A Bad Day To Be Tango Instructors....

From outside, it looked like a hole in the wall bar. The bar itself was small and average at best. But if one were to walk past the bar and enter the double doors in the back, they would find a sparkling, sprawling dance floor that instantly made its guests forget they were in a bar at all. Happily married couple and tango dance instructors Marsha and Tommy were hoping that others would be soaked in by the charm of the location just like they were, as they were debuting what would hopefully be a weekly dance event tonight. In one hour they would be teaching a beginner tango lesson, followed by an open dance.

"Excuse me folks, is this where I go to learn how to dance the tango? I read an article on Prose that told me to come here."

Marsha and Tommy turned towards the voice, finding a slightly overweight man approaching them. He had a friendly smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes sir, but we aren't set to start for an hour." Tommy advised in a kind tone. "You're welcome to wait with us though! I'm Tommy, and this is my wife Marsha."

"It is a pleasure to be here, and your kindness is appreciated." The man replied. "My name is Willy, and I have a feeling that tonight is going to be a life changing event for all parties involved."

"That sounds wonderfully ambitious!" Marsha said enthusiastically. "So Willy, have you ever danced before, or is this your first time?"

"This will be my first time gracing a dance floor!" Willy answered. "I know you kind folks said that you are starting in an hour, but is there any way I could sneak in a private lesson? I can give you a little more than the $10 cover charge you requested for tonight's lesson and dance."

Willy pulled out a stack of $50 bills from his pocket and offered it to the couple.

"Your offer is very generous, but you don't need to pay more than the $10 entry fee." Tommy said with a hint of uneasiness. "But since you are our first customer, we can go ahead with that private lesson on the house."

"Splendid, you really are lovely people!" Willy beamed. "I look forward to working with you both!"

Willy put his hands on both of Tommy and Marsha's shoulders. The couple then felt the sensation of the world growing bigger, as their bodies got smaller. Their arms and legs vanished into their bodies, and soon enough, they had been turned into mealworms.

"You should be honored!" Willy exclaimed to his newest victims. "I have turned many into worms, but this mealworm transformation is a new one! Anywho, I need to see if you two are the real deal when it comes to dancing. If you can't do a tango as worms, then I have a feeling you won't be flexible enough to handle a class of newbies. So please show me what you can do, or I will have no choice but to crush you and seek lessons elsewhere. So allow me to cue the music. Hey Google! Play Por Una Cabeza, the version from the movie True Lies!"

As the music started, two terrified mealworms put their bodies together and began performing a tango for Willy.

"Very nice, you do appear to be the genuine article after all! Now please recite the steps as you dance, my little friends. No one else can hear you speak, but I can. Just a little benefit of my ability to turn others into worms!"

"Slow.. slow.. quick quick.. slow." Tommy said as he led Marsha around the even more enormous dance floor, his voice quaking from fear.

"Now now, you don't sound all that confident there Tommy! Loosen up my man.... or should I say, my worm?"

As the mealworm forms of Tommy and Marsha continued dancing, a beautiful young woman who appeared to be in her late twenties entered the room and walked onto the dance floor. Her sweet smile caught Willy's attention, and he grinned about the opportunity approaching him.

"Hello sir, are you teaching the tango class tonight?" The woman said in a sweet, innocent tone.

"Yes my dear, I am filling in for Tommy and Marsha today. My name is Willy, and I look forward to the lessons I will be teaching you tonight! And what is your name, darling?"

"I'm Serenity, and I look forward to learning from you! Oh my gosh, are those mealworms down there doing the tango?"

As they continued dancing, Tommy and Marsha screamed at Serenity to run. But just like Willy had said before, he was the only one that could hear their cries.

"Yes, quite impressive, eh? I can teach anyone and anything how to dance, it is a gift of mine! Please come here and allow me to lead you in the tango!"

"Yes, I will follow if you can properly lead me!" Serenity replied enthusiastically as she started dancing in front of Willy. Willy attempted to grip her as she danced, but his hands kept missing her.

"What's going on Willy?" Serenity teased playfully as she kept dancing. "How are you going to lead me if you can't even touch me?"

"I will show you how great a leader I really am!" Willy said in an aggravated tone, as he kept trying to grab Serenity. Despite how close Serenity was dancing to him, Willy was unable to lay a finger on her.

"How disappointing, a dance instructor that can't lead!" Serenity pouted. "That's ok, I'll just stick to dancing with my boyfriend. Kirk, have you finished writing yet?"

"On my way babe!" A voice called out from behind the doors that led back to the bar. An attractive young man around the same age as Serenity walked in, holding two sets of metal letter that respectively combined into the words "dance" and "partner." The gentleman known as Kirk smiled at Serenity and gave her a quick wink.

"Time to strike a pose." Serenity said sweetly, leaping back a couple feet from Willy before standing still and pointing at him with another sweet smile. An invisible force emanated from Serenity, knocking Willy flat on his back. Kirk rushed at the fallen Willy, slashing his arms and legs with his metal words in order to keep him from getting back up.

"I knew you two would show up here, just like CCC said you would." Willy chuckled weakly. "Kirk, a freak who can make metal words when he writes in his journal. And Serenity, another freak who can dodge anything as long as she keeps on dancing, and can even knock someone down with an unseen power when she stops and poses. You recently defeated minions that belonged to the warlock Lone on a beach, and you were both recruited into Hugh's hero network."

"You seem to be well informed." Kirk replied. "Well we know all about you too, thanks to our friend Chris from Hugh's network. You are Willy, and despite being out of shape, you have the power to turn yourself and others into worms. You can even grab things in your human form, transform into a worm, and still have the object in your possession once you are human again. You have used these powers to make yourself wealthy, and now the villain Leftover is utilizing you to do his dirty work, including assisting in the death of the hero Mirk."

"Heh, you fools are almost right, but Leftover isn't a villain. When he's done with Hugh and the rest of you, he will be a better hero than any of you ever tried to be."

"You and your boss are wrong, but you can still turn this around." Serenity said in a tone that was both sweet and strong. "Those mealworms over there are the real tango instructors, right? Change them back and repent. You can even join us and be a real hero."

"Ha ha ha ha, I don't want to join your lame team! And I refuse, Tommy and Marsha are lovely dancing mealworms, I vow to keep them like that. If we wait long enough, they'll even become beetles some day!"

Kirk growled and pointed his metal words at Willy.

"Change them back Willy, or your throat will be the next thing I slash."

"Ha ha ha ha, drop the act hero! I've been around killers, and you aren't one kid. In fact, I bet your word blades there are set up to send me to the Reflection Dimension if you kill me with them, where I will be fully healed and very much alive! Don't get me wrong, I know my heart is too wicked to be able to return from that place, but if you send me there, who is going to make Tommy and Marsha human again?"

Kirk growled again, but he calmed down once Serenity put her hand on his shoulder.

"Let's send him to the Reflection Dimension Kirk. Even if he doesn't change his ways and return to undo his curse, I'm sure someone in Hugh's network can come up with a cure."

Kirk smiled and nodded at his girlfriend, thankful to have her by his side. But before he could strike, a trapdoor appeared underneath Willy, and he laughed gleefully as he fell through it. The trapdoor then vanished immediately afterwards.

"No!" Kirk cried out as their adversary escaped. He quickly got a hold of himself, then walked over to the mealworms that had finally stopped dancing.

"Tommy and Marsha, I'm sorry that we couldn't get here soon enough to stop this." Kirk said gently. "But I promise, we will do all we can to help you become human again. We will take you back to one of Hugh's bases, where you will be safe. We'll talk to Hugh and have him get his associates working on a cure, and we will also keep seeking out Willy. We will do all we can to make this right for you, along with anyone else that he has hurt."

Although Kirk and Serenity couldn't hear it, Tommy and Marsha both said "Thank you" as they sobbed about their cruel fate....

*****

After falling through the dark for what felt like an eternity, Willy landed in a pool of warm water. The wounds on his arms and legs healed immediately upon submersion. He climbed out of the pool and found a single door before him.

"Welcome to my Hallway of Peril!" A voice bellowed throughout the room. "Although for you Willy, there is no peril today, just a pool of healing waters and a door that will take you right back to the royal castle of Prosperity!"

"Thanks for the save Hall." Willy said sheepishly. "It's too bad those two lovebirds bested me back there. But they weren't able to save that dance couple from being turned into mealworms. And they'll never find a cure without my help. So at the end of the day, did they really prove themselves to be heroes? And once Gull, John and CCC complete their mission (this concurrent storyline can be read here: https://theprose.com/post/462263/they-meet-again-part-i), Hugh and his network are as good as gone. So Team Leftover will be the true champions of this dance off!"

"Ha ha ha ha, you are so much fun to partner up with Willy!" Hall's voice echoed excitedly. "I can't wait to continue playing co-op with you!"