19905/The Zen of Flying the Bug

The Zen of Flying the Bug
Date of Scene:	21 January 2025
Location:	Sub Basement Three
Synopsis:	Zinda flies the Bug and finds it full of surprises!
Cast of Characters:	Ted Kord, Zinda Blake

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Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord uses Sub Basement Three for a number of private activities. At the moment he's got his very large Kord Padd out and is reading Military Comics. The issue in question has a cover featuring Zinda, fifty feet tall. Balckhawk expostulates, "That mysterious gas turned Lady Blackhawk into a giant! She's attacking!"

Well it is a Zinda issue. "Serves you right for keeping a good woman down, you jerks!" As he reads Bot 3, Bodhi, is performing a minor adjustment to the Bug. "Use a Dunning there, Bodhi... no no, that's a Kruger. Hey don't get angry, I have to teach you right!" The Kruger sails over Ted's head.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake has been spending more time at Kord Co lately, for a variety of reasons. She takes the same route down as the last time, with one of Ted's bots clinging to her back like a rocket pack. The blonde brushes her hair back, stepping up just in time to catch Ted reading the comic.

"Hey there, sugar." Then the Kord Padd catches her attention and she snorts softly. "What in the Sam Hill are you readin'? Some o' that pulp stuff they wrote about us?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord gives a jump and scrambles to balance the pad and hide the screen. "Yeah. Heh heh heh. Well I mean you were on the cover and ..." He blushes furiously. Yeah, that artist really gave Zinda a lot of... detailing.

"This was after you disappeared." Does that make it better?

"So what brings you here, suddenly..." He glares at Bobo who beats a retreat after patting Zinda on the arm.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake chuckles softly at that, raising up on tiptoe a little to try and get a better peek. "So long as it ain't one of those *bootlegged* pulp rags that folks try to pass off as 'art'." The blonde wrinkles her nose again. "I mean, I ain't got a mole where they SAY I got a mole..." And with that, she glances knowingly at the hem of her skirt. In the back.

"Um, yeah. I mean, no. Nothin' especially urgent." She shrugs again. "Did I ever tell you how much Blackhawk Enterprises really HATES it when I show up for board meetings unexpectedly?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord says, "If I showed up for a board meeting several shareholders would need to be revived. My involvement with this company... I'm actually very involved day to day here. I'm in and out of all the labs. I let the fogies deal with mergers and such. I usually just tell them when I need a few million for a project. They know that means profit sooner or later and I get it without forcing a vote. I told them to look into some joint business deals with your company, by the way, They haven't gotten back to me yet." He gives up hiding the comic after a moment, being a grown man and all. "Yeah there were whole forums given to your nose art and wear that mole went and if it was public domain... Uhm, you want to take the Bug up for a flight?" Decoy! Decoy!

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake tilts her head at the mention of a joint venture, the blonde looking curious. Even though she has very little knowledge of such things. "So we'd be makin' airplanes or somethin'?" she muses, looking thoughtful and rolling the idea around for a few moments. The subject of her nose art makes her chuckle, and she's about to follow up on THAT when he mentions taking a flight. In the Bug, no less.

"Wait what? You mean THE Bug?" Blue eyes brighten and she grins broadly. "But this don't mean I'm forgettin' about the nose art. You gotta show me those forums sometime."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord gets up and gives Zinda a hug. "I like when my tech gets that reaction. Heck, you're a pilot. I'll let you fly it. Bodhi has to get used to other pilots. It would be my honor Lady Blackhawk to give you the full tour of the Bug and let you fly it. It's actually pretty simple. Walking is hard." Bodhi nods at that.

"I have to ask though, did the artists ask you to pose for any of these covers?" There's a clunk from Bodhi facepalming.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake is turning towards the Bug when Ted asks about posing for covers. Her head turns and both brows lift. A man with any experience would know that to be a dangerous look, even though her full lips twitch into a smile. "I posed for posters, mostly. The nose art came from them, only with much, much skimpier outfits." Zinda smirks, then. "But I ain't never posed for nothin' that might show a mole that ain't there."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes a half step back. He has any experience. Also his experience is chiefly women giving him that look. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me to ask. I thought I strangled that inner fanboy. On the brightside... I went a long time without being a dork, didn't I? You're a gooooood influence on me. Bodhi, start the prep!" Bodhi shuts the panel he was working on and flies up through the ventral hatch. Ted deploys his aero disks and says, "You want to take the Ted express or shall I send the ladder down for you?" She might still be mad and pinch him or something.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake smirks at his reply, hands on her hips as she shakes her head. "Honey, you ain't any more of a dork than half the squadron I flew with durin' the War." she replies softly. "I may be old enough to remember the War, but I ain't too old to climb a ladder without help." she quips back. Besides, climbing into an aircraft is part of being a pilot. "I ain't gonna need a G-suit or nothin', am I?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord floating an foot higher says, "Well that's up to you. I have a spare uniform that you're welcome to. It works as a g-suit. And I'm just being a gentleman and looking to carry a gorgeous heroine of mine in my arms. I know ya can climb a ladder. Bodhi, send down the ladder!" A line is lowered with a trapeze like contraption hangs from it. Obviously your foot or leg goes on either side and you get winched up.

Zinda Blake has posed:
This isn't Zinda's first rodeo, so when the 'ladder' lowers down she steps up with one foot and holds onto the rope with both hands. "Winch me up, Skipper!" she calls. And with the short skirt it's probably a good thing that she's the last one up aboard. "I shouldn't need one, really. With the Bug's advanced 'Ay-Eye', it should be better than fly-by-wire."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord gets into the pilot seat. Then switches to the copilot seat. Bodhi gets shooed to the bot booster seat, but seems content. Let Ted screw stuff up for himself. Ted places the disks in a seat pocket. "You make the legs come off, you bought yourself a Bug, Lady Blackhawk. May I ask you a question? With all respect and love for you, why Lady Blackhawk and not just Zinda? You had everyone else go with their names, Andre, Hendrik, Chuck, Olaf... " He seems in earnest. "I never got to choose my name. I didn't even like beetles when I started this gig. Disclaimer, I like the name Lady Blackhawk. I think you're a lady all the way, whatever the setting."

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake doesn't hesitate once Ted vacates the pilot's seat, and she slides right in. She starts looking over the controls, recognizing the pilot's yoke at least. She chuckles at the question, feet looking for any pedals. "Why Lady Blackhawk? Would it be sexist to say it's 'cause I was the only girl in the squadron? Actually, I think some Army reporter came up with the name when I was posin' for all them posters." She paues, looking around the cockpit again. "You gotta give me a rundown on the controls here, Chief."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord gives her the run down. "Throttles here, vector controls here, just like Genie. Ignition is here. The Bug handles like a helicopter, no elevators or ailerons. It's all vectoring thrust. The legs move to enhance the maneuvering but that's computer controlled. If you want I'll take her up the shaft. And yeah it sounds plenty sexist. But I'm sure 80 years from now people will remark on what an ass I was. I mean they do it now." He hits the control to open the shaft entrance. then he belts himself in.

Zinda Blake has posed:
And Zinda repeats like she was running a preflight checklist. "Throttle, Check. Vector controls, Check. Ignition...." And he is still belting himself in when she punches the ignition. "Relax, honey, I got it from here." The Bug powers up as the shaft begins to open.

Ted Kord has posed:
It's a seventeen floor shaft. Taking a helicopter up would result in dangerous backdrafts and cross winds, and require a very skilled hand. Zinda might be a little disappointed in how smoothly the Bug ascends on its thrusters. Ted grins as he gets dropped a few inches to his seat. The gauges are pretty easy to read. The Bug clears the shaft. "Give it a second to stabilize. I usually do a slow rotation." Some bots come out of the penthouse to wave.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake takes a few moments to get used to the responsiveness of the Bug, then she accelerates straight up the shaft. "Whooo-weee! She's a beaut!" she calls out, reaching the top. Hovering for a moment, her hand moves over the thrust vector controls to slowly rotate the craft. "Takes a light touch, don't it?" she asks, casting Ted a sideways glance.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods and smiles at what he takes as a compliment. "Yeah. Not bad for the Justice League IT department, right? My Bug is the second or third most advanced aircraft build by Earth. The Fantasticar... I got a look at that a while ago. Amazing systems. The Batwing might be more advanced... but lots of luck looking at that. I never got the chance to discuss engineering with Batman. I always seemed to catch him in a bad mood." The smile fades, He absently rubs at the back of his skull. Zinda might have seen or heard ofthe scar he bore from Doomsday there.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake laughs softly at that, tossing her head a little. "Ain't Batman *always* in a bad mood? I think it's the costume, or maybe some syndication rights." Her head tilts a little when he rubs the back of his skull, the concern passing momentarily. "Hold on, Sugah. Let's see what she's got." she offers in a softer voice. It's all the warning he gets before the Bug just rockets skyward.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord never had to flatline the Bug, except for that trip to orbit recently. This is... validating. He gets pressed back in his seat. He's a good pilot, and maybe a great pilot behind the Bug's controls. Zinda has far more experience than Ted. That's obvious, and piloting the Bug, Ted is sure she could hand anyone piloting the Batwing or Fantasticar their ass in a conflict.

The legs would take her a little more time to master. "I bet the Bug would've been handy when that War Wheel rolled around. That thing was real, right?"

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake lets out another whoop when she feels the power of the Bug. "You bet my sweet Aunt's patootie it was real!" she replies. Bringing the nose up, she levels out and then rolls over into a steep dive. "This thing handles like the normal laws of physics just don't apply." she offers almost casually. The Bug rolls five or six times before she levels out again, easing the throttle back like she was merging into slow traffic.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord lets out a breath. He notes the Bug has its legs tucked in, nearly recessed to minimize drag. "Oh, Kryptonians and their colleagues break the laws of physics. And wizard like Dr. Strange. I'm merely an engineer. I look for loopholes to work within. But I did it myself. So there. No yellow sun or magic needed. I met a lady who uses my thruster tech in her armor. I'm working with her. I'm kind of glad someone else found the technique. It means regualr folks can reproduce it. It doesn't need magic or glowing rocks. So can I show you what else my Bug can do?"

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake looks over at him and flashes one of her more coy smiles at the question. "Thanks for askin'." she replies, releasing the flight yoke. "And she handles like a dream. I'd say almost like a space-ship, because things like gravity don't seem to apply anymore."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord smiles as he grabs his own yoke. "Bodhi, you're on ballast tank duty." He cuts the speed down. It's eyeballs out as the speed drops to hundreds then tens of miles. Then the Bug is spiraling down till it hits the water of the Atlantic, and submerges. New tell tales light up. There's a slight creaking as pressures are matched. The thrusters switch to a dull thrumming as the Bug continues forward, at home under the waves.

Zinda Blake has posed:
Zinda Blake's eyes go wide at first when he spirals down towards the Atlantic, and before she can catch herself she tenses to brace for impact. Then she laughs when the Bug just switches modes and begins to glide smoothly underwater. "Well I'll be..."