[hr][hr][i][h1][color=red]Meifeng[/color] & [color=dodgerblue]Lihua[/color] [color=red]Zh[/color][color=dodgerblue]ao[/color], [color=springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color], [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka Takashiro[/color], [color=darkslateblue]Reed Taylor[/color], & [color=aqua]Jennifer Caspin[/color].[/h1]
[sub](with [@Mr Allen J] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sub][/i][hr]
[b][code]Starrybanks, White Coast_[/code][/b]

A TV in the corner of the bar showed an interview of a man that was quite well known in the Metahuman world. Infamous, actually. Nolan Ulrich: the head of the Savior Foundation, and possessed seemingly limitless wealth. Wearing a suit in a comfortable chair as he talked to some skinny-TV personality who owned the talk show - the Evening Real - known as Piper Brownlee.

"...I know you probably got thousands of things you want to talk about today," Piper asked with a smile of teeth so white that they couldn't be real. "But, what are your thoughts on what happened in Baybridge a week ago? Crazy, isn't it?"

"It is certainly insane, yes," Nolan casually said with a shrug, and tilting his head slightly. "But, we must go to the root of the problem; people like the so called 'Black Hound'---" He finger quoted, "---receive abilities, and suddenly, a normal human being is transformed into a deranged terrorist. All because he had a taste of power for the first time in his life. What doesn't help the issue is Agents in the RAVEN organization suffering from a similar toxic mindset. For a so called 'humane alternative'---" Nolan finger quoted again, "---to NEST, they have so far demonstrated very little - well - consideration. They made foolish decision because the energy within them made them feel powerful. That they could do no harm, and---"

[hr][hider=MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー (Piano Cover)][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToOO5_JDL7k[/youtube][/hider][hr]
The TV scene suddenly shattered into pieces and rained down upon the ground with sparks, and caused quite a scene.

"...[i]What a loada' bullshit[/i]," Cindy slurred, as her face blushed red, and she took a sip of her bourbon whiskey. The woman was wearing a red, polka-dot, dress, with tall wedge heels. Cindy was drunk. And sitting next to her was Meifeng Zhao, who was dressed less flashy with a leather jacket, a white T-shirt, and black denim jeans. Cindy continued her (partially) drunken rant, "We save the fuckin' day, [i]again[/i], and everyone treats us like we just dropped a fuckin' nuke on the mall instead of fuckin' save the day - and while I feel shitty as everyone else here that five people died on [i]my[/i] watch, what do these dickheads think we could have done? Sing a song and magically pull everyone out the mall unharmed? Fuckin' sing Let It Go - because these assholes need to let it go."

Cindy slammed her drink on the table.

"News flash, if we gave the Hound what he wanted, they'd still be in our shit - like, don't they remember who we are?" Cindy's eyes shot open like she was surprised as she raised her arms up into the air. "We're the fuckin' Verthaven survivas' - we basically saved the [i]world[/i]. Know what would have happened if we [i]weren't[/i] there? The Devil, an', ah, Luis, and, ah, whoever the fuck else, would have ended the world with their stupid bullshit. And do we get any recognition for savin' the fuckin' world? No. Not one damn thing. Greatest story never told, everyone!"

"...You know they're gonna be pissed about the TV, Cindy," Meifeng said with a smile as she leaned in.

"I don't give a fuck, they turned the TV on just to put us on blast..." Cindy rolled her eyes up into her head.

Just as a break from all the insanity, and vitriol being leveled at RAVEN, Meifeng suggested that they spend their Friday night in bars. Just gathering the old crew together and having some fun. Meifeng chose the Bull Tavern in Starrybanks - it was one of the many coastline bars: pretty large, and had an old rustic feel to it because it was styled after Western Saloons. Only to get tourists. But, the group was in a corner.

"Come now, Cindy, you're drunk," Meifeng playfully said.

"Bitch, I only had two sips, I sure as [i]hell[/i] ain't drunk," Cindy said... before she hiccuped. "You shoulda seen me at like sixteen years old I was drinkin' a whole damn keg."

"That's amazing." Meifeng sarcastically said.

"Also shoved it in mah---"

"And that's too much information---"

"---That nobody wants to know," Shizuka added after Meifeng from across the table, looking between Cindy's reddening face and her whiskey with disgust. He took a sip of his own drink (non-alcoholic) before he spoke again, "Too bad that I won't be around to save your asses this time - I'm going to enjoy this break to the fullest extent... before I've to go back and deal with more work stupidity." Or if he had to put it [i]even more[/i] bluntly: clean up everyone's mess, as usual.

"Well, you wanna' know why I was so quick to take the blame?" Cindy loudly said to Shizuka, facing him. "Because, I didn't wan' be the one that deals with this shitstorm. Like, I was hoping they'd suspend [i]me[/i] instead. But, noooo, everyone needs a fuckin' scapegoat. Now I gotta deal with everyone bitchin', moanin', cryin'... whinin'..." Cindy trailed as she thought about it. Shizuka could only roll his eyes at her - this was the reason why he never liked to hang out at a bar with Cindy. Especially when she was this hopelessly drunk.

"Slow down on the drink, Cindy..." Reed grunted as he made his presence known. "I can hear you from across the damn room." As he approached, one could see that his stump had finally reformed into a hand, though he'd chosen to wear a glove over it and could be seen flexing it every couple of seconds, for reasons only known to him. He took a seat beside the others. "Sorry I'm late."

"Eh, I don't care," Cindy said to Reed, shrugging. "I came here to drink a stressful ass week away, and God damn I'm gonna do it."

"...I honestly think I should take her gun away." Meifeng shrugged.

"Yo, Reed," Shizuka greeted him cheerily, then the grin was quickly replaced with a solemn look. "...How's Quentin?" He might be as hard-headed as ever, but he wasn't that heartless not to feel some guilt for almost sending Reed's brother to a certain death with his insane idea.

"He's... doing better."  Reed said, in a somewhat subdued tone. "Just got back from visiting him, actually. You should've heard him the day other when he heard about your uh... suspension. He looked ready to tear out his IV line."

"I'm sorry about his injury too," Shizuka murmured as he stirred his drink with the straw absentmindedly, the guilt inside him growing after hearing Quentin's reaction about his suspension. "Even if it's indirect, I was the one who sent him to deal with the Hound." [i]And almost got him killed for that.[/i]

"What? Shizu, that's bullshit and we both know it. I know my brother better than anyone, he would've gone after the bastard either way." Reed allayed Shizuka's guilty sentiment.

"Eeeeyyyyyyyyy, don't sweat it guys," Cindy loudly said. "We make mistakes. We get hurt. But - what's that stupid phrase again? Whatevs doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger! So Quentin's black ass is going to be doing blackflips after he gets betta'!" She started drinking more bourbon that made Meifeng laugh a little.

"Yeah," Reed said, with a slight chuckle. "Something like that. Though I had to talk him out of trying to come with me."

"It's great to hear that Quentin is doing alright," Meifeng said as she took a small sip of her cinnamon whiskey, and smiled. "I wish Jade could have helped him, but she damn near killed herself on the night of the hostage situation trying to heal everyone, so she's too taking a break."

"Everyone's takin' a breaak these days," Cindy said raising her glass in the air and swinging it. "Is it because they don't want to touch all this [i]stupid[/i] bullshit with a twelve foot stick? I understand, I understand... I get tired of worrying about all these [i]stupid[/i] ass kids, and keepin' their [i]stupid[/i] assess from killing themselves from doing [i]stupid[/i] shit."

Cindy ranted, and not too many people were listening.

"If I have to give [i]one more[/i] horny bastard a 'safe sex' speech, I'm going to tear my fuckin' braids out - because we all know we need them to keep makin' babies so we can have some god damn job security," Cindy said, and that was the point where Meifeng couldn't hold it in any longer and broke out into laughter. "What? I'm serious."

She raised a hand in the air. "But, ya' know, how are all these kids gettin' laid?" Cindy started off. "It's been [i]yeeeeeeears[/i] since I got [i]any[/i] dick."

Meifeng was caught so off guard by that statement that she spit all of her whiskey out, forcing an annoyed Shizuka to veer off to one side on reflex to dodge the alcohol. Reed, on the other hand, had to wipe a couple droplets of spittle off his gloved hand.

"What?" Cindy said. "My ass is like... huuuuuuuuuuuge. And for some reason, I can't get a single boyfriend to just bend me over my desk---" 

"Okay, okay, okay, Cindy," Meifeng said in surprise waving her hands around. "You need to dial it down."

"Hey, you think I can bag that guy right there," Cindy pointed at a rather muscular Caucasian male at the bar counter. "Like, just lift up my dress and show him my ass - like I'm wearing one of those [i]really[/i] tiny thongs. The ones where you don't just see part of my ass, but [i]all[/i] of it. The whole da---"

"Alright, c'mon," Reed cut her off with a slightly reddened face. "I think you need to slow down on the whiskey." Shizuka just facepalmed; he was wishing that he hadn't come, and he was pretty close to phase into the floor beneath him just to get away from Cindy.

"Okay," Meifeng said, raising a finger into the air. "Who the [i]hell[/i] wears a thong that shows 'your whole ass' when you're wearing a dress. A fuckin' dress. You didn't [i]come here[/i] drunk Cindy!"

This time, Shizuka had to do a [i]double[/i] facepalm. The way how the usual roles were reversed between the two girls made the already absurd scene even more ridiculous.

"Wait, hold on, both of you - just relax, alright?" Reed thumped his good hand against the table. "We're on edge. All of us. Let's just tone things down, alright?"

Cindy's eyes sharply went between each of her "friends" before the woman grabbed the whole bottle and started downing the whole bottle of bourbon at speeds that made Meifeng think she had a vacuum hidden inside of her.

"Stop her!" Meifeng shouted as she reached for the bottle - but Cindy stopped her with her hand. She was desperately trying to wrestle the bottle out of Cindy's hand.

Shizuka contemplated about helping Meifeng to snatch the bottle away from Cindy (it would be a total piece of cake for him, anyway), but he chose not to and merely watched the two struggling with one another - just like the tourists closest to them in the bar, pretending that he wasn't associated with the girls at all. He actually found the scene... amusing, but he didn't want to admit that.

"...Meifeng Zhao, decorated member of RAVEN and the 'hero' of Prague. Cindy Keagan, rather well renown DOVE that has been one of the many faces of the organization." Lihua made her rather unexpected entrance wearing a navy-blue dress, and holding her purse tightly in her hand while she stopped at the table. Giving the girls a sharp stare when they stopped wrestling for control over the bottle. "...Yet, you two are acting like a pair of drunken children right now."

"Oh... Miss Zhao..." Cindy tried to become prim and proper as she put the bottle of bourbon down. "Whazz..." she drunkly said. "Hee...llo."

"Great to see you made it, Mom," Meifeng said with a smile on her face. "Seems you missed the brunt of Cindy's drunken rambling." She laughed.

"Well, I would have preferred a laugh or two," Lihua calmly said as she sat down next to Meifeng.

"So, how's the 'Liu estate' treating you?" Meifeng asked.

"Jiao-Long is rarely there, and his daughters don't really bother me - probably because I've been staying out of their way," Lihua said, in a rather bitter tone. "Lijuan on the other hand is having a great time being showered with the affections of all her cousins." She snickered a little bit. "But, there's something [i]off[/i] about the Liu manor... I just feel something wrong about the place the Liu family is hiding from me..."

"Maybe you're just paranoid, huh?" Meifeng asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There's a quote I refer to in regards to paranoia..." Lihua trailed off. "'You're only paranoid when you're wrong.'"

Meifeng just looked at her for a moment.

"So, how have you all been doing?" Lihua asked. "This has been a busy week, yes?"

Shizuka looked from Lihua to the drunk Cindy, then back to Lihua. "...I guess that's your answer." He shrugged. He was a little bit concerned about what Lihua had said with regards to the Liu family... whether it might be related to the phone call he had received last week, but maybe he was also being paranoid. Well, he could save the questions for later.

Lihua shrugged. "...I assume her week has been the hardest, yes?"

"Ya' damn straight!" Cindy loudly chimed in... before letting out an unladylike hiccup. "And guess who'ssss been keeping all hell from boiling over?" She pointed both thumbs at herself. "This sexy thing right here! Me!"

"...So hard that she's apparently forgot how to drink responsibly," Lihua snarked, before she looked at the... destroyed... TV. She was hoping to find a subject, but she came up with something. "...I heard the MIP was moving into Baybridge following all the chaos to help quell the Hound's."

"The MIP?" Meifeng asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Metahuman International Party," Lihua explained.

"Oh riiiiight, them," Meifeng said. "There's supposed to have a debate tomorrow with some Saviors... here in Baybridge." She shrugged.

"Whaaaaaaaaaa' abuncha [i]dumbasses![/i]" Cindy loudly said. "Who in their right [i]mind[/i] would hava' conference thing when... when... the Hound is goin' 'round with his gun and killing people? In the very city he's fuckin' with, too! That shit is just [i]beggin'[/i] for disaster!"

While Cindy was drunk as shit right now, she had a point that neither of the Zhaos could disagree with.

"Didya' know? I gotta be there as the DOVE re-pre-sentative," Cindy said. "So I get a front row seat to watch ta' Hound fuckin' that Nina' bitch through a portal!" She said as she raised her virtually empty bottle.

"Yes, Cindy." Meifeng laughed. "Well, I'd love to kick the Hound's ass as much as the next person, but I put in for a day off so I can attend the best party of the year!" Meifeng laughed.

"Haaa... will there be booze?" Cindy asked.

"It's my little cousin's birthday party."

"That don't mean shit," Cindy said. "I bet there's going to all manner of the really expensive shit there - and some really rich dudes, too! Which one do you think would make the best baby daddy?"

"...You're going to be hung over for a week straight," Lihua said as she raised her eyebrow. "And what kind of DOVE are you? Imagine if someone came in here that recognized you and saw you right now..."

"I'm the DOVE that needs a break!"

"At least nobody would be dumb enough to arrest her even in this state." Shizuka shook his head. "But honestly, those morons are doing exactly what the FF and their pet dog wanted - holding a [i]stupid[/i] conference to argue over [i]stupid[/i] things."

"While I do agree with the MIP's goals..." Lihua trailed off, as she realized she didn't even have a drink yet. "...I just don't agree with their methods. Truthfully, talking can only get you so far..." She followed it with a small bout of laughter. "Like racism, sexism, homophobia... There will always be people that hate Metahumans unconditionally, and that will never change with mere 'understanding'..." Lihua finger quoted.

Shizuka gave Lihua a curt nod, agreeing with her. "Rather than wasting time on something that will never be settled..." He took another swing of his drink. "Anyway, how's the investigation on the Hound and FF so far? Even if I'm suspended from RAVEN for now, it's not like this shitstorm is going to end in just one month." In fact, there was another assassination in UK not long ago - the sniper wore almost the same armor as the Hound, but Shizuka was certain that it was someone else, not the Hound himself. Still, that assassin had a similar aura as the Black Hound.

"Dunno where that asshole is, and I couldn't care any less right now!" Cindy drunkenly slurred. "Also, this has been on mah' mind for ages now: is he actually [i]black[/i] under all that armor? Like [i]black[/i] black?" She pointed at the back of her hand.

Meifeng facepalmed. "Ever since the mall, he hasn't appeared [i]anywhere[/i]," she said. "Either he's taking a lot of time to recover, or he's just lulling us into a false sense of security. But," Meifeng raised her finger. "We found out one of the Hound's employers...  Ezekiel Anagnos, heard of him?"

"He owns some huge biotech company or something, based somewhere in Europe..." Shizuka trailed off and frowned. "Can't remember the name - Anagnos-whatever. So he's with the FF?"

"More than just that - he's one of the people [i]leading[/i] the bitch," Meifeng said... according to what Cindy had told her. "They call themselves the Blessed Three - a name reserved for the [i]shittiest[/i] rap groups... we have no idea where he is."

"They suffered as much loss as us during the mall incident," Shizuka mused out loud, flexing the fingers of his right hand - the hand that had sent most of the Intimidation Unit in the mall to hell. "Plus the destroyed base and the freak lightning not far from us [i]right after[/i] we freed the hostages... They aren't so 'blessed' after all, huh."

Meifeng put her arms behind her head, and grinned. "But, look at it like this: we're slowly unraveling the [i]mystery[/i] behind the Family. Eventually, we'll get to the bottom of this."

Lihua just had to say something. "Hate to chime into your conversation..." Lihua said. "...But, 'eventually' doesn't cut it when this 'Family' could be planning something world changing."

"You know what I mean," Meifeng said, before she slammed a fist into her open palm. "We just gotta find them, and kick their ass. Simple as that."

Which made Lihua shake her head even harder.

Shizuka shared the same sentiment as Lihua at Meifeng's optimism. "I hate to disappoint you and deflate your confidence also, Mei, but FF isn't the only thing we'll be worrying about. Now that FF has the West under their control, they're going to expand to the East. Have you guys ever heard of a cult who call themselves 'Polaris'? Or [i]Beidou Qixing[/i]," he added in Mandarin for Lihua's sake.

Polaris... That name was vaguely familiar. In her time with the Hei Long... Heh, it was funny. This was decades away, and she still remembered it [i]all[/i] like yesterday - in fact, almost like it was a few minutes ago. Every death. Every [i]vivid[/i] detail... was all safely stored in her beautiful mind. When she was fighting in the Chinese Civil War (less of fighting, and more of... [i]deniable operations[/i]) she heard the name Polaris thrown around a few times, but never bothered to question it. Then she saw their depravity of close... and distanced herself from them as possible, realizing that they had immense power in the Chinese government.

"[i]Beidou Qixing,[/i]" Lihua repeated after Shizuka, speaking fluent Chinese. "[i]During my... travels, I have most definitely encountered them... they are certainly a devious lot that [i]will[/i] cause a tragedy, if they are not stopped now.[/i]"

She turned towards Meifeng. "[i]...They have so much power in the Chinese government that it's...[/i] frightening[i],[/i]" Lihua started off, dramatically looking out the window. "[i]After seeing how powerful they have become, and how their influence have corrupted the Chinese people...[/i]" She sharply gazed at Shizuka. "[i]I have vowed to never step foot in China again...[/i]"

The dark truth was that Polaris wanted to perform a "ritual" of some sort on Meifeng as a child... and Lihua couldn't have that.

"Holly had been helping me to look into them while I was busy, and for the past few days I was able to do more research on them." Shizuka glanced from Lihua to Meifeng. "We believe that they're working with FF." He snorted. "The bad guys are smart enough to join forces to change the world for the worse, while everyone else is too busy fighting over anti-Meta nonsense to save this damned world from them."

Meifeng leaned back in her chair and sighed. More stupid bullshit to deal with. "While part of me wants to go... 'Oh let's let them solve their own problems!', it's only a [i]matter[/i] of time until this 'Polaris' moves over to the States and becomes [i]our[/i] problem."

"[i]Actually,[/i]" Shizuka had switched to Mandarin - whatever he was going to say next were only for the ears of the Zhao women. "[i]The Chinese government already knows that Jiang's hiding in Baybridge - including you two. They probably even have spies stationed in this city to watch our every move.[/i]" That was what unnerved Shizuka - from his phone conversation with Yang Wei, the Chinese agency seemed to know [i]way too much[/i] about whatever's going on in Baybridge... The man sounded oddly confident, as if he already had Shizuka and his friends trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Meifeng almost dropped her glass... Aw damn it. She really wished that Shizuka had just told her... because what Shizuka just did was flare up Lihua's paranoia.

"[i]They... damn it,[/i]" Meifeng groaned in irritation. "[i]We'll have to find a way to throw them off - I'll find a way. Don't you worry.[/i]" Meifeng tried to reassure Lihua. "[i]I wanted to ask Jiang a few questions about a special someone, but now it's becoming crystal clear that I gotta take care of him...[/i]" Meifeng said, before letting out a sharp sigh. 

However, in all of this, Lihua was oddly calm. Her expression didn't change even slightly. "...[i]Do not worry, Meifeng,[/i]" Lihua said. "...[i]Because I[/i] will [i]kill Jiang myself.[/i]"

"[i]I'm not sure if killing him is an option you can risk - they want him to be handed over to them[/i] alive[i], or else... this will get even more fucked up.[/i]" Shizuka raked a hand through his hair with muted frustration. This was the worst possible development - with Polaris joining forces with the Founding Family, they had an extremely powerful government backing them up, and vice versa. They couldn't afford to act rashly and make the situation even more complicated than it already was. "[i]I've wanted to stay out of your family business as much as possible, but now I can't do that anymore - this has become my problem too.[/i]"

Meifeng clapped her hands. "[i]Then we'll just render the bastard[/i] brain[i]-dead. It's a win-win for all of us.[/i]"

Lihua facepalmed. Sometimes that child could get blinded by her own idealism.

"[i]...If truly necessary, and I mean[/i] truly[i],[/i]" Lihua spoke in Chinese, in a somber tone. "[i]...I[/i] will [i]surrender myself to the Chinese authorities.[/i]"

Meifeng grabbed both sides of her head. "[i]But, Mom, they'll kill you![/i]"

"...[i]If that's what it takes to keep you and Lijaun safe...[/i]" Lihua looked around for some alcohol, and snatched the whiskey Meifeng was drinking and downed it. "[i]...Then that is a price I am[/i] more [i]than ready to pay.[/i]"

"[i]I'll do whatever I can without having you to resort to that,[/i]" Shizuka said in a firm voice, looking straight into Lihua's eyes. "[i]...Lijuan still needs you.[/i]" He blurted that out before he could stop himself - even if he had never thought of Lihua in a kind way, he felt that Lijuan didn't deserve to bear the weight of her mother's death, depriving herself of her mother's love for the rest of her childhood.

...Just like him and his twin.

"[i]Lijuan...[/i]" Lihua trailed off... the boy had a point, yes. A very good point. But, she was ready to die for Lijaun and Meifeng. She accepted that fact a long time ago.

"Eh, I always get lost when you all speak Japanese, or Korean, or whatever the fuck ya'll speak," Cindy said as she took one more sip of her bourbon before it was all out. "Like ya'll all sound [i]and[/i] look the same anyway."

That earned her a sharp stare from Reed, who'd opted to keep quiet during the obviously personal conversation between the Zhaos.

Meifeng's eyebrows furrowed harder than they ever have before. "...Cindy, I am going to whoop your ass so hard right now."

On the other hand, Lihua had a more subdued reaction, as she merely rolled her eyes and brushed the comment off.

Shizuka merely shrugged, not as bothered by Cindy's drunken bullshits as Meifeng. "Well, everyone's the same under the skin - just flesh and bone humans. But you might want to shut up for a bit." He glanced at the tourists around them, who were staring at the group.

"No, [i]you[/i] shut up," Cindy said.

"...I'm about to just clock her with my elbow," Meifeng groaned.

"Do it," Shizuka said, glaring at Cindy. He was running out of patience with Cindy's bitchmouth, drunk or not.

"Please don't," Lihua said. "I hate to make this scene even [i]bigger[/i]."

"And I'm not in the mood for hauling people back home to sober up," Reed added.

"Um..." a voice said, and caused all of them to look to see Jennifer Caspin. Awkwardly standing with her hands in her pocket (where she fully intended on keeping them until her damn hand grew back). She noticed how... tense the situation looked. Especially with Cindy intoxicated. "...[i]Hi.[/i]"

"Jen!" Meifeng loudly said. "You made it! Have a seat."

Jennifer sat right next to Reed, and kept her hands in her pocket.

"How have you been?" Meifeng asked.

Jennifer kept her lips sealed about the strange occurrence in the alleyway. She managed to fake a smile - she perfected her fake smiles in order to blend in - as she said, "Just peachy. It just took me a little while to get here because the bus was late."

"We [i]need[/i] to get you a ride," Meifeng said. "A moped, a car, anything, because you know about the maniacs out there." She shrugged.

"...Yeah," Jennifer awkwardly said, more focused on keeping her missing hand hidden.

"So, you're staying for the long run, huh?" Reed asked, raising an eyebrow. There was something a little strange in how she'd just came in like that, all quiet, but he brushed it off.

She found it hard to believe that Reed was asking that - because she suddenly went doe-eyed. "...I'm never leaving you guys again." Jennifer started off. "I don't care what happens... I am here to stay, by your sides. Until it's all over." Judging by the smile it earned from him, the comment had earned his approval.

"Ayyye, that's my Jen," Meifeng said with a smile. "...I would wrap my arm around you... if you weren't all the way over there." With every word, her ego deflated.

"...Sorry," Jennifer said. "But, I don't want her throwing up on me."

"Understandable," Meifeng said. "So, why don't you get a drink?"

She wondered how long she could get away with her left hand being missing; but, at the same time, if she didn't get a drink they would get suspicious. "I don't really know drinks that well.... and I don't want what she's drinking." She pointed at Cindy.

"Don't worry, Jenny," Meifeng said as she got up. "Let me buy you a draank." She quoted that stupid song by T-Pain as she slid off.

"...I guess I will get something for myself," Lihua said as she followed.

"So, uh, Shizuka," Jennifer turned her attention onto him... she had the feeling that he didn't care for her that much. "How's, uh, Haruka doing?"

"He's fine," was Shizuka's curt reply. "As long as he doesn't fly out on impulse to ride off his boredom, he should be able to fully heal from those gun wounds in no time." Then his brows furrowed, struggling to try to be a bit nicer to her (even if he wouldn't bother to get along with her, she was still his idiot brother's friend). "...You feeling cold or something?" he finally asked, staring at her hands firmly in her pockets.

Sometimes Jennifer was amazed by people who [i]couldn't[/i] heal from horrible injuries in a day. She was hoping that he was okay, since he too was in the hostage situation. Jennifer was wondering what the hell the Hound's interest was in her... Then, her head started [i]hurting[/i] again. She tried to play it off, but now he was asking about her hand. Um. The last thing she wanted to do was tell everyone here that her hand was missing. "Yeah, I was holding onto a signpost while waiting for the bus and it got [i]really[/i] cold... I hope I didn't get frostbite." That was the only thing she could bullshit off the top of her head.

"Riiiiiight..." Shizuka obviously didn't believe a word she said, a little pissed that she was treating him like a fool with such a brainless excuse. "...Show me your hands."

"Wha---" Jennifer said, put off by his aggressive approach. "...Back off." She returned the aggression, giving him a narrow glare as she was tempted to create a bone spear.

"[i]Show me your hands[/i]," Shizuka merely repeated and returned her glare, his tone going colder with each word.

"Easy..." Reed warned him, sensing the brewing tensions.

Well, since he asked... Jennifer lifted up her sole hand, and flipped Shizuka off. She did get the reaction she was expecting from him - Shizuka lost his cool (he was already near breaking point after listening to Cindy's bitching the whole day) and walked up to her, seemingly ready to give her a piece of his mind; instead he grabbed her other arm and phased the hidden hand out of her pocket... only to see a stub.

"Shizuka!" Jennifer shouted. "You ass!"

"...Huh?" At this (very convenient) moment, Meifeng had returned with cinnamon whiskey to share with Jen (while Lihua had delegated to cold, hard, vodka). "...Jen, where the hell is your hand?"

She was quick to snatch her hand away, and try to hide it in a desperate attempt... but, alas, it was too late.

"Jen, answer my question," Meifeng said, as she sat down.

Forced into a corner, Jennifer looked from the left to the right and spoke honestly, "I... I-I... [i]don't know![/i]" She said.

"How do you 'don't know?'" Meifeng raised an eyebrow. "Hands don't just fuckin' [i]fall off[/i], Jenny."

"Please believe me! I was walking here, and everything went black... and when I woke up, I was face-down in an alley and my God damn hand was missing, and my head hurt, and..." Jennifer's heart rate was racing as her anger at Shizuka was rising. She faced him, and snarled at him, "...And [i]how dare you?[/i] Putting your God damn hands on me like I'm a criminal!"

"The last time you lied to us - and I mean [i]all of us here[/i]," Shizuka's tone remained controlled and icy. "You [i]almost[/i] got everyone killed."

"...[i]I almost killed everyone?![/i]" Jennifer loudly said, repeating what Shizuka said with ice-cold venom. "That situation was out of my control, and you know it you [i]ass[/i]." she hissed, before she realized that she was unintentionally activating her ability. Causing a bone spear to slowly protrude out of her hand. It didn't pierce, but she knew that she was getting violently angry.

She closed her eyes. "...I have to go." Jennifer said, before she quickly turned tail and ran out the building fast as she could.

That just left Meifeng and the others...

"...Shizuka!" Meifeng hissed at him. "Just [i]what?![/i]" She nearly dropped the alcohol, and slammed her hands on the table. "What the [i]fuck[/i] is your problem?!" Meifeng asked. "You [i]know[/i] she's been through a lot of shit, we all have, but that doesn't give you the right to do [i]that[/i] on a [i]suspicion[/i]."

Lihua just shook her head and stayed out of it. That Takashiro boy... he had a point with Jennifer, but his methods were far too... unemotional. Just the same as seven years ago, he's regressing all the progress he made with his friends.

Shizuka gritted his teeth - he felt too drained to deal with more stupidity from these girls (them and all their emo nonsense). "Look, I snapped because she gave me the finger, but if you truly want to help her, then [i]do something[/i] to stop her from repeating the same bullshit as seven years ago."

He let out a frustrated sigh and continued, "You're right - her hand won't fall off just like that. She was assaulted on her way here, so it must've been cut off at that moment. And from the way she had reacted to me just now, it's obvious that she wouldn't just let her attacker cut her hand off so easily without putting up a fight." He closed his eyes. "This isn't some random mugging. Someone is clearly after her." [i]...But why? Who would want Jennifer's hand so badly to do this?[/i]

"But---" Meifeng tried to pronounce.

"Meifeng," Lihua chimed in, and stepped to Meifeng's side. "I understand your anger, but you cannot make such an... emotional decision now."

This night was not going well - with Cindy getting drunk off her ass, news that the government was tracking her, and now Jennifer's injury. [i]Oh! I wonder what tomorrow holds. Maybe the Chinese invades America just to kill me...[/i] Lihua mused.

"He has the best interests at heart... but, I must say that he could have handled this better." Lihua just had to say. "But, we cannot argue when Jennifer could be in more danger," Lihua started off. "We don't know what happened, but her attacker could still be on the prowl..."

That was the perk of being Lihua Zhao - whenever she started speaking, everyone listened.

"I suggest that when we find her, you give her an apology, Takashiro."

Shizuka scowled, but he nodded without another word and drained his glass. He knew that he was at fault, that he shouldn't be so harsh to an emotionally unstable girl like Jennifer (she was even more troublesome than most girls he knew), but he felt that it was the only way he could slap her out of her edgy shit.

Meifeng was still a little pissed that Shizuka did that, but like Lihua said, Jen could be in more danger. Her concern for Jen outweighed her anger at Shizuka. Nodding her head, Meifeng silently agreed.

But, she realized something was wrong. Very wrong.

"...Where's Cindy?"

The look of horror on Reed's face told it all as he glanced across the room in search of her.

"...Heeeeeeey, sexy!" Cindy said as she plopped her behind down on the table occupied by a man and obviously his date. She lifted up her dress enough to show that - indeed - she was wearing a black lacy thong in between her plump rear. "Saw you sittin' here all alone and figured you could use some company." She then winked. "...Like whatcha' see, hot-stuff?"

"Ma'am, you are making me [i]very[/i] uncomfortable."

"What? Not an [i]asssssss-man[/i]?" Cindy said, hands drifted up towards her dress, before she exposed her black bra, slowly revealing an uncomfortably lot about her. "Well, I ain't got much titty, but---"

"Cindy!" Meifeng shouted as she snatched Cindy and pulled her away.

"That's enough drink," Reed said, facepalming as Meifeng pulled her away from the target of her unwanted advances. "Can you get her back home safe? I'm gonna see if I can find Jen before anything happens to her."

"Yeah, yeah," Meifeng said dismissively as she carried Cindy off towards her car. "Just go find Jennifer, for me."

"I will join you," Lihua said a she finished her drink in a hurry to catch up with Reed. "I am personally curious about Jennifer... and I have nothing better to do tonight."

"Wait, Shizu!" Cindy shouted out to her tempered friend who was standing up. "I gotta ask, is your dick small like em' stereotype? I'm asking because it could be huuuuuge, like a black dude with a small one. Just ask Reed!"

The latter of the two chose not to dignify Cindy's drunken ramblings with an answer, whilst Shizuka was well past the point to care about whatever Cindy was rambling (though he still slammed his empty glass onto the table and glowered at his drunk colleague). "...I'll go with Lihua and Reed," those words came out more forcefully than intended. "I... still owe Jen an apology; we also need to ask her more questions about her hand."

Lihua just shook her head.

"...It's best we find Jennifer before someone else does."