🫧 ー idk some marvel/nikke psl apparently we'll name later.

[bubblesong]

"It's Tony's birthday today. Now, he won't want you to make a big deal out of it. Don't even mention it. Because, last year was a disaster. I mean a huge disaster. He and Rhodey broke the house with suits! It was bad. Really bad. So, this year, he has to save face publicly. It's part of having your name on a company and having a Board of Directors. He needs to look good so they look good. So, a big fancy party that isn't here at the house. He'll probably make a flashy entrance because thats just Tony."

"... And you need me to stay here otherwise it might cause a problem. Because I'm a NIKKE."

Pepper Potts frowns slightly. "More because of his reputation with women. I'm only there because he made me CEO of the company."

"Aoou... I see. Okay. I understand." Little Mermaid nods slowly.

This is what happens when you insert yourself into someone's life. You aren't the center of their world. They have obligations, duties, and relationships already in play. She can't try to over shadow them or be more than the place she has already carved out. She understands. The world isn't meant to know NIKKEs still even exist. Maybe she's the only one...

"I've already asked JARVIS to help with anything you need. Tony probably already has, but, I wanted to make sure too." Pepper tries to smile. It feels like telling someone she's not accepted by the crowd and purposely kept away. She doesn't like it, but, Rhodey also felt the same way. Tony has to save his face with this event. "Is there anything I can do before I go, Siren?"

"Ahh? Uhm, no! It's okay. I'm used to being alone! Although it really isn't being alone with JARVIS here."

Pepper feels her smile falter just slightly. "No. I guess it's not. If you need anything have JARVIS call me."

Little Mermaid nods before raising her hands to shoo Pepper away. The woman is busy and has her things to do! In a way, it reminds her of her old friends. Abe always had meetings or tests to run with them. Hansel and Gtrel would stick to themselves mostly unless it was to cause trouble. Cinderella was the closest one to her, while Red Shoes...

Her hands tremble slighy at the memory of the woman.

"Tony's birthday..."

She thinks for a moment before nodding to herself. Within moments she is in her room, placing on her old uniform wet suit, and then heading out the back door that would lead outside. The path she takes is familiar to her. Diving in the sea is an enjoyable hobby. Especially as her bubbles allow her to dive deeper than NIKKEs normally are capable of due to their heavy bodies. She spends enough time underwater that when she finally returns to the surface, night has settled in. A bubble rests gently in her hands as she quickly returns to the Malibu mansion. The bubble is tucked under her arm as she enters the home, making her way to grab a few towels. Water isn't appreciated in the workshop.

Little Mermaid presses her hand to the glass door. The system recognizes her and allows her to slip into the workshop.

"Good evening, Miss Siren. Is there something I can help you with?"

She jumps at the voice and coughs to regain her composure. "Ah! JARVIS..."

"Apologies for frightening you. Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts are far more accustomed to my random interjections."

"Oh, it's not that! I just... am used to being alone." Little Mermaid comes to stand in the middle of the workshop with a towel wrapped around her main body to dry her suit and what she could fit of her hair on a towel on her head. "Uhm... ah... JARVIS? Could you help me with something? I need a strong wire. It doesn't need to be thick! Thin is okay."

"That is a simple request. Shall I have it brought to you upstairs?"

"No! Here is fine."

Little Mermaid stops in the middle of the room. Then, she moves down to the landing area. She makes herself comfortable and moves the bubble in front of her. With a gentle tap the bubble dissolves showing variations of shells. A smile spreads to her face. She starts to work on organzing by shape and size, humming slightly to herself. It's only when the arm stretches the flexible wire out to her she remembers that she isn't quite alone. The smile simmers slightly into something else sadder.

"Uhmmm... JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Siren?"

"Oh! Siren is fine. Even Little Mermaid is okay." She fidgets slightly before taking the wire from the arm. She snaps it easily then begins to bend it into the shape she wants. "Could... you look for something for me?"

"Of course, Siren. I will note that anything searched for will be recorded on the database for Mr. Stark to see as well. If that has your approval we can proceed."

Little Mermaid bends one of the ends of the wire. "That's fine. I don't think he'd really care anyways..."

"Very well. What should I look into? I have access to several public databases as well as certain top secret databases. Some would require further access requests from Mr. Stark."

Little Mermaid places the wire down. Her hands extend out, bubbles forming at her palms into exact shapes of two women. One taller with twin tails and one slightly older with a lab coat and glasses. The small bubble replicas walk forward and stop a few feet from their creator.

"Can you find anything about them...? Cinderella and Abe. My dear friend and out creator. I tried for a long time to find them on my own before I was captured..."

Blue laser lights project from the ceiling and wall. They scan the two bubbles before disappearing.

"I will begin a facial recognition scan. May I ask how long ago was "a long time"?"

"Uhm... its 2011 now...? So, uhm... sixty years ago?"

"The time of World War Two. If I might say, Siren, you hardly look a day over twenty."

She laughs a little. "Thank you."

JARVIS gets to work and she returns to her own arts and craft project. While certainly not on the scale of what Abe or Tony can do? She's at least certain her little project here will have some meaning. Even if it's a meaning that ends up on a shelf and forgotten for years and years. The two bubbles she has created stand by and watch her work. The twin tails nods or shakes her head at the order of shells being threaded onto the wire, while the one in the lab coat points to where errors of sizing have happened. Little Mermaid nods along with them.

Her humming has stopped and is instead replaced by the whirling of the robotic arm and hums of the machine.

"It seems as if I may have found something. May I show it to you, Siren? It will help narrow down the search."

Little Mermaid raises her head at the announcement. She ties the two pieces of wire together and begins to secure it before standing. A hologram projection of an old newspaper comes to view. Her hands sink in front of her at the faces she sees. A man and a woman standing next together. The man looks familiar, but she can't ever remember knowing exactly who he was. The woman she knows very well.

"Abe..."

A hand raises to gently touch the hologram. Fingertips slide through the projection. A woman with unruly blonde hair and glasses, an old lab coat and period dressing of the time. She stands beside the man. Behind her another woman with short hair stands with a smile on her face. Little Mermaid feels her hands begin to tremble at the sight of the other woman. She is a part of the story that Little Mermaid wishes she could forget... or at the very least no longer feel afraid of when she thinks or sees her.

"It would seem not many public records exist of the woman you identified as 'Abe.' She disappears from census records sometime after World War II. I have yet to find public records of the other woman you presented for the facial recognition scan. However, it could take time, as records from this time period are still in the process of being digitized."

"You probably won't find anything." Little Mermaid lowers her hand and looks at the strung together seashells in her other hand. "We were secret... meant to be unveiled to the public after the success of our mission. That never happened."

She pauses.

"Are there no records of them being seen anywhere recently...?"

"Not that I have identified yet, but these searches can take time. Shall I widen the search to include other parameters?"

"N-no. It's okay. Thank you for looking anyways." Little Mermaid forces a smile on her face. The bubbles of her two friends then dissipate into smaller bubbles. "Do you have a pen and paper I could use?"

"Of course."

The mechanical arm returns once more with the requested items. She gives a gentle pat of thanks to the arm before walking over to the desk that is filled with various pens, notes, drafts, and cups. A quick note is written with the string of seashells neatly placed onto it.

𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝐵𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎, 𝒯𝑜𝓃𝓎.

She places the pen on the table before smiling. Once more she bundles what hair has fallen out of the towel in her arms. She heads to the workshop door and pauses.

"Good night, JARVIS. Thank you for trying to find anything. S-sleep well."

"While I do not require sleep, the sentiment is much appreciated. Sleep well, Siren."

"I don't need to sleep either."

She leaves the workshop and quietly heads to the room that has been given to her and shuts the door. The lights dim and she shuts the curtains. She sits on the bed in the dark drying her hair before laying back on it. Then, she rolls to her side and closes her eyes. Sleep doesn't necessarily come though. Maybe that's for the best. Her dreams would probably be filled with memories of how her team fell apart. How they were betrayed from the inside. How their heroes had to come in and stop ...

Little Mermaid sighs and rolls over to put her back to the door. There's definitely no sleep for her tonight.