2013.06.08 - Soft Serve

"Wowser. Gotham is a lot cleaner in this era. And brighter." Booster Gold is high overhead in the sky of Gotham City, appraising it as he flies. Nearby is Skeets, his little golden robot assistant.

Skeets seems to look down at the rather dark and foreboding buildings and streets of Gotham, appraising the words of his boss. "I admit, I never visited it in our era, sir. While your assessment surprises me, I must take you at your word. Do you intend to land, somewhere?"

"What?" Booster looks mildly surprised, glancing over at the droid. "Gosh, no. Are you nuts? Batman's probably lurking around and he'll... eat my soul or whatever it is he does. I'm pretty sure he can't fly, so this is the safest place to be in Gotham."

That reason is why Ted is staying in the Bug, high above the city as he decided to visit Gotham. Plus in Gotham it's usually the criminals that wear the nice bright colors, Ted would probably be mistaken for one. And hey as he flies his nice little flying thingy, he comes across another guy flying above Gotham. Someone also dressed in bright colors! Beetle flips a switch and decides to at least say hi to the guy, "You know, people in Gotham usually seem to avoid the bright colors. Unless you're a kid, Robin gets away with it. Don't know how that one works." Maybe it's cause Bats will suck the blood of anyone that makes a comment about Robin.

Booster seems a little startled; if he were on the ground he would have jumped a bit. Since he is in mid air, he actually drops a few feet, but does not actually plummet to his death. The initial thought was that Batman does fly and managed to find him, but that does not sound like the Caped Crusader. He flies over to the Bug, and around it to get to its 'eyes', peering in through the windshield. Booster exchanges a glance with Skeets, then lacking a better response, he waves. Shouting, he replies, "I was just looking! You know... seeing how clean and bright it was!" Maybe he thinks he's over Metropolis.

Bright and Shiny, Gotham? That one doesn't make sense. "Are you sure you're talking about the right city? I never thought that Gotham was bright and shiny." Metropolis is, but not Gotham. "Just strange to see someone else up here, don't know many fliers visit Gotham. I'm the Blue Beetle, by the way." As if the giant flying bug didn't give away who he is. But he's totally not Batman, he doesn't brood or anything!

Booster flies back a few feet as if to get a better look at the ship, then he floats in close to the bulging window once more. "Oh yeah, I totally should have guessed! I'm Booster Gold. This is my assistant, Skeets." He gestures at the little golden finned football that is hovering beside him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the droid pipes up, politely.

Booster looks down, and points at the cityscape below. "This is pretty clean and bright compared to the Gotham I know. Oh..." he spreads his hands, looking somewhat deadpan. "I'm from the 25th Century." By now, he has learned it is easier to just get this information out sooner rather than later.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Gold, and Skeets. Is he a flying robot? Or is that just some really new communication device?" Hey he is really interested in technology, and that looks like he could use that design for one of his snoopies! And the fact that Skeets is actually polite makes him even more awesome.

"The 25th century? Really? That's great! Hey how famous am I there? I bet there are Blue Beetle statues and everything, right? Do they have a Blue Beetle day, or a parade? I've always wanted to have my own parade." Okay he's rambling a little there, "Oh hey you want to come on board? Talking through the speakers will get a little annoying after a while."

"Uh... well there's an entry for you in the museum where I worked," Booster offers. Not a holiday or a dedicated museum, but possibly better than nothing. "And sure, although how do I get in?" The man in the shiny costume is looking around, and reaches out to touch the Bug, as if this might help him figure it out. "Skeets is a robot, although he takes care of communication thingers, too. I have trouble with current-era phones, they're... kind of confusing," he admits. "Your ship is neat, I didn't even notice it until you talked and I'm not sure how I missed it! I don't think my goggles recognized it as aircraft."

"Only an entry in a museum? That's lame. Guess I never left my super awesome mark. Maybe I should dress in dark colors and run around with kid, bet that'll get everyone's attention." He spots Booster just trying to get in, "Oh yeah sorry about that," flips a switch and the bottom hatch of the Bug opens up, "you can fly in through the bottom, it's open now." He thinks a little about Skeets now, hey maybe he can perform some experiments on the robot, "Well phones are tough, there are just too many numbers to deal with there."

Booster drops down, flying under the belly of the ship. He then comes in, up through the hatch, followed by Skeets. Once inside, he lands, and looks around. "Neat!" he opines. Then, "I just have Skeets handle my calls, I tried using a phone in a shop and ... I mean, it didn't fly. After it broke, I had to pay for it anyway, which was a bummer." The tall man smiles brightly, then, and walks over, offering his hand to the Blue Beetle for a handshake. "Hi!"

Skeets is floating around, tilting up and down as if he were having a good look as well. "Mr. Blue Beetle, sir, may I speak with your ship?" the little robot asks.

Ted shakes the shiny guy’s hand, "At least it wasn't a cell phone. Replacing those things when you're under the contract is the biggest pain. They charge a person an arm and a leg to get a new phone." His chair spins around and he faces Booster, and then the chair slides along the track to some of his machines, "Would you like some ice cream? Or an espresso? I have both on The Bug." Every flying vehicle needs Ice Cream and Coffee, it's totally Ted's rule.

There are blinking eyes for a moment, "Uhm, I didn't know my ship talked. But hey if he tells you anything about me listening to Justin Beiber, that is totally a lie."

"Yes, sir. Many sufficiently complex machines have a rudimentary consciousness," Skeets explains, although he then falls silent. The little windshield or eye, or whatever that is at the front of his egg shaped body, subtly flickers with light. If there is a conversation going on, it is through means other than speaking.

"He has some spiritual views," Booster remarks very quietly to Beetle behind his hand, giving a half-grin. In a louder voice, he says, "Espresso would be rad. Coffee is one of my favorite things about this era. I mean, in my time, the plant is extinct so it's all replicated and it's..." He tries to think of an appropriate 21st Century phrase to describe it. Finally, he settles for, "Totally gross."

Blue Beetle goes back to blinking at the robot, and then a thought hits him, "Does that include computers as well?" Cause if so the computer uprising will be happening soon, knowing all the stuff that the basic household PC has seen.

"Extinct, wow that's just terrible. How can something that awesome be extinct in the future?" The chair slides over and he starts making the espresso, "Do you want it regular, or do you want a latte? I also have some chocolate syrup so I can make a mocha if you want as well."

Skeets cheerfully replies, "It depends upon the computer, sir. I have met very few in this era that are as complex as that. I have attempted to converse with some mass-market tablet computers, for instance, but they are too simple." He sounds a little regretful, when he says that.

"Uh, I don't know what a mocha is," Booster Gold admits, looking a little out of his depth already. "I usually just get coffee, or coffee with espresso mixed into it. When I go to Sundollar, the menu board has a lot of words I've never seen before. When I was learning this language I thought I'd be totally prepared but..." he makes a vague gesture with one hand. Now and then, he looks around, as if he were trying to figure out just how the Bug works. "A lot of stuff is extinct, where I'm from. The 25th century kind of sucks, to be honest."

"Well that's good. Because I would be afraid of what the computers would say. I have heard the stories of the stuff that is on the internet, I don't know how humans can stand looking at some of that stuff!"

"You don't know a mocha? You should totally have one, it is espresso, steamed milk and chocolate, and it is awesome." He gets out the milk and starts steaming that, he needs to make a robot to do this. But well hands on is much better, robots can't seem to get it right. He finishes up and hands the cup to Mr. Gold, "You sure you don't want some ice cream? It's soft serve."

"We try not to judge, sir," Skeets assures Blue Beetle, sounding a little deadpan.

Booster rolls his eyes a little at his robot's response, but he does not comment. He takes the mocha, saying, "Thank you. I should probably pass on the ice cream this time, but thanks for the offer..." He gestures at the floating robot. "He's also my personal trainer and he's cruel." The mocha is given a sniff and inspected closely enough that it steams up Booster's goggles. Finally, he takes a cautious sip and freezes, his expression going blank and his gaze becoming distant. After a long moment he stands up, and gives Blue Beetle a rather accusing look. "This is sprocking amazing."

"Well that's good. I don't want my computer judging me." Just what he must think of Ted's chats with Babs alone!

"See Mochas are totally awesome! Next I'll have to show you the peppermint version, that's just as good." But that's also more of a Christmassy thing and not every day. "You know I could probably reprogram the training program. At least we can get him to think Pizza is a perfectly acceptable food to have!"

"Yeah but I mean..." Booster is gesturing at the cup in his hand, looking a little perplexed. "I've had... chocolate? Flavored stuff in my native era and it was just gross. This isn't anything like that." He is becoming aware that he might be acting a bit like a rube, so he waves his hand as if to dismiss his reaction and says, "Well, you'd need to ask Skeets. I don't own him or anything, he just works for me. We met when we were both working as security at that museum I mentioned."

"Yes, we had a disagreement but ultimately I felt it was a good idea to work for Booster," Skeets affirms, in his usual affable tone. "It's certainly more interesting than being a security droid."

"The future sounds like a bad place. No real chocolate? That's just terrible. Did you at least have Twinkies, cause those are totally great as well. There is probably nothing organic in them, so they could have survived." But they were probably outlawed or something like that, seems like such a cruel thing to happen. "So tell me, what else was the future like? Did everyone have flying cars like they did on the Jetsons?"

He glances at Skeets now, "Security huh? What kind of devices did they give you to stop people from stealing stuff?"

"I don't think we have Twinkies," Booster replies cautiously, as he clearly has no idea what these mysterious items are. "I don't know what the Jetsons is, but we do have flying cars. I mean, people who can afford them, of course. It's not like today where almost everyone seems to have a vehicle if they want it." From the expression on his face, he finds this to be amazing. "Also, there aren't any superheroes, they were outlawed way before I was born. No power use, no vigilante action, and so on. That's why I came here!" Booster smiles brightly again, gesturing at Ted and the interior of the Bug. "So I could be part of the Heroic Age!"

"People generally did not try to steal anything from the museum. With a few exceptions, of course." Skeets turns in mid-air; if he had a face, he would be looking at Booster. Booster says nothing, he just rolls his eyes and sips his mocha. The robot continues, "But should such an instance arise, I do have blaster capability. Merely to incapacitate, of course!"

"If no one stole anything, why did they need to have security guards?" That one doesn't seem to make any sense to Ted, "No heroes at all? That just must suck. Man I don't know what I'd do if they tried to outlaw heroes now." He tries to think, and bah just being a CEO will be totally boring. "But it's cool that you're here, you at least seem nice. To many of these heroes are just too stuffy to be around."

"Well... it's a long story," Booster replies, giving Skeets another look. "But I'll tell you about it sometime, if you want." He smiles at Beetle, then, saying, "Part of the problem is you're hanging out in Gotham. Or at least... over the top of Gotham. I'm a reservist with the Legion of Super-Heroes, in Metropolis. Most of them are from the 31st Century, the headquarters is pretty neat. You can visit it if you want." He touches one of his wristbands and what looks like a golden slip of paper pops out of a tiny hatch. It has a blue star embossed on it, as well as some information. Booster explains, "If you need to get ahold of me, my contact info is on there, but if you snap it where the star is, it'll notify me. Like, if there's an emergency or whatever." He offers this to Ted. "You seem pretty cool, too. Some of the native-era people I've met look at me like I'm going to grow tentacles at any moment!"

Ted takes the paper and just starts looking at it, snapping and it'll summon the guy, this is just too cool! "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Gold. And I stay in Gotham because this place totally needs heroes that don't just wear black all the time!" It's really boring that way, "The Legion of Super-heroes, I may have to look them up, never heard of them before!" Hey this is great, he can go out and hang with other Superheroes. "Take care of yourself, and don't worry about the strange people, they look at me weird sometimes."

"Oh... my name's Michael Jon Carter, actually. Booster Gold is just... it's the hero name I ended up with. Also kind of a long story," Booster explains, with another eyeroll although this one seems to be about an embarrassing memory rather than anything Skeets or Blue Beetle have said or done. "I know some people have a secret identity but, eh." He waves his hand dismissively and grins. "Thanks for the... mocha? It's probably some of the best stuff I've had since I got to this era." Unsure of what to do with the cup, he sheepishly offers it to Ted. "See you around!" Floating into the air, he smiles brightly, points dual finger-guns at the Blue Beetle, and then beckons to Skeets. They fly out through the 'belly' hatch of the Bug.