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

Kiddo, if there's any three-year-old in the multiverse who could manage by herself, it'd be you. [Heavy emphasis on the conditional clause.] It's the Tony part of the equation that's got my spider-sense twitching.

[What's this "if," pal?]

He's harmless.

[Val got her Dad's people skills, apparently.]

He's well-meaning. Sort of. That's not really the same thing.

I can outmaneuver him.

[Yes, she knows he's eavesdropping HI TONY. /trollface.jpg]

You know, I'd pay good money to see that.

I doubt it'll come up. [Haha she is so lying.] We're all on the same side.

When I said "money," what I really meant was "ice cream."

I could beat him at poker.

[She's scary-good at observing and drawing conclusions from it. And, y'know, lies well enough to fool Sue.]

Well, now that you mention it, I don't think we've had a good Avengers poker tournament in a while...

I'd feel bad taking Mr. Barton's money.

[Not that bad, mind you.]

Bad enough to outweigh the schadenfreude, though? [Spidey's thinking not.]

I don't think Mom would like it.

[Sue would blow every gasket let's not even kid ourselves.

Reed would just want to know if she'd calculated the odds properly.]

Yeah, you're right. If there's one lady it's not a good idea to piss off even when she's not around...

[Spidey is affectionately terrified of Susan Storm Richards. It's their thing, okay?]

Realistically speaking, I'm going to do something that gets her madder at me than at anything you could do.

[Val is resigned to the fact she's going to get grounded a lot until she hits 18 and her parents can't legally do it anymore.]

I'm pretty sure most parent-child relationships work like that. It's 'cause they love you, you know.

Most kids don't go behind their family's backs to cut a deal with Victor von Doom.

[She's tired and so hasn't noticed that Spider-Man isn't up on current events, or she never would have mentioned that, but he was at the little family heart-to-heart where ~~she lied through her teeth~~promised to do better so she doesn't think she's telling him anything he didn't already know.]

...Victor von Doom what now.

[She's tired enough to slip, but not to miss what just happened.]

Oh, hell.

[Which is a Very Bad Word by her family's standards, and she gets a worried look, like Sue's about to spontaneously manifest behind her.]

Young lady, you have some serious explaining to do.

First, tell me if you know what the Future Foundation is.

[Sorry, Spidey, she knows you're not the boss of her.]

Doesn't ring a bell; alliteration allusive.

Right, so, at some point in what's probably your near future, Dad's going to get fed up with the rate of technological innovation and start a think tank called the Future Foundation. For a while it'll be largely separate from the Fantastic Four, but then Uncle Johnny is going to die in the Negative Zone. He'll come back, but during the interim, the entire organization will be restructured and you'll be asked to join to fill his spot on the team. It's in his will.

[This has nothing to do with Doom, but she's hoping the news distracts him a little.]

Johnny... asked me to fill his spot on the team? [If his voice seems to go a bit wobbly there, that's clearly just Val's imagination.]

No -- hold on a second. What does Doom have to do with all this? Other than the obvious nemesis thing, yadda yadda.

Edited 2013-06-02 21:41 (UTC)

Well, no. He asked Dad to ask you. Something about the "second best" superhero and Franklin liking you.

[Yes, she hacked into Johnny's will.

She sighs. Why won't you be sidetracked, Peter?]

Uncle Doom suffered brain damage. In exchange for curing him, I got him to promise to help us. I didn't tell Mom or Dad I was doing it.

[Because honestly, how do you think they'd have reacted?]

[video]

video; LMAO DW is taking so long to load that by the time my comment showed up so did your tag

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