Once they had begun cruising towards the nearest house, Penny settled back in the seat.

"Alright, I'll make this quick. The stuff you drank? Keeps you moving quick enough to deliver gifts, but you need to drink another one every so often, and eat lots of cookies."

"Cookies?" Mike questioned.

"I love cookies!" Nita jumped in front of the miner.

"Great, cause those things make you burn more calories than there are suckers on an octopus." Penny snorted at the look Nita and Mike gave each other as she pulled out one of the green pouches. "This is Wonder Dust. A sprinkle of this in the face makes the poor hapless victim forget the past five minutes or so. They're also out like a light the second you hit 'em." She raised a finger, "Fair warning don't use too much of it. There are… side effects to overexposure."

Dynamike raised his hand, "What kind of side effects?"

"Well we used to have a librarian that housed all the knowledge and experiences of the previous Santas. Now he can't even tie his shoes."

Nita shot up, "There's more than one Santa!?"

"That's a story for another night," Penny pointed at the frame that Nita was holding. "That's the Naughty or Nice List."

Nita raised her hand, "Wait I thought this was a map?"

"Doubles as both, don't you love magic. Now, did Sparkle give you guys earbuds?" Dynamike held up the earpieces.

"These?"

Penny nodded. "Pass 'em out, will you Mike?" Dynamike handed out the earbuds as Penny continued. "Those hook up to the list. When you get close to a house, they'll tell you if the kid is naughty or nice." Penny walked over to the stash of backpacks and held one up. "You guys each have one of these. They're the condensed versions of Santa's giant bag. They spit out the gifts you need, all you have to do is say the kid's name and if they're naughty or nice. Everyone clear?" Nita nodded confidently as Dynamike shook his hand in a so-so gesture. "Learn on the fly, Mike; the first house is right there. Esteemed Santas, welcome to Russia!

Their gift giving began on the furthest edge of the once grand Soveit Union. They rushed from rooftop to rooftop, hopping down tiny chimneys and rushing through cracked open doors to make their deliveries. The frigid cold didn't affect them as their cells were moving as fast as sound travels. But just as Penny said, the potions would eventually wear off.

Nita and Mike were meeting up at a giant mansion to deliver their next presents. They checked their lists and said the necessary names. The children inside were mostly nice though there was always a bad egg in every bunch. Nita dashed up the side of the house with Mike close behind. When they jumped down the chimney, the flames were at a standstill. They easily walked out the fire and took notice of their surroundings.

They were at the edge of a beautiful ballroom. The chandelier that dangled overhead was spraying a dazzling light across the entire room. Nita found herself getting lost in its glow. It was like the stars in the skies had lent their power to these bulbs.

Then her eyes noticed the massive tree. She assumed it stood a monstrous twenty feet in the air. And from tip to trunk it was decorated with an array of sparkling ornaments. The topper was a set of bright red bows that just made the dark green branches pop out even more.

"Nita." The girl turned at Dyanmike's call. "Let's hurry up and get these done. Still a few houses left on this road."

Nita quickly joined him under the tree, the two taking their time to call out each name and retrieve the necessary gifts from their bags. Nita called the name, "Katina Gugunava. Nice," and a large box rose to the front of her bag. She shimmied it out and gawked at the strange white and blue device. "Hey Mr. Mike, what's this?"

Mike took notice of its sleek design and sharp edges. He looked at the box, "It's called a PS5. Whatever that means. Got the box?" Nita pulled it out of her bag and placed the device inside. He focused on the next boy on the list, "Leonid Gugunava, Naughty" Out came a small box that had a lot of weight. It was already wrapped in a festive green and red container. Mike checked inside and snickered at the giant box of coal his child would be receiving. "That much coal will be good for the fire."

He looked back at the fireplace, pausing for a second to stare at the flames. "Hey Nita." The girl awaited his response, "Does the fire look strange to you?"

Nita turned to look at the chimney. The flames were dancing back and forth rapidly. They could both smell the smoke coming from the structure. "Seems normal to me. Just a burning fire."

Mike looked back at her, "That's the issue. It looks normal."

Nita connected the dots, she looked at her hands trying to see if what she assumed was true. Dynamike picked up a piece of coal from Leonid's present. They watched as it fell to the ground like a rock. The sound it made on the tile flooring echoing through the mostly empty room.

They both jumped to their feet. "The potion wore off!" Nita shouted.

"Ssh! People can hear us clearly again." They both looked around the hallways, listening for any approaching steps. They were happy to hear only the fire crackling beside them. Mike reached for the pouches beside him, "It's okay, let's just drink another potion and get out of here." Nita and Mike both looked at the two bags in his hand. A small drop of sweat running down their brows. "Nita…"

"Yes Mr. Mike."

"Which bag has the potions in it." The two stood for a second trying to remember Penny's instructions. It had been a while since they took their first potion. As they continued to search their pouches they heard a soft moan coming from their right. They slowly turned to see a small figure standing in the shadows. Nita and Mike's blood froze as they watched this child stare at them from a distance.

Mike tried to reason what to do. He remembered Penny telling them about the Wonder Dust. But he couldn't remember which bag it was in. They both panicked as the child slowly approached them. Their fear turned to confusion when the body entered the light. Standing proudly with polka dot pajamas was a small chimpanzee.

The two humans laughed lightly at his sudden appearance. Nita spoke up, "He's so cute. Hi tiny chimp." The simian happily squeaked up to the girl. She reached out her arms and allowed the monkey to hop into her arms. She giggled as it poked her cheeks and pulled on her bear hat.

Mike approached the chimp slowly, "Well hello there little guy." He allowed his face to get right beside the chimp, "What's your name?"

The chimp fell silent for a second, then let loose a furious howl. As Dyanmike and Nita clenched their ears shut, their new primitive pal leaped from her arms and attacked Mike. His sharp claws slashed and tore at Mike's face and hair. "Agh! Why me?!" he screeched.

Nita tried to calm him down but was unable to pry the beast off him. She reached for her personal bags, dipping deep into the green pouch in hopes of finding something to help. Her hands came back full of an airy purple powder. "Mike!" she called for his attention trying to be heard over his constant screaming. "This way!"

Mike stumbled her way, still trying to defend from the monkey's unprovoked attack. When he got beside her, the beast leaped from his face. It hid under the tree as Nita inspected her friend.

Mike stood huffing with several scratches across his face. His cheeks rosy red and his hair a rat's nest. "Why did I get attacked!?"

The monkey's cry rang out again. They turned to the tree to see the creature howling with something in its grasp. They noticed the familiar white box that housed the very expensive looking PS5. Nita slowly walked toward the chimp, "Put down the shiny box please."

The beast didn't seem open to reasoning. Mike noticed the powder in her grasp. He snacthed the green pouch from her hand, "Forget this." He pulled out a hand full of the powder then shouted, "Pocket Sand!" as he doused the monkey in the magic dust.

They watched as the creature's eyes rolled into the back of its head. It lost grip of the box, Nita narrowly diving forward to catch the gift. The chimp stumbled around for a bit, then landed faced down under the tree.

Nita and Mike took a deep breath. The miner had a revelation, "I hate monkeys now."

"Кто здесь?"

Nita and Mike froze at the foreign statement. They could hear several rushing footsteps rushing their way. The girl quickly placed the box down beside the chimp. Mike tossed her a potion and they down it with exasperated breaths. They were relieved when they saw the flames slow down to a standstill again.

They quickly ran to the chimney, Nita climbing up first with Mike right behind her. As he began to climb he took one final look at the monkey that had assaulted him. He noticed on his rear a little stitched name tag that read, Leonid. "No wonder you're on the naughty list."

The two quickly ran through the snowy driveway. The snow was frozen in mid-air as it collided with their flushed faces. When they reached the front gate, they were surprised to see the sleigh waiting for them. "What took you two so long in there?"

They both turned at Penny's voice. The veteran of Christmas looked them over, noticing the cuts and bruises on Mike's face. "What happened to you?"

Mike stuttered over his words, "I… uhh… I fell down some stairs."

Nita stared at him, "No you got-"

Mike covered her mouth, "Got tripped by a pair of shoes and fell down some stairs."

Penny gave them both a knowing look but chose not to pry. "Whatever, we got plenty of work to do so let's move."

They finished off the rest of the tiny province they were in. Nita pointed them in the direction of their next stop. As they flew through the sky Nita made small talk. "So how long have we been delivering for?"

Mike thought about that for a second, "I dunno, our watches don't move any faster so I can't check that. It's probably been about an hour for us."

Nita leaned on Penny, "Hey Penny, how much long till we finish Russia?"

Penny turned a confused eye their way, "We aren't even close to being done." They both asked her to elaborate on her ridiculous claim. She pressed a button on the sleigh, a small screen showing up. They saw a map of the world, with a small flashing indicator on the furthest tip of Russia. "That's us. And that's…" she pointed to a small trail that had gone through circles in the tiny province, "Is where we've been."

Nita and Mike gasped at how little progress they had made. Mike disagreed with this information, "How? It's been an hour?"

"Yeah, that's how long it takes to travel to each home in this province."

He took off his Christmas hat, "How? How can we finish this in a day?"

Penny placed the reins down, "First, it's a night not a day. Second, remember we are moving far faster than the eye can perceive. What feels like an hour for us right now is probably just a few minutes for the rest of the world."

Nita was just sitting back with a look of defeat. Mike tried to understand their situation, "Penny. How long is this going to take us?"

"I already told you, a single night."

"No. Not how much time in the world. I mean how much super speed time."

Penny took a second to think about her answer. "I'd say, a couple of days." Mike fainted at the answer. "Bruce. Wake him up please."

The bear gladly picked up the man and smacked him around a little. Mike jolted up with a haunting frown across his face. "DAYS! I didn't know it would take days."

Penny turned to look him in the eyes, "Hey you two almost ruined Christmas, the least you can do is stay up a little bit and fix your mess."

Nita muttered, "But I can't stay awake for days."

Penny flashed the potion, "Side effect of the potion. You're not gonna be sleeping for days." Penny gave them a mocking smile, "Now who's excited to visit the land down unda?"

Nita and Mike groaned as they sat back and tried to enjoy the now painful ride.

Queen: *currently nose deep into the current chapter*
Sammy: *slurping on a big gulp* Whatcha doin?
Queen: Wondering how in the world you created a scene out of that itty bitty throw away line. It was supposed to be for comedy, and you made it a chapter.
Sammy: Okay one, you came up with an idea, I turned it into a reality. *takes slurp of big gulp* And two, it was still funny.
Queen: You got me there. But still.
Sammy: Well look on the bright side, the next chapter is all yours.
Queen: I poured my blood, sweat, and sleep schedule into that thing! Dang right it's mine!
Sammy: *takes another short slurp* And I know the people can't wait to read the next chapter! Got any last words?
Queen: Thank you for reading another one of our silly scripts, please keep reading, and goodnight!
Sammy: *takes a painfully long slurp of his drink*
Queen: Where do you keep getting the snacks?