In retrospect, given the sort of world he lived in, it should have been obvious that high school was not going to end with him walking across a stage and collecting a diploma, but instead with him falling into a mad scientist's portal and being transported to an alternate dimension.
It's the sort of thing that happens to mutants.
She does.
She leaves him at the table — when she comes back from the kitchen, she has a a handful of fun-sized candy bars.
It is astonishing how quickly a person can eat a handful of candy bars!
A few minutes later, Lev's head isn't swimming anymore, although his stomach is still letting him know that more food would be desired.
"I don't know how careful I should be about using my power. I guess the answer is 'very' if you think you'll have trouble feeding three baselines."
“We’ll manage. But — yes, we’ll have to start relying entirely on what we can grow and catch —”
“Can you explain more about your ability?”
“How reliable it is — the kinds of results you’ve had in the past —”
“...you are not obliged to answer any questions I ask you,” she says, reluctantly. Research ethics.
"I'm not reliable if someone is deliberately fucking with me, and sometimes the best answer I can get out of a dataset is 'not enough information to say.' I'm most useful in math and science-- I've proved a couple of dozen theorems-- but I like social science more so I usually work on stuff like that. On Earth I mostly work for my dad's philanthropic foundation-- man, explaining the relationship I've glossed as 'my dad' is going to be a long story-- and with his superhero team, the Avengers. Uh I've figured out two celebrities were dating from their public interviews, I figured out a crime lord was trying to clone Hitler and give him a hate-themed mind control ray-- long story--"
"You are very right."
She eyes the pile of candy wrappers.
"Do you need an actual meal?"
"It's probably best to save it for emergencies until we're on land," she says, reluctantly.
"I guess," he says, very reluctantly.
(Maybe he can carefully ration out Sudokus.)
"Using my power is... one thing that's always good."
It is maybe more obvious than he hopes that he's omitting the "the".
"When we're back on land, the institute will want to feed you as much as you can stand. You'll have as much work as you want."
"That's good. I like work. --I like social science better than natural science, if I have the choice."
"You have the same rights as any sapient being, and anyone who would claim otherwise will be dealing with me."
Nerds and cryptids both tend to get the best of her. She smiles slightly back.
"...is there anything else you need to ask, now that you know you're not going to be vivisected?"
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