Sometimes it was good to get a night alone. With the rift still open, and SUPER being all over the place, most X-men were pulling double duty. Mirror and Becca did not always get shifts together, or even manage to match their schedules up to... unwind after. Becca had been acting a little strange lately, too. Probably from the stress.

Maya was just off her patrolling rounds, and she decided to stop for a drink at a nearby bar. Drinking at a bar was a lot less questionable than raiding Sam's fridge and drinking alone at the Mansion, anyway. Not that she was planning on getting drunk. Even though she had dropped her gear off, she was still wearing the X-men blue. No one needed to see a drunk X at this point in the City.

Maya walked into the bar, looking around for a place to sit. She wanted to sit back and relax, maybe people-watch a bit. No other plans for the evening. Hopefully, the place was mutant friendly...

Skye was thankful that her uncle was able to call in a favor and get her a job, but at the same time, she was sort of wishing that Blaine had more friends with cushy desk jobs. But beggars couldn't be choosers. And this job at a bar and grill seemed decent enough, for a place where she served beer and wings to people all day. And it was mutant friendly, so as long as she could keep it together enough, her powers wouldn't nova and she was nothing more than dinner and a light show. And due to first day jitters, her hair was a deep purple.

And despite having some experience....her first day hadn't been going well. Already she'd dropped a few dishes, missed a few orders, and had to field some not nice comments. But thankfully she managed to keep her emotions staved off to a flicker. Which...actually was quite entertaining to some. In fact, her powers coupled with sympathy landed her a few tips, despite not doing very well.

After handing a table their check, it seemed to die down for a bit as she saw a woman in blue enter. Putting on a smile, her hair faded to a slightly lighter shade of purple, her hands no longer flickering for now.

"Welcome. My name's Skye and I'll be taking care of you," she said, nervously recalling the words.

Maya took a seat at a small side table, away from the coming and going. She really was not looking for company, and definitely did not want to put people on edge by being very visible. Honestly, all she wanted was a drink, and something to snack on.

A waitress walked over - this place apparently had waitresses. With purple hair. Cool.

>>"Welcome. My name's Skye and I'll be taking care of you,"

She looked a little nervous. Maya smiled as she looked up at her.

"Sure. Hi. Uh... I think I need some beer. And a sandwich. Do you have sandwiches? I'm kinda starving..."

Skye nodded. "Beer and a sandwich," she repeated, jotting that down as she thought a moment, trying to remember. "Um...I know they make a grilled cheese...and they can add bacon...and peppers and onions..." Her hands began to flicker purple again as the nervousness set in. She breathed deeply, trying to focus.

"There's also club sandwiches, turkey or ham with Swiss, American or...provolone...and....oh! They have sliders that are pretty good," she said, her confidence wavering a little as she spoke. At least the woman was pretty.

>>"Beer and a sandwich. Um...I know they make a grilled cheese...and they can add bacon...and peppers and onions..."

Yup, she seemed a little nervous. Maya tilted her head, patiently waiting for her to finish her recital. Did her... hair just change shade? Maya blinked. She really needed a drink and some food. It had been a long day.

>>"There's also club sandwiches, turkey or ham with Swiss, American or...provolone...and....oh! They have sliders that are pretty good,"

"Club sandwich sounds perfect" Maya smiled, allowing the girl to cut her performance short "Whatever they put on it. I'm really not that picky. Been a long day..."

She was ready to eat whatever they put in front of her, as long as it was not absolutely disgusting. Plus, the girl seemed like she needed a break...

With another nod, she jotted that down as well. " I'll have your beer shortly, and the sandwiches should be right behind," she said simply, deciding not to go on a spiel about how her day had gone. Luckily her shift ended soon, but she had to wonder...if she couldn't handle a half-day, what would a full day be like?

She turned and went back to the kitchen to put the order in, and then filled a tray with beer mugs and went to place them at her other tables before heading back with her one last mug for the attractive woman in blue. But on her way, she didn't see the person in the nearby booth whose bag was farther out in the walkway than intended, and her foot caught, sending her, and the beer, crashing to the floor.

Her hair turned from purple to a solid blue, her hands lighting up the area with a blue light of the same color as she picked herself up. She quickly gathered the beer mug and tray as someone else grabbed a mop. Then, moments later, she returned with the sandwich and a new mug, her hands still flickering with the blue light, and she set it on the table. "H-here you are. En-enjoy..." she murmured, trying to put her cheery voice back on, but she couldn't find it.

Maya waited patiently, listening to the background music and mentally listing things to do the next day, until the waitress showed up again with the beer mugs. Mirror's eyes followed her across the room as she delivered them, until...

So close.

Maya winced as the waitress fell. Some *ssholes applauded. There was beer everywhere, and this time, Maya was entirely sure that the girl's hair went from purple to blue. What was she, some kind of a human mood ring?...

>>"H-here you are. En-enjoy..."

She returned soon after, with a new beer, a sandwich, blue hair, and her hands glowing. Maya looked at her curiously.

"First day?" she ventured, sipping her beer "Cool power. The light, I mean. And the hair..." she chuckled "You look like you could use a break. Busy night, huh."

"Yeah...it's...not going so well. Well, I've been told after this last table I can call it a day," she replied, sliding into the chair across from her. "And this is just me training. I can't imagine what it'll be when I'm the only one going from table to table..." she murmured with a shake of her head.

At the mention of her power, the light stopped flickering, and she smiled. "Thanks. It's pretty harmless, though. Usually..." she murmured, figuring since this was her last table, she could stay awhile.

Maya was way too hungry to dwell long on sharing a table with the waitress. She bit into the sandwich, which was not bad at all, and listened to Skye talk.

>>"Yeah...it's...not going so well. Well, I've been told after this last table I can call it a day. And this is just me training. I can't imagine what it'll be when I'm the only one going from table to table..."

Maya hummed in agreement, eating her sandwich and drinking her beer. Most people did not realize how hard it was to waitress a place like this. That was why some tended to be rude to their waitresses in the middle of rush hours. Those were usually the people who had never worked the same kind of job before. Maya noted that her powers were cool. The bar was definitely a mutant friendly place.

>>"Thanks. It's pretty harmless, though. Usually..."

"Usually?" Maya arched an eyebrow with a smirk "Do you have accidental disco effects? Please tell me you do."

Skye laughed at the Disco comment, and her lights died down, her hair still blue. But she was starting to calm down.

"Not quite. But I am quite the spectacle at a concert. Or a rave, she answered with a slight grin, but then it faded as she got more serious.

"This here's the fun part. But...when I get too stressed out or frazzled...there's this bright flash of white and a loud...bang. It leaves me weak and my ears ringing, and anyone nearby is affected by it. From what I understand it's very disorienting." she said, looking down. "All I know to do is keep my emotions in check, but... that isn't the easiest thing to do." She looked back up with a weak smile.

>>"Not quite. But I am quite the spectacle at a concert. Or a rave."

"I can imagine" Maya grinned over her beer. Skye seemed like a fun person, and who didn't like colorful lights at a party?

>>"This here's the fun part. But...when I get too stressed out or frazzled...there's this bright flash of white and a loud...bang. It leaves me weak and my ears ringing, and anyone nearby is affected by it. From what I understand it's very disorienting... All I know to do is keep my emotions in check, but... that isn't the easiest thing to do."

"You do flash bangs?" Maya blinked with a low whistle. Now that... was a whole other kind of power. Not nearly as innocent as colorful lights. "I mean, yeah... power control is kinda what I do. When I don't do... this." she motioned at her X-uniform "It's not usually easy to learn when powers are emotionally triggered... How long have you had them? Your powers, I mean."

The other woman seemed impressed at the description of the more...explosive...side of Skye's mutation. She quirked a brow at the vague mention of what she did, but didn't mention it. It was the power control that got her attention. Sure, Lee was helping her with that, but she could always use more help in that area.

"Yeah, flash-bangs sounds like a good term for it; I usually just call it going nova," she said with a nervous laugh. "Because afterwards that's kinda what I feel like."

She thought a moment, biting her lip as she did so. "I was....fourteen when my hair started changing colors. I got bullied for it, so I was moved to a private school. This," she motioned to her hands, which at the moment weren't flickering, "Started when I was sixteen. When asked about it...I got embarrassed to the point that I...flash-banged my high school cafeteria...after that I finished via homeschooling and tutors, so I was at least able to finish school a bit early." She paused a moment, looking down at the table.

"I moved here only several days ago; my uncle's a mutant too, so I'm living with him for now because he at least sort of understands. Until then, I just try to stay as calm as possible. Fear, anger, nervousness....anything like that could cause trouble..." After a moment of silence, she looked up.

"I never got your name," she said politely, albeit somewhat quietly.

>>"Yeah, flash-bangs sounds like a good term for it; I usually just call it going nova. Because afterwards that's kinda what I feel like."

Experiencing a flash bang from the inside... that had to be jarring. Maya could imagine she would not do it often, or do it just for fun. Some powers took more of a toll on their owners than others.

>>"I was....fourteen when my hair started changing colors. I got bullied for it, so I was moved to a private school. This... Started when I was sixteen. When asked about it...I got embarrassed to the point that I...flash-banged my high school cafeteria...after that I finished via homeschooling and tutors, so I was at least able to finish school a bit early."

Maya nodded, eating her sandwich as she listened to the story patiently. It was not an easy story... then again, stories of mutant kids rarely were. At least she came out of it relatively okay. Her family could have done a lot worse.

>>"I moved here only several days ago; my uncle's a mutant too, so I'm living with him for now because he at least sort of understands. Until then, I just try to stay as calm as possible. Fear, anger, nervousness....anything like that could cause trouble..."

Emotion-based powers were strange. Maya wondered if that was what the hair color was all about.

"I hear you. From where I am sitting, you're doing good so far" Maya smiled "Mine kicked in when I was thirteen too... well. I had some of it from birth. Some came later. Powers tend to be like that. But hey, control also improves with age..."

>>"I never got your name,"

"Oh" Maya swallowed her bite and offered a hand "Maya. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, I try," she murmured. "Though I haven't done that in awhile. I think I'm having an easier time not letting things get to me. Well, not too badly, anyway," she said with a nervous giggle. Then, she listened as Maya told her a little about her powers, and she nodded.

"It's nice to meet you too. But I'll be right back," she said after a moment, looking at the clock on her phone before standing up and making her way to the back and grabbing Maya's check. Then, she grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom, changing out of that godawful yellow green, likely glow in the dark tee shirt, and those way too small black shorts. When she returned, she sat back down across from Maya, handing her the check.

Now, she was wearing a black hoodie, unzipped to reveal a navy-blue, somewhat low cut but better fitting shirt, and a pair of semi-tight jeans. After all, the object was to leave something to the imagination, right?

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what can you do?" she asked after a moment, deciding to at least stay and talk awhile. After all, she didn't have many friends, and she was kind of interesting.

It seemed like the key to controlling the hair color and the lights was controlling emotions. Maya knew that if she had emotion-based powers, she would definitely have a major problem with them, so she was not really going to judge anyone else on the same issue. Skye walked away from the table, to clock out, Maya assumed, as she finished her sandwich while she waited. She really had been hungry.

Skye returned, definitely more... dressed now, and joined her at the table again.

>>"So, if you don't mind my asking, what can you do?"

"I turn into a dude sometimes." Maya answered promptly with a deadpan look over her beer, then smirked a little "I also walk through mirrors. I guess that one's the flashier part."