Noel couldn't do this in front of the Ranger. She sure wasn't going to do it in front of the sort-of boss, Hadden. There was really only one person she trusted for that, oddly enough, and that was Hades. He'd seen her messy before. He wouldn't make her drink alone. Everything had worked out alright last time. They had established some unwritten boundaries and that made Hades safe.

Now that Noel had been freed from her requirement to be escorted everywhere, she made the call.

They were supposed to meet at a neutral location: some mid-scale yuppie bar with semi-private booths. No dancing. Just food and flights of beer. The main patronage lined the bar and emptied their pockets for upcharged heads of foam.

After her squirming, not-at-all trained 'gift' from Hades, Noel figured her friend could use a refresher in what life was like for the modern mutant. Noel had a list, a duffel bag, a phone full of puppy pictures, and a goal. Today, it was Operation Destroy Tastebuds. She let the hostess know one out of the party of two was here and let herself be settled into a dimly lit booth.

Today, Noel's wrist had only a string of numbers on it.

Hades stared at the text.... was this her way of apologizing for her comments over coffee? If so, an invitation to a ...what did they call it, Ah yes, a "Yuppie bar". Essentially an establishment serving liquid libation where those of the bourgeoisie persuasion gathered. Hades looked it up online. It was a place that gave him a "go once and never again" kind of feel to it. It was a Texas themed bar, which when placed through the Yuppie translator meant a bar that would most likely be loud and brash in every sense of the word. Perhaps it was not an apology, more like some twisted form of revenge for giving Noel a dog.

Hades checked his text log. Two, correction it was two dogs, oh well, Hades shrugged, the more the merrier. Just before Hades headed out he noticed that there was a moonshine tasting challenge going on tonight, a flight of the "highest quality moonshine" , which meant that it most likely would not cause you to go blind, depending on how authentic they wanted the challenge to be. All you had to do was finish the flight and walk the length of a 2 inch wide piece of wood without falling. IF you won you tab was on the house. Hmmmm.. Hades got to thinking. He also noted that among the flight was one "Ghost Chili infused Moonshine" hmmm indeed.

Hades got one of the hotel's drivers to let him off at the bar. From past experience, nights that involved Noel and generous amounts of alcohol tended to get.... well messy. So Hades ensured that a swift exit, his driver, was just one button press away.

Hades walked into the bar and was immediately assaulted both visually and audibly, it was somehow worse than the photos online. Hades saw Noel sitting at a booth out of the corner of his eye. She did not appear to have noticed him. He snagged a passing server and indicated, with a subtle tip, that the woman at the booth was to be entered in the Moonshine Challenge. That done, he smoothly slid into the seat opposite to Noel.

He said nothing, his eyes looked around and then he looked at her with one raised eyebrow, as if to say, of all the bars in New York, why this one?

Noel hadn't meant to choose Texas. Texas, apparently, was just going to be her life right now. She'd chosen this location for one reason only: what other establishment served spicy food, hot tea, fresh pineapple, and moonshine? Those were all on her list of to-try tonight and they were all here, in a bar called Texas Tea.

There was also a mechanical bull, but that was decidedly not on the menu for this evening.

She fidgeted with her phone and otherwise occupied herself until Hades made his usual stealthy entrance. Oh. Was he mad? Noel barked a laugh at his eyebrow and upturned nose.

"You wanted to know what kids do these days..." Noel spred her hands wide as if to say 'well, here it is.' There were spurs on the walls, rustic buck chandeliers with what appeared to be real candles, rough wood, plaid shirts, and plastic cacti.

Would she have ever come here before she'd met Michael? Probably. It still fit her needs. Noel beamed at Hades.

"I hope you know how to call an Uber 'cause I don't plan on you being able to walk straight by the end of the evening." Noel pun her phone over her palm and motioned to the server that she was ready and after a quick trip to the kitchens they brought out the first round... and an extra.

"Two hot teas, extra super boiling. I think you know that's hot." The waitress pulled a steaming kettle with a cozy and two mugs from her tray with a wink at Hades. Eugh. Maybe she was being friendly for a tip.

"One fresh pineapple boat appetizer, mind the toothpick swords, y'all." A quarter of a fresh pineapple slid between them.

"And the moonshine challenge. Which one-a y'all's gonna be up for that one?" And it was Noel's turn to raise an eyebrow. Had he read from her playbook?

>"You wanted to know what kids do these days..."

Hades fought to keep the smirk off his face, and failed. He had pondered the effect Noel was having on him and concluded that it was good. She helped him relax. She was one of the few people who had seen his messy side and with whom he did not have to put on his professional mask. She was also one of the few people who knew, well some of, his capabilities and did not seem to be afraid. She helped his relax. which was probably good for him. It was always good to clear the mind now and then.

In a mostly, mostly expressionless voice he nodded and replied. "Your pupil is listening oh great teacher." He kept his face blank, with some difficulty.

>"I hope you know how to call an Uber 'cause I don't plan on you being able to walk straight by the end of the evening."

Hades nodded. "I have my driver on speed dial. I learned from last time. Hopefully this time you will not start a bar fight then make me the scapegoat." That night was all kinds of fun. At one pint Hades had resorted to throwing lucky cat statues to fight off angry bikers.

"Hot tea and pineapples? Am I missing something?" Hades asked. He observed the wink that the waitress gave him. Was she hitting on him? Hades smiled affably in return and made a note to question Noel on it later.

>"And the moonshine challenge...."

Hades pointed at Noel. "That would be for her thank you." Said Hades. After the waitress had set the tray down and left with another wink, Hades pointed to a shot glass tinted fiery red and said "You might want to drink that last." He was about to continue, but the waitress returned bearing a small try containing a small container of sugar and a glass of milk, wordlessly she set it in front of Noel.

"So, I am sensing some ulterior motive for tonight, care to share?"

He nodded to the bag.

Oh he had his driver on speed dial. Noel resisted the urge to roll her eyes because she'd learned that was incredibly rude and that was the last thing she wanted to be to her friend.

"I'mma let that slide this once 'cause I'm in a good mood. Otherwise, you should try to schlub it like us plebs once in awhile. Here." Noel stopped spinning her phone in order to unlock it and open her photo gallery.

"Would you like to see what havok your delivery wrought?" She grinned. Had she been mad at first? Yeah. People really needed to stop buying her things.

Noel's phone had pictures and pictures and pictures. Puppies. Puppies. More puppies. A couch arm that had been nibbled through. Some kind of dinner attempt that was a solid block of noodles. More Puppies. She would let him scroll around. She didn't have anything incriminating if you excluded the fail of a dinner.

She accepted the flight of moonshine with more than a little wariness. High proof liquor, Hades, and a bar. What could go wrong?

"I was going to get some moonshine, actually. Not this, though." She eyed the reddish liquor and knew deep down in her heart that she wouldn't back down from any challenge, especially one that might in some way solve her problem.


"I want to find a way to disable my abilities." She explained.
"You know, The tasting part." She stuck out her tongue and pointed at it. Just in case he'd forgotten how she took in memories and deciphered lies.

Noel speared a pineapple chunk and munched. "Hot tea for scalding, pineapple for the acid? I guess? The internet said if I eat a bunch of fresh pineapple it can mess with my taste buds. Moonshine and cheap whiskey are on the list. I think they might have some of that here." Noel flicked her eyes up to Hades' and she noticed his attention to her bag.

"I have some items in here, to test if it's working." That way she didn't have to make out with anyone while under the influence. Clearly, Noel had thought ahead.

"Thanks for coming out. I was hoping I wouldn't have to drink alone." Though she was the only one with moonshine... "Are you sure you don't want one of these?" But really, Noel was just putting off scalding her tongue. SHe wasn't looking forward to it, exactly. With a sigh she went to pour them both tea before it cooled too much.

>"I'mma let that slide this once 'cause I'm in a good mood. Otherwise, you should try to schlub it like us plebs once in awhile. Here."

"Plebs? Plebs? Well apparently the current definition of a "Pleb" is one that can afford to buy a private jet, a top of the line, luxury jet I might add. I am more out of touch than I thought." He kept a straight face, almost. There might have been a rebellious twitch that escaped here or there.

>"Would you like to see what havoc your delivery wrought?"

Hades chuckled as he dutifully accepted the phone. "You say havoc, I say grounding and becoming responsible, besides once you train them they are very loyal and very capable guard dogs, they will certainly be big enough." Hades did not add more. If Noel wanted to know exactly how large they were going to grow she would have to ask. Though Hades suspected she would be in for a surprise.

"Wait did I send you two? I mean to send only one. Oh well, twice the fun then." There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. What he would not give to have been there to see her face.

He pointed to a photo of a solid block of what appeared to have been edible at one point in time. "Please tell me that is not what you are feeding them!" Hades shook his head.

In return he handed Noel a photo viewer. Just a plain photo viewer, no internet connectivity, no flashy gizmos, just for viewing photos. "You think that two is crazy, try five."

There were fewer pictures that on Noel's phone, but still they were pictures that Hades would not share with many, if anyone else. Photos of him being swarmed by five balls of fluff with legs, photos of the dogs attacking various piece of furniture, wood with nibble marks, five dog bowls and a picture of the same dog bowels with associated balls of fluff chowing down on them and so on. Of the five puppies, two of them looked like Noel's puppies, two looked distinctly wolfish and one looked like a miniature doberman.

>"I was going to get some moonshine, actually. Not this, though."

"This is the bar's famous moonshine challenge. If you can finish the flight and walk across a 2" wide plank and not fall, your tab is on the house. So that is exactly what you are looking for." Of course who knew what each shot of moonshine was infused with, well apart from the last one. It was part of the "Surprise Flight Challenge".

>"I want to find...You know, the tasting part."

That did not seem like a wise or particularly effective/ efficient way to go about it. In fact it sounded suspiciously like an excuse to get drunk, Hades however knew better than to try to argue with Noel at this point. He sat bemused as Noel went through her excuse of a methodology.

>"Hot tea...." Hades humphed, this was going to be an interesting night. Luckily his photo viewer could also take photos.....

>"I have some..."

"You are well prepared and determined I see."

>"Thanks for coming..."

"Of course, I though you merely wanted to go get drinks, not do experiments. I would have come regardless, besides who is going to document the results of the test?" Hades carefully schooled his face into an appropriately emotionally neutral expression, mostly.

>"Are you sure you don't want one of these?"

"Noel, it is the Moonshine mystery flight challenge, I will order.... different alcohol." Preferably of the type where Hades knew what went into them.

Noel was legitimately embarrassed about the plane. "I had no idea it was worth that much. I only used it one time and I was floored that the hangar fees from this year had already been taken out of the total." Ambrose Jaager was either richer or stupider than he looked. Noel had some small worry about taxes and all that, but so little experience with legal income, that she just had to trust that Hades had covered himself on that front.

"Thank you for taking care of that for me. And, I guess, drinks are on me?" If they were on her, she was ordering a second moonshine surprise delight challenge whatever. He knew exactly what he did by sending her puppies. She would both forever be in his debt for it and hold it against him forever. It was her right as a woman to be contrary when people bought her things.

>"You say havoc, I say grounding and becoming responsible, besides once you train them they are very loyal and very capable guard dogs, they will certainly be big enough."

"Yeah, glad you went with girls. They already might end up bigger than me. If you'd gotten males I don't know if there'd be room enough for all of us on the bed once they're grown up." Sooooo weird thinking ahead like that, but Noel was satisfied to imagine herself still at Haven in 2 years. And satisfied to have a dog or two that would make the biggest teddy bears for bedmates. Already Dammit had wormed her way out of her kennel more nights than she stayed. Noel was starting to realize that kennel training might not be for Dammit.

> "Please tell me that is not what you are feeding them!"

"Wha-" Noel pulled her phone back, doubly embarrassed now. "Huh? Wha-No, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, it was horrible."

Hades shared his puppies. Which, like, should have been illegal.

"I can't imagine you walking all these. How do you not just get your arms yanked off?" Already Noel was sure she was doing a bad job of being a puppy mom if she was having so much trouble.

Hades explained the challenge as Noel poured the tea. It was stupid, she knew, but because it was a challenge, a physical proof that she could do something, she was finding herself wanting to try it despite knowing that it was a bad idea.

>"You are well prepared and determined I see."

"I need to know my limits, and I want to know if it'll ever be possible to have a physical relationship with someone else." He could poo-poo her idea all he wanted. She needed to know if she could ever be an equal partner to Michael. If not, maybe she should put the brakes on and take the out he'd graciously offered her. She tossed back her tea before she lost her nerve and did her best to keep it on her tongue.

It was exactly as bad as she'd imagined. Whoever insisted their coffee be that hot, she would never understand. She breathed out once, twice, and then had to give up and swallow the tea. What the boiling liquid tasted like, she couldn't say. Not sweet. She hadn't bothered to add any sugar.

"Okay." She coughed and sat her half full mug down, ready to let it cool to a more normal temperature before continuing. "Don't think scalding is the way to go."

>"...besides who is going to document the results of the test?"

"Ugh. Please don't." Pictures? Of her? Gross. Noel stuffed an overlarge piece of pineapple into her mouth by way of proof that she was not worth documenting. "Hmm. Can still taste. Maybe not on one spot." She stuck her tongue out and touched around where she thought the boundary of her taste limits currently were. Well. Scalding did work a little then. It still wasn't the solution she was looking for.

It was nice to see Noel embarrassed now and then Hades mentally confessed to himself.

>"I had no idea it was worth that much. I only used it one time and I was floored that the hangar fees from this year had already been taken out of the total."

"Well it was top of the range, with, how do you put it, all the bells and whistles, All the bells and whistles."

Hades wondered if Noel had known about all the secret compartments, the additional security features.

>"Thank you for taking care of that for me. And, I guess, drinks are on me?"

"Well if you insist."

Seriously who was going to turn down free drinks.

>"Yeah, glad you went with girls. They already might end up bigger than me. If you'd gotten males I don't know if there'd be room enough for all of us on the bed once they're grown up."

"I was intending for you to enjoy the experience, not get your house demolished." He smiled, his Were males and he was well aware of their destructive capabilities. He had more than one furniture bill to prove it.

>"...it was horrible"

Hmmmm would it be going too far to have vouchers for cooking lessons mailed to Noel, perhaps that would be a tad too cheeky. Next time perhaps.

>"... get your arms yanked off?"

"Simple, I don't actually walk them. I have a good sized patch of wilderness that is well fenced and I turn them loose. They have trackers in the collars so I know where to find them and they get all the exercise they need. Although I will need to get them used to urban environments as well as nature. That is when I will probably take them in twos, certainly no more."

Any more was really asking for trouble.

Hades had to fight to keep his face straight. As expected burning ones tongue did not work. It would be a poor power indeed if it depended on the health of ones taste buds alone, even though they got regularly replaced. Then Noel created a picture perfect moment by looking at him with a huge chunk of pineapple still protruding from her mouth. Hades face was twitching furiously. She looked a little like Po from Kung Fu Panda, or perhaps Mulan from the animated series you know the scene. *Click* Hades took a picture, it was beautiful. He took a few more for good measure. The fact that Noel was being so shameless about these experiments meant that someone had indeed caught her attention.

It was so tempting to set some of his resources to good use to find out who. The internal war raged on with no side being the clear winner.

Perhaps it was to get back at Hades for taking photographs, Seriously would she know if he was not being obvious? Noel bought Hades an identical Moonshine challenge flight.

"So, Noel, as expected, trying to boil ones tongue does not seem to work, neither does filling ones mouth with pineapple...." He would not mention to her that enzymes could be bought in all varieties. If he told her that, next time it would be him watching her try teaspoon after teaspoon of powder. No, this was going to be so much more.. enjoyable.

"So how about a shot then?"

He raised the first glass and downed it. It was like getting hit by a bus. Liquid fire burned down his throat, followed by a ....sweet? aftertaste. It tasted of.... sweetcorn? Really? sweetcorn moonshine. Perhaps it was a Texan thing. Hades turned to see how Noel was faring. Perhaps she would present more photographic opportunities. He had changed his mind, he was going to try to find her "heart throb" and said target of affection just might, just might recieve some amusing pictures in the mail..... Perhaps. Perhaps achohol would help make the decision.

Cheater! He didn't actually walk his pets, he let them roam wild to burn off their energy!

"I guess when you need to socialize them in the city, give me a call if you want. I don't think Revvie and Dammit will be lonely since they're together all the time anyway, but it's always good for them to see new faces and all that." Michael had named the one she tried to foist off on him Reveille, which was a harder name to remember than Revvie. Dammit was a dog name that could never be forgotten since it was on her lips half the time she saw the puppies anyway. They'd taken to boarding them together when one or both of them went out since those small bears dogs gave great puppy eyes.

Ugh. Training those puppies... that was enough to get Noel to pull the Moonshine challenge in close. They had to down them all in under 5 minutes and Hades had a head start.

"Have to rule out every easy application that might be used against me." She smirked. And, of course, she did want to know for herself too. She expected very little of tonight to actually do something, but after asking around and with some internet research these were the only things she'd come to think might even have a sliver of a chance at working.

The first was sweet corn moonshine which she tried to down like Hades had and ended up very nearly spitting it back out. Noel caught herself with her hand over her lips and wide eyes that watered as tried not to cough with so much booze in her mouth. Swallow first. Then cough. It would suck to aspirate something that burned like the dickens.

"Is that normal?" Noel choked and pat her chest until she was sure it all went down. Somehow, like a bad pill, it just didn't feel like she'd swallowed it all.


"Next." Noel took a sip of water and that, by comparison, felt round and sweet on her tongue. Which meant, she could still taste. The memorymancer dabbed at her eyes and looked at the next shot which was a reddish color and labeled strawberry. Noel gave it a sniff and just that, she felt, may have numbed her nose a bit. It managed to smell both sweet and like rubbing alcohol.

She checked the clock, how fast did they have to drink it? Just to be sure, because she really wanted to win this challenge, Noel tossed the second shot back. She managed not to sputter as bad, but it was an obvious fight of willpower. Even strawberry flavor didn't help it not be like sucking down kerosene. The strawberry only presented after the fact, almost like an aftersmell.

"I need to hold the next one on my tongue for longer," she guessed, since it was the last drink that wasn't spicy, it might be her last chance to really try to sear those tastebuds off. "if it was to be a true test, you know?" She took a steadying breath. How much did she want to win this challenge again?

>"I guess when you need to socialize them in the city, give me a call if you want.

 I don't think Revvie and Dammit will be lonely since they're together all the time anyway, but it's always good for them to see new faces and all that."

 

Hades bit back a snort. "Not hard to guess that character of at least one of your pups." Hades said with a smile.

"If you want, you can bring yours to the cabin sometimes. And I fully intend to take you up on that offer, although be forewarned, 

they are are often whirlwinds of destruction."

>"Have to rule out every easy application that might be used against me."

"Used against you? I thought you were trying to find a way to temporary disable your powers.

I am assuming from the enthusiasm you are showing that you are doing this for someone." 

No, restrain your curiosity, restrain yourself. Hades thought to himself.

Hades recovered from his brush with the sweetcorn moonshine just in time to witness Noel's reaction. He was not dissappointed. 

Her eyes bulged, watered. It appeared she swalloed by force of will alone before giving in to a hearty bout of coughing.

>"Is that normal"

"I don't think that much anything to do with moonshine could ever be considered normal." Hades replied.

She downed the next one, exercising once again that stubborn willpower.

Hades exhaled then downed the second shot. He made the mistake of inhaling before he had swallowed and almost spit it all back out. The veins on his neck tensed,

he closed his eyes as by sheer will power he forced the second drink down. It burned like fire and had an aftertaste like cough syrup gone very very wrong.

"This feels more like a weapon or a medium for torture than a liquor for imbibing." Gasped Hades as he took a few hearty swallows of water and a handful of nuts

to remove the aftertaste.

>"...hold the next one on my tongue for longer, if it was to be a true tes, you know?"

"You go right on ahead madam. Although after the challenge is over I feel the need for some actually palatable alcohol."

Hades was thinking of the rather well stocked bar at the Hotel as well as his somewhat extensive private collection there.

On the other hand, this outting was yeilding some great pictures. 

At the rate they were downing alcohol it would not be long before they began to feel the affects. This might turn out to be an... interesting evening, if not amusing.

Hades took the next shot. It was.... apple pie? It still burned, as it would always do, but it did not seem so bad this time, perhaps his throat had been numbed 

by the previous shots, perhaps the cumulative numbing effect of the alcohol was showing, either way, it went down relatively easily, and the after taste. 

The aftertaste was actually pleasent. 

For once not being stunned by the shot, Hades was actually able to think enough to make conversation.

"Does you being allowed out unaccompanied, mean that you are fully recovered? Or did you sneak out?" 

Fully recovered? Ugh, that was blunt. Perhaps he was feeling the effects. Or perhaps he was just trying to delay the last shot.

One that was so potent that the workers at the distillery wore gas masks and body suits when distilling it. 

Perhaps his mind was wondering,, drifting. He noticed the candles. Candles plus high proof alcohol would be bad. 

Flame plus high proof alcohol that contained ghost chili would ... be worse.

> "Used against you? I thought you were trying to find a way to temporary disable your powers."

"If there was a way for me to shut down your powers against your will with something as simple as too much pineapple, wouldn't you want to know?" Noel ate another chunk of the pineapple boat appetizer. It was also delicious and flavorful enough that taking bites between other tests could tell her if or when her power was shut down.

> "I am assuming from the enthusiasm you are showing that you are doing this for someone."

"Assume all you want. These days I get to choose to do things for me, because I want to. When it's my choice, I fallow through. Why wouldn't I want to?" As if enthusiasm was a crime. Pah!

Right now, sure, she'd love to kiss someone, maybe even a certain someone, without guilt. Tomorrow that could change. Or just never kissing anyone ever again. Never was also an option. It was also incredibly demeaning for Hades to assume this was some silly romance. She rolled her eyes rather than snapping at him. He was ancient and it was her social duty to bring him up to speed about women of this century.

"Hearts and flowers are for women who cry at movies and swoon when it gets too hot. I don't want to love someone. It'd be a liability at worst. And someone she'd be a burden to at best." The next shot of Moonshine was calling her name despite the slight spin that the room was making. If she was going to finish the challenge on time, she had to keep pace.

The apple flavor was quite a bit smoother than the others. She'd lucked out in choosing which moonshine to hold on her tongue. Having no watch, Noel watched the clock on the wall intently as she tried to breathe through her nose. The alcohol stung her nostrils as she exhaled, but otherwise she made it a whole minute and a half before she gave in. Her eyes had begun to water and her tongue felt pickled and numb.

Had that done it? Noel sipped her tea, unsure of the experiment's success until the flavor of the brew filtered down through.

One shot left. The spicy one. She liked spice. She also needed to test spicy foods so this one was a double whammy, a two-for-one. She gave it a smell and her nostrils burned worse.

> "...After the challenge is over I feel the need for some actually palatable alcohol."

"I think this is probably enough for me." Wait. That didn't sound right. What was she alcoholing about? Noel rubbed at her lips which were starting to feel a bit tingly. "Or maybe whiskey. I think that was on the list. Either way, I can't believe you would want to drink after these. It's more than enough for the entire year's far as I'm concerned."

Hades seemed to be fussing with the candle on their table.

> "Does you being allowed out unaccompanied, mean that you are fully recovered? Or did you sneak out?"

"I have that matter smoothed through." She wasn't the least bit bothered by his asking. With Noel, blunt was best. Besides, all it took was finding the right forms and filling them out in the right ways. A quick interview and, et violà. Noel was her own person again. She raised her last shot up ready to clink it against Hades' before they both took their final shots and attempted to walk the line. "Here's to legal competency!"

>" Hearts anf flowers..."

Hades Hmm-ed in response. How many times had he heard this? He had long ago lost count. Different cultures, similiar charasticts.

>"...enough for me."

Hades raised his eyebrows. Enough? the fearless Noel Gauge?

"Whisky..."

Hades nodded approvingly. That was more like the Noel he knew.

"To Legal competency!" Hades echoed as he downed his shot.

Mistake, big mistake. Have you ever tried to gulp and swallow a mouthful of liquid that was far too hot. Sometimes, your throat locks up, as if your body knows that it is better to sear your mouth than your actual throat. Well something similar happened. 

As soon as the ghost chili infused moonshine his his tongue, to say that it felt like it was on fire would be the understatement of the century. He felt sweat beading on his forehead. He hurriedly went to swallow, only to find that he could not, it was as if his throat had locked up. A part of his mind debated categorizing this as an alternative torture method. Yes this moonshine and a funnel.....

His face changed shades of colour. He would swallow. His fists gripped the table. It was getting hard to think with the... pain. Finally Hades rapidly flicked three points in and around his throat area,

hitting pressure points and nerve clusters that triggered the swallowing reflex. If anything it felt worse going down. He rested his forehead against the coolness of the wooden table for an instant.

"I might add that to my list of torture methods." He croaked between wheezed breaths.

It might have been the intensity of the pain that triggered his body but Hades felt time slowing down, akin to when he was in combat. His genetically manipulated reflexes allowed his to perceive the world faster than most humans in this mode. At the same time the amount of alcohol consumed rendered his thought processes slightly.... inebriated shall we say. He saw everything in slow motion.

He became aware of the people sitting behind Noel of having a "Dad joke" contest. They would take turns telling the worst possible jokes to each other, the looser was the first who laughed and had to take a shot or imbibe alcohol. He saw Noel taking her shot in slow motion, just as a particularly bad joke was told. Hades found himself almost chuckling involuntarily, almost.  He watched amused as Noel's facial expression changed in response to the alcohol and made sure to snap a few pictures. Apparently she was not finding it easy to swallow either. Then something changed. Hades was not sure if it was a hiccup, a snort, a sneeze, a giggle, a cough, some combination thereof or all of them combined. The result was the same.

From Noes there came an eruption of mist. Mist that turned sparkly when the droplets reflected the light. it was like a wave of stars, pretty sparkling stars expanding towards him.

The stars were moving towards three brighter lights. A part of Hades mind wondered why, in a Texan themed bar where the design and color scheme was a visual assault, would they have tall white candles on silver colored holders. The little lights met the big lights and made a bigger, much bigger light. It was coming towards him, all hail the great ligh.... wait what?

Hades mind snapped back to sanity in time to observe a tongue of flame flying towards him. Now Hades was growing out his hair for a mission. (Yes he had hair he just chose to keep it shaved most of the time). Well honed reflexes kicked in and he dropped. He would rather angry if Noel singed his hair and he had to delay his mission. It got hard to breathe and Hades hit his pre-programmed SOS button.

High proof alcohol plus candles from an impromptu fire breather created a sizable jet of flame. Consequentially the bar would need some redecorating. There was a scheduled performance on stage later that night which would use smoke machines so the smoke detectors had been deactivated, as a result the sprinklers did not kick in, which made the secondary effects of the fire breathing worse. It should be noted that in the distillery where said moonshine is created, workers wear full gas masks, rubber gloves, essentially HAZMAT suits, such is the potency of the ghost chili as an irritant. So for a quantity of said liquid to be suddenly aerosolized and flung to all corners of the bar, surfing on a wave of hot air... the effects were.... spectacular. 

A short distance away, a hulking figure looked up from his reading and received Hades SOS message. He sighed and grunted to himself in a low gravely voice. The hulking figure heaved himself out of his vehicle, who's heavily reinforced suspension creaked in protest, and headed down the street with with surprising fluidity for its size. That person was none other than Mislav O'Keer. Think Krogran and you are not far wrong. He had chuckled when he heard what Hades would be drinking that night. His preferred drink included ground glass, arsenic and anti-freeze as actual ingredients. To him it gave a "heady delightful aroma". That is why he agreed to be on call tonight. He was confident that he could handle any situation that might develop. After all not much can stand in the way of a multi tonne mutant

who can literally headbud his way through structural walls.

It was a dirty trick, but Noel toasted Hades to get him to drink that vile spicy shot first. Hades seemed to be choking, but before she even had time to panic or help or anything, he found a way to sort himself and collapsed forward against the table. Oh. It was that good huh? Not exactly the most ringing endorsement.

She galvanized herself and tried to tune out the rowdy table behind them before she brought the shot up to her lips and hesitated.

"How do you make a Kleenex dance...? Put a little boogie in it!"

She inhaled involuntarily to chuckle. She couldn't help it. It was a good one as far as stupid jokes went, but inhaling with a shot of burning hot moonshine at her lips turned out to be a big mistake.

Noel thought that the last shot had stung her nostrils. She thought that her tongue was sort of numbed. She thought that her eyes had watered before when she held the other moonshine on her tongue. Knowing that this one was spicy, Noel had wanted to strategize and swallow it down quick at the back of her throat, but that wasn't at all what happened. She accidentally inhaled a bit, her eyes bugged, and she realized that her moonshine challenge might be forfeit if she didn't finish the shot.

She tossed the remainder of the shot back right in time for the next dad joke bomb to land right on target.

"How do you make holy water...? You boil the hell out of it."

It shouldn't have been that funny, but somehow it was. She hiccurped, a hand flung to her mouth to try to keep it in, but it was too late. A fine mist of spicy moonshine erupted from Noel's mouth. It wafted up, caught some air flow and a good portion of her shot came back down in the form of a fireball lit by the antler chandelier. Apparently those were real candles. Apparently it was a good thing that Hades didn't usually keep any hair.

What little sat in her stomach felt like how she imagined a hot poker might feel. Her wide eyes were stinging and hers weren't the only ones entirely irritated. The whole group on the other side of their booth reacted poorly to both the airborne irritant and the fireball. Noel breathed and tasted it in her mouth and up through her nostrils. She was crying full out which was an odd sensation considering the fact that she wasn't even sad.

"Milk." She breathed the word because somehow it seemed like talking would have made fire come out her ears. She grabbed and chugged and swirled the milk in her mouth, but it didn't. stop. burning.

Sugar next. What was sugar? There was only burning.

Noel realized with a start that she couldn't taste the sugar. Did that mean this shut off her power? She really wasn't sure it was worth it, but... no. It really wasn't worth knowing.

And, she figured considering the damage and the irritation they were causing, that her challenge was over. Noel dug around and tossed a few twenties on their table when a mammoth of a man loomed over them.

She was sooooo not in a state to fight. How stupid of her. How vulnerable. She grabbed the pronged fork that she'd used to eat bits of pineapple and went for the eye of the man she thought was a threat. How was she supposed to know he was friendly when he was laughing like that?

O'Keer saw the fork coming and dipped his head so it scraped off the rigid plate that covered most of his head. There was a sound like, well like a fork scraping across very tough carpace, Hades thought he heard O'Keer rumble under his breath, as if Noel was scratching an itch, the whole scenario was more than a little surreal. 

"Lets you outta here...Boss"

Sometimes with O'Keer's accent, it was difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. The current sensations coming from Hades stomach was making it hard to concentrate, simultaneously, the sheer amount of concentrated alcohol that Hades had so recently consumed chose that precise moment to hit him like a freight train. Hades found the room tilting at intervals and at times it was like he was not in complete control of his senses. one minute they were clear the next they were a blur.

His senses snapped back into focus in time to... wait was he and Noel draped over O'Keer's shoulders or was O'Keer just enthusiastically propelling both of them towards the exit, he could not tell. His sense snapped into place in time to see their waitress emerge carrying a tray with three more flights of the "moonshine challenge"  bound for different tables. As if in slow motion, Hades saw the woman trip and barrel into a giant of a man who was rising from his table. As if flying through molasses, the tray rose in the air, the nine shot glasses leading the tray by just a fraction, like they were nine racehorses in a race. A race to the ceiling and the candles that hung suspended just belo....Drat.

"O'keer, Down!" said Hades in a moment of lucidity. O'Keer dropped with surprising speed. Unless you knew him he could move surprisingly fast for a creature of his size and weight. The tinkle of glass proceeded the "woosh" which was followed by the smell. Suddenly it was if the air itself was a choking hazard or that someone had just replaced the air with tear gas and pepper spray. Pandemonium reigned as patrons of the establishment attempted to expedite their departure by rushing to and completely blocking the exits.

Things went blurry for Hades, at that moment and he was more focused in trying to convince his lungs to breathe. He felt himself being pushed against a wall, O'Keer saying "To hell with this", a rather loud crash, a cloud of choking dust followed by sweat sweat fresh air. The next time he moved O'Keer was definitely carrying him over his shoulder. He could sense Noel close by but could not tell what state she was in. His senses snapped back enough to  realize he was being carried through a void where there had previously been a wall.

"THAT is coming out of your pay check." Said Hades. O'Keer merely chuckled in response.

The next thing Hades recalled was that he and Noel were in the back of a vehicle being driven swiftly yet expertly. The privacy partition was up and Hades had the presence of mind to offer his friend a drink. She had mentioned whisky earlier right?

"Whisky?" he asked. Wait were they still in the car or were they now back at a private bar in the Continental? He knew they would end up there eventually but where were they...now?

Hades found himself talking and Noel replying but they came in snippets.

"You are the only person alive who knows my Chinese name...."

Noel said something

"Do you know my actual English name? It is Robert Grim." Hades smiled as if in a private joke.

"Now you are the only person alive who knows both my names."

Noel might have said something.

"That is where my moniker started, Grim, Grim Reaper. From there it did not take long to jump to Hades and the name stuck for some reason."

Was the night going good or bad? Hades could no longer tell. 

She stabbed— no, actually the stabbing didn't happen. Noel was off balance after that, partly because the scraping sound gave her the heebie-jeebies. Partly, because the man she had just tried to stab had called Hades 'boss.'

Boss?

The breath was driven out of her lungs when he dipped and scooped her up. She'd hardly recovered enough from her failed stabbing to grab her bag of goodies. Instead, quite suddenly she was scooped up. And moving. The jostling did her woozy brain no favors. The world had been unsteady already. Now her pickled brain was trying to make sense of extra movement that she hadn't signed up for. Noel pushed ineffectively against the shoulder she'd been thrown over, at least comforted by the fact that she was not the only one being treated like a sack of flour.

> "O'keer, Down!"

Pushing up to try to regain some sense of control had been a mistake. Noel whiplashed back down against the bodyguard's shoulder when he dropped.

She was never drinking again. Maybe last time she and Hades had whipped and deflected their way out of trouble, but it seemed that neither of them could stay out of trouble altogether. Putting them together just about guaranteed something was going to die in a fire. So she should have guessed that drinking with Hades was beyond bad, as far as ideas went. She should have guessed it, but she didn't.

And there went the wall.

"Put me down." She squirmed with sudden urgency and a few punctuating coughs. Did she have her bag? Yes. It surprised her by still being in her hand. Apparently she'd bothered the bodyguard enough that he did allow her to retake her feet. It took Noel longer than was pretty to get her balance. Slamming her hand on the side of a black SUV with tinted windows helped. Noel watched Hades get desposited most gently inside and considered that now was a moment when she could leave.

She would be vulnerable. She'd have to call someone to pick her up and they would see her and her failed slew of experiments. Decision-making turned out to be a rather difficult affair while the world kept trying to slip out from beneath her feet.

The big guy, O'Kee-something, turned to her and she held up her hand and shook her head. She would get in the car herself, dangit. She was drunk, not a baby.

Noel slid into the vehicle and realized that she'd forgotten that she'd been meaning to leave. The fact that the big guy had tried to shuffle her in had made her want to do it herself. And now here she was, instead of going home.

> "Whisky?"

"Ugh. No." Noel let her head fall back against the seat and from there she melted down by increments. "Maybe once I determine if I can taste again. Mouth's still burning." At least it wasn't burning as urgently, but she could feel it all the way down her throat.

> "You are the only person alive who knows my Chinese name...."

She said it out loud they way she'd heard his wife say it. Tonal inflections were important in Chinese, right?

"Is it a secret?"

He asked if she knew his English name and that had Noel thinking. No. Probably not... It hadn't come up and she hadn't been looking for that when she went snooping on him. Somehow names just weren't that important.

"Are you telling me things that are going to get me killed?" She still needed to put out the smolder in her throat, so maybe whiskey was in order. Assuming she could taste. Which she still needed to test...

"Hades or Grim or whoever you go by isn't really what's important. What's important is that I trust you. That's in my brain because I've been in yours." Did that make sense? She hoped that made sense. She didn't notice the vehicle had slowed until O'kee-man was coming around to open her door. The building loomed tall and stately and... well, it was really, really big.

"You bought a hotel?" Had he said that? He said that. It was just difficult to be thinking things through.