Chapter Text
A venti iced caramel frappuccino is really not enough for 6’ 7” jade giantess, Jenn mused while slurping down the last of the drink. Probably she shouldn’t have even brought it into the courtroom, but the bailiff took one look at her and realized he was not going to be the one to ask to her to leave it.
The plaintiff’s case was pretty solid. The spaceship flew into a building. Reckless endangerment right there…
The judge cleared her throat.
Oh yes.
“Your honor, we’re here today to see if this matter can be brought to this court. Obviously, the facts of the case are not disputed by my client, Mr. Lord. His spaceship did crash into Mr. Lovett’s barn. He was … flying without insurance. Valid on this planet or any other.” The plaintiff made a noise. It was a tad ridiculous….
“However,” Jenn continued, gathering herself together, “Mr. Lord has effectively renounced his citizenship when he joined the Nova Corps. Surely someone who is not a United States citizen could not be held liable for not carrying valid United States insurance, and from what I can gather, it seems that Mr. Lord was in compliance with the Nova Empire’s laws regarding spaceship registration.”
Jenn doubted that was true. But she’d also failed to gather any information from the Nova Empire.
“The Nova Empire has no agreements with the United States or the United Nations. If Mr. Lovett wishes to file suit against a member of their military, he will have to wait for the appropriate law to be enacted. As things stand, there is no precedent for this kind of claim.”
Thank goodness “Mr. Lord” wasn’t here to insist he wasn’t part of the Nova Empire’s military. He would admit, however, to being a part of the Nova Corps, and that seemed to Jenn to be about the same thing.
Jenn watched the judge’s face as she sifted through the evidence packet again. She felt like crossing her fingers. She’d come all the way to New York for this, to argue the first ever inter-planetary law case offered to her.
She slurped the last of her frappuccino.
The plaintiff’s attorney shot her a look.
Finally, the judge looked up, adjusting her glasses as she did so. “Well, I have to agree with you, Ms. Walters. It doesn’t seem that this court has any jurisdiction in this matter.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Jenn said, looking to gather up her briefcase.
Oh right. I left it at Wyatt’s place.
She took her frappaccino and left the room.
And ran into Tony Stark.
She would’ve recognized him anywhere, though she’d never met him in person before. His face was plastered over the adverts for superhuman registration. Which of course, she’d signed up for right away. It’d taken her a few months after that to muster up the courage to live as the jade giantess… But as long as she was “out,” she might as well show off.
She threw the empty cup away and started to walk off, but he called out behind her. “Um, excuse me, Ms. Walters, I presume?”
She stopped and let him catch up. “Well, judging by the…” He gestured to all 6’ 7” of her.
“You’re not mistaken,” Jenn said, headed towards the street to call a cab. “Can I help you with something, Mr. Stark?”
He had to almost run to keep up with her long strides.
“Ah, not really, I actually wanted to help you with something. I have a … ride waiting for you.” He gestured towards a limo waiting on the curb. She could see it through the glass doors. “Though there is a bit of a meeting later, at the, ah, New Avengers Facility. About the UN Accords.”
“Oh?” Jenn asked, surprised. “You do this for everyone on your UN registry?”
“Ah, no, but well, it’ll take you there. This one time,” he said, not making eye contact.
Of course, very few people were able to make eye contact. But something about it would have made her uneasy if she wasn’t an indestructible tank…
She’d tested her limits before, jumping out of planes with no parachute. It seemed nothing could break her. It gave her a kind of boldness she’d always had, but now it was more. Justified.
So what could one limo ride really hurt?
“See you there,” Tony said as she slipped in the door opened for her.
And saw Bruce.