2031/The Goal Sublime

The Goal Sublime
Date of Scene:	09 June 2020
Location:	Penthouse - Kord Co
Synopsis:	The Blue and the Gold and... ?
Cast of Characters:	Ted Kord, Booster Gold, Vic Sage

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Ted Kord has posed:
It is a quiet evening in the Blue Beetle's penthouse. Swath is out shopping. Ted is fiddling with a drone that might look strangely familiar to Booster, when he isn't taking a break and bouncing on the trampoline. Vic Sage and Booster Gold have been assigned private rooms in the penthouse and full access to ted's area. Best of all, Swath left food: sushi in a refrigerated tray, Japanese beer, some meat buns and churros. Because Ted-san like churros and was tired of red bean ice cream.

At the moment several drones are busily washing windows. One is bumping against the heavy glass of the patio door.

Booster Gold has posed:
Storming out of his room, Booster Gold flings a tablet at the nearest decoration in Ted's penthouse.

"Have you seen this? Have you SEEN this? How /dare/ they?!" he shouts, while Skeets floats along behind him.

<<I assure you, sir, that this falls under 'fair use' and there is no-->>

"It's all /wrong/, Skeets! Look at that lack of attention to the color scheme!" Booster throws his hands up in the air.

"Ted, we gotta go on the warpath, man. They're making me look like an idiot!"

The tablet shows the home page for MAD Magazine, on which 'Snoozester Mold' is parodied.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic isn't used to the 'luxuries' of Ted's lifestyle. Back when he was a hot-shot television news anchor, he might have had the swagger and attitude of someone who thought his excrement didn't stink, but the truth of the matter is Vic has always been on the rougher side of things. It's just inevitable when you grow up in Hub City. Even the luxurious people have it rough, just ask how well it worked out for the mayor.

Vic emerges from the privacy of his room and wanders into the common area dressed in nothing but a pair of loose fitting pajama pants, and a towel draped over his shoulders which he uses one end of to rub vigorously at his damp hair.

At Booster's emergence, Vic's eyes roll slightly towards the ceiling before the ex-reporter starts to slowly practice a kata, quietly muttering in a voice that is barely above a whisper but also loud enough to be heard, "I have heard it said that it is better to remain quiet and be perceived and idiot, than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt."

Ted Kord has posed:
An ever present drone snags the tablet before it hits anything and floats with it to Ted. "Bwahahahahaha. Wow. This is hilarious. Listen, Booster, we all went through this... the Blah Beetle? Floozy and Eeehh? All I can say is... a Mad satire is publicity errr... gold. Wait... Krud Co? Well that does sting a little, not gonna lie. But this is going to work well for you, check your website traffic. Being screwed over by Mad magazine is a high honor in this time... hey they drew a tutu on you and made Skeets into a piñata!"

The drone persistently bumps against the patio door. Bump. Bumpity. Bump.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Oh, I'll remove all doubt, all right!" Booster fumes through gritted teeth.

"I mean, Ted," he adds, spinning on one heel, "look at that--that tutu should be /blue/ to accentuate the gold chest and pants. But, no, they made it gold so it all runs together. Are you /kidding/ me?!"

<<Sir, I have heard that MAD has a declining subscription count these days...>>

Booster slaps his face. "But I just tweet-blasted my fan base this morning to let them know a feature on me was coming out today. I'm ruined, guys. Ruined!"

Vic Sage has posed:
"Yes, of this I have absolutely zero doubts, Booster," Vic retorts with a smirk as he closes his eyes and continues along with the kata he is performing. "Not that there was really any doubt in the first place, but good for you to double down and make sure everyone knows. I admire your conviction."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord hops off the trampoline, after a backflip over Vic and starts walking to the patio door. "flipping billionaire, well millionaire... and I have to do everything myself. thanks guys... what is with this stupid drone?" he stomps towards the patio door. "You want something done right, do it yourself and keep felicity out of things." Stomp stomp stomp. Bump. Bump. Bump.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Ted, you buffoon," Booster says, chuckling. "You don't even program your drones to consider window collision? And here I thought for a second that /I/ was going to look like the idiot of the evening..."

He glances over his shoulder at Vic, gesturing a thumb to Ted in a 'get a load of this guy' way.

Skeets hums. <<That drone does not appear to broadcast the same identification codes as the rest of the Kord Co. intellitech devices...>>

Vic Sage has posed:
In the middle of the kata, Vic suddenly stops as Skeets announces the discrepancy of the code of the seemingly malfunctioning drone. Vic opens his eyes and they dart around the room at the various drones before he glances towards where the dull thud of the drone hitting the glass comes from, quipping out a quick, "Ted, get away from the glass. I don't think that drone is one of yours, not unless you designed that one with four props instead of three..."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord freezes. The glass is thick, space age bulletproof material, in fact. It could stop an explosion... unless you were dumb enough to be standing next to it, in which case you would be shredded by the shrapnel of the glass shattering. Ted does note the propellors a moment before he tries to dive out of the way, and the drone explodes.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Wait, what--" Booster begins, flinging himself forward as the drone detonates.

The force field generator in his suit kicks in, and Booster tries to extend it out as far from his own person as he can.

He reaches out to grab for Skeets like he's catching a touchdown pass, and a moment after the explosion the expanded force field cuts out entirely, the generator at Booster's belt hisses and smokes as he lands on the floor.

Vic Sage has posed:
The explosion is, sadly, not unexpected. Vic was already in motion before the drone was starting to detonate, making his way to take cover behind one of the support pillars that pepper the room, peering out from behind it after the explosion. "Ted? Booster? You two ok?"

Not really awaiting an answer and assuming the best, Vic starts to make his way towards where the drone exploded, only running into the old Die Hard problem of bare feet vs broken glass, muttering a curse as he steps on a sliver.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord sits up from the floor. Does a quick check for injuries but the forcefield worked pretty darned good. "Nothing but high rises all around... with all the electronic interference from Kord Co gear... he must be close, like in the building! The floor below is still under construction. Let's get that psycho!" he's running to his desk and pulling on his gloves and grabbing his BB gun. "I'mma kick his judgemental ass! This is the second time he blew me up this week!" He runs to the stairs.

Booster Gold has posed:
Booster Gold sits up as well, looking around. He lets go of Skeets, who flits about to assess the damage.

"Wuzza ... Ted? Vic? I'm not cleaning this up," he says groggily, glancing back and forth between the two others until Ted runs for the stairs.

"Wait, man! I've got a flight ring, you know..." Booster pushes himself up to stand. Sighing, he looks at Vic. "Should we go down the easy way, or do you need more exercise?"

Vic Sage has posed:
Looking after Ted, than to Booster, Vic sighs. "Why do I have the feeling I am going to regret this...but give me a ride, Booster." the ex-reporter mutters as he pulls a sliver of glass from his bare foot. "Otherwise I am going to bleed over Ted's floor, and I don't think he would be too keen on that." Aside from the lack of foot protection, he doesn't seem overly concerned about the lack of other heroic attire. "If this is Mikado, he is breaking his own patterns and that can only be trouble.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord bursts from the stairwell, snapping off air blasts at the four corners. What he needed to do was shoot directly behind him as the Mikado backstabs him in the shoulder. To his credit, Ted retains his BB gun and fires a light beam into some aluminum siding. the flash dazzles Ted, even with his eyes closed. It blinds the killer behind him and Ted lunges forward, avoiding the second stab. "Uh... three tries and you still haven't got me. You're more of a Mika-D'Oh!" He does a wild roundhouse kick trying to make his assassin back off and stall, stall. He was just blown up, is now losing blood and not feeling very chipper. Another knife stroke knocks his gun from his hand. But he grazes the man's knee with a kick and manages to get out of arm's reach.

The Mikado breathes heavily behind his mask. "You are the greatest criminal I have faced, Theodor Kord. Nothing will wash the blood from your hands. You will pay for Estuprador's crimes!"

Ted yells back, "I never even heard of Estuprador! YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME FOR SOMETHING I KNOW NOTHING OF! How can I be guilty?" Guys?

Booster Gold has posed:
Grasping ahold of Vic's forearm, Booster leaps out the window and then drops in a controlled fashion.

"So what does this Mikado look like?" Booster shouts, looking around through his visor's HUD. Skeets descends above the two. "And is he going to be out here in the night air or hiding somewhere in the building?"

After pausing, Booster adds, "I sure hope Ted's not having the fight of his life in a reinforced stairwell..."

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic Sage says, "African American, early to mid forties, probably wearing an old operatic style mask that would depict him as as Asian. Be careful, he tends to use paralytics." Vic says as Booster lifts him from the ground and out the window. As they come back around, Vic lets go of Booster's wrists and lets the momentum carry him forward, tucking himself into a human ball and tearing through one of the plastic sheets that is serving as a makeshift window at the time. He rolls forward, stopping in a crouch as he scans the floor for signs of Ted and/or the Mikado."

Ted Kord has posed:
there is a flash of light, glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife, as Meatloaf would have it. The Mikado, mask in place, swings again at ted who barely manages to get away from the blade. "Estuprador Mining... how could you not know?" the Mikado says. The look of ignorance on Ted's face is perfect if he is acting.

Ted says, "<Kaff>... see this is my, 'I don't know what the fuck you are talking about' face. If I did something wrong... tell me and I'll make amends. Surely that's better than my death? I've... saved people... I'm not a bad person..." Ted is slowing.

Booster Gold has posed:
Spinning about in the air as Vic launches himself back into the building, Booster takes a moment to right himself. "Whoa-oa-oaa!" he cries, shaking his head.

"Come on, Skeets, there's not a moment to lose--and start figuring out how we can let everyone know how I saved the day!" Booster exclaims, flying into one of the sheets just like Vic did.

Booster, however, manages to get caught under the sheet, tearing it loose from its anchors, and he lands looking like nothing so much as an industrial-site ghost.

Vic Sage has posed:
Vic Sage says, "Hey. Spaulding. Remember me?" Vic asks as he lays eyes on the Mikado, starting to casually walk towards the former doctor. "Still on the hunt for the bad men, hrm? I thought you already decided that your punishment fit your crime, but it turns out you are nothing but a hypocrite?" The man sometimes known as the Question snorts, "A hypocrite that has broken his own Hippocratic oath. Some sort of irony there, isn't it?" Vic asks as he continues to make his strides forwards towards the masked 'vigilante'. "I forget, why did you spare me? Refresh my memory? Because although I did bad things, I was on a path of redemption? If /I/ am worth of salvation in your eyes, Ted here outweighs me by far. There is no comparison, it would be like taking a flashlight against a star. So tell me, where is your moral highroad?""

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord staggers a little and says, "Shit. there's two of him now... somebody do something!" He makes a sudden lunge for his gun (s) as Spaulding turns to face Vic and makes a slash at the former journalist. Ted gives a little yelp as his right arm gives out and he falls on his side and then gets his hands on the gun. Eye barely in focus now he tries to aim it by the reflection of the knives. Well split the difference as soon as Vic gets clear. "Aw shucks, I'm not all that," He mutters.

Booster Gold has posed:
"I'm doing /something/!" Booster cries, punching out into the heavy plastic around himself and blasting a large hole through the material with his gauntlet ... and through a nearby wall, as well.

"Did someone call for help from BOOSTER GOLD?" he calls out, turning to point a finger-gun at Skeets.

<<Excellently posed, sir,>> the robot replies.

Then, the pair fly as fast as they can toward the sounds of combat.

Vic Sage has posed:
Spaulding really is no match for someone like Vic. The only reason he got the drop on him the first time was because Vic didn't play it smart and neglected to look for the tranquillizer gun when he had broken into Spaulding's that first time. Now, in a serious combat situation the martial artist trained by the Dragon and tested by the likes of Lady Shiva on numerous occasions? The telegraphed strike of the knife is all Vic needs to easily sidestep it, and Vic launches a closed fist punch towards the wrist holding the knife. "Not this time," Vic says as he follows up the strike to the wrist with an attempted knee to the gut, "Never again." Vic brings the same leg for the knee strike down, heel aiming for the ankle of the former doctor.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord decides not to fire the light beam. He's confused by two Vics beating the snot out of two Spauldings. He nods. "We all make mistakes. Ask Booster about our hotel on Kooey Kooey Island or the time we let Joker grab a tank. Nobody is perfect. It might be the explosion and the blood loss but I feel great. Please call my security and paramedic teams." With that his head slumps down.

Booster Gold has posed:
Even as Vic takes down his opponent, Booster storms in. "52! Hut!" he shouts, shoulder forward and arm hugging his chest to help try and slam Spaulding down onto the ground.

Skeets floats toward Kord. <<Medical scan in progress. Alerting emergency response teams now. Shall I play you a soothing melody to help calm you in the meantime?>>

"Skeets!" Booster calls over his shoulder. "Official endorsements only!"

<<Of course, sir,>> Skeets replies, and its speakers begin playing "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas.

Vic Sage has posed:
As Booster knocks the wind out of The Mikado, Vic moves to stand over the now prone body of The Mikado, AKA Dr. Spaulding. The man that sometimes goes by the moniker of The Question reaches down and snatches the Mikado mask from the head of the semi-conscious opponent, takes it between his two hands and snaps the thing in half with a satisfying snap. "It's always sad when you see a man that is supposed to heal people cause harm. It makes people like me loose faith in humanity, and I never had much of that to begin with. Enjoy your cell, Doctor." With that, Vic raises a foot and launches a vicious kick to the head of the prone physician, sending the man into the depths of unconsciousness. "Booster? He is all yours. Call the cops, and get your photo-op."