Story [Multi-fandom] "Passing Conversations" (Marvelverse/DCU/many other 'verses; banter, etc.)

A/N: This is the first in a series of AU tales I've written for a friend, and as a thought experiment - the easiest way to explain the set-up is that it starts in a Marvel 616 AU where Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers were the same age, grew up together, trashed the Sentinels, and saved the future.

However, a chain of events led F/R to accept a job offer saving alternate timelines from disasters ...

and they've made a few familiar, and some new, friends along the way.

Part of the future for this timeline can be found here: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...ure-f4-x-men-others-humor-fluff-etc.50039338/

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July 2013, Somewhere between
dimensions:
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"... we're still a few jumps out from reaching Otherworld. The cross-time drive's been giving us some hiccups, so we're going to go to realspace and give it an overhaul," Franklin Richards explained to the hologram of Roma as the bridge crew prepared for reversion.

"Understood, Franklin. There's no rush now that you took the anomalous Emma Frost into custody. Perhaps, if she's separated from the Phoenix shard she absorbed, we can even return her safely to her own timeline," the elfin Guardian of the timestream said, glancing for a moment at the Starjammer's first mate when she coughed.

"Nothing. Just clearing my throat," Susan Ivanova said, not fooling Franklin - or, from the flicker of concern across Roma's face, the Guardian - for a second.

Frank smiled apologetically at the former commander of Babylon 5, not missing the glance of concern that the helmsman gave them. Harry Kim just settled in his chair, ducking a look of embarrassed annoyance that Ivanova gave him, and the tension bled out ... for the moment.

Note to self: Talk to Susan once we're back in realspace, Frank thought, returning his attention to his putative "employer." Strictly speaking, given his powers, he didn't need income, but neither was he naive that all crosstime cultures would accept the dollar in case he did have to buy something.

"We'll drop Emma off as soon as we can, Roma. Any news from home?" Franklin asked. He hadn't had much of a chance to check in on things, what with all the crosstime crises erupting that needed his and Rachel's attention.

Roma smiled, more at ease - there was rarely any bad news from Earth-11489, any more. "Your grandfather asked me to give you a message from your father should I hear from you - the rebuilding continues apace. Much of the eastern megalopolis infrastructure has been stabilized," she said.

Frank relaxed a bit more; he always felt guilty about having left his Earth in the shape it'd been hammered into by the Sentinel War, even if it'd been his choice. "Thanks, Roma. Good to hear things are proceeding. We'll call you before we pop in. Don't want the Captain Britain Corps to be surprised. Franklin out," he said, and the connection closed.

To Kim, Frank said, "Harry, can you handle reversion? I need to speak to the Commander for a few minutes."

"No problem, si - er, Frank. 3, 2, 1 ..." the former Starfleet ops officer said, his hands dancing across the controls. The Starjammer shivered as the bluish-red image of the transdimensional Bleed faded into a starfield - and, at a safe distance, a familiar world.

"Phase transition complete; reality stabilizers disengaged; tachyon static minimal; and ... cloaking field on. We can hang out here at LaGrange-point 4 indefinitely. I'll keep an eye out for Kordylewski dust clouds," Harry said, and Frank returned his friend's smile before looking at Susan.

She was, perhaps predictably, annoyed at having her concerns brought up, even if her face was composed and professional. Although Susan's psi-shields were as strong as ever, Frank could read her body language, and already knew the reasons why she was uncomfortable with the last mission. Besides, Frank refused to brute-force a mindprobe, especially of a comrade, unless absolutely necessary.

More power, more responsibility. Technically, Ivanova outranks me, but that's not the way it usually plays out ... as she'll no doubt remind me, Frank thought with a bit of wry amusement as they entered the captain's office.

"I'm sorry. That was ... unprofessional of me. I shouldn't let my personal feelings go on display like that while on duty," Ivanova said, finding a chair. Frank sat down across from her - not at Rachel's desk, Ray would know if he'd sat there, and she'd tease him about "mutiny."

Besides, the desk was a mess from the last time he and Rachel had been in the office ...

"Hey, how many times have I told you? You're entitled to your opinion. We want everyone to feel free to discuss their concerns, duty cycle or not. We're not ... rigid, remember?" Frank pointed out.

Ivanova nodded, turning her usual wry smile on Frank. "I know. Still hard for me to get used to. And I know the situation with Frost is completely different from that of my mother. Still ... hunting rogue telepaths ... it still brings up mixed feelings. You know all that, though," she pointed out.

Frank nodded, careful to avoid the "B-word" as he considered his reply. Nobody wanted to remind Susan of Alfred Bester unless utterly necessary.

"Your mother's situation. And then, later, the Psi Corps' continued atrocities," he said, a note of sympathetic (and real) outrage in his voice.

Susan's smile became more sharp-edged, but she shrugged. "I'm grateful about Roma's trying to get Frost therapy. I am. I suppose ... the training Rachel's given me, it's raised my awareness of how hard Mom had it. And Talia, and the others. For being a P1 - a Delta-class psi, like you categorize - I've learned things I never thought I could do. Still ... I'm glad I stayed aboard this time," she admitted.

"You're a great XO, Susan. You keep things going when Ray and I can't be around. With all the different personalities we have on board ..." Frank said, trailing off as Ivanova snorted with repressed amusement.

"Says Mr. Stability the Science Officer. You'd better make sure Kim and McCabe behave themselves in the mess, don't embarrass themselves in front of Kitty and Diggory and the others. I think Mari's finally starting to warm up to Harry," Susan said, standing as Frank did - they'd reached the end of this particular conversation, even if Frank knew the issue wasn't settled.

When will any of our "issues" settle, though? Ray and I are the lucky ones of this crew, he remembered, leaving first at Ivanova's insistance - she was still a stickler for the unconscious details of protocol, even if the Starjammer wasn't a military craft per se.

~Maybe clinging to her old routines is a way for Susan to keep something of her old life,~ Ray pointed out over the psi-bond, a note of regret and sympathy in her empathic undertones.

~I know, but it's been a year, Red. I'm not naive or heartless enough to assume that she - that any - of the others should adapt overnight, but I worry sometimes. We're not professional psychologists,~ Frank sent back, heading for the engineering deck - Kitty would need his help cleaning any bugs out of the cross-time drive.

Rachel's empathic tone shifted to resignation and recognition as she sent, ~We can always take them planetside the next time we stop at home. Shore leave would help a lot. And the Professor would be more than willing to help, or there's Leonard Samson. Talk more later - I've got a sparring session, and you've got a tetchy engine to force into behaving. Love you.~

~Love you, too,~ Frank replied, smiling while the turbolift door closed behind him. Yes, he was definitely lucky ... and in a minority aboard the 'Jammer.

Most of the crew, after all, were refugees from alternate timelines ravaged or eradicated by the kinds of disasters they now sought to prevent.

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Rachel sighed inwardly, performing a breathing exercise to center herself. Frank was almost - almost - too empathic sometimes, and it wasn't possible to always keep his emotional spillover from entering her thoughts when he got worried.

The risks of loving an Omega-level psi, she thought, opening her eyes and smiling at her sparring partner. The dark-skinned woman across the room flexed and tensed, wearing a tank top and sweatpants similar to Rachel's, and she raised an eyebrow in amusement at the younger woman.

Mari McCabe chuckled, calling, "Don't tell me Franky's been sending you naughty pictures again?"

"Now, now. You know I'm more prone to that sort of thing," Rachel joked back, returning her friend's grin. Once known as Vixen of the Justice League, Mari could replicate the abilities of practically any known Terran animal - not through actual shapeshifting, but altering her own physiology subtly through mental focus on the animal's image.

Ever since joining the 'Jammer's crew, though, Mari had just gone by her birth name. Too many bad memories, she just said when asked why.

After the trip to Mari's Earth, Rachel understood just why Mari spoke little and focused more on her job as primary field tracker and hand-to-hand combat specialist for the Starjammer.

We have a lot of sole survivors aboard this ship ... even me, partially ...

A flicker of memories that weren't quite Rachel's - disquieting ones, of hunting and being hunted - flitted through her subconscious, and the Starjammer's captain frowned in frustration. She'd thought she had those memories locked down ...

Focus, Summers. Your ... acquired memories can wait for meditation, she reminded herself, tensing as she and Mari circled each other - then sprang.

High kick; forearm block reinforced with telekinetic bracing; spin kick; TK-shield against bioelectric jolt; reflexive leap back echoed by telekinetic darting away.

The women nodded at each other, both breathing heavily, and Rachel signalled for a break. "I think we're both still tired from that last trip planetside. You're still in good form, though," she said, sitting on a bench beside Mari.

"You're not too bad yourself. I noticed, though, your scent changed, just for a second before we started sparring," Mari asked, giving Rachel a bottle of water before opening her own from a cooler beneath the bench.

Rachel thanked her, sipping the drink and frowning. "It got older, didn't it?" she asked. "Logan notices the same thing sometimes when I visit home."

Mari's eyebrows rose, and Rachel nodded; it didn't make any sense to avoid the truth, not while talking to a friend with enhanced senses. "Leftovers from my run-in with the 616-Rachel. I'm still shaking out the mnemonic clutter," Rachel said.

"Ah. Hard enough to have your own past to deal with. Someone like her ... are you talking to anyone?" Mari asked, concern filling her voice and mental signature.

"I do with Frank. And I will with someone else. Probably my Kitty, when we stop over at my core timeline again. I keep forgetting how lucky I am that Frank kept Purity from giving me to Campbell when we were younger. There're too many crosstime versions of me who were ... captured," Rachel explained, unable to hide a shudder as she finished speaking.

She gave Mari an embarrassed look, but the older woman smiled and shook her head. "Don't apologize - you need to to talk about this stuff as much as I confide in you. If you don't, even as experienced as you are with encountering crosstime versions of yourself, it'll drive you mad. And we need you sane," she told Rachel.

"Thanks, Mari. As much as Susan gripes about the informality around here, I couldn't handle running the show like that. My big brother Jake's the soldier, and I had enough of bossing people around on my Earth during our Sentinel War," Rachel tried to joke.

They'd been lucky, she knew. If Frank hadn't struck as hard and fast as he had, hadn't given their X-Men and New Mutants and other superhero teams the warning he'd foreseen ... if, if, if ...

Enough with the what ifs, Ray. Be happy with what you have. Protect those who can't protect themselves, she reminded herself, clinking her bottle against Mari's.

No more Apocalypses, Sentinels, Shadow Kings, Shadows, Marauders, Peacekeepers, Scarrans, Darkseids, Voldemorts, Borg, asteroid strikes, rogue Phoenixes ... Hounds ...

They'd covered a lot of ground in the last year, Rachel realized, a little overwhelmed by it all. Done a lot of good, true, but seen a lot of bad.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up and check on the newer recruits. You going to give Harry an answer about that date he keeps asking you for?" Rachel asked Mari.

Mari rolled her eyes, but smiled a bit. "He's cute, and kind ... I don't want to keep him hanging. Maybe one time couldn't hurt," she agreed.

Rachel grinned, nodding as she stood. "Grab onto what happiness you can, when you can. You never know where we'll end up next," she advised, heading for her and Frank's quarters. "You've gotta make your own magic."

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"I try not to use the word 'mystic.' It's really just applied science ... which is completely useless in a room full of expensive and technologically-advanced equipment ..."

"Will you stop pitying yourself - grumblrazchranacht - already? So you can't - snarglraxcnthanaht - use your spells to help clean out the drive. So what? I'm just glad you're here," Kitty Pryde told the newest member of the Starjammer's crew as she fought with a particularly stubborn circuit board.

If nothing else, Cedric Diggory - who should've died in the spellstorm that'd claimed his native Earth, but in fact spared by Rachel's temporal powers - was both someone closer to Kitty's age than most of the others (even if she got along well with most of them), and a good conversationalist.

Doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes ... whoa, girl. Relax. He's older than you are, if not by much, and ... I'm not ready, Kitty reminded herself, thanking Cedric as he handed her a soldering gun. She blushed as it slipped through her fingers - literally - through, but managed to catch the tool when she concentrated.

He wasn't quite 18; she was nearly 16. He was a talented magic user and a novice hand-to-hand fighter; she had the mutant power of phasing through matter, her skills with machinery, and her combat training. He was Anglican; she was Jewish.

They both, however, had lost their worlds, and nearly their lives, in the course of how they now found themselves working on hypertechnology.

And if I don't focus, I'll end up going through the hull. Way to make the best of a second chance, Chief Engineer Pryde, Kitty berated herself - she set aside her own self-pity, it wouldn't do any good.

"Are you sure I can't do more?" Cedric asked from where he crouched beside Kitty's tool box. She was laying on her back, looking up into the guts of the main panel for the auxiliary crosstime drive controls, and her brown eyes met his grey ones before she smiled, shaking her head.

"Trust me, Cedric, handing me the tools is the best thing you can do right now. Maybe after I get this debugged - a-HA, THERE you are, you prakking little pest! - we'll work on identifying circuits?" Kitty asked, grinning viciously as she pulled out the fried circuit board that'd been plaguing the control signals during their last jaunt.

She eased herself out from underneath the control panel, wiping a smear of grease from her cheek, and squinted at the board. "An E-435. I hope Frank stored a few more of these in the hold ... don't suppose you have a seeking spell of some kind? Just identifying, not a telekinetic one that'd summon it?" she asked Cedric.

He shook his head, standing and stretching with a morose expression, but quickly grew determined. "E-435. I'll run down to the main hold and - hey!?" he exclaimed, ducking as a purple streak shot from the top of the console and back into the room with a rapid beat of wings.

"Eh? Coo feh ehkt?" the "streak" - a very proud, yellow-eyed, winged mini-dragon - asked, giving Cedric a disapproving glance before handing Kitty the replacement circuit board and curling abour her shoulders with a satisfied air.

"Thank you, Lockheed," Kitty said, both grateful and a little annoyed. Her pet and friend chuckled, nibbling a loose strand of her hair before seeming to fall asleep.

Cedric managed a smile, but looked terribly uncomfortable until Kitty said, "Can you get me some orange juice? And maybe a chicken leg for Lockheed? We can both use snacks."

"Ah - sure. Be right back," Cedric said, brightening. He left, and Kitty relaxed while she held Lockheed at arm's length with a bemused smile.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, dragon. Ced's a nice guy. I can't put my life on hold forever, and you don't have to protect me from everyone," Kitty gently reprimanded Lockheed.

"Cooo?" the dragon asked in an innocent tone, giving Kitty his most innocent face. She just raised an eyebrow, and Lockheed finally harrumphed, muttering, "Pfeh coo grmmbl."

"I know. And nobody can replace you, ever. But you don't treat Ray or Mari or Commander Ivanova like this, or Frank or D'argo or Harry," Kitty pointed out.

Lockheed had the grace to look embarrassed, and babbled something that Kitty smiled at. She hugged him, replying, "My honor's completely safe."

She sighed when her toes started sinking into the floor, and released Lockheed before airwalking back to floor level, then concentrated - she was still recovering from the injuries her world's Marauders had caused her, and not just the emotional pain. "Still beats having my molecules totally scattered," Kitty whispered.

"What's that?" she heard a bass rumble reply, barely keeping from jumping.

Getting sloppy with your attention, Pryde, Kitty reminded herself as a towering, if half-smiling, figure walked into the engine room and half-jokingly shook a finger at her in admonition.

Ka D'argo, the ship's Luxan security chief and general powerhouse, asked, "How's the work going? That last realspace transition sounded like the hull was being shaken by a Hynerian volgh-worm."

"Or a rabid Acanti space-whale. I think I've found part of the problem, though. The command relay network had a bad circuit board," Kitty agreed, not quite sure what a volgh-worm was and not wanting to learn.

One minor problem of being a member of a ship full of crosstime refugees was that context was so different from crew member to crew member. Still, she and D'argo got along well; he reminded her of Logan in many ways, and he respected Kitty for her combat skills and help repairing his weapons.

D'argo chuckled, shrugging, and nodded at Lockheed while the dragon landed on Kitty's shoulder. "I'll take your word for it, Pryde. How's that solidity problem coming?" he asked, glancing at her knowingly.

"How'd you know I was still having issues? I thought I'd only told Rachel and Sikorsky," Kitty asked, a little annoyed at being found out so easily, but grateful for D'argo's concern.

D'argo tapped the side of his nose, nodding when Rachel walked in. "Mari's not the only one with an enhanced sense of smell. You give off this little reek of ozone when you phase - Captain," he said, his concern changing to friendly sarcasm as he greeted Rachel.

"General," Ray replied, not giving the Luxan an inch. D'argo just laughed, growing more serious as Ray squeezed Kitty's shoulder and asked, "You need anything? Talk, a break?"

"Is our ... guest ... still in stasis?" Kitty asked, ashamed of the loathing - and fear - she heard in her voice. Having any Emma Frost aboard ship was ... troubling.

Ray understands, though, she thought, grateful for Rachel's understanding expression and affirmative nod.

"Her Royal Trampiness is sleeping soundly. Frank and I checked on her about 15 minutes ago," Rachel reassured Kitty.

"Good. Cedric's getting me a snack. But a break is good. Tell Frank I've got the control board relay problem under control, so if he wants to check the fuel lines and field emitters, that'd be a good place to start," Kitty said, trying to keep the others from worrying.

Rachel relaxed - a little, but gave Kitty a knowing look that was both comforting and heart-rendingly similar to the ones that Kitty's Rachel had.

~If you keep having episodes, don't be embarrassed to tell me, OK? We're - I'm - here for you,~ Ray sent telepathically.

~Thanks. Really,~ Kitty thought back, trying not to cry as she remembered her X-Men. At least, she didn't want to cry in front of D'argo, kind as he could be.

The Luxan had the decency to look away, whistling tunelessly until Cedric walked in with a carton of orange juice, two mugs and what looked like half a chicken.

"Coo? Yahyahyah!" Lockheed cheered, flying over and tackling the poultry away from Cedric. He spared the boy a look of gratitude, then started devouring the chicken, while Cedric looked a little afraid at D'argo's scrutiny.

"Sir - capt - er, Rachel," Cedric said, stumbling over his words as he remembered Ray's insistence upon informality. "Sorry I didn't bring enough glasses. I didn't expect to find you here."

Rachel's smile was kind, even if she gave Kitty a wink and grabbed D'argo by the shoulder. "We were just leaving, Cedric. I'll trust you and Kitty to continue the work here - the 'General' and I need to help Frank with those field emitters," the telepath said, leaving with the warrior.

"Field emitters ... sure. I'll trust you two, too," D'argo said, giving Cedric a clearly warning look before leaving, and the wizard paled as he poured orange juice.

"Thanks, Cedric," Kitty said, sipping her juice and smiling. "Maybe now we can go over circuits?"

"Ah ... sure," he said, relaxing a little, his smile only reminding Kitty a little of Piotr or Doug.
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Mira_Jade: Thanks for the reply. Sorry I didn't reply sooner - it's been a busy month, but that's not an excuse.

I'm a big fan of the original Cross-Time Caper from the first Excalibur series (Alan Davis art , and Chris Claremont before he got stuck in a rut ), and the idea of playing these particular personalities off of each other was a lot of fun.

(Looking back at B5 clips, Ivanova is such a bad-shebs, but not one-note, either - and I was very pleasantly surprised to learn Claudia Christian was a voice actress in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, of all things! )

Harry rarely got a chance to shine, and Vixen is such a strong character, while Cedric had such potential ... while D'argo just died too soon.

Kitty is just a positive character (when written well), and Lockheed - always a blast. A girl and her dragon, against the multiverse? Stories ahoy.

(As for how this particular Kitty and Lockheed ended up aboard the Starjammer - it's not as grim as some of the others' stories. Kitty might just not realize that at this point in the timeline ... )

This Rachel is a complicated version of the character. She had a much healthier adolescence than 811-Rachel, and attempted to become the leader of the future X-Men (which she did, at least for a time).

But there were challenges along the way (her powers, to be sure, but also her expectations of herself, the expectations of others, and a rather bitter rivalry with a childhood friend - not Frank, but someone else - and that's all before the Askani got involved ... ).

Frank is, IMHO, a criminally underused character; Marvel should've let him grow up years ago (he first appeared in 1968! ), but they can't seem to figure out what to do with an Omega-level reality-warping mutant. (Well, write him behind the scenes for the time being, but I'm ignoring Secret Wars here ).

I'll see what else I can post soon? I have a few years' worth of this 'verse, but perhaps not as much with this set of Starjammers as I could've written (there's a lot of backstory I've never gotten to, or have only written fractions thereof ... )

- Thanks again,
Onderon1