Villain's league (IC)

[nikename2]

He watched as Liz stroded into the house, and waited until he walked back out with his girlfriend. His body overcome with eagerness; it would seem his presence had not gone un-noticed, even though it was rather obvious there was a man on his roof. The mind has it's priorities, and Liz' was clearly fixated on her. He felt the desire to go down and make himself known to his would-be compadres, and if he hadn't fallen so far earlier he might just have. Now though, he knew better. Everything about him, who he was, what he's done, was known to him now. He knew better then to just so brazenly waltz down and pretend that nothing had happened, causing unnecessary hysteria. 

With that his eyes shimmered lightly, and he faded from sight. He jumped down gracefully from the rooftop and looked on as silent specter to the two getting into the van. He would follow them and reveal his new self when the time is right.

[lucas marcone]

A voice spoke. As it spoke the sky turned golden, and the voice resonated with such power the small group would think the whole world had heard. "Red Anvil," It began "Or should I say Tabitha Richards? You have been called upon my God and the army of heaven for your commendable acts in the second assult of brimstone!"
Red seemed very nervous. The voice had used her real name and now her loved ones were in danger! Atleast that's what she thought. It would seem only the small trio would hear and bear witness to the first time a demon would join the ranks of God's army.
"You are now in the army of God! Thy lord wishes you to have a weapon befitting your status!" The clouds parted and a forge hammer was brought down by an angel. Red gripped the hilt of her new weapon. The rough leather felt good in her hand, and the grey steel was pleaseing on the eye. What's more it radiated an aura of comfort.
"But God! You just told everyone my real name!" Red cried.
"Oh, young demon, I am not god and I have not exposed you. You three are the only ones who will bear witness." The invisible voice resonated again.
"If I am part of Gods army why am i still a demon?" Red asked.
"Heaven has not forgotten your misdeeds young one." The voice sounded sad and sympethetic with her and her troubles.
"I have one last question!" she cried again.
"Yes?"
"If you are not god who are you?"
"I am Hadriel, his voice to mortal man. You see if God were to speak to you your human friends would die from hearing the voice of the almighty. I must now leave you Young one, but remember you are never apart from the lord's protection." The silant angel gave a nod and a smile to Red. "He's right you know. Even when all hope is lost God will help you bear the burden." Red smiled back and the angel was gone.

[Boog]

The back doors of the Van opened obligingly as Liz and Crystal approached, Anastasia watching via the front mirror. Heh. They make a cute couple.
"You must be Crystal. That boy of yours' had nothing but nice things to say about ya, nice to meetcha. Alright, that restraunt I mentioned isn't too far from here. You don't mind greasy switchknife- erm, spoon, sorry- type places?" Without waiting for a reply, the Van was already off. It wasn't until they had just left the city and were on the highway a bit further that Anastasia remembered the plant that had recieved a glass of that mutagen. Ah well, probably wasn't important.

[Miaka]

The Boss, having grown bored of the scene below him once his pawns had left, and the 'heroes' had yet to do anything interesting, had retired to inside of his limo once again. One of his white gloves had been removed, and a screen seemed to float above the steel palm. As if remembering that he had something to be doing, his hand twitched, and the screen folded and disapeared.
Hardly even bothering to move his hand after that, the meal on his wrist twisted aside to show a small watch display, and he nodded, motioning for one of the robots he'd brought with him to follow.
He stepped out of the limo, putting his glove back on, and leant against the back bumper. A polite smile stayed on his lips, but the cold, businesslike stare belied his nature. A smile only made him seem all the more approachable, as, despite his tiny frame, he'd been told he was quite intimidating.

No matter. Any intimidation wouldn't matter now, as, if the file had held any truth, This man... Release, his name was? would not be impressed with much less than extravagant and vain displays of sheer power. He let out a small sigh. He really wasn't in the mood to have a confrontation now, much less with someone he'd hoped to gain the alliance of.

[familyghost]

Release was having a good time at the dinner, and strangely he wasn't even causing any trouble.  Instead he was building a small log cabin out of perfectly placed toothpicks.  Unfortunately he was running low on building materials.

"Uh..." He stumbled to remember the server's name.  "Jodie?"

"Yes?" The waitress asked.  "Ready to order?"

"Yup." Release smiled, "More toothpicks and some sunny side up eggs."

"All right honey."  The Waitress smiled as she turned and left for the kitchen. 

As she entered the kitchen he caught the faint ethereal haunt of her mind echoing the words "lunatic" and "weirdo".  His eyes immediately narrowed as he had been in a good mood.  Now though he was slightly cheesed off and that meant someone was going suffer so his mood would improve.  It took only a few brief seconds for him to ignite the small pile of toothpicks which he then flung into a nearby booth where a man and his family sat; the small pile of burning wood immediately caught the man's pants on fire and he toppled out of the booth in a panic trying to put out his flaming pants.  Release couldn't help but laugh and then the guy flipped him off so Release threw him into a wall and held him there.

"Anyone else want be a jerk?" He snapped.  The room quaked with silence as the man's young daughter started to cry.  "Ahh... crud..."  Release let the man fall to the ground.  "You're lucky this time pops, I don't like to make kids cry." 

With that Release stormed out of the dinner, but not before causing the stove in the back to jet up a flame four feet high and wide enough to singe the eyebrows of the cook right off.  Now he was in a bad mood and someone was really going to have to suffer.

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Alright, no more wasting time, we've got a long way to go. We're on the eastern seaboard right now, and we've got to go all the way to the west. Follow me."
   With that, Quaddle began flying straight up. He flew up until he was well above the city, then started off in a western direction, He look behind him to see if Red Anvil and Gentan were following him.

[Angel]

Crystal smiled politely at Anastasia when she spoke. "Did he now?" she grinned. "Well, he told me that you guys seemed like the most competent people he's ever worked with. Nice to meet you as well, Ms. Anastasia." Her smile didn't falter when the diner was suggested. "Doesn't sound bad, at the very least they'll have better food than what Liz can make."

Liz looked at his lover in mock indignation. "Hey! Ramen is not as easy as it looks!"

"Even so, when the fire department issues a warning to you never to cook again, you know something's wrong," Crystal retorted.

They were silent on the highway up until Liz remembered something. "Oh yeah, Anastasia? Something happened to Daemon. When he and I were heading to the city, this red-cloaked guy called Quaddle attacked us and demolished my car. I'm pretty sure he's against our employer and ourselves. He knows all our names - he even knew about Crystal. We made it to the city all right, but Daemon got attacked by Quaddle again and ... well, he got really unresponsive. And he was way more violent than usual. I think he got stronger too. I followed him until I got attacked by that red chick you saw. And then, a few minutes ago, I'm pretty sure he was standing on my roof."

He paused for a few breaths. "Do you think we should help him if we run into him?"

[familyghost]

Release had left the dinner in a bad mood, but as he kept walking down the sidewalks of the city he made sure to "buzz" the minds of the lesser folk as he passed by them.  Usually he induced odd perceptions and triggered long forgotten phobias, but every now and then he'd plant the hypnotic suggestion in a strange crowd to break into random song and dance.  Yeah his mojo was off. 

Then he came across an odd looking man, maybe only four feet tall, dressed in white standing at the rear of a limo.  He couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he tried to enter the man's mind to plant the suggestion to sing "Humpty Dumpty" from the top of the limo.  Unfortunately when he tried to it was like his mind hit a brick wall, so he stopped and stared at the man.  He had never had this happen before and he was quite amazed.

"What the heck are you?" Release asked in a tone laced with what he tried to make sound like awe, but he was sure it came out as contempt.  He was going to have to work on his faux awe voice.

[Miaka]

"Ah, there you are." He responded, getting up off of the limo, and taking a few steps towards him.
"Who or what I am isn't important, Release." He started off, his hands folded behind his back. "I just have something of a proposition for you." his tail flicked out behind him, and wrapped absent-mindedly around his leg.
"It's completely your choice to refuse or accept, but, should you refuse, I'll need to ensure that you don't recall our little meeting." His eyes narrowed, but he smirked. "Unfortunately, I'm not as skilled as yourself in such matters, so it may leae you a little... damaged." There was no point in hiding his amusement as such a thought.
"Will you hear me out?"

[familyghost]

Release blinked for a moment, the little man had threatened him AND complemented him.  He really was having one of those days.  He chuckled to himself lightly and shook his head in amusement.

"Sure why not?" Release smiled then he remembered something.  "Could you hold on just one second though..."  He looked back down towards the dinner where he had forgotten to maim the rude waitress and realized he was to far to consider walking back.  "Bah, it'll have to wait.  Lead on."  Release smiled, he didn't know why but he thought the day was improving so far and thee little man was entertaining him, although he found it creepy the guy knew his name. 

[lucas marcone]

Quaddle saw Red  keeping pace while carring Gentan by his arms. She notices Gentan looking back for a second at her leg. "Eyes forward." She didn't seem irritated but it did sound like a command. In full flight she looked awe inspireing, and from her last heavenly encounter full of purpose.

[Boog]

"Quaddle?" Anastasia's eyes widened in disbelief, "This clown's capable of disarming my mutagen, flight, standing and GRINNING at my creations and he's got some idiotic name like Quaddle? The man sounds as though he should be hosting children's shows, not fighting us!" She almost thumped one fist on the dashboard, but thought better of it at the last second.
"We can't afford to lose any allies. If he seems sane, we pick him up. We all need to regroup and figure out what to do next," she sighed and let herself drape across the back of the driver's seat. "We weren't counting on this sort of opposition this early."
--
By the time they pulled up to a diner at the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere it would be very late. The place was the sort of Diner that only had that for a sign, the sort of place that gave the impression of being an immovable and permanent feature of that particular area of space. There was a sign in the window that simply said "Discounts for card-carrying craftsmen."
Anastasia jerked awake, "Hey, lovebirds, we're here."

[Angel]

Liz held out his hands and looked up at the ceiling. "THANK you! I mean, seriously, I have a girl name and I was trying not to laugh!" Crystal had been giggling at it since he'd said it.

When the talk turned more serious, Liz nodded wisely. "I figured it'd be dumb to kill someone like him. We need him, and he might be sane by now."
---
Liz and Crystal had fallen asleep in the backseat when they reached the diner, her sprawled across Liz's lap and him lolling against the headrest.

When Anastasia spoke, Liz blinked awake. "Nghdunwannawakeup... huh? Oh, OK." He rubbed his eyes and shook Crystal's shoulder gently. She didn't respond, so he leaned over and lifted a strand of her hair that was near her ear. "Wake up," he whispered.

She yawned and pushed herself up off of Liz's lap. There were a few lines in her face from his jeans. "Are we there?" she asked sleepily. He nodded, so she sat up and stretched before looking at the door. "Where's the handle?"

[Fex]

Gentan looked up as Quaddle flew up and flew to the west. "There we go."he said to him self and he started to run afterthem jumping from roof to roof. Every time he would run behind his legs curled up and he would shoot him self back to his normal posistion not far behind the two.

[Boog]

Anastasia didn't know whether to find these two sickening or adorable. It was too damn sweet. The Van opened its back door on its own; the scientist had forgotten that there wasn't a handle on the inside. An accidental effect, what with genetic manipulation not being very exact, but useful for when you didn't want somebody just up and leaving.
"We're here. You'll like this place; the staff knows not to stare and it's a good place to lie low. Nobody ever thinks to look here," which was true. It seemed to have been built on a locale that was just a blank spot in most people's minds. They just forgot it. A curious manner of eatery more secure than cozy and where if anyone knew your name, that was something to worry about.
Naturally, the rabbit strode right in as though she owned the place, taking note of individuals she was familiar with until a couple caught her eye.
"You kids go pick out a table and order; I have some catching up to do," she clambered up onto a seat at the counter next to a slightly built man who looked like he could be the missing link in vampiric evolution and was soon talking animatedly with him about something or another. He was an old contact and at times employer of hers who made it his business to know everything going on in what he simply called "the business." Time to see what there was on this "Quaddle" jackass...

[nikename2]

He had been following them for a good couple of hours, right up to when dusk broke down over the stark, seemingly empty locale. A lone building blighted the expanse, it had the make of an ole diner. He watched silently from a hundred feet away as they pulled up into the lot beside it and exited out of the van. There were a few other vehicles held up there in the lot as well. One was undoubtibly the owner's, the other three, potential customers or employers. As they entered the diner he allowed the veil surrounding him to dissipate. He figured there was no point in holding it off any longer and began to stride toward the building, adjusting his crimson shades as he went.

He reached to the door and opened it, immediately he saw the backside of a familiar hare he had met at somepoint from before. She was conversing with a pale looking fellow at the counter, he couldn't make out the exchange they were having due to the low tone of voice they were using. He then looked to his right and saw the backside of two other familiar faces, this time of lizard make; the female one was leaning casually up against the other. They didn't appear to have been served yet since the waitress was nowhere to be seen at the moment. With that he walked up toward their table and sat down on the otherside of it.

"Hello again. I'd like to apologize for earlier...lets see how can I put this......well...I over-reacted...yea that sounds about right.", he gestured as he sat down before the two, awaiting a response.

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Quaddle?" Ace said quizzically, looking at Anistasia. "Ain't that some kind of kid's fruit juice?" Seeing Anastasia's glare, he said, "You're serious? Well, I hate to admit it, but you've stumped me this time. Can you describe him? I might be able to come up with something then."

[Boog]

(OOC: Tech, I think Daemon meant he was sitting with Liz and Crystal.)

Anastasia quirked an eyebrow. While she'd seen Ace do many things she hadn't expected of him, saying the word "Ain't" was a new one for the usually cultured, eloquent man. Unless he was making fun of someone. Or just being a fop.
"Magic user," Anastasia spat the word. While she didn't doubt that those who called themselves such had power, it galled her that they called this power something out of myth and legend. Worthless superstition, "With a red robe and a staff. He appears to wield a lot of power, enough to cure a city of one of my creations in a single flash." She didn't know if the carriers who didn't exhibit symptoms were cured or not, but it seemed likely. An idea struck her; if you can't appeal to old favors, pride works well too. "He knew my name, and everyone I'm working with right now. I'd say his information network rivals yours." Rather than look at Ace's face she looked down at the polished countertop, hoping the bat-like man took it for fear while she studied his reaction in the reflection of his one visible red eye (its fellow concieled behind a lock of hair; sometimes doing something impractical made people think you could afford it, rather than that you were just vain, and Ace wasn't one to correct them).

[techmaster-glitch]

   Ace took in a deep breath, sighed, and shook his head. "Cure a city in a single flash? Information network rivaling mine?" Ace shook his head again. He leaned in closer, talking in a dead whisper to Anistasia. "If what you're saying is true, then by inference, his power is the kind that I should know about, but don't. My informant network is the best. If he's got better...than this is way out of my league. There. I said it."
   Ace appeared to think for a few more moments, then said, "I'll be right back." he went into a backroom of the diner, then through a very well-hidden cellar door. He passed some of the guys in his organization, then went deeper still. He came into a dark room with some shelves covered by what seemed like ages of dust. He selected a few, coughing as the dust came off, and carried four back upstairs.
   Back in the diner, he set the four books down, more dust pluming up around them. "I honestly don't think these will help you," he said, "But they're probably your best bet. If they don't work, you will have to go to someone else. I don't want any more of this, you hear? This is over my head, I don't want any part of this."
   Then Ace left, shivering as he went.
   Once Anastasia skimmed though the books, the first three would be nothing but junk. The fourth one, the biggest, had an interesting cover title: Folklores and Fantasies of the Hidden and Unkown, had an article that would catch her eye. Glossing over it, the general gist would be that at the hieght of the Middle Ages, a force of a hundred black dragons organized and prepared to carry out an attack to subjugate all of Europe. One by one, exactly seventy-five of them were simply anihilated, leaving the rest to be mopped up by various adventuring parties. Supposedly, they were killed by someone known as Unnamed. There was but a single artist's depiction of him:
   A rather tall, mature man in armor, wielding a longsword in one hand and a mage's staff in the other. He looked nothing like Quaddle. But a second glance at the staff--It was the exact same staff Quaddle had! Right there, made of wood, extreamly long, no distinguising marks, three curved spikes at the end, curling around a spun-glass orb. There was no mistake. It was Quaddle's, alright.
   Further skimming through the book would come across another article. About three hundred years ago, one of the Churches was gearing up for the ultimate Holy Crusade. if successful, it would have wiped out all criminals and evil in the world, and the planet would become the perfect utopia. But the crusade never happened, because they were stopped by someone known as the Guardinal Sage. He appeared to them, and convinced most of them to not go through with it. Some of the more zealous decided to try anyway, and after talking failed, the Guardinal Sage killed all of the zealots. There was another drawing:
   This man was old, very old, had a very long, white beard, and dressed in a long white-and-blue robe. His face was nothing like Quaddle's, but, sure enough, the old man was holding the staff.
   Quaddle's Staff.

[Angel]

Liz's eyes widened when Daemon sat down at the table he and Crystal had chosen. He felt the latter stiffen against his shoulder, so he rubbed his hand on her back to relax her. Daemon seemed calm enough, even if Liz now felt a little more of a "who are those freaks" vibe from the room. He glanced over at Anastasia, but she had her back to them, talking to the vampiric-looking guy at the bar.

"Yeah, you did. What exactly happened? I called to you and you didn't even hear me, and you seemed a hell of a lot more powerful." He spoke quietly but firmly, so no-one else would hear them but he'd still get his point across.

[Boog]

NOW Anastasia was nervous. Ace wasn't one to show when he was afraid. At least, not when he was ACTUALLY worried. She stared at his back until he left, noticing how his small, stunted wings were still visible beneath his suit and how his overlarge bat's ears were barely concealed by his hair.
She went through the first three books fairly quickly, speed reading her way through. The fourth pissed her off with just the name. Folklore? Jackass... However, as she paged through she noticed the similarities. The staff. Always the staff. She DID have a scientific explanation for simple items effecting one's personality. Psychic background noise rooted to a physical object. Could this Quaddle be some sort of personality affixed to a staff, changing bodies as the antique changed possession? Have to be a powerful one, to have this great an effect...
Whatever it was, it was apparently prone to acts of charity. Wiping out dragons, putting a stop to a crusade... Saving the world from all sorts of atrocities, regardless of the politics of the time and who was committing them. It'd be admirable if it wasn't so inconvenient. With a sigh the madwoman closed the book and tucked it under her arm, grabbing the other three on an afterthought. He'll probably want these back.
She looked around for the others, locating them after following the stares. She noticed Daemon amongst them and started on her way over, exasperated. From where she was she could tell that a man in at a table in the corner was some sort of machine, a family of five in one of the booths were eating something that looked like caterpillers the size of piglets, and the rather pretty waitress who just walked by never blinked or breathed. It was practically a stronghold of those in their profession. How were they managing to attract attention HERE?

[nikename2]

He leaned back into the seat and sighed. He then quietly began, "....You recall meeting with two children earlier, do you not? They are actually one and the same. He is an old brother in arms of mine, from a long time ago; thanks to him I remember everything now. There were twelve of us, we were each part of His inner covenant, the Zodiac. When the war came, our covenant was transformed into one of the finest operating squads creation ever bore witness to; we became known by our comrades as, The Angels of Death. In the waning moments of the war though......we were betrayed. Our comrades turned against us in fanaticism, they sought to bring us down since each of us we're akin to the One who started the strife. Right now.....there's only three of us left, and so far you've met two of us. Myself, Gemini, and....Libra."

The waitress then walked over and asked for the drink order, she had a blank expression on her face and her voice seemed somewhat orchestrated. Each of them replied to her and she was off. He then started again as she walked off, "The name my father gave me is Scorpio. You know me by the name Daemon because that was the name my shell adopted five years ago when I was found on an arctic fishing vessel, that though...is another story."

He then looked over at the Doctor who was walking back over from her encounter with her apparant informant. She had an expression of disbelief, not overtly directed at him, but more towards the others within the diner a few feet away. He commented, "So I take you were behind the mutant infestation earlier, how did that turn out? Or did that Larper screw up your brilliant plan as well..."

[Angel]

Liz's attention was caught the moment Daemon mentioned the two children. I thought I was the only one who could see them... As for his story, all Liz could do was blink. "What war?" he managed, before turning away to order a small salad and bottled water from the waitress. He waited for Crystal to order before he turned back to Daemon.

"This is sounding a bit crazier than what I'm used to, but I know you're telling the truth," he muttered. He nodded when Anastasia walked up, signaling with his eyes that Daemon was all right.

[lucas marcone]

Dile Lass and Croc sat at a table around wich some of the most noteable members of Laos from all it's diffrent 'parties' were also seated. Discussion of a constitution were in full swing.

"Free speach we musn't forget that!" a professor insisted
"Duly noted, we will allow free speach." She assured him.

"The right to bear arms!" shouted a military advisor from the old regime
"We will but were going to have to have special processes and licenses to ensure the safety of the general populace." Dile Lass added.

"The right to oust and elect a new president." A nuclear physicist from the new rebelian said.
"If that or I do not run the country properly so be it. It must be a unanimous vote, though."

By the time the talks were done Croc had learned more Laosian than Dile Lass had taught him. Everyone left the talks happy, and they would meet again soon to put it all on paper. Dile Lass hoped byond all hope that this would put her people at ease.

"We have to start expanding soon, Croc. If we don't the plain might fail horribly."

"I know," Croc started. "But atleast you're not like that Casrto prick."
Dile Lass giggled and hugged Croc. "I'm so happy with the way things are going." And that statement would be her downfall. On the news China was eating up swaths of land and concoring everything in it's way. Dile Lass saw an oppertunity in the beast.

[Boog]

Anastasia nodded to Liz and Daemon, sitting down next to the more recently arrived associate.
"Yeah that was me, and yeah the little %@#$wit blew a good month of setting up out his ass. I probably wont get to use that stuff again too, don't wanna create a discernable pattern. Think I've found something on him though." She flipped open the mythology book she'd gotten from Ace and pointed out the pictures that included his staff, "Look familiar, kids?"

[nikename2]

He looked down at one of the images on the page the good Doctor had displayed; he then raised an eyebrow as he looked intently at the staff in the figures arms. He then commented, "Heh, Same weapon. Either that or the one he used earlier was a well-built replica based on this."

The waitress then came around again with the drink orders, then strode off. He popped open his soda then drank a little of it, as he did he began to feel uncomfortable sitting there. Something wasn't right about this place, and his back was starting to bother him.

[lucas marcone]

"Croc?" Dile Lass asked her partner as they walked down the hall away from the meeting. "You're o.k. now right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I need you to go to America and find roulette and find out how you can help." Dile Lass looked rather impressive in her royal blue silk robes coupled with her sage green under shirt and pants.
"Why what's goin on?" The classic strong man looked down at Dile Lass with his typical blank stare.
"I don't know, but she said they needed help with some guy messing up Ana's plans."
"Alright. When do I leave?" Croc smiled
"Soon as you can, but...be careful please."
"Don't worry, DL I'll be fine." Croc had on a cocky smile "When haven't I come out on top? Keepyer nose clean, kiddo." With that Croc strode off.
"Rou took out jet you'll have to take the chopper!" Dile Lass called out. Croc smoothly changed direction and strutted down another hallway.

---------------------

"How far?" Red looked lightly irritated, and rightly so. It felt to her like flying with a balloon lodged above her ankle. "And I know you're responsable for that beam! You could have KILLED someone! Infact I'm reasonably sure you did!" Red's mood was degenerateing rapidly.

[Boog]

"It's the one lead we have," Anastasia sighed, closing the book, "Meanwhile, we don't even know where all our OWN people are. Sheridinna, Sebastion... Insofar as I can tell, us and Croc are the only ones whose locations we even KNOW. We need an actual base. A command center. Some way of coordinating." She sighed, "And I still haven't finished setting up those computers up at my lab. Any ideas other than helping me unpack that crud?"
She asked the waitress for a beer when she came around, taking the immobile features and almost plastic grin in stride. She noticed Daemon's discomfort and grinned, "Never been here before, huh?" She leaned forward, keeping her voice down, "An unspoken rule in this place is that whatever starts outside is left outside and whatever starts here is left here. For some reason nobody ever breaks that rule. Dunno why, but I'm not about to test it. You get some weird sorts, don't pay it too much mind."
A waitress that looked exactly like the previous one, save for a different name on her tag, walked past them to reach another booth. Some sort of crease, like one gets on a doll when the pieces are put together by machine rather than by hand, was barely visible beneath her clothes. A blackened hand reached out of the booth and beckoned her to sit down, across from whoever it was over there...

[nikename2]

"Heh, yeah I'd really prefer to not have to fight head way out of here if at all possible. Still, your right. At the moment it's really just us three, well four if you count his girlfriend; that would be pushing it.", he quietly replied, taking note of the other waitress sitting down a few feet away. He lifted his left hand up to his crimson shades and took them off, tucking them into his trench coat. He then looked back at the Doc and quietly asked, "You've obviously been here before, know who that guy is?" He then eye-signaled to the booth ahead where the waitress sat down at.

[Boog]

The waitress was no longer visible, and there were sounds somewhere between eating and unwrapping something made of celophane. A name tag fell out into the isle.
"That's just Manny. He's a regular. Loves the service here, really, probably the only one who doesn't just come here to get away."