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Summary: Corrin's first job for Jarvis: inventory the kitchen, even with Pietro and Keld under-foot.
Date: March 16, 2010
Taking Inventory
Rating: G
NYC - The Avenger Mansion (Kitchen)
The kitchen is oversized, preparing for the possibility of cooking for large numbers. All the appliances are silver and black, lending to the sleek design for the kitchen interior.
The kitchen is usually a haven of organization… except not right now. The pantry doors are open and there are boxes and bottles and cans and such all over the place, stacked in mostly neat rows and piles, except there are a lot of them. There's also a clipboard with a stack of paper on the counter, cleaning supplies next to the pantry doors, and half the moveable shelving from out of the pantry stacked up in front of the refrigerator. The way to the back door is, however, clear.
Corrin is in the middle of it all, carrying things in and out of the pantry — cans and bottles out, cleaning stuff in. He keeps checking the paperwork before putting anything in each pile.
Having been out in Canada most of the day, Pietro returns to the mansion for a breather. Safer for others if something happens. Anyone attacking the mansion is an idiot. Appearing in the doorway, wearing his costume, Pietro arches an eyebrow at it all, but mostly at the man he doesn't know. This is new. "Is Jarvis out?" A bit sharper than he means, and as he steps over one of those boxes to enter the kitchen proper. Who are you, and does this mean he can't get a sandwich? Doesn't ask that however. Merely frowns at Corrin.
Keld has been out being a civilian. Someone once told him he was a deadly grind, never budging from the training room, which was untrue but not that far from it when considering his utter lack of other leisure, so after cleaning up from the previous day's unsuccessful attempt to capture the gang of metapowered muggers plaguing Central Park lately (but being successful at getting three or four ordinary muggers and a couple drug addicts) the alien Avenger went out to do something recreational. He's been a Tourist. And he didn't have to use powers, which is better yet, and rather unusual.
Corrin looks up, blinking, when Pietro speaks up. "Hello," he says. Oh, wait. That's QUICKSILVER. He straightens up and tries to appear competent and responsible. "Sir. Um. Jarvis is serving tea in the… uh… Blue Room, I believe. I'm Corrin." He starts to offer his hand, then looks at it—gloved, with stuff on it. Cleaning stuff, but stuff. "Um. I'm helping out today. Can I help you?" A look around… er. *Can* he help?
Serving tea for who though.. Pietro doesn't ask, and keeps his frown as he's offered a cleaning glove colored hand. No, not shaking that. Still, this doesn't get him lunch.. and as Keld enters, well, this doesn't either. "Pietro." Said as an introduction. "Hello, Keld." Seems a bit snappish today though. Terse on the word use. At least for the moment. He turns off his superspeed after a moment, and immediately looks much calmer. Sorry, habit there. "I came in hopes of a meal, but I'll leave you to your work, Corrin." Eyeing the boxes. "Not sure making this worse is a good thing."
Tea in the Blue Room — Keld avoids the Blue Room because… there are certain Earthian rituals that just confuse him. The ritual of sipping tea, eating tiny overspiced cut-down sandwiches made of improbable combinations of foods, delicious though they might be, and being conversational and chatty… If he had wanted to do the things that spies do he would have stayed attached to Diplomatic Corps, and that's definitely the kind of thing that spies do.
Instead he walks into the Kitchen, to see how Corrin is faring, just in time to be greeted by Pietro.
"Hey, Corrin, I heard you'd been given Inventory. Anything ready to go to the food bank? Hi Pietro, I had some leftover," and he does the air quotes exactly like She-Hulk would, "'Chinese Takeaway' in the chiller but it might've been eaten, if not you're more than welcome to it."
Corrin looks from one Avenger to the other and if anything, stands straighter. But he also gets a bright smile on his face. "A meal! Yes, Jarvis mentioned that some of the Avengers might be coming through looking for food — he made up plates. Let me get one for you!" And he slithers in behind the shelving in front of the refrigerator and opens it just enough to extract a couple of plates. "And hello, Keld. I'm fine, and it's more complicated than it was supposed to be. I'll tell you later." He slithers out with the plate and frowns. "Wait — did you want a meal, too?"
Pietro looks between Keld and Corrin, for their greeting tells him that Corrin does indeed work here. So he wends between boxes so that it's a triangle of conversation, and not him in the middle. "That would be acceptable, yes. Thank you." Jarvis made meals. He'd earn a fortune if he marketed those. Stepping to the counter, the speedster leans there, folding his arms over his chest. Okay, out of the way. "I appreciate the offer, Keld, but it looks as though Jarvis has thought of everything as per usual." He smirks for it, shrugging. So not worried about it. "Corrin, how long have you worked here?" Sorry, he simply has to know.
Keld shakes his head no to Corrin, and shrugs off the brown leather bomber-jacket he's been wearing. Not that he needs to wear it but it's rather the expected thing in this weather and it looks good.
"Jarvis does that. And Corrin, I ate last night and I usually only eat once every two days, but thank you for thinking of it."
He looks around for a place to sit, and there isn't really one, so he just stands still at the edge of the room.
Corrin puts the plate in the microwave before he answers Pietro's question. "He didn't want to leave the kitchen," he says as he puts in the time and starts the oven. "But one of the Avengers came in with a government man — I don't know who, Jarvis didn't say — and he said that he needed to serve tea and that I should finish up." He turns around and smiles uncertainly at Pietro. "I got here today. Is it normal to be left alone in Avenger's mansion on an hour's notice…?" He looks over at Keld and blinks — brown bomber jacket? "Oh… two days. Oh."
For all that any Avengers who know him would be floored at it, Pietro smiles back at Corrin. A habit he picked up in teaching in Europe. For all he doesn't think Corrin a child, the reaction is the same. Smile back, let the other know it's alright. "Unfortunately, yes it is." Alone in an hour? Yes. The man doesn't seem too concerned about it however. "You've it easy. Normally someone attacks, or there's an alien invasion, when we get someone new." Pietro pauses after that, and lifts a hand. "I'm kidding." Realized that might not be obvious.
Keld makes a far too serious expression, and answers portentously, "At least it is if they trust you, and since I do, and Jarvis is a better judge of trustworthiness than I am and he does, then quod erat demonstrandum, you are to be trusted. At least trusted not to maraud through the kitchen creating monstrous canned-food-based mayhem to wreak upon the denizens of this fair city."
Someone was apparently watching the SuperHeroSquad cartoon where a malevolent Ultron-possessed trash compactor did just that.
"Also, I was the exception to that rule. I was the guest and the alien invasion all in one tidy package. Fortunately I surrendered."
Alien invasions? Corrin frowns at Keld, especially since he was saying he was an alien himself. Then the explanation about 'invasion and guest' and 'I surrendered', and he's looking rather overwhelmed. Fortunately… PING! The microwave announces Pietro's meal is ready, and that gives Corrin something to do with himself while he gets his head back into proper order.
"You mean you weren't entirely stupid?" Asked of Keld with a smirk. Yeah, surrendering is a good idea when faced with the Avengers. Pietro does toe one of the boxes near him though. Monstrous canned-food-based mayhem? Hmm. Wouldn't be the strangest thing he's face. A glance to the microwave, but he continues leaning for the moment. Shouldn't harass Corrin about the meal. It'll get here soon enough. "How did you come to work here, Corrin? This is hardly the easiest spot to get a job." For all he seems amused by it.
Keld quirks an eyebrow at Pietro. "Of course I wasn't. I surrendered to She-Hulk after all. Wouldn't you?"
He gestures towards Corrin, "I found the good gentleman being belabored by a desperate bat-wielding fellow who stank of both heroin and amphetamine, although I suspect that with the energy field our friend Corrin was projecting, the mugger would have been in real trouble shortly after. I fed him dinner in gratitude for his help in pointing out the evidence, learned he needed work, remembered Jarvis was talking about hiring someone for a bit, and brought him by."
He doesn't sound insufferably smug, but if one strained, one might hear a bit of a self-satisfied thing there. Saving the world one person at a time? Maybe.
Corrin shrinks into the collar of his shirt. "Didn't mean to do that," he mutters, getting the plate out of the oven and putting it down in front of Pietro before starting the 'which drawer holds the silverware?' search. "But he surprised me." He's actually moving further away from the silver as he searches…
Those white eyebrows arch again, but more of for the energy field, than the would be mugging. "Quite the story." Pietro smirks, "That was also a joke, Keld." About the surrendering. Maybe one day Keld will understand. maybe. "Thank you." For the plate, but there's no need to find a fork as the man seems to suddenly have one in his hand. Doesn't stop Corrin from searching though. Eats in superspeed too, so a clean plate is gently placed down in mere moments. No point in making that last. He shouldn't be lingering here anyway. Not much longer at any rate. "You did nothing wrong in defending yourself, Corrin." At least that's how it sounds. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I can't remain. Dr McCoy, an old friend, has asked my aid and I need to go lend a hand. Thank you for the meal, Corrin. It was good meeting you."
Keld laughs, "Pietro. I wasn't really invading, and if Jennifer ever gives you the chance to surrender to her? I heartily recommend it."
He looks over at Corrin, "The silver is in the end drawers. There's so many drawers here, you'll be lost investigating if you're not careful."
He sketches a salute to the fastest Avenger, and considers what he needs to tell him about this new visitor. But that can be done later, most likely.
Corrin finds soup ladles. Soup ladles? He looks around in time to see Pietro put his empty plate down — with silver on it! — and pushes the soup ladle drawer back in. Keld speaks and he gets this, 'Of course' look on his face. The end drawers. The easiest ones to find…
He returns to collect the plate to put it in the dishwasher. "It was good to meet you, Pietro," he says. "And don't thank me for the meal. Thank Jarvis. He made it up; I just knew where he put it."
Sorry, but Pietro shudders at the idea, even though he does respect She Hulk, there's no urge to take it further than that. And yes, his mind is taking it places Keld probably didn't mean. "I'll keep that in mind." Looking to Corrin, the speedster shakes his head.
"You were willing to help, and for that I think you. I shall return once I'm done. Good day, gentlemen." Not one much for good-byes, Pietro does his disappearing act and is simply gone.
Corrin watches first Pietro and then Keld disappear about their own affairs and he stands in the middle of the disordered kitchen for a moment, just absorbing the experience. He's met Avengers. He's met *two* Avengers, at the same time, and helped one get a meal. Chalk this day up on the 'positive' side. He gives himself a nod, and then returns to the inventory. The old stock. A double-sized order of new stock, because the supplier make a clerical error. And a bottle of olive oil, broken in the box (probably during delivery), pushed to the back of the shelves and dripping down behind on the wall… that's enough complications, yes? Yes. He heads back to work.
And maybe he whistles a little as he scrubs olive oil off the wall. Maybe.
