Universe:

Marvel Adventures: Avengers (Earth-20051)

Sometimes, Tony couldn't help but think it wasn't worth it to even get out of bed in the morning.

"What do you mean, what's Christmas?" he asked, well aware that his eyebrows were probably about to rise off his face. "Come on, Spider-Man, tell me you're joking."

Peter shook his head and kept staring at Tony with a confused expression on his face. Well, it was hard to tell exactly what his face looked like with the mask on, but Tony had some practice with reading people's moods in such situations and "confused" seemed like a fairly safe assumption.

Tony's heart sank a little. "You're not kidding?"

"Nope," Peter replied, pulling off his mask. It looked like Tony's assumption about his being confused had been correct. "Seriously, what's Christmas?"

"Mistletoe?" Tony asked hopefully. "Santa Claus? Presents? Cabbage Patch Kids? Furbys? Tickle Me Elmo? Turbo-Man? Consumerism at its finest?"

If it was possible, Peter looked even more confused.

Tony sighed and reached up to rub his temples. "You wouldn't happen to know where everyone else is, would you?"

"Spending time with friends and family? Caroling? A Christmas Carol? It's a Wonderful Life? Does any of this sound familiar?"

Tony could hear the frustration in Steve's voice long before he saw Captain America's face. Frowning, he didn't even slow down as he turned the corner and walked through the kitchen doorway. Unfortunately, that meant he had to come to an abrupt stop just inside if he wanted to avoid walking directly in Steve's back.

Jan and Logan were both standing in front of Steve, their faces toward the door, and there was no hiding the relieved expressions that immediately appeared on their faces when they saw Tony. Or, at least, Jan's face. Logan's scowl did seem to lighten by a degree or two, though, so Tony personally thought it counted.

"It's about time," Logan muttered under his breath.

Steve spun around, his face lighting up when he saw Tony standing there. "Tony! Please tell me you remember Christmas. Neither of them knows what I'm talking about."

For a fraction of a second, Tony was tempted to stare blankly at Steve just like Peter had done with him earlier, but that slight hesitation on his part was enough to cause Steve's hopeful look to fade almost completely away. Tony didn't have the heart to make it disappear completely.

"I guess I'm not the only one who thinks the Grinch has been busy this year," Tony said, shooting Steve a slight smile.

Utter relief flooded Steve's face.

Logan grunted as he exchanged a look with Jan. "Great," he grumbled. "Now they're both crazy."

Tony sighed as he dropped back into a chair. "None of you have a clue what we're talking about?" he asked, glancing around the room one more time as if it might possibly convince the others to change their answers. Everyone stared back at him.

"You're saying that we're all somehow forgotten a centuries old celebration," Ororo said skeptically after it became obvious that no one else was going to speak up.

Tony shook his head. "No, we're saying that you've all forgotten multiple centuries old celebrations that share several similarities. Millennia old, in some cases. Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Kwanzaa, Eid al-Adha, Pancha Ganapati, even--"

"And it's not just all of you," Steve cut in. "It's the entire planet."

Ororo and Jan exchanged a look. Neither of them looked away for several seconds, until Jan sighed and nodded. "Could there be a possibility that someone has done something to your memories?" she asked gently. "Maybe made the two of you remember something that doesn't exist?"

"That's impossible," Steve said immediately. "Right, Tony?"

Tony hesitated.

Steve narrowed his gaze as he turned his attention directly toward Tony. "Right, Tony?" he repeated.

"It could be worth some thought," Tony said finally, trying not to wilt under the disappointment he could already see forming in Steve's eyes. "I mean, it does seem a little more likely that it might be our memories that have been altered rather than the memories of six billion other people."

Steve looked hurt just by the suggestion.

"Except it's not just the two of you!"

All of the Avengers turned to face the door. Bruce was standing there, an almost proud look on his face.

"It's not?" Tony asked, his question overlapping somewhat with Steve, Jan, Peter, and Ororo. Logan just leaned back in his chair to watch the show.

Bruce shook his head. "Peter suggested that I check the internet, just to be on the safe side. There are posts appearing on message boards from thousands of people, all talking about these holidays that the two of you remember."

"I thought the first thing you did was check the internet, Tony?" Peter asked. "You said there wasn't any mention of it anywhere. I mean, I only suggested that Bruce double-check to give him something to--" He cut short with a grimace, as if someone had just kicked him under the table. Across from him, Jan smiled innocently.

Tony frowned. "There wasn't anything when I checked, but that was hours ago when I first realized that all the Christmas decorations Jarvis put up had disappeared. For all I know, it could have been just minutes after whatever happened to make everyone forget took place. I didn't do an in-depth search, just a quick one, so nothing might have had a chance to be cached yet."

Peter paled a little. "So someone really did alter our memories?"

The Avengers, sans Steve and Tony, all shared a troubled look. Even Logan looked a bit more disgruntled than usual.

"But what could have caused it?" Steve asked slowly. "And why do some people remember while others don't? That couldn't have been intentional."

Ororo frowned. "And you say that there were many decorations and signs of these holidays?"

Tony nodded. "All over the place. You couldn't take five steps without seeing something related to them." He paused. "Why?"

Logan grunted. "It's not just our memories that have been changed. If it was, all those things would still be there."

No one said anything for several seconds. Then Tony groaned. "Have I mentioned lately that I really hate magic?"

"Oh, you have to be kidding me," Tony grumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he turned the communications inside his Iron Man suit back on so that the others could hear him. "The North Pole? Out of all the places this so-called wizard could pick to set up base, he picked the North Pole? Who does he think he is, Jack Frost?"

Steve glanced over at him from the pilot seat of the Quinjet. "Well, it does fit with the theme," he said. "But I thought you hated that movie?"

"Only because Peter had the DVD playing every single time I walked through the rec room last Christmas," Tony replied.

Behind them, Peter loudly cleared his throat. "Does anyone have any idea what they're talking about?" he mock whispered.

A few seconds later, Tony heard what sounded suspiciously like someone slapping someone else on the back of the head. "Hey!" Peter cried out.

"Don't make me come back there!" Tony called over his shoulder.

Jan laughed. "Don't worry, Mom, Storm and I will keep the other kids quiet so you and Dad can talk in private."

Tony rolled his eyes, even though he knew nobody could see it through the suit. "Ha ha ha."

"Very funny, Giant-Girl," Steve said.

Tony frowned. There was something about Steve's voice that sounded off. He glanced over at Steve, trying to figure out exactly what it was that he'd heard in his friend's voice. The Captain America mask covered most of Steve's face, but his mouth was drawn in a tight line and his eyes were focused straight ahead.

"Something wrong, Cap?" Tony asked quietly, pitching his voice so the others wouldn't be able to hear what they were saying.

Steve jerked the controls in surprise, causing the Quinjet to buck wildly for a few seconds. Behind them, there were several surprised cries - not to mention a few creative suggestions from Logan.

"Sorry about that!" Steve called over his shoulder. Under his mask, Tony could see that his skin was flushed with embarrassment. "It shouldn't happen again."

Ororo leaned forward so that she could peer at the two of them. "Is everything all right up here?" she asked softly.

Tony quickly waved his hand, drawing her attention solely toward him. "Everything's fine," he said. "You just never know when Santa might come flying by with his reindeer."

She shot him a somewhat pained look. "Are you quite certain we want to remember this holiday?"

"Yes," Steve said, his voice low but firm. "It's a time for family. For friends."

"For tacky decorations," Tony muttered. "For cheesy movies. For people spending money they don't have on things they don't need."

Steve finally looked toward Tony, his blush fading quickly. "It's more than that, and you know it," he said, sounding hurt.

Ororo glanced between the two of them for a few seconds before sighing and shaking her head. "Maybe Giant Girl and I should be making certain that the two of you are behaving rather than Spider-Man and Wolverine."

"Don't worry, Storm," Steve said reassuringly. "We'll behave. You just keep them from disturbing Bruce. The last thing we need is for the Hulk to make an appearance while we're still in the air."

She shot them one more look before leaning back. Tony glanced over at Steve, meeting his gaze for a moment. Then they looked away.

Neither of them spoke again for the rest of the flight.

One crash landing, a forced separation from the others, the beginnings of a blizzard, and an angry wizard dressed like Santa Claus later, they still weren't talking to each other.

Then the magically controlled Abominable Snowmen showed up.

"I'm sorry about what I said back in the Quinjet," Tony said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. Not for the first time, he felt relieved that his face was hidden safely behind his helmet; he expected that Steve would have been able to read him like an open book otherwise. At the very least, he'd probably be able to tell that Tony was hiding at least two bruised ribs, a result of the energy beam that had disabled his repulsors.

Steve glanced at him, a surprised look on his face. "What are you talking about, Iron Man?"

"Tacky decorations? Cheesy movies?" Tony tried to make his voice sound as apologetic as it possibly could through the helmet's filters. "I know that Christmas is a really big deal for you, Cap."

One of the Abominable Snowmen threw another tree at them. It flew over the boulder they were hiding behind, soaring over their heads for a good ten feet before crashing down into the snow.

"It's fine, Iron Man," Steve said, shaking his head. There was a disappointed look on his face, but it was obviously aimed at himself rather than Tony. "Besides, I should be the one apologizing. I'm the person who crashed the Quinjet."

"After a twenty foot long icicle came flying through the front of it," Tony pointed out. "Plus I'm fairly certain that Bruce turning into the Hulk didn't help matters any."

Steve didn't quite meet his gaze. "It was still my fault."

"Steve--" Tony cut off abruptly as another tree flew at them, this one's aim more true. He grabbed Steve's arm, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest as he pulled both of them several feet to the left. The tree's trunk landed exactly where Steve had been kneeling.

The two of them stayed where they were for a moment, waiting to see if anything else came flying at them.

"That was close," Steve said finally. "I owe you one, Iron Man."

Tony took in several shallow breaths, trying to will away the pain in his chest. Maybe bruised ribs had been a little too optimistic on his part. "I already owe you about fifty," he managed after several seconds. "Let's just take it off my tab."

Steve narrowed his eyes. Apparently Tony hadn't done as good a job at hiding the pain in his voice as he'd hoped.

"Tony, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Tony said, waving his hand. At least, he tried to wave his hand. He got it about halfway up before another sharp pain shot through his chest.

Steve didn't say anything. He just gave Tony what the others jokingly referred to as The Look.

Tony opened the front of his helmet for a second, long enough to look Steve in the eyes. "Cracked ribs, nothing else. I'll be fine, just as soon as we stop this guy and get back Christmas." He paused for a second. "I cannot believe that I just said that. You do realize that our lives are insane, right?"

"You didn't already know they were?" Steve asked, grinning a little despite the fact that he was still eyeing Tony warily.

Another tree went soaring over their heads, missing them by a good twenty feet.

Tony winked at him before closing his helmet again. "Well, at least Frosty and his friends can't aim very well."

"Evil man almost ruin Hulk's Christmas!"

Steve flinched and glanced over at Tony as the last of the Abominable Snowmen went flying through the air and landed directly on top of the wizard they had come to stop. The magically created creature turned to snow the moment it touched the Santa Claus costume that the man was wearing, but it was still heavy enough to halfway bury him.

"Huh," Tony said. "Apparently the Hulk remembers Christmas, even if Bruce didn't."

The Hulk stomped over to the wizard and grabbed him by the jacket, pulling him out of the snow and leaving him dangling several feet above the ground. "Hulk wanted gingerbread man!"

"It looks like you're right," Steve said slowly. "But I still want to know why some people remembered the holidays and others didn't."

Tony shrugged. "All I want is for our wizard friend to hurry up and decide that he wants us to rescue him from the Hulk. No one else is going to remember Christmas or any of the other holidays until he undoes whatever magic he did."

The wizard went flying through the air, landing in a snow heap a good twenty feet away. "Hulk wanted to help Giant Girl and Spider-Man set up mistletoe!"

"Remind me to keep a very close eye on Jan and Peter once they get their memories back," Tony said, trying very hard not to think about how creative his teammates could be when they put their minds to it.

Steve nodded, apparently thinking about the same thing. They both remembered last Christmas's matchmaking attempts all too well.

"Hulk wanted to see Santa!" the Hulk shouted, glaring at the wizard.

The wizard suddenly held up his arms and started waving frantically at Steve and Tony. They weren't close enough to hear what he was saying, but his panic was fairly obvious even at a distance.

"Come on, Cap," Tony said, patting Steve on the arm. "Let's go save Christmas."