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queerlygenThis is just a weird little concept that came to me while I was trying to come up with a little something for this challenge before it closed. Iron Chef RPF, but an AU where the Chairman really is the Chairman (and not Mark Dacascos in disguise) and Kitchen Stadium really does move around like Alton says it does.
Cat Cora POV on a road trip to the next battle.
Cat jumps out of the car, giving Jennifer a peck as she comes around to the driver's side. "Don't you let the kids stay up all night and only eat junk food," she admonishes, even though she knows they'll get one special treat and go to bed on time, just like every other night. She can't help it; she's sounding more and more like her mother with every passing day.
Jennifer tilts her head in fond annoyance and ignores the question. "Kick ass out there," she says, pulling Cat in for another kiss, more leisurely this time. "Show 'em how it's done."
Cat leans in for a last kiss and shoos Jennifer away, waiting until she drives out of site before turning to the private jet and Alton, waiting patiently at the top of the stairs.
"Where are we this time?" Cat asks, climbing in and nodding in turn at the Chairman, Kevin, Lorilynn and David on the way to her seat.
"Alaska." Alton grins. "Off Kodiak Island. No one but us and the bears."
The Chairman frowns at Alton, and Cat is careful to pretend she didn't get anything out of the information. It narrows the secret ingredient down to salmon or crab, anyway, and she's willing to bet it's crab, considering it's during the tiny window of the fishing season.
Lorilynn catches her eye and nods, and Cat spares her a smile. They can do some last minute tweaking of the menu before the challenger and judges arrive. She wonders if they've submerged Kitchen Stadium again; it's a favorite trick of the Chairman.
They settle in as the flight goes on, Alton and Kevin playing hearts with Lorilynn and the Chairman. Cat listens to them trash talk as she flips through Bon Appétit, seeing if there's anything useful for the upcoming battle. When they get bored with Hearts, David deals a hand of poker, and Cat buys in.
She wipes the table with them, especially Alton, who is the worst poker player in the history of cards. He's plenty smart enough to work out the statistics and basic playing strategies, but he has the worst luck with cards and an utter inability to bluff. She's thankful the Chairman doesn't play poker, because she's pretty sure he could clean them all out.
They're only two hours in when cards gets boring, so Cat knows they're in for a long flight. Alton amuses them by making up baskets for Chopped, and then getting them all to tell him what they'd make and judging it on general merit. She's careful to stay away from that game, but she's proud to hear Lorilynn coming up with some clever ideas to deal with an ingredient list that includes candied ginger and nori.
The Chairman gets restless, like he always does, about halfway into the flight; he paces the back of the cabin and eventually works through some graceful poses that Cat thinks might be Tai Chi. He's silent and a little creepy, though he clearly ruffles Alton's feathers more than anyone, and it's hysterical watching Kevin make faces at Alton behind the Chairman's back, daring him not to laugh.
There's a nice lull of an hour or two where everyone seems to drowse. Cat snoozes a little and wakes up in the middle of a dream about the cotton candy machine breaking into a million pieces in her luggage.
Kevin wakes her with a nudge of his shoulder into hers and she realizes she must have been talking – or worse – in her sleep. "Thanks," she says thickly, and Kevin just smiles and hands her his water bottle.
The pilot announces their approach a few minutes later, and the plane is still silent and close, people staring off into space or out the windows. It takes the blast of cold air when the door is opened to wake up Alton's indefatigable chattiness, and he's talking about some historical tidbit or other he's researched for the show as they climb down the stairs and into the limo that will take them to Kitchen Stadium, currently floating off the coast of Kodiak Island, only waiting for its participants to show up before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean for the battle royale.
Cat Cora POV on a road trip to the next battle.
Cat jumps out of the car, giving Jennifer a peck as she comes around to the driver's side. "Don't you let the kids stay up all night and only eat junk food," she admonishes, even though she knows they'll get one special treat and go to bed on time, just like every other night. She can't help it; she's sounding more and more like her mother with every passing day.
Jennifer tilts her head in fond annoyance and ignores the question. "Kick ass out there," she says, pulling Cat in for another kiss, more leisurely this time. "Show 'em how it's done."
Cat leans in for a last kiss and shoos Jennifer away, waiting until she drives out of site before turning to the private jet and Alton, waiting patiently at the top of the stairs.
"Where are we this time?" Cat asks, climbing in and nodding in turn at the Chairman, Kevin, Lorilynn and David on the way to her seat.
"Alaska." Alton grins. "Off Kodiak Island. No one but us and the bears."
The Chairman frowns at Alton, and Cat is careful to pretend she didn't get anything out of the information. It narrows the secret ingredient down to salmon or crab, anyway, and she's willing to bet it's crab, considering it's during the tiny window of the fishing season.
Lorilynn catches her eye and nods, and Cat spares her a smile. They can do some last minute tweaking of the menu before the challenger and judges arrive. She wonders if they've submerged Kitchen Stadium again; it's a favorite trick of the Chairman.
They settle in as the flight goes on, Alton and Kevin playing hearts with Lorilynn and the Chairman. Cat listens to them trash talk as she flips through Bon Appétit, seeing if there's anything useful for the upcoming battle. When they get bored with Hearts, David deals a hand of poker, and Cat buys in.
She wipes the table with them, especially Alton, who is the worst poker player in the history of cards. He's plenty smart enough to work out the statistics and basic playing strategies, but he has the worst luck with cards and an utter inability to bluff. She's thankful the Chairman doesn't play poker, because she's pretty sure he could clean them all out.
They're only two hours in when cards gets boring, so Cat knows they're in for a long flight. Alton amuses them by making up baskets for Chopped, and then getting them all to tell him what they'd make and judging it on general merit. She's careful to stay away from that game, but she's proud to hear Lorilynn coming up with some clever ideas to deal with an ingredient list that includes candied ginger and nori.
The Chairman gets restless, like he always does, about halfway into the flight; he paces the back of the cabin and eventually works through some graceful poses that Cat thinks might be Tai Chi. He's silent and a little creepy, though he clearly ruffles Alton's feathers more than anyone, and it's hysterical watching Kevin make faces at Alton behind the Chairman's back, daring him not to laugh.
There's a nice lull of an hour or two where everyone seems to drowse. Cat snoozes a little and wakes up in the middle of a dream about the cotton candy machine breaking into a million pieces in her luggage.
Kevin wakes her with a nudge of his shoulder into hers and she realizes she must have been talking – or worse – in her sleep. "Thanks," she says thickly, and Kevin just smiles and hands her his water bottle.
The pilot announces their approach a few minutes later, and the plane is still silent and close, people staring off into space or out the windows. It takes the blast of cold air when the door is opened to wake up Alton's indefatigable chattiness, and he's talking about some historical tidbit or other he's researched for the show as they climb down the stairs and into the limo that will take them to Kitchen Stadium, currently floating off the coast of Kodiak Island, only waiting for its participants to show up before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean for the battle royale.