2019-04-08 - Updates over Nachos

Summary:

Ted's got an update for Steve including flying magitechno bugs that implant people with trackers and man, that's just creepy!

Log Info:

Storyteller: None
Date: Mon Apr 8 20:06:34 2019
Location: Avengers Mansion - Foyer

Related Logs

None

Theme Song

None

ted-kordsteve-rogers

It was a typical day at Avenger's Manion. Up on the helipad, the Bug touches down lightly. Moments later, the Blue Beetle, resplendent in his ridiculous costume, is descending the stairs. He's already tugging his mask up and back, revealing his face and his mask-head of toussled hair. "Oh man, what a day," he exhales, descending quickly down the steps. He's making his way toward the kitchen, singing Taylor Swift under his breath. "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate…"

*

The sounds of someone raiding the fridge will greet him as he nears the kitchen. It'll probably be a sight, the way Steve's managed to insert nearly half of his broad-shouldered torso into the rather large double-door appliance. He's rifling around in the very back for what appears to be…

"Stone-ground mustard…c'mon, it's gotta be back here… 'm gonna have to have words with whomever keeps shoving it to the end of the fridge," the Captain grumbles. A soft sound of triumph and out he appears with a small plastic container, its contents yellow and dotted with the texturing of seeds. The rest of his sandwich fixings lie on the island countertop. Looks like it's turkey on whole wheat bread with a lot of fixings — and a lot of turkey, actually. The super-serum must be fueled!

Ted's arrival has him pausing in front of his lunch. A small squint and then memory is jogged. "JARVIS hasn't sent out a distress signal, so you must be one of the new recruits. Steve Rogers," offers the blond as he comes around the counter, already holding out his hand for a polite greeting. He's in a white t-shirt and jeans, casual around the mansion.

*

Ted rounds the corner and pauses. He watches the muscle-bound flag incarnate (even if dressed in civvies) emerge victorious from the fridge and a wide grin immediately crosses his features. "Heya," he greets, offering a handshake, firm as he can. Of course, he has no superstrength, so it's just a firm, regular guy handshake. "Ted Kord. The Blue Beetle. Good to finally meet ya!" Of course, Cap would have gotten a personnel report on Ted. Some impressive agility and combat skills - borderline powers, if any. But, he's supposed to be a genius and an inventor…

"I was about to make myself a snack too. Had a hankerin' for some nachos." Retrieving his hand, he rubs them together greedily. "Oh… and I took the Bug out for a spin." Oh yes, the reports would have mentioned the Bug. Cutting-edge transportation technology. "I interrupted an… attack, I guess? On a building? By some yellow beetles. So, to sum up, blue beetles - good. Yellow beetles - bad."

*

Having returned to making his meal, Steve looks up from smearing copious amounts of mustard on his sandwich at the mention of an attack. His brows gather to indicate concern, though not over-much.

"I heard something about this incident, but the formal report hasn't been fully submitted. Feel free to fill me in if you want to, Ted," he offers. The butterknife flashes in the overhead lighting as he sets it aside on a square of paper towel. The sandwich is then closed and apparently meets muster — with its mustard.

"As far as nachos go, we have all the fixings. Thor's been working at mastering them. There's probably…four different cheeses in the fridge, some refried beans, chips in the pantry — blue corn chips, even." Apparently, that's just novel enough to warrant a flick of those mobile brows. "Go for it." After putting his knife in the sink and returning all of the sandwich fixings to the fridge, he goes to sit at the small kitchen table rather than out at the formal dining table, long enough to seat a dozen and more.

*

Ted busies himself in the kitchen with murmured thanks, making busy with retrieving the fixin's needed to make what is sure to be a heaping and rich plate of nachos. As he does so, he raises his voice to cover the intervening distance between he and Cap. "Well, it was kind of a poop-hole in the Bowery," he says. "I was flying by and saw these things chewin' at a building. There were people inside. I engaged a bunch of 'em in the Bug and was like vroooooooom pew pew pew!" He gestures with his hands, re-crating a moment from a dogfight before resuming his nacho-making. "Anyway. Some others there… there was an Agent Koa somebody-or-other from WAND and Keiko somebody-or-other from nothing official. And a chick with a sword and a shield who was Asgardian. And we dealt with the yellow beetles and the rescues. I got to take a peek at one and… well, I'm still digging away. But Agent Koa asked me if I'd mind keeping him in the loop, and I said I was happy to." He glances up, waiting to see if there are any questions forthcoming, or if he should go on.

*

Steve chews a huge bite of his sandwich while he listens, eyes upon the young man. A bit of greenery falls from it and onto his place before it's rescued and stuffed back between the slices of bread again. He makes certain his mouth is clear and devoid of lettuce stuck between his teeth before he responds,

"Any idea who the Asgardian was? I know of a few of 'em, but not all of them. You'll meet Thor soon enough." He names the most well-known throughout the city and unavoidable presence at some point in the mansion itself if not elsewhere at some scene of catastrophe. "I know of Agent Koa, through SHIELD. Keiko…" His frown is for thought, not for Ted. "Doesn't ring a bell yet. Sounds like I'll know soon enough." He takes another huge bite of his sandwich and gamely chews away while he gets his answers.

*

Ted continues to create his masterpiece of yet-to-be-melted cheese, olives, jalapenos, and so on. "Ah… yeah. Lady Sif, I think she was calling herself. I mean, I *assumed* she was Asgardian. She seemed to be," he relates. He adds, "Anyway, these beetles, they had these arcane symbols on them, but they were mechanical. I recognized 'em right away, they're made by Rahm-tek Industries, but they're really… weirdly built. Like a lot of their makeup inefficiently goes toward these symbols that are, like, part of their circuitry. It makes no sense, from any kind of regular design perspective. It's like they're a blend of mystical and technological, you know?"

*

By the gathering of Steve's brows again, he doesn't have a clear memory of Sif in particular. Something to speak about with Thor — he decides this as he takes a large sip of his lemonade. Setting the drink aside, he nods.

"I've seen the two concepts combined before. Doesn't normally bode well. You thinking you want to bring in someone more familiar with the magical half of things?" he asks, leaning back in his chair and pausing in his eating, his sandwich still held over the plate with one hand.

*

"Well, yeah. I mean, the bugs seem to have an exploitable weakness on the tech side. So I am going to see if I can put something together to deal with that. They basically run off stolen, poorly-reproduced Kord Omniversal tech." Affecting a bad Forrest Gump impression, he notes, "That's my company." Grinning then, clearly not knowing his audience, he adds, "The other big thing is that they seem intent on injecting tracking devices into certain people. I should be able to piggy-back off that, at least see what they're looking for." He draws a breath, then adds, "As for the mystical side… it's a good idea. Agent Koa suggested I try to bring a soft touch to the Asgardians. Seems one of their own is getting framed, or… seems like it. So…" He pauses. "Like, one of them? Or do you have somebody in mind on that end?"

*

"If you're thinking you need an Asgardian, start with Thor. He's around here often enough. If he's not here, he'll be at the Asgardian Embassy." Steve explains where this is located succinctly. "Can't miss it." With the sandwich all gone, he works at smearing up the remnants of lost mustard from the white plate. "He'll be able to tell you if there's someone in particular who might be best for dealing with the magical aspect of things. If he says Loki…"

The Captain lets out a slow sigh and gives his plate a squint. "Be thoughtful with him." He leaves it at that.

"You plan on getting your tech back, since it was stolen? Or at least figuring out who did it? Surely there's gotta be a trail left behind you can follow." Leaning back in his chair, Steve sips contentedly at his lemonade now. "Tracking devices…mmm." It's definitely not amusing to the man; fairly creepy, honestly.

*

Ted Kord nods to the advice he's given. "Thor. Got it. Yeah, me 'n him'll be great. Like a buddy cop movie." He offers a quirky grin, finishing with his nacho preparation before sliding it into a toaster oven. He nods to the sagacity about Loki, frowning thoughtfully but not touching that topic. As to the tech? "Eh, I don't think it's *stolen* exactly. Just… sloppily reverse-engineered. Can't stop that, anybody smart enough can do that. It's just… shoddy work. Makes it harder to track but, given that I can identify the manufacturer, it's a solid lead anyhow. We don't know it's the decision-makers at Rahm-tek, but… well, I let Agent Koa know. I'm sure Uncle Sam's got ways to check 'em out."

*

Nodding slowly, Steve watches the toaster oven's inner lighting slowly come on as the coils begin to glow orange-red with heat. "One way or another, they'll find out. Agent Koa's got enough connections to merit an involvement in many investigations. I don't ask how many fingers are in the pies. Not my job at SHIELD." He gives Ted a small, almost secretive smile before it fades into something more professional.

"You need anything in particular from me? Sounds like you've got your lead to follow in the tech. Thor might be able to offer a hand, or know someone who can." The lift of eyebrows towards Ted is inquiring.

*

Ted leans a hip against the countertop, folding his arms across his chest and glancing over periodically to keep an eye on the progress of his nachos. "I figured he was a good guy to head up *that* side of things," Ted affirms with an affable nod. "As for the rest… nothing yet, really. I mean, I'll likely need something once I find anything out… but right now it's just tech research, more or less." He shrugs. "Still, good to keep you up to speed, I figure. Seems like there's a lot of moving parts on this."

*

"No kidding," agrees the Captain with a lift of his glass. "Sounds like you'll have your hands full. Just remember we're a team. You need help, you ask for it and you'll get it. Don't get me wrong, some of us might volunteer to aid you if you tell'em what's going on. Though I wonder…" He pauses and glances to one side, as if able to see beyond the walls of the mansion.

"You consider talking to Doctor Strange, if there's magic involved? We've got connections to hiim. He's not around here often, but if you visit his Sanctum over in Greenwich Village, he might have an answer as far as the magic goes?"

*

Ted Kord lifts a hand to scratch at the back of his head. "Yeah… I mean, once I finish with my system design stuff I can hand over the machine so people can look at the circuits and stuff. I can point out the stuff that's odd. The more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned. If you think I should brief Strange, I'll do it. I'll chat with the Asgardians, whoever. I don't figure I can handle this on my own, don't worry." The profile Cap got about this guy would seem to bear that out - one thing about him is he's supposed to be the consumate team player. He can't help but snicker to end his thoughts. "Besides, maybe I can have a look at Strange's inner sanctum."

*

The last comment garners him a snort from the stoic Captain. "Don't toy lightly with him. Strange is no one to cross. Last time I saw someone ask him to pull a rabbit from a hat, the man pulled a hat out of the person. Think about that." He gives Ted a significant look before killing the rest of his lemonade.

"He's a hard one to pin down, so don't be too dismayed if it takes a while to find him. Last I heard, he might have been off in another dimension dealing with something. I've got no magical talent, so it's all hearsay on my part," he adds as he rises to his feet to return his dishes to the sink. The water turns on and he gives them a brief wash-off, his palm smoothing over the plate in circular motions.

*

For his part, Ted decides his nachos are done. He gets them from the toaster oven and soon has little bowls with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole to add to it. Still, he does give the Captain's advice some thought, nodding quickly. "Yeah. Well… I'll do my best to avoid anyone pulling anything from my anywhere," he answers. He lingers for a moment, taking the temperature of the Captain before deducing he probably has things to do. "Anyway… I'm gonna go catch up on the news." Of sports. "Good talkin' to you, Cap. And… I'll report out on what I find whenever I have anything." He offers a wave and then will take his nachos to the TV room.

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