001 | [Video]

[flamingshortshorts]

[The video cuts on and at first it just shows the side of a building. Then trees, a sidewalk. It's moving around, obviously being held, but not settling on any one sight. The person is walking down the street, or so it appears. Then someone speaks.]

Okay, good, now...wait. [The movement stops, the scenery stands still and then suddenly flips, spinning until the screen is taken up by a young man, looking barely into his late teens, whose face is very close, as if he's leaning into the camera. Then he smiles, looking triumphant.] Now, I got it. [This is what happens when you're terrible with technology and weren't paying as much attention as you should have been.]

You can see me right? I mean, whoever is watching this uh...recording. Criminy, it's like something out of a Buck Rogers strip. Is everything around here from a World of Tomorrow exhibit? The fella who showed me around told me that you can see me and I can see you, if ya want me to.

So...hi. [He smiles and it's a little awkward, but he's not looking upset. More unsure than anything.] I'm Toro. I guess I'm the new draft in town, but keeping people safe and away from danger is old hat for me, so if you need help out of a tight spot, let me know. Gotta say I've never been to brought to some alternate world for it before, though, so I can cross that off the list. At this rate I'm not gonna have anything left to cross off by the time I'm thirty.

I'm still figuring everything out, but this city sure is friendly and they put me up somewhere real snazzy, so I can't complain too much. But what I really want to know is where a fella can get some good food and maybe a sweet piece of pie? I'm starving for something that isn't c-rations. Something I don't have to heat up myself would be swell.

Comments

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[sidecars]

Buck Rogers? Really?

[ Let's talk Flash Gordon any day over Buck Rogers! C'mon Toro! ]

Where are you? Where'd they drop you?

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[flamingshortshorts]

[Seeing Bucky's face, hearing his voice, Toro can't help but grin wide and feel like things are a lot better than they were. Not that he'll just take that kind of jibe.]

Well, I'm not holding no radio. [He doesn't see any dinosaurs around so Flash Gordon can take a hike.]

I'm in a town called Nonah; do you know it? How far away are you? I can fly to you.

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[sidecars]

[ Okay it's not ALWAYS about dinosaurs, alright? Sheesh! ]

Best answer I've heard in awhile. Good news is I'm in Nonah, too! And I know plenty of places to wash the taste'a rat packs off your tongue. They do burgers here like you wouldn't believe!

[ He sends Toro the name of an intersection a few blocks down from his new house. Sorry, pal! Nothing against you, but a public network and all... ]

Meet you there in, what, ten minutes?

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[flamingshortshorts]

You know I can be there even faster than that. [Because he can fly around and find it easy enough. He's a New Yorker, he knows his way around a busy city.] Pappy wasn't with me and I haven't seen Cap or Fishsticks, either. Have you?

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[sidecars]

No, you're the first to get stuck here with me. [ He pauses for a minute, scratching at the back of his head. ] I've been here a month already, Toro...

[ That probably isn't going to make sense to him, not after what Buck's learned about time displacement and all that sci-fi bullshit he's been spoon fed. But he figures he should tell his friend. Obviously it'd come out soon enough, but... ]

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[abduxel]

[The comm tag reads Matthew Lin, and the man on screen appears fairly normal, if dressed very formally for modern times. Anyone able to see through illusions/glamour magic will see two ram horns curling around his ears, but to most people, they are invisible.]

What year are you coming from, friend?

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[flamingshortshorts]

[It's definitely not something Toro would notice, so he just sees a sharply dressed man.]

Last I checked it was almost Christmas, but I caught on to how different things are around here. Other worlds and all. [There was some freaking out maybe when he first woke up. And some yelling.]

[abduxel]

Right, Christmas, sure, but which Christmas? You sound like you might be from my neck of the woods. My - era.

[flamingshortshorts]

1943. Not that we were doing much celebrating. [Since they were stuck on mission at the time.]

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[huntergames]

What city are you in? I know a really good place for grilled meat in Heropa!

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[flamingshortshorts]

I'm in Nonah, not Heropa, but tell me what place and I'll try to visit! Traveling doesn't bother me any.

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[huntergames]

As long as you can use the Porter, the commute isn't bad at all.

It's called Smoked House Foods! It serves the best grilled chicken in all of Heropa, but it has delicious steak and pork chops. Barbecue, sweet-and-sour... there's so many choices!

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[flamingshortshorts]

I've got my ways of getting around. [His grin is a bit cheeky.] Barbecue is my favorite, so I'll definitely come down and try it one of these days. Thanks for the heads up. What's your name?

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[friendshiprocks]

Have you been to the malt shop? They don't do pie, but if you're a new arrival then you'll get a free malt.

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[flamingshortshorts]

Malt Shop? Where is it? No one told me about that one yet. [Talk about a taste of home. He hasn't been to an actual malt shop in a long time.]

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[friendshiprocks]

It's right here: [ AND WOW, there are directions ]

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[flamingshortshorts]

Thanks, kid! [She pretty much made his day. Then he blinks a little.] They got a house special flavor you'd recommend or should I go down the menu?

VIDEO.

[indenture]

[ The man on the screen looks friendly enough, though his left eye doesn't follow the movements of his right. ]

Word to the wise: always specify location when you're asking for recommendations. That said, pie should be a piece of cake to track down in Nonah. They've got the all-American aesthetic almost down to a science.

VIDEO.

[flamingshortshorts]

[Toro isn't one to judge even if it doesn't catch his attention. Thankfully it doesn't look as much like he's staring through the video. 'Cause he might be. A little.]

If I do that then people think I'm not willing to travel around and I'll fly across the country for good food. It's not like it takes that long to get around.

VIDEO.

[indenture]

Guess not -- the Porters make pretty fast work of commuting, if you've tried 'em out already. Flying's probably not necessary.

[ Despite the normalization of super powers he still assumes flying refers to airplanes by default. ]

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[flamingshortshorts]

Yeah, I guess if you want to be dull about it, you could just use one of those.

[Teleportation is nice, but why do it when you could be flying?] Nothing beats being that high up in the air and getting to watch everything zoom by below you, though.

[theslayerofgod]

I've been trying to figure out where to get some decent food ever since I got here. I guess that's only a month ago, though...

I think it depends on what kind of food you're looking for, though. There are a lot of restaurants around, but I'm not really sure I trust bread with red sauce and cheese on it. Seems kind of off.

[flamingshortshorts]

Red sauce and cheese...? [That is so vague he isn't sure what this guy could be taking about.] Red sauce and cheese makes up half the food that comes out of New York. Do you mean pizza? Hot ham?

[theslayerofgod]

...yeah! Pizza! That's what it's called!

[flamingshortshorts]

Oh boy, that's not just any red sauce. It's tomato! Pizza is the best and you can make it just about anyway you want it. Meats, more tomato, some peppers... In Italy--and Little Italy, too, if you know where to go--they don't even put tomato sauce on pizza. Just cheese and toppings. 'Supposed to be more authentic that way.