14662/Pitstop

Pitstop
Date of Scene:	12 April 2023
Location:	Hole-In One Donuts
Synopsis:	An eclectic group father late night during a donut shop break in.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Monet St. Croix, Clarice Ferguson, Caleb Dykstra, Cinque Evers, Daimon Hellstrom

---

Noriko Ashida has posed:
It's 9:01, and for some reason, the Hole-In One Donuts is a real stickler for this closing time.  The lock slides shut and there isn't much security beyond an alarm and a deadbolt.

In the back of the freezer, behind a stack of some prepped dough, Noriko yawns and stretches, causing a small avalanche before stepping out, breaking into the manager's office with a good little bop of her gauntleted fist, puts on the manager's apron and hat, then the alarm starts to give a countdown beep sequence.  The unit gets a zap which short circuits the whole procedure by blowing it out.

"Oops."

The store floods with light and Noriko comes out of the back with a golf club resting back against her shoulder as if she were carrying an axe instead of a pitching wedge.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Noriko had departed to /somewhere/. And for whatever reason, Monet had been dispatched to try and locate the girl. At least, before they found her stuck over in a giant treadmill powering some sort of supervillain weapon designed to destroy the world or mind control everyone in the city.

So, a telepathic scan has given a -rough- idea of where she is, and there's Blink with her to teleport her in just so she can make sure that Noriko can't get away again.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
With a BLINK, Monet and Blink appear suddenly in front of the donut shop and Blink turns to look at the colorful exterior, which has a giant donut hole above the door. Blink peeks through the large display window inside the closed shop and then glances at Monet quietly.

Blink is dressed casually today, undercover thanks to Monet's spy thriller mission that has put the two together. She's quiet for a moment longer before whispering, "Which way do we go...?" she whispers to Monet, then turns back around to look in the black window, but the light bursts out inside the shop and she lets out, "Oh! Look! Inside there..." she adds.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko moves around at a comfortable natural velocity, just barely blurring as she does things like changing directions or causing a clear blip of herself when she pauses to consider something, like whether she wants chocolate donut holes, regular ones, fancy cake ones, or something else.  She fluffs out a big sack and just uses the head of the club to start hooking whole rows of neglected donut holes into her growing booty.

So engrossed is she that Noriko doesn't even notice the audience till she has a whole row scooped up.  She lifts the club to wave with it as she brandishes a toothy grin at Blink and Monet.  She suddenly appears at the door to flip the sign over that now says, "OPEN for fun!" the latter part is in scotch-taped letters cut out of printer paper.

Is the deadbolt still locked?  Only one way for anyone to find out.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would rub at her temples, "So shall we add breaking and entering, petty theft, vandalism, and horrid handwriting to the list of things which will be have to be covered by the bail?" Monet would go to let out a sigh and shake her head.

"I do hope that you enjoyed yourself, Noriko. You do seem to have been rather bored lately. So is all of this spectacle for our entertainment or should we expect extra guests?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And, just dropping by to get his own fill of donuts, is Caleb. Still with a sleepy look on him, he gets out of a '71 Dodge Challenger that's been, maybe unnoticed by the locals, parked in the nearby driveway. So, has he been sleeping in the car? Well, the answer is, yes he has. You see, a little drug deal around these parts, like stuff for the local party, got him on the distribution call. And driving from Gotham all the way out to Upstate New York... Well, it takes its time, and Caleb sure didn't want to risk falling asleep while on the highway.

So, his priority... Get coffee in his system. And some donuts!

As he nears the shop and the gather of people, he... Well he enters, thinking that the shop is open for business! There's no way he'll be charged with breaking and entering, right?

...Right?

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Blink teleports herself and Monet past any pesky door locks and Nickolodean traps Noriko may have set out, popping near Noriko. The two of them loom near Noriko! Blink glances around as if inspecting the room again now that she's not at the window, "We can teleport whenever you're ready, Monet," she says quickly, as if expecting company to come bursting in because that's how things always go. She squints towards the front of the shop as Caleb comes in with a DING DING, as the cute little shop bell rings his entrance. "Uh oh, we have ... company," she says in a serious tone.

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque Evers says, "@emit "Your welcome, I am glad I can stop by to check in, but you know you are doing an amazing job running the place in my absence." Cinque smiles softly as he continues to Facetime with an auburn hair middle-aged woman with a Jamii Shelter shirt. "You are doing an amazing work, Sandra. I will Facetime you again, when I have another break in my schedule. Take care, Mrs. Teeman.

Cinque bites the bottom of his lip and realizes that he only has a few more hours before his leave pass expires and he has to get back to training. Cinque puts his phone away and walks over to the counter, "Can I get an apple filled doughnut and chai tea with a shot of express?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The recent arrivals coming in have Monet St. Croix let out a sigh. Bother. "It appears that we're about to have visitors. I presume that you can behave yourself." This is given over to Noriko as a light chastisement. They don't seem hostile. At least, as much as anyone joining over in the late night shift of breaking into a donut, ice cream, and coffee shop can be.

At least this isn't somewhere that sells clown memorabilia. Or worse coimc books.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I didn't break and I entered during opening hours."  Clearly Noriko doesn't have a strong grasp of trespassing, or doesn't wish to have one.  "What, are you putting me under arrest?" she scoffs, nonplused by Monet and Blink's ability to easily apprehend her.

The coffee maker starts to burble.

It seems Caleb does find the bolt is unlocked.

"Of course I can.  You guys want anything for the road?" she asks Clarice and Monet.  "Does teleporting make you hungry?" she chatters at Blink.

"Welcome!  Do you like donut holes?  I've got donut holes!" she says in almost an eerie cheeriness to anyone who knows her as the customers approach.  "We're out of the apple filled, but you get this fritter!  Express?  Don't know that...is that a shot of quick?"  Noriko improvises with something she finds behind the manager's desk to give the chai a kick.

"If everyone can grab a putter and make a hole in one, donut on the house!"  She has set up the manager's putting green and these putters look suspiciously familiar to anyone who has played mini-golf around here.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Blink raises her finger and wiggles it at Noriko, "Huh? Oh right! That's right, you're under arrest. Now---" she explains as Noriko just walks on by to help the newcomers with donuts and coffee.

"Hey wait...you don't work here, right?" she wonders. She messes with her hair as she looks confused, glancing at Monet, "Monet, what's going on here?" she wonders, "I'm lost..."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just sigh, "Ms. Ashida is liberating some.. Snacks for herself, and it appears the rest of us. Don't think too much about it. We'll ensure that the place is paid forw hatever happens. Unless you prefer to.." NOt have any of the ice cream and donuts that are about to be liberated.

Going along with it means that at whatever point NOriko loses interest they can just clean up and leave. "If not I presume more for her." M is not going over towards any of the various derringers of donuts about. Glancing over at Noriko. "Are you going to introduce your friends to the rest of the class?" She does nto want to ask how the mini-golf happened.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Well, Caleb walks in, looks about and he recognizes a familiar face - just a slight touch of recognition, which he does his best to hide. He looks between the mutant girls gathered, and also makes no sign of being surprised by mutations; either he's seen awkward stuff before, or he's just too sleepy at this time to care. "Morning", he says. "I'll take a double with a regular donut, please." And he goes to sit on a counter stool. Yawn!

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Tonight I do."  Have to give when you take right?  It's one of the rare glimpses few souls get into Noriko's...supplemental activities.  At least the girl is serving everyone else before she cleans out the joint.

"Oh I met Caleb down at a mutant shelter," once.  "We're tight."  Noriko can't remember what era the lingo is from, but she saw it on TV and no one made fun of the character who used it, so it's fair game to her.  "Caleb, this is Miss Stick-Up-Her-Butt and her sidekick, Blinky or something."  Noriko shrugs.  Hearing a 'morning' at this time doesn't faze the speedster at all.

"Which one is the regular donut?" Noriko whispers to M and Clarice.

The orders are coming out...well at least they have the right names on them, but everything seems to be a little bit improvised and has at least one surprise ingredient.  Order black coffee?  Get it spiked with maple syrup.  Somehow there's a stick of red licorice that ends up in an eclair.  There's no rhyme or reason.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Blink frowns a bit as people start ordering and helping themselves to whatever the shop offers, "Not sure about this," she mutters. She crosses her arms and awaits the signal from Monet.

Meanwhile, she watches what Noriko is doing and gives her the smirky smirkface as she's called 'Blinky', "Hey..." she begins, then points at the plain donut hole thingies because, "The ones with no frosting," she explains then looks apprehensive as Noriko starts going to town on the orders. She looks at Cinque and then at Caleb, "Uhh sorry about this, she's new to donuts," she explains to them about Noriko.

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque Evers says, "@emit "Sorry, I meant espresso." Cinque furrows his brow slightly and smirks as he tries to hide his embarrassment, "My apologizes, it just a faint memory that I had long ago of a joke that my mother used to say when she ordered her Americano. It is one of the few things that I have to try to remember, but I digress. Cinque strokes his brow nervously with his left hand as he begins to wonder if he is sounding like another weird New York denizen that comes to donut shops in the middle of the night, and begins arguing with their buttons.

Cinque coughs, "I am just really tired." Cinque adds, "The apple fritters will be fine." Cinque peers around the shop as he moves out of the way for the next customer."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would go to let out a low sigh and a groan over and moves to rub at her temples. Indicative of needing something much, much stronger than this place has available. But she can't leave Noriko here unsupervised. What would the duchess think? She lets out a sigh over and goes to shake her head.

"Wlel, if you're looking for a level of inanity to try and fry your consciousness, explore no further."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
Clarice Ferguson teleports a donut to Caleb and then one to Cinque, then looks at Monet with a smirk, "Yeah, I'm not a waitress," she mutters. She glances at Monet, "Looks like Noriko isn't coming with us. I'll go get back-up," she tells her and nods with the plan. She steps around the group and walks outside to teleport with a BLINK.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shrug, "Ms. Ashida can take care of herself when it comes to snacks. Do make sure you take.." Then Blink goes to teelport out and she shakes her head, and lets out a sigh. "Is everything all right, Noriko?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Once Noriko has gotten the customer's squared away with their treats and she has seen a non-donut hole putted once or twice, she finishes stashing away the rest of the donuts in a larger bindle, using the club, she prepares as quickly as she can once Clarice is nowhere to be found.  It's then a mad dash to fix everything up.

"What?  Why wouldn't it be?"  Is it strange that she's binge eating donut leftovers from a local joint?  Perhaps.  "Why are you here?  Did someone spot me leave?  You aren't going to tell the Eye of Sauron are you?"  Jean, of course she means Jean, regardless of any recent events.  "They're just going to throw this stuff out anyways."  She chews at her lower lip slightly.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just shake her head, "No, that particular entity is back locked up where it belongs. That also means that there's no risk of being hit with a laser that will turn you into a dinosaur." Why was that such a constant in their lives!? There were just some things you sighed,and had long since come to accept.

"We'll be having to pay for damages regardless.. So you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. And how much caffeine -have- you had?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko just stares at Monet like she has a third eye.  "..."

"What damages?  Oh I leave the money I make for that," Noriko explains as if this should cover everything.  "Well everything I can't fix...So you don't have to worry about that."  Independent, ever her own island.

"64 oz of black tea, a liter of Coke, and I can't remember."  Feels so long ago, even if it couldn't be further from the truth.  "Not much."  Shrug.

"Whoever sent you here doesn't have to worry you know.  I can take care of myself."  Noriko blows a lock of hair out of her eyes and it straightens out as if caught in a lightning strike for a moment at the force before relaxing into some strange wave that won't quite sit on her head.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just let out a sigh, "And what -type- of coke was it that you consumed.. You know what, never mind. And we're here just in case there comes more attention. I'm sure that Clarice is just taking precautions of a sensible nature." Maybe going to get Mystique so they can have an adult present that is not going to be Jean for sanity's sake.

"And you're likely to give yourself whiplash if you keep that up. Or make your hair look like Astro Boy." M had real weird comparative tastes sometimes.

Daimon Hellstrom has posed:
Daimon Hellstrom manifests in a sinister wreath of black and umber flames, seated in a booth with arms outstretched across the edges; as if he'd been there all this time. He hadn't. His donut, jelly of course, the most macabre of donuts now sat on a small round plate before him while his cup of hot coffee floated just within reach of his hand. It was possible not to notice his entrance, specifically easier as the soulfire sucked back inside him leaving only the uncanny looking male with his short hair incensed with all the glutinously wasted power.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Regular?" by which she means non-diet.  Noriko, the street smart speedster, isn't always quick.  The mind darts off in the wrong directions sometimes.

"I've never gotten whiplash-Sure!" Noriko waves to Cinque and brandishes a smile that she turns to Monet.  "My hair never stays put.  I'm lucky I don't look like a dandelion."  Oh look, she has one now and gives it the most delicate puff of air she can manage...or at least she makes it look that way.

"What in hell..."  Noriko's eyes flick toward Daimon when he simply appears.  "Okay maybe it was good you came.  Can you get that guy's order?"  ZOOM!

Noriko uses the golf club she borrows as a stick for her makeshift bindle and loads it up with as many donuts as she can.  She leaves all of the money on the manager's desk, puts his hat back in place, cleans the display cases inside and out to get them ready for service tomorrow, and even gives the windows a good washing.  It's like a cleaning fairy came, but took all the day's leftovers as payment.

The coffeemaker though, Noriko forgets to turn off.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
As Noriko goes to zoom off, and Monet is left over with Cinque and then over wiht the approaching Daimon over for a moment. "Lovely, it seems like this is the center of the late night social traffic." Ah well, one can't have everythign. "And you'll find that life veryrarely gives you the chance to plan. . At least in ways that will turn out the way you wish. I've found that to my surprise a great deal often." How she hates the unexpected.

Daimon Hellstrom has posed:
Daimon took his bite and his sip and then seemed to lose interest in the local comestables. His gaze snapped to Monet as if to punish her for noticing him. In this setting, punishment was little more then glance from his molten eyes; something in those eyes seemed to know who she was. He had an air about him like he knew everyone here with secrets to spare, it was just one of many unwelcome things about his presence. He lowered his cup to the surface of the table he had intruded on.

Daimon was not often found in such pedestrian places, and looked a bit out of place here, but his easy confidence gave him a foundation in just about any situation where humans could be found. "Won't you join me?" He offered to Monet, or Cinque, it was hard to tell and that was likely the aim, a lure rather than a pleasantry.

Cinque Evers has posed:
"Yeah, people arguing with their buttons would seem a lot more normal." Cinque muses to himself as he takes another sip of his chait tea. Cinque raises his right eyebrow slightly and waves his right hand in a circular manner as he quickly responds to Daimon's offer. "Yeah, I am kind of prefer seating here and talking like a rude New Yorker to someone across the shop. No offense, but you seem, but you seem to have a lot going on at your table.

Cinque quickly peers around the shop as he nervously proclaims, "Again, no offense.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just shake her head over, "None taken. This establishment seems to be quite the fanciful venue." Why all these individuals seem to want late night donuts and ice cream is somewhat beyond her. "Are either of you with the local law enforcement authorities?" WEll, that's a legitimate reason for it as far as she's concerned.

M does make no real attempt over ot join Daimon. She looks more like she's trying to resist the urge to bury her face in her hands or start banging it into the wall.

Daimon Hellstrom has posed:
Cinque was not alone in his response, others were similarly rebuffing the offer in their own varied degrees of politeness, even as a few solitary folks and couples got up to join Daimon's booth. It was now somehow evident that Daimon had glamoured his request subtly so that everyone in the shop would interprit it as an intimate request offered to them and only them. Some confusion arose as people arrived at the booth, seeming to think the other mistaken; they were invited why were these other people here?

Eventually joined by younger couple equipped with half drunk decafs, a quiet conversation ensued with only breif acknowledgement sent Cinque's way, an amused smirk if apologetic in its is minor apathy, a little shrug. The line to sit with Daimon was beginning to form as an interrupting snake that made movement of less comfortable.

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque Evers says, "@emit "No, I am meeting a coworker for a ride near here, but that place plays terrible loud music, and has a no loitering policys. Cinque shrugs his shoulders as he lets out a sodt sigh, "And if I stay at my old place, I will just get involved in things, and will not be able to relax." Cinque peers arouond the shop as the crowd gathers around Daimon, "I thought this would be a nice place to wait, until I have to go meet them." Cinque says, "Was the owner the pink woman or the other woman?""