The good news was, Paige had finally got an act in a better-known bar, and on a Friday night, at that. The bad news was she was just opening with a little three song set before the real talent came on. She gave it her all, opening up with Fade to Black, then Rainbow in the Dark, and finishing it off with Sweet Child o' Mine. A smile crossed her face as she packed up the black electric guitar Sam had given her awhile back. She felt like she was at the top of her game for the first time in a long time. Nothing could stop her. Even though she was still getting over some confidence problems, as far as music went...she was still on top of the world.

Or at least she thought so until the main event, some band of wannabes, each wearing a different band tee-shirt, took the stage. Well...Paige thought they were, until they started playing. It was then that she ordered a coke(being under age sucked), and sat at a table, staring at it and trying to shut out the world.

"Hey doll, you--"
"Not in the mood, I'm nineteen, I don't like guys," Paige interjected before the man who'd tried to hit her could even finish his sentence, much less sit down after setting down his beer bottle. Her green eyes met his; he had to be about thirty. Gross...

"They're all true, just take the one that'll make you go away faster," she growled. This guy was probably six-two, two-hundred fifty pounds. There was no way she could take him, but she really wasn't in a mood to be messed with. Then again...was she ever?

His hand reached out towards her, and in a flash Paige reacted. "I said No!" she shouted, her hand grabbing his bottle and smashing it against the guy's head. He went down to a knee in a shower of broken glass and cheep bear as three guys at the next table jumped up.

"Hey...that ***** just knocked out Kevin..." Paige gulped as they drew closer to her. "Ooohhh...****...." Oh yeah, picking a spot next to a wall was a great idea...

Sam walked out of the bathroom and went for the bar, the taste for whiskey still willing him to drink a little more. He made a note not to drink as much as he had in the past he had been getting chewed out as of late so he had been trying not to drink as he normally did when he was out and about. A beer now in hand Sam shifted from the bar to the stage and realized that Paige was no longer on stage, he was going to surprise her and show up to her gig but it seemed she didn’t notice he was the one with the lighter in the background as she was playing her songs. Just as well, the next band didn’t really do much for Sam as far as music went so he turned and looked to see if she was still in the bar.

Sam sipped his beer and heard glass shattering and someone cussing. Sam looked to the bartender and flashed his badge, probably not the best thing to do at the moment seeing as he was a few drinks down but unless they were sound blasting mutants Sam was pretty sure he didn’t have much to worry about. ”I’ll take care of it.”

Sam said as he was walking over to the group of three guys that was quickly surrounding the familiar blonde who had a shattered glass in hand and a rather large guy on his knees. Sam looked to the other three men and shook his head, ”I was gonna surprise you and tell you what and awesome job you did. But it seems your kinda skipping steps in the rock world.” Sam said. Walking around towards Paige, ”You get some gigs, get a record deal then bash peoples heads in with bottles.” Sam said trying to scold her but not really putting much effort into it. ”What seems to be the problem here?”

Paige tensed, surveying her surroundings. She could always vault over a chair, dart across the table, and get outta there, but there was the chance she'd accidentally kick someone at the next table in the head. Oh yeah, she was screwed. As the guys started to advance, though, she heard a familiar voice, followed by seeing the face to match. Sam!

"I just looked over and saw this psycho-chick knock out our friend here..." One of the guys, a somewhat smaller man with a bald head and tattoos on his knuckles said.

Paige snorted. "Their friend decided it'd be fun to hit on a nineteen year old. I said no, he didn't get it, so he got a bottle to the side of the head," she explained to her friend.

One of the three explained what happened ”Yeah… they do that.” Sam said agreeing with psycho chicks had a tendency to break things. Sam shifted his eye over to Paige and he raised an eyebrow. She didn’t seem to be that psycho. He recalled having a conversation with her about getting into a fight… or was that another blonde. He was pretty drunk at the time but that was his guitar she was playing up there so it might have been her he was talking to.

Sam scratched the back of his head as Paige explained what happened, looking from the glass on the ground to the large guy who had some blood on his forehead. ”What a waste of beer.” Sam said shaking his head walking closer to Paige, ”Again Paige, you skipped some steps.” he shrugged to her and looked to the three other guys, ”Look guys I’m sorry for what happened, it had to be a misunderstanding.” Sam said nodding his head, ”Clearly your friend isn’t the type to do that to a young lady such as her.” Sam put his hands on his hips pulling back the sides of his jackets trying out his new badge clip located now visibly on his hip.

”Why don’t we get a rag for your body, get him patched up and then you can have a few rounds on me? The last thing we need is a some kind of confrontation.” Sam said nodding his head and looking to Paige as the air around them dropped a few degrees due to his mutation. The entire bar became visible with his sixth sense as he had his good eye fixed on Paige, ”It was some kind of misunderstanding right?” Sam asked her hoping she would play around. The last thing he needed was for some higher ups and close friends to find out he got into a fight…. At a bar… again.

Heh...Psycho chick...Insane...crazy...she tended to hear those words alot in reference to her lately. Oh well. Maybe she was. "I didn't skip anything," she grumbled. "Okay...maybe...but I don't take lightly to guys almost twice my age hitting on me."

She sighed, then glared at each and every one of the men around her, even the wounded guy who was just now coming to, a little. "What's to misunderstand? He's like forty, called me doll, winked at me, then tried to grab me! That creep was trying to get in my pants, so I let 'im have what he deserved...End of ****ing story..."

It was clear that Paige thought she was in the right and even if she was it probably was best for everyone if she just played along you know? Play the part of innocent young girl and then laugh at whatever stupid joke the guys said. There was a reason those girls never got into bar fights. Sam looked down at the glass and nodded his head. Yup, that alone is reason for a fight. Hoping that they were outnumbered and Sam was the only guy in their pair was reason enough for them to leave he and Paige alone. A round of drinks seemed to entice them for a moment until Paige started talking.

‘She was in the right’. Sam thought to himself as he looked to the bartender still feeling where the three were. ”Can we get a rag over here and a round for these guys on my tab?” Sam asked hoping him actually buying them around would be enough. They moved a little closer clearly pissed with Paige, causing Sam to try and flash the badge again.

They all stared at Sam and Paige. Sam looked to the blonde next to him and sighed as she was glaring at them. Sam sighed again and felt the shift in body weight before he saw the second biggest guy there reach forward to open hand slap Paige across the face. Sam acted first and placed his hand on the back of Paige’s neck and pushed her down out of the way of the slap. Sam’s face was in the next line of target and would have been hit if he didn’t bring his other hand up in a knife hand to the guy’s forearm. He faltered and grabbed his arm and Sam shook his head. ”Will not be hitting a lady in front of me.”

By now it was probably obvious that Paige wasn't one of those girls.Paige tensed as she saw the slap, but she found herself quickly pushed down. She backed up so she was standing against the wall. Not scared, by no means. The young former rich girl was surveying her surroundings. The one she'd knocked out was the third biggest. But the fourth guy, he was maybe a hundred seventy five soaking wet. Even then she knew she didn't stand a chance.

"Some tough guy...trying to slap a 120 pound nineteen year old with your three buddies..." she grumbled under her breath. Paige did see the guys all tense up; and she knew if one would try to slap her, they'd have no problem at all jumping Sam. Maybe she wouldn't be any help in a fight like this, but...she could...even the odds a bit, just in case. She looked at Sam, then closed her eyes. She had to get this right; there was only one shot at it.

Clang! In a split second, a black aluminum baseball bat lay on the ground, the momentum of the shift sending her rolling a bit, just barely touching the side of Sam's foot.

It seemed they didn’t like it when Sam stopped the slap by attacking their friend. Understanding the situation Sam would have felt the same way if someone attacked his friend or in this case knocked them out. Should he call for police back up? No he had been drinking and while he had a badge he was still mostly honorary meaning if he gave enough reasons they might revoke it. That and he’d also have to arrest Paige. Sam sighed deciding a little scrap was the only way to handle this without getting into trouble he was protecting Paige and himself right?

A loud clank caught his attention as he turned and realized that Paige was no longer standing next to him. He blinked and with his good eye he looked down and saw a black metallic baseball bat. Odd her body heat vanished as well. He was distracted and that was when one of the three started moving forward with a punch.

Sam felt the movement and placed his hand on the bat stepped back and gave it a kick sending the bat up into the groin of the first attacker. Sam caught the bat in mid air and brought it up and placed both hands on it using the bat to block a punch. ”Stop.” was all he could manage as the guy slammed his fist into the bat. A loud hollow ‘thunk’ echoed around them as he let out a howl and took a few steps back. Holding onto the bat and dropping to his knees and turning Sam swept the next attacker’s legs out from under him.

Standing and looking at the three attackers Sam shook his head. ”Guys sure you want to do this?” Sam asked palming the bat in one hand while still holding onto it.

This actually felt...right. Her mutation, for the first time in her life, was giving her a sense of purpose. Usefulness.

And as soon as that thought passed through her head she was used for a groin-shot. "Gross...Great now I'm gonna have to go home and scrub my face with steel wool," she grumbled. Oh well, it was too late now.

Despite that one moment, this whole thing was quite the rush; that is, it would have been, if baseball bats had adrenaline. However, it did make her mind race and dance with anticipation.

The bat could talk it seemed, and it didn’t like being used for groin shots. Just as well Sam didn’t enjoy giving them either. Looking from the bat in his hand to the three guys Sam shook his head slightly hoping that they didn’t want to continue on with the beating. Able to handle them weaponless Sam felt bad about using the weapon then again the last time he was bare handed he was left for dead. He didn’t plan on having a repeat even if these guys seemed ‘ordinary’.

”Look, been a long day for everyone. Me and my friend will leave quietly and then you four can go back to having a great night. Let’s say we call it guys?” No response other than a few glares. They didn’t run towards him nor away, they just stood their watching him waiting for him to run towards him. Sam brought the bat over his shoulder and let it rest. ”Right well… Have a good night.” the air around him and his bat started to grow a little cold as he turned towards the bar. ”Cash me out Barkeep?” Sam asked not really focusing his obvious attention on the three guys.

Before he made it to the bar the barkeep already had his card ready and with a quick grasp he took it and placed it in his pocket. ”Sorry about that, anyway you can hold onto the artist I was with stuff? I’ll be sure to compensate you. Again sorry for the trouble.” the barkeep nodded his head once and didn’t say anything else.

For now, the bat stayed silent, letting her wielder take care of the situation. Groin shot aside...that was actually rather awesome. She kicked ass! Well, Sam used her to kick ass, which meant that indirectly, she kicked ass! And Sam really knew how to handle her it seemed...ohGodEWNO. He knew how to handle a baseball bat, which she just so happened to be right now.

"Okay..." she said once Sam was finished taking care of business. "That. Was...Awesome." Her tone showed she was actually quite in awe; she'd never thought of using her shift as a weapon before, probably because that plan took two. As much fun as a baseball bat hitting people upside the head all by itself would be...she was sure she couldn't do that.

"Thanks for the help, Sam. I...uh...if you put me down, I can shift back." Technically she could have shifted back then, but...that would have been a little awkward.

They were alone now and out of the bar, Paige in bat form still rested on his shoulders even when she was talking. His sixth sense giving him more information than his dead eye ever could. No one was coming after them, which was a good start. If he managed to make it home without getting cornered or jumped again he was doing something right.

He tightened his grip on the bat and smirked as he lifted his fingers then placed them back on the bat one after another. “Oh, you don’t like being carried around?” Sam asked as he lifted the bat from his shoulder and placed the end in his other hand. “Fair enough,” Sam said smacking his hand a few times then setting it down on the ground gently. His mutation still told him that no one was running towards them so he relaxed a bit. Just a bit though, last time he really was relaxed he was killed.

That wasn’t something he wanted to repeat. Sam was pretty sure that have been the end with most of his relationships. Athena wouldn’t be able to handle it again, or if she could Sam wouldn’t want her to go through that again. It wasn’t fair to her or anyone else. Sara might also actually kill him if he faked his death again. Sam started to laugh as he stood back up and took a few steps away from Paige before she shifted back. “You see a cat-lady you don’t tell her I was at a bar got it?” Sam said knowing she would chew his ear off again. It was nice but people that cared about you always seemed to be over protective.

“Anyways, we can pick your equipment off tomorrow I’ll come with you if you want and those guys shouldn’t bother you anymore. Next time go for a slap, a bottle is more of a statement sure but it also counts as assault. Something you should try avoiding in the future.” Sam lifted his shirt slightly revealing the badge the police gave him, “Otherwise we might have a different conversation.” Sam let the threat sit in the air for a minute, even though he had to uphold the law he liked Paige, she was good company, she didn’t know to much or ask to many questions.

“I didn’t know you could shift into a bat.” Sam said placing his hand on his chin. ““That worked out pretty well.”

Paige grumbled a little as he toyed around with the bat--her. "It's a little weird, being handled like this. Most of the time I'm just sitting there, so if I get like...vertigo or something when I shift back, that's why."

When set down, she shifted back, thankful that she was one of those shifters blessed with the ability to shift complete with clothing. "A slap generally does nothing more than piss people off," she started, shaking her hair out. "But you do some damage, and they'll generally let you be, assuming they're alo--oh..." The last sentence was cut off as she saw the badge."Yeah...I'll do better to behave next time, then." Her face turned red, blushing a little with the embarrassment of realizing that her friend was a cop. Yay.
"Yeah. My default is a spork, but I can do most any simple object, so long as it isn't bigger than I am. Figured a baseball bat would be best considering there were three of them, and given there was a limited amount of space," she replied, showing that she knew a little bit about fighting, if nothing else.

When she said spork Sam just started to laugh, “I’m sure that is an interesting story.” Sam said nodding his head and patting her on the back lightly as he started to walk a bit more down the sidewalk. If he spotted a cab he would have called it over but he didn’t so he was content to walk. It was for the most part a pretty nice night anyways. “Care to share it?” Sam asked in reference to the story that Paige must have had for her first time shifting. Most of the stories he had heard were all interesting and he was sure Paige would have had an a good one as well.

“Just for the record, I could have beaten them off with a spork as well. Space aside, they weren’t much of a challenge. Guys who normally pick on women aren’t the toughest sort of people.” Sam said shrugging his shoulders.

Paige tensed a little, but otherwise didn't react badly to the pat on the back. She held nothing against Sam for laughing at the word "spork." Hell, everyone did that, it seemed, and she learned to get used to the fact that her mutation was rather funny at first glance.

"I was a cheerleader in Junior High school; you know, pretty, popular, athletic...one day at practice, one of the football players snuck up behind me and scared me. I sporked, instantly. In that instant, I went from being popular to the one who was always picked on. Well, I would have if I hadn't beaten the crap out of those who picked on me. So, I just became somewhat of an outcast, but still retained a measure of popularity because of my family's having a butt-ton of money."

She laughed a little at his next statement. "I'm sure you could have. I mean if they thought all three of them would be needed to take me on and avenge their friend...they couldn't have been that tough...But I appreciate the help. And I'd have paid to see you take those guys out with a spork." She smiled, looking over at him as they walked.