Stark sat in a beach chair, took a puff from the cigar in his hand, then glanced at Alvin and Frank, who were drinking beer beside him. After a moment's thought, he asked, "What do you think she is?
"The way she acts and talks is very different from ours, and she seems unfamiliar with a lot of things in the modern world.
"Her appearance really doesn't match that..."
Alvin glanced at Stark's curious expression and shook his head with a wry smile. "Eavesdropping on a girl's conversation isn't very gentlemanly.
"What does it matter to us who she is?
"As long as she leaves without causing any trouble here, I don't see any need to dig into it."
Alvin looked back at Crystal, who was chatting happily with Fox and the others. He smiled and shook his head. "I don't think she's a bad person. If you think it's necessary, you can call Wang Yuan, the fat guy at Kamar-Taj.
"They know far more about this world than we do...
"If Crystal really comes from somewhere unusual, Wang Yuan and the others should know.
"'Superpowered Person,' 'family,' 'a special way of being born'—if they're people from Earth, there's no reason Kamar-Taj wouldn't know about them.
"I don't want to ask, anyway. I have a feeling it'll just cause trouble..."
Stark frowned and thought it over for a long while. Finally, he glanced at Pepper's pregnant belly and shook his head helplessly. "You're right. Knowing too much doesn't really do you any good..."
While Alvin and the others were enjoying their post-meal downtime, a little "accident" happened over by Ginny...
Richard served the ball, sending the colorful volleyball flying a long way. Tetanus, the giant dog, stood at the line alongside Nick and Ginny. Then the two kids and the