The X-Project

WARNING: MATURE SUBJECT MATTER

Wanda, Paige and Jubilee do some information gathering in Sons of Hel territory.



The ‘WarDogs’ bar was loud and dark. It was a long affair, with bars on the windows and neon beer signs everywhere. The locals where a rough crew; logging crews, miners, truckers, and bikers all on various tables having pitchers and shots. Abad band was fighting its way through ‘The Immigrant’s Song’ which was a fan favourite, since they repeated it three times. A bottle blonde waitress who screamed ‘round heeled’ in her tube top and stretch pants had given them a distinctly dirty look, but had still plunked down a pitcher of Miller at their request and retired behind the bar.

Wanda's mouth twitched just slightly at the dirty look sent their way and gave her companions an amused one in return. "It appears," she said, voice pitched just so to allow the noise of the bar to cover her words to anyone not in their immediate area, "that we are already on someone's, as they say, "shit list"." Reaching for the pitcher, she pulled Jubilee and Paige's glasses closer as she took over pouring duties. "As long as she keeps it to glaring from a distance and refrains from dumping drinks on our heads, though, I think we should be safe enough to talk here."

"I give it like, half an hour tops before the next bar fight," Jubilee noted, her tone matching Wanda's. "So, who wants to start?"

Jubilee took hold of her glass after Wanda filled it and took a drink, putting it down afterwards.

“The next bar fight or something else?” Paige cracked, grinning over the edge of her pint. “I admit, I’ve been itching for a tussle all week, between the customers and most of the other girls…” She trailed off, making a face as she took another drink.

Wanda pointed at Paige. "I knew I liked you for a reason. And I agree. We are under a microscope and why? Because we are the new talent. And possibly because we do not have lice." Yet. "If we were under watch for other reasons, that I could understand. But this kind of resentment and bitching makes me want to pitch someone out of a window."

"They're scared," Jubilee replied, taking another drink. "Of getting old and not being able to do this anymore, or of something new coming along and totally superseding them. Now here we all are, hot new things on the block, it's gonna take work to get past all the bullshit. Now the customers? I totally had to stop myself from like, melting the face of that guy yesterday, the one that decided to get all grabby? Fucker was lucky I didn't kick him in the head."

An opposite of ladylike snort was uttered from Paige, and she set her glass down to cover her nose and mouth, laughing. "That I would have paid to see. But seriously, has anyone found anyone willing to say anything other than fuck you? One of the bouncers, Todd, seems nice enough. I can't tell if he's playing Nice Guy or genuinely a good sort, but he yanked a guy out who was advancing on the stage for me the other day. And he calls me ma'am?"

Wanda smiled, knowing the others were chaffing as much as she was at their inability to react the way they normally would. No one had any idea that the three new girls could have easily handled the clients and the bouncers without thinking too much about it and, sadly, that was the way it had to stay. Being able to dropkick a slime ball off the stage would have drawn attention to them in a way none of them could afford. "Speaking of troubling clients," she said, raising her eyebrows, knowing the others would catch her drift.

"Yeeeeah," Jubilee drawled, leaning back in her chair slightly but making sure she didn't tip it up onto two legs. "You guys catch the brawl the bouncers had to break up?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," Paige replied, continuing in a musing tone. "Is it perhaps the one where the Hel patron called Jose a scratch back? Or the one where Bunny asked why her lap dance had the rune for soup on his shoulder?"

"Don't remind me about that one," Wanda sighed. She'd almost gotten an entire pitcher of beer thrown in the face and she hadn't been able to do much more than run around and pretend to scream and be afraid. It had been a discouraging evening. "Those boys seem far too comfortable in their reputation - the entire bar seems to take a few steps back when they come into the place."

"I still think the one with the soup rune should totally be like, part of 'hilarious thing I saw of the week' or something," Jubilee noted, leaning back in her chair a little more. "As to Hel's boys, I've heard some gossip. They like it when you treat them like they're the only ones in the room, totally give better tips, egomaniacs like crazy."

"So, to sum up so far... Hel gang are racist, stupid, way into this whole Norse power thing and we're screwed because they pretty much run the place." Paige sigh, leaning into the hand that had been used to tick off the points. "I guess as long as the leader doesn't come in we'll mostly be fine."

"Normally, we would want the leader to come in," Wanda said slowly, "but I have a feeling that in this case, we would rather he only show up when we have a fully accompaniment and not just the three of us."

Jubilee waited for a moment, wondering if the universe would oblige by sending in the very man they did not want to see right at this moment, but after a few minutes had expired she relaxed and took another drink. "He's some form of weird Norse pagan I've heard, and not the hippy, let's drink all the mead and have sex in the woods type. No, this is the bring back sacrifices and bathes in the blood of our enemies type.

"Yeah, I'd prefer a full tank before facing off on him. Or someone else to be the ball in the fastball special," Paige agreed.

Taking a moment to freshen up the pints in front of them, Wanda leaned back in her chair. "Well, ladies," she said, "drink up. I have a feeling we are going to need these."