For Jessica

[tooprettytodie]

The changing of the island to the old west had thrown off Valkyrie's date plans just a bit. She had actually planned a really cool date with Jessica only to have the entire island screw things up by changing into the American old west. It was like they were stuck in a horrible theme park.

The one saving grace was that she had been able to coax a decent looking outfit from the clothing box, where most of her friends had been stuck in some really horrid dresses.

As it was, with a few days preparation she'd been able to figure out a fairly decent substitute for the date she had originally planned. All in all, it had taken a little bit of hard work and a note to Jessica to meet her closer to 3 o'clock than to one but it was going to be worth it. If things went well, maybe she'd have to see if Jessica wanted to try her original idea once they got back home. In the mean time, she thought this would be pretty fun.

The fact that Jessica was so fun was the only thing keeping Valkyrie from being overly nervous at the moment. This was her first official date with a girl, which was kind of a big thing. Did she like girls? Did she just like Jessica? Are you there God, it's me Valkyrie?

Well, either way, whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon. Unless, of course, Jessica stood her up.

Comments

[notaparker]

"There's always the long hair approach," I say, grabbing a bit of my hair and pulling it across my upper lip to serve as a mustache, which I then twirl with the other hand. "Use the tools at hand. Or we could switch up, nobody would expect me to tie you to the train tracks instead."

[tooprettytodie]

"That's very true. Very devious of you," Valkyrie said, giving herself a mustache in the same manner that Jessica had.

"But I mustache you a question, who would come to my rescue? Or would I do my own rescue? Or in your scenario, is it all a hoax to get the train to stop so we can rob it?"

[notaparker]

Mustache you. A true classic, and I grin again.

"What did I say about my moral- wait, tying a girl to train tracks, clearly those qualms were a clever ruse," I say. Maintaining, naturally, the mustache of evil. "So we're robbing it. We're really very clever. Maybe we're robbing it to retrieve already ill-gotten gains. It's a bandit train."

[tooprettytodie]

"The authorities are helpless to stop it, so it's up to- a crime-fighting duo to be named at a later time- to put a stop to it," Valkrie said with a nod. Clearly Jessica was brilliant. Or devious. Possibly both. Either one was kind of attractive.

"We could take over the bandit train and use it for our mobile headquarters, roaming from town to town to administer justice. Also, we'd have to blow up a safe. There's always a safe on a train to blow up."

[notaparker]

"Mobile bases are the coolest," I agree, briefly wondering if future back home me actually gets to ride around in the helicarrier. Only briefly, though, because it's pointless speculation, and there's stuff back here I'm happy to have my attention on.

"There must have been good money in being the guy who made train safes. That, or people were always getting mad at him for not bomb-proofft-"

The downside of draping your hair over your upper lip is sometimes it gets in your mouth while you're happily chatting. I figure, with a slight cough, that that's enough hairstache for now and flick it back. "...proofing," I finish.

[tooprettytodie]

"Or maybe they were just really, really offensively ugly safes," she suggested. Valkyrie could think of a few people she knew that were probably nuts enough to blow something up just for that reason.

"And suddenly my date idea of having a picnic in a rickety-but-dry shanty and hopefully watching one of the storms seems like a rather boring date compared to the train robbery-slash-liberation."

[notaparker]

"Nah, train robbery's more of a second date. Never go on a first date somewhere that gets in the way of talking," I say, wisely.

Mostly I've heard that applied to, like, the movies, but train robbery-slash-liberations probably tie in, as well.

"Plus if it pans out I'm going to be totally impressed by your meteorological prowess."

[tooprettytodie]

"Well, given the weather patterns the last few days, there's a 75% chance it will storm," she said. The first time she had seen one of them, she knew it would be an amazing date if she could actually pull it off, weather cooperating.

"There's the picnic spot right there," she said, pointing to small hill and what amounted to a couple of posts with some lumber leaning along the side of it. Not the most impressive looking structure, but it would do the job, she'd made sure of that.

"And I tested it, so if it does actually rain, we will stay dry. Also if it rains we had better hope this keeps going as well as it has been because otherwise we'll be miserable and trapped together or miserable and walking home through the rain."

[notaparker]

"Ooh, baby, talk statistics to me," I say, flapping a hand at my face as if to cool down. I dont know why I say it like a joke, though, it's pretty much completely accurate. "High risk, high reward, then? I admire your moxie. Also the word moxie. Was this-" I gesture at what I can best describe as a shelter, to be polite, "-already here?"

[tooprettytodie]

Valkyrie was glad that Jessica appreciated the statistics. She specifically worked them out just for her. Not that it was particularly difficult, it took all of 30 seconds, but she felt it was the small things that made the difference.

"It wasn't," Valkyrie admitted. "But what I want you to take away from this is not that I'm a terrible carpenter, but that I'm willing and able to drag lumber all the way out here."

[notaparker]

"Oh my god," I say, putting my hand over my mouth. "I cannot believe you built a- um- I'm going to call it a shelter, because I care."

It's just a very nice level of forethought, really. Preparation and consideration and all that. Not going to lie, it's winning me over. Not that I was under, really, but there's more of the over, now.

"I'm impressed. But prepared to take all this back if I get rained on."

(Not really, because what's a little rain?)

[tooprettytodie]

Valkyrie was glad that Jessica seemed to appreciate the effort. Also, it was kind of her to refer to it as a shelter when it looked like something that pretty much just fell together.

"That's what your hat is for, to protect you from the rain. At least, that's what I'm going with. And it's no big deal, you're worth it. I mean, even if we don't fall madly in love or whatever... you're fun. I like hanging out and talking with you."

[notaparker]

"Aw, shucks," I say, wishing I had pockets to thrust my hands into to complete the effect -- which is based in being genuinely flattered, let's not get that wrong -- and settling for linking them behind my back for a spell.

"You're totally worth building a rickety shelter for, too. What with the also being fun and pretty and such."

Abuptly I unlink my hands and clap them. "Now, give up the goods." Beat, and then to clarify, "What've we got in the basket o' food?"

[tooprettytodie]

"Look at you, all eager to get your hands on my goods," she teased. Jessica was probably just as adorable as Perseus about being teased, which she totally shouldn't think about because it was bad form to compare people you were going on dates with like that.

"But I've got some drumsticks in here, biscuits, some tea, and I actually found a few slices of apple pie."

[notaparker]

"A joke about putting my mouth on them probably goes here," I say, managing, I think, to keep the going red to a minimum. I'm a jokester, I can handle the innuendo, c'mon, Jess. You put it out there, honestly.

Then I'm distracting by having to pause to figure out how to sit down in the prairie get-up. In any dress, actually, it's a bit trickier than pants. The things you learn. You have to kind of fold.

"Which, actually, I am starving. In addition to statistics I am also big on food."

[tooprettytodie]

"A dirty joke from you even, it must be my lucky day," she said, grinning as she sat down. She noticed how awkward of a time Jessica had and wished that she'd brought down chairs out or something.

"Well, that one I can't claim any advanced planning on my part for. I mean, I knew the stats and the science experiment would be a big hit but the food was just sort of something to do while we talked."

[notaparker]

"So it wasn't carefully prepared in a five-star restaurant?" I say, twitching my skirt a little to make sure it's decent.

Ha. As if this get-up ever couldn't be, it's basically designed to make any level of indecency impossible. Oh, those old-timers.

"I'd take points off, except for the part where I'm not picky. About food, anyway."

[tooprettytodie]

"I think five members of the police force were in the place I got the food, and they probably have those Marshall badges, right? So technically it's sort of five star."

That was stretching it beyond reason, but she felt like she could make it work in an upside-down logic sort of way.

"So what are you picky about?" Valkyrie asked, opening up the basket to begin distributing the food. "I'm guessing the accuracy of statistics is one of them."

[notaparker]

"That makes basically no sense, but it's fun, so... I'll allow it," I say, nodding, eyeing the shelter and wondering if leaning on it is advised.

I think I'll avoid it. Besides, I'm fine where I am. It's a picnic, so even if I am by nature a percher, I can sit.

"Um, so, let's see. Statistics, definitely. Adherence to the scientific method. References to old pop culture properties? It's not really a long list. Oh, and hair products."

Not... actually a joke, really. I'm kind of vain about my hair, because my hair is awesome. Best hair of all the clones, I don't care what Peter says about that Kaine guy.

[tooprettytodie]

Valkyrie had to admit, Jessica really did have nice hair. Even a week into the Old West, it was really nice hair. Apparently she was just as serious about hair products as she was about the rest of things.

Fortunately, they were all things that Valkyrie could appreciate. Maybe she wasn't that into the scientific method or old pop culture references, but she could appreciate them still.

"And making sure people stay safe at parties. I meant to ask you... why do that? I mean, it's just that not many people would. I think it's cool that you do, and I'm glad you do. I'd just like to know why."

That seemed like it was a big thing. Most people didn't do that. Valkyrie didn't even do that, and looking after people was her job.

[notaparker]

There's a somewhat complicated question. I know why, obviously, since I do it, and if there's one thing I'm not, it's unclear of my motivations on any point. I'm pretty aware of my own thought processes, sort of by necessity. Chosen necessity, really. I don't have to keep an eye on them, monitor my own memories, but I want to be distinct. To be me.

"That's- it's a thing. It's kind of a whole thing," I say. "Do you want the speech? It's not a lecture, it's just- an explanation of how it's a thing. Of my reasoning, there."

[tooprettytodie]

"Wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know," she said.

A speech sounded promising, that meant it was more than just being the responsible one. Or at the very least, there was a good reason for her to be responsible.

The island was full of a bunch of superheroes and police officers and who knows what, but she'd never really heard of why anyone did that. She knew that assuming 'because they were drawn that way' did a disservice to them, but she'd still never heard why from anyone. She was curious, because she didn't know anyone else she could talk to about become a hero.

Maybe Jessica wasn't a hero in tights, but someone that was willing to man a hydration station at a party had to have a good reason to do it.

[notaparker]

Where to start on that one...

Ha, like I don't know. I might not be Peter, but it all comes back to the same place. Some things I'm not going to throw away just to be individual. Can't even conceive of it.

"My uncle," I say, pausing only slightly to consider the term, but I'm going to keep it. How else to describe Uncle Ben? He's Uncle Ben. "said once -- right before he died, actually -- that if there's things in this world that you can do to help people, to make things better for them in whatever way, that if you have something to offer... that's it's not just a good idea to do it, it isn't just a bonus. It's a responsibility."

I pause, to give myself a second, take off my hat and run my hand through my hair. "He said that with great power comes great responsibility. Now, I don't exactly have great power. I don't have a suit of flying armor or a medical degree. Just some smarts. And I've got a couple of projects I'm working on, but in the meantime... I do what I can, where I can. I can maybe help some people at those parties not get into trouble or danger, and as soon as I realized I could..."

I put my hat back on and put my hands up to the side, palms upwards, shrugging faintly. "I pretty much had to."

[tooprettytodie]

Valkyrie had never felt so humbled in her life. It wasn't necessarily in a bad way, it was probably in a way that she really needed, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Valkyrie fought bad people because they were bad people. She even reasoned that she was more equipped to do it than most people and that she had an excellent partner in Skulduggery to help train her.

But when it came down to it, she loved doing it. She enjoyed it, she was fascinated and thrilled by all the things she did and saw and she refused to sit back and let other people do all the work. Yes, she would still do it all if she didn't enjoy it because she didn't want people she cared about hurt, but Jessica helped people for a much more nobler reason.

Valkyrie would have hated her if it weren't for the fact that she would feel awful about it. How can you hate someone that selfless?

"Wow," she said, quiet for a moment while she processed it all, or at least tried to. "I- I'm sorry but I don't think I can really react to that properly other than to say I'm impressed. That's kind of a heavy world view to process."

[notaparker]

I scrunch up my face and mumble, "I told you it was a whole thing. That is... how it is a thing. Is it- heavy? I guess it's kind of heavy. Agh, man, I knew I should have gone with the short, quippy version. Always go with the short quippy version."

Still, that's the reason. The founding notion, of Peter Parker and Jessica Drew both. I'm not really going to disrespect it, and, I don't know, it is what it is. It is my deal. Not my whole deal -- nothing like clonehood to give a girl layers -- but a substantial part.