Story [Marvelverse AU] "Desolation's Beauty" (alt. future; F4/X-Men/others; humor, fluff, etc.)

A/N: This was originally written for a friend; it's part of a massively sprawling AU of Earth-616, in which the heroes actually aged, and Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers grew up together, had quite a few crazy adventures, got married, trashed the Sentinels, and lived happily ever after.

Emphasis on the crazy adventures ... more notes at the end.

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January 2029: Caer Gwybodaeth,
Upstate New York:
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The HERBIEs and the junior Askani apprentices had taken care of the decorations. Frank had never particularly liked leaving holiday decorations up past the new year, finding that the displays rather lost their impact once the celebratory season was over.

Besides, there's more to winter than the joy of the holidays - not that I dislike them, just the opposite. But there's also the pause of the great cycles, and the poetic nature of the snow, the Dragonborn thought as he looked out from his study window, coffee in hand.

The glistening back yard was covered with lingering white, a chill radiating even through the heated transplas. It was emptiness, but not destructive - more the impression of a blank canvas, waiting for spring to paint with the pallet of life itself.

Wow. I am waxing poetic. Shanira would probably give me grief for standing next to a bay window, Frank thought, smiling at the memory of the chief of the Caer's security. One of the 38th-century Askani exiles to the present, the Askani Sister was ... driven in her protective duties to the Bright Lady's family, regardless of the sheer amount of psionic and technological power on site.

Odahviing was keeping watch on the roof, as always; the dragon might occasionally slumber, but never really drifted off. Besides the Tamrielic exile, the rotating Askani security force were on the watch, and Frank and Rachel's own magnified senses would alert them to any intruders.

The Slayer of the Sentinels smiled a bit, extending his telepathy - most of his family were asleep, safe and sound, all save two.

Hmm, Frank thought, stroking his beard and wondering if he should be put out, but not wanting to be harsh for its own sake.

He cloaked himself in silence and shadows - again, a bit poetic, given it was just simple energy manipulation, but he found it fun.

One can be "epic" and not abuse their power, after all, he thought, slipping down the hall to where he sensed the interlopers.

Frank smiled at the sight of his youngest son, Arthur, sitting on the back of the living room couch and looking out the window. The 5-year-old was wide-eyed with wonder, clearly seeing something in the yard that was amazing him, and moonlight illuminated the boy's sleep-ruffled blond hair and blue pajamas.

With the tyke, as always when his oldest brother Cal was away at school, was the family dog. Krypto sat on the couch, paws on the back, peering up at whatever his young master was gazing at. The hound was technically Cal's, but adored all of the kids, and was Art's boon companion (the boy having taken seriously Cal's request to look after his first friend).

"It's so shiny, Krypto," Art whispered, and the dog made a noise of agreement, before he and the boy looked toward Frank.

"Is someone there?" Art asked, a little nervous until Frank dropped his sensory cloak and smiled. "Dad! I - uhm ... sorry."

"For what? I'm not angry, Art. Just curious why you're up so late - hey, Krypto," Frank greeted, petting the dog and sitting beside Art as the boy slid onto one of the couch cushions.

"I ... this'll sound funny, so please, don't laugh?" Art asked with all the seriousness and hope he could muster.

"I promise," Frank vowed. Once, he'd been a 5-year-old with vast sensory powers, and Art had many of the same psi-talents.

Art gave him a look of gratitude, then said softly, "I ... 'heard' the world. I mean - I dunno how t'splain it, but -"

"Like a heartbeat. Or a noise you can't quite tell where it's coming from, but it's always there, just quiet under the snow," Frank said softly, knowing exactly what Art meant.

The boy looked at him with awe, then gratitude, and Frank set his coffee on the table as he put an arm around his son's shoulders. "This time of year, the light on the snow is ... there's something just different about it. I remember seeing it too, when I was little - it's hard to explain, like you said. But it's like magic, that beauty. Cold, but not dead," Frank recalled.

"Yeah," Art said, nodding. He poked his head back up and looked at the yard, and Frank turned around to share the view.

Father and son just sat for a while, their dog beside them, as the stars and the moonlight painted the yard with cold beauty.

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Notes: Yes, this Franklin is THAT Dragonborn. Cross-time travel to Nirn was involved, hence why Odahviing the Tamrielic dragon is the watch-lizard atop the estate.

Krypto is, indeed, the Krypto of DC legend - F/R adopted a cross-time Kal-El (AKA Cal Richards), and Puppy!Krypto was in the rocket with him.

Art Richards (named for Frank and Rachel's friend, Artie Maddicks), is my OC, as is anyone else mentioned who's not already owned by creators/companies/etc.

 

Mira_Jade: Thanks, very much. This is a fun little AU; I've long thought that had Marvel run with the next-generation characters in a healthy fashion (meaning, not throwing them into metaphorical meat grinders every few years and leaving only Scott, Steve, Tony, Reed, and co. standing ), the milieu could've evolved better.

But, money talks ...

Another reason why I shall always champion well-written fanfic. There are quite a few hidden gems out there, where "happily ever after" isn't a bad thing.

F/R (who are the same age in this timeline ) always seemed like the logical inheritors of the mantles of "leaders of the future." I may post more in this timeline at some point ...

- Thanks again,
Onderon1

 

I'm not familiar with these fandoms, but I love your writing style! What a sweet vignette If you decide to post more in this series, I'd be thrilled to read them!