Summary:Kamala and Skye check in on Valeria. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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The motel that Spider-Man had Daisy drop the Princess off at was not a fancy one, but it also wasn't really a 'pay by the hour' sort of place, either. It was inconspicuous, which is exactly what was needed. She had wanted to be alone not long after being dropped off. She'd stripped down and taken a careful shower, due to her newly stitched wound. She'd then collapsed in the bed and passed out.
She awoke far into the next day, and shrugged on the motel bathrobe, since her only 'clothing' with her is the powered armor and chainmail she was wearing the night before. It is carefully set in the corner of the room. Spider-Man took her plasma rifle 'until she gets better', but he hadn't confiscated her various other weapons. Still, that was not what was on her mind.
She sits at the small table in the motel, watching the television as she slowly takes apart some piece of utterly fried machinery. It looks like some kind of conn system, but the wiring and interior are utterly slagged and unfixable. She stares down at it, and for a moment, gives in to everything she's been feeling since arriving. The blond covers her eyes with her hand and cries, quietly and roughly. It's the kind of crying where no real sound comes out, but your body shakes with the force of it. The moment there is a knock at the door or anything of the sort, however, she wipes her eyes and sits up. Anyone with any sense of empathy can tell she has been crying, of course.
Kamala had left early because she had ideas. It's the next morning, and the young heroine decided to take a chance. No mask. No burkini. Just a young woman that's carrying several packages that arrives at the hotel room that Valeria has. She knocks on the door and waits - when she opens, there's a smile offered. "Hi. You may not remember me from last night. You were kinda hurt." she admits quietly. There's a shift, and then she holds up the box. "I brought you a pizza. Uh, cheese. I was going to get pepperoni, but I can't do that - you know. Reasons." She doesn't need to explain that unless she has to. Then she ohs. "I kinda guessed at your size!"
Honestly, she was in the store, she went into the changing room - morphed herself into Valeria, and then checked sizes. "…I bought you a few sweatshirts and a couple of pair of pants from a thrift store. Pair of shoes. Those are new. Noone wants secondhand shoes. Gross." There's a smile at that. And then in the last bag. "Magazines. Don't know if you know anything about here, but it's the last five years of Entertainment Weekly and People. There's some really good stories about various heroes and what's happened since the Blitz. The big attack on the UN."
This seems really weird. It's weird, isn't it? A matter of hours ago Skye attempted to sneak up on this lady -twice- then wound up offering to be a taxi for some stranger with some pretty incredible connections. Then she goes and makes it seem even more weird by stopping by the following day. As a new person in a massive new city who doesn't know anyone beyond last night's encounter, choices are rather limited.
Then again, she may be overly anxious to be a part of the action around here. There's a lot on her mind and a lot which she hopes to accomplish. Getting an 'in' with these people should really help!
As last night she hears voices before reaching the door. Familiar, yet..not so familiar. There -had- been another person last night. She was certain of it! At least this time she knocks gently rather than nearly fall through an unlocked door. "Heeey," she awkwardly greets the two. "This must be visitor hour."
It took her a moment to get to the door, as she is still pretty badly wounded. She might be stapled and bandaged up, but she was still shot. She has no super healing, afterall. She stands there in the doorway for a moment, staring at Kamala. The blonde is dressed in the room's bathrobe and probably little else, the clothing tied securely about her waist. Bandages can be seen poking out near her neck, showing her shoulder is bound up to help her. Her hair is pulled back into a simple, hasty ponytail.
"Right. I remember," the girl says after a moment. Her voice is soft and tired, her accent obvious. She furrows her brow and glances down at the box of pizza, her nostrils flaring. "I've never actually had pizza before but…I've seen it a lot. Movies. Television. Games…" She trails off and then finally steps back, allowing her to enter the room. She blinks, then and looks towards the bags of clothes and magazines. "I am well aware of American culture. Just…not -this- America's culture." What an odd statement!
She turns towards the door when Skye appears in the open portal. "Well, I suppose you both might as well come in."
There's a flush of Kamala's cheeks at the state of Valeria's dress. "I mean, you can't really go around New York in war armor. So. You know." the young woman's offer remains. "Not this America's?" she asks curiously, then there is Daisy's arrival. Kamala gives her a swift smile - but she was away before Daisy could see her, so she's totally playing that card.
"I didn't know Doctor Doom had a daughter, so we have something in common!" It's a stretch. Along with the clothes is a package of plain underwear and a couple of sport bras - Kamala so wasn't going to try to guess cup size. And honestly, it's probably close to what she wears herself.
"Shukria." Kamala offers in polite warmth as she steps into the room finally and looks around. "You've never been to America?"
Wait, what's this about 'this' America? The other woman already starts to press the question but it definitely results in a momentary pause to the third individual still by the door.
Once out in the open all she can think to do is offer a sheepish smile and a doofy little wave, made all the more awkward by the look on Valeria's face and the weight in her voice. As someone who had a lot of hearache growing up she can see the signs. Maybe she should have left well enough alone..?
Then there's the other lady who came -way- more prepared than the hackerette. It's something of a relief that Kamala was able to go the extra mile. The other newbie here isn't exactly flush with cash at the moment. Particularly with one of her nice new drones being vaporized.
"Hi. I think we may have just missed each other last night. I'm Skye."
Then she peers back to Val, looking somewhat puzzled again as 'Shukria' brings up the fifty dollar question. "'This' America being -North- America?" she adds onto Kamala's inquiry. Because really, what else could it be?
The bathrobe gives a better idea of her form then the armor does, certainly. She has a notable athleticism to her…but is a bit curvier then might appear at first glance. "It's a complicated situation," she says after a moment. She doesn't take the boxes from Kamala, but she does turn and lead the way towards the bed and table. The slagged device is resting there, and she carefully closes it and sets it aside, trying to do so casually.
She sinks slowly down into the chair and works to hide the wince from her shoulder as she does so. "Mmn. I must admit that pizza always looked quite good, but it smells…even better then I had imagined." The evades the questions about what she means by This America. For now, anyways.
Setting down the pizza and bags. "I know you're probably trying to get.. better and stuff. I can leave if you need some time, I just thought you might need a friend." Not a hand out. That's not what this is. It's Kamala being Kamala and it's probably terrible. To Skye, the young woman offers a beaming smile. "Hi Skye. I didn't know she was making other friends already. I'm Kamala. Or did you two already know each other?" she asks curiously.
And after setting down the pizza and the bags, she steps back so that she can leave if dismissed or stay. Or something. It's awakrd. Almost as if she interrupted a moment, and she's trying not to retreat.
'Did you two already know each other?'
Skye almost grimaces while reaching to scratch the back of her neck. "More like 'concerned citizen who was in the right place at the right time.' We only met last night. Kinda ..got absorbed into all of this, aaand..I don't know what else to do. So." She smiles. "Nice to meet you."
It is, of course, quite difficult to ignore the siren's call of the cheesy saucy pie, but that food had been brought for their injured guest and not for extended company. Part of Skye's personal distraction strategy involves looking elsewhere. It isn't long before that slagged piece of tech catches her interest and refuses to let it go. She's pretty darn good about keeping up with current tech trends which is why it confuses her so much that she doesn't seem to recognize it -at all.-
"Hey, what's that? It looks pretty banged up. Y'know I'm pretty good with this stuff, I might be able to help." Especially if it means getting to learn more about it!
"No, you may stay," she says after a quiet moment. She doesn't look at either woman in particular when she says that, so she likely means the both of them. She reaches out to take the box of pizza and sets it down on the table. She opens it up and closes her eyes to take in the smell of it. "Mn. It's pizza time." Did she just quote that old cartoon about teen mutants who happen to be ninja? Could be a coincidence.
She picks up a slice, leaning in to watch the cheese stretch with what could almost be called wonder in her eyes. She then takes a big bite, and she lets out a small, pleased sound as she chews and swallows. "Exquisite."
She glances over at Skye, and then follows her gaze to the device. "…It was a communicater. I do not believe it can be salvaged. I would need some…very rare components. Or, components that seem to be rare here, anyways."
"I take it that we can't just go down to Radio Shack and pick up what you need then." Kamala admits as she moves to finally to take a seat near the others, and settles in. Then she laughs. "I feel like we need to be breaking out the toenail polish and swapping stories or something…" then she pauses. "Okay. Terrible idea." She's a hero now. Not a teenage girl. Okay, she's totally a teenager.
"What happened?" she finally decides to ask. "I didn't get a chance to ask last night." Pulling her legs beneath her, she sits in a lotus position on the chair, tugging on her t-shirt as she makes sure she's all proper.
It -was- a communicator. Well, that's all of the clearance Skye seems to require before reaching out to put it into her hands. Val never told her not to! "'Very rare,' like overseas? I mean you can order anything online these days. I'm sure we could find whatever you needed on ebay or something."
…Or… It's only a few seconds of investigation before a defined frown has taken root, soon followed by a muttered "What is this thing..?" even though Valeria already said what its intended purpose had been.
It's fortunate that Kamala is around, she's thinking of the important questions beyond 'hey, can I check out your shiny thing?' Considering that Val had been -shot- and all, when Kamala drops the question Skye sheepishly puts the fried piece of tech back down and turns her back to it, suddenly looking focused on its owner like there hadn't been any distractions present at all.
She frowns softly, distracted from her pizza. She glances between the two and then takes another bite of the pizza before responding.
"The transfer was supposed to be seemless, but we ran out of time and it had to be rushed. So, my arrival drained the local power grid, causing that blackout. While I was attempting to get my barings I stumbled on several thugs using the darkness to their advantage, and assaulting a woman. I stopped them. One of the peasants got a lucky shot in, however."
Her bright green eyes lock onto Skye as she looks at the device, and there is a brief moment there where she tenses. Finally, she replies with: "It is a communicater, like I said. And no, not 'overseas'. I…don't know if the material I need to remake the housing has fallen to Earth in this place. It's plentiful back home."
"Arrival from?" Kamala prompts gently. See. Here's the thing. Valeria has already said a key phrase here. 'Other America'. And Kamala's a smart cookie.
And well, she has the most over-active imagination ever.
"So in your America, is there like heroes or is it like skyships and transporters and is.. oh my god, are you really a girl Doctor Doom and everyone there is the other gender? Am I a GUY THERE?!" she asks suddenly.
She has to know. This is VERY IMPORTANT.
Arrival, blackout, thugs, 'peasants'..? Okay, sure. 'Doom' here claimed to be a princess the other night, but -peasants?- Really? "Yah..I'm not sure that's so politically correct anymore," Skye chimes in.
Then comes the proper bombshell. 'Fallen to Earth.' Miss Hacker's eyes blink once before bugging out a little. "Whoa. Okay wait a sec. It almost sounded like you're saying that you came from another -planet?- I must not have heard…right…" she trails off while Kamala starts pressing about gender-swapped people. Skye's mouth opens once then closes, suddenly at a complete loss of words.
Are there, like..quarantine protocols they should be following for this sort of thing..?
"Oh my god, are you -seriously- from another dimension?" Such a realization kind of blows her mind right out of the water!
Valeria sighs softly at Kamala and lets the inquiry linger long enough to finish her piece of pizza in it's entirety. Only then does she glance back at the other teenager. "Earth 117. That's our label in the multiverse. Mostly similar to yours. Evolved the same way. Most of the world events were at least similar. We have people dubbing themselves and eachother heroes and villains. We even have versions of some of the big ones there…from what I can tell. We have a Spider-Man, for instance. Likely you as well. Some genders might be swapped, some might not. Some might have taken other courses in their lives and never become a hero…or otherwise perhaps they became a villain." She shrugs, and then winces.
She glances at Skye next. "The material used in the housing…and in a lot of the other tech back in my home country…fell to earth in a meteor shower. It was quite prolific. Yes, I am seriously from another dimension. Hand me another slice of pizza."
She doesn't comment on the political correctness of the term she used.
"That is…" Kamala is at a lost for words. She's digesting and processing it all.
Earth 117. Other heroes.
Another world.
Finally, there is a hypothesis. A conclusion, and..
"That is /so/ amazeballs, Valeria!" she decides finally. "Oh my gosh. Did they not have pizza there, is that why you didn't ever get any?"
Skye's got her phone out in a New York Second. That cultural adjustment had been an easier one for her to make. Rather than go straight to video she starts taking notes, particularly keen on getting 'Earth 117' mentioned in there. This is big news! She's already been unhealthily entrenched with conspiracy theories and government cover-ups and black ops organizations, but this..?
This changes everything.
She's so into the moment that the call (order?) for another slice goes unnoticed. Not that Valeria would have been telling -Skye- what to do, that'd just be silly..!
Kamala's enthusiasm is almost immediately mirrored. "Right?! Talk about a -total- change of scenery, this is unreal! What brought you here? Does -this- 'multiverse' have a label? Are you planning on staying or just here for souveniers?"
SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.
"We didn't have pizza in Latveria," she corrects. "But I often saw it on television. I grew up watching a lot of American television. I quite enjoy the old shows and cartoons. My mother is from America, you see."
She winces again when she moves her shoulder, and something seems to dawn on her. "Do either of you have a lighter? If so, will you lend it to me for a few moments? Matches or similar will also work." She then glances between the two and sighs, reaching out to collect her own slice of pizza.
"I am sure this Earth has a name, but I do not know it. The reasoning for me being here is…a long one. Now, matches? Lighter?"
Kamala may have been prepared for girl time, but she doesn't have a lighter or matches. She makes a little face. "Sorry, I don't.." she admits as she pats herself down. There's a look to Skye to see if she has the required material. And then suddenly, there's a new problem that Kamala realizes.
"I didn't bring any drinks! I saw a pop machine downstairs. Do you have a preference?" she asks the pair as she looks between Skye and Valeria to see what they want. She'll run and get the drinks.
No pizza. Skye slowly turns to give Kamala something of a horrified look at the very thought of living an entire life..without pizza. And yet other-reality American cartoons had somehow still been in the cards. How strange!
Being asked about a lighter brings another awkward smile to the hackerette's face. "Sorry, they haven't figured out how to turn that into an app yet." This may all come across as being foreign to the dimensional traveler.
Suddenly Kamala's mind leaps to refreshments, catching Skye completely by surprise. "I..uh. Anything..? I guess? Water? Mountain Dew?" With the unexpected question being raised it rather seems to be an invitation to help herself to the food offerings and darnitall if she isn't super hungry. In another second she's pulled up a seat and slid the pizza box closer to both her and Valeria.
"I don't have a lighter or anything. I mean, if it's important we could get something from a corner store. I'd rather not experiment with starting electrical fires. That tends to end badly."
"I doubt you will have the same drinks as we have in Latveria so…whatever you think is best," she says. She doesn't complain when Skye helps herself to some of the pizza. She sighs and waves off the mention of getting a lighter from a store. She then leans down with a small wince and takes one of the magazines. She flips to a part that appears to have a several page ad, and she tears it out. Valeria then crumples it up and reaches over to open the window a bit.
She sets the crumpled pieces of paper onto the table and passes her hand over it, muttering some odd, otherworldly word under her breath. The paper suddenly catches flame. Not a lot of fire, but enough for the rest of it to start catching. She then holds three fingers out, then folds one in and extends another, as she mutters a phrase under her breath in that same, off language. There is a flare of some kind of static energy in the air, and the flame snuffs out. She then sighs and sits back a bit, no longer wincing. "There. Shouldn't hurt for a few hours…"
Taking the moment, Kamala slips out of the room to go get the drinks for the other women. She'll be back in just a few minutes. And probably good that she didn't see the fire making!
Skye can tell something odd is going down as soon as Valeria rips the pages out of the magazine. It's all she can do to wipe the grease off of her fingers and bring out her phone again, this time going straight for video.
She isn't disappointed.
Fire coming from from nothing. Whisperings of an alien language. Some sort of magical incantation..? And somehow all of this translates into a painkiller?
As Val leans back with the sigh Skye subtly tucks her phone away before asking another important question: "What was that?"
Crap, Kamala's already gone. For some reason Skye is feeling like having some backup would go a long way here…
She blinks and glances over at Skye. She looks confused, as if the answer should be obvious. After a moment she seems to remember something, and she shrugs. "Magic. I needed the fire to fuel some basic abjuration. I just weakened my pain receptors in my shoulder for awhile. It's nothing very fancy or complicated."
She leans back in her seat and glances about.
'Nothing very fancy.'
"No, of course not," Skye replies in a perfectly level tone with an expression to match. "Hey..true story, did you know that magic is, like, -super- uncommon in this reality? I mean you just did some sort of Ibuprofen incantation and I'm getting goosebumps over here. Believe me when I say it's pretty darn fancy."
A quick glance over her shoulder to check if Kamala's still gone soon leaves her leaning closer to Valeria. "So why exactly are you here? Are you looking for something? Some-one?- I want -all- of the details. Even the little stuff that you think isn't important."
"Ah. I see. Well, back home most people don't practice magic, either. But…it was part of my studies growing up…"
She tucks a locke of blonde hair behind her ear that seems to have escaped her ponytail. She sighs, then, at the questions.
"My parents sent me here. It's a mixture of a 'coming of age' thing and…to keep me away from the war."
"Interesting studies," Skye suggests while pushing her wariness of magic being practiced right in front of her aside in order to try and get the scoop.
"What, kinda like a walkabout? Some kind of exchange student ordeal? Ah..oh," she trails off with the mention of a war going on. "That..probably explains the rifle."
Crud. Escaping a war isn't something she can be quite so excited about. Kind of a dark subject matter.
"I'm guessing your communicator was how you planned on reaching them. Which means…"
Ho boy.
"You're stuck here, aren't you." It's more of an observation than a question. One which suddenly has her looking genuinely sympathetic.
"…I'm stuck here, yes. I have an understanding that my father in this reality would…react well to my existence, likely. But…"
She trails off and sinks down in her seat a bit. She looks less like an imperious soldier, and less like a princess right now…and more like a tired, scared eighteen year old.
"Perhaps I can find this world's version of my mother. She might…it might confuse her. I don't know, really. I suppose I will look her up and play it by ear, hmm? I assume she hasn't married him here, so she would be using her maiden name. I need to find Susan Storm."
The sympathy being felt remains genuine but Skye's mind never skips a beat with all of its running processes. Soon it's right back to the phone to make note of the name, though before she can fully type it in the idea strikes her that maybe this meeting hadn't been so random an occurrence after all.
With the note saved she gently sets the phone aside and leans back with a sigh of her own, looking to the blonde in silence for a couple of seconds.
"I've been trying to find my own parents. Not..alternate reality versions of them, just… My actual parents."
Another glance is given toward the door. She'd rather keep this part of the conversation between the two of them.
"Hey. Maybe we can help each other. Finding information is kind of my deal," she offers with a thin and somewhat sad looking smile. "We'll figure this out, okay?"
Another faint sigh comes as she glances to the clock then a third time back to the door. "I should probably go."
Valeria is quiet. She lets Daisy say everything and she nods slowly at the end of it all. "Very well. We will help eachother. We will…figure it out. But yes, you should go, and I should rest.."
She sits up again and rises slowly to her feet. "We will speak again soon, I feel."