Players:
Summary: Danny & Bruce chat for a bit at work, resulting in Bruce jumping to a few conclusions.
Log Title: Red Herring
Rating: G
NYC - Nowhere
Nowhere is a community bar, with a slightly old world feel. All of the tables and chairs are made of wood, though there are some couches in a slightly offset room with green fabric. The music varies, depending upon the Owner's music taste for the day. Beer and Liquor are both served, but are both carded for as well.
At the front of the bar, right as one walks in,is a large sign. "Superhuman friendly establishment. There will be no tolerance for disparaging remarks based on one's genetic status. Any fights will not be tolerated within the bar. The management holds no responsibility for where combatants are teleported."
Scene
The bar is finally starting to pick up business again after the shooting that took place several weeks back. After reopening it seemed that many people were worried to drink here, but with the pleasant weather and the weekend it seems that the patrons are throwing caution to the wind.
Bruce is currently wandering around in the bar picking up used glasses and empty bottles. He is currently wearing blue jeans and a brown vest. His Akubra is sitting on the bar right now, he'd taken it off to let one of the patrons try it on, but she left while he was out cleaning up. The man returns to the bar with a handfull of dishes and slides around back to drop them in the sink, looking down the bar to see if the other tender on duty needs any help.
Off at the end of the bar, it looks like Danny aka Cowboy, doesn't need any help in fact he's flirting a bit with some guy whose come up to order a drink. He's dressed in a pair of jeans and a white sleeveless undershirt with a short sleeved button up shirt, unbuttoned, over it. After a bit of flirting, Danny eventually gets the guy a drink and there's a few more words before Danny turns to Bruce. "Ah think Ah might have found a place to crash, other than mah apartment tonight." He jokes as Danny is quite the flirt of a guy.
Bruce checks down the bar and sees that there isn't anyone waiting for drinks right now so he washes out the dirty glasses real quick before turning around and putting his hat back on. He smirks at Danny's comment. "Oh come now, save some for me. And remember to get some sleep tonight. You come to work like a zombie tomorrow and Lil'll bust yer skull in."
Bruce checks down the bar and sees that there isn't anyone waiting for drinks right now so he washes out the dirty glasses real quick before turning around and puting his hat back on. He smirks at Danny's comment. "Oh come now, save some for me. And remember to get some sleep tonight. You come to work like a zombie tomorrow and Lil'll bust yer skull in." One of the patrons knocks on the bartop to order a drink, muttering something snide about Brokeback Mountain. Bruce's eyes flash dangerously at the man, but he turns to get him a beer anyway.
Danny puts a hand on the bar and looks at the guy with his comment. "Y'all got a problem, y'all can leave. There is is an open minded establishment, so if ya don't like that, Ah can git the owner and he can suggest ya leave." Danny says as he knows their boss, Nik, has the same preferences he does. "So, Ah can save ya some if ya like, just let me know when you're interested." He jokes with his coworker as he goes to get the next patron their drink. "Ah'll be fine for tomorrow, we don't gotta be here till 2pm."
Bruce waves a hand dismissively at Danny "Na na, I got 'im." He pours the man a beer and pushes it across the bar to him. "There ya go mate, enjoy." As soon as the man's out of range he mutters to Danny, "Extra sandy, just for him." He shrugs and turns to the other tender. "Say, haven't seen a white haired minor 'round here have ya?" He shakes his head, "Not that he SHOULD be here. Used to try an sneak in sometimes, but haven't seen him in a while. Last I heard he was in trouble with some school, might be connected with the…" He lowers his voice, "With the shootings."
"White haired minor…nah Ah haven't seen one. Wait…trouble with some school…shit." Danny says as he pours himself a shot of Jonny Walker and downs it quick. "Does the name Caleb ring any bells?" He says sounding annoyed after all Danny does go to Barnes and is getting paid to study to be a teacher there. "Ah think Ah know him and if he knows anythin' 'bout the shootin' here, him an Ah are gonna talk."
Bruce thinks about it for a minute, "Yeah might a been Caleb. Thought it was Casper or somethin', but a C-Name's a C-Name." He shakes his head. "Naw it's the…" He looks around to make sure there aren't any patrons too close by. "I was here that night, those shooters are military trained. Said if they killed enough of us, they'd get points to join some special task force." He stops for a minute to pour a glass of beer for a young lady with blue skin. Turning back to Danny, "Anyway, kid goes to this school where everybody's got powers. Said he tried to leave once and they hunted him down. Knew his weakness and used it against him." He shakes his head again, "What's more, this place is run by, get this, some super special task force."
"Yeah, Ah've heard of this place." Danny says but he doesn't admit he works there or that he's training to be a teacher, not with the way Bruce is talking right now. "It ain't such a bad thing, maybe Ah wouldn't have run away from home if Ah had a place that taught me tah deal with my powers….sorry." Danny excuses himself to get a few Malibu Baybreezes for a small group of girls. "Like Ah was sayin' maybe Ah wouldn't have been so scared and ran away. Still wouldn't have stopped my parents from practically disownin' me though."
Bruce shakes his head. "Well yeah if that was what it was really for." He stops as one of the patrons comes up close to the bar again, but they're just collecting a few napkins. "Sounds to me like they're just using the school as a place to train them up to fight with each other and find out how to beat us. Wouldn't be surprised in five or ten years down the road the kids in that school were the ones on the roof shooting the rest of us."
Danny just nods and takes another shot of his Johnny Walker before putting the bottle down. "Bruce…Ah'll tell ya what Ah know about this school later…alright, but Ah do know that it ain't some school for trainin' terrorists…more like heroes and agents like Avengers style." Danny says as he's been working with Government hero groups for a while. "And what's this us? Mutants or Superheores?"
Bruce gives Danny a suspicious look, wondering what exactly the other man knows about the school and why he is hesitant to tell him about it now. Bruce can wait for those answers however, he does not mind. "Us? Mutants. Hero is too subjective a term. After all, there are those that would call Magneto a villain." He shrugs. "And some who'd say the Avengers aren't politically driven."
"Ah ain't a mutant though, Ah think you're fergettin' that." Danny says with a grin as he's an altered human, he has no trace of the X-Gene. "I should say supes rather than Heroes, sorry. Just cause some people ain't mutants don't mean that they're not on the mutant side of things. Mah last boyfriend was a mutant and damn was he cute." He says with a chuckle and sometimes he regrets things went sour with Cale.
Bruce shakes his head, "Yeah well I don't think that the people shootin' up the town are gonna care if you've got a special gene or if you got somethin' else goin' on. If yer somehow more advanced than a normal human they probably don't want you runnin' around on the street." He takes a minute to wipe off the counter. "After all, look at the news reports on that Man-Spider. Hear he's not quite a mutant."
"Well Ah'm all for the rights of any superheroes or anyone with super powers Bruce. Ah always have been. Ah don't think anyone shootin' up Mutant Town is a good thin'. Spider-Man that's a fun one." Danny says with the roll of his eyes. "The only thing the Daily Bugle is good for is linin' mah cat's box. So what do ya do Bruce besides bartend? Anything or is this pretty much yer life?"
Bruce sighs and avoids Danny's question for a moment. A sudden influx of customers helps him to do so. He pours a couple beers and mixes a vodka sprite before turning back to his coworker. "Well I do stuff other than bartend, yeah. Lately I've been spendin' my nights out patrolin' the area. Like to make sure nothin' suspicious is goin' on." He shrugs. "Try not to leave Mutant Town if I can help it, told someone I wouldn't."
"Ah hope so too since mah last job like that feel through. Ah never thought Ah'd be gettin' into things like this. Ah'm just a guy who happens tah have powers and now…Ah've got a code name a costume and it's crazy." Danny says shaking his head. "Ah kept this job cause Ah love bar tendin' and Ah love the atmosphere here. If Ah could afford an apartment and all mah medical expenses workin' just as a bartender, Ah'd probably do that but the insurance is definitely nice."
Bruce continues to smile at Danny, "Oh yeah the pay's pretty nice here. And the tips are pretty good, especially if ya'v got a hat and an accent." He chuckles and looks away. "I see the bar as good way to meet people. I don't really need the money all that much, but the things I learn here are sometimes worth more than the pay anyway." He doesn't mention his own costume, or the fact that he doesn't need the money because he robbed one of the banks recently. Or that it resulted in one of the Avengers being shot.
"Ah've been on mah own since Ah was eighteen so Ah've just always been comfortable with two jobs. But Ah've always liked workin' at the bar cause yer right, it is a great way to meet people." And Danny says that with a wink and a laugh. "Sorry, sorry. Ah've met a lot of good, fun people workin' here and at Otto's Shrunken Head back in the day. And yer right about the hat and accent." He say tipping his own hat.
Bruce just chuckles at Danny's little comment. He glances up at the wall clock as he sees a woman with ice blue hair walk in. "Ah, well lookit that. Guess we've been here longer than I thought. S'pose I should disappear for the night, eh?" He passes a towel to Lil as she steps behind the bar, she just gives him a dour look. Bruce ducks back over to the other side of the bar, not leaving just yet, but he does want to call magneto while everything's fresh in his mind.
"Have a g'night Bruce, see ya in the a.m." Danny says as he's still got another few hours on his shift, he can't help but check out Bruce as he heads over to the other side of the bar. "How's it goin' t'night Lil?" He says to the as he doesn't realize Bruce suspects him of anything, after all in Danny's mind, he has nothing to hide.
Bruce tips his hat to the two and stops to chat with a couple of folks on his way out. He'll go on patrol for a couple hours and call Magneto once he's sure he's alone. Danny may have a visit some time in the future.
~ Fin ~
