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[ Medusa's long been used to addressing large crowds of people. How to keep her face perfectly unreadable is a matter of habit, now, even as her hair swirls and shifts over her shoulders and around her face. She doesn't want to be doing this, but there's no point in beating around the bush with subtlety either. She'll have to make her requests. ]

Fellow guests of the Moira, my name is Medusa. I am Queen of the Inhumans and New Attilan. I speak to you today to ask you for your help. It has been some time since I last found myself on this ship, but I do not know how long. It seems some of those I considered friends previously have departed. If any of those I knew still remain, if anyone can tell me how many months I have lost, and what I have missed, I would be glad to hear from you now.

[ This part's a little trickier. ]

In addition, if there are any who have heard of the Inhumans, or those we consider our allies— The Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men— I would like to speak with you. To speak with any who have even heard of them. It does not matter if we knew each other before. I imagine that many of you may not have heard of of the Inhumans, even though we know of you. This is... [ Only a moment's hesitation, her hair billowing out in thought— and then she refocuses, and continues. ] A complicated situation to explain. So I leave it to you to decide whether or not to come forward. If you do not, know that I will not seek you out. I have no desire to impose meaning and familiarity onto strangers. I will respect your privacy as I would want my own to be respected.

[ And this one, this one final long shot in the dark: ]

If you are an Inhuman, of any tribe or city— know that you can always come to me for aid. The time for petty and superficial differences has passed. We are one people, and as one people I will defend you and stand for you as I would any citizen of mine.

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You make them sound like trouble makers.

[Which he can sort of see, honestly. He might have a fairly limited interaction with them but one of them had blown up a planet.]

You're worried that they might be from another universe or before they knew you or something? Yeah, been there and done that. It's weird. Waiting for them to talk isn't a bad idea.

[ Because to some people, they are. ]

I meant that they are famous, even outside Earth.

[ Earth is infamous where she comes from, along with everyone who comes from there. ]
It is...weird. [ With no small amount of irony on that last word. She sees that name. Medusa can make a few guesses. ] You say you've met people who know another you?

Edited (HTML!!!) 2016-06-03 02:56 (UTC)

To, like, aliens?

[He shrugs, expression tightening.]

Yeah. They know someone older, different, part of something. Even going by a different name and with different friends, family. It was really freaky at first. [It's an understatement, particularly now that he's finally meet one of the other hims. Facing the person people knew him to be, someone he felt he had to live up to was messing with the kid.] Apparently there's a bunch of me. Tons of Maximoffs; I kind of feel sorry for this place if we all end up here.

Yes. Among others.

[ Now that Medusa understands everyone had a much less complicated universe than her own. No one can really understand as she does the reach they have all come to have. ]

I know the Maximoffs well enough. [ as an understatement. ] I think, if you are one, you may be better off than those I know.

[ Poor Pietro. Crystal had sympathy; Medusa does not. ]

You are...an Avenger?

[ Just guessing. ]

You know which Maximoffs? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say ones with fancy code names?

[Aka probably Pietro. Everyone always expects Pietro.]

Pfft, no. I'm not into that spandex superhero kind of thing. No one does that where I'm from. Well, except the asshole calling himself Magneto. But he's more super villain than hero, you know? Or maybe you don't. I don't know how these universe things work.

I know Maximoffs not only with code names, but with nearly two decades of experience in what you call the "spandex superhero kind of thing."

[ She is too chilly and composed a person to let irony start dripping from her words, but it's a near thing. ]

I also know the Magneto I know would probably agree with your assessment.

[ Knowing Erik, and how Erik feels about his son and daughter. And about all the years since he first put on the helmet and began calling himself that. ]

Sounds about right. [He sighs.] I'm not one of those, for the record. No code name, no experience. So, you know, lower your expectations that come with the name.

Awesome. So he's crazy in every universe. What's he doing in your's? Killing presidents and exposing mutant-kind so we're all in danger? [Bitter? Who Peter? Why, yes. Yes he is.]

I am not a superhero, so I have no code name myself. And everyone begins with no experience. It is nothing to be ashamed of.

[ It's true that the Inhumans choose other names after terrigenesis sometimes, and "Medusa" fits that role...but her name is also Medusalith. ]

To my knowledge Erik has given up political assassination for now, and mutants have been public knowledge for at least fifteen years. That cat fled the bag long ago.

[ She can't help but find this a little funny, although she's careful to keep it out of her voice. He's more like her Pietro than she would have initially guessed. But also it's far too nuanced a situation for Medusa to have any great insight— Magneto doesn't trouble his Inhuman former in-laws. ]

It isn't my place to speak in detail about the mutant struggle, as I am not a mutant. Erik usually does not speak to my family or myself about it when our paths cross. But I would say that life is long, and nothing is as simple as any of us would like it to be. I think mutantkind knows that better than almost anyone.

I didn't say I was ashamed. [He says it quickly enough to indicate that's exactly what he meant, but he's a stubborn teenager. He doesn't like admitting those feeling things.]

So people know? And it's, like, okay? They're not all dead or in cages or something? [Part of him wants to ask about Sentinels, but he's not sure that they weren't just a fixture of his world.] I mean, the public just lets us be around? That's a little hard to believe.

That's a very diplomatic way to say life is fucked up. And you're lucky he leaves you alone. Or you leave him alone, or whatever. I kind of wish I'd done the same.

So, what's an Inhuman anyway? It's apparently different than mutant.

The human public is... [ She has to hesitate here, her hair gathering in pensive waves around her face for a moment before it expands again. ] They are more accepting than they were, once. Bigotry does not disappear in a decade, or even two. But they are seen as less of a threat than they once were.

[ Because there are so few of them left. But he would have to do something egregious to convince Medusa that such a cruel act as telling him of Wanda's great mistake would be a worthwhile act. ]

I am a diplomat, Peter. It is, as you might say, "sort of" my job. But Eric knows we would pursue him to the end of the universe if he hurt one of our own, and an attack on us poses a risk to a member of his own family. Sometimes these things are enough to preserve a peace.

[ Though Medusa wouldn't gamble on whether or not a former family tie by marriage and Luna would be enough to stop Magneto, if the Inhumans and the mutants ever came to conflict. ]

Mutants are Homo superior. A natural product of human evolution resulting in the presence of a specific gene that conveys unique abilities to those who possess it. Inhumans are Inhomo supremis, a product of alien experimentation on the part of the Kree thousands of years in the past, in an attempt to create living weapons for their attempts at galactic conquest. We are endowed with inherent genetic potential based on those races the Kree found difficult to subjugate, and each Inhuman possesses unique gifts that are revealed through exposure to a substance called the Terrigen Mist.

[It's as much as everyone else has been telling him, to wait and let things get better over time. But it's not what he wants to hear.] Does it disappear ever?

A member of his family? Kind of hard to imagine that guy with family. [He smiles, quick and small.] But hey, whatever keeps you safe, right?

[He listens to her speech with an obvious awe. He doesn't know much about his own kind, let alone about Kree or genetics or mists. But the word 'experimentation' makes him frown. It makes him think of what happened to Wanda.]

Wait, like. The aliens experimented on people? And for fighting? Are you guys- uh, do they make you go to war for them or something? I mean, you said Queen so you're the ruler and not someone else, right? I don't know dude, that just sounds kind of freaky. Being experimented on is kind of a big fear for people.

Magneto has children. And grandchildren. Some of them speak to him, and some of them do not. Luna is Inhuman, not a mutant. She belongs with us, and we insist that be respected.

[ And surely Eric knows that his son would kill him, if Luna was hurt. If her sister didn't get to him first.

Though she's idly curious: if this Pietro...this Peter had a daughter born an ordinary human, would he force transformation on his own child just to make her "special" too? ]

The Kree do not "make us" do anything. They were simply arrogant enough to think they could make themselves a race to compensate for all they were not, and come back thousands of years later to make slaves. Instead they learned they can die, or they can bend the knee to us, and we accept no other options. I rule the Inhumans. No one treats one of my people like a dog, or a lab rat, and fails to answer for it.

[ That is not a hypothetical situation. Medusa is relentless. And Medusa not forgiving. And Medusa leads a sovereign nation, which gives her all the legitimacy and power to respond to attacks that the mutants never had. ]

Children? [He snorts. Perhaps some people really did go for psychopaths.] I feel sorry for whoever this Luna is to him. I can't imagine having that guy in the family. I thought my sister's dad was a loser, but that takes the cake.

Well good. [At least someone out there could fight back when it mattered. At least some people who were 'different' had half a chance.] What I've heard about people being treated like experiments usually didn't end that well. But it sounds like you guys made the most of it and, you know, did well.

You must be pretty tough to deal with that. [His grin returns.]

Luna is my niece. I believe my sister thought he was at least a tolerable in-law, compared to some.

[ She'll see if he can draw any conclusions from there himself or not. It seems a shame to drop the "in an alternate universe you are my brother-in-law" so early in the game. She rather likes this version. Much better than the one Crystal married. But maybe this is what she saw in him to begin with? The world may never know. ]

We are Inhuman. Being "tough" is in our nature. [ They were meant to be weapons. They can embrace that destiny as necessary. ] Just as it is for mutants.

Your sister married one of Erik's kids? I hope he was nicer than his dad.

[He's been studious ignoring any hints since Charles told him to free someone who was a suspicious match to the man his mother liked to tell stories about. He's no different here. Ignorance was easier to live with than the uncomfortable truths.]

You know I was trying to compliment you, not just your people. [He smiles wide.] But thanks. From the few I've seen, I think we kind of are too.

They are not married any longer.

[ Which is all there really is to say about that. Which really says everything. And if he never wants to ask further questions, Medusa will allow it. She needs friends and allies more than she needs to tell people from other universes the sordid details about their counterparts. ]

That is flattering, Mr. Maximoff. But a queen is her people. That is what the role requires. [ And being a good queen has cost her many other things. But queens do not get the liberty of expressing their personal problems. ] I hope in your world you are fortunate enough to find a leader who can help mutantkind achieve stability and acceptance.

[ If only they could be so lucky in all worlds. ]

[He's sure what to say to that. Apologize? Offer congratulations? He stays quiet, making a face and moving on.]

It's Peter. Mr. Maximoff sounds too stuffy for me. Save it for the other Maximoff running around here. [At least Pietro making faces about it would be kind of funny.] A queen is still a person though, right? People can still have opinions about you that aren't about your kingdom. It's kind of what we do with out presidents at home.

Thanks. I hope so too.

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