Turtle Dive

Magical Science Shop & Lounge-Jungle Penthouse
7115 Newton Ln, Metropolis. The Tomorrow District.

Located at the southeast corner of the block, there is only one entrance leading directly to the penthouse floor. The entrance of the building, grandly decorated by a garden patch and fountain before approaching the eight, golden gilded, glass doors. At each end of six, automatically opening doors leading to the vestibule and front desk were turn-style doors with a circumference wide enough for two people to come in and two out at a time. Every so often, a person would step through the turn-style on the far left and instead of proceeding to the front desk and corridor of elevators just beyond, would step out onto a hallway at the topmost floor of the building. Red and gold marble tiled the floor and walls in sixteen by sixteen inch slabs, golden moldings ran along the ceilings edge where it met the wall.
Along the hallway were a series of doorways and a corner corridor that proceeded with more doors. Instead of other apartments or condos, however, these were gateways to different worlds, universes, realms, times. The more connections made to the hallway, the longer it grew. One didn't have to look too far, once stepping out of the turn-style, however, to find the Magical Science Shop. Its two-door entrance was often open twenty-four-seven, even when its owner was away. Through enchantments, wards and a frighteningly dangerous Cali-Bow Meow, LeTania, passing as a house cat, that had a way of swindling customers for more money than her owner would've. Turtle Dive thrived with and without, offering him the opportunity to take care of in-the-field work.

The first room was a long, spacious room sectioned off by trellises thick in vines and flower, bookshelves filled with spell books, scriptures, ancient and foreign texts from different worlds and more. From the tiled floor, closest to the walls, grass and flowers sprung up growing denser as they wrapped around the sand garden's edge, just in his vestibule. A stone statue sat at the center of it, carved into a female figure reaching toward a branch that grew out from a wall. Nor was it the only one. Most were decorated in white and light pink petals, drizzling the floor with what would become great top soil for what was growing through tiles.
Once past the vestibule, one could spot a pair of armories sat off in opened, walk-in closets. Sat around them, mounted to the walls inside and out of these pockets were monitors recording, tracking, reporting different things both for the gear in their respective areas and the last place the gear had been for a mission. Unauthorized access attempts would lead to an alert in the penthouse, pinging its owner who was likely to find LeTania cornering the violator until he was home to take care of the rest. Nor was she afraid to attack, maul and kill the person if needed.

While no one had access to his armories, the bookshelves were open for viewing with benches, tables and desks to sit at. A small tv, mounted on a wall to watch, just beside an aquarium tank. Small speakers sat throughout the room, hidden under tables or used as book ends, mounted to a wall and one beside a potted palm. Most often he played various lofi tunes and channels although it wasn't unlikely to hear Hip Hop, R & B, Reggae or SoCa. The last two being the most common genres to the type of music played in Sufokia.

That's what Turtle Dive was! Or at least, that was his original intentions for it; to build a bridge that connected him back to his world. Extending his trade channel and finding a way home. Inadvertently, he created a nexus point and neutral zone resting stop for those of the beyond. Not just spiritually-inclined humans but more; witches, warlocks, anthromorphs/beastimorphs, aliens, demons, "devils", angels, "gods". To the heroes and villains who heard of and know about Turtle Dive, it was the Switzerland of Metropolis, not unlike the Oblivion Bar.

Farther past the book shelves and at the end of the seating area that proceeded his vestibule, four short steps led up toward another pair of trellis dividers that sectioned off a weight room. Across the back wall of the weight room, along with a chalk board, set of katanas and tanto and a world map were a series of posters. Office humor from the dirty birdie fellas in the Hall of Doom who made calendar girl pin-up pictures of the different superheroines. Zatanna, Donna Troy, Carrol Ferris, Wonder Woman, even Bombshell Wonder Woman... yet at the very top were Catwoman and Starfire. Harley was up there as well but her thing with The Joker turned his stomach. Yes, everyone knew about it.

A workout bench, two punching bags, one wooden, sparring post... there were free weights, dumbbells, bars and a short sink that managed to fit into the space. Enough space for three of the big Ecaflip to workout without bumping shoulders or rubbing elbows with one another. On the other side of a trellis divider, past a grandfather clock stood at the end of said divider, was the short corridor to the actual science shop. The doorway, the ceiling through the corridor and behind hung with vines and flowers which he always found as a cleansing of his soul to pass beneath. Refreshing, recentering as one crossed the threshold of vines hanging from the ceiling, branches coming from the walls and grass from the floor and into the real jungle.
Vines hung lower, some gnarled and thick that grew upward in curves and curls. More branches grew out from ceilings and walls as one stepped into the loft space of his penthouse. Upstairs, a kitchen and dining area large enough for a family reunion. Downstairs were two more armories, his master bedroom and bathroom. The main floor, however, was all sorts of a delight.

Off to the left when one stepped out of the corridor sat a circular, stone fountain that appeared to have been frozen over. Instead of icicles as splashes, a series of shark sculptures decorated the fountain from the top spring down to the bottom, outer rim. And in replacement of what should've been a frozen splash out of the topmost spring grew a tree stopping short of four feet from the top of said spring. Along the edge of the fountain sat a pair of Grecian-styled benches that were recommended by a certain Goddess. The harp in from of one of them recommended by another.
Along the ceiling of the loft's central floor hung bird perches in various spots. All so that they didn't conflict with the lighting and weren't too close to fixtures. A raven and a macaw change perches throughout the day, depending on where the natural lighting shone in from the set of three-story windows, looking out over south Metropolis and the canal that separated it from the north.

One would find more book shelves, more tables and desks in this space. A couple of tubs and small vats which clients paid to use for their crafts, so long as nothing destructive happened to his home. Shelves in this room consisted of much more than just books, however. Some were grimoires, all sat far apart from one another, some shelves contain vials, jars and bottles of materials, substances, melted ores and metals... spirits. A golden tea kettle, or lamp, sat on a lower shelf, slowly wafting different colours of smoke from its spout; its top sat off just to the side. On another shelf sat a skull what swivel, turned and moved to face the direction of the last person who touched it, no matter where in the world or across the stars they went. Oddities, oddities galore did he do business in. It was nothing new to him before he setup shop in Metro', some of his items even coming from his home world and having decided, after long debates with himself, they were worth being rid of.

Welcome. Welcome to Turtle Dive.

------------------------------------------

For more images, see the Turtle Dive tab in BaZil's f-list page.
www./c/t%20bazil