Beast in the Bistro [Invite Only; Shadowmaster]

by **Corra** July 11th 2012, 8:27 pm

Lucius Deitrich requires your immediate attention on behalf of the Harbingers. He will be waiting at the La Comptoir Bistro in Paris Friday at 5pm. Bring money. -Nightkill

Cadia stared at the small piece of parchment crinkled in her slender fingers, the message was just as blunt as ever, typical Nightkill. "Damn Lightning Pole is still ordering me around." She grumbled irritably, oddly though her face showed no sign of the aggravated tone in her muttering, it appeared as just one more of the many mysteries the elf woman held in her black heart. "...Could have at least given me more notice, it's Thursday night! Tesear!" Her gripping continued as she begrudgingly sat up from the tombstone she had been leaning lazily on, snoozing, before the messenger had interrupted her.

The man looked to be in his mid 30's, dark hair, caramel complexion, large nose, she suspected he originated from the Mid-east somewhere. For a moment she wondered how he got stuck as mail-boy for a faction like the Harbingers; the thought was fleeting however as she realize quickly that she really didn't care, she'd just as soon kill him. "Why are you still standing here, or did this note double as your suicide letter?" She snapped, crumpling the postercard in her hands as she clenched her fists. The man's knees buckled and he turned so fast he tripped on the root of a tree and stumbled back to his feet in one frantic, simultaneous move. Such was the power of her name in the Harbingers, and it would do Nightkill well to remember that one of those days...

Cadia spent the rest of the evening figuring out where the La Comptoir was located and booking a flight to Paris in the nearest airport to the Bistro. She would have used her wings and flown there herself that night and save time, but there were a few things wrong with that idea. One; she was in New York City -regretfully- thousands of miles away with nothing but ocean below most of it. Second; She didn't want to exhaust herself before recruiting a member to the Harbingers, if Nightkill couldn't wait till he got back to bring this Lucius guy on board then he had to be a huge factor for the organization that she couldn't afford to lose because she was tired. Three; if her rendezvous partner was hotheaded like a few other members of the Harbingers, she wanted to be able to focus and not get killed in some pointless "Bistro" fight. Still, it didn't seem to matter how many times she told herself those three legitimate reasons to travel by plane, she'd rode in one once before and was scared to death of them. Needless to say, by the time she got to the airport and found her seat the next day -of course earning plenty of stares due to her strange battle attire- it felt as though the world had stopped and then spun out of control.

How would she get through it without killing someone or herself?

TIME SKIP

Somehow she managed to get away from the enormous roaring beast without taking a single life, though she wasn't exactly proud of the latter, and stumbled onto the grounds of France only somewhat baffled. God how she hated planes, I mean she had been born in a time and a place where seeing something like a telegraph machine was phenomenal, then came back to life only to discover the massive vehicles and creations of man taking over the green world she had known. Not that she cared about the green, or her world, in face the new life she lived was far more exciting and free, but airplanes...airplanes she could do without.

The Bistro, La Comptoir, was a large and beautiful white marble structure with stone Gothic goblins rearing their ugly heads down on the streets of Paris as though they wished they could pounce on real legs and eat the food the people below them were chewing on with real jaws. Emotionless as usual, Cadia left the burdens of the day behind her and ignored the nasty looks from several waiters as she trekked dirt from her armored boots onto their clean floors. She'd at least tried to look a little more decent, removing her usual armored mid-drift and thong for more dramatic apparel, her all black war costume -a corset top with the straps down the front rather than the back, showing cleavage, a skirt that was more like a coattail as it came all the way up the front to her waist, to reveal bottoms like a bathing suit, and hung in a long train in the back, and of course her heavy armored boots.

As she entered a waitress, though a bit hesitant at first grabbed the clipboard on the pedestal and gazed at her new guest warily, " Combien de Madame?" She asked cautiously, leaning over to stare at the gruesome looking shoes most of the Bistro's staff were whispering about behind her. Of course, Paris was known for their high fashion, she was likely breaking every rule of chic clothing there was, not that she cared. "English or Spanish." She replied bluntly to which the girl snuffed arrogantly, "How many Madame?"

Cadia held her tongue, she didn't need a blood bath...yet, perhaps later to relieve some stress. "I'm seeing someone, I'm not sure if he's here yet. Deitrich?" She answered surprisingly nicely, it was amazing how good of an actor she could be when she tried, it always was one of her talents.

by **Shadowmaster** July 15th 2012, 9:11 pm

Lucius was pleased that this was happening today. It wasn't easy to come by a well funded organization with a priority in ruling rather than chaos or blind destruction, and he was eager to walk through the doors this would open. The Count was could use enjoying a nice fruit tart when his security alerted him that the Harbingers representative had arrived. He snapped his fingers, and a well dressed gentleman with a lazy eye walked out and greeted the rather conspicuous guest.

"Welcome miss. Your table is ready."

The man escorted Cadia through the empty restaurant. The sharp glares she received at the desk, the recording of ambient restaurant chatter, even a few droids "dining" at the windows was all to ensure that Lucius had ample privacy with his new companion. Procuring the restaurant wasn't hard; he owned it after all, in addition to concocting the majority of their dishes. One of the things he hadn't had a hand in though was the desert menu. It was often the case that one either did desert alone or didn't do it at all. Lucius couldn't accept that, and tried very hard to perfect all aspects of culinary mastery. The food one enjoyed could be seen as a glimpse into their very essence, and as such it became an important aspect of Lucius' life. Of course, all things in moderation-- he was in excellent shape for a man his age. It didn't mean he couldn't take solace in a good tart. No matter how good he technically was, no matter who he trained under, he simply could never reach a satisfactory level in pastry making. He lacked the passion for it, and while that had never stopped him before, it seemed that it just wasn't enough for this. The tart however, was sublime.

Lucius greeted his guest with the utmost courtesy.

"I'm terribly sorry to deprive of the usual ambiance of Paris dining, but appearances must be maintained. This is actually rather out of character for me, to meet an underworld connection in person, but I felt that your organization deserved a personal touch. How was the flight? Are you hungry? The kitchen is still fully staffed."

by **Corra** July 16th 2012, 8:30 pm

"I'm terribly sorry to deprive you of the usual ambiance of Paris dining, but appearances must be maintained. This is actually rather out of character for me, to meet an underworld connection in person, but I felt that your organization deserved a personal touch. How was the flight? Are you hungry? The kitchen is still fully staffed."

So many questions, most she was expecting to be asked by a man Nightkill was so interested in, after all he had a tendency of gathering psychotic killers as well as manipulative masterminds. She had had a lower rank member get a profile of him the night before but it offered little to help her except that he was or at one point was a German politician, was extremely intelligent with a particular affinity for technology, appeared to be rather wealthy, and was someone she was going to hate very quickly. It was immediately assumed that she was dealing with the manipulative mastermind type, and so she put on her best smile for him and had a seat across the table.

She had taken in every person around the Bistro before sitting, instantly aware that those with intelligence often had cleverly hidden traps and well developed plans. As long as Corra didn't force her way out though she figured everything would be fine, her skills in acting were quite admirable for being new to 2028, and when in her right mind -meaning as Cadia- she was levelheaded enough to squelch her occasional rage or bloodlust.

"Lucius Deitrich, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cadia Vystori, I'm the right hand of the Harbingers. I apologize for Nightkill's absence tonight, he's a bit tied up elsewhere, but let us hope that I might be better company." To this she laughed lightly and folded her hands in her lap, staring at him with pupilless red eyes, if anything threw people off about her acting it was usually her appearance, but by then she'd have already slaughtered them typically.

A coy smile curved her lips as she proceeded to get through her introduction and answer his courtesy questions. "This world has many wonderful creations; airplanes are not one of them." She jested diplomatically with that same decisive smirk. I'm afraid I don't really eat human food, but thank you for the offer. This really shouldn't take much of your time though, I am here mostly to make things official."

by **Shadowmaster** July 16th 2012, 10:10 pm

Lucius was very intrigued with the creature before him. Ultimately, it was likely too much of a wildcard. The earth wouldn't be safe with beings such as this running about. Ideally, it would be relocated, preferably to the center of a black hole. Until such a time however, the creature was useful. Who knows? Maybe it could even be converted into humanity. The technology was just about there to put a human consciousness in a machine, so why couldn't this beast's mind be planted in a blank human slate . Whatever the case, it was here now, and would likely remain that way for some time.

"Well my dear, I'm so glad that this is being made official. Lucius savored another bite of his tart. A shame that you don't eat. Honestly I've yet to meet a woman of any quality who shares this passion. I would be very interested to know how you do feed, or what you even are, for that matter. You bear a slight resemblance to this female we found in the middle east. At first the crew didn't know what to think, but one of the boys from the cryptid division, we were originally there to find a Mongolian death worm you see, turns out Mongolia wasn't the best place to look. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes! So it turns out the female was actually a dark elf! First one anyone's seen in ages! Unfortunately, we couldn't save the poor woman. But we did learn quite a bit about their physiology. For example their dietary needs were essentially identical to humans. Again, there's only a slight resemblance.

by **Corra** July 17th 2012, 9:11 pm

For some reason she felt as though some enormous child was going to tear open the roof of the Bistro at any moment and direct a magnifying glass down on her, at least that was how she hypothetically felt as Lucius spoke. Was she simply a science experiment to him? Fortunately her emotions were always difficult for her to understand -a product of being dead for so long- which was often why when she wasn't acting a part, she failed to show any emotions besides anger. Cadia stared at the recruit, her pupilless crimson hues reflecting pools of light from the Bistro as though swimming for the emotions she sometimes longed to feel, but they somehow came out dry, leaving her with the fake smile once more.

"Perhaps some day you will learn the secrets that make me who I am, Mr. Deitrich until then I will tell you that I am indeed an elf, however, tonight we are here for you and the Harbingers...as I am positive an intelligent man such as yourself has not forgotten?" Her words were polite and diplomatic, yet decisive and spoken in the stern resolute voice of woman in charge. Never once did her smile waver as she spoke, nor did it slip from her lips as she reached into a pouch under the coattails of her odd dress and provided a tiny pocket knife to the conversation.

It was silver with a red grip and the letter CV carved in gold on the handle, the blade itself, though hidden for the moment, was engraved with runes of an unknown language though it was assumed that it belonged to her race. "I do things a tad different than Nightkill, I hope you understand. Please let me know when you are ready to proceed with your inauguration, it shouldn't take much of your time which you have so graciously lent me tonight." She told him, blue legs crossed in a stately manner beneath the table, hands crossed neatly over the table, and knife lingering ominously between the man's pastry plate and her elbows.

The pocket knife was simply a scare tactic, most people she recruited passed it with flying colors, but this man seemed a bit pampered for her liking so she wanted to test how well she could trust him. If things went well she would be asking him to accompany her on a mission, and she had to be sure that Lucius had the gall to travel with her when she wasn't...Miss Proper. All she planned to do was have him make a small incision in his palm and shake her hand then repeat a few words of oath, nearly the same "ceremony" she performed with Nightkill when he brought her on.

by **Shadowmaster** July 19th 2012, 9:39 pm

Lucius stared at the knife expressionlessly, calculating all the possible outcomes. If she planned on attacking him with it, then she was either a fool for assuming he couldn't counter, or a speedster, in which case him seeing the knife on the table was irrelevant. So, worst case scenario, she was a speedster intending to kill him. In that case, if she wanted to be efficient, she would attack his head. Angling the repulsor gauntlet slightly up and to the left and firing now would prevent the killshot, but such an act of aggression could be synonymous with signing his own death warrant. This is exactly why metas needed to go. More likely, the knife was meant to be some sort of initiation ritual. There wasn't time to glance over her body for scars, he could be dead the very next second he could be dead. There was only one possible solution. It was regrettable, but it was what had to be done. He clicked the tiny pressure sensors of his left lateral incisor and his lower left central incisor, triggering protocol 4. In the blink of an eye, a poison dart was shot into the base of Lucius neck. Armed guards rushed in from the other room, brandishing high calibur machine guns and repulsor blasters. They then all fell down, bowing their heads to the ground in submission. A moment after the perplexing scene, a hologram of Deitrich appeared next to the original, which two men had come to retrieve. A man in the corner furiously typed on a laptop he brought out, and all the windows were shaded. The hologram addressed the elf, speaking in Deitrich's German accent.

I regret to inform you that protocol 4 has been put into effect. If you had no intention of harming me, then I am incredibly sorry to have inconvenienced you like this. This protocol was initiated because you put my immediate safety in question. The protocol would also have been initiated under several other threatening circumstances, such as ominously brandishing a superpower or pulling out a weapon while hinting at ill intent. Any of the preceding reasons would also be perceived as a threat, even in the absence of threatening cues, if no provocation or explanation accompanied the acts. Again, allow me to offer my most sincere apologizes if you consider this to be an over-reaction. It should be noted however, that in the absence of super powers, I take my own safety very seriously. By now, the data of the specifics has been cataloged, and hopefully I will be able to resume our activities once my body is rebooted. A human representative will be brought out to continue in my place.

A tall man with steely blue eyes and a rugged stubble beard stood where the hologram once was. He was extremely well dressed, but he loosened his tie shortly after he took his place, pulling up a chair. He had an imposing look, and it was hard to tell if he was intense, or enraged. In any case, he sat down, and stared at Cadia.

"I regret to inform you ma'am, but we aren't a bunch of goth kids behind the school dumpster here. I don't know how much of human society you've experienced, and maybe this shit flies wherever it is you've been hiding, but you just pulled a knife on the most influential politician since Hitler. What part of your mind spaced out long enough for you to think that this was okay?" The man spoke in an Australian accent, and was clearly not pleased with the woman before him.

"Let's level right now, you and I" the man continued. "I don't like you, because you pulled a knife on a German dignitary, and you don't like me because I'm mouthing off to you. I'm expendable, and if you want to kill me, God knows I can't stop you. But, for the sake of the mission, I have to know. Why in the hell did you draw a weapon on a man who trusted you enough to meet in person? This is a disaster now. This is the real world. We exchange pleasantries, and sign contracts. Count Deitrich will not be participating in any sort of ritual, for practical reasons and the credible threat of blood and condition based magic. "

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