18311/The Pick Up Artist

The Pick Up Artist
Date of Scene:	13 June 2024
Location:	Penthouse - Kord Co
Synopsis:	Jennifer has to deal with Ted Talk.
Cast of Characters:	Ted Kord, Jennifer Stavros

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Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord was overjoyed when he texted Jennifer and she remembered him... after a few reminders, and a link to his Wiki page. Feeling like a little diversion, he gave her coordinates that amounted to a small and quiet pavillion near the KordCo building. the pavillion was part of the grounds around the building and it all reeked of money. Maybe not Luthor or Wayne money but more than she could spend in a lifetime. Though for sure, she'd try hard.

Ted, likeable and clueless lunkhead that he was, sends Jen a short text. //Hello Jennifer. It's Ted. I am ready to pick you up shortly. The bot has something for you.//

Sure enough a large flying cylinder with arms is there, hovering. It holds out a blue rose.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen looked at the rose and immediately schooled her expression. God save her from _romantics_. She did, however, take the rose and tuck it behind her ear. Today she was in a scoop-necked black crop-top that left a goodly bit of cleavage and torso bare, along with jeans that mght, possibly, have been painted on. It was hard to tell. Black Converse hi-tops with white laces completed the ensemble, alongside a black purse to carry her shit around in. Her concession to being seen out in public with Ted - possibly - is full smoky-eyed warpaint. And she forewent the gum.

At least things weren't a total waste - this little pavilion screamed nouveau-riche and the great thing about nouveau-riche sugar daddies is that their money spent just as well as anyone else's.

Ted Kord has posed:
Vrooooooosh! That's the sound Ted's aero discs make. Though Jen only heard it briefly before she is scooped up romantically/rudely by the Blue Beetle. Well it is mentioned that he is the Blue Beetle on his Wiki page. He also mentioned it a few times. He grabs her in a fairly modest princess carry and with a slight bump continues flying and climbing! The robot follows behind him.

It's heard to tell the affect her charms have on Ted, due to the goggles he's wearing. "Hi! You look great! I'm glad you wanted to meet up... sheesh. You weigh nothing at all. You seemed a lot taller at the bar."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen shrieked. A little bit. And then had to seriously restrain herself from elbowing the Blue Beetle in the face as she's scooped up. "Jesus fuck, warn a girl first! I could have..." she said, and then let her voice trail off. Not gonna bring up the stinkin' mutie thing. Not when it might interfere with her (sad lack of a) sex life lately.

And did he seriously just make a crack about her _weight_?

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord says, "I texted you and said I was picking you up! What el... oh. Sorry about that. Still you look lovely. And your more aerodynamic than most people!" He circles his building, some employees spotting him wave enthusiastically. "Listen, I got my license back after being politically active and contributing to the election. I can take you for a spin in the Bugatti. No speeding in the city though. I'll wait till we get outside. I got some lunch for us. If you want you can use my pool too, before or after the drive? Or no drive. I'm pretty easy." Ted glides down onto a penthouse, with a pool as advertised in line like an inspection.

"these are my bots. Bobobingobodhibongo... Bailey is out." He sets her down and seems a little puzzled by her height in kicks.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
He was a dork, that was unquestionable. But he was a dork with _money_. So this might not be as horrible as he thought it might have been. No _way_ was she using the pool. Maybe to soak her feet, but Jen inna bikini or less, well, that priv was gonna _cost_ him. Simp mode, engaged!

"Ooh. Bugatti." she said with a squeal of glee. "And oh, wow, a whole pool! But I didn't bring my suit..." she mock-pouted. "Maybe while we're out for that drive we could stop off somewhere, pick me up a little something to wear?" she asked. "I mean, after lunch. Gotta keep our strength up, right?"

She truly was shameless.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord was about to point out he had a wide variety casual clothes and swimsuits for guests. But suddenly a little voice deepens into a roar in his head. .o O (BUY THIS GIRL STUFF! make her make that sound again. like a lot!) First he tests the water. "Oh, I insist of buying you an outfit. I should have mentioned the pool. My bad entirely. His cowl retracts into a hood and he pulls down the goggles. Come in. Make yourself comfy for a minute. I want to change." He doesn't want the poor little thing all awestruck and simpering.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen parked her ass on one of Ted's lounge chairs around the pool. Yeah. She could get used to this. If she had to. And he wasn't too gross. So she could wait for him to change out of his _power armor_ and see what he came up with for her entertainment. The hook was halfway in, she got the impression it wouldn't be too hard to get it to go in the rest of the way.

Least he had a nice view. And the pool did look enticing. But this was at least equally business and pleasure. Had to attend to the first and then, if she was lucky, the second would attend to itself. And if it didn't, well, she could play him like a fiddle. "I'm gonna soak up a little sun while you ... change." she said, with just a _hint_ that he may come out in a new outfit and somewhat ... spent.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes a little while. This is due to trying several blazers in varying shades of blue, before choosing one that says, yes, I'm loaded, in an understated way. He then spent a few moments breathing in a paper bag. He finally reappears at the door and beckons Jen in. "Come on, I had lunch catered and there's a bottle of Dom chilling there." The large bot opens the bottle with a flourish.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen coo'ed at him as she swung her feet around to get up out of the lounge chair. No harm in baiting the hook a little more. She smiled at him as she walked up to where he stood at the door. "Nice blazer." she said, reaching out one red-painted nail to run a fingertip along the lapel. "And Dom too? You remembered!" she near-squealeed. "You do think of everything, Ted." she said playfully. "You bring my new phone as well?" she asked as she looked around his place a little.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord puts a hand on Jen's back and steps aside for her to fully enter. "Oh the phone. Yeah I can set that up, takes a minute. I got you a laptop too, to say sorry for picking you up that way."

Make her squee again. She's adorable. The bots look on impassively.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen obligingly squeed. "Wow, baby, that's fantastic! Thank you so much!" she said with a pretty-girl smile just for him. The bots were pretty much beneath her notice until they invariably decided to go mad and kill them all. Then she'd deal with it. Not before.

"I can't wait to sit down here and have a special lunch with just ... the two of us." she said breathily.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord hands Jen a plate. "I thought we could fuel up here and actually eat in the living room on the couch, if that's okay. Geeze you smell wonderful! What is that?" A bot jams a plate in Ted's ribs and he takes it waving the contraption off. "Yeah lunch for two sounds nice. Then the day is ours." He walks over to the sofa and pats a cushion beside him.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen took her plate, then on her way over to the couch she stealthily hit the plate with a small good-luck disc. Warding off the bland and the ick. She curled up on the couch next to him and experimentally took a bite of the lunch he'd had catered in.

Not bad. Not great, but not bad. At all. At least she's core a couple of grand in electronics, a decent meal, and the Blue Beetle's Blue Balls.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord eats quickly. He gives the impression his lunch is interrupted a lot. He finishes quickly, tops of Jen's glass. He has a bot run several boxes of electronic goodies. With a small smile he goes to work, displaying exceptional dexterity for what it's worth. "Could I have your phone for a minute? I need some data."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen handed over her phone with a bright-eyed smile. YES! Stuff! The bubbly was top-notch, she had to admit, and she felt she was gonna need a lot of it in case later went as well, or as badly, as she thought it might. Then she set her plate aside to let a hand trail along his side of his torso. "I can't tell you how much I really appreciate you, Ted." she purred.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord pauses, swallows. He kind of leans into the touch which reveals that he is exceptionally ripped for an industrialist. He sets the phone aside for a moment to look at the purring little minx. "I'm sure you'll find a way." He doesn't try to purr though he puts an arm around her shoulders.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen allowed it, amusing herself by tracing ... holy shit, a surprising amount of muscle underneath that blazer and shirt. "Wow. You must, like, work out. A lot." she said appreciatively. Maybe this wouldn't be as awful as it could have been. "It's impressive. Got a secret to share?" she asked.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord says, "Uhm... superhero. See?" He unbuttons his shirt showing the usually drawn abs. "I have an obstacle course on the 13th floor if you want to see it sometime. I eat like 3500 calories a day to keep going. What's your secret to looking so cute?" He tugs her a little closer. Then the phones beep and he lets her go to tend to them. The shirt is unbottoned and forgotten for the moment.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
His personality was still sandpaper on her nerves, but _fuck_, that body! This was looking more and more tolerable all the time. "You ... think I'm cute?" she said playfully. "And you know, a girl has to have her secrets." she said playfully.

Years of dance, gymnastics, self-defense for women, and a ravenous mutant metabolism powering the ability to alter a fundamental aspect of reality.

That's all.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord replies without looking up. "Don't be disingenious. Obviously you're cute. You have natural beauty and obviously cultivated this beauty via athletics and other studies. I say kudos to you. It obviously worked and worked well for you. Also, I find petite women strangely fascinating. Most superheroines are gawdawful tall. It's tiring after a while. So yeah, you're hella cute. You're also very fashionable."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen almost blushed. "You're sweet to notice. Not a lot of men would." she admitted. "I was always athletic as a kid, never saw a reason to give it up." she confessed. Plus, she'd lost her childhood to looking good, smiling prettily on command, giving insipid little speeches about how she wanted to change the world, wearing ridiculous outfits. At least some good should have come from it besides being robbed blind by her parents and likely a bucket of neuroses and bad habits to work through.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord's phone chimes. Jen's gear is taking up most of the table and it was laid on the carpet. Ted bends over to get it. He looks at the ID and says, "Sorry, I need a minute to take this. It's very important. -Randall! Randall, the fuck? I wanted this system in place yesterday... no no Randall I don't want to hear your excuses. This building is going to have a shield to prevent outsiders from locking onto Mutants inside. Yes Randall I'm pretty sure we have at least one! Joan went public! Randall, there was a goddamn war on the docks! Superman, Magneto, a war. Randall... shut up. Either it gets put online tomorrow by you, or I'll come down and do it myself and... if I have to come down and do it; ask yourself, what do I need you for?" Ted breaks from his usual blue branding to turn red.

"I'm sorry Jen. I... if you're against Mutants get out now because I'm very pro. I get worked up when some asshole tries to give me an excuse."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen was half-listening to him talk but at the mention of mutants she had his full attention. She tried to keep her body-language neutral but now she was hanging on his every word. So, this one was a believer, huh? Weird. Most tech-bros were helping make the mutant-hunting robots, not trying to come up with ways to defend innocents from them. Welp, no time like the present.

She sighed, held up the hand that she was using to play with his muscles, and made a little white disc dance among her fingers. "Nah, think I got the whole stinkin' mutie thing on lock." she said. She'd also coiled her legs so that if she needed to bail in a hurry, she could.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes her other, hand not sure what that disc will do. "You must be very brave to stay in this city after that battle happened. Let me say, I am ashamed of the engineers who build those monsters. The playing field is not level in this country, especially not for Mutants. But when you're here, you're safe. I don't know if this sensor block can be made portable but, I'm trying and, when you're here, you're safe." He opens his arms to offer a hug.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
This once, Jen accepted the offer of a hug. "Thanks." she said quietly. She also made the good-luck disc go away, lest she inadvertantly hit him with it and then he'd get lucky. And she wasn't sure she was ready for that. She'd mood-whiplashed and it would take serious effort for her to feel less sexy than she did right then. "I'm a Joisey girl through and through, but New York's my home. And I'm not gonna give it to some mutant-killing robot fetishist." she said as she pulled back from the hug. "I don't have a combat power." she said, stretching the truth just a little "So my grand plan when they come hunting for me and my kind is to run like Hell." she said.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord releases. Reluctantly. Too soon! The little voice says. "you're welcome. And you're welcome here, Ah, Joisey. I'm from Chi town, via Hub City. Ever been to Atlantic City? I fly over there sometimes. I'm not much of a gambler though." He enters a couple more numbers and hands her the older Stark phone and her new phone. "Now for your laptop... and some stylish smart glasses if you want? Not open market yet." He seems to have completely forgotten the shirt being unbuttoned as he reaches over the table for the laptop.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
She smiled at him. "Glasses sounds great." she said. "And hey, I'm from Atlantic City!" she said with a more honest and real smile. She then tucked the phones away into her purse. "Dad works as a dealer in one of the big casinos down there." she said. At least he did the last time she checked, which was admittedly maybe a decade ago. "I've never been to Hub or to Chicago." she said. She had been kicked out of Las Vegas, but this was not the time to tell that story. "So that suit of yours - what, you're kinda doing the Iron Man thing?" she asked curiously. "Is that where all that sexy muscle comes from?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord blushes a little. "The suit... is not nearly up to Iron Man standards. It... do you want to try one on? Seriously, I never configured one for a person of your charming verticality. It's wearable tech. The cowl can retract. It's this fiber called RessistWeave. It can protect me from low powered weapons and such, pistols, knives, bats. The discs I fly with are alien tech I back engineered. There's other stuff it does but the Iron Man models are much better. No super strength. I have to work out and bring my own muscles. Glad you like them. I'm not built like Superman or Batman. People don't usually notice."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
"Wait, seriously? Dude, that's _awesome_!" she squealed again. "Hells yeah, let's give your jawn a go!" she said, lapsing into South Jersey-speak. Then she wrinkled her nose. "Come on. You don't have to lie to me. The Batman's a myth. Something those assclowns in Gotham made up." she said dismissively.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord says, "Ehh Batman isn't a myth; he's a damn legend. I'll get a back up suit for you to try." He gets up and leaves her for a few minutes. One of the bots refills her glass and waves to her. Ted returns as the Blue Beetle, showing off. He hands her a folded and bagged suit. "Bathrooms are down that way to your left. It's going to be big... really big on you till I set it up. Be careful."

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen rarely needed to be reminded about her lack of inches, and now especially. "Okay." she said, collecting the comically-too-big-for-her suit and then disappearing into the aforementioned bathroom. No free show for anyone or anything that might be watching - she sprayed down the bathroom with bad-luck discs, so much so she could start to feel probability itself starting to fray. She was careful to not hit the suit with any of that bad luck and tried to put it on over her outfit. Which, given the size of the suit, worked surprisingly well for her. She stomped out of the bathroom, looking like a little girl wearing her big brother's Halloween costume. "OK, you want to do your thing now?" she asked.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord suppresses the 'heh' he was feeling. He picks up a tablet and activates the suit app, He watches as it contracts and ripples a little till it fits her perfectly. Some people think it tickles. A few times Ted thought it was a little rude. He fixed that. "Very stylish. You look like Black Widow... well Blue Widow. Here the goggles are like the Smart glasses. See if you like the display."

Wow. She could be a superheroine. Black Canary wasn't that tall.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen was far from an engineer or a techie, but luckily for her the suit did almost literally all the heavy lifting. "Hey, this thing's a little tight..." she said warningly. At this rate she was gonna have to try to pick the costume out of very personal places. Even through her regular outfit. But then she dropped the goggles down and suffered from Information Overload. She was seeing in all kinds of crazy colors, information shooting at her in 3D so violently she actually ^tried to duck her available power gauge.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord brings up a detailed display. "Oh, you have clothes on under it. Yeah that'll do it. Oh, here, let me tune it down for a casual wearer." The Heads Up display loses most of its gauges. The suit loosens up quite pleasantly. Somewhere, somewhen, Ted is sure, Booster Gold is going 'rowr' without knowing why.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen looked down and, despite herself, smiled. "Hey. Not bad." she said, taking an experimental deep breath because A) she needed oxygen and B) the suit wasn't fighting her nearly so much. She'd worn tighter before. "This is _so cool_." she said appreciatively. "Hey, this thing come with weapons at all?" she said, trying to poke through the remaining gauges and HUDs to find the "Blow shit up" button.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord smiles at her. "You're fucking adorable. And a little violent. Most people just said thanks and split when I did them up. Sorry, no weapons linked to that suit. You want to pose for a couple selfies, I can lend you my gun and belt... "

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
"Ooh. Marie will _shit_. Yes! Selfie time!" she said, dashing back into the bathroom to retrieve her phone(s). "Come on, take one with me!" she squealed, holding up her brand new Kordless phone.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes a picture of her via his tablet for archival purposes, walking around her. "Okay now selfies like for fun! Oh wait... you want the full look!" He adjusts his belt and buckles it on, reaching around her. The belt is far too large and rides low on her hips. Ted swallows and tries to hide his blush. "Uh, would you take one with me, maybe?"

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
"Dude. Totally! Get up in here! Beetle twins!" she chortled as she mashed the selfie button on her new phone over and over again. Some with just her and her sexily-slung-low belt, some with the two of them. Once she was done taking selfies, she lifted up the goggles again. "Hey, this was really cool." she said. "Thanks for doing this for me." she said, and then found the command to let her get out of the Beetle costume. "Hey, you've got shit to do and I should probably get going. Tell ya what. Call me sometime, we'll take that drive, go get me ... us ... some new swimwear, and we'll hang out in your pool. Sound good?" she asked.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes back the gun belt before answering, "That sounds great! I'm glad you like my... stuff. You're wearing about a million dollars of tech." He hits a button on the tablet and the suit is too large and floppy around her.

Jennifer Stavros has posed:
Jen smiled a very, very wicked smile at Ted. "C'mere, man." she said, then reached out a hand to take Ted's, to lead him inside. When she was done with him, she just gave him a quick kiss and skipped her way out of his digs.

He might not have known what hit him, but he could be fairly sure it felt really, really good.