5269/Feeling Blue From Seeing Red

Feeling Blue From Seeing Red
Date of Scene:	19 February 2021
Location:	Penthouse - Kord Co
Synopsis:	Tea, sympathy and pie!
Cast of Characters:	Ted Kord, Peter Parker, Joan Wright

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Ted Kord has posed:
The main defense grid is up around Ted's pad, an electrostatic field that can disable a low level metahuman. It usually is left off barring an obvious threat to save energy. Now it is on and visible as a faint shimmering plasma. Of course the new blast door deployed over the windows is an obvious sign callers are not welcome and so is the Welcome mat on the ledge turned upside down.

Which leads one to wonder why a smart fellow like Ted would not disable the penthouse elevator? Oversight, overwrought, overwhelmed? All of the above. At the moment he sits on his couch watching a good bad movie -The Black Scorpion,

Peter Parker has posed:
Ted was a hard man to reach sometimes, but never more so than now.

Aunt May had told him, but he had heard himself. She filled in some details. She had also told him that he had put his boss, his very generous boss, at arm's length for long enough.

She even had the pastry bag ready on the table.

As a result, Spider-Man walked in through the front doors, a wide pastry bag in one hand. He waved to the guards. "Don't mind me, guy and gal, just consider me the weirdest CandyGram you'll ever see."

He looks up as the bell dings, hoping this works. When he tried approaching from the outside, the Spider-Sense was playing "Battle Hymn of the Republic," so he opted for a different mode of ingress.

He stepped inside the empty elevator, then pressed the button for Ted's office. It didn't cancel after a moment, so this might work...

Joan Wright has posed:
"HOLD THE ELEVATOR!" A woman's voice speaks up. There's a slight skid and wobble as the Damage Control employee slides in to the elevator. SAFE! She got there just in the knick of time!

Being that Joan does not fly nor does she go to Ted's place via helicopter, the glow from above is lost upon the Damage Control employee. Having gotten caught up on her news and advisory notifications, it seemed apparent that a stop by to see Ted was in order. She hasn't changed out of her work clothes. But being she wasn't doing anything construction related today, it is simply sensible dresspants, a sensible dress shirt, and a shoulder bag she keeps for paperwork that is currently draped diagonally across her chest. All the better to manage a small brown box in her hand.

She looks to the costume, the bag, and then to the box in her own hand. "Aw nuts."

The door slides shut.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man looks to Joan, then down to her small box. "Uhhhhh...yeah...I'm delivering this for a friend. He's...yeah. Anyway, it's just apple pie."

The sweet aroma coming from the bag, warm and inviting, suggests that this is not some sort of store-bought, mass-produced pie.

"Uhm...hi. I'm Spider-Man. Really, I am."

Joan Wright has posed:
"Cookies." Joan supplies, looking to the sticker holding the box close proclaiming which bakery it came from. Not mass produced, but definitely not homemade either. "Also for a friend." She adds in. "Joan Wright. Damage Control."

She glances over to the panel confirming Ted's level to already be lit up. "You seeing Ted?"

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "Been some time. I should be a better friend, and he's been through some VERY interesting times." He paused. "Old Chinese saying, 'May you live in interesting times.' I think it's meant as a curse."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord is there when the ding sounds and the door opens. He wears a blue robe that does little to hide his blue bOXERS. A pair of Skeets slippers are on his feet. He waves a bottle around. "Who let you up here? Can't a guy take a night off? This is like my Fortress of Solitude! Is that pie? And cookies?" He steps to the side to allow them to enter, rubbing the scar on the back of his head. "Well why didn't you say so... Isaac put on a pot and a kettle."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey steps inside. "Yeah...Aunt and nephew wanted me to come by, apologize on their behalf for being so...distanced."

God, it sounds rotten any way you say it.

"So...was hoping you'd be hungry, but didn't know I was double-booked..." He looked to Joan. "And apparently with a woman who I inadvertantly create a LOT of work for..."

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan looks over to Spider-Man. "It has been interesting, that is certain." She allows, glancing towards the door as it slides open. She gives the slighest of smiles as Ted goes from rejecting them to accepting them once the sight of the baked goods comes in to play. "Evening Ted." She greets. "It's alright to take a night off. But we both thought you could do it with some company."

The woman looks over to Spider-Man. "Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. Considering our client list, you're probably one of the less destructive ones." She gives a knowing glance over to Ted. "Either way, if it wasn't for people like you I'd likely be working elsewhere and for much less."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord walks over to the couch, the giant scorpions of the aforementioned movie make their appearance wrecking a train. on the huge monitor behind him. "I appreciate the thought guys and the pastry but I'm fine. Oh Joan I got some photos from the night at that masquerade. Come have a seat Spidey. Pull up a chair or a wall... or ceiling... I was just watching a cheesy movie. He abruptly realizes he has that bottle in his hand and sets it on his desk, standing in front of it.

A familiar drone flies over to Joan and attempts to take the pastry box. Two come over to Spider-Man to attempt to transfer the box of pie, carefully.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey hands over the bag to the drones. He knows they know better than to drop Aunt May's pie.

"Well, if you want to watch bad movies, we can MST3K this."

Joan Wright has posed:
As the drone flies over to Joan, she steps back, lifting up the box to where that is more accessible than her belt. Granted she is not street level, but its hard to forget being perpwalked on the tops of random vehicles to go bail out a Kord.

Hands free of the box she looks over to Ted. "I forgot they were taking pictures." She admits. "It was a lot more fun than I was expecting."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods. He sits down and says, "I was going to try to interest you in a dance class a couple nights a week for two months. I'll send you the link if you want. Dance is very broadening. I heard rumors that Spidey took up ballet." He finger guns the wall crawler. The drones are fairly fast and have access to state of the art kitchenware. They can be heard clattering in the kitchen.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looked over to Ted. "No, but I bet I could if I wanted. But I think a dancer who could do 40-feet 'plies' across the dance floor would attract attention. Not looking to outdo Baryshnikov."

Joan Wright has posed:
"Also considering standard lengths of a stage area, you'd be hitting a wall after a few of them." Joan offers up, looking to Ted curiously. "What type of dance?"

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord brightens a little. "They have a bunch of styles: ballroom, lindy, salsa. Pick one." He shrugs. "You would know the particulars of a ballet stage. Just uhhhh don't look too closely at the Bug's elevator I put a few improvements in there and they're unconventional."

With that the drones return bearing goodies, a coffee pot and a steaming kettle. In a slight glitch, there are some flowers in the tea kettle and there is a vase full of tea. "Whoops. I guess I dropped a zero somewhere."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man sits down next to Ted, looking relaxed, but his voice is concerned.

"Ted...I heard you had some trouble. Bad trouble. I wanted to come by see you...ask if you wanted to talk. Even if you want to just vent, or ask advice. All on your timetable, of course, but...I might know a little about it. I've...run into some situations like that myself."

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan arches a brow at the hint that there may have been some alterations that aren't possibly up to code. But as Spider-Man dives into the topic that led to them coming by she ends up letting that slide. And, it also leads to her not considering the dance options either.

She moves over to sit down to the other side of Ted. Her posture is a bit rigid. Back not resting into the back of the seat as she folds her hands on her lap. Her head turns, watching Spiderman's li- err... mask lines move as he talks.

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord raises his eyebrow. "Mmm no. You never nearly killed someone, did you? Let alone a little kid, not to mention lose your shit when you did it. I... thought I failed to save some children and this Mutation came out and... I saw Doomsday. One of the original no lethal force supers snapped and proved nonlethal force was a good idea. And I will tell you what I brought away from that encounter, a bloody and traumatized little girl, and... a whole bunch of ill gotten phone numbers courtesy of the Bug's scanners. I am tracking down every one of those pieces of crap and I am going to ruin them then turn them over to the cops when they can't afford a decent lawyer! I'm going to eat their businesses, make them untouchable... ruin them because rich people can get away with anything. I will make them poor. Worse than killing them."

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey looked at Ted, then down at his hands.

"...it hollows you out, Ted. I know. You second-guess yourself...a hundred, a thousand times. You wonder if you should have chosen to act rather than talk, move left rather than right, and then you work your way back to 'I should have gotten there sooner...' Or 'I should have taken them by surprise instead of jumping in without thinking.' Or maybe '...I should never have even showed up. I should have gone downtown, instead of to Harlem."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord nods, brushing off a drone trying to give him pie. "I was ineffectual at the warehouse. I will not be in business. If it takes my last penny they are going to pay. Literally. I don't think about it much... but Kord Co is not a rinky dink outfit... I can put a reward out among heroes for arresting these creeps. It'll help supers and be for a worthy goal and... I'm going to see to it those kids get all the help they need."

He grabs a cookie and chews on it.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spider-Man nods. "I think there's more merit in support for the children. My parents..." He paused for a few long seconds. "...the ones who raised me...would have said there's more to building up the young. It's not fashionable or a ratings-grabber. It doesn't generate web traffic like putting bounties on criminals. But I think...it's better."

Another long pause.

"...I'm sorry you had to go through that, Ted. It marks you...forever. But the fact you want to do it by the book...is admirable."

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan is quiet through the exchange between Ted and Spider-Man. Her general expertise is not in fighting crime or stopping it. It's more for the recovery aspect. And even then, it's limited to the non-living. But then again, does she really need to say something at the moment during the talk of heroics? Just being present is a thing, isn't it?

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord is silent. He puts a hand on Joan's shoulder as if to say, 'You belong here.' And then his head goes down, into his free hand and his shoulders shake. The drones hover uncertainly. Call security? Medical? The oldest, B.O.B.0 finally tells its brothers to stand down. Human people problems.

Peter Parker has posed:
Spidey doesn't say much. The rest would just be...empty platitudes.

"My night's wide open, Ted. I can hang out here as long as you want me to. We can do whatever. Talk, don't talk. Play videogames, chess, whatever. Up to you."

Joan Wright has posed:
Feeling the hand on her shoulder, Joan turns to look to Ted as she ends up falling back in the seat a little with the added weight. But the covered expression gets a look of concern.

A thought does come to mind. "If you need a change of scenery, I got a room at my house that is nothing but LEGOs and a pizza place nearby that delivers at ridiculous hours."

Ted Kord has posed:
Ted Kord takes a deep breath. He turns to Spider-Man and claps him on the shoulder. "You go out and make New York City safe and make sure people get home okay. It's what you do."

He releases Joan's shoulder and says, "Maybe I will. Not tonight. I can call for a car and give you a ride home."

"But first, let's not waste this pie."