Summary:Starfire hopes to purchase the Baxter Building! A compromise is reached. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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Kori's not making much progress in renting a building.
Granted, most of the receptionists don't even know how to get ahold of the building owner. New York relies almost exclusively on real estate agents for such things. The rest of them largely laughed off the redheaded woman as a gag at best, or more likely just a nuisance.
So, the direct approach: after being kicked out of a few buildings, Kori just flies up to the top. After all, these palaces are for New York's royalty, so it stands to reason they'd live at the top.
So when Reed's in his lab/work area, there's a sudden and unexpected knocking. Loud, too. Not from the door, but from the window. There hovers an orange-skinned woman in an entirely too brief outfit of lavender purple, with streaking red hair hanging to her waist. She holds up a cardboard sign and plasters it to the window. <Hi I am Kori and I want to buy your building plz call:> and a number is listed. All are in blocky, slightly childlike letters.
"Do you hear that?" Susan Storm-Richards turns her ear towards the laboratory door. "… There it is again! Did something-" Susan, dressed in the blue team jumpsuit and black boots - having foregone that gloves around the house - starts to move towards the laboratory door which opens automatically as she approaches. "-is something hitting our win…"
There's an orange lady hovering at the window.
"…dooooowwww…?" She stares. "Reed? Reed come- come look at this." She peers at their visitor, gradually absorbing more information with a growing frown as she approaches the window. She picks a piece of paper and a pen off of a table as she passes and begins to write on it, dictating aloud, "Johnny's… not… here…!!" before she gets close enough to read Starfire's sign and just stares.
Waves a little.
Stares more. "Reeeed?"
Upper body stretched up towards the ceiling, Reed is making adjustments on…. something. There's scientific equipment everywhwere in there, and a lot of it doesn't have an obvious use. The knocking on the window doesn't register at first, his more focused wife apparently picking up on it first. "Hmm? What was that, dear?" He doesn't actually look away from what he's doing until that drawn out saying of his name. That was Sue for 'you better pay attention right now'. He twists around, looking down at her. "The window?" Then he extends his head towards it, coming down from the top and peering upside-down at the orange woman floating outside of the building. "Hmmm. Why is a Tamaranean outside of our window…" He reads the sign and arches a brow. "Interesting." He retracts back to normal human shape, saying aloud, "Open primary lab window thirteen." He strolls over to said window as it retracts, nodding his head to Koriand'r, "You wanted to talk with us, Miss?"
Kori beams a delighted smile at Sue when she's waved at. The Tamaranean leans forward and reads the note, then says something lost by the thick windows and the wind at this altitude. When Sue doesnt' respond, she tries again.
Then the window opens, and Kori yells "-ON'T KNOW WHO JOHNNY IS!" right in Sue's face.
"Oh! Delightful, this one opens!" she says, in a more normal tone, and floats over solid ground. Her toes are just an inch off the floor, but she seems comfortable in that state. Fortunately at least one of the Fantastic Four members has apparently seen a Tamaranean in a battle harness before, even if Kori's skirt and sleeveless shirt is fairly modest compared to some configurations. "I broke one trying to open it at the Luthor building," she clarifies.
"Greetings, friends!" she says, switching to her prepared statement. "My name is Koriand'r. I am eighteen years old and I recently graduated the highest school. I am trying to find a building to buy in New York. Is this one for sale?"
Susan looks to Reed as he appears and just… gestures towards Kori helplessly. "I was hoping you could tell me." She replies with an uneasy smile. "I don't think she has an appointment."
That said, when the window starts to open, Susan puts up a thin invisible forcefield across the room to keep anything from flying out from the air pressure when the window opens, though it flickers briefly when she suddenly gets an earfull of shouting Tamaranian. "OOOOOKAY!" She yelps, flinching and shutting her eyes when they noise hits her.
She opens her eyes narrowly, squinting a bit at their visitor, an eyebrow raising as she hears the fate of the Luthor building. "You want to…" she glances at Reed and then back again, "… *buy* the Baxter building?" A beat. "The whole Baxter building?"
a hand raises to rub Reeds stubbly chin as he considers the alien girl now floating in the lab. It was far from the strangest thing to ever randomly show up there. Though when they were dressed like that, they usually showed up in the lobby and were looking for his brother-in-law. He notes the modified, relatively modest outfit the girl is wearing. It implied she'd been on Earth for long enough that she became at least somewhat aware of how it appeared to earthlings. "No, I don't think she does either. I'm fairly sure I'd remember."
He smiles at the alien, then says aloud, "Close window thirteen, primary lab." It shuts behind the alien, and he reaches over to absently pat Susan. "Thank you, dear. Greetings to you, Koriand'r. Welcome to the Baxter Building. I am Reed Richards. I'm sorry to say, the Baxter Building isn't for sale. I am curious why you have need of an entire buulding this size, however. But I can introduce you to some good real estate agents if you really do need one. Since you've apparently enrolled in school here, I take it that you're not a new resident of Earth?"
Kori blinks at Susan's question, then looks to Reed. Her bare shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. "I am from Earth," she says, automatically. "From Malta. And I am no longer in school; that's why I have time to shop for buildings." She seems to forget she's, y'know. Flying.
"I did not know it was possible to buy *part* of a building," she says, and looks skywards thoughtfully with an index finger on her cheekbone and lips quirked to the side. "I suppose that would be the able-doing," she agrees. "My last apartment was entirely too small for my friends to stay in. And now another friend gave us his house to use, and it is three thousand square feet, and everyone complains that it is too small and cramped. Also the neighbors keep calling the police, and then I got yelled at for leaving the shower to answer the door. I thought it was rude to keep people waiting!" she protests.
Susan blinks once. "Malta." She repeats. She presses her lips together very tightly, fighting not to laugh or smile, and failing a bit at both. "Malt- Ms- honey, *hon*…" She shakes her head and grins for a second before wrestling it back under control.
No, you know what? She's just gonna leave that one alone.
"That's… quite a predicament." She says, rolling with this increasingly surreal situation. It's what she does. Surreality is basically their job. Though she does blush a bit at the shower situation, turning her head away and putting her hand above her eyes for a second as though she needs to shield them from the sun. She coughs. "Uh, *well* that's… that's, uhm. There's a balance. We get shy about clothes here on Ear-" she pauses. "… America."
The scientists brows raise. "Really. Malta, you say." He glances sideways at his wife. "I'm glad you've given priority to your education. It's important." He crosses his arms over his chest. "As I said before. The building is not for sale." At mention of friends his head tilts to the side. "Are you part of a large group of people from… ah… Malta?" She seems to want to pretend she's from earth. That's fine. He clears his throat at mention of the shower problem. "Yes. While some people might not mind, in general it's considered polite to wear clothing when answering the door. Customs here are quite different from where you come from." Which is clearly Malta and not from a planet in the Vega system. "In truth you would be better off leasing rather than buying, at least to start with. It can be very expensive to buy an entire building in New York. Roughly how many of your friends are you looking to house, Koriand'r?"
"I am grateful for your wisdom on the topic," Koriand'r assures the Richards. She sounds… sincere about it! "I am still trying to learn your customs and that is one I forget quite often." She floats around, looking at the laboratory. Her brow furrows. "I did not know there were shop classes in this building! It looks much nicer than the one at Midtown," she says, apropos of nothing.
She moves back to the couple and lands neatly. Kori would be a towering presence in any case but her boots bump her another three inches and her hair constantly moves and flows behind her, adding more bulk. She's about six inches closer to them than most people would find comfortable. "I have twelve friends who are in need of a place to live," she explains. "Oh, and Dani has a flying horse, and I have my Silkie and Fluffers," she adds, a beat later.
Her brow furrows. "I… did not realize buying a building was expensive," she says. "The government paid for my rent of my apartment when I emigrated here. I have a credit card though! It has forty-seven thousand, six hundred and twelve dollars on it." She digs in her top and produces a black corporate card to some nameless LLC, and outthusts it at Reed. "Is that enough?"
"I- I see…" Susan stammers a bit embarrassedly in regards to Koriand'r struggles with Earth customs, glancing at Reed. Susan is hardly the jealous sort, but it's occasionally hard not to compare yourself to an exotic alien amazon princess when they land in your home in front of your husband. Though knowing Reed his interest in her physiology is likely to be more academic than anything.
She takes a tiny step back when her personal space is just breached upon, and crosses her arms, nodding along to the increasing absurdity Kori reveals with each spoken phrase. At the price in particular, she winces, and wonders what real estate and finance must be like in Malta.
"That's… that's honestly not very much. Not for twelve people's worth of space. We-" she looks to Reed, "-keep some space clear under our home for…" she glances to the side, "… safety reasons…." she looks to Kori, "And even just keeping that is… expensive." She's tried to puzzle out HOW expensive, but once the numbers reach a certain quantity of digits, Susan starts having panic attacks and gathering coupon books. "Do you have any… other source of money?"
Reed nods his head to the alien, watching her closely in case she tries to touch something she shouldn't while floating around. "Trying to integrate into a new culture can be taxing, and it's easy to forget things. I'm sure you'll fully adjust in time." He doesn't seem as bothered by the invasion of personal space as his wife, his brows furrowed as he studies her. The look of intrigue on his face is indeed more academic than lascivious. "Twelve people. A flying horse. And… whatever your pets happen to be. Hmm. That would take quite a bit of space. Are you looking just for living quarters, or more than that?" He considers the credit card she offers, and his lips twitch slightly. "Ah. Well. that would not be enough to lease a full building, no. For the amount of space you seem to need, it wouldn't be enough to lease even part of a building."
He pulls what looks like a PDA out of his pocket, and begins to tap away at it while he thinks. "Miss Koriand'r, I feel like I should also note something for your future dealings with people here. Earthlings, wherever they're from, don't typically fly. That's generally reserved for those with superhuman abilities. Or, aliens who happen to have the ability naturally. Hmm. Twelve people, space for large aniamls, the cost cf conversion of said space…" He keeps on typing.
Kori blinks and her skin seems to get a little dull. The Tamaranean expression of blood draining from the cheeks? Her legs flex a little and her ever-flowing red hair flickers upwards, as if she's flying downwards to ensure she's got her feet on the ground. "O-oh, yes, of course. I know that. Because I… am from Earth. And I know about that," she babbles.
The explanation from the Richardses is clearly dimming her enthusiastic spirit. "I was… not aware of the cost," she confesses. "And I do not have any money. My stipend from your government ran out when I graduated high school and was legally recognized as an adult," she explains to them. "That money was a gift from a sponsor who—" she hesitates, fingers twisting. "My friends are all in a unqiue circumstance. Several of them are fleeing bad people or trying to be more responsible citizens, helping people. Protecting them. I would not wish to tell you this, but I feel as if I can trust you two," she tells the duo. Kori would probably trust someone with her social security number if they asked. "We were given a house to use but I fear it is too small for twelve teenagers. And the horse. And my pets," she adds. "I do not know where else to go. I cannot afford an tower like the Avengers have," she frets. "I have been fired from seventeen jobs and I was not invited back after my last interview because the manager's wife was mad at me for some reason. I heard her yelling at him about his library books being 'checking out' while I was leaving." She shrugs helplessly. "My friends keep telling me to try modelling, but I do not know anyone who hires models. Do *you* need a model? I can also clean things, and I am learning to garden. I could give you some tomatos I grew," she offers brightly.
Susan's mixed and confusion gradually gives way to a look that can only be decribed as 'oh noooooooooooo'. It's like hearing about a puppy that's been returned to the animal shelter three times! It just needs a forever home!
Twelve forever homes with flying pets.
Also these people are starting to sound like superheroes.
Susan makes a sympathetic "Ohhhhh…!" noise that rises in pitch as the weight of the alien's deflating enthusiasm sets on her. "That's… I mean we- we *do* have things to model! We'd have to… to tellourusualmodelshe'snothiredbackbut…" she talks very quickly over an uncomfortable note, "But that's…!" She grins… then clenches her teeth, then frowns, "… not enough for twelve people's worth of space." She presses her lips very tightly together. "Reed, is there anything we can do?"
Reed is still focused on his screen as he listens to the talk between the other two. "Assuming that the other pets aren't of the same size as the horse…" He finishes, then shows the readout to the other two. "This would be roughly the amount needed for the conversions, and the first leasing period." It is… considerably more than forty-seven thousand dollars. He focuses on Koriand'r. "Well. To start with, I feel like you might not recognize who we are, Koriand'r. We're both part of a group called the Fantastic Four. Like your friends, we do what we can to protect others. I also go by Mister Fantastic. And my beautiful wife here is the Invisible Woman. We have two other members, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm. They go by Thing and Human Torch. So. We can sympathize with your situation. And you don't need to worry about hiding your origins from us. We've dealt with extrateresstrials many times. And while I've never been to Tamaran itself, I have passed through the Vega system a few times." He folds his arms again, tapping his chin. "I've given thought to this at times, Sue. There are a number of people in our… field, who are well-meaning but underfunded for what they do. I've considered helping them by expanding our merchandising line to include certain select others, and having the profits go into investments that would in turn help fund the less well-off among the superheroic community. As well as those that due to various reasons simply cannot work."
Kori's eyes go wide and abruptly she's almost on top of Reed. Flying again, hair writing in apprehension, and her palms resting on his collarbone, and she hovers six inches higher. "You've been to Tamaran?!" she says, making it more demand than statement. "Oh please, you cannot tell anyone!" she exclaims. "I am … I am not *from* Tamaran, I am from a colony planet in the Vega system. The Citadel has agents everywhere and I fear they are still hunting us," she explains. Distress marks her voice. "You must promise me, please, do not tell anyone my name or where I am from— the risk to my well being is too great!" She frets her lower lip, staring down at Reed with tremendous apprehension.
Reed leans back somewhat when Koriand'r suddenly comes at him like that, blinking a few times. He doesn't lash out thankfully. "Well, like I said I haven't been TO Tamaran. Just through the system." He glances over at his wife to make sure she's not going to use any of her forcefields on the… alien supermodel? He stretches an arm up to pat her gently on top of the head. "Don't worry. We respect secret identities. We won't be spreading anything we know about you around. But if you ARE hoping to keep it a secret… you might want to be slightly more careful." He smiles gently at her. "And if they do come looking for you… be sure to contact us. We've dealt with alien invaders a time or two as well."
"Reed!" Susan yelps with alarm as their strange visitor lunges towards her husband, reflexively stepping forward and reaching out towards Koriand'r before her words register to Susan, halting her in mid reach before her arms slowly fall to her sides.
"That… sounds… really horrible." She says softly, voice full of sympathy. Generally Susan tries to be a bit more suspicious of alien interlopers, but the Tamaranian's sincerity is kind of infectious. "Right! She says, backing up her husband. "We've sent aliens packing more than once." She averts her eyes. "… Invaders, I should say. Alien invaders. We're not gonna…" Susan shakes her head. "So don't worry! Not to toot our own horns, but our family's pretty tough." She says, crossing her arms a bit proudly.
She does have… questions, to say the least, but the kneejerk reaction of sympathy is in control at the moment. Merchanidising aside, if there's one thing the Fantastic Four aren't known for it's cynicism.
Kori's muscles sag in relief at Reed's words, and then immediately hugs him. "Oh, thank you, friend!" she cries. "Yes, my identity is of the secret sort. Like my friend, the Spider-Man," she tells the couple. "This is why I came to Earth— it is a very primitive world on the edge of the universe. It seemed the safest place to be," she clarifies.
She half turns to Sue, hugging Reed with one arm still until he pointedly disengages. "I am so the grateful for you two. I feel very safe on Earth," she assures them. "The only thing of which I worry is someone contacting the Citadel to ask for me by name."
Backdoor bragging, or is Kori just being bad at espionage?
"Oh, I am the sorry. You mentioned possibly modelling," Kori tells Sue. "I will ask if any of my friends wish to do the modelling as well," she offers, having calmed a bit. She remembers she's flying and lowers her heels to the ground. "Will this be enough compensation for you? I am still trying to find a 'the real' job, but everyone tells me the economy is malnourished."
Reed stiffens up when she outright hugs him, glancing again towards his wife. He tries to sort of ease out of the grasp from the redhaired superheroine, and finally just lifts her arm and removes it when she doesn't seem to get the hint. He takes a step backwards. "Spider-Man, hmm? So that's one of your friends?" Then he nods to the woman. "We won't do that. Hmmm. Yes, modeling is a possibility. We'll have to discuss it some. And you could ask some of your friends as well I suppose." A line of products with all superhero spokesmodels? Interesting thought. "Ah… we'll work out the compensation later. You might want to discuss it with your friends, and see if any of them have any ideas for alternate sources of income?"
It's a thought! A dangerous thought! There's a non-zero chance that sales would plunge if Spider-Man was associated with their merchandise, and any given super hero could do something amazingly foolish at any time, but… that's a conversation for another time.
What's currently on Susan's mind as she grows increasingly bemused, is their visitor's attachment to Reed. "Well, we'll be glad to help, if we can." She says, her brow raising in amusement, "Although… ah… you *are* clinging rather tightly to my husband, Ms. Koriand'r."
She's not mad, but it's not okay either. Susan gets the feeling she means no harm though. The Tamaranians seem pretty friendly on the whole! She kinda wonders why she's so afraid to go back.
She also wonders how much mileage she can get teasing Reed for this.
As Reed mentions Starfire's friends, Susan speaks up, "Yeah, also… we'd prefer to meet them first, if we can. Before we… lend them part of our home." She tilts her head as a thought occurs to her. A floor of their home? Two? More? They have *horses*. Questions for later
"O-oh. Oh! I am the sorry," Kori says, at Sue's pointed remonstration. She hovers and floats eighteen inches away from Reed. "I did not mean to hurt him. I am sorry, friend Mister Fantastic," she tells Reed, sincerely, and lands on the floor again.
"I will speak to my friends and teammates, and we will discuss the issue. I am the leader but I do not feel it is right for me to make this decision without their input," she explains to the couple. "But I will assure them that you two are 'the niceness' and we can discuss how to proceed from there. Is there anything else I need to do in the meantime?" she inquires.
Studyin Koriand'r for a time, Reed finally says, "I wonder. Did you discuss looking for new living arrangements with your friends? Or just start looking on your own?" He suspects it might be the latter. If she HAD asked her firends first, surely one of them would have suggested a better method than literally going building to building and knocking. He considers that and says to her, "Well. As she said, we'd like to meet them before we proceed. And knowing what exactly you each can do would help us in either offering you work, or suggesting somewhere you could look." He steps over to his wife, sliding an arm around her waist and gathering her in against his side. So she's the leader? Hmmm. "Oh… and if they live here, any attractive young ladies will probably be hit on by Johnny. So keep that in mind."
Kori frowns at Reed's offhand. "It is not nice to hit people, friend Mister Fantastic. He especially should not punch friend Rose or friend Dani, they are very violent when they are the angry."
"Who-oah!" Susan yelps a bit as Reed pulls her to his side, and giggles a bit despite herself, smiling to Koriand'r. "It's fine. He IS a bit irresistable." She says, giving his shoulder a friendly poke with one finger.
That said, at the mention of Johnny, she goes a bit pail and sucks air through her teeth, wincing, "Yyeeeaaahhh… Johnny… Johnny could be a bit of a living hazard he-" She blinks at Kori's misunderstanding and shakes her head, "Oh no! Nonono, Johnny's not- he's not violent, he's just…" Susan looks embarrassed, "He's… very… enthusiastic about beautiful women. And he gets a little… dumb about it sometimes?" She sighs. "I'll tell him not to bother you too much."
Kori relaxes when Sue explains the situation, and ducks her head respectfully at the slender blonde. "Ah, I understand! He suffers from the testosterone dementia," she concludes. "I have witnessed this in your species," she informs the two superheroes. "It seems a most unfortunate evolutionary disadvantage. Many of the males I went to the schools with suffered from it as well. But my friends also told me it is because of the brain damage your sports cause, or from horrible accidents that result in craniorectal inversions," she clarifies.
Reed Richards blinks a few times, then chuckles. "Ah, that's not quite what I meant." He gives Sue's waist a little squeeze. He can't help chuckling a little at the words from the alien girl. "Something like that. Don't worry. It'll be fine. Hmm. I suppose it would be easier if we were to visit wherever it is you're staying now and meeting them there than having all of them come here."
Susan nods along with Kori's interpretation, eyes subtly drifting off as she's struck by that description. It's not… *inaccurate*. Does make her feel like she should feel sorry for Johnny, though, which is a tall order. "… Rrr… right…" She agrees, taking the path of least resistance.
"And… yes, whatever works best. I understand wrangling a dozen masked adventurers for a real estate meeting may be troublesome."
"Then I will summon my friends and we will have of the meetings, and we will make of the discussions. I am quite sure we can work something out that will be good for everyone," Kori declares.
She acclerates forward with that same bewildering speed and lack of telegraphing, and wraps her arms around the Fantastic Couple. "Oh, the joy! The happy!" she cries, and beams ecstatically over their heads. "I have the feeling of bestness about this! I am so joyous for having met you."
Biiiiiig hug, and then Kori breaks away. "I will tell them right now!" She wheels around and flies right at the window. Which is closed. She *thunks* into it and comes up short, then blinks owlishly at the pane and starts trying to push on it.
To prevent possible damage, Reed gives the command to open the window again and let out the apparently somewhat birdlike alien girl. Closing it after her, her he looks thoughtfully outside. "Well. This should be fascinating." Then he leans down, and kisses Susan atop the head.
"Yeek!" Susan yelps good naturedly as she's pulled into a very strong alien hug, pat-patting the back of her shoulder, before watching her go and… WINCING! "Oooo- oh- are you-" She starts to ask, before Reed lets her out, leaving her with a slightly bewildered expression of concern before she leans her head on Reed's shoulder. "… She seemed nice." She says, then giggles softly as she's briefly struck by the wonderful absurdity of their lives. She nods twice and puts an arm around Reed. "It'll be… something, all right."