Summary:Blue Beetle and Amora brief one another. Loki does Loki things. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Amora paces in the lobby of the Asgardian Embassy. She is not typically known for pacing - more for grand entrances and luxurious lounging - but pace she does her arms crossed, hands clasping her upper arms like she's cold or something. Which would make sense given her general state of dress, but that's not the problem here. The problem is she's more or less finished her work, and it was… perturbing. Enough that she's made good on her promise to contact Ted Kord, inviting him to the Embassy to share her findings.
Somewhere in his likely… excited response, it seemed like he had information too, possibly? Hopefully it's good news.
When he arrives she manages a smile and a short bow, "Ah, Mister Beetle. Good of you to come."
Ted could really use advice from Amora on how to make an entrance. The Bug lowers down vertically outside and he comes swinging out - a fine entrance for the lawn. But then he's inelegantly fumbling with a satchel he has draped over a shoulder, using the remote control to levitate the Bug to a more appropriate waiting location, and then scrambling in, not wanting to keep Amora waiting. He's already flustered upon arriving, seeing her standing there.
"Hi!" he chirps, even before taking the measure of her. Oh no… she doesn't seem as warm as last time? Is it his fault? He rushes to offer, "I hope you weren't waiting for long, Amora. It's so great to see you again!" He then realizes he hasn't bowed to her, so he offers one, bending and sweeping an arm out slightly. He straightens and hurries closer to bask in her radiance. "Is everything okay?" he asks in obvious, transparent concern.
Amora blinks once curiously as Ted bows to her. She opens her mouth, about to voice that that's not necessary - that it's just a quirk of hers, if not an Asgardian thing - … but she closes her mouth and just chuckles instead, opting not to correct him.
As to Ted's question, her smile shrinks a little, but she keeps an air of quiet confidence - though she typically radiates it so it's still a step down. "*I* am well, Mister Beetle." She says kindly, "'Everything', however, is not as safe as i would like. I studied your Scarab. My findings have been… concerning enough that I feel you should hear them, though I'm not certain I'm finished with it yet." She seems distracted for a moment, as if regretting that last admission. But what's done is done.
Amora turns slowly in place, turning her profile to Ted before she turns her head to look at him again and smiles. "Will you follow me, Mister Beetle? I'd like to show you myself."
She can see his brows arching upward as her happiness seems to be an abundant concern for him. Ted nods his bug-eyed head quickly as he offers by way of reassurance, "We're gonna figure this out, Amora. I promise you, I'll do whatever it takes." The mortal deigns to reach out, to rest his gloved hand on her arm as he swears his service to her.
When she turns to lead him inward, he will let his hand drop off her if it has to. If by pressure or position she seems to tolerate his touch, of course it will remain. "I'd *love* to her what you found out," he exhales. "I really appreciate you keeping me in the loop." And he will follow her wherever she might lead - seemingly both in the embassy and otherwise.
There is a moment, a fraction of an instant in time, when Amora begins processing a fact that a being from the lesser realms has put his hand on her, where she has to discern very quickly wether she should be repulsed or furious. There's an invisibly quick instant where this impulse starts to show on her face, but she controls herself quickly. He means no harm, she determines - and he's sweet in his silly way. Plus, no reason to burn bridges over status, yes? Not on the first offense anyway.
Instead she smiles and replies, "It's a relief to hear that." softly.
"Follow me, please." She asks with a short nod, half curious to see how Ted's grip will manage up a winding staircase, and amused at the results likely no matter what, though as they tread through a long hallway past several doors - less lavish than the lobby, yet of luxurious quality and exotic architectural design - Amora's gaze is fixed forward, harder than usual, before she wills them to soften up a little before inclinding her head to look Ted, "Tell me, good sir, how much do you know of our… wayward Hod?"
Ted, of course, is too elated to have the contact to notice the imperceptible flicker that far exceeds disapproval. He's all warm, sycophantic smiles. She can practically see the heart-shaped bubbles floating up off of him.
Of course, she turns and there it gets complicated. He had extended his right arm to touch her left. Now that she's turning… is he supposed to just slip his hand into the crook of her arm, in a reversal of gender norms? No. Particularly not given the height difference. He could… hold her hand? NO. Even in his amorous state, he knows that would be weird and creepy. The hand simply has to move.
Of course, this is rapidly processing even as Amora turns and starts to walk. So his hand just rests on her for a few moments. He seizes upon something that *seems* like a good idea. So he moves his hand to her back. Wait, no. That's creepy and weird too. So, reluctantly, by the time they are at the staircase, his hand has withdrawn. It is an awkward progression that gives Ted moments to kick himself for his foolishness as he ascends the stairs, a step behind Amora.
He catches up to her in the hallway, his eyes drinking in the luxurious surroundings before getting locked once more on his companion. She is far more pleasing to his eye than even the finery around him, so he's happy to rest his gaze on her while they talk. Mercifully, by then, she's looking at him with a softer gaze.
"Oh. Well. I don't know a *lot*," he answers. "I think he's supposed to be the god of winter and darkness? Balder's brother, I think? I know he was exiled to Ea… to Midgard, though I don't know why. And, I mean, according to legend, Loki's supposed to trick him into killing Balder leading up to Ragnarok. Right?" He did some reading and is eager to impress Amora.
Amora's spirits are somewhat lifted by Ted's awkward ordeal, enough that she has to struggle not to laugh during it's duration. When it comes back to business however, she nods along slowly until Loki's name is mentioned, at which point she looks utterly bewildered. "*Loki?*" She seems caught off guard for the first time. Her look grows incredulous. "*Prince* Loki?"
Ridiculous! Absurd! Utterly nonsensical! Her momentary shock and alarm gives way to an amusement that she doesn't recognize as defensive. She chuckles. "My, Humans had wonderous imaginations, didn't they?" Amora shakes her head. "Loki is one of the Princes of Asgaard, brother to Prince Thor, in line to the throne. He would…" She pauses. "Well. I'm not sure how much I should say. But up to a point, you are correct. We have… *reason* to believe that Hod intends to murder noble Prince Baldur and bring catastrophe on Asgard. Our Lord Odin, in his… mercy, banished Hod to Midga-" She stops and smiles kindly, "To your Earth in its infancy to avoid this." As if anticipating how one might take that news, she seems almost apologetic. "Sentience had scarecly taken route on this world at the time, I'm sure it seemed harmless." A bit of incredulity returns of Amora's features. "*Loki*, though. Hm. Mischevious he may have been, as a boy, but he'd as soon maul himself as endanger Asgard, I'm certain."
Amora shakes her head. "Forgive me, I've gotten off topic. It's good that you know this much, it will… simplify things if you understand the implications. With that she arrives at a door and leads you inside to a spacious room full of odd and frankly fantastical looking equipment, some of which glows eerily in the somewhat dimmer light. There's even a bubbling cauldron over there!
Seriously!
On a very long desk along the wall, the Scarab itself has been made into a bit of a centerpiece, underneath various inflated images of it from different angles hovering against the wall. "Please make yourself comfortable."
|ROLL| Loki +rolls 1d20 for: 10
Ted is happy to keep his gaze rooted on Amora as they walk side-by-side. To any outside observer from Asgard, it is likely a familiar sight: some mortal (this one just happening to be clad in ridiculous blue spandex with bulbous yellow lenses in place ove his eyes) hanging on Amora's every word, seemingly enchanted by her. Well, not literally.
Ted makes a face and waves a hand away at the sources of mythlore he'd spent the night diligently studying and taking notes on to aid in conversation with Amora. "It's *ridiculous*," he agrees. "Still… sadly, before this… crisis brought me to you, I'd never *met* an Asgardian. So I only had these silly human stories to go by." From his tone, it becomes clear that he is grateful for his part in the crisis. This is one smitten kitten.
He follows Amora into the room and his eyes widen at the magical array within. Though it takes him a moment to see Loki and he blinks in surprise, turning to take his cue on how to react to this presence from Amora.
There's also a Loki in here! But, he's not bubbling in a corner. He's actually quite near the scarab, pointing a finger at it. Unaware of what he's just been accused of, its a fairly incriminating posture to be in, but he doesn't know that.
Amora offers Ted a bemused smile at his hurried agreement, an expression that rapidly turns to alarm, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight of Loki in her makeshift den of sorcery. A far cry from the easy confidence with which she greeted him days earlier, she practically sputters, "My liege?!"
Caught completely off guard, Amora looks to Ted, and then to Loki again, feeling a pang of regret to meet this moment with a mortal before formality kicks in and she bows - courtseys, really - to the Asgardian Prince, lowering her head a lot deeper and holding it for longer than she has greeted Ted in the past, playful manners giving way to actual fealty. Or at least the impression of it. "Prince Loki, what- I… wasn't expecting you here, I-…" She cringes upon seeing where his attention lies, and suggests, "I… don't reccomend touching that."
Ted Kord watches Amora's alarm and misconstrues what is happening. He actually starts moving to step in front of her - but she's almost immediately calling him her liege, and that gives Ted pause, a half-step forward now. "Prince Loki?" he echoes when she greets him more formally. He watches her and then offers a bow of his own, sensing it would be appropriate to do so. He is graceful for a human but lacks that otherworldly poise Amora has. He also has hardly been schooled on Asgardian etiquette. He's trying to do this on the fly from watching Amora, so his bow ends up with a slightly feminine quality.
"Oh really?" Loki purrs in response to Amora, releasing her from her bow with a faint nod as he turns around. "Where did you get this? Has there been another found, or did Hod forget to return it to its owner?" At first, it seems, he doesn't even recognize that Ted is there…then finally he turns his head and looks at the man with the bug glasses. "You…why is it that every time I feel the darkness…you are around? Are you working for them? Trying to get your toy back?"
Oh dear oh dear. Misunderstandings are bad enough, but misunderstandings with gods tend to have incredible, long reaching, and disasterous affects - at least according to human myth! So, with her alarm kept skillfully under wraps, Amora says, "My Liege!" And steps forward to draw his attention. "This is 'Blue Beetle'" she says asthough it were his first and last names rather than a super hero name. "He recently battled these Scarabs alongside Lady Sif, and came to us with this small one seeking aid. He is…" She hesitates for a heartbeat, "… a friend. I've been studying this one; I was just going to share my findings. If it pleases, Your Majesty." She says, having overlooked his seeming familiarity with the subject in her haste to smooth things over.
Ted straightens as Amora does. He boggles toward Loki, staring with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty before Amora steps forward, intervening on his behalf. He lifts his chin slightly - that's right, he was battling alongside Sif! And… she just called him a friend? He flushes incandescent, but looks immensely pleased with this, a goofy grin easing across his lips. He looks toward Loki then, nodding his bug-eyed head. "I don't think we've met before your… ah, Majesty," Ted offers. Strangely, he doesn't seem an intimidated as he does flustered, though he seems to be doing his best to adhere to protocol he hasn't been trained for. "I wanted to share what I've learned with Amora as well. I'm working to deal with these… things. I'm here to help you guys!" He beams at that, a far from impressive mortal with apparent delusions of his importance and ability.
Loki makes a low humming sound, a sound of consideration. "I see. The costumes are starting to run together. Though, I have no idea how the excellent lady can concentrate in your presence. Dear Amora, have you beguiled him?" The Prince tilts his head in her direction, seemingly amused, though there is also an odd edge about him. "To confirm…you got this from him?" He points again at the scarab with a long pale finger. "Who figured out how to work it?"
Amora, despite her earlier nerves, is apparently relieved enough with Loki's understanding that his 'accusation' is met with the most innocent of 'Who, meeeee?' looks before she crosses her arms and smiles. "Of course not, my Prince." She meets his gaze, meeting that subtle edge with one of her own. "I wouldn't dream of it."
She looks to the scarab, then back to Loki and nods. "From Mister Beetle, yes. It's been a…" she casts abrief smile to Ted, "… joint effort, I suppose. It's a fascinating little combination of technology and sorcery. He is a master of one element; I of the other. We'll determine its secrets before long I'm certain. Though, if you're asking who created it…" she gives a regretful look, "… We still don't know yet."
Ted Kord bobs his head in agreement. Yes, she wouldn't ensorcel him? He offers, "I'm going to follow up with an Agent from SHIELD and WAND that is involved. He has another of these little critters. I was able to identify it as likely coming from a company called Rahm-Tek Industries. They're small but well-financed. When I hear back from that Agent *of course* I will relate everything to Amora." He looks over toward her, favouring her with as radiant a smile as his simple human features can allow. He even reaches out and touches her again. Hey, they're friends right? It's an affectionate sort of touch.
He adds, "I can get more into the tech stuff too - like… not too detailed, but I can explain about the robots themselves, if you … if your Majesty likes?" he suggests. "Before or after you, of course, Amora. Whatever you want." Adoring smile.
"So that makes /three/." Loki arches his brows. Then he looks between Amora, and Ted, green eyes shifting back and forth as he thinks. His long hair brushes his shoulders. "Continue with your research. I have…something I need to look into." Then abruptly he starts in the direction of the door.
Amora's smile tightens when Ted touches her, but she doesn't say anything. And she doesn't stop Loki either, merely nodding once with a smile. "Of course, My Liege. Do take care!" She holds her pose, arms crossed, until the door shuts behind him, at which point she subtly sighs, closing her eyes and letting her arms drop to her side. It's a moment before her green eyes open again and she offers Ted a bit of an aplogetic smile. "Apologies, Mister Beetle, I… wasn't expecting him to be here. Though appearing where he's not expected is a bit of a forte of his." Sighing again, she walks to where a rather ludicrously ornate tea kettle and fills a pair of cups with an entirely alien and rather fragrant tea, offering Ted a cup. She didn't really expect to need any right now, but she's glad she prepared.
Ted Kord likewise watches the door shut and then turns back to Amora. Once more, as she exhibits anything but perfect happiness, concern etches on his features. He's touching her again. Bracingly, reassuringly. At least… this is how humans reassure and comfort one another. And though countless mortals have fallen under Amora's spell over the millenia, this one is quite… touchy-feely, in his puppydog way. "I'm sorry if I complicated that at all. I… I'm sure he knows you're doing great work. I was just telling Thor the other day how amazing you are…" he reassures her.
He trails after her, taking the cup from her, pleased at the brush of fingers to fingers as offers her a grateful smile with the hand-over of the tea. "I…" he pauses, then presses onward. "My name's Ted," he blurts out. "I mean, Blue Beetle's my hero name, and my secret name is… well, secret. But… I hope you'd call me Ted, when it's just you and me." She might be able to hear his heart pounding at this point, all nervous energy.
Amora's brow raises slowly in a subtly delighted manner as Ted mentions praising her to Thor of all people. "Oh, really…?" She says rather happily, unconciously wrapping a strand of blonde hair around one finger as she approaches the tea. "That *is* good to hear. A good man's word in a noble Prince's ear goes an awfully long way, or so I'm told~"
Her smile is not unlike a cheshire cat's before she turns to offer Ted the tea, at which point it's changed to something rather more… normal by the time her face is in view.
She blinks once as he reveals his name, barely disguising the mental mathmatics taking place to realise she was calling this man by a title as if it were a normal name for quite some time. She takes a short breath and smiles kindly, as if she had somehow already known this. "Very well. Ted." She says, as if testing the word pleasantly and offering a kind smile. She may not be able to hear his heart pounding, but she may as well be able to feel it. It's like music to her, in a way. Warm's a woman's heart!
She glances at her wall of study, as if reminded of her purposes here, and hums softly. "Ah, but forgive the delay…" she smiles, "… Ted. And pray don't blame Prince Loki, he is a…" she struggles for the word, and makes a brief face like she almost resents admitting it, "… complex man. From what I've seen." He rather breaks the mold of simplicity Amora's craft has been mastered around. It's disconcerting, in a way. "But yes… our mysterious Scarabs." She regards the scarab on her table for a moment, before reaching out a hand, at which point a slender pen-like stick with a diamond tip floats lazily into her outstretched hand. She turns to Ted and asks, "Tell me… do you know what this is?"
Ted Kord seems oblivious to the way she plays with her hair at the mere mention of Thor, the way she seems more pleased about how Ted may be able to sway the thunder-god's opinion than anything he might offer on his own merits. It's all lost beneath the gloss of infatuation. Of course, then she's turned back to him and is smiling at him. He releases some tension across his shoulders when she agrees to call him by his first name and offers a warm, grateful smile.
He turns to trail alongside her, gravitating close but not touching. "Oh… I don't mind," he answers about Loki. "He seems to be under some stress with all this stuff. I mean, I get it. The end of times *is* a big deal." He watches the small item float toward Amora at her command and looks up at her. Lost in her eyes for just a moment, he clears his throat and shakes his head. "Ah… no," he confesses with a hint of colour. "No idea."
Amora smiles patiently, having not expected him to know. "This," she explains, moving her hand beneath it as if to display an item in a show room, or a game show prize, "is an inscribing tool. Not magical *itself*, but a simple item with a diamond tip meant to inscribe magical symbols into… well. Anything. Not to go into too much detail," teaching a novice just enough mystical knowledge to cause trouble is a terrible idea, after all, "… but the right symbols can… anchor and enhance magical spells, or increase their duration, possible for as long as the symbol lasts."
It's a subtle thing, but she's putting on a bit of a 'teacher's voice' without really realizing it. Her expression however, grows a bit dour as she sets the tool down on the desk, and then, raises that same arm to enlarge a shimmering image of the scarab, with a close up focus on its arms. "… The arms of these devices are each installed with a diamond tip." Her eyes stare half lidded, as if trying to add the needed gravity to her next statement. "They're inscribers. Possibly *all* of them are. They could work together to etch icons onto nearly anything, conceivably on a massive scale if left alone."
Ted's eyes flit from Amora to the item and back again. He absorbs the information she provides, nodding along with it. She has his attention, of course, and he is a good student. She needn't repeat anything.
He watches the mystical teaching aids she summons to her cause and yet always returns his reverant gaze to her. He synthesizes the information she provides. "So… they're tools," he summarizes. "And, especially in numbers, they could make huge, or huge numbers of, symbols. So obviously someone is planning on casting a *major* spell, in terms of scope or duration or… whatever?"
Amora nods once. "I would imagine so. That would be alarming in and of itself, but I was also able to find a pattern in the 'circuitry'.
Amora swipes her hand across the image of the arms and casts it aside, drawing a close up of the circuitry into view. With a peculiar motion of her fingers, portions of it light up to highlight where two distinct sets of symbols have been soldered into the circuits. "There are two kinds of symbols already etched into the Scarabs themselves. One is a simple incantation to enhance its magical affects. The other…" she frowns, "… is an enchantment meant for summoning beings. Specifically, there's a repetitive incantation or… prayer one might say. It invokes a number of beings - deities by some reckonings - entities of darkness, of fear, of death. Your… 'Apep' I believe they're called.. 'Arhiman', among others; and before them all, of course… Hodr. From what I can tell it's not just the names, but the sequence of the names that seem to be part of the structure of a spell. From what I can tell, it almost seems that they're being invoked in service to… something else. But *what*, I don't know."
Amora sighs. "… That's the good news."
Ted offers a quick, pleased smile at her agreement, all too eager to assume the role of teacher's pet in this particular circumstance. He is all eyes and ears as she dutifully explains the unusual patterns he saw in the circuitry. Still, when she begins crossing lines from norse mythology into egyptian and zoroastrian myth, he blinks and frowns in confusion. Evidently at least one of those made sense to him. "So… multi-denominational spirits of darkess and destruction, all being put to service by someone *else*." He swallows audibly. "Okay… so that begs the question, what is the *bad* news?"
Amora seems briefly pleased at Ted's comprehension, having expected him to be a bit lost at this point. Admittedly, a point of arrogance on Amora's part, for she's the one dealing with beings outside her general knowledge or experience.
She nods once and says, "The bad news is… the provence of magic isn't coming from *any* of those beings, or magical disciplines. In fact, I confess… I have no idea *where* it's from. It is not of Midgaard, Asgard, or any of Asgard's nine provinces. If it is drawing from a magical source or entity - and it would have to be - it's from outside any of our realms." She crosses her arms and inclines her body towards the image of the circuity, looking at it with minor frustration. "Magic is magic, of course; it was simple enough to puzzle out what it was *doing*… but the nature of it, the *source* of it was completely outside of my means to determine. Perhaps if I had access to a greater library but… alas, I do not." She turns away and looks to Ted again. "Furthermore, I have no means of determining what actual *spell* they are attempting to carve and cast, outside of it's nature as summoning magic, or how they intend to power it."
Amora clicks her fingers and the imagery vanishes into thin air. "The Scarabs themselves would have to retain at least some information about what they're carving out there, but I'm afraid I have no means of drawing that knowledge from technology, Mister…" She stops and smiles despite herself before correcting, "… Ted."
Ted listens, nodding and intent upon Amora as she expounds on the difficulty she faces. Her frustration is met with a reassuring smile. Finally, he reaches out to touch her arm again, sliding his gloved hand over her, yet again in the feeble contact mortals use to comfort one another. "It's just from somewhere else," he reassures her. "I'm sure you'll put it together, you're the smartest —" Woman? Not what she is. God? He thinks that's what she is, but even counting her, he's only met three. That's not very complementary. So he tries again, "You're super smart. Like you said, we just need to consult with someone else. The Avengers have worked with a … sorceror in the past. Cap - that's Captain America - suggested I bring him on board. He might have the kind of info, that missing puzzle piece that you need to make it all click."
He then adds, "I'm working on the scarabs programming language." He pauses then explains, "A programming language is the set of instructions we give to computers, robots, that kind of thing. It boils down to a bunch of if-then conditions, millions of them, billions of them, to give them varying measures of autonomy. The language used for the scarabs is … unlike any other. It's custom made. I can figure it out. I *am* figuring it out, but… it's taking me time. It's learning a new language. But… if I get the scarab back, I can see about retrieving its memories."
He shrugs lightly at that, then he adds, "As for the scarabs, they don't just etch things. They also implant tracking chips in people. I have a list of everyone who's been tagged." He turns and draws his satchel around him, reaching inside to pull free a sheet of paper. He offers this to Amora. "It's a… baffling list of names. Police officers, museum officials - including an egyptologist, a ferry boat captain… but maybe these places of work or addresses I have listed might make some sense to you."
He draws a breath to add, "The chips broadcast to a set of satellites that were supposed to be derelict and falling into the atmosphere to burn up. But… obviously they're not. I want to go up there - I can take the Bug - and check them out. From there, I might be able to see what devices are reading the signals from the chips. Figure out who's monitoring these tracked people. I am hoping I might find a way to broadcast to the scarabs themselves, or at least track them." He pauses for a beat, seeming to tense, before he finally adds, "Do you… have you ever been to space? It's pretty great. I mean, I'm going on this mission to the satellites, so if you want to come, that'd be… great. But I don't know if it'd be interesting for you." He is starting to glow redder and redder as he hurriedly babbles. "Or, like, if you're curious to see it? Like… maybe I can take you up there some time. Like… uh… space-date?" He cringes slightly in anticipation, though he tries not to.
Amora has not fallen so far as to need the comfort of a human, and the fact that it's offered is puzzling to the functionally-immortal Enchantress, but she greets it with a smile regardless. "Oh, I know." She replies confidentally to his reassurance. It's simply been some time since a magical matter eluded me."
She listens carefully as Ted speaks, her brow raising curiously when she learns what else the scaras have been doing, looking thoughtful but unable to determine a motive off the top of her head. She takes the paper and nods. "I'll look into it, certainly."
That said, she looks up from the paper with bemused surprise when a trip to space is mentioned, and rapidly evolves into a space date. "A 'space date', hmmm?" She smirks amusedly. she hums softly, looking back down at the paper, sitting on her desk and rocking back and forth coyly withholding her answer as she seems to turn it over in her head. "I confess, I've never been to Midgard's orbit. I've had little time to absorb how your world has changed since I visited it as a girl." She smiles, regarding her age at a 'mere' six hundred to have functionally be part of her childhood. She smiles broadly and lowers the paper. "I might enjoy a 'space date', Ted." She lets that hang in the air for a moment, letting him think what he wants before she brings a bit of reality into the matter "If your 'satellites' have had any magical tampering of their own, I should probably be on sight to recognize it."
Ted Kord twists on the line for a moment, that mixture of boundless optimism he seems to have mixing with his dread that not only will she say no, but this will sour what is a fruitful working relationship and… like she said, burgeoning friendship. Still, he waits in obvious discomfort as she turns the matter over in her mind before she finally gives a yes! It's a yes! Well, a possible yes. A conditional yes? Ted will take it regardless.
He seems to swell up immediately and he favours her with a megawatt smile. "Okay, work first," he says with a determined nod. "We'll go up and check it out and… uh, if you want, another time, we'll take a pleasure cruise around the planet." Girls dig guys with sweet rides, he reasons, and the Bug is clearly the sweetest ride.
He rubs his hand across his hooded head, refocusing. "Oh! And there's one other thing," he says. He looks down into his satchel again and produces a device. It is a small, box like device with a big white button. Carefully inscribed on the button is a silhouette of a scarab. There is a big red circle around it with a line through it. No scarabs, it seems to announce. "I was able to rig this up. You hit the button and it'll shut down all the scarabs within a block or two radius. I'm working on a larger version for the Bug. If I know eccentric, genius inventors - and I think I do - they like to scale up. Little robot scarabs tells me that, sometime, there's probably going to be a *big* robot scarab. So I'm building a device that should work on bigger versions. Or maybe just with better range. So if we can track these things to wherever they're inscribing? We can hopefully shut 'em all down."
He extends the device to Amora. "We might want to bring this to space but… do you want to hang onto it? Might help if you… I dunno, run into a bunch of those things." He's burning bright again. He's trying to protect the Asgardian with his foolish human technology.
Amora's smile stays painted on, taking on an enigmatic air as Ted's offer of a space cruise comes and goes unanswered for the moment. "Oohhh?" She does seem curious when Ted produces his device however, tilting her head curiously as she regards the box, invisibly shaking off the brief worry - near expectation - that he was producing an engagement ring.
It's happened earlier in her interactions with men.
"Ingenious…" She purrs, genuinely impressed that the human has cobbled together something akin to a short range spell with his technology. She seems a little surprised when he offers it to her and smiles. "… Thank you very much, Ted. I'm sure I'll be safe with this." She reaches, out, then, and squeezes Ted's shoulder as she slides off of the table, boots landing on the floor with a heavy click of her heels. "Now then. With that all settled, I fear I've taken up enough of your time. And I must look into this list of course." She says, tapping the folded paper on the desk once with a smile. "Let me walk you out." She says, and begins to saunter back towards the door, one hand reaching for the handle before she pauses. "Oh…" she turns her head slowly to look back at you with a smile. "A your… 'space cruise'… sounds lovely. I may take you up on that~." With that, she opens the door and - briefly peering to make sure Loki isn't somehow just hovering out there - steps outside, gesturing welcomingly to follow her.
Ted Kord's smile brightens when Amora seems actually pleased with his device, and when she takes it with such a complementary word. He has to restrain himself from toescuffing right then and there. He nods his head agreeably when she says she's taken up too much of *his* time. He'd spend more with her, of course, but he understands such social graces and plays along well.
He walks to the door with her and, once there, he's given pause. She brings up his date proposal herself - there's nothing quite so emboldening as that. "I'd love to do it," he says, so out of his head with his hard crush that he doesn't even process the other, more ridicule-worthy meaning to his breathy admission. It's times like these he's lucky to not have a wise-cracking side-kick.
He is so emboldened that, by the time they get to the door of the embassy, he turns toward Amora. "Thanks for all your time, Amora," he says with bashful sincerity. "I'll see you soon." His eyes drift. Should he kiss her? No, that's insane. Hug her? Mmm… maybe the time for that was in her study. Damn it. There is a moment of lingering uncertainty before he goes the safe route, touching her arm again - this time close to her hand, to give a light squeeze. Then heads for the Bug, which he called down while en route, with only two looks back and one stupid wave that he immediately regrets.
There is a jubulant refrain of "Can't Stop This Feeling" sung in the privacy of the Bug as he flies back to Avengers' Mansion.