7170/Mars Bars Are Made On Earth

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Revision as of 03:50, 2 August 2021 by Trdsf (talk | contribs) (THE FOR-MAT DALEK IS SAT-IS-FIED.)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Mars Bars Are Made On Earth
Date of Scene: 01 August 2021
Location: Lobby - Titan's Tower
Synopsis: J'onn stops by the tower and people gather. Predictably, it all ends in pizza.
Cast of Characters: J'onn J'onzz, Kian, Terry O'Neil, Colette O'Connail, Pol Hevonen




J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    Having met with Terry for the interview, and remembering the young man's words, J'onn decided to take a little trip to New York.  At firstt he merely visited a few of the little stores here and there, but the Martian could only take so much staring before finally making his way to Titans Tower.  It had been a long time since he tried a 'day out', usually finding it better to avoid such things without another member of the League, or perhaps an octopus… just something else to draw attention.
    Despite the number of years he had been on Earth, he had never been to the Tower.  The why escaped him, it seemed a logical place to visit.  Perhaps it was based in the fact that although he knew of many of the Titans, he had never met any until Terry.
    Opening the door he steps inside, sometimes phasing wasn't required, he glanced around the lobby.  Given the weather, and what was expected attire for such warmth, he wore a pair of cargo shorts in pale blue, and a white polo shirt.  On his feet he sported a pair of dock shoes, no socks.
    The first thing he noticed was the two elevator shafts.  Most might be confused by that, but he understood the purpose instantly, which made him wonder if the door behind him would open on their own or, if after zipping down the shaft, the flyer had to stop to open it.

Kian has posed:
    One of the elevator shafts, the empty one, is in fairly short order not empty.  A small birdman flits out, pulls up into a hover, and just stays there a moment.  {You have the mind-touch.  I thought I sensed someone.}  It's a statement, a mental one, just offered as a comment, as if it had been spoken aloud.  There is no attempt to probe.
    Kían drops to the floor and bows slightly in greeting.  "Kié.  You are here to see someone?" he asks, and while his physical and mental voices are the same, he speaks with the hesitancy of someone for whom English is not their first language, and his accent is quite unplaceable.  His wings flex and fold slowly, as on reflex.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    As J'onn is admiring the elevators, a Rabbit Hole opens just by the main doors, revealing—not a Terry, but his alter-ego, Vorpal.  The Cheshire Cat is attired simply enough, in just bike shorts and a tank top, because heat exaustion is a thing during the summer.  The scene he is leaving is that of a supermarket, which explains the boxes of flavored sparkling water he's carrying under each arm as he steps through—in this heat, they tend to go through them like water.
    He stops for a second as he steps into the room, and the Rabbit Hole closes behind him, his expression is one of pleasant surprise.
    "J'onn!  Well, that's a pleasant surprise—have you been waiting long?"  He glances at the bird-man and grins at him.  "And I see you've met Kian—excuse me just one second and I'll be right with you!"
    He moves over to the bar quickly (but not too quickly… carbonation, after all) so he can unload the beverage cans in the small fridge that is kept under the bar.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    Many, many years of living among humans, J'onn has worked very hard not to immediately scan the places he goes to ensure the privacy of those who live there.  He still knew how many minds were present around him, he couldn't stop that.
    When the telepathic voice touches his mind, it takes him a moment to realize he wasn't talking to himself.  It had been forever since he spoke telepathically instead of merely touching minds and offering his own voice to theirs.
    Mind touch, yes, I am telepathic, comes his reply, his mind voice lacking any sort of accent, pure and melodic, though deep in tone like his spoken voice.
    As Vorpal appears, he realizes in that moment that it is Terry, but he has never seen the alter ego before.  His eyes take a moment look the young man over, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
    "In answer to your question Kié, this is who I was looking for."  He indicates Vorpal.  "I am J'onn J'onzz."  A slight bow is offered to the winged man.  "A honor to meet you, Kié."
    "I have only just arrived," he now offers to Vorpal.  "I find myself wondering if there is a hidden bell on the front door."

Kian has posed:
    Kían smiles slightly.  "Oh, no, kié iss a greetin'.  It means 'peace'.  My name iss Kían.  I am please to meet you, Jon-jonz."  Yup, English is still a work in progress.  There's a vague sense that the birdman was about to switch back to telepathic contact, but Terry's arrival stopped that.
    In fact, at Terry's arrival—and once the pop is unloaded—Kian flits over to greet him with a hug.  "Of course, tenár'h, you know our visitor.  You know everyone, yis?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal laughs and returns Kian's hug, coupled with a playful ruffle of his hair.  "No, Kian, I don't know everyone!  I still have never even seen Batman, and I'm not entirely sure he exists."  He winks.  Of course Batman exists—Robin's presence was all too much of a reminder of that.
    "J'onn, it's so good to see you again!"  He walks over to the Martian and reaches out in greeting, and then stops.  "Oh, I have to warn you.  I don't know if your telepathy is conscious or unconscious, but you might want to reinforce your mental shield if it isn't conscious.  When I am in this form… well," he points to his temple, "let's just say there's a lot of Wonderland in me.  Telepaths who make contact with my mind end up seeing fairies for hours.  And most of the time, they aren't there!"  He advances then, trying to decide whether to go for a hug or for a handshake, and goes for a quick hug.
    "Would you like to step over to the bar?  We've got refreshments.  Or we can go up into the common room, there's even more stuff up there!  Normally that space is off-limits to the general public, but as a member of the League, you can go wherever you want."  A pause.  "Except Beast Boy's room.  He hasn't done laundry since Thanksgiving and you need to go into the room with a rifle and a helmet because things have moved in."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    There is a moment J'onn seems confused, but not over what might be expected of the young men hugging and so familiar, but instead over Kian's accent and language.  Why Terry never thought of that to challenge him with is beyond him, but given enough time listening to Kian, he'll have it down.
    "Apologies," he offers to Kian.  "Kian it is.  You may call me J'onn, it is much easier."
    Now Vorpal is approaching and offering a warning, to which J'onn says, "My mental shield is always in place, but thank you for the warning.  Those not prepared for fairies and elves might indeed have issues."  He was prepared to shake the young man's hand and then he's hugged.  It is not an unwelcome greeting, merely unexpected, but he does wrap one arm around him to return the hug.  "I can assure you, Batman exists, and he is a grumpy man."

Kian has posed:
    Kían blinks at Terry.  "Gar's room iss not like that," he says, quite seriously.  "An' your min' is not that difficul' to deal wit'.  I do not haf a problem wit' it."
    He shakes his head, and turns a sort of weary smile to J'onn.  "Terry tenár'h an' reality haf only a passin' relationship sometimes.  I do what I can wit' him."  And he turns way too innocent a smile to Terry.
    Yup, he's an Earth bird now.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "I imagine he must be a very grumpy man.  His latest Robin is almost positively feral and moody!"  He leans into the hug for a second, and then splits in order to make it to the bar.  "Let me get you some refreshments.  Kian is an Akiar, and he does not know where his homeworld is, so we've sort of adopted him."  The feline directs a look at Kian while he reaches for glasses under the bar.  "Although I think he might have gotten a little too comfortable around here.  You are still sore about the couple of days I tried to convince you Carol Channing was the Empress of Earth, aren't you?"

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    J'onn makes his way over to the bar, leaning lightly against it while watching Vorpal.  "Akiar," he repeats, reaching up to tap his chin.  Looking off toward nothing for a moment, he searched through his memory to see if he remembered hearing anything about these people.  "I am afraid that is not a race I have heard of, though if you wish I am willing to send a message to Mars to see if anyone there has.  I know what it is like to be separated from those you know and care about, so if there is anything I can do to aid you in your search, please let me know."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    There's another visitor to the tower today, pulling up in her nice black Audi sportscar that she is NEVER going to let Terry drive and parking it just outside the tower in the largely empty lot.  It's a car J'onn may have seen in the staff lot at Happy Harbor, and it's owner is someone J'onn will have seen around the staff room too—Colette O'Connail, teaching assistant (TAs should not be able to afford such cars, it's just wrong) and starting as a full time teacher there from the next school year.  Not a member of staff he's had more than the barest interaction with though, for some reason.
    Judging by the way she walks up to the building and enters as if doing so is a perfectly familiar thing, coming to Titans Tower must be… well, a perfectly familiar thing to her.  The main reason for this is in her hand—a USB drive containing Kian's latest lesson plans in the ongoing project to Help Alien Birb English Better.  Although Kian has not officially been a student at the school for a year now, Happy Harbor, specifically in the person of Colette, has been continuing to help him with his education.  It is at least more reliable than the education he gets at Titans Tower, where his exposure to English has come richly enhanced with Cyborg's less than formal language, not to mention Terry's mischievous tendency to attempt to confuse the alien with his own Wonderland spin on reality.
    "Hey Birdy Buddy!" Colette calls out across the lobby as she strides in as if she owns the place, which is her normal mode of locomotion.  "Got your latest lesson plan.  Terry, good to see you haven't got lost in a black hole again.  Means I don't have to punch your arm."  That at least makes it clear which Colette this is.  Her eyes flicker to the other visitor, and she's silent a moment before giving him a nod, and greeting him simply with, "J'onzz."

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    Business hours at Titans Tower, and it is sheer coincidence that brings Pol Hevonen to the place.  Or rather, because he doesn't own a car here, and he doesn't want to pay for the systematic oppression of people trapped in a gig economy, he's in centaur form and it's Saj Hevonen who gallops up the bridge to the parking lot.  Oddly, the Audi that's parked there went past him at the speed of I Didn't See That.
    He brushes the street dust off his lace-up horseshoes and enters the lobby.
    And stops just inside the door because there is a Man From Mars here, and it's putting him into weird Aliens Are Among Us flashbacks.

Kian has posed:
    "No, for tryin' to tell me Buffalo Wil' Wings was an upstate New York party spot for avians," Kían says to Terry, quite primly.
    Anything further is interrupted by Colette's arrival, and he flits over to her in greeting.  "Kié, Colette tavár'h!  Iss it that time already?  I haf the last assignments finish," he says, rummaging another USB out of his belt pouch, to exchange with her.
    Does he notice any tension when she spots J'onn?  Oh, hell no.  He's distracted waving hi to Saj, apparently perfectly at ease with the surrounding weirdness.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "It would be interesting to know if anyone back in Mars has heard of Kian's homeworld.  We theorize that it's so far away, he must have done some serious interstellar hopping.  Oh Hey Lettie!" Vorpal says, giving his friend a glance and starting to fill up another glass, this one for her.  "You don't have time to punch my arm, you're too busy walking away from explosions while wearing sunglasses in Lego-land, remember?"
    The Cheshire looks up at as another person enters.  "Myth!  Come over, we're having non-alcoholic drinks!"  He pauses, noticing the centaur hesitating, and gestures.  "I am sure you're familiar with J'onn… Pol, this is J'onn.  J'onn, this is Myth, the newest addition to the menagerie.  His powers are linked to constellations and I think they may be even weirder than mine."  he smiles at the Martian and offers him some flavored sparkling water.
    "There's cookies somewhere… let me see if I can find them."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    Having found a place to stand, semi-lean, J'onn is near the bar where Vorpal is doing… something about refreshments.  He hadn't expected an assembly, but a smile plays at the corner of his lips as more people arrive.  Colette he recognizes of course, and he offers a nod along with a soft, "Miss O'Connail, good to see you."
    There may have been more he was intending to say, however that is the moment that Saj enters and his attention is immediately drawn to the centaur.  He has lived a very long time, seen a large number of things, but this was in fact a first.  He doesn't stare, that is exceedingly rude and he knows all too well what it feels like to be stared at.  He looks the centaur over, offers the briefest of nods as he offers a polite, "Salutations."
    Turning back to Vorpal, he accepts the water with a soft, "Thank you," grateful it is not some carbonated concoction humans seems to love.  "I do hope I am not interrupting anything of importance.  I decided to do a little shopping."  He has no bags.  "And while in New York, thought I would finally take a look at Titans Tower."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette swaps USB drives with Kian and reaches over to give the alien a quick one-armed hug and a grin.  Kian gets hugs, Terry gets threats of punching.  It seems so unfair, but only if you don't know Terry.  Really it's a kindness.  Terry needs regular threats of punching, it helps to keep him sane.
    Sometimes actual punches, but she doesn't punch hard at least.
    "The LEGO thing didn't happen," Colette says to Terry with her eyes fixed on Pol.  "You must have dreamed it.  Are we dreaming now?  I just want to make sure, because for a moment there I thought a centaur walked into the tower.  In fact the only reason I'm asking is because this is Titans Tower and given the kind of nonsense that happens here on a regular basis, it's possible it's not actually a dream.  Hi Myth."
    Colette turns back to give J'onn a nod.  "It's an interesting place.  With a surprising number of links to Happy Harbor.  Several members of the team attend or used to attend the school.  As you might imagine that made for some interesting experiences back when the school had a policy of students with powers not revealing themselves.  The most interesting of those experiences is neither a student at the school nor a member of the team any more, thankfully."

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    "Greetings," Saj says to the Martian.  He looks at Terry and nods.  "Yes, I am as familiar with the Martian Manhunter as any average person whose family obsesses about super-heroes."
    Kian seems to be happily engaged with things, but then he threatens non-alcoholic beverages, which are almost not worth it for a Centaur.  And the woman he's with feels vaguely ominous and knows his name and he's sure he met her or was shown her photo and warned about her, or Cas had a vision of her from the Astral Fortress—something about LEGOs.  He nods a sketchy hello in her direction and blankly wonders what Happy Harbor is.

Kian has posed:
    Kían returns the hug and stows the drive, and returns his attention to J'onn.  "Askin' can not hur' to try.  I do not know if my worl' has been detected.  We haf not had a firs' contac'—I mean, other than me, an' I do not think I count.  I… am not sure what they coul' look for, or even what to tell them to look for, but we can talk some time."
    He returns to Terry, and curls a wing around his shoulder.  "I do not think I wan' to go back anymore, but I woul' like to know where it iss, an' let them know I am sa… nnh, I mean that I am okay," he amends.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry smiles at Kian's admission, putting an arm around the bird-man's shoulders.  "I mean, if we find it, you can always visit and have a little holiday.  You can tell them that you are busy keeping me sane.  You, and Gar, and…."  He glances at J'onn, and smiles.  "It's a full-time job, so they take shifts."
    Disengaging himself from the hug, he bends down to rummage under the counter, but his voice comes over loud and clear.
    "But Colette… Everything Was Awesome!  Everything was cool when—aha!"
    He emerges and opens several boxes, arranging cookies into a double row on a serving plate.  "We've got Oreos and Chips Ahoys.  And peanuts.  But those looked sus so I think I'm not going to serve them."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    It's an instinct now, the word alone being all the more J'onn needs to hear before he starts to move.  Backing away from the counter, bottle of water in hand, he continues away until he finds a chair as far away as he can actually get, and sits down in it.  It's a slow move, as if it's thought out, when really it was pure instinct to get away from Oreos being anywhere near him.
    Comfortably sitting, no Oreos in his line of sight, he opens the bottle of water and takes a sip, watching the interactions of the four other's in the room and wondering quietly if phasing through the floor was an acceptable means of excusing himself.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "We'll find your homeworld one day," Colette says to Kian.  "But when we do, instead of rejecting the notion of moving back, maybe you could move back and bring us all with you.  I mean you've said it yourself so many times, this is an insane planet.  The idea of living on a world that hasn't made first contact yet is quite appealing right now to be honest.  I mean we're about to be invaded by militaristic extra-terrestrial lunatics for what—the third time in a year?  Earth's record is not good on that front."
    Colette joins Terry behind the counter to investigate the fridge, in the hopes that someone has seen sense and started stocking some non-non-alcoholic beverages.  She's with Pol on this one.  She's soon disappointed though.  "You guys really need to do something about this bar," she says.  "I've offered to keep it stocked for you in the past, you should take me up on that offer.  I'd do a much better job than whoever's responsible for it at the moment.
    There's no punching, but she manages to give Terry a bump while shuffling past him to check for drinks.  "You dreamed the whole thing, Terry.  It never happened.  You can't prove a thing."

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    Food being served.  Saj eats like a horse… one of the Thracian horses of infamy, so not a pure vegetarian.  He realizes that the cookies are too small, and decides to voluntarily stop existing again.  There is a flash of thaumions that gives the impression of a star-filled sky changing central focus from Sagittarius to Orion, and then there's a nearly-seven-foot human (in regular human attire) standing where the centaur was a moment ago.
    Today is a Cas day, and Pol settles into the observer seat looking out from the Astral Fortress while his twin brother operates the body.  There's a bit of psionic leakage as this happens, because they don't know any better yet.
    <<Hey brother.  Did you see that movement?  That's the AA Avoidance Trick, remember how Karl Borden does that whenever someone brings out beer?>>
    <<Yeah,>> Cas says.
    This conversation is entirely obvious to any telepath in the room.  The twin human minds in the single body don't know to hide it.

Kian has posed:
    Kían notices the mental interplay between Pol and Cas, but does not 'listen' or otherwise obtrude himself into it—he wasn't invited to be part of that conversation.  Centaur turns into an unspeakably tall human?  That doesn't even register—he spends most of his time with Gar and Terry, after all, so shifting forms is nothing unusual anymore.
    "I will not objec' if you bring more bourbon.  The bottle you gave me was very good," he says, watching Colette over the counter.  He too puts a little distance between himself and the cookies.  Chocolate is not to be trifled with.  It is to be used carefully, like any drug.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal notices the reactions from both J'onn and Kian and comes to the conclusion that there must be something about Earth chocolate that does things to other planets.  Come to think of it, he has never tested this theory with Kara.  It bears investigating.  He lets Pol demolish the chocolate by himself while he looks for other things.
    "This bar is perfectly stocked, Colette!  Look, we've got cocktail onions, saltine crackers, olives and pimentos and… huh."  He glances at a bag.  "That's weird.  I could swear these stopped getting made back in 2015…."  He turns the bag upside down to look at the expiration date, and then quickly puts it down again.  "Oh, hey, pickles!  People like pickles, right?" he says, bringing them up.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    Sipping his water, J'onn takes note of the mental conversion and one brow raises.  He doesn't know the situation going on, but he can't miss it even if he tried, and he was trying.  It was his way not to intrude on the minds of others, especially humans as they loathed it as an invasion of privacy, which is exactly what it was.  It took extreme circumstances for him to use his telepathy, and this most certainly was not one of those.
    He continues to keep his distance from the Oreos, in fact he doesn't even look in the direction that they were just in case he might see one.  They were wonderful, amazing, addictive, destructive little things.
    "Pickles can be appealing," he offers, not certain what the bag was and pretty sure he doesn't want to know.  "Sweet or dill?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Does the fact that the centaur can turn into a human make it weirder or less weird?  In another context this question might be meaningful, but this is Titans Tower and weird is standard.  The fact that the human Pol has turned into doesn't have green skin means he's further up the normal scale than at least one of the Tower's long-term inhabitants as far as Colette is concerned.  "Cool," she comments to Pol, looking a long way up to do so.  "So you're half centaur and half human?  I'd say that would make you three-quarters human and one quarter horse, but your human form is probably worth one point five regular humans.  Quick math, that makes you only twenty percent horse.  It's probably not worth thinking too hard about that math.  In fact I'd strongly advise against it."
    Colette comes out from behind the counter, having secured herself a can of Coke.  It's non-alcoholic, but it seems that's the option available.  "I always said you were an Akiar of distinguished tastes, Kian tavár'h.  I shall bring you more bourbon.  And a single malt to try.  Come to think of it, I bet none of these barbarians have introduced you to cocktails or fine wines.  We will have to remedy that soon."
    Terry's attempts to convince her that the bar is properly stocked is a prime example of the reason why Colette thinks he requires regular punches (no, to be fair that's because otherwise he keeps trying to get himself killed), but for this time it gains him only a withering look.  "We could transmit the co-ordinates of the bar to the Shi'ar, maybe they'll destroy it for us," she suggests.  Her withering gaze undiminished, she grabs an Oreo and bites into it with apparently no ill-effects.  How do humans do it?

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    Cas shrugs, and has two of each cookie.  He frowns at the Oreo.
    "These have an interesting history.  They are a rip-off of the Sunshine Hydrox cookie, which was created by the people who founded the company that made Oreos and was stolen by an unscrupulous lawyer who got them to sign away effective management of the company then nearly destroyed it.  It's a great tale from the Wild Days of Lassaiz-Faire Capitalism."
    Why does he know this?  Probably because his cousin was watching an online documentary and he was trapped there.
    "They taste the same."


Kian has posed:
    "Another thin' to get from my homeworl', Colette: my father's spicewine, an' the brandy he makes from it," Kían says.  "Really, I haf only had what you gave me, an' that liquid fire from Harley."  He does not mention the bottle of wine from when Harley slugged Terry, and he himself got his brains just about turned inside out when he accidentally made mental contact with her.
    "Now that I think about it," he continues, a little abstractedly, "I haf some batches of my own agin'… well, I suppose k'chal has, my father has taken those over by now.  The firs' batch from the year I fledged shoul' about be ready."
    He flits neatly over the bar and get himself his usual—purple Kool-Ade—and flits back over again.  No point in going around when you can go over.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Looks like we've got both.  An embarrassent of riches."  Vorpal pads over with a bowl with an offering of both to J'onn, and chuckles at Pol's story.  "I'm not huge on cookies, to be honest, but there are some things of the sort that I like.  Coconut macaroons.  Millefeuille.  Tiramisu…."  He trails off and takes a seat near J'onn, briefly lost in confectionary speculations before he resurfaces.  "You know, there was one question I forgot to ask for the interview… your uniform.  Is that something you brought from Mars, or is it something you came up with it once you were here on Earth?"
    And he looks at the assorted gang, and adds, louder so they can hear him, "And I just had a wonderful idea.  This is starting to look like a sizable assembly and we don't have enough snacks in the bar.  I propose that we move this over to Giorgio's and avail ourselves of some of their delicious pizza.  All in favor, say 'Aye' and I can Rabbit Hole us there in the blink of an eye.  They expect me to, anyways."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
    It's not intentional, but as the talk about Hydrox and Oreos starts, J'onn's brain starts singing, 'la la la la la la' really loudly in his own ears.  He still hears what is said, he just has to pretend he doesn't.
    "It is the same uniform I have always worn," he answers.  "The equivalent of police uniform.  It made little sense to me to change it, though I would say I brought it with me, more that it came with me."
    He stands then, offering a simple, "Aye, I love the pizza from Giorgio's."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette could say things about J'onn's uniform.  She could talk about the relatively lax degree to which the term 'uniform' can truly be applied to the Manhunter uniform.  She could say things about how there's an important symbolic meaning that is vital to the identity of such uniforms but the details can change.  She could comment about how the uniform has changed over time and that it was better in her day.  This would raise extremely awkward questions though, so much as she's tempted to mouth off, she refrains.
    "Hydrox is a really bad name for a cookie," she says instead.  It's a much safer topic.  "It sounds more like an industrial cleaner."  She finishes off her non-hydrox Oreo, which is tastier than industrial cleaners, and chases it with a swig of her Coke.  "It's true.  Terry makes a really good tiramisu.  You should all get him to make you one some time.  And invite me along to eat it."
    She crumples the cola can and tosses it in the recycling.  "Giorgio's sounds good to me, let's go."

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    "It's a contraction of hydrogen and oxygen.  In the 19th century they thought it symbolized purity and health because of water, you find it everywhere," Cas says, and shrugs, eating an Oreo.
    "Personally I suspect there's a component in the creme filling that's potentiating the theobromine."
    He then stops talking about chocolate cookies as Pol has been stabbing him in the virtual shoulder and saying, <<Hsst!  Stop talking about it!>>

Kian has posed:
    At the mention of pizza, Kían quickly finishes his Kool-Ade and flits over the bar again, this time to rinse the cup out in the sink and set it aside.  The cookies are, upon reflection, not difficult to ignore simply because he cannot know if there are eggs involved, and he's just not going to take the chance.
    Back over the counter again.  "Yis, pizza," he agrees, then muses aloud, glancing between J'onn and Terry, "Do I need a uniform?  …no, Terry, that was not' an invitation to help choose one," he adds hastily.
    Better safe than sorry.