Ada
By Indiana
Characters: Edward Nygma, Riddlerbots (Ada, Alan, Hedy Lamarr [property of gloved-assailant])
Synopsis: Ada's life is pretty good, but even she has problems sometimes.
Was Ada having a good day? No, she was not.
Most of her days were good days. Because life was just good, that's just how it was. Her house was good, with lots of stuff to do and places to go she hadn't even been yet. She had a good brother, even if Alan was really annoying sometimes, since he thought being responsible was the most important thing ever. And her dad, oh boy! She had the greatest dad ever. He let her do whatever she wanted, and even if she asked him to play with her while he was busy he would. He would roll his eyes sometimes but he still would. He was a good dad like that.
And even though all that great stuff was all around, she was not having a good day! She didn't feel like going anywhere and Alan wasn't anywhere to be found, and she was pretty sure her dad would let her bug him but he had left two hours ago. She knew even she would be in big trouble if she managed to figure out where he went and bugged him there.
All that was pretty yucky, now that she was thinking about it, but none of it was even the yuckiest. No, that was Hedy Lamarr.
Hedy Lamarr was the smallest Riddlerbot her dad had ever made. Before he had made her, Ada had been the smallest, and she had liked it that way. But then there was Hedy. And you would think a robot without legs wouldn't be all that handy. But nope. Hedy and her brother, Alexander Graham Bell, were always doing important stuff together. Everywhere Hedy wanted to go, Alexander took her. Especially right up in Ada's face, right where she didn't want her.
I don't want you in my face, Ada said to Hedy for the millionth time, and for the millionth time Hedy just laughed. Her laugh was very tiny, just like the rest of her, but boy did it make Ada mad. Stop that! she demanded.
Why?
Because I said so.
Why?
Because I don't want you to.
You don't want me to stop? Hedy asked, much too sweetly.
No I do want you to!
You said you didn't first, Hedy said, and she gave Ada a poke. Before she could take her finger back, Ada grabbed it.
If you don't quit it I'm gonna break your finger off.
Hedy poked Ada with her free hand. Do it. I dare you.
Ada shoved her hand back towards her in frustration. She had Ada there. Her dad had already told her more than once to stop fighting with Hedy, and Alan had too. They wouldn't be happy if they found out she wasn't listening.
He doesn't need you anyway, Ada said sourly, starting to walk off. If he did he woulda given you legs.
He did, Hedy said smugly, patting Alexander on the head. It's you he doesn't need, obviously.
Ada whirled around. Take it back!
Hedy shrugged as Alexander adjusted his grip on her aborted knee joint. Why? It's true. You don't have a purpose. You just wander around doing nothing all day. All the rest of us have jobs so he can't do without us. He can do without you.
You're lying! Ada shrieked, and when she pushed Alexander as hard as she could, Hedy fell off his shoulders. Before she could even try to get anywhere Ada jumped on top of her.
Get off of me! Hedy yelled. You know it's true! If it wasn't you wouldn't be so mad, would you!
Ada was stuck thinking about this so much that she forgot to make sure Hedy was stuck to the floor, and Hedy reached up and shoved her fingers in Ada's eye. Ada grabbed her arm pushed it to the right as hard as she could.
To the complete and utter surprise of all three of them, Hedy's arm came right off. Ada shrieked and dropped it. Your arms come off?
Not usually, Hedy said, looking at it. You broke my arm off.
No I didn't, Ada said, scrambling backwards and standing up. It was like that already.
No it wasn't, Alexander protested.
I think it was, Ada said.
When he finds out you're gonna be in so much trouble, Hedy told her. Since there's no reason for you to be alive anyway he'll probably just turn you off forever.
He won't!
He probably will, Alexander said sagely.
Ada was stuck there for a minute. Her dad wouldn't do that, would he? He was gonna be mad, sure, but not that mad, right?
Alan would know. He knew all about this stuff. She ran off to find him. It took her a whole five minutes but Alan was on the other side of the factory, doing some work on their dad's computer. More of that being responsible stuff. But his responsible-ness was going to help Ada now, so she was glad instead of annoyed. Alan! she yelled. He looked behind him a little quicker than she had expected him to. Probably because she had said it in the language their dad didn't understand. They hardly ever talked to each other like that because it wasn't polite, but if their dad happened to be around Ada didn't want him to hear this conversation.
What, he said. He moved the chair to face her better, his left arm resting on the desktop and the right draped over the back of the chair. She walked closer.
Hedy's arm fell off and I need you to help me get it back on.
Alan stared at her for a minute. It fell?
Mmhm, Ada nodded.
I'm guessing it had some help from you, Alan said.
Maybe, but that's not important right now, Ada told him. What's important is -
I'm not helping you hide something from Dad, Alan interrupted. Especially since we've both told you to stop fighting with Hedy.
Alan! Ada protested, grabbing the closest arm. You have to help!
I'm not helping you lie to Dad. Besides. I don't know how to put her arm back on.
You'll figure it out! You're good at that stuff!
Alan made a noise indicating his patience was being tested. Even if I did, Hedy will tell him what you did. So there's no point in trying to hide it. Just go tell him yourself.
She let go of Alan's arm. It was easy for him to say that. He had a lot of jobs and their dad needed him badly. If he broke something and told the truth about it, their dad wouldn't even care. She stood there helplessly. What was she going to do?
You can't hide stuff from him, so don't try, Alan advised. Just tell him. He'll be angrier if you lie about it.
But she wouldn't have to lie if she didn't say anything, right? She'd just do that. Say nothing at all. Maybe Hedy wouldn't even tell him because she didn't want to get in trouble for fighting either, and he would just put her arm back on and that would be all. That sounded like a good plan to her.
She went to her room and crawled into her house. Her dad was too big to fit in there. She didn't know how big he was, exactly, but at least ten feet, probably. Alan had said he was about six feet but she was sure that wasn't true. Her dad was much, much bigger than that. He was the biggest person in the whole world so he was definitely much bigger than six feet.
If he did get mad, he wouldn't be able to come in here. He would just have to stay outside and wait for her to decide if she wanted to come talk to him or not. He would probably not be happy about that either. He never had been before, but he also never tried to make her come out.
She tried to do some of the fun things she had in there, like use her crayons or the lite brite, but she just couldn't. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed Alan might be right. She should probably just go find her dad and tell him she broke Hedy's arm off. He wouldn't be as mad, right? They were fighting when he'd said not to, but he would mind less if she said something herself, wouldn't he? But he was going to yell, she knew it. She wasn't getting out of the yelling. Her dad's yelling was very scary, especially since he was probably twelve feet tall, and she had already asked him real nice to use his indoor voice but sometimes he just couldn't. Just like she couldn't not fight with Hedy.
"Augusta!"
Oh. Oh boy. She pushed herself back in the corner a little. She knew without knowing how that Augusta was her name, and it meant her dad was really really serious and really really mad too, probably. She wasn't coming out of her house. Nope. She was just going to stay in here forever.
"Oh, not this again," her dad said, very annoyed. "Augusta, how many times have I told you not to fight with Hedy?"
Lots, Ada admitted. She didn't want to say anything but she really didn't want to be called Augusta even one more time.
"So you are perfectly aware your behaviour was reprehensible."
Yeah, she said. She didn't know if it was reprehensible or not because she had never heard that word before, but she was guessing it meant 'you were bad, Ada.'
She heard her dad sigh angrily. "I ask one thing of you. One! And you feel the need to disobey me anyway. I am very disappointed."
But Dad! she said, coming out quickly, I didn't do it on purpose!
Oh boy. Her dad was definitely thirteen feet tall. Maybe fourteen. He was wearing a white shirt and green pants, which he was holding up with dark purple suspenders. He had on his rectangle glasses so he had definitely been gone someplace before now. She still didn't know the point of clothes but her dad always looked very nice in them. His face was pretty mad, though.
"Really," her dad said. "Her arm just fell off by mistake, is that it?"
No, Ada said, confused. She didn't really know what he was even saying.
Her dad just sighed again and turned around.
I guess you're gonna turn me off now, huh?
He frowned, looking behind him. "Why would I do that?"
Ada sat down on her knees. Hedy said you would.
"And why did she say that?"
I said you didn't even need her because you didn't give her any legs, and she said it was me you didn't need because you didn't give me any job to do. She pushed her hands together and looked at the floor. So you're gonna turn me off because I'm worthless.
Her dad came back to face her now, crouching down and putting his arms over his knees. He clasped his hands together. "You aren't worthless, Ada," he said, very soft. She was still worried he was mad, though.
But you didn't give me a job.
"I certainly did," her dad told her. "Your job is to be yourself. That's all I want out of you. To do as you please."
Oh. Well, she was very good at doing that! That meant she had been doing her job very well! Really? She bounced a little in her excitement.
"Yes," her dad said. "I'll tell you a secret, but you must keep it to yourself. No running around telling everyone."
Okay! She scooched closer to make sure she could really listen to it.
"You are worth more to me than almost anyone else here."
Oh boy! That was a very good secret, and she really did want to run to Hedy and tell her all about it right then! But she wasn't going to because she said she wouldn't. Really, Dad?
Her dad nodded a little bit and she jumped up so she could hug him. Her dad was very good at hugs and never said no to one. Dad?
"What."
You look very nice today, she said, patting his face.
Her dad smiled, which made her very very happy inside and she had to hug him again just so he would know about that. "Thank you," he said. "Now. I've repaired Hedy but I don't want to hear you were fighting with her again. Stay away from her. You know where her designated work areas are."
Am I still in trouble?
He sighed and put her back on the floor. "This time, no. If this happens again, I will not be so forgiving. I mean it. Behave yourself."
I will! she announced, and when her dad stood up again she thought maybe she had been a little mistaken all this time. He kind of did look like he was six feet, actually. She grabbed one of his hands. She liked them because they were very big and safe-feeling. I'll be good.
"I would appreciate that," her dad said, and he only let go of her hand so he could put her in his lap while he did computer stuff at one of his desks that they had just walked to. She didn't know how long she was going to sit there for, but a little bit. Sitting quietly with her dad was not a terrible thing to do.
Well. She didn't like to be quiet for very long. When she was made she was quiet for a very long time, because she didn't know yet how nice and great her dad was, but now she just liked to do stuff all the time, or say stuff if there wasn't too much to do. Dad? she asked, looking up at him. The light from the computer was in his glasses and it covered up his eyes.
"Mm."
Why didn't you give Hedy any legs?
Her dad frowned a little. "Hm?"
Hedy. She's got no legs.
"Must you talk like that?" Her dad sat back in the chair. "Hedy doesn't have legs because I ran out of parts that size when I was building her."
If you made her bigger would you have had enough?
He wiggled his shoulders. "Possibly. But that would have defeated the purpose of building her that small in the first place."
But why did you do that?
He breathed in some and took his glasses off. Ada was glad about that because that meant she could see his eyelashes. They were a mystery. Lots of stuff her dad had was a mystery, but that just meant she had lots of things to ask him. "Some of her tasks were to involve getting into very tight spaces. There are a lot of wires running through my properties. In order to keep things neat, they must be concealed. It is difficult to do this considering where I was forced to build, and so I designed a robot that would be quite capable at it."
Why didn't you want me to?
Her dad's eyebrows moved towards each other. "You're far too big."
I am? The only person smaller than Ada was Hedy! How could that even be?
"And you're too heavy," her dad continued. "In some places you would have fallen right out of the ceiling."
Crawling in the ceiling sounded fun, but falling out didn't. So you didn't just make her because you wanted a smaller robot, right?
Her dad pushed his keyboard back with one hand and then picked Ada up with both, putting her on the desk so that she was looking at him. "What are you asking?" he said, and he didn't sound very happy. She looked at his legs. They were pretty long.
I liked being the smallest.
Her dad leaned back in the chair again and put his left elbow on the side of it, putting his head on his hand. He just looked at her for a minute. She didn't like that very much. When he did that he could see stuff she didn't even know about.
"Have you thought all this time that I built Hedy to replace you?"
Ada just shrugged. It wasn't a fun question. Her dad looked at the ceiling and put his hand on his face.
"Where did you get that idea from?"
Well, it seemed Ada just didn't know. She made circles on the desk with her finger. Nope. She really didn't know why she'd thought of that.
"Answer me this," her dad said. "If I built another robot that was slightly smaller than Alan, but still larger than you, would you believe that robot to be your brother's replacement?"
She tapped the desk and did some thinking. I don't know.
"If I told you that robot was Alan's replacement, what would you tell me?"
You can't just replace Alan, Dad, she said. That's silly.
"Why? Surely someone else can fill his roles just as well as he."
I guess someone could do his jobs but they couldn't be him. She didn't think there was a person who could do his jobs as well, though.
Her dad waved one of his hands, putting his glasses back on with the other. "There. You've answered your own question."
Ada looked up at him fast. I did?
Her dad nodded. "Even if your concerns were valid, which they are not, you cannot be replaced so easily. You simply can't be replaced at all."
When she heard that Ada just jumped up and onto his lap again, and he made a face like usual when she did that but he just gave her the hug she wanted before she climbed down to the floor again. You know, that makes some kinda sense, Dad.
He almost smiled. She didn't know why he didn't drop the almost. "Imagine that."
I am imagining, and I like it! And she waved at him and ran off to find Alan. He was still in the same spot! He was so good at sitting still.
Alan!
What, Alan said.
Did you know you can't ever get replaced? That's how great you are! And she gave him a hug too.
When he let go of her he asked, Does that mean you're going to stop fighting with Hedy?
I'll do my best, Ada said, not feeling very sure honestly, and Alan laughed.
That's all anyone expects.
Actually? She was having a pretty good day.
Author's note
Amanda, I know you drew Hedy later WITH legs but when I originally came up with her personality it was kinda that she was a tough little smartass who didn't give a damn that she wasn't quite finished. So we can either pretend this happened before her legs were finished or you can pretend this has nothing to do with you.
Hedy Lamarr and Alexander Graham Bell are supervisors of communications, which means that they watch over the drone bots who build and maintain stuff like data transfer between Edward's sites. He has sites all over the city and reception for anything is terrible underground, so he had to come up with a network so he didn't have to be cut off from reality when he was working. Anymore than he already is (HA). Alexander isn't much smarter than the drones, he's just around to move stuff Hedy is too small to and to lift her into crawlspaces.
Hedy and Alexander aren't really siblings, Ada just thinks they are because they're always together.