The Universe's Mixer

A couple days passed since the incident. Oswin felt lonely without Leto's company, and guilty. It was a fine line between denying what she was and forgetting. It was easier to forget, but she didn't think she'd be allowed to forget for long. And forgetting was dangerous each time she remembered.

She had to rebuild all her defenses, spending the next couple of days boarding up the door in her mind's eye that, if opened, would allow that terrible dalek voice in; the one that told her to exterminate, the one programmed only to feel hate.

She made another souffle, but like the rest, it came out of the oven in her tiny, dreamed up kitchenette burnt. She recorded messages for mother, journaling her life in The City so far while leaving out all the darker details.

By day three she was tired of seeing a blank viewing screen. The eyestalk of the dalek flickered to life, emitting a blue light. Oswin watched cars drive by on the street and people walking past the curious looking bronze statue as if there were nothing to fear at all.

Oswin sank into an imagined captain's chair with a sigh. It was, if nothing else, a distraction. Oswin was tired of talking to herself for company.

Spreading her wings, Tink soared through the day like a breath of fresh air. She hadnt gotten out as much lately and since the Opera house was under construction the pixie was without a lot of places to go.

She had been keeping to the manor mostly, playing in Christine's garden mostly to pass the time. Christine had said a long time ago that it wasnt safe to leave the manor, but a pixie couldn't stay away from the world for too long. Pixie's were known to break rules and get themselves into trouble. Tink was especially susceptible to impish tendencies especially because she honestly was without a proper guide.

Without a Pan, Tink did as she pleased (something she usually did anyway with or without a Pan), which was how she ended up hovering over the park. Her wings flitted merrily, coating the grass in pixie dust.

"Butterfly!" Tink beamed and chased the insect through a tunneled slide, around a tree and through a few flowers. But butterflies weren't as much fun as her big friends, Christine and Enigma.

Tink usually wasn't one for women, she despised Wendy but without a Pan to compete for and no other options for friends Tink had no choice other than to be lonely. There were no Lost Boys, no Indians....she would've even settled for a mermaid but they didn't have those either.

So Tink befriended the two women, one whom she saw daily and the other whom she hadnt seen in quite a while.

Giving up the chase of the butterfly, Tink zipped into the air and headed for the place she remembered Enigma being. The large, scary building with the word STARK on it in big letters. She wasnt sure what a Stark was, but maybe Enigma could explain it to her.

Tink flew to the tower, through an open window and looked around at the room. Slowly, the pixie travelled. Her large blue eyes took in everything and she tried to remember the last place she saw her friend.

"Enigma?" The voice was like a bell, and instantly she was greeted by a loud voice which caused her enough fright to fly to the nearest object and hide behind it.

"Welcome back, Ms. Bell," the AI chimed merrily.

Tinker Bell peered around the fabric seam of the pillow she had ducked behind, looking for a face to put to the voice.

She had forgotten about the strange voice.

"Enigma?" The name was used again but with more of a nervous question this time instead of the usual confidence. She would wait to see of anyone appeared, and hope that nobody wanted to harm her. She wasnt very large and she had only been in this building a hand full of times.

Tink wondered if her friend was even still around here, and why it was so hard to find her. Frustrated, the pixie stomped her foot on the surface of the plush couch and emitted a soft huff.

Enigma couldn't remember if there was a specific way to call to Tink. She knew to catch Peter's attention, one just had to leave a nursery window open (and it usually helped to be a child or innocent), but even knowing the mythos didn't help when it came to the fairy.

So instead, she stood in the park, yelling Tink's name over and over, ignoring the looks she got. It didn't matter what people thought of her (though if word got back to Bruce and Tony, she was sure they would have a comment), she just cared if it worked.

On the park table next to her was a small towel laid out with several objects, one, a tiny version of their cellphones, this one designed for instant access to Stark Tower and Timmy specifically if needed, another a small machine that was the reason for her...calling of Tink.

The third with a small picnic, since technically it was her lunch hour anyway.

She took a deep breath, before shouting Tink's name again.

Tinker Bell had left the Manor where she was staying with Christine after the woman had asked her to move in. It had been quite a change from the warehouse where Tink had been staying since her arrival in this world with Rufio, her Pan. It was much nicer smelling, lush, and she got to see her best friend in the whol world every day! That was so exciting to her. Tinker Bell had never had a best friend before. Besides Peter and Rufio but they were her Pans and not really so much best friends. She never had a female friend either. Typically women got on her bad side rather quickly, especially when it came to her Pan but Christine had managed to work her way deep into the tiny heart of the pixie and Tink wouldn't have it any other way.

Tink had noticed that the darkness was upon the City and that it hadn't yet let up. It was quite strange. It was throwing off her internal pixie clock. The one that told her when the sun rose it was time to get up and when it set it was time to sleep. Now it seemed the moon was out for good and though she missed the sun terribly there was nothing she, a small pixie, could do about it other than enjoy it. Which is exactly what she planned to do.

The park was Tink's usual haunt, the one place where she never grew tired of being. It was the only place she really, truly felt at home. The grass, though cold most days, welcomed her. The animals called to her, the trees and the sky. It was just like the pixie to revel in the simplest of things nature had to offer. It wasn't the beach, or the cave they used to spend the nights in, or the tree houses that offered them a view of the setting sun but it was closest to Neverland she could get without actually being home. No matter how hard Rufio tried to make the warehouse look like home, it would never really be. She would never see Peter again. She would never hear the tick of the clock within the mouth of the crocodile or the laugh of Captian Hook and Shmee.

This was as close as she could get.

She chased a butterfly slowly as it fluttered lazily through the moist tendrils of grass. Her aura glowed its usual gold as she flew after the butterfly. She was of a good mood and nothing could deter her from her mission of catching the winged creature and playing with it if it would let her.

(Backdated to before the eternal night plot)

Tinker Bell had been fluttering through the park, one of her most favorite places to be in the City besides the Manor where her friend Christine lived. The Manor itself was beautiful, unlike any house that Tink had ever seen. The only other place Tink found to be more appealing to her vision than the Manor was the Opera House where Christine sang. Christine's voice was so beautiful, almost like Tink's own pixie voice. The small bell sound she emitted to those who couldn't understand her.

She had landed on a picnic table and was taking in the sunlight when her friend Christine had found her. She beamed at Christine and hugged the woman's neck tenderly. Tink adored Christine. Despite not liking Christine at first, as she resembled Wendy (and Tink hated Wendy), Christine had grown on the pixie and Tink couldn't help but love the woman dearly. Christine said something to her about coming to stay with her and Eric at the Manor.

Tink at the Manor? With Christine? The pixie felt like she was dreaming and Tink agreed to move in to the Manor with her friend. Tink wasn't sure what Rufio would say considering he was her Pan but Tink rarely saw her Pan as it was. Maybe Christine could be her female Pan. Was that possible? Tink hoped so.

So as not to continue to impede on Rufio's social time, Tink relocated her things to the Manor. Christine had a place set up just for her and Tink enjoyed it a great deal. She was a very lucky pixie to have such an amazing friend like Christine.

The news of Fred's demise had struck Christian hard. He hadn't expected to deal with loss so soon after Satine, and certainly not the loss of a woman who had shown him nothing but kindness. Thanks to Fred, he'd begun to feel a little more human, a little less like a walking sore. His writing had even improved, and Caritas' customers were enjoying the little karaoke plays he'd been piecing together.

But when he heard that his friend had died in a fire, a fire of all things, he excused himself from his duties at Caritas. Sleep was a distant memory. He wrote in spatters, but usually crumpled the paper and threw it toward the overfilled trash bin against his wall. For days he stayed in the tiny flat he'd taken in the City, reacquainting himself with the inside of a bottle, emerging only long enough to purchase more before returning again to his home.

It was on one of these excursions that he found himself literally too weary to walk the rest of the way to his flat. The park yawned greenly before him. It felt like it should be night; he was certain he'd left his apartment in the evening. But the midday sun shone merrily down on him. He groaned and collapsed on a park bench, dropping the cardboard box of cheap wine carelessly on the bench beside him.

The garden had seemed the finest place to stage his wedding. It would have been far more proper to wed his bride in a cathedral, and Erik could not deny that she deserved as much. But neither could he bring himself to set foot inside another church again. The Roman Catholic God, if he dared to exist, had cursed him for all his 38 years with a face that all of humanity hated. No, Erik could not bring himself within 10 feet of a church, except to admire its architecture. And never, ever for a religious occasion. None of these things had he expressed to his Christine.

But a proper Roman Catholic wedding mass his wife would have, and he had seen to that much. Every detail was in its proper place - up to the small choir and piano and orchestral backing, all managed discretely through the church from which he'd drawn the services of the priest himself. Erik expected the mass to be an arduous affair, with only the music to save him... but as the liturgy came to a close, Erik could only find himself thinking how wrong it was that Christine consent to such a union - and how selfish it was for him to allow her. No. More than selfish. He would never allow her to be free of him ever again. It still baffled him that she seemed perfectly amenable to these chains.

Under the mid-morning sunshine, Erik's skin seemed paler than usual. His recent recuperation had left the composer thinner than usual, but the cut of his tuxedo concealed it. It was possible, however, that the paleness of his skin had nothing to do with his recent illness. The priest's voice cut into his thoughts, then, and Erik swallowed.

"---by a special sacrament so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity. And so, in the presence of the Church, I ask you to state your intentions.

"Erik and Christine, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

Erik was getting better. A lot better than before and she really was happy to hear that. Incredibly happy. For now that meant she would have the chance to finally become his wife once the arrangements were finalised. But she had been allowed one person to stand by her, given they wished to marry in secret, and the only person she could think of had been Tinker Bell. Bruce and Christian she had been friendly with but it did not seem right having a man stand by her that wasn't Erik, even if he would be on the other side.

And Enigma? Well although they had become friendlier Christine wasn't sure if she wanted her there.

So she went to the park, knowing her friend would be there. As she approached the area she knew to meet her she could hardly contain her happiness.

"Tinker Bell?" she called out, glancing around.

Rufio hadn't moved much from where he'd gone when Tink had left. He was still curled up in the corner, if he moved from there during his nightmares he quickly retreated back when he had the sense to.

He paused when the door opened, braced for the old man to come back in, but froze when instead he saw a very beaten looking Enigma, standing with her leg in a cast and the rest of her looking hurt. Rufio stood up and hurried over, then paused.

"Enigma?" he asked hesitantly. "Is it really you or another dream?" He was exhausted from not sleeping and thrashing about in his terrors.

Tink flew as fast as she could around the City, trying desperately to find someone who could help her free her friend, and Pan, Rufio from a scary cell in Arkham. How Rufio ended up there, Tink wasn't sure because she hadnt asked, but what she did know was that the place hadnt felt right to her and nobody deserved to be locked up in a place like that. It was frightening. She didn't know how Rufio was ensuring such a place, but she was glad he was at least safe and alive, how long that would last though, she wasn't exactly sure either. Before she had left, Rufio had told her to go to the opera and find a woman called Enigma. She was supposed to be the star of the opera, Rufio told her, so Tink was sure they would be able to tell her how to find the woman. At least, she hoped so.

Finally, Tink found the building that read opera, and fluttered into the massive, beautiful building, looking around for someone, anyone that could help her locate the singer. Tink passed a poster, stopping for a moment to look at it, it being for something called Carmen. She didn't know Carmen, but she did finally get to look at the face of the woman she was supposed to be looking for, the leading lady of the production. A red head.

Tink looked over the poster for another moment before flying away, leaving a trail of dust behind her from her abrupt take off, heading over to a small area reserved for the purchase of tickets for the shows from patrons that needed entry into the opera itself. She hovered for a moment, listening to a couple of people talking below, trying to hear exactly what they were saying.

"Did you hear about Enigma?" One of them asked the other, who shook their head at the first, "I heard she got hurt and that she's over at that Stark tower place recovering." The other person gasped, "Are you sure?" Which earned a nod from the first person, "Yup. I heard it yesterday. Why do ya think she hasn't been around lately?"

Tink breathed out softly, flying quickly back through the same way she had come, determined to find this Stark tower, which would lead her to Enigma. She flew into the sky to get a better look at the layout of the city, seeing the tower looming in the distance with the words Stark written across the top. That was the building she needed. She flew as fast as she could, being a tiny fairy, finally reaching the building in her own amount of time. She flew to the top, and over the balcony, slipping through an open window that was ajar, landing on one of the ends of a table, almost dumping over a pile of magazines. She looked around, hoping to see the woman, but there was nobody there. It was a large place, but she was determined to save her Pan, so she stood there for a moment, a radiating ball of warm light, trying to think of her next move.

She had come so far already, she wouldn't back down now.

Rufio was more miserable than he could ever remember being.

It was bad enough that he'd been caught by some weird old man who came in every once in a while and gassed him, then asked him what was coming out of the dark to scare him, but even the lulls in between the visits and the effects wearing off the young Pan couldn't get his mind together enough to escape. Couldn't even capture a happy thought to try flying out. The "resting room" he was locked in had no weapons, no secret passages... it was plain and ugly and boring. He didn't know how to work with that.

Thankfully there was at least a window, and that was cracked open, so when he had enough of his senses to do so he went to it, looking out towards the City and letting the cool air try to wake him up so the nightmares didn't hound him as long.

He closed his eyes, resolutely not crying. Crying was for the younger boys, and girls. And pirates when they got hurt badly. The Pan never cried, it was practically a rule.

He did wish, though. He knew if Tinkerbell could find him he'd work something out with her, hatch some escape plot. And then he could leave, tell Enigma that her fathers were the worst parents even he had ever heard of, and then lock himself away in his own little Neverland and plot his revenge.

First, though, he needed his fairy.

Tinker Bell had had an exciting last few days, fluttering around the floor of the building that she was living on with Rufio. They played, and she made him fly, and they had many adventures to remember together. It was nice, as well, to have a friend that actually could understand pixie, and could talk to her like a regular creature. She was a regular creature, right? She thought so, anyway, and she didn't know what she would do without her good friend Rufio. He was her Pan, and she was his fairy. That was the way things were supposed to be. She had made friends with a lovely woman named Christine, too, who had made her the dress she was wearing out of an old scarf! What a wonderful gesture that had been on Christine's part!

Tink was slowly learning, though, if she needed something badly enough it would be there, and she didn't know how or why those things happened, this place sure was strange, but she wasn't going to question it. It was hard being tiny, because there were never any clothes in your size, they didn't make hair brushes or jewelry for people so tiny, so having things there when she needed them was alright with her. She could only expect so much out of her friends, and she wasn't going to burden Rufio, he had a life here before she came along and while she was his fairy, she knew that he was big and big humans tended to have other big humans to play with and have adventures with. That was the way things went.

She had been missing the sun, and the grass, as pixies usually did being creatures of the Earth, so she had fluttered outside after Rufio had fallen asleep from having so much fun playing, going out to the park. That was the place she had come to when she first arrived in this city, and where she had met Christine. The park, as it was called, was a place of good memories. Tink flew over to a picnic table, landing on her feet on the painted wood, leaving a circle of golden fairy dust around her feet as she stood. Her wings paused for a moment, as she tilted her head to look all around at everything, enjoying the feeling of warm sun on her face. She was wearing the green dress that Christine had sewn for her, and her feet were bare. Slowly, she walked around on the table, wings beginning to flap very gently once more, though not hard enough to lift her from the table. She was careful to avoid the cracks, as she could easily fall through.

She noticed that a lady bug had landed on the table as well, not too far from where she stood, and she smiled warmly at it, pausing for a moment to study it. It may have been tiny to a human, but when you were only three inches tall, things like bugs could be massive. This lady bug was still small to Tink, but not as small as it would be to a human.

She sighed softly with delight, folding her arms over her chest, watching the lady bug scurry around on the table for a moment, satisfied by it.

It was perfect.

Rufio had had nothing less than a blast with Enigma, setting fire to buildings in the City and causing general mayhem. And it certainly stirred up the troublemaking blood in his veins. After only a day of sleeping off the initial rowdiness, Rufio had struck up his old habits, skating through the streets and alternating pickpocketing and taunting different adults to get them riled up, and tagging buildings and signs with the Lost Boys' symbols and drawings.

After a few days he decided to take a break, and getting a lunch of sugary cakes and soda from the local convenience store he went to a building with a nice roof for sitting and observing, and perched on the edge, putting down his skateboard and danging his legs over the side. He munched on one of the chocolate cakes and looked around, wondering what Enigma was up to, and what he could cause on his own. He also wondered if the Mayor had noticed thier trouble making, and if it was disrupting for him. The tri-hawked teenager hoped it was.

As the first sugar ruch kicked in he laughed at the look that might have been on Jack's face, and leaned back, letting out one of his victory crows. He'd visit the mayor soon and make sure the old man knew who'd set fire to the government buildings. Maybe it would be enough to kick up another fight.

Damon hadn't achieved the exploring he had planned to since he had gotten distracted by Enigma. She had provided him with just the kind of distraction that he needed to make him forget about Elena for a few minutes. Of course, it wasn't like he hadn't started thinking about Elena again shortly after his encounter with the redhead. A few hours of meaningless fun wasn't going to change the way that he loved Elena. But being stuck here meant he had no chance of making an impression on the gorgeous brunette that might make her consider him as anything more than Stefan's brother.

He needed to get out and clear his thoughts. Living in his head wouldn't get him anywhere, and he couldn't help the fact that he was stuck here. He set out again to explore the city, again with no particular destination in mind. He stayed away from the street where he'd met Enigma, since he'd already seen enough of that street and it wouldn't be anything new for him to explore. He really did need to get a better idea of his surrounding if he was going to be stuck here.

What was this place? She knew what a city was, or at least thought she knew, but this was unlike anything her eyes had ever laid upon. She had been with Peter many times to Earth, where he would go to the house of the Darlings, take Wendy and her brothers back to their home in Neverland, and have adventures. Sometimes Nana, thier dog and house keeper, came as well. Sometimes it was just she and Peter, and those were the times she cherished the most. She remembered the time that they went to fight the pirates, and Captian Hook was holding her for bait, and Peter came to save her! Oh Peter! Her heart swelled with the mere thought of Peter Pan, however he had betrayed her. He had taken her for granted, then run off to Earth to be with Wendy, and his had to grow up and forget everything. Peter had even forgotten that she loved him. Sure she was only three inches tall, but pixies have hearts too, and they break. Especially if the love of thier life forgets about them, and runs of with another woman. A stupid one at that. Oh she couldn't stand Wendy! She had wished many times for the girl to have an accident, and there had been times that Tink had convinced the Lost Boys to shoot arrows at Wendy as she flew, or had pushed her into the lagoon for the mermaids to drown. That always brought a smile to Tinks pretty little face. The fact that Peter had left Neverland for good had just about killed Tinker Bell. She had been in her little house, curled up in her little bed, waiting for the darkness to take her. Pixies have a very short lifespan, like most small winged creatures and bein broken hearted didn't help.

But she was here, and very confused. After fluttering around the streets, lonely and confused, Tinker Bell settled down on the arm of a wooden bench in the park, her white dress, the shroud she was going to wear for her final journey to the Garden, fluttering around her tiny, curvy frame. She had put her face in her hands, palms cupping her jaw, fingers splayed over her eyes, releasing large, exaggerated sobs. She crossed one of her legs over the other, wings fluttering sadly. Her whole body glowed, and she was a small glowing ball of gold against the darkness. Everywhere she moved she left gold pixie dust, though it didn't have anything to grasp onto, so it faded simply away. She was aware that she was alone, and though it was scary, she could only feel sad at the moment. Pixies could only feel one emotion at a time, so sometimes her emotions could get a little exaggerated and take her over.

She sniffled, pulling her face out of her hands, setting her chin in her palm, and her elbow against her knee, large wet years still spilling over the lower rim of her eyelids, leaving tiny streaks on her cheeks. She sighed, looking around at the very large park, trying to find somewhere that might look remotely comfortable to live. She didn't see any bird houses, or any trees that might have vacant holes in them. She was a tiny little woman in a big persons world, and she was all alone.

She opened her mouth for a moment, saying something to herself, a series of small tinkles erupting into the night instead of words. The voice of the pixie was too high pitched for humans, except for a certain few that could learn to hear it, but she had nobody here to translate. Peter could understand her, the Lost Boys too, and she missed them terribly. She missed the pirates, the Indians, the Lost Boys, and even the tickin crocodile. She hated the mermaids and tiger lily, but she made exceptions for them when they were being mean to Wendy. But they wouldn't do that anymore.

Why her? She didn't know. She wiped her eyes with her hands, and sat there by herself, not knowin what she was going to do. It was a big world out there, and she was so little, and this was so different to her. She was now all alone.

buzz whirr

The sound of wings was soft, like a hummingbird as the small glinting form zoomed around in jerking swift movements. Tinkerbell had been all over this city since her arrival, met a rather night pirate with the biggest musket she'd ever seen! He had been quite short haired for a pirate but he was none the-less quite a site. She had met a madman and his friend, both of whom were quite darling. But now she was looking for something of her own...and she might have just spotted it!

( Tinkerbell and the amazing floating dreamhouse )

After her mysterious love affair in the park, Tink finally got her mind to right, or at least the parts that were right to begin with. Right for fae is very different from right for the vast majority of other creatures in the world or in any world. She had fallen in love with a strange man who was not unlike the Lost Boys of Neverland. It had not been love though, in the end she recognized the smell of magic all over their affections. Still it had been nice having such an fling, it had quite brightened her new arrival to this sentient city.

( Now the little fairy was back to her usual )

It was fantastic.

It was almost better than the rampant zombies.

People everywhere, falling into gaga lovey land all over each other, everywhere he looked. Stupid googoo eyes on all the people he passed. All due to some hideous looking cherub. Firing arrows randomly.

He couldn't have done it better if he'd set it up himself, really. He could admit that.

Chaos.

Pure, beautiful chaos.

This did make it quite a bit more difficult to find Harley, though. There were throngs of people to search through, and all of them were moving around so much that her tiny cute little frame wouldn't really stick out unless she was in her red and black. He didn't think she'd be doing that with this many love sick folks milling about. At least, she'd better not. They might try to blame her, what with the colors.

He had to give it up for the time being. An unhappy thought. But he was content to just watch everything unfold. Laugh in the face of love. There was likely some way to cause a lot of mischief in all this. He'd have to give it some thought. It would be hard to put a cherry topper on this, though. It was so fantastic on it's own.

These people were falling in love with people they wouldn't normally be with, and that was pudding. Smooth, chocolate pudding. Aw. Harley. She called him Puddin all the time. Well. As soon as this was all done, he was going to find that girl. Yes he was. He'd been far too long without his Harl. Even if she did annoy the snot out of him a lot.

Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled on, whistling.

The banks alarm blared into the night as the vault was breached. The City seemed to like a good mix of people, and thieves were apparently in no short supply. The two scumbags loaded a market cart with cash quickly before the authorities arrived. They were not that lucky tonight.

Frank had watched this crew casing places for a few days now, first a liquor store, then a bowling alley. They had some skills, but these pieces of crap had gone too far. Little old ladies relied on banks, they trusted them to be secure. The Punisher liked little old ladies far more than criminals.

The two second story men burst out into the alley behind the bank and rolled the cart to a waiting cargo van. They were laughing. Frank hated that too. George, the older of the two opened the sliding side door of the van and began to swing an armful of loot into it. He stopped abruptly, a red dot painted on his chest.

The Alexander Arms Beowulf entry rifle was deafening in the back of the van. A 330 grain hollow point was a sight to behold as it obliterated a 4 inch hole out the back of the first thief. Frank swung the muzzle around to the younger asshole, finger outside the trigger guard. “Don’t move, do not even blink” He said calmly. The terrified man complied too well, passing out wetting himself.

“Shit” Frank said to no one in particular. He would not dispatch an unconscious man. There was another way fortunately.

2 minutes and a roll of duct tape later, Ted was trussed in the shopping cart spread eagled over the basket of bills. The Punisher rolled him back into the bank, for the authorities to take care of.

A shimmering thread of gold arched gracefully across the sky of The City. Thin spiraling offshoots of glimmering star dust spun off in the wake of the main glittering body. In the post snow clearness of the sky that shooting star was brilliantly framed against the black velvet night. The closer it came to the ground the louder a faint tinkling of bells could be heard. Soft clear and sweet as dew ripened berries the sound carried with the motion of the ball of light.

Beauty of illumination and sound coming to an end in a spectacular collision with... a mailbox. The thud was not overwhelming, the sort of noise made when a misguided blue jay mistakes a clean window for a safe passage. But the thud was there none the less, and the pretty trilling bells ended with it, the glittering gold faded to a humble bit of light on the ground at the foot of the box.

( clap your hands if you believe in faeries )