Summary:Peter Parker saves Kamala Khan's…phone. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The computer labs of ESU. There's plenty of computers here for free use by the students of the campus, along with charging stations and tech support for those that may need it. A couple of students are currently working on their papers, or surfing Facebook and the like when the doors suddenly swing open and a new figure enters. One that is in a hurry.
Kamala Khan is in peril! This is a serious emergency, or at least it seems to be as the doors to the computer lab open. Dressed in her Cap sweater, comfortable jeans, and the ushanka on the top of her head, she's looking around quickly. "Oh my god, oh my god. Please don't be dead!" she says, cradling something in her hands as she runs over to where the charging stations are. "I'm sorry, please so don't be dead!"
In her hands, what she's so worried about being dead?
That would be her smart phone. Which is currently still dripping wet just a little. "I didn't mean to spill my frap on you!"
Geez, this thing is going to kill him. How the deuce is he going to put together a working flight suit?
Peter Parker was in the computer lab, looking over some of the designs for a flight suit for Thea, his Angel. Well, not HIS Angel, but she was an Angel in every sense of the word. She needed something to get around. Maybe a low-profile…but where was he going to get a…
He blinked and sat up as the young woman in the ushanka bursts in. He is surprised, because there is a KNOCK sign on the door.
The other part is that his Spider-Sense is going off.
The talk about being dead slightly alarms him, and he appraises her. Oh…it's a smartphone. Which is…dripping. Okay, it's one of those…
…and she's heading straight for the charging stations.
He stands up, closing the laptop with the cracked screen quickly and blurts, "Hey! Wait! Don't plug it in!"
Shaking the phone a few times, Kamala was just about to do just that when she pauses. "Oh. Uhm. Do you have some paper towels?" she asks quickly. "This phone is my lifeline, and my Ammi is gonna /kill/ me if I broke it!" she's quickly offering. If she's setting off Peter's spider sense, she doesn't know why, clearly. Reaching up to pull off the ushanka reveals a mass of dark hair that matches the Pakistani girl's dusky complexion.
"I was in the quad, and was arguing with some schlub that Batman clearly isn't better than Captain America in a fist fight, when my phone went off that there was a special raid about to happen in World of Warcraft, my guild had found someone that could do the Xorothian Firestick quest!" she explains.
"But then the guy said that Batman would win because he would cheat, and the raid at the same time, and I got stupid and knocked over my frappe, and I think I killed my phone!" Apparently she is /genuinely/ upset at this idea. "I had gotten a couple of pictures of Captain Marvel battling some frost giants last night and was gonna upload them!"
Peter blinked, then reached down to his backpack and unzipped it, pulling out a thin microfiber cloth. "If you can give me the phone, I can take a look at it." He smiled encouragingly, the smile that was +5 against Lectures. "My name's Peter Parker."
Kamala considers Peter for a moment. Then looks at her phone. Then back at Peter. Gingerly, she offers the phone to him. "Please, do what you can." she offers quietly and gratefully. And then when he offers his name, the girl's cinnamon eyes light up. "You have an alliteration in your name too?! Nice to meet you Peter Parker, I'm Kamala Khan." comes the greeting as she hands off the phone, but like a nervous mom, she's watching him intently with it.
"You can fix it, I hope?" Now she thinks to as that question as she fidgets with the bracer on her left wrist now that she has her hands free from the phone.
Peter smiled wryly. "I'll do my level best." He places the phone on the cloth, then takes out a small hard plastic case, unfolding it to reveal…
Well..that's a LOT of very small tools. Tiny screwdrivers with five different kinds of bits, small socket wrenches…even a long, thin soldering iron and a thin spool of solder wire.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Khan. I expect you get a lot of Star Trek references." He deftly pries off the back of the phone, then takes out a small can of compressed air and begins using it on the internals. "A little moisture got in there…let's see if we can dry it out safely."
There's a small smirk at the Star Trek comment. "Lost a cool point already just for mentioning it, which means you were thinking it." Kamala points out with a grin as she tries not to helicopter parent over the piece of tech. Though when the droplets of frappe inside the case are exposed, she visibly cringes. "I'll never drink a mocha around you again." she promises the phone. "Just live."
Leaning back to let Peter work, she considers him. "Who do you think would win a fist-fight between Batman and Captain America?" she asks. Because that was the important subject /before/ her phone died. "No shields or utility belts."
Peter looks thoughtful as he works. "Hmm…that's a very good question." He tilts the phone, then ahs. "Nothing blown, but an overheated connection. Lemme fix." He picks up the soldering iron, which has no cord, but he presses a button and the tip shimmers with heat almost immediately.
"Captain Rogers…trained in multiple martial arts…above maximum human norms…multi-purpose shield…been through an actual war…oh, yeah, and he punched out Hitler. Did I miss anything?"
"That's what I said, but he was all 'But Batman is probably a ninja!'." Kamala rolls her eyes. "I mean, Batman wasn't even an Avenger for very long, was he?" she shakes her head. "Though he's scary. I'll give him that. I never ever wanna go to Staten Island." Leaning back over to look at where the phone's being worked on, she giggles a little at Peter's comments. "It's true! He did punch out Hitler!" she realizes. "I should have used that argument. Would have totally pwned him."
As Peter works on the phone, it seems to be responding well to the repair. Hopefully. "I run a forum on superhero sightings and such. Mainly Captain Marvel, but I do others as well. Do you have a favorite?" she asks.
Superhero sightings? Jeez, the stories he could tell.
"Batman…trained in more martial arts disciplines…all evidence suggests he's a regular person. But he's also clever, fights dirty, and you know what they say. Number Two Tries Harder."
He closes the connection, then takes out a slim voltmeter and begins checking connections.
"Kamala, they are both very competent hand-to-hand fighters. BUT…" He smiles. "Only Captain Rogers has come to my house in Queens and had my Aunt May's apple pie. So I have to admit bias."
"Oh /wow/, you had Captain America at your house? You're putting me on!" Kamala looks at Peter incrediously. "You totally have to tell the story now." she points out to him as she frowns a little. All the connections on the phone are looking good. It should boot back up without a problem.
"That's what he was trying to tell me." Kamala huffs slightly at the thought. "That Batman would cheat and have something hidden on him that would stop the Capatin. What, an anti-super soldier ray?" She gives a little snortgiggle at that.
Peter smiled as he replaced the battery. He took a deep breath, then pressed the power button.
There is a tiny beep, and smartphone symbol appeared on the screen, with the progress bar booting up. He cautiously replaces the rear cover, and it snaps it just as the phone's home screen comes up. He chuckled, then hands the phone to Kamala. "It lives, Miss Khan."
When the home screen comes up, Peter may be in for a surprise. The home screen picture is set to the last picture that Kamala took on the phone. Which at the moment shows Brunnhilde the Valkyrie on one side, Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel on the other, and in the middle, a mousy Pakistani girl - that even with the mask on is pretty easy to put two and two together as Ms. Marvel mugging it up and making V signs as Kamala had her arm stretched out a little to get them all in frame as frost giants are fleeing through a portal in the background.
Just another night in Jersey City! reads the caption.
Blushing darkly, Kamala takes the phone from Peter and hugs it close to her chest, letting out several sighs of relief. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she says, reaching over to squeeze Peter's hand quickly in gratitude, jiggling the bangles on her wrist. "I'll have to get Ammi to make you some Gulab Jamun. You'll love it!"
Peter blinks. Holy cow.
He develops an appreciable hesitation in his voice. "Wow. That's…wow, that's an impressive picture, indeed."
Change the subject, quick.
"Uhm, yeah…Captain Rogers came by the house. I was out…" Fighting the Vulture… "…but Aunt May was there and invited him in. When I got back, they were bonding over her award-winning apple pie. Captain Rogers wanted to take to me about a career in SHIELD after I completed college. I…sorta soft-pedaled it because I wanted to think about it, and he said I had some time. I had just found out I had been accepted to ESU, though…" And hiding the acceptance letters from MIT… "…so it was a pretty big night. I…didn't take any pictures, though. Aunt May would have thought it was rude."
The reddening of Kamala's cheeks is more distinct for a moment, then she shakes it off. She could easily claim she was just cosplaying and happened to be on the scene, but why bother? "Oooh, you could have been Agent Peter Parker of SHIELD? That'd been neat. Why'd you turn it down?" See. Subject change. She can do that. "I mean, don't they usually wait til after college to try to recruit you?" she asks curiously.
"You aunt sounds like my Ammi and Abu. All 'we must be respectful of our guests and treat them with utter diginity, for they are precious and in our home.'" She nods. "I think it's in the Quran someplace."
Well, Kamala, it's like this. I find myself responsible for my best friend becoming a Spider-Person like me. I feel overwhelmed sometimes, I'm crippled with survivor's guilt. My boss at the lab is beginning to suspect why I nod off during experiments. And the father of one of the best friends I ever had would vivisect me in a New York Minute if he found out.
Oh, yeah. Lay THAT heavy traffic on a REAL superhero who fights frost giants with a Valkyrie and Captain Marvel. That'll win you the Douchenozzle Award of 2019.
"Well…as a result of my grades, my work on a drone for the regional science fair this year. And I'm pretty sure my high IQ was also a factor."
"Oh wow. You're a genius?" Kamala scuffs her toe of her boot on the ground. "I do pretty decent grades wise, but you know, studying, finding time to study and do.. other things." We won't go into those other things at the moment! "You're like my friend Bruno…" though she gives a little sigh at that. "..he's a genius with chemicals. Created this stuff called - I kid you not - 'snot'. That's what he called it! But when you put it on a cloth, it makes it super stretchy and elastic!" Which, with her powers? Was a godsend. No more having to worry about ripping her clothes.
"Because of that and a couple of other things, he got a scholarship to go to Golden City Polytechnic Prep." Overseas. "We write each other all the time, in email and stuff. He's doing amazing. But I can totally get wanting to stay close to home."
Peter's smiles softens slightly. "Well…I sorta have to. I only have my Aunt May since my Uncle Ben…passed a couple of years ago. So it's for the best, really. I have a good work-study job that pays well as well as covers my tuition, so I can keep the lights on, the heater working, and the water running. Which is a challenge even for a so-called genius."
Whew, didn;t say the number out loud. He may not have won the Douchenozzle award, but could still get nominated easily. He was never this nervous telling this to Harry…or even Flash. Who knew college would straighten him out?
"I hear a few good things about that school. I'm sure Bruno has a bright future ahead of him." He pauses. "I actually got to meet Colonel Danvers, in passing. Once. Just said hello…"
"I'm sorry about your uncle." As Peter lays out all of his troubles, Kamala can't help but to feel bad. Overall, besides her Ms. Marvel issues, her life is pretty good. Her parents are alive and well, her brother is a pain in the butt, but he's alright. And here's this guy helping her that has all these troubles. Her expression softens. "I'll have to get my ammi to make you and your aunt something then for all your help. You really /are/ a lifesaver!" she admits with a smile.
"Oh wow. You met Captain Marvel and Captain America? Did she come over and have pie too?" she asks, mainly teasing, though she leans over and asks conspiratroily. "Or are you secretly a superhero on top of all the other amazing things you do?"
Peter looks up, an embarrassed smile on his face. "Hero? ME? C'mon, get serious. There's a reason they call me the Absent-Minded Professor. I can barely get out of my OWN way, sometimes. No, she paid a visit to OsCorp Tower. My friend…my best guy friend in the world, Harry? His dad…works there."
Technically, the CEO does work there, but it's not a lie.
"I was helping with something and Harry's dad was talking with Colonel Danvers. She's a little…imposing. But Harry, of course, flirted shamelessly with her." He chuckles. "You have to know Harry. He's…a very outgoing guy. Mr. Personality. But we've been friends since we were kids."
"He sounds like my friend Zoe." Kamala says with a laugh, finally swiping her phone to put the picture away and slips the phone into her messenger bag on her side. It's decorated with patches and such from various super heroes. A Four badge, one from the Avengers, etc. Then she nods and grins. "It's good to have friends you have for a long time. Anyway!"
Since they're exchanging best friend stories, she pauses, getting out her phone again, and after scrolling through some pictures, ahas. "This was Bruno's entry into the science fair last year!"
https://www.thescienceof.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/MsMarvelScience04.png
Yes, that's a whale shark floating in a self-contained salt-water 'bubble'. "The ASPCA raised a fit, and we ended up having to give Skyshark a home at the aquarium. I think she was happier when she could fly."
Peter looked at the picture, blinking repeatedly. "Wow. Okay, that's pretty impressive." He grins as he checks out the backpack. "Hmmm…you have quite a collection there."
The Spider-Man one looks homemade, which makes sense. He isn't popular enough for anyone to make money off of him.
"Any ones you're on the lookout for?"
"Hmm?" Kamala looks where Peter is, and she grins as she notices it's the bag. "Oh! No, I collect them as I find them or I feel inspired. Like, you know. Some people look up to historical figures, I look up to heroes. I know, it's silly.." she shakes her head a little, adjusting her hands to fold them over each other in front of her. "But you know.. they didn't ask to be heroes. Well maybe Captain America did. But for the most part, they are people who were given extraordinary gfits, and they chose to help others. That's pretty Spectacular in my book. I hope I can measure up someday."
She lets out a little breath, and then glances at her phone. It's clear she misses her friend, and then she notices the time. "Oh gosh!" she realizes. "I'm totally gonna miss the raid! I need to get home and get logged in. If you play Warcraft, look for Slothbaby, that's me!" She offers, as gives a bow of her head. "Thank you again for mixing my phone!" she offers as she prepares to head off.