[Freezair]

"Heroes, yes," Nara said to Photion. Glaring down at him, she added, "But small, obnoxious Roosken who make outrageous demands will just have to take what is given to them." Giving him the stink-eye, she turned her head away.

Tobias snickered, but Adam gave Photion a pitying look. "Don't worry about her," he whispered to Photion. He bared his teeth in Nara's direction and growled, "She just hasn't saved up enough money for the operation to get the stick removed."

Tobias took off his hat and fanned his head. "Hmm. This place looks nice. Don't you think, Web--Weber?" He did a double take at the Lucain, who seemed to be stumbling half-asleep. Then he muttered something about being asleep. Tobias "oh"ed and replaced his hat. He shuffled forward in line, and pulled Weber forward with him.

"Well, at the moment, uh... nothing much. Nara's arguing with Photion, who's talking with Adam, who's arguing with Nara--so, uh, nothing weird there. Karin's... kinda spacing. But that's nothing weird either. And Maxwell's--I guess--I guess he's just doing his thing. Man, you OK? You look awful."

While he stood at the head of the line, an Ichthysaur waiter appeared to them. He grinned, smiled, ask them how many ("Seven," said Nara, "I hope that's not too many on the spur of the moment"), then handed her a small red disk and told her the wait would be a few minutes. Not too many, he added--they just had to see a party out the door, and they were almost done. They just needed to clean the table.

Nara thanked him and looked for a place to sit down.

[71, 91, 121]

[endermage]

"I don't...know..." said Weber,"I can't seem to piece my memories together...I feel like I'm missing huge gaps of time...like I've been doing something, but I don't know what..."

Karin turned to Maxwell,"I believe you," she said in a tone that suggested she had done as much research as possible,"While I don't like your gold little friend there. Can I ask you something though? What happened to the Order of the Amber Sea?"

"I'm really not sure..." said Maxwell,"I was on a pilgrimage and away. Then the Order and the entirety of the civilization of Neretha vanished. I'm still searching for the cause..."

"How strange..." said Karin tilting her head,"I hope at some point I can help you find it..."

Photion laughed at Adam's joke at his commanding officer,"Hey Dips, how long have you been with little miss orange?"

[91],[91],[8]

[Freezair]

"Woah, woah, woah," Adam said. He pulled a highly disgusted face. "If you think that I... and her..." He flashed a glance at Nara. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Officer Sumas a lot and all... But she is SO not my type. If you like your women how you like your coffee, then she's just perfect, since she is way bitter."

Nara said softly, "Adam, if you keep that up, I will report you for unprofessional conduct."

Adam clicked his tongue. "Seewhattamean?"

Tobias put a hand on Weber's shoulder. "You mean, like when you... Wait, do you know about the Verdant Vigilante?"

[72, 92, 122]

[endermage]

"The what?", said Weber,"What the heck is a Verdant Vigilante?"

"Tobias!", cried Karin,"Can I talk to you really fast? Maxwell have you met Weber yet?" Maxwell pulled Weber away and began a meaningless conversation with him. Out of Weber's ear-shot Karin whispered to Tobias,"We can't tell him what he is, remember? The Vigilante warned us that it could damage Weber's psyche. It has to be a secret."

"No..." said Photion,"That's not what I mean, how long have you and Nara been working together? But the fact that you jumped straight to me assuming you had a relationship with her suggests you might want one. I mean I don't really get some people's taste in women, personally I'd want one with a little less spunk but whatever makes you happy dude..."

[92],[92],[9]

[Freezair]

"Whaaaa? Oh, that is IT, Chicken Butt. It is ON. You, me, right here, right now. Let's rumble, punk!" Adam bared his teeth, but the little device Nara was holding began to buzz and rumble.

"Our table's ready!" she said loudly. She snapped the phrase at Adam in a way that suggested she would like to put those teeth through his neck. He swallowed and followed complacently.

"Sorry,"Tobias whispered to Karin. "Forgot. Well... what DO we tell him? We can't just leave him like this, blacking out and in like that!"

[73, 93, 123]

[endermage]

"I'm just teasing ya dude," said Photion as he moved on to the table,"I think you might need some anger management Dips."

Karin shook her head,"I don't know what to tell him. I don't want Weber to be out of the loop but it really could hurt him to know what he really is. My thought is we keep him in the dark until he specifically asks us what's going on."

Maxwell was tending to Weber quite well, using his powers to heal the damage from the battle. He was doing this however, without Weber's full knowledge. "So Weber," asked Maxwell,"How long have you been having these black out episodes?"

"Oh...", said Weber,"On and off for about a year, my...um...profession has made it difficult to see a physician."

"My suggestion is you should get more rest and eat something and you should feel better..." said Maxwell.

[93],[93],[10]

[Freezair]

"Oh," Adam said. "Well. Err." He turned away in embarrassment and muttered something about his Sarcasm Sensor being on the fritz.

The waiter lead them to their table and laid out menues, while asking them if they would be interested in trying any wines. Nara politely declined, but Tobias asked if they had any rose wines the waited could recommend. He rattled off a few lables, and Tobias chose one while he took his seat.

"No squabbling about where to sit," Nara whispered to Adam.

"Hush," he said. He took a seat at a different end of the table.

Nara looked at him sideways. Her eyes momentarily flicked nervously to the window, but she tried to settle herself in and scanned the front of the menu. She aready knew what she wanted, but that, at least, helped her feel secure.

[74, 94, 124]

[endermage]

Weber had completely forgotten Tobias's statement by the time they had reached the table, Maxwell had, unintentionally or intentionally, kept the Lucain quite busy. Looking at the menu, Weber was not sure what to have but Maxwell had suggested something high in protein.

Karin already knew she wanted fish, not sure what kind of fish but whatever fish was available. She tapped her claws on the table as she determined what she wanted.

Photion had been thinking about just ordering a salad with extra pine nuts, he couldn't get the crustaceans he wanted and beef or fish didn't sound very good.

Maxwell had thought about this toughly and wanted to send a message to his gold companion,"I think I'm going to have the Chicken Pesto and a Side Salad."

Photion was thoroughly  disgusted.

[94],[94],[11]

[Freezair]

Almost out of character it may be, but Nara couldn't help but snicker at Maxwell. Whether or not he'd intended it that way, she read Maxwell's order as a warning. And a brilliantly clever one at that.

"Can we get some drinks before we start ordering?" Tobias asked. "I'd like a glass of water along with the wine. Nara?"

"A glass of milk," she said. "Adam?"

"A Coke, thanks," Adam said. "I still gotta figure out what I want..."

Nara leaned over to Karin. "I don't know what you're looking for, but I recommend the shrimp ravioli. It's what I'm getting, and I promise you, it is divine."

"None for me,"Tobias muttered. "Hmm... Ooh, they have tiamasu for desert! Errm... Roasted garlic alfredo, mmm..."

[75, 95, 125]

[endermage]

Karin looked quickly at the drink menu,"May I have an Iced Tea? Thank you."
Maxwell nodded in agreement,"An Iced Tea sounds terrific. I'll have one too."
"Well," said Photion,"I don't know about you but I'll have some whiskey if you don't mind..."
"I do and you'll have a water..." said Maxwell with a stern look on his face.
Weber looked up from the menu and asked,"May I have a water as well...thank you..."

[95],[95],[12]

[Freezair]

Nara glared at Photion. She sat, staring and silent, while she waited for the waiter to bring them their drinks.

"Geez, Nara," Adam complained. "You don't have to be such a sourpuss."

Tobias visibly scooted away from both of them.

When the waiter brought them their drinks, Nara took a small sip of hers, and then cleared her throat. She looked out at the table. "I propose that after we finish our dinner here, we return to my precinct, meet with my boss, and form a plan of attack there. Plus, we shall be alerted if anything happens elsewhere in the slums. We can pick up a scanner as well, to stay informed. What do you all say?"

[76, 96, 126]

[endermage]

"I agree," said Karin,"We need a new direction, we've run out of leads, and most of the leads we have followed have been traps. We need a better idea of what we are dealing with."

"Well, I know I just got here," said Maxwell,"but I agree as well. But I would prefer if my role, and abilities, was down played. I just arrived on this continent and I would like to stay under the radar."

"Oh please..." said Photion,"You just don't want a bunch of cops poking around looking for your paperwork...seeing as you don't have a birth certificate or anything simmilar."

"Photion...", said Maxwell, rubbing his temples.

"I would prefer that as well," said Weber,"My history with the police is....not good..."

[96],[96],[13]

[Freezair]

"Errrmmm," Nara said, looking at her companions. If dogs could sweat, her forehead would have been beading. "Perhaps... Not. While as a woman of the law, it is certainly my duty to accost you all about such matters, I... don't think such would be beneficial right now. Certainly, our... adversaries, whomever they are and whatever their motives may be, have a devil-may-care attitude toward the law. I refuse to abandon my morals, but... eeerrrgg..."

"Holy cow, someone check for the raining frogs! If Officer Sumas wants to go 'easy,' the world must be ending," Adam said.

She glared at him.

"Well, if the precinct is out," Tobias said, "maybe NOW we can go back to my loft. My pad is pretty nice. We can rest up there and plan. But... you and Dips better check out," he said.

"Right," Nara replied.

[endermage]

"That sounds fine as well," said Karin, shaking her head again,"we just need to talk about what this consortium is up to. I doubt it ends at petty theft. My thought is there never was a specific "Snicky Thief", that the "Snicky Thief" is a code-word for all the cat burglars of the consortium. What we really need to know is what was stolen. Then we would have a better idea of what the plan is."

"I agree," said Weber, lapping up a sip of his water,"the consortium was smart enough to hire Aravalle, not to mention they could pay for Aravalle's services. There would be no reason to just steal valuables. There is a definite plan in motion here."

"The 'consortium', as you call it," said Maxwell, putting a straw in his iced tea,"must be quite old and powerful. Seeing as they knew the location of the Folding Bomb and that creature. It is unlikely they stumbled across it recently."

"But..." said Photion, saying the first helpful thing he had said since joining the party," you guys are on the right track, seeing as the 'consortium' has devoted a lot of resources to destroy you."

"I doubt it was all of us...", said Weber,"I can think of one person who has the power to draw this kind of fire power...Karin."

"You're right...", said Karin,"It is likely that either the 'consortium' is controlled by Prometheus Industries, or at least under commission to capture or kill me."

[97],[97],[14]

[Freezair]

The wineglass slipped out of Tobias's hand. A spray of pink splashed across the table, leaving an eerie mark.

"Woah, woah, WOAH," Tobias said. "Prometheus? No way, man. I am NOT going near this one. Uh-uh." He slid out of his seat and dropped himself to the floor. "Count me out! That is seriously BAD mojo right there, man."

"Prometheus?" Nara asked. "Who are they?"

"Your worst nightmare, pal," Tobias said. "Mess with them, and you ain't NEVER gettin' out."

"Does somebody wanna explain this?" Adam asked.  

"'Explain?' There's no explaining what Prometheus does," Tobias said. "Except that every iota of it is nasty. Trust me, there was one hella big shareholder in my network back in the day. Fella by the name of Locke Masters. He owned massive shares of both the station and Prometheus. No idea what happened to that guy, but I'm GLAD he left. I heard tell they were a splinter group from Khimera Industries, but I wouldn't put my finger on that being true. I doubt if ANYONE knows where they really came from."

"Oh, but, Tobias! Don't go," Nara said. "It wouldn't be safe!"

"Huh!" he laughed coldly."I bet ol' Masters still knows me. And I'd rather be unsafe out here than bellied up to him!"

"He'd come for you anyway!" Nara shouted. "You're involved now!"

Tobias stopped at the end of the table. "...Damn." He made his way back to his seat.

Nara looked smugly at him. "But, please. Will someone please explain what they are, exactly?"

[78, 98, 128]