Ahh, so she had some personal connection to Hank Pym. To be honest that was probably enough for Ted to figure out who she was but it wasn’t his place nor his business to go snooping into the kid’s life; he had a mentee thank you very much (even if Jaime was still back in El Paso). “I’m sorry you what now?” he asked, blinking at her in shock, “But you’re a kid!?” And Ted felt a surge of anger for whoever had been careless enough to put a kid into that kind of situation… To heck with it, he could take on a second Mentee, at least she was already bug themed.
There was a laugh he recognised: feeling overwhelmed. He wasn’t used to people making it around him though. “Pfft. Kiddo I am distinctly average, Huntress, Oracle and Black Canary though?” he whistled, “They could punch you in the face and you’d thank them for their time.”
He chuckled a little, the sound enough to fill the alley even at that lower level, “Glad to hear it. And you’re alone? You’ve got a mentor though right? Or someone in tech? Or other teammates looking out for you?” Cause if not he was locking this girl in The Bug and giving her a very long lecture about hero support systems. “Text several people. You always gotta have extra’s watching your six when you’re out in the field.” He blinked and cocked his head to side to try and see the now tiny girl resting on his shoulder, “Cool, s’like your Thumbelina.” he told Cassie, reaching the mouth of the alley and picking up his (still hot) takeaway. He shook his head slightly as walked on again, “Trust me, I’m nothing special. The first and third Blue Beetle are the cool ones with the fancy scarab.” he came to stop a few moments later at seemingly empty lot on the edge of the city. Pressing a button on a remote in his pocket the air seemed to ripple and his enormous beetle-shaped flying lab came into view, “Stinger, meet The Bug.” he said with a grin on his face.
Cassie let out a hefty scoff from Ted’s shoulder. “Excuse me, I am not a kid,” even though, yes, she definitely was when she was killed. And, not that she’d go around saying this, but when you’re dead from 16-21. you miss a bit of maturing opportunities. She didn’t exactly sound convincing under the helmet, “I’m an Avenger, thank you very much,” and even now her chest swells with pride at the proclamation.
Cassie has to admit though, that sounds like nothing when she thinks of the powerhouses that he names. This sure was going to be a time and a half, but she was ready. She already knew Oracle, and had already sat in silent awe... she can’t help but let out a laugh at Ted, “I got a whole team, along with several friends. Uh... huh.” Cassie thinks for a moment. She sure had many people that she looked up to, try the whole Avengers team, and knew she could go to any of them. Her dad, while definitely her all-time favorite hero, hadn’t had much of a chance to be much a mentor really, between his death and hers. “Y’know, I grew up around the Avengers but none have taken me under their wing... but, also, ‘yknow, I was dead, so that would have made it hard. Nope, I use Pym’s tech but he’s also a bit of a grump. Fun fact. Loveable, but grumpy for sure.”
As he walks, she makes herself comfortable, sitting on his shoulder and enjoying the ride and conversation. Also, the smell of the takeout way just wafting around her. “Don’t sell yourself short buddy, I was a fan of yours growing up. I... still don’t fully get the scarab thing. Technology just makes more sense to me.” she shrugs, but as soon as the Bug appears, she gasps and begins to flutter forward with him, too excited to sit on his shoulder anymore. “Woah!” is all she can say before she zips ahead, flying around eagerly. The questions pour out as she flies, “How were you cloaking it? What power does it run on? Do you make all your stuff in here? Holy heck is this a full on lab?!
