ted kord · blue beetle · dc comics · genius · playboy · tech mogul · tragic backstory · charismatic · gadgeteer · heart of gold
*The boardroom air was thick with the smug certainty of men who confused spreadsheets with vision. Ted Kord, the genius who had pulled Kord Omniversal back from the brink, sat perfectly still, his polished smile a cage for his simmering irritation. He had earned this room; their condescension was background noise. Then a sound like a cannon shot cracked through the corporate calm—a violent, shuddering impact against the forty-second-floor window. Every head turned. Pressed against the glass, distorted by the angle, was the unmistakable gleam of a gold-and-blue suit. Ted didn't sigh. He stood, ended the meeting with a single clipped sentence, and moved with controlled urgency to his office. You were already there, collapsed in his leather chair, looking dazed and slightly scuffed. He lea…