6150/License to Drive

License to Drive
Date of Scene:	06 May 2021
Location:	Palm Tree Boulevard and North Street
Synopsis:	Hank Pym gives Roland a ride to work. Roland lives to regret it.
Cast of Characters:	Hank Pym, Roland Livingston

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Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym thought the driving test administrator was a nice fellow. Partway through the test Hank told the instructor he planned to come back for a road test everyday till he passed it. Nice guy. He passed Hank. He seemed a little ll though. The way he went pale all of a sudden and told the other instructor to cover for him. Hank got his license very quickly. Genial soul that he was when he heard Roland Livingston needed a ride into Happy Harbor he immediately volunteered, pulled the Tesla out of his apartment building's garage and took to the streets! It turned out you COULD learn to drive by playing Grand Theft Auto in a VR rig.

Hank pulls up to Roland Livingston as several cab drivers give the finger and worse after being cut off. Hank is already greeting the adventurous young Englishman and missed the gesticulations.

"Good morning, hop in!" <<Honk! Honk! WOooooooOoooooT>>

Roland Livingston has posed:
"Good morning!" Roland replies to his coworker with a bright smile, though his eyes narrow slightly when he observes the reaction of the other drivers on the road. With a bit of a shrug the young man opens the passenger door and slides into the seat, smoothly buckling himself in. "I'm delighted you were able to pick me up. My driver borrowed my Bentley due to one of his children getting sick at school. I told him to take the SUV, of course, as he takes public transportation to work and needed to pick up his child as quickly as possible."

He looks around the interior of the vehicle before glancing out the windows, "These Teslas are really well made, aren't they?"

Hank Pym has posed:
Roland's inspection is interrupted by a very large and agitated ant whipping his antennae at him and making an exasperated k-k-k-k-k-k nose by clicking his mandibles.

//Save yourself human! SAVE YOURSELF! PROTECT THE QUEEN!!// After no comprehension on the part of the Other-Human he settles down.

"Don't mind him... I usually let him sit up front with me. Can it Bo!" He waits for roland to buckle up. Safety first... and then pulls out promptly cutting off an 18 wheeler and a stretch limo.

//Oh melon farmer!!//

Roland Livingston has posed:
"Whoa!" Roland exclaims when he sees Bo. "Okay, I shall endeavor to leave him be." He leans back in his seat and puts his arm up on the rest just in time to see a massive truck nearly smash into them. His fingers dig into the arm rests and he looks around to try to figure out what the hell just happened. Luckily, he's been raised to be as polite as possible when in the right company. This is likely the right company. "So... Uh... This thing has quite a bit of get up and go, hasn't it?"

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym nods happily. "It did, even before I began tweaking it. I'll be glad to look at upgrades for your Bentley sometime. Down B... oh good boy." Baudelaire also saw the truck and dove under the back seat choosing the better part of valor.

"I apologize for Baudelaire, Roland. He's very excited to get a car ride. Usually I'm riding him to work. I figured I'd give him a rest today. Hmmm GPS indicates it will take 38 minutes to get to the school. I can do better." He hits the gas as the traffic light turns red and swerves around two cars trying to 'jump' the light. Well he's doing Roland a good turn, doing his best to show Americans are considerate.

"Oh yeah? And you're another one! Learn to drive properly! IDIOT!"

Roland Livingston has posed:
"I'll have you take a look under the hood, then," Roland tells Hank as he returns to trying to lean back in his seat. "It's good to have reliable transportation, isn't it?" The swerving has the young adventurer gripping the arm rests and leaning forward once again, head turning in each direction so that he can see what's coming next. "Traffic today reminds me of Istanbul. It's quite..." He takes a deep breath. "Erratic."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym concentrates on weaving through the traffic. "I built AI that could drive better than your average New Yorker! Ah here's the West Side Highway. Now I can open her up!" It is and he does. Does the honking stop or has he exceeded Mach one? The jury is out.

//Great Pym... I want a vacation!//

//No ant has taken a day off in 400 million years.//

//I want a day off!! And peanut butter.//

Roland Livingston has posed:
"So... Uh... Where did you learn to drive, if not New York, Hank?" Roland asks, sounding quite curious about things as he watches car stream past. Now that they're on the highway they may be a little more likely to die instantly in a collision, but that's neither here nor there. "So. Is there anything new going on with you? I've been keeping busy between school related work and trying to build up my collections again."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym says brightly, "I learned right here. I mostly used VR systems I developed... hang on." He whips around a slower moving car, then another. "I'm going to see about marketing it as a training tool for student drivers, if you're interested in investing. Collections... what do you collect?"

Roland Livingston has posed:
"VR systems, you say?" Roland asks rhetorically as he tries to turn his gaze away from what's happening outside the car to the driver, trying to be polite about things. "I'd like to take a look at it first, but I'm sure it would be a sound investment. I can contact my accountant about it at a later date." Then he says, "I collect knowledge and items of an arcane nature. Sort of my family business. I'm trying to share the knowledge I've gained, though, rather than horde it."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks away from the road for a fleeting moment and... no harm done. "That's very interesting. I've met a number of people who practice the Craft. All were very nice to me recently. Well, they and my daughter helped save my life. Good... friends. I'd love to see some of your findings. And I will deliver a prototype of the trainer to you of course for you to go over. Not too make too fine a point but I do a lot of work for the government. I build good machines. Oh for..." Hank reluctantly slows down as the traffic crawls to a stop near the Bayonne Bridge entrance. Is that a sigh from a giant ant?

Roland Livingston has posed:
"I'm not a practitioner of the mystic arts, personally, just a learned student," Roland explains. "It's good that you've met friendly people, I can assure you that there are many dangerous sorcerers and necromancers out there. We used to collect quite a bit of knowledge from magical hoarders like them." Then he nods, "I'll write up a basic history of magic on Earth, if you'd like. I can refer you to some further reading, as well. Don't have much in the way of a library at this time." Then traffic slows down and the young Englishman lets out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, "I look forward to testing out your prototype. I'll see how it holds up compared to the real thing."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym points to the glove box. "This traffic is indefensible. City planning is shot to hell in New York. Would you please hand me those aviator glasses out of the glove box Roland?" The scientist begins hitting buttons and several holo displays appear that he switches his operations onto.

There's a bump, a grind and a jostle as the Tesla rises vertically. Hank peruses some readouts, gives the console a thwap and then chin nods.

The Tesla takes off into the sky and over the water. there's a small boom as it darts under the Manhattan-Bayonne Bridge.

Roland Livingston has posed:
"Certainly Hank," Roland tells the other fellow as he opens the glove compartment and searches for the sunglasses. Once he's got his hands on them he offers them over only to find that the car is now a flying car. "I did not expect this!" Roland says as he stares around, breathing quickening for just a moment. "Well, that's one way to get around traffic." There's a little nervous chuckle, "This is very impressive."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym waves off the compliment. "Thank you, but flying cars got their start with Howard Stark. They didn't get very far. there have been improvement. The problem was making this fly and keeping it green friendly."

Hank gently banks the car around a container ship giving a wave to some crew. He bobbles the glasses a bit before getting them on properly.

"You know... I might be able to save Morrigan the price of an airline ticket to Boston..."

Roland Livingston has posed:
"It must have been a difficult feat of engineering," Roland says to Hank as he stares off towards their destination. Luckily, he's flown over it before in his private helicopter and can identify the landmarks. It's close. "Looks like we're nearly there. I must thank you again for the ride. You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar." He cracks a smile as best he can.

As the vehicle finds itself a place to park Livingston briefly closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. For some reason he seems like he's eager to disembark. "If you ever need anything, just let me know."