Milliways Again

[her_imperial_radiance]

It lurks. Oh how it lurks.

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[self_composed]

[That suffices.] Bella designed her teleportation power to work with any uniquely defined location and that is such a one. Pop.

"That is really something," she says, peering at the door.

[prima_sequentem]

"Yep," says Libby. "It's even more interesting on the other side."

[self_composed]

Bella's not sure if it'll work when she herself is not in the universe, but she puts up a "busy" message for everyone but Libby on the brainphone and steps through tentatively.

[prima_sequentem]

On the other side: a bar, with a multitude of patrons in a variety of species from a variety of apparent cultures and time periods.

Its most notable feature apart from that is the window taking up one entire long curving wall. The glass is so perfectly clear it's hard to tell it is there at all, and on the other side is a breathtaking view of lots of stars exploding. No one appears to be even slightly concerned about this.

[self_composed]

Bella takes in the stars for a few moments. It is, after all, her first time here.

She scans the bar. "Is the usual commodity here alternate universe versions of people you know or their possible relatives?" she asks Libby.

[prima_sequentem]

"You meet the occasional one of those, yes. Also fictional people, historical figures, a god or two... and then there are just the regular population, who are freqently interesting enough even without extra context."

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth spots them, or hears them. "Grandma!" she calls, waving and trotting up to them, Jacob at her heels. "And, oh wow. Hi. This is weird."

[self_composed]

"Grandma?" Bella asks, peering at Elspeth and Elspeth's companion.

[prima_sequentem]

Libby laughs.

"Bella, this is Elspeth, who I told you about, and Jacob, who I didn't. Elspeth's father's mother was almost certainly an alternate version of me; did I not mention that? I guess we had other things on our minds."

[self_composed]

"You did not mention that," Bella says. "You did not mention that at all. Who is your dad?" At this time, Bella does not see children as a particularly likely part of her future. They're not ruled out, but they're not a priority.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Well," says Elspeth, "his name is Edward, but I really doubt you have one. For one thing, we think this is your version of his mom and as far as I know she hasn't had any kids. For another, if you had him born when my world did, he probably died in 1918, because my dad only lasted beyond that due to turning into a vampire."

[prima_sequentem]

"Although just to complicate matters, if I ever have a son now I am probably going to name him Edward."

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth laaaaaaughs. "But I bet - um, should I call you Bella, or Mama, or what? - I bet she's not going to marry him and have a me."

[self_composed]

"That does seem thoroughly unlikely. Let's go with 'Bella'. I'm nobody's mama, at this time," Bella says. "And if I ever have a daughter at this point I probably won't name her Elspeth. That would be confusing."

[prima_sequentem]

"Bella has an empire now," Libby says cheerfully. "And it's the most fun I've had in years."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Oh, congratulations! How's it going? I bet you didn't call it the Golden Empire, that's kind of a theme name that only makes sense with vampires involved," Elspeth says.

[self_composed]

"Empire of the Stars," Bella says. "I'm colonizing not-Earth locations and sprucing them up nice and inviting people to move in, rather than attempting direct takeover. What does gold have to do with vampires?"

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Vampires who eat people," says Elspeth, "have red eyes. Vampires who eat animals, or the lovely advanced synthetics they have here that we haven't invented yet, have gold eyes."

[self_composed]

"I can see building a theme around that, assuming vampires eating humans was a major problem," Bella says. "You have brown eyes. They look like mine."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"I'm a half-vampire," Elspeth says. "Female vampires can't have biological children, but Mama had plenty of warning and she's smart, so she got some eggs taken out before she turned, and got a friend to carry me for her."

[prima_sequentem]

"Has there been any progress on analyzing the stuff you brought back last time?" inquires Libby.

[her_imperial_radiance]

"R&D's working on it," Elspeth says. "So far they know... it's carbonated." She shrugs. "I really doubt that's an essential feature, that's just what the bar gave me." She explains to Bella, "Blood substitutes. Major research interest for us."

[self_composed]

"I'd imagine. I don't have that problem," says Bella. "Are drinks just free here? If not, can I pay for them in imperial asters?"

[prima_sequentem]

"They're not, and I would love to know the answer to that question," says Libby.

[self_composed]

Bella looks around and fails to see a bartender. "How... does this work?"