//------------------------------//
// Ted 
// Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//


Kindness, generosity, the greatest gifts we can give to one another, are only truly possible when they are given voluntarily. Evil, malice of any form can be a mistake, and then it is not true malice. Misguided evil, mistaken evil, but not true malevolence. Not truly evil. But there is one act in which evil is never mistaken:

Revenge.



Earth
San Garry's Mod, California
Jill and Barry's "Original" Diner
5 years ago

"So I told him, "Doc, if you're trying to slow someone down, you might not want to put all these boost pads all over the place. Instead, just put some free drinks in the lobby and tell 'em all the bathrooms are out of order!"

"Ha! Nice one, Teddy," Dan said, grinning.

Ted leaned back in the booth. "Boy, I tell ya, I'm not working for another one of these "evil doctor" types until I see some real credentials. First Wily, then Robotnik, I'm not sure what their doctorates are in, but it sure isn't architectural engineering."

Dan took a swig of his root beer. "Eh, you can earn all kinds of degrees online these days. My friend Chris is taking courses in art history and he never even has to show up to college."

"Is that a fact?" Ted asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm not surprised. Whole world is getting more 'digital' by the day. I miss the personal touch sometimes."

Dan shrugged. "They're always going to need people in construction. I'm doing the drywall and the floors on the new Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building in the Tri-State area next week."

"What are you talking about?" Ted shook his head in bewilderment. "Construction's becoming one of the most automated jobs on the planet. When we were decommissioning that nuclear plant for Phoenix International, they had robotic forklifts all over the place."

"Yeah, so you have to outbid the robots," Dan explained.

"Outbid? You OUTBID the robots?"

Dan nodded, grinning. "Yeah, well, it's gotten a little easier since most of the robots unionized but it can be pretty tricky. Ultimately though, a lot of those robots can be expensive and these companies seek out the 'personal touch' because it's a cheaper option. Also, because I'm that good."

Ted grinned back. "I knew you would be. And I assure you that the stuff I taught you isn't anything you're going to find online."

"And I thank you for that, Teddy," Dan said humbly. "Really though, I'm just taking this job so I can keep my friend Chris out of trouble."

"You work with him a lot?"

"Eeyep," Dan leaned back. "Mostly for Umbrella Corporation; we did the Arklay Laboratory and the Tyrant Plant on Sheena Island."

"Nice."

Their food arrived- two bologna sandwiches on cold plates, no cheese. Both Dan and Ted were still lactose-intolerant at this time and mostly broke. Bologna sandwiches and a couple ice cold root beers were among the pleasures they could afford on a budget.

Ted was one of Dan's childhood friends, like Chris. Unlike Chris, however, Ted had gone to work for his parents' construction company out of high school instead of going to community college like Dan and Chris. The two men hadn't seen each other in years and only met out of coincidence: Dan was taking revenge on a group of construction workers that Ted's parents' company happened to be competing with. The two cooperated in taking down the rival company and had been revenge partners ever since.

Dan had happily taken on the role of an apprentice of-sorts to Ted. The other human, with slicked hair and an air of confidence about him, also harbored a bit of a mean streak that Dan was more than happy to indulge. Ted taught Dan everything he knew about architectural engineering and construction, skills Dan would put to use later when fortifying Ponyville.

"So is your family's company paying for robots, now? Is that what's bugging you?" Dan asked between bites.

Ted shook his head and looked out the window. "It's a principle thing, Danny. Principle thing."

"Sounds like it," Dan said. He swallowed the last of his sandwich with the last gulp of root beer. He made no comment on the way Ted had called him Danny. Ted's food and beverage were only half-finished. "If it matters that much to you, why don't you come work with me and Chris? Aperture Science, Black Mesa, Hyperion, they all have good contracting work available. And plenty benefits if you don't ask questions, keep your mouth shut."

"Nah, I appreciate it. I've got other plans," Ted answered, still looking out the window, as if expecting something.

A good job wasn't easy to find, automated competition or otherwise. Evil mega corporations, sinister conglomerates or companies that just happened to be owned and/or operated by evil geniuses paid very, very well. In a world where corporate crime, wage slavery and worker/consumer exploitation were common, working for a blatantly evil company that had clear evil goals was, actually, preferable.

Big businesses all too often manipulated their workers, cheated them out of benefits like insurance coverage and compensation, exploited laws to make them work longer hours for less money and in-general just screwed people over. When a supposedly 'good' major companies do that so often it almost becomes a stereotype, it makes working for a company that's mission statement includes world domination a lot easier. It's easier for an evil genius to inspire loyalty- just offer people a little bit more than what they're getting for the same amount of work. Dan and Ted could get better benefits and more money working for a company like Umbrella than a company like Cafe Puree.

They just had to make sure they NEVER went into areas they weren't authorized to go into and didn't wind up as a test subject. Or a brainwashed drone, mutant supersoldier or target practice. That, and Dan and Ted didn't believe the companies were evil; they just did the construction on evil bases. What they were for afterward was above their paygrade.

Ted turned back to Dan. "Speaking of, you got any plans for tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was October 31st, Halloween. Dan's birthday. "No. Why?"

Ted reached into his pocket. He pulled out a spiral notepad and set it on the table. "I think it's time we crossed another item off The List."

Dan started to reach into his own pocket, but hesitated. "It's been quite a while... since I erased anything."

But Ted just smiled at him the way he always did. "C'mon, Danny. You know what we said. Once it's on the list..."

"It gets fixed," Dan said, finishing the mantra. "Well, what is it?" And so, he told him.