[GP/EP] Check-in Day

[st_hotflashes]

Liz was starting to get better at the whole check-in day stuff. She knew she hadn't seen 'everything' yet, but she was learning from watching Kitty and Caroline and the others how to approach distressed, confused, and even angry people. It wasn't always perfect, but she was getting better.

With the help from the bakery, there were muffins on trays in the lobby - Mary had insisted. She insisted on coming in every once in a while to restock the trays too.

Liz had helped bring another tray to the front desk and then moved to sit at one of the couches that had a view of the front doors. She had a complicated science essay for Kitty due in a week and Liz was having trouble finding the right wording to express her thoughts.

Every once in a while, Liz would look up to see if there was someone knew approaching. There could be no one today or there could be a lot. Briefly, she wondered if someone else from home would show up. A part of her was curious who that would be, but she found a larger part of herself was hoping no one else would.

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Assigned Threads

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo used the moisture in the air to create a fog to envelope her and the surrounding trees in an effort to mask herself from Hank's sensors. It was the X-men version of hide and seek. Hank had wanted to test to see if his recalibrating could pick her out of a dense fog.

She stayed as quiet as she could, so any mutant hearing wouldn't be able to pick her out either. It was only her affinity with the weather around her that alerted her to the subtle change. It was only then that she noticed that she couldn't hear the rustle of the leaves in the wind. Ororo immediately dropped the fog and was both surprised and alarmed to see that she was now standing in the deserted parking lot of a very large, very pink inn.

The wind current picked her up and allowed her to have a bird's eye view of her surroundings. Storm didn't see any visible threats but she knew they weren't always visible. After lowering herself to the ground, the first step was to get answers and the quickest way for that would be inside the Inn.

She was very glad that she had been wearing her X-men uniform. It wasn't subtle, she definitely stood out in a crowd, especially with her hair, but it would also ground her in trying to think like Mystique, like the Professor, instead of falling back into her comfort zone of life in Cairo. Storm stepped through the doors of the lobby and paused. Nothing could have prepared her for the eclectic surroundings.

Re: Assigned Threads

[st_illkindalost]

Hurley was grateful that someone asked him to do something.

Sure, he worked the kitchens -- he had even learned how to cook something other than fried chicken, which was pretty much a requirement when you had an actual staff chef whose one specialty was chicken. But it wasn't often that someone needed him to do something. There were plenty of people who were way better at doing stuff than he was. Hurley couldn't fault them for defaulting to those people first.

He would, too.

Hurley actually doesn't hear her come in; there was definitely a good chance that if he'd been doing anything other than staring, bored, at the doors, he would have missed her entirely. But as soon as Hurley sees her, he pushes himself to his feet.

"Hey," he says, keeping his distance for now. Probably a smart move, he thinks. You never really know what you're getting from the newcomers. "Uh..." What does he say now? "Welcome to the Madonna Inn."

Storm & Hurley

[st_ormscoming]

"What is this place?" Her Egyptian accent was a little thicker than normal because of her stress level. "Are you in charge here?" Storm didn't think that he was, but looks and body language were usually deceiving.

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_illkindalost]

It takes Hurley a second to process what she's saying because her accent is so thick. There's a slight delay in his response while he plays back what she's said in his head and then finally

"It's a pocket dimension." Hurley has picked up that much from the others; science really wasn't his thing. "A bunch of us are stuck here. We're all from different places, different timelines, different times."

And to answer the woman's other question:

"I'm not the leader here." Thank God for that. "We don't really have an official leader. We all, uh -- we all do our own thing. I'm just here to greet the people who show up."

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_ormscoming]

Storm immediately thought of Apocalypse but he was gone, defeated. This could not be from him. Besides, he wouldn't have brought humans here and the Inn wasn't anything that he would have recreated.

"There are many people that 'show up' here?" Her accent was returning to normal with the calming of her emotions.

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_illkindalost]

"Yeah, they always show up on the 15th and the 1st," Hurley says. "That's why I was out here in the lobby. Was just waiting for people to show up."

And so, someone did.

"It's not bad," Hurley concedes. "Most of the time, it's pretty peaceful. And there's food." Which was a lot more than what he could say for the island, most of the time. "And people are pretty nice, so you're probably not gonna clash with too many people here."

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo didn't like the sound of the regularity of arrivals but she would examine that later. Her lips did quirk slightly at his last comment, "With many personalities in a place, even one this size, it is inevitable that there will be clashes. I will hope to keep mine at a minimum."

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_illkindalost]

"Probably a good idea," Hurley agrees. He's thankfully avoided most conflict, but then again... Hurley avoided most conflict back on the island, too. "You want me to show you around? You have any other questions?"

Hurley is trying to be helpful. He just hopes he isn't trying too hard. But better too hard than not enough, right?

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_ormscoming]

The questions that Storm had could wait for someone that might know more of what was going on. But she did have one question, "if we are brought here, do we find a room that is unoccupied and use it for ourselves?"

She was used to that living in the Professor's home. That was how you found your room.

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_illkindalost]

"Oh, yeah," Hurley says, as if the thought has just occurred to him. "You'll want to go to the front desk." He directs a finger in its direction. "The front desk guy? He's not being rude, he's basically like a zombie, or something. He answers basic questions, but he's not gonna tell you anything about why we're here or anything."

Hurley has tried.

"You can swap rooms, either, so hopefully you like what you get. You can't really redecorate you room."

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo's brows knit in confusion. "Why can't I change rooms?" She had never stayed in a hotel before, but she'd never heard of any of them not letting a guest switch if they wanted.

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_illkindalost]

"Look, man, I don't know," Hurley says. It's not agitated in the least, just really casual, because really, that's what Hurley is, most of the time. "Lots of freaky stuff happens here. There's ghosts and stuff. And there were these zombie dudes like, two weeks ago that attacked us, so there's that, too."

That probably wasn't what they wanted him saying to people when they first showed up though.

"But there's always food --" Didn't he mention this before? "-- and if any furniture or appliances or anything get broken, it repairs overnight."

Re: Storm & Hurley

[st_ormscoming]

Again Ororo thought of Apocalypse. He didn't really look like a zombie but she could see how he might have been confused with one. Though she knew that it wasn't possible to be him, but it could be someone similar.

"Never underestimate the importance of food." It was something that she'd always scraped for except recently. "But, how often is this place attacked?"

Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

After the fiasco of the last Arrival Day, Tony opted to stick close to home base but not too close. He had attempted to camp out in the lobby--but the mirror served as a grim and constant reminder and he wanted no part of its taunting. Instead, he camped out by the stables to watch the horses doing their thing. It was supposed to be relaxing, but all he could do was wonder various things such as, were the horses also pulled from some far reaches of other dimensions? Were they weird, mechanical automatons like much of the staff? Were they oddly material ghosts? Were they immortal?

Tony laid his head down on the white fencing, cheek compressed by the wood. He sighed. The scent of manure was thick. His nice sneakers were slowly sinking into the mud, and he activated his armored boots (knowing they wouldn't hold out long with the ongoing destabilization.) None of this was relaxing. He was forced to maintain the assertion that horse-people were crazy.

In the distance towards the hotel, Tony caught the sight of bronze skin and a shock of white hair, all done up in a form-fitting costume with a cape. He didn't even need to ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. to run facial scanning to know that that was a new face. Well, no time like the present to be neighborly, half-assed or no. Nothing could go worse than the last attempt.

"Welcome, Traveler. Or something." He beckoned, waving a hand.

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo had been out exploring when someone had told her there were stables. She had never been around horses, but she supposed they were probably like donkeys in their temperament. Those she didn't mind which was why her curiosity brought her over toward the stables.

"Hello." She said in greeting when she got closer to Tony. Her brown eyes held amusement at his greeting. It was more how she would have greeted someone. "Are you on the welcoming committee?" Ororo actually didn't think there was one.

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

When she got closer, unsurprisingly, the get-up wasn't any less outlandish. His eyes went up and down her form, silently ordering F.R.I.D.A.Y. to take note through the scanning function of his glasses.

"Goodness, no. I'm not nearly perky enough." Tony replied with a straight face, pushing up to lean onto his palms. "But hell, I've got a baseline of manners. Tony Stark." He offered a hand crossing his body towards her.

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo took his hand and shook it, "Ororo Munroe." When she released it, she leaned her elbow on the fence. "Any tips for the newcomer?" Her lips quirked, "even if it's not perky enough."

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You got a rundown of our, ah, lovely fruity pebbles vomit facilities yet? If you have, then you know your every physical need will be provided for. Mental? Sink or swim." That much was the truth. While he was certain there had been others who had a rougher adjustment period than himself, the first week was one that no one could have paid Tony to relive. He was a billionaire, anyway. Not that ever counted for anything here.

"Get a hobby. Find a buddy. If humans aren't your thing, there're the horses. Or a bear, apparently."

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo felt an odd sensation of missing Jubilee. She never missed anyone, but that description was exactly how her friend would have described the hotel.

"A man named Hurley gave me the run down though I like your description better. I did not hear there was a bear." She glanced around the area and then back at Tony. "Is it a grizzly bear that I have heard live in America?" She had never seen a bear outside of one on TV.

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Beats me. Unless Yogi comes knocking on my door for a picnic basket, I'm happy with my tech." The more Tony tried to understand animals, the more he wanted to stick with what he knew. Between the kitten-turned-trickster, the sentient raccoon and the horses who just refused to come get the carrot, he maintained that robots were superior in every regard.

"Alright, uh, other tips." He snapped his fingers in thought. "You may or may not encounter people you know. Or you may encountered people who know you but you don't know them because it turns out you exist in other universes. And vice versa. So start processing that now."

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo had no idea who Yogi was, but she assumed they were a bear with a picnic basket. Why they would have that was a mystery but not enough of one that she cared to find the answer.

As Tony continued to talk, her brow furrowed not quite understanding what he'd said but she wouldn't admit it. That would be admitting weakness and you didn't survive on the streets by admitting weakness.

"Do they arrive through the portals that Hurley spoke of? The ones that took you to other places that were never home."

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"'Portals she says....Otherworlds. No, those lead to other worlds. You go through them and end up wherever the portal decides to put you and it's adventure time. Portal closes, you're back at the inn. I've been here for a month and a half, never been, so that's all I got." It took some effort for Tony not to pout at his lack of information. He wasn't used to being the boring individual around.

"As far as the other self business goes...uh, how much tolerance you got for physics talk?"

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo quirked her lips, "I will just do what I do back in New York with Professor McCoy, smile and nod when you look like you're expecting a response. I grew up on the streets of Cairo, I never went to school."

It was said as fact, without self pity. She was far from ignorant but she had never had formal education to learn physics either. Her science education was through hands on learning of life as a mutant until recently. Even now, Ororo wouldn't trade her street smarts for formal education.

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Turning to lean back against the fence, Tony willed his armor to do a bit of work in forming a gauntlet along his right arm. Testing the stability by flexing his fingers, a projection emerged from the repulsor on his palm. While its primary use was for plasma blasts, light shows weren't out of the question. The 3-D projection was like stationary bubbles suspended in a semiopaque medium. Simple, but his suit was operating on crutches and it would do.

"One bubble, one universe. The, uh, club soda liquid they're suspended in? Could be a fifth-dimensional plane, could be some event boundary keeping them from being deterministically connected, could be literal club soda, who knows, this is all speculative where I'm from, bear with me."

His fingers gestured in a closing motion at the projection, making it scale out--far, far, out. A few bubbles became hundreds, becoming millions, multiplying into the infinite. "One of those bubbles has you in it, other bubbles have different versions of you, and so on. Zoom back in--" The projection rapidly zoomed in on a dozen or so of the globes, now all linked by a spider thread with a single bubble as the nexus. "This one in the middle? That's the hotel. Through some magic, mathematics, whatever you want to call it, it's breached the metaphorical club soda and plucked people into its delightfully nauseating pocket dimensional doors. What end? I don't speak kitsch so your guess is as good as mine."

Re: Storm and Tony - Stables

[st_ormscoming]

Ororo stared at the projection. It was something that Hank would have. Surprisingly, she actually paid attention to his explanation and when he was finished, she actually understood the other reality comments and other versions of her.

“So, I was brought here and my reality split into another bubble, one where I came here, and one where I stayed.” Her lips quirked, “it sounds like something a mutant would do. Are there mutants here?” That was something she hadn’t thought to ask Hurley.