Post by banning on Sept 26, 2024 3:35:12 GMT
“... I am what I want to be. In truth, I am not an elf, or fairy, or anything like that. But, it’s nice to be thought of as one. Brian loved these children’s books where the fairy princess fell in love with the bumbling hero.”
They were sitting in the den. It was spacious, to say the least, and there was plenty around them to remind both of them that they were in a mansion, and a storied one at that. There was a gap between their seating arrangements that was filled well enough by their conversation thus far. The woman sitting opposite the young guest was dressed, with no sense of irony, like someone out of one such children’s book, with a flowing red dress, bright green eyes, and most notably, distinctly pointed ears. She lifted her arms, adjusting so that the small child in her arms was more comfortable about her shoulder. The child stared intensely at the young man, saying nothing. The fey woman sighed, her expression sweeting.
“He rubbed off on me.”
“Are you a… princess, though?” Billy asked timidly, sipping the black tea with milk and sugar that had characterized every afternoon since crossing the Atlantic. “Brian is - well, not a prince, but whatever. Knight? Lord? My parents are an android, a witch, and two New York doctors. I’m no stranger to complicated family trees.”
Meggan let out a laugh. “Brian’s family are aristocrats, so he is, legally speaking, a Lord.” Meggan’s cheeks flush as she recalls a memory. “He hates it. I think it is endearing. But, that is not the important part. The mantle of Captain Britain is much more than “British Captain America”.” She pauses, considering how best to proceed. The little one begins playing with her long, golden hair. "Are you familiar with the tales of King Arthur and Camelot?”
“I mean, I read The Once and Future King and know a bit about the legends. I also loved The Sword and the Stone movie… which doesn’t seem like a good source of actual information.” Billy shook his head and shrugged. “Since I started actually studying magic, I’ve seen plenty of mentions of Merlin. I figured there must be a historical basis for the legends, but I just have stories to go off really. I’m guessing there’s a lot more to the story than what I read as a kid?”
“Yes. What matters is what followed after the fall. The legend did not end there - not entirely. Merlin took what was left to the nexus of realities. Think of it as a separate dimension. It is another world…” Meggan tries very hard not to laugh. It shows. “...Otherworld. The important part is that when Merlin did this, the physical isle of Britannia became tied to Otherworld. Captain Britain is simultaneously the champion of the British Isles and the crossroads of the multiverse. That is who my Brian is.”
“...or, was. Now it is Betsy’s responsibility. She is out meeting a friend today. You will like her, William.”
“I’ve heard good things about them both from my mother. Families.” Billy shrugged with a grin. “Are the crossroads of the multiverse busy? Is that why Earth is always in the middle of everything that happens in the multiverse? There’s got to be a big Destiny aspect to that, right?”
The baby in her arms seized her collarbone in a gentle vice, nuzzling their head against her cheek. Meggan started to pat their back softly. She smirked at William. “You would know as much as I do on the subject. Legends follow our family if Brian or Betsy so much as sneezes. I suspect a certain wizard is keen on keeping us in his corner for…” She sighs, a touch annoyed, though not at her house guest. “...who knows what.”
“Otherworld is beautiful. It’s just like something out of Brian’s books. I suspect we have his brother to blame for that.” She shook her head. “Enough about this family. Kent did not tell me much about you, other than your talents. What do you like to do? Want to do? Do you dream of knights and dragons like the rest of this house?”
“I suppose I’ve always looked up to heroes, even before I knew I had any talents besides memorizing song lyrics and playing card games. I grew up in a ‘normal’ family, whatever that means, but have always been a mutant. After my X-gene activated in high school, I began to understand more about my heritage - both genetically as a mutant and mystically.”
Billy took a deep breath. “Actually, I guess this barely qualifies as weird compared to Merlin and other worlds, but I’m a reincarnation. My mother is Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch and daughter of Magneto… founder of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Like I said, family can be complicated. That was about… seven years ago, give or take that my powers manifested. And five years ago I reconnected with my mutant family. I can’t help feeling like I have these powers to do something with them. I’d honestly rather rewatch Singin’ in the Rain for the umpteenth time than risk my life… but that doesn’t seem like what life is really about.”
“My mom - well, also me, I guess - have… an unusual kind of magic. Dr. Fate has been helping me, but Earth doesn’t have as much magic as some other places and he thought I might have more luck embracing the mystic instead of trying to be… normal.”
“I do not know much about the mystic… or the normal. I do not believe anyone like us knows “normal”. Whatever that is. In my experience, it is best to embrace what makes you you than to run from it. Brian has tried that before.” She sighed as her face reacted to another memory. She patted the baby’s back a couple more times, adjusting her grip on her as she did previously. Her sharp ears became more pronounced. Her skin took on a rather pale complexion, and her hair darkened, sickly almost. She looked at William with soft, emerald eyes. “Did Kent tell you anything about what we do here?”
“Not really, only that there was a magic mirror Britain. He talked about Lewis Carroll for like three and a half hours. Other than that, he made it kind of seem like you guys were like the Justice League for Europe, kind of. Global threats and that sort of thing.”
Meggan laughed. “He is more modest about his friends than he is about himself. We are not a League in the slightest. Although, the United Kingdom government says that we are. At most, we help the people of the British Isles, but not the rest of Europe. Most of what we do has to do with Otherworld. And there is plenty of magic to be learned there.” She gave him a knowing smile.
“There is Merlin, of course, and I suppose Morgan Le Fay, but Otherworld is home to more than those tales. It is a nexus, home to many worlds I couldn’t hope to remember. You would have to ask Betsy, or…” Meggan remembers something else, and frowns. “What else would you like to know, William?”
"Perhaps I will ask Betsy when she's back." Billy said with a nod. He had a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of all things X-Men. Psylocke's time was before he was at Xavier's, but he knew a lot about Betsy's heroics... then. He made a note to dig into what she'd been up to this side of the Atlantic. How very British of Excalibur: Europe's problems are her own, but also all the multiverses are ours. Billy stifled a snicker and focused on the conversation at hand. "So... is Brian retired or just... not... Captain Britain? I'm sorry -- is that a sticky topic?"
They were sitting in the den. It was spacious, to say the least, and there was plenty around them to remind both of them that they were in a mansion, and a storied one at that. There was a gap between their seating arrangements that was filled well enough by their conversation thus far. The woman sitting opposite the young guest was dressed, with no sense of irony, like someone out of one such children’s book, with a flowing red dress, bright green eyes, and most notably, distinctly pointed ears. She lifted her arms, adjusting so that the small child in her arms was more comfortable about her shoulder. The child stared intensely at the young man, saying nothing. The fey woman sighed, her expression sweeting.
“He rubbed off on me.”
“Are you a… princess, though?” Billy asked timidly, sipping the black tea with milk and sugar that had characterized every afternoon since crossing the Atlantic. “Brian is - well, not a prince, but whatever. Knight? Lord? My parents are an android, a witch, and two New York doctors. I’m no stranger to complicated family trees.”
Meggan let out a laugh. “Brian’s family are aristocrats, so he is, legally speaking, a Lord.” Meggan’s cheeks flush as she recalls a memory. “He hates it. I think it is endearing. But, that is not the important part. The mantle of Captain Britain is much more than “British Captain America”.” She pauses, considering how best to proceed. The little one begins playing with her long, golden hair. "Are you familiar with the tales of King Arthur and Camelot?”
“I mean, I read The Once and Future King and know a bit about the legends. I also loved The Sword and the Stone movie… which doesn’t seem like a good source of actual information.” Billy shook his head and shrugged. “Since I started actually studying magic, I’ve seen plenty of mentions of Merlin. I figured there must be a historical basis for the legends, but I just have stories to go off really. I’m guessing there’s a lot more to the story than what I read as a kid?”
“Yes. What matters is what followed after the fall. The legend did not end there - not entirely. Merlin took what was left to the nexus of realities. Think of it as a separate dimension. It is another world…” Meggan tries very hard not to laugh. It shows. “...Otherworld. The important part is that when Merlin did this, the physical isle of Britannia became tied to Otherworld. Captain Britain is simultaneously the champion of the British Isles and the crossroads of the multiverse. That is who my Brian is.”
“...or, was. Now it is Betsy’s responsibility. She is out meeting a friend today. You will like her, William.”
“I’ve heard good things about them both from my mother. Families.” Billy shrugged with a grin. “Are the crossroads of the multiverse busy? Is that why Earth is always in the middle of everything that happens in the multiverse? There’s got to be a big Destiny aspect to that, right?”
The baby in her arms seized her collarbone in a gentle vice, nuzzling their head against her cheek. Meggan started to pat their back softly. She smirked at William. “You would know as much as I do on the subject. Legends follow our family if Brian or Betsy so much as sneezes. I suspect a certain wizard is keen on keeping us in his corner for…” She sighs, a touch annoyed, though not at her house guest. “...who knows what.”
“Otherworld is beautiful. It’s just like something out of Brian’s books. I suspect we have his brother to blame for that.” She shook her head. “Enough about this family. Kent did not tell me much about you, other than your talents. What do you like to do? Want to do? Do you dream of knights and dragons like the rest of this house?”
“I suppose I’ve always looked up to heroes, even before I knew I had any talents besides memorizing song lyrics and playing card games. I grew up in a ‘normal’ family, whatever that means, but have always been a mutant. After my X-gene activated in high school, I began to understand more about my heritage - both genetically as a mutant and mystically.”
Billy took a deep breath. “Actually, I guess this barely qualifies as weird compared to Merlin and other worlds, but I’m a reincarnation. My mother is Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch and daughter of Magneto… founder of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Like I said, family can be complicated. That was about… seven years ago, give or take that my powers manifested. And five years ago I reconnected with my mutant family. I can’t help feeling like I have these powers to do something with them. I’d honestly rather rewatch Singin’ in the Rain for the umpteenth time than risk my life… but that doesn’t seem like what life is really about.”
“My mom - well, also me, I guess - have… an unusual kind of magic. Dr. Fate has been helping me, but Earth doesn’t have as much magic as some other places and he thought I might have more luck embracing the mystic instead of trying to be… normal.”
“I do not know much about the mystic… or the normal. I do not believe anyone like us knows “normal”. Whatever that is. In my experience, it is best to embrace what makes you you than to run from it. Brian has tried that before.” She sighed as her face reacted to another memory. She patted the baby’s back a couple more times, adjusting her grip on her as she did previously. Her sharp ears became more pronounced. Her skin took on a rather pale complexion, and her hair darkened, sickly almost. She looked at William with soft, emerald eyes. “Did Kent tell you anything about what we do here?”
“Not really, only that there was a magic mirror Britain. He talked about Lewis Carroll for like three and a half hours. Other than that, he made it kind of seem like you guys were like the Justice League for Europe, kind of. Global threats and that sort of thing.”
Meggan laughed. “He is more modest about his friends than he is about himself. We are not a League in the slightest. Although, the United Kingdom government says that we are. At most, we help the people of the British Isles, but not the rest of Europe. Most of what we do has to do with Otherworld. And there is plenty of magic to be learned there.” She gave him a knowing smile.
“There is Merlin, of course, and I suppose Morgan Le Fay, but Otherworld is home to more than those tales. It is a nexus, home to many worlds I couldn’t hope to remember. You would have to ask Betsy, or…” Meggan remembers something else, and frowns. “What else would you like to know, William?”
"Perhaps I will ask Betsy when she's back." Billy said with a nod. He had a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of all things X-Men. Psylocke's time was before he was at Xavier's, but he knew a lot about Betsy's heroics... then. He made a note to dig into what she'd been up to this side of the Atlantic. How very British of Excalibur: Europe's problems are her own, but also all the multiverses are ours. Billy stifled a snicker and focused on the conversation at hand. "So... is Brian retired or just... not... Captain Britain? I'm sorry -- is that a sticky topic?"
