A Trickster's Daughter

Chapter 13: Tall Tales-Part 2

Following day...

"Hey Twizzler," Gabriel said strolling into the kitchenette area where Maya was looking at her notebook again...and reading an urban legend newspaper? "What you got there?"

Maya turned to him with a sly smirk, while leaning back in her chair. "Well I've got some ideas for pledge master Curtis and our scientist friend."

"Oh?" Gabriel asked with an eyebrow raised as he sat himself down beside her. "Do tell."

"Well Curtis is a guy who likes being in charge, in control. Makes him feel all powerful and tingly inside when he uses that power to humiliate someone." Maya wiggled her fingers while scrunching her nose. "So best way to go about dealing with him is to make him lose all sense of control and power he has. However, it has to be done in a way that no one would believe a word he says, discrediting him, and humiliating him. No one will believe or respect him, or be intimidated by him." Maya said, pausing as she flipped the pages of the newspaper to a page titled:

An Alien Made Me Its Love Slave: Has She Found True Love At Last!

Maya smirked as she continued, "Figure an alien abduction should do the trick, with something extra." Gabriel was smirking in amusement.

"Something extra?" Gabriel queried.

Maya nodded. "Yeah something extra, aside from the normal expected alien abduction stuff. Something to take it into the realm of completely unbelievable and embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than getting probed?" Gabriel snorted, smiling with pride. His kid was growing up to be a clever little Trickster. "Any ideas?"

"Well..." Maya began. "There was one thing that came to mind because it just sounds so ridiculous for an alien to make somebody do."

"What is it?" Gabriel had a feeling it would be good.

"Slow dancing." Maya said uncertain, her voice making it sound more like a question than a statement. Gabriel kept calm for all of a second as he visualized it and burst out laughing.

"Th-that's perfect!" Gabriel gasped. "With the alien in a prom dress and prom lights and cheesy romantic music!" It took a few calming breathes before Gabriel could stop laughing. Maya watched him with calm amusement and a quiet huff here and there. "Okay...what do you have for the animal abuser?"

"Well it's not as funny as a slow dancing alien, but I was thinking along the lines of Peter Pan, or more specifically Captain Hook." She said, turning the pages to an article about an alligator terrorizing sewers. "Not only does he like testing on animals, but he is also greedy. Saw him find a lost wallet, pocket the cash, then throw it away. So I think losing a hand to a gator would be fitting. Some retribution for testing on animals, and some payback for being a scumbag. There's also a sewer grate near Crawford Hall that he walks by when going to the parking lot. Good place for a trap."

"Sewer gators, and aliens, oh my." Gabriel laughed. "Where'd you get the idea for using urban legends?" Maya snorted.

"You started by using that local urban legend with the ghost coed. Figured it could be a theme." Maya stated shrugging.

"I like it!" Gabriel exclaimed happily. "Who should we do first?"

"Pledge master." Maya stated confidently. "He can be abducted tonight when he's walking across campus from his night class. The research scientist can be tomorrow night since he works late at the office on Thursdays so he can leave earlier on Friday night." Maya bites her bottom lip a bit in worry before tentatively saying, "I can't do the tricks myself...it's okay that you do them, right?"