You ate that? Eddie asked, referring to the not-sandwich Felix mentioned.
The Twin Gates restaraunt gives off a strong first impression. A large double-door, one side white, one side black. Inside, the theme continues, with the entire wait-staff wearing one-half white, and one half black.
The host tells Felix that the wait will be fifteen minutes.
Excessive Yin-Yang theme... yeah, that's something Two-Face might be involved in. Atsuko thought, trying to look like as much of a bored person waiting for her food as she could. She wasn't totally familiar with Batman's many enemies, but a few of the names had made headlines all over the place, and she knew at least the basics.
She takes a hesitant, nervous look around the restaurant. "Sh-should we really be in a place like this? It looks really... pricey." Among other things, she silently left out. Masumi didn't have as much time to research Two Face as she'd like, but even she knew his preferred color scheme.
Dale nods along when Masumi mentions the price. He has been oddly quiet, and hasn't done much aside from give the occasional glare to Elaine.
It is way out of my price range, besides aren't we here on a job? You know, haul a load of money to charities around Gotham? Make sure that everyone is taken care of? he says trying to keep their cover.
He looks at Masumi then. You alright? he whispers.
She slowly turns, giving Dale a very strained look. "Am I alright? Haha, no, no, I'm perfectly-" She unexpectedly cuts off, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. "I can't seem to shake the fact I'm being watched, and that's like, ten times worse here!" She hissess out in an all too nervous whisper. Luckily she realizes her violation of personal space quickly enough, retracting herself.
Price range shouldn't be a problem, given what dad told me about Felix's recent influx of cash. She smiled at him.
I wouldn't trust Gotham Charities. Eddie said. Who knows how much the local crime element takes. I'd hate the Penguin to get any more dough.
The group is seated and given their menus.
Does look pretty... Conspicuous. Elaine said. Dar be it from super-criminals to go the subtle route, eh?
"Okay, everyone's ordering water and no one get's the premium meat."
A quick glance to Felix reveals an exaggerated face, indicating he's screwing around again.
"Order whatever you'd like, but I don't have much left after the donations to the police department, affected families of the explosion, etc."
Looking down, Atsuko simply selected something mild-looking and inexpensive from the menu. She wasn't sure about the cooking here, but eating was basically optional for her at this point, so she wasn't too worried about it. It was more for blending in than anything else. "...Do they really think they don't need to hide?" she asked, glancing towards Elaine. She wasn't sure how normal such a... direct... display was.
The waitress takes your orders, whatever they may be and whether or not they have the premium meat, then retreats to the kitchen.
I think it comes with dealing with the Bat. Eddie said, sipping a glass of water. Small-time thugs, they hide. They have the police to deal with. Big names. Two Face, Joker, Riddler. They only have one person to deal with, and I don't think how subtle you think you are matters to him.
Masumi had ordered something she couldn't even properly pronounced, and hoped it was something edible. "He really is pretty famous, even back home- Ah, in Japan I mean. His sleuth skills are legendary..." She nervously looks over her shoulder, as if the Bat was to make an appearance then and there. "I wonder if he already knows we're here despite whatever Phantom's doing."
"Probably." Atsuko nibbled thoughtfully on her meal, enjoying the taste for what it was worth. (...At her meal's price, not all that much.) "I'm still not totally certain we shouldn't just give him our information and let him handle it... but we'll never matter to anyone if we're just informants for the rest of our lives." And it was easy to turn against a mere informant if there was something creepy about them. Her goal was a little... loftier... than that. She needed genuine goodwill, the kind that wouldn't be overcome just because someone saw her doing something disturbing.
He might. Elaine said, leaning in at Masumi and grinning. No way of knowing until he gets you.
I think that's what Phantom's tryin' a prove. Eddie said. If you can take on Gotham, you can take on the rest of the world, and Batman usually doesn't like anyone 'take on' Gotham. Not even Superman and Captain America.
Two waiters, hands behind their bodies, walk up to the table. Our boss would like to see you upstairs. One said.
Oh, good. I was wondering when we'd get introduced to the local criminal elements. Atsuko mused. She was a bit worried - not for herself, but for everyone else. And overconfidence had been the downfall of many a rookie hero... a category she most definitely fell into. It wasn't as bad as being a sidekick, but since many of Gotham's criminals were said to be enough to at least trouble Batman, it would be incredibly stupid to underestimate them. Fortunately, they probably didn't know much of what her friends were capable of, either - a detail that could come in quite handy if they bluffed well enough.
"Well, it would be a shame to keep him waiting." she said, setting down her utensils. "Lead on."
"Alright, but I'd really like to eat at some point."
Felix stands up to follow.
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and asked at a near whimper, "Could... could we just stay here instead perhaps? Maybe?" She really really, would rather not meet with any of these criminal types like this, especially some nasty mobster type like two-Face. She knows very well from personal experience what organized criminals can do when they know who you are.
The Doctor gets up to go with them. "We'd do better together." He seems confident, despite burning many bridges when he did his about-face.
Our boss says you all come. The second waiter says, firmly. They don't say what would happen if they'd refuse, but their tone suggests they wouldn't take it lying down. Ready?
The men lead the group upstairs, past at least ten men who appear to be hired muscle, and expensive ones at that, and into a room, luxurious, half black, half white, a big security monitor in the center, a similarly split sofa set before it. A lone figure is seated in the center of the coach's bifurcation.
You hear his voice before He turns to see you. Growling and raspy. I was told to be on the lookout for idiots like you. He said. People fitting your descriptions. You're. Far way from home, aren't you? He stood up, turning.
He was in full view now. His right face handsome, slicked back black hair, wearing a grim expression.
His left, horribly burnt. Skeletal. One blinking eye staring each of you down.
The Phantom couldn't come and do the job himself? He asked. I should feel insulted. I've got an A-lister in my city hunting me down. I deserve no less than a big name like Captain America or Superman interfering on his behalf.
Pride. A common fallacy of notable villains, they say... so the Doctor should get most of his attention. Right now, he clearly didn't seem to think she was worth much of anything (and given the fact that he regularly troubled Batman, it would be foolish to underestimate him). So... she was happy to avoid doing anything that would deepen his suspicion and wariness, although she did make ready to dart in front of the others if someone pulled a weapon. She had no problem being a human shield. She didn't speak, though, preferring to let others do the talking for now.
The doctor can't resist the obvious line. "Oh, Superman was involved, but we flipped for it."
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Masumi could hardly believe she's come face to face to face with this guy, or why any of them thought it was a good idea to not use disguises while doing so. She had half a mind to try running right now, but it's probably a little late for that by this point. Instead, she merely tries to make her self seem smaller and more unnoticeable.
"Well if you think about it, if most A-listers have to stay in their cities, then us being here means that you were considered threatening enough to send a envoy or such. Really, I think its more of a compliment."
Two-Face takes a few long steps along the line of heroes, rolling his coin in in his hand, pushing his jaw forward.
I've heard of you. Two-Face said to Dr. Apocalypse. I followed your trials carefully. Decided to to clean up your act, did you? He shrugged. Less competition for me, I suppose. I wonder where you would have been in all this.
He turned to Felix. The Titans don't really have a city, do they? They're everywhere. Guess they're good aat cleaning up some of the A-Lister's messes. Reminds me of some people.
He stops, flipping the coin in the air and catching it, looking discreetly.
Lucky for you all, though. Two-Face started again, his voice less rough, now. Almost smooth. [b]I am hear for a civilized conversation. We don't have to ruin my fine restaraunt now, do we?
That would be a shame, wouldn't it? Public perceptions aside... most 'heroes' were very good at wrecking things when they put their minds to it. Ability wasn't the problem - it was the aftermath, the way people would treat them, that tended to be the issue. Now... how did the rest of the team want to approach this?
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"I was really looking forward to the food here. Was recommended to me from someone on the street so your reputations not too shabby. Anything to recommend?"
Felix is very happy he doesn't have to fight on an empty stomach.
I don't think the restaurant needs to be ruined, but its not a fine one. I'd say three stars. Our meal seems to have been interrupted after all, so I'm sure the food would raise the rating. Though I must say, I love the entire gangster thing. That is very rare in a world of Superman and the Avengers and all that. Nice, rustic, and if I can be blunt, just perfect. Honestly it almost unique. And running your business out of a restaurant, just like the gangsters of old. Great job with this. Dale says, smiling and looking around the room.
He readies himself to go under the floor and punch Two Face if he needs to and nods to Elaine.
As for us being idiots, have you seen some of the stuff the Avengers have done recently? I mean sure we aren't the A-list but I mean come on, weren't they doing something stupid recently?
Two-Face laughed at Felix's comment, or at least one side of him, did. I recomend you head over back to Eden where it's safe for kids like you. He said. These are the big leagues.
He turned to Dale, rolled his coin in his fingers and seemed to consider flipping it, ultimately refraining. If it weren't for their habits of being caught in each other's crosshairs, I wouldn't have a business. He said, his unscarred half grinning. Along with the alien invasions and the innordinant amount of mind-control and amnesia, they're all distracted just enough for old gangsters like us to stand a chance.
Two men, waiters by the looks of it, come in with trays. They didn't look Two-face in the eyes.
There's your meal. He said. Follow me, please. He said, leading them to a dining room, a table divided in half, and twelve men weilding tommyguns behind him. Take a seat. He said.
The hard part about dealing with notable villains was not coming across like a total bumbling amateur. ...Or maybe that was just her self-esteem issues talking, given how uncomfortable she was. She did, however, carefully take a seat on the white side of the room, and she'd continued to carefully avoid talking. As she did so, though, she allowed her vision to shift into new spectrums - first infrared, then ultraviolet, to see if she could spot anything she ought to be aware of.
"Sweet!" Felix mutters to the rest. "I'm starved!"
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She'd much rather stand exactly where she was and not move from her spot at all, but she reasons that she's just as likely to be shot and killed for not sitting down as she is to be killed upon sitting down. The girl sits down stiffly without meeting the gaze of any of the baddies, and grips her chair until her fingers turn white.
The Doctor moves to sit down, "How delightful." Inside he is worried for some of the others. He knows that he can be bulletproof when he needs to be.
Try the pineapple chicken. It's our favorite. Two-Face said, not even taking a bite out of his plate. Now, why are you all here in Gotham, exactly?
To destroy you and everything you lo- wait, no. Does he actually have any loves? I mean, he's human, but a lot of people with a long history of criminality tend to display so many psychopathic traits that they might even be capable of it... Her first thought had mostly been a joke, of course - something to help her calm down. She was pretty sure she could survive any kind of attack here, but it might hurt in the meantime.
For now, though, she was content to watch, listen, and... avoid giving them too much information. You didn't get to be a criminal mastermind by ignoring useful details.
Felix, mouth full of food, looks at his companions and elbows Dr. Apocalypse in the ribs.
He'll begin to eat, tasting everything. He'll be on watch for any changes in reaction to the food.
"I'm uh-" She coughs involuntarily, "I'm... I'm not that hungry so uh... n-no thanks, sir." Masumi finishes with mumble, before trying to make herself seem even smaller.
Why so quiet, friends? Two-Face asked, continuing to roll his coin in his hand, then slipping it into his sleeve with a quick sleight of the hand. He grabs a pair of chopsticks and takes a bite from his plate. On the lipless left half of his face, you can see him chewing his food. Anything I should be suspicious about? He asked in a gravelly voice, his remaining eyebrow raising, his bodyguards moving ever so slightly.
The girl speaks up immediately without much forethought, "Pff... what? No no there's... there's nothing suspicious about this at all! You're perfectly... perfectly fine."
Felix decides to go for it.
"Well, to be somewhat frank, you can think of this as a census really. See, there's two kinds of people were on the look out for. There's people trying to consolidate power and resources for their own gain, and there's people who are gathering power and resources for much more....violent, purposes. The first kind I have no problem with, in fact, I know a few personally myself, but I'm very concerned about the latter: the people who don't care if civilians are bombed in order to send a message."
Felix takes another bit, nodding his approval of the dish.
"So we were hoping to learn which sort of person you are."
Atsuko thoughtfully ate another bite of her meal. Honestly, Two-Face probably suspected everything and everyone - major criminals often did. Saying that to his face would have been a little rude, though... and she was still faintly hoping for a nice, peaceful resolution to things.
At least one half of Two-Face smiles slightly at Masumi.
Then promptly frowns at Felix. Let's see what kind of person, then.
The coin in his sleeve materializes in his hand, it flips into the air, caught.
Two-Face let's out a throaty chuckle, standing up. Dinner's been fine, if a tad short. He said, raising his hand, all of his men left the room. I found the company lacking, to be completely honest.
He turned himself, and left the room. Evening, sirs and madams. And he shut the door behind him.
Well that was rude. Eddie said.
C'mon, I'm following- She started, making her way to the door before it was kicked open frorm the other side.
A squad of twelve armored men, each weilding a shield with a static prod on the end on one hand, and a gauntlet with what appeared to be a laser mounted on it on the other end.
Friends. Two-Face's voice sounded out through a speaker in the room. Meet the Cape Killers.
Masumi sinks low into her seat, and says something very unpleasent in Japanese. She knew something like this would happen, yet she went along anyway!
The air around Atsuko shifted slightly as her barrier popped into existence. She looked at the oncoming group a moment later, a faintly sad expression on her face. "I'm sorry for what you're about to experience... but if you're going to blame anyone for making the wrong decision here, blame yourselves." Despite her tone, there was an undercurrent of threat to her words. She'd genuinely wanted a peaceful resolution, but if they were going to force it...
"And... let's try to keep damage to a minimum, yeah?" The smaller their footprint, the less likely they'd personally offend the Bat. Restraint was a virtue, after all.
Felix eyes widens as he sees the scene unfold, a pocket of food in one cheek and another bite already ready in his chopsticks.