Saturday Night Frenzy
"I still do not understand why the Professor shooed us all out of the mansion" Kurt wondered, as he and the X-Gang were walking down the streets of downtown Manhattan
"I think he just wanted some peace and quiet. Believe me, handling the mansion can be tiresome" Jean added, looking at Scott and Remy
"What? It's not like we built in a homemade shooting gallery! It was only blanks! Right?" Scott asked, turning to Remy for approval
"You got me there; but did I or did I not tell you that the last rifle had a bullet when you shot the clay pigeon?" Remy asked, trying to get to the point
"Ah come on, it takes precision for these skeet-shooting games. You know; just stack your targets, load your gun, aim for the target and you shoot it in the heinie!" Scott protested as Jean looked at him like he was crazy as he continued to rant
"Is anyone hungry? I'm practically starving" Pyro piped up, his stomach indeed growling
"How could you all of a sudden think of food at a time like this? Especially this morning, when you scarfed down all my donuts!" Jean snapped
"Hey, hey! I couldn't resist! The glazed ones were calling me! They were just begging me to eat them!" Pyro pleaded
"More like begging you not to eat them" Logan snorted sarcastically
"I heard that wise guy!" Pyro called out
"This is going to be one long evening" Rogue grumbled as Logan and Pyro argued
"Tell me about it. Remember that time those two ranted over the 'pot roast' incident last Sunday?" Scott commented
"Yeah, I do actually. God, the constant burning of the food, Jean's whining over the meal; and not to mention Kitty's shrieks about the mansion being burnt down. Ugh, it was a nightmare." Rogue gasped
"How about this spot right here, mates?" Pyro asked happily, directing the X-Men's attention to the Rookie's pub and grill restaurant.
"I-I don't know. Sports bars aren't really my cup of tea." Jean muttered, trying to talk herself out of the idea
"You kidding me? This place has the words 'Mutants Welcome' written all over it! Come on, boys! Let's get some grub and gals!" Bobby hooted, rushing in
"I second that notion. On the food I mean" Kurt hesitated, as he and the rest entered, while Scott, Madame Hydra and Jean stood by
"Scott; honestly, I do not do bar settings. Especially with those bearded, ugly bikers" Jean shivered, nervous
"Relax; you won't feel a thing. I'll get us a table." Scott replied, entering the pub
"Oh dear. I can see where this is going" Jean moaned before Madame Hydra took hold of Jean's arm and yanked it
"Man, would you look at this? It's like something from the eighties!" Lance replied, amazed by the many, many Playboy posters on the bar wall
"Yeah, real mature Lance. Real mature." Kitty groaned sarcastically, pulling Lance over to their table as he drooled over a photo of Pamela Anderson
"Does this place serve anything but beer?" Jean asked, appalled by the beverage section on the menu
"Uh, if you squint a little, there might be some ginger ale" Bobby added, pointing to the non-alcoholic section on the menu
"Oh there it is. Thank you" Jean replied gratefully. Bobby nodded and directed his gaze back to the wrestling match on the big screen TV
"Ok, have we made our agreements?" Peter asked as the X-Gang made their last minute decisions
"Um…I'll take the barbecued ribs with extra hot wings" Pyro piped up, as the X-Crew stared at him on the 'hot wings' note
"Might wanna tone it a little on the hot sauce there." Scott reminded before adding "I'll try the new extra bean burrito with the added nachos"
"Bean burritos again? Geez, last time you had that, we had to use up all the Lysol spray!" Logan grimaced, remembering their previous dining out experience
"I know I'm going to regret this" Jean whispered before taking a large breath and saying "I'll also have…the barbecued ribs with hot wings."
"All right! Atta girl, Jean!" Pyro whooped excitedly as the X-Men stared at Jean in shock
"Jean, have you been drinking Pepsi before bed again? You're kinda starting to act a bit goofy" Logan asked, giving Pyro an uninterested look
"It was a no-win scenario. I did what I had to. And besides…I'm actually starting to like hot stuff" Jean grinned, giving Pyro a compassionate look. Scott nodded in approval of the situation.
Later that evening…
"Mm-mm! These ribs have some mighty fine meat on their bones, lemme tell ya!" Pyro said, licking his fingers, satisfied of the ribs' flavor.
"Uh-huh, you may think that, but let me add something else, brother; these burritos here, that's the good stuff!" Scott replied, guffawing as he took a bite of his meal
"Ugh; does this joint have a fine beer in glass?" Rogue slurred, apparently the Heineken had gone to her head
"Not sure what the opinions for this is, but the chili is just like the ones back home in Bavaria!" Kurt replied satisfyingly
"Think you can hand me the recipe? I can make some for our cook-off next week" Jean offered. Kurt nodded in approval
"Be my guest." Kurt responded, taking a drink of ginger ale before turning to Scott "And how is your main course, Herr Summers?"
"These burritos are quite a mouthful!" Scott replied amusingly
"Couldn't have said it better myself" Kurt commented before an enormous belch rumbled through the bar
"Lance…was that you?" Jean asked nervously
"Don't look at me! I'm not the one who drank all the…Heineken" Lance whimpered, the X-Men turning their attention to Rogue; who did indeed cause the enormous burp. Her eyes drowsy, seven or eight Heineken and Guinness bottles piled on the table. Rogue was indeed drunk with a capital D, period, exclamation point!
"Rogue…how many beers did you have tonight?" Jean asked intensely, her sanity starting to shrink again
"Joe Montana forwards the ball! Peter Frampton belts out a Hail Mary!" Rogue blubbered drunkenly, leaping off the table, crash-landing on top of the bouncer before hassling a rich customer
"Oh Lord, I knew this was gonna happen…" Jean moaned in embarrassment
"Uh, Scott?" Remy asked nervously, as rifle and handgun barrels from all directions were aimed at the X-Men's heads. Scott and Jean stared at their attackers nervously for two seconds, before turning their look of fear into their fighting stance. Both turned and nodded.
"Ok, X-Men…You know what to do" Scott replied smugly, the bar thugs starting to inch slowly as the X-Men started their fighting skills
"Look, can-can we discuss over a poker game or something?" The head bar patron whimpered, shakily aiming his gun at Scott's head before Jean grabbed the barrel and used her powers to levitate it out of his hands and into Scott's waiting palm
"Logan? That bar scrap you've always wanted to have?" Scott asked
"Yeah, what about it?" Logan replied, his claws out
"Well…this bud's for you" Scott answered.
"Thanks a bunch. I've always wanted a barroom brawl" Logan snarled, before turning to an unarmed thug "What are you lookin at, weirdo?"
"Ok gang…Go get 'em" Scott ordered, snapping his fingers. Logan roared savagely, charging into battle with the X-Men following the lead
"Check please" The patron whimpered, kneeling before Jean for mercy
"Well lemme tell you something, sugar. This check's on the house!" Jean hissed, clobbering him with her shovel
One barroom brawl later…
"Whoo-wee! That was what I call a night out! Damn, that was fun!" Scott whooped, pumping his fists in the air victoriously as he and the X-Men proudly walked out. After the fight, the cops arrived after hearing a complaint. But since the X-Men did register and are no longer prejudiced, they let them leave with no criminal charges, instead arresting the bar patrons for counts of gambling, racketeering and illegal bootlegging. Either way, the X-Men were heroes.
"Yep, I got to admit; I quite enjoyed that" Jean replied, smiling as Peter placed his hand on her shoulder
"Well, you know what they say; You don't know what you can do until you try" Peter said, as the group continued their night out
"God, I love this team" Madame Hydra said as they headed down the street corner