Arrival [Future Foundation]

[heirtoinhumanity]

Black Bolt and Medusa had known known their son wanted to see the outside world, to explore it, under his own control. He'd gained enough mastery over his powers that such a thing was doable. Black Bolt had, however, asked Reed and Sue, as a personal favor to keep a watchful eye on his son and heir. They were not to intervene unless absolutely necessary, just to watch Ahura.

Ahura knew that his father loved him. He was far less sure, however, that his father trusted him. He was a member of the Royal Family, however, and the heir to the throne, so his desires did need to be taken into due consideration. Ahura also privately suspected that there were reasons his father did not mind having him gone. Many Inhumans had lost faith in their king when Apocalypse had saked Attilan, and some of them looked towards Ahura.

Others feared that he was Maximus come again, destined to go mad like his uncle. Ahura had wondered that himself from time to time. Certainly, he had much of his uncle's look, and his hideous power reflected Maximus more than his father's.

He put those thoughts out of his mind now. Lockjaw, faithful companion that he was, had just transported him to the Future Foundation headquarters, where he was to be officially greeted. He'd be staying there at least until which time he'd secured lodgings of his own. Attilan had little use of money domestically, but many years ago, the Royal Family had quietly made provisions to provide their needs financially, should it ever come up.

It would not do for a Prince to live in anything less than comfort. That much was agreed upon universally. There was a dignity to being an Inhuman prince. He imagined, in the future, that ambassadors would have similar dignities. For he truly believed that Attilan's isolation was dooming it to slow failure.

In a flash of light, through the medium of a singularly enormous dog, Ahura Boltagon, Crown Prince of Attilan, found himself in the lobby of the Future Foundation. He idly wondered who would receive him there.

Comments

[aqua_gambit]

Fresh from tank time and still slightly damp, Remi padded barefoot into the lobby. He had managed to get some nap time because some sweet woman wanted to spend a bit of time with her grandbaby. He'd taken it in his tank since it had been at least 24 hours since he had last been submerged in salt water.

His stride slowed down to a stop when he saw a man standing beside a massive dog in the lobby. The Atlantean prince knew he was supposed to be meeting someone with ties to the Richardses, but he hadn't been told about ... damn, that thing was huge.

He softly cleared his throat and started back toward the visitor. "Greetings. Ahura Boltagon, I presume?"

[heirtoinhumanity]

"You must be Remi DeNamor. A pleasure to meet you." Ahura offered his hand to shake. The Atlantean was certainly handsome, but from what he'd heard, had a child with Stark's daughter, and there was a promise of marriage between them. In any case, princes? Perilous business.

Lockjaw went up to Remi immediately, sniffing him and apparently finding the Atlantean prince to his liking, as he went up on his legs slightly to lick the Atlantean's face. Ahura couldn't help but smile thinly at that.

"My apologies. Lockjaw's very friendly." Ahura gently petted the huge dog. He could trust Lockjaw. He was too simple not to be trustworthy. "Go home, Lockheed." Lockheed for his part whined before Ahura gave him a little look and the dog padded off a few steps before teleporting away.

"You'll have to tell me more about the Future Foundation. My mother told me some of the basics, but I believe she regards it mostly as an heir of sorts to the Fantastic Four."

[aqua_gambit]

"I am. Ki manyer?" He took the offered hand and shook it firmly without adding any of his strength to it. His palm was a little damp. Though Remi was a little wary of the rather large dog sniffing him.

At least it was a dog and not a redheaded cat. "No, it's all-augh!"

Gigantic tongue in his face! Remi made faces when Lockjaw settled back down. Slobber was not a type of water he was very fond of. He swiped at his face to get rid of the sticky damp feeling.

"I'd hate to see what he's like when being unfriendly. Plech. Well, it is. Scientists have gathered here to continue Reed Richards' work." Which had really ramped up in the time he was lost in another dimension. "And when those discoveries lead to adventure, I take my team of Imaginauts to investigate."

[heirtoinhumanity]

Ahura made no reaction to the slightly damp palm. He was an Atlantean, it was to be expected. He was fortunate, rare to extremety, amongst his people for not needing special supplements to exist in Earth's polluted atmosphere. He would not begrudge anyone what they needed to adapt.

"... you would hate that indeed. But Lockjaw is friendly to all but enemies of Attilan, so there is no fear there." Ahura listened carefully. "If Dr. Richards' history is any indication, your Imaginauts must be busy indeed.

I've been told to make myself as useful as possible to you in your endeavours. Perhaps that includes adventures as well." Though the last time Ahura had been out, what he was doing was far from heroic. He still remembered the dying groans and agonized screams of his victims.

"In any case, I thank you all for your kind hospitality." He put the thoughts out of his mind. Today was a new start. There was no use dwelling on what was past, grim as that was.

[aqua_gambit]

"We're hardly idle for too long." Which was good for Remi. The more he was out doing things, the less time he had to think about his own future and how he was never going to be what he was supposed to.

"You're welcome. They've told me a little about the relations between Attilan and the Fantastic Four. So, we're pleased to assist you. Come this way," he said as he stepped back and gestured. "Would you like a small tour or to go directly to your room?"

[heirtoinhumanity]

"I believe there's a human saying about idle hands." Ahura loathed his years of enforced idleness. Thankfully, it seemed they were near an end.

"I wouldn't mind a small tour. I've all the time in the world to go to my room." Ahura smiled thinly. "It's true, though. The Fantastic Four were our best friends on Earth. Mother and Father were so gladdened to learn that Reed and Sue had been found and returned to their home.

They thank you and your Imaginauts for your role in that."

[aqua_gambit]

"That they do. They have less sayings about crushing depths, but that may just be a small flaw." He smirked to himself a little as he fell into step beside Ahura.

"Well, you were just in the lobby. Nothing exciting there. Do you have a subject of particular fascination? They probably have a lab dealing with experiments on it somewhere in the building." He scratched one of his distinctive eyebrows. Considering his own personal fall-out from that rescue left lingering hidden scars.

"They're welcome. For my part, since I can't get home, why not get others back to their proper place?"

[heirtoinhumanity]

"A lack of cultural context, I suppose." Ahura replied.

"As a typical Inhuman, I'm always intrigued by genetic or biological research. However, my interests are quite wide." Ahura wasn't himself a practicing scientist, but he had a healthy respect for those who did. Science, after all, particularly evolutionary science, was essentially religion amongst his people.

"A noble thought, that." Remi seemed to be fairly settled in this particular domain, though.

[aqua_gambit]

"We'll start off At Xenobiology then," Remi decided. He just hoped there was not something loose in the lab again. Particularly one of those face-melting ones. The Atlantean was fond of his face being the way it was.

He adjusted the direction they were going to head to the correct lab. "There was suffering at their disappearance with no answers. It needed to be ended. Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge."

[heirtoinhumanity]

Ahura was rather fond of his face as well, truth be told. Then again, he could probably kill whatever creature faced them with a mere glance, if need be. He didn't like to dwell on that too much, though. It made for awkward conversations and intimidating impressions.

Thankfully the ceilings were high, so the exceptionally tall Inhuman prince didn't have to duck too much. Cars had frequently been frustrating with his height. Fortunately, he'd been able to rely on Lockjaw thus far for his transportation needs.

"You wear your princedom well, then. Shakespeare, yes? I studied some Earth literature when I was younger."

[aqua_gambit]

Remi normally floated a few inches off the ground. He tended not to put his bare feet where surfacers walked for the most part. But the floors inside Pier 4 had been deemed okay by his estimation. So, he was not too concerned about the height of the ceiling.

"Yes. I've been... studying a bit. There was a large loss of world-wide culture in my reality when the meteors hit. I'm sure Queen Ororo probably had some Shakespeare in her library, but I'd never had the privilege of an extended stay in her kingdom."

Then again, people in Atlantis might not have appreciated him reading surfacer works. Which would have made him try harder had he still been home.

[heirtoinhumanity]

Ahura lacked the ability to do so. He found himself ... rather aware of the filth of the humans. He hadn't vocalized the sentiment, but then again, he probably wouldn't have noticed hygienic lapses so much if he hadn't come from a homeland that was obsessively clean. He was remarkable- nearly unique among Inhumans that Earth's polluted atmosphere bothered him little, but he could still smell the inpurity in the air and water.

"Many back home were not fond of my studies of human art and literature, but my mother in particular has always had a quiet appreciation of human creativity." He figured it had something to do with strife breeding innovation.

[aqua_gambit]

"I can understand that completely," he commented as they came to a rather large pair of double doors. Remi waves his hand over a panel. There was a chirp and then a small pause before the doors slid open.

"Imaginaut leader access. For all your alien delivery needs. Let's see what the scientists are studying today." This lab was not as creepy to Remi as the one where they studied the multiverse. Where Lem and Phil eyed him as a test subject.

They deal with AUs all the time, why *can't* they have a tribble? :3

[heirtoinhumanity]

Ahura peered into the lab. The scientists looked busy on their latest project, and he was pretty sure he saw a couple of strange ... creatures being examined. His eye caught one that appeared to be under very heavy security, and yet, seemed spectacularly harmless. In fact, it looked like a lump of soft fur, moving just enough to indicate that it was living.

"... do you know what that creature is?" It looked curious. He suspected that many would find it cute, even though cute things had lost much of their appeal to him a long time ago.

Or tribble like creature. Not like Marvel's never lifted something from elsewhere...

[aqua_gambit]

Remi strolled into the lab, but he did start floating off the floor once he got past the threshold. While Ahura looked at the creature, the Atlantean peered at some of the documentation near it.

He hummed thoughtfully. "Most curious creature, Ahura. Its trilling seems to have a tranquilizing effect on the human nervous system."

To which the lump of fur started to trill softly at Re3mi's humming.

Quick, find a name that is just different enough to avoid a lawsuit!

[heirtoinhumanity]

"Unusual. Tranquilizing ... that seems vaguely sinister." Saith the man with the literally fatal, soul-stealing gaze. He regarded the creature for another moment or two before moving on to slightly less unusual specimens.

"This laboratory is impressively equipped. It reminds me more than slightly of the genetics facilities in Attilan." In which the great geneticists mapped the future of their race, as best they could.

Quibbels?

[aqua_gambit]

"Well, the overly nervous might like it, I guess." He scratched the back of his head. This room was so full of science, that he tried hard not to think about it. His was to lead while theirs was to think and discover. Or some such.

"They have the funding and resources being connected to the Fantastic Four can provide. So they figure where the edge is and cut deeper." His own people were slightly advanced. At least in using some of the alien technology they brought to Atlantis.

[heirtoinhumanity]

"I'll be sure to suggest one for all of my overly nervous friends." Ahura noted dryly.

"Ah yes, the neverending quest for knowledge. Perhaps in the future, there can be some meaningful exchange between my people and others." He seemed to consider the point for a moment.

"Who are your Imaginauts? I'd like to meet some of them if I could."

[aqua_gambit]

"I'm sure you have plenty of those," he noted back just as dryly.

He turned away from the trilling little fur ball.

"Mary Storm, Jacob and Ryan Grimm, Alexa Stark, and Griffen O'Niel. Three legacies and two super-smart scientists."

[heirtoinhumanity]

All this dry wit was going to dehydrate poor Remi.

It was interesting that neither of Reed or Sue's children had signed on to the Future Foundation, but it wasn't something he was going to press. Just an interesting fact that he filed somewhere in the back of his mind. "I look forward to meeting them. Our people have always had a great respect for the Fantastic Four. It is a noble thing to carry on their work."

[aqua_gambit]

Remi did not find it interesting that Franklin and Valeria weren't there. If either of them had been, he wouldn't be there. The Atlantean was aware of legacies and knew by the act of eschewing them lead to a place for him to go.

"We can see which ones are around the Pier if you'd like. Somebody should be around."