Ted Kord

Airen let out a huff, wanting to bang his head against the wall but knowing it was pointless because his powers would figure out some way to not let that happen. Ted was right. There was no excuse in the book that would work on him. Not only because he was too logical, but because Airen is man of excuses and alternatives - all of which Ted has learned how to swerve years ago.

He thought he had pretty good idea about Ted and his life, but the other always managed to surprise him. What heroes could he possibly know? And which ones were rude enough to rat his identity out? Subjects like science and technology may always confuse him, but he’s been known to put all the puzzle pieces together once in a while, and this puzzle was as clear as day. “You knew Bruce,” he realizes. “Of course you would. Why wouldn’t two rich guys know each other?” Then he looked at the other, wondering if he was close enough to the late hero to be affected by his passing. “Did you…did you go to the funeral?”

-

“I did. Kord Inc and Wayne Enterprises worked together more than once. And,” he took a breath, figuring that if he was calling Airen out for lying, maybe he should be a little more honest himself. After all, heroes weren’t illegal anymore. “Ten-plus years ago, I was a member of the Justice League myself. Blue Beetle.” he paused a moment, not really expecting Airen to recall him, after all he’d hardly been one of the A-list members.

“I don’t really get in the field much these days but my tech skills are still very much in demand. I was co-heading the tech base during the mission with NOVA. So imagine my surprise when Red Hood of all people comes back with an unconscious you slung over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.” he paused again, “You got hurt.” And he’d been worried, then he had the time to think about it and he’d gotten mad too. “It I asked who you were and he has no reason to lie to me.” Teddy shrugged, “So there we are.” he sighed and looked away, “I did. It was a very small thing. There’ll be a public ceremony in a few days.”    

Oliver traced a finger down the side of the cut glass tumbler, condensed water gathering under the tip before running down to the polished surface of the bar.

Ice cubes shifted in the amber liquor as he watched, tapping against the glass almost seductively.  He could smell the whiskey keenly, almost taste its sharp, burning sweetness.

“I’ve been staring at this thing for so long that I’m not sure whether I’m testing or torturing myself,” Oliver said without looking up, fully aware of the presence behind him. “Something I can help you with, Ted?” 

-

Teddy knew Oliver was back in his city, technically it’d been Teddy’s city for a long time too, till he moved down to El Paso for the new Kord.Inc building and found Jaime and the Scarab.

Tracking the other down had taking a little hacking and some creative use of his little beetle robots but he soon had his location pinned and made his way to the bar with a little more worry on his mind than he’d admit: after all, Ollie and alcohol had a difficult history.

Dinah shrugged before she leaned in slightly. “Thanks to me knocking out a few teeth, some of these guys are getting dental treatment for the first time in years. I’m doing good. One jaw crack at a time.” She mused. “That’s what I’m here for. To be taken from. Seems to be a running theme in my life.” She tutted as her thumbs played with each other before she sighed. “You going to make me twist your arm about it? I know 6 different ways to do it. 10 if I am trying.”

-

“I hate the dentist. Almost as much as the doctor. Villains try and do all sorts’o stuff to try and torture us but I swear to get just send me for a dental checkup and I’ll be singing like, well like a canary.” he smirked, before looking away and down into his glass, “Well I uhh...” Every inch of him looked uncomfortable, “Y’know Booster, well uhr, he’s back and he mighta sorta um... toldmethathelovesme.” he mumbled the rest quickly and then downed half his beer.  

“Is it?” He asked. “Nuts? I would think that dedicating one’s life to the betterment of society and the protection of those who cannot protect themselves would be admirable. Not that it’s necessarily his motivation. Being admired wasn’t why I started the Watchmen, either. It was because I had the ability to recognize their necessity. I had the ability to understand that there was a niche that needed filling. The Minutemen had filled it before us, and so many others have been around just as long. We did it because it’s a job which needs doing.” Adrian lifted a shoulder. “I hardly see it as insanity to care about one’s fellow man enough to risk one’s life facing down the very ugliest of our nature so that we may continue to thrive.” His crystal gaze remained on Ted Kord’s face, his brow quirked. He could, of course, think what he wished about Adrian, Bruce Wayne, and heroes in general, but it was a bit tone deaf to call it insane, wasn’t it?

“Ah yes. I had heard you had a bad heart. I’m sorry.” He seemed content to move on, moving back to his desk to lean against it. “You aren’t wrong about humans, by the way. It’s an intense oversight on our part. Arrogance and fear, I would wager.” It was the very thing that Adrian was going to seek to combat. It just took time. “I’m hoping we can eventually grow from that.”

Adrian gave that friendly smile again. “Of course. I’m excited to take it on. This city experience frequent disaster. I think it will be good to have contingencies in place.” Holding out his hand to shake Ted’s, he hummed. “It’ll be good, I think. For both of us.”

-

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” Teddy said, waving his hands a little, “More that it’s just nuts that we live in a world where people like you and Bruce Wayne standing up for society can make as big an impact as a lot of police forces.” The world they lived in was crazy, dressed up heroes, dressed up villains will all the kinda plots they came up with. “If we lived in a world that was a little less crazy maybe people like Batman and the Watchmen.” But they did, and they had to keep going or else chaos would win. Teddy couldn’t speak for their motivations but he’d only taken up the Blue Beetle mantle because Dan had asked him to before he died. He never could’ve imagined the kind of life he’d live at the time, getting involved with the Justice League International, fighting monsters from space. And now this city. “Sorry if it sounded like a criticism, I just meant we live in a chaotic world, impossible to predict what comes next.”

He shrugged, “No need to be sorry, I just wish I’d clocked it a little earlier. Took three heart attacks before I even went to the doctor. Course I didn’t think they were heart attacks at the time.” Just shooting pains that he needed to deal with and not fuss over. “Maybe we can... though if evolution’s anything to go by,” he snorted, “Might take a few hundred million years.”

Teddy rose to his feet when the other extended a hand, “Wonderful, we can get our lawyers to work up the contracts and get started. With any luck the city’ll have a sustainable power source to fall back on when the next crisis happens.” he chuckled, taking the other’s hand and shaking.    

“Want to be number six?” She asked with her own laugh as she wrapped her hands around the ice cold can. Her knuckles were raw from connecting bare hits against the cheekbones of men twice her size. “And what? Gamble on a Sunday with Carmine Falcone?” She asked him with a slightly raised eyebrow. “As much as you have me convinced, I don’t think this is really your speed.” She told him before looking away. “Well, I’m sure it isn’t to see how I’m doing. What’s up?”

-

Teddy gasped and put a hand to his chest, “You wouldn’t do that, I have a medical malady.” he told her. Sure he hated it but hiding behind jokes like that made everything seem a little more okay. “You never know. I could be a gambling superstar.” He took a swig of his beer, “Hey! I could be her to see you, in fact I am. Cause I missed you and you’re my friend... And I might wanna beg your advice about something.” he mumbled the last and took another swig of his drink; for this conversation dutch courage was definitely needed.  

There were people that Reed slipped into natural competition with - Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Bruce Banner…they’d all worked together, worked apart, worked at odds. The whole gauntlet. Really, though, some part of him would always just appreciate speaking with people who kept up with him, or at least had the capacity to. It wasn’t a requirement, but it was always a relief. It didn’t particularly matter to him if someone had moved mountains as long as they had a brain. Ted had a brain. “I consider us colleagues.” So, Reed waved off the surprise. 

“What are you working on?” He gestured toward the goggles. Reed had been guilty more than once of wandering out of his lab still in the coat and equipment and standing absent-mindedly in the kitchen with a banana until someone, usually Sue, pointed out that he looked like a fool. 

-

Teddy’s eyes went a little wide, “Wow, that is high praise. I mean, thanks y’know I really appreciate it,” he rambled a little, clearing his throat and maybe hiding behind the menu for a second till the light flush at his cheeks faded, “Salads are always so depressing.” Not that he’d allow himself anything nicer. “Huh?” he reached a hand up and touched his goggles, “Oh, whoops.” He laughed, the boisterous sound infectious, causing a few people to turn their heads and smile; a lot of people told him he had a nice laugh. “I completely forgot I was still wearing’em.”

The news hit Babs hard, but at that point she felt shut in an echo chamber of grief. Even though Bruce hadn’t ever adopted her, she’d worked with the family so long (and was almost part of it, had she actually married Dick) and in such a close capacity that it felt like family. It always would. Her father, too, had a unique relationship with Bruce Wayne/Batman. She could tell he was devastated by the news. 

Sighing, she managed a tired smile as she accepted the coffee. “Thanks, Teddy,” she replied quietly, tracing the edge of the plastic lid with her fingernail. “I have a lot keeping me busy.” Babs smirked wryly and pulled out a French Cruller. “Who else is going to keep the boys in line?” With three of them rotating the cowl, she had her work cut out for her. The communication had to be constant, effortless, and consistent, or it would all fall apart. 

-

His smile was nowhere near its usual brightness, but he tried to at least muster something up, “No worries Babs.” he followed her inside and closed the door. This wasn’t the kind of conversation you had in a hallway. “I can imagine.” Though he didn’t know who was planning what or how considering he wasn’t in the family like she was, he was more than willing to help in any way if he could.

“Do you need a hand? With anything? Anything at all... Except the aforementioned keeping of the boys in line.” he managed a small smirk, “Cause lets face it; if anyone other than you or Alfred tried they probably wouldn’t get very far... how is the old fella coping?” He’d never seen Alfred as anything other than the perfect host, he didn’t like to think about him any other way.

So Ted knew he was Fox Tail and it appeared he wasn’t happy or amused by it. It made him think if he actually did steal from him and somehow for got about it? He would take extra candy from the gym they trained at but who didn’t? He still wants to somehow lessen the harshness of the situation, so he tries again. “I never used what you taught me to steal…just to get away.” He walks over and falls and sits on his couch. “Trying to blame this on be being an orphan left with nothing is probably not going to score me any points, huh?”

Besides, he was an orphan in an orphanage owned by Bruce Wayne - he definitely wasn’t hurting for the nicer things. But he liked it and he was good at it. And he got better at it by learning from anyone he could. But damn if hearing Ted was disappointed wasn’t one of the worst feelings. “How did you even find out?” He asked.

-

“Get away from the process of stealing. Don’t try and argue with an engineer, we’re too logical.” he deadpanned. No kind of semantic was going to get him out of this. It didn’t matter if he thought he was Robin-friggin Hood, he’d still stolen for his own gain and, inadvertently or not, Ted had had a hand in that. “Not even a little bit Champ.” he crossed his arms and stood over the couch, “I happen to know that, despite its many flaws, orphanages in Gotham are better than most cities. That’s assuming you weren’t lying to be about where you were from as well?”

And there came a question Teddy really should’ve thought about in advance of coming here. Beforehand he probably would’ve trusted Airen with his own secret identity but, now? Honestly he wasn’t sure if it was safe to do so. Even if he’d been running with the Avenging League to save the city. “I know a lot of people in the hero game.” he eventually said.  

Dinah glanced over before she did a double take, smiling a little when she realised who the other person was. “Oh he does. Him and his five other friends. He got lucky.” She mused. That wasn’t the case though. Dinah was known as being one of the best when it came to a fight. It was common knowledge that even though she seemed like a small American barbie, that facing Dinah in close combat was a big no-no. It was a sure way to ensure you got beaten to a pulp. “You don’t strike me as the type to hand out in these sort of places.”    

-

“Only five? You’re loosing your touch.” Ted teased with a quiet chuckle, gesturing for a beer when the bartender came his way, “What?” he scoffed, doing his best to look offended, “I’ll have you know I hang here at least one a week and twice on Thursdays.” The lie was obvious but it was part of the fun, “I did a little hacking for some details and I wanted to see you, y’know, catch up, chat about things.” Like his slight crisis that he really needed some damn good advice on. And Dinah was an old friend so he trusted her to keep it quiet.    

“Who could have thought?” Adrian could have, but he didn’t say that aloud. He had had suspicions and Bruce had made it onto a list of possibilities even if Adrian had never been all that concerned with confirming it. “People were surprised when I revealed my own identity as well. But I suppose we’re the people with the most capital to create such a persona.” He shook his head. Teasing, he quirked a brow. “What’s your secret identity, Mr. Kord?”  

Sipping his coffee, Adrian reached caught sight of a purple flash. Bubastis had emerged from under his desk. He delayed answering Ted for a moment to drop his hand down to lift her into his lap. One day, she would be too large for such a thing, but right now the genetically modified lynx was barely more than a kitten. She gave a small mewl before settling in his lap to watch the man across from him. “I believe therein lies the plot premise for most science fiction films featuring the technology. From those stories, it seems like that’s a bit of a problematic line of thinking, is it not? That is, if what they become is unwilling to collaborate with its fellow man.” It was also the argument against mutants. “A certain degree of education and equality is required to ensure harmony.”

He nodded, considering. “If you send me a proposal, Veidt Science can perhaps assist.” He had more money than he knew what to do with sometimes, and he didn’t really care about it at all. If it got him closer to what he wanted and also endeared him to a fellow CEO, further humanizing him, then so much the better.

-

“Nuts, really nuts.” Teddy chuckled. He supposed it was only superseded by the fact that he’d been an active vigilante (and kinda was again how he supposed) since he was way less wealthy and way less talented than Bruce. “Yea, hope you don’t mind my saying so but that’s nuts too.” Did all billionaires just become superheroes or something? “Me?” Teddy laughed, “Well I don’t mind telling you that in some circles my ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat has been called super.” He was practiced at keeping his identity in the dark... That and nobody would ever think he could pull stuff like that off. “Though I’m pretty sure they don’t have may heroes with dodgy tickers.” he added, gently tapping his chest. Though, even that  hadn’t stopped him lately.

“Hmm, I guess. Though if you ask me I reckon it’d be far more likely that ‘man’ would refuse to work with machine.” he shrugged, “Humans are kinda the worst when it comes to sharing power.” Mutants, Metas, Aliens, they were always a threat first and a friend later. It was sad as hell but true. “Maybe someday we’ll all be smart enough to know better.” It was a foolish hope perhaps, but one he quietly nursed.

Teddy grinned, thrilled the other seemed interested in the pitch, “Sure thing! I can have one ready by the end of the week.” It would require an all nighter or two but that wouldn’t be a problem. “Thanks for being so open with this, with a boost I really think this tech can reduce a lot of the city’s reliance on fossil fuels.”  

The blond had no issues with letting Ted know where he’s living. Which happens to be in District X at the school. He wasn’t a stranger to unusual circumstances but evacuating the city had been a first. It wasn’t something that happened often in a small rural town. Even when the Cabot family set their barn on fire  … they remained and worked on putting it out instead of running. Jebediah wasn’t exactly ready for battle of any kind. All it did was motivate him to train harder.

Not today though … he decided to work on some of his personal projects. Jeb has been glued to his desk for hours building the miniature robotic assistant he was keen on creating. It would be far more than that …  like a friend! The blueprints are pinned on the cork board on his wall. This keeps his mind occupied, making progress as you can see an obvious pair of arms and legs on the robot.

The sudden knock on his door pulls him out of his haze and maybe a break would be a good thing. He stands up and goes to open the door. Rory isn’t here right now so it’s just Jeb and his project. “Mr. Kord! You’re here … in District X?” Theres surprise in his voice but a smile on his face as he moves aside for him to come inside. “I’m holding up, I don’t think what happened recently has really set in yet. What about you? I hope you’re okay too.” He motions for his mentor to sit on his bed, which was made neatly this morning. Which is quite a contrast to his messy desk area.

-

“Just Ted, please dear God just Ted.” Teddy made a face, “Mr. Kord brings up pictures of my dad and that’s a scab I’m saving for when I finally bite the bullet and go to therapy.” Which, if he had his way, wouldn’t be anytime soon. “And indeed I am, I got connections everywhere.” he winked. Though, realistically, it was more that he was a member of the Avenging League and used that connection to request entry, fortunately, with NOVA now very much gone they’d been more willing than usual to let him through.

“Yea, pretty much the same.” Teddy nodded. The mission itself was difficult to call a success or a failure; they’d saved the city, NOVA were no longer a threat but, the way they’d gone out? And the loss of Batman? Teddy couldn’t say he’d faced up to that properly yet; probably wouldn’t till the funeral, if they thought to invite him. “Just taking it one day at a time, right?”

He followed Jeb into the room and took a seat on the bed, “Nice place, reminds me a little of my college dorm, only tidier.” he chuckled. That place had been a pigsty, between his projects being scattered everywhere, various exercise equipment, plus the lingering stench of workout clothes and him occasionally missing a shower or two... yea. Jeb didn’t seem to be as bad as him in those departments though which was a good sign. “So, what’re you getting up to? I think I spy some blueprints up on that board.” he grinned, already zeroing in on the design.        

Bruce was frustrated with himself for being too slow in putting together the puzzle that all the readouts and data had given them. He and Betty had figured out the bomb wasn’t in or under the city too late to warn anyone. He’d tried, in those last moments before the explosion, but of course the team was incommunicado. Then it was all over. If he’d been there, if he’d either been there or been faster, it might have been different…Either way, his failure was just that - his own. It agitated him, and he hated missing things that in retrospect seemed like they should’ve been so obvious. That was on him, though. 

He’d asked Ted to meet him and promised he wouldn’t take too much of his time. His own lab was part of SHIELD property and he couldn’t allow unauthorized people inside, but anywhere else was fair game. Bruce looked roughly as tired as he felt, but still raised a hand in greeting as he caught sight of Ted. 

-

They’d all been hit hard by the mission. It hadn’t been an exact failure, the city was in one piece, Superman and his family were safe, hell even The Hero Ban had been lifted and NOVA were no longer a threat. But, they’d lost too much to be anything but disheartened. The way NOVA went out wasn’t right, they hadn’t deserved that. And Batman, Bruce... he’d been in the cave when it happened, seen them all come back safe and was selfishly pleased he’d been able to hide downstairs while they were told the news. He’d not spoken with them since. And between that and his own crisis with Booster (if you could call it that) he was craving distraction.  

Airen made a face when he heard a knock on his door, as he wasn’t really expecting anybody. He peeped through the whole and saw that it was Ted, which was odd but not completely out of the ordinary. He supposed since the other knew where he worked he probably just asked his boss what hotel he was staying at. He was never the type to seek out Airen, though, it was usually the other way around. The dog wasn’t around so at least that was a plus.   

He opens the door and grins at the other male - but it quickly disappears as the other talks. Airen responds by slamming the door closed, allowing himself to panic without the other seeing him. Well, shit - Ted knows he’s Fox Tail. How in the hell did he slip up? He collects himself before taking a breath and opening the door again. “If it makes you feel any better,” He starts, making room for the other to come in. “I’ve never stolen from you.”

-

Teddy just raised a brow when the other slammed the door in his face. Well, that cleared up any final suspicions, not that he had been all that many, it wasn’t like Red Hood had any reason to lie when he’d asked about Airen. When the other reopened the door Teddy’s expression hadn’t changed, nor did it move when the other tried a fairly cheeky response. “Hmm,” Teddy pretended to think on it for a few moments. “You know it really doesn’t.” he deadpanned.

Stepping inside he walked to the far wall and lent against it. “Y’know, I’m happy to teach people who come to me wanting some help with things. That’s what decent people do. But I take umbrage when said people lie about why they wanna learn and then use it to steal from other people.” he shook his head and sighed, “I’m not even all that made Airen. I’m just disappointed.”

When he’d made the choice to relocate to Star City, certain things needed to be re-established. Namely, he…they (he hoped) needed a new base. It wasn’t like he could pack the Baxter Building into a suitcase and move it cross country, though that regrettable realization had made him realize that maybe he should work on that. There was surely some way to make it portable, wasn’t there? Of course there was. But he hadn’t done it in time, and that meant starting fresh. 

Reed was hardly the first to make the move to the West Coast. His trip was a very belated one, if anything. He had contacts in the city beyond his family and closer friends, people who worked in similar circles, so on. Not long after he’d landed in the city, he reached out to Ted Kord and asked to have coffee. 

It had been awhile, maybe even a year or two, since they’d seen each other last but Reed recognized him as he approached. He got to his feet and gestured toward the seat on the other side of the table he’d picked, extending his arm to the point that he could nudge the chair back for him. “Thanks for meeting me. It’s been awhile.” 

-

Teddy wasn’t the most celebrated name in the scientific community, as was only right. Sure he was ahead of most when it came to renewable sources of energy that could prove strong alternates to fossil fuels but that aside his company’s products (while reliable and quality) weren’t exactly peaking the sales charts. It always surprised him some when other scientists of actual calibre thought he was worth talking to. One of those people being Dr. Reed Richards.

The guy made him look like a preschooler but for some reason they’d ended up meeting and the other hadn’t sacked him off at first chance. Even more shocking was the offer to meet for coffee when he arrived in the city. Considering all the other chaos going on in his life at the moment, Teddy was happy to have the distraction of meeting him.

“Well, you never know, do you? After all, the most unassuming of people have been revealed to have alter egos, haven’t they?” Adrian shook his head, teasing lightly. He had made the shift from business to casual in order to relate to Kord, who was clearly not a businessman in the way that Adrian was.       

“I would imagine a well-programmed AI could eventually start to observe and examine the reactions of outside stimuli,” he responded. Adrian enjoyed robotics as a pastime but ultimately found that there were more pressing matters in this life to which he would devote his attention. Still, like any boy interested in science, he enjoyed the hypotheticals–and maybe even eventual actualities–of discussing such things. “Isn’t that the ultimate goal of Artificial Intelligence? To make it nigh indiscernible from the real thing?”

Veidt nodded at that, already considering more thoroughly. “What kinds of resources would you need? Veidt has a number of its own supplier chains in a variety of locales.”

“Tell me about it. I mean Bruce Wayne being Batman?” Teddy didn’t even have to play at the surprised look on his face, “I met the guy a few times at some meetings and I gotta tell I never would’ve clocked that one.” It was even stranger to think Bruce had known exactly who Teddy was at the time as well.

“Oh they can.” he nodded, “I known instances were some have even started to get snarky with their partners.” Teddy laughed, thinking of the many times Skeets had put Booster in his place when the other had been a little too full of himself. “I guess, but what if by that point the AI knows enough to think about what ti wants?” he asked, “Maybe they wouldn’t want to be like humans, maybe they’d want to be their own thing.” Which, to many, no doubt sounded like the beginning of an apocalypse. But to Teddy is just spoke of a future with even greater diversity.

“Mostly high-grade silicon. It’s high-cost makes it tricky to get in bulk and the alternative of making it ourselves is possible but given the energy intensive process it could take quite some time.”  He explained. 

Dinah stepped out the cage after a brutal cage fight that had people roaring up a storm. Singing gigs were good and usually less violent but it wasn’t a dependable source of income. There was always someone to fight and underground fight clubs? They cashed in well. That and it attracted the kind of people she wanted to stop. The kind of people she wouldn’t feel guilty about beating up on. However, some of them did pack a punch. Ordering a beer, she was about to take a sip but she held the ice cold can to her cheek instead, soothing the bruise before it could swell.

-

Teddy (though most wouldn’t think it) had his own sources for getting info in less... open parts of the city, mostly through hacking. But it had been enough to see some very interesting live footage of an underground fight. He’d quickly triangulated the signal and arrived. He’d missed the action but he found who he was looking for. Teddy was dressed in worn jeans and a blue hoodie, easier to blend in, and took a barstool next to Dinah. “For your sake, I hope the other guy looks worse.” He asked casually, reaching up and pulling the hood dow to reveal his face, “Hey Dinah.”