[center][img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YYRw8fNlTMc/WS7os0sjymI/AAAAAAAA1CU/0U37v2bqWSEARLAtl1DJmlJf1-erLHrAACK4B/s1600/ted_kord____the___real___blue_beetle_by_spidermanfan2099-d4qhf7q.jpg[/img][/center] [sub][h3][color=SKYBLUE][b]' T H E E M B A S S Y ‘[/b][/color][/h3][/sub][hr][sup][color=darkgray]Present Day | Manhattan, New York[/color][/sup] Tora walked the grounds at her new home. She marveled at the amount of effort and the finer details that Ted had considered with this new place, whilst still being customizable if the decisions he made didn’t suit. It seemed to factor in equal parts functionality and very much allowed for the human touch. Entertainment facilities, the pool, a state of the art laboratory set up, sizable bedrooms for each and every member including Ted himself who split his nights between here and Boston. The Embassy was, in many ways, the perfect extension of Ted to Tora. Eager to please, functional yet fun, and full of wonderful ideas yet considerate and willing to make change to suit others. They’d been seeing each other, when their schedules would allow, for a few months now and she really couldn’t be happier so far. She was also excited about the prospect of this new ‘Super Buddies’ work, yet a little worried she wasn’t ready for it. When she was in the Global Guardians she was trained rigorously before released in field work. Every operative was absolutely confident in their own abilities to do the job because every scenario had been drilled to the point that agents would often dream through set scenarios of assassination attempts. But this? Superhero work? How could a person possibly train for the unexpected and unexpectable. Ted had a training simulation room - he’d made some kind of comparison to Star Trek when he described it, and seemed immensely proud of it. But the team was still in the early phases and hadn’t been putting together any team training exercises yet. [color=skyblue]“Oh, hey, pretty lady.”[/color] She heard Ted say as she walked past. He was staring at the sky and fiddling with his glove. [color=skyblue]“I was wondering when you’d eventually find your way around here.”[/color] He shot her a smile before returning to what he was doing, which seemed to take some degree of concentration. [color=powderblue]“What are you doing? What have you got there?”[/color] She asked. His smile broadened at her interest. [color=skyblue]“Doodlebugs!”[/color] [color=powderblue]“What?”[/color] She laughed. [color=powderblue]“What’s that?”[/color] [color=skyblue]“I’ve been working on some support tech for the Bug. I landed on these drones. Minitiarized some of the more rudimentary defense systems that the original Bug has and applied it to them. There’s six of these, they stick magnetically under six ports I’ve added to the Bug, I’m just getting familiar with the controls for them at the moment. Seems a lot simpler than the controls for the ship itself.”[/color] He spoke very quickly, as he often did when he got excited about what he was talking about. Tora looked up and saw a blue drone hovering and doing various manouevers. [color=skyblue]“They’re mainly good for giving me extra sets of eyes. But they have other advantages too. You’ve given me some ideas.”[/color] [color=powderblue]“Me?”[/color] She asked. [color=skyblue]“Yeah. Let’s just test something out together, I was going to ask you about this eventually anyway. Just give me a second.”[/color] Ted lowered the drone to about eight feet high a few yards ahead of the pair of them. He stepped behind Tora and hugged her with his left arm and held his right arm out for her to access the remote controls. [color=skyblue]“Hold that button there down for about three or four seconds.”[/color] He said. [color=powderblue]“This one?”[/color] She checked. [color=skyblue]“Ah-huh.”[/color] He confirmed. She gently pressed her finger down on the small button he’d indicated. A growing puff of white vapour was emitted from the Doodlebug drone. [color=powderblue]“Oh! Like sky writing!”[/color] [color=skyblue]“Yup, or cloud seeding. That’s right. I was just thinking about your powers the other day. What kinds of applications there could be for them. Now I want you to reach out with them. Reach into the cloud. Start gentle and we’ll see how fine your work can be with them.”[/color] Tora stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth slightly as she concentrated. Gently she pushed until she made a visible indent into the cloud like someone poking a dot in snow. [color=powderblue]“Oops…”[/color] [color=skyblue]“No, that’s ok. You’re getting your bearings. See what you can do with it from there.”[/color] He gave her a squeeze from behind with his left arm. She smiled and changed the dot into a straight vertical line. She started on another line, and then a third. A dot, a circle. The water vapour was very malleable. Ted watched as she worked, until she was finished. [center][h2]T.O. + T.K.[/h2][/center] Ted gave her another squeeze. [color=skyblue]“Hey, good start, can you--?”[/color] [color=powderblue]“I’m not done yet.”[/color] She said, the tongue once again protruding with contemplation. She brought her arms into her work. Moulded the shape, and as letters began to get squished, chose instead to do away with excess water vapour like a sculptor chiselling something from marble, rather than a clay-worker shaping a pot. When she was done, the cloud had formed a heart shape. She went back over her letters to make them cleaner. [color=powderblue]“Now I am.”[/color] She finally said. [color=skyblue]“Not bad. Not bad at all.”[/color] Ted said. [color=skyblue]“And the cloud’s pretty good too.”[/color] They kissed on the lawn as the Doodlebug hung in the air. [hr] [sub][h3][color=SKYBLUE][b]K O R D O M N I V E R S A L - E A S T D I V I S I O N[/b][/color][/h3][/sub][hr][sup][color=darkgray]About Two Weeks Post-Crisis | Boston, Massachusetts[/color][/sup] Murray Takamoto strutted up the executive hallway of the main administration building in his best suit and tie. He pulled his glasses off and gave them a final clean before placing them back on his face. Everything pristine today. Today’s the day he’d make his run, best make sure he can see clearly when he’s talking to… her. He sped up as he saw her walking towards her office. She was looking down at printouts she’d retrieved from the shared printer. She walked back into her office and closed the door behind her. Leaving the new “VERONICA SINCLAIR - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER” sign on her door hanging right in front of his now spotless glasses. Murray looked down the hallway to Angela Revere’s desk. He raised a finger and opened his mouth to ask the receptionist a question. “No.” She said simply, cutting him off without even looking up from her work. “Ah.” He replied, dropping his finger. He looked down the hallway at Ted Kord’s door which was open a crack. “How about Ted? Is he in?” “Yes, but he’s very busy and he’s NOT TO BE DISTUR-- HEY!” Murray heard enough from the first word and decided to drop in on his friend. “You’ve gotta introduce me, man!” He burst into Ted’s office, with an exasperated Angela Revere in tow. Ted looked up from his reports and calmed the situation with a single hand. “I’m sorry, Mister Kord, he burst right in.” Angela apologised. [color=skyblue]“I know, I know. It’s OK. I’ll handle this.”[/color] “Are you sure, Mister Kord?” [color=skyblue]“Weeeeell--”[/color] He looked at Murray. [color=skyblue]“--Maybe send up a security guy to stand by with a taser.”[/color] “Sir?” [color=skyblue]“No. No, I should be able to handle it just fine, Angela. Thanks. Maybe close my door on the way out to make sure it doesn’t keep happening, if you could, please?”[/color] Angela closed the door behind her and Kord put the reports to one side as he leveled his eyes on his friend. [color=skyblue]“Now… How may I help you?”[/color] Ted smiled broadly and somewhat sarcastically. He had a pretty good idea what this was all about. “Come on. Don’t jerk me around. You’ve got to introduce me, man.” [color=skyblue]“Would I be right in assuming this is about our new Chief Financial Officer?”[/color] “Dude… Duuuuude!” [color=skyblue]“Geez, you’re going to be a walking talking H.R. issue for me, aren’t you?”[/color] Ted pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s soooo hot! Wearing those tight…” [color=skyblue]“I can’t be hearing this…”[/color] Ted closed his eyes and winced. “...and those chopsticks in her hair. She’s got that whole ‘Dirty Librarian’ look that I love!” [color=skyblue]“Alright, first of all… I’ve told you this before. If you could steer clear of referring to any female employees of my company as ‘Dirty’ or 'Naughty' or 'Nasty' that would just be fantastic. And second of all, those are hairsticks, not chopsticks. I mean, you of all people…”[/color] “Me of all people??” Murray rocked back. [color=skyblue]“Oh, yeah. Because I’M the one being offensive…”[/color] “Well, you can make it up to me… Just introduce us.” [color=skyblue]“What part of this conversation should give me any faith in you whatsoever to introduce you to ANY members of the fairer sex, let alone our new senior executive who happens to be a family friend?”[/color] “A family friend? Great! You’re in the perfect position to introduce us!” [color=skyblue]“Are you… are you incapable of listening? What are you on heat or something? I’m not going to have to start spraying you to get you to not hump the furniture, am I?”[/color] “So you’re saying you are not going to introduce us? Ted shrugged as if there were any doubt on his position. “‘Can’t’ or ‘won’t’?” Ted stared at his friend for a beat or three, surprised he still had to explain his position. Ted got to his feet and walked Murray out. They congregated at his receptionist’s desk. [color=skyblue]“Definitely ‘won’t’. Thought that was abundantly clear. You know I don’t have any brothers or sisters, Murray. But Veronica’s pretty much the closest I’ve got to that. And when you’re running your mouth like this, drooling. I’m not comfortable doing that.”[/color] Angela spoke up with what seemed like actual work. “Mister Kord, you had a message delivered for you in person from a Beatriz DaCosta.” [color=skyblue]“Beatriz--? I don’t know any Beatri--”[/color] Angela pointed Ted’s attention down the hallway to the green haired woman who was walking away. Murray’s eyes almost fell out of his head, and he ran down the hallway to get a closer look at the woman. [color=skyblue]“Oh… Bea.”[/color] Ted stated in recognition. [color=skyblue]“What was the message?”[/color] “She was organizing a meeting for you and some 'tawdry Olaf’s daughter' for this Wednesday night. Does that make any sense to you?” Angela read off her handwritten card. [color=skyblue]“Perfect sense. Did she leave a phone number or say where this was to take place?”[/color] Angela passed the message cue card to Ted, who took it and committed all the details to memory. Murray gradually started to walk back, looking over his shoulder all the while. “Was that the model Stark was with at the New York Expo? ARE YOU SEEING the model Stark was with at the New York Expo?!?” [color=skyblue]“No. Well, yes. Well... Maybe, but not the one you’re thinking of.”[/color] Ted stammered out a reply. Murray folded his arms and awaited an explanation. [color=skyblue]“Do you remember the white haired girl he was with at the Expo?”[/color] “No.” Murray said. “No. Right now, all I can see is that green haired goddess.” In fact…” Murray closed his eyes. “Yep… even when I close my eyes, she’s still there. Presumably to haunt my dreams forever. Which I am okay with.” [color=skyblue]“Alright, well, Stark was also there with a white haired girl. Very cute. Very sweet. Kind of shy. She sort of suggested she was interested, but I mean, I kind of just thought she was just being nice so I forgot about it. Well, not forgot, but… you know what I mean. Anyway, as I said, she’s kind of shy, so it looks like she got her friend to deliver a message for us to go out this week.”[/color] Ted said, holding up the message card. “So you’re saying you’re not seeing this green haired girl… and that you would know her well enough to introduce us…” [color=skyblue]“Ha! No. No, that would not be a good idea.”[/color] “‘Can’t’ or ‘Won’t’?” [color=skyblue]“This one’s ‘Can’t’. In fact, worse than can’t. Believe me, any mention that you know me could only hurt your chances there.”[/color] “She did seem rather irritated to be delivering the message, Mister Kord.” [color=skyblue]“Yeah. She-- She doesn’t like me very much.”[/color] Ted explained. “Any of you planning on doing any actual work today?” Veronica Sinclair asked, head deep in her previously printed report as she retrieved another fresh stack of paper from the printer. She kept reading the whole way back to her office, closing the door behind her again. Murray gave Ted a pained look. [color=skyblue]“Ugh… Fine. I’ll introduce you to her some time. But not now. And don’t be all weird about it.”[/color] “‘Weird’. When am I weird about anything?” [color=skyblue]“Five minutes ago, in my office. None of that. And don’t do that fake cool, bullshit nonchalant thing you try and do. That’s weird too. Just... be a person.”[/color] “I don’t have to fake being cool…” Murray said, breathing on his nails and pretending to shine them on his suit.” [color=skyblue]“That. You’re doing it now. Don’t do… any of this.”[/color] Ted waved his arms around gesturing at all of Murray. [color=skyblue]“Thanks again, Angela. Looks like I’ve got a call to make...”[/color] He stepped back into his office and closed the door behind him. Murray leant on Angela’s desk. “Soooo… do you know if she likes… anything?” “No.” Angela replied bluntly. “Well, I suppose she hasn’t been here long. Can take a little while to get to know--” “No. I mean, ‘No. Don’t try and involve me in anything you’re planning on trying.' I don’t want to be held responsible when you crash and burn.” Ms Revere replied, not looking up from her work. Murray walked away. “Crash and burn… I’m not gonna crash and burn… Pfft…” He walked down the hallway, pretending to yawn and raising his hand to his mouth, checking his breath.