6202/Quiet Night

Quiet Night
Date of Scene:	12 May 2021
Location:	Fantastic Four Inc. - Four Freedoms Plaza
Synopsis:	Franklin and Valeria chat at home, then decide to head out into the city.
Cast of Characters:	Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards

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Franklin Richards has posed:
    It's a relatively quiet night in the Four Freedoms Plaza. No aliens or surprise visits from Doom, and as far as Franklin is aware, his mother and father have since gone to bed or are otherwise occupied.

    Relatively quiet because the sounds of the city still stream in every once and awhile, and Franklin's fingers are working at the strings of his guitar, forming melodies from notes. The young man is dressed plainly, in a white t-shirt, shorts, and socks.

Valeria Richards has posed:
    Even Valeria's latest experiments haven't disturbed the calm of what is all too much a rarity. Of course, as she slips out of her room with a tablet tucked in the crook of her left arm, fingers swiping and dancing across the screen, it might just be because those experiments are at the theoretical concept phase right now.

    But that's probably where they're destined to stay, with the young genius dressed up in an artfully faded retro Fantastic Four t-shirt, the faded design of Ben still clearly visible, the powder blue contrasting with the grey sweatpants that lead down to pink ankle socks. She's not dressed for SCIENCE tonight, just science. And she finds herself falling into rhythm with the quiet melodies, humming in counterpoint to Franklin's guitar, eyebrows perking as she does her best to wave without interrupting whatever she's working on, "Evening, brother. It's been -forever-, hasn't it?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
    The strummings come to an abrupt stop as Valeria passes through, and Franklin's chin lifts to catch her eyes. "Yeah, guess so. G.I.R.L. been keeping you busy?" He hasn't heard much about the organization other than his sister is a member, and it sounds lame.

    "Was I loud?" He asks after a beat, conscious of his mediocre guitar skills.

Valeria Richards has posed:
    Val's shoulders lift and fall as she sighs out, "A little bit. Not too much. We've all been, y'know, doing our own things? I think we're supposed to buckle down on the ship design soon enough. I think dad at least gets that I don't just want to like... remake one of our existing designs. I mean, it's kind of cheating to take a proven design that he's got parked in some asteroid, right? And I know I'm going to start getting emails about 'GOD DAUGHTER, DOOM SAYS THAT YOUR CRAFT LACKS ADEQUATE HYPER VELOCITY MISSILE BANKS' and stuff."

    She sighs and shakes her head, "Oh no! I didn't even notice. I put together this little privacy bubble deal in my room so I can concentrate when Uncle Johnny and Uncle Ben are watching sports. Pretty sure a Sentinel could stomp through here and I might not notice."

    She shakes her head and sways her way over to flop bonelessly onto her back on an empty spot of couch, "Not that your playing sounds like a giant robot or anything. But how's it been going? School good? Are you like... still -doing- school? Does Xavier's even have grade levels, or do you graduate when Wolverine decides he's tired of throwing dodgeballs at you?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
    "So it's less a team, more like...I don't know, an alliance?" Frank wonders, pick strumming imprecisely. "Yeah, definitely don't use one of dad's old designs." Naturally, he also has issues around the shadow his father casts, perhaps more so on the account of being male.

    "I remember watching baseball with them when I was younger," He says, chuckling. "Definitely a form of entertainment on its own. Ah, I don't actually go to school at Xavier's. I more just help out wherever I can. Like when a Sentiental's killing mutants or whatever." He looks back to his guitar and sighs.

Valeria Richards has posed:
    Val shrugs again with a crooked little grin, "Something like that? Sort of like a club, really. I mean, I guess we haven't got any big time nemesis or anything to keep bothering us, so we just sorta... hang out and do science-things? I mean, girl things too. We had a slumber party awhile back, it was pretty neat."

    She snorts out softly and bobs her head with a little laugh, "Yeah, I mean, we're all going to design it together, something new. Plus, I mean, it'll be neat to like... get away for a bit? Going on a road trip just doesn't seem like -away- when your parents own a teleporter and a skyscraper and stuff, huh?"

    She sighs and snickers softly, "Well, it's good to have hobbies, and saving lives is never a bad one." she puffs her cheeks out and sighs, "I'm thinking I need a new... god, calling it a costume seems so silly, but like... the whole blue jumpsuit thing is so... -mom-."

Franklin Richards has posed:
    "Still sounds like it could be fun. Where are you guys going? Leaving the solar system?" Franklin asks, looking back up at his sister. "I haven't been to space in months now."

    Dark brows lift, and the mutant leans back, running a hand through his hair, dyed black as per usual. Evidently, the desire to be less like his mother has played out in him too. "Oh? 'Uniform' work better? What color scheme were you thinking?"

Valeria Richards has posed:
    "Yeah, I don't think we've worked out any actual destinations, probably just some empty solar systems with interesting anomalies, do the whole Star Trek scanning thing." She laughs softly, shoulders lifting and falling, "Yeah, I mean, I've been sticking to my room, and then I decided to go to some big museum thing with dad last month and the displays came to life and started attacking. I don't know who -didn't- expect a bunch of displays of villains to come to life but... ugh. It's just -so- much sometimes, right?"

    She lifts her tablet up, the screen's filled with dozens of tiny sketched out designs for costumes, "I'm really not sure. Maybe like... a darker green and a really dark blue. Not the light blue of family stuff, but not the green and metal of... y'know, -other- family and all." She pokes her tongue out, face twisting in a silly expression, "You ever wonder if like, anyone else has problems like this?"

Franklin Richards has posed:
    "Um, maybe," Franklin shrugs, tilting his head. "I don't really think many are capable of our brand of crazy." He's got the universe in his mind, after all. "but fundamentally, I don't think the nature of our problems is that much different than anyone else's. It just varies in intensity, I guess."

    "I should be asking you, though. You're the one with a boyfriend that's -also- part of a family of superheroes. How's that going, by the way?"

Valeria Richards has posed:
    Val snorts softly and grins, "Not bad. We're still together, he's... still Jason. Intense, broody, y'know, takes after his family like I do mine."

    She shrugs again and hums softly, "I mean, no alien space ships crashed Bruce's birthday party, so like, that was neat. I really didn't even consider it a possibility at the time." Eyes narrow playfully as she grins, "Hey... wait a second... I should -definitely- play matchmaker for you. This is a -brilliant- idea."

Franklin Richards has posed:
    "Glad to hear it. You're lucky to have someone," Franklin says. "I really should get to know the guy." He's been dating his younger sister for a while, and even if Frankie has never really been the overly protective type, it wouldn't hurt to know the guy.

    "Matchmaker," He narrows his eyes in naked suspicion. "You know nothing about my type, Val. -I- know nothing about my type." His face reddens a touch.

Valeria Richards has posed:
    Val shrugs and grins wider, "So you figure it out! That's like... y'know, -research-. We're totally good at research."

    Her eyes sparkle playfully as she gestures grandly with her free hand, "I mean, you get dressed up, head out to a club, you could totally attract... I dunno, an extra dimensional demon, or a vampire or something. Then you'll know if you like the idea of a demon or a vampire, and if not, you try again!"

Franklin Richards has posed:
    "I can attract extra-dimensional creatures without dressing up, thank you very much," Franklin laughs shifting the weight of his guitar so his knees are pointed towards Valeria. After a moment, he concurs, "We are pretty badass researchers."

    "Let's rule out vampires or demons, but I'm willing to give it a try," He looks at the nearest clock and lets a playful grin dance on his face. "How important is what you're doing right now?"

Valeria Richards has posed:
    Val grins lopsidedly and shakes her head, "Oh, totally unimportant. I mean, at this point I think I'm just going to see if I can get an appointment with Janet to design something. Like, going back over the family's history was kind of a dead end."

    Eyebrows perk high as she tilts her head, "So, what? We get ready and go find you a non-demonic, totally cool date from this dimension? Sure, we can do that." She claps her hands lightly, "It'll be super easy."

Franklin Richards has posed:
    "I definitely need something else to wear though," Franklin stands, lifting the guitar and gently placing it in its case. "We totally work on your new costume, too. I have a few ideas." Really, he's just concerned that it isn't as skimpy as a lot of other female superheroes. Okay, maybe he is a little protective...

    The young mutant's already tugging his t-shirt over his head and stumbling into his bedroom for a shower and a flashier outfit. Looks like it won't be a quiet night after all.

    "Meet me back out here in thirty!"