2012-09-16 Yacht See

Tony Stark has been lax in indulging himself in one area and Bethany Cabe is the woman who has found that weak spot. Boats. Possibly horses, but she'll get around to that in time. Tony needs a megayacht and as nice as the ones he has are, he doesn't have one that's big enough. Fortunately, one of her friends from L'Academie knows someone else who--in the process of divorcing her husband--got her hands on a nearly-finished megayacht that she doesn't want but her husband did. Considering that the jerk was building it to hide his mistresses from her, Bethany doesn't blame her a bit.

It takes some wrangling and some pulling of strings but she's convinced the European builders to bring this beast over to New York to give Tony Stark a tour. They could fly over, yes, but that's not the point. When one wants to make the point that one is the client, and in charge, one sits tight and lets the supplicants come to pray. She's positive that Tony's technology could only make this monster of a yacht, presently labeled the 970, even better than it is.

She's waiting at the shipyard when Tony's limousine pulls up. This is her last stop before she has to take off for a few days. Her own people are scattered here and there, the area is secure, and she's looking flawless in a green silk dress.

"And next time I'll use mustard!"

That voice belongs to nobody even remotely sounding like Tony Stark. And the only reason it even can be heard is because the back of the limo is open and Tony's slipping himself out of the surround sound that accompanies watching movies on the go in such a way. He closes the door behind him, smiling to himself and shaking his head. "Oh Michaelangelo. My favorite." The words are only meant to explain himself to no one as he looks up, spots Bethany and proceeds to head off in that direction.

He's pretty sure he's safe. But then again, he's Iron Man. So why would anyone really want to attack him? Or rather, why would anyone not want to attack him? Either way it goes, he's looking as carefree as ever as he tosses his hands into his pockets and wanders off in the general direction of Bethany and her dress. "If it costs less than a hundred million dollars we can turn around and head right back to the limo." Oh, the Tony Stark way of saying Hi.

"Oh, honey. Think bigger." Bethany laughs at him and gestures for him to come close enough that he can look into the simply massive shrouded dock and see the beast lurking there. When Tony's close enough, she slides her arm through his and gives a little squeeze. "They want $300 million but I think we should make them sweat. Besides, she's not done. You'll want to Starkify the hell out of her, I know."

The boat in the slip looks like a weapon, it looks fast and slick and spotless. The 970 is so beautifully designed that it takes a moment to put it into perspective and appreciate how truly enormous it is. "Three-hundred-ninety feet," Beth murmurs in Tony's ear. "Three pools. Discotheque with crystal fittings and white stingray hide walls and crocodile upholstered seating. Three custom launch vessels. Secret nookie rooms. Incredible security. Helipad. Twenty-five hundred square feet in the master suite alone. She was made for you--she just doesn't know it yet."

"Sounds like most women I date."

Stark is attempting to not gawk at the structure as he looks at it. He's certainly not going to complain about being up close and personal with anyone as hot as Bethany right now. He's more focused on the fact that she's dropping these facts into his ear like some sort of cleavage-powered real estate agent. Sadly, it's working.

"I suppose I could probably do a few upgrades. Nothing fancy." Oh, the Stark is just playing coy with this ideas because already they are starting to flow on the inside of his brain and he hasn't even went inside this boat yet. "I wonder how many of these were made." Tony is all about making sure that he's one of the only people in the world to have one of these. Or he would. If he were going to buy it. Which he probably is. But he can't say that just yet. Too easy. "Only one." Bethany lets go of Tony but it's only to walk ahead a few steps and then offer him her hand. "It's in the contract. You're buying her design, not just her. She's unique. Unnamed. And she can be all yours for, let's be honest, a very pretty song."

When Tony catches up to her, she takes his hand and leads him along. It's a lovely grifter's trick, associating herself with the fulfillment of a desire Tony didn't even know he had until she introduced it to him. And then making him follow her, leading him to the promised land, so to speak. Yes, there's a little manipulation involved. It's for his own good.

"She's fantastic in the water, Tony," Bethany goes on as she leads Tony on board. "Cuts it like a hot knife through butter, so efficient. She's even got a berth for an escape pod that's in the design stages but I think you should take that over. You could make a minisubmarine out of her, repulsor powered, for emergencies. Also, you should know that all the purists and traditionalists out there on the water -despise- her. I think they're all mad."

Boarding the 970 is like walking up onto the balcony of a luxe private hotel. Bethany leads up one side of the long oval deck toward the fore where a full swimming pool is waiting.

"That's because they have no vision of the future. They have no imagination." Tony is all about sticking it to tradition and purists. It's basically hard wired into his DNA to go against the grain and make a splash or something of that sort. It's just part of being a Stark. Hell, he even took it upon himself to reinvent the way a Stark is and isn't viewed.

"It has potential, I'll give it that." Again, Stark is mostly just attempting to not sound like some sort of giggling fanboy or whatever as he's led onto this boat. Is it even really right to call it a boat? It really isn't because there's just so much to the damn thing. Even while trying to hide it, there's a look of So Impressed on his face. "This thing could probably hold a small city, huh? How much living space we talking?" Stark's already making some kind of weird plans in his head about what to do with this thing. It probably has something to do with his Ironette Experience. That's why he's smiling like that. "Twenty-four thousand square feet. Room for fifty-five people, which is usually thirty-five staff, fourteen guests, and ten entourage spaces for the guests. But the walls move so that the main level sleeping areas can be resized as you like." Bethany gives his hand a squeeze as she stops at the far end of the crystal blue pool and points up.

"The discotheque is there on the top level. Above it is a fabulous hot tub with a clear bottom so that you can sit in the best spot at the disco and look up at all the pretty girls playing in the tub. See what I mean?" Bethany flashes Tony a grin. "Made for you. I'll even show you how to work all the secret doors behind the mirrors. The nookie rooms are just that, all bed in there with a mirrored ceiling and a place to put your drink, nothing more. I laughed when I saw one of them because--of course. Also a great place to hide from people you don't want to see just then."

"Sold."

Who really knows what the reason is that sold him on the place. Okay, let's be honest, it's the nookie rooms and the view from the disco. It's really all he needed to hear. And now he's ready to just write a check and move on to the remodeling and designing and tricking out with so much Stark Tech that the yacht becomes a mobile splash making super yacht. His eyes are practically glowing from the thoughts of what may be showing up on the yacht soon enough.

"I wonder if I can have this ready in time for the Ironette Experience. Putting all of those beautiful women in rooms on here? With no escape because it's out in the middle of the water? Now that's television." Stark may also be considering the security feeds that will be more than entertaining. "I think we can pull off having her done, or I wouldn't have suggested it. We'll do a couple weeks of bootcamp, then go out to the yacht. More than 40 CC cameras in her already, she's wired up. You can sit on the handcarved chairs in the command center and watch the feeds." It's like Bethany can read Tony's mind. She tugs his hand and skips a little as she drags him toward the doors.

"Come on, I'll show you. And, you know... it's a little cold here already. If you wanted to run this beauty out to the waters off my villa in the south of Spain, we can do that." She flashes Tony a smile. "It's completely secured, of course, my agents know it inside and out. I'd know you're safe while we're there, you can visit the yacht every day. And we'll fly the girls back to New York for the final judging."

"How come you have a villa and I don't? Well, how come you have a villa in Spain and I don't? Unfair." Tony is playfully pouting at the thought of not having something that someone less rich than him has. He's going to have to go into plotting on how to get himself a villa in Spain at some point. But for now he might as well just go with the generosity that's coming from the Bethany.

"I guess we can go ahead and seal the deal on this thing. I'm gonna' want to get to work on Starkifyin' this thing out, as you say. It's gotta' look me before it hits the public eye." "I have a villa and you don't because you don't take enough vacations, Tony Stark. I'll get the contracts to your lawyers and we'll move it to the Stark docks well... why not now?" Bethany gestures for Tony to go up the stairs--those are some fantastically polished stairs with a gleaming brass bannister--ahead of her. "The captain can show you how to use the touch screen tap-and-drag navigation. It's as easy as pointing to where you want to be." That's how it is in the world of Stark. Decide where you're going and just go. Full speed ahead.

"Maybe that's because I don't have anyone worth taking a vacation for." Tony lets this slip out as he looks at Bethany dead in her eyes for the moment. But it doesn't last long. He's ready to go handle some more monetary spending business. "Definitely going to need to put JARVIS on this." is the next thing he says, before he's letting go of Bethany's hand and moving to head off to learn some things from the Captain. He'll pay for the thing later. He's good for it.