Chapter 1 - The Three Wishes

After I enjoyed writing "And Now For My Next Trick..." and Another British Invasion so much, I decided to write a longer fanfiction, focusing on my favourite villain from the series. In this story, I’ve done a different take on Mumbo’s magic. I love his magician persona, but there’s only so much you can do with stage magic. On the other hand, there are plenty more tropes to play with when it comes to Arabian Nights magic...

Chapter One:
The Three Wishes
“I can’t believe I let him get away with it!” ranted Robin, who was pacing up and down the Teen Titans’ sitting area, his brow knitted in frustration.
“Robin, you should not blame yourself for our misfortune,” said Starfire calmly, sitting on the sofa, “There was no way you could have known the Mumbo Jumbo would plant a decoy of himself in the ‘Jump Park’ while he was robbing the millions from the Bank of Perez.”
Robin only seemed to have caught the last word. “Mumbo is getting cleverer. I should have known there was something not right when the decoy didn’t do any of his usual tricks…”
Cyborg walked through the door leading into the main room. “What’s going on?” he asked, seeing Robin at the other end of the room, “Did you catch that crazy magician guy, Robbie?”
“Don’t ask,” said Raven, who was sat in the dining area reading a book.
“…Mumbo may think he can evade justice this time, but believe me, the next time I see him, he’ll be wearing a prison jumpsuit before he can say, ‘Abracadabra’!” Robin went on, Starfire’s eyes having blanked out.
Cyborg’s eyebrows rose. “I’m gonna get back to fixing the T-ship…” he said, turning to exit the room. Raven closed her book and followed him through the door.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was opening the fridge. “Oh, man! We’ve run out of tofu!” He raced out of the kitchen. “Guys, we have an emergency! There’s no more…” He collided with an exasperated-looking Starfire, who was making her way towards the exit. “What’s up, Star?” he asked.
“Robin is being a complete zarbnarf!” cried the Tamaranian super-girl. Beast Boy hadn’t a clue what that was supposed to mean, but when he turned to look at Robin, he got a pretty good idea.
“I’ll show that cunning conjuror who’s boss!” Robin continued to fume, placing a finger under his chin. “I need to think of a plan that will wipe that smile off his blue grease-paint face.” Actually, he wasn’t certain if Mumbo really was wearing blue face-paint that he’d made appear on his skin or whether he’d changed his skin pigmentation using his magic, but in all honesty, that wasn’t something he was in the mood for thinking about. “He can run, he can hide, but he can’t escape the law!”
“No kidding,” muttered Beast Boy to Starfire.
“I am going to retire to my room of the bed,” said Starfire, floating towards the door, “Goodbye, friend Beast Boy.” She sailed through the exit.
Robin was totally oblivious to the fact his friends had all left the room and was now silently trying to think of a plan to outwit Mumbo. Beast Boy, however, had no idea what was on his mind and thought now might be a more appropriate time to approach him about the fridge’s current tofu deficiency.
“Dude, did you realise we’re all out of tofu?”
“NOT NOW, BEAST BOY!” thundered Robin. Due to the show’s anime-influenced animation, the Boy Wonder’s head suddenly turned huge with a monstrous expression and Beast Boy became a cowering chibi, assailed by flames spurting from Robin’s mouth.
Once the pair had turned back to normal, Beast Boy was left stunned by Robin’s explosive behaviour.
“There are more important matters at stake!” barked Robin, “Mumbo’s pulled off a major heist, stealing millions from the Bank of Perez, and he’s still on the street. I’ve got to work out where he is and how to apprehend him before he makes a quick getaway.” Robin headed towards the door, no doubt with the intention of going to his bedroom, where he carried out all of his major strategies. When he was working on a particularly challenging case, his walls were bound to be plastered with plans and sketches and often he would spend long hours inside without contact from the other Titans, but if the alternative was him being a “zarbnarf” to them, Beast Boy wasn’t going to start complaining!
After Robin had left, Beast Boy stood in silence for a few moments, before deciding to play a video game and forget about Robin’s unpleasantness. He played “Super Ninja Fury” for about ten minutes before his stomach began rumbling loudly and he slunk back to the kitchen for some grub. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything in the fridge or the cupboards that looked particularly appealing. There was no way he was going to eat a mouldy sandwich or some of Starfire’s leftover Glorg Surprise (drizzled with lashings of mustard)!
His stomach rumbled louder. “Oh man…I sure wish I had a tofu pizza right now.”
“Did somebody say ‘I wish’?” said a voice all of a sudden.
“What? Who’s there?” Beast Boy looked around at the seemingly empty room. There was no-one in sight wherever he turned. Had his imagination been playing tricks on him? It seemed like the only explanation, yet the voice had been so vivid and also, as he would painfully recall later, somewhat familiar.
He was just thinking it might be a good idea to call the others, when all of a sudden, just above the kitchen counter appeared a golden oil lamp, floating a few centimetres in mid-air. Beast Boy’s eyes widened dramatically.
“What is it that you wish, O Green One?” came the voice again, this time from the lamp. It was a lively, pleasant tenor with a slightly nasal tone. “I am a genie of mighty power with the ability to grant any wish your heart desires!”
“You’re a genie?” Beast Boy stared at the lamp. “Aw, sweet!” He grinned. “I wish that…”
“Now wait a moment, young man!” A miniature ghostly blue arm shot out of the lamp, the index finger on his translucent hand raised in a “stop” gesture. “There are four conditions.”
“Four conditions?” repeated Beast Boy.
“One – I cannot kill anyone. Two – I cannot make anyone fall in love. Three – I cannot bring anyone back from the dead. And four – once you make a wish, it cannot be undone.”
Something about the first three rules gave him déjà vu, but he ignored it. “Oh man, I cannot wait to tell the others that I found a genie! …or well, actually a genie found me. How did you get here?” Beast Boy drew closer to the lamp.
“I have travelled all over the globe, granting wishes to worthy humans. I am aware of the many good deeds you Teen Titans have performed…protecting Jump City and foiling the plans of criminal masterminds…” There was briefly a hint of disapproval in his voice. “…and now you are going to be rewarded for your efforts with three wishes! What do you desire for your first wish?”
“I wish for…a tofu pizza!”
“Your wish is my command, O Green One!” The genie gave a thumbs-up sign.
Promptly a hot, delicious tofu pizza materialised on the breakfast bar beneath the lamp, complete with a cardboard box that said, “Genie Express”. Beast Boy shoved a slice into his mouth and managed to hoover up half of it in five minutes flat. He gave his stomach a satisfactory pat. “Oh boy, that was so good!” He scratched his chin. “Hmm…what do I wish for next?” A lightbulb appeared above his head. “I know! A moped! The girls will go crazy if I have one of those.” He imagined them chasing after him on his cool ride. “I wish for a moped!”
“As you wish, young master!” The genie swept out his palm.
A white moped straightaway appeared on the red carpet between the kitchen and the dining area. Beast Boy jogged over to it and clambered onto the black leather seat. He turned on the engine and giggled with excitement. “This is so awesome!”
Vroom, vroom! went his new moped and though it was tempting to try it out there and then, there wasn’t really enough room to take it for a spin and he knew Robin would annihilate him if he got tyre tracks on the floor, so he had to pass.
“I am so pleased to see you are happy with your wishes!” said the genie, “Being a genie is a very rewarding occupation. Now, what do you desire for your third and final wish?”
Beast Boy got off the moped and walked over to the lamp.
He placed a finger on his chin, resting his elbow on the palm of the other hand. “Can I think this over or do I have to wish right now?”
“Oh no!” Both the genie’s ethereal hands emerged from the lamp and he shook them emphatically. “Take your time – there is no need to rush!”
A thought bubble appeared above the young shapeshifter’s head, displaying all the things he knew he could wish for: a mountain of waffles, the latest video games, to play the greatest prank on Cyborg ever…when suddenly he realised there was something, or rather somebody, he wanted more than anything.
“Raven…” he mused.
“Uh, uh, uh…” The genie waved his pointer finger. “As I stated in my rules, I can’t make anyone fall in love.”
Beast Boy blushed. “That’s not exactly what I meant. I…er…would really just like to have her laugh at my jokes for once, or not call me an immature brat, or maybe…”
“Go on…”
“…I’d like her to see I’m not just a silly kid who cracks jokes instead of dealing with life. I want her to know that I can be a hero…and I respect her.”
“Perhaps I would suggest an adventure of some sort…one that would prove to her that you are not whom you appear to be?”
“Yeah! I wish we could go on an adventure like that.”
“As the young master wishes, it shall be granted!” The genie’s finger pointed upwards, the other hand gesturing to his wrist in a majestic expression.
No sooner had he said this, the lamp began to glow. It floated upward into the centre of the room, only a metre below the giant ceiling-light, which promptly blacked out. Beast Boy gazed in fascination as streaks of light shot out from the lamp; striking random corners until, without warning, one of them hit him. He yelped in fright as his world was suddenly plummeted into darkness.
…
When Beast Boy awoke, he could sense something was not quite right. Maybe it was because the temperature had inexplicably become much hotter and the ground seemed rather sandy or perhaps an instinctive knowledge that genies were prone to play tricks on unwitting mortals had stirred deep within his mind, but Beast Boy could tell his wish had not worked out like he was expecting. Where was he, for starters?
He appeared to be in some kind of village filled with exotic and rather middle-eastern-looking buildings in a mixture of bright and pastel colours. It was market day and dozens of people were milling around various stalls, selling ornate jars, beautifully decorated rugs and appetising fruit. There were even carpets set out with lone tradesmen sat upon them, surrounded by piles of spices ready to be scooped up and sold.
The villagers wore various exotic-looking clothes, including turbans, harem pants, tunics, thick belts, crop tops and flowing head-scarves; and there were delicious, piquant scents in the air from the food stands. Beast Boy was utterly transfixed by his surroundings for a solid minute. It was like he’d fallen into the movie Aladdin!
What exactly was he doing here? Had the genie mixed something up and accidentally taken him back to his home country? Speaking of which, where was the genie? He looked around to see if he could spot the lamp anywhere but instead got a tremendous shock when he noticed that not far away from him lay four familiar figures – the other Teen Titans. The genie had transported all of them to the Middle East! But why? Was this the “adventure” Beast Boy had wished for? He then began to feel very silly. Of course! There’d been no mistake. The genie had somehow whisked them off to the Middle East for their adventure. It wasn’t quite what he was expecting, but he knew he should be grateful they hadn’t been thrown into some distant galaxy. At least from here they would eventually be able to get home to Jump City…he hoped.
As if his change of location was surprising enough, Beast Boy found he wasn’t wearing his regular clothes. Instead, he was wearing a long-sleeved purple tunic, a small black waistcoat, a dark green sash tied at his left hip and a pair of loose-fitting black trousers, with his feet left bare on the sandy ground.
The others began to stir and Beast Boy noticed they were not wearing their usual getup either – rather, they were all clad in outfits similar to the other people in the marketplace.
Robin sat up, nursing his head. “What’s going on?”
He was wearing a red waistcoat that exposed his bare chest, as well as fairly baggy green trousers, black boots and a layered yellow belt, upon which was attached a curved sword.
Raven stared at the market scene. “I seriously have no idea…”
Atop her head sat a shimmery dark blue turban with a large ruby at the front and a deep purple plume. A gauzy blue scarf was draped under her chin, supported by the turban, and she was wearing a short-sleeved navy robe over a light blue baggy-sleeved top and a pair of sapphire harem pants. Her curl-toed shoes were also violet, as was the belt across her middle, which was decorated with rubies.
Cyborg was the first to notice his sudden change of attire. He was wearing an ankle-length brown jacket over a V-necked, overlapping tan robe. He had a thick blue layered belt and orange curl-toed boots, as well as a fez for good measure. “Oh man…what am I wearing? I look like I’m supposed to be fightin’ Darth Vader!”
Starfire was also confused. Her waist-long red hair was formed into a large bun on the top of her hair and was also wearing what appeared to be a cross between a tiara and a golden necklace. She was dressed in a lilac outfit consisting of a crop top, harem pants (which had a thick sky blue waistband, ornamented with three emeralds), a long scarf extending from the back of her hairstyle to her midriff and a nearly transparent veil over her nose. She was also wearing light blue wristbands and slippers.
“Why are we not wearing our usual outfits? And what is this curious place?”
“It looks like the Middle East,” responded Robin, “But how did we get from Titans Tower to here…”
Beast Boy began to feel guilty. “Er…guys? There’s something I need to tell you…”
“Welcome, travellers!” came a loud voice, catching the attention of the Titans. It seemed to come from nowhere until they looked upward and caught sight of a Persian rug, floating several metres above their heads, with a figure sat upon it cross-legged. He was wearing an oversized beige turban with a red jewel on the front, a small black waistcoat with gold trimming (revealing his bare chest), a pair of brown harem pants and orange curl-tipped boots. His skin was turquoise, his white hair stuck up on either side of the turban, he had a pencil thin moustache and a goatee and he was wearing a cat-eye domino mask. Beside him was sat a familiar lamp. “I do hope you had a safe and comfortable journey! After all, you are quite a long way from home…”
All of the Titans were stunned, but none were more horrified than Beast Boy because finally he’d realised something that had been on the back of his mind since he’d first encountered the genie. That voice had seemed familiar, but only now did he know why – it belonged to none other than the infamous Mumbo Jumbo.

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