Normalcy was never something Tesla Edison grew up with; she was never really familiar with things that others grew up with. Growing up in a single parent household, after her father dies in an accident, isn't easy. However, she's out to prove that s...
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Today, Dr. Tesla Edison is feeling tense, and she's not the only one. Little Ethan Albert Edison Banner is also feeling tense, except the five year-old doesn't understand what tense means, he just knows the feeling. It's his fifth birthday, and he's currently bouncing around his aunt's feet, trying to get her attention as the boy asks for his mother and father for the seventeenth time.
Kimberly Garcia glances down at the boy with wild dark hair and an abundance of energy. She presses the landline in the kitchen closer to her chin, mumbling out, "Tessie, if you don't come home soon I might throw a tantrum."
Tesla's thoughts are elsewhere as she stands outside the radiation lab at Culver University. She's using the landline provided on the wall, wondering how today will play out. Will she even be home for her son's fifth birthday party? It's space themed. His grandmother made him a cake shaped like an astronaut with extraordinary detailings on the frosting. Sometimes Tesla thinks that Elsa Edison is better at the unpredictability of raising a child that doesn't really have a place to belong among space and time. Then again, when does anyone ever really belong? It really doesn't matter when it comes down to it. Ethan Edison Banner is adored and loved so fiercely that at any age, any time, anywhere, and that's always going to be predictable.
"I'm sorry, Kimmy. Things aren't going exactly as planned," says Tesla. Except they are. Any moment now and Bruce will come up to Tesla, telling her that with the funding being cut, he wants to start human trials as soon as possible, even if they aren't nearly as ready as they could ever imagine. "I'll be home in two hours, tops?"
"Will Ethan even sit through some quiet time?" Kimberly questions, eyeing the boy as he darts over to her own son, who is playing with toys on his own. Davis has always enjoyed playing with blocks on his own. Daniel Garcia isn't far away. He's sitting in the rocking chair in the living room, holding their three year-old daughter, Kiara, who is slowly drifting in and out of sleep with the soothing rhythm of the chair.
"He might," Tesla replies sheepishly. She might as well tell Kimberly that her son is just like her, always restless. The only thing he settles down for is things about space. It's captivating to the tiny tyke. Kimberly lets out a groan. "I'm really, really sorry, Kimmy. Nick and my mom should be there in fifteen minutes. He'll be occupied then until we get back."
A deep frown works its way onto Kimberly's lips. There's a crease on her forehead, and it hasn't really gone away since Bruce's new field of work. He started this new job last year on Ethan's birthday. Working on some sort of top secret radiation work for the United States' military. That's all Kimberly and Dan were allowed to know. Tesla, and even Betty Ross, had been recruited to be a part of this massive project as well. No one can say it out loud, but between the Garcias, Elsa, and Nick, none of them are a fan of this. It's time consuming to put it plainly. As the days continue on, Bruce Banner has become more and more consumed by this assignment; and for some odd reason unknown to any of them, Tesla fully supports it, even if it means less time spent with her husband, and less help raising her son.
