xp_logs | Karaoke All Stars

xp_phoenix posting in

The High Note was a local bar which seemed to be rediscovered every few years by the local student population. The owner had originally opened it as a country music bar in the heydays of the country music resurgence in the 90s, but declining interest had pushed him to change it over into the karaoke bar in the mid-aughts. There was the main stage, bracketed on either side with long serving bars, as well as a collection of private rooms in the back, following the popular Japanese/Korean model.

Originally Kane and Adrienne had planned a weekend in the city; good food, a posh hotel, and a couple of ball games. But her therapy at Muir Island had been moved up, forcing them to postpone things. He’d planned just to go to Harry’s instead, but typically, Adrienne had reserved the big private room at the High Note for the mansion and enlisted Jean to take him out of his usual haunts.

He wasn’t about to complain as his first drink arrived at the same time as some of his fellow mansionites, a few already showing signs of pre-boozing or rehearsal for their turn at the mic for the night to come.

~xxxx~

Jean leaned against the High Note bar, glancing around. It was early, but the mansion crowd was already pouring in, much to the happiness of the bar's owners.

She held up a finger. "Can I get a screwdriver? Thanks," she said.

"Breaking into the tools already, Doc? What's next? Plumbing?" Kane waved for a second pint, dropping off his empty first drink, which had gone down almost automatically. The High Note didn't carry his normal Moosehead, but the locally brewed lager was pretty decent. Besides, it was his birthday, which might well wishers would likely be pushing cocktails on her of all types. He'd walked past Amanda earlier and she had obviously been heavily pre-drinking.

"It's a celebration, why not? In college I had a cocktail called the drain pipe," Jean said with a grin, then reached into her purse and pulled out a small red and silver party bag, offering it to him.

"Happy Birthday."

"Hey, there weren't supposed to be any gifts." Kane protested as his drink arrived. He placed the bag on the bar and took a sip.

Jean shrugged innocently. "Oops. If it makes you feel any better it's not much," she said with a laugh. When he opened it he found a small box with a guitar pick hand cut out of a Canadian coin. "There's this little shop in the City that makes them. I was buying something for my sister and thought you might like it."

"Ha! That's fantastic. I haven't picked up the guitar in awhile. This is good incentive, thanks." Jean's drink arrived as well and they carried them back towards a high table. "You figured out what you're singing?"

Jean took a long drink of her screwdriver. "Not yet," she said after an 'ahh' of satisfaction. "I figure I'd let Mr. Smirnoff decide for me after a drink or two. You?"

"They continue to not have any Hip, Gordon Lightfoot or Guess Who, so I'm planning to punish everyone with Four Non Blondes. The falsettos in 'What's Up' should make everyone regret that the nanites didn't turn me into a soulless robot instead of an accidental stripper."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Jean said with a sympathetic grimace and a laugh. "Kinda glad I got the mass of wounded. Doesn't sound fun."

"No really harm done, other than scarring Molly for life. Fortunately, no one got hurt in the Danger Room. I mean, fucking nanites, eh? Like we don't have enough to worry about. He took a handful of pretzels from the bowl, ate one, and put the rest back with a grimace. "Ugh, stale."

Jean made a face at the pretzels. "They're not so bad when they've stopped listening to a homicidal maniac," she said thoughtfully. "I met the clump currently regrowing Doug's arm. Ever watch Short Circuit? They remind me of that."

She paused letting out a thoughtful sigh. "Probably should have been more weirded out than I was with that conversation but I think I've lived at the mansion too long."

"I once had a god beat me to death. You get weirdly used to it after a while." He toasted her with his pint. "Welcome to the X-Men. We hope you survive the experience and all that, eh?"

Jean laughed, taking a drink after the toast. "Hear hear," she said. "Expect the unexpected. And yet, we still get newbies who want to venture out and save the world and all it's weirdness. I don't think I was as bright-eyed as Nica when I first started. But my experience didn't get odd until I joined you lot."

"Mine started weird as a teenager, but it wasn't until the mansion that things went into overdrive." He toyed with his drink, leaning his forearms on the table. "It's funny, you know. I've been killed, like, really killed a couple of times. Lost an arm to Sabretooth once-" He caught her blank expression. "Just a mutant mercenary here, but back in the old days, was a hell of a threat for us. I've actually been part of saving the literal universe and I'm having a drink with a woman who is a different dimension version of the one I helped save it from. It's been so... much, that I don't know if I'd change it if I could, you know?"

Jean quirked an eyebrow, the remains of her drink sloshing around as she held the glass between her middle finger and her thumb.

"Really?" she shook her head, finishing off the drink.

"I have a few things I'd tweak. Like punching my evil twin."

"Technically, you kinda did. I was there." He said wryly. "How are you handling all... well, this. Finding out some version of you was a vengeful god?"

"Depends on the day. Like hearing that? Means I am not drunk enough for this," Jean said, holding up her hand to the waitress to order a Sex on the Beach. It was time to fully board the vodka train.

"I mean---I'm just...me. And then I find out...giant firebird...all the universes shoved together like a messed up puzzle... If evil me was say...a white collar criminal I'd be like...sure, whatever. But this?" she made a pfft noise.

She rested her chin in her hand, making a face as her hair spilled over her eyes. "Like I said. Depends on the day. It's an adjustment."

"Don't sell yourself short. I personally think you could totally subjugate a world. I've seen the mood you get into when people ignore your medical advice." Kane took a sip and looked around. "Man, I haven't been here in a couple of years."

Jean blinked at him with a baffled laugh. "Thanks?" she said with amusement, then glanced back toward the rest of the bar.

"I've been a couple of times since. I enjoy the atmosphere."

"Are you sure it's not just to show off your pipes?" Kane paused. "Voice. That means voice in my world of slang."

Jean grinned. "Ah, never would have guessed," she mused, then took a drink of the new cocktail the waitress put in front of her.

"And no comment."

"Well, if you ever want to show them off for me, we have a private room." He gave her a sly grin.

"I'm about to show them off to this entire bar if I get a good song and enough vodka," Jean said with a smirk.

"What about you? Are you going to sing?"

"Funny, that reminds me of last time." Kane drained off the last of his pint and waved for another. "Since it's my birthday, I've been informed I have no choice. So I have chosen something that utterly fits me and my dulcet voice - 'What's Up' by Four Non-Blondes. So you have your chance to get a headstart out of this place before it begins. Only because I care..."

"Oh no, I'm in it for the long haul," Jean assured him, grinning as she took another drink. "Front row. Because we need some fun after the hellscape that has been the last couple of weeks."

~XXXX~

It had been almost a year since Jubilee had set foot in any sort of karaoke place. It was a popular pastime in Japan, and being of Asian appearance, even if that was Chinese rather than Japanese sometimes made it easier to move in those circles.

Men tended to relax when you let the sake flow and convinced them to do a few badly tuned renditions of popular ABBA songs.

She’d chosen something a little different this time, knowing Amanda preferred Punk to Pop. It was the first time any of them had had a chance to let their hair down since coming back from the alternate universe, better to make it a semi-comfortable experience.

“Ladies and Gentleman, please give it up for the musical stylings of Amanda Sefton and Jubilation Lee, singing ‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’tve)’ by the Buzzcocks.”

Amanda snorted beer through her nose at the announcement. "Who with the what now?" she exclaimed once the coughing fit had subsided. With all eyes on her, however, there was nothing for it but to stumble up to the stage and fumble for the microphone. "Nice choice, Lee," she acknowledged. "Didn't think you knew the 'Cocks."

Jubilee grinned as she joined Amanda on stage, "I am full of secrets, Mandy."

She grabbed her own microphone and struck a pose worthy of Freddie Mercury themself, tapping her thigh to the beat as she waited for the words to start.

:"Let's just hope I don't get us thrown out," was Amanda's reply. She was under no illusions, even when drunk, as to her singing abilities.

Betsy sat in a corner table, anxiously nursing a G&T and scanning the scattered mansionites to see if any of them were drunk enough to consider singing yet. She was starting to regret coming, since while she was on at least amicable terms with most of her ‘neighbours’, standing on a stage belting out Celine Dion over poorly set instrumentals was not something she wanted them to witness.

Kurt got up from his own table, thinking of going to the bar, and smiled at her when she glanced his way. "Good evening. Though you do not seem to be entirely enjoying it?"

Betsy put her finger to her lips. “Shhh, I’m trying to avoid detection,” she whispered theatrically. “I believe some people here are planning on - “ she lowered her voice even further to a conspiratorial murmur - “singing.”

He laughed quietly. "That would rather be the aim of the occasion, yes. You do not wish to be recruited to join in?"

She shook her head vigorously. “These poor people have done nothing to deserve that. Well, most of them at least. What about you, were you planning on getting on the stage?”

“Surely you cannot be so bad as all that.” He shrugged. “Not that I planned, but I suspect one of my sisters will have something else to say in due course.”

“When I was 10 we had a whole school assembly, so about a thousand or so girls, when in the middle of a hymn the music teacher stopped everyone, pointed to me and said ‘you girl, stop singing, everyone else continue’. So yes, I am that bad,” Betsy laughed. “And since my siblings aren’t here to cajole me I thought I’d save everyone’s ears.”

"That was very cruel of them", he said with a slight frown. "Would you allow yourself to be cajoled, if your siblings were here?”

“Brian would know better than to suggest it,” she replied with a lopsided smile. “If Jamie was ever lucid enough to ask, well. There are not many things I’d deny him. Even if he might regret it as soon as we started."

"Well. I can hardly force you, and no more would I want to, if you would not find the experience fun. But if you change your mind, perhaps later, I could be persuaded to take the stage with you."

“Thank you for the offer. If I feel drunk and overconfident later, I shall come and find you.” She smiled and raised her glass up in a salute, before draining it dry.