It was one of the lazy mornings in the palace, and princess Jasmine was pacing the castle nervously. Though she loved Aladdin, she wasn't sure she was ready to marry him, even after everything that had happened.

If anything, the events of the past had only served to increase her determination to find herself, her passion. It was crucial to do so before she could make a bond with another.

How can you expect someone to accept you as you are when even you are not sure who that is?

Yes, Jasmine was a princess, but she wanted to be so much more than that. Only being Aladdin's wife wasn't the answer either.

Suddenly, Jasmine stopped, shock coloring her face. Where moments ago, her feet were treading, a door appeared out of nowhere.

She was cautious, having in mind her foreknowledge of what magic was capable of doing. Yet, she could not curb her curiosity. After all, the type of magic involved didn't seem to be in any way connected to the one she had experienced.

Taking a deep breath, Jasmine decided to let her adventurous spirit guide her for a change. Leaving her princess self to be guarded by Rajah, she set off on an adventure.

"I promise I'll be back in time for the wedding. I just need to go and find myself first. It might be my last opportunity to have an adventure before I am to be trapped by the life I was born into." Jasmine said.

She gently stroked Rajah's head as he looked into her eyes with deep sadness, understanding more than any other animal would.

"You be good and take care of Aladdin for me," Jasmine said as she moved towards the door.

"I love you," she added.

The last thing she heard before stepping through was Rajah's low growl that was both a sign of affection and a warning.

The moment Jasmine passed through the door; the most powerful light she had ever seen blinded her. It felt as if it was burning away her eyesight, and to her utter embarrassment, Jasmine screamed in pain.

"Well, this is new. I usually don't have gorgeous women barging into my home." A male voice said, sounding amused.

Jasmine squinted, trying to survey her surroundings. However, all she could see were different colored metal men that terrified her even more. There were no humans around, yet the voice she heard sounded strangely human.

"Are you an alien or something?" the man asked her.

"I am not sure what you mean?" Jasmine said, trying to keep her calm.

After all, Jasmine was a princess, and princesses didn't cower in the face of danger.

"Did you come from another planet?" he asked.

"Oh, no, not at all. I was just in my kingdom, and I passed through this strange door, and I found myself here, metal man." Jasmine said.

"It's Iron Man," he said.

"I beg your pardon?" Jasmine asked, confused.

"I am Tony Stark. I AM the Iron Man." Tony said.

"Oh, I see. My name is Princess Jasmine of Agrabah. It is a pleasure to meet you." Jasmine said as politely as she could.

"Princess Jasmine? Agrabah? You mean like in Aladdin?" Tony asked.

"You know him?" Jasmin perked up.

"We haven't had the pleasure of meeting, but I do know about him. Well, I didn't see this coming. I thought you were one of those aliens that keep trying to destroy us. But this is even weirder." Tony said.

As he said that, he dimmed the lights and stepped out of his suit, settling down on the nearby couch.

Jasmine was so shocked that her mouth hung wide open as a metal man gave birth to the one of flesh and blood.

"What kind of dark magic is that?" she asked.

"Not magic. Technology. After all, I am a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony said, smiling broadly.

"I do not wish to be rude. However, I do not understand the meaning of any of those words." Jasmine said.

"Ah, yes, of course, different times and all that. I am the one who made this using tools." Tony bragged.

"That sure is an impressive endeavor. I admire your wisdom." Jasmine said.

"As you should," Tony replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly, above his shoulder, another grin, a much bigger one appeared. The shocking thing about it was that it didn't possess a body. It was just a grin hovering in the air behind Tony's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked, his grin dimming.

"Oh, yes, thank you. I might just be imagining things, that is all." Jasmine said.

"In this time and age, chances are that you aren't imagining anything. Tell me, what do you see?" Tony asked, starting to get worried.

"It appears to me like a grin floating above your right shoulder?" Jasmine said uncertainly.

"A grin, you say?" Tony asked, relaxing.

Aliens were never grinning. He was sure that whatever it was, it was not of alien origin, which made him relax significantly and gaze towards his shoulder.

"I see. Well, that's just too much." Tony said agitatedly.

"Too much or too little, which one is truer? Can you have too much when there is too little to be seen?" the mouth said.

"Well, that confirms it. Princess Jasmine, meet Cheshire cat." Tony said tiredly.

"Pleasure to meet you," Jasmine said as the rest of the cat suddenly appeared above Tony's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, can we cut the pleasantries? Can someone please tell me what Disney characters are doing in my home?" Tony asked agitatedly.

After all, he didn't mind a beautiful princess appearing on his doorstep but, an annoying cat was more than Iron Man could handle.

"I saw the door come through Wonderland, so I jumped in, since, as you well know, every door leads to somewhere and somewhere is better than nowhere." Cheshire cat said.

"Great! That's just great!" Tony yelled.

"Is there anyone else who decided to invade my privacy? Anyone at all?" he yelled, turning around and scanning the room.

The silence was his only answer.

"Well, that's something at least," Tony said, pouring himself a single-malt scotch on the rocks and sipping it slowly.

He was contemplating what was going on and what he was supposed to do. It was simple to deal with the aliens, shoot to kill.

Well, except for Thor and occasionally for his brother Loki when he was not the villain. Still, it was much easier to judge what to do with those, but cartoon characters were beyond him.

"Pepper, dear, I need you down here," Tony said, tapping at his device.

"Did you get stuck in a suit again?" she asked.

"No. Just come here and see for yourself, or you won't believe me," he said.

"After being invaded by aliens so many times, I would believe anything," she said.

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Tony murmured to himself.

"I'll be right there." Pepper said her curiosity peaked.

"Oh, my God, Tony! I can't believe it. Princess Jasmine! And Cheshire cat? Isn't that a different fairy tale?" Pepper asked the moment she entered the room.

"Yeah, yeah. Portal of some sort picked them up like a tornado and dropped them down on my doorstep, but why me? There must be some reasoning behind it, some scientific reason for it?" Tony said already getting lost in the mechanics of it all.

"Tony, don't forget about our guests," Pepper said.

"Oh, yeah, Pepper, you take care of them while I see why and how they got here and how to get them back," Tony said.

"Tony, you forget that I no longer work for you. I am your wife." Pepper said sternly.

"You are right," Tony said, kissing her cheek.

"Honey, would you please take care of our guests while I find a way to get rid of them?" Tony said sweetly.

"Tony! You can't say that in front of a princess." Pepper said, scolding him.

"Why not?" he asked cluelessly.

"That's all right. I do not mind. I also wish to go back home as soon as possible. After all, I need to get ready for the wedding." Jasmine said.

"Aww, you haven't gotten married yet? That's my favorite part." Pepper gushed, going from an independent young woman to a child in seconds.

"Ahem, thank you," Jasmine said, having no idea how the strangers knew so much about her life.

"I see. Of course. That makes sense. If I just reverse the polarity..." Tony mumbled, investigating the door standing in the middle of the room.

"Shouldn't we help?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh, no. Tony prefers to work alone. Besides, there isn't much we can do. He is the genius after all." Pepper said.

"The line between a genius and a madman is a thin one. When one gets lost in his genius, he is one step closer to madness." Cheshire cat said.

"Hush, you. I am in no mood for your cryptic messages." Pepper said as if scolding a small child.

"Suit yourself." Cheshire cat said, disappearing once again as his grin lingered for a long time until finally fading away.

"I loved reading the story about Aladdin when I was young," Pepper said, turning to Jasmine.

"A story about him? What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, utterly confused.

"Well, you see, in this world. Books such as Wonderland and Aladdin are popular, but they are just part of the human imagination." Pepper said.

"You mean to tell me that although I am the princess, although my kingdom was in danger, Aladdin is still the main character of the book?" Jasmine asked, feeling agitated for the first time.

"Yes, because he is the one who saves the day, isn't he? Besides, you seem to be happy to give him all the glory." Pepper said, confused.

"He saves the day with my help. Well, that is about to change. Thank you. What was your name again?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh, I am Pepper, a pleasure to meet you," Pepper said, offering her hand.

"You too, Pepper. You've opened my eyes, and for that, I am grateful." Jasmine said, shaking her hand.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"I need to become the main character in my own life. I love Aladdin, but that doesn't mean that I have to take second place in my own life. We will be equals, or we will not be together at all." Jasmine said.

"But..." Pepper started to say but was interrupted by Tony's excited shout.

"I did it!" he said.

"You mean I can return home?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes, immediately," Tony said.

"Thank you," Jasmine said, stepping towards the door.

"Wait, don't forget that crazy cat. Where is it?" Tony asked.

He started looking around for the invisible cat, soon realizing the futility of his attempt and changing his tactics.

"Here kitty kitty," Tony said.

"There is nothing worse than a genius fallen to the level of idiots." Cheshire cat said, appearing above Jasmine's shoulder.

Before Tony's rage had the chance to blow up, Jasmine and Cheshire cat went through the door, and the moment they were gone, the door disappeared as well.

"Will they be okay?" Pepper asked.

"Probably," Tony said, pointing at the bookshelf where one book was suddenly glowing.

Pepper picked it up and smiled broadly at what she saw writing itself in that exact moment.

"Jasmine and Aladdin," the title of the book said instead of the previous title, which was "Aladdin."

"You go girl!" Pepper murmured, thinking that perhaps she should follow Jasmine's example.

"Tony, we need to talk..." Pepper said.

Word count: 1940