FicWad

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor any of the Marvel Comics Characters mentioned herein. But you knew that.

The Talk

An Invincible Technomage side story

- This is a scene that may or may not eventually appear in the full Technomage story, I haven't decided yet. The Main story will have a Hermione/Franklin Richards romance...

Stuart Granger looked up from the book he was reading and smiled widely.

"Franklin, thank you for coming," the man said. "Take a seat."

Sixteen year old Franklin Richards nervously entered the room. The week he had spent in England hanging out with Harry while he visited his Godfather had been a whole lot of fun, mostly because the trip provided the opportunity of visiting the young woman he really wanted to become his first serious girlfriend. A short dose of near normality in what was his usually decidedly unusual life.

The illusion of normality had lasted most of the week until it had been shattered the previous day. Harry, Susan, Hermione and he had been out shopping and having a good time when they were attacked by a dozen men in dark robes and white masks. The girls had done their magical things, while Harry unleashed his latest Techsuit variation on the villains. Franklin had never seen Harry's new Technomagics deployed before, and he would have enjoyed the show had he not been forced to defend himself against three of the maniacs.

The weird colored lights from the bad guys' wands had been frightening, and Franklin had been a bit rushed by their attacks. As much as it shamed him, Franklin admitted to losing control. It wasn't until the magical police... Aurors showed up and were taking the men away that Franklin had time to hope that the three he fought would once again learn to manage some level of muscle control... hopefully enough to be able to feed themselves. He didn't think he had done them any permanent damage, but you never knew when you hurried a psi. Of course he didn't feel all that bad about it; he'd seen in their minds what they had planned for Harry and the girls.

Then at breakfast this morning Hermione had mentioned that her father had asked that the two of them meet this afternoon for a discussion.

Harry's smile hadn't helped in the slightest. Some best friend he was, sending Franklin to his doom by way of parental cross-examination, and smiling about it. Harry had said that since he had survived his own interrogation from Susan's aunt, who was evidently some kind of scary magical cop, then Franklin should have no problems with Mr. Granger, who after all was just a dentist.

Franklin sat in the offered chair and tried reviewing in his mind all the advice his family had ever offered that might be applicable to this situation. Uncle Johnny had said many times, to never, ever meet the parents.

Well, screwed that up already. Of course given that Uncle Johnny had rarely had agirl friend last longer than two dates might suggest that he wasn't the best source for advice. Mom always said to be polite and to behave like she was watching him. Given that she could easily actually be watching him and her invisibility hiding that fact had caused him to suspect that she usually was watching him.

"Hermione tells me that you and she have been having fun during your visit," Stuart said "So I thought we ought to have a talk."

Uncle Ben's advice to 'Smash everything and try to be somewhere else when it goes Boom!' didn't really seem to apply to this situation. "Yes sir, we have been. If it hadn't been for those magical loons yesterday..."

"Yes, I've gotten a report on that from Amelia Bones," the Dentist's eyes narrowed. "She was most effusive with her praise for your actions yesterday. She said your actions probably saved quite a few lives."

Franklin shrugged. "It was nothing special sir. Harry was more effective than I was. I think it's a family thing, we can't go a month without some crazy's trying something like that."

"I can imagine," Stuart nodded, "though I suspect they were more interested in Harry and the girls that in you. Those people don't think much of us 'Muggles', not even those with interesting abilities such as your own."

"Still, I'm told you placed yourself between one of the curses cast and my daughter. Hermione tells me that it was that horrible pain curse, the crueltio or some something like that. It's supposed to be the magical manifestation of the worst pain the human body can sustain. And you took if for almost a minute before Harry managed to drop the caster... All to protect my daughter."

Damn it. No one was supposed to have seen that except Harry, and he promised not to tell anyone... But Franklin couldn't have allowed that horrible thing to hit Hermione...

"Yes, Hermione saw what you did... and she appreciates it quite a bit. So do I, but I still have to ask; what are your intentions toward my daughter?"

Franklin swallowed audibly. "I... Hermione is really..."

The elder Granger seemed to be enjoying the boy's lack of coherent response. "I was young once myself Franklin, and I still remember what it's like to be a young man with a pretty girl on his arm."

Franklin looked up hopefully, meeting the eye of the older man.

"That's when I remember that the pretty girl on your arm is my daughter," Stuart said, swiftly crushing the Richards boy's hope in that time tested way known to fathers' worldwide. "A young girl I would kill to protect."

Franklin dropped his eyes again, silently chastising himself for how he was reacting. In his life he had been threatened by experts, his parent's enemies, real honest to God villains, people who killed for the fun of it. How threatening could this dentist really be anyway?

"You know, this week having all you young people around has got me remembering my own youth...when Mrs. Granger and I were first dating. For some reason I got to thinking about my first lab partner at the Dental college... Sometimes I'm amazed at what a small world this really is."

"I'm not sure what you mean sir..." Franklin said quietly.

"What I mean is I was amazed when I realized that your family, and indeed even you yourself have had personal dealings with my old lab partner. Victor Von doom."

"What?" Franklin sputtered.

"Oh yeah, Vic ended up with doctorates in Chemistry and Physics, but his first true love was dentistry."

This was insane. The man who his family considered more of a threat than even Galactus had wanted to be a dentist? "Are you serious?"

"Completely serious. Victor... We called him 'Stinky' because of his love for Cabbage soup... you can take the boy out of the Gypsy Caravan, but you can't take the Gypsy Caravan out of the boy. Victor wanted to be a dentist more than anything else in the world."

"Then..."Franklin searched for the words, "what happened?"

"He washed out in third year," Granger said with a shrug of his shoulders. "He couldn't handle the pressure."

"Dr. Doom couldn't handle the pressure?"

"The screams got to him. He got upset when the patients would struggle against their heavy leather straps... and of course the blood. He was too soft hearted to be a British dentist. He left Dentistry for the 'soft' sciences where his weaknesses wouldn't hold him back."

"Weaknesses?"Franklin asked faintly.

"Sorry Franklin," Stuart said standing up from his desk and extending his hand. "I tend to ramble at times, telling my old boring stories about school. All Ireally wanted to do was express my deep hope that you would never, ever do anything that might hurt, embarrass or even slightly inconvenience my lovely daughter..."

"Yes sir?"

"And I'm sure it's a given that if you were ever to make her cry, I would have to hurt you," the dentist said with a smile.

"Yes sir."

"And I don't mean psychologically either." Stuart checked his watch. "Where does the time go? Will you and Harry be staying for dinner?"

Franklin shook the man's hand and made for the door as fast as he could without appearing to actually be running away. When he opened the door, he found Hermione to be standing there smiling at him and he recalled his father's advice on women.

"Find a girl like your mother, someone who is smart, brave, dangerous and very very scary. If you would walk through fire for her, she's the one."

Well, Franklin thought, they don't call Dad the smartest guy in the world for nothing.

...---===ooo000ooo===---...