Adventures in Babysitting ↠ Peter Parker [1] ✓

04 | Nerd Alert

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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
iv. NERD ALERT

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  IF THERE WAS ONE thing Riley mastered after growing up under S.H.I.E.L.D., it was the art of being competitive.

  All of her life, Riley was pushed. She was pushed to be better, better than the best. From the very beginning, Riley was in with the big leagues. She didn't go through any initiation or train with other child agents. No, the discovery of her power to manipulate ultraviolet rays gave her the upper hand, and that was why S.H.I.E.L.D. pushed her so hard. They wanted her to be so good that she was no different than a machine.

  Of course, things change, and Riley wasn't exactly a machine. Still, she was cutthroat when it came to her craft. Riley always came out on top. Maybe not at first, but with the guidance of legends like Natasha Romanoff, Riley O'Dair was unstoppable. Nothing could tear her down. She refused to let anyone subdue her, not even her equally competitive Academic Decathlon peers, who were extremely skeptical of suddenly adding a new member to the team.

   "Maddalena Casulana is best known for what contribution?"

   Without hesitation, Riley quickly answered, "She was the first female composer in western music history to have her music printed and published. Feminism, am I right?"

   "Correct. What was the significance of the Earthrise photo?"

   "Taken by astronaut William Anders in '86 during the Apollo 8 mission, the photo is considered the most influential environmental photograph ever taken. It showed our planet as small, fragile, and mortal," Riley explained. "After the whole Chitauri alien thing that happened a few years back, that's a serious understatement."

   "Right again. Alright, I've got one for her," one of Riley's new peers, Sally said. "In place of rhyme in Passage to India, Walt Whitman primarily established continuity through?"

   "I've literally never heard of that in my life, but I'm gonna guess and say anaphora," Riley declared. She beamed when she was surprisingly right.

   The others didn't exactly appreciate her little comedic remarks, but Riley was just having fun. She loved being a smartass.

   Growing up, Riley learned a lot of new things at a ridiculous rate, especially since she graduated at a high school level at 10-years-old. When you learn things young, you're more likely to forget them. To combat this, Riley was constantly tested by her superiors, usually Director Nick Fury, at random times. In all honesty, Riley was built for something like the Academic Decathlon.

   Cindy Moon shook her head. "You're giving her all the easy questions!" accused the Asian girl before turning back to Riley. "Monocrystalline silicon ingots can be produced using what?"