Chapter 4: Special Meetings

"Hello, Jasper," he greeted back, his eyes not leaving the boy. This has come up as a possibility when he had thought about it. After all, there was no indication that he had merged with the original soul in any way.

He just had the original's memories, that was it. And since this was Marvel, souls were a thing and they could always be resurrected, or in this case, just tucked away to the side until the one who has taken over could meet them.

The boy stood up, his white dress dropping back to his feet. While that was happening, his eyes caught something and was confirmed when Jasper moved his body sideways a little. There were wings attached to his lower back.

They looked cool.

"I have to say, this meeting began more politely than I was expecting." One Above All commented from behind him, making both of them look at him. The being chuckled when he noticed their reaction, "I've seen some other meetings like this before and most of them start by one shouting at the other."

"Why?" Jasper, himself, asked. This was getting confusing for him honestly. He was already used to thinking of himself as Jasper but now he has met the original one. He wasn't sure what to label himself and the original one currently.

"Well, isn't it obvious? You have taken over the body of another, with no consent in the manner whatsoever." Well, that made sense. Someone taking over your body and yeeting you out without any prior warning would suck.

Looking back towards the original, he noticed that the original was closer and didn't seem surprised. "Are you not angry?" He asked, waiting to see if this was just the guy waiting before jumping him.

What he got instead was a head shake. "No, I was the one who gave you permission to take my body in the first place." That had him pausing for a second before tilting his head, not really getting why someone would just give up on their own body.

Finally, he just looked back at One Above All, looking for an answer. The man just shrugged his shoulders at that, "I was surprised too when Jasper here just gave up his body so easily. He didn't want anything in return either."

Looking back at the ghost now, he waited for him to answer instead. "I have never liked living in my body. I'm sure you already know, but mother was very strict and I never got the chance to ever get her approval. The pressure was too much for me, so, I would just like to be a ghost now and not have to worry about that again."

Hmm, Original Jasper wasn't kidding when he said that mom was strict, the woman was quite scary in some regards and he was pretty sure that he would still have been under her had it not been for his Mother Box helping him in restraining her.

Nevertheless, this was quite unexpected. "You don't mind if I use your body?" Original Jasper just shook his head, giving him his approval of things. Which was nice in a way, since that meant he wasn't a thief.

Abruptly, streams of colorful something began flowing to the both of them, making them float in the air, the colorful streams continuing to flow around them before hitting some kind of peak and entering inside them both.

Blinking away the spots in his eyes, he checked on himself to see if anything had changed but he didn't note anything. Hearing the man behind them clap had him once again look at him.

"Great, with this done, the original Jasper now has no further claim on the body and the new Jasper finally owns it now."

"What does that mean?" He asked, still checking over himself to see if anything had happened to his body. While he couldn't spot anything different happening to his body, he did feel that he could somehow move easier now?

It was almost like something that he hadn't known existed before just vanished.

"Nothing big, just that currently, you own the body you reside in. You didn't before and that would have become a problem should any type of Fae or body-snatching being taken notice of you and try to steal your body."

"Is that why you wanted us to meet?" Original Jasper asked, seemingly understanding something that he wasn't in on.

The old man nodded his head, seemingly trying to make this scene extra dramatic. "Yes, I needed to get a verbal approval from you and this was the easiest way to do so." Jasper suspected that it wasn't and the old man just wanted them to meet for something else but he didn't voice out his doubts. It didn't seem to be that important at the moment.

"Now!" One Above All clapped his hands once more, "Why don't the two of you go outside and get to know each other for a while? I'll be back to take our little friend here back home in like an hour or so."

Looking around the room, he saw that now there was a door when there wasn't any before. It was a little weird to see it just appear when there was just a white wall not so long ago. Still, he wasn't too much against getting to know the original Jasper, it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"I don't mind," Original Jasper spoke up again before taking hold of his left hand, dragging him along towards the door. "Come, I'll show you this cool garden I found."

—

"So," Original Jasper fidgeted in his place. He had been doing that for a little while now, wanting to ask something but likely not daring to or something.

They sat down in a beautiful garden, full of all kinds of flowers and trees. There were even some fruits that Jasper had never seen before, on the trees that he had also never seen before. He had tested them out and they were quite delicious.

He had also somehow changed clothing. He wasn't even sure how it worked, just that the moment he stepped through that door, his skirt and blouse had changed to a white dress, the same as Original Jasper's.

They had, after fully introducing themselves, gone on a walk through the garden and just gotten to know each other. Not that there was much interest in knowing each other's past. Both had gone through Original Jasper's past, him through the memories he had received and the boy through experiencing it first hand.

Right now they were both currently seated somewhere in the garden, just enjoying the nice weather.

Jasper would have sighed loudly if it didn't take so much effort to do. Finally, he decided he was too tired of waiting and just asked. "What do you want to ask?" While waiting, he picked up another flower, bringing it to the ring of interwoven flowers he had made.

"Er, I'm sorry that I just left you in my place without a warning." Original Jasper apologized, bringing his head down and not daring to look into his eyes.

For his part, he just blinked a couple of times before audibly sighing, actually making the effort. "Why are you apologizing?" He asked in return, "I would have probably still been a ghost if you hadn't let me take over your body." What was left unsaid is just him ceasing to exist altogether if One Above All hadn't saved him.

"Well," Original Jasper finally looked up at him, blushing a little, "I left you in a horrible situation with no way of defending yourself. Mother probably punished you because you were just confused about things."

"Oh that," Jasper finally understood why the original was feeling so bad, "She did try to punish me when I spoke up but thankfully, I wasn't alone and had my Mother Box with me. She helped me secure your mother and not let her hurt me."

The boy looked shocked at that, probably never expecting someone to actually stop his mother's tyranny, which was understandable when you considered that he had been under her his entire life.

She was quite the horrible woman and he hoped that whatever she was now, he would never meet her again.

"O-oh, I didn't know that. I thought you were left alone with my mother." He visibly relaxed at the news before pausing, "Wait, did you just say that you tied her up?" Jasper just nodded his head, picking up another flower. "Does that mean that you live in the house with her tied up or did you do something to her?"

In the end, he just ended telling him the story of what happened after he had woken up in this new world and how things were going right now, with him living with the X-men and how they were currently waiting for a judge to take on his case. He had also ended up telling him about his Mother Box, not that she was that big of a secret to begin with.

"Does that mean that you could go around the world and see it?" Original Jasper looked existed at that, shifting slightly in his seat. "I've always wanted to see the world, the pictures that I got to see had just looked so cool."

"Technically. I would still need to become an adult, which is like another year away. For now, I'm still too young." Jasper explained to the boy. Though he was also unsure how the American laws went, just that he needed to become an adult. Being able to own a gun would be kind of cool though, especially if he could modify it with some magic and let it shoot out different things.

Thinking about it, he wondered if he could get one of those weapons that could change shape? Like being a sword at one second and then a gun at another? That would be a classic.

Original Jasper still looked excited, "That means you just have to wait for a year before you can do whatever you want." He then paused all of a sudden, looking at something that looked to be behind him. Looking back too, he saw someone walking towards them, an old man from the looks of it.

He waved, a smile on his face. Jasper didn't recognize him and began to wonder where they were. He hadn't thought too deeply about it before now, thinking that this garden was something created by One Above All just for original Jasper, but that didn't seem to be the case currently.

"Sorry for bothering you, but I had wanted to talk with Jasper here." The older man spoke up as he came closer. Original Jasper hid behind him, seemingly also not good with people. "The living one, specifically."

Tilting his head, he first gave the boy behind him a look before speaking up. "What do you want?" Looking closer at the man, he saw that the old man had wings on his back, though they looked different from original Jasper's.

Standing a few feet from them, the man looked through his pockets. "Well, I had this message that I would be overjoyed if you could deliver. It's nothing dangerous, of course, just a message for my son." He took out a paper that was obviously folded.

Looking at the paper for a second, he returned his gaze at the old man again. The old man looked hopeful and almost desperate? "Who is the message to?" He decided to ask, since if it was someone troublesome, he wouldn't do it.

"Oh right, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Howard Stark and this message is for my son, Tony Stark."

Huh, that was a little unexpected. He hadn't thought that Howard Stark would go to Heaven? Or whatever this place is. Quite the turn of events. "How would I even get the message to him? I'm pretty sure he wouldn't just accept the paper." And how he would even meet him in the first place. Though his Mother Box might be able to help there? He wasn't sure and would need to ask.

"Yeah, but thankfully, I've been watching him from here and can tell you a few things to say to him when you guys meet so that he accepts this paper." Howard explained, waving the paper around. "Oh, and of course, I'll give you compensation for this whole endeavor. It's the blueprints to something that I built while living here. Should you get it to work, I'm sure you and those around you would love it."

Hmm, so he could get rewarded to just deliver the paper. It was basically a no-risk mission too, with what appeared to be no time limit. And the reward did appeal to him since it was a creation from Howard Stark himself.

"I'll do it." He told Howard, making him light up with happiness. Standing up, he patted original Jasper on his head before making his way to the older man. "Give me what I need to get him to accept that paper and I'll do it when I see him."

Howard first gave him the paper he was holding, then began to dig in other pockets that Jasper hadn't seen until now. "By the way, where are we specifically? And how did you find me here?"

Honestly, he was just mostly curious if Howard had learned something that could be learned to locate people.

Howard paused for a second before resuming looking through his pockets. "I just asked Lady Death and she told me where to find you guys. Though there was another person with her and he seemed amused by my questions. Didn't ask why though. Oh, and you're in the afterlife, or maybe Lady Death's domain? Whatever you want to call it."

So this was Death's domain, huh. It looked better than what he had thought it would. Especially with all the things he had heard about her in his former life, but maybe personality and domain didn't need to line up. He'd have to meet her to tell.

Howard finally found what he was looking for, taking out one notepad and a stack of papers, "Here you go. This notepad has the 'secret phrases' that you can tell Tony for him to at least listen to you and these papers have the blueprint for a device that will make your life much easier." He handed them to him too, Jasper making a little note of how the device looked. It didn't look to be that big but he'll have to read the blueprint to see what it actually did.

"Anything else?" He asked while trying to make sure that the papers didn't fall out of his hands. He didn't have any pockets in this dress.

Howard shook his head, "No, this was everything. Thank you, for at least trying to get my last will to my son. I never got to say goodbye to him, and do miss him, despite our different views of the world."

He nodded his head in understanding, walking back to where he was sitting a few minutes ago. "I'll give your last will to him, though it might take a little while before I get to that. Tony is kidnapped right now."

"I understand and you don't have to worry about the time, I have all eternity." The older man laughed, though Jasper didn't get the joke. It might have been a ghost joke that he was too alive to get. "Now, I won't stay in your hair anymore. Hope you have a great time being alive." He waved at them before turning back and walking. They watched him go a minute before he just vanished from their view.

"That was cool." Jasper commented.

—

"Here." Jasper held up the flower crown he'd made. It took him a little while to make but seeing the boy look so happy, he didn't mind it. Besides, it wasn't like they were doing much of anything right now, they were just waiting for One Above All to just come pick him up.

Jasper was mostly worried about his Mother Box, since he never got any answer on what happened to her and he had kind of forgotten to ask while everything else was going on. He just hoped that she didn't worry about him if she was aware that he was gone.

Original Jasper took the flower crown, slowly putting it on his head. "Thank you!" He hugged him.

"Did I come back at the wrong time?" A voice asked, one that he recognized. Looking back awkwardly, he saw the man he's been waiting for with some company. The lady was white, literally. She had white skin, her hair and eyes were white as snow too, the only thing that wasn't white were her clothes. Well, more like underwear, since she only had a black bra and panties on.

Did those underwear offer some kind of benefit if worn? He was curious about that.

Getting original Jasper off of him, the boy didn't hide this time, making him wonder if he had met the lady before. "No, I was just wondering when you were coming to pick me up. My Mother Box is probably worried about me right now."

"Oh yeah, right, forgot to tell you but you don't have to worry about that, your Mother Box is currently in a suspended animation while this is happening. Once you go back, your Box will get back as a necklace around your neck."

"Hmph, seems like old age is getting you, old man." The white lady snorted, crossing her arms under her chest and looked away from them.

Well, that wasn't a nice thing to say, even if she might be right. One Above All just chuckled, not saying a thing while original Jasper looked worried. "Are you going to bring me back to the room I was in now?"

"Why yes, that was what I was here for. But first, let me introduce you to one of my daughters, Death." He pointed at her, giving her a smile. Death just harrumphed, not looking their way. "She's a bit shy but don't worry, she doesn't mean anything hurtful she might say."

"Hello, I'm Jasper Faye." Jasper introduced himself too, since it was only polite that he did so when she got introduced. "Aren't you technically everyone's father?"

One Above All blinked, not expecting the question. He burst out laughing not too long afterward. "Yeah, you're right. I'm, technically, the father of everyone," He suddenly had a grin on his face, "You can call me dad if you want too."

He looked back at the old man, ignored his words and pointed at the papers he had gotten from Howard, "Will I be able to bring these with me? Howard said that he's already talked to Death."

The old man came over to look at the papers, he nodded his head after seeing them. "Yeah, these seem to be made right. Good on Howard for getting everything right."

"Um," Original Jasper spoke up, blushing when they looked at him. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Go on child, I'll answer to the best of my ability."

"Can I return to the world of the living?" The boy asked, then seemingly realized what he had said and quickly began explaining. "I don't want my old body back, but I still wanted to see the world there and hoped that I could somehow go with Jasper!"

One Above All started humming, obviously thinking about things. Well, if it wasn't for the clear amusement in the man's eyes. He then looked back at Death, seeing her look at them with an unreadable expression. He wondered if this was something they planned on from the very beginning? Because both of them don't seem to be surprised that original Jasper was asking that.

As for himself, he didn't know what to think. He didn't mind if the boy followed him, since he too enjoyed the company of someone so like him. And he was pretty sure that his Mother Box would also be joyed at having another person to 'look after'.

"What do you say, eh Death? Should we let this young ghost Jasper follow with living Jasper? This is your domain, you have the final say." The old man asked his daughter, his tone was quite jovial despite what he was saying.

Original Jasper looked like he was about to pass out from the nervousness, not that he was sure that ghost could pass out. Maybe they could sleep? Either way, the boy was on the edge of his seat, waiting for the final answer from Death.

Death finally looked at them fully, her eyes would have probably been glaring at them if she had any pupils. It was an interesting effect to see. "Do whatever you want, just get the living body out of my domain. It's getting annoying and the dead souls are getting riled up because of it. Do you know how many idiots have already asked me if that child could deliver them a message or two? It's getting stupid." The lady ranted, apparently he had caused more trouble than he thought while being in here.

"Also, that idiotic child just ate fruits meant for the dead. If it wasn't for his damn physique, he would have died already. Honestly, couldn't you just have brought them somewhere else?" She continued ranting, not seemingly wanting to stop. Though original Jasper did look happy that she didn't mind him coming to the world of living with Jasper.

"Now, now, no need to be so angry. Getting a little extra work is good for you." One Above All tried to joke around but seeing the unamused stare he got, he just coughed. "Now children, why don't you get yourself ready so that we can go and let Death take care of the mess we made?"

A door appeared behind them, making Jasper stand up. He made sure to take with him the sweets plate, it was empty now but no need to litter. Original Jasper also stood up after a second, excited about getting to come with him.

Walking to the door, he opened it up before giving Death one final glance. "Bye, Death."

—

Upon exiting the door, Jasper found himself back in the room where he had been staying. Looking at the clock that hung on the wall, he saw that no time had passed at all, it was still 8:23 PM, which meant that One Above All had stopped time when he walked through the door. That was nice.

Looking back to the white room, the old man was standing there with a smile on his face. "We won't be able to meet for a while, but that doesn't mean I won't be watching. Enjoy your new life, the both of you." He waved his hand, the door closing slowly.

Jasper had to wonder if the man liked to be dramatic.

Either way, he brought his hand up his neck and this time did feel his Mother Box in her necklace form.

[Mother?]

He called out while walking back to the bed, the papers he got still in his hands.

[Yes dear? Something wrong? You were about to walk out to get sweets, did you forget something?]

[No. It's just that I found myself meeting the creator of this universe. Apparently the dude wanted to talk with me.]

Jasper wasn't expecting the line to his Mother Box to just go silent. Sure, it was surprising news but he was pretty sure he had talked to her about One Above All.

[...what?]

[I just met the creator of the universe.]

[I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU MET THE CREATOR OF THIS UNIVERSE]

He had to balance himself to not fall from his mother's screaming. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Sighing a little, he began explaining what had happened from the moment he tried to get sweets to him returning just now.

He even explained to her how One Above All had just decided to shove Original Jasper into his soul because the boy still didn't want a body. Personally, Jasper had no problem with that, it even helped not to need to explain things to Charles.

After he was done telling his tale, he waited to see what his Mother Box would say.

[I-I'm not even sure what to say. This all feels so surreal.]

Jasper kind of understood his Mother Box there. Sometimes, everything just feels bizarre. After all, he just went from a random dude in another world to being a mutant in Marvel, of all places, and got to meet One Above All, the creator of the universe.

[Don't worry Mother, you're not alone there. But still, we're living in this world right now and besides, meeting the creator of this universe wasn't all that bad. I got these papers that have the designs of Howard Stark.]

[I guess you're right about that, it's still weird. Though what papers are you talking about?]

[These besides me?]

[I don't see anything, dear.]

Looking back at the papers he had put beside him while he had explained everything to his Mother, he found them just sitting there. Picking them up, he began just waving them a little.

[I'm waving them right now, can you still not see them?]

[I don't register anything in your hands or in the area around you.]

[Huh, wonder if these have some type of protection that's making you not see them? Can you look into my memories and see if you can see them? Or if you can even see my talk with One Above All for that matter?]

His Mother Box went silent, likely looking at his memories. While that was happening, he instead shifted to the other mental link he had in his head. One that connected to Original Jasper.

[Hello? Can you hear me?]

[I'm hearing you.]

Seeing that the connection didn't have any problems, he now wondered how he could get his mother and original Jasper to also talk. That would probably have to wait depending on if his Mother could actually connect the three of them. Otherwise, it'll have to become a project of his, once he learns how to use magic.

[I can see what happened in your memories and have seen those papers. You'll have to read them for me to also get a look at them too, but after that I should be able to see whatever the thing is that Howard gave you.]

He nodded his head, having already thought that it would be like that.

[On other news, since you like to drop them on me so much, I would like to request that you bring me somewhere with lots of materials for me to absorb. We have been not doing much these past two weeks and I didn't exactly need to repair myself but as you'll progressively get stronger, I won't be able to keep up. Both in protecting you and in helping you with learning. Besides that, if I can repair some of my other functions, I should be able to look into your soul and meet the original Jasper there.]

That was a good point, one that he hadn't thought of before. It seems like some place with a lot of trash is the best for now, they could see about other higher quality materials later on. Maybe even get Tony to get them, after he delivered the message of his father?

[I'll find us a place to look for. Not really sure what to do about leaving this place and finding us a taxi, but I'll leave the planning for a little later.]

[Yes, that would do well. While I could technically leave you alone for a few hours, I'm not doing that. You have no idea how many small things have tried to grab some of your DNA. Thankfully, I have a small field that protects you.]

He actually frowned at that, he had forgotten that if someone grabs your DNA here, they could easily just clone you. It seems like he'll need to be more careful, though that did pose a question.

[Mother, since my powers aren't technically mutant powers, can you tell what original Jasper's powers would have been?]

[That would require testing your body's DNA and seeing if your own powers haven't just taken over.]

Another little thing for later on.

—