An AU blend of Marvel and Real Life.
Disclaimer - All Marvel owned by Disney...All Star Wars owned by Disney...Yep. Mind still blown.
Directions - Read, Review, Repeat; three times daily. ;)
He sat still, white-knuckled, eyes wide as he'd been for the majority of the ride to the airport. It wasn't fun to fly. His mom had insisted it was, as an off-the-cuff and irritated response to her eldest son's concerns of a wild, horrific accident, should they, indeed, board the plane. But Little Nik hadn't been heard. Too many younger siblings vying for attention, too little time to make his case with all the compiled evidence from the Bugs Bunny cartoon he'd watched just before their trip to the Moscow International Airport.
"Just…" She huffed, speaking to him with half-a-mind as the rest of it went to tracking the baby and juggling their tickets. "Just, close your eyes…go to sleep when we get on-board and then you-…ANTHONY!-…then…just-…Anthony you get back here!"
And that was it. And then an hour later they were making their way down the tight stretch of aisle-way to their seats near the back. Sleep? How could he sleep, knowing they didn't have the proper colorful parachute Bugs had magically pulled from wherever Bugs gets his stuff when the artists need him to have it? He didn't have the luxury of a magical, all-knowing sky artist. All Nik had for this tempting of death was a few comics and the wise words of his mother…to sleep. Nik gulped. That wasn't going to happen. Nope. He was going to watch the horror unfold the whole way down and then maybe even feel a little satisfied when he turned to look at his terror-stricken mother: "See?" He'd say as they plummeted to their inevitable doom. "Told ya."
Nik sat down in his seat. He buckled and readied his comics for their last perusal. And then was promptly moved by his mother out of their aisle and into the row of seats just ahead because Anthony was being loud and Elizabeth needed snacks and Thomas was a baby…
Nik obeyed without much fuss. What did it matter? They were all going down together anyway. It didn't matter the seat. He buckled up nearest the window and stared out at the rain-slicked runway. His dad had been reassigned to the Canadian Embassy which meant a stop-off in the U.S. for cheek pinches from all the relatives, then onward to pick out a place to live before dad joined them in a month or so. Poor guy. They'd all be crashing in a few hours and then he'd have to be the one to find a place to live. Nik imagined that would be very inconvenient for his father.
"Môže tu sedím?"
Nik looked up. Jaw dropped. It was huge. It was huge and there and staring at him. In all his vast nine years of life, Nik had never seen a local like the one currently attempting to be haltingly cordial.
"Ehm-" it said, "…sit?…"
The boy gulped. "Uuuuuuuuh," a glance back at his mother who was too busy fussing over his siblings. He shrugged. The giant nodded and took a seat…well…maybe more like a seat and a half. Hm. He smelled funny. Not bad…more like dirt, which to a nine year old was a fairly pleasant smell. Nik shrugged and went back to his comics, particularly the one where the Neutrinos had just entered from Dimension X to escape the rock guys. He felt the behemoth next to him shift a bit in search of the required seat belt and tried to keep his attention on the story. Ok, so The Neutrinos were cool 'cause they had a flying car…probably with better seatbelts than the plane and colorful parachutes that came out of nowhere, if they needed them. The Neutrinos met up with the Turtles and there was something in the alliance of those two different forces that really appealed to Nik. Alliances were sweet. He glanced out the corner of his eye to where the towering young man had settled into an uneasy pattern of shifting in the seat. The guy's cheek was sucked in and Nik could see the evidence of gnawing. Wow. That huge guy was nervous, too…
Suddenly, the plane jerked to a rolling start. The PA clicked on and the tiny cabin filled with static and the Russian Captain's welcome.
Big breath. Well. This was it. The beginning of the end. Nik looked back at his mom who was still so unaware, so like Wiley Coyote on that oversized 'X' of his own making. No colorful parachutes. At least from what he could guess by the cartoons, the whole thing went pretty quick. They might even get some hang-time if everyone flapped their arms really quick before the fall. Nik glanced to the young man again and…
He was stooped over, now. Attention set on something in his lap. No more biting. No more shifting. The plane sped for the inevitable ascent and the faster it went, the more involved the big guy became in whatever it was…
Holy whoa, Batman; they were in the air. Nik's breath caught in his chest as the reality of things hit. He looked out the window…bad idea. The world was drifting away. It was spinning too…sort of. Nik felt sick. Oh man, oh man.
"Look…"
The young guy's thick accented voice. Nik glanced, eyes wide again as his anxiety forced the stiffness of his body into a shake.
"Look." Said the man again.
And there was something so oddly comforting in that rumbling hum of a voice. He pointed at Nik's comic and then at the thing he'd slipped to Nik. A faded piece of paper…and a broken piece of…black chalk? It didn't make sense. But then Nik's mind eased into natural, boyish curiosity that helped release a bit of the former tension as he watched the man hover over his own paper and 'chalk'. He watched as a scene was drawn…a strange, vivid, familiar image…
What!? The Neutrino car!? And as it came to life on the big man's paper in mesmerizing strokes of sooty black, Nik recognized people in the flying car…a ninja turtle! He looked at his comic and it was a near exact replica of Leonardo. And then the girl Neutrino! And…his eyes widened as he watched the driver's likeness unfold. It was a picture of HIMSELF! Oh man. He was driving the Neutrino car! And he was smiling and-…they were driving high up in the air next to an airplane that had - a few more moments of the guy's chalk on the paper - the etching of his mom's grinning face in the window! Hey look at that, and it wasn't on fire! Tow lines were drawn from the plane to the Neutrino car and Nik couldn't help his bubble of laughter. The clouds were made and the earth, far below. The perspective was perfect and really not so scary once he wrapped his mind about the playful comic.
"And you," the guy said, indicating the chalk and the drawing. Nik understood. His smile doubled into a grin and down he dove to add a special parachute compartment at the back of the plane.
xXIXx
"…thank you," she said quietly with a squeeze of his arm as she and his little comrade departed the plane. The mother had been so concerned. Piotr had caught her worried glances and then the boy's obvious fears and so had reason to displace his own for a while to help as he could. But it was over. And reality greeted him out the small window: a rainy, dismal New York, New York, USA. Piotr hastened to grab his lone bag and catch a spot in line behind the small family…but they were gone…his small bit of comfort and familiarity. His gaze settled back out the windows as he passed by them to the front of the place. And then it was all strange, alien chaos past the jetway and into the terminal. He was quiet and suddenly feeling very self-conscious of the stares he was receiving. He tugged at his patched shirt, the one his mother had made him, and noticed it was nothing like the shirts the others were wearing. He gnawed at the inside of his cheek…
"Sir, keep moving, please." Piotr looked down to see a small man in a uniform ushering everyone out into the main lobby where they filed out with such confidence. Because everyone knew where they were going…
He obeyed the order and walked slowly through the airport, staring at the signs, all the colors and the people. So many people. So loud. Best to just look at the ground, which he did all the way to Customs. It was there, Piotr's heart leapt as he caught sight of the small family. The little boy caught sight of him and waved. His mother did the same and Piotr hurried to take his place in line, a few people behind them. At least there was some comfort in that faint familiarity. He watched the family as they stepped up for their turn. His smile widened as the mother waved again, indicating he join them on the other side. Relief. Instant relief…a parachute…
Right up until the customs officer began speaking so angrily with her. The man was waving papers at her. She was scared, searching her purse, shaking her head. He couldn't hear what was being said and wouldn't have understood anyway…but it was obvious there was a problem with her travel documents. More than that, there was a problem in the way these black-jacketed men were speaking to the nice woman. The kids were silent. Their eyes were wide. Piotr watched. The officer had pulled the mother aside and was bent over, forcefully sliding his hands down her sides…
She was beginning to cry. The kids were beginning to cry. And then it happened. Instinct. He couldn't help it. He pushed past the few people in front of him to get to the family and…
There were shouts and a body slamming into him from the side. He felt the hit…
More instincts…
The worst kind at the worst time…
The metal laced itself up his flesh in an instant. The officer who had attempted the tackle lay crumpled at his steeled feet. Silence. That sort of shocked calm before the inevitable storm as everyone around stared at the hulking mass of metal. and in the space of the stretched hush, Piotr caught the most awful of sights…the mother's horrified, terrified look…and little Nik's tears as the boy backed away in fear…
Author's Notes:
lychee - Thanks so much for your review! The first few chapters are going to be a bit of building to get into the characters and the story, but from there it spring-boards. I hope you like it!
