The Penthouse

As he breathed in the pheromones, any feelings they were meant inspire were squashed by the sudden realization that the woman was tampering with his mind through some means. He knew what she was, if not how she was doing it. Alexander Chronos knew this because he had not known any nurturing or caring feeling in over a century. Certainly he held a certain fondness for the Starborn, but more the group as a whole than any individual, like a shepherd looking over his flock rather than a father his children. The flock was a thing to be cherished, the individual was meat to be eaten. What he did feel was anger, tinged by curiosity.

He paused time then, an instinctual action, and stood, slow and measured. He had all the time in the world now. He took off his suit methodically, folding it and laying it atop his desk, stretching his joints in his finely tailored vest as he pulled his pocketwatch out to ensure its movement had stopped. Then he made his way over to the young woman, frozen in time, and scooped out her right eyeball with his thumb so that it hung out from the socket suspended in air, daring her to meddle with his own mind when the panic took hold of her own. He continued with surgical precision, crouching down to flick each kneecap with his finger. Though he was not a strong or fast man by any means, compared to her he was currently moving faster than the speed of light, and the residual force when he continued the flow of time should shatter the patella into a thousand pieces like a bullet had hit it instead of a gentle flick.

His handiwork done for now, he made grabbed a decanter of scotch and a glass from his rolling bar cart and brought it back to his desk, removing an ornate pipe from his desk and packing it with his favorite brand of tobacco which had the scent of cherrywood. He unfroze time as he struck the match to calmly light the pipe and watch the culmination of his actions catch up with his guest.

Alexander waited patiently for the shock to wear off and screaming to give way to the typical pained confused sobbing. He used the time wisely, now able to pour his drink and light his pipe with a slow drag, tamping down the ashes a bit with a small gilded rod before enjoying the smooth flavor of the smoke paired with the smokey undertones of his scotch. Noting a bit of residue from her eyeball upon his thumb, he removed a silk handkerchief from his pocket with a flourish and wiped it off.

"Well I suppose now we know one another better than a mere introduction could have provided, Miss Groeneveld." he remarked, as the woman reacquired some semblance of lucidity in the pain. "Explain to me your abilities, as best you can. Take too long and your next blink will be far less pleasant than your last."

Alexander sighed and paused time again. Master race or not, they were still far too human, and humans never learned their lesson the first time. He left his pipe hanging eerily in midair and made his way over to the woman. With the same surgical precision he flicked her bottom right side, then flipped her over to flick the right side of her chest, intending to rupture a kidney and collapse one of her lungs. Then he made his way back to his seat, snatching the pipe from mid-air and returning starting the clock again.

"I do not like my mind being tampered with, especially not without provocation." he explained, having finished his drink by the time the screams died down again. "It is terribly rude and a lack of manners is not something I can tolerate. Now answer the question."

Alexander sighs in annoyance, rubbing his temples in slow circles. Her screaming had given him a migraine. He refilled his drink as she choked on her own blood, clearly not concerned with his miscalculation or in a terrible hurry. Mistakes were never permanent in his world. God was not perfect, but simply had the power to make it appear so.

He reversed time before the miscalculated flicks and simply broke her fingers instead. It lacked the same dramatic flare of internal damage, but would serve his purpose. As he returned time to its normal course he realized with the typical annoyance that he would have to repeat himself.

"I do not like my mind being tampered with, especially not without provocation." he explained, sounding more monotonous this time as he was going through the motions. "It is terribly rude and a lack of manners is not something I can tolerate. Now answer the question."

"Fascinating." he remarked, tapping his pipe idly to settle the ash. "Bit more invasive than what I do."

"Why are you here? Who do you work for? Trustwell?"

Mister Chronos appears to be the epitome of an open-minded and progressive gentleman... with what appears to be a sudden cold. Perhaps the pheromones are coming on a bit stronger than Elize expected.

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The following morning, Alexander called Erwin Price to his office.