capeandcowl | [video]

[There is a blue-eyed child looking at you. She can't be more than three. She is, however, wearing a very grown-up expression of dissatisfaction. And some kind of superhero outfit with a big "6" on the chest.

Ordinarily, Val would be cagier about immediately going public in a strange place, but, well, she has A Problem. When she speaks, it's with fully adult syntax and no hint of a lisp or any other childish speech impediment.]

Hi. I'm Valeria Richards. Assuming no alternate timeline stuff--not a safe assumption, I know, but sometimes you gotta live dangerously--it looks like there are a few people out there who're friends of my parents. You've got a couple of hours to come get me before they [she turns the phone to show a pair of what are presumably social workers, looking simultaneously put-upon and patient] try to stick me in foster care and things get sketchy.

[Anyone who knows Val will know that's more for the prospective foster parents' protection than hers. No one wants her turning some unfortunate family's appliances into her robot escape army.]

...'Bye.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's a friend of my Dad's. [Plus there's that secret conspiracy they're in together.]

That's good.

I understand this can be a lot to take in at once.

Hardly. This is just an alternate timeline and no one's shooting at me. [Shrug.]

You're familiar with this? How... old are you?

Three.

...If you start freaking out, I'm hanging up on you.

[ He wasn't imagining it... she really is a young child. A baby, basically! ]

[ But he can't act too surprised or she might hang up and he really wants to make sure she stays safe. He remembers when Ada was a little girl. ]

I'm... not going to to freak out...

Three...

Um, you speak quite well for your ah, age.

I'm a supergenius.

[Duh.]

At... three? [ She talks more like a professor!! ]

It runs in the family. My Dad is the literal smartest man in the world.

[Val's smarter, but since she's not a man, this is not technically a lie about her father.]

[ He actually smiles at that. ]

He must be. [ She's way too articulate. More than the professors at Lutwidge and it's the most prestigious school back home. ] Does he tutor you himself, then?

[ Too young for school... right... ]

Ha, that'd be a huge waste of everyone's time. Mostly we just check in every couple days and then I totally school him at soriteses.

Education is not a waste of time.

'Course not, but I don't need him to teach me. Past a certain point, autodidactism is much more efficient.

Autodidactism?

Teaching yourself. I didn't need anyone to explain multivariate calculus to me. I just derived it from the calculus of a single variable. It's totally the natural progression when you start thinking in terms of arbitrary degrees of freedom.

[You know, like you do.]

Ah. [ That actually makes some sense to him.

But he doesn't want to pursue this conversation anymore. He feels incredibly embarrassed a three year old is that much smarter than him. ]

So... Mr. Stark is -- Tony Stark, you mean? I've heard the name here before. Your father is friends with those Avengers?

[She's smarter than everyone, Gil!]

Yeah, Mom and Dad were on the Avengers for a while before I was born. Dad and Mr. Stark collaborate on research sometimes, but they have different areas of interest, mostly.

There's quite a few of the Avengers here. Will they take you in?

Oh, probably. Do you know which ones are here besides Mr. Stark? [Since there are roughly a million Avengers.]

I only know the names of Hawkeye and ... [ What is Bobbi's again? He pauses. They don't exactly keep a low profile so he guesses it's okay to say her name: ] Bobbi Morse. I know there are others who lives in their mansion, but I haven't met them.

[ No, he doesn't know his own boss, Natasha, is/was an Avenger. ]

[The Black Widow is not high on the list of people who should be doing childcare.]

Mockingbird. [Val doesn't personally know Bobbi, but with a memory like hers, being aware of the Avengers roster is easy.]

No big deal, I can do a traffic analysis to see who they talk to. That should get me a list. [That's not creepy, Val.]

[ Are you sure you're not a demon child, Val. ]

Are you sure you're alright? You are remarkably calm, however being separated from your family isn't good.

[Dr. Doom laid a spell on her when she was born, so, you know, maybe.]

Yeah, I know, but stuff like this happens all the time.

[It'll sink in later, after Tony gives her details.]

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video; just wanted to use the icon negl

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