Log:Golden Genes, Scene 1

Golden Genes 2014/05/23 	 Jennifer Paragon Sukeban Ten Titan Harlequin Vajra Anthony Quinn|Anthony Cecila Leonid

1

Serafino's Restaurant
Serafino's, a Colonial Bay tradition and one of the finest restaurants in the city. Views of the bay are seen through the massive glass walls to the east. Its interior is resplendent in crisp white and deep maroon. Tables spaced with delicate care achieve the perfect balance of intimacy and atmosphere. The staff are friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable, watched over by the maitre'd to insure a pleasant dining experience for the patrons. The world-renowned cuisine includes traditional Italian dishes as well as a variety of seafood and nouveau fusion dishes. There is always demand for a table; reservations are required, and a dress code is strictly enforced. Then, too, the prices are as high as the quality of the food... but Serafino's is never lacking for business.

Sukeban

An 165cm tall athletic young Japanese woman, with a defiant posture. She's wearing an ankle length qipao, red silk, with a flame pattern in gold thread, daringly slit up the right side all the way to her waist. Matching long red silk bridal gauntlets, also with a gold flame pattern covered her arms. Red leather strapy sandals on her feet, with relatively modest 5cm heels. Covering the left side of her face, from her jawline to just her hair line is a red mask, made from some sort of synthetic material, with a flame pattern picked out with small gold rhinestones. Her hair is long and loose, thoroughly combed and slightly trimmed, laying naturally over her shoulders. Shimmering red flames wash around her hair, kicking off drifting sparks and embers. Makeup had been expertly applied to accentuate her more attractive features.

Harlequin

This man seems to be in his mid-30's and stands about 6 feet tall. His razor cut light blonde hair is styled conservatively. His pale skin is flawless without any sign of stubble or scars. And his eyes are the grey of clouds right before a storm. He is quite handsome in a severe way.

He is dressed in a silver grey silk bespoke suit which accents his trim runner's build. He wears a rich scarlet shirt with the suit which is by a matching tie of subtly patterned black-and-scarlet tie and pocket square. His feet are shod in pair of well polished black dress shoes.

He seems quite aware of his surroundings with a faint frown on his lips.

Jennifer

Jennifer is wearing her Prom dress, a sweeping ankle length shoulder and armless grown in pastel olive green with frills and ruffles at upper and lower hems. She can still fit in it. Admittedly with a little help from the Undermoon palace dressmaker.

Her hands are bare and uncovered. She has long pale blonde hair pulled back into a loose pony-tail, a face that that is attactive without being beautiful, and pale blue eyes. Her build is slim and athletic. Her movements almost feline in smoothness. She has the appearence of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. Her skin is well tanned, with maybe just a hint of nordic ancestry visible although her eyes have an almost oriental tilt and the pupils of her eyes are oval rather than circular.

Cecila

The rather small female before you stands at a diminutive 4'10" tall. Overall her body is rather fit and athletic. Her hair is black and is up and tied there with a green and yellow ribbon, the bangs coming down partially obscuring her greyish-green eyes that seem a bit glassy and dont seem to look at anything in particular.

Currently she wears a green shirt is well fitting around the shoulders with wide cuffs that go to her elbows. Around the edges it's trimmed with a gold-ish yellow color. She also wears a set of green pants or possibly shorts that go down about halfway between her knee and ankles, with more of that yellow trim around the wide cuffs. Lastly she wears a set of fingerless gloves and a set of shoes that have had the soles cut free, under normal circumstances people might not notice that unless they were getting kicked in the face.

Titan

This man stands about 6 feet tall, and probably weighs about 230 lbs...and looks very muscular, like someone from the cover of 'Muscle and Fitness' magazine. He looks fairly young, like he's around nineteen or twenty years old. He's dressed in a sharp looking tailored suit. The suit itself is jet black, which contrasts nicely with his royal blue dress shirt and the solid silver necktie. His watch and tie chain are both silver as well. All in all, he looks like he's ready to walk down the red carpet at the opening of one of his movies.

His shoulder-length hair is jet black, and it's currently pulled back into a short ponytail. His face is picturesque, his bright blue eyes that seem to burn with a certain intensity that is hard to describe. He's a very good looking individual...with that sort of GQ look to him.

Anthony Quinn

Young and handsome with a slightly aristocratic bone structure, Tony has none of the swagger of your typical tough guy. Instead his mannerisms are relaxed and casual, those of someone who is king of the world and with nothing to prove.

His hair is a dark blond, the color of beach sand in the setting sun and he wears it neatly combed back over his head, the ends trimmed neat and off his collar. A well trimmed beard and mustache highlight a face that is just this side of thin, though obviously more from genetics than diet, and his skin is smooth and unblemished. His eyes are a bright sparkling blue, like twin sapphire chips and shine with an almost voracious intelligence.

Physically he is of moderate height and build, his arms and chest lean but strong. Just a hair's breathe under six feet tall he probably weighs no more than 80 kilograms or so, though you would guess almost none of that is fat. Either he maintains a scrupulous diet or he has simply been blessed with a metabolism that refuses to gain weight.

For today Anthony has elected for something a bit more formal. He wears a suit of silver-grey silk cut in the very latest of fashions. The jacket is an asymmetrical affair reminiscent of the nehru jackets of the mid-20th century with a row of gold buttons running up the left breast to a Mandarin style collar. Beneath this he wears a collarless black linen shirt which is only visible at the cuffs and at a small square at his throat. Shiny black leather shoes, buffed to a mirror shine, complete the suit. On his left wrist he wears a slim bracelet. the holographic face of a watch projected a few centimeters above the band.

Jennifer sends out invitations to all those who were chaperoning the children on the Icelandic Holiday, inviting them to a 'Thank You' dinner at Serafino's Restaurant in the Yacht Club. She advises that Serafino's has a strict dress code.

While he at least forgoes the light show and accompanying music that he often uses when charging into battle Quinn nevertheless makes a fairly ostentatious entry, even for a place like Serafino's. Dropping down from the sky the Quinnjet descends on rumbling pillars of flame, its forward swept wings rotated nearly ninety degrees to allow for the nearly vertical descent. With no helipads nearby the jet simply drops down into the water of the bay and floats momentarily before Quinn pilots it to the Yacht Club docks. He emerges a few moments later, dressed for the occasion and makes his way to the restaurant.

Titan has eaten at Serafino's several times before. One of those times ended up in a 'duel' with a Fae noble, unfortunately. He hopes that history doesn't repeat itself, though stranger things have happened. Titan walks into the establishment quietly, looking downright understated compared to Quinn's arrival.

Well it's probably not every day a restaurant gets a reservation for like a dozen metas. Still Bulldozer for all her bluntness is no stranger to high society (not that it's her favorite setting to be in) and comes wearing the appropriate attire which consists of an emerald green evening dress plus identity concealing mask. As for shoes well lets just say the staff better not be pressing any policy regarding no shoes too hard because damnit she's trying and far more than most of the team would probably have expected from her too. Though she does come prepared with a set just in case.

Sukeban streaks across the sky, trailing flames as usual, and holding her fiancee Vajra (sans armor) in her arms. The pair lands a ways from the restaurant. Vajra gives Sukeban's fancy dress the once over to make sure everything is good, and checks her own pink kimono. Satisfied, she links arms with Sukeban and walks/drags the tall woman into the restaurant.

Harlequin as Steven enters the restaurant with Leonid in tow. The man is dressed in different suit but Leonid is the one who is truly dfferent. The child has had a haircut, is squeaky clean looking, and is dressed in a very nice child sized suit including tie. Leonid does not look thrilled by this change of clothing given he is tugging at the tie.

Jennifer makes sure she gets to the restaurant well ahead of time. She's been absent from the city for well over a year apart from a few low key visits. And she's in a dress. Which is unheard of for her. So she isn't recognised by the restaurant staff. Certainly not as Dasher, who once beat up the bouncers to gain entry.

Ten feels rather out of her tax bracket at she enters the restaurant in a tight, low-cut electric blue dress and mask. She pauses at the entrance and looks about for the others.

Jennifer greets each arrival as they enter and points out the table that has been reserved.

Vajra pokes Sukeban, "Sukeban can you extinquish the flames in your hair while we're here?"

Sukeban grumbles, "No... I mean, I could, but they're part of my look. I'm not Sukeban without them. Besides, they can't burn anythin'."

Vajra sighs, "All~right~! But if we get moved to a smoking section, I'm blaming you!"

Sukeban and Vajra bow to Jennifer. "Thanks for the invite, Gemini." "Thank you very much for inviting us!" They proceed to the dining area, arm in arm, Sukeban redder than normal as she blushes when people look at her.

The wait staff seem to be taking the arrival of metas in their stride. Or maybe not, as one customer at another table is complaining he ordered the wild duck pate not the roasted truffles that have been placed in front of him.

Harlequin greets Jennifer and prods Leonid to do that same.

Ten joins the others and thanks Jennifer too.

Quinn smiles and nods to everyone as he meets them including several of the patrons who have absolutely no connection to the Princess' Guard but who are known to him through other means. "Thank you for the party, Jennifer," he says when he finally makes his way over to her and the table set aside for the Guard.

Jennifer bends to greet Leonid, "You must be the young man from Iceland?" she says, not realising that Leonid doesn't speak English. Except for a few words he's picked up.

Leonid looks at Jennifer in confusion then says something in Russian to "Steven'. 'Steven' prompts him in Russian and Leonid turns back to Jennifer and says in a thick Russian accent, "Tank you for invite."

Jennifer smiles at Leonid. She can at least speak with universal body language to show how welcome the child is.

Paragon holds the door open for a woman as she enters, gesturing her to go first like a gentleman would. The high society woman doesn't even thank Paragon as she enters, and even smirks a little at Paragon's appearance. Paragon only enters once the woman has gone ahead, walking up to the front desk and asking for the appropriate table. Eventually, the six foot fall woman approaches the reserved table, ushered by a hostess. She has deathly pale skin with ashen lips, and dark, slightly sunken eyes. Her long auburn brown hair is tied back in a tight ponytail, her bangs framing her face. She's dressed in a form fitting three piece black suit and tie with men's dress shoes, looking very tom-boyish; something she borrowed from Blackhawk's closet back at the Guardian's vacation base in Bayside. She straightens her tie and waves politely, seeming a little uncomfortable.

Cecila smiles at Jennifer "What a fancy place to have a dinner party huh... I wonder how many minor faux pas we'll all make before the end of the night, totally gonna end up on the society page for not like having your pinkie out while sipping tea or something" she friendly jokes and says more quietly "After all people must just love their gossip" she giggles and then follows familiar footsteps and voices to the table they've been seated at and locates an empty seat as to where it is it dont matter to her.

Jennifer looks with a welcoming smile towards Paragon as she is shown to the table. Then the smile vanishes as she takes in the appearance of Paragon sans armor. A moment passes as bias and bigotry wars with knowledge of what Paragon has contributed to the city, especially in Harrisburg. A visible slight shudder goes through Jennifer. Then she smiles and advances to meet Paragon, "I'm glad you could make it." Jennifer says.

[To Cecila] Ten says, "Thanks for that thought. Like I wasn't nervous enough already."

Harlequin sits down with Leonid and quietly speaks to him in Russian. He looks over as Jennifer speaks with Paragon. "Ah, welcome my dear," he says in a faint Virginian accent. "Please have a seat next to Leonid and myself."

Paragon flashes a charming smile to Jennifer. "Ah, yes, thank you. It took me a while to find the place. I'm still not used to the city," she says in happy conversational tones. She mentally notes the odd reaction from Jennifer, but for all appearances, doesn't acknowledge it. She lightly grabs the chair beside Harlequin and pulls it out like a gentleman, motioning for Jennifer to sit. "Please, have a seat, madame."

Harlequin smiles gently, "I meant for you to have a seat, Paragon."

Jennifer chuckles, "The host sits last," she tells Paragon. And waits for all to be seated.

Quinn moves to take the seat on the other side of Paragon, waiting until she is seated before sitting himself.

Vajra and Sukeban take their seats, Sukeban being careful to arrange the slit in her qipao so as to not expose too much.

Ten slides gracefully into her seat.

Titan takes a seat as well, though he does look over at Paragon with some curiosity, since he hasn't seen her without the armor until now.

Cecila has apparently lucked out by getting a seat next to Ten which lets her whisper back "Ah don't worry about it, after all we're heroes. It's not like the regulars are going to expect us to have immaculate high society manners. Just be respectful and it'll turn out fine. Heck later on they might even mingle and end up asking us questions because secretly I'm sure there are a few fans even in this room."

Paragon looks down at Harlequin, still smiling and looking a little embarrassed. "Oh, I misunderstood." Glancing back at Jennifer, she nods, then takes the seat she just pulled out. She sits tall and elegantly, folding her hands in her lap as she waits, staring off straight ahead for a few moments. o O (Maybe I shouldn't have come without the armor. My appearance can be a bit off-putting...). She remembers herself, smiles politely, and looks to the others, waving in greeting. "Hello, everyone."

Ten says, "I'm sure."

Jennifer goes to her seat when everyone else is sat at the table. "Thank you for coming, everyone. I've been asked to pass on the thanks of a grateful British Government. They are picking up the tab for this meal so feel free to indulge yourselves. The children are all back at school now and I understand they all thoroughly enjoyed the holiday."

Ten says, "That's good to hear! I ws afraid the earthquake would ruin it...."

Two of the wait staff move to the table, offering drinks and menus.

Titan smiles and nods to Jennifer, "I'm glad to hear it. Though...there's a pattern that I noticed that should be discussed. We can talk about it later, though."

Harlequin translates quietly for Leonid. He then goes over the menu with the child.

Jennifer grins at Ten, "If it wasn't for the injuries that some of the others in the party suffered I'm sure that would have been the part of the holiday they enjoyed most."

Ten says, "Maybe they're going on the wrong sort of vacations, then...."

Titan thinks about it for a moment, "Actually, perhaps now isn't a bad time to bring it up." He looks around at those at the table and then back to Jennifer. "The kids have had three vacations...which corresponded to three alien incursions. That seems like...it might not be a coincidence."

Jennifer turns to look at Titan, "Did you arrange for a fae healer to be in Iceland, Titan? There's so few fae on Earth it seems too much of a coincidence otherwise."

"Oh, come on, Ten," Anthony says. "You have to admit it was a lot of fun. The ice, the aliens, the shark..."

Titan shakes his head, "No...I didn't arrange for Lady Nienna to be there. And she's related to the Duke who's to marry Princess Stephanie. I agree...it's also too much of a coincidence."

Ten says, "I'm glad I didn't try the shark."

Paragon quietly scans the menu, listening in on what else she missed from her late arrival on the trip. "Shark? There was a shark incident? The children sure had a wild vacation."

[To Titan] Ten says, "What do you think then? Someone sent to keep an eye on us for some reason?"

Jennifer nods to Titan, "As does the coincidence you just mentioned. Three alien incursions, you say. Neither of the previous two incidents before this year were reported, Titan. So this is the first I've heard of it."

Sukeban accepts the menu with trepidation, "What the heck? It doesn't even list prices..."

Vajra giggles, "That's normal for places like this."

Sukeban grouses, "Dang rich people!"

Vajra pats her on the arm, "Gomen gomen~".

Sukeban sighs, "And it's all in Italian or somethin'... Can ya just order for me, Vajra?"

Vajra nods, "Of course, I think you'll enjoy this... hmmm, or maybe this..."

Sukeban leaves her fiancee to the task and nods to Titan, "It sure feels like a set up. But why? Ya think someone knew the aliens were there, and manipulated the kids' vacation plans to get us in position to stop them?"

Cecila smirks at bit at the commentary "Yeah lets next time book a trip to the fires of Mount Doom so we can dispose of the One Ring" which seems to be about par for the course when you put enough metahumans together on something "Oh I'm sure you can ask Anthony all about the shark incident"

Quinn shakes his head to Paragon and chuckles a little. "The...ah...shark incident isn't quite what you might think. More a break down in translations than anything involving a shark attack."

Harlequin murmurs as he looks down at the menu with Leonid. "Perhaps some matchmaker at court is trying to, hmm, pair the spares, Titan. With regards to the Lady Nienna and, oh, other loose threads." A faint sheen of humor can be heard in his voice.

Ten tilts her head at Harlequin's comment, then takes a glance at the menu.

Waiters are standing by patiently to take orders, replenishing drinks as needed. Replacing the glasses rather than refilling them.

Titan nods slowly, "It's possible that Lady Nienna was sent to keep an eye on us...or on some of us, at least. Though if that's the case, I don't think Nienna knew about it. Unless she's more devious than she appears. Someone might have suggested this particular trip, though...'guiding' her subtly." He then looks to Jennifer, "We didn't report the incident from last year...and it turns out that the year prior, the kids ran into something similar, but didn't tell anyone. I don't know the details of that first run-in."

Paragon nods slowly in understanding at Quinn's clarification, smiling thinly. She looks back at the menu, her brow knitting slightly. o O (Jennifer...where have I heard that name before...)

Jennifer tells everyone, "I also have been instructed to pass on the thanks of my father, Lord Markham, for keeping the children safe."

Titan shakes his head at Harlequin's comment, "I sincerely doubt that someone was attempting matchmaking."

Jennifer nods to Titan. "I think my father will have to ask the children some questions. Although in one regard I'm just as pleased the children were on hand. Because that meant you were on hand and able to stop the incursions."

Harlequin shrugs gently as he murmurs something to Leonid is Russian. "Well, one never knows. Odder things have happened." He ruffles Leonid's hair for a moment to the child's pleasure. "I did not know you were related to Lord Markham, Jennifer."

Ten says, "Why would someone be playing matchmaker?"

Cecila totally picks up the menu and feigns reading it as the others start looking over the menu "Hey I'll come help watch the kids anytime. They really didn't cause any trouble" then she sorta whispers to Ten since probably everyone at the table knows why she cant read "So... see anything good on the menu?"

Leonid looks up and smiles as his hair is ruffled, leaning slightly in his chair to be a little closer to Harlequin.

Quinn abruptly frowns, pondering something for a moment. "Well, working on the premises that she was manipulated into being there and that it wasn't an attempt at matchmaking the most logical reason for such a manipulation would be because of the children," he says. "Considering that there are probably other opportunities that would present themselves for observation of the children we would have to posit that it was not simply observation of the children but observation of the children during that time. Given that they have run into aliens the last three times out that is rather disconcerting."

Jennifer tells Harlequin, "I'm ex-Wolfguard, as I think most already know. When my siblings and I surrendered to Starguard we were sent to Lord Markham's school. I was adopted by Lord Markham. So he is my father."

Harlequin smiles slightly. "Well, it always seems to me that upcoming nuptials always bring out the matchmaker in, hmm, older female members of families. It a genetic compulsion I think."

Ten says back, "I don't know what half of this is..... and am still in shock over the prices."

Jennifer says, "The British Government can afford it, Ten. You may not get many opportunities like this. Indulge yourself."

Ten grins. "You sure? Don't want to make them raise taxes"

Titan says to Ten, "I think Harlequin might have been implying the matchmaking due to my prior...relationship with the Princess. But it was quite clear from my conversations with Lady Nienna that she initially didn't have that high an opinion of me. Her preconception was in direct contrast to what I was like when we actually spoke."

Jennifer grins back to Ten. "I reside on Undermoon now. I don't pay taxes to the British Government any more."

Paragon reaches for her glass of water and sips delicately. As she sets her glass down, her eyes widen a little. o O (Wolfguard...Jennifer. Uh oh..). She suddenly makes the connection to the name. This must be one of the aunts Chen warned people to keep her a secret from. Well, secret blown. That explains the odd reaction from Jennifer when they met. But since she hasn't been attacked or knocked out, things must be okay, right? She relaxes a little and places an order with a nearby waiter when he asks her what she'd like. "Yes, the aged filet mignon, rare, please. And I'll stick with water, thank you," she says to the waiter as she hands off the menu. She sits up rigidly, folds her hands in her lap politely, and tries to follow along with Fae politics.

The waiter near Paragon writes down her order and replaces the glass and chilled water for her. Taking the used glass away in a white gloved hand.

Ten returns to studying the menu.

"Where is my grilled halibut?" someone complains at another table. "The service here tonight is well below its usual standard."

Ten glances in the direction of the voice.

Vajra motions for the waiter, "She will have the Kindai tuna belly simmered in olive oil, I will have the lamb cooked in the Roman style, with a tangy lemon yogurt and cloud-light Swiss chard ragu. And a bottle of the 2014 red."

Paragon arches a brow and side-glances towards the complaining table, then turns her attention back to her own table. She looks mildly uncomfortable.

The owner of the voice is overweight and looks like a over indulged idle rich son seated with friends just like him.

Sukeban turns to glare at the complainer, her eyes glowing red, "Yo, keep it down. This a nice place, not a freakin' football stadium."

Ten thinks. o O (Guess being a posh place doesn't mean polite company.)

Cecila smirks at Ten "Or you know maybe we should just ask what the Queen had for dinner and order that since you know this seems the same level of fancy" she half-jokes quietly as she listens around the room for what other people are ordering for inspiration on what to choose herself.

Harlequin is tempted for a moment to cause more distractons for both staff and customers but restrains himself. Instead he says to the waiter, "I will have the filet mignon as well, medium. The child will have the same but please replace the grilled potatoes with pommes de frites for him." He smiles slightly, "Thank you."

A pair of men enter the restaurant area from a side door marked Staff. They are talking to each other in a hushed manner but there seems little love lost between them from their general deportment. One of the two glances over at the heroes table and then freezes. "You!" he says, looking at Jennifer. "What are you doing in here?"

Titan glances over toward the complainer...and then to Sukeban as she speaks up. "Sukeban...there's no need to threaten. If it's necessary, I'll have a word with him. For the moment, just let it go." He then sighs as someone calls out Jennifer.

Sukeban grumps, "I didn't threaten him!"

Jennifer looks over at the two men. "Hello, Jack. You beat the rap then. Guess you could afford a good team of lawyers."

Ten asks in a hushed voice, "Trouble?"

Paragon raises her eyebrows at the exchange between Jack and Jennifer. This restaurant sure seems 'lively'.

Sukeban looks at Ten. Looks at the men. Looks around the table. Looks at Jennifer. Laughs.

Jennifer smiles tight lipped. "No. There won't be troble will there, Jack? Oh, and hello, Peter."

The other man of the two says angrily, "I oughta have you thrown out."

Harlequin listens quietly to the commotion as he tells Leonid that he got the boy French fries with his steak. He glancs over at Jack and Peter then to Jennifer then back to the men, his face a mask of polite interest.

Vajra pats Sukeban on the back as the taller woman starts coughing from trying desperately not to laugh out loud.

Jennifer laughs, "And who is going to try? Curb your dog, Jack. This is no way to behave to someone who saved your life. Don't make me regret it any more than I already do."

Cecila shakes her head at Ten and replies back quietly "I doubt it... you'd have to be braindead to start a fight with an entire team of superheroes sitting at the table" and hey that's how she looks at it "Uhh so anyways anything on the menu that looks like roast duck. I've always gone for the chicken focused dinners in the past but someone told me duck is supposed to taste good too."

Paragon says very calmly and sweetly to Peter, "That's no way to speak to a lady."

Titan nods to Cecila, "Definitely try the duck, if you've never had it before. If it's prepared well, it's awesome." He looks over toward Jack and Peter, trying to place their faces.

Ten says, "People do stupid things sometimes."

Peter opens his mouth to reply to Paragon... but Jack tugs on Peter's sleeve. "Leave it." Jack looks over to Jennifer. "Enjoy your meal. It's on the house."

Ten says, "Oh, I might try the duck too then!"

Harlequin smiles slightly then turns his attention back to Leonid. He says softly to the child in Russian, "If either of those men over there ever approach you, Leonid, go invisible and get away from them. They are American Mafiya." All this is said with a gentle smile on his face.

Paragon smiles and turns her attentions back to the table, seeming cheerfully oblivious to the conflict. "Well, that was nice of them. It looks like we can save the British Government some of their tax payer's dollars," she says brightly.

Leonid nods and edges closer to Harlequin on his chair, "Da, Steven."

Quinn clears his throat slightly and then smiles to Jack. "That is very kind of you, Jack," he says, "but unfortunately we aren't here on her dime. We're here as a thank you from the British Consulate and she is merely acting as representative for them. However, if you wish to comp the British government for the meals I am sure they will be happy to accept, once all the proper paperwork has been filled out. You know how those bureaucrats are, right? Have to have every i dotted and t crossed so as to avoid the appearance of impropriety."

Cecila nods in agreement with Ten "I've done my fair share of stupid things in my time... That said I'll try the duck and you know Ten if you want something to try you could always go for some Kobe beef... not too often you'll get a chance to eat a steak that'll cost like $500" she offers yet another suggestion, seems like she knows a bit more about high society dining than she's been letting on.

Jack isn't going to alienate Anthony Quinn. So he merely nods and tugs Peter away to another table.

Ten says, "I don't know - that seems like taking advantage...."

Jennifer turns her attention to Ten. "You saved the whole darn world, Ten. They owe it to you, and more."

Harlequin smiles slighlty as he remarks to Ten. "Well, that is half of what high society is about, getting something for little, Ten."

Ten smiles. "Perhaps that's why I feel I don't belong - anyway, I doubt it's the whole world we saved."

"Waiter! Waiter! This venison is over cooked. Take it back and replace it." a man seated at a table with another man and two ladies tells a waiter as the waiter passes near his table.

Anthony smiles and leans over to Ten. "Think of it this way," he says. "You were on the trip, acting as chaperone for a week. As you were on call the entire time that is a hundred and sixty eight hours. Figuring time and a half for anything past forty hours that would mean pay for an effective two hundred and thirty two hours. A five hundred dollar steak would equate to about two dollars and twenty five cents per hour."

Ten laughs. "I won't argue with a businessman of your standing. Still, I think I'll have the duck."

Ten looks about. "Is it normal for people to complain this much?"

Paragon shrugs at Ten. "I suppose a place of this calibur, they expect no mistakes."

There seems to be a lack of wait staff at the moment. Several customers are looking around, or in some cases calling impatiently for service.

Vajra hmmms, "I wonder if something has happened to their usual kitchen staf. Or indeed their staff in general. Perhaps someone is robbing this restaurant?"

Anthony shakes his head. "Not...exactly," he says. "You'll always find those people with over-inflated opinions of their self worth who send something back a half a dozen times so others will appreciate how important they are but generally they try to be more....mmmm....refined about it. Trying to make sure everyone sees without becoming a boor, if that makes sense."

Harlequin murmurs quietly to Jennifer, "Do either of those two gentleman own a portion of this restaurant? I ask as I wonder why they were coming out of the Staff entrance?"

Ten says, "I'm thinking something's up...."

Jack Valentine is looking disturbed. He stands and moves towards the swing doors to the cooking area. As he pushes one of the swing doors partly open he freezes in position for several seconds. Then he turns and walks back to the table where Peter is seated in a oddly stilted fashion.

Cecila laughs a bit at Anthony's assesment "Leave it to the genius to give her a mathematical reason to indulge" then hmms and ponders as she says quietly to Ten "I dunno, though usually it's considered polite to discretely let the waiter know when something is wrong not shout it out for the entire dining room to hear"

"Jack Valentine owns the restaurant," Anthony says to Harlequin.

Ten says in a low voice, "If there *is* trouble, be warned - I don't have my staff on me. Nowhere to put it.

Harlequin looks over at Ten then notices Jack Valentine's reaction. He leans back into his seat and under the table twists his hand into a odd position. He lets his gaze drift outwards.

Anthony cocks his head slightly and studies Jack. "Oh dear," he says with a slight sigh. "This doesn't look good. Will you all excuse me for just a moment and not do anything too drastic until I have a chance to get back?" He starts to stand.

Titan raises a brow, watching Jack's reactions at the door. He slowly gets up from the table and walks over toward the swinging doors.

Sukeban grins at Ten, "I think we got ya covered."

Vajra giggles, "I'm just a normal girl tonight."

Titan straightens his jacket as he strides forward toward the door, intending to see what's going on in the kitchen.

Paragon looks at all the others, confused about the commotion. "Is everything...alright?" she asks, watching Titan get up after talk of robbery. She slowly pushes out her chair and begins to stand, straightening out her vest, suit, and tie.

Quinn was going to head to Jack's table to talk with him for a moment. As Titan moves towards the kitchen doors, however, he realizes he probably won't have a chance to ask Jack what's going on.

What Harlequin sees with mystic eyes as he looks into the kitchen, there's a few people in there who probably shouldn't be as well as a half dozen men in underclothes who are bound and gagged. The notable individuals are a tall slim woman in a skintight black and silver spandex outfit, a muscled guy looking like a Mr Universe winner, and another five men wearing body armor and carrying energy weapons. One of the waiters who's been serving your table is carefully packing used empty glasses into a foam lined reinforced carrying case.

Harlequin blinks at the table. "Two metas in the kitchen, one male, one female, five mooks with blasters. The waiter at our table is working with them and they are taking our used glasses."

Sukeban says, "So, are they, like, startin' to panic now that they realize we're here, or are they stayin' cool about it?"

Paragon nods slightly. "So, a minor disturbance. We should probably ask the other patrons to leave in a peaceful and calmn manner so that they don't get outraged at dinner delays," she says as she loosens her tie and starts to walk towards where Titan went.

Titan pushes open the door to the kitchen, being relatively wary, but at the same time...not worried at all that it's anything he can't handle. And he was a bit too far away by that point to hear Harlequin's explanation.

Cecila nods a bit "So I take it we need to you know take out the trash?" she asks the others "Want me to go out back and see if I can cut them off from escaping? I really wish I had my normal costume for this"

Harlequin shouts out, "Watch out for Mentalica and Slab, Titan!" He glances at Leonid, "Time to go invisible, little wolf."

As Titan pushes open the door the beautiful young woman in there in a skintight black and silver costume looks straight at Titan.

At the last table before reaching the kitchen doors, Paragon scoops up a plate of half-eaten steak from a patron, who suddenly looks up in protest and says something unflattering to Paragon. "Sorry, there's something wrong with your food. I'll get you a new plate," she smiles and salutes before using her back to push open the kitchen doors. She steps in backwards and turns around, pretending to be an upset customer. "Hey, I pay good money to eat here, and you give me overcooked steak?" she demands, then pretends to be surprised.

What Titan *sees* in the kitchen is perfectly normal. Nothing amiss going on. One of the chefs tells him, "This is not a public area. You must return to your table." All recollection of the scene Titan saw briefly is gone from his memory at the moment.

Cecila starts to stand up and asks the others as discretely as possible "Think I should give the customers an excuse to evacuate?"

Harlequin nods. "Yes." As he speaks Steven fades away to reveal Harlequin. The mage says to the suddenly empty chair beside himself in Russian, "Stay here, Leonid." then stands in preparation of moving.

Titan glances around the kitchen for a moment and shrugs. He then walks back over to the table. Clearly nothing was amiss.

What Paragon sees is a half dozen men in underclothes bound and gagged on the floor at one side. A beautiful young woman in skintight black and silver costume looking at Titan, her eyes glowing a bright golden color. Another guy who's massively muscled. Several supposed waiters and five men in body armor carrying energy weapons.

Sukeban whispers to Vajra, "Time for you to get the heck out of here."

Vajra nods and slides out of her chair down to the floor.

Paragon blinks and watches as Titan walks by and back to the table without doing anything, then looks back at the group in the kitchen. "Ohh...boy..."

Jennifer turns in her seat, "Typical. I couldn't wear my force armor with this dress. What's going on in there, Titan?" she asks.

Titan says to Jennifer, "Nothing looked out of the ordinary that I could see. A couple of chefs...a couple of servers. Normal kitchen stuff, as far as I could tell."

Jennifer nods and settles down in her seat again.

Sukeban stands up, kicks off her sandals and walks over to see what's going on. . o O (Titan said there's nothin'... but well... better be sure. He might have gotten mind controlled again or somethin'.)

Ten looks about, taking in the room. Her concern, as usual, is protecting people, and she wants to be sure where the people who need protecting are.

Sukeban grins as her flames lick out from her skin and swirl around her. "Wow. Did ya guys pick the worst freakin' day to do this." She looks over to Jennifer, "British government's got expenses covered, right?" She turns back to the villains, "Did ya hear that!? Not only are ya guys gettin' to face me, Sukeban, but all collateral damage is gettin' covered by someone else! Between me and you, ya might want to just give up now, because it might get a little rough for amateurs like ya." She casually hurls a firebolt at the woman, since she looks like the leader.

As Sukeban blasts the woman with flames she sees most of the flames are blocked by an up until then invisible force field. Still some of the flames get through and the woman is thrown back against a wall.

Neither of the metas seem impressed by Sukeban's attack or comments. Slab just grins. The woman says, "Professionals. Not amateurs. As you'll discover unless you allow us to leave before the restaurant is wrecked."

Sukeban feigns shock, "What!? Ya mean yer actually chefs?"

Sukeban says, "And didn't ya hear me? I said all damage is on someone else's tab, so like I give crap about this restaurant!"

Paragon clings to her plate, feigning fear and playing the civilian. "Maybe you should just...let them go..." she gulps. o O (...so we can take this outside and away from the civilians still stuck here.)

Well, that loud FWOOMP has by now become a fairly familiar sound as it's a good indicator that the fecal matter is impacting upon the impeller. Still, Anthony doesn't know exactly what is up just yet. His force field turns on with a loud crack as the shimmering shield forms around him. He takes to the air and enters the kitchen behind Sukeban, touching down and looking around to see what is going on.

Slab starts towards Sukeban raising a hand clenched into a fist. But the woman calls out, "She's not important. Get the samples to the Doctor." Slab shrugs, smiles at Sukeban. "Next time," he promises. Turns to grab the case, and digs at the floor with his other hand, tearing a path through the floor and dirt that fills in after him.

"Really?" Anthony says sounding rather annoyed. "Tunneling away? We've got a freaking Earth Elemental with us! You might as well try and drown Riptide for all the brilliance of your plan."

Cecila smirks a bit at Anthony "Right... well lets see who can tunnel faster shall we. Sorry about the floor" she says before taking her fist and punching right through the floor hopefully to the ground below and starts digging right from her seat. She leaves it clear behind her so the others can follow.

The woman calls back to Anthony. "Thank you for telling me."

Harlequin looks at the hole that Cecila has made for a brief moment then drops down into it to follow her. As he steps into the hole silver and blue disks swirl into existence around him as well as a golden glow that clings to his body.

The agent types in body armor start to raise their weapons. The woman shouts, "No. There are uninvolved in your line of fire. Fall back to me." The agents scramble back around cooking ranges and tables to congregate close to the woman.

Sukeban huhs, "Ok, ya got my respect now, lady."

Paragon tosses her plate aside and stops playing completely dumb. The plate clatters on a nearby prep station, the half-eaten steak bouncing with it but remaining on the plate. Seeing Slab disappear and being unable to follow, she decides capturing the leader may be the next best course of action. Dashing forward and straightening her hand, she moves in on Mentalica as she brings the hand down in a precise chopping motion towards a nerve bundle located between Mentalica's neck and shoulders. She smiles through the effort of her strike, "That's actually very respectful of you. I appreciate professionalism, but I'm afraid I can't just let you escape."

The woman is dropped to her knees by Paragon's nerve strike. "That... hurt," she grunts in pain.

The strike doesn't carry the weight of Paragon's superstrength behind it, relying on precision and knowledge of the human body to try and subdue Mentalica. "Oh, sorry. But don't worry, I'm sure there's no lasting damage. If you'd please surrender, I'm sure the courts would be lenient. I'll even put in a good word. I really do respect that you tried to avoid hurting civilians. I feel bad for the deception." Paragon is actually...*apologizing* to the villain. And she sounds genuinely sincere.

Still on her knees Mentalica groans with the effort as she creates a vortex around her. And then she is gone. As are the five agents. And Paragon. And every loose item within 4m of her position.

Titan sits down to the table, blissfully unaware of what's going on around him.