tushanshu | 001 ◈ [Video]

[She cuts on the video because she can. She has nothing to hide and is too pissed off to care. Still, the smile on her face is somewhat sweet, if you miss the part where she’s trying to not grind her teeth.]

Well, well. I do declare that this has to be the strangest place I’ve ever been shipped off to. You know…if I was used to getting transported to other dimensions. But a giant turtle. Can’t say you weren’t going for originality.

[The smile is starting to crack even more along the edges, showing just how annoyed she is with all of this. She woke up with no powers, no crashed Watchtower for her to dance over, and is just generally not in the best of moods.] Now we’re here for something and the blue man crew who gave me the little tour weren’t all that chatty. How helpful of them.

[Does she look innocent? Not really, but who wouldn’t be just a teensy bit annoyed at getting dragged to another world when they’re in the middle of something? How rude of...whoever the hell did this.] Tell me who I have to punch to get this over with so I can leave what is obviously the worst case of bad turtle hygiene ever. Otherwise, I might just have to pick whoever has the most punchable face and go down the line until I get somewhere. That's wasting time I don't have, because I'm on a schedule.

[The fact she can't access her powers and shouldn't be making such claims is a point she considered and then ignored in favor of threatening people.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Actually, I don't drink. [Completely offhand, not important, don't fixate on that please and thank you.] And sorry, I'm Scott. I'd shake but.

[Vague gesture at the console because there's no way to shake through a screen.]

I'm not much of a handshaker, anyway. [Oh she'll be keeping that little tidbit, don't think she won't.]

The name's Tea. So, Scotty, what can you tell me about why we're here?

Nice to meet you, Tea. [Day 1 on a foreign turtle and already he's being trampled all over. Why is he not surprised?] And not much, actually; I just got here myself. But I'm sure they just wanted the company of your pleasant and cheerful self.

[There is only the tiniest bit of sarcasm in his voice, which fades immediately at his next question.]

Speaking of company, you haven't seen a group of kids, have you? Short, rowdy, look like they were pulled out of a Goodwill...?

They could have taken a picture. [Oh, does that mean he has more of a backbone than he looks? Tea likes men with some bite to them.]

Kids? None. Are you saying you lost a group of brats in this place already?

[Wincing at the word 'lost' because that just sounds so bad.]

Not lost, just—misplaced. Temporarily misplaced. [Yeah, that's totally the word he wants to use.] But there's ten-nine of them, so if they are here they shouldn't be too hard to find.

With that many of them, they're probably somewhere screaming their heads off or getting into trouble. Can't be that hard to find "misplaced" kids. [Her tone should say that she still thinks "lost" is a better word for it.]

[WHATEVER, TEA.]

If they aren't getting into trouble, I'll climb onto my table and do the hokey pokey.

[He could almost sound like he's kidding, except for the fact that he's rubbing the bridge of his nose at the thought of them wreaking havoc around turtle. Why Reed couldn't have founded the Future Foundation around a group of, say, fully-grown adults, he will never know.]

Thanks, though. And sorry in advance if any of them try to stab you with a fork.

[Why are you thanking her, she was mocking you for losing nine little brats. Don't thank her when she's being rude. That's just weird.]

Are you their teacher on this twisted field trip or their nanny?

Babysitter, actually. A very temporary babysitter until their legal guardians come back.

[Which he really hopes is soon. Hurry it up, Reed.]

I don't suppose you would be willing to babysit them for awhile if they show up?

Sorry, kids are an entirely different species to me. [She is not sorry at all.] Do you suck that much as a babysitter that you can't handle them on your own?

[...............is that seriously a question that's being asked right now.]

You've never babysat before, have you?

I hate kids. [So obviously she hasn't.] What, do they tie you up and run around destroying things?

[Dryly:] 'Destroying things' would be an understatement. What, weren't you ever a kid once?

[She rolls her eyes.] No, I sprang full grown from a pod sent from space.

[Some of that is actually the truth.]

[One would think with all Scott's seen thus far he'd actually believe that, but right now he thinks she's just being sarcastic. There's been plenty of that so far anyway.]

Right, I forgot, that's where all people come from. And when you sprang out full-grown, you found out you had amazing superpowers too, right?

[Oh there's that backbone again.]

Close enough. Some people are just made to be phenomenal.

[Now, is that arrogance or just a healthy dose of self-confidence?]

And does Ms. Phenomenal have a name? Because that's kind of a mouthful.

[Both. She knows what she's good at.]

Ms Phenomenal does have a nice ring to it, though. [he gets a laugh out of her.] But my friends call me Tea.

That mean I'm your friend then?

[Joking, mostly. There's no way he expects an affirmative answer at this stage.]

Are you saying you want to be my friend? [She cuts her eyes and smiles at him.] Because I don't do halves. You either are or you're not. If you want to be, well, we can see where this budding friendship leads.

001 ◈ [Video]

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