection for the girl and was always happy to see her. He was just telling himself that he was more excited for his mission than the possibility of seeing Gwen. He had of course tried dating before. His growth spurt after puberty did seem to make him more attractive. However any girl he tried getting close to soon ended up ghosting him after learning of his alien connections and mutant abilities. Still that never had disconcerted him too much. He focused more on his mission with the Plumbers than anything else.
Cooper approached the command center and marvelled at the technological equipment. His innate abilities tingled with each machine he passed. He looked around and soon spied his former mentor across the room.
"Max!" Cooper called out. Max turned, a warm smile on his face as he watched Cooper approach.
"Cooper! Good to see you son!" Max said. He clasped hands with Cooper and embraced the younger man.
"Always good to see you Max!" Cooper replied. "Reporting for duty, sir! How can I help?" Cooper saluted.
"Good, you're just in time." Max said. He took Cooper over to meet a young woman with dark hair who was sat studying a computer screen.
"Ms. Green, this is Cooper Daniels, your new assisstant." Max said. "Cooper, this is Kai Green, you'll be working under her for the near future." He introduced them. Cooper held out a hand in greeting but Kai barely glanced up at him.
"You're the technowizard then?" Kai asked. Cooper frowned slightly and withdrew his hand.
"Actually I'm a technopath…" Cooper tried to correct.
"Good, you're finally here. I need you to go through these files and compile a report for me." She demanded. She flipped the screen around and showed walls of text at Cooper.
"Uhhh…" Cooper stammered. He looked at Max in confusion.
"Vilgax and some other big bads are searching for a weapon called the Demiurge Hammer. Kai is leading the team looking for clues on how to get to the Hammer before they do." Max explained.
"Yeah and there's hundreds of reports on its history and folklore to read through. So I need you and your techno brain to read through them for me and sift out the riff raff." Kai said. "So hop to it, I'll need the report in 2 days." Kai commanded and began to walk off.
Cooper frowned. He was more than a little disappointed to learn he would be a glorified intern for this mission. His disappointment must have been evident on his face because he felt Max put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I know it's really not what you were expecting Coop. But you've got better data processing speed then some of our best computers. We really need you for this." Max pleaded. Cooper sighed.
"Okay Max, I'll do it for you." He said with a grin.
"Thatta boy. Also, try not to take any of what Kai says to heart. She can be… difficult. But she does her job well." Max left with a warning. Cooper frowned again, wondering what he'd signed up for.
He sat down at his desk and placed his hands on the keyboard. His eyes glowed as he tapped into the mainframe of the computer in front of him. His mind was immediately bombarded by several hundred documents, images, and texts. With another thought he began organizing them. It appeared Max wasn't kidding, all of these files were horribly organized. It would have taken a regular person days to organize this data and read through it all. For him, it should only take about half that time, but still the task was daunting. Cooper sighed once more and got to work.
Several hours had passed and Cooper was starting to cramp from sitting for so long. He had organized the files in a way that was comprehensible to him and was currently analysing each of the texts that laid within. He decided that he needed a break and headed to the lounge for some coffee and a snack. As he wandered through the halls trying to navigate the unfamiliar base, a familiar voice called out to him.
"You there Sargeant! What in Sam Hill are you doing?!" The voice called out. Cooper turned around to see a familiar and angry looking Pisciss Volann stomping towards him.
"Magister Patelliday!" Cooper said with a salute. Normally he would be overjoyed to see Patelliday but it seemed the fish like alien had a bone to pick with him.
"Sgt Cooper just what do you think you're doing?" Patelliday demanded as he came face to face with him.
"I uh was just uh getting a snack uh sir." Cooper stammered out.
"Not in that attire you're not!" Patelliday yelled.
"Sir?" Cooper asked confused.
"That is not plumber standard issue son!" Patelliday said.
"But wha?" Cooper babbled.
"And that hair is not standard length either! And where is your side arm? And what about your badge?! I've seen cleaner badges on slime species! Well what do you have to say for yourself?" Patelliday demanded sternly.
"I, uh, uhm." Cooper said confused and unsure. He didn't realize he was breaking so many rules. Of course they would be stricter here at headquarters. Cooper felt like a fool. Suddenly he saw Patelliday grin mischievously.
"Psych!" He said in a feminine voice. Cooper's eyes widened in confusion as Patelliday's form shifted into a gelatinous purple blob. The blob twisted and shrank until it coalesced into quite possibly the most beautiful woman that Cooper had ever laid eyes on. His jaw dropped as he took her in. She had hair as yellow as the shining sun and eyes violet like a field of lavendar. She had a smile that melted his heart. She flipped her hair back and Cooper felt like his heart was racing. She giggled and snorted in laughter and it sounded like a choir of angels to him.
"Hahaha got you!" She said pointing a finger into his chest. Cooper laughed nervously, unsure of what to do or say.
"I'm Lucy Mann, Lieutenant! Nice to meet you." She said extending her hand out.
"Uh Cooper, Daniels, am I, uhm I am, uh nice to meet you too." Cooper struggled to say. Lucy giggled again and Cooper found himself blushing.
"I already know who you are silly. We're gonna be working together under Captain Kai." She explained. Cooper felt himself smile despite himself.
"That's great! I mean um, I'm glad to be working with you." He corrected. Lucy placed a hand on her mouth to stifle another giggle.
"Oh I can already tell you're gonna be loads of fun." She laughed. Cooper felt himself begin to blush at her words. "So tell me what's your deal? I heard you had powers?" She asked.
"Oh uh yeah. I can like control machines and stuff. It's no big deal." Cooper said trying to play it cool. The shorter girl leaned into him.
"Ooh show me show me!" She said excitedly.
"Oh yeah sure lemme just uh…" Cooper trailed off as he looked around. He spotted an open control panel with a multi tool and some spare parts lying around. Cooper stretched out an open hand and a flash of bluish white light extended from his finger tips to the metallic components. They started floating in the air, reassembling themselves into the form of a kind of blaster. Cooper flexed his hand and the weapon flew over to him. He grabbed it out of midair and showed it off to Lucy who examined the weapon with wide eyes.
"Woah! That was pretty cool!" She said. Cooper smirked trying to play it cool.
"Trust me that was nothing." He said. Lucy quirked a mischievous eyebrow.
"Oh yeah?" She asked conspiratorially. Cooper blushed again despite trying to maintain his image as cool and collected.
"Yeah, haha, ahem. So what about you?" He asked trying to change the subject.
"Oh I'm a Lenopan. So I can do a lot more than just shape shift." She bragged.
"Oh yeah haha like what?" He asked curiously. Lucy hummed in thought and placed another finger on Cooper's chest. She leaned in close to him and Cooper could feel his breath catch.
"Why don't you meet me in the training room in a few hours and I can show you what I can do." She whispered. She stepped back with a twirl and her hands behind her back, walking away. Cooper was left standing motionless in the hall. He watched as Lucy turned the corner before cracking into a big smile. Something told him he would really come to like this new assignment.
Elsewhere, Kai Green had returned to the plumber's command center. She was reading through reports on sightings of Vilgax, Aggregor, and Ghostfreak and cross referncing them with information about the Demiurge. She hoped that by matching them up with myths and legends she could hopefully start locating a trail to follow. Unfortunately, she had not had much luck as of yet. She sighed as she approached Max Tennyson. Max took notice of her and turned to her.
"Everything all right Kai?" Max asked.
"I'm sorry Max, I just feel like I haven't made much progress on the Demiurge case." She lamented, sitting down with her head in her hands.
"Hey don't sweat it. With Cooper compiling that report we're sure to get a lead somehow. Besides he's only been at it a few hours." Max tried to comfort her.
"Yeah I know, it's just that… with everybody off looking for Ben I feel like I'm not doing anything. I just kinda wish something exciting would happen." Kai said.
They were interrupted as alarms started going off in the command room. In the center of the room, wind and air began to swirl growing more and more powerful. A glowing disc of magenta energy began spinning in mid-air. It grew larger and larger, sucking in more and more detritus from around the room. Max and Kai had to shield their eyes both from the bright light and the whipping wind. Suddenly a familiar figure stepped through the portal, closing it behind her. Charmcaster stood in the center of the command room wearing her signature violet leather jacket and outfit. Her hair had strips of violet running through her otherwise ivory locks. Black lipstick and eyeliner accentuated her face as she looked around.
"Where is Gwen Tennyson?" She demanded. Immediately every plumber in distance of her took aim with their weapons. Kai too strode forward and put up a defensive position.
"Charmcaster!" She called out. Charmcaster glanced over at the younger girl, looking her up and down confused.
"I'm sorry who are you? And more importantly why should I care?" Charmcaster retorted. Kai felt her expression sour.
"You may not know me but I know all about you. And I especially know that it was a dumb move to teleport right into the middle of Plumber headquarters." Kai spoke aiming a blaster at her.
"Oh relax, I'm not here to cause trouble." Charmcaster said dismissively, looking through her bag.
"Then why are you here?" Max asked stepping up.
"Ah finally a familiar face." Charmcaster said. "I'm looking for Gwen. No tricks this time." She assured.
"Gwen is off world right now." Max said crossing his arms. Charmcaster blinked.
"Wait what? But I tracked her Mana here! Wait ok so like how far off world are we talking about?" She asked
"I'd say about a dozen light years by now." Max replied. Charmcaster clenched her fists and groaned in exasperation.
"Great! I don't have enough power right now to teleport that far. What am I gonna do now?" She asked to herself.
"Why don't you start by explaining why you're looking for her? Because if you think I'm just gonna sit here and let you try to destroy her again you've got another thing coming." Max said sternly.
At that point Charmcaster tensed and the rest of the plumbers raised their weapons in preparation to fire. She stood stock still for a few moments before straightening up and taking a deep breath. When next she spoke, her voice was quieter and more timid sounding than any of them had ever heard.
"You've got it all wrong. I'm actually here to ask for her help." She said softly. Her expression looked desperate and pleading for half a second before a harsh laugh split the air.
"You've got to be kidding right? There's no way we would believe that after all the stunts you've pulled." Kai said keeping her weapon trained. Charmcaster glared back at the snarky girl and quickly decided she was almost more annoying than Gwen. The two women glared at each other but both were surprised as Max placed a hand over Kai's weapon, lowering it to the ground.
"Magister Tennyson?" Kai asked stunned.
"Stand down Kai. Let's hear her out." Max ordered.
"But why?" Kai asked incredulous. "You know how dangerous she is!" She continued. Max turned back to Charmcaster who looked equally as stunned.
"I know, which is why all we're doing is hearing her out. You're lucky I believe in second chances Charmcaster." Max said seriously. "Now tell us why you're really here." He said no less sternly. Charmcaster shut her mouth and breathed again to compose herself.
"Right, well…" She started. "I came looking for Gwen because I need her help to find Addwaitya." She explained. "He's gone missing from Ledgerdomain and his mana is halfway across the galaxy now. I'm suspicious he's up to no good." She clarified.
"Right because you're an expert on being no good." Kai said snarkily. Charmcaster sent another nasty look her way. She decided she definitely didn't like this girl at that moment.
"You've beaten Addwaitya before on your own though. Why are you worried now?" Max asked trying to get her back on topic. Charmcaster turned back to Max with her arms crossed, pointedly ignoring Kai's outburst.
"According to notes that he had left behind I believe Addwaitya is after some powerful artifact. I'm worried that he can regain his full power to try to take over Ledgerdomain again." Charmcaster said.
"So you're just worried he's going to overthrow you is that it?" Kai asked.
"No, I gave up trying to rule Ledgerdomain a while ago. It's more hassle than it's worth." She said dismissively. That seemed to surprise both of them. Neither Max or Kai would think that Charmcaster would give up that kind of a position, she was too power hungry.
"So what exactly is this artifact that he's after?" Max asked pointedly.
"I don't know. It's called a Demiurge or something like that." Charmcaster said. Max and Kai looked at each other with concern. Their shared look was not missed by Charmcaster.
"What? Is that bad?" She asked.
"The Demiurge Hammer is a mythical reality altering weapon." Max explained. "Addwaitya is just the latest in a long line of villains after it. And if any one of them were to get their hands on it, then it would be bad news." He said.
"Ok so that settles it then right?" She asked. "I'm sure Gwen is out there trying to stop them all, being the little… goody two shoes that she is. So take me to her and I'll help out." Charmcaster said.
"Afraid it doesn't work like that Charmcaster." Max replied. Charmcaster's eyes widened in shock then she turned and pouted.
"What? Why not?" Charmcaster asked indignantly.
"You may have provided us with some useful intel. But that doesn't forgive all of your past mistakes. In fact we should put you into custody right now." Max said. Two plumbers began to approach Charmcaster from behind, shackles at the ready. Nervous, Charmcaster put her hands up in a placating motion.
"Wait wait wait. What if I sweeten the deal? I've got some other info you might want to hear about." She offered.
"What else could you possibly have to tell us?" Kai asked.
"I've been keeping tabs on a little group I think you might be familiar with. One called the Forever Knights? Hm?" She hinted. "For the past few months they've been trying to drain the power off of a magical relic." She explained. Kai quirked an eyebrow, interest piqued.
"What kind of relic?" She asked skeptically.
"Oh just the sword Excalibur." She said smugly. Kai gasped. "If you let me go free I can help you lot retrieve it. So what do you say?" Charmcaster asked. Kai turned to Max.
"Magister Tennyson!" She began but Max cut her off.
"No buts. I'm sorry Charmcaster but you're just not trustworthy enough." Max said. Charmcaster's expression fell and her shoulder sagged. She put up no resistance as the Plumbers placed her in handcuffs and led her away.
"We'll look into the leads you told us about but for right now we're placing you in custody." Max explained.
"Sigh, whatever. Not like I've got anything better to do." Charmcaster said annoyed. She was lead off by her plumber escorts into the detention chambers. After she left Kai turned to Max annoyed and confused.
"Magister Tennyson, I really think we should take her up on her offer. If the Forever Knights have really figured out how to use Excalibur it could be very dangerous." She tried to object. Max looked at the young woman sternly.
"I'm sorry Kai. I know how much that sword means to you but it's too risky. We'll interrogate her and send a team to look into the lead. But right now we need you working on the Hammer case." Max said. He left without a further word, leaving Kai standing alone with her shoulders slumped. Her expression of sadness was soon replaced by steely resolve as she made up her mind.
Kai made her way stealthily down to the detention block. She tracked Charmcaster to her cell. She found the young woman lying down with her arms crossed behind her head. At Kai's approach she propped herself up on her elbows with a cross look on her face.
"What do you want?" She asked annoyed.
"I'm here to bust you out." Kai whispered as she started punching numbers on the cell's control panel. Charmcaster raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What? But I thought that Max said…" She began.
"Max doesn't know about this. You are going to help me get Excalibur." Kai said. The energy barrier enclosing the cell dropped and Kai stepped inside. Charmcaster sat up and regarded Kai with a mischievous smile.
"Well alright. What are we waiting for then?" With a wave of her hand Charmcaster opened a swirling violet portal. She stepped through it, followed shortly by Kai. Just before she stepped through the threshold, Kai cast an apologetic glance over her shoulder. In another second she disappeared and shortly after so did the portal.
A/N: The best thing they did with Kai in canon was give her the sword Excalibur so although I don't really like her I felt it would be disingenuous to completely disregard her. My intent is to make this somewhat believable to canon so I want to write how I think she would have acquired the sword. Plus it gives me a reason to bring Charmcaster back in for the redemption arc she was never given in canon. Lastly I added the Cooper and Lucy romance just for fun. They seemed like they would make a cute couple.