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

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.]

It shouldn't... not here. The machine that brought us here is broken... something like that.

The AI comes off as pretty sketchy, yeah.

[Not, like, Ultron sketchy, but still pretty sketchy.]

Not much is known about it... [ OR MAYBE THERE IS AND I FORGOT BUT GIL SUCKS AT TECH ANYWAY. ]

Edited 2013-05-02 04:31 (UTC)

I'll just ask Mr. Stark.

[Because Gil appears to mean well, but is getting filed under "kind of useless" in Val's head.]

[ Modern technology... ]

What are you planning to do? [ It's weird talking to her like she's... his age. But he's certain if he dumbed down his speech she wouldn't like it. ]

[The Val Experience is a special thing.]

Assess the situation. [Obviously.]

Just don't touch the Porter, alright?

[ Please, you are too tiny and adorable to die. ]

[That's basically telling her to go do it.]

Why not?

Well, nobody can get close to it anyway... but it's been known to hurt people who try.

What do you mean, "no one can get close?"

[Don't tell her things are impossible it just makes her want to do them.]

[ He frowns, not realizing he's putting bad ideas in her head. Kind of like how Oz operates... ]

I don't think it's been opened up the way you could with regular machines here. It'll sense it... somehow. I've heard it's electrocuted people who've tried.

Edited 2013-05-05 22:31 (UTC)

Electrocution? [Val's not impressed.] Gotta be something more to it than that.

It protects itself somehow... or the one who built it was able to make sure it could.

Sure, but there are better ways to do it than electrocution.

[She's just sort of professionally offended at how half-assed that sounds.]

Excuse me? [ Oh no, he's met another sociopath or something. ]

[She's three. Everyone's a bit of a sociopath at three. Val just has the capacity to do worse than lie about where the cookies went.]

What? Electricity's really easy to block.

How is that -- no, that's not the point! It could probably do more, but it's better to stay away from it. That machine is our only way back home so far.

Given the description of what occurs, "we" don't get to go home via whatever method the machine uses. Our personal continuity of memory is unidirectional to this universe.

[nbd she'll just figure out a better way to do it]

You think it's something else that sends us back?

Not necessarily. I think that we only remember this universe exists when we're in it, so functionally we don't ever go home.

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