Brunch at Berto's

Summary:
August 17, 2014: The Red Team shares a meal and discusses the upcoming M-Town festival.

Da Costa penthouse

A grand penthouse with a largely open floor plan and minimalist architecture, this home is designed to rely as much as possible on natural light. Tall plate-glass windows dominate every exterior wall. The furnishings are modern and chic, and pale hardwoods and white dominate the color scheme. The decor is less refined, with framed movie posters and Brasilian futebol memorabilia giving a sense of the occupant's interests. There's a high-end entertainment center, a sprawling kitchen, a wide patio with a hot tub, and every other imaginable amenity.


Characters

NPCs

  • None

Mood Music:
[*<http://insert.video.or.music.link.here>]


Saturday evening, Roberto mass-texted a few friends to invite them over to his place for brunch. Now it's late Sunday morning, and his chef, Mariana, has set out a spread for the group on the terrace, including all of the typical brunch staples as well as a few Brazilian accents, like brigadeiros and salgados. There are also bloody mary and screwdriver pitchers, as well as plain orange juice and coffee. 'Berto himself is helping set out the last of the dishware, dressed in pale slacks, sandals, and an unbuttoned white shirt.

-

PItching in on helping set the table, Doug has the cups and glasses arranged. A coffee cup here, a screwedriver there, and a bloody mary waiting for Illyana.

"Hey, 'Mara, you have fun last night?" Doug asks as he finally pours orange juice for himself.

-

Amara enjoyed herself last night. Last night was a good night out in the clubs at M-Town, which means that she was all for sleeping in before coming to brunch with 'Berto and the rest of the class. "Mmph," she answers Doug's question vaguely, pouring herself a screwdriver to take the edge off. "Last night was very fun," she adds after a sip. "This morning, slightly less."

-

Illyana isn't helping. She's found a spot to sit with her drink that Doug has been such a good boy to bring fo her and enjoys the sunlight. With a pair of dark glasses. Bright. Amara gets a low chuckle. "And what is it you got up to last night?" Illyana asks her old roommate with a broad grin. She's in bare feet and shorts and tank top. It's about as casual as she gets.

-

"That's what all of this greasy food is for," Roberto assures Amara. "You'll be feeling ready to take on the world before you know it." He snags the screwdriver Doug just poured with a grateful smile, adding, "Hair of the dog doesn't hurt, either."

He takes a seat at the head of the table, chomps on a bit of bacon, then gestures around the group with the remainder of the strip. "So, what are you guys planning for the festival? Other than getting it a better name, of course."

-

"Festival?" He'd never really -paid- attention to these things except for when friends poked at him, and so Doug blinks, before glancing at the others. "Uh. I'm… not sure. What're you guys planning." Pause. "And where's the festival, anyway?"

The screwdriver in Amara's hand is eyed as her expression looks out of it, and wordlessly Doug goes over and pours a glass of water, and then hands it to her before checking the drawers for… right, aspirin.

-

"I went to one of the clubs," Amara waves a hand to Illyana. "Something…I don't remember the name. It was hard enough to find. Everyone is so nervous right now, most were dead quiet. And then I found the party, and there was dancing, and there was drinking, and then I came home…" She trails off, checking her watch, "Not nearly enough hours ago, and now I am here." She drinks, sliding into a seat at the table and rubbing two fingers at her temple. "None of which is going to stop me from going to the festival, of course," she adds with a rueful smile to 'Berto.

-

Illyana shakes her head over at Doug. "You need to get your head out of your computers a bit more." She chides the hacker. "M-Town is having a thing." Which, really, is about all that Illyana remembers the details for. She's not a whole lot better than Doug when it comes to knowing what's going on some days. She looks over to Roberto, "I didn't think we had to plan anything. Just show up, right?"

-

"Deus — don't start mother henning, Doug," Roberto chides his friend with a roll of his eyes. No shades for him, of course: even the morning after hard drinking, his absorption powers take the edge off of a too-bright day. His bacon is already gone, and he's carefully slicing open an empanada to get at the filling. "Aspirin is bad for your liver, anyway. Greasy food is the cure, Tagarela. I should know."

He shrugs over at Illyana, chewing a bit of food thoughtfully before answering. "Well, you don't have to plan it out, I guess. But, like, are there certain bands you want to see? Particular parties you want to get to?" He throws one hand up helplessly. "Designer drugs you want to try? Help me out, here."

-

"I am -so- not mother-henning," Doug retorts, even as he puts the aspirin down in front of Amara -anyway-.

Eyeing Berto, the young blond shakes his head. "And I wouldn't touch any of those drugs. You really want to risk getting permanent effects?"

Seating himself, the mutant takes a sip of his orange juice, before looking towards Illyana. "I guess I'll go to one of the bands, then. They got 'Manimal'?"

-

Amara murmurs her thanks to Doug, popping the aspiring in her mouth and taking another drink before pulling over a plate of greasy food to wash it down with. "I was thinking we should offer our services for security, actually," she admits with a glance toward 'Berto. "If we're to be the public face of human-mutant relations, it certainly seems like a good opportunity, don't you think?"

-

Illyana leans forward to start collecting food on her plate as the others talk, finally leaning back and nibbling on some fruit. "I don't know who all is playing. I figured I'd wander around and see what strikes my fancy." Planning is for people that own multi-million dollar empires! The mention of security gets a mild frown. Something Amara knows is her 'thoughtful' look more than any kind of disagreement. "Seems like we'd want more time to plan something like that. Also something the organizers might not be keen on. We're mutants, but we're not M-Town. Does make us outsiders."

-

"I was thinking along the same lines," Roberto says, pointing at Amara. "Part of why I asked about it. If none of us have firm plans, we could mix business and pleasure a little bit. It's a tradeoff — stay sober, but get paid to go to parties and rock shows and parades. Maybe even get into a good fight or two."

The Brazilian wears an infectious smile. He's not the sort to get drunk and start a fight, but he's always game to finish one if the bouncers are taking too long.

"We're not M-town. That's true," he says to Illyana, gesturing with an empty fork. "But this is hardly an exclusive event. Better us than the NYPD."

-

"It's not a bad idea, actually, Illy," Doug replies, flashing a smile at Amara. "If we worked hand in hand with the locals -and- the city cops, we could probably help clear up any conflicts between how M-town handles things and how NYPD does. Not to mention we'd probably have an easier time with permits and things if we worked with both groups."

-

"Bobby lives out in M-Town," Amara notes, taking a bite of eggs. "If he joined in, it might be a little bit easier, at least. And we may not be M-Town, but we're still mutants. Being part of all the groups is sort of what we're going for, isn't it?"

-

"What we are, yes. Need to be careful that they don't feel like we're pushing in and deciding what's best for them." Illyana opines. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just…" She looks over to their resident smooth-talker, who isn't the mutant linguist. "It's something that should be discussed with them ahead of time. And it should be known that we're there with the organizers approval."

-

Roberto's cheery mood dissipates somewhat. "Granted, if we do arrange this, we're going to have to work with the NYPD. But they do not have the best record of fairness to mutants. We'll play nice as long as they do, but we will also be a buffer between them and M-Town if we have to be." He swirls his drink in its flute for a second, then tips it at Illyana, his smile returning. "Which will be part of how we pitch our involvement to the event organizers. If we can prevent this from turning into a fiasco like Occupy, that's good for the event, for the city, and for M-Town itself."

-

"I'm not saying…" Pausing as Roberto clarifies the whole thing, Doug nods slowly. "What he said. People're going to be suspicious of the NYPD in the first place, especially with the way the police have been arming themselves lately. But that's probably a lot of complication. Berto, you think you can work with the NYPD and the mayor?"

-

"You are a little bit terrifying, 'Berto," Amara says to her plate, taking another drink. "At some point in the last few years, you went from charmingly over-charming, to truly terrifying levels of charm." She narrows her eyes, looking up. "Is it a secondary mutation? Anyhow," she adds with a flicker of a smile toward Illyana, "We wouldn't be telling them to do anything. Just as 'Berto says, standing between them and over-zealous protectors."

-

Illyana looks thoughtful, pursing her lips a few. "I think I know an NYPD guy." She looks ove rat Sunspot. "If you want to talk to an actual person and not like, the organization." She gives a slight shrug, since really. She doesn't know how politics go here. Demon politics are simple. If you're stronger, you win.

-

Roberto snorts at Amara's perhaps-compliment. "Eventually, even I had to learn something from all of this businessy shmoozing," he tells her with a teasing smirk. "Although I suppose a secondary mutation is easier to believe than me getting more mature."

He starts cutting up an egg with his fork, focusing on that while answering Doug: "The mayor won't be a problem at all. I've worked with him on all sorts of permits and that sort of thing. We exchange cards at Chanukah. As for the NYPD…" He glances up from his eggs at Illyana. "Having a contact to talk to certainly wouldn't hurt."

-

"Go for it, 'Berto," Doug replies, as he sticks a fork in his eggs. "Won't hurt to try. At the least, we won't be in a worse position than we already are."

Canting his head, Doug quirks an eyebrow at Illyana. "And how do you know an NYPD guy?"

-

"Illyana knows all sorts of guys," Amara teases with a wink at the other girl, reaching for a plate of sausage to add some of that to her eggs. "I can't imagine the NYPD would object to having some help with this. They have to see what a powder keg it can be right now."

-

Illyana gives a snort at Amara's teasing. "Ha ha." She teases the other blonde woman. "He's recently gotten involved in matters arcane and has no idea what's going on. So he's been trying to get answers out of me, like there's some kind of Cliff Notes For The Occult." She gives a shake of her head and sips on her drink again. "Not like it takes years and years to get even a basic understanding or anything." She says sarcastically.

-

Polishing off his screwdriver, Roberto wipes his mouth and laughs. "I don't know, Illyana, I think you give great magical Cliff's Notes. 'Roberto, you idiot, don't touch that!' 'Bobby, you numbskull, that's a friendly demon!' 'Berto, you moron, if you don't punch that thing as hard as you can right this second I swear I'll let S'ym eat you!'" He shrugs and adds, "I've always found them very succinct and helpful."

Continuing more seriously, he says, "In the end, talking to the cops is a political overture anyway. If the event planners hire us as their internal security, it's not like the NYPD can do anything about it." He rubs one thumbnail across his jawline and shrugs. "But still, it's a smart overture to make. No need to antagonize the police — we certainly don't want to be causing more problems than we fix."

-

"It'd be so much easier, yeah, if we still had a liaison with the NYPD, to be safe, Berto," Doug responds, as he forks a few of the spicy pork sausages and starts munching. Chewing before swallowing, Doug continues, "Besides, you guys have the powers the NYPD don't have, -and- you're trained to look for non-lethal means first."

Pause. "That means, no feeding rioters to the demons, Illy."

-

"Well, that's what Doug is very good at," Amara points out. "Soothing feelings, helping people understand each other better. The rest of us are very good at looking like more trouble than anyone wants to start. Has anyone spoken to Sam recently, speaking of the more charming members of our group?"

-

Illyana pouts over at Doug. "Awwww." Her phone chirps and she looks down at it. She doesn't even bother with an 'excuse me' as she walks away from the table to answer.

-

"I brought him to visit downstairs a few days ago, Amara," Roberto answers with a smile. "He was a little tough to convince at first — you know how Sam can be about leaving his comfort zone — but I worked my secondary mutation, and he's one more on the Red Team roster." He smirks. "I can't wait to see how he handles the festival, personally. Such innocence!"

He tucks into his eggs, letting the conversation drift to friendly gossip and lighter topics over their hearty meal.


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