Tommy climbed out of the vehicle, feeling all the tension and action of the past few days settling into his bones. He could probably sleep for a week once this was all over.
Lisa climbed out behind him, looking every bit as tired as he felt. On top of the general craziness they’d lived through, she was still recovering physically from having the nanotech take over her body. He was trying his best not to show how worried he was about her. Even with Vision’s repeated assurances that the nanobot was disabled, he couldn’t help being cautious. The idea of losing Lisa was too unbearable to let himself lower his guard.
The last out of the car was Vision, who’d ridden up front with Paladin on the drive back to London. The first thing the synthezoid did after exiting was visually scan over both teens. Whether he was assessing their physical states or simply reassuring himself that they were both still alive and well, Tommy wasn’t sure. He was still getting used to having an adult around who cared about his existence. It was nice, but he never knew how to react to it.
“Alright, here’s where we part ways,” Paladin said as he shook hands with Vision, who reluctantly returned the gesture. Despite the bounty hunter’s help in dealing with the Client, Vision wasn’t quite willing to let go of the fact that the man had kidnapped Tommy. Twice.
Vision offered a few curt, polite words of farewell. Tommy and Lisa just leaned against each other, helping keep one another from falling down asleep right on the street. Hopefully the next stop on their agenda was a hotel.
Paladin started back towards the car before halting suddenly. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, turning towards Tommy.
The teen tensed automatically as the bounty hunter approached him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vision do the same. Somehow, that made him less scared. Maybe it was the knowledge that Vision could (and most likely would) snap Paladin’s neck in a heartbeat if he did anything to hurt Tommy.
The man pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket. Tommy recognized them as the tech glasses he’d worn to talk to his assistant.
“Here you go, kid,” Paladin said, tossing them over to him. “They’re no good to me now that your dad and his friends hijacked the feed. And somebody mentioned wanting to say hello.”
Confused, Tommy opened the glasses and slipped them onto his face. The digital display was a little disorienting at first. It reminded him of the way a video game HUD would look. But on steroids. The glasses were laying out for him every possible detail about his surroundings.
“Hello!” a cheery voice suddenly cut in.
He looked over at Vision and almost jumped out of his skin when another person appeared out of nowhere. The newcomer was a woman with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She barely came up to Vision’s chest and had the brightest grin Tommy had ever seen.
“Hello, Tommy.” She offered an enthusiastic wave. “I am E.D.I.T.H.”
“Edith?” he repeated. “That’s the name of one of the AIs in Vision’s head, right?”
Lisa stared at him in confusion. It took him a second to realize that she must not be able to see or hear Edith. Somehow, the glasses were allowing him to communicate with her.
“She hacked Paladin’s server,” Vision explained before he had a chance to ask. “So she’s able to project her avatar into the digital display of the glasses.”
“She can also speak for herself, V,” Edith said, elbowing him with a teasing grin. It earned her an eye roll in return.
Tommy found himself grinning, too. No wonder Vision had mentioned his AI companions being irritating. Edith, at least, seemed very opposite to Vision’s personality. Tommy had a feeling he was going to get along well with her.
“Hey, thank you for saving us in the van last night,” he said. “And all your help with everything, actually.”
“Happy to help,” Edith said. “You’re part of the family now, too.”
Family. That was a word Tommy never would have imagined applying to him. It felt good.
“So,” Edith said, jumping topics abruptly, “what are your feelings on skydiving?”
“Absolutely not,” Vision cut in. “I think he’s been in enough life and death situations for one lifetime.”
Ignoring him, Edith asked, “What about white-water rafting? I’ve only ever experienced it in simulations and I’m dying to see what the real thing is like. This big guy is too boring to ever try it.”
“Actually, I’ve kind of always wanted to try that,” Tommy said.
“Edith,” Vision warned, shooting them both stern looks. “Don’t you dare.”
“Right. Of course not,” Edith agreed with a very insincere nod. Followed up a second later with a conspiratorial wink in Tommy’s direction.
He nodded back, amused at the back and forth Vision and Edith had going on. Vision couldn’t look any more like an annoyed older brother if he tried.
“We’ll talk later,” Edith side whispered to Tommy.
“You know I can still hear you!” Vision exclaimed.
Tommy couldn’t help breaking down into laughter, even if it earned him a similarly exasperated look from his father. Lisa laughed as well, not quite following the conversation but having heard enough to get the gist of what was happening.
“Keep the glasses,” Edith told him. “I think we’re going to get along very well.”
Tommy smiled. His family was so weird. He loved them already. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I think so, too.”