View source for 10102/Congratulations, Mr. Kord, Ms. Wright -it's a Girl!

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2022/02/13
|Location=Penthouse - Kord Co
|Synopsis=Mutant woman palaver and pizza is had.
|Cast of Characters=1109,3832,1416
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord texted Joan with the enigmatic &lt;&lt;Bailey is a GIRL! Come down whenever you can. She will be indefinitely. Also I have another contractor and I need to talk Damage Control policy regarding bug sweeps. Also other contractor is named Stella.&gt;&gt; <br><br>He then showed Stella the Amazing Joan's youtube, reversing damage to building. Then he showed Stella some CCTV video of Joan reassembling a Lego statue of his Bug. The stage was set. <br><br>Foolish, foolish Bug Man. <br><br>As their date went well with him in his civvies, he was in khakis and a polo shirt. He waited for the time being.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stella does like a good Youtube rabbit hole. The fact that mutants post openly is still worrying to her, but she does watch things reassemble on screen with interest. Stella has changed into a pair of gray jeans and a black v-neck sweater that's not deep enough to show off anything too scandalous. Her long brown hair is up in a loose bun, and there is a lot of it piled up there! "Hey, so I was thinkin' about ordering out, but I don't want to eat a whole pizza by myself and... wait, is anyone home? Why did I come up here..." Stella says as she has made herself far too much at home in the penthouse in the past couple of days.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>With peace somewhat coming over Manhattan from the angelic withdraw from the island. One would think that Joan has a lot more free time on hand. Not so. With the threat of being killed due to random battle for existince no longer looming. a lot of business owners are coming back home and are just now filing their claims. Joan won't admit how many times she just woke up at the office but- When the text message came in, her arrival was much quicker than if she was coming from her home in Long Beach.<br><br>MUCH quicker.<br><br>Ding!<br><br>The door slides open, revealing a woman dressed in office attire. Joan style. Still no dress or skirt. But the dress pants ONLY have two pockets. A satchel slung across her chest serves for the rest of Joan's carrying needs. And if that was not enough. In another hand, a white to-go bag is with her. A tired smile forms upon her features as she steps out. "So Ted. I got your message when grabbing dinner so I grabbed a couple more for after the consult. Hope you like dump-." <br><br>Her steps slow as she looks over Stella. "-lings." The Damage Control employee grows quiet for a moment. "Hi."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord is clueless as usual. "Hey Joan, this is Stella. Joan is my insurance liaison and good friend. Not that I get a discount." She makes him say that. "Stella does security services annnnd I hiiiiiired herrrrrr to sweep for bugs. Buuuuut we can discuss that later." Maybe not as clueless. <br><br>"Bailey! COme on out Jo..." Ted gets stampeded by all ten bots flying past him to Joan. At the point of a flying wedge is Bailey, the fastest. The little bot flies up to Joan. The bot pointedly displays manipulators that... have nail polish." <br><br>Ted thinking furiously is glad of the distraction. He has a few more moments of life. <br><br>Bailey wavewavewaves.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Oh, dumplings do sound nice," Stella says. If she were to continue on the issue, it's temporarily set aside as robots go rushing by. "Hey there, Joan. Nice to meet you," Stella says. "I saw your Youtube channel! It was a lot of fun to go through," she offers. <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She turns to Ted, "Well I hope she's not discountin' her work for you. Sounds like it's a lot to do! I would guess. I don't know that much about insurance," she admits with a shrug of her shoulders. Ted might be nervous, but Stella doesn't appear to be... yet. "You guys already had plans? I don't wanna intrude, but I'm happy to buy dinner and chit chat?" she offers. Ah, there's a little bit of anxiousness, a slight shuffle of her feet.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>Hearing Ted's voice, Joan's head turns, following the sound to its source. The expression upon her lips is set to a neutral position, offering little clue to what may be going on in her head as Ted runs through his introduction and explanation. A slow nod is given. Pure poker face. <br><br>Then Ted cheats by calling out the baby beetles. Seeing the bots speeding on over, the architect's expression shifts. A smile forming she looks to them. "Hey!" She greets, pitch becoming notably different when addressing them. "Did you guys make any more statues?" Her attention shifts over to the bot displaying her manipulators. "Oh that looks so nice Bailey! That's a cute shade." <br><br>When Stella speaks up, Joan looks over to the consultant. Expression still pleasant as she hears about the channel. "Oh that's nice. I don't have a channel but I'm aware of some footage of the Centinel build ending up online. Is that what you're talking about?"<br><br>She starts to step over to a table to set the togo bag down on it, turning to look back to Stella. "So- Stella. Ted says that you're sweeping for bugs?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord says, "Pizza and dumplings sounds great. Come on Bobo, I'll get a take out menu. They're in the kitchen." Bobo doesn't move until Ted grabs his arm and seems a little reluctant. "Here we go. Number One, move it." <br><br>Ted gets into the kitchen. Bobo waits. <br><br>"Get a take 0out men u from the drawer. Bobo opens a side compartment and pulls out several and then speeds off. <br><br>Ted was texting the situation to Booster on his phone. He looks up to see Bobo deserting him. <br><br>Then he looks down to see a succinct reply &lt;&lt;BWAHAHA&gt;&gt; some unhelpful emojis follow. Including the eggplant. He looks up to see Bobo gone and swears. "Traitors. I am surrounded by fucking traitors." He heads to the fridge for drinks and downs a beer.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Uh... yeah! Yeah, must've been that," Stella says. "There was a building being fixed and then a Lego... structure? Model? Of the Bug. Sorry, I might've had a little wine, maybe I'm not getting it right." Aha, there's the nervousness. A crack in the emotional armor that splits it. Couldn't hold it off forever. Or even a minute, sheesh. <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "And yes ma'am. Though I security here seems pretty on point, but I'm good at finding things like that. I think I'll also be doing some testing in the lab at some point. Measuring electrical levels and such," she says. "Anythinginthatwheelhousereally," she mumbles. "I've never been able to use my other skills at work," she says, realizing this might sound bad, and course correcting, "AH! Uh, I mean, not mutant ones, not openly. I guess I have secretly before but hah! So anyway seems like lots of good places to order from around here," she says, looking to see that she's been partially abandoned. "Maybe I should see about that menu."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>As Stella goes into her explanation to what services she'll provide along with her having additional abilities, Joan's smile fades and turns into a momentary frown. Something about the topic seemingly made her concerned.<br><br> "Wine?" She repeats, "Um, are you planning on doing the bug sweep tonight or a later point?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord comes out. He bears a tray of drinks and nearly bangs it into Bobo who seems to be moving very slowly towards the living room. "Wine, we have wi... Bobo! Move. Give Stella the menu. Bobo gets a gentle but firm knee propelling hm towards Stella. "I don't know what's with him. I'm sending Bingo for the pizza and running a full diagnostic on Bobo. Like he's scared or something." <br><br>Blink blink. <br><br>"Did I miss something?" There is a little clink as Bailey attempts a facepalm.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Oh no, I was off the clock. I don't drink on the job," Stella says with a firm nod. "I, uh... live downstairs in one of the apartments? Now? Temporarily, I think, until I find a place of my own. It's kind of late to start now. Sweeping for bugs. But maybe I should be spending more time looking at new apartments," she says, leaning towards the elevator. She's only stopped from departing when Ted returns. She plucks the menu from Bobo, then glances up at Ted. "Yeah, I'd say you did there, buddy." Now it's her turn to look displeased!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>Joan's frown disappears as she hear's Stella's answer, "Oh good. So nothing for tonight regarding the sweep thing then."<br><br>Joan turns her head as Ted offers wine, "No wine for me. I'm technically working if there is a consult involved. I have to keep it professional." There's a slight emphasis on the last word before she looks over towards Stella. Demeanor shifting to the more positive side. "It is hard to find a decent place in the city. I ended up in Long Beach instead for a place to stay in. It's an older home. There are still portions I'm restoring."<br><br>She looks over towards Bobo, "Bobo, it's ok. There's nothing for you to be scared of."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord sets the tray down. "I was showing Stella the building and the more exotic experiments to orient her today. It was her day off but she let me do this. I wanted you to meet her because... you're my friend and a Mutant and I thought you would have some common ground since you are both contractors and she's new to the city. We just hit it off. Anyway, order what you want. I don't have a big appetite. Thank you for dinner, Stella. If it's still on." He sits down and takes another slug of beer.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stella looks towards the little mini bugs, realizing she may have misspoken. "Oh, honey, don't mean you guys. I wouldn't sweep for you. If that' what you're worried about. They are really smart, arent' they?" she says, looking over the bright little AIs. But she does perk at talk of houses, everything else forgotten. <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An old place? What kind? Like a Victorian?" Stella asks. "I used to help my dad with houses- he's an electrician- and we did a bunch of mansions. Really old wiring," she says. "And sometimes you'd find neat things in the walls! Old newspaper bits, horse hair in the plaster, sometimes bottles. We found a bunch of rolled up letters one time that we found out used to be used for lighting candles." She seems to straighten up as she recalls those. <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yeah! Yeah, I can do dinner, but if you guys have work, I can just grab a bite and leave you to it. Maybe Bailey'll want to help me organize my closet."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>"They are very smart." Joan agrees, looking to the bots, "They're quite amazing. As for the home. I got a Tudor. Brick and Wood mainly. I've got the kitchen, main, and master mostly retored. But tracking down the appopriate reclaimed woods can be such a pain. Even with my work connections. Now the electrical's been updated of course. Building codes and all. But it is set to work with the chandelier that got restored. Now I haven't found newspaper but there's this wooden crest that had to be repaired, and those tend to be one of a kind to the home they're in."<br><br>She looks back over to Ted and then to Stella, "It wouldn't make sense for you to leave. The work being discussed would involve you after all." She looks to Ted, "We are discussing the contract work in relation to the policy, tonight, right?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord finishes the beer. "Whatever you say. Not a lot to say really. Will Damage Control be involved in extraction of any bugs found or is that outside my coverage and do you want a rep present if I am covered for the sweep?" He looks over at Stella, then Joan and opens another beer. <br><br>"Bailey get me the paperwork tablet, please." Bailey zips over to the desk and returns with a tablet. Ted flicks through it, scanning for the coverage in question. Poker face.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Oh yeah, those electrical fires can do a number on a place," Stella nods. "Hopefully that crest turns out, though! It's great to see old places restored instead of broken up into apartments," she says. "Much more charming than some of the redos you see online. So gray," she says, shaking her head. <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Oh. Yeah, I guess I'll stick around. So! I can extract if you like, but usually I disable and tag any I can't get to without major damage, and the client makes that call. I don't repair walls," she says, "So that will be on you. I usually don't have anyone watching me, though some people insist and I have to pretend every bit is eyeballing or scanning and not just 'knowing,' she says.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh yes. I did get an electrician to make sure that was done right. I generally do not mess with electrical unless it's extremely necessary to do so. And I agree. I prefer restoring a building to its former glory than just severely altering it. It can be challenging with the constantly changing building codes." <br><br>Joan glances over to Ted. "Damage Control's involvement would depend if you actually found bugs that required removing and where they were located. If you can do your detecting without damaging the walls, that would be the best bet. But licensed contractors are pretty good at working with the established structure to keep damage to a minimum. Ideally it should only be a tiny hole or two if you have to remove anything. Most of the expense would be in labor and consultation. Not materials."<br><br>The architect's eyes shift over to Stella, "I apologize that I'm not familiar with your general rates. But that would also be a factor in just how much would be covered. Or if it would even be worth Ted's time to file a claim."<br><br>She looks back to Ted, "Although, with Stella's statement, you do know if you have to remove any bugs that we do have a very comprehensive list of qualified specialists who can get the rest taken care of. But that will be your call."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord ponders. "Ok so we don't know what is what until the scan is done and probably no need to involve Dam Con, thank you Joan. I'll just tell Bobo to get a special, half meat lovers, have veggie delight. That way you can have what you want. C'mon Bobo, you take care of the delivery. I'll phone it in. Excuse me ladies. Make yourselves at home. I need some air for a minute." He gets up and walks outside, onto the pool deck and waves the large bot off, watching him fly off. He stands with his hands in his pockets.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>"I don't blame you. There's a lot that can go wrong when people try to do it themselves. Most things I think there's a video online for, but I wouldn't trust that with any property I owned, let alone someone else's." She lets her gaze move to other areas of the room, nodding and listening, "Most things can be taken out easily with a small hole. The only ones I've had to really get have been complex systems with many devices, then you have a whole other problem, and that's that someone had the time and access to do that," she says. "Let me see..." she pulls her phone from her pocket, "I can send the rates over and you can take a look..." she says, watching as Ted departs. She lowers her phone. <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Look, with his tech knowledge, I don't think there's much to find. I think he's just being nice and throwing me something to do. I'm very sorry if this is wasting your time." Her voice gets a little higher, a little more anxious. "It all just happened so fast, I ran into him at a coffee shop, then he helped me out after a client lost it at me and now I... live in an... apartment he owns. Oh no." Stella gets very pale. It's all coming together, at least one perspective. "I might have made a mistake."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh if it's all over, then he'd be better off getting a place elsewhere until he can find who did it." Joan agrees, looking over to the triple order of dumplings sitting on the table. She moves over, pulling out one of the boxes and grabbing a set of chopsticks. Hmm. They're going to get cold while Ted's out there. Eyeing one of the larger bots still remaining, she smiles to them. Holding out the box and chopstick set. "Could you bring this out to Ted?" <br><br>She glances over to Stella, "I'm not sure its as much a mistake as you think. I mean, if it was someone else offering that much help it'd be something of concern. But Ted's...a genuinely nice guy. He likes to help people."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Bot #2, recently named Bingo, takes the dumplings outside. Bingo returns almost immediately and sets the untouched box back. It waits. Outside Ted waits for Bobo. He texts something, looks at the reply. <br><br> Ted walks to the edge of the roof and drops the phone off the edge. <br><br>Bailey, flies back up with the phone and holds it out to him. Ted takes it and pats Bailey on the casing. Can a bot purr?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stella picks up a set of chopsticks and helps herself to a dumpling, mulling this new information over. Once finished devouring it, she says, "I hope not. I should know better. I've been busting cheaters and liars and whatnot for years. And sometimes they seem so nice in person, but the video doesn't lie. Well, when paired with all the other stuff they tend to leave behind," she says. "I also don't want to be someone's project. I don't know Ted that well... but he seems to keep good company? Or at least company that likes him," Stella admits. "Does he usually go outside if things get tense?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1416|Joan Wright (1416)}} has posed:'''<br>There is a quirk to the side of Joan's lip at Stella's indirect compliment. One that Joan will accept at the moment. The expression dies away as the bot returns with the untouched food. "Well, the pool's out there. He has done some testing out there before as well..." Ignoring the dumplings for a moment, she takes a few steps to get a better glimpse of Ted through the window. Brows lift as she sees Ted moving towards the edge of the roof. Did he have the discs with him?<br><br> Stepping forward she opens the door, mouth opening as she sees the tail end of the phone drop with Bailey getting petted. "Ted? Are you alright?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1109|Ted Kord (1109)}} has posed:'''<br>Ted Kord says in a subdued manner. "Same as always Joans. Just thinking." Then he throws the phone again and watches Bailey fly after it and retrieve it n mid air. He bands to give her a head nuzzle. "You are a smart little thing. I dunno how I got something like you built. Getting smarter all the time. I achieved something with you guys... yes your 'nails' are very pretty. You want another throw? Sure."He tosses the phone again and Bailey speeds off after it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3832|Stella Roundtree (3832)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Oh boy. Stella is close to asking what might be wrong, but thankfully is interrupted as Bobo returns, triumphant! And thus, rather than asking, 'What's wrong, buddy?' she can ask, "Hey! Anyone still hungry? Looks good.. I'm gonna grab a few pieces. Do we need plates?"<br> <br>
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