Coffee Shop Blues (IC)

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth was in need of her morning pick me up. It was cold and she couldn't shake the sleep out of her head. There was this small coffee shop in the Theatre District that she loved so well. Driving all the way from her place to here was a trip, but it was worth it. The coffee tasted like it was hand picked and homegrown. And who knew? This city had weirder things in it, a guy who teleports coffee directly from the place of business would be a great entrepreneur! Whatever. She needed to get the hot caffeine inside her. A good drive later, there she was. At the counter ordering the expensive brew. After that she walked to a table to enjoy it. She took a sip, "Aaaaah!" That was refreshing!

[Quinn]

The building had collapsed, and it wasn't his fault.

Push cursed fluidly as he stuffed his coat and scarf into his messenger bag, hurrying down an alleyway away from the crumbling tenement. Good thing the joint was empty, but it wasn't his fault those crooks had a stolen battlesuit! He had to blast it through that wall. Which destabilized the ground floor. Which started the collapse. He'd hauled them all out using kinetic telekinesis, of course, but the joint was trashed.

He mumbled something about the building being a deathtrap anyway as he began walking into the street...then froze.

A man in a black suit was standing there...and he had an awfully good photograph of Push from back in Gear City with him. The insignia he flashed the cops with, A.E.G.I.S, sent a chill down his spine. They knew he was here. Damnit! They knew he was here, and he hadn't even gotten close to Scratch yet! This was bad, this was very, very bad.

Blinking his thoughts back, he spun on his heel and walked through the nearest door. Coffee shop. Good. Hot drinks. Booths. Quiet. Thinking place. Away from agents. Very good. Walking as if in a daze, he sat down at the nearest table and rubbed his hands on his face. His outfit was stashed in his bag. Good. He was in full Gabriel Quinn mode. Good. There was someone on the other side of the table from him. Bad.

Wait, what?

[Sandman XI]

A few sips into the heavenly (or at least Brazilian) ambrosia, she was joined by a man. A man who she had not met before. She smiled at him, radiantly, "Well, aren't you in such a hurry?" She chuckled, "Of all the booths, in all the towns, in all the world, you gotta walk into mine." She shook her head, "Now, what brings you here?"

[Quinn]

Push (No! Quinn, damnit!) simply stared briefly, before shaking his head and giving a rather weak smile. It wasn't that he was a baboon or anything, but he'd never been described as anything other than "decent-looking". Against this walking goddess (poetic, he ain't) he looked pretty damn bad. Mussed hair, slightly gaunt features, pretty skinny, and that five-o-clock shadow that just wouldn't go away...yeah, he felt a tad self-conscious.

Damnit, man! Focus! Agents outside, and you picked this table! Remember the rules, react, adapt, and eyes open!

He coughed, racking his brains while speaking in a surprisingly steady voice.

"What? A guy needs an excuse to take a few minutes of his day to chat with a lovely lady? Heard this coffee shop was one of the best, had to try it out. Can see now they weren't lyin' about the ambience."

He gave a roguish wink, inwardly wincing as he realized what he'd said. Now he'd have to actually drink the coffee, and he never could stand the stuff...

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth smiled warmly, "Well, since you put it so grand-like, we should know each other." She leaned forward with a jokingly flirtatious tone, "That means this is where we do introductions." She chuckled and leaned back before reaching out a hand, "My name is Elizabeth. Et tu?"

[Quinn]

Gabe reached forward to take her hand, then winced as a minor crackle snapped between the hands as he shook hers. Leftover kinetic charge from the fight, bugger! He thought fast, coming up with a quick excuse.

"Er...static. Wool clothes, y'know? Name's Quinn, Gabriel. Friends call me Quinn."

Thank everything that's holy that I wore my wool sweater today...

[Sandman XI]

"That's not static electricity," Elizabeth smiled lightly rubbing her hand with a wink, "nice try though." She took a sip of her coffee and put it down, "Believe me, I've felt weirder things." She reminisced in her mind about the opera. It was quite an experience in it's own right. That was neither here nor there. "My name is Elizabeth by the way." She smiled and nodded. "While i have nothing like electricity," she said scribbling on the table with her finger, "I do some pretty cool things if i do say so myself" when she was doen there was a caricature of Quinn drawn on the table.

[Quinn]

FrakherofrakfrakheroherofrakherofrakfrakFRAK!

To his credit, Quinn managed to keep a straight face. He'd also seen weirder (especially that one "living paint" device Wyrd cooked up, he thought he'd never get the stains out of his coat...) in his time. So. She was a hero. Lovely. Ok, calm down. She didn't know who he was, that was obvious. And if she did, then he was already thoroughly frakked. For now, assume she doesn't. Escape routes by back door, main door. Scarf up and around his face, three seconds. The fact that she had already seen his face, and even had his name did not escape him. Damn.

"Heh, best trick I can do is that little spark there. Very impressive, tho', you must be quite the artist, with a gift like that."

Keep her talking, focus on her work. Deflect questions if possible, not like I haven't done this before.

[Sandman XI]

"Well," Elizabeth nodded, "like I said, it's a fun little party trick. But you need better things to actually go out there and be a Captain Thunder, like yourself." She erased the drawing as quick as she drew it, maybe even quicker. Taking another drink of the coffee, the small cup was gone. She grimaced, "Aw man." She looked to Quinn, "Well, that's the end of that. I'm up for another, how about you?"

[Quinn]

Quinn managed to keep the smile up. So much for avoiding the coffee. Then again, not like it was a real trial, and he could get one of those mocha things...they had chocolate in them, right? And that meant less coffee.

"Another coffee? Yeah...okay. Why not? I'll pay for these, if you'll let me."

He nodded at the counter, his mind slightly relieved. At least she thought it was electricity...if she realized it was kinetic juice, he might as well walk up to those cops and lock the cuffs on himself.

"Do we order at the counter?"

[Sandman XI]

"You know what they say," Elizabeth smiled while looking over to the counter, "Free is one of the best spices." She looked back to him, "Thank you very much. I'll owe you one." She took his hand again, wondering if she would feel that spark again, and guided him to the counter. She nodded happily to the barista, "I'll have the usual." He smiled back. "It's a bit cold out there, is it? You usually don't come in here for two," he said fixing the involved concoction. She chuckled, "Sure is. That and I have a new friend." She side-hugged Quinn.

[Quinn]

The smile this time actually reached his eyes, but only for a second. Long time since he'd actually been able to do something vaguely normal, and a beautiful woman beside him was a definite first...then the feeling faded, and the smile turned somewhat brittle as he looked over the menu.

"One of those mochas, please."

He reached into his bag, feeling about for the small case of cash he'd snagged from the crooks. He'd left the drug evidence beside them, of course, but pinching the bad guy's monies was pretty much his only form of income. He took out a five-dollar-bill and passed it to the barista, nodding his thanks while talking to Lizzie.

"Freedom City's a nice place. Lived here long?"

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah, I was born and raised here." She smiled, "I went traveling for a few years. Across the country and the world. But there's no place like home." She shook her head, "You ever been to Gear City? Had to stay there for a while. Not the safest place in the world, but the scenery there..." She scribbled a skyline in midair. She sighed a looked at the thing with remembrance. Wiping her hand across it there was now a gaping bloody hole in the middle of it. "Though I hear there was a terrible incident with a museum a couple of years ago. Hurts to think about really." She knocked away the gruesome air painting away. "eh, life is horrible, but when you have adverse conditions is when the brightest light shines through." The barista handed her her drink and started working on Quinn's. Taking a sip she looked back to the booth. "Want to sit here or over there?"

[Quinn]

It took a lot of Quinn's self-control not to drop his coffee when she mentioned Gear City. It took even more to keep his voice steady as she made that skyline painting, and the bloody hole in the middle. Mental images flashed before his eyes, and he blinked, shaking his head. She was motioning to a booth. Booth is good. Booth hidden from doorway. Agents can't see. He quickly took a glance at the glass doorway, feeling a bit of relief at seeing that the agent and police were still talking. They hadn't noticed him.

"Been there, seen it, got the T-shirt. Over there'd be good."

Granted, his voice was steady, but there was a harsh element there that he couldn't quite suppress...not to mention his expression had gone a tad grave. Only briefly, however, and he soon plastered the brittle smile back onto his features.

"So, you enjoy travel?"

[Sandman XI]

"Yeah," Elizabeth said as she walked back to the booth, "I had to study abroad to work on my doctorate. Officially I am 'Doctor Elizabeth Skillman, DA'." She chuckled as she sat down. "Though recently, I have discovered I have an unknown source of weird powers." She looked around to see if no one was looking and then back to Quinn with a whisper, "The other day, I wished to be some place warmer and then I was on a small island in the middle of nowhere!" She smiled and leaned back, "Of course I came back, but then and here i realized i could go anywhere I wanted by thinking about it." She smirked, "So, I gotta pay you for this coffee somehow. How about I get you away from here? Well, unless you have something to do today."

[Quinn]

Quinn actually blinked, looking a mite cheerier than before. Ten to one it was a trap, but his options were rather limited. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that AEGIS suit wasn't going anywhere anytime soon...

"Being invited somewhere by a beautiful woman, that's a first. Where do you have in mind?"

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth smiled at the compliment, "Your flattery is quite flattering." Taking a sip of the coffee, she thought about where she wanted to be at the moment. "Somewhere warm," she thought out loud, "I'm the sun soaking type. Fresh air. Hm, It's... mid afternoon in Rome now," she said in a mirthful tone. "Though, I guess I should ask you first instead of just kidnapping you. That would be rude." She held out her hand, "What do you say?"

[Quinn]

Quinn looked at her somewhat askance, then slung his messenger bag on his shoulder. Rome? Across the ocean? Sure, he'd never been there, but...a smirk quirked his mouth as he took her hand, really expecting her to laugh that he'd fallen for some gag.

"Heh, I thought it was the man who was supposed to sweep the lady off her feet and carry her off to an exotic locale. You don't even have a foreign accent to cap it, Elizabeth. I say why not, but I warn you...I don't speak a lick of Italian."

He winked at the last line, which was a tiny bit of a fib. He could say a few words in Italian, German, and Spanish, really only about two or three...except none of them were fit for public hearing. Cursing in different languages was a lot more cathartic than just in English.

[Sandman XI]

"Just call me Sadie Hawkins then," Elizabeth said putting on her best Italian accent and taking Quinn's hand. A golden corona surrounded them both, it was very warm and relaxing. Witha pop they were gone from the coffee shop and standing in front of a fountain. "Benevenuti a Roma," she said enthusiastically throwing her hands up.

[Quinn]

Quinn's jaw nearly dropped. Roma. He was in Roma. What. The. Fudgesicles.

"I...uh...I...wow....bwuh?"

The place certainly looked authentic. He clutched briefly at his bag, feeling the reassuring weight. Okay. No problem. I'm in Rome. I can handle this. And the good news is that it's far from those AEGIS agents. That's definitley a bonus.

He stood up straight and looked around, drinking in the sights, and pointedly avoiding the staring gazes of some tourists who saw the two just appear out of nowhere.

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth pulled a camera out of her bag and snapped a picture of the fountain as Quinn was flabbergasted. She smiled, "Neat, huh?" She playfully snapped a picture of him. "Welcome to the land that once ruled the world." She put her hands on her hips and looked to Quinn with a satisfied look, "Now, we can take the annotated version trip and see all the sights you see on television all the time. Up close and personal. Or we can hang around one or two landmarks and soak in the culture. I'm for either, really. But you're the guest. So I defer to you. What do you say, oh weary traveller?"

[Quinn]

Quinn shrugged, reaching into his messenger bag and taking out a PDA, tapping it a couple of times to bring up a map.

"I say lead on, oh maiden of the rainbow hair. How about the Castel Sant'Angelo, the Trevi Fountain, and St. Peter's Basilica? I'm a big admirer of Renaissance architecture...oh, and we have to visit the Vatican archives."

A wide grin was on his face, the flabbergasted mean completely gone. The odds of managing to get back here was slim to none, so he was sure as hell going to make the most of it. Tooling around Roma with a gorgeous woman? Man, how had he walked into this one?

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth smiled, she would have to do this more often. Giving random people free trips to places they've never been? There's definitely some fun to be had in that by both parties! She and Quinn spent the whole day wondering around the historic city, hitting every hot spot imaginable. The Colosseum was so nice this time of year. The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel were full of culture. While Elizabeth had no strong opinion on religion, she couldn't help but marvel at the history of it all. Several monuments and parks later the sun was setting over the ancient empire. The two travelers watched it in all it's glory. While Rome didn't make the sun, it sure was a beautiful sight. She smiled to Quinn after the spectacle. "That was fun wasn't it?" She hummed to herself basking in the memories. She had several cameras worth of photos. Of her, of Quinn, of the whole city, and a mix of all three.

[Quinn]

Quinn leaned back on the park bench, holding up a small pack of souvenirs and grinning.

"Thoroughly entertaining. You'd make a fair tour guide, Miss Elizabeth."

Inside, his feelings were decidedly more mixed. On the one hand, he'd had one of the most entertaining and relaxing days in his life, even before Scratch and the museum...but on the other, she'd taken a lot of pictures of him, and that might come back to bite him later. Still, he'd managed to avoid mentioning anything incriminating, as far as he knew. And she was an extremely engaging woman, sunny, artistic, damned good looking...

WhoawhoawhoawhoawhoaWHOA there, Gabe. You are in NO position to go skirt-chasing at this point in your life, buddy, just shove those thoughts right outta your head.

That, and the last time he'd ever chased after a woman was back in GC. And She was enough to keep him off...interesting...women for life. He snapped the pensive look off of his face and gave a half-smile to Muse again, nodding at the other tourists walking around.

"So, enjoy visiting any monuments in particular?"

[Sandman XI]

Elizabeth thought back through the day. There were plenty of nice things she saw. But the thing she noticed most was Quinn's attitude. He seemed sort of out of place. She wondered if the trip had thrown him off. She tried to assure him that nothing was wrong, but he kept that look. She didn't know if it was him trying to hide something or maybe it was just him secretly gawking at her. "Hm, let's see," she said riffling through the pictures, "Ah here it is!" She pointed at them standing in front of a fountain. "This is when you seemed to let loose and really enjoy yourself," she said reminiscing. She smiled and looked at him, "I really enjoyed it when you were having fun."