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novelizt · 3 years

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NORTH STAR ☁︎ RIN MATSUOKA

GENRE ➺ oneshot, fluff

SYNOPSIS ➺ how you met rin at a lighthouse, giving jackets, stargazing, and then some

AUTHOR'S NOTE ➺ i wonder if his dentist hates him

You were already weary when the team pitched the idea of swimming at a private island knowing full well that your sister school, Samezuka Academy, was an all-boys institution that annually rented out the resort. Though there wasn’t much you could do when you were outvoted and even revolted against by your vice-captain.

You blamed it on her the moment you found yourself clambering to an abandoned lighthouse at an ungodly hour of night with a select few from the Samezuka team and yours. Pajamas less than flattering, hair graced like a bird’s nest; gripping an old flashlight and grumbling your head off as you burned holes into the back of the Vice Captain’s head, anyone could tell you’d rather be in bed than here.

Why you were here? Well . . . as captain, you were obligated to supervise any trouble they got themselves into, and trying to fight against four love-struck girls was a task near to impossible. So instead of dying from their theatrics, you signed your death and allowed yourself to be dragged into this lighthouse business.

“This is it!” Vice-Captain exclaimed, grinning as sped forward. Arms extended to push the rickety door open, grimacing when there was a comical wrenching noise from the rusty hinges. “Come on. I don’t think anyone’s here!”

The party scampered after her, exhilarated to be able to run rampant. Lights shining and casting streams of light into the dark space, cutting through the dust and revealing the horror house-esque setting of the place.

You stayed quiet, still too sleepy to fully grasp how frightening the surroundings appeared. The ground floor looked like it came straight out of a Buzzfeed Unsolved video but you were amused by the still-functioning clock on the wall.

“Okay, ladies and gents! Pair up!” Like clockwork, everyone linked arms with someone. Leaving you looking clueless in a crowd of curious teenagers.

Your first question was, “Why would you guys split up in the first place?” The second was, “Do you actually want to die?”

Neither you expected an answer to. As far as you know, they just wanted to explore because of a rumor from Iwatobi. Four members spent the night here during a storm, and the students made what they could of it. Integrating that they saw a ghost, or encountered the body of a pirate, or whatever grandiose hullabaloo they could come up with. Samezuka’s Captain, Rin, would surely know the story. To your knowledge, he was friends with the Iwatobi team.

You supposed you were thinking for too long. The moment you stepped out of your stupor, you realized you’d been left in the dust. Flashlight still pointed at the vintage clock on the wall.

“You alright there, cap?”

You turned your head, sleepy eyes meeting vermilion ones. Rin Matsuoka, you recognized. When did he get here? Was he part of the whole group the entire time? How’d you miss a guy with literal shark teeth?

“I’m fine,” you say after managing to collect yourself. Yawning into your palm before letting your light travel around the room. Finding nothing engaging, you hummed. “Let’s go somewhere else. This place looks boring.”

“Sure,” he followed without rebuttal. Maybe he was just as tired as you were and let the wind take him.

Hands stuffed into his jacket and lax posture, he followed you up the spiral steps. The voices of your peers reverberating from who knows where in the lighthouse.

Apparently, the pinnacle had been the first place they explored. Growing bored of it and descending the steps to scavenge the rooms on the lower floors. Waving at you and Rin before going on their merry way.

For the first time, Rin had taken the lead. Hands transferring to your shoulders, light, but you could tell he was aiming not to be too pushy. “Let’s go stargazing.”

“In a lighthouse?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. Continuing to coax you up the stairs until you caved and reached the top. Trying not to stare at the light as the pair of you finagled your way to the overhanging balcony. The night chill climbing up your back and making you shiver.

Your eyes instinctively darted to the boy beside you, internally hoping he’d get the message and share his jacket. He did not. He looked just as chilly as you were. Zipping it up and pressing his arms closer to himself to conserve body heat. What a boyish thing to do.

Your eyes flattened and you resorted to hugging yourself. Your own jacket sufficing a decent shield between your forearms and the cold railing of the balcony. Letting your eyes divulge the view at hand.

From this height, the ocean looked endless, only ending when a faint fog glossed over the edges of your vision. As far as you could see, the reflection of the stars cast over the water, creating a mirror of picturesque night view. A sight gorgeous enough to make your mouth fall open, letting out an awed, “Oh, wow . . .”

Rin had the same reaction as you did. Only, his eyes were tracing the handful of constellations he knew from memory. Even recognizing the lighter streak in the sky as the band of the milky way. The classic whirl of purple and blue hues among the pinpricks of stars.

“Man, my old man would’ve loved this view.” He spoke with a tone of fondness. As inconsiderate as he was for not sharing his jacket (which was honestly on your otherworldly expectations from men), he seemed like a decent guy. Definitely not Prince Charming but close enough.

“You could take a picture and show him when you get home,” you tipped. You’d slap yourself if you could turn back time. The smile on his face downturned; you knew you’d messed up. “Ah, I’m sorry if I overstepped-”

“No, no. It’s fine.” He waved off. Though, he said nothing more.

The guilt bubbling in the pits of your stomach didn’t ease, eyes stayed stationary on him. Contemplating what to do next . . .

He did look awfully nice when he eased up once more. The smile returning to his face, eyes closed and basking in the breeze. The breeze . . . you almost forgot that it was cold out.

You knew a verbal apology wouldn’t do much. You wouldn’t even know what to say. So you opted for something better. In your eyes, at least.

You shrugged the jacket off your shoulders and swung it over his. His frame was a tad bit broader but your habit of buying larger-than-you jackets had finally paid off. It provided an adequate amount of additional warmth, but he was caught off guard by the spontaneity of it all.

His eyes snapping open fleeting to you. Wide with alarm with his jaw hung.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that-” he stammered, but you pressed the jacket back on him at any attempts to shrug it off.

You huffed. “Just take it, Mitsuoka.” It’s the least I could do.

You couldn’t meet his eyes, but a look of understanding crossed his. Letting out a short chuckle and nodding at you. “Alright. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

As sweet as the gesture is, and as warm as the sentiment of making it up to him was . . . it was still freezing. You’d bear it for a little more, looking at him frown was like looking at a kicked puppy.

“l/n,” he called a few minutes later. Stepping a little closer when he noticed your hands rubbing your arms to keep warm.

“Hm?”

He pointed at the sky, somewhere you couldn’t really pinpoint due to the sheer number of stars. “See that?”

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Squint all you may but you couldn’t tell which one he was pointing at exactly. “See what?”

He pursed his lips, nudging you and eliciting light protest.

“The brightest one, over there.”

“Matsuoka, I don’t know if you’ve got the eyes of an astronomer or I’m a dumbass but I can’t tell the stars apart.”

“Close your eyes then,” he pitched.

You eyed him warily before following his instruction. “Now what?”

“Open them. Hopefully, you’ll be able to tell which one’s the brightest.”

And by some miracle, it did work. The biggest, brightest standing in the midst of strewn lights. All it took was a little patience to see it. “Woah . . .”

“It’s called Mizar, and the little star next to it is called Alcor.”

It was small trivia but it felt like the world had stopped. The nuance those two stars had would now stick with you — just because some weird guy told you about them, no less. Rin Matsuoka of all people is the last person you’d expect to know about constellations. And it did intrigue you.

“How’d you know that?” You asked with piqued interest.

He shrugged. “I watched a lot of Film Theory when I was in Australia. Apparently, those stars are the Neverland stars. Well . . . the closest thing we can get to them in real life”

“Cool . . .”

The coolness of the breeze was out of your mind the moment childlike wonder replaced the chill. Maybe it was a good thing your team had dragged you out here tonight. You wouldn’t have gotten to know Samezuka’s captain the way you did if you hadn’t.

And that little event was only the beginning. The following year, you were back at that same lighthouse and he gave you your jacket back. A little bit after that, you were the best of friends. And maybe, just maybe, a lot more than that.

“Stars? As the cake toppers at a wedding?”

“I think it’s kind of cute,” Rin admitted, arms winding around your waist and pulling you close. Cheek pressed to your head as you oversaw the leftovers from the reception. “It reminds me of the night I fell in love with you. That night at the lighthouse . . . you stared at the clock for some reason. You looked adorable, by the way . . . you gave me your jacket . . . I looked at you like you hung the stars. You didn’t notice but I did . . .”

“We met, not fell in love. Now you’re acting suspiciously sweet,” You rebut. “What happened to the actual toppers?”

“Nagisa.”

That explained it.

➥ day three of the september prompt list ⨾ LIGHTHOUSE ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

⌠ @novelizt 2021 ⌡

#— ❨ 🌺 ❩ 𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐙𝐈𝐄'𝐒 𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐀 ₊˚.༄#liz tries to commit to writing - september 2021 #free!#free! imagines #rin matsuoka #rin matsuoka x reader #lizzie's utopia

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hymn2000 · 4 years

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Ideal Confusion - MCU AU Fanfic - C8

(Title subject to change)

Story summary: Giving into the constant pressure from the press, Tony decides to put a rest to the rumours that Peter is his biological son - once and for all.

Previous Chapter(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: family, family stuff, adoption, DNA test(s), pressure, peer pressure, social issues, mentions of alcoholism, mental health problems, potentially some minor medical inaccuracies, mentions of corporal punishment, hurt/comfort

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 8 - Yellow, Blue, Green and Grey

Peter fully expected a difficult few days to follow, but then he was woken up by the sound of his parents... being active... in the next room. He couldn’t help feeling just a little bit relieved. But more than that, he was grateful that he kept his earphones so close to his bed.

Things seemed to go back to normal for a few days. Being technically grounded, Peter stayed in, and somehow, by watching DVDs, staying off the internet, and spending a lot of time taking advantage of everything the house had to offer, he managed to completely ignore the papers and news stories still circulating about him and his family. He tried to keep himself busy, because otherwise he’d get bored and start doing strange things, which would often get him into trouble.

Peter spent Monday morning down in the challenge area of the pool. It seemed to change every time he went down there, and it was a great way to kill a few hours. It was easy to get really into it, so it was really quite a shock when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, stop screaming! It’s only me!”

“You can’t just sneak up on me like that!” Peter shouted. “I nearly wet myself!”

“Well, it’s the best place to do it: no one would be able to tell” Tony grinned.

Peter scowled and splashed him. He sat down heavily on the rock ledge, paddling his feet in the water.

“My hearts still thumping”

Tony sat down beside him. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t realise how hard you were concentrating”

“It’s weird seeing you down here. Especially actually in the pool, and not just on the side shouting at me”

“Aw, that’s not fair!”

“It is! You always put on that nasty coach persona and get me to do lengths and stuff, and then we always end up in an argument and usually daddy has to come down and sort everything out”

“Well, ok, maybe that’s true” Tony admitted. “...Hey, if we do decide to homeschool you, we can find you a swim team nearby. They’re not all school-based, you know: I’ve checked”

“Yeah... I don’t even like the swim team I’m a part of now” Peter said awkwardly, looking down at his hands. “I wouldn’t worry about it...”

“You’re gifted, kiddo” Tony said. “You’ve got more medals and trophies than anyone else at your school - and probably most schools. You could go professional. Olympic Swimmer Peter Stark, eh?”

Peter shook his head. Tony sighed.

“...Why did you come down here, dad?”

“Oh. I had a phone call from Dr Manning”

“Oh right. So you’ve been excluded, then?”

“No, he didn’t tell me the results - although obviously we know what they are - he just said he wants us to go in and talk to him, the whole family”

“What? Why?”

“He didn’t say”

Peter was quiet for a moment. “...What if they found something while they were doing the test, dad? What if I’ve got some weird marker that puts me at higher risk of developing some physiological condition or some illness or something, like, what if there’s something in my family history that means I’m gonna get really ill or something?!”

“Hey, hey, don’t act so worried!” Tony put his arms round Peter, hugging him close. “If there was anything nasty in your family history, you’d know about it. Shhh! Oh sweetheart, don’t cry!”

“I’m not crying!”

“What’s this then?” Tony said, dabbing at the tears on Peter’s cheek.

“Nothing...” Peter mumbled.

“Sweetheart, it’s ok” Tony said, kissing him firmly on the nose. “I’m sure it’s nothing like that. Like I said, you’d know if you were at risk of something because of your bloodline. I would too... There’s nothing in my bloodline, by the way, so don’t go worrying about that either. No, Dr Manning probably just prefers giving results face to face”

“But why has he said daddy has to go too?”

“Emotional support? I don’t know. Even though we know what the result is gonna be, it’s still a bit nerve-wracking going to the doctors. It’s not really somewhere you go for fun, is it?”

Peter shook his head slightly. “I get all nervous about it even when I know I’m going for a blood test or something simple. Or when I go to the dentist... Daddy’s good at staying calm in those situations though, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he is” Tony said. “You know, I think he likes it. Even before he started at the hospital, he never seemed bothered by medical environments - quite the opposite, in fact”

“Maybe it makes him feel safe” Peter suggested. “Like, yknow, everyone being there to look after you or whatever”

“I think you’re probably right. We had some weird days early on where he was in a really bad mood, like, cross or upset or whatever, and he’d completely mellow out as soon as he was in the doctors office. He’s a strange one, your father”

“I think I’m ok with strange”

“Good, because you’re strange too. And so am I” Tony kissed his nose again. “I think we need to get out of the pool now. Go and have a shower and get dressed and get something to eat before we go out. Ok?”

“Mm... I don’t suppose I’ve got a choice, have I?”

“‘fraid not, kiddo. Come on; let’s go up the big slide and have a grand finale, ok?”

“Ok. But we can’t get to it from here, can we?”

“Sure we can! We just need to do that little puzzle first”

Peter looked back at the puzzle he’d been working on. “But that just leads to the caves, and they only lead to the fairy pool”

“That’s what you think! Jesus, Peter, I thought you’d’ve explored every nook and cranny of this place by now. Right, budge up: I’ll do this puzzle for you and then I’ll show you how to get to the big slide from the caves”

Peter watched Tony. He finished the puzzle in a matter of moments, and the hidden door in the wall opened.

“Are you sure you’re right about this?” Peter asked. “I mean, what if you’ve remembered wrong? You never really come down here”

“I designed this whole thing, remember? I know what I’m doing. Now go on”

Peter did as he was told. Tony followed after, and the hole closed behind them. Peter sat for a moment on the damp stone, looking at the uneven ceiling and the water dripping down the wall, all illuminated by the dim fairy lights dotted about. If he was quiet, he could hear the distant gentle harp music playing.

“...I like this bit” Peter said. “It’s good to come here and think. I fell asleep down here once”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was a long time ago, back when May was still alive. It was one of my weekends here. You were down in the front pool for a bit but then you had to go out, and daddy Loki was upstairs and I was tired when I reached this bit and just kinda sat down and fell asleep” Peter remembered. “I don’t know how long I was asleep for, but it was long enough to make daddy worried. He looked pretty scared when I went back upstairs after I woke up. He got a bit cross with me”

“Oh dear. What did he say?”

“I don’t really remember. Something about thinking I’d run away and that he was about to call you when I showed up. He didn’t get too angry though” Peter said. “He just tripped me up and said I needed an early night”

Tony laughed slightly. “He was always tripping you up back then. You never really seemed to mind but May went mad when she saw it happen”

“Oh yeah, she was soooo cross! She proper shouted at daddy, didn’t she?”

“She certainly did! He was a little surprised by it. Still, I suppose it had the desired effect. He stopped tripping you pretty soon after that, didn’t he?”

“Well, mostly” Peter said. “I think I had a bit of an argument with her about it cos I felt like she was overreacting. But I guess I can see why she got so angry”

“Yeah. To be honest, I never liked it either. If it had hurt or upset you I’d’ve intervened, but you usually just laughed and jumped up again”

“Yeah... You know, he’s tripped me accidentally a few times, and I’ve been hurt from that. So maybe May wasn’t really overreacting”

“I can imagine how that conversation went down” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “Right, we can’t really hang about here all day”

Peter pouted. “I like it down here”

“I know, kiddo, but we’ve got places to be”

Peter sighed, but nodded. “Can we come back down here when we get back from the doctors?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not” Tony said. “Let’s go to the slide”

“Right!”

Peter looked around the cave. He could see the pathway which led to the other caves and the fairy pool, but there was nowhere else they could go.

“Uhh... So we go down there, right?”

“Nope” Tony said. “You can get to it from here”

“How? There’s no openings or puzzles or anything!”

“Is that so? Look at these” Tony tapped a small but thick plastic panel on the ground, illuminated by a pale light under it.

Peter looked. There was a few of them, leading to the next cave.

“What about them? They’re just showing the path, aren’t they?”

“Nope. Look, all of these ones are yellow, right?”

Peter glanced at them. “Well, aside from that pink one in the middle”

“There you go, that’s your first clue”

Peter furrowed his brow and went over to the pink one. He tapped it cautiously, as though it could make the floor collapse beneath them.

“...I don’t get what I’m supposed to be doing here”

Tony smiled, moving over to be beside him. He traced the edges of the panel, and then pushed on one side of it. The panel flipped up, revealing a strange key like that of a wind up toy.

“Oh! What..?”

“Give it a twist, then!”

Peter turned the key, and there was a low rumble. Peter looked at the wall behind him.

“Umm...”

The rumble continued, and as Tony replaced the panel, a square of the wall behind them opened up.

“Alright, in you get” Tony said.

“What? No way! It’s dark in there”

Tony laughed. “Just go. Be careful though”

Peter took a deep breath, pulled himself up and climbed through the hole - and fell a good couple of feet, landing with a splash in a shallow puddle of water. As he did so, the hole in the wall closed.

“WAIT, DAD!!”

It was pitch black. Peter could hear the sound of the water, and soon the rumbling he’d heard back in the cave. He put his hands out, trying to figure out where to go, but the ceiling above where he lay was so low he couldn’t even sit up, and his senses were starting to go into overdrive.

“DAD!!!”

The hole in the wall above opened again, and Tony’s head appeared.

“Hey, kiddo, it’s ok! You’re perfectly safe”

“I don’t feel it! Where am I supposed to go? I can barely move in here and it’s all dark!”

“The low bit is only about half a metre wide, kiddo. You just need to shuffle yourself along and you’ll hit the sensor and the lights will go on in the next bit, ok? There’s a bit of a drop at the end so be ready or that”

“What if they don’t come on?!”

“They will, believe me. Get a move on, kiddo; we haven’t got all day”

Peter still felt unsure.

“Hey, sweetheart, I can’t come down to join you until you move”

Peter’s heart was thumping so hard he could feel it in his throat.

“I don’t like it. Can’t I come back up?”

“Nope: we’re going forwards, not backwards! This is the quickest way out. Start shuffling, fella. Come on; this is nowhere near as scary as a mission!”

Peter swallowed hard and did as he was told. It was awkward, but as he started moving he realised there was a lot more space than he’d originally thought, and soon a light came on to his right. He still had a little while to go, and the sound of water was getting louder. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on moving - and let out a little squeak as he slipped down a little slope and landed in a little pool filled with what looked like gold coins. He paddled further in and scooped up a handful. They were almost certainly plastic, but they looked surprisingly real.

It was a funny little round pool, only about three metres across. It was very warm, and it felt very much like being in a bowl. There were a number of shaped doors in the walls, all with little buttons beside them which Peter presumed opened them. They all had signs above them, but before Peter could read them, Tony slipped into the pool with him.

“Hey, kiddo” Tony sat up and gave him a little cuddle. “Are you alright? You seemed pretty riled back there”

“I was scared”

“You’re perfectly alright. Come on; we want this door here” Tony said, pulling himself up onto a ledge by a door marked ‘To the skies’.

“What are all these other doors?” Peter asked, looking around. “To the trees, to the seas, to the-”

“Peter, sweetheart, come on”

“Aww, I don’t wanna go to the doctors! Can’t you call him to reschedule while we stay down here and explore?”

Tony laughed. “No, sweetheart. We can come back down here some other time. Come on”

Tony held a hand out, and Peter let himself be helped up onto the ledge. Tony pressed the button to open the door, and inside was a large square slab with a thin gap round the edge.

“Umm...”

“Hey, don’t worry: you can fit three grown men on this thing, so me and you are no problem” Tony said.

“It just looks like a tiny room”

“Oh, ye of little faith” Tony said, climbing through the door and sitting down.

Peter sat close against him and Tony pressed a button inside to close the door. He pressed a button on the slab they were sat on and it started moving upwards. Peter squeaked a little.

“Oh, it’s a lift! I didn’t expect that”

“Yeah, pretty good right?”

“You know, I think this is exactly what having money is all about. This swimming pool is like a whole other world inside our house”

“I’m still pretty damn proud of it. It was horrendously expensive to make, mind you”

“I bet” Peter said. “How much does it cost to maintain?”

“Never you mind!” Tony said. “...Well, actually it’s not expensive. We’ve got the outside people who do a lot of the servicing and extra stuff to it, but it’s fitted with a hell of a lot of things that self-clean and maintain. The company has it all mapped out and they have easy access routes. They get a good wage for it, but it’s not a massive dent at all”

“Oh right. It’s all eco then”

“Pretty much. Plus Loki put some kind of weird spell on it that basically preserves it in this state. I don’t ask too many questions about his magic. There’s no way I’d understand it even if I did”

Peter nodded, and there was a ding as the slab stopped moving. The door here opened automatically. It was smaller than the one at the bottom, so they had to crawl out. Peter stood up when they were both out, surprised to find himself at the top of the big slide, but even more surprised to find that he’d just crawled out of the big metal block with the slide control panel on top.

“Oh fuck”

“Peter! Don’t swear!”

“Sorry. That’s so weird; I thought it was all just regular machiney stuff there. Wow... Well, it explains why I never noticed there was fourth way up here”

“Well, now you know. Now get yourself down the slide”

“You can go first”

Tony gave him a look. “I’m not sure I trust you not to run back into the caves when I’m halfway down. After you”

“I can’t believe you don’t trust me” Peter said, pretending to be hurt. “Alright, I’ll go first. See you at the bottom”

“I always find this a bit surreal” Peter said when Tony splashed into the front pool with him. “This bit is like any other pool. Just by looking, you can’t tell there’s so much going on back there”

“It does feel a bit like returning from another world” Tony said. “I sometimes think we need to use this more. But I guess life gets in the way”

“Yeah...”

“Alright, come on: shower time”

Peter felt pretty exhausted, but happy too, so he didn’t protest. The changing rooms and showers were just like any public swimming pool, which he pointed out.

“Why did you get these showers?” Peter asked, pressing the button again. “When you press the button they only run for about thirty seconds. These have to be the most stressful showers you can have”

Tony laughed. “No, stressful is that shower in the green bathroom that genuinely only has a one millimetre margin between boiling, just right, and freezing”

“Good job no one uses that one then” Peter said. “Hey, that’s my shower gel!”

“Well forgive me for not bringing my own down” Tony smiled. “As for your question, you’re not allowed to complain about these showers: they’re authentic and they do the job”

Peter giggled. “Whatever you say”

After they’d showered they went to get changed.

“Why do you always just put your clothes in a heap down here? Don’t they teach you anything at that expensive school?” Tony sighed. “I put pegs and towel racks down here for a reason, you know”

“Stop fussing. I’ll hang them up next time, ok?”

“You’d better do!” Tony shook his head. “Don’t be too long getting dressed, ok? We need to get you fed before we go”

Peter nodded and sauntered into his favoured cubicle. After that excursion, he was definitely ready for his lunch.

Peter had his lunch quite happily, and then promptly fell asleep on the sofa in the living room.

“Aww, he’s asleep!” Tony said. “I don’t want to wake him up”

“Well, if you fancy trying to get a coat and shoes on a sleeping teenager, and then carrying him down to the car, then that’s your prerogative” Loki said, pulling his own coat and shoes on. “We do need to get going soon”

“Yeah, I know” Tony sat down next to Peter and gave him a little shake.

Peter didn’t seem too annoyed about being woken up.

“Hey kiddo” Tony said. “You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m ok” Peter said, sitting up properly and rubbing his eyes. “Are we going now?”

“Soon, yeah” Tony said. “You should go and get your shoes and coat”

Peter nodded. “Ok”

“Good boy” Tony kissed him on the cheek. “Go on then. Don’t take too long”

Once Peter was out of the room, Tony noticed that Loki was watching him.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing”

“Don’t you ‘nothing’ me! What is it?”

“I was just watching you together” Loki said. “You’re so cute sometimes”

“Well, what can I say? He’s such a good little kid. I love him”

“I know” Loki smiled. “Any plans for when we get back?”

“Yeah, I think we’re gonna go and mess about in the pool for a bit. Would you believe there’s bits he hasn’t discovered yet? It’ll be fun. And then maybe I’ll get on to Marco about releasing a statement saying that we’ve done a DNA test and proved I’m not the natural father or whatever. I don’t know; depends how long we’re downstairs for” Tony said, wandering off in his thoughts for a moment. “...You could join us?”

“I think I’ll leave you two to it. I think it’s a good idea, especially since you’ve had quite a few arguments lately... It’s good to see you’re back to normal now”

“Mm. Thanks”

“It’s meant as a compliment, darling”

“I know” Tony stood up. “Well! I’m gonna be the one holding all of us up if I don’t go and get my stuff on! Time to get a move on”

Loki offered to drive, but Tony said it’d help calm his nerves if he had the road to focus on.

“I don’t get why I’m so nervous” Peter said, lounging in the back seat. “It’s not like we don’t know what Dr Manning’s gonna say”

“I know, chick” Tony said. “I’m mega nervous too! You know how it is, like, when your heart starts going and you feel hot and cold at the same time, and slightly shaky and slightly hollow all over?”

“That’s how I feel too” Peter said.

“It’s probably just because you know it’s a doctors surgery” Loki said calmly. “It’ll be over before you know it”

“I know, but that doesn’t help my nerves now” Peter said.

Tony reached back, squeezing Peter’s knee. “You’re alright, kiddo. You’ve got both of us with you. And like you said; it’s not like we don’t know what to expect”

Peter cuddled up close to Tony in the waiting room. Tony held him tight, stroking his hair and kissing his face and talking quietly to him. Loki leant against Tony’s shoulder on the other side and went through his messages while they were waiting to be called in.

“Can we go and get a takeaway after this?” Peter asked.

“Ooh, maybe. Depends if you’re good or not” Tony teased. “What do you fancy?”

“I don’t really know” Peter said. “I just want something hot and greasy and potentially bad for me”

Tony laughed slightly. “Good job we live in America then, fella! We’ll find you something suitably delicious and hot and unhealthy” he lowered his voice slightly. “Something daddy will totally disapprove of!”

“I heard that” Loki said.

Tony and Peter just laughed. A door opened.

“Misters and Master Stark?”

“Oop, that’s us” Tony said, giving Peter a little pat and standing up.

He took a deep breath. Those blasted nerves! Ah well. It would all be over soon.

“You know, you could have just given us the results over the phone or through an email” Tony said as they sat down in Dr Manning’s office.

“I thought it best I see you all face to face” Dr Manning said, sitting down behind his desk. “How are you today?”

“Good” Tony said, giving Peter’s hand a squeeze. “Well, we’re all a bit nervous, I think. Appointments always get my nerves going a bit, even when I know what to expect”

Dr Manning looked at the three of them: Peter in the middle, with Loki to his left and Tony to his right. Despite their fairly obvious nerves and the pressure they’d been under lately, they looked very much the picture of a happy family. Just the same as usual.

“Well, you know why you’re here” Dr Manning said, shuffling the papers on his desk. “Of course, a few days ago we took samples for a paternity test, and we’ve had to results back”

“A little sooner than expected, I must say” Loki said.

“Well, it is nearer the minimum day to the maximum, I admit”

“I didn’t realise they’d work over weekends” Loki said.

“Hey, hey, as much as I love the friendly atmosphere, can we not beat about the bush all day?” Tony said, not unkindly. “We all know why we’re here; we know what we did; we know Peter’s not my- uh, flesh and blood - so let’s just look at the proving papers, and then we can get the papers off our backs, ok?”

There was a small silence. Dr Manning picked up a letter and unfolded it. He held it out to Tony.

“You should read this”

Tony smiled slightly and shrugged. He reached forwards and took the paper from him. He cleared his throat and looked at the letter.

...An analysis of the DNA profiles of Anthony Edward Stark and Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark determines that the alleged father cannot be excluded as the biological father of the tested child. Based on the analysis, the probability of paternity is 99.99999999%.

Conclusion: Based on our analysis, it is practically proven that Mr. Anthony Stark is the biological father of the child Peter Parker-Stark...

As he read, Tony’s face fell. All of a sudden he felt hot, but as though he was breaking out in a cold sweat. He read through the letter again, and then flipped to the next page, looking at the DNA Paternity Test Report, scanning the first row: Mother (Not Tested), Child, Alleged Father; glancing at the numbers, and finding the conclusion at the bottom:

Statement of Results: The alleged father cannot be excluded as the biological father of the tested child. Based on the analysis of STR loci listed above, the probability of paternity is 99.99999999%. In conclusion, the alleged father IS the biological father of the tested child.

“Dad?”

Tony slowly raised his head and looked at Peter, almost staring at him, not knowing what to think, what to feel.

“Dad? Are you ok?”

“Tony, what’s the matter?” Loki said, recognising the look on his husbands face.

When Tony looked at him but didn’t say anything, Loki reached across and snatched the letter.

“Well, thanks doc, I’m gonna go and wait outside” Tony gabbled, hoarsely, and he stood up and rushed out of the office.

“Dad!?”

Peter wanted to run after him, but Loki put a hand out to stop him. Peter looked at Dr Manning, who was a blank-faced as a statue, and then he looked at Loki. Loki read through the letter again.

“Daddy, what is it?” Peter asked desperately, starting to feel seriously strange and shaky inside.

Loki looked at Peter, the expression on his face a toned-down version of the one Tony had had. Loki opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it without a word. Peter glanced at the letter Loki held, which was flipped to the second page. Peter grabbed it, and nobody stopped him from doing so.

He glanced at the table, but focused on the box near the bottom.

...Based on the analysis of STR loci listed above, the probability of paternity is 99.99999999%. In conclusion, the alleged father IS the biological father of the tested child.

Peter turned the page back and read the letter on the front. He looked at it in silence for a minute or two, not sure what to think, what to feel. He slowly set the letter down on Dr Manning’s desk.

“I’m sure you can understand why I wanted to see you all in person” Dr Manning said gently. “I understand this is a shock for you. Tony especially, considering... Well”

“A small part of me would love to dispute this” Loki said slowly. “But I understand how these tests work, and... I think perhaps I’m not so surprised as I should be”

Peter shot him a very uncertain look, but quickly looked away. Even without looking at the letter, he could still see those vital words before his eyes: The alleged father IS the biological father of the tested child. His brain didn’t seem to be working properly. How was he supposed to feel about this? How was he supposed to react? What did this mean, exactly? He wasn’t entirely sure how to work it out. Not on his own, anyway...

“...I want dad”

Loki took Peter’s hand, giving it a squeeze and kissing the back of it.

“Perhaps we should see each other again in a few days” Dr Manning said. “Once you’ve all had some time to adjust to this”

“Perhaps that’s a good idea... I take it we can keep that” he said, nodding toward the letter on the desk.

“Of course”

Dr Manning folded the letter and handed it to Loki, who put it carefully in his pocket. He had a feeling the rest of the day wasn’t going to be plain sailing.

Tony was waiting by the car, and he was looking somehow blank, worried and shocked all at the same time.

“Dad!” Peter rushed over to him. “Dad, what-”

Loki took him by the shoulders and moved him back.

“Hey! Dad, c-”

Loki shushed him. Tony wouldn’t look at either of them; just turned his head away, biting his thumb.

“Peter, get in the car”

“But-!”

“Don’t argue; just do as you’re told”

Peter didn’t look happy, but he sensed this wasn’t the time to argue, so he did as he was told. Once the car door was closed, Tony looked at Loki.

“You’re shaking” Loki said simply.

Tony shook his head. “...This isn’t happening”

“It is, and it has, and we know it” Loki said gently. “We just need a little time to get used to this new development. You especially”

Tony swallowed, trying hard not to give in and cry. “I don’t know what to do-!”

“You don’t have to do anything” Loki said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “There’s nothing to do, and certainly nothing you can do. It is what it is”

“What about now?! What am I supposed to do now?!”

“Stay calm, for a start” Loki said. “Shh, come on. Don’t shout at me for saying this, but you’re ok”

Tony didn’t say anything, but he put his hand over Loki’s on his shoulder.

“We should be getting home”

“I can’t” Tony whispered. “I can’t drive, not after...”

“Darling, you-”

“You drive!” Tony grabbed his keys and pressed them into Loki’s hand. “Please. Please, you-... Please. I can’t. I can’t”

Loki searched Tony’s face. He sighed and nodded.

“Ok”

The journey home was far from comfortable. Peter knew speaking wouldn’t be a good idea, so he curled up on the back seat and pretended to be somewhere else. Tony sat in the front, staring into space and biting his thumb and trying not to give in to tears. Loki focused on the road. Whatever he was feeling, he knew it was painfully obvious who was in the worst state right now. And he knew who was going to need the most looking after - and it wasn’t the same person.

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

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cbraxs · 6 years

Text

Warped [Time Warp Trio Fanfiction] - Chapter 2

Izzy leaned against a brick building and panted, watching her breath turn to mist in the frigid air. She’d sprinted far enough away in the opposite direction of the police wagon, attempting to lose the cop that arrested her.

The screams of the felons still rang in Izzy’s ears. She didn’t think  her little magic show would freak them out that much. She hoped that she hadn’t scared any of them too much.

New snow began to fall around her. Izzy was tempted to pull her arms into her shirt for warmth but didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself in case that was some kind of obscene crime, too.

Sidewalk traffic had thinned out from earlier. No one would willingly be out in this weather unless they had too. If Joe, Sam, and Fred decided to look for shelter, finding for them wasn’t going to be as easy as bumping into them on the street.

The majority of people still outside were all crowded in front of a huge red, castle-like building: The  Hippodrome.

Izzy frowned. Why were all those people heading to that office building, she thought.

“My friend!”  Harry Houdini materialized in front of her from thin air.  “Is that you?”

Izzy jumped. “Ah! Wild Houdini!”

Houdini looked down at her in amazement. “I saw the officer place the cuffs on you myself  not five  minutes ago. Tell me, how did you manage to escape so soon?”

“It was  something my father taught me,” she said plainly, still not believing she was speaking to the Harry Houdini. “Never thought I’d be arrested, though. At least not for jaywalking.”

“How did you manage?”  he asked.

She smiled and shrugged. “Trade secret. Sorry.”

“Truly outstanding. Your  father is an illusionist?”

Izzy nodded. “And you’re  really  Houdini?”

“In the flesh.”

Wow, Izzy thought. He was really Harry Houdini. How was this possible? She  tried to think of the right words to perfectly convey how excited and in awe she was to meet him.

“Wow.”

Nailed it.

“Bess and  I  are  on the way to my show,” Houdini said. “Would you  care  to come along?”

“Is that rhetorical?”

The chance to see Houdini live and in person? Who would say no to that? Besides, something told her that Joe would gravitate towards there, too, and she could kill two birds with one stone. It looked like her luck was turning around.

Houdini beamed. He  placed a hand on her shoulder  and steered  her to the nineteen-hundreds version of a limo. “Excellent. Come now. Bess  will want to meet you.”

~*~ 

Joe never gave the Hippodrome a second glance whenever he drove past it on the way to his dentist visits. He never thought of its history. It was nothing special, just one of hundreds of offices in New York City.

But as the four of them waited in line to buy tickets, he saw a genuine towering theater, with bright red brick walls and flags. It reminded him of a castle— and he’s seen plenty of castles. It wasn’t Madison Square Garden, but it was nothing to scoff at.

The snow was getting heavier. Joe raised the hood of his hoodie over his head and shoved his hands into the pocket. Fred stuck his tongue out, trying to catch falling snowdrops. Sam was cleaning his glasses every ten seconds whenever they’d fog up or get covered in water droplets from the snow.

Eugene seemed to be the only one unaffected by the cold. He bounced on his heel, his grin unwavering. Joe wondered if he was always this enthusiastic.

“So,” Joe said to him, “you said you were a magician’s assistant? That pretty cool.”

Eugene’s smile faltered. “To be honest, I thought it would be fun at first. My boss, while amazing and incredible, is not particularly the nicest of men. He hates it when I watch other magician’s shows unless I’m there to steal their secrets.”

Joe raised an eyebrow at that. “Is that why you’re here?”

Eugene’s face paled. “Gosh, no! I could never do that to Houdini. That’s why I told my boss I was sick today.”

Joe and Eugene talked magic for the next ten minutes, with Sam and Fred jumping in every now and then to crack a joke until the four of them reached the ticket seller.

A woman  with her hair in a tight bun  slouched in her seat behind the glass. She assessed them with drooping eyes. “Three dollars.”

Joe gulped as Eugene paid the teller. “Um, we have  to pay?”

“Relax,”  Fred said. “I have  three dollars. Probably. I can pay for all of us.”

Sam glanced  between them and the woman.  “Fred, you have modern money. I think she’ll notice.”

The woman cleared her throat.  “Problem, boys?”

“Not at all.” Fred fished out a couple of dollars and  slammed  them on the counter. “Three tickets, please.”

The woman looked at the bills  then back at Fred before snatching them up and examining them.  “Seriously. Counterfeits? You didn’t even get the design right.”

She tore them in half.

“Hey!”  Fred protested.

“Next!”

A large woman elbowed the four of them out of the way.  When they complained, the woman shot them a death glare, and that was the end of that.

“Great!”  Sam said as they regrouped by the side of the building.  “How are we supposed to get in now?”

“Sneak in, Ninja-Style?” Fred suggested.

Eugene raised his finger to interject. “Or we could  ask nicely.”

They just  gave him a look.

Eugene  smiled innocently.  “The worst that they can say is ‘no’.”  

~*~

“No.”

The usher that they’d asked nicely to get in was ten feet even and looked like he could bench press all four of them with one arm.

“Please, sir,”  Eugene  said.  “My friends had money but that disagreeable woman destroyed it.”

The usher grunted and spat on the sidewalk. “Kid, did I stutter? You ain’t getting in without a ticket.”

Joe puffed out his chest and stepped  forward. “How about I bargain with you, my good man?”  He pulled out the deck of cards from his pocket, ignoring the groans from Sam and Fred.  “I’ll preform  a  magic  trick for you, and if you’re impressed, you  let  us  in.”

The  usher bellowed a laugh.  “Kid, I’ve  seen Harry  Houdini  himself make an entire elephant go up in smoke. Your little parlor tricks can’t top that.”

Joe shrunk back at the comment, thinking back to his horrendous talent show tryout.  His ears warmed in embarrassment despite himself.

He crossed his arms and looked down at them, unfazed. “Now why don’t you boys run along and—”

“Joe!”  A familiar  voice shouted, surprised.  “Fred! Sam! Um, other guy?”

A flash of familiar pigtails bounced toward the usher. Isadora popped up from behind him, her face a mix of excitement and confusion. “I’m so glad you guys are here.”

The usher frowned at her and jabbed a thumb at the four of them. “You know these goops?”

“Hey!” Sam complained. “We resent that.”

“Yeah!” Fred said. “We’re not... whatever that means.”

“These goops are my friends,” Isadora said. “Could you let them in, Frank? I really, really gotta talk to them.”

Frank  shook his head.  “I don’t know.”

“Please, Frank? Pretty please?”

He  rubbed his chin.

“Pretty pretty please?”

Isadora gave  him big  puppy dog  eyes. Anyone with a soul  would have  caved in.

Frank sighed.  “All right, all right.”  He moved aside to let them pass.  “This is your lucky day, buckos. Don’t give me a reason to throw you out.”

Isadora thanked him and led the four of them into the crowded lobby. They gathered aside near a poster covered wall to keep them from getting swarmed.

“Thanks,  Isadora,”  Joe said.

Fred punched her lightly in the shoulder. “Yeah. We owe you one. I’m pretty sure tall, dark, and scary back there would have stomped us if we stayed out there any longer.”

“Is this the girl you lost?” Eugene asked.

Joe scratched the back of his head. “Lost isn’t the nicest word—”

“No,” Sam said, “but accurate.”

Joe shot him a look.

Eugene stepped forward and held out his hand. “Eugene Ellis. Pleasure meeting you.”

Isadora shook his hand to introduce herself, and Joe noticed faint marks around her wrist, like bruises. He hadn’t noticed them there before. Were they new?

“Hey, are you alright?”  he asked, pointing to her wrist.

She frowned before realizing what he meant. She redrew her arms and rubbed her wrist. “It’s fine. Well, not really. I was arrested, but it probably worked itself out.”

Fred raised an eyebrow.  “You  were arrested?”

“And what do you mean ‘it probably worked itself out?’” Sam asked.

She shook her head.  “Tell you guys later.”

Before Joe could ask for any more details, Izzy motioned for the four of them to follow her. She led them through the lobby and into the theater.

The theater was massive. It was five times the size of the theater at school; five thousand seats all curved around a circus-sized stage. Empty seats were few and far in between. The four of them followed Isadora towards the front rows.

She turned to face the four of them. “So, what’s the deal? Are we dead?”

“We’re not dead—”

“Yet,” Sam muttered.

Joe rolled his eyes.  “We’re actually in the past if you can believe  it, but while we’re on the subject, did you happen to see a blue book with stars and moons on it?”

She cocked her head, confused.  “No. Why?”

Fred, Sam, and Eugene groaned behind him.

“It’s the reason why we’re here,”  Joe said.  “Long story short, that book, The Book is a time machine.”

“Time travel!” Isadora smacked herself on the forehead. “That was my second guess.”

“What was your first guess?”

“A purgatory dimension.”

“You seemed to be taking this magic stuff pretty easily.”

Isadora stiffened before quickly forcing a smile. “Well it’s, uh, not that farfetched after you’ve experienced it firsthand, you know?”

Joe was about to question her when she stopped next to a row of seats and waved for them to sit. They filed in after her, Joe and Eugene followed by Fred and Sam. The seats were perfectly centered in front of the stage. Close to the front but not too close.

“How’d you score these seats?”  Fred asked, impressed.

“Yeah, did Drago back there win them for you in a punching contest?” Joe asked.

Isadora snickered. “You mean Frank Beaner? Houdini introduced us. He’s usually the usher here and they’re friendly with—”

Joe held up a hand. “Hold on. You met Houdini?”

“The Houdini?” Eugene asked.

She nodded, smiling wide.

Joe and Eugene asked her questions simultaneously, their mouths going a mile a minute. Isadora leaned away like she was overwhelmed by their attention.

“The geek level is rising,” Fred whispered to Sam, then added, “Whoops. Sorry. Look who I’m talking to.”

Sam glared at him, then cut it. “How about you two let her breath so she can answer?”

Joe rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that.”

“Sooo,” Eugene said trying to sound casual. “What’s he like?”

“He’s the best,” Isadora said. “He—”

A hush fell over the audience as Houdini walked onto the stages, followed by twelve buff guys pushing a huge crate.

The show had  begun.

~*~

This book was absolutely astounding.

Lauren barely noticed the performance going on before him. His attention was completely taken by The Book. Every past event was described in vivid detail and the future with complete certainty. He’d tested it out on the actions of the patrons around him. The Book described their every move to the letter.

He discovered a page full of life details of himself— things no one could possibly have known about him— and of the people he knew. All he had to do was think their name and he found their page with ease.

Lauren was so absorbed that it didn’t even matter when he missed Houdini reveal that the elephant had disappeared. The thunderous applause of the audience didn’t break his focus. He’d found his big-ticket item, the thing that would make his name live down in history.

~*~

Houdini was a true showman. Izzy’s seen many other magicians before, but few could compare to the charisma and theatrical presence that Houdini had on stage. He talked and made jokes to the audience as he walked them through each step of the trick. He was so magnetic that Izzy doubted that anyone would be able to look away from him.

The five of them stood with the crowd, giving Houdini a standing ovation.

“How the heck did he do that?”  Fred shouted over the crowd.

Joe grinned from ear to ear.  “No one knows for sure. No one ever figured out how exactly he did it.”

Houdini bowed one final time before disappearing behind the curtain. The crowd began to thin out, buzzing excitedly about the show.

Sam leaned forward to look at all found of them. “That was fun, but now what? We still need to find The Book.”

“He’s right,” Joe said. “We need to start looking for it.”

Izzy looked down at her lap. “Um...”

“What’s wrong?” Fred asked her.

“It’s just that Houdini’s was expecting me to go backstage after the show. I should at least say goodbye or something.”

Joe and Eugene glanced at each other. The two of them practically jumped from their seats.

Eugene grabbed Izzy by the hands and guided her up. “Well, it would be rude of you to leave without saying goodbye.”

“And we should escort her there, right guys?” Joe asked Sam and Fred.

Sam crossed his arms. “Riiight. How chivalrous of you.”

Fred stood. “How could we refuse, when it’s three to two?”

Eugene smiled and took off with Izzy down the aisle. “Glad to see we’re all in agreement.”

~*~

Once backstage, Izzy introduced them. “Mr. And Mrs. Houdini. These are the friends I was telling you about.” She stated their names, motioning to each of them.

Houdini smiled genuinely and shook each of their hands. “Hello, boys.  Did you enjoy  the show?”

Despite Joe’s fanboying earlier, he controlled himself when meeting Houdini. Izzy had no idea how he was able to keep his cool when she was a stuttery, awkward mess, but she suspected that on the inside he felt the same as she did.

Eugene was the opposite. Izzy figured that this was like meeting a rock star for him, even though rock stars didn’t exist yet. He shook Houdini’s hand energetically, proclaiming to be his biggest fan about twenty or thirty times.

“This is getting old,” Sam muttered.

Fred nudged him. “Like you wouldn’t react the same if you met Einstein.”

Sam opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, then glared Fred, annoyed. “Touché.”

Mrs. Houdini, a pretty, dark-haired woman, smiled at them. “Would you children like to join us for dinner?”

Eugene, unsurprisingly, said yes.

“Actually, ma’am,” Joe said. “We should actually discuss it. Could you give a second?”

Joe, Sam, and Fred huddled off to the side while Izzy and Eugene stayed behind. Izzy stood there between the three of them as Eugene excitedly chatting with the Houdini’s. She felt like a deer in headlights, unsure of where to go.

Thankfully, Joe motioned for her to join their discussion. Relieved, she went over, catching the tail end of Fred’s sentence.

“...vote we go. I haven’t eaten since lunch. I’m starving.”

“When are you not starving?” Sam asked. “Besides, we still need to find The Book before we catch the Spanish Flu.”

“You got your shots.”

“Relax, Sam,” Joe said. ”We found Isadora, and no one’s trying to kill us.”

“Can’t help but feel like you jinxed us right now,” Sam said.

“We’ll be fine. Let’s  enjoy  something cool  happening to us on one of our accidental warps for once.”

“Does this happen to you guys often?” Izzy asked.

Joe waved away her question. “It’s not as bad as it used to be.”

“Again,” Sam interjected, “you’re jinxing us.

Fred clasped his hands dramatically in a pleading gesture. “C’mon, Sam.”

Sam looked at the three them and sighed. “Alright. But if we die, I’m blaming all three of you.”

 ~*~

They rode with Mr. and Mrs. Houdini in their limo, Eugene with them in the middle row and Izzy and the boys squished into the backseat. After asking the Houdinis if they’ve seen Joe’s book (unfortunately they hadn’t), Houdini talked about his love  of aviation and his upcoming movie deals.

“The man can’t stay still,” Mrs. Houdini said. “I keep telling him that he’ll work himself to death.”

They talked until they arrived at their home in Flatbush. Izzy’s seen the outside of Houdini’s famous brownstone in Harlem with her parents when she was little but wasn’t sure what this place was.

Houdini explained that they lived with his brother, Theodore Hardeen, his wife, and their two sons (who were on holiday in England at the moment) but him and Bess were considering moving back to their old home soon.

Joe grimaced. “Must be rough having to live with your sibling.”

“Admittedly, yes,” Houdini said with a sigh, “but you do what you can for family. Theodore was kind enough to open his home to us.” Mrs. Houdini glanced at him with a look Izzy couldn’t decipher, but if she wanted to say anything, she didn’t. She went off to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Houdini and their fox terrier, Bobby, gave the five of them a little tour of their home.

The living room and den were cluttered with magical memorabilia, dozens of odd novelties Izzy both did and didn’t recognize. Houdini motioned to his favorites, telling them a shortened version of the item’s backstory.

“Is this an electric chair?” Fred pointed to an odd-looking chair with straps.

“The very first one,” Houdini said proudly.

Sam frowned and scrutinized the chair skeptically. “The first one?”

“Does it still work,” Izzy asked.

Houdini simply winked at her.

Meanwhile, Joe was marveling at a large metal canister. “Whoa! Was this the can you use to do your famous milk can escape?

“The very one,” Houdini replied.

“And was this the straitjacket you escaped from?”

“Indeed. You sound like a fan of my work.”

“Am I ever! I watched every documentary and read every book about you.”

Eugene nudged him in the arm.

“I mean, if any books or documentaries existed I did,” Joe said sheepishly, rubbing his arm.

“Joe’s a magician,” Izzy said when Houdini gave him a baffled look, hoping to distract him.

Houdini’s face flipped from befuddled to intrigued. “Really, boy? You, too?”

Joe stumbled over his words, saying that he was an amateur, nowhere near as good as Houdini was.

Houdini rubbed his chin in thought, glancing between Izzy and Joe. “Follow me, children.” He heel-turned and headed into the den, Bobby the dog trailing behind him. The five of them followed.

Houdini was rummaging through a drawer before he pulled out a kind of dual-sided handcuffs meant for two people. Before Izzy could ask any questions, Houdini shackled her and Joe together.

“Uhhh...” Joe said.

Izzy stared down at their cuffed hands, a frown forming on her face. “Sir, I’m not arrested again, am I?”

Houdini laughed. “A simple challenge. I’m curious to see how you two can work together.”

Joe grinned sheepishly at Izzy. “At least he didn’t lock us in a box and throw us in the ocean.”

“What?” Fred said in disbelief. “You did stunts like that?  How is that magic?”

“Actually, Fred,” Sam said. “Houdini was more known for his death-defying stunts than his illusions.”

Fred nodded. “Neat.”

“The magic,”  Houdini said,  “comes from the mystery.” 

Izzy tugged at the restraints experimentally. They were thicker than the handcuffs the cops put on her, and a little tighter.

Izzy was, well, Izzy was no Houdini. She knew Houdini would either wiggle or pick his way out of cuffs, but she didn’t have the first clue on as to how to do that. She knew real magic and a couple of tricks, but escape artistry was foreign to her.

Joe yanked on the cuffs a little too hard, making Izzy stumble into him. He smiled apologetically at her and helped her right herself.

“This is impossible,” she said.

Houdini waved off her concern. “Nonsense. It’s so easy, a dog can do it.”

On cue, he clamped tiny handcuffs on Bobby’s forelegs. After a half minute of wiggling, the dog escaped, happily barking and wagging his tail.

The five of them gaped down at the dog in amazement.

“Okay,” Joe said, “but that’s one person—dog—whatever. How are we both supposed to get out?”

Houdini opened his mouth, probably say something vague and inspirational, when Mrs. Houdini called for his help from the kitchen. Houdini excused himself, followed by Eugene who eagerly offered to help.

“Well, good luck you two,” Fred said to Joe and Izzy. “Come on, Sam. Let’s check out that electric chair.”

Sam looked at him cautiously before saying, “Fine, but you’re not putting me in it!”

“Deal!”

As the two left, Izzy caught Fred crossing his fingers behind his back.

That left her and Joe alone together. The two of them tried twisting out but stopped when it was clear it wasn’t going to work.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any disinfecting lotion on you?” Joe asked.

“Can’t say I do,” Izzy said. “Sorry.”

They locked eyes for a second longer than what was comfortable. Probably. Izzy had no gauge for that.

“So,” she said, attempting to break the awkward silence, “how’d you get your hands on a time-traveling book?”

Joe explained to her that his uncle gave him The Book on his tenth birthday. He, Sam, and Fred accidentally warped themselves three hundred years in the past, were almost killed by Black Beard the pirate, got arrested and sentenced to death, and were almost killed by Black Beard again right as they found The Book and warped away.

Izzy gaped at the story. “That was some birthday.”

“Tell me about it,” Joe said.

“So, are you guys always almost dying?”

“Um, define ‘always’?”

For whatever reason Izzy didn’t find that reassuring. Hopefully, this little adventure didn’t go beyond getting arrested.

“Got any idea how we’re getting out of this?” Joe asked, nodding his head at their cuffs.

Izzy bit her lip in thought. “I do, but you gotta close your eyes.”

Joe frowned at her, clearly confused. “Why? What are you going to do?”

“Magic,” she said plainly, “but normies aren’t allowed to see. It’s against the rules.”

Joe looked at her oddly, trying to figure out if she was serious or not. She kept her face neutral, not giving anything away. After a moment, he seemed to have decided to trust her and closed his eyes.

Izzy took a deep breath and concentrated, muttering the magic words under her breath. Green light began to glow around their wrists, enveloping the handcuffs. Izzy phased her wrist through the confines, then did the same for Joe, making sure that he kept his eyes closed.

“Okay.” She smiled. “Open your eyes.”

He did, slowly at first, then shooting open wide when he noticed the handcuffs in her hand, the glowing now gone.

“No way,” he breathed. “I didn’t feel a thing. How’d you do that?”

“I can’t just tell you my secrets. You tell me how you think I did it.”

Izzy wondered, briefly, if that was an unfair question. It was just something her dad used to tell members of his audiences after shows and she thought it sounded pretty good. Sure, Joe owned a magic time traveling book, but she had no clue if he knew about other sorts of magic.

The extent of Joe’s magic seemed to be limited to simple tricks and illusions. Was that why her father referred to him as a magician instead of a wizard in his note? Izzy had no clue how a teenage magician was supposed to protect her, at least any more than she was already capable of.

Izzy thought that now was a good a time as ever to mention the code phrase that her father told her would identify the “Magician called Joe”. If this was really the guy her dad wanted her to find then maybe he could tell her what was going on.

She was about to say the word when Eugene appeared in the room, beaming. “Dinner is served!”

A loud electrical pop, followed by Sam’s scream shot through the house.

“My bad, dude,” Fred said from the next room.

“It is your bad!” Sam shouted.

~*~

Joe tried to not laugh at Sam’s frizzy hair at the table while they all ate dinner. With the exception of an accidental chortle, he thought he did pretty well.

Sam—who was currently glaring in Joe’s direction—probably would’ve disagreed.

They were in the middle of their chicken paprika and vegetable hash when there was a knock on the door.

“The Book can’t knock, right?” Isadora said when Mrs. Bess went to get the door.

Sam gave her a strange look. “You’re joking, right?”

Isadora tilted her head, confused. “No.”

Mrs. Bess returned, a tight smile on her face. “Looks like we have a guest, dear.”

A man wearing a cape and a blue mask followed in behind her.

Isadora choked on her glass of water. Joe smacked her on the back.

“It’s him,” she said in between coughs.

Joe furrowed his brow, unsure by what she meant.

Houdini forced a smile and was about to greet the new guest when Eugene shot up, bumping into the table. “Master Mysterio, sir! What a pleasant surprise to see you here. At Houdini’s house. Today. Right now.”

The man— Master Mysterio— smiled, but his eyes showed no friendliness in them. “Eugene. You seem quite cozy here. Should I worry?”

“Everything’s Jake, sir.”

Fred leaned over to Sam and muttered, “Who the heck is Jake?”

Sam shook his head.

“Is it?” Master Mysterio went on. “I thought you were sick. Or are you dishonest on top of incompetent?”

Eugene’s face flushed as he stammered apologies.

“Perhaps I need to terminate you from your employment under me if you’re so much happier here?”

“Hey!” Isadora snapped. She stood up and got in between Master Mysterio and Eugene. “Back off. You’re upset. He gets.”

For a second, Master Mysterio’s eyes blazed with rage at her; Joe was afraid he was going smack her. If Isadora noticed the furious look, she was unperturbed by it. She stood her ground, shooting daggers right back at him.

Master Mysterio’s angry expression melted into cool indifference. “Disregarding why you’re not still locked up for the crime of jaywalking—”

“Hold on,” Joe cut in. “That’s why you were arrested? Sure you didn’t do anything worse, like scratch your butt in public or show your ankles?”

“What a degenerate,” Sam said with a smirk.

Fred snorted a laugh. “If that’s all it takes, then I should be getting five to life.”

Master Mysterio rolled sighed exasperatedly. “Girl, you and your friends need to stay out of this, or—”

“Or what?" Isadora said. “You’ll have me arrested again? Why stop there? Why don’t you have  the cops cart away all eight of us?”

Eugene frowned. “Eight?”

“I’m counting Bobby.”

Mysterio looked like he wanted to throttle everyone in the room but didn’t know who to start with. Thankfully, Houdini stepped in to disperse the argument. He smiled brightly and wrapped a friendly arm around Master Mysterio’s shoulders. Mysterio cringed, repulsed.

“Come now,” Houdini said. “They’re simply children. No need for the animosity. Bess, get Lauren here a plate.”

Joe quirked an eyebrow. “Did he just call you Lauren?”

“And what of it?” Mysterio asked flippantly.

Joe, Sam, Fred looked at each other for a moment before cracking up. The rest of them looked at the trio, slightly confused.

“Are you three mad?” Master Lauren said, his voice tight in an attempt to mask his anger.

“I would be if my name was Lauren,” Fred said between laughs.

Even Izzy chuckled at that.

Master Lauren sighed and reached into his pocket. “The reason I came by, Houdini, was not to be mocked by these four miscreants, but to personally invite you to my show.”

He handed Houdini a flyer decorated in blue and black. Joe couldn’t see the front, but it must have been interesting. Houdini’s mouth twitched like he was suppressing a smile.

“A séance?” he asked in disbelief.

“I know you’ve been skeptical in the past,” said Master Lauren, “but I assure you that this is one hundred percent genuine. I’d be more than honored if you would come. And you’re welcome to bring your new... friends.”

His eyes drifted disdainfully over everyone before he turned on his heel and left, the front door shutting closed behind him.

At that moment, Mrs. Bess returned to the room with a plate of food. She looked around for a second before glaring at the spot where Master Lauren once stood. “He must have been it quite a rush.”

Isadora turned to Eugene, annoyance still etched in her face. “So, you work for that jerk?”

Eugene looked down, embarrassed. “Yes.

“You shouldn’t have to. You’re better than that.”

Before he could respond, Isadora returned to the kitchen, offering to help Mrs. Bess put away the food and clean the dishes. Eugene stared down at the floor, his eyes distant.

Houdini placed the flyer on the table. “A séance,” he said, his tone condescending. “Nonsense. I bet I could figure out Lauren’s tired tricks in no time. However, I suppose it’ll still be amusing to watch.”

“You don’t believe in ghost?” Fred asked in between bites of food. Sam rolled his eyes.

“You just can’t be too trusting of a spiritualist, I’m afraid.”

And he left it at that.

They all decided to help Isadora and Mrs. Bess in the kitchen. Once done, the five of them decided to set out to the city in search of The Book. They looked through the New York Public Library, some local stores, and even asked a few people on the street if they happened to see it, many of whom gave them odd looks.

The sun was setting and the street lights were turning on. Remembering his mother’s words, Eugene had to return home but promised to help them look tomorrow after work.

Thankfully, Houdini offered to let them crash with them. The boys got the living room while Isadora got the smaller den. Joe figured she got the better deal since she was farther away from Sam’s brain-rattling snoring.

Joe stared up at the ceiling, his lids heavy. Every time they’d close and sleep was just about to take hold, he’d be jolted awake by a snort.

Frustrated, Joe threw off his blanket and headed to the kitchen, stopping in surprise when he saw Isadora there. She was staring down at the flyer Houdini got earlier and fidgeting with something in her hands. The top of the flyer where Mysterio’s name had been was torn off.

“Can’t sleep?” He asked.

She jumped, dropping something out of her hands. Joe stared at it for a moment before realizing it was a paper star.

Isadora placed a hand over her chest. “You scared me.”

“I could tell.” He pulled out the chair next to her, spun it around, and sat on it backward. He picked up the paper star. “This is pretty cool.”

She smiled a little. “Thanks. I always end up making them when I’m tired or nervous. My mom taught me.”

Joe nodded, admiring the star for a second before putting it back down and grabbing one of Mrs. Bess’s cookies.

Isadora’s smile faded. “What if we don’t find The Book?”

Joe was caught off guard by her question. “Don’t worry. It hasn’t happened to us before.”

“Do you lose The Book often?”

Briefly, Joe considered lying to put her at ease but decided against it. “Honestly? Yeah.”

She nodded again, her brow set in confusion and fear. She twisted her earring and forced a smile. “Well, you guys are still here, so I guess it can’t be all bad.”

They sat in silence for a moment while Joe polished off his cookie. He propped his arms on the top rail of the chair, resting his chin on his arms. “You said your dad’s out of town doing a show, right?”

Isadora’s shoulders moved like she was startled by the question. “Oh. Yeah. Uh huh.”

Joe wiped crumbs off of his shirt. “Is he touring or is it just one show? I’ve seen his stuff online, but always wanted to see one of his shows in person. Well, I have, but I was like four when I went with my uncle, and I don’t remember much so I don’t count it.”

Joe bit his lip to shut himself up. Sometimes even he noticed that he talked too much.

But Isadora didn’t seem to notice or be bothered by it. “I wouldn’t mind getting you tickets when he comes back. He lets me have a couple if I want to go with friends.”

“That’s awesome. Does he let you do that a lot?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. Do you still have your cards?”

He blinked, surprised by the change of topic. “Oh, sure. Here, Isadora.” He reached into his jeans pocket and produced the cards.

“Izzy.”

Joe wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly. “Huh?”

“You can just call me Izzy if you want. It cuts the syllables in half.”

The two of them stayed up, playing card games and talking until at one point they both fell asleep at the table together. In the morning, Mrs. Bess made them breakfast but wasn’t going to the show with them. She had less than favorable things to say about Mysterio.

The Houdini’s chauffeur dropped them off in front of a theatre on the edge of Manhattan. Gray clouds hid the sun. The crowd was nowhere as large as yesterday, with about twenty or thirty people lined up in the frigid cold in front. Houdini displayed the remainder of his flyer as their joint ticket to the teller before making his way inside, the four of them in tow.

The theater was dimly lit with a slight chill in the air carried in with them from outside. The scent of musk wafted through the air. Patrons sat in clumps, away from other theatergoers, unlike the day before where the theater was so stuffed, many had to stand in the isles.

Joe, Sam, Fred, Izzy, and Houdini all gathered in the front row before a stage not even as big as the one at school. A stool and a table draped in a dark blue cover were the only things standing in front of pitch black curtains.

The curtains jerked open, followed by a surprised squeak Joe suspected was from Eugene. The curtains peeled back to reveal Mysterio. He glided forward, his large, billowing cape obscuring most of his body.

He crossed in front of the table and gestured overdramatically with one hand. “Mediums. Spiritualist. Necromancers. All claim to communicate with the dead. All claim to be endowed with natural, incredible gifts, but all are wrong.”

Mysterio glided along the stage like a shark in water. He spoke as if he were addressing everyone individually. He locked eyes with Joe for a split second before moving on. Needles pricked at the back of Joe’s neck. Sam, Fred, and Izzy looked like they felt something similar, their faces screwed up like they just ate something sour.

“I am here to tell all of you today, that every single one of them relies on tricks, deceit, and misdirection. Many use smoke, mirrors, or simple sleight of hand to achieve this goal. But not I. Of that, I can assure you.”

Next to Joe, Houdini chuckled derisively under his breath. Joe recalled Sam telling him last night, that Houdini was known for debunking spiritualist in his day (something Joe, admittedly, wasn’t too knowledgeable of).

“Through intense training I mustn’t share with you at this present moment, I taught myself how to become a conduit for the other side. The souls of the dead can communicate with living directly through me.”

Sam crossed his arms, a skeptical look on his face. Fred looked at the rest of them and not so subtly made the cuckoo sign. Izzy chuckled.

But Joe noticed that the rest of the audience was feeding into Mysterio’s speech, silently eating up his every word.

Mysterio grinned widely. “So! Do we have a volunteer in the audience for this demonstration?”

Several hands in the crowd shot up around them. Mysterio appraised them curiously, before dramatically pointing at Izzy. “You, my dear!”

Izzy laughed in disbelief. “Me?”

“Yes, girl.”

“For real?”

Mysterio nodded, irritation briefly touching his eyes.

She chuckled. “Okay, then.”

Joe gently tugged on her sleeve as Izzy went to stand. “Um, you sure you want to go up there? He seems…”

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about this didn’t feel right. He already distrusted the man, and given the fact that he tried to have her arrested for the severe crime of jaywalking, Joe suspected that his motivation was less than kind.

Mysterio grimaced and jerked his head slightly before smiling again. “Come on, ladies and gentleman. Let’s give this young woman some encouragement!”

The crowd began to cheer excitedly, nearly masking the sudden boom of thunder from outside. Eugene rushed from behind the stage like a frightened squirrel to help guide Izzy onto the stage.

A drop of liquid hit Joe in the face from what was probably a leak in the roof.

Sam glared up at Mysterio. “I really don’t like where this is going.”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed. “Lauren’s up to something.”

~*~

Izzy wasn’t nearly as worried as the boys looked to be. She was doubtful that this was legitimate. From what she remembered about Houdini and spiritualist, he managed to debunk every single one he encountered. Plus, she didn’t think he’d be able to contact the ghost of a woman who wasn’t even born yet.

Poor Eugene looked more than just flustered. He looked... remorseful? She didn’t have time to ask him what was wrong before she was guided to the table and he disappeared behind the stage.

Master Mysterio sat on the only stool and gazed up at her with uncaring eyes. He held out his hands. “Your hands, my dear.”

Izzy complied. His hands were cold even through his gloves.

Mysterio closed his eyes. A few seconds passed before he said, “I sense a spirit in our presence. Spirit, if you are the ghost of this girl’s deceased relative, give  us a sign.”

Nothing for a moment, then—

Knock knock knock.

Izzy rolled her eyes. Predictable and easily faked. It could’ve been his foot under the table or even Eugene could have—

“Yes,” Mysterio said. “I see a woman. Long hair. A dot-head.”

Some chuckles from the audience.

Izzy stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“A mother. Your mother, my dear.”

She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “Lucky guess.”

“Dulari?  Dulari  Shabazz.”

Izzy’s heart sank. “How did you—”

“She’s saying... She’s giving me a message to you.  Something important.”

“T-that’s fine. No need to—”

“Dulari Shabazz. I grant you permission to enter my body.”

Suddenly, Mysterio went completely still. He convulsed, eyes rolling back into his head. He clutched harder onto Izzy’s hands, making her wince.

“Hey!” She protested. “Let me go—”

Just as suddenly as before, he went completely still. His eyes softened and looked into Izzy’s with more warmth than she thought he was capable of. “Isadora? Malpua?”

Izzy jumped back, wrenching her hands from him for good. It felt as if a golf ball had found its way into her throat.  “No.”

“It’s me, Malpua. It’s Mama.”

He tried to cup her face but she backed away.

“C-cut that out.”

“I need to tell you...” Mysterio stood up jerkily and went around the table. He gripped Izzy’s shoulders and stared her down. She felt too stunned to move or look away.

He leaned towards her ear and spoke softly, but loudly enough for the audience to hear some of his words. “Don’t trust the madman with the monocle. He is dangerous, Malpua. You see him, you run. Anywhere. Any when. And you don’t ever, ever let him get you. Ever.”

With the last sentence, Izzy managed to muster up the courage to get out of his grasp. She pushed him away but tripped over her feet and fell backward onto her rear. She stared up fearfully at Mysterio, who towered over her.

How did he know that, Izzy thought. Her thoughts went rampant and wild. How could he have possibly known that when she herself barely could recall her mother’s exact words? She tried to remember when her mom told her that, but the memory was old and had faded with time. Snippets of a trip to the mall, a mysterious man, and her mother’s horrified face flashed in her mind, none staying long enough for her to get a good look at them.

That day had been something that always bothered her in the back of her head. After that day, her mother never brought it up again and her parents always froze up whenever she mentioned it. They never answered her. It was one thing on a list of things they never told her about.

Was Mysterio the man her mother was warning her about? No, he didn’t have a monocle, and something told her that the man her mother was terrified of would try to do more harm to her than get her arrested for a misdemeanor.

Izzy was so caught up in barely noticed when Mysterio stepped in front of her, waving his arm above  his head in a flourish. “Take note of the girl’s reaction,” he shouted at the audience, apparently himself again. “It’s it not genuine? Have I convinced you yet of my authenticity?”

The audience applauded, many giving him a standing ovation.

Izzy looked up to see Joe, Sam, Fred, and Houdini gazing at her with a mixture of confusion and horror. She felt exposed and ashamed by her reaction. A jolt of embarrassment ran through her.

She jumped off the stage and ran outside into the freezing rain, pretending to not hear the boys call after her.

#time warp trio #timewarptrio #fanfic #twt

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