nextgenerationmarvel | Always When You Least Expect It...

She drops by the old Pier every once and a while. It's still hard to adjust that so many years have passed her by. It's easier with Franklin than it is with Valeria, her eldest has adapted to the fact she and Reed have returned. Their youngest smiles politely, makes small talk, but seems disconnected. It's not what she dreamed coming home to.

And now there's another child that is hers in another world, another time, another everything. Even whispers from Valeria (one of the few things she's coaxed out of her now adult daughter) tell her that the Namor that had been Remi's father wasn't like the man she knew.

So she drops by every week for the last few weeks. But she hasn't had good luck. Not until today.

"Remi? Remi de Namor?"

He could see the doors. He could almost reach for them. Except a voice pulled him up short. It was a voice he had never expected to hear.

Remi stopped heading for the doors and turned around slowly. Maybe he was hallucinating. Being away from home so long would do that, right?

"Yes?"

She walks over, hair swept into an elegant twist and her lips in a smile. She might be the age of his own mother despite the mom jeans and blouse.

"I thought that was you. It's good to see you."

"I, uh... I..." She looked like Mom. She sounded like Mom. Remi worked his jaw to say something other than 'I've been trying to avoid you!' and 'Mommy!' but the sounds were caught in his throat.

He reached up to his hood. His temptation to pull it down to cover his slightly battered face was overpowered by being stunned. Instead, he pushed the hood back.

"H-Hi."

She has... something of a memory and she's not sure if it's hers or something apart of her time with the fae but she has a hunch he wanted to avoid her. And to see her. Children of another world often do, according to the X-men.

Her lips set when she sees the batter state of his face. Oh, the impulsive nature of the Storms and Namor's blood? She's not shocked to see it at all, even if Sue doesn't know what it's from. "Would you like to have some lunch with me?" Food makes things better, less time for talking when you're chewing. It's a good compromise.

Remi slowly settled bare feet on the ground. He licked his lips hoping the moisture might get some words unstuck from there. It just made him realize his lip was split.

"I... you want to be around me?" He's kind of staring. Some day his dense cranium would slot in those royal lessons on composure.

Well, this was a touch different than the stories she swapped with Scott Summers years ago, she'll give it that. Sometimes they wanted to see their parents, sometimes they wanted to but couldn't tell them. Other times? Well, this was another time.

"Of course, I just don't offer to take anyone to lunch for the fun of it." She smiles, a dimple to her chin. "I don't know the restaurants around here as well as I used to, but I bet you know some of them?"

Remi wasn't transported to this reality for some reason. He was dumped here. Even this far down the road, he had a hard time thinking he belonged here. He had almost once. Then it was what he thought of family made him realize he didn't fit.

"Well, uh, there's a good Italian place around here. Actually, lots of good restaurants popping up around here. I think because I go to a lot and don't cook." He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand then ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm guessing you're not quite into raw fish like... uhm, what kind of cuisine do you like?"

And that could... probably be normal. But hiding alienates, and for the most part she's raised her children to open minded. Of course, she wasn't there for the informative and turbulent years. The children she lost are grown up and she's not sure how to help them.

"You can blame your grandfather for that. I had to learn because of your uncle, and he was an utter brat about it." She smiles, "Sushi's good. Anything warm and real and cooked by humans would suit me just fine."

He rubbed his hands on his sweatpants. "Warm, real, and cooked by humans. Okay."

His brow furrowed, making his pointy eyebrows pointier. "I know a good diner a couple blocks over. They pride themselves on 'good almost home cooking.' Would that work for you?"

Remi was getting calmer. He was starting to put up his royal facade. He could deal with this. He'd have time to figure out any meaning later.

"As I said, I'm not very picky. And... Reed isn't much of a cook and Franklin isn't either." She offers a tried smile. She's lost her touch to be honest, still adapting from the loss of so many years.

"Perfect. You can get whatever you want at a diner. Ice cream, pie, fish, breakfast." A wider grin to tease as she begins to see more of his father. Odd to see the young man's complexion is so far. Namor is fairer than her.

"Not all at once. The texture would be... too much." He wasn't sure what he should be doing. Though he went out on a polite limb and offered his arm to Not-His-Mom.

"Mrs. Richards." He could do this. No biggee. Just treat this like he had saved her from life-long torment and not that she looked exactly like the woman he missed dearly. He swallowed a bit and readjusted his slipping facade.

"Well, of course not all at once. Only Johnny can actually do that, and only a few... a decade ago." Sue took the arm offered to her and smiled warmly. "Thank you, Remi."

She's quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say. Keep the topic to food, it's a comforting thing in some ways. Hard, too. His mother must know all his favorites. "Sue is fine, too. Whatever makes you more comfortable. So, do you mind if I ask your favorite food?"

"Dérien," Remi said as he slipped into Morisyen while trying to figure out how to keep this as non-painful for Mrs. Richards as he could make it. She had been in another reality being tormented for years. The least he could do was try to make this pleasant.

He started to escort her to the diner. "Non, I do not mind. In this reality? I've become fond of chocolate chip cookies. And there are so many cuisines available that do not exist anymore back in my reality. Though I'm not allowed at a couple Chinese buffets unless it's Tuesday. They're not prepared for the amount of food a strong Atlantean male needs."

Remi, darling. She had two children pass through her and helped her younger brother out with his daughter and with the twins before she disappeared. Painful when interacting with children no longer exists besides separation. And this was not a fae dimension.

"Oh, I'll keep the chocolate chip cookies in mind." She wisely decides not to mention his 'half siblings' also love chocolate chip cookies. "But the Chinese buffets should be more wary. Ben has an appetite."

Remi's mind is running a couple steps behind of where he normally has it when he's trying to charm a lady. Mostly because this lady makes him feel a little lost through no fault of her own.

"I try not to go out eating with Jacob. Unless we want to shut the restaurant down for the night." Add Alexa into that since she's now carrying his baby and that could be an interesting night of eating. "I find this reality very peaceful and full of food. Though people start laughing at me on the peaceful part. They probably never hear the food part."

"Well, relatively peaceful. Few things are blowing into multiregional or ... approaching the nuclear option." Sue agrees solemnly. "We usually gave the place of employment prior notice so they could prepare and we... footed the bill. That's why he never went to all you could eat buffets." There's a faint smile on Sue's lips. "Once upon a time, I, Johnny, and Ben went to a buffet, all you could eat. But we didn't pay attention to how they would charge you. Their food was awful."

He listened and nodded his head. "Well, calling ahead is possible now. I'm allowed technology now."

Despite ruining a romantic holiday for Alexa, he had managed to get permission to play with fiddly little gadgets again.

"Well, it is peaceful considering humanity is condensed to this planet. I find it odd Dr. Stark hasn't terraformed the Moon, Mars, and Venus yet." He paused a moment because he did the doctor thing to Alexa's father once again. Then he decided to open the door to the diner for Mrs. Richards.

"Oh, and who is denying you this? You are speaking to a founder of the the... Foundation." She laughs quietly, shaking her head with amusement at the lame pun. "Never tell Johnny."

She slipped in and nodded towards him, "It seems simple and if nations weren't in dispute over who owns the Ice Caps, much less Mars, Venus, and the Moon, it would be. But is it the only way to take care of such a large amount of the population."

"My girlfriend, Alexa Stark, was a little twitchy because I destroyed a phone. I don't know if Mary has told her father about it." He was going to leave out why exactly he had destroyed it. That was not something he wished to bring up. This tentative acceptance as he saw it could be ruined by talking about his issues with her actual children.

He followed Mrs. Richards in. The hostess recognized him as a regular immediately and lead them toward a cozy booth. "Well, it would have probably taken a long time on my world if the face of it hadn't been rearranged by meteors."

"I've found that strength is usually advance technology's worst nightmare." It might be welcomed to talk about them. She might even bring up the topic eventually though she's playing a balancing game. She knows Franklin's not mad anymore. And Val is just terribly depressed.

"I see you're a fan favorite here." She turns to him and looks alarmed. "Meteors? When did this happen... err.. I guess that's the best way to ask that, yes?"

"I promised to not destroy any more equipment in a fit of anger, while Alexa understood not to insult me with tech in my hand. I think it worked out well." Remi was completely unaware how any of the Richards kids were doing. He had been doing his best to avoid them. He figured they wanted nothing to do with him, he'd not try anything more. He would just try to build some other family.

He shrugged and grinned a bit. The smile felt a little tight to him. Mostly from his injuries. "Most restaurants like my patronage. I eat a lot and leave a big tip." He scratched his cheek. "It happened when my mother was returning from space in a ship with her brother, Reed Richards, and Ben Grimm. The meteors broke up the shuttle and my father was only able to save y-my mother."

"It's tempting, isn't it? I know Ben's nearly gone a few things in his lifetime, notably so when we all had our change. It's something one has to deal with and adopt to. And there were a lot of times I was frustrated with my powers and as they began to grow." Oh, how different it was. But right now she wasn't there to mend bridges between her children and her... alternate reality child. The painful thing is she sees so much of Namor and Johnny in Remi, that could almost believe it was her son. He also reminds her a bit of Franklin, he being more Storm than Richards.

Sue doesn't mind, it's an awkward situation all around. Her smile is light and geunine though, even if years in the spot light has taught her to smile. "More food, more money for everyone. When I was in Hollywood for a little while, I would always hate the people who didn't tip." She looks puzzled for a moment, hearing the story but she nods. Very, very early on. Before their powers changed everything and everyone began to pop from the woodwork. No avengers to save the meteors. No X-Men. No Avengers. "I'm sorry, at the least, you didn't get to meet your Uncle."

"Not so much a temptation as a byproduct of my anger. I... have a hard time thinking when my emotions go to extremes." See also: how Alexa ended up pregnant. Which he was not going to bring up. The woman across from him had her own family to worry about. He had doubts she wanted to be a grandmother to someone else's kid.

"Most of my money goes to feeding myself," he admitted a little ruefully. "I can't cook and go out to eat a lot."

He shrugged and fiddled with the corner of his place mat with his thumb. "Mo mama says my little brother acts just like her little brother. Except more aquatic being Atlantean and everything. His name is Johnny, too."

One day she's going to see Alexa, and she's going to remember the conversation with Remi. She can add, thank you very much, Mr. Son of Namor. She's no Reed, but she's sharp. "I'll blame your uncle for you. I know half of that is from him.

Is that due to your up bringing, then? Believe me, that would be ... 'our' fault. If I could have a dependable cook cook for us, I would. I don't frust Reed's robots anymore."

There's a warm grin, and she can see this. "A lot like Mary, then? But less aquatic and more Skrull?"

It would become more patently obvious once Sue got more information about what happened between Remi and her daughter how Alexa got pregnant. He was just going to avoid the topic for as long as he could. "I... guess that could be. I've never known him, so I don't know what traits we have in common. Outside of what traits I may share with Mary."

Which he did not think were many, but there were one or two. He looked down to see he was still fiddling with the placemat and stopped himself. "Not much need to cook for myself under the sea and being the crown prince. When we were away from the kingdom, mama had Valeria Fen or Ari help her cook."

He squinted a bit to figure out the comparison. "Yes, but with a pet tiger shark and no need to sell stories to tabloids."

If she got anything out of Valeria besides a 'I'm fine', she would love it. Simply love it. "You get along with your cousins, then? I know they're 'removed' in some ways, but I've found that the Fantastic Four -- and I suspect the Foundation -- that family has to be involved. Comradeship."

And Sue couldn't help but smile, if sadly. "Two sisters with the name Valeria, then." Perhaps... well, Valeria wasn't getting out of her funk as easily as Franklin hoped.

A blank look and then a frown, "Tabloids."

Oh, crap. He let his mouth get away from him. He went a little wide-eyed as he tried to think how to backtrack. Outside of turning back time, which he couldn't do, his mind was giving him nothing. He spoke carefully.

"I get along well enough with Mary, Jacob, and Ryan. I lead the Imaginaut field team." Which he found to be he got it because no one wanted it or didn't want someone in particular to have it. He shifted a little in his seat.

"I... don't think your daughter considers me a brother." That was the politest way he could put it. It's what he felt since they... since the time he smashed a phone and got Alexa pregnant.

Though the tabloids was a topic change. He could go for talking about that. "Yes, I don't have a way to prove it, but a lot of insider tips about Alexa and my personal life end up in the tabloids. I'm positive it's not Jacob or Ryan. It would seem like a prankish sort of thing to do when you aren't the one having your personal life twisted and put out for public consumption."

"Well, to be terribly honest, I don't see any of those kids being a field leader. I once thought Franklin would-" There's a terse sigh, and she knows her loss is the reason why Franklin didn't become a field leader "-But things changed. I think it's good that you are." Though she also wouldn't be shocked to hear the reasons why it happened.

"Why do you think that, Remi? What happened?" Valeria, or the Valeria she knew, could be very arrogant. The child she knew wasn't the woman that Valeria became. While Franklin and Remi clearly were related to Johnny, Valeria was much more of Reed's child. And Reed could become terribly obsessed or depressed in his darkest times. And she barely had his optimism, it seemed. Or at the least, lately.

"No, Jacob wouldn't dare and Ryan knows his father would be furious. They both lived too much under hearing the pressures of their father and mother in the tabloids."

Remi let out a breath slowly and scratched the back of his neck. As he was still completely unfamiliar with Franklin and continuing to avoid him, the Atlantean had no idea if Franklin would eventually want to go to the Imaginauts and want the field team leader.

He was trying to be very careful on the words he picked. "When I informed Valeria that her father was back, she was condescending and dismissive of my ability to make sure it truly was Dr. Richards. So, I sent her cousins to bring her back, and she believed them."

He shrugged. "And then on the rescue mission for you, I didn't exist. So..."

He didn't finish that thought. He picked up a glass of water to take a drink. He would drink the whole glass and the ice cubes if he needed to.

From what Sue could see, that plan wasn't in motion for Franklin. He wasn't often at home, but sometimes dragged Valeria from her funk along.

"I still don't think she believes Reed is her father in a sense. I don't think she truly believes I'm her mother." Sue's words are also careful, not to offend someone who might be obviously hurt. "She lost us at a very young age and I'm sure there were false alarms." She closes her eyes to consider her words. "At times, I don't think she believes Franklin, either. She lost him too."

She looks curiously at him. "What happened just before?" This was not to defend Valeria, but it seemed Remi was hurt. She didn't want him to believe people here didn't care. "Before the mission."

Remi gave a half-hearted shrug. "I wouldn't know a thing to make her believe or come out of her world of denial. Despite my job on the Exiles, I'm not good at giving hope to those who don't want it. Her Uncle Ben would be the better choice."

He set his half-full glass on the table. He nervously rotated it with his thumb and forefinger. "Nothing. She had made her displeasure known about me even trying to be her brother, so I avoided her. I felt I would rather not bother her than get figuratively spit on again."

"No, I'm not asking for that, Remi. I'm only informing you that I don't think anyone can get her out of the idea Reed and I should be dead but for time itself. And even then, I'm not sure." Her tone is gentle, and quiet. "I think it would be good for you."

She sips her own water, studying him. "I don't think things between Storm siblings are ever simple, Remi. I hear rumors about you and I know what I'm seeing with my daughter and heard from Ben. I'd like you to see if this is true or not."

He tried to keep his expression bland. Like he was dealing with the Lord Chamberlain. If he'd ever admit it, he was hurt by the loss. He was realizing there was no way home from here. He had thought of Valeria as the only family he had here. He had struggled with moving on from that, but Alexa had sped that up. Or he had, really. Of all the times for forget to use a condom.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Rumors?"

He was almost horrified about what a mother would hear about a not-quite-son. That question was also a weak dodge away from the point she was trying to make.

"Ben told me Valeria was very fond of you, is all." She sighs quietly then gives a slight smile, "She's been depressed lately. It... wasn't right of me to not tell you. Not right off the bat."

Oh, she was aware of those other rumors but right now it wasn't something she should bring up. But Sue had a faint feeling next week she might drop by with a basket of goodies for the baby and Alexa.

Remi nearly choked on a sip of water. It was quite a feat being that he's semi-aquatic. He patted his bruised chest to make sure the water went down the right pipe. Then he winced from hitting a sore part of his body.

"She i-uhm. Was. Possibly." He rubbed his forehead. "So, you'd want me to visit her?"

Couldn't hurt her, he would imagine. It might even make her feel better to see someone worse off than her. Before she put him in an invisible hamster ball and sent him rolling into the Atlantic.

Well, being semi-aquatic didn't mean one couldn't choke on water. It wasn't too hard at all. But she reached over to gently touch his arm until he began to talk.

"Perhaps later, if you could. It might help. I think you both need it."

She smiles, then. "So tell me of your adventures so far."

"I..." Maudit. Why did she have to look exactly like his mother? Why couldn't she be like pasty King McKenzie? "I'll try."

It was all he could promise.

He finished up the water in his glass. "Well, I dropped into this reality in the big reservoir in Central Park..."

He skimmed through his history in this world. He skipped right over all the sex. Also, he abbreviated his first encounter with Alexa Stark to the beach party and talking in her house the next morning. He purposefully left out the part that got them into the tabloids. He did have to pause for the waitress to take their orders and then he finished his tale up to Mrs. Richards' rescue.

Always When You Least Expect It...

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