Pilatus

X-Men: The New Era - Issue II: Avalon Rising

Coleman St. John

It was rare for him to sleep past sunrise. Daylight glowed behind the closed blinds while the movement of traffic was steady towards the intersection down the street. As he rolled over groggy the backup alarm sounded from a truck a few blocks away. Reaching for the small nightstand, he checked his phone for the time, seeing that he’d slept through the regular alarm. There was no particular reporting time for him at the Institute, particularly on a Saturday he essentially set his own hours. As the cloud of sleep slowly dissipated from his mind, his first thoughts were of Kaylee and then of the students. He doubted they would have any idea, but there would be no hiding it from her. He sat up in bed and relaxed against the headboard for a moment, looking straight ahead as his mind worked on how she was going to approach him. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted faintly through the bedroom and he shook his head slowly. He didn’t smoke and neither did any of his neighbors in the apartments beside him. For whatever reason, the scent was always present the morning that followed a ride. He tossed the covers aside and got out of bed.

The downstairs was little more than a narrow garage, enough for two cars nose to tail. He used part of it as a workspace for his motorcycle which left plenty of room for his much less conspicuous Explorer. As he came down the narrow stairs dressed in a polo and some jeans the headlamp and front forks of the bike were turned facing him. He slowed his steps looking down at the machine. “Don’t you say a word.” He said firmly toward it. The machine only stared back as he walked around and maneuvered it just enough to get the car out. It was a nice day for a ride, but he wasn’t taking it back up to the Institute- not a chance. He decided to very low-key check on everyone and use the quiet of his small office at the school to work on some of his other side cases for a couple of hours. Continuing his shuffle of vehicles, he backed the car out slightly and then pushed the bike around to its regular spot in the small workspace: a couple large toolboxes and a well-worn workbench that was left over from the apartment’s previous tenant.

There were a few photos hanging along with other miscellaneous trinkets: A picture of him and his sister at her college graduation next to an old Gulf Oil sign, another one of him and several others standing next to a burned out tank somewhere in the middle-east in their desert camo that hung slightly off center next to the hood ornament from a Mercedes. There was a small collection of motorcycle parts lying around in various states of disassembly, some visibly damaged from where he had crashed his other bike. Since taking up the position at the Institute, he’d hadn’t had much time for tinkering. He glanced at the setup for a moment and, as usual, resolved to at least get it better organized at some near point in the future. Hopping back in the car, he eased out into the street as the garage door closed and headed towards the Institute.

@Almalthia

X-Men: The New Era - Issue II: Avalon Rising

Avalon

Streetlights reflected against black chrome as the tires curled over ruts in the parking lot to Club Avalon. The sleek sports car halted just outside the entrance; its elegant tail lights blending into the hustle that was still downtown Los Angeles. The uproar that had unfolded in the club hours before had long subsided and no one was really sure what happened or what they saw, as if the memory dissipated like a dream. A lone figure stepped from the driver side and the small glow of an LED screen watch could be seen from a turn of the wrist. The figure, noticeably feminine, as it moved past the hood of the car, long hair waved gently in the breeze as she walked between the long-abandoned entrance barricades into the dark corridor that was normally the club’s busy front door.

The ever present sound of traffic carried through the open entryway like white noise as she stepped over broken bottles, trash and destroyed furniture. She shook her head slightly as glass crunched under her shoe. Even though the clock had passed midnight long ago, the woman looked as if she had just come from the gym. She paused across the way from the figure waiting, her expression was a uneasily composed neutral gathered in part by fear, part hope and a hint of disbelief. The air was overwhelmed with the gravity of his aura and the wake of the rift that the portal tore through reality. She knelt in front of him and bowed her head slowly. In the corner of her eye she could see a human male face down on the disgusting floor and she exhaled slightly before rising up to meet his gaze.

@Almalthia

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy

Once the door was opened, Paige doubted she would have cared if Tao had blown his hand completely off. This was it. Whatever it was. She ignored his whimpers as the door eased open under its own weight when the bolt was released. The corridor on the other side was pitch black, only cut slightly by the dim light of the storage room. She stuffed the tablet she’d been carrying into his aching hands without saying a word and shined her phone light into the dark space. What appeared to be a narrow hallway was connected on the other side, but the drop down was easily two to three feet as if the stadium basement area had been built over it and nearly missed. The bricks that lined the path were aged like an old house and a watery, metallic smell permeated the air from lack of ventilation. She shined her light down to the floor below. Seeing nothing but a hard, stone surface she sat down at the edge of the doorway, letting her feet dangle for a moment and eased herself down.

The drop was further than it looked and for a split second she felt her heart jump before her toes met the floor. With a slight sigh of exasperation, she held her phone up again, shining through what looked to be a part of some sort of tunnel. In her mind, she could picture where she’d seen something similar before, like a training video she’d watched of the tunnels that smugglers used under the border from Mexico into the US, however it was older, much older and bigger. There was plenty of room to stand as if it were designed for ease of use rather than total secrecy. She knew nothing about Sol City history or what could have existed prior to the stadium being built, though as she watched the bright light prickle shadows over the old bricks, the realization struck: “This is a prohibition tunnel.” She said before glancing back up at Tao. The ledge was nearly to her chest height. She motioned for him to grab one of the boxes and prop the door open wide to allow more light inside.

It made perfect sense, at least in the brief time that it jogged through her mind, but her gut instinct was rarely wrong. Only an old timer, like the head of Giancana family would have even known it existed. She shook her head in disbelief. All of it sounded like urban legend and admittedly, if someone had told her about it back in Florida, she probably would have laughed in their face. It just didn’t happen any more, yet there they stood. She shined the light behind her finding the tunnel had been sealed by a wall of solid concrete only a few feet back. “C’mon,” She said moving forward and giving Tao a wave. She knew that even if he was scared shitless of dark, confined spaces, that his curiosity wouldn’t allow him to come so far and then chicken out.

A few further steps in and a string dangling from the ceiling came into the cone of her light along with something else dull and metallic along the wall. She glanced up finding a simple light bulb rigged to a socket and pulled the switch to turn it on. The bulb flickered to life, humming slightly and illuminating the remainder of the passage in dull yellow. She could see the far end of the corridor as it came into view was sealed shut, same as behind them, but next to it was a small wooden door with a worn, old brass handle. Her stomach turned slightly in a knot and again her gut instinct knew there wouldn’t be any more doors after this one. This is it.She wasn’t afraid, but the unknown was a thrill that couldn’t be matched. Her heart picked up a few beats as she stepped closer to the door. No transponders this time. There wasn’t even a keyhole. She put her hand over the doorknob, feeling the cool metal in her grip and glanced back for a moment at Tao without saying a word. The features of her face darkened under shadow. It felt like something from a dream. She sighed and tightened her grip hearing the tarnished linkage inside the door turn with an uneasy grinding as the striker retracted. The door pushed away easily revealing nothing but blackness inside. Instinctively, she felt along the inside wall for a switch and to her surprise felt a panel nearly exactly where her hand touched the wall.

During her time in law enforcement, Paige had seen things that ran the gamut of the emotional spectrum: the truly depaved to the most decadent. She’d seen people killed over less than twenty dollars and she’d seen cigarette boats loaded stem to stern with cocaine worth millions. It was the life she chose and she had total confidence that she had taken on the role for which she was destined. She was sure and would say so to anyone. It ran through her blood as much as the scenes of those memories flashed through her mind startling her awake in the dead hours of the night. When the small lights came on, a room about the size of a small apartment came into view. It was completely loaded, nearly to capacity, with white banker boxes, not dissimilar from the ones Tao had just destroyed, but all around, seemingly in any odd corner where they would fit, were stacks of cash, banded and counted. Her eyes widened only slightly and she lightly stepped forward through the small pathway just wide enough to walk through. There was more. Much more, all the way to the ceiling in some places without a single bill visible that was smaller than a fifty. Many of the boxes were marked with two numbers separated by a decimal, 1.2 or 2.3 all the way up to 3.5 and every number in between. She continued forward finding a small digital scale on the floor surrounded by more boxes all marked the same way. She already knew what it was before she pulled the top from the first box. Her lips opened slightly in awe. They weren’t counting it, they were weighing it.

For the first time she could recall, she was speechless.

@Allycat

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

IRON COOK-OFF

- RAINER vs. WOODS -

FOOD CHAMPION OF THE SOL CITY MARKET FESTIVAL

Our celebrity Chef Judge has laid down the gauntlet for his two winners!

Under the firm command of Obergruppenführer... errrr... Head Chef Judge Hinkelstein, TWO identical "kitchens" have been assembled at center stage comprising all items that our contestants may need to complete the final challenge for Sol City Culinary Conquest. Our two competitors will be allowed 1 HOUR to compose a customary three course meal of an appetizer, main course and a desert. There will be a variety of ingredients available to use and both men will be allowed to select two staff members to assist in their preparation. Both teams will be given a half hour to organize the kitchen to their liking prior the start of the one hour clock. Teams may also use this time to select the basic ingredients they wish to use for their respective dishes.

~ IN ADDITION ~

As an added challenge, Chef Bruno has selected a "secret ingredient" for the contest that must be used in the meal.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS...

GUAVA

(In all of its forms...)

GOOD LUCK... AND

MAXIMALE KÜCHE!

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Joel Nicolosi

Somewhere along the walk it occurred to Joel that he was exceptionally hungry, having not eaten since about 4am save only for a protein bar, energy drinks and coffee since that time. He wanted real food and the thought of a deep fried oreo just turned his empty stomach at the suggestion, though it probably wouldn’t have been bad paired with the coffee some other time. He glanced around for something familiar and fairly quick to order. Whenever Siobhan would playfully pull his arm, he would yank her back progressively harder to see if he could make her lose her balance. It was good fun and particularly since she was so tall, it was easy to get her legs comically crossed up. Having worked with his hands most of his life and being used to keeping a firm grasp on a steering wheel, his grip was like a steel vice over her hand. He snickered and feigned shoving her into some stranger’s path only to pull her back again.

Siobhan chatted with a couple of strangers as they seemed to reach an impasse where it was either going to be the horror of fried park food or… he looked at the next tent over, Kobayashi, as the banner read. He considered for a moment that coffee probably wasn’t going to go well with Japanese, particularly when mixed with hard liquor, but in the end, he decided he didn’t care and was aiming to knock back a few glasses of water and get on the green tea before absorbing some sushi with a swiftness. Since his return from Japan, he’d avoided Asian cuisine for a while, simply being burnt out with it so whatever Kobayashi had to offer would be the first Japanese dish he’d had since being in Japan. He took a seat on a stool at the setup counter area and took off his sunglasses. The chef working the sushi bar recognized his black jacket and the unmistakable orange Rebellion “R” and the Porsche font logo below it giving an affirmative nod. He quickly set to work on Joel’s order while there seemed to be some great ruckus brewing in the back as another chef continued in his work.

A few moments later, the plate came over the glass. The presentation looked on point. No different than sitting in Tokyo Bay. All of the rolls were either Tuna, Salmon or vegetable based. He couldn’t stomach the shrimp, crab or other seafood offerings. Pulling the paper wrapper off the chopsticks, he broke them apart and was ready to set to it.

“JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!,” Right when he was about to take a bite, a familiar voice bellowed his name from what seemed like halfway across the Park. Joel shuddered at the rough pronunciation of his name rendered in brutal Germanic bass. People glanced around, interrupted within their conversations as Chef Bruno paraded his way across the lawn with great stride. He still had two German engineers from Porsche cackling with laughter towed in his entourage along with a pathetic looking representative from the City Parks Commission who was recording the results of the judging with a tablet. Word among the vendors was that there had been a mix up in the placement of the contestant dishes which resulted in Bruno sampling the offerings of the amateur cooking class rather than the professional. Unfortunately, the Panzer had unloaded on two elderly ladies before the error was realized labeling one homemade lasagna dish a “fucking travesty” and the other caserole entry “a petree dish of bullshit.” Apparently, he was not well pleased with the mistake and refused to sample any more food that was brought up to the judging area, instead opting to make his rounds personally whether the entries were ready or not. He thundered up to the booth and slapped Joel heartily on the back.

“Joel, mein junge,” He shook Joel’s shoulder firmly. His hand was so large it easily wrapped over the shoulder and gripped firmly to drive home to the magnitude of his displeasure. “I fucking tell you,” He said. “I don’t know how you fucking do it,” He motioned with his free hand at the rest of the venue set around them. “Everywhere I go the food is shit, it’s like a non-stop fuck-up.” His eyes locked on to one of Ryan’s helpers attempting to make off towards the judging area with their entry. Bruno had an odd habit of pointing with his pointer finger and his pinky finger in a gesture that resembled a two-pronged fork, a trait he was dubiously known for when he was particularly irate. His long arm leveled towards the helper with the two fingers pointing squarely at the man like the business-end of an 88mm cannon. “YOU!” He barked. “Bring that shit over here!” Eyes glaring, he pushed Joel’s plate aside nonchalantly sending all of it crashing directly into a waste bin at the end of the counter and pointed firmly down at the open countertop. The poor helper looked like he’d been struck by a rifle shot at the sound of the German’s voice and megearly placed the dish between the two men.

Bruno removed the lid and tossed it like a frisbee, examining the dish carefully and taking in the scents that wafted up from the tray. His eyes narrowed discerningly at the presentation, annoyed that the chef that prepared it was apparently not present to accompany his entry, but also slightly intrigued. He picked up a fork, but instead of tasting the dish, he handed the utensil to Joel. “Take a bite and tell me what you think.” It was more of a command than a statement. The towering German’s face was as unflinching as a concrete wall as he held out the fork.

Joel was so hungry that he reckoned they could have put an old baseball glove on the plate and he would have eaten it. Whatever it was smelled good, though he was completely surprised by the challenge. He wasn’t a food critic nor possessed any real concept of tasting edicate, but it occurred to him that the reps from Porsche might be offended if he didn’t acquiesce to their friend and Bruno seemed to have some sort of soft spot for him. He glanced over at Sio and shrugged before carving out a decent fork full and taking a bite.

Bruno looked on sternly.

Joel nodded approvingly. He was hungry. It was good. He didn’t care if he got cussed out for it. If they would have just let him stick to driving the cars while they handled the food there wouldn’t be risk for an international incident... though before he could finish the thought, Bruno’s fork hit the dish like a dive-bomber and he took a bite for himself. He chewed slowly, deliberately, as if searching for an error that he could exploit, just like he was known for on television, but surprisingly finding none that turned him off. “Fucking delicious.” He pronounced and scooped up another generous portion. “Finally some fucking talent around here. Joel, I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Such a man of culture!” He said merrily, still chewing the second bite. He looked around the gathering of shocked cooks and helpers in the stand. “Who’s the fucking captain of this ship?” He said.

The City representative adjusted his glasses and ran his fingers quickly over the tablet screen making sure he got the name correct before he got yelled at again. “Ryan Woods, sir.”

“Good, he fucking wins.” Bruno said with finality, wiping his mouth gingerly with a napkin. “We’re done here.”

“But sir,” The man protested. He thumbed feverishly over the tablet sensing the intense glare blazing over him. “You already said Charles Rainer was the winner.”

“Who the fuck is that?”

“He was the third booth we visited,” The man said. “You said his entry was,” He stopped to clear his throat. “a ‘fucking cornucopia of-’.”

“Ya-ya-ya, I fucking know what I said,” Bruno spat. “That was the one with the fucking depressing title.” He shook his head. “Dammit all, I’ve made a fuck up.”

Joel continued eating happily giving zero fucks who won the contest, just glad to have some sustenance in his gut.

Siobhan watched Joel as she was about to order the fried Oreo and the yell that rang out with a heavy German accent his name. Raising an eyebrow as Joel shuddered she grinned watching the German man stride over to them. She nearly lost it as Bruno slapped Joel on the back.

Keeping the laughter contained was hard and the fried Oreo was abandoned as she followed him over. Bruno was clearly upset and his accent was thick, leaving Siobhan to thinking that he’d be switching to German fairly soon. As he talked about the fact that the fare was subpar. She winced at that very glad she had not decided to join the competition. Joel had never complained about her cooking, quite the opposite. She liked cooking for him and seeing him enjoy different foods would help her branch out more with his diet.

She watched as Joel ate and Bruno snagged a bit from his plate then declared it the winner. Siobhan smiled but it fell as Bruno admitted to already declaring a winner once already. She tapped her lips and leaned in to whisper in Joel’s ear. “Watch me put out this fire.”

She smiled brilliantly at Bruno and said. “How about a cook off? Select some ingredients and have them make something from those ingredients. To the victor goes the spoils.”

Bruno’s expression lightened as he took time to observe Siobhan’s full figure. “Whoa, whoa, whoa…” He exclaimed with a broad smile. “She has the brains and the body, huh?” He jabbed his elbow into Joel’s side playfully. “Makin’ me kinda nervous here!” He chuckled. “I like this idea... I take it!”

@Almalthia@KillBox@Tyler Night

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

The Deal

“I have mourned by husband, but unfortunately he put himself in that situation.” Shannon replied. She spoke as if she referring to some former employee she had to let go and there was little emotion carried with the words. As he wrapped his fingers considering the offer, she continued to study him. John and Mara were open books, easy to read. Alejandro was more composed, but he had a tell same as the rest- He smiled voraciously, as if it were some defense mechanism that made him feel like he was in control. She knew she had him in the place that he desired since his arrival in Sol City, but only it wasn’t with the company that he anticipated.

John and Mara’s shock at his acceptance of the deal only further confirmed her assumptions.

Shannon quietly held her composure through Mara’s continued protest. She had what she wanted, though another old rule came to mind the same as it always did when conducted business:: The deal’s not done until the money changes hands. “I know how to pick a winner, Alejandro.” She said calmly. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” She placed her small, black clutch on the table top as if she were about to walk away, but stopped midway as a thought suddenly reemerged behind her eyes.”Oh, there is one other thing.” She said, standing and looking down at the three of them. “In your shop, you have a Bird of Paradise that you keep under glass- I want that.” She said, her original grin returning slightly. “Consider it a finder’s fee.” She briefly glanced back over shoulder before walking away. “I’ll be in touch.”

@Pyxis

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

@KatKook

This is good. Just need @PrinceAlexus or @Almalthia to confirm.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

@KillBox@Tyler Night

You two are our main contestants for the cooking contest. If you don't mind, post here in the OOC, in a simplified form, what your prepared dishes for the contest will be (a simple bullet list will do). Tyler, your last post pretty much spells it out, but if you don't mind indulging us here, it would be helpful. Killbox has not posted Ryan's meal yet.

In the next post for Joel, I'm going to have some of the judging take place, so Ryan's next post needs to put him in the same time-frame as Charles which is near the start of the contest.

But let me get to the point of this post:

Someone has to win the contest.

It will be one of you two and thanks to one of your fellow players, who shall remain unnamed, we have come up with a fun and fair way of deciding a winner.

So for now, give us a breakdown here of your entries. This is going to end up being pretty fun and unique as it plays out. I honestly cant recall an rp where there was a cooking contest like this so thanks for making this continue to be a unique place here on the Guild.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Joel Nicolosi

It was funny because he hadn’t really beaten her by a quarter mile in the race and Sio apparently thought he was being truthful and not facetious in his comment to Athena. He knew, even if they didn’t see it, Marlin wouldn’t be able to stand not trying to explain how things went down, but at the same time she’d have to admit to her friends that she had indeed, lost the race to him. Joel smirked a little at the thought as his redheaded “better half” gave his former blonde fawner, both barrels. Considering the company it entailed, they had never really talked much about the air race, but he resolved to later tell her the whole story and the Brit had even given him a reason. He loved when things fell into place so easily.

“Pssh, the Iron Chef took my cup,” Joel replied as they walked away. He took a swig from the thermos and being satisfied with the brew dumped the entire contents of the flask into the thermos and swirled it around a bit. There was more than enough to get Sio in a happy place since they were sharing the cup, but he doubted he was going to feel anything, even on an empty stomach. He shrugged as they walked. “I don’t have an agenda for the rest of the day,” He said, glancing around. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could remember coming to the market festival as a kid and at no point in time did he ever think he’d be a participant in any way. Things were changing and at times he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Sure the cars were great and the travel was fun, but sometimes he missed the simplicity of what he had before: Staying up all night, working when he wanted and generally being a drain on society. Listening to UFO abduction claims on talk radio and trying to figure out the wiring diagram to a Fiat while downing copious amounts of coffee at 3am was wildly satisfying. Now he had a regular “job” and a girlfriend. He mused about himself from a year ago not recognizing who he had become, though his mother was happy just for the girlfriend.

He shook his head a little and tossed the thoughts to the back of his mind as they continued. A few people recognized him as they walked and he returned casual nods and waves. Every so often someone would take a picture of the two of them with a phone or camera- something he still wasn’t crazy about. Photos by the track or the stage were one thing and were basically expected, but as particular as he was about photos of himself he still didn’t care for the public spotlight, though Tommy had warned him what was in store. He shrugged. “Might as well indulge while we’re here.” He said patting his stomach. “I could eat.”

@Almalthia

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy

“If you don’t quit your bitchin’, I’m gonna really give you somethin’ to cry about.” Paige shot back. She slapped his leg as if he were an old workhorse. “Now get to it.” She could instantly tell by his distraught expression that he had no clue what the hell he was doing. She knew she could have stopped him and probably done a better job, but the comedy that followed was completely worth it. As he floundered around cluelessly, hitting boxes, shelves, walls and generally making a mess of anything that wasn’t bolted down, she was right there with a wisecrack every - single - time. He smacked a piece of racking while attempting to turn with a pallet and several boxes of Sol City records hit the floor ungracefully. She cackled with laughter. “Nice drivin’ Mario!” It may have been childish, but giving Sol City a giant F-YOU in the records department, felt very satisfying. She wasn’t going to clean it up and by the looks of things no one would be noticing for quite a long while. Watching Tao make a fool of himself on the lift just topped things off nicely.

When the door came into view her smile quickly faded and her eyes narrowed sharply. She felt her heartbeat pick up and her hand felt for the gun on her hip. Though she doubted anyone was on the other side, after all the trouble they’d been through, there was no telling what they would find. She motioned for him to get off the machine and get behind her.

Approaching cautiously through the mess of broken banker boxes and papers strewn over the concrete floor, she kept one hand delicately over the grip of her pistol and eased up next to the door where the hidden transponder waited. Plain gray and black with a silver handle, there was nothing special about it, though the transponder itself looked different from all the others as if it were a newer model. She put her ear to the wall and listened- not a sound. The room was stone quiet. The forklift engine began to tick as the engine cooled. She glanced back at Tao to make sure he was out of the way and exhaling slowly, she moved the key up to the small box waiting for the affirmative chirp and release of the lock.

Nothing happened.

Confused, she looked at the transponder, and waved the card by it gain, still nothing. Not even putting the card flat against the surface did anything. Glaring at the device, the long string of violent cursing that was prepped to explode out of her mind was halted as memory jumped in front. The power was off. It was the only absent condition from that day. She sighed and her shoulders dropped in annoyance. Her ponytailed blonde hair rocked with the shake of her head. Perhaps it would be a test to see how good he really was at the whole “hacking” thing, but they had no other choice and she felt a sense of desperation in the words, though as she briefly thought more about it, if it came to it... she wasn’t above ramming the forks through door and ripping it off its hinges- whatever or whoever was on the other side be damned. It was almost like a game and she wasn’t going to be denied this close to the prize. “When we were here before, the power was out,” She said. As they had walked, she had told him bits and pieces of her story with Milo and other things, mostly about being a Marshal in Florida and how much she hated Sol City. “Can you make this thing ‘think’ that the power is off? And we’ll see it works.”

@Allycat