Sorry it took so long y'all. The next part will be posted Friday.
**GO SIXERS!**
Ororo sat on a barstool in a dark pool hall. She watched the different games taking place.
They were mostly beer-gutted men in dirty t-shirts with the sleeves ripped off, dirty pants, and dirty work
boots, whose opponents were guys with mullets, in flannels, Wrangler blue jeans, and cowboy boots.
There were eleven other men in the bar who were not involved in a game. They sat at the bar and in
booths. A pool table was freed when a few guys left, and seeing that no one else was interested a bored
Ororo found a cue and half-heartedly began to shoot around.
She could feel a presence behind her and she clenched the cue-stick, turning around.
"We're goin' need this table, darlin."
She went back to her game. "I will be done soon." She said straining away her accent.
"I tried to be nice." The man snatched the cue from her.
"That's not right Paulie, why don't you play the girl for it." The bartender yelled.
Paulie looked at Ororo, he rolled his eyes, "Rack 'em."
Ororo racked the balls and rolled the white ball to Paulie.
He barely gave her a chance to lift the triangle off before he broke.
Ororo found a new cue, and easily knocked a solids into a pocket.
Paulie's friends booed her. She missed her next shot.
Paulie's next shot put the white ball in a corner pocket, a scratch.
Five minutes later there were two striped balls, the eight ball, and the white ball still on the table.
Ororo had finished knocking her balls into the various pockets, and was now going for the eight ball. This
would be a tough shot. She had to bounce the white ball off of the side in order to knock the eight ball into
the pocket.
Just as she went for the shot. Paulie purposefully knocked his beer onto the concrete below smashing it.
Ororo missed.
Paulie was lining up his next shot, "green ball, side pocket," and he did just that.
Ororo was standing with her chin resting on folded hands on the tip of the cue stick. She angrily clenched
her teeth. She knew that he had distracted her on purpose.
She could see that for his next shot he was going to try and sink both his last striped ball and the eight
ball. When he cocked his arm back and let it go, she grabbed a bottle from the bar and smashed it at his
feet. He missed his shot.
Now that she had gotten her payback, a satisfied Ororo sunk the eight ball into the right corner pocket.
She emptied each of the six netted pockets and racked the balls again.
"Thanks." Paulie said. He and his friends gathered around the table as if they were about to play a game.
Paulie put a hand on her shoulder, "Say, if you wanna wait around for us to finish. We can go have some
fun afterwards." They all laughed.
"You must be mistaken, I won. You are welcome to play with me, but I will have this table." She said
sweetly.
He laughed, leaning forward, and blowing stinking beer breath into her face. "Your funny, darlin'. How
'bout you stand on the bar and tell us jokes?" He said, and with a push, sent her to the cigarette laden
floor, landing on her backside and hands in the shattered glass.
The men guffawed, and he broke.
She looked at her bloody palms.
Ororo stood up and in a fit of rage broke her cue stick over Paulie's thick dirty neck.
He whirled, grabbing for her. She was quick, but he grabbed a handful of her backpack. She wriggled out
of it.
Paulie dumped it on to the floor, "My wallet!" He said surprised when it along with three others fell out.
His friends recognized their own wallets and advanced on Ororo, armed with their cues and fists.
"Take it outside!" The bartender shouted.
The other people in the bar told them to stop from where they stood, or sat, but did not intervene.
'Shit' Ororo thought, she was in another bad situation because of her temper. She would have to get
control of that if she didn't want anyone to discover that she was a mutant. She could already hear the
lightening outside. She was backed against the bar. Snatched her bag back and jumped up onto it and ran
down it toward the door.
Victor wandered up the dark street, when there was a boom of thunder that was prelude to an immediate
downpour. The wind picked up and threatened to send all two-hundred, seventy-five pounds of him
tumbling back down the hill he'd just climbed.
He saw that he was coming upon a bar/pool hall. 'I could use a beer.' He thought, opening the door and
went down the steps.
About half way down the steps he stopped sniffing the air, "Impossible." he thought, but his actions belied
his word as he anxiously descended the last of the steps.
Jumping down off of the bar she swung open the door and prepared to take the steps as many at a time as
she could.
Instead she slammed into a brick wall.
Once again she fell onto her butt. The grime stinging the wounds on her hands. She shook her head free
of clouds, and looked up at the man staring down at her.
"Thanks, buddy." Paulie said, as he and his friends picked her up. "Didn't think it would be that easy did
ya, ya little tramp." She thrashed, but one of the men had her arm pinned tightly behind her back.
"What are you gonna do with'er?" Victor asked. Never taking his eyes off of her.
"I don't know man. See, she thieved a few wallets here, and caused some other trouble. I don't know if I
want to call the cops or take care of her myself." Paulie said with a wink.
Victor didn't even try to bargain with the man for the girl. He simply backhanded the guy holding her, his
claws leaving long scratches down the side of his face. He pushed two of them over the bar, and the last
guy, the spokesman just threw up his hands in a "You win" gesture, and stared at Creed as he paid for a
beer and left with the girl following him.
When they got outside the rain was very gradually letting up, and the wind had died down. Ororo watched
the man walk away drinking down his beer.
"You comin'?" He asked, indifferently looking over his shoulder at her, but quickly walking away.
She watched uncertainly as he walked away from her, wondering what was next.
So there was a god, and he was on Victor's side. Too bad for her. Here it was almost a month later, three
states south of where they'd first encountered each other. He listened to her breathing: Cautious and
hesitant, but heavy and tired. She did look thinner. He thought about what he was going to do with her,
Ororo. He didn't know, but one thing was for sure though. He was not letting her go.
Maybe he'd just keep her around for awhile.
There was a whimper followed by the thud of a body hitting the ground (and Victor knew what that
sounded like). He turned to see the girl laying in a damp heap. He went back to her and gathered her in
his arms.
tbc
PHILADELPHIA
76ERS
**GO SIXERS!**
Ororo sat on a barstool in a dark pool hall. She watched the different games taking place.
They were mostly beer-gutted men in dirty t-shirts with the sleeves ripped off, dirty pants, and dirty work
boots, whose opponents were guys with mullets, in flannels, Wrangler blue jeans, and cowboy boots.
There were eleven other men in the bar who were not involved in a game. They sat at the bar and in
booths. A pool table was freed when a few guys left, and seeing that no one else was interested a bored
Ororo found a cue and half-heartedly began to shoot around.
She could feel a presence behind her and she clenched the cue-stick, turning around.
"We're goin' need this table, darlin."
She went back to her game. "I will be done soon." She said straining away her accent.
"I tried to be nice." The man snatched the cue from her.
"That's not right Paulie, why don't you play the girl for it." The bartender yelled.
Paulie looked at Ororo, he rolled his eyes, "Rack 'em."
Ororo racked the balls and rolled the white ball to Paulie.
He barely gave her a chance to lift the triangle off before he broke.
Ororo found a new cue, and easily knocked a solids into a pocket.
Paulie's friends booed her. She missed her next shot.
Paulie's next shot put the white ball in a corner pocket, a scratch.
Five minutes later there were two striped balls, the eight ball, and the white ball still on the table.
Ororo had finished knocking her balls into the various pockets, and was now going for the eight ball. This
would be a tough shot. She had to bounce the white ball off of the side in order to knock the eight ball into
the pocket.
Just as she went for the shot. Paulie purposefully knocked his beer onto the concrete below smashing it.
Ororo missed.
Paulie was lining up his next shot, "green ball, side pocket," and he did just that.
Ororo was standing with her chin resting on folded hands on the tip of the cue stick. She angrily clenched
her teeth. She knew that he had distracted her on purpose.
She could see that for his next shot he was going to try and sink both his last striped ball and the eight
ball. When he cocked his arm back and let it go, she grabbed a bottle from the bar and smashed it at his
feet. He missed his shot.
Now that she had gotten her payback, a satisfied Ororo sunk the eight ball into the right corner pocket.
She emptied each of the six netted pockets and racked the balls again.
"Thanks." Paulie said. He and his friends gathered around the table as if they were about to play a game.
Paulie put a hand on her shoulder, "Say, if you wanna wait around for us to finish. We can go have some
fun afterwards." They all laughed.
"You must be mistaken, I won. You are welcome to play with me, but I will have this table." She said
sweetly.
He laughed, leaning forward, and blowing stinking beer breath into her face. "Your funny, darlin'. How
'bout you stand on the bar and tell us jokes?" He said, and with a push, sent her to the cigarette laden
floor, landing on her backside and hands in the shattered glass.
The men guffawed, and he broke.
She looked at her bloody palms.
Ororo stood up and in a fit of rage broke her cue stick over Paulie's thick dirty neck.
He whirled, grabbing for her. She was quick, but he grabbed a handful of her backpack. She wriggled out
of it.
Paulie dumped it on to the floor, "My wallet!" He said surprised when it along with three others fell out.
His friends recognized their own wallets and advanced on Ororo, armed with their cues and fists.
"Take it outside!" The bartender shouted.
The other people in the bar told them to stop from where they stood, or sat, but did not intervene.
'Shit' Ororo thought, she was in another bad situation because of her temper. She would have to get
control of that if she didn't want anyone to discover that she was a mutant. She could already hear the
lightening outside. She was backed against the bar. Snatched her bag back and jumped up onto it and ran
down it toward the door.
Victor wandered up the dark street, when there was a boom of thunder that was prelude to an immediate
downpour. The wind picked up and threatened to send all two-hundred, seventy-five pounds of him
tumbling back down the hill he'd just climbed.
He saw that he was coming upon a bar/pool hall. 'I could use a beer.' He thought, opening the door and
went down the steps.
About half way down the steps he stopped sniffing the air, "Impossible." he thought, but his actions belied
his word as he anxiously descended the last of the steps.
Jumping down off of the bar she swung open the door and prepared to take the steps as many at a time as
she could.
Instead she slammed into a brick wall.
Once again she fell onto her butt. The grime stinging the wounds on her hands. She shook her head free
of clouds, and looked up at the man staring down at her.
"Thanks, buddy." Paulie said, as he and his friends picked her up. "Didn't think it would be that easy did
ya, ya little tramp." She thrashed, but one of the men had her arm pinned tightly behind her back.
"What are you gonna do with'er?" Victor asked. Never taking his eyes off of her.
"I don't know man. See, she thieved a few wallets here, and caused some other trouble. I don't know if I
want to call the cops or take care of her myself." Paulie said with a wink.
Victor didn't even try to bargain with the man for the girl. He simply backhanded the guy holding her, his
claws leaving long scratches down the side of his face. He pushed two of them over the bar, and the last
guy, the spokesman just threw up his hands in a "You win" gesture, and stared at Creed as he paid for a
beer and left with the girl following him.
When they got outside the rain was very gradually letting up, and the wind had died down. Ororo watched
the man walk away drinking down his beer.
"You comin'?" He asked, indifferently looking over his shoulder at her, but quickly walking away.
She watched uncertainly as he walked away from her, wondering what was next.
So there was a god, and he was on Victor's side. Too bad for her. Here it was almost a month later, three
states south of where they'd first encountered each other. He listened to her breathing: Cautious and
hesitant, but heavy and tired. She did look thinner. He thought about what he was going to do with her,
Ororo. He didn't know, but one thing was for sure though. He was not letting her go.
Maybe he'd just keep her around for awhile.
There was a whimper followed by the thud of a body hitting the ground (and Victor knew what that
sounded like). He turned to see the girl laying in a damp heap. He went back to her and gathered her in
his arms.
tbc
PHILADELPHIA
76ERS
