[Freezair]

Tobias' head jerked left and right. His nose twitched, the traces of instict left in him wanting to bolt at the first sign of a predator. Grease was all he smelled, though. He stood up from his chair without reason, his shoes scuffing against the dirty linoleum floor of the cafe. Old shoes, today. No point in wasting a good pair of Styngers on this... business.

This cafe was in a rather sketchy part of town. He pulled a pocket watch from the cavernous depths of his coat and checked it for the third time in five minutes. Where were Nara and Adam? Karin? Weber? Maxell and Photion? It was the middle of the day, but he didn't feel safe in this wing of Barakka without a little muscle behind him. Preferably Nara--she had that "breathing laser beams" thing. Or Karin--what with that "hacking into people's minds" business. Another watch-check. The waitress asked him if he was alright. He hoped she had someone to go home with her at night. This was a bad part of town for a young woman to roam alone. Bad part for anyone to roam alone. No, stop thinking like that. He sat back down, sipped from his lemonade, and stood again.

Orange! There, at the window! He tried not to skip.

A Blaze Polly winged inside. He moved back to his chair.

Vaguely glittery tan followed by orange! Adam noticed him, and picked up a paw and waved. Tobias waved back. Nara was more subdued, but gave him a comforting smile through the giant frosted "J" on the front of the cafe window.

Tobias cut in front of the waiter who wanted to show them to a table, his arms twitching like he wanted to throw them around Nara's neck and hug her.

"You're here!" he said. His ears lifted from his head, nearly dislodging his hat. Nara was grinning--an unusual expression for her. Her eyes, however, were inert.

"We are," she said. "Have the others arrived?"

"No." Tobias leaned in conspiratorially close. "And to be honest with you, I don't like the way that big Leichi in the corner has been eyein' me. He's startin' to freak me out..."

"Which one?" Adam said loudly. "He tries anything, I'll pop 'im!"

Tobias and Nara both winced.

"Let's... just go sit down," Nara said. "I hope we gave the others adequate instructions..."

[136, 106, 86]

[endermage]

While Nara's instructions were more than adequate the fact that Karin was dragging the easily distracted, frustratingly obstinate portion of the group was making the "quick jaunt" to the cafe more than a little of a problem. Karin had to stop Weber more than once from attempting to swipe fruit from a stand all the while being bombarded by Photion's rant about "privilege" and how they "deserved" the fruit more. Maxwell was little help at this moment, he looked exhausted, but when Photion called Karin a "wrinkled old cow" Maxwell snapped at the Treasure Roosken and told him to be quiet.

When they finally arrived and saw that everyone else had gotten there before them Karin looked a bit upset. She hated being late. Weber on the other hand could care less. He trotted in looking surprisingly proud of himself for some reason or another. Karin was hoping he had been stricken with a sudden stroke. "Hello," the Lucain called out to the others,"How are we doing and who is gonna buy me breakfast?"

[106],[106],[23]

[Freezair]

Nara, Adam, and Tobias all looked up from their little rendezvous, seeing Karin, Weber, Photion, and Maxwell enter. Tobias was somewhat surprised--he hadn't expected them all in a cohesive group. He'd expected them to trickle in bit by bit. But if they were all here together, so much the better! Large groups fared better against predators.

"That'll be me," Tobias said to Weber's question."Over here. Don't worry," he said to the waiter. "Everyone's with me. I tried to get a big table, but this is kind of a tiny little cafe..."

"Do I get breakfast too?" Adam asked.

"At the moment, breakfast is not our main concern," Nara said strictly. "We are largely here to discuss our plan of attack on..." Her ears twitched wonderingly, and she bent down in close to the group. "...Prometheus."

[137, 107, 87]

[endermage]

Karin raised on of her claws and an almost invisible shroud covered the entire group. "This will make sure we don't have anyone listening to us. We should recap what we know about Prometheus."

"Okay," said Weber,"But can I have pancakes first?"

"I suppose that's fine," said Maxwell,"We don't want you getting all grumpy on us."

Photion gave Maxwell a look,"I want waffles."

"Of course," said Maxwell with a sigh.

"Focus everyone," began Karin again,"What do we know?"

[107],[107],[24]

[Freezair]

"They're a company. You do NOT want to mess with 'em. What more is there to know?" Adam said nonchalantly.

"Plenty,"Tobias said, shooting Adam a look. He settled himself down in his chair and started fishing around in his wallet while he spoke. "They used to do some 'promotional consideration' for my show a while back. They're real creepy and manipulative. They had one specific stockholder... Man, not gonna forget him. An old-guy Khimera. Creaky all over. Scared me stiff. They're real manipulative, and they like leaching money. I know they do... 'projects' or something..."

"I think I remember hearing they were a splinter group from Khimera?" Nara said, uncertain. "Karin, I believe you know all about them. Tell them while Tobias gets us some pancakes."

"Oh, sure, make the bunny do all the work," he sighed.

[138, 108, 88]

[endermage]

"Yes, you are correct." said Karin,"Prometheus is a splinter group of Khimera. They left after the experiments that they were conducting were determined unethical."

"What do you mean?", said Maxwell, looking a bit worried.

"By using magical energy, particle physics, general madness, and living beings Prometheus is responsible for the creation of the people you and I know as the Incarnations. The boy and the Iiylumiel that came to our aid are a few of them. There are many more, most of which are not as nice. They desire my capture to regain control over the defected Incarnations. They are bent on dominating the world in the shadows. It is theorized that in the conflict between the Kingdom of Sound and the Kingdom of Fury has some Promethian influence. They want to set up puppet instillations so no one can ever threaten them directly. "

"That's not so good..." said Weber.

"Duh..." said Photion with a smug caw.


[108],[108],[25]

[Freezair]

"Sound? Fury? Never hard of them," Adam said with a shake of his head. "But the whole 'kingdoms' bit sounds serious, so I'll take your word for it."

Tobias shuffled off to talk with the waitress. He hoped she didn't mind him giving orders away from the table. But he worried about their discussion getting out and about.

"I've heard of it," Nara said. "But I don't think it's relevant to these operations. It is my understanding that we're going after an installment of theirs here in the city today..."

[139, 109, 89]

[endermage]

"Yes," said Karin in her stern yet oddly soothing voice,"But that is exactly why the Kingdoms are important."

"What do you mean?" said Weber courteously.

"What I mean is that Prometheus is attempting to set up puppet governments and organizations all over the world. Here in the Slums most of the power is in the hands of the crime leaders. I believe that the crime syndicate that Nara has been investigating is in fact a puppet organization of Prometheus. By taking control of crime in the Slums Prometheus will control the Slums. This is exactly what is happening in the Kingdoms of Sound and Fury. " said Karin bluntly.

Photion rolled his eyes,"Of course Sherlock Holmes here put the equation together when no one else could. How do we know we can even trust each other, if Prometheus is so powerful couldn't it just brain wash some of us?"

Maxwell sighed,"He does make a point. Do we know the limitations of the Company? Is there anything they can't do yet?"

[109],[109],[26]

[Freezair]

"I don't think they can brainwash," Tobias said with a shake of his head. He slid back into the table, elbowing his way between Nara and Adam. "Waffles, pancakes, and French toast will be out in a minute. Ahem." He took a sip from his water glass. "The way I see it, if they could brainwash people, they woulda do that with my boss. He got wise to 'em when they were tryin' to insinuate themselves into our company, and kicked 'em out. If they could take control of people, I betcha they would've when they got the chance."

"It's entirely possible that this crime syndicate is controlled by Prometheus," Nara nodded. "Given what we've already seen of their hideouts, it seems likely that Prometheus could..." Her eyes suddenly glazed over.

"...Have a link from the mob's hideout to their own headquarters..."

"Naaaah," Adam said dismissively. "Have you ever even seen a crime movie? They'd never do something like that that was all... security-risky like that."

[140, 110, 90]

[endermage]

"Part of the way Prometheus works is in risk." said Karin shifting her wings," Not to mention every cell of the organization is independent. It would be almost impossible to trace the crime syndicate directly to the Prometheus Corporation."

"This seems like quite the challenge..." said  Maxwell, sipping from a drink he had ordered when no one was paying attention,"How are we, or anyone for that matter, supposed to take on an organization that's so disjointed."

"Disjointed...." said Photion with a sneer," You sound like such a snob when you use words like that you know..."

"Quiet Photion." said Maxwell, flicking the Roosken in the back of the head.

"Regardless," said Karin," We need to take down this cell. Barakka can't afford to lose any more control of this sector."

Weber could hear buzzing from Nara's message. "Is something happening Nara?"  

[110],[110],[27]

[Freezair]

"Cute ringtone, Nara," Adam giggled. "Real police-like."

Nara tapped her communicator with a paw. "I'll have you know, this tone is specifically for personal contacts. I would never use it on-duty. And I think you are nonetheless underestimating the musical value and significance of 'Under the Sea.' Yes, this is Nara. Who is it?"

"CEASE AND DESIST," the phone boomed.

Nara actually startled. She nearly fell back in her chair. Tobias' ears perked, pushing his hat aside. "What the...?"

"THIS MISSION IS DEATH," the phone said forebodingly. "YOU LEAD YOURSELF TOWARDS KISMET AND IMMOLATION. TURN BACK!"

Arm, shaking, Nara swatted ineffectually at the phone on her chest. The screen flickered, but she missed the correct key. "YOU SHALL RESTLESSLY SLEEP IN THE FIRES OF HELL FOR YOUR TROUBLE! PROMTHEUS HAS MANY EYES AND MANY MORE HANDS WITH WHICH TO DRAG YOU DOWN INTO--"

A jittery nail finally managed to depress the button, and the call ended. "N-n-not... how?" Nara stuttered.

A tray stand clattered as the cheerful-eyed waitress propped it up near the table. "Three Rootin' Tootin' Pancake Platters and a Waffle I Earned This, plus three Toast du France, comin' right up!"

[141, 111, 91]

[endermage]

Everyone looked stunned. The waitress passed out the plates and cheerfully skipped off to do some other duties.

"What was that!" said Weber looking more than a bit nervous.

"That...that was a warning. Prometheus is on to us. Not that it's surprising." said Photion,"I mean our "rag-tag group of heroes" has  Karin, Prometheus's most wanted, as a key member. Nara is in the police which in its history has had leaks and turncoats before. I mean if Prometheus is as expansive as Karin imagines it is to think they don't have their teeth in the department would be a joke."

"However," said Maxwell," That does not mean any one person is responsible for gathering unwanted attention. It means we have to be safer and more secure now."

"And how do we do that?" said Weber, looking expectantly at Karin.

"Well..." said Karin," Hand me the phone. I'll see what I can do."

[111],[111],[28]

[Freezair]

Nara pulled off the device that was hanging around her neck and placed it on the table, pushing it across to Karin. Looking thoughtful, Tobias reached into his pockets, and dropped three cells of his own onto the table.

"I might want 'em too," he said. He pointed at them. "Green is work, blue is family, and pink is... Erm. Other connections?"

"Oh, I catch your drift," Adam said. He wiggled his eyebrows at Tobias and clicked his tongue. The Meji put his paw up and pushed Adam's muzzle away.

"Are we sure it was Prometheus?" Nara asked. "Be sure to check that it wasn't just a prank."

[142, 112, 92]

[endermage]

"That's what I'm checking..." said Karin as the communicator and her eyes began to glow blue. "Wonder...I've got some tech here," she seemed to say to herself," I need you to do a trace. Permission to use the Daedalus Conch Program. Thank You. See you Wonder."

"What was that about?" said Weber curious as ever.

"That was one of my...I guess you could call him my boss, the Incarnation Wonder. I had to ask him to use a tracing program developed by another one of my bosses, the Incarnation Logic. It will allow me to not only determine where the call was made but also exactly who made it. Hopefully it will give us a clue to where to go next."

Photion laughed,"You got bosses Karin? You got to do annual reports of all the crazy stuff you did? I bet if I tell them what a temper you have you'll get fired!"

Maxwell slapped the avian in the back of the head,"You will do no such thing, eat your waffles."

Karin's eyes glowed brightly for a moment,"Got it, the call was made by Reggie Phillips. A small time crook with a connection to a series of larger crimes throughout the Slums...however the call was made using the pay phone outside the Cafe!"

[112],[112],[29]

[Freezair]

Nara's eyes shot toward the window. Adam and Tobias followed them. Tobias' ears crept up the side of his head, arching curiously. In the coccoon of sound surrounding them, his hearing snuck out, listening for anything suspicious. He listened deep beneath the surface of the crowd--deeper than even he was accustomed--listening with the instict that was even now telling him to run. His eyes trailed around the window, setting sight on a scruffy-looking man whose heart, by the sound of it, was thrashing in his chest.

Tobias locked eyes with him. The man trembled. Drawing a sharp breath, he spun and bolted, vanishing into the crowd across the street.

"Hey!" Tobias lept out of his chair. "A guy with a bomber jacket and a read goatee just ran off!"

Nara quietly but swiftly jumped to the floor. "Red goatee? Does that sound like it could nmatch the physical description of the suspect?"

"Red hair, lanky, real unwashed."Tobias didn't run, but he hopped tiles as he went to the window. His paws trembled.

"Do we even know what the dude looks like?" Adam asked.