Just Don't Call Him An April Fool

[flightattendantguy]

I think everyone involved in this business knows the drill by now -- the Inkwell's got blue and white streamers held up with clips shaped like airplanes; the traditional airplane snacks (peanuts and pretzels) are lined up on the bar in handy dishes, and a plush purple squid wearing a pilot's cap serves as a centerpiece for the birthday boy's table (courtesy of Dee). Come in, eat food, chat, and basically make merry. Simon certainly is.

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[alienlisa]

"Yeah, Alida," AL says, nodding. "Actually, our friend randomly decided to draw the daughter of me and Astro, so there's her, too. Her name is Solaris. They went offline before we met you, so no, you wouldn't know him." She rummages around hammerspace again. "Pictures if you want them...Alida." Ignore the text...it's the best I have currently. "And Solaris."

"Ben's...a special case," she continues. "JB and I met and dated in the past but we lost contact. Then I met Vince and I can't tell you the ultimate conclusion there because the friend who was writing the story hasn't finished it. Then Alnilam was invaded and I lost my memories. Ben would randomly pop into my life on occasion afterwards but we found out that our timelines aren't synced up - think the Doctor and River Song, though we all know my feelings for that woman." She clears her throat. "When I met him for the first time - as far as I knew since I didn't remember him - and had no idea who he was, he already knew me. When I met him a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away - " That tells you what universe that was. " - I knew him but he knew nothing about me." She pauses and thinks a moment. "I think he'd had amnesia, too, but I'm not sure. Anyways, we weren't synced up until I saw him in the 24th century."

"I'll explain the 122 years then..." AL says with a squeeze of Data's hand. "This is hard to talk about, so the Cliff's Notes version is...Ben - the real one - had decided that Ben - Jedi Ben - was going to captain a starship called the Victory in the 25th century and I was to be the science officer. This was also when he and I would get together again, so Data, unfortunately...couldn't be around. So when the math was calculated, that's when 122 was picked."

"When I had been active for 120 years, that is when it was discovered my power cells wouldn't hold their charge," explains Data so AL wouldn't have to. "That is why I had decided to build a starship. My memories would be transfered into the computer."

"Apparently," adds AL, "two years is the magic number for new starships. Both the Enterprise-A and the Enterprise-E were comissioned two years after their predecessors' destructions."

"Hence one hundred twenty-two years," concludes Data. He then cants his head. "If the fact that my head is 500 years older than my body is factored in, then my head had been active for over 600 years. I believe that could have been a factor in my demise."

AL grimaces. "Can you not say it that way?"

"I apologize."

She shakes her head and clears her throat. "Well, I know I had other 'special' relationships other than just Jack and Radu. Even I can't keep track of everything I do." She chuckles. "But we'll go with that, sure." She smiles.

AL thinks about Butterfly Boy's question, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Everything's the same up until the attack on Alnilam. When that happened, I still lost my family but I didn't lose my memories - just my powers I wasn't born with, my natural healing power, and the use of my wings until I relearned to fly. Instead I went Creative with a specialty in healing - that explains why my healing power went poof - and, ultimately, went to live in Secundus. So Ben, Vince, Adam...and that's it. V mentioned that, in Secundus, there are ways of lengthening one's lifespan and bringing someone back from the dead is relatively easy so as long as they're together I can't see me wanting to leave." She smiles at Butterfly Boy, hands spread. "Can you blame me? You yourself didn't want to leave and you were only there for, what, a couple of hours?" Her smile gets wider.

((OMG WOMAN! I popped into Secundus to see how long Victor had been there before agreeing to stay and I wound up reading like three chapters! Maybe that story will be written sooner than I thought, lol.))

[flightattendantguy]

"Awww, I see." Vic look at the pictures. "Heh, they're cute -- and colorful! Apparently you have good horsie genes." File that under "sentences you think you'll never say. . ."

Vic can't help a snort as Lisa explains the whole Ben situation. "Oh man, yeah, I do know how you feel about River," she says, giggling. "Now that's irony. . .you should sue her for stealing your weird-ass timeline problems. At least you guys finally got back on track at some point? 'Cause I can imagine how frustrating it was with you two knowing different stuff about each other."

"Ahhhh," OckDoc says with a little nod as AL and Data explain why just over a century before breakdown. "That makes a bit more sense. Power cells would probably have a shorter life than the other components anyway -- and right, having a head older than the rest of you couldn't have helped. Although you're lucky that you had the option of transferring your memories into another storage system. Us organics don't usually get that option, unless we're in the right sci-fi novel."

"Wait -- so Data was in the Victory?" Simon asks, wanting to make sure he's got all this straight. "So your old/new flame was piloting your previous boyfriend?" Steve and Gary promptly start snickering. "You know what I mean!"

"Oh, I know that," NonTril Doc assures her. "I was merely counting those who were present. I figure that if they come to our parties, they're the people you're particularly close to. Given how many fandoms your mun is in, I wouldn't know where to start counting with ALL your relationships."

"So Secundus!you is rather like me, then -- one change, and suddenly your entire life's story is different," Butterfly Boy says, smiling. "And yes, there are -- and I imagine someone whose specialty is healing would be able to take advantage of all of them. Or even invent her own methods." He laughs and rubs the back of his head. "Well, it's very easy to get swept up in a Touched's enthusiasm. . .especially if they've just given you tea and cookies rather than strapping you to a table. Being a latent Touched myself probably had a hand in that too."

((*snork* That even happens to ME if I go back to read my old stuff sometimes. I'm glad to be inspiring?))

[alienlisa]

AL smiles. "Thanks."

She giggles, too, at the thought of suing River. "Luckily the times he was around were only brief and, usually, we were too busy fighting evil to think about what we did or didn't know about each other. The only time he was constantly around - minus the 25th century - was when I was with Luke and he tended to keep his distance. Knowing now how he felt about me, he was probably kicking himself for introducing me to Luke in the first place." She shrugs.

She then nods at OckDoc, then groans. "Ugh...now the alter ego is thinking of rewriting that damn thing..."

Data puts a hand on her shoulder. "She admits that the first draft, while it told the story, it did not 'flow' the way it should have."

AL just grunts at that and, instead, turns her attention to Simon. She makes a so-so gesture. "I guess. Like I said: Ben's idea. Since he and the alter ego aren't together anymore, odds are that that part of my timeline won't be expanded upon too much unless something happens on his end."

Nodding at NonTril Doc, she says, "Yeah, true. And it just keeps expanding depending on whatever she's watching or whatever. That's how Phoenix and Coulson got added."

"Yep," she says lastly to Butterfly Boy. "If I know me, she'd probably organize it so that she and Adam would...go...at the same time. That way one doesn't have to live without the other." She then remembers that Butterfly Boy outlives his version of Alice and her wings flush pink. "Er...sorry."

[flightattendantguy]

"Ahhh -- yeah, keeping the universe safe kind of precludes awkward conversations," Vic agrees with a nod. She snickers. "Oh boy, I bet. Well, he got his turn eventually, even if it didn't work out in the end."

"The writer's constant problem," Vic agrees, shaking her head. "I'm actually in the process of refining 'Forgetting You' to make it better. So many little things that could have been done better. . . Well, it'll be a stronger story in the end for all that. I'm sure yours will be too."

"Ben has some weird ideas," is Simon's opinion on that. "But yeah, I can see how it would be awkward to poke around the ex's part of the world. . . I'll just try not to think about it. If they'll stop laughing," he adds with a pointed look at the still-giggling turrets.

"So we heard," NonTrilDoc nods back. "It's funny -- you take the characters of every property you like, while Victor steals the plots."

"So I like crossover fusion AUs," Vic says, folding her arms. "Butterfly Boy and Forgotten Vows wouldn't really exist otherwise."

"Trust me, we're very grateful you like to throw things together in a big pot of ideas," Butterfly Boy says, before turning back to Lisa. "And that's very good of her." His eyebrows lower. "I wish my mun had decided on that route."

"It's not a long time between your passings. . ."