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[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]

Ted was hyperventilating.  Tora patted him on the back on the lounge and tried to soothe his spiked anxiety.  The others looked on at the Blue Beetle with perplexed expressions,  not understanding his severe reaction to the news.

Bea just looked slightly amused at the overreaction, before uttering [color=limegreen][b]“I don’t know what you’re freaking out about.  I’m the one who’s going to be expected to babysit him…”[/b][/color]

...but we’ve gone too far.  Let’s back up a bit.

[hr]

Most of the team was sitting in the main lounge.  Tora and Ted were curled up together on the lounge watching the television.  With big bowls full of mixed nuts, popcorn and potato chips sitting on a central coffee table.  Janet was sitting on another sofa watching the same TV whilst Hank had his nose deep in some science periodical or another and Scott was at the adjoining kitchen, making himself a sandwich when the news came in.

Beatriz walked in the room on her phone and made the announcement.

[color=limegreen][b]“I know this isn’t exactly what we do…  But my stepmother’s tearing her hair out.  My stepbrother has caused some ‘issues’ at his company.  And whilst he’s going to have to eventually step into the role, he’s irritated enough of the senior board that she needs to get him out of their hair for a while before they kill him.”[/b][/color]

[color=yellow][b]“Is this really the right place for him?”[/b][/color]  Janet asked.

[color=limegreen][b]“Well, I can understand if none of you want to have him here.  I don’t really either…  Little jerk…  But she wants me to ask, since he is technically a metahuman, and I don’t think she really understands what we do here either.”[/b][/color]

[color=skyblue]“Well, now I don’t know about that.”[/color]  Ted said earnestly, getting to his feet.  [color=skyblue]“We are here to better human/metahuman relations and where better to start than family?  Bring him on over.  What’s the little tyke’s name.”[/color]

[color=limegreen][b]“Lee-ttle Bobby.”[/b][/color]  She said condescendingly to the Blue Beetle, before she sighed and returned to her stepmother on the phone.  She spoke rapidly in Portuguese to her stepmother about ‘’Berto’, she’d been hoping for the request to quickly be turned down so she wouldn’t have to put up with him.

[color=skyblue]“It’s fine.”[/color]  Ted said to the others, reaching for a handful of mixed nuts and throwing them down his mouth.  [color=skyblue]“I had this place built with more than enough spare rooms, we can easily take little Robert DaCosta off their hands for a few--”[/color]  

He stopped.  The pallor dropped from his face.

[color=skyblue]“Bobby…  ‘Berto…  Your brother is Roberto DaCosta?  DaCosta Industries, Roberto DaCosta?”[/color]

[color=limegreen][b]“That’s right.”[/b][/color]  Bea smiled, taking some glee at seeing the omnipresent goofy grin drop from Ted Kord’s face, and no small amount of joy in the fact that she was no longer the only one who seemed to be bothered by the thought of her stepbrother’s presence.

Ted started choking and coughing up clouds of nut chunks.  Falling back to the lounge.  His breathing started to rapidly accelerate.  The others looked on at the Blue Beetle’s severe reaction to the name ‘Roberto DaCosta’ with perplexed expressions.  Tora started patting him on the back, to make sure he’d coughed up all of the chunks, and to soothe his breathing.

Bea looked slightly amused at his reaction, uttering [color=limegreen][b]“I don’t know what you’re freaking out about.  I’m the one who’s going to be expected to babysit him…”[/b][/color]

[color=yellow][b]“Who’s Roberto DaCosta?”[/b][/color]  Janet addressed the elephant in the room.  It was becoming abundantly clear that only Ted and Beatriz had any familiarity with the name, or the company.

Ted got back to his feet and pushed his way past Scott to get to the kitchen.  He opened the pantry and grabbed a few cans and tossed them to Janet, Tora and Scott.  Hank still had his nose in his science journal, completely disinterested in the current conversation.

[color=silver][b]“[/b][/color][color=red][b]No thanks.  I don’t want creamed corn on my sandwich…[/b][/color][color=silver][b]”[/b][/color]  Scott winced, offering to toss the can back.

[color=skyblue]“Look at the back on the label.”[/color]  Ted directed the three.

[color=red]“They’re cylindrical cans.”[/color]  Hank said, not prying his view from his reading material, as he turned a page.  [color=red]“Technically there is no ‘front’ or ‘back’.”[/color]

[color=skyblue]“Thank you for your semantic lessons in geometry, Hank.  Very helpful.  Just look.”[/color]  He directed the others.

[color=yellow][b]“‘Distributed by DaCosta Industries’  So they, what, make canned vegetables?  Makes the cans?”[/b][/color]

[color=skyblue]“They don’t make anything…  Except for the odd container ship every few years.  ‘Industries’ is a misnomer, but there’s no law against his company using it.  They’re a logistics company.  Emmanuel DaCosta, their father, is... sorry Bea, was probably the richest man you've never heard of.”[/color]  Ted said, exasperated.

[color=yellow][b]“So what?  He just ships canned food?  I don’t see your point.”[/b][/color]

[color=skyblue]“I pulled that can out at random.  I could have pulled out pretty much anything in there. Or the refrigerator.  Or the freezer.  90-95% of everything in there has that logo on it.  Produce as well.”[/color]

[color=yellow][b]“Not my produce at home.”[/b][/color]  Janet said.  [color=yellow][b]“I buy it fresh from the supermarket.  Not this canned stuff.”[/b][/color]

[color=skyblue]“‘Fresh’ supermarket produce gets stuffed in a refrigerator or cryo container and sits on one of these ships for months, bobbing around in the ocean before they pull the container, thaw it and lay it out in your fruit and vegetables aisle.  They just thaw it and spray it with water so it looks crisp.”[/color]  Ted corrected.

[color=powderblue][b]“But why?”[/b][/color]  Tora asked.

[color=skyblue]“Money.  Supply/demand.  The ships are cheap warehousing, most of them are either fully automated, or are at least close to so little to no expenditure in wages.  And when it comes to buying off of the farmers, it drives the prices down.  They’re able to get it for pennies on the dollar.”[/color]  Ted said, putting the cans back as they were returned to him.

[color=limegreen][b]“So you want me to tell her ‘No’?”[/b][/color]  Bea asked, her hand on her holding her phone out.

Ted’s mind race as he considered everything.

[color=skyblue]“No!  No, we’re here to help people. How’s it look if we won’t even help family?  Tell her we’ll take him.  Just let me…  Give me a few minutes.”[/color]  He swept up his laptop and disappeared out back.

[color=powderblue][b]“Where are you going?”[/b][/color]  Tora asked.

[color=skyblue]“Starting a share buy-back!”[/color]  He yelled out, from another room.  [color=skyblue]“The last thing I need is to piss her stepbrother off telling him he’s taking too long in the bathroom or something and have him retaliate in other ways!”[/color]

Bea sighed and dropped her head at the news she’d have to put up with her half-brother.  She begrudgingly spoke in Portuguese to her step-mother, a disappointed acquiescence.  Before she heard something that caused her to burst forth a stream of angry obscenities.

She hung up the phone with a slide of her finger, a humorously dainty movement given her furor.  She swept her green hair out of her face and looked at the others who were waiting for an explanation.

[color=limegreen][b]“Sorry.  She said the car is already here.  It… bothered me, because I realised she wasn’t asking for permission, but telling me what was already happening.  She’s sent my little praga of a half brother here.  He’s been waiting out the front in his chauffered car.”[/b][/color]  She walked over to one of the Kord Omniversal hubs on the wall, checked the car was indeed there and buzzed them up the driveway of The Embassy.

Suddenly Ted swept back in the room, presumably having already started the Kord Omniversal share buy-back.

[color=skyblue]“It’s OK.”[/color]  He said vaguely, leaving the others unsure if it was to the others or for his own reassurance.  [color=skyblue]“This just means we’ll have to tighten the belt somewhat.”[/color]  He swept up the bowls of nuts, popcorn and chips from the table.  [color=skyblue]“Cut back on our expenditures and luxuries.  You’ll all still be getting paid, I’ve just got to run the numbers on--”[/color]  The doorbell rang, interrupting him but Ted was in a hyperactive autopilot mode.  Still flustered by the news.

[color=skyblue]“It’s alright.  I’ll get it.”[/color]  He ran to the front door, still carrying the bowls.

He opened it and was met by the sight of a perfectly manicured nineteen year old Roberto DaCosta, the smirking prince of DaCosta Industries, standing there in a white suit with a pair of sunglasses which Ted guessed cost more than his one-of-a-kind Blue Beetle goggles folded up and tucked in the top of his shirt.  He let out an involuntary yelp at the sight.

[color=gold][b]“[/b][/color][color=black][b]Don’t you think you’ve had enough there, chunky?[/b][/color][color=gold][b]”[/b][/color]  Bobby said, grabbing a potato chip from the bowl balancing on top and walking past him into the Embassy.