Nico flips the page of her notebook before looking up again. "Something for 'bend'."
"Arch," the Vision answers automatically, "curve, 'take a bow', careen, crouch, curl, double over, droop-"
"Not 'droop'," she interrupts, her pen crossing a black line over the partially written word. "Can't use 'droop'. I already used 'droop' when we fought that homicidal clown with his 'laugh yourself to death' gas." Then she flips the page again. "What do you have for 'break'?"
As the android helpfully lists off a series of words – some she already used, some she realizes she hadn't thought about before – Eli tromps in with four dictionaries per arm.
"I got French, Italian, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, Chinese Simplified and Traditional and German," he informs her. The books are piled up neatly within her reach. "You're lucky I work at a library, you know."
"Thanks, Eli." And Nico puts the notebook down at her side, instead reaching for one of the books and flipping it open. The boy shrugs and sits down, his eyes briefly scanning her hastily scribbled words.
"What's all this for, anyway?" he asks.
"Homework," she answers. The notebook returns to her hand as she scribbles another word down. "This way, hopefully I won't suddenly find myself a sitting duck in battle simply because I ran out of words to use. Vision, double check: have I used 'Popsicle'?"
The Vision doesn't take more than a second: "You have."
"Right …" Another word gets crossed out.
"So how does this work, exactly?"
"First, I make the list. Then I use the words when I have to. Then I cross them out so I'll know. 'Frosty the Snowman'?"
"Not yet."
"Okay."
"Seriously," Eli comments, picking up one of the books himself, "the way things are now, I don't think there are enough words to last you until you're twenty-five."
"… Damn it. Hey." When both of them are looking her way, Nico holds up one of the dictionaries for them to see. "Do either of you know what this word means?" Eli shrugs and the Vision rattles off something, to which she shakes her head and points lower at the graffiti doodled in red. "This one."
"Oh." The Vision shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but that particular character does not appear to be in my database. Perhaps if I use Wi-Fi to download-"
Nico waves her hand, already turning to face the open doorway. "I've got another idea. Tommy, are you still bored?"
"Yep," Tommy answers in the quarter second it took him to show up.
"Right. Go to China, see if you can find out what this word means, and whether or not I can use it in public without embarrassing myself."
Tommy and the book disappear at once.
"You're right, there probably aren't," Nico answers at last, jotting down one more word to her collection. "But it will take me some time to find another way, and until then, I'd like to at least be prepared to do whatever I can, when I can."
"You will be."
This time, Nico looks up. Eli doesn't meet her eyes, the book in his hands apparently that interesting to take his attention.
"You're a good leader," he says anyway. "You'll do okay."
She can hear that he means it, and she finds herself smiling.
"Thanks, Eli," she says for the second time.
Tommy is back, his usually springy hair soaked and dripping.
"Did you fall in the ocean?" she asks lightly.
"Since when does the ocean smell like beer?" Eli contributes with the same light tone. Tommy glares at them both as he grumpily thrusts the stained book back in her hands.
"I don't know how it is said," he tells her in a barely repressed growl, "but I know you probably shouldn't use it. Ever."
"Good to know."
"I got splashed in the face. Repeatedly. And then I was attacked. By an auntie. And I swear, she was too drunk to find her own feet, and she still jumped me …"
"Vision, I think I've already used 'Nothing to see here' and 'Move along'. I've also got 'Go about your business' on standby," Nico carries on with her list. "You got anything that basically means, 'don't care'?"
"Floccinaucinihilipilification."
The next few seconds pass in silence. Tommy is confused enough to turn around slowly – for him, anyway – and walk out of the room without another word. Eli looks like he may have fried a neuron. Or two. The Vision actually manages to appear accomplished.
Nico flips to a brand new page and gets her pen ready. "How do you spell that?"
