9438/A Lovely Odor from the Kitchen

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A Lovely Odor from the Kitchen
Date of Scene: 04 January 2022
Location: Level 4 - Kitchen and Dining - The Roost
Synopsis: Vegan chili and meaty conversation at the Roost
Cast of Characters: Roy Harper, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Lonnie Machin




Roy Harper has posed:
It's dinnertime around this place! And Roy has been just groovin' on positive energy lately. So much so that talk of imprisoning this Roy clone and finding the real Roy has gone around the Roost. But the reality is more mundane, and maybe more heartwarming. Not only did Roy get his first-ever six-month sobriety chip just recently, but also there is a boy in his life. Rumor is he even let a mugger go a couple nights ago without so much as a beating!

Roy's been hard at work for the past couple of hours on Impossible vegan chili. He, himself, is a carnivore, but he really wanted to make an inclusive dish for his Outsiders fam. And the smell has permeated the Roost!

This evening he is wearing jeans and a brown T-shirt that has many images of birds of the Paridae family all over it with the caption "Nice Tits" above the birds. Around his waist is tied a white apron (now quite stained with tomato sauce). He reaches over and clicks the intercom. "Anybody who wants some vegan chili and vegan cornbread, dinner is served!"

Tim Drake has posed:
    If Tim can't be found on his predetermined NPC pathing between his computer chair and the training room, then he's probably not in the Roost. Probably being the keyword, as the Bats do love to throw a wrench into the works on occasion.

    So the screen next the elevator tracks its rise from the sub-basements where the manufacturing labs are. When the elevator door dings on level 4 and Tim steps out, dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie, he's not alone. "Well, good to know that smell was real and we hadn't just been inhaling the printing solvents," he says as he sticks his head into the kitchen first, surveying the lay of the land so to speak.

    Upon deciding that the coast is clear (of who or what, it's hard to say) he steps further in. "Hey, Roy. What's the occasion?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Suddenly one of the drop ceiling tiles falls out. A head pops down, black hair hanging upside-down from her head, and Cassandra peers into the kitchen. She looks at Roy, then she looks at Tim. She sniffs the air. Then her head retreats into the ceiling.

1: drop ceilings aren't strong enough to hold the human form. That's impossible.

2: Cass is weird.

A moment later she drops a spoon. It may or may not be a related comment, but given her complete lack of social communication skills...

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    "Well, it's my fault for adding too much sulphur," Tim's accompaniment, another redhead, all six foot two of him in a black T-Shirt advertising a Gotham punk band called the Sabot Cats, with his red hair up in a bun and a pair of dark-rimmed glasses on. "But I just can't resist playing with the recipe," He says, as they walk inside.

He looks up at Cassandra and looks back at Tim. "It works," He says to Cassandra, "If you use a drone."

Roy Harper has posed:
Like many of the other Outsiders who have no super powers to rely on, Roy is fucking strong. He carries the huge stock pot full of vegan chili over to a table with ease. "Hey, guys." He says in a warm, pleasant tone. Really? A warm, pleasant tone? This is...getting body snatchers creepy at this point. "Occassion? Being hungry," he says with a little half grin on his face.

The archer peers around taking stock of the table. "Okay. Bowls, spoons, sour cream, chopped chives, vegan cornbread!" He nods, satisfied.

The Cass issue has him confused. He peers down at the spoon that was dropped. "Um...I think..." Blink, blink, blink. Think, Roy. You fight ten dudes at a time. You can figure this out. He picks up the dropped spoon and tosses it in the sink. Then he gets a bowl, puts a heaping scoop of chili in it, tops it with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkles some chives on top, plops in a piece of cornbread, and sticks in a fresh spoon. With his foot, he pushes a chair near the hole created by the dropped ceiling tile and climbs up on the chair, holding the bowl up. "Cass? You hungry?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim gives a casual wave up at the ceiling where Cass has poked through without so much as a double-take. Nothing about this is surprising to him, apparently. "You just like causing chaos," Tim tosses over his shoulder to Lonnie as he approaches... not the table with the food, no.

    Of course, he goes to the coffee pot first. Once he's doctored himself up a mug (today it's one featuring a crow with a speech bubble that demands "CAW-fee") he comes over to assess the food situation.

    "Huh." Tim takes a sip of coffee, despite the fact it's probably boiling hot still, and then looks up at the bowl Roy is offering to the ceiling. After a moment, he slides into one of the chairs at the table. "Roy, this is Lonnie. Lonnie, this is Roy." Then he gestures up at the ceiling. "You've met Ceiling-Cass before, I think."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The hand. It knows all. It decides who will stay and who will go. The hand, it comes!

Cass doesn't come down to the food. She reaches down an arm, snagging the bowl without a word. Not a grunt, as it is gently grasped, like a claw...hey, that's from the movie!

Then, slowly it retracts into the ceiling. Where the food vanishes, and some sound of careful movement suggests that something's still up there.

A moment later, a line drops, hooks the fallen ceiling tile, and starts to pull it back up into place.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie - who the heck is Lonnie - is somewhat blase about the whole thing. As Tim stands there holding his cup of coffee he proceeds to add a splash of milk to Tim's coffee and then he gives him a thumbs-up, before he proceeds to get himself a glass of water. He raisesh is eyebrows, and says, "Pleasure to meet you." He gestures to Roy, "Nice hair."
    He watches the drop tile retract into the ceiling, with a blase look.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Not much to say from the ceiling, apparently. Though as the tile is back in place, it's clearly time for Cass to eat this odd food offering. So, she does.

The coughing from the ceiling is audible even from the next room. It lasts a good thirty seconds, and then the tile...slides. Just a little, to one side. And eyes peer at Roy accusingly.

Roy Harper has posed:
Apparently nature really does abhor a vacuum. Typical Roy is the blase one. Or the sarcastic one. Or the professionally disaffected one. But tonight he has nothing but uncharacteristic positive energy and warmth. And so the universe sent Lonnie.

The busy teen vigilante makes sure that there are plenty of bowls and spoons and napkins on the table. Finally satisfied that everything is in place, he gives the table a satisfied nod and ladles himself a bowl of vegan chili and plops in a heckin' big piece of vegan cornbread. "Huh?" he says to Lonnie as he runs his hand back through his blazing red hair. "Oh, thanks, my dude! Back at ya, handsome! Us soulless gingers gotta stick together," he replies with a small laugh. What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?

He sits down at the table, grabs a spoon, and tears hungrily into the food. Kid's got an appetite tonight.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Though Tim does a fair bit of grumbling about the color change his coffee has undergone suddenly (very suspicious) he still drinks it. Just with a little bit of narrow-eyed peering at Lonnie over the top of his mug.

    Then he takes his first bite of chili. He chews, swallows, blinks once or twice, and by the time his cheeks have gone red he's made it back to the fridge for some more of that milk. "I'm fine," he assures everyone, in-between mouthfuls of cooling dairy.

    And when he walks back over to the table, he's carrying two full glasses of good ol' 2%. One of which he offers up to the ceiling.

    Which is a good excuse for him to make Concerned Eyes at Cass. He looks from her to Roy and then back again with a faint grimace and vague suspicion. Maybe this guy really is a clone. Which, you know, isn't a bad thing! Some of Tim's favorite people are clones.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie fetches a bowl, and casually ladles himself a bowl of chili. He takes a spoonful of it. He puts it in his mouth, and he rolls it around, thoughtfully. He seems to be deep in thought, as his cheeks turn pink.
    After a moment, he walks to the fridge, opens it up, and says, "Ah, OK, here we go." He grabs a bottle of something called "Satan's Blood" out of the fridge, and gives the chili two hits with it. Bam. Bam. At this point the steam coming off the bowl probably looks like a skull.
    He takes another bite, and then says, "There we go." Then he looks over at Roy, and says, "Good chili. What's the occasion?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Milk. It too vanishes, and then...

"Thank you," the roof says. With words. That made sense and were appropriately used.

No further sounds or movement issue from that location this evening. Unless we're attacked again. Which is possible.
T

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy scoops some sour cream on his chili and sprinkles some chives. "No occasion," he say to Lonnie. "I was hungry and wanted to make some food for everyone." He pokes around in his chili with a spoon idly. "Some people around here have done some nice shit for me lately. Put up with some stuff from me." He lifts one shoulder in a brief shrug. "I just wanted to make some food." As Roy contemplates these motivations, he looks downward. Introspective.

He quickly banishes that and looks up offering Lonnie a genuine smile. "I'm Roy Harper. Nice t'meet ya, man."

Tim Drake has posed:
    For a second or two, Tim is gobsmacked enough that he doesn't even respond to Cass's very surprising voiced thanks. But then he clears his throat and says "You're welcome," to the ceiling before he takes his seat once again.

    And proceeds to stare as Lonnie doses his chili with hot sauce. "Tell me that's not the stuff Laura makes."

    They'd probably all be feeling it if it were. Her hot sauce is practically against the Geneva Convention.

    "Well, thank you for the food. Nice to eat something other than Batburger or Onion Maiden." He tucks his feet up on the chair with the rest of him, and then resumes eating. Small bites. Alternating with sips of milk. He can almost stand the spice level, this way. "Lonnie's helped out once or twice on missions," he explains. "He's a hacker." Tim nudges some chili around in his bowl. "Alsohe'smyboyfriend."

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    "It's what I found in the fridge." Lonnie says, his cheeks pleasantly pink. He takes another bite, and then he looks over at Tim, and back to Roy. "Whatever your motivations for doing for others are - well... I appreciate it, Roy. It's the only way we're going to transcend the petty tribalism the parasites force on us and create a better society with more equity for all."
    Lonnie takes another bite of his chili, and then he glances at Tim, and then, after he gets a crooked little smile, he follows up that rushed statement by leaning in and giving him a lingering kiss on the cheek. Mwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~ "And he's having a *wonderful time*."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy's eyebrows both go up, his eyes sparkle enthusiastically, and a barely restrained grin graces his lips as Lonnie goes into his diatribe. With one cheek puffed a bit with some chili, Roy raises a fist in the air and says "Damn the man!" when Lonnie finishes. His expression and tone are playful, not at all confrontational.

He swallows his current mouthful and nods when Tim introduces Lonnie as his boyfriend. "That's awesome. I'm happy for you guys." Then he gives Lonnie a playfully cautious looks. "Is that...is that alright that I'm happy for you guys?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim, having now conquered this very difficult task of opening up to another person on the team, sinks down low in his chair and returns to eating. If you can call him having the battle of his life with a bowl of chili eating, really.

    He gives a faint, grumbling response in Lonnie's direction after the kiss to his cheek, and then he boxes in the bowl of chili he's facing down with his arms. He's definitely channeling Jason there, with his posture and surliness.

    Before long, Tim has conquered his foe. Er, the food. His bowl is empty (as is his accompanying glass of milk). Tim sits back. Is he sweating? Yes. Is his face red? Also yes. Is his nose runny? He has enough manners to take care of that before anyone notices, thank you.

    But.

    He.

    Won.

    "Oh god."

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie casually finishes his bowl, and scrapes it clean with his spoon - and then he goes... and gets seconds. And puts hot sauce on those, too. He raises his eyebrows, and then says, "It just sort of - happened." He admits. "Which is interesting because he's a very difficult person, and I'm TOLD I'm something of a handful myself, though really I'm a reasonable man in an unreasonable society." He takes a bite of his chili and pats Tim on the shoulder. Pat, pat.
    He looks up at Roy thoughtfully for a moment, and then asks, somewhat bluntly, "Are you all right? I mean, not to be nosy, especially since we just met, but you look like you've got something on your mind. I'm not really part of the group, but if you'd like to talk to Tim, I can go amuse myself somewhere."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy Harper moves some chili around his bowl with his spoon, peering into it. "Hmmmm...bummer. I forgot to put the hot peppers in. Oh well, it still came out pretty tasty." He cleans out his bowl with gusto and wipes it clean with the remainder of his cornbread.

Then Roy lifts his head at Lonnie's words. "Me?" he asks as a smile blooms over his face. "Something on my mind?" He shakes his head, laughing. "Nope, I got nothin' on my mind. I'm not sure there's enough up there to have something on."

He wipes his lips with a napkin. "You two are cute together."

Okay, /that/ is it. He definitely is either a body snatcher or a clone at this point. The base AI is probably tracking him now.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Roy's discovery that he forgot the hot peppers only makes Tim look vaguely ill, his complexion going pale beneath the red flush. He unzips his hoodie and peels himself out of it, then lifts his t-shirt away from his chest, flapping it to cool himself off. "Now I'm a very difficult person," he says as he fans himself, looking on balefully as Lonnie keeps keeps eating.

    "...Thanks?" Tim peers at Roy across the table, eyes narrowed in the way he does when he's trying to figure out a particularly complex mystery.

    Then his head tips to the side. "You sure everything's good?"

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    "You're difficult. Like an extremely difficult puzzle, one that rearranges its pieces whenever you turn your back to it - and somehow keeps contriving reasons to make you turn your back on it." Lonnie says, as he finishes his second bowl of chili, and then carefully washes out his bowl. Lest somebody get a surprise with their cereal one morning.
    He stays quiet, otherwise.

Roy Harper has posed:
With a satisfied tummy pat, Roy leans back balancing his chair on the rear two legs. He doesn't bother holding on to anything. His balance is extraordinary. Many people have good balance, but Roy's is simply preternaturally catlike. It's second nature to him, just holding himself in mid-lean like this.

"No, seriously, I do...AAAAAAHHHH!" Roy's chair falls out from under him and down he goes with a loud thud, causing him to vanish beneath the horizon of the table.

"I'm alright. I'm okay," he says as he stands up and rights his chair. "There's no...no chance of getting you to delete that from the security recordings, is there?" he says to Tim.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim stares at Lonnie's back for a good, long moment. But don't worry. He definitely looks back in time to catch Roy falling over backwards.

    Once Roy has climbed to his feet, Tim has managed to rearrange his face from shockedpikachu.jpg to something a little less... well, that.

    He wordlessly shakes his head, because no, that's definitely going onto a shared folder somewhere for the rest of the Outsiders to see.

    He joins Lonnie at the sink, but not for any conspiratorial whispering or the like. Tim's just washing his dishes too, because Alfred is out there somewhere and would Know if he didn't. Though his head does snap up sharply while he's toweling the bowl dry. "So who is it?" he asks Roy.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie casually dries his bowl and spoon, and puts them back, and then he gives Tim a thoughtful side-glance. "You DID behave a lot like that, at first. Sometimes you still do." Is he smiling? No, he's not smiling. He's parking his butt on the counter and taking out his phone to check on his Crypto. Because money may not be real, so he's got no qualms about using doubly-not-real money to his advantage. Though he hasn't warned Tim about the BFTs - Bat-Fungible-Tokens - someone's been hawking online. Because technically the image and likeness of the Batman et al isn't copyrighted - OR IS IT?

Roy Harper has posed:
Since he's already up on his feet and has some extra energy courtesy of epinephrine, he starts to put stuff away. The stockpot goes in one of the fridges so other team members can have chili later. Unused bowls go back in the cupboard. Cornbread gets wrapped up and put on the counter. Etc. etc. Pretty much once Bart finds out there's freshly cooked food, that chili is going to be a memory.

Roy seems genuinely unsure what Tim is talking about. "Who is it what?" he asks genuinely, not being coy or evasive at all. He grabs a mug from the cupboard -- it's one of those color changing mugs that has a bat symbol on it but shows Batman swinging on a line when it heats up -- and fills it with hot, black coffee.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim doesn't even look back when he elbows Lonnie lightly. It's not a pointed gesture, otherwise Tim could really cause some bruising. He's still got that look about him, occasionally narrowing his eyes at Roy, but as he leans back against the counter next to where Lonnie has parked himself, it seems like Tim is willing to let it rest.

    For now, at least. He sips from his mug. "Thanks for dinner. We were down in the manufacturing lab longer than I meant for us to be." Shocking, that is not.

    He knows nothing about any kind of BFTs. It's definitely not one of the Batkids themselves going around hawking Bat-themed blockchained jpegs. Nope. Couldn't be.