1251/The Stark Expo day 2

The Stark Expo day 2
Date of Scene:	20 April 2020
Location:	Flushing Meadows Park
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Daniel Hastings, Valeria Richards

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Daniel Hastings has posed:
The Stark Expo. Daniel had come around on opening day only it would seem the Richards family didn't want to steal Tony's thunder by making an appearance. So.. he'd had a snowcone and wandered around a little making a point not to look at much. The next day was different. The crowds were heavy but the media presence was light and so Daniel had driven a company vehicle to the Tower rather than simply arriving. Amazingly, he was dressed casually. Long shorts, polo, tennis shoes, sunglasses atop his head, you'd think it was a summer outing to Brighton and not Queens New York for a maze of technological wonders. But to each their own. Maybe he didn't mind being stuck in traffic with Val on the drive there, either.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria would be lying if she said the idea of taking a flying car to the expo hadn't occurred to her. There's definitely a part of her that wants the challenge of it. But the part of her that isn't influenced by her Uncle Johnny knows that it's better not to. And besides, like Daniel she can think of worse things than spending time in the car with someone she likes.

"So how much of this is science and how much is marketing?" she asks as they make their way toward the expo itself. She's in her usual jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie, looking very much like an ordinary college student out for extra credit.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"With Tony?" Daniel looks over at her with a laugh. It had taken forever to find a parking spot.. but then he was used to trudging long distances and slipping his hand into Val's as they walked made it worth it. "I think it's one third marketing. One third science. One third hey look at what I did." There's a shrug. "I mean.. whatever floats his boat I guess. I'm here for the science."

Daniel glances over at Val when he says that and totally misses a display on advanced superconductors as he smiles at her. "Do you like snowcones? For some reason I can't get enough of them. I guess its just the Canadian in me. Even mild summers feel blazing hot."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"What kind of monster doesn't like snowcones?" Valeria replies with a flash of a grin. "It's...crunchy, cold sugar. All of those things are enjoyable." Like holding hands. Which she tries not to make a big deal out of.

"One third science," she muses. "Well. I suppose if we're being fair, he //is// good at the science. If you're willing to dig through all the rest of it. It's just a lot of digging and shiny objects to go through."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"I mean it's not all him though right?" Daniel points out a few independent vendors on the guide book he bought yesterday. "Honestly.. the best part is to see what people have come up with. Pick brains. Get inspired. That warp gate interface is still eluding me. Though maybe it would be easier if we could run tests near to the gate itself. Since the technology is beyond the.." Then he realizes he was being a little loud in public and whispers, "Kree." But hey, snowcone vendor. He goes with the rainbow, totally indecisive. Or all inclusive. Both. Then he's looking to her with money already passing over to the fellow for both.

"I don't know." Daniel mumbles over his ice. "He is. I just.. wish he were a bit more like his father in his later years. He's like.. nineteen forty two Howard. Full of himself, a little crass, and.. brilliant. It's amazing what a few years did though. Howard really sobered up after the war. Got serious. Married." Oh look, now that was interesting. "Looks like someone is proposing an antigravity drive for mass transit." It's on the booklet that was suddenly very interesting.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria orders a cherry snowcone, reaching out to take his hand again as she steps away from the vendor. "Well, I heard Tony got married in secret or something like that," she muses. "So maybe he's...working on it. He is running for president after all. Which is...also weird, to be fair. Then again, if Lex Luthor is the opposition I guess Tony's the natural opponent. It hurts to think about," she shakes her head, rolling her eyes slightly.

Following his gaze, she tilts her head curiously. "Well, it's a thought," she muses. "Though mag-lev would work just as well. But depending on the fuel source and the rest."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
A snowcone in one hand and Val's in the other means the brochure gets tucked in his back pocket. "Who knows when it comes to these tabloid things.. but.. I mean it could be worse. I really hope its the real thing though. For all that he's a pain.. his heart's in the right place I think. I've only met him once.. the rest of it is just the rumormill around work." You know. Work. "But he lived up to the reputation so.." He shrugs and lets their hands swing a little. Until she mentions Lex. "Now him I've heard of, too. For all the Pr behind them both.. I've got it on a nosy authority that Luthor isn't to be trusted with the pram let alone the baby in it."

A deep breath later and Daniel's happy to change the subject, "Well.. I guess that's the trick isn't it. I don't know that the earth's magnetic field is strong enough to be something to use for lift.. as opposed to electrified rails. This is about intercontinental travel not just getting us from New York to LA. Though.. I'll take maglev if that's where we have to start. Which.. right now the average flight speed for a plane is.. six hundred miles per hour. Maglev in Shanghai is half that." His head bobs side to side. "Still.. landing time, runway waiting time.. noxious fuel consumption.. if we could get a stable maglev up to five hundred.. I think people would make the switch. No cabin decompression, more comfortable seats.."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"A nosy authority," Valeria echoes, looking over with a flicker of a smile. "So that's classified information, huh?" Yeah, she's never going to let that go. But it seems like she's taken it in good spirits. "And you could make a tunnel beneath the sea for it," she nods. "Like the chunnel, just...quite a bit longer. If you managed to reduce friction and get it to work like a vaccuum tube you could increase the speed even further. Though I feel like the..."

She pauses once more, mulling it over. "The logistics of multiple trainloads of people at a time would be complicated, and digging multiple tunnels seems less than ideal. But perhaps if you dug one wide one you could put multiple tubes through it, which would reduce..." Once you get a Richards going on a problem...

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Oh it's not that big of a secret." Daniel confesses with a shrug as he leans in to whisper, "Lois Lane." That Pulitzer reporter for the Daily Planet. "Though the crust is considerably thinner on the ocean floor and crossing the mid-atlantic ridge would be dicey.. though down there a vacuum tube would make most sense so yeah.. no need to slow down.. no traffic.. no pedetrians.. you could really get it moving. That's.." And now he frowns. "assuming you can get the Atlanteans on board. Though.. why not right? If it means we run like four tubes so that you've got one way traffic for pedetrians and for cargo.. to minimize the potential for accidents. Then we significantly cut back on surface water traffic which inevitably leads to waste tossed overboard, fuel leaks, all kinds of crazy pollutants. Heck, we might even hire them to do the work... again.. assuming we have something they value." He bops himself on the cheek with his snowcone as he tries to scratch his chin thoughtfully at that, jerking his head back, leaving a smear of multicolored sugarwater behind.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria nods, thoughtful. "I hadn't even considered the Atlanteans for the construction angle. I feel like it would be an improvement, though. Besides, Namor's apparently always had a thing for Mom, maybe he'd be willing to put in a good word for it."

She looks over just in time to see him missing the snowcone, laughing softly and reaching up to wipe at his face with the sleeve of her hoodie. "You're //almost// as bad as I am," she grins. "I feel like we should set ourselves some sort of timer so we don't end up getting super wrapped up in something."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel holds still for her to wipe his chin. "Oh come on. What's to get wrapped up in? It's not as if anyone brought a full lab down here. Though that fellow looks like he's having loads of fun with lasers." Because who wouldn't have fun with lasers. There's an upnod in the direction of the stall. So many shiny things. "Besides. I'm sure they have a tracker on your phone or something. I know work has one on mine." There's a wry roll of his eyes at the notion of being followed. "Maybe not /active/ but.. what's that take? A flick of a button?" Small sigh.

"Oh! That does remind me. I.. don't know if you dad said anything but I came by a few days ago... missed you.. found your dad." Not intentionally.. though it does explain the flowers left in your lab. "He's okay with me popping into the hangar so long as I call ahead. In the interest of keeping the nosy nellies out of your business. Especially if I'm a regular visitor."

Valeria Richards has posed:
Valeria's brows rise at that. "I didn't hear that, no," she laughs, shaking her head and slurping off a bit of her snowcone. "Though I'm glad you worked things out. I know you're not a fan of the whole going through security thing. I'm sure he liked you," she says with complete confidence. After all, she likes him, how could Dad not?

And besides, there's another sort of thing to distract her. "You know, if you didn't want to be tracked, I'm sure we could find a way to disable that."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel laughs, "I hope so. I mean.. he didn't try to test his new widget on me so that's a plus. Mostly I think because we wasn't sure how spacetime would interact with me considering we talked a bit about that and.." He almost daubs himself with his snowcone again but catches himself. "Anyway, it went alright. He did allow that concession.. and it's not about security. I go through that enough at work. Though.. not as much as they'd like. Usually I just appear at the gate, check in, disappear again. If I disabled the tracker, I'd probably get a phone call right after. Probably to make sure I was alright. SHIELD agents have.. a lot of enemies."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"How many of yours are still alive?" Valeria asks with an arch of her brow, lips twitching upwards with a glimmer of amusement. "I mean. Are they going to come after you with their walkers?" She tries to keep an innocent expression as she goes after her snowcone again, wide blue eyes blinking up at him.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Daniel looks down at her.. not following. He blinks back. "I. What?" Then it hits him and he gives her the 'very funny' wink and nod. "Ha ha. I mean in general. Though. You do have a point." He darn near does it a third time only now he takes a retaliatory bite out of his snowcone for his troubles. "Hydra thinks I'm dead of course. Though if you believe the rumors of infiltrators that's probably changed by now." There's an introspective shrug then a sly look back at her that's followed by an undignified tongue out in her direction.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Rumors of infiltrators, you say?" Valeria asks, arching a brow as she takes his hand and starts moving toward the next exhibit. "Well that sounds very spy." She breaks into a laugh when he sticks out his tongue. "You look like a giraffe," she giggles. "Black tongue."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"Yes. Well." Daniel really doesn't know how to respond to that. He can't see his tongue after all. "You look like you just ate a candy apple.." Not that he was particularly staring at her tongue until just now. "Which.. is not at all ridiculous." There's a heavy sigh but he squeezes her hand and follows it with a smile. "Very oxygenated blood. Very healthy. Probably tasty, too." Was he teasing her back? "But that's the thing about the job I guess. Like that comic one of my coworkers shared. Spy vs Spy. Only less funny."