Megan made her way down the dark staircase in a midnight raid on the Red Dragon Inn's pantry. She was adorned in a 3/4 length t-shirt with and angelic teddy bear emblazoned on the front, matching the pink slippers on her feet. Only the dark broody sword hanging over her shoulder and her normal dour disposition seemed to offset such a cheerful composition. She was oblivious to any and all actions in the bar. Though the establishment seemed empty enough, feeding her belly was first and foremost on her mind. Her first stop was the icebox. Looking to satisfy some strange taste, she sampled everything, dipping her finger into every bowl and cup in an attempt to squelch the urge.  A soft voice spun her around, her hand reaching up to grab the hilt of Destroyer, but what she saw made her pause. "Renea?" she gasped.

            The red headed vampire turned human stared at her longtime border. It had been months since she'd left, but it was nice to know that some things didn't change. The blade looked a little different, but the mutant munching on the moldy food was a pleasant staple to see. It was an added bonus that the mutant slid her weapon back onto it's perch and rushed up to envelope Renea in a bear hug. She did notice that the normally rib-crushing strength didn't seem to pack the same wallop. The tongue-lashing did. "Teeth and Toenails Renea! Where in the wild world have you been? Gods, we missed you! Didya get all fixed up? Everything okay dokay now?"

            "Yes, yes." Renea patted the smaller woman's back. "Everyfing's all even keeled now. S'good t' see ya. And you?"

            Megan finally released her. "I'm fine. The blade's all screwed up, that's all." Even now she had to grab the blade as it vibrated angrily. "It sort of got divided back up into its two original parts. This is the Destroyer half. He's a wee bit paranoid." She finally quelled the weapon by giving a quick open-handed strike on the pommel to stun it back into submission.

            "I don' fink ih' like's me much," Renea noted.

            "It's okay. He doesn't like anybody."

            "Why don't you just lock him up in the closet?" That suggestion came from Morgaine as she made her way down the steps. She had heard Megan's boisterous greeting and had figured the mutant just found out that Renea returned. Of course Renea had been back for well over a week, but Morgaine knew that her short friend looked at the world just a little differently. You almost had to club her over the head with any non-threatening change.

            "Locking him up just makes things worse," Megan answered. "All he's trying to do is defend me from anything potentially bad... which is everything. I've tried to explain things, but he don't listen too well."

            "Y'know." Morgaine smirked as Renea slipped into the kitchen for a snack. "I don't think I'll ever understand this talking blades thing."

            "Well he doesn't really talk per se. It's more like a hum and lots of flashing pictures, especially when he gets real hyper." She turned and leaned over the counter, watching Renea chug down a glass of milk. "Hope the place is still up to par for your tastes."

            "You 'elped?" Renea seemed surprised.

            "I tried, mainly by keeping Brimstone and company out. They've decided to camp out up in that mountain out there." Renea did look out, noting the mountain standing out in the moonlight seemed a bit shorter and somewhat concaved in the middle. She would have asked more of the mutant but found herself suddenly a bit weakened and leaned up against the counter. Morgaine just about pushed Megan out of the way to reach the woman's side as concern spread across her face. They whispered quietly, so softly that even Megan couldn't catch the whole of the concern; but even the thick-headed mutant knew when to back down and she gave the girls room to murmur their secrets between themselves and turned to the bar.

            The first man at the bar showed his fighting spirit, the charcoal skin seemed chalky, betraying an old illness, though he still looked like he could swing the massive broadsword hanging on his back. The ire of the first man’s violet eyed stare was an elf staring back with as much challenge in his eyes. Instant brawl, Megan thought, but since it hadn’t escalated into a fist fight just yet, she decided to try to find something to settle her stomach. An ash tray filled with walnut shells seemed to fill the bill. She grabbed a handful and began to loudly chew on the broken bits. No meat had been left behind, so it was no wonder that the two strangers stared at her.

            More familiar faces wandered in: Marek on a mission to deliver a new blade to Meli, whom he had just met outside the tavern and suggested they come in for a drink. Everything was fine until Marek drew out the newly polished blade. Destroyer immediately sounded out, vibrating against Megan’s spine before trying to slide off her back. While both gentleman watched, Megan at first pinned the angry weapon against the counter with her back, then grabbed the hilt and quickly snapped her wrist, laying the sword flat on top of a stool before jumping up on the seat, effectively pinning Destroyer under her bottom. The blade bucked, almost unseating her twice, but was unable to escape his mistress without inflicting damage upon her posterior. 

            Marek took notice of Megan’s unruly weapon and sheathed his own blade, but continued to argue with Meli in the same hushed tones that Renea and Morgaine talked in. The subject that the big man had on his mind was clearer as Megan was able to catch the word “Brimstone" in their conversation. "You know my stinkin' good-fer-nuthin uncle wanna be?"

            Marek seemed uneasy about the whole subject. He ignored Megan's question and stood abruptly. "I left some metal in the fire. I gotta get back to the shop." He leaned in closer to Meli. "Either get him out of your head or stay the heck away from here," he hissed softly before leaving.

            Undaunted, Megan now turned her attention to Meli, whom had withdrawn back into the safety of the dark folds of clothing. She watched as Megan struggled with the ebony blade, then recognized her. "I know who you are. You're one of Goury's friends, aren't you?"

            "Yeah!" Megan seemed relieved that someone was able to earmark her. "You know where he is? Or Zel? I need to talk to them."

            "I honestly don't know."

            Almost unseated a third time, Megan turned her attention back to Destroyer, grabbing him by the sharp end and tucking him under her arm, pinning him to her side. The weapon relented, not wanting to hack off her arm in a struggle.

            The elf at the bar did lift an eyebrow, wondering why her ordinance seemed so animated. His gaze turned and he caught the other man at the bar staring at him. The challenge was in the air, first initiated by the old man. “Is something the matter, ‘little elf’?” he snarled. “I’ve dealt with your kind before.”

            The elf snorted back. “Your kind are all the same. You show fearless yet your life’s blood is delightful to sap. It is like draining your pride.”

            The older man really didn’t want a conflict. “Fearless? Prideful? You judge me like all elves, assuming that I am an elf.”

            Again the younger creature snorted. “You are all the same. Even the so called ‘rogue elves’ are no different than the rest of you. If you have been cast out, then your view on the world must have changed.”

            Rouge elves? The man wondered if the younger elf saw him for what he was. “To be cast out is one thing. To leave of your own volition is another. Regardless, you know nothing of drow.” and he pulled his own hood back, revealing the blond locks and dark skin of his heritage.

            “None the less, you are what you are! How Dare you defy Me!”

            “Excuse me? Gentlemen?” Megan had made her way between the two men, holding her dark weapon behind her back, securely in place with her left hand, even as he struggled and whined in a light high pitched hum. “There will be No finger wagging about parentage in This bar, Buckos! If you’re gonna have a fight, take it outside. If you’ve got a thing against half breedS, mutts and mutants, this ain’t the place for ya to start in.”

            The drow had assumed by her wording that if he stayed inside, no fight would break out. The elf, however, decided to test that theory by charging, wrapping the remnants of chain around his fists and lunged in for the punch. To her credit, Megan did try to stop him, bringing Destroyer up to bear, but the blade was more willing and she had to shift her weight to stop the blood thirsty sword from cleaving the elf in half. Unfortunately, she ended up with a face full of chain and it knocked her out cold.

            Thankfully Goury walked in before Megan could sustain any more fistwork and the blond swordsman broke up the battle to save the mutant from being trampled. It was the younger elf that whirlwind in a hissy fit destroying much of the furniture in a tumultuous temper tantrum before blowing out of the bar, leaving his drowish kinfolk behind. “Such chaos resulting from such a trivial matter..” he murmured.

            “What was that guy’s problem?” Goury asked as he returned from depositing Megan in her room, then tried to upright some of the less damaged furniture. 

            “I believe he was mad that I was contradicting his motion that all individuals of any certain race are all the same as others of their race. I consider such as stereotyping, personally.

            “That is like saying all humans are the same and there is no deviation in skin color. No one being of a race is exactly “Like” Meli added. She had managed to stay clear of the fight and was very glad it was over. She turned to Goury. “Marek was here, but he left. I think your friend upset him. I believe she thinks that Marek is stuck on Nine.”

            “Megan said that? I apologize. She gets it from her father Tim. I think sometimes she is more like him than she cares to admit. But what was Marek saying about Brimstone that caught her attention?"

            Meli instantly recoiled. "I don't believe that is your business."

            Goury seemed confused, then realized what she must have thought. "Oh no, no. If you and BS are friends, then it is none of my business."

            While they chatted, the drow leaned back, only vaguely listening in on the conversation. He was more impressed that these humans didn't instantly take a dislike to him and try to kill him as most people would have done. Perhaps there was hope for him yet in this world. As he sat, another drow slipped into the room, then smiled as he pulled his cowl back, revealing the bluish skin and blanched hair before stretching his hand out to the previous drow in greeting. "Good eve," this darker drow spoke. "I am Fereden Do'Urden."

            "Do'Urden? Are you kin to Drizzt Do"urden?"

            The newcomer's ears twitched a bit. "Yes, but I am sure he does not know me."

            "Well met then. I am Isilriel Lightfeather."

            They sat quietly, listening in on the strange conversation Goury and Meli were involved in. Isilriel hadn't wanted to intrude, but found the walnut-shell-chewing girl Megan some what of an enigma. Goury didn't seem upset by the blow she took, so the drow assume the woman was still alive, but the punch the elf had thrown ws not some mere love tap. Isilriel was listening for some enlightenment.

            Instead the discussion seemed to drift to a person named "Brimstone," apparently the girl's uncle. And apparently Meli had some mixed emotions about the man. "Meli," Goury had Chastised. "Talk to the man. Randall says that he's sure the big guy has some feeling for you."

            "But I'm not sure I can have feeling for him. Every time I try to talk to him about something important, something happens."

            "Just try, Meli."

            Nine was busy in the hideout, digging through one of BS's closets while BS watched from the opposite end of the room occasionally dodging a flying piece of clothing, footwear, or weaponry as Nine excavated. It was in this remodeling phase that Meli entered, flanked by the set of dragons that Brimstone had raise almost from eggs. She watched the growing pile with Randall as he came out from his workshop to find out what Nine was swearing about. Apparently she wasn't finding what she needed and her vocabulary grew more prolific in curse words and volume. "There's nothing on this friggin list in here! Just all this damn high tech crap!" and a set of blasters came whizzing out. BS ducked just in time.

            Finally she emerged from the closet covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies. Her hair hadn't been combed out in two days and she was still sporting her sleepwear; sky blue footies matching the knee length "Mattitude" t-shirt. She dropped her only discovery, a rusted cutlass bent in two places as if it had been used to pry open something very heavy at one time. "Well that's two for the scavenger hunt." 

            "Maybe we can find some stuff over at Redfish's place," Randall offered, keeping well back from his lady love, knowing she wasn't in a mood for coddling. 'Course she Never was in a mood for any coddling.

            He was answered with a grunt as Nine dragged her prize behind her as she headed into the kitchen for a victory snack.

            Meli's attention was on the twin dragons. "Sit" she asked them quietly. Two butts slammed to the floor in unison. They waited for whatever treats she had, but quickly realized that she was not going to pamper them and they stood back up and meandered down the hallway, bumping off each other's sides in a rough shoving contest.

            She turned to watch Randall approach BS with one of his scanners in hand. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Brimstone. I found one of my data tracks in among your supplies in the tool corral. How did you get it?"

            "Oh.. that.." He waited to make sure that Nine was out of the room before continuing. "Well, it's like this. It's not that often when a big honkin spaceship crash lands into this place. I had to comb through quite a bit of wreckage to get anything salvageable. When I found that, and saw what was on it, I had to work in it some. There's some questionable footage, mainly about who sabotaged youse guys. I had to make sure first."

            Randall almost waved the reader as if it were a weapon. "You saw that whoever sabotaged the console teleported out."

            "I know."

            "That person may have been a mutant too."

            "I know."

            "And the reading showed that Nine was sending power levels off the scale, even After the generators blew."

            "Saw that too," BS confessed calmly.

            A crash in the kitchen gave Meli the cause to go see what the trouble was about. There had been several loud bangs and a couple of crashes and that didn't sound productive. When she opened the door to the kitchen, she saw Nine laying on the floor, halfway crawled in one of the cabinets as she tossed out pan after pan. "Can I help?" Meli offered.

            "I'm looking for a wok," Nine's voice floated up from under the sink.

            The tattooed woman tilted her head slightly. "What is this in the sink?" she asked as she lifted the missing pan from the cold-soapy water.

            "You found it?" Megan wriggled to extricate herself from the pipes and emerged, standing slowly to see Meli's prize. "Ah.. there it is." She kicked the other pans out of her way and sat the wok, soapy water and burnt food still clinging to the metal, on the stove to boil. This left Meli to follow behind carefully stacking the splayed cookware and returning them neatly to the cabinets.

            Randall waited until Meli left before continuing his cross-examination, feeling the 'borg was leaving something out. "I never imagined she could generate such levels," he confessed.

            Brimstone went through the motions of drawing out a cigar and preparing it, biting off one end, using the small butane torch in his finger to light it. "I've seen it before. I'm surprised it stayed that contained. You trained her well." He looked up slightly, seeing the confused look on the scientist's face. "You know she could have ripped you all to bits if she had lost control, right?"

            The thought Had crossed Randall's mind, but he continued to hold some belief that the chamber had helped to keep her focused. BS looked about for a minute, then gestured for Randall to follow him into the workroom. Tools and metal were scattered all around, resting on tables, seats, and floor; remnants of various projects the tin man was working on. He held up a device, much like Randall's only more intricate, and once again played the ship's death-knell scene. He paused it just as the shadowy image emerged into frame. "Watch," Brimstone instructed as he twiddled with various knobs. The image became clearer, sharper.. just enough to show who was behind the attack: Tim.

            "What!?" Randall gasped ans he grabbed the hand held monitor, looking closer at the image.

            Brimstone rested a calming hand on the scientist's shoulder. "Now I'm not exactly sure if that's him. It could be Tristan, but Tristan's too vain to dye his hair black. Could be one of those alternative Tims, like Nine being a version of Aurora. Whose to say if their ain't more dopplegangers about." Randall looked up at him with such hope that BS didn't have the heart to string him along. "I'm pretty sure that's our boy," he confessed quietly. "You can guess why I didn't bring this to light earlier. But this all now carries the question... Why would Tim do such a risky maneuver?"

            There was a shout in the kitchen as Nine had tried to grab the handle of the wok and nearly seared the skin off her fingers. While she danced around Meli made an attempt to remove the boiling pot, but took the foresight of wrapping the end of her cape around her hand before grabbing the handle and easily removing the dangerously hot item and setting it back in the sink and proceeding to clean out the soapy mess inside. "But that was edible!" Nine insisted. Meli ignored the mutant's protest and set about to make a basic stew. It took some scrounging but within fifteen minutes, the pot held a thick soup worth eating.

            While the girls puttered in the kitchen, BS and Randall continued their discussion. "The Skipper had a lot of political enemies. Maybe Tim was working for them?"

            "Possible. Or maybe he was screwing around with your commandant much like he mucks around with everyone else. Needless to say, I wouldn't bring this up around Nine. She's volatile enough."

            Randall still was in a state of denial. "But to kill the crew in the process?"

            Brimstone shook his head and once again patted Randall's shoulder like he was consoling a child. "Depends on the gains. All of us have killed at one time or another. It depends on how important the end result is."

            "And we all survived because of dumb luck."

            "Their ain't nothing dumb about your fearless leaders surviving that crash. He's got brains, that one, and he's dangerous." The big guy inhaled, catching the scent of dinner. "Ah.. grubs ready. Lets go eat." and he lead the somewhat dazed Doc to dinner.

            Funny how a casual evening gathering at Drac’s bar could degenerate into a heated argument. The initial comments came from Randall, whom had innocuously mentioned that the mutants had missed the marriage of Drac and Lina. Nine waded right in with her biased two cents, mostly disparaging the Vashtalian race’s apparent trend of incorporating just one family line into their blood. She even ventured that they would even try to wrest Meli away from Brimstone. No amount of explanation, even valid ones that stated Meli and Lina were not related, swayed Nine’s disdainful outlook of their relationship. Goury even suggested that she should just leave her cybernetic uncle alone to handle his own affairs. “Right” she snorted back. “He knows nothing about her, nor her him. It’s like the blind leading the deaf and dumb.”

            Aerich, one of the next generation of Vashtalian royalty was quietly tending the bar. He nodded to Claw, whom put his two cents in as well. “I think that Brimstone and Meli will do just fine on their own.”

            "Great," Nine snorted again. "Now it's the paraplegic leading the blind, deaf, and dumb."

            Randall figured to move Nine's attention away from the current events before she picked a fight with Claw. "Hey, I got you a present!" and he lifted the black leather jacket from the shopping bag.

Her eyes just about popped from their sockets as she snatched it away from him and held it up to her slim frame before slipping the garment on. "Ohhhhh... waaarm," she sighed. Even Defender seemed happy as he began to hum, sandwich between the fabric and her spine. In an unlikely reaction, she reached up and kissed Randall on the cheek. She normally wasn't one for showing her favors for the scientist, at least not in mixed company, but she was truly thankful.

"You're welcome, hun," Randall stammered looking quite embarrassed.

As she fawned over her gift, Janis stepped inside, followed by Brimstone. Nine looked up, again giving Claw a suspicious sidelong glance, then stood up quickly. "I... I've got to go check on something," she insisted and scooted out the door, edging around the somber 'borg before darting out into the street.

Randall wasn't even up out of his seat to try to catch her before she was gone. "What is she up to now?" he spat in frustration.

"It's more like she's getting away from me," Brimstone confessed as he pulled a chair out for Janis to sit next to Claw, then settled himself down next to Randall. "she's got it in her brain that I had something to do with Tim's disappearance. I didn't tell her about the tapes. If I did, she would have tromped off and tried to kill Tim herself."

            The golden dragon mage now addressed the mechanical man. "Is it me or doesn’t she think I had a hand in something she doesn't like? Whatever it is, I sure don't know."

            Janis shook her head as she pulled the hood back. "Honestly, I think the whole lot of you mutant types are way too paranoid."

            "We are," BS admitted. "But most of the time we have a reason. Nine doesn't seem to need any clear reason. Just like her counterpart Aurora. That one was probably the most paranoid lot of us all." He dug deep into the pockets of his tan trenchcoat and fished up a few coins, tossing them up on the counter next to the register before helping himself to the nearest bottle. "Time for some lubrication," he smiled.

            As they drank, Meli seeped into the room. Actually she had been lurking for some time, but a wink from Aerich proved she had been spotted so she came out of the shadows to sit between Brimstone and Janis. The big metal man smiled down at her and poured her a shotglass of whatever it was he was drinking from. He didn't expect her to imbibe, but it helped integrate her into the group.

            Randall was still looking at the doorway where Nine had escaped. "I think I can talk some sense into Nine," he stated quietly.

            BS raised a brow. "Really now? You sure? I mean buying her the new leather jacket doesn't necessarily mean she'll roll over a play dead for you."

            "I worked with her for two years. I know how she thinks. Besides, the coat is not a bribe. It's a gift."

            "Call it what you want, it's gonna take more than 'gifts' to win her over totally. I see how guarded she is, even with you, Randall. However, I still wouldn't tell her about Tim's involvement with her spacecraft. It would make things... messy."

            "I agree."

            The 'borg gave a hearty nod. "Okay, then on to other things." He rummaged again in his pockets, pulling out several strips of paper with figures noted on them. "What's the current odds on Megan's child? I've got 40-1 that it will actually live, 50-1 that it has mutant abilities, 3-1 that it will be scaled. Any takers? I'm trying to get the betting pool started here.."

            "MEG'S CHILD?!"

            Goury may have been dense but once the word was spoken loud and clear enough, he did understand. Brimstone turned slighting with his best acting face forward. "Do you mean you Didn't know? Eating like its going out of style? Unable to sleep? Wild mood swings? Do I Have to tell you who the father is?"

            "I... I would guess.. that it would be.. Zel?"

            Brimstone turned back to Claw smugly. "See? The boy wonder isn't as stupid as everyone else makes him out to be."