Quoted By:
Edison let out a pained moan at the mention of the ‘cape situation’. Mercifully, you tried to get things back on track before this could devolve into another argument.
<span class="mu-r">“Can the blades be heated?”</span> you asked. <span class="mu-r">“The tip could pierce an armored vehicle or robot, then the blades could tear out a larger gash if they can manage to partially melt the armor. Monofilament wire would heat quickly and cut cleanly. Do you think it would hold up in combat?”</span>
Edison made a thoughtful noise on the other end of the line.
<span class="mu-b">“The trick would be providing a heat source capable of reaching the melting point of a particularly durable metal. But where would…?”</span>
Edison trailed off and began muttering to himself. About a minute later, he had apparently made a breakthrough, because he unabashedly uttered one of the cheesiest scientist lines you've ever heard.
<span class="mu-b">“Eureka! The leak! Of course!”</span>
<span class="mu-s">“What leak?”</span> Cindy asked.
<span class="mu-b">“The Stark Industries leak.”</span> Edison answered.
<span class="mu-r">“Oh, right. I heard about that.”</span> you added. <span class="mu-r">“Was that the one where some kid hacked into Stark’s servers and stole a bunch of information?”</span>
<span class="mu-b">“The very same.”</span> Edison confirmed. <span class="mu-b">“Among those files were detailed schematics of the armor used by both Iron Man and his enemies. That list includes ‘Anton Vanko’ and ‘Marco Scolatti’. Two men who, at some point or another, served under the title of ‘Whiplash’.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“Tommy…are you saying what I think you’re saying?”</span> you asked.
Edison must’ve been just as excited as you were, because he either chose to ignore you calling him “Tommy”, or he just didn’t notice.
<span class="mu-b">“That I might be able to reverse engineer the design behind ‘Whiplash’s’ whips? That is what I’m implying, yes.”</span> he replied. <span class="mu-b">“If I can channel enough energy through them, we won’t need to worry about blade placement or conducting heat. They could do so much more than what the two of you were suggesting earlier. I need something to write with…!”</span>
This was the most excited you’ve heard Edison since he told you about his crazy “child body-heat sapping doohickey”.
<span class="mu-s">“I’m getting laser whips!?”</span> Cindy said with a gasp.
It would seem that Edison’s excitement was contagious.
Just then, you heard a knock, and a muffled voice from Cindy’s end. You could practically <span class="mu-i">hear</span> her jump out of shock.
<span class="mu-s">“Oh, hey Carlie. Yeah, I’m okay. My…stomach’s been hurting all morning.”</span> she said, likely making up some lame excuse for why she’s been in the bathroom so long. <span class="mu-s">“No, it’s okay. I don’t need to go to the nurse’s office. Just…gimme a minute.”</span>
You wanted to tell Cindy to mute herself so she wouldn’t accidentally give away her secret identity, but from the way that Edison was feverishly muttering to himself, you had to question whether he was registering any of this.
(Cont.)
