Alcohol had lost it's air of sin. In fact, like most rebellions teens, Andrea found that it was a tool of escape. ... If one that could be easily abused...

You could drink a glass of wine or two with dinner, and forget about the stresses of the day... or you could drink a few glasses of the stronger stuff, things she still wasn't all to familiar with, and forget memories- both painful and pleasant.

Tonight was one of those nights... and she had a *lot* of things that needed to be forgotten.

The Greek had been roused from an evening nap by her roommate, who told her to get dressed and meet her at a specific restaurant, at a designated time. The scaled girl had waved and left, already dressed for a night of... whatever it was she normally did, leaving Andrea alone and flustered... With no way to argue. She had sat around for an hour or so, grumbling to herself, before she caved and rose to get ready.

...A few hours later and she was sitting at the bar, because the place turned out to not be a restaurant, tapping her gloved fingers against the wood. Alli was an hour and fifteen minutes late, which wasn't all that surprising, and Andrea was seriously considering going home. Her heart told her to give the girl at least another half an hour... even if she didn't want to.

There was a tv behind the bar and while most of the patrons kept themselves busy with dancing, talking, and... eying... each other, she was content with watching the evening news and being left alone. Thankfully she had thought ahead when it came to appearance, by choosing rather boring clothing that wouldn't gain much attention. She figured that was part of the reason people had more or less been avoiding her. (Then again, Sloth did a pretty good job at keeping creeps away.)

While other women in the room had chosen to wear short dresses, small skirts, and pants that looked like they belonged on teenagers... she had made sure to wear a shirt that covered her shoulders and her mid-drift. Blue, soft, and comfortable. Her jeans, if a little baggy, didn't show any of her waist and were comfortable to move in... just in case she needed to run. She couldn't figure out why they were called 'boyfriend jeans' if you could by them brand spanking new at a store, but figured it was just another American term she would never fully understand. She gently kicked her sneaker clad toes against the bottom of the stool she occupied, and tucked her chin into the warmth the white scarf she had draped around her neck. With a sigh, she picked at her drink. Toying with the little cherry inside the cup that she had neglected to eat, while she turned her attention to the mirror behind the bar so she could watch the people packed into the spacious building.

Every now and then she envied those women. Unafraid to show off something they were proud of. Faces, bodies. Though she didn't agree with most of it, she had to admit there was a certain freedom that came with not giving a damn.

Andrea hadn't even really worn makeup before, save for trying on her mother's lipstick one time, and her hair had never seen a pair of scissors in it's entire lifetime. She looked out at the ladies, splashed with green and pink eyeshadow, with red lips and hairspray keeping their expensive haircuts perfectly in place... and she felt like a small green fly on the wall. Limp midnight hair hanging in place down her back and over her shoulders, free of the braid she usually kept it in. Splotched skin bare of anything save her clothes and the sunglasses on her nose. She felt plain in comparison... but at least it was better than feeling abnormal.

She could probably thank the alcohol for that, too.

Lifting her glass, she tipped her headback and finished off what was left inside. Bitter-sweet syrup and whatever alcohol the bartender had added in tingled and burned the back of her throat. It was fizzy, like soda. Her favorite.

Some reporter on the tv droned on about a traffic jam at such n' such intersection and she plopped her chin into a waiting palm. Her roommate had less than twenty minutes to show her face, before she packed up and went home. ....Maybe less, if something more interesting didn't come on tv soon.

He didn't need to drink. Especially not in the company of strangers. Drew knew that quite well. But his feet were leading him to a bar anyway. What he needed and what he wanted were two different things. He needed to be loyal to Martin. He wanted to loyal to Sam. He needed to do what Martin asked of him. He wanted to do nothing of the sort. It was a conflict that faded in and out. Any time he thought about it he wanted to drink. It was simpler not to think about it but that would have been too easy. So he thought about such things and wanted to drink but avoided it.

Tonight he wouldn't avoid it. He would drink and would stay as far away from other people as possible to ensure his own safety. The bar seemed pretty standard when he walked in. The usual drunks and what not that Drew did his best to avoid. His eyes swept the room and caught on a familiar person. As far as Drew knew only one person was that shade of green. He was revising his plans to drink alone when he felt more than saw someone latch onto his arm. A man, entirely average from his khakis to his million in a million brown hair. The only remarkable thing was how drunk he seemed based on appearance. Drew peeled him off only for the guy to cling again.

"Sorry, you aren't my type." Drew said with a sigh.

The drunk in question swung at him in response. Drew took the punch and then took the guy off of his feet with a well placed foot and a slight shove. Before the guy could get up Drew was headed to the bar. He knew Andrea from the Sanctuary. Drew made a point of visiting regularly and he'd gotten to know the green gal tolerably well over the course of a few visits. She could be trusted to keep him out of trouble if he got too drunk.

"Hey there."

"Hey there."

At first, she didn't realize anyone had said anything, at least not to her, anyway. But after a second she sat up and turned, thinking perhaps her friend had finally decided to show up. The lecture she had began to put together sprang to her tongue, ready to fire at the immature, unthinking teen...

...but it wasn't her.

In fact, it wasn't anyone she had been expecting to see. "....Drew?" Caught off guard, guilt washed over her and her cheeks darkened in green. Of course... of course he'd catch her drinking by herself in some random bar. She fidgeted on her stood, and forced herself to cease slumping pathetically. "...I...uh... what are you doing here?"

Well, things could have been worse. At least Alli wasn't present. God, the horror that situation would have brought about would be enough to knock her over dead from embarrassment.

Glancing behind him momentarily, she peeked at a slight commotion by the door before turning her attention back. Looked like someone had indulged a little too much. A shame, really... Some people just didn't know their limits.

Drew slumped onto a stool beside Andrea. If the woman's blush was anything to go by then she was probably embarrassed about being caught out drinking. He smirked a bit at the thought. It was hard to think of her as being older than him. She just didn't act like it most of the time. Not that he minded that. He had friends and acquaintances of all ages and Jorge certainly didn't act his age all the time either.

"Just needed a drink. What about you?"

Andrea didn't seem the type to go out drinking by herself. Then again they didn't really know much about each other beyond the basics. Their meetings had been in passing most of the time. Who was to say she wasn't the type to drink alone. Drew shrugged off the thoughts and moved on. No point in getting caught up in a thought trap. Drew glanced around.

The guy from the little confrontation at the door was being held back by his friends. That was good. Drew wanted no other fighting that night. He'd made the rounds in a couple of the worse areas earlier that evening and decided to call it a night. Any urge he had to fight someone was sated for the moment. Thus fighting the drunken man held no appeal. He'd rather sit and enjoy some time with Andrea.

"Just needed a drink. What about you?"

Just needed drink? That was something she could thankfully understand. An understanding that she had really only started to develop over the past year. God... if her mother could see how used to bars she was nowadays, she'd have a fit.

"...I... uh..." Got ditched? No... that seemed to bitter. though, 'i'm waiting for a friend' seemed a little too hopeful. She was fairly sure Alli wasn't going to show up. So, what did that mean she was doing, still sitting about waiting?

She snorted, then promptly covered her mouth and fidgeted on her stool. She really, really needed to stop going that... so unbecoming! "... got ditched." She admitted finally, her voice betraying her annoyance. "... by a friend of mine. Though... I think I figured out about an hour ago that she wasn't coming... so I don't know what I'm still doing here."

Waiting so that on the off chance that she showed up, she could give her a piece of her mind... She tapped her glass absently, frowning, and waited as the bartender set about making her another. "Guess the night isn't a total waste, since you're here now and everything."

A raise of a hand, a few words exchanged along with some bills, and Drew had a beer sitting in front of him. It took Andrea a while to get around to answering him but when she did he frowned. Ditched? That sucked.

"Well good riddance then. If she shows up, we'll ditch her."

Drew took a drink of his beer as Andrea admitted to not knowing why she'd stayed since she'd figured out that the girl wasn't coming an hour ago. How long had she been there alone? Sure Drew was willing to drink alone but Andrea? In her case it just felt sad. But she pointed out that his presence made it a bit better and Drew grinned lopsidedly at her.

"Glad to be of service, m'lady."

He even turned and sketched a bow in her direction. Sure he was acting silly but if it cheered up Andrea then he could tolerate looking the fool. As a fellow mutant she deserved to smile a little. Taking another drink of his beer, Drew eyed the rest of the bar again. No taking chances that drunk and clingy wouldn't be back. Once he was sure he was safe for the moment Drew gave his attention back to Andrea.

Her lips twitched at his idea. A small smile. Ditch the ditch-er? That.... was brilliant! The smile he threw at her made her lips twitch again, a little more of a smile, and the 'Milady' bit broke her somber mood. She grinned right back, teeth and all, and giggled quietly. Feeling a little more energetic, she lifted her untouched cup and sipped at her drink.

Even with such a small interaction, it was nice to be reminded what it was like to sit and chat with normal people. All of her time spent at the mansion had been hectic and stressful, yes, but it had also been pure and fun. She had experienced her first true laugh back there. The kind that makes you gasp for breath and clutch at your stomach... Her smile stuck, and she glanced back up at Drew. In some ways she was jealous of her old self, but then again, she had been so sheltered and timid that sitting at a bar with someone would have felt... wrong. Though not quite so innocent, she felt more alive nowadays, than she had for most of her life. She had people like the man at her side to thank for that. Honest, friendly people.

"So...How have you been, Andrew?" She asked, pulling herself out of memories and back into the present. As the clocked ticked onward and the conversation carried on, she finished her drink... and another... and another. She found that talking was drawing her out of her shell, inch my inch... or maybe it was the alcohol. By the time she finished her fifth drink, she found herself giggling madly.

"...not only that, but we were stuck up there, with no ladder and no way to climb down! We had to wait for the gardener to notice us!" With cheeks tinted light brown from joy, she grinned at Drew and swiveled on her stool. At some point she had become jittery and excited. Perhaps it was from reliving some of the happier times of her life (more likely the booze), but she was reveling in it. She felt like she could run a marathon, or belt out a tune at the top of her lungs. Sloth, who was...er... a little buzzed from her drinking, tried for the fiftieth time to span the gap between them and curl around Drew. Andrea pulled him back again, nuzzling her nose in his scaled belly.

"Ah... It has been a while since I have felt this happy..."

Success! She smiled little by little until finally Andrea broke out in a full smile and even indulged in a little bit of a laugh! Time seemed to disappear as they talked and drank. The topics got increasingly ridiculous as the glasses emptied. Eventually they ended up on their adventures. Andrea had much more funny adventures than he did. Most of his ended up about fighting. Why was that? Why didn't he have any silly bookshelf climbing stories to tell?! It wasn't fair at all. Drew pouted and took another drink.

"Why don't I have funny bookshelf climbing stories?"

Andrea's snakey buddy tried to curl around him yet again but Andrea pulled him back like usual. Maybe snakey didn't like him? That seemed pretty likely to Drew but he wasn't going to say anything to him. Andrea was still here after all. Telling the snakey buddy not to mess with him would have to wait until he could get the snakey buddy alone. One day....

Meanwhile Drew called down another round.

"I mean I'm always punching people and getting punched. Maybe next time it could be a pie fight? Yummy and funny!"

Mmmm...a pie fight sounded awesome. And yummy. Can't forget that.

The gorgon snorted again, chuckling softly as she corralled the large serpent in. "Fist fighting, huh?" Shaking her head, she glanced at her small army of empty cups, and blinked. She was still kind of thirsty, but knew that she was near the end of her expendable cash supply. Which, now that she was all worked up, would be a shame. Going home to a dark, silent room wasn't at the top of her list of things to do...

especially since Drew had mentioned pie. her stomach growled, loudly, and she pressed her hand into it. "Κυριε μου... But this city es so very violent, is it not?" Her belly rubble again, much quieter this time, and she tapped her gloved fingers on the counter top. Food was something she couldn't afford... at least not tonight. And asking Drew to pay for it was out of the question. So... she needed to think.

And thinking while intoxicated doesn't often lead to brilliant ideas. But this time, it might have...

Turning slightly at a loud chorus of laughter, she spotted a medium sized table off in one shadowy corner of the bar. "Pie fights.....hmm?" Her brows furrowed and she strained against her dark glassed to see what was so funny. Two men trudged away from the table, they're shirts stained with some sort of sauce. They looked sick... and appear to have been thoroughly whipped in a contest of some sort. A waitress clearing the table carried away an armful of plates, so her addled mind jumped to the conclusion that it was an eating contest.

She had seen them before, on tv. They seemed to be quite popular in the states. One Japanese boy had downed so many hot dogs, that she was sure he could out eat her, if so inclined. The man at the table though, he probably didn't stand a chance. With a grin that stretched practically from ear to ear, Andrea turned back to Drew. It was almost predatory, and if she could see it, she'd have blamed it entirely on the drink. "...I tink I know whas almost as good as a pie fight.... I have an idea, wanna here?" Her level of intoxication was beginning to affect her control over her accent, but it was so slight that she hadn't yet noticed the shift. "That guy ova there... Les beat him inna eating contesht, yah?"

Drew nodded a little too vigorously.

"Yeah, fist fighting. I help people! Well...'cept for the people I punch."

Then Andrea said something funny. Drew didn't understand it at all but the rest of the sentence sorta made sense.

"Why you talkin' funny?" he mused aloud, "Anyway, yeah. Very very violent. It's why I punch people so much! Always causin' trouble."

So many trouble making people. Drew took a drink of his beer. Too many trouble makin' humans was why he was always out hurtin' people. If he got to have pie fights then he wouldn't have ta hurt people! 'Cept those folks what hurt other people. Those people deserved a good punch! But Andrea liked his idea! That was good! But she had a better one and Drew listened with a silly grin on his face.

"That sounds awesome!"

Then he drained his beer. Wasted? Maybe. Having a lot more fun than when he was sober? Definitely. Likely to regret this later? Beyond all shadow of a doubt.

Grinning from ear to ear, the Greek grabbed Drew by the hand and dragged him across the room toward the lonesome little table in the shadows. She mumbled a few happy words in Greek, before realizing that her language slips were probably what he had meant by 'talking funny'. "Soreh, Englissh is my second language..."

On approach to the table, and fairly fit and bury man looked up and eyed them. With his hands folded over his tremendous belly. As Andrea teetered to a stop before the table, and he belched a greeting. Two of the man's friends sat up from reclined positions behind him, and gave the two mutants their full attention. Andrea eyed the man for a second, from his greasy baseball cap that so proudly stated BUBBA, to his salt n pepper beard and sleeveless t-shirt.

The three gluttons looked Andrea up and down, before turning their attention to Drew. He was bigger, after all. "My friend here, and I, would like to offishally challenge you to an eating contest!"

A brief moment of silence lapsed between her proclamation, and the riotous laughter that erupted from the three men. Normally, they would have taken it as an fat joke due to their size, but coming from a small, obviously drunk girl? Priceless. Bubba wiped his mouth with a napkin, chuckling deeply to himself. He had just eaten a good amount of chicken wings for dinner, but he'd be able to whoop the girl and her lanky friend with no trouble.

"Oh yeah?" He rumbled, clasping his hands over his stomach. "Suure...How much are ya' betting, little missy?"

Puffing he chest out proudly, she crossed her arms before her. "Three hundred dollars!" This... shocked the three men into momentary silence. They glanced at each other, before Bubba started chuckling again. This was going to be the easiest paycheck ever. "Three hundred it is! Waitress! More chicken wings, and keep em' comin'!"

Andrea turned and smiled at drew, before plopping into one of the two seats across from Bubba. Man... this was going to be the easiest three hundred dollars ever!

Second language? What was....oh yeah! That meant she'd spoke something else first yeah? So that was the funny talking. Weird. Weird didn't matter though because they were off to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of food! Or eating. He didn't look too wonderful either. More like sloppy. Ugh. At least he was here with Andrea instead of that guy. Andrea did the talking and the challenging and that was totally alright by Drew. Really! He didn't want to talk right now. Nope. Besides, now there was food coming and they were going to eat it and...three hundred dollars. Did they have three hundred dollars?

Drew didn't have three hundred dollars.

Did Andrea have three hundred dollars?

Maybe it had just appeared! Yeah, that was probably it. Andy wouldn't bet with money they didn't have. That would just led to more punching! Drew didn't wanna punch now. He wanted to hang out with Andy and have fun! But food! There would be food soon and they'd eat it! Nothing could go wrong because Andy wouldn't bet with money they didn't have. Nope, so Drew was gonna sit down and eat with them and maybe win some money for him and Andy if they beat these guys!

Boy... was her head starting to swim. The lights above her head were swaying ever so slightly, and she felt a little lighter than air. Glancing over at her dining companion, Drew, she grinned widely and tucked a napkin into the front of her shirt. Had he always been all shifty like that? Seriously.... if he didn't stop wobbling around she'd assume that there were three of him sitting next to her.
Or... wait. Looking around, she noticed that other people were all wobbly too. maybe it was she that was moving?

The waitress clip clopped over, her heels clicking to a stop next to their table. She set down a dinner sized plate full of gooey red wings before Bubba, Andrew, and Andrea. The Greek stared at hers for a moment, distracted by the sheer quantity of them, before she remembered what they were there for.

To eat!

Bubba sat forward in his seat and reached back to turn his cap around. He eyed the small green one for a moment, before dismissing her as a threat. She was a mutant, yeah, but unless that snake of hers was going to eat too, he doubted her skinny frame had room for more than a plate of food. .... and even that was probably pushing it.

The guy on the other hand, was obviously intoxicated. He was much larger, and that combined with being drunk could prove to be a challenge. Bubba had eaten while plastered enough times to know that it could do funny things to the feeling of being overly full. Still, that didn't stop him from uttering a sarcastic "Good luck." Before digging into his plate.

Andrea watched the large man go at it, digging his fingers in and just shoveling wings into his face. She almost believed that he wasn't even casting the bones aside, until she saw the little pile starting up on a napkin to his left. She ceased looking around for utensils to use... since it didn't seem like they needed to be used, and dug into her own plate. The second the sauce touched her tongue, she recoiled.

God! It was freaking hot!

Drew's tongue was in agreement with Andrea's the moment the sauce hit it. But funny thing about being drunk, it messed with you something fierce. The scalding sensation that he would normally avoid as unpleasant barely registered to Drew as he tucked into his plate. Andy was counting on him after all! She didn't seem like she'd be eating much so it was up to him to uphold the honor of the team! Hmmm, if they were a team then they needed a team name. And nicknames! Because all teams were better with nicknames! The X-Men were proof! Sam? Laaaaaaaame. Cold Steel? Much more awesome. Maya and Gawain? Booooring. Mirror? Exciting!

But what to call the team? Drew pondered that as he ate. And he pondered. And he pondered. Why he pondered his way through an entire plate of ribs. As he set down the last bone from that plate it struck him. Team Awesome! Because they were an awesome team. Yeah! Now nicknames....

Well he couldn't very well nickname himself. So he'd have to nickname Andrea and then wait until she nicknamed him. And he pondered her nickname for a while too. At least TWICE as long as he pondered the team name. Just like the team name, it came to him in a flash of inspiration. Andrea was Duck. It was just perfect. There could be no other nickname for her! Drew flashed the newly nicknamed Duck a grin. Now that they had a team name and at least one nick name they would totally win this. Team Awesome couldn't lose!

With the burning sauce still coating her tongue, she glanced over at her partner. He was a beast, didn't even act like the sauce was hot! Looking back to hers, she scowled. It was obvious that she was just a sissy, and that the wings were in fact not that hot at all! She'd just have to push past the pain, and wolf them down as fast as possible.

Picking them up one by one, she used her sharp chompers to peel the flesh from the chicken bones, and swallowed them whole without chewing. She found rather quickly that this method made it easier for her to push past the burning, and she was soon devouring her pile of wings faster than Bubba was. The other plate filled up quickly with cast aside bones, and as they all pushed onward the waitress steadily brought out more and more.

Pretty soon, Bubba realized he was in trouble. Not only from the big guy who was easily working through his pile.. but from the green chick. She was eating more voraciously, like a freaking vacuum... not even bothering to chew the chunks of meat before swallowing. He was starting to wonder if the whole thing was a set up, that she, or both or them, had some wacky mutation that allowed them to suck down huge amounts of food...

Naw... He decided. They were just some stupid kids, and Mutant or no Mutant, he was going to put them in their places! His buddies rooted him on, standing behind him, watching intently as the other two ate.

**

Andrea paused, resting for a moment as she blinked tiny tears away. Gods! Her face was starting to burn! She made sure not to wipe any of the sauce on her fingers into her eyes, and leaned back as yet another bone strewn plate was taken away, and her pile was replaced. They had been nomming for a while now, and Bubba was finally starting to slow. Glancing over at Drew, she wondered how much he he was doing, before tuning her attention back to her sixth plate of wings... or was it the seventh? Eight? She'd lost count, somewhere in between the burning and concentrating on eating! With a giggle, she turned and points a saucy finger at Drew. "You... you have something on your *hick!* ...cheek!" Another giggle, and she wrestled down the urge to lean over and wipe it off like her mother had. Lick a thumb and ruuub until the spot was goners. She didn't stop giggling, either, as she dove back into the pattern of eating.