Fan Fiction » Mini series » Heaven/Chi – The Definition of Insanity #8 (of 9)
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Heaven/Chi – The Definition of Insanity #8 (of 9)
Post by Last Hero on Jun 6, 2007, 9:50am
Heaven/Chi – The Definition of Insanity #8
Cover – Mike on his knee proposing to Amelia while all of their teammates stand in the background with various looks of surprise, congratulations, or boredom depending on the person.
Title: The Definition of Insanity
Written by – blackmore and havok3595
Amelia just stared at the ring for a few minutes, and Mike felt like begging her to have a response, any response, because the tension was killing him. At last, she spoke. "That has to be the biggest rock I have ever seen…"
Mrs. Chow, wandering back outside, took one look at the ring then slapped her husband, who laughed slightly and said, "If you expected me to give permission, kid, I'm sort of loathe to do that now that you completely showed me up."
Amelia didn't turn towards them, but waved her hand slightly to try to quiet them down. "Michael…I…I…" She kept staring at it, lost in the beauty. "There's no way I deserve that," she said in a small voice, but slowly, tentatively, offered her left hand forward.
"Sure you do!" responded Mike as he quickly, somewhat clumsily, took out the ring and tried to put it on her finger.
"One moment," interrupted Mrs. Chow. "I am positive that at your ages, you may only get married with parental permission. And I'm not sure I can give that yet."
"MOM!" yelled Amelia as she moved the ring further down her finger, the ring was a little tight, but Amelia managed to get it on anyway, "You're not going to wreck this moment!"
"This moment? No," said Mrs. Chow. "After all, there's nothing stopping you from betrothal. However…actual marriage…that's a long discussion we must have. And Michael's parents, too. They should come out to discuss this."
Mike nodded, “She’s right, Amelia!”
Amelia looked at Mike in shock, “What?”
Mike smiled, “Well, she is. There is no rush here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that you knew I was here for the long haul. We don’t need to figure out the details right now. Just enjoy the moment.” Mike lifts her hand to his lips and kisses them softly.
Mike turned to Amelia’s father, and says, “Sorry, Mr. Chow. I was trying to ask your permission when Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong came out of the house…I got a little distracted.”
Amelia nodded, “It happens a lot with him. Pretty much whenever he sees a shiny object.”
Mike’s face went pale suddenly. There was a cop walking down the street towards them. And not just any cop. Mike recognized him immediately. How can he not? He had been haunting Mike’s dreams for the last few weeks. It was the first person…no mutant…that Mike had infected. Mike cursed to himself. He didn’t infect the cop, it was the Brood Queen. Somehow that didn’t make Mike feel any better.
The cop did not say a word; he just raised his hand. Mike had no idea what the cop’s mutant powers were, and no time to yell a warning. The others were all too busy staring at Mike and Amelia or the ring to pay attention to what was about to happen. Panic threatened to smash its way into Mike’s brain like a SWAT team, but Mike knew that if that panic made it in, someone would get killed here. Maybe it would be Ms. Grey, maybe it would be himself, or the Chows, or Amelia. Mike could hear Dil’s words echoing in his head, “No happy ending!”
It would be so easy to give into that familiar panic. Mike had been weak more times than he cared to remember. Poseidon, the Brood Queen, Apocalypse, and Neutron had all had made Mike look foolish. But, this time…Mike could not, would not allow himself to panic. Everything he had been taught, by Rogue and Xavier, by Hussar and Gladiator, and by Nic and the rest of his friends all came together in one perfect moment.
Mike was on his feet suddenly, his eyes cold steel. “No. You will not hurt my family.” Mike’s voice matched the hardness in his eyes. A dark cloud of spikes flew from the cop’s hands, but it did not matter. Mike’s force field had spread out over all of them, including Ms. Grey. They were safe.
Jean Grey nodded at him with approval, “Nice job, Chi.”
“Thanks, but it’s just Mike now. Can I get one last team up before retirement?”
Jean smiled, “I’d be honored…can we save this guy?
Mike shook his head sadly, “Afraid not. Only reason I’m back to myself is because of an Infinity Gem…and we’re fresh out.”
Jean sighed, “Yeah, I figured as much.”
Amelia stood in awe of the forcefield for a moment before springing into action. “Right…civilian evacuation, coming right up. Come on, mom, dad.” She quickly and safely got them back into the building, then took off clearing the street of any innocent bystanders.
“Crowd control used to always be my job,” said Jean. “I don’t miss it.”
The cop moved forward towards them, this time Jean’s telekinetic shield picked up the slack and surrounded the cop making sure no stray spikes got loose. Mike walked over to the shield and looked at the cop, “Hmmm…you’ve got your mother’s breath, you know that?”
Amelia and her parents were watching the short-lived battle from their apartment window. Amelia said something quietly with an amused smile on her face.
Amelia’s mom leaned forward, “What was that, Ae Mei?”
“He practices his banter. He’s still terrible at it, but he used to stay up at night to come up with witty things to say to the bad guys. He even wrote them down in his journal. He said that’s how all the superheroes did it. He told me that the first night…” Amelia trailed off blushing.
Amelia’s dad chuckled slightly, “Your first night together and this is what he talked about. He is a strange young man.”
Amelia said quickly, “NOTHING HAPPENED! We just talked and fell asleep together.”
Amelia’s mom made a disgusted sound, “I really need to have a talk with Mrs. Grey about the things that go on in that school! What kind of place is Xavier running where teenage boys and girls are allowed to sleep in the same room?”
Amelia sighed, rolled her eyes, and put her hands on her hips, “As if it’s that different from public schools, with kids making out in the halls.”
Her mother took a similar posture, “At least they’re not SLEEPING TOGETHER!”
“Ladies, ladies,” interjected Mr. Chow. “It looks like things are taken care of out there. You’ll get your chance to ask your questions…I suppose. Just keep in mind that Professor Xavier has been very helpful to us ever since Amelia went to the school…”
Mrs. Chow responded loudly, “Oh, so now you’re in favor of PROSTITUTING our daughter?”
Mike and Jean had just walked in. “Um, please tell me that sounds better in context?” Mike said meekly, “I know that I don’t have much money…but I’m a hard worker, and I’m pretty sure I can make enough money without Amelia having to whore herself out. Unless the job market in Seattle is…”
Amelia hissed, “Quiet!”
“Sorry!”
Mrs Chow was glaring at Mike and Jean at this point. Mike looked around the room, hoping to find someplace to hide, “This is a terrific apartment.” Mike said, desperate to change the conversation, “Mrs. Chow, you have a great eye for decorating!”
Mr. Chow said, “Flattery or sucking up?”
“Desperation!” Mike responded.
Mr. Chow laughed slightly. "Don't let her bother you. She's always this way…like I told you, they're both crazy. It's best just to agree to the salient points and go about your business. Sadly, I tend not follow my own advice."
Mrs. Chow ignored her husband and rounded on Jean Grey. "Well now, I have a few questions for you, MISS Grey. I'm led to believe that there have been several, ahem, co-educational sleepovers at this school of yours? What kind of school are you running? How can we trust you with our child?"
Jean took an involuntary step back. "Um, well, I assure you…that sort of thing happens in every private school…we don't actively encourage it…and we have the benefit of having several telepaths on staff."
Mrs. Chow continued, "Oh, so now you're reading their minds? Is nothing sacred?"
Jean sighed. "Well, we don't really read their minds…without permission…but if they're thinking something strongly enough, we get an idea."
"That still sounds like a gross invasion of privacy to me," continued Mrs. Chow.
"Wasn't the issue here boys and girls sleeping together?" asked Mr. Chow with a half smile.
"Don't interrupt!" shouted his wife.
"Um, can we go fight Magneto instead?" asked Mike.
Mrs. Chow nodded, “Thank you for reminding me! Another thing! These are children! How do they end up fighting giant alien bugs that can take over their bodies? It is amazing that any of them are still alive!”
Mike tossed a quick glance at Amelia and the door. She paused for just a second, before nodding and taking his cue to make a getaway.
Jean Grey sent him telepathically, “DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!!”
Mike sent back, “We’ll be back soon, I promise!”
Mike and Amelia sat down on the stoop outside. Mike snapped his fingers suddenly, “I forgot to give you this!”
Mike handed Amelia the oddly shaped package, “For me?”
Mike grinned evilly, “Actually, it’s more for Junior…but you can open it.”
Amelia opened it up curiously, and found a pretty ridiculous looking Gladiator plush. The plush is short and squatty, and has huge Anime like eyes. The Mohawk is spiked almost five inches off the doll’s head…which is an impressive feat since the doll was only about a foot tall. Mike chuckled, “I know its absurd looking, but I had to pick it up!” Mike turned to Amelia and noticed that she had a slightly sad look on her face. “Are you all right?”
She closed her eyes for a second before saying, “You were doing it again…”
Mike tilted his head to the side, “Doing what?”
Amelia couldn’t even bring herself to answer. She tapped his forehead, a little rougher than she intended.
Mike nodded, “The whole telepathy thing? Miss Grey had sent me a message, I couldn’t just ignore her. Well, I could have, but I really didn’t feel like having my brain turned into mush.”
“Like anyone would have noticed…”
“I can’t help being a telepath, Amelia. If that’s going to be a deal breaker here, I can have Miss Grey put up some blocks, but…” Mike paused.
“But, what?”
“It’s a part of who I am.”
Amelia was silent for a few moments before responding in a small voice, "I know."
She sighed, and looked off into the distance, away from Mike. "I mean, I know, it's just hard for me. There are things about me that I bottle up a lot…well, you know most of them. After the way we met, it was hard for me to express certain things about myself. Like, religion for example. I figured that was the last thing anyone would want to hear about, but it's very important to my life, and who I am. But, because of perception, I hid it away and tried to keep it on the down low. With your telepathy…" She sighed and looked at her feet.
"I know, I know," said Mike, gently putting an arm around her shoulders. "You've experienced the bad side of it, but so have a lot of people. I mean, not to make you feel small or anything, but most of the X-Men have been on the bad side of it too, it doesn't stop them from trusting the Professor or Jean. And at least you never had to be in a circus."
Amelia chuckled softly. "That was almost a record for you, as far as speech without punch line goes." She cuddled in slightly. "I know…it's not the power, it's the person who has it, it's just…I don't ever really want anyone in my head again. Then again, if you'd asked me a month or two ago, there's somewhere else I didn't want anyone to be again, and you managed to…"
The sound of a striking match caused them both to turn slightly, and see Mr. Chow, standing silently and lighting a hand-rolled cigarette. "Oh, I didn't mean to break your conversation," he said. "I just wanted to thank you for giving me an excuse to leave. I like to avoid these sorts of confrontations whenever possible."
Amelia blushed deeply. "Dad, um, this was sort of a private moment."
He took a slight drag on the cigarette before responding, "Then maybe you shouldn't have it in a public place."
Amelia looked at Mike as if to say, "Do something." Mike’s jaw went slack. He had no idea what to do here.
Mike finally looked at Mr. Chow and said, "Sir, I'd really like to be able to call you or pops, or daddy-o some day. But, in order for that to happen, I need to get over one major roadblock with your daughter. My powers kind of freak her out."
Mr. Chow nodded, "She should talk! Can your powers make you pregnant?"
Mike considered for a second, "I don't think so."
Mr. Chow said, "Mine either."
Mike looked at him excited, "You have powers?"
Mr. Chow shrugged, "No. I was just trying to make a point."
Mike slumped down slightly, "Oh. That would have been kind of cool if you did."
Mr. Chow shook his head, patting Amelia warmly on the shoulder, "I think your mom's rant should just about be over. Don't be too long out here. It's a school night."
Mike groaned, "I forgot about that! Is "being dead" considered a legitimate reason to not register for school? And where am I going to stay tonight? I doubt I can get an apartment this late.”
Amelia put her hand over his lips gently, “There you go again, talking too much.” She sighed deeply, and then continued. “Answer this question. You’re only allowed one word. Okay?” She did not release his lips, but Mike nodded. “Do you love me?” she finished as she let his lips go.
“Yes,” he replied without hesitation.
“Then that’s all that matters. We can figure out the details later.”
Mike was surprised to hear Amelia say that. He opened his mouth, but Amelia cut him off by leaning her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing happily. Mike leaned his head against hers and just closed his eyes. “No happy endings, huh, Dill?” he thought. “You’re crazier than Stryker.”
Re: Heaven/Chi – The Definition of Insanity #8 (of
Post by The Sacred Digits on Jun 6, 2007, 8:33pm
Just so everyone knows, we have just now finished ironing out the final part. I think.
Special guest stars!
Re: Heaven/Chi – The Definition of Insanity #8 (of
Post by Last Hero on Jun 6, 2007, 8:45pm
I like the fact that he says this but doesn't actually post it!
