Meaning of Christmas and all that stuff
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "Christmastime. When the stupid and the bone-idle gather together to celebrate the birth of catalogue shopping"
***
Now it's time to meet the Ghost of Christmas past....man is it just me, or do i give my characters cruel deaths? 0_o
***
Chapter 3 - Revisiting the past
****
Pietro jolted himself awake, finding he'd fallen asleep on his couch. Just as his eyes got orientated to being open again, he heard the clock ding once. He waited....and waited. Nothing.
"HAH!", he said, jumping up, "i win, no ghosties here, heh heh heh!"
He danced over to his fridge, pulling out some juice. He turned around, closing the door with his foot, before looking up, giving a yell of shock, the carton of juice dropping to the floor. Forge was sitting on the couch, thumbing through a magazine, his physical apperance made him look to be in his late twenties, even if he was in his fourties...he never had figured out how to reverse Middleverse's effects on himself. Of course, that didn't stand out as much as the dagger protuding from the side of his head, or the scars on his forehead.
"Relax, Pietro", grinned Forge, looking up at him, "you'd swear you've seen a ghost"
"Har de har har...of all the Ghosts to come visiting...", said Pietro, shakily, then looked at the dagger with disgust, "Can't you get rid of that?"
"I'm sorry, is the weapon of my death creeping you out?", said Forge sindely, "I thought Lance already explained, the marks that are made in your death stay with you for your afterlife".
Pietro shuddered, taking a deep breath.
"This is so not a good day for me", he said.
"Oh and i suppose you think being captured by the FOH, having them peel and strip my mind like an onion to create mutant-killing devices then 'do away' with me so i couldn't make anything to stop them was a walk in the park, huh?", said Forge bitterly.
"That had nothing to do with me!", protested Pietro, "just because you're holding a grudge against everyone for dying is no reason to come and screw up MY life! Which, by the way, is just FINE. Thank you, bye bye now"
"Hey, shut up, i'm here to save your worthless hide", said Forge, disappearing and reappaering right next to him, making Pietro jump, "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past"
"Ooooooooh", said Pietro, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "how nifty keen. Are we going to fly around the city now?"
"...Do i LOOK like Tinkerbell?", said Forge arching his brow, "we don't do it THAT way anymore. Now, if you don't mind, can we get going? This is a busy time of year, haunting wise"
"Sure, we can go now...", said Pietro reaching behind him, "as soon as i get my trusty friend....MR FIREPICK!!!"
With that, he grabbed a firepick propped up against the wall and proceeded to try and slash the thing at Forge (with Pietro manically laughing 'die, ghosty, die')..of course, it just went straight through him. After a few minutes of mindless firepick swinging, Pietro stopped, panting.
"Are we done?", said Forge calmly.
"...FINE!", said Pietro, "but you won't change me, not now, not ever! You know why? BECAUSE I HAVE A PULSE!!!".
Forge blinked once.
"Man, i really have to get a better job", he said, clicking his fingers.
Before Pietro could blink, he found himself in a very clinical room, with a pane of reinforced glass in front of him. Sitting on his side of the glass was a 10 year old version of himself...Magneto standing in the corner of the room. Pietro blinked, looking over at his father.
"Father?"
"He can't hear you, or see you", said Forge, from where he was leaning on the wall, "these are shadows of the past, just re-runs of your life...if you could CALL it a life"
Pietro raised an eyebrow at Forge.
"I know how this game goes. You show me things from the past, and i end up a crying, blubbering mess. Well, not THIS guy!"
"...Wait and see", replied Forge smugly, "Nick Fury said that...but when i showed him his mother, he cried like a baby"
Pietro snorted, then glanced up at movement from the other side of the glass. A 10 year old Wanda was dragged into the room by 5 wards, her straight jacket being held by chains. This girl was NOT the wild, stubborn Wanda of her later life, she was but a small scared child. The wards kept their hold on her and brought her to the glass. Wanda glanced up at her 10 year old brother, their identical eyes locking.
"Merry Christmas, sis", said the little Pietro, pressing his had to the glass, "how're you doing?"
"Pietro", whispered little Wanda, "please...get me out...please"
The older Pietro watched this, a frown forming on his face....how he'd wanted to get her out. The little Wanda glanced up at their father, looking at him pleadingly.
"Please, father, i'll be good now", she said, "let me come home...i wanna come home, i'll be good"
Magneto shifted from his place in the corner of the room, walking past both Forge and the older Pietro, putting a hand on little Pietro's shoulders.
"Come on, son, it's time to go home", he said, leading little Pietro out of the room.
"WAIT!", little Wanda sobbed, "you just got here! Please wait...don't leave me here...i wanna come home now...don't leave me again"
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Magneto led Pietro out of the room, the door closing behind them. The older Pietro watched as his sister was dragged off out of the room, sobbing for mercy, tears were already forming in his own eyes.
"Told you", said Forge, "niagra falls"
"Why are you showing me this?", said Pietro coldly.
"Don't ask me", intoned Forge, "i'm not in charge...i never said being the Ghost of Christmas Past was a nice job...in fact, it sucks".
"I want to go home now", said Pietro, closing his eyes, trying to drown out his sisters screams.
"You asked for it", said Forge.
When Pietro opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in front of the Brotherhood Boarding House.
"Forge....where did you take me?", he asked, blinking.
"Home", said Forge simply, "you shouldn't ask 'where', it's more like 'when'".
"I...i thought they tore this place down", said Pietro.
"They did", replied Forge, "you don't get it yet, do you? This is the past, it was up in the past, you are IN the past"
"OKAY, i get it!", snapped Pietro, "seesh are all the dead this grouchy or is it just you and Lance?"
"We have a right to be grouchy, we're dead", said Forge, walking to the door, "come on"
With that, he walked right through the door. Pietro went to follow him, thinking the same would happen to him...no such luck. With a thud, he walked straight into the door. He growled, hearing Forge laugh from the other side.
"Oh, very funny", he said, rubbing his nose.
Forge's impaled head poked through the door, a grin on his face.
"Gets 'em every time", he said.
Pietro threw a fist at the apparitions head, Forge ducking back in quickly, Pietro managing only to slam his fist on the door.
"Owww", said Pietro, opening the door and walking in, glaring at Forge, who was standing on the other side, "that...was low"
"What?, and taking away the Drake family's Sentinel Cloaking System, and only form of safety isn't?", said Forge, frowning.
"They didn't pay for it", said Pietro, "they were low on the payment, they can have it back once i get my money"
"I created the SCS to be given away for free", said Forge,crossing his arms, "not for YOU to make money from MY work, you really don't have any repect for the dead, do you?"
"What, you're gonna use the cash?. You seem to not have enough pulse to enjoy money, Forge", said Pietro, "besides, it was foolish of you to just GIVE them away, when you could have made a profit...i bet you'd still be alive today if you had sold the things. You certainally wouldn't have been caught out by the FOH and, oh yes, HOW many dead mutants are on your head from those inventions of yours?. You have no right to lecture me, buddy"
"I didn't make them voluntarily", said Forge darkly, pointing to the scars on his forehead, "ever had electrodes implanted in your brain, Maximoff? Ever been tied to a chair, poisoned with Power8 and had your very thoughts dragged out of your brain? I can assure you, it isn't a pleasant experience..But this isn't about me, my life is over, this is about you"
He nodded to the living room. Pietro blinked at him once before sighing, rolling his eyes and trudging over to the living room.
"You're getting the tinsel all wrong!".
Pietro brightened up considerably, hearing Todd's voice.
"TOAD!"
He ran in, seeing the teenage Brotherhood peparing the living room for Christmas. There was a rather pitifull only-Charlie-Brown-could-love Christmas tree in the corner of the room, which Todd and Freddy were decorating.
"YES!", said Pietro cheerfully, "thank you, a happy memory!"
Lance was sitting in a corner of the room, trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights. It was obvious that he wasn't having much luck, as every now and again the ground would tremble with his frustration. Wanda was sitting on a chair, reading, trying to ignore all around her. Pietro, on the other hand, was looming over them all.
"Come on, people, i want to see joy and happiness ASAP", he said, "come on, chop, chop chop!"
"I don't see YOU doin' any work", muttered Todd, from where he had tinsel wrapped around his arm and torso.
"I don't do manual labour", said Pietro, "now WORK!"
"Happy little Dictator, weren't you?", said Forge with a chuckle.
The older Pietro narrowed his eyes at him.
"I was the leader, it was my job to give them direction".
"Isn't it also the job of team leader to work WITH your team mates, instead of forcing them to do things your way?", asked Forge, crossing his arms.
Pietro was about to comment when he saw Wanda stand up, clearing her throat.
"I have something to do, i'll be back later, don't break anything", she said, leaving the room.
"Okay, Poopsie!", said Todd cheerfully, "i'll see you later, my Scarlet Dove"
The older Pietro shook his head with a sigh.
"Poor sap, if only he knew she was going out on a date with her future husband", he said, "he would have been crushed. Good thing he was killed before they anounced their engagement, i think he would have strung the guy".
Forge arched an eyebrow.
"I don't know what to be more worried about, Pietro", he said, "the fact that you are glad one of your friends was killed way before he had to die...or the fact that you hate your brother-in-law so much, you won't even speak his name".
"Shut up", said Pietro, "you don't know what it's like to see your only sister get married to someone you don't particuarly like. You gonna lecture me on that too?".
"Not my department", said Forge, then smirked, "lets move on, shall we?"
****
Tee hee, you all thought i'd married Wanda to Todd, didn't ya? Noooooope! Didn't think i'd kill him off, huh? *Blows rasberry* Ahem..i'll stop now. Do review, until next time.
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "Christmastime. When the stupid and the bone-idle gather together to celebrate the birth of catalogue shopping"
***
Now it's time to meet the Ghost of Christmas past....man is it just me, or do i give my characters cruel deaths? 0_o
***
Chapter 3 - Revisiting the past
****
Pietro jolted himself awake, finding he'd fallen asleep on his couch. Just as his eyes got orientated to being open again, he heard the clock ding once. He waited....and waited. Nothing.
"HAH!", he said, jumping up, "i win, no ghosties here, heh heh heh!"
He danced over to his fridge, pulling out some juice. He turned around, closing the door with his foot, before looking up, giving a yell of shock, the carton of juice dropping to the floor. Forge was sitting on the couch, thumbing through a magazine, his physical apperance made him look to be in his late twenties, even if he was in his fourties...he never had figured out how to reverse Middleverse's effects on himself. Of course, that didn't stand out as much as the dagger protuding from the side of his head, or the scars on his forehead.
"Relax, Pietro", grinned Forge, looking up at him, "you'd swear you've seen a ghost"
"Har de har har...of all the Ghosts to come visiting...", said Pietro, shakily, then looked at the dagger with disgust, "Can't you get rid of that?"
"I'm sorry, is the weapon of my death creeping you out?", said Forge sindely, "I thought Lance already explained, the marks that are made in your death stay with you for your afterlife".
Pietro shuddered, taking a deep breath.
"This is so not a good day for me", he said.
"Oh and i suppose you think being captured by the FOH, having them peel and strip my mind like an onion to create mutant-killing devices then 'do away' with me so i couldn't make anything to stop them was a walk in the park, huh?", said Forge bitterly.
"That had nothing to do with me!", protested Pietro, "just because you're holding a grudge against everyone for dying is no reason to come and screw up MY life! Which, by the way, is just FINE. Thank you, bye bye now"
"Hey, shut up, i'm here to save your worthless hide", said Forge, disappearing and reappaering right next to him, making Pietro jump, "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past"
"Ooooooooh", said Pietro, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "how nifty keen. Are we going to fly around the city now?"
"...Do i LOOK like Tinkerbell?", said Forge arching his brow, "we don't do it THAT way anymore. Now, if you don't mind, can we get going? This is a busy time of year, haunting wise"
"Sure, we can go now...", said Pietro reaching behind him, "as soon as i get my trusty friend....MR FIREPICK!!!"
With that, he grabbed a firepick propped up against the wall and proceeded to try and slash the thing at Forge (with Pietro manically laughing 'die, ghosty, die')..of course, it just went straight through him. After a few minutes of mindless firepick swinging, Pietro stopped, panting.
"Are we done?", said Forge calmly.
"...FINE!", said Pietro, "but you won't change me, not now, not ever! You know why? BECAUSE I HAVE A PULSE!!!".
Forge blinked once.
"Man, i really have to get a better job", he said, clicking his fingers.
Before Pietro could blink, he found himself in a very clinical room, with a pane of reinforced glass in front of him. Sitting on his side of the glass was a 10 year old version of himself...Magneto standing in the corner of the room. Pietro blinked, looking over at his father.
"Father?"
"He can't hear you, or see you", said Forge, from where he was leaning on the wall, "these are shadows of the past, just re-runs of your life...if you could CALL it a life"
Pietro raised an eyebrow at Forge.
"I know how this game goes. You show me things from the past, and i end up a crying, blubbering mess. Well, not THIS guy!"
"...Wait and see", replied Forge smugly, "Nick Fury said that...but when i showed him his mother, he cried like a baby"
Pietro snorted, then glanced up at movement from the other side of the glass. A 10 year old Wanda was dragged into the room by 5 wards, her straight jacket being held by chains. This girl was NOT the wild, stubborn Wanda of her later life, she was but a small scared child. The wards kept their hold on her and brought her to the glass. Wanda glanced up at her 10 year old brother, their identical eyes locking.
"Merry Christmas, sis", said the little Pietro, pressing his had to the glass, "how're you doing?"
"Pietro", whispered little Wanda, "please...get me out...please"
The older Pietro watched this, a frown forming on his face....how he'd wanted to get her out. The little Wanda glanced up at their father, looking at him pleadingly.
"Please, father, i'll be good now", she said, "let me come home...i wanna come home, i'll be good"
Magneto shifted from his place in the corner of the room, walking past both Forge and the older Pietro, putting a hand on little Pietro's shoulders.
"Come on, son, it's time to go home", he said, leading little Pietro out of the room.
"WAIT!", little Wanda sobbed, "you just got here! Please wait...don't leave me here...i wanna come home now...don't leave me again"
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Magneto led Pietro out of the room, the door closing behind them. The older Pietro watched as his sister was dragged off out of the room, sobbing for mercy, tears were already forming in his own eyes.
"Told you", said Forge, "niagra falls"
"Why are you showing me this?", said Pietro coldly.
"Don't ask me", intoned Forge, "i'm not in charge...i never said being the Ghost of Christmas Past was a nice job...in fact, it sucks".
"I want to go home now", said Pietro, closing his eyes, trying to drown out his sisters screams.
"You asked for it", said Forge.
When Pietro opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in front of the Brotherhood Boarding House.
"Forge....where did you take me?", he asked, blinking.
"Home", said Forge simply, "you shouldn't ask 'where', it's more like 'when'".
"I...i thought they tore this place down", said Pietro.
"They did", replied Forge, "you don't get it yet, do you? This is the past, it was up in the past, you are IN the past"
"OKAY, i get it!", snapped Pietro, "seesh are all the dead this grouchy or is it just you and Lance?"
"We have a right to be grouchy, we're dead", said Forge, walking to the door, "come on"
With that, he walked right through the door. Pietro went to follow him, thinking the same would happen to him...no such luck. With a thud, he walked straight into the door. He growled, hearing Forge laugh from the other side.
"Oh, very funny", he said, rubbing his nose.
Forge's impaled head poked through the door, a grin on his face.
"Gets 'em every time", he said.
Pietro threw a fist at the apparitions head, Forge ducking back in quickly, Pietro managing only to slam his fist on the door.
"Owww", said Pietro, opening the door and walking in, glaring at Forge, who was standing on the other side, "that...was low"
"What?, and taking away the Drake family's Sentinel Cloaking System, and only form of safety isn't?", said Forge, frowning.
"They didn't pay for it", said Pietro, "they were low on the payment, they can have it back once i get my money"
"I created the SCS to be given away for free", said Forge,crossing his arms, "not for YOU to make money from MY work, you really don't have any repect for the dead, do you?"
"What, you're gonna use the cash?. You seem to not have enough pulse to enjoy money, Forge", said Pietro, "besides, it was foolish of you to just GIVE them away, when you could have made a profit...i bet you'd still be alive today if you had sold the things. You certainally wouldn't have been caught out by the FOH and, oh yes, HOW many dead mutants are on your head from those inventions of yours?. You have no right to lecture me, buddy"
"I didn't make them voluntarily", said Forge darkly, pointing to the scars on his forehead, "ever had electrodes implanted in your brain, Maximoff? Ever been tied to a chair, poisoned with Power8 and had your very thoughts dragged out of your brain? I can assure you, it isn't a pleasant experience..But this isn't about me, my life is over, this is about you"
He nodded to the living room. Pietro blinked at him once before sighing, rolling his eyes and trudging over to the living room.
"You're getting the tinsel all wrong!".
Pietro brightened up considerably, hearing Todd's voice.
"TOAD!"
He ran in, seeing the teenage Brotherhood peparing the living room for Christmas. There was a rather pitifull only-Charlie-Brown-could-love Christmas tree in the corner of the room, which Todd and Freddy were decorating.
"YES!", said Pietro cheerfully, "thank you, a happy memory!"
Lance was sitting in a corner of the room, trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights. It was obvious that he wasn't having much luck, as every now and again the ground would tremble with his frustration. Wanda was sitting on a chair, reading, trying to ignore all around her. Pietro, on the other hand, was looming over them all.
"Come on, people, i want to see joy and happiness ASAP", he said, "come on, chop, chop chop!"
"I don't see YOU doin' any work", muttered Todd, from where he had tinsel wrapped around his arm and torso.
"I don't do manual labour", said Pietro, "now WORK!"
"Happy little Dictator, weren't you?", said Forge with a chuckle.
The older Pietro narrowed his eyes at him.
"I was the leader, it was my job to give them direction".
"Isn't it also the job of team leader to work WITH your team mates, instead of forcing them to do things your way?", asked Forge, crossing his arms.
Pietro was about to comment when he saw Wanda stand up, clearing her throat.
"I have something to do, i'll be back later, don't break anything", she said, leaving the room.
"Okay, Poopsie!", said Todd cheerfully, "i'll see you later, my Scarlet Dove"
The older Pietro shook his head with a sigh.
"Poor sap, if only he knew she was going out on a date with her future husband", he said, "he would have been crushed. Good thing he was killed before they anounced their engagement, i think he would have strung the guy".
Forge arched an eyebrow.
"I don't know what to be more worried about, Pietro", he said, "the fact that you are glad one of your friends was killed way before he had to die...or the fact that you hate your brother-in-law so much, you won't even speak his name".
"Shut up", said Pietro, "you don't know what it's like to see your only sister get married to someone you don't particuarly like. You gonna lecture me on that too?".
"Not my department", said Forge, then smirked, "lets move on, shall we?"
****
Tee hee, you all thought i'd married Wanda to Todd, didn't ya? Noooooope! Didn't think i'd kill him off, huh? *Blows rasberry* Ahem..i'll stop now. Do review, until next time.