Tonys Bar and Grill Open RP.

(Two Ton Tony. A hero From Australia has opened up a little place across from City hall In Atlas Park. Tony is a small time hero that loves to cook for others. Tony opened this place so that the Heroes of Paragon City can get a cup of coffee in the morning and a Good Dinner at night for a reasonable price. Tony’s Bar and Grill is open and ready for business. What tales will be told here and what are the events that will unfold.)


Our Story begins. Tony placed the Help wanted sign in the window he has most of his Waiting staff but Still need a good bar tender for bar in the other room. Tony looks over his business and smiles a lot of blood sweat and tears when into this place. This building had been a Retail Store front that had closed down after the Rikti Invasion. Jack had worked a lot of Odd jobs to get this place up and running it had taken almost 5 years most of his life saving where in here. Tony had a place like this back home in Sydney, before the Rikti and invaded he had lost his business. The Insurance Company covered the damages for the fire, but not for the damage due to the weapons the Rikti used.


“Tony’

“Yes Jackie”

“Are we about ready to open the doors for the first day the cooks and the Staff are getting ready to rock”

“That we are Love”

Tony looked out the front window the Street was busy with folks going to and from their Daily lives, but no folks standing outside.

Tony walked over to the front door and holds his Breath. “Well here it goes”, he thinks to himself. Tony Flips the sign over and walks back to the kitchen to make sure all of the preparations are right. Tony has a felling that the first day of business will be good.

For the first several minutes of the bar opening, no one came in. And then...

The bell on the door rang as Tony's first customer came in.
He was of regular height, and muscular as far as most Heroes were. He had short white hair, and was wearing a white outfit with black boots and gloves. His shoulers had two red and blue pads on them, and his chest held a red and blue "Infinity" symbol on them. But what was most striking were his eyes... they glowed with white light where a persons regular eyeballs should have been.
The Hero eyed the restaurant, and then looked at Tony. Smiling, he took a seat.
"Well, Tony, I'm honored to be your first customer." He said, looking Tony over. Tony took a step back.
"How did you...?" Tony then caught on. "I see. Your one of those Mind Controlling Heroes, right?"
The Hero smiled as he picked up a menu and flipped through it. "Very good. Well, welcome to the city. Trust me, you'll see and hear alot of strange things while you're here in the city." He put down the menu. "But I've come here to arrange a little get together with my friends... whom are all Heroes, as you probably would guess."
"How many?" Tony asked.
"7 exactly." The Hero said, looking out the window into Atlas Park. "They should be here shortly... by the way, my name is Supernovus." He extended his gloved hand, which Tony accepted. "One thing you should know, Tony, is that my friends and I eat ALOT... one of the few traits we all share." Supernovus smiled. "On that note, I'll make the order now. We'd like 2 Cheese Pizza Pies, about 3 dozen Garlic Knots, 4 Double Cheeseburgers, 2 Caesar Salads, 4 Large Glasses of Soda, 2 Glasses of Chocalate Milk, 2 Glasses of Water, a plate full of Buffalo Wings and a Large Basket of Fries."
Supernovus smiled as Tony stared at him in disbelief.
"I'll... get our guys right on that..." Tony said as he turned away from Supernovus.
Just then the bell rang again, and Supernovus and Tony looked to see who it was...

"Look... All I'm sayin' is that I'm gettin' tired of being looked at like a damn clockwork. Hell I'm bigger than even the friggin' princes and I run on STEAM. You'd think that the gusts of white vapor would be a tip!"

Maria shook her head and sighed.

"Look IronHorse, most folks are still not used to seeing something like you. You're unique to say the least. Unfortunately because of that you have a few more hoops to jump through."

IronHorse sighed with a heavy vent of steam and a hiss. His massive iron frame seemed to slump forward. Ever since he had been re-assembled into this new world he found it got under his hide just as much as it amazed him.

"Maria, I'm just sayin' I find it damn annoying that you need to chapparone me everywhere! May as well get me a leash for Pete's sake."

Maria chuckled and shook her head.

"Look, until Paragon eases up on the AI laws you need an "owner" to keep you in check. Once your licence goes thorugh all the red tape in city hall you can walk around without me. Until then... DEAL with it."

IronHorse chuckled and shook his head before stopping. He saw the big guy flip a sign in what looked to be a new restaraunt.

"Hey Maria!"

"Yeah?"

"This place is new. You had your coffee yet?"

Maria sighed. IronHorse had tried this tactic before, trying to be normal.

"Look... you KNOW most buildings can't take your weight. Even if this..."

She stopped as IronHorse tapped on part of the sign.

HEROES WELCOME it read.

"They can't put something like this here without them meaning ALL heroes."

"IronHorse... you don't even have your license yet! And besides, most "Heroes" don't weigh 800 pounds and have an internal boiler."

IronHorse pushed the door open and waved a hand to gesture Maria into the establishment.

"So? Not everyone is perfect!"

Maria sighed and walked into the Bar. IronHorse waited by the door however.

Maria looked about and immediately decided that she liked this place. it had the feel of the diner her father used to take her to.

"Um... Pardon me?" She asked the person behind the counter. "Can uh... Can my friend come in? I mean... well will the place be able to take his weight?" She smiled and pointed to the figure in the doorway. IronHorse waved.

"He's big but... But he does not eat much."

"Not unless you have coal for a steam engine!" He cheerily yelled. Maria slapped a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"So uh... Is it O.K. if he comes in?"

((Backstory for IronHorse: is here ))

"Sure he Can Mate. The Floor has been reinforced for just such customers. " Tony Says with a Smile.

"Jackie, how are those orders coming"

"Good Tony we should have them out in about 20 Mins"

"Thanks Love. This is Good The First round of Drinks are on the house to Celebrate the Opening of Tony's Place the First round of Drinks are on the house." Tony Smiles "After that they come out of your pocket."

Tony passed a glass of beer over to Supernovus. Grabbing the glass, Supernovus handed it over to Ironhorse.
"You don't have to make for me, I don't drink." Supernovus said, continuing to read the Paragon Newspaper every Hero had a subscription to. Not long after, the door bell rang, and Supernovus looked up from his paper.
"Ah, Mystic Flare! I had a feeling you'd be the next to show up." Supernovus said, gesturing to the seat next to him. "How have things been?"
Mystic Flare was the same height and build as Supernovus, but was about 5 years younger. He wore a red and blue metallic outfit, complimented by white gloves and boots encrypted with mystic writing. He had short, black hair that ended in bangs that hovered over his forehead. But his eyes were just like Supernovus's, having white light in place of normal eyes.
"Well, a little different..." Mystic Flare began, then sat down next to Supernovus. "My powers have been growing immensely, and lately I've been having a little trouble-" An energy blast came from his hand, crashing through the store window and careening into the sky, where it exploded in mid-air. "-controlling it."
Tony stared at Supernovus and his friend.
"Don't worry, I'll pay for that." Mystic Flare apologized. "I have a friend that runs a company here in Paragon City, a multi-millionare. I'll give him a call to wire the cost of the window to your account."
"Wow! You must have a good friend!" Tony said.
"Yeah, I saved his life once." Mystic Flare explained. He looked over at Supernovus, who was shaking his head in his usual "you need a better story than that" manner.

An energy blast came from his hand, crashing through the store window and careening into the sky, where it exploded in mid-air.

Captain Fletcher stood in the doorway next to Sgt Shaw. Both were dressed in urban camo and had rifles slung. Shaw had a portable computerslung under his left arm and they were in the process of removing their hats when the bolt flew out the window.

Captain Fletcher rolled his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other as he looked toward Shaw. "I suspect we've identified the smoking section. Why is it that you never can pick a normal place?"

Shaw looked indignant, "Don't blame me, this place just opened today. See, that guy is offering to pay for the damages. Look, we have a lot of work to do before the meeting, let's just have a bite and go over the daily reports."

Captain Fletcher looked at him out of the side of his eye as they found a table in the corner.

Shaw was obviously English, and his uniform reflected that without detracting from the Metaforces look. Fletcher was all American. He'd obviously seriously worked out in his life, but he was only five eleven, and never could keep the bulk on. They leaned their rifles against the table and put their covers over the barrel as they sat down and began discussing the several points of interest on the daily report.

As Fletcher looked around the bar, he nodded at Supernovus and Mystic Flare, and again at Maria and IronHorse. Shaw looked over his shoulder at the large mechanical creature. Quietly, Shaw leaned forward and said, "You see the big clockwork bloke behind me?"

"Steam powered."

"Come again?" Shaw tilted his head slightly.

"He or she is steam powered, clockworks are spring powered. Not a clockwork." Captian Fletcher didn't look up from the computer screen. "Is Riley doing alright still?"

Shaw nodded, "We've got Jai watching him in the Whitmoore. Something is definately going on there. They headed out to boomtown this morning, he reported his movements as usual. Jai hasn't said anything looks different. The usual amount of high altitude traffic at odd hours but no fifth column. Are you sure it's not a clockwork?"

"He or she. It's impolite to refer to a mechanoid as 'it'. Yes, I'm certain. In addition, there's no reason to believe that he or she cannot hear every word we're saying. So say something nice." The captain indicated the schedule he wanted to run on patrols and missions on the computer screen and saved his progress.

Shaw looked puzzled for a second. "I'm glad it's not a clockwork so I don't have to put a hyperdense round through it."

"You're fired."

"Right, sir." Shaw stood up and grabbed his rifle. "I'll just collect my belongings and return home to the misses then."

"Sit down, smart [censored]. You know I can't fire you. I'd never get anything done." Fletcher pushed Shaw's chair over toward him as Shaw sat back down.

"Very good, sir."

[ QUOTE ]
Grabbing the glass, Supernovus handed it over to Ironhorse.

[/ QUOTE ]

IronHorse gladly took the drink after he strode into the bar and found a place to sit at. His eye-visor glowed a cheery red as he looked at Maria.

"Told Ya this place would let me in."

Maria simply sighed and shook her head.

They both jumped as the young man shot the window with an energy blast. Maria began cursing under her breath. IronHorse just shook his head and chuckled.

"Oh sure... Laugh it up Tin-Man. You don't have your liscence yet and here we are at a bar for heroes."

"Hey I'm trying to get used to all this. Two days ago I was almost torn apart remember? Besides, what better place for people to get used to me than a local bar?"

Maria sighed and threw up her hands. Grabbing the free drink from Tony she slammed it down in one shot.

"Thanks." She sighed as she looked at the owner. "I think I'll just have a coffe and some steak and eggs if you got it." Looking over at IronHorse she watched him study the glass for a bit and then move it aside.

"Oh and fresh water for him."

"TAP water please." IronHorse stated as he stood up and came over to the bar.

"That bottled crap goes right through my steam valves way too quick. Can't keep up a good head of steam with it." Maria smirked and shrugged.

IronHorse thrust his hands out in greeting to Tony, Supernovus, and Mystic Flare, shaking any who offered.

"Heya. Nice to meet ya'll. I'm IronHorse and this is Maria. Don't mind her... she don't bite... HARD."

Maria slapper her forehead again and mumbled under her breath. IronHorse just chuckled again.

"So can I get that water? Othern' that I'm fine. Oh, and about 10 to 20 gallons should be enough."

Maria looked at IronHorse with an icy glare. "What... you want them to run the hose from the back to fill you up?"

"HEY! That's a damn good idea! Can y'all do that?"

"OY!" Maria grunted before dropping her head on the bar.

Jackie was just coming out from the grill when she heard arguing coming from a booth near the rear of the Diner. The voices were that of a man and what sounded like a younger woman. The man's voice was much more intense, with a harsh accent, while the lady's voice contained the softness of innocence.

Looking toward Tony, obviously caught up in the group that had just come in, she grabbed an order pad from behind the register. Was that a Clockwork moving toward one of the tables?!

"Not a Clock, ma'am", the Hero with the glowing eyes and shoulder pads said, "He's OK."

That didn't stop the woman, who had given just as much as Tony had for this place, from giving another quick look at the lumbering mountain of steel and steam. *The furniture...* she thought.

The voices had quieted in the booth, as she came up next to the table, she was surprised to see only one occupant. The restrooms were in this part of the building, he could have gotten up a moment ago and she wouldn't have seen. The young woman who was seated looked up with brown, somewhat sad eyes, shying away from Jackie by reflex.

"No need to fear, Love, just here to ask for your order." The young girl must be no more than eighteen, she thought, and thin like a rail. "Will the gen'lman be ordering as well?"

"I'm sorry, did someone else have this booth?" The young girl looked completely confused, and made to slide out of the booth. Almost every movement reminded the older woman of a frightened animal, furtive and timid at the same time.

The puzzlement reflected in Jackie's face, "No, uh, I thought I heard a man's voice a moment ago." Not just thought, she was sure, and it was not at all this girl's voice. There was a temporary look of panic in the girl's eyes, then it was replaced by a spark of light.

Jackie blinked, the noise from her husband and the rest of the Diner was the same, but she had the startling feeling that time had just shifted. Like a moment was missing. The girl was still seated, the pad still in her hand. Opening day jitters, she said to herself.

"So, what'll you have, Love?" She wouldn't remember the male voice, or the strange look that came over the girl a moment before. Now, it was only a young woman dressed in a grey unitard, a moon emblem on her chest, seated in her Diner.

"We'd like the Veggie Omelette, the fruit platter, four slices of toast, wheat, a large orange juice, a milk and coffee. Cream and sugar, please?" It sounded like a question, and Jackie completely missed the odd plural reference. If this girl didn't have a friend, how could she eat all that food?

A moment passed as she wrote the order and calculated the cost in her head, good business manners meant putting the running total on the slip as the order was placed. Another ring of the door brought her head around, in Paragon City, not paying attention would lead to trouble.

"Sibling?" Boomed a deep, but female voice from the open door.

"Back here, Gal." The young woman in the booth moved to the edge and waved back to the latest visitor, affording her a view of her friend.

Gal 'O War, moving with a purpose and stride that fit her six-almost-seven foot frame, passed the tables with the other heroes already chatting. She didn't even glance twice at the steam leaking hero, she could tell Clockwork from a mile, and he wasn't. The muscles rippled under her suit, her ebony skin almost drinking in the light, and she crossed to the booth with Sibling in a few long strides. A crackling of energy seemed to spark from her arms as they swung in her stride.

One of the tables was a little out of place, and she was a little off-balance, just enough to catch her leg in mid-stride. A crunch and the corner came off, several layers of hardwood and laminate fell to the floor. She stopped, looked sheepishly down, and addressed the woman standing near Sibling in the booth.

"Sorry, I'll pay for that. Had a run in with a couple Shockers over in King's Row, leaving the loft. Still feelin' it." She handed the piece of table to Jackie, and slid into the booth as easily as she could.

"I told you to be more careful," the young woman, Sibling, whispered across the table. "You may be tough, but you aren't invulnerable."

"Workin' on that, Babe." The towering woman answered, loud enough to be heard at the front, even trying to be quiet. "Have you ordered yet?"

Jackie watched the two, obviously a team, and knew that Tony would need to order more grills if they were to keep up with this sort of crowd.

"Have a look at that." Shaw commented, his eyes still intently staring at the screen.

Fletcher frowned slightly and tried to discern what could be of such interest. He read the entire screen from top to bottom, it was just a report on damages to a destroyed barraks. "What, the cost?"

"No, the ladies. I'll bet that tall dark one would give you a run for your money, eh? Would you like me to, you know, liase a bit?" Fletcher was now looking directly at Shaw. "Is that a yes, sir?"

Fletcher chewed on his cigar a bit and inhaled enough to make the tip glow. "I have half a mind to let you do your little bit and then NOT help you when she wipes the floor with you, but these people have suffered enough property damage on their first day open. So I'm just going to order you to stop being retarded."

"Very good, sir. The strike mission against the circle of thorns is on hold until we can get ahold of a qualified hero in the realm of mental magics. If you'll look here..." Shaw continued giving the report as Fletcher snuck another look around the bar.

Tick-Tok walked into the Resteraunt and took a seat.
"Tea please" Tick-Tok said as he tapped his fingers along the edge of his table. He looked over at the Giant Locomotive, not one of his "Own" as one might say. Tick-Tok hated being raved at against being an "AI". Truth was he wasn't one, he was just your average expirement gone wrong kinda guy.
Tick-Tok watched all the other customers, he could feel there stares piercing his mind.
"Take a photo, it will last longer" Tick-Tok said as he started rolling a ball of electricity in his hands, a habit of his that he could never get rid of.

[ QUOTE ]
IronHorse thrust his hands out in greeting to Tony, Supernovus, and Mystic Flare, shaking any who offered.

[/ QUOTE ]

After acquainting each other, Supernovus and Mystic Flare were about to continue talking when the door bell rang yet again.
"Hey, it's Sword Strike X and Radiationshield!" Mystic Flare said, rising up to greet the two young women.
Sword Strike X was the shortest of anyone in the group, but not by much. She was wearing her usual red and blue outfit, complete with black and white gloves and boots. Her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, and a white band went across her forehead where her blonde hair met her face. Her Katana was nestled at her side, as always. Like the others, she too had white light for eyes.
Radiationshield was wearing her usual white "holey" outfit, complimenting it with her black boots and gloves. The suit had a red and blue "radiation" symbol, warning others about her power. Her short hair was a dark purple (a side effect of her powers), and her eyes were white light, as well.
"Sorry we're late, but we ran into some trouble." Radiationshield said, smiling as nicely as possible.
"Against the Circle of Thorns? And you're not any later? My, it seems you two are getting better each time we meet." Supernovus smiled. Radiationshield blushed while Sword Strike X took a look around at the various people in the place.
"It's nice to have a place to sit down and relax after a battle like that." Radiationshield said, taking a seat. Sword Strike X took out her blanket and small wooden table and kneeled on the floor, as always.
"That always startles me, Sword." Mystic Flare said, watching Sword Strike X kneel.
"I had to do it all the time when I was training." Sword Strike X said, watching the huge Clockwork-esque Hero. "Who is that?"
"That?" Mystic Flare asked, looking at the Hero. "Oh! That's IronHorse. Don't worry, he's harmless."
"You know, he kind of reminds me of-" Radiationshield began, but was then interrupted as a huge CRASH! sounded as a body came crashing through the front door, knocking it down and sending shards of glass everywhere.
"HAHAHAHAHA! IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?!?!" Thunder Crush said, walking into the diner and looking at the now unconcious Hellion. Everyone in the bar stared at him, except Supernovus who casually read the newspaper.
Thunder Crush was actually a man, but right now he was wearing his Super Suit, as he always does when he fights crime. He was also HUGE, by far the biggest of the group. His suit had a red and blue body, with white areas at his hands and feet to better conduct the energy the suit allowed him to use. His suit was powered by the crystal embedded in the center of his outfit, which could not be dislodged by anyone except Thunder Crush. His helmet was white and black, with ventilation shafts at its side.
"Hello, Thunder Crush." Supernovus said casually as the others looked at the mess in disbelief. Tony himself had fainted.
"What? What'd I do?" Thunder Crush asked.

"Take a photo, it will last longer" Tick-Tok said as he started rolling a ball of electricity in his hands, a habit of his that he could never get rid of.

"That's a clockwork." Fletcher said running Tick-Tok's paragon city ID to see if it was valid. "And registered with the proper-"

a huge CRASH! sounded as a body came crashing through the front door, knocking it down and sending shards of glass everywhere.
"HAHAHAHAHA! IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?!?!" Thunder Crush said, walking into the diner and looking at the now unconcious Hellion. Everyone in the bar stared at him, except Supernovus who casually read the newspaper.

Fletcher and Shaw silently slipped their pistols back into their holsters under the table and then looked up at the waitress who was standing by their table.

"Two coffees." Fletcher said.

"Actually, could you make one of those a tea? Earl Grey, perhaps?" Shaw smiled at her.

"Get to know folks he says... Let people see him he says..."

Maria was staring at all the folks entering the little place and was in awe at all the damage that had been caused in the last three moments.

Tables breaking by a woman who looked like she could bench press IronHorse, Hellions flying in through the door... And IronHorse sitting there casually taking it all in, with the bar hose firmly lodged in his back spigot filling his boiler tank.

"HA! That was GREAT!" He stated as he watched the hellion get firmly trounced. He applauded and grinned as the massive man took a bow and sat with the rest of his party.

"I like this place already! Reminds me of a saloon I got to enter when I was in Tombstone..."

"YOU were in Tombstone?"

"Well yeah! It was pretty nifty. Didn't get to see too much really. But the dancin' girls... Hooooo Boy!"

Maria sighed and dug into her plate of Steak and eggs trying not to let IronHorse pull her into another one of his stories.

The Locomotive Man however had his attention turned on the smaller figure who REALLY looked like a clockwork.

"Hey! How are ya? Mind if I ask how long it took you to get your AI liscence and registry? I just applied for mine and man... the looks I got in the place."

Maria looked up and then flinched as she saw the Clockwork.

"That's... that's..."

"That'll be my new little buddy if y'all would hush up Maria. Heya, name's IronHorse."

He extended his massive metal hand towards Tick-toc, his eye visor burning a cheery red still.

Mystic Flare made a mental note to donate some money to the diner as Thunder Crush sat down with them.
"Well.." Radiationshield began, but stopped at a loss for words.
"It appears you've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we all met like this." Sword Strike X said. Looking around, she noted the various other Heroes in the Diner.
"HAHAHAHAHA! That's right!" Thunder Crush said, loud enogh for everyone in a three block radius to hear him. "I'm stronger than ever! HAHAHAHAHA!" His laugh bellowed so loudly it shook the diner.
"Well, that's very nice." Sword Strike X said, her eyes still shifting around the diner.
"So, we're only missing three of our-" Mystic Flare began, but then he looked up as the Hellion began to raise back up. Before he could react, he noticed the Hellion's head appeared to jerk back, then he appeared to fly out of the diner.
"Correction, Mystic Flare. We're only waiting on 2 more friends." Supernovus said, gesturing to something only he could see.
"Of course." Radiationshield said. "What do you think you're doing, Shadowhand?"
Shadowhand became visible once more, angry that Supernovus had revealed his prescence.
Shadowhand was the same size as Mystic Flare, but had a MUCH different outfit. His black T-shirt that had the white symbol of a fist was his only covering against his well-defined body, and were accompanied by his black pants and white belt. His hands and feet still resembled that of the demon he used to be (long story), and his black mask concealed his face and hair, the mask itself resembling a skull.
"Well, I would have revealed myself earlier, but I WANTED to get more information about the others in here." He glared at Supernovus. "Of course, I can't do that NOW."
IronHorse took initiative and came over to Shadowhand.
"Hi there! My name is-" The Hero began.
"Shut up and sit back down." Shadowhand snarled, his eyes still fixed on Supernovus. "I'm not here to make new friends."
Mystic Flare sighed, Sword Strike X stared, Radiationshield crossed her arms in a "you better apologize" fashion, Thunder Crush was still looking the menu over, and Supernovus just smiled back at Shadowhand.
They were interrupted as Mystic Flare saw the last two members of their party arrive.
"Solarblaze, Aurora Blast! Good to see you!" Mystic Flare said, greeting the two young women.
Aurora Blast was a little taller than Sword Strike X, and had a VERY good body for an 18 year old. She was wearing her usual blue tank top and red shorts, along with her black and white gloves and boots. Her mask was small, only covering her eyes, and she had done this so her long, natural blonde hair could flow freely as she flew around the city.
Solarblaze, on the other hand, was wearing her usual white one-piece outfit, which the emblem of a red and blue starburst on her chest. Her gloves and boots were white with black spirals on them, and her white hair was cut short. Like her brother, Supernovus, her eyes glew with white light.
"Sister!" Aurora blast cried with glee, nearly tackling Sword Strike X as she was still kneeling. "It's so good to see you again! I have to tell you about this one time I was up against these disgustingzombiesandtheywerejustaboutthegrossestth ingIhadeverseenand..." Sword Strike X smiled weakly as her sister spoke a mile a minute.
"Hey, brother!" Solarblaze said, hugging Supernovus. "How are things going? Have you met any ArchVillains yet? Did you beat them? Of course you beat, them! Tell me how it went! Was there alot of fighting? Can you..." Solarblaze continued to ask her brother twenty questions until Supernovus told her and everyone else to calm down.
A huge growl was heard across the diner. Thunder Crush laughed. "Umm... can we order now? I'm starving!" Thunder Crush laughed as he looked at the menu.
"Don't worry, I already ordered for us." Supernovus said, looking in the direction of the kitchen. "It should be ready soon."

A small blue skin, demon looking child with pointy hair and a tail walked into the new bar. He looked like he had just been to hell and back. His amour was covered in burn marks and soot but he seemed unharmed and unbothered buy it.

He did how ever seem a little nervous when people started to look at him. He started to fidget with his tail in the way he always did when he got nervous.

Making his way over to the counter Eike climbed up onto a bar stool and looked around the room. As he waited for a waiter to come and see him he started to spin his bar stool around and around.

When the barman came over Eike suddenly grabbed the bar to stop himself and felt very dizzy. When he was asked what he wanted he stopped to think for a moment.

"Um.........do you have Orange Juice?" He asked.

Supernovus and his team smiled as their large, LARGE meal finally came out to them.
"ALL RIGHT! TIME TO EAT!" Thunder Crush bellowed, and the team began to dig in... very, VERY quickly.
"(Mmmrf)... (mmmrrf).... Mystic Flare, please (mmmrf)... pass me some of those wings." Radiationshield asked as she ate her salad.
"Would you mind if I took some pizza?" Sword Strike X asked in between gulps as she ate a burger.
The feast continued for about 10 minutes, and then every plate was clean.
"AAAH! THAT'S MUCH BETTER!" Thunder Crush sighed, stretching in his chair.
"Guess I'll get the-" Mystic Flare began, but was interrupted as a black mist enshrouded the entire Bar.
"What the...?" Aurora Blast asked as all of the occupants of the bar looked about in equal amazement.
Through the black mist, a man emerged from the ground, his hands clutching a black cane as he appeared, facing Shadowhand and smiling. The mist disappeared, revealing the "man."
He was the same height as any average citizen, yet was not nearly as muscular as most Heroes. He was wearing a black shirt and a black trenchcoat, complimented with black pants and boots. His bare hands clutched a black cane, which had a small statue of a demon on the top of it. His face was white as ice, and his hair was fire red from the top of his head to his goatee. But his eyes... his eyes seemed to have a... darkness to them, like a void that never ended.
"Hello, Shadowhand." The man smiled, placing his cane down and leaning on it with his two hands. "We meet again."
Everyone stared in wonder at the man except for Supernovus and Shadowhand, who both stared at him with hatred.
"Hello again, Mr. Dark." Shadowhand said, clenching his fists together. "Come for a few more souls, have we?"
"Oh, I'm always so misunderstood." Mr. Dark chuckled, reaching over and placing his hand on Shadowhand's shoulder. Shadowhand jerked back at his touch. "You of all people should know that." He placed his hand back on his cane. "I did consider asking you back into the fold again. But I know that asking you yet again to join me would be an effort in futility, wouldn't it?" A cold, cruel smile swept across Mr. Dark's face. "Both because of your stubborness and..." Mr. Dark's eyes rose to the ceiling for a moment, then back to Shadowhand. "...OTHER arrangements, right?"
Mr. Dark's eyes moved to the empty plates. "I see your team still practices gluttony." Mr. Dark raised one hand in a "thumbs-up" gesture. "Good work."
Wheeling around, he eyed the other Heroes in the Diner, sensing some of them wished to attack him. "I haven't come here to kill anyone." Mr. Dark declared loudly, eyeing everyone else in the diner. "However, I believe your society accepts the justification of 'self-defense' when it comes to killing, so my suggestion would be for you all to stay where you are and not try anything." Mr. Dark's voice became deep and dark. "You are dealing with forces your mortal minds could never POSSIBLY comprehend."
"Get to the point, Mr. Dark!" Shadowhand yelled in anger. Mr. Dark wheeled around, facing Shadowhand.
"For now, I'm just going to do what everyone else is doing." Mr. Dark said in his normal voice. "Sit down, relax, and eat."
Mr. Dark sat down at the table next to the team and influenced a waitress to come to him.
"I'll think I'll skip straight to dessert." Mr. Dark said, smiling. "Do you have any Devil's Food Cake? It's my favorite."

"Well, they certainly aren't going to run out of cheese any time soon. Did you hear what they called that bloke?" Shaw inquired as he finished the last of his tea.

Fletcher gulped down his last swallow of coffee and slid a twenty onto the table. "Mr. Dark. He doesn't show up on any of my 'known villains' lists. Maybe he's new." Fletcher stood and handed Sergeant Shaw his portable.

"You suppose that's a supergroup, an actual entire supergroup? Are we going somewhere?" Shaw stood up and received the portable computer.

"It's getting crowded in here, and we have to hack out some jurisdiction problems with city hall." Captain Fletcher slung his rifle and headed toward the door, nodding briefly to the waitress and the booth with the two ladies in it. "This place needs a bouncer."

With that, the two soldiers departed and crossed the street toward city hall.

Maria scowled at the "Hero" who had been so rude to IronHorse. The machine-man howver shrugged it off and turned back to rest at the bar.

"Huh... Well that guy is about as plesant as a pit viper. Up to his buddies to deal with him, not me." He looked about for the small clockwork-looking guy but, as the crowd was growing he could not see him.

"Damnation... Guess I'll have to catch him some other time."

Maria looked at the crowd and sighed. When Mr. Dark entered however, that was when she had had enough.

"You done yet Tin-Man?" IronHorse snorted and vented some steam.

"Yeah, main boiler is full. I can worry about the backup tank later." His eye-visor never left Mr. Dark however. He snorted under his breath about the "You are dealing with forces your mortal minds could never POSSIBLY comprehend." schtick.

"Yeah right pal..." He muttered.

"IronHorse don't..." Maria started to say.

"What? I'm not gonna mess with a man who's just here for breakfast! 'Sides, it t'ain't his fault he assumes everyone don't know jack. Let me know when you're taken apart by the seams, packed away for a hundred years, and then re-assembled. Then we can talk about how the world tumbles in wierd ways."

Maria covered her face with her hands and then quickly began digging in her pocketbook.

"Hey Tony! Here's your bar hose back. Thanks for the fill-up man. How much is the tab?"

Before Tony could answer Maria laid her last fifty on the table.

"Here, keep it. For the food and the water. Lets GO Tin-Man."

She quickly grabbed IronHorse by the arm and tugged, trying to guide him out of the restaraunt. IronHorse chuckled.

"Hey, if you ever need your car looked at or something mechanical around here busts call Estavez Repair. Maria here has a shop down the street. She's a sweet mechanic. Heh... Guess I gotta go."

He laughed and moved to the door as Maria finally got outside. IronHorse leaned back in however and waved. "Later y'all. Oh... Dark an Darker... Lighten UP for the love of God."

With that he finally left the bar. Maria stood outside and tapped her foot while looking at him furiously.

"Are you NUTS?!? You could have started a bar fight on a metahuman scale! People could have been hurt or killed! AND YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR LISCENCE YET!"

IronHorse shrugged and walked towards the shop. "Yeesh... People in this day and age sure are touchy. Can't even take a bit of criticisim..."

Tick-Tok watched all the commotion around him he didn't even notice the Locomotive show his hand. Tick-Tok caught up with IronHorse.
"Sorry about back there" Tick-Tok said as he took Ironhorse's hand and shook vigourously.

[ QUOTE ]
"No, the ladies. I'll bet that tall dark one would give you a run for your money, eh? Would you like me to, you know, liase a bit?" Fletcher was now looking directly at Shaw. "Is that a yes, sir?"


[/ QUOTE ]

“Someone’s interested in you…” Sibling whispered across the table. The young woman’s back was to the main portion of the Diner, but she didn’t always need her eyes to see. Gal noticed the vacant expression her friend had, the same expression that she had when using some of her powers. “Sitting across from a soldier, the other has a laptop computer, cigar…”

Sibling could see through the other’s eyes, but could not make out Shaw’s own features. That’s how she would describe the scene when the two women were hunting, from the target’s eyes. It had many advantages to simply barreling around a corner or popping out of an elevator.

“Don’t care none about that, Damn Clock just walked in.” Gal’s eyes narrowed, staring hard at the new patron. “Not the steam one, he ain’t Clock.” She moved slowly toward the edge of the bench, skin already making a grinding sound as it changed into stone.

Sibling broke contact with the soldier, Shaw, and cast for another mind. There were two AI in the room, their mental signature impossible to mask, but neither was Clockwork. They had fought enough of those monsters, the mental signature could not be mistaken.

“Wait.” The male voice came, impossibly, from the small woman’s throat. Almost as deep as Gal ‘O War’s own, but accented from a different part of the country. Gal did stop moving, Cliff was not the one who usually controlled the body, and if he spoke, it meant Angela was otherwise occupied.

“He isn’t Clockwork either, or if he is, he is not under the Hive Mind. That one is a free agent.” Sibling’s eyes were completely white, both hands spread out before her. Gal was watching the mechanical being as a lightning ball formed in it’s outstretched hand, that was the last straw, and Gal didn’t have the mental reassurance Sibling did.

Fast, very fast for such a large frame, Gal slid out of the booth on her side, wrapped one immense arm about Sibling, and engulfed the diminutive girl in a bear hug, forming a shield between her partner and the apparently renegade Clockwork. The dark woman’s skin hardened even further as she pulled extra power and strength from the foundations of the building.

The commotion caused several patrons to turn in their chairs. It appeared that a stone had suddenly appeared next to the booth, but a moment later the stone was moving, staying between the mechanical man and Sibling.

“Stop it!” Sibling’s muffled, female voice, sounded from behind the stone armored woman. “He’s not a Clock. Calm down for the Goddess’ sake!” One small hand grasped at the stony bicep, like a child holding onto a rolling boulder and expecting it to stop by sheer force of will.

Several of the other heroes had risen, some looking towards the door, some began to have sparkling, crackling or smoking auras form around them and their tables. One particular visitor was standing, apparently at ease, leaning on a cane. That one bore watching, Gal decided in an unconscious, battle-hardened portion of her mind.

The mechanical man was standing, and the steam powered one had moved closer to the center of the room, trailing a hose of some kind. Whisps of steam escaped various valves and pressure reliefs, he looked to be building a head of steam.

Sibling stepped out from behind her partner, both hands out in supplication.

“Pardon our friend,” she stepped between the crumbling woman and the rest of the Diner, very confident things would be resolved. “She can get worked up, and she’s a little protective,” the rebuke was evident, even for those that did not know this duo.

Behind her, the towering woman had returned to flesh, very tough flesh, but no longer stone. The tiara the dark woman wore was pulsing in time with her heart, always in time with her heart. Gal made an adjustment in her belt, a subconscious action that Sibling realized meant she was embarrassed.

“Sorry about that,” the basso female voice rumbled. She took a step, a very long step, toward the two creatures that resembled Clockwork, one spewing steam and the other standing in a battle crouch.

“Wouldn’t do that normally, but we had a rumble with some clocks last week. Sib got pretty banged up, won’t let it happen again.” The woman’s voice was a statement about Clocks, not jumping to conclusions. She did that all the time, that was part of her personality.

She extended one calloused palm to the non-steam powered being. “Gal, Gal ‘O War.”

“Tik-Tock,” the mechanical being said in a voice that could not be organic.

The handshake was firm, even for Gal, and she found herself actually smiling at the somewhat shorter being. Then the name tickled her mind, booming laughter followed, and Sibling could see that it startled the customers almost as much as the earlier blast of energy had when it shattered the window.

“Can see this close up that you got different parts than Clocks,” she made a motion of looking over the being’s shoulder, “and no Key. Me, I started collectin’ keys since last week.” She opened the front of the armored Flak jacket she wore, and a large metal key, along with many smaller keys, hung from a chain on her neck. “Smoothbore” was the inscription.

Turning her attention to the side, she addressed the other mechanical being.

“What’s your name?” She extended a hand to the steaming metal man.

Tick-Tok was begining to to get annoyed at the commotion and he could read the brain patterns of the Stone woman. She wanted to Hurt him.
"I'm not a robot, my mind is in a robt to say, I'm not exactly even certain about my past" Tick-Tok said as he let the electric ball drop from his hands.
"Noone calls me a AI!" Tick-Tok said as his suit turned black and his eyes red. He flipped a table and lunged at the woman. but stopped short a bug in his system shutting him down at the last second before impact.

Mr. Dark watched as several of the groups in the diner left.
"No matter, it wasn't any of them, anyway." Mr. Dark thought as his eyes swept across the diner to the remaining groups of Heroes.
"No..." He thought, looking at Sibling. His eyes shifted to Gal O' War. "No..."
He looked across to Tic-Toc. "Not him, either..." He thought.
His eyes settled on Shadowhand, who was still staring at him with hatred. Supernovus and the others had become noticiably uneasy, but were engaged in conversation at the moment.
"Ah, my little assassin..." Mr. Dark thought as he smiled wickedly at Shadowhand. "I can still remember when you would bring me the souls of the innocent, that menacing, defiant expression on your face..." His thoughts were interrupted as the waitress brought him his Devil's Food Cake. He took a bite, and then continued to reminisce. "You so HATED working for me, didn't you? But that's the difference between you and me, isn't it?" Mr. Dark chuckled to himself. "I ENJOY doing my master's work."
He thought of his master's last request, and what he had told him when he was ordered to come to this little bar.
" My servant, I have found a new soul that I can use. I need you to go to a new bar in Paragon City, for the soul will arrive there today. BRING THE SOUL INTO THE FOLD! "
Mr. Dark took another bite of his cake. "It seems my master wants a replacement for you, Shadowhand." He thought.
"Man, that guy freaks me out!" Aurora Blast whispered, shuddering as she looked at him.
"Supernovus, do you-" Mystic Flare was interrupted as his hand discharged a large energy blast. It flew right at Mr. Dark and collided into him, destroying table, chair, and area around it.
Mystic Flare looked at the damage, then turned to Supernovus. "So, I guess... I got him?"
Supernovus shook his head, and pointed behind Mystic Flare.
Looking back, Mystic Flare saw Mr. Dark, completely unharmed, still clutching his fork as he brushed off his trenchcoat. He ate the small piece of Devil's Food Cake on the fork, smiled at Mystic Flare, then grabbed his cane from the ground and sat down at the next table.
"You can't kill what's immortal, Mystic Flare." Supernovus sighed.

Sibling stepped between the one called Tic-Tock and her partner.

"It appears we owe you an apology, sir." She held out a hand palm up, still speaking in the plural. "We meant no harm, and neither did Gal." The icy stare cast back would have frozen the towering woman, as it was, she looked sheepishly at the floor.

"Discrimination is something I believe we have all felt," the young woman's voice changed several octaves and accent, "at one time or other."

"Yeah," came her partner's voice, "Can you forgive?" There was real apology in Gal 'O War's voice, and that was rare indeed.

[ QUOTE ]
"No..." He thought, looking at Sibling. His eyes shifted to Gal O' War. "No..."


[/ QUOTE ]
Sibling blanched for a moment, but did not allow her movements to betray the fact that she noticed an evil in the room. Cliff motioned with the body, while Angela sought with the mind. The dark one, the smug one.

"Gal, let's get back to breakfast," Cliff's baritone rumbled. Their body turned back to the booth, and Gal followed, all the while Angela paid close attention to the Dark One. There was a ***** in this one's armor, immortal or not, but telling Gal would have to wait until later, and much further away.

[ QUOTE ]
Sibling blanched for a moment, but did not allow her movements to betray the fact that she noticed an evil in the room. Cliff motioned with the body, while Angela sought with the mind. The dark one, the smug one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mr. Dark smiled as the waitress placed another plate of Devil's Food Cake on his table. Despite their attempts at hiding their thoughts, no thought on this world were out of his reach.
"Let them try what they will." Mr. Dark thought to himself as he took another bite of his cake. "I have more important matters on my hands than killing the pitiful mortals of this world."

Gun Slinger walked away from City Hall, her cigarette burning lightly in her mouth as she walked, her Assault Rifle slung over her shoulder.
Gun Slinger was of average height as most of the people in Paragon City, and was more well-built than most female Heroes due to her intense physical training. She had on a black coat over her white tank top, complimented with black leather pants and black boots. Her long hair was light brown, and slightly covered the right side of her black sunglasses as her hair fell over her face. To finish off her outfit, she had on a belt that was filled with various crime-fighting gadgets.
"For a city that supposed to be such a hell hole, this place is awfully cheery." Gun Slinger thought, looking around Atlas Park. "It kind of reminds me of my hometown..." Her mind went back to her childhood home, a tear forming in her eye. She shook her head and came back to reality. "Anyway, where the hell is someone supposed to eat around here?"
Her eyes settled on a small diner, where several other Heroes were walking away from. "Good a place as any." Gun Slinger thought to herself, throwing her cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.
She entered the diner, slightly surprised at the broken door and the hole in the window as she entered.

Mr. Dark's eyes widened as she noticed a woman enter the diner. "That's it!" He thought, his senses going off like a siren in his head. "She's the one!"
With inhuman speed, Mr. Dark rose up and grabbed the girl around the waist, carrying her up and the air as he flew out the diner.
"What the...?" Gun Slinger thought, completely taken by surprise at the attack. "HELP ME!" She cried as she was taken ever higher into the air at Mr. Dark.