Drinking made everything bearable in Bacchus’s mind but when it was interrupted so he could do his job as the bar’s super bouncer that's when things made him slightly annoyed. Sure he loved drinking and he loved bouncing but for the past few weeks no one really gave him a challenge in the bouncing. He would just scruff them by the back of the neck and toss them to the other side of the street causing them to land in a pile of garbage.

Bacchus missed the days when his job as a bouncer meant he could cut back and bash some heads in literally, there was one night when he got to into it and killed six people at once, they were mutants how was he supposed to know they couldn’t handle a giant sized dog pile. The girls weren’t to happy about that, it was their bar and they had been kind enough to hire Bacchus and pay him in cash and booze but it still made things hard for him.

Just once he wanted to go all out on someone and have them live to tell about it. But you can’t always have what you want in life and Bacchus had come to terms with that and he was fine on settling on the free alcohol. Today’s drink of choice too much of Kelly’s dismay was a large and expensive whiskey bottle. “You okay Big Guy?” Kelly asked as she watched Bacchus drown himself in the shot glass that he had been pouring shots in. “Yeah… just looking for a fight is all…” said Bacchus as he downed another shot, “Well take it easy hun, you have a tendency to play for keeps and it’s not great for business when you kill all our customers,” Kelly winked at him and Bacchus let out a small grin. “Sorry they were mutants I thought they could hold up my body weight,” laughed Bacchus.

Looking over to center stage Chelsea with her long blonde hair was flowing about as she danced round the pole, grinning slightly Bacchus watched her for what seemed for hours. He didn’t know what it was about her but the way she moved was almost hypnotizing, and from the looks of it he wasn’t the only one who’s eyes had been drawn to her, there was about ten other blokes at the bar all with the same sob story as him.

They were all frequents at the bar just like Bacchus and all of them had a story to tell, stories Bacchus knew and could recite by heart, he knew all the blokes well enough and they knew him. These were the blokes Bacchus would never think about bouncing they were the quiet ones that minded their own business and only conversed when the conversing was good.

The bar was pretty crowded for the night, mutants and humans alike had gathered there, sure it was a little weird seeing both humans and mutants in the bar but both the humans and the mutants didn’t seem to mind it in fact they had a mutual understanding. Under Bacchus’s watch no fights would break out unless it was taken outside.

The music at the bar was just as seductive as Chelsea was but across the bar a piano was playing, it was a recent addition to the bar one that Bacchus wasn’t to sure about but over time it had grown on him. The piano player was a fiery red head named Susan, who brought a Charlie’s Angel look to the three main girls that worked there. Kelly the brunette pored the drinks and listened to the stories and told jokes, the blonde Chelsea danced and Susan the red head played. This was his home away from home all the girls made him feel needed which was what he had been looking for since he came to America.

Sara wasn’t exactly in the best of moods tonight. Her thumb claw had chipped a nail, there was a run in the side of her new pants that she was choosing to ignore, the top of her hair was doing that frizzy static electricity thing and wouldn’t tame it’s self, and she had jut walked through a mud puddle. Ok the mud puddle shouldn’t be that big of deal but Sara’s feet were bare and the sticky sensation between her toes was not pleasant. Oh yeah. And there was the little fact that she had just cause an old sent of someone she knew very well outside of a bar where there was pole dancing. POLE DANCING!

Sara stood outside the building. The hood to her coat was pulled back and she didn’t notice the odd looks she was getting on the street because she was staring at the bar. Wasn’t she enough for Ayesac to look at? If he wanted she could pole dance too. All sorts of thought ran through Sara’s mind as she stood there. Just stewing in her own imagination that had been running a bit wild lately.

Her tail flicked wildly at the back of her heals. Then, making a decision she would probably regret, her curiosity got the better of her. Making a dangerous mix with the different feelings in her heart that just over road the knowledge she had in her head. PMS was not a monthly gift from mother nature but rather a curse.

With a violent flick o her tail, Sara entered the bar, marching straight through the door up to the bar where the lady was dancing ON THE POLE! Sara shoved herself between a coupe of men, one that happened to seem familiar but Sara wasn’t focusing on him enough to remember ‘Crocs from the land down under.’ “Excuse me. Miss.” Sara cleared her throat. This was of course a misunderstanding with Her catching Ayesac’s sent here. Still she just had to ask. “Have you seen a big red guy? Mutant. Stands this tall.” Sara raised her hand as far as she could above her own head. He looks like a dragon. Wings and all.”

Lily had called and after setting up yet another meeting time, she had given Jacen the choice of picking a club for them to hang out at before doing anything else. It was quite obvious from their phone conversation that another shower was on her mind and Jacen was already looking forward to seeing where their evening might progress.

It had been rather strange, but Lily had asked for Jacen to pick her up at a particular street corner instead of a specific address. While wierd, Jacen already knew better than to think to long about the odd request. He and Lily had a... very different relationship and it was only natural that some things would seem strange.

After picking up the blond woman, Jacen drove to the destination he had picked. At the NYPD there had been a few reports filed about a certain mutant friendly bar called 'The Hole In The Wall'. While nothing had ever happened that had been bad enough to bring up charges, that had been several serious injuries and even a few mysterious deaths that had been investigated. The bouncers were supposed to be extremely rough characters but without enough evidence nothing had ever been done. Jacen figured this was an opportunity not only for him to enjoy a mutant friendly environment but also to gather intel on a possibly dangerous location. He wasn't actually interested in reporting any of the information he gained, but if S.W.A.T. were ever called to this particular club, it would give him an advantage.

"Here we are." Jacen spoke up as he pulled his truck into the correct parking area, "I hear this place is mutant friendly but I've never had a chance to check it out."

Climbing out of his truck, Jacen walked to the back of the vehicle and waited for Lily to join him before heading over to the club entrance. He was dressed casually in brown rockport lace up shoes, tan socks, pressed khakis, brown belt, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows, and a brown leather jacket. Normally he would be wearing an undershirt with the dress shirt but since it was for a night out with Lily he had chosen to forgo the undershirt and instead leave an extra button undone to expose a little bit more of his muscular chest.

"Ready to go in?"

Just because she got dressed and went five stops in a random direction before getting out and using a pay phone, didn't mean she was paranoid. It was just in caseies. Because you never know when you need people not to know things. Like where Lori lived, for one. Or that her name wasn't even Lori. Or Jenny. Or Emily. Or any of those other monikers she gave out. Lily was new, and as of yet reserved just for Jacen.

Lori wasn't one for fashion. She knew heels made her legs and butt work wonders and so that was definitely part of the ensemble. Other than that it was a short dress or long shirt, she wasn't entirely sure which and honestly it didn't matter. The effect was the same either way, it was entirely too short to be wearing out in this weather. And all the excuse she needed to find someone to warm her up.

And that someone arrived right on time. He was such a responsible umfriend. You know the ones... 'This is my, um, friend Jacen.' The names could change but the slight hesitation when introducing a hook up would perhaps always remain.

"Here we are. I hear this place is mutant friendly but I've never had a chance to check it out."

That surprised Lori - no, Lily - a bit. "Did it ever occur to you that you might cause a stir when you cross other mutants' paths? Maybe mutant friendly is good for you to get in, but the mutants might not be so friendly back."[/i] It was a fair warning. She brained him with a racket, yeah, but there was worse. The next to feel helpless may not be so kind.

Lily followed Jacen around the truck and toward the three-in-one type of bar club amalgamation. She'd never been a big fan, but she'd never really needed to be before. "Yeah. Let's rock the casbah." She had a new fake ID to match so many others. This one had her at age 22, a more believable age than her actual 25. It's a sad state when you have to get a fake ID for people to believe you. This one also had her name as "Lily."

The door man let them in, no issue, and Lily turned an expert eye to the bar before inspecting the whole she-bang. Still not her favorite, but it would do for the night's first activity.

"I'll dance, " She pointed to the lady entertainer working the pole. "But I'm not dancing on a pole." There were enough people so that at least she wouldn't have to be embarrassed on the dance floor. Lily spied an obvious mutant that looked like she might be starting trouble with the pole dancer, but that wasn't really any of their business.

Shot glass in hand as Bacchus prepared for another drink as he was shoved slightly which caused Bacchus to spill the contents on the bloke next to him. Leather jacket and a ZZ-Top beard, that was Eric, “Bad Move Bacchus I don’t care what your mutation is!” frowning Bacchus saw the punch coming and did nothing as a loud metallic thud sounded as Eric’s metallic hand crushed up against Bacchus’s jaw. Sure it would have hurt like hell but as of right now Bacchus was slightly tipsy and he didn’t feel much when he was buzzed.

Grinning seeing as hands and feet was all Eric could do Bacchus took Eric’s head with one hand and then smashed it on the bar leaving a large welt on Eric’s forehead, “Were square now mate you keep going with this you’ll find your ass on the street faster than you can say… well anything.” Bacchus motioned for another glass as the unnerved Kelly she soon gave him another glass as Bacchus poured some of his whiskey into the glass and gave it to Eric, “You honestly think I would try to pick a fight with you mate?” asked Bacchus as he looked over to the to the girl who was now questioning Chelsea.

“Oh Sheila!” Bacchus said nudging Sara a little, “bar policy the dancers aren’t supposed to talk till after their dancing, regardless who is asking, but your looking for a big red guy?” Bacchus asked trying to remember, “Dragon eh? Hard to come by,” Bacchus grinned as he raised his glass and called out, “To ‘Red Dragon’!” The bar erupted in a small cheer as members of the bar and the pool players and Kelly all took a drink from their choice poison of the night. “ Nice bloke,” Bacchus smiled at Chelsea as she continued to dance oblivious to her surroundings knowing full well that the regulars and Bacchus wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Looking back to Sara Bacchus smiled, “Now can I ask what your looking for a nice fella like him for?” Looking to Kelly Bacchus waved her down and said, “Kelly get this Sheila anything she wants, on me!” Kelly frowned and said, “So it’s on us because your lazy but doesn’t pay for anything…” Grinning Bacchus said, “And then who would you trust to bounce? I am the only one that can pull it off drunk” Bacchus let out a small laugh and took another shot of his whiskey. Then patted Eric on the back. There was his one chance of brawling for the night. Bacchus couldn’t do much to Eric though; he was one of Bacchus’s best drinking mates in America and always had a story to tell.

The music seemed to get louder as a familiar scent was mixed in with all the others around him. ‘Can’t be Jenny…’ thought Bacchus as he leaned back and spotted the bombshell of a blonde, ‘Still looks good’ frowned Bacchus as he looked back towards Chelsea who continued to dance. ‘Jenny left me for dead, and she took my money…’ looking back at the bottle of whiskey that was half full Bacchus frowned and thought, ‘Some other time I’m busy’ and took another sip from a shot glass.

“Oh Sheila! bar policy the dancers aren’t supposed to talk till after their dancing, regardless who is asking, but your looking for a big red guy?”

Sara’s attention swiveled round to the big guy she had ended u standing next to. Personally she didn’t care about policies at the moment, but he seemed to know Ayesac and it clicked that she knew him too. The amazing game.. Sara thought as the memory of being trapped in the maze match swam forward out of the rest of her memories.

“Dragon eh? Hard to come by, To ‘Red Dragon’!”

Sara jumped a little as the rest of the bar repeated Red Dragon. Ok so this wasn’t sure if this was helping Ayesac or not…. Probably not. She crossed her arms and the tip of her tail flicked. “He’s my fiancé.” Well technically Ayesac was more. But it wasn’t official.

“I’ll take a shot of scotch.” Sara sighed as she turned and leaned against the bar top while she was given her drink. Giving her a good view of the door when the next two people came in. “You know those two?”

In many ways this dive of a bar lived up to its named of being just a 'Hole In The Wall'. Thankfully though everything was clean and at first glance the bar was quite obviously well stocked. Jacen was driving so while he might sip at something, he wouldn't be drinking nearly what his body could handle. After all, quality was far more important than quantity.

"Hopefully they've got a decent bottle of scotch or burbon back there." He thought to himself rather wryly, "Instead of the cheap stuff most places serve the locals in order to get them drunk fast."

Right then Lily's voice broke through his thought and Jacen had to grin over at the beautiful blond. "How about we grab a drink to loosen up before we hit the floor?" He asked before immediately grabbing the young woman's hand and leading her toward the bar.

"Besides, I'm curious to see how many drinks it takes to get you up on that pole." Jacen said with a quick tease before turning back to the brunette bartender that was looking at him rather expectantly. "Burbon straight up. And whatever the lady's having." He ordered quickly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty and a ten. Most of his money was safely stowed in his wallet, but in a place like this Jacen always chose to keep at least some money in his pocket so that he didn't advertise exactly how much money he had in his wallet. It was never a good idea to go around inviting trouble, of course Jacen had no idea just how well his aura could do the inviting for him.

A big guy stood and chatted with the cat girl. She didn't recognize him until he raised a glass and bellowed something about a Red Dragon. Aw frick on a stick. And of course Jacen had no idea what he was dragging her into. And why was he dragging her by the hand? Under normal circumstances she'd be flocking to the bar all on her own. But Brickson was there. New York was big enough that she'd avoided him so far ever since the lightning incident.

There wasn't a drink strong enough to make this go smoothly. Lily swallowed and put on a grimacing smile. "Not a drink strong enough to get me on a pole either." She muttered to herself as Jacen towed her to the bar.

"Burbon straight up. And whatever the lady's having."

Lori sighed. "Long Island Iced Tea and for the love of all that is holy make it strong." This was going to be a long night, but if played right Brickson could go down again. In fact, he wasn't all that hard to outwit - it was the brute strength and sense of loyalty that made him tricky. Jacen would definitely come in handy here.

She leaned in close to Jacen whispering her words against his ear so that Brickson, even with his good hearing would be hard pressed to hear what she said over the bar music. "The man behind me is like us, only dangerous. I saw him squeeze a man's brains out of his skull." That ought to be warning enough. She nibbled at Jacen's ear and turned back in time to catch her drink from the brunette bar tender. She gave the woman a nod. Being a chick bartender was harder than it looked.

Lori turned as if she'd just noticed the big guy and the cat girl. "Nice to see you again, Brickson. Doing well, I presume?" She sipped on her drink innocently.

“Fiancé huh?” Bacchus took another long sip from his bottle of whiskey not even using a glass anymore, “Congrats Sheila, must be nice to have some one like that,” Bacchus took another sip now feeling quite drunk in his normal human form which could easily be fixed all it took was a small adjusting f the stomach and he would be good for another few rounds.

Looking back to the cat girl he frowned and nodded, “Unfortunately, Sheila over their and me did a bank job then left me to die after electrocuting me in the shower, cold blooded that one.” Frowning lightly Bacchus looked over at the bloke as he noticed Jenny looking his way Bacchus quickly turned his head and took another long gulp, “Bloke on the other hand don’t know feel like I should warn that poor bloke…” taking another big gulp of whiskey drinking it like it water he expanded his stomach feeling the drunkenness leaving to be replaced with a buzz.

Long nights at the bar tended to fly buy but not tonight, it was going to be long, even if he had to work. Usually booze helped time but again not a factor tonight, he didn’t really feel to enthused about seeing her tonight, even if he was sober he would have wished he was drunk and now all he can think about is drinking more. ‘Oh look she wants to talk?’ thought Bacchus as he lifted a glass in the air and called out in his cheery voice, “To Jenny the best backstabber a partner could ever ask for!” he kept his gaze on her the entire time as the crowd erupted in a cheer “TO JENNY!”

Taping Sara on the shoulder Bacchus nodded over to the pool table, “Come on let’s see if your have as good as Red, don’t really feel like getting to close to her, think I might have trust issues with blondes now.” Laughed Bacchus as he took his bottle of whiskey and walked over to the pool table. He wasn’t sure if Sara followed him if not that was fine Eric and about two-dozen others would be more than willing to play a little pool.

Once in the corner at the table ha began to wrack the balls and expanded himself a little more, he was now standing over seven feet tall and was just feeling a slight buzz as the whiskey worked through his system it wasn’t unusual for him to change size in the bar usually it meant he was about to bounce someone or he was to drunk to stay small, either way people started to become more friendly to him or tone down what they were doing unless the provoke the giant. Looking over at Jenny and her guy Bacchus shot a warning glance her way meaning ‘not in the mood tonight’ she was about twenty feet away and that was far enough for Bacchus. He didn’t really want to put up with another shocking experience but he had a few aces up his sleeve that he didn’t have last time.

Sara received her Scotch, scooping it up from the bar without even looking back or down, as she leaned and watched the new comings. Then glanced at the rest of the place. She supposed Red could have chosen a worst place.

“Congrats Sheila, must be nice to have some one like that,”

“Yeah. I don’t know where I’d be without him.” Sara was starting to calm down. Maybe that was the scare. Without Ayesac was a scary thought. The two of them kept each other in check.

“Unfortunately, Sheila over their and me did a bank job then left me to die after electrocuting me in the shower, cold blooded that one.”

Sara’s ears flicked back and forth as she picked up on bit’s of what the other ‘Sheila’ and her ‘bloke’ were saying. The scotch was held loose between her fingers, and she held the glass under her nose. “Probably took the cash too.” Sara assumed. “If you’re worried about her I can throw her out. I do owe you still,.. .. Sort of.” A small smile pulled at Sara’s lips as she thought of the who maze incident. Sure she had gotten the collar device off of Bacchus. That thing sent electricity through both of them, but he had done all the work after that. Including the bloody parts. The fact that Sara had nodded about the offer of a pool game and they were walking away from the bar, and consequently away from the ‘Sheila’ spoke more than words had, about the cold, electrifying, possibilities. “That and I’m not afraid to punch a girl.”

As Bacchus racked the pool balls, Sara selected a pool cue from the wall and held it straight from her, as she checked to make sure she had the straightest one possible. She frowned at the first, and replaced where it was, to select the next. “Care to make a wager?”

No matter what Lily said, there was always a certain point with alcoholic beverages that someone became willing to do the embarrassing things that they wouldn't normally do. He had seen pictures of some of the couples that had attended that pro-mutant Valentines Ball the previous weekend. After seeing some of the outfits you knew that there was no other explanation than the fact that some people got smashed before going to the party. There had even been a girl there dressed up like a character from one of those anime cartoons. As risque at the costume had been there was no doubt that 'liquid courage' had been involved at some point.

"Wonder how much she had to drink before going." Jacen thought with a silent chuckle as he took a sip of his drink. However, before he could simply enjoy the thought a little more, Lily leaned over to murmur some more important news.

"Squeezed brains out with his bare hands?" Jacen murmured back, making sure he had heard right. If what Lily said was correct then that man could easily be the cause of some of the problems around this place.

Turning around Jacen listened to Lily address the man as he continued to sip at his drink. Brickson's reaction was strange to say the least but Jacen found his mind focusing on one detail that the main had just given out.

"Jenny? Why in the world is he calling Lily, Jenny?"

Lowering his drink, Jacen watched curiously as both Brickson and a cat-woman walked off toward the pool table. "Friend of yours huh." He spoke wryly as glanced around the room, making sure to always keep it where he could at least see Brickson out of the corner of his eye, "Why'd he call you Jenny?"

Lily was still a woman of mystery and though Jacen had to admit he didn't want to dig to deeply into her background, he did want to know a few things about her. Maybe Jennifer or something like that was her middle name... yeah... that had to be it. Middle names always messed things up.

Lily nodded gravely in response to Jacen's question about the brain squishing. Bare hands.

“To Jenny the best backstabber a partner could ever ask for! TO JENNY!”

She raised her glass. "To Jenny!" She drank deeply and it burned the whole way down. She put her hand on her chest where it burned. Funny, the bit about being partners. Their partnership had been one of dire necessity since he BROKE THROUGH THE VAULT WALL. If she'd been a few steps away from Jacen she'd be sparking. And no one likes an electric-puss.

Of course he loudly said her name was Jenny. That was easily explainable, though... actually the whole thing was easily explainable with some watery eyes. If he asked details she was ready. For now she just grimaced and let Brickson walk away.

She had no qualms with the kitty cat excepting that she looked like she could pack a mean punch. Would she take to electricity? Or would Lily need to take one in the face to prove to Jacen that she was actually harmless. She hoped she didn't have to take one to the face.

"Friend of yours huh. Why'd he call you Jenny?"

She blew out a long slow breath between her lips and sipped more modestly at the last half of her drink before turning rather serious blue eyes to Jacen. "Look at him..." She shook her head and took a step back and motioned to herself. "Look at me. He's two times my size, came in through a wall and started bashing heads. Would you give him your real name?" She went back to her drink a bit frazzled looking. Jacen had seen her ID, even though false ones weren't so hard to come by, she'd been relatively honest with Jacen. He was the most responsibly umfriend she'd ever had. If Brickson screwed this up for her... she would bring this house down.

Frowning and sipping from his bottle Bacchus nodded, “Left me in a burning building, nothing but a towel and a backpack with like a third of the money…” Bacchus’s hand shook slightly and the pool cue snapped in half. He threw it to the ground and picked up another one but barley held on to it. If it weren’t for the whiskey he probably wouldn’t be as mad as he was now.

He grinned at the cat’s proposal, “Nawww if she pisses me off I’ll bounce her myself, and it is my job after all.” He grinned slightly, “In fact we are in need of another bouncer, and Dragon was nice enough to help me with those rowdy humans and mutants.” He grinned again, “If he needs a job tell him to stop by here, and” nodding his head back to the bar tenders, “I’m more their type than Dragon’s they like the tough guy who has a tendency to kill,” he laughed slightly as he realized he was making himself sound more sadistic than he actually was.

The mention of a wager intrigued the slightly intoxicated Bacchus, “Name it Sheila, it’s your lucky day I just happen to be a gambling man!” if it wasn’t for the whiskey in his hands he would have very well clapped but he only took another swig of the whiskey, and then started to bob his head slightly to the music.

“Left me in a burning building, nothing but a towel and a backpack with like a third of the money…”

Sara checked over her shoulder at the blond Bacchus was referring too. “Well a third is better than nothing. Still not fair though.” Sara shook her head at the pool cue that she just heard snap. “Might want to get your strength under control or we’ll be loosing the pool balls and they’ll be going through the walls or through someone’s head.”

“Nawww if she pisses me off I’ll bounce her myself, and it is my job after all.”

“Just won’t let me have any fun, huhh.” Sara smirked but took a sip of her drink as he continued. “I’ll let Ayesac know. This would definitely keep him more at home than the rest of the job he takes, though I doubt it will pay as much.” She leaned on the counter next to the pool table. The cue spun once between her fingers before he fount the balance and flipped it. “Ayesac’s not lkely to kill unless someone really does something wrong. I’ve tried to hold him back before.”

“Name it Sheila, it’s your lucky day I just happen to be a gambling man!” Sara flashed a pointy toothed grin as embarrassing bets ran through her mind. However those sounded much more childish. “All I’ve got is 100 dollars to my name right now. Win the game, and it’s yours.” Sara actually had other money stashed in other wallets, but the 100 bucks was all that was in her back pocket. What would Luke do if he knew she was gambling with the ill gotten cash he caught her with?..

Jacen nodded slightly, his curving up into a slight smile directed toward the blond woman before he glanced back after the giant and his feline friend. "You have a point there." He admitted before tossing back his drink, "I'm impressed you had the presence of mind to think up a false name so quickly under pressure."

He knew there was more to the story. Maybe it was just instinct or maybe it was little signs he had been picking up from both Lily and the big guy but either way it didn't matter. He had promised himself that there would be no getting attached to the blond and that was how he was going to proceed. Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't protect her if she were to get in trouble, but it did mean he wouldn't let his heart enter the proceedings to much. "She's a good fling... enjoy it while it lasts."

Nodding in the direction of the small dance floor a little ways away from the professional dancer and her pole Jacen gave Lily his most winning smile. "Up for that dance now?" There were only a few couples out on the floor but they all were twisting and making certain movements that went along with the music that was playing for the professional dancer. It wasn't the type of dancing that Jacen had ever done before but he was more than willing to try with Lily looking as good as she did. "Unless you'd rather play a game of pool or darts."