2014.10.02 - Knowhere To Blend In

Knowhere. The severed head of a Celestial, floating at the very edge of the universe. Where Rachel Summers is currently playing tourguide.
She didn't wait all that long before acting on Adam Warlock's 'suggestion' that she take Jade to Knowhere - mostly because she knew it wasn't really a suggestion. But she did insist on getting a decent night's sleep first - foiling an alien invasion at three in the morning really takes it out of you, after all!
Sweet-talking Cosmo to reconfigure her Passport bracelet to take a passenger was the next challenge, and that was achieved so easily that she half-suspects Adam of having spoken to him in advance. Then it was just a case of calling up Jade and convincing her to travel halfway across the universe with her. What could go wrong?
"...so this is Knowhere." Rachel tells her companion as they step out of the Continuum Cortex after checking in with Cosmo. Rachel's unable to avoid a small grin, remembering her first exposure to the place. Bracing her hands on the guardrail, she looks out over the metal tiers falling away below, linked by walkways and all thronged with a profusion of alien species, all going about their business unaware and uncaring of the human redhead watching them from above. Rachel spins around and leans back against the railing, hands braced either side of her now, still grinning. "Ready to start the tour?"
 
"Wow." Was that the twentieth or twenty-first time that Jennie has stated such? Getting a call from the powerhouse red-head, the emerald skinned Jade was only too eager to take Rachel up on her offer to visit Knowhere. The trip there was - unique, to say the least. Checking in with the telepathic Russian space-dog was even more unique. Still, the cosmic pooch was charming, if professional, and Jennie was allowed to adventure forth into this strange, once Celestial head. 
Rubbing the back of her neck, Jennie's eyes can't quite take in enough of everything around her. Sure, she knew aliens existed, she knew there was so much more to the universe than Earth. Yet, to finally come face to face with this, with everything, it was something Jennie couldn't quite believe. 
"I feel like I'm Buck Rogers, experiencing the twenty-fifth century." A wry, twisted grin is given to Rachel, Jennie's eyes are swift to move once again towards everything below, and around her. "So is this all second nature now, for you? Or is it still that feeling of being a stranger, in a strange land?" 
 
For some reason, Rachel had expected Jade to be an old hand at all this. Maybe because she's green, and she arrived to their previous meeting in a big green rocket ship? Or maybe because Rachel's gotten used to being the fish out of water around the other Guardians, who /are/ old hands at all this. Discovering that Jade's about as prepared for Knowhere as Rachel was on her first visit is unexpected, and Rachel's quite enjoying it.
"It's something, isn't it?" Rachel says, in agreement with Jade's latest 'wow'. Her grin grows slightly as she watches Jade's eyes continue to roam over their surroundings, giving her time to acclimatise to the experience. "I know exactly what you mean." Rachel says - although it's only because Kitty inflicted Buck Rogers on her once that she does - but really she's answering the sentiment not the specific reference. She snorts and shakes her head at the other woman's question. "Not even close. Every time I think I've got it, I'll turn another corner and run right into something I never expected." Rachel says the words ruefully, but there's a glint in her eye that strongly suggests she enjoys those unexpected encounters. "But." She goes on conversationally. "The best way to deal with the weirdness is to find a reason to want to come back." Abruptly, she pushes away from her comfortable slouch against the guardrail and stands up straight. "And that means lunch. Come on. I'd ask if you're a vegetarian, but since I have no idea what you're about to eat is made from, it wouldn't help!" Rachel's already striding off down the platform, heading for one of the walkways that descends to a lower tier. Even in her red and yellow uniform, she's still one of the less distinctive figures as she weaves through the crowds.
Rachel doesn't slow down until they're two levels further down, the press of the crowds is that much closer, and she's reached the threshold of a small cantina. She looks back, making sure she hasn't just lost Jade, and says to her, "Just trust me." And then she disappears inside, to procure two bowls full of... something unidentifiable. Her eyes are definitely sparkling with amusement as she passes a bowl to Jade. The question is, does the green woman trust her?
 
"It's the one time I don't stand out in a crowd." Jennie comments off handedly, her gaze roaming still over the vastly different alien life forms that abound. With her green skin, she doesn't stand out, in fact, she blends in better than Rachel, except for Jennie's wide eyed expression of awe, naturally. 
"I can see where this definitely wouldn't get old." Is Jade's response, at first, following after Rachel with slow, easy steps. "So what's the policy on photographs, here?" Is the sudden shift in topics, as Jennie's gaze moves finally away from everything, and back onto Rachel. "Is it okay to take them? I'd love to capture just everything about this place. The feel. The look. The atmosphere. It's a project that could take a life time photographing." 
It does take a bit for Jennie to keep up with Rachel, especially in the throngs of alien life that surges along. A side step here, making sure she doesn't step on a tentacle there, avoiding getting slimed from an alien thing here... and Jennie's swift to catch up with Rachel, waiting with idle curiosity as the redhead brings out the two bowls. 
Lifting the bowl upwards, Jennie takes a slight sniff of the contents, and proceeds to wrinkle her nose at the smell. "Trust goes both ways!" Is her offering of a response, watching to see if Rachel eats whatever it is as well. Whether Rachel does, or not, Jennie takes a breath, and dives into the food, a tiny, small bite taken at first.The small bite is soon met with bigger ones, as Jennie lets out a 'mmm' from within the back of her throat. "Okay, yeah, I can see why you want to come back. Often." 
 
Rachel looks back over her shoulder. "And I do." She says, because it's expected. There almost seems to be a slight dent in her general cheerfulness for a moment, as if a shadow fell across her features, but since she looks ahead again almost immediately, and then is dodging around a rather large Pachyceph Voidnaught, it's difficult to tell.
Jade's question actually causes her steps to slow a bit as she thinks about it. "Honestly? There probably isn't one. You might want to talk to Cosmo first, since he's head of security, but things seem pretty relaxed around here." She smirks. "I guess it's like back home, though. Just harder to appologise if something with tentacles doesn't like having its picture taken!" As tour guides go, Rachel's not that professional. She doesn't have all the answers. Probably because she's too focused on inflicting lunch on Jade.
But once lunch is procured? Rachel's suddenly giving Jade her full attention. It's notable that she hasn't touched the contents of her own bowl, and that she's making no move to do so before Jade's tasted hers. She cocks her head to one side with a grin. "I wouldn't drag you all the way out here just to poison you." She says in a reasonable tone, but still doesn't take a bite. When Jade finally gives in, and reacts as Rachel had hoped she would, Rachel's grin just broadens. "See? Aren't you glad you trusted me?" She sounds a bit smug, and pops a bite into her mouth. "Kree-Shi'ar fusion food. Apparently." She says a bit indistinctly, then swallows. "A friend of mine introduced me to it. I've never found anything quite like it on Earth." She shrugs. "Gave me that excuse to come back here, and eventually... you get used to the weirdness." Rachel takes another quick bite, then jerks her head toward a side corridor. "This way. Somewhere less crowded to eat."
Again, Rachel leads the way, this time to a mostly deserted platform facing a thick metal door. "Watch this." She says, and crosses to a control panel. With the deep thrum of powerful machinery, the door opens, revealing the starfield outside. "I never get tired of the view." Rachel says, staring out at it for a moment with a faint, almost longing expression, then shakes her head and finds somewhere to sit and tuck in to her lunch.
 
"Well, most may not realize that their photograph is being taken, either." Offers Jade in an amused tone. "But I'll take it up with Cosmo, see if he thinks it'd be okay. Or if there are any policies against it." She doesn't want to create an interstellar 'incident', after all. 
Rachel's comment about standing out in a crowd, especially as Jade caught the slight chilliness that it caused, has Jennie pondering how best to apologize for that. She didn't mean to be insulting, after all. Yet, considering on earth, Jennie's skin tends to mark her as either a mutant, which she isn't, or alien, which she isn't, or just odd, which she.. well, Jennie doesn't consider herself odd. Still, walking along and not getting a second glance is something that Jennie's enjoying. Strange that it happens on an alien civilization, inside a giant long-dead superior race. 
Without knowing what to say, and frankly Jennie's not a very good motivational speaker, she lets it go. The star field is given a soft gasp to, and while Rachel sets down, Jennie's still standing there, gazing out into the vastness of space. "When I was a little girl." She begins. "I'd often stare up at the stars and wonder where each of them was, how far away they were, what they were, if your parents were doing the same. The universe seemed so big, so vast, and so wonderful. When I turned green, and found I had the same powers as a Green Lantern, due to my connection to the Starheart, suddenly the universe just opened up before me. The stars were within reach, and yet, I kept my feet on the ground." 
Turning around to face Rachel, the bowl in Jennie's hands remains untouched, as she offers Rachel a wry grin. "My father is Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern of Earth back in the forties. His powers were given down to me, and my brother, Todd. It's why I'm contacted, ever so often, by the Oans, my powers are based around the Starheart, which is... difficult to explain, even I don't know the full details of it, just that it's where my power comes from." 
 
With all the alien minds around her, and Jade's being the only other human mind on Knowhere, Rachel catches the sharpening of the other woman's curiosity in response to her slightly ill-tempered reply and mentally kicks herself. If there's one thing she doesn't want to discuss, its why she has to keep up a constant psychic illusion just to ensure she /doesn't/ stand out from the crowd back home. For a moment or two, Rachel's tempted to give Jade's mind a little nudge, to point her curiosity somewhere else, but she holds back. It'd be a poor payment for Jade's help in Mexico, but Rachel's still relieved when she feels the other woman make the decision not to pursue the subject.
Eating slowly, Rachel divides her attention between her food and Jade, watching her take in the view. She's pleased that someone other than her seems to appreciate it. The simple fact that this area of the station isn't thronged with people proves that most of the inhabitants have become so used to the view that they simply ignore it. Rachel can't imagine that becoming the case for her any time soon. She doesn't interrupt as Jade speaks, just listens to her and picks at the remains of her lunch. She's talking about a far different experience to Rachel's life, at least after the fall of 'her' X-Men, but she listens without bitterness. When Jade turns to face her, Rachel wonders how she's going to answer such openness, but Jade continues, saving her from that problem for a little longer.
When the other woman falls silent, Rachel sets her now-empty bowl to one side before saying anything. "A whole family of Green Lanterns? That's... quite something." Rachel says, a little more reserved than she has been, and shakes her head. "My story should be so much simpler than that, but it's not." She snorts quietly to herself, darkly amused, looking down at the deck. "And half the time I don't believe some of it myself." She looks up again. "I'm a mutant, but I guess that's not news, and you wouldn't know my parents." Particularly since the ones in this reality aren't, when you get right down to it, HER parents. "Simple, right? Unless you talk to Adam. He calls me 'Starchilde' and tells me I'm linked to this... primal force, this great cosmic firebird called the Phoenix." Rachel stands up, taking a couple of steps toward the eyelid shutter, wrapping her arms around herself as if she's cold. "The trouble is, he's right." She says, staring out at the stars. "Half the reason I'm here is because, as crazy as some of the things he says sometimes sound, he might be the best chance I have to get a handle on this thing."
Rachel goes silent for a few seconds, still looking out, studying the cosmos outside. Before she continues quietly. "And when I was a kid? I never had time for stargazing. I'm making up for it now, while I have the chance." With a sigh, Rachel drops her arms to her sides and turns to face Jade, focusing on the bowl she's holding. "That's going to get cold." She says accusingly, but with good humour. "Eat, and tell me about your smurfs. You met my Russian space dog already, it's your turn."
 
Casting a gaze down at the strange colored and looking food, Jennie's swift to continue eating, pondering how best to respond to Rachel. After all, they're both opening up quite a bit, though not entirely. Each have their own pasts that remain hidden within the folds of their memories, and words hidden in words. At the mention of the 'smurfs', Jennie lets out a quiet laugh. 
"They're the most obnoxious, annoyingly arrogant, bossy, demanding, and full of themselves race in existence. They have like immeasurable power, they're the leaders of the Green Lanterns, they can boss around Hal Jordan and get away with it!" 
A laugh, and Jennie's gaze turns to the stars outside again, the bowl nearly empty, and is so in two swift more bites as she ponders what else to say. "They're in charge of the entire universe, if you can believe it. They've divided the galaxy into different sectors, and each Lantern has a sector. Earth is Sector two thousand, eight hundred and fourteen, of like three thousand six hundred different sectors. Alan's kind of I guess, more like an honorary Green Lantern, as he's never had a power ring. If you notice most Lanterns have those powerful rings, that do all those impressive stunts. For me, it's all internal, inside, a built in power ring all for myself." 
Jennie offers a rueful expression to Rachel. "There are more official Green Lanterns to sector two eight one four than normal, most sectors just have one Green Lantern to protect it, but Earth and the surrounding systems has like, gosh, four? Yeah. Four. Or use to at one point or another." 
Tilting her head to one side, Jennie's gaze focuses on Rachel for a long moment, Jade's thoughts wondering what kind of power this Phoenix is, that Rachel needs to address it in such a manner. And Starchilde. "I like the ring of Starchilde, is that the code name you use?" 
 
There's a sound that's suspiciously like a snicker from Rachel's direction when Jade tucks into her food with sudden gusto. So she wasn't just being polite, after all. That's good to know. For all Rachel could read her mind, sometimes it's better to see a genuine reaction - and that's clearly what Rachel gets when Jade answers her question about the Oans.
At the description the other woman gives, Rachel has to snort back a laugh of her own. "Sounds familiar. Either they'd hate Adam on sight or make him an honorary smurf!" That's a little cruel of Rachel, all things considered - but he does have an annoying propensity to land her in situations without telling her everything she needs to know - which is never even half as much as HE knows.
At the declaration that the Oans are in charge of the entire universe, Rachel gives in and doesn't even try to stifle a laugh. "Really?" She says, deadpan. "The whole universe? I've got a list of complaints for them, in that case..." Rachel, though clearly amused by that thought, waves a silent apology for interrupting and lets Jade continue. Amusement at the effrontery of the Oans aside, this is stuff she needs to know, if she's ever going to do more than trail around behind Adam out here. She leans against the nearest wall and folds her arms as she listens, though it's hard to keep a small smile off her face entirely. "...but you'd still like a ring of your own, too?" She asks, knowingly.
The news that Earth rates four Green Lanterns is enough to make Rachel laugh again. "We cause that much trouble? I'm... actually proud." Of course, things can never go that well for very long for Rachel, and she abruptly stops laughing quietly to herself and looks up quickly when her codename is mentioned. And then she grimaces. "Actually... no." She says, her tone sounding like a secret is being dragged unwillingly from her. "A long... and I mean a LONG... time ago..." She begins, then gives up on dragging things out. "My parent's stuck me with 'Marvel Girl'." She says, reluctantly, and quickly adds, "It was my mom's original codename, and do I ever need to find something better!"
 
One side of Jennie's mouth twists upwards, then the other, especially at Rachel's dislike of her codename. Jennie's eyes twinkle with utter delight, "Well, Marvel Girl isn't bad. It's definitely what you do. You marvel everyone with your powerhouse abilities! Well, I was impressed, anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only one. Yet, I like Starchilde better, it seems to suit you, or if you'll excuse me, what I know of you." 
The bowl in Jennie's hands is given a once over scrutiny, before another glance to, and fro shows what can only be a trash container, as an alien critter deposits a similar bowl into it. A tall, green man appears next to Jennie, the multi-point star on her palm glistening as her powers come into work, and the man collects the bowl, takes Rachel's and moves towards the receptacle, depositing the bowls there, before disappearing again. 
Reaching into her pockets, Jennie pulls loose a small, cell-phone thin camera, proceeding to turn towards the stars. "Well, I'm going to risk censure and take a photograph, you stand there, and Mister ... Gorgeous Green Hunk will snap our picture." 
With that, the good looking green muscle bound man appears, collecting the camera from Jennie, to step back a bit, as Jennie moves over to stand next to Rachel, if the redhead will agree at least. 
"Then, I want to see a lot more of this place, Ray. Thank you for inviting me, I really appreciate it." 
 
Rachel can see that Jade's eyes are laughing, even if she's been polite enough to keep from laughing out loud quite yet. "Oh, it is..." She begins, in an aggrieved tone, when she's told that what's still her official code name among the X-Men 'isn't bad'. In the X-Mansion, it's definitely bottom of the pile, as far as she's concerned! When Jade expands on that theme, Rachel actually groans, and then laughs. "That's terrible, Jennie. And if what I can do impressed you, you need to meet some of the other Guardians!" They're a diverse and formidable bunch, that much Rachel's sure of... and then she shakes her head. "Two votes for Starchilde. Great. Maybe Adam'll get his way after all." She says it in a tone of mock-disgust, but she's obviously not as annoyed as she's making out.
Rachel might have continued to complain, if Jade hadn't summoned a big green clean up crew. "Thanks." She offers to Jade when her construct picks up her bowl, too, and she watches him intently for a moment. The detail and control really is astonishing. "Handy." She says, before adding, "Not very subtle, but handy." It's said in a thoughtful tone, but she's pretty clearly not too serious as she says it.
Rachel's slightly taken aback when Jade sets up an impromptu photo-shoot, and for a moment or two it seems like she might resist, looking from the camera to Jade and back again with a slightly hunted expression. There's a troubled look in her eyes, too, but it clears as she comes to a decision. "I think we'll get away with it." She says lightly, as if Cosmo's reaction had ever been of concern to her - even though it clearly wasn't. She even strikes a pose next to Jade as the photo is taken, very definitely NOT thinking about the marks on her face that the camera will record.
"Hey, it's fun to see someone else play tourist for a change." Rachel remarks, just as her way of saying 'you're welcome'. "There's a lot more to see. And when you get bored, there's this one bar..." Yes, they're going to end up in Starlin's. It's inevitable.
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