Episode One: New Taste

PROWL reverts to humanoid form and goes into infiltration mode: its surface forms an array of nanotubes designed to reflect no light, rendering the robot invisible to surveillance devices.Thus cloaked, PROWL works to enter the diner through the back door.

Tremor examines the screens in front of him, taking in the layout of each room and the location of possible threats. "PROWL. Backdoor appears to be clear. You should be fine to infil at that location."

"Be aware; a target was spotted in the kitchen, but he quickly left. I can't tell if his hasty departure was because he is aware of us or not. So proceed with caution."

"Also, the lighting is too poor in the main dining area for me to gather any kind of reliable intel. However there appear to be several being moving about. Do not go into the hat room until we have a plan to support." Tremor pauses then adds, "I may be being overly cautious, but I have a sneaking suspicion they may be expecting trouble. Whether they know we are here or not."

"Let's move." Rodrigo says to Naji. "We're not sure what their intentions are, or if they will be hostile, but prepare yourselves for the worst." he adds, checking his pistol.

Naji rolls down the driver side window. She reaches for her firearm but checks herself and takes her out her collapsible baton instead. The weapon remains concealed in her hand, no reason to broadcast her readiness for combat she thinks. She extends her magic and uses it to bond with the weapon. Then she summons her familiar October. The dark feathered barn owl with an orange face appears on her shoulder. The bird tilts its head until its face is practically upside down then takes off out the open window and into the sky silently.

"I instructed October to alert me silently if anyone other than us moves in the area. Any local armature ornithologist might note the presence of a bird of that coloring and species, but he shouldn't stand out otherwise." Naji telepathically sends to the members of the team still in the van. "Oh...and I can speak to you telepathically. It's not mind reading, literally a walkie talkie feature in my brain. If I send you a thought, you can reply for a few seconds, but the link fades quickly. No chance of accidentally revealing which members of the team you have a crush on. If we'd like, I can try to maintain contact among the team. I have a short range though, like 60 ft, and I have to be able to see you. Probably should have brought it up on the drive, but its like breathing to me now, so I forget sometimes."

Above October makes another pass. The bird sends its annoyance at being out in the morning sun, but diligently keeps watch as instructed.

"I wish we'd gotten more team members into the building, but we'll have to make do. Ready,? Let's go." Rodrigo steps out of the van. Using the vehicle's door as cover, he calls out to the diner in an authoritative voice. "Goblins! You are under arrest for illegally revealing yourselves to the public! Come quietly or there will be trouble. You have twenty seconds to comply!"

PROWL activates its cloaking mechanism, enabling it to mimic its surroundings like a chameleon (Pass Without Trace). The robot prepares its stun baton, coating it with a thin layer of its own tactical nano-composite, improving the weapon's deadliness (casting Shillelagh). Then PROWL moves to the door to the manager's office and opens it a crack.

"Alright, just going to announce our presence then." Jericho shuts his tablet and digs into his bag, taking out a device that looks something like a taser and affixing it to his right arm, doing the same for a shield on his left. He’s preparing for the inevitable fight now.

Tremor's eyes go wide at Rodrigo's brash move. "I question whether letting our targets know we are here was the best move, especially with one of our team inside." Tremor stows his hacking gear, motions to Cap to stay in the van and continue monitoring the situation, then dismounts the vehicle and takes cover on the opposite side from the building.

"Let's hope it serves to draw their attention outward and toward us, rather than alerting them to PROWL's presence."

"That's the idea." Rodrigo murmurs as he flashes his badge for the goblins to see."I'll hold their attention, those of you who wish can circle 'round back. Have you got eyes on Prowl yet?".

Disregarding Rodrigo's instruction to not engage the goblins, PROWL sneaks into the manager's office and clubs the lone goblin with the electrified baton.

Jericho steps out of the van, his hood up and his hands raised. "Maybe not intentionally, no. But there are rules we all must abide by, and not revealing ourselves to the mundane world is one of them. We are not looking for a fight here, we just want to understand the situation."

PROWL ties up and gags the unconscious goblin, then stuffs the hapless creature into the freezer along with whatever might be found in there.

Rodrigo was just about to level threats at the goblin and begin counting down to his 20-second ultimatum when Jericho speaks. A negotiator robot here out front, a killer robot in the back as a fail-safe. This could work. This could work really well. When the goblin spokesperson (spokes-goblin?) opens the door, Rodrigo steps forward. "Fine, we'll talk. And then you're coming with us."