Flight

[thefirststark]

The space within the SXF-16 is cramped. Three seats, and room for maybe two suitcases. Ask anyone who flew on the Pan Am clipper ships, and they would say that this is a step backwards. But ask anyone who sat at the controls of the SF-12 Mockingbird or SF-11 Vulture, and he would be thrilled there's room for a co-pilot.

Howard opens the hatch from the outside, leading his passenger aboard.

"Welcome aboard, Helena."

Comments

[thefirststark]

"I could land and offer to buy it," he says puckishly, even as the landscape changes from lightly populated suburbs to semi-desert browns mixed with more and more orange trees.

[timelessinventor]

Helena's bright and cheerful laugh comes back. "I doubt that you need an orange grove, Howard." She watches out the window, entranced by the trees and the occasional tiny vehicle below.

[thefirststark]

"Diversification is an important approach to maintaining a successful corporation." He is not serious, of course.

[timelessinventor]

"And I am certain that you know all about diversifying, however, I do not think oranges would go very well with a mechanics factory." She's amused, still grinning as things go by underneath them.

[thefirststark]

"Unless I invent a way to make fuel from oranges." Hey, it could happen.

"Where to next? Further south, back up the coast, or back to the field? I have enough fuel to hold out a while longer." Though not that much, since this is a prototype and it's best not to have too much, in case he has to ditch.

[timelessinventor]

That also gets a huge laugh. "Now there's a thought, Howard. Not only would be an interesting fuel, it would smell wonderful." Helena is more than a little fond of citrus.

"Hm. I do not know the terrain around here, but perhaps back out to the coast." There's that sparkle in her eyes again.

[thefirststark]

"We'll head north for a bit. Over the rockier areas and cliffs." He knows all of it well, never needing to look at a map.

[timelessinventor]

"That sounds lovely. I did once get to see the white cliffs of Dover, which were quite lovely. The Artifact was not so lovely, however." She makes a face, but the expression quickly flees as she goes back to watching the world go by underneath the plane.

[thefirststark]

The plane wends its way back up north, Howard once again paralleling the coast, the sun shining to his left as the day passes. They move back over the coastline they saw before, and then towards Malibu.

[timelessinventor]

Helena watches things go by, pointing out a few features, both human and natural, and asking a few questions about the land winding below them.

[thefirststark]

Howard knows about the people and about the places the rich and famous live. He knows less about the land, though he can tell that a lot of the hills below are very dry and likely to have brush fires soon.

[timelessinventor]

Helena revels in the stories about the rich and famous, joining in with a few of her own about the elite in London in the 1890s. She knows more than a few salacious details about movers and shakers, and tells the stories with the true art of the writer that she is.

[thefirststark]

Howard thinks he's heard it all, so he doesn't blush. But her tales are wilder than a lot of even the typical Hollywood fare of his life.

He also wonders if he met any of the children or grandchildren of Helena's social set during his time in London.

[timelessinventor]

Helena moved in a pretty interesting set in London, so her stories tend to disprove the theory that Victorians were repressed and boring.

She doesn't run out of stories for quite a while, going from prominent names that Howard would likely know to others who were lost to history.

[thefirststark]

"I remember that name from science class," he says about one person in particular. "I would have never guessed."

[timelessinventor]

Helena smirks. "Oh, the stories I could tell you about him, darling. He was quite the character outside of what I'm certain history said about him."

[thefirststark]

"I am not sure I want to know. Best to leave my illusions alone, at least once in a while." He really has no illusions. War does that. So does being rich in a world where most people are poor.

[timelessinventor]

"Honestly, that is probably for the best." Helena sighs, shaking her head. "Sometimes it is best to cling to the stories, whether or not there is truth to them." She has seen more of the gritty underside of things than she cares to admit.

[thefirststark]

"Especially when they ARE true." He can't help but think of Captain Rogers, of the stories he hopes aren't lost under a layer of SSR secrecy.

[timelessinventor]

"Quite true, darling." Helena smiles, a more subdued and fond smile than the excited ones she's had on this trip, but no less genuine. "There are fantastical stories out there which are true, no matter how false they seem, and sometimes those are the best ones."

[thefirststark]

"I have to tell you about what I saw in the war some time. Even if the colonel wants it keep hush hush."

[timelessinventor]

"Well, I certainly have no one to tell, darling." Helena smirks at him. "I would love to hear some of your stories, whether good or bad."

[thefirststark]

"Back in the Bar. Right now, I think flying is a better option." Especially flying with Helena.

He hasn't done this in far too long.

[timelessinventor]

"Oh, certainly." She grins. "After everything you've taught me, I wouldn't want us to get distracted and fall out of the sky."

[thefirststark]

"I am too good a pilot for that." In fact, he knows at least six places he could land in an emergency between her and the field.