9269/Friday morning at the diner

Friday morning at the diner
Date of Scene:	24 December 2021
Location:	Empire Diner
Synopsis:	Hyperion meets Eternals from this universe. Interesting stuff.
Cast of Characters:	Gilgamesh, Hyperion, Sprite

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Gilgamesh has posed:
It's Christmas Eve. That time of year for wonder and love and gift giving. And also for eating vast quantities of food. That's where Gil comes in. The cook is in the kitchen at the Empire Diner, working his ass off to make sure that this rush, the end of the breakfast crowd, gets fed good food.

Despite all the people in here now there's still a little space available at the counter as a couple leaves to pay for their breakfast and head out the door. The rest of the joint is hopping, though, and kind of noisy. Lots of people are chatting as they enjoy their food. It's a pretty nice atmosphere overall.

Even the servers seem to be enjoying themselves. Many are wearing Christmas sweaters or other holiday attire. All except for Gil, who wears an apron and hair net.

Hyperion has posed:
    For some, it's just another day. Some people live every day doing good things for others. Some don't care because they are deep dark holes of rage. Mark Milton, of the Daily Bugle, is somewhere in the middle of all of that.

    Where he is from, Christmas was celebrated with his friends and his fiance'. His team, the Squadron Supreme... and this is his first Christmas conscious in this universe. So since he has a small apartment where he lives all alone... he found himself feeling a bit melancholy when he woke up this morning. As such, he dressed and went out. His feet carry him into the diner that he is happy to find open this fine day... and he heads towards the counter.

Gilgamesh has posed:
There's soon a glass of water and a menu in front of the newcomer, thanks to a server in a Rudolph the red nosed reindeer sweater. They're kind of on standby as everyone else at the counter's gotten fed already. Waiting to pounce on a drink that needs refill or to get diners more food, should they need it.

Back in the kitchen, Gil finishes up the last order and does a quick, but thorough, job cleaning the grill to get it ready for the next order. Once it's clean, though, he steps out of the back area to putz around behind the counter, getting himself a soda to drink and to watch the visitors to the establishment enjoy their food. The cook gives a nod to Mark and a friendly, "How's it going?"

Hyperion has posed:
    The same order as the other day, is what Mark asks for. He glances up from the menu with a smile. "Just coffee. Two eggs over medium, hashbrowns and bacon please. Oh, and an English Muffin if you can make that happen. Wheat toast if not." A pause, and then, "I would also love a glass of orange juice."

    And he sets the menu down, glancing about the place as he adds, "This -is- a nice place." And his senses pick out the cook in the back.. which makes him smirk. He is a fan of seeing people with the power to topple skyscrapers working at a job they enjoy. He draws cartoons, and this guy makes people food. So he nods to himself and settles in to enjoy the comradery, if only vicariously.

Gilgamesh has posed:
When Gilgamesh gets the order for Mark's grub he cracks a smile and heads back into the kitchen to prepare it. Of course, the server gets the coffee and OJ for him, the rest is left to the grill cook. Gil's an efficient guy, but it's clear he enjoys what he does as he fixes food for the new arrival.

As he works Gil whistles a tune quietly, Ode to Joy. As he moves throughout the kitchen he almost does so in tune with the music. Seems like he's got a good case of the holiday spirit.

Once the food is ready Gil brings it out himself sliding it to the other Eternal with a friendly, "Here you go. Enjoy."

Hyperion has posed:
    "Thanks." comes the one word reply to Gil for the food. And just before Gil can turn back to the kitchen, he says, "Almost didn't recognize you." Just under the noise of the crowd. Just loud enough to hear if you were within a few feet of him. "That black outfit looked good on you. Hope you didn't object to my interference the other day."

Gilgamesh has posed:
When he catches Mark's words about his black outfit Gil stops moving for a moment, then turns around with a smile on his face to study the cartoonist for a few seconds. There's a little chuckle from the former Sumerian who bows slightly, "Thank you. I look good in an apron, too, I hope." He grabs one of the corners of his apron for emphasis before moving back towards the guy across the counter. "If you're who I think you are then I certainly don't mind. Folks need to work together to make things better."

Hyperion has posed:
    "Something felt odd that day though." admits Mark. I've never sensed the same sort of energy output and channeling ability as my own in -anyone- before. Either or or... well, where I am from. Which is a -long- way from here. Think we might be able to talk about it when you finish here for the day?" he asks.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Yeah?" asks Gil curiously, his brow furrowing. "Sure, I get off in like five minutes. Short shifts on Christmas Eve, but everyone has to come in to make it work." He starts heading back towards the kitchen to clean the grill again so the next cook doesn't have to do it, "Take your time eating, though. I'll meet you out there and have some coke or tea."

Hyperion has posed:
    Nodding his head, Mark offers a smile. He digs into his food and enjoys the flavor. It's not like he requires food to live. He lives off of the background radiation of the universe after all.

    His eyes flicker about the place, and he grins as he sees the general uplifting mood of the place. Being around people on the holiday is something that he needed for sure.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Gil soon finishes what he's working on and heads back out front once the other cook takes over for him. Pulling off his hairnet and putting on a pea coat he moves to join the other Eternal at the counter. "How'd you enjoy your meal? I know it's simple diner stuff, but I like to make sure my customers are happy with what they end up with."

Then he looks around for a moment, checking to see if anyone is eavesdropping, "So what's that you said about feeling an energy output? I mean, I try to keep what I am and what I can do quiet. For the most part, but I'm darn curious about what you picked up on and what your thing is."

Hyperion has posed:
    Moving to join Gilgamesh in a somewhat semi-private location, Mark settles in with his coffee after a fresh refill. He sits down and takes a sip as he listens to what the big cook has to say.

    Nodding his head, he shrugs, "My senses are ... well, augmented is a simplistic term for it. I see the entire Electro Magnetic Spectrum... and the energies flowing through your body... seem very similar to my own. Not identical, but similar."

    Another sip of his coffee and he adds, "You see, I am not exactly from this Earth... and on the Earth I -am- from, I was the only being with these sorts of energies that I ever knew about or even heard of."

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Well, that is a lot to take in," Gil says to the other fellow after a few seconds of consideration. "I can't do energy perception stuff, but it wouldn't be unheard of for one of us to have developed that ability."

He looks Mark over carefully, "Well, let me tell you about myself and you can stop me wherever. I'm Gilgamesh, the hero of ancient Sumer, in addition to other things. I'm over fifty thousand years old, having been created by nearly omnipotent beings and assigned almost at the moment of creation to protecting the Earth from threats humans weren't equipped for."

Then he chuckles, "I used to do it rather discretely, pretending to be a normal guy and just joining armed forces of countries I felt were doing the most good. Took about half a millenia off recently to learn how to cook and brew beer, though."

Hyperion has posed:
    Nodding his head, Mark just thinks on this for a long moment. "I've known that I was aging slower than others. But I'm only about forty years old. It seems that the background energy in this... for lack of a better term... universe, is far more pervasive and potent than it was back home. So I am far stronger here than I -ever- was back there."

    "The people named me Hyperion, after the Titan of Light and the Sun... mostly because of the way my energy releases looked I guess." he adds with a shrug.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Hyperion? That's pretty cool!" Gil exclaims, sounding a bit excited to learn the guy's name. "Call me Gil when I'm wearing civvies, though. I try to do the mild mannered cook thing most of the time. I screwed up a little while ago when I caught some people trying to rob a museum, but nobody realized what I can really do, thankfully."

He nods slowly, "So we got pretty much the same energy, you said? You project energy? I saw you fly real fast and you've got the sensory powers. Have you ever heard of the species called the Eternals?"

Sprite has posed:
Speaking of Eternals, the door to the diner opens as a young woman with ginger hair wearing a dark green jacket and similarly colored jeans with traditional black doc martins walks in.

Today, Sprite is coming in undisguised and carrying a box wrapped in simple green paper. The box is about the size one would expect a shirt to be packaged in and is unadorned in any major way. She gives the place a quick scan and sees Gilgamesh sitting with a man she doesn't recognized. Despite the stranger present she brazenly approaches the pair, almost as if she belongs here more than the other patrons, and greets her friend: "Happy Holidays!" (Seriously after so many thousands of years how do you choose /which/ Winter Solstace holiday to refer to?) and calls out, "I'd like another of your Peppermint Shakes please," to the kitchen as she hops up onto the seat next to Gilgamesh.

Hyperion has posed:
    "Eternals.." offers Mark. He shrugs, "I mean, it sounds pretty awesome but... wait, you're fifty -thousand- years old?" he asks, "Does that mean I'm going to live that long?" he asks softly.

    Another sip of coffee is taken. Yeah, like he needs the caffeine. Or like it could affect him even if he -did- need it. "That sounds... well maybe it's best that my fiance thinks I'm dead. I'd really rather let her move on and find someone who's not going to stay forever young while she grows old." he states.

    His mood is somber right up until Sprite makes her appearance. That is distraction enough to yank him out of that mood, and his own auburn brows lift. "Friend of yours Gil?" he asks as a smile threatens to appear on his face.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Sprite, my sister, welcome!" Gilgamesh greets the woman cheerfully as he slides over to give her room to sit. "Happy holidays to you, as well." He looks from her to the other fellow and says, "Sprite, this is Hyperion. Hyperion, Sprite. I think Hyperion might be an Eternal like us, only from another place."

Gil looks towards Hyperion and shrugs, "I'm not sure, but if our energy signature is almost the same then I'd say you probably won't ever age. If you're worried about your fiance finding out just tell her and let her make her own decisions. Living forever isn't easy, but there's no sense in being alone, especially not in your first lifetime." There's a big grin as he says, "Sprite's an Eternal, too. She's my age. You would do well to not underestimate her in any capacity."

Sprite has posed:
Sprite unceremoniously drops the box into Gil's lap and grins at him. "That's for you, I know that it's not required but I wanted to," she says before acknowledging the introductions.

Turning her attention to Hyperion, Sprite nods and says, "Expect her to freak out. No matter what the results are, no matter if she comes to accept it or not. She /will/ freak out," as she joins Gilgamesh's conversation as smoothly as only a person who has spent ages with someone even with their long absence in the 'recent' centuries. "But if you don't tell her before she figures it out in about a decade you'll get the freakout and the anger about your having been lying to her for so long. Best to 'rip off the bandaid' as the saying now goes," she adds sagely.

Hyperion has posed:
    Chuckling softly, Hyperion shakes his head, "Well, like I said, odds are she, and the rest of my team, think I'm dead. She knew I was Hyperion. But as far as I can tell, I am not even in the same universe with her anymore. Long story..." he says, "So I truly don't think that I'll ever see her again."

    "But your advice -is- the right advice. Nice t'meetcha Sprite." he says as he holds out a hand, "I believe I am a whole lot younger than any of you, but... I never even -heard- of people like us in my home universe. I think that I was the only surviving one."

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Thank you, Sprite!" Gil exclaims gladly as he picks up the box and starts opening it up while still trying to give the conversation the attention it deserves.

Hyperion is given a nod, "I'm sorry you're not with her any more, that has to be hard. Hopefully you'll find yourself some new friends here, maybe develop another romance once enough time has passed. In the meantime, I suppose you're one of us. A cousin, at least." Gilgamesh smiles, "I'm not new to the hero game, but I am to the superhero thing. You seem to be pretty experienced when it comes to that."

Hyperion has posed:
    "Indeed." states Hyperion stoically. "In my world, I was a part of the Squadron Supreme. Myself, Power Princess, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, and Whizzer. We were pretty much -the- hero team on my Earth. So while I do not know a lot about -what- I am... I am quite experienced in the Spandex tights and capes routine. So if I can offer any help in that regard, I'd be happy to. After all... it turns out we might just be very -very- distant family. Maybe..."

    He tilts his head and shrugs, "There may be a -version- of myself in this universe. Maybe not. But just maybe."

Sprite has posed:
As the box is opened, Sprite keeps her attention on Hyperion. At his revelation of being a dimensional alien she frowns. "That... that sucks," she observes oh so (un)elegantly before saying, "It's a thing at least, hard to say if its nice or not so soon," as the conversation continues around her.

Within the box tissue paper is folded around cloth which, when lifted out of the box, is a black apron with the words "King of the Kitchen" printed on it in gold stitchng in three lines, above and below the 'of the' portion are lines of small triangular marks in a golden orange color; when focused on these marks can be made out to be cuneiform writing. Those who can read Sumerian will see that it says the same phrase repeated three times per line in that language.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Like the Justice League or the Avengers?" Gil asks Hyperion with a surprised look on his face. "That is very cool. I'm not sure what advise I need in particular, though. I just fly around a bunch and look for people that need help and keep an eye on my phone for major incidents happening."

When he pulls the apron out of the box Gilgamesh grins so hard it might hurt. He looks towards Sprite and bows slightly, "Thank you so much, Sister. This is wonderful!" He immediately starts to pull off his jacket so he can remove the apron he's already wearing, swapping it for his new one. The old one gets folded up and stuck in one of his jacket pockets so that he doesn't lose it. "It's official, I'm cooking a feast for you. You're invited, Hyperion. Any of our other siblings we can find, too, and then I'll invite this young man who's also getting into the superhero business. I'm teaching him how to fight in case the use of his powers might be inappropriate."

Sprite has posed:
Sprite grins and turns her attention back to Gilgamesh. "You're very welcome, Gil. As I assume you could tell I had it made special for you," she says before winking to Hyperion and saying, "It's cuneiform," to him assuming that he missed that fact.

Hyperion has posed:
    "In all honesty, I would never try to suggest to any young man or woman that they -should- go out and use their powers to fight crime. If they chooe to do so, then that is at least their choice. Placing one's life on the line between innocents and those who would do them harm is something that should never be decided lightly."

    "That being said.." adds Hyperion, "If he wishes to do so, I'd be happy to help you with his training. I could at the very least give him a sparring partner or targeting dummy that pretty much cannot be hurt. Unless... his powers aren't magical, are they?" he asks, with a smirk.

    And then he eyes the gift given to Gilgamesh, "That is a fantastic gift. And.." he glances to Sprite, "Cuneform? Good to know. I never learned to read ancient languages. See, I may be a cousin of yours, but I was only born about forty years back... arrived on my Earth as a baby but..." He inclines his head, "If I am indeed Eternal, how can I be sure of how old I actually was at that time?"

Gilgamesh has posed:
Standing up, Gil models his new apron for the others at the table, then tells Sprite, "It's perfect. It'll go great when I dress up nice to feed you two."

"I'm more in favor of volunteers than conscripts, too," He says to Hyperion with a nod. "The kid's heart is in the right place. He really wants to be a superhero. I figure if he's going to do that I'll help him do it to the utmost of his abilities." Then there's a big grin, "If you want to help then you're welcome to. There's a big tree in a park in Queens we train at. He's got a friend who comes with him."

Gil has to think about Hyperion's question for a bit before he shrugs, "I'm not sure how old I am, I just have to kind of guess at it. I've got no idea how to tell how old someone really is."

Sprite has posed:
"What kid are we talking about, anyone I'd've heard of or be aware of?" Sprite asks before adding, "We pre-date human civilization more complicated than family clusters living in caves," as a way of explaining Gil's statements about age.

Hyperion has posed:
    Nodding, Hyperion states, "On my world, I don't think there ever was anyone like that. But in all honesty, I highly doubt that if there were and they didn't want to be found.. that we would have learned about them at all. Either way, I was raised by humans, among humans.... and only when I grew up and went out on my own did I put on a costume and start living the life. I didn't want my parents to be in danger y'know?" he asks in a midwest accent.

    "But yeah, if the kid wants help, lemme know. I'll give you my phone number. I only just recently got one. Heck, I'd still be a comatose energy battery for AIM if the Black Panther, Power Girl, Scarlet Witch and Dove hadn't found and rescued me from them... they had me hooked up to a bunch of energy capacitors and were using my energy to power their high tech weapons.... so I was being used to hurt people, and I do -not- like that. Fortunately, the Avengers sent King T'Challa to investigate, and now here I am."

Gilgamesh has posed:
"The kid is named Bando," Gilgamesh says with a smile, obviously fond of the youth. "He can teleport things, as well as himself. And not like we teleport, either."

Hyperion's story has Gil paying close attention. He frowns when he hears about it and says, "That sucks. I'm glad they found you, though, the forces of good can use all the warriors they can get, I figure."

Sprite has posed:
Sprint nods in agreement with Gli's sentiments about Hyperion's experiences. "How long have you been here?" she asks him regarding his time on this Earth before asking Gil, "Bando, eh? Do you think he'd benefit from meeting me also?"

Hyperion has posed:
    "From the records they kept, I believe I was in a coma for approximately two years. I was freed just a few months back. So... yeah. These AIM guys invaded my universe, and their portal imploded when I was holding back their forces. So... it seems that the energies killed everyone else, but only put me into a coma."

    He finishes his coffee and adds, "The other one like you... the flying guy in blue. You know him too, yes?" he asks. "It would be good to get to know people like myself for a change. I am so terrified that I'll hurt someone by shaking hands or whatnot."

    He turns to Sprite and adds, "You see, apparently, I absorb cosmic energy and store it in my body's cells... but I am sure that's how you guys work too. Not like you need it explained.. but in this universe, there is an order of magnitude -more- energy than there was in my own. So I had to start over learning to hold back my strength. A couple months ago, I was in Hawaii and tried to do a surgical strike with my Atomic Vision..." He pauses and smirks, "My eye beams... I named'em." he adds sheepishly. "But.. when I fired them, I vaporized about a half mile long, fifty foot wide swath of the ocean. So... it's been a difficult transition to say the least."

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Couldn't hurt," Gil says to Sprite with a shrug. "You can tell them all kinds of stories to warn against excessive pride and stuff like that. Good life lessons to impart on them."

Looking at Hyperion, the grill cook nods, "Yeah, he's our brother Ikaris. Good guy."

When Hyperion tells about what happened in Hawaii, though, Gil winces, "Oof. That's brutal. It's hard finding a good place to train with energy projection. I actually used mine for the first time in a while against some Nazi robots the other day."