Thursday night's were always slow and this was even worse then normal. In fact her sol patron's were there not for the bar, but to fix a basketball sized craters in the floor as well as half the ladies room door was still missing. Some people did not hold Alcohol well and with the pro-mutant nature of her bar, Drunks somes times got out of hand.

With a sigh she considered the damage and the bill for it. Such incidents had luckily been rare and it helped that the building had been made to take a considerable punch. Maybe her parents had a point about the bad idea of getting a bunch of drunk people wielding powers under one room. Things were bound to get out of hand and her power was useless in actual combat.

Still she enjoyed her job, she liked people and talking to them and hearing about their problems. She liked to help people feel better and saw no reason why she should not make a profit at it. She watched as a TV, was hauled out the door a victim of the previous night as well. SHe had banned the woman who apparently had the ability to fire something green and explosive from her mouth. SHe was in jail anyway though Melissa did not know much more on it.

With a board sigh she took a swipe at the bar with her rag, behind her she could hear her cook snoring away. Normally she would have yelled at him, but their did not seem to be much point. Maybe a band would help she thought to herself looking around the centralized U shaped bar.

Richard was exploring, soaking up the sights, sounds and smells (both good and at times unsavoury) of this new and unfamiliar city. His future was uncertain, he was a ship without a sail waiting to see where the winds of fate and the sea of job offers would take him. Truth be told, he was also a little lonely. It had been more than a year since he had broken up with his girlfriend and he was ready to move on. He was by no means desperate to be in a relationship, Richard was happy enough being single and would only consider dating if the relationship showed potential of becoming long term. He was also missing friends, so many of his university friends were now all over the country ranging far and wide, each starting their own seperate adventures. Ah but this slightly melancholic thinking was getting him nowhere.

After sampling some of New York's famous pizza and finding it to his liking he started to amble around in hopes of finding some distraction from his melancholic mood. It was a sudden impulse that prompted him to stroll into the first descent looking bar he came to. As he took of his cap and his gloves (it was chilly outside), his eyes observed with interest the interestingly shaped craters in the floor. Stepping aside to let what appeared to be the poor and sorry remains of a TV exit the door courtesy of a workman, he made his way to the bar.

What went on in this bar, he thought. He was dressed smartly in a bomber jacket and nice jeans, a smart casual look. Was he over dressed? he was not sure. He looked behind the bar.

"Can I have an Angels Envy, neat please?" He asked in his deep faintly british accent.

It was not the most common drink people ordered in the bar but she had some requests for it and so while it took her a few moments to find the bottle she did find it. She was lucky the fight had not hit the liqueur, she had no idea if what the woman spit had been flammable but if it had, the bar would have been a powder keg of fire. Setting the drink down in front of her latest customer she looked the man over. He was good looking, she admitted to herself but she was married to the bar and making some of it's liqueurs out of water.

"Drunk mutants some times get carried away" she said explaining the damage. SHe was a pro mutant bar and people with amazing powers some times did not use them in the most amazing ways while drunk.

"The Name's Melissa, i don't beleive i have seen you around" she said as way of making conversation. She was good at recalling people and names but a lot of people passed through on a dayly basis. Moving a few locks of brown hair behind her ear, she took a look around the bar, fairly sure her other customer was passed out drunk.

"Drunk mutants sometimes get carried away"

Richard nodded, his imagination trying to conceive how such spectacular yet localized damage had been accomplished, with varying degrees of success.

"Ah! That explains things," he said, his glance once more sweeping over the bar. "I hope nobody was hurt. Do things get this interesting often?" Richard asked. Part of him was wondering if this would be a good place to become a regular, and if so would that significantly impact his life expectancy.

Saying a "Thank you." as he took the drink, Richard smelled the whisky, took a small sip and allowed the smooth concoction to swirl around his mouth before slowly swallowing it, allowing a contented smile to cross his face. "Ahhh, that is good, I needed that." He said smiling. It had been a long day, full of interviews, meeting new people etc.

"The Name's Melissa, i don't believe i have seen you around"

Richard who had been slightly lost in thought and the enjoyable contemplation of the complex flavor of liquor, turned his full attention to the speaker. He found the bartender to be an attractive looking woman with deep green eyes and a pleasant voice.

"A pleasure to meet you Melissa, my name is Richard." Richard replied smiling and nodding to her. He enjoyed meeting new people, especially when one could just be themselves.

"I just arrived here actually, interviewing for jobs." Richard said by way of explanation. he turned to take in the occupants of the bar. "Slow night I see." Richard said after a few more sips of his whiskey. He was not a heavy drinker and preferred to savor quality over quantity. After a few moments of relaxed silence, Richard asked.

"So what is it like here? Anything I should know or take note of? Any tips for the new in town?"  He said smiling.

Bartenders tended to see and hear things. Richard had a number of things he was interested in knowing, such as how was the tension between mutants and humans (Thinking of his recent conversation with Margo), were there any areas that one should avoid etc. His intent in entering the bar however was to relax and unwind from a long day, potentially meet people and strike up conversations, not to pump bartenders for information. Hence he kept his tone and questions casual.

"Not normally, but most mutants just lack the power to be to dangerous. Plus i have a policy not to let people who put craters in my floor back in the bar." she said honestly. Sure their were smaller things here and there or some times alcohol loosened people control a little to much but her repair bills had been surprisingly low. The rits had taken their toll a year earlier but even there she had been lucky compared top many places.

"Yea Thursdays always are. The week end the place gets pretty busy though. What kind of work are you looking for?" she asked curiously wondering what brought him to NYC to look. Sure their was always work but the place was expensive.

"If you are a mutant i would advise against being to open with your powers. Some people like our kind, other's don't and sometimes they see killing as an option. If your a human i would avoid the area around Sanctuary. It's a mutant only shelter that houses mutants despite reputation, so while it is safe enough for mutants, humans avoid it. DOn't let that scare ya though" she said with a smile..

"Also while i don't care if your human or mutant, many who come here will, so if you are human just claim to have a stupid power you can't show" she said her words a bit less honest. Sure Melissa would never refuse human coin but she really did prefer mutants to humans.

"Not normally, but most mutants just lack the power to be to dangerous. Plus i have a policy not to let people who put craters in my floor back in the bar."

"That sounds like a wise plan." Richard said smiling.

"Yea Thursdays always are. The week end the place gets pretty busy though. What kind of work are you looking for?"

"I'll bet Fridays and Saturdays are the worst. Um work, I am a Mechanical engineer specializing in robotics and automation." Most people tended to have varying ideas as to what that actually ment with equally varying degrees of accuracy.

"There are a number of laboratories and small companies that are doing interesting projects and research here.I am hoping to see if one will hire me. I recently graduated you see." Richard explained.


"If you are a mutant i would advise against being to open with your powers. Some people like our kind, other's don't and sometimes they see killing as an option. If your a human i would avoid the area around Sanctuary. It's a mutant only shelter that houses mutants despite reputation, so while it is safe enough for mutants, humans avoid it. Don't let that scare ya though"

"Thank you for the advice. Each place has its do's and don'ts and it is good to find out before hand as opposed to discovery via trial and error." Said Richard gratefully.

"Also while i don't care if your human or mutant, many who come here will, so if you are human just claim to have a stupid power you can't show"

"So where would one go to learn about mutant power control?" Asked Richard casually. he was not sure, but he suspected. In any chase it was good to find out what he could. He appreciated the honesty very much, and tipped accordingly.

(OCC sorry for the lack of emotion, it has been a long week, also sorry for the wait)

SHe had little idea what the man did though the thought came to her he might make robots of some kind.Science had never been a great subject for her though she did pick things up from people who came to the bar every now and then. "I am not entirely sure what that is but sounds like you would need to be pretty bright she said figuring what it must took to get the degree needed.

"The mansion or sanctuary can help you with that, they both have area's for that very thing. I have known people who have been to both, Sanctuary is more for the people who want to teach them selfs where as the mansion is more like a school. The mansion supports a more we can all live together in peace motto vs sanctuary mutant supremacy attitude. " she replied.

"I can't say one's better then the other but you don't hear to many positive stories about being a mutant" she said with a shake of her head. She leaned toward the Mutant supremacy side herself but her powers meant she was not much use, besides she would rather take people money. "I Built this place with my parents collage fund set aside for me, they were less then happy, so congratulations of graduating"s she offered. Her parents even two years later had barely said a word to her

"I am not entirely sure what that is but sounds like you would need to be pretty bright."

Richard looked down for a second and did not answer, he always got a little uncomfortable when praised.

"The mansion or sanctuary can help you with that, they both have area's for that very thing. I have known people who have been to both, Sanctuary is more for the people who want to teach them selfs where as the mansion is more like a school. The mansion supports a more we can all live together in peace motto vs sanctuary mutant supremacy attitude. I can't say one's better then the other but you don't hear to many positive stories about being a mutant. I Built this place with my parents collage fund set aside for me, they were less then happy, so congratulations of graduating."

"Well thanks for the congratulations." Said Richard. He pondered all that she had said. "I prefer exploring and learning my own way so I might hit up the Sanctuary. At this point I am not sure which side I lean more towards. Guess I will find out. Which way do you lean? I wish there were more positive stories about mutants. So how bad actually is the discrimination?" Richard wondered what type of world he had stepped into with the advent of discovering his mutant powers. At least his powers did not make things explode or, as far as he knew, pose any danger to those around him.

"Your parents not very supportive? What didn't they like? If you don't mind me asking."

"Toward Mutant supremacy though i don't advocate killing the humans. My own experience has been pretty tame though. My parents barely cared i was mutant" she said which was mostly true. Her parents had not exactly wanted to parade their daughters new ability to be the star of any party. Luckily her powers had emerged late enough where it was not much of an issue. Had her powers emerged in high school things may have been way different.

"It can depend on the area and your visibility. People deal with what they don't have to see much easier. Normal people might give you a dirty look but their are street gangs that get their kicks by attacking lone mutants and as for the police....well they have worked with the Mansion before to detain mutants breaking the law. How justified they were is normally dependent on who you might ask." she replied easily.

"They thought, I was crazy to start a bar in the city with the highest mutant density and mutant related violent crime rates in the country and cater a bar where they could get drunk, possibility out of control with lethal powers. Oh, and that i took their mney to do it" she said with a smile. Her parents would likely never talk to her again, but she did not really need them either. The bar would never make her rich but it was able to support her in what she wanted to do.

>"They thought, I was crazy to start a bar in the city with the highest mutant density and mutant related violent crime rates in the country and cater a bar where they could get drunk, possibility out of control with lethal powers. Oh, and that i took their mney to do it"



Richard smiled "I can understand that, though the fact that you took what I am guessing was your college fund to do it must have annoyed them a little bit. But hey you look like your business is doing rather well so, I guess it turned out all right after all."



Richard rose, "Anyhow, I think I might need to go run some errands. I hope this does not sound to strange, but I just got here and don't really know anyone really, would you be interested in... I dunno, hanging out after you get off work or grabbing a meal? Just a thought." Richard wondered how she might respond. He was definitely not asking her out for a date. He had just met her and did not operate that way. He saw it more like an opportunity to get to know a stranger and perhaps make a friend, as well as learn more about...well mutants and New York and life here, and many many many other things.

Her get out of work? that pretty much never occurred as she ran the place. "Sure, sound's good to me" she replied with a brief thought on the manner. The guy seemed stable enough and he had not sat at the bar long enough to be to drunk to know what he was saying.

"Would be at least a few hours though" she said knowing no one was going to wnat to come in before dinnertime. They did not have a good dinner menu, in fact their food was sub-par and she knew it but people came for the booze and becides it kept her friend and cook, a raccoon mutant whose weak eye sight had damaged his cooking skills beyound what he would admit to.

PUlling out a napkin, she wrote down her number and slid it to him.Melissa was not shy though she did use caution. Still she was in this buisness because she liked people.

>"Sure, sound's good to me"

Really? He thought. Out loud he just said "Cool!"

>"Would be at least a few hours though."

"That is fine, meet you in the park in a few hours?" Said Richard accpeting Melissa's phone number while sliding a business card back towards her. "I look forward to seeing you then."

And thus he gathered up his gloves and cap and headed out.



****Some time later***

Richard had arrived early to the park, as a gentleman should never keep a lady waiting, and sat relaxidly enjoying this little green sanctuary in the middle of the sprawling city. every so often he would get an idea and type it onto his phone. Other than that he just sat there, at peace.

[OCC: sorry for the short post, they should get longer as Richard and Melissa interact more and get to know each other more]

Melissa left the bar with her Manager who was delighted to actually get to manage as Melissa spent half her time bar tending and directly delt with most issues. She decided to ditch her normal black t-shirt and pant look and was almost surprised to look in her closet and recall she had other clothing. She picked out a knee length black skirt and a nice white t-shirt and made sure she had the right time.

She had no idea how good of a tour guide she might make but she would certainly try. It would be nice to get out of the bar she told herself though not convincing herself. SHe always worried about the place when she was away.

She got to the place on tiem and quickly spotted Richard and waved to him as she approached.

Richard looked up to find Melissa walking towards him. He was taken aback for a minute. She looked stunning and rather elegant in her knee length black skirt and white T-shirt.Richard wondered if he was underdressed in his nice jeans, gray patterned T and cotton unbuttoned shirt. He almost felt a little self concious. He rose to greet her.

"Melissa, thanks for coming, you look stunning, I feel a little underdressed." He smiled and paused, was he being awkward? Possibly, was he over thinking things, probably.Mentally he shooed the introspective inner voice back into a corner. He had asked to meet for dinner a) because he had nothing else planned. b) He was in a strange city, feeling a little alone and mroe than ready to meet new friends. c) One of his joys in life was meeting and getting to know new people and d) He was feeling slightly impulsive and wanted to know more about the city from a pro and who better to ask than someone who worked there, a bartender no less. He was looking for friends first and foremost, but then again, he was open to... whatever might come his way.

"So..... where to?" He asked. Richard was at ease with himself, he did not think of himself as handsome but he liked how he looked. He did not think of himself as special but liked who he was and was at peace with it. This tended to make people feel at ease around him. he wondered where melissa would take him.