Writer's note: A little AU about Felix and Calhoun meeting.
"What a lovely pie, Mary."
"Why, thank you! I hope our new neighbors will enjoy it."
"How can anyone resist your pies?"
"Oh Felix, you're making me blush."
"Everybody, ready? Let's go welcome our new neighbors!"
With pie in hand, Fix-It Felix and the Nicelanders headed over to the newest game in Game Central Station. The group didn't know much about the game besides its name, Hero Duty, and that it involved a first person shooter.
They boarded a long, shining black bullet train, and it took off like a shot, arriving at the internal station in a matter of moments. The citizens of Niceland didn't imagine what awaited them inside, and as they stepped onto the platform, their eyes widened in shock.
The first thing they noticed was that it was dark. A haze hung in the gray atmosphere, and there was something peculiar floating in the air. Gene caught a piece of the mysterious stuff; his mustache twitching in disgust as he rubbed it between his fingers. "Huh…it's ashes."
The space surrounding them was eerily quiet, the only sounds coming from further inside the game. Yelling echoed from a distance as a round of gunshots followed. The Nicelanders automatically hid behind their hero. "What was that?" Roy whispered, holding onto Deanna's shoulders.
"Oh, it's probably just the folks of this game practicing their shooting skills," Felix replied casually. "Probably nothing to worry about."
Someone nudged his back. "Go on, Felix," Don said. "Go find our new neighbors."
Felix stepped forward, tipping his hat to the Nicelanders. "I'll be back in a jiff, friends." With that promise, he hopped further into the game. A bridge spanned a good distance toward a tall, gleaming building. Not far up ahead was a group of four individuals. From what Felix could tell, they wore black, bulky armor. He hopped a few more feet, deciding to call out to them to let the group know that he was there, when a rain of gunshots flew toward him.
Felix yelped, hopping with all his might to dodge the shots. Something slammed hard into his stomach when he landed on his feet and he fell sprawled on his back. "I think I made a mistake," he thought over and over, keeping his eyes closed andholding up his hands in surrender.
"Slick tiddlywicks, pint-sized," a deep, but famine voice said over him.
"I'm Fix-It Felix Jr., ma'am, from the game Fix-It Felix Jr." he said, trembling. Felix cracked an eye open, not expecting to find the most beautifully programmed woman he'd ever seen in his 30 years of life. Every fear he'd just experienced fell away into a heap of forgetfulness. Everything around him, but the armored angel over him, disappeared. "Jiminy jaminy, your face," he breathed in admiration, gently grabbing hold of the gun barrel and pushing it to rest over his heart, "Look at your high definition. It's amazing."
The woman's narrowed eyes eases open more as her features relaxed; curiosity replacing the sharpness that her eyes held.
A terrified gasp echoed along the bridge. "Please don't hurt him!" Felix heard Mary cry. With that, the glorious moment was gone.
The soldier lady stood up straight, hefting her huge gun against her shoulder. "State your business here, civilians."
Felix hopped up, removing his hat and holding it to his chest. "We're here to welcome you, new neighbors, to our arcade." He glanced back at the Nicelanders, who were cowering together in a heap, and gestured for someone to bring the pie. The scared little people shuffled over as if they were one body, and Mary thrusted the pie pan toward him.
Felix smiled brightly at the soldier lady, presenting the pie to her. "Here's a little welcome gift for you and your-" he glanced at the three burly men wielding guns bigger than their arms, "friends."
The soldier lady looked at the pie as if it were foreign object then motioned to one of her men. "Kohut, carry this back to base."
The man called Kohut smiled, gladly accepting the pie from Felix. "Thanks, pint-size."
"No problem, sir."
"If that's all you came here for, I'll escort you're little welcome party out of here," the soldier lady said, motioning for her men to head back to base. The Nicelanders quickly turned tail and walked as fast as their stubby legs could carry them, but Felix lagged behind with the radiant blonde.
"Hero's Duty is a dangerous place," she informed him as they walked, "Don't ever come in here unannounced again. Got that, short stack?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am! I'm sorry to sorta dropped in on you folks."
"Make sure it doesn't happen again."
The Nicelanders were already on the bullet train as Felix and the soldier lady approached. Felix looked up at her, holding out his hand to shake. "It was nice meeting you, Miss-?"
"Calhoun," she answered, firmly shaking his hand, "Sergeant Calhoun."
Felix smiled. "Well, Miss Calhoun, I hope to see you again."
"I'll be around."
As Felix turned to board the train, he thought for sure he saw a little smile creep onto Miss Calhoun's lips.