Chapter Eleven:
As they exited the parking garage, Rebecca led her passengers toward the club's very conspicuous front doors. For the Underground, sometimes plain sight was the best place to hide. For others, that was not always the case.
Toad shifted his jacket uncomfortably and resisted the instinct to pull his hood over his face. But as he approached the gathered crowd, no one spared him a second glance. They skipped the line, drawing a few dirty glances from the waiting patrons. Toad watched them suspiciously, but blinked and shook his head as he headed through the front door. Had he just seen someone with horns?
The entrance to the club opened into a short hallway. Harmony squealed excitedly and greeted the bouncers, two identically dressed, identically looking large men who stood in front of a beaded curtain. Their equally muscular arms were folded over their broad chests and they regarded the new guests menacingly. However, the blonde vampire grabbed Pyro's hand and ran past them, forward into a sea of loud music. Nancy reached the end of the hall and the guards shifted apart and gave her a wide berth. She sneered at them and laughed. She found their wary recognition extremely entertaining.
Toad approached the bouncers cautiously. He glanced back and noticed that Rebecca had paused. She was still staring outside and had an annoyed look on her face. After a moment, she turned and walked toward him.
"Sid and crew must be inside already," she said and he nodded before continuing on.
As he reached the guards, the bouncer the right held up a halting hand. Toad glared up at the taller man viciously, until he heard the man's words.
"I.D.?"
Toad frowned, and gaped for a moment until the second guard laughed.
"He's just kidding, man," the second twin remarked with a surprisingly good natured tone, "You're new...we always like messing with new people. Oh, hey, Malloy..." the bouncer said, grinning at Rebecca, "...Your bro's already inside..."
"Yeah, I figured," she replied and then patted both bouncers once on their folded arms as she and Toad entered the Muddy Duck.
The world of sound they stepped into seemed to have a life of its own. The base was heavy, the melody was fast. At the right side of the club was a large central stage, where a band was entertaining a writhing mass of dancers gathered in the middle of the floor. To the left was a long mirrored bar, which curved into the shape of the letter S. Rebecca tugged on Toad's arm and yelled to him over the music.
"I'm gonna go find Sid and see where the hell everyone else is!" she shouted and then grinned, "Pretty awesome place, huh? Check it out... but we have a booth near the back if you need a breather!"
Toad nodded, not even making an attempt to be heard above the noise and watched Rebecca walk off. When he was sure she was out of sight, Toad moved to a dark corner and drew Magneto's small computer out of his jacket pocket. He scrolled through the names and descriptions quickly, refreshing his memory as he watched each person rotate around him. He hoped weathering all this noise would be worth it, and he would be able to get Magneto the information he requested.
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Rebecca shifted her way through the mass of people gathered at the bar, until she spotted a familiar form in the crowd. She scowled angrily as she approached her brother.
"Hey, guys," she said with an exaggerated grin, "Nice to meet you here."
Sid turned and smiled warmly down at his sister. Remy was standing nearby, chatting with a beautiful blonde woman in a long white dress. Mary was seated at the bar stool next to them and Rebecca stared at the trio with surprise when she realized the blonde woman was Mystique. Unlike Toad, she was taking no chances tonight and staying perfectly disguised among the crowd.
"Hey, Bec," Sid said suavely, "Nice of you to join us."
Rebecca narrowed her eyes and examined Sid's outfit. He was decked out in a dark purple suit, one of his all time favorites. Then she looked at Remy, who was wearing a dark blue suit, which looked only slightly shiny in the dim light.
"I was just introducing Remy and the others to a few of our friends..." Sid began before he noticed the amused look on his sister's face, "What?"
"You look like the Roxbury guys," she said loud enough for Remy to hear. The Cajun stepped toward her and stood next to Sid proudly.
"Not a bad criticism for two styling gentlemen out seeking feminine companionship on this fine night," Remy stated, wearing the same self-important expression as Sid, "Now, madame Mystique...If I may continue our very pleasant conversation..."
Rebecca rolled her eyes and glared back at Sid. He simply continued to grin and began to shake his head rhythmically to the beat.
"What is love..." he sang to her smoothly, "Baby, don't hurt me... no more..."
"You are an embarrassment to this entire organization," Rebecca said angrily and Sid frowned.
"What organization?" he asked innocently, enjoying her instigated wrath.
"The one that was forcibly created between the two of us when we popped out of the same womb!" she shouted before shoving past him. Sid laughed and took note of her scathing remark for future reference.
Rebecca composed herself quickly as she walked up to Mary.
"Sorry about that," she said, "I don't do great in pushy crowds."
Mary grinned, "Yeah...this is a little..." Her eyes widened as a fight broke out at the other end of the bar. Rebecca glanced over at the dueling idiots and nodded.
"I know what you mean..." she replied and the pointed toward a much quieter section of the club, "Come on...Nancy and Harm are probably at our table already. Let's let the boys alone while the work their thing...or whatever. Mystique...you're welcome to join us."
"Thank you...but I'm comfortable here..." Mystique replied with a smile, and narrowed her eyes. She could see nearly everyone present from this vantage point. For her, this was not a night of leisure, but watchful investigation.
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Rebecca helped Mary navigate the crowd until they reached a private booth. As predicted, Harmony and Pyro were already seated, enjoying beverages and chatting happily. Rebecca suppressed grin as she noticed they were almost holding hands. Nancy was on the other side of the table, legs outstretched as she watched the band, and smoked a cigarette calmly. The two new arrivals took their seats as Harmony began to complain.
"Ug...when is Oz's band going to be on..." she said, and then smiled at Pyro, "Oz's band in much better. Not as good as back in Sunnydale, but still really good..."
"I like this band..." Nancy remarked, simply for the sake of argument. Rebecca grinned over at her cynical friend and shook her head.
"Girls...play nice...we have guests..." Rebecca replied as Nancy snuffed out the end of her spent smoke.
"Whatever, Malloy," she replied, and shook another cigarette from the box. She waggled it teasingly in the air and glared at the fire manipulating mutants wickedly, "Anyone got a match?"
Before she could ask twice, Pyro skillfully snapped out his shark-toothed lighter and took the flame in his hand before offering it to the witch. She winked at him and grinned before touching her cigarette to the fire. The crowd around them erupted into applause as the band finished their set and headed off the stage.
"Finally..." Harmony said with a heavy sigh and then frowned, "Hey, where's that Toad guy who was with us?"
Rebecca grinned and shrugged, "Partying, I guess. Good for him."
Pyro tapped his fingers nervously against the table, "I don't think so...he's not really the partying type..."
"You still wanna introduce Toad and Mystique to Lance later on?" Rebecca asked him.
"Who's Lance?" Mary asked just as the crowd started to scream and cheer widely. Pyro pointed toward the new band gathering on stage.
"Bass player..." he said, as the lights around them dimmed.
A deep rumble beneath their feet accompanied the first chords of the band's first song.
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Author's note: This note is actually about my other fic-in-progress. I'm looking for two movie/book/comic villains who have a bit of a vicious, animal nature akin to the likes of Wolverine and Sabretooth to use in my Firestarter fic. I have been struggling to think of one...let alone two...so I'm open to any suggestions. Crossover characters are good...so are other X-Men villains who we might not have met yet. Let me know if anyone has any ideas via review or email! Thanks!
