People you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley

[Fatebreaker he/him]

Everyone's invited.

Except Lewis: http://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/lewis/

 

Denizens, remember to send out invitations and that sort of thing.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Okay. I'm in.

Official First Invitee to Arrive.

Winter Cloud walked inside, considering whether or not she should shift. It had been a while since she had walked here, even though she used to belong here. Winter had thought splitting off was a good idea. Maybe she should have stayed, no one had found their way to her thread. Winter watched the crowds of members dance around. She was noticed, of course she was. Winter wondered if she should have delayed her arrival. Maybe she shouldn't have come at all. No, the party might bring her new recruits to change into Wolfkind. Winter ducked her head. She wore a simple hazel dress with brown slippers. Her long hair fell over her shoulders. She had changed into a different person since leaving here. Maybe it was the company she kept. Or the lack of it.

Winter sighed, scanning the room. There were cookies and all sorts of baked goods on a table, but she knew not to trust them. Some lessons she could never forget. Welcome to the party, right? She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her shoulders. Why was she so nervous? She knew the tricks of this place well enough to stay alive. Of course, her knives were strapped to her knees and her wolf form was never far away. Never go into an ally unarmed and you will stay unharmed.

Official First Invitee to Arrive indeed.

The doors swung open and Queen Elsa Steelheart, an endorcer of the Dark Alley, walked in wearing a beautiful ice dress with heels and her golden hair hung over her shoulder in a braid."Hello!" She walked over to Winter Cloud, "Hello, she said smiling. Nice to see you again!"

[Redbird he/him]

(Why must everything be in third person!?)

[Voidus]

Voidus, one of the first to lurk the alleys of dark crept silently into the room, instincts born from years of lurking quieted his footsteps and with barely a whisper he made his way across the room, startling one of the acolytes by snatching a pie from his plate.

It had been a brilliant idea this party, the lurkers had all been working hard lately and while they all enjoyed their work it would be good for them all to socialize.

Soon after his arrival another trail of acolytes formed in the doorway, these carrying his trademark cookies. One could never have too many cookies, especially at this party.

"More refreshments have arrived!" Voidus called to the room, sweeping a bow to Queen Elsa as he did so.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

(I can do second if you want me to)

You wave to the Queen. "Hello!" You smile eagerly. This party would be a blast, even if you had some doubts about it...

(Actually I can't. Storm that. I'm going third again.)

She waved to the Queen. "Hello." Winter Cloud smiled, glad she had a familiar face among the crowd. Although these people had been her allies for a while, these people were strange and twisted. Although the Queen did official endorse the Dark Alley.... Never mind. Winter herself used to be strange and twisted, it was these experiments that had brought her to her current form.

She looked in a mirror to see if she could see the Chromium spike that had changed her into Wolfkind in her back. Others would not have to take the painful way that she had to become Wolfkind. Winter was only the first of her kind, but she had developed a simpler and less dangerous way of transformation. "How are you?"

The Queen smiled back. "I am great! How are you and your wolves?"

(Also I've noticed it's not only third person but past tense too )

[mail-mi he/him]

Mail-mi strode confidently into the room, red-stained lab coat billowing out behind him. The loud music and bright lights threatened to overwhelm him; coming out of the dark alleys and into this was quite a shock, to say the least.

He found a nice empty corner, and directed his acolytes to set up his display stand. It was a small table, topped with a bowl of cookies and a waiver, and a sign that said "Taste testers needed! Two month's supply of free cookies to all who sign up!"

"Hello!" he said eagerly to the first person that walked by. "Would you be interested in doing some taste-testing? I'm trying to test what the correct placement of sp--" he coughed, covering up what he was about to say "--chocolate chips is in the cookies. Are you interested?"

Edited December 8, 2014 by mail-mi

[mail-mi he/him]

Mail-mi watched the woman go. He remembered her. She had volunteered as one of his taste-testers, and that time, he'd gotten the placement right. Just not the right ability.

Mail-mi pulled out a walkie talkie and whispered into it. "Voidus, come in. She's back. Experiment number 371, the traitor. What should I do?"

[SmurfAquamarineBodies he/him]

Why are we having a party? This means I have to *shudders* socialize. I don't think you know how inconvenient this is.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Mail-mi strode confidently into the room, red-stained lab coat billowing out behind him. The loud music and bright lights threatened to overwhelm him; coming out of the dark alleys and into this was quite a shock, to say the least.

He found a nice empty corner, and directed his acolytes to set up his display stand. It was a small table, topped with a bowl of cookies and a waiver, and a sign that said "Taste testers needed! Two month's supply of free cookies to all who sign up!"

"Hello!" he said eagerly to the first person that walked by. "Would you be interested in doing some taste-testing? I'm trying to test what the correct placement of sp--" he coughed, covering up what he was about to say "--chocolate chips is in the cookies. Are you interested?"

Yes. They sound wonderful.

[mail-mi he/him]

Yes. They sound wonderful.

"Great! If you could just fill out this waiv--" Mail-mi remembered what Voidus had said before the party. No testing on our sponsors

Mail-mi coughed. "Actually, Queen Elsa, we're not quite into the testing phase for frozen goods. Could I interest you in a free sample cookie?" He pushed the bowl closer to the Queen.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

"Great! If you could just fill out this waiv--" Mail-mi remembered what Voidus had said before the party. No testing on our sponsors

Mail-mi coughed. "Actually, Queen Elsa, we're not quite into the testing phase for frozen goods. Could I interest you in a free sample cookie?" He pushed the bowl closer to the Queen.

"Oh yes please. I do love these cookies. I'd be happy to endorce more of your goods if the Dark Alley wants." The Queen smiled as she took a cookie.

[Voidus]

Mail-mi watched the woman go. He remembered her. She had volunteered as one of his taste-testers, and that time, he'd gotten the placement right. Just not the right ability.

Mail-mi pulled out a walkie talkie and whispered into it. "Voidus, come in. She's back. Experiment number 371, the traitor. What should I do?"

Voidus quickly scanned the room upon hearing Mail-mi's communication.

Experiment 371? Why would she be back? Surely not just for the party?

At least it wasn't one of the creations from Alley 7, nothing from Alley 7 could ever be allowed to escape.

Voidus pulled the walkie up to his mouth and switched channels.

"Containment team 7 come in, we have a situation at the party, dispatch a containment squad, they are to watch only for the moment unless the subject attacks, this is experiment 371 she hasn't provided us with any trouble so far."

Voidus hoped that she would continue to avoid causing trouble, there was no telling what damage an angry experiment could do until they were finished causing it. He put the walkie talkie away and strode back to Queen Elsa who was chatting with Mail-mi.

"Sorry about that just a small Hema- er... cookie-monster issue." He said to the queen, respectful as always towards the sponsors of the Dark Alley.

[Voidus]

Voidus turned to the experiment in surprise, was her hearing enhanced? It was difficult to guage the distance and he'd not been monitoring the level of his voice, however any possible information regained from the experiment would be valuable.

"Of course not um..."
The Infiltrators had been paying close attention to the experiment as she attempted to find recruits, she'd even taken a name.
The new name! Rust and Ruin what was the new name? Can't afford any mishaps... Winter! That was it!
"Of course not Winter, my apologies" Voidus said smoothly "Just a technicality. Indeed the Alley is most anxious to reopen communications with you. Perhaps we can help each other out, we have many staff experienced in... various methods of recruitment should you be interested?"

[mail-mi he/him]

Mail-mi watched the argument escalate. Things went a bit too far when 371 changed her face to that of a wolf.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said from behind the table. "We don't want any violence here," he continued, trying to diffuse the situation. He looked at Voidus and tried to communicate with his eyes. Don't anger her. She might actually know what's happening in Alley 7.

[Fatebreaker he/him]

I step away for a few moments and already people are name dropping Alley 7, which doesn't even remotely exist.

 

Oh right, 3rd person.

ahem.

 

 "I thought you had gotten better at surveillance."

 

"We have. Those fellows in the rafters are the decoys." 

 

A trapdoor opened in the floor next to the group and The Stranger emerged, in what was apparently his idea of formal garb. Now wearing a double-breasted waistcoat underneath his dark grey lab coat and there was a silver feather in his top hat. Didn't look that different really. Though his feet did make a clicking sound when he walked. Was he wearing tap-shoes?

He pulled a sandwich from his pocket as he spoke to experiment 371.

 

"Everyone expects surveillance at a Dark Alley gathering. They get suspicious if there isn't someone watching them and trying to slip something in their drinks. If we really wanted a containment team to, pardon the pun, shadow you," he chuckled briefly, " you most certainly wouldn't have noticed it. Thanks to some of our experiments they wouldn't even have to be in the same building. Though I must compliment you on those fine-tuned senses. Of you're ever interested in gaining further abilities, you know who to call."

 

He took a bite of his sandwich then turned to the other Denizens

 

"And don't worry about Alley 7. She was baked in the Z.O.O., which is Alley 100 I believe. No one really knows about Alley 7 because it doesn't exist. And if it did, which it doesn't we wouldn't have to worry because only Leonard and I would know how to get to that dimension. Probably not even Leonard. Right Leonard?"

 

Leonard was trying to inconspicuously wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, which simply made it all the more conspicuous. Hearing the  question he shook his head emphatically, "Yes sir! Uh, no sir! Um, what was that sir?" 

The Stranger grinned and turned back to the others.

 

"But enough of all this open hostility. I'd say we all benefited from this relationship, yes? F.I.D.O., excuse me Winter, F.I.D.O. was the Recipe code-name, has gained nifty new tricks and we have furthered the cause of science. Hurrah. We're all non-mortal-enemies here.

So let's drink responsibly and have a dance or two and simply enjoy ourselves. This food won't eat itself. Actually, the samples brought by Alley 49 might, but that's their problem."

Edited December 12, 2014 by Fatebreaker

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

"Sorry about that just a small Hema- er... cookie-monster issue." He said to the queen, respectful as always towards the sponsors of the Dark Alley.

 

"Cookie Monster?" The Queen looked slightly confused for a moment.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Winter sighed. "Helmuargic monster. They mean me." Winter's face morphed again. She pointed at the spike in her side. "I'm not really supposed to be here."

"You're not a monster. No one is. " The Queen remembered how horrible it was to be called a monster at her coronation. She pulled the spike out of Winter

"The Dark Alley have their ways of baked goods and spikes you know."

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

The spike stayed in, thankfully. "Stop!" Winter exclaimed. "You'll kill me, if you pull out my spike. You'll kill the wolf." Winter shifted into a wolf and darted off into the darkness, white shape a blur in bystanders' eyes.

"Winter! I'm sorry. Please, is there some other way to remove it?"

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Winter growled, turning. "This spike is part of me. I may not have loved the procedure involved in getting it in, but what happened in Alley 100 changed me for the better. Without it, I would be human." Winter snarled. "And you publicly support the Alleys." Winter ran straight out the door and down Alley 4. The surveillance here, if Winter remembered from the maps accurately, was low.

"I may support the alleys for an endorcement, but Winter, You are my friend. " The queen tried to cautiously follow her. Edited December 11, 2014 by Queen Elsa Steelheart

[Voidus]

"Well" Voidus sighed as the guests rapidly departed. "That could have gone better, no one even tried the punch."

He looked forlornly towards the punch bowl, several large pieces of metal sticking out of it. It seemed the acolytes had decided to spike the punch in their own way.

[mail-mi he/him]

The Queen and 371 left. Mail-mi turned to Voidus, who was looking longingly at the spiked punch. "What should we do about her, Void?"

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

The Queen walked back after a while."Hello again."

[Screwloose]

The Inventor sat in a corner, unnoticed by the crowds, an untouched plate of conical cookies by his side. He observed the gathering through the tinted lenses of his goggles- in a place like this proper eye protection was a must, and he didn't want to gain a new 'gift', not yet anyway. As he sat he scribbled in a notepad, muttering to himself. "She'll have to be watched, don't want to get shunted out of another world quite so soon. Sigh. At least this place makes for some interesting research opportunities."

[Voidus]

The rapid progression of events had unnerved Voidus greatly, there was no way Winter could know about the seventh was there? No certainly not.
Voidus began mentally reciting the 54 lesser abdominal bind points to calm himself.
Having finally calmed himself, Voidus was about to answer Mail-Mi, a serious expression on his face when Queen Elsa walked back in.

A smile returned to Voidus' face as he whispered out the corner of his mouth.
"We know where she's going, have the tracking team follow from a distance and ensure she doesn't attempt to leak any trade secrets. For now we'll leave her be."

[the Gleeman he/him]

Suddenly a musical sound not unlike what follows an ice cream truck was sounded. The Gleeman sprang out of his spiking vehicle and stabbed Winter straight in the spike with a cattle prod. 

 

The Gleeman left a twitching Winter on the ground for an extraction team to recover. He drove back to the party to deliver the party echidnas. 

 

Once in the door, he whispered to Voidus,

"Target neutralized."

 

He had not noticed what was typed on the phone. It couldn't have been that important.