13950/A first meeting

A first meeting
Date of Scene:	23 January 2023
Location:	New York on top of Central Park Tower
Synopsis:	An acient power, and a cosmic power walk into an island.. they hace a interesting conversation
Cast of Characters:	Franklin Richards, Straw Man

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Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin sits ontop of the giant building with his legs dangling off the side as he looks way down at the people below. He wears his standard gear of fantastic four merch from the blue and black hat under the blue and black hoodie all the way to the shoes with the four on them. He can see and hear the people on the street even though he is super far away though for now he is not doing anything as it wasn't his place. He knew down that block there was someone robbing another, and down the other way someone helping an old lady cross the street.

None of it was his influence though and he knew it as he looked up at the mid-day sun though it was still cold out since winter had set in. Franklin didn't seem to mind even though the wind up here whipped around like crazy this high up, he just sat there watching quietly as he was distracted thinking about things to himself. On one side he has his family telling him not to interfeer, and on the other people asking for his help.

So that was what he was doing today not expecting to get any interuption, as up here was quiet and tended to be no-one else that could even get up here.

Straw Man has posed:
    "It's very cliche, don't you think?" A voice comes from behind him. A familiar voice. His mother's voice. She wears a horizontally striped black and white sweater, and a brown leather jacket over it. Her golden hair whips about in the wind, and she comes up carelessly to the edge of the building and literally jumps to land rear-first onto the edge. "Superhero watchiing over the city from the skyscraper." She looks over the edge, precariously perched in a way that would threaten her to fall from an ill-gust. "Impressive view, though." Her voice sounds right, her visage is right, but it doesn't take cosmic powers to give a person the sense that this in fact is not Sue Richards.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin grins, "If you think this is bad you have not been to Gotham reciently." though when he turns he frowns a bit as this person may look like his mother but wasn't. He ran through the people who could do that, and none of them could change shapes, and appear out of no-where. He watches their actions quietly now not saying anything else as he listens, and watches. "Look if your working for Doom it isn't worth whatever he is paying you." he reaches up and snaps a finger, and... the whole background changes.

He tilts his head, "Interesting..." as he looks around at the trees, and sea as he now sits on the sand on a island in French Polynesia. Franklin frowns a bit, "That wasn't supposed to happen..." he peers at the fake-Sue. "You are something... else aren't you." and shakes his head at that. Standing up he dusts his pants off as he looks around them, "Even Doom could not do what you just did... lets just say you have my attention now."

Straw Man has posed:
    As the background changes, so does the fake Sue. Now she's wearing a True blue bikini with a white wrap around her waist, fitting of the scene. She even has a coconut rum cocktail in a coconut shell, and sips on the candy cane colored straw. "Oh, that's nice," she says appreciatively with a suggestive wink, however unsettling it might be for one's mother to wink like that to their son.

    She looks out at the sea. "Else." She takes another sip on the drink. "It's such an quaint concept. I do find it very interesting how many people want to attribute 'something else'. Why Tahiti?" she asks, changing the subject.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin frowns at the fake-Sue again as they seem to relax on the beach as if it were a vacation. He takes the wink as his mind is thinking about what exactly could do what he just did. Could be an astral projection though as a scientiest he figures it was best to test. He reaches down and picks up for sand, "How about we start with your name? I know it isn't Sue" he asks as he rubs the sand in his hand adding a little water to make it a sand ball that he then tosses lightly at her. If it was non-physical he would know soon as it would just go through as he watched for Tk as that is how he imitated solidness when he was not.

Watching the results he continues in his explination, "Because I rather not kill some random hitman just doing their job so I send them here." he waves a hand around "They find it much more pleasurable then something like the Sun, but still would take people a bit to return back to New York." he chuckles a bit at that and looks at her again, though now he really looks at her his blue eyes actually spark a little with a blue energy, "And people blame something else because they can not accept their own actions.. In this case I use it only because I don't exactly know what you are.... yet." he smiles a bit. "Though the longer we talk.. the more I am finding out, and when I do if you have not eplained why you are here by then... I will not fail in interacting next time."

Straw Man has posed:
    The ball of sand hits her wrap, leaving a small brown mark of sand on it. "I don't know that was calle for. You could have just asked if I was real," she comments. Which would of course be a peculiar question. Reality is but a series of experiences." She seems to find the question of her name unimportant, though. She returns the toss by giving a light, catchable lob of her coconut drink in a manner that it stays upright, then dusts the sand off her wrap.

    "I suppose that you'll want to talk quite a bit. But I suppose you would have time to do that, wouldn't you?" she asks. "You could choose the Amazon, or perhaps Siberia. Something less comfortable," she suggests. "But you would send a potential threat straight to paradise on a free vacation," she says. "Not many people would do that. A bit of a benevolent god, aren't you?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
He raises an eyebrow as not only it hits, but leaves a mark. "Interesting..." he says again but walks a bit back and forth holding his chin as he thinks of the possiblilities. "I could of, but with a simple piece of sand I have answered a lot more then hearing your answer." and shrugs a bit as he doesn't touch the drink instead use tk to hold it as he glances at it. "I do not drink." he adds looking at it. It wasn't because he couldn't but for him to 'lose control' would be horrible, and most people would try to drug him as they could not hurt him. As he peers at it he frowns, "You have an interesting view of reality, though I might have to disagree as a lot happens without either of us experience it. Here, and out there." he adds pointing up to space. "Let me say I think Reality is just a trial of what others call higher beings who do not even live in it." he looks around a bit with a shrug, "You, me, even these trees are just to ease their curiousity, and pass time." frowning a bit as it was a bit negative, but from making his own, and the rules inside the whims of a child he did not have high hopes for those higher beings.

Franklin then grins at the Fake-Sue, "And I talk, and I watch as that is what I do because of the seriousness when I act." he looks around a bit "Even this though a parlor trick even this creates waves.. Though only for those who worry about such things." as he didn't think this Fake-Sue did worry about it much.

Finally he considers it, "I am not a god, at least not of this reality, and to kill someone takes away their future. Some it might be better, but others it takes away their chance for change." he smiles a bit. "The hard part is knowing which is which, ergo... Tahiti and will find out what kind of person they are when they get back."

Straw Man has posed:
    There's a mischevious bite of her lip when Franklin describes the idea of higher beings just passing time as being reality. "Waves," she echoes. "Waves that crash into the little sand castles that people build. But you, you aren't a sand castle, are you? You aren't on the beach. You, Franklin, are in the deep. The current that holds all sorts of life that is never seen from the sparkling shores of Tahiti." She walks past him to the other side, where incidentally there is a sand castle. She steps on it, and it splits with a footprint left behind. "But not a god, then." She glances over her shoulder. "Are you sure?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin nods, and listens though he doesn't stop watching the fake sue carefully. "Those little castles are more then important to me. I am not some being that is isolated to reality." he frowns a bit as he sees them walking closer and he did not trust them which is rare as he trusted people quite easily. He does nod though, "No.. I am just human.. when I was a boy I had to accept that. One day I will age, and die like everyone else." he smiles at this though other then fear it. "I am sure that day is not today though. Despite what you are, or what you want... I don't think you can."

He watches them stomp on the castle. "I think you are as limited as I am if not more so." he considers watching them "Pehaps that is why you won't give your name.. Does it hold power over you?" and grins a bit.

Franklin doesn't move, but as the foot comes up the castle he looks into the sand, "You say I am in the deep.. You are just floating on the surface aren't you.. A shadow of what you really are and nothing more." He watches them carefully as he speaks, "Impotent in all but words... as all the real power is deep deep under the surface."

Straw Man has posed:
    "I could have a billion names to a thousand people," the visage of Sue answers. "What I want is nothing more than to be an aid." She gracefully curtsies backward, facing Franklin. "I may be just words. Or maybe not. Names are just words, so how would they hold power? But they do. I fear you would be far more alarmed than I care for you to be if I were to narrow myself to a name for you. After all, I'm here to help. The boy who will destroy the universe can hardly be called 'just human'. Much more than me, the one who is 'just words'."

Franklin Richards has posed:
He thinks about it for a bit more, "While you maybe known by many different things you have only one name." he looks at her carefully as they offer their help. "Your not Lucifer, as he isn't walking the earth and besides you don't have his kind of juice." he ponders a bit. "Your old... very old if you understand how reality works, and what I can really do." he ticks the boxes, as he is slowly narrowing down who this was though of course he wouldn't know exactly, but it did help him consider what he was dealing with.

As she tells them about knowing thier name would alarm him, and chuckles to himself... "So you are evil.. Or at least what these people call it or else you would not worry about alarming me as I don't sense embarassement in yourself." he picks up some sand, and lets it fall again the grain counting helped him think as he considered thier words. "If you know what I can do then I am intrested.. how do you plan on helping me humm? I warn you.. I feel the hatred, and sadness so trying to fool me will only end in misfortune for you.. maybe even banishment."

Straw Man has posed:
    "I said it would alarm you, not that it was evil. There are a great many good things which can be alarming. Consider a poor man who wins the lottery, or a wife becoming unexpectedly pregnant. Delightful, but it can set a person off their balance in many ways and cause a great deal of stress."

    "Warning me," there's a grin that crosses her face, one that says she knows something you do not. "You've warned me more times than I care to count already." She tiptoes back through the sand to make it to armrs length, a hyper-extended finger shoved toward your chest. "Your problem, Franklin, is that there is so MUCH warning in your life, you're likely never going to live it." She tosses her hands out to the side and looks to the sky. "All this cosmic power! You are virtually unparalleled! Imagine if Doom had the powers you had, the things he'd accomplish. Perhaps some of them terrible, but when he was done, he'd have the praise of millions. And why? Because he would try to use it to do what he thought should be done in this world. You look from the top of sky scrapers. You watch mild kindness shown to people, while you stand by and do not do the great kindness you could do!"

    "Who is the greater villain?" she asks with an arch of that blonde brow that is so uncanningly like his mother. The one who does evil, or the one who can stop it, and stands by idly?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin looks at them with a flat look. "If it was something positive as you said, you would of said it already.." he stops, and then smiles a bit. "How bout a joke.. I heard people like them. "How do you know if someone is a Hero..." he grins, "Don't worry they will tell you." he pauses then thinks about it. "Wait... no that isn't it. Ah well the point is the news people hide is bad news, and people who won't introduce themselves are usually not the upstanding types." he nods at him. "Not to mention your form, but that could just be trying to asign a known shape, but combined with the other things it doesn't look good. I do not say it lightly as multiple things had lead that way. Either your trying to trick me that you are, you don't know you are so try to fool yourself, or you just are.." he shrugs a bit as he walks on the sad a bit as he explains his thoughts.

He smiles, and stops "I warn because it is an old habbit. I am used to dealing with people who would flinch at a simple snap of my fingers." he sighs, a bit, "I do not blame them of course, only to say a warning to them is as good as action." he looks down as he is pointed at though sighs abit again. "And what should I start when I change? You? Should I perhaps erase you so to express those power? Change without reason breaks the balance, and I doubt you nor Doom would understand how little we are as ego is not just a planet." the chuckles again at his little joke though he comes back to look seriously at Fake-Sue. "It is a great kidness that I do not use my powers. To you, to them, to the Galaxy in general... For you have no idea what would happen if I were to do exactly what you are saying."

He takes a step back from her and looks down as he waves a foot over the sand. "There is a balance in everything. Good, bad, light, dark, creation, and destructon." he stops thinking about it for a moment. "Lets just say you were a fundemental evil for example.. if I were to destroy you, I would have to destroy something fundementaly good... Why? Because without that balance life can not find a way." he sighs a bit, "And I think you should know this though for some reason decid not to see it."

Straw Man has posed:
    There is a grin of appreciation at the levity of the mild joke. "This really is too much fun," Sue's doppleganger says with delight.

    "Listen to all your words! So if life cannot find a way without balance, then you should, by your own reasoning, do both good and evil, or do nothing at all, so you choose nothing at all! And you know that this balance is important? Have you tested it thoroughly, been the scientist your father would be? Or...do you rely on his abilities so that you need not exercise...or exorcize your own. I'll give you a riddle, and maybe you will know who I am if you can answer it. Tell me, do you enjoy this conversation? Who do you talk about these things with the most?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin nods to the apreciation of the joke. "Yea everyone says I over explain sadly.. No patience these days." and sighs with a shrug. "I have tested hundred of universes, over several realities when I was a boy." he frowned a bit to himself, "It wasn't always by choice, but do you know the one that worked? This one.." he smiles at his feet. "How I know is because I have seen it.. I have seen whole realities made, and destroyed as this one will eventually I assume." he kicks some sand and watches it land back on the beach just smiling at the simplicity of it. "My words about balance are not a guess, they are a fundemental fact that for some reason this reality seems to stick to natrually."

Finally he looks up at Fake-Sue, "You have not truely seen beauty until you have seen the creation of a universe." he nods to himself "The colors, shapes, truely indescribable." he shakes his head thinking about it as he considers who he talks to about these things. "I talk to Ben about it... a little. He gets what its like to have to move through the world careful every moment." he sighs a bit, "And maybe Doom himself even more rarely" he chuckles a bit at that. "Hates my dad that is a fact, but we have some nice talks sometimes.. between the kidnappings, or attempts to take over the world of course."

He looks over at Fake-Sue.. "Perhaps it is, though as very few can understand how deep the rabit hole truly goes. Though even yourself has limits, and though I may not know what they are sometimes I feel like I am even losing you over some of these deeper revelations." and he peers at Fake-Sue "You are neither of those people so I guess the standard answer would be no-one, or myself, and I doubt you are me.. though past me has done some wierd stuff."

Straw Man has posed:
    There's an arch of the eyebrow when Franklin says that he doubts she is actually him. "Maybe there's hope for you yet. I have seen the creation of a universe. Since there was a second thought from a first to spark a cosmos for the cosmic, two silent and inperceptible things give birth to all things. The first thought is "There is nothing." The second thought is, "What if there was something?" and from there, all things happen. Prior to language to even express the thought, prior to "I think therefore I am, prior to all except the existence of the one who had those two first thoughts." The implication being, in fact, the Source.

    "The one you talk to the most about these things is, in fact, Franklin Richards." Her tone is serious now, the levity gone. "A hundred universes is no more significant than a hundred grains of sand that you counted as they ran through your fingers. Look at this beach. There are more than sand in Tahiti. Your thinking has left you with only two options. You can either die, and thus remove yourself from the equation." There's a certain thoughtful quirk. "Rather dark if you ask me. Or you can act, and let unfold that which will, be it disaster or beauty, and learn what you are /really/ capable of."

    During the soliloquy, the image of Sue grew closer and closer, til she is almost nose touchingly close, a challenge in those blue eyes.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin nods to her and considers what they said, old indeed like creation old and you didn't get much older then that. "It is interesting you speak of that spark, as.." he holds a hand infront of him as the energy of the cosmos flickers in his hands contained by a shield of his own making so that it doesn't disapeate. He looks at it for a moment and smiles. "This is that spark. Creation, from nothingness this is creation." he brings his other hand down and dismisses it as the power in that single spark could easily put a hole in the planet itself if he were to use it that way. "It is not unheard of though I have my doubts." he looks around a bit with a smile. "Not that one creation lead to another of course. I am sure there is a being that made this all.. Though I believe it was not out of lonliness as everyone says, but a test,, maybe even the test of balance as I spoke of."

He looks at the Fake-Sue, "if this is what you saw if I take it you are lieing to me... You are not the first." he then chuckles looking at the fake Sue. "Something made that thought, perhaps even nothing.. That is the creation of which I speak, but I can see how you would see that as the begining."

Franklin sighs, "If you are me then you know the keyword.. If you are not then I suggest you stop acting like it because it is not going to help your case. Unlike many I run into myself quite often from the past or future, so we have come to an understanding." Watching her approach he frowns a bit as he did like his space, though the kind with air not stars. He nods to her "I do not see how those are the only two options you think are avaliable?"

he looks at Fake-sue seriously as he is approached, "Because of what I can do it leaves options, it is only balance I must consider not inaction." he grins. "And my death will not help anyone... when that time comes it will be a transition to something new not to be afraid of, but will not happen for a long time." he thinks about it for a moment as he does not fear the fake-sue so her coming near doesn't seem to worry him. "And I know perfectly well what I am capable of." he stops thinking about it for a moment. "The problem is to use a light enough touch that only what I want is done." he nods to her

He grins a bit, "But maybe I am just full of pride, and you know better... If you think that... Go ahead.. Take your shot." though the emotion in his face has disapeared as he didn't like peole entering his bubble of space around him.

Straw Man has posed:
    "Would you really want me to use it right here?" Sue's visage asks with a backpedal laugh, an implication of danger to properly utilize that word.

    "Believe me. Don't. But here I am. Here you are. You have bigger problems than keywords. You are far too interested in my identity, this dark looking glass in front of you. You should be more interested in your own. But perhaps that's why I'm here, isn't it? Give you a mirror," she spins, and as she does at some point she is him now. Still wearing a bikini and white wrap as if this were a comedy.

    "Is this better? Instead of your maternal caretaker, now just be real. At twenty-one years of age, have you such a vast understanding yet of what you really want? You are alone in this world. Your father, for all of his well intentioned purposes, fears your ability, what it could do. So he muted it. He put you on a leash. Maybe you should be on a leash, but what does a leashed wolf know of being in the wild? To howl, to defeat a bear, to run with the pack." The comedy of the outfit is removed by the now intense accusatory tone. "You ask for that keyword. Perkipsy. Anticlimactic, isn't it? Do you feel more certain now? Hearing it out loud does it change anything? Does your back yard give you a feeling for the continent you live on?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin raises an eyebrow, as he listens to them speak and looks around as he answers "There is no-one that knows to look in you are fine." and looks back answering about using it here. "And your right I am because I am curious, because it is a mystery, and well... Everyone likes a good mystery." and grins at him as not only does he say he is a mirror, and then turns himself into looking like him. When he says the word Franklin actually raises an eybrow as this means his knowledge has been taken though he did not even realise, or it was him.

This made Franklin silent, and watch him as he listens to him talk about what his Father feals, and the want to howl. Though Franklin stays silent thinking, and listening. Until finally he speaks, "You have made three mistakes.." he starts as he smiles a bit. "First, while you have the word right... You did not display it properly though how you know it is interesting." he shakes his head at that though continues.

"Two, My father does not fear my powers. He does not fear anything other then maybe losing his family. It is one of the things I respect about my father for most of all." he smiles at that thought as it was true he and his whole family were actually close still at least to Franklin. "And finally you can't be me because while my younger self has dragged me through time.. I have never met myself at the same aperent age. I don't travel through weeks I go through years.."

Franklin sighs a bit, "But tell me if you know that what else do you know." he puts a hand on his own self's shoulder with a smile. "Do you understand the balance? Do you see why you are important like I am?" he chuckles as he looks at... well himself. "Look through those ideas, and thoughts.. Do you see why I only send people here, as each are important in the long term?" he asks as he looks at himself for reaction.

Straw Man has posed:
    "Did I not tell you it'd be anti-climactic?" the other Franklin asks. "I'm the response to your thoughts. Why is the important question, though. It's one you should continue to pursue."

    He starts walking out onto the water as if it were glass. "I'm here so you can push forward, I'm here to stir the pot, if you don't mix the dough your bread will be rather poor, won't it? So here is the mixing of your dough. You are a cosmic being, Franklin, but here you go on identifying and quizzing with sight and sound. Not even all five senses let alone your true senses. You say you are from the deep, but you are still living in sand castles. Maybe you should talk with your father on it. He'll probably be able to handle this better, won't he. Smartest man in the universe, right? Smarter than you. More able." A bait if ever there was one.