Just one of my crazy thought that Krista helped with.... Denise sat quietly in a corner of the Author's cafe, trying not to be seen. It was always more interesting to watch people than be watched. Krista was sitting across from her, careful not to touch Denise's extended foot. Denise continued with her story, "I know that I had that one wine cooler, but..." "It wasn't fuzzy navel, was it?" Krista leaned in as Denise continued her story. "No, strawberry, and I never drink so the two I think I had might just explain what happened when Charly suggested spades." Denise continued her story of how she hurt her foot. "I love Spades!" Krista exclaimed, taking a good gulp of the martini the bartender set in front of her, "but knowing you, something happened--eeuuugh! Bartender, I told you...NO salt! Yeccchhhh!" Denise started laughing. "Krista, you should have seen your face!" "Shaddup," Krista grumbled playfully as she received her new (saltless) martini. "Mmmmmm, that hits the spot!" Denise smiled and laughed, "We have been e-mailing each other too long, haven't we?" Krista nodded. "Pray, continue with the story." "We played strip spades," Denise grinned mischievously. "And I had to get a blanket from my closet to cover Charly's boyfriend. Somehow I kicked the trunk and hurt my foot." Several toes were swollen and bruised. "Shouldn't you two be working on Three Part Harmony?" A voice came from across the cafe. Denise and Krista turned around, looking for the person that said that. "We've started new jobs, moved out on our own, and have a life to live!" They answered in the same tone. Geesh, and people wondered why they didn't show up at the cafe more often. "Two?" Denise asked as she picked her straight jacket off the floor. "Three." Krista predicated. They were betting on how many people would ask them how the story was going. Luba was the first as she sat down at the table. "Just a hint, one little hint. Who's the father of Kitty's baby?" Denise and Krista shook their heads as Denise answered "Adam Chandler." Luba and Denise talked for a few minutes before she moved on to join her friends in the corner. "Okay," Krista asked after Luba left, "I'll give. Who's Adam Chandler?" "Liza Colby's baby's father on All My Children." Denise sipped her Coke and sat back. "Who'll be next?" Leary was, as he stopped by the table. "When's the next chapter coming out?" he asked. "Soon," Krista answered. "We're just bouncing ideas off each other. You know, Denise, we changed the name of the game to poker--" Denise smiled at this one, "We have a good explanation for why Sam has Jean's bra!" She typed the idea down on her notebook computer. Krista peered over Denise's shoulder and read as she typed, her wicked grin growing larger by the second. "YES!" she exclaimed, high-fiving Denise. "This'll be great!" Leary looked at the two and shook his head. "Don't forget the straight jackets." Quickly, he moved off. The two started to take notes and write until a southern female voice came from the doorway. "Who sent my bubba to the Angst Pit?" The Angst Pit was the newest addition to Subreality City. There, any fan-fic or mainstream character could sit around and complain about life, the weather, the writer, or the plot. Owned by Scott Lobdell, financed by Warren Worthington, III, it employed only those characters who Lobdumbell turned into angsters. There was an inherent danger of a person staying too long--the longer they were there, the greater the chance they would run up a huge bar tab and have to take a job there. Paige Guthrie stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, as the writers looked toward each other. "I'm talking about the story that made him a 'Virginian' when he's from Kentucky." Denise and Krista gulped and stood up. "Ah should have known!" "How did he get a hold of that chapter?" Krista asked Denise. Denise shrugged, innocently. "Well, we know Paige won't let us be, so we better get him out." "You're no fun," Krista whined, but she was forced to agree. Bum was trying to calm Paige down, but it was useless. Paige waited for them to get finish their drinks and escorted them down the bar. Scott Summers, the greeter of the bar, stood in their way. Quickly, Krista pulled Denise aside and they formulated a plan. "Should you or should I?" Denise asked. Krista pointed to her. "Okay, but you owe me." "Are you sure?" Krista asked. "You were actin' kinda loopy after that third rum and coke, girlfriend." Denise rolled her eyes as they approached Scott. "Whatever. You know I get loopy on NutraSweet!" "You know my rules," Scott started. "No authors allowed. You can send them here, but we keep them." Denise sighed and pulled up a file on her computer. "Fine then." She smiled as she read what was on the screen. "'Storm: Goddess, this child isn't blue! Oh, no, I remember now! This baby is a Summers!'" Krista laughed and asked Scott, "Do you want that to go in?" Scott shook his head, "Then we go in." Scott stepped aside and allowed them to enter. It took a second for their eyes to adjust to the dark, dank bar. "My hair!" Kitty Pryde was complaining. "Look what Raab allowed to happen to my hair!" "Flannel," her lover, Pete Wisdom, was whispering. "I wore flannel!" Kurt was crying in his beer. Remy was busing a table near by. There was a sad, pitiful air about him as he muttered, "Hit in de head wi' a baseball!" Denise and Krista did there best not to go over to him, it was useless. Kielle had sent him here, and no one could go against the will of the Scribe. Krista nudged Denise and pointed out Trish Tilby sitting in a corner, signing an employment contract with Lobster. They grinned and waved to Hank and Siku McCoy as they walked out the door. The next table had Summer Ison nursing a drink. "Summer!" Denise whispered, "what are you doing here?" A tear ran down Denise's face as she begged, "Please...can't you two get help?" Krista shook her head and gave the girl a hug. "Hang in there." She leaned in closer so no one would overhear. "Tell ya what, Sums, I'll see what I can do about pulling a few strings for ya, 'kay?" Summer finished off her mint julep and signaled for another one. "Thanks," she sniffled. "No problem," Krista said cheerfully. "Hey, what are secret-psychic-aunts for, anyway?" Summer was actually smiling as they left. Krista caught up to Denise and grabbed her by the arm. "Think she suspects?" she whispered in Denise's ear. "Suspects what?" Denise whispered back. "Weeeelll...remember that 'I'm going home to Kentucky, goodbye,' part?" "Yeah, that was depressing. I actually cried--wait, YOU wrote that?!?" Krista slapped a hand over Denise's mouth. "Shhhhhh!" she hissed nervously, looking around them to see if anyone (most especially Summer) had noticed Denise's reaction. "Do you think I want to spend the next five hours thawing my butt off of the wall?" Denise gave Krista an odd look. "As if she'd really--" Krista snorted. "Don't you remember what Harmony did to you when she found out you wrote the section about--" "Ohhhhhh, yeah. I remember, all right..." Denise shuddered. "I had PMS for an entire month!" "You were witchier than our worst Emma," Krista declared. "No, worse than Trish Tilby!" Denise's eyes widened. "I was that bad?" "Worse," Krista said, nodding in agreement. Finally, she found Sam in a corner, taking a drink from Rogue. Carefully, she approached him. Hank had nearly torn her head off when he had first found out how many kids he was going to have, she didn't want a repeat. "Sam," Denise started. As a country girl, she tried to look out for country boys. "Leave me be!" Sam returned to his beer. "Not only will Ah be embarrassed in front of my teammates, but Leno, Letterman, and Rosie?" Denise motioned for Rogue to move as Sam continued. "Hey, what about Jenny Jones?" Krista piped up. "She just lives for shows like that!" Fortunately for Sam, he was so upset he didn't see her typing away at Denise's notebook at a furious pace. "Dumbello hates me, most authors leave me along, and now Ah have to face my teammates after Trash gets done with me!" The place was having an effect on him. Denise grabbed the Jack Daniels from Sam and tried reasoning with him. "You're not hated. Why, you have a lot of fans!" Seeing Lobdell's approach, she pulled out all the money she had on her. Southern manners ran deeper than Sam's wallet. Sam rolls his eyes as he looked at her money. "Wow, a whole two bits." Denise started looking around for Li'l Bit but then realized what Sam had said. "Hey, I had to get rid of your sister somehow." Sam looked at her wide eyed, "Ya bribed her?" Denise smiled. Paige and her own little sister were not that different. "No, I got her drunk!" Sam returned to his drink, thinking that his own sister didn't love him. Krista had a great idea, "Where Rahne?" she asked Kitty. Kitty was stuffing her hair into a baseball hat when she answered, "Watching Hercules down the street." Krista grabbed Denise's computer and wrote a few word. Rahne ran into the bar and turned to her. Denise and Krista hadn't done anything bad to her, yet. "What do ye need?" Krista pointed to Sam, who was giving the conclusive list of Guthries to Denise. Rahne quickly changed into her transitional form and picked Sam up. Throwing him over her shoulder, she walked out of the bar. "Samuel Guthrie, are ye daft?" she started as he looked at her. "So what if you're a Virginian, so am A! And ye ken what? A'll be one until A marry. Makes me future husband all that more special, A think." Sam hung his head in shame as she continued, "And the reason they call it fan-fic is that it's not real! Get a grip!" Sam looked at her, awe stuck. "And the least you could do for him is get him free tickets to DC-Talk." Denise typed a note to herself. "You like DC-Talk?" Sam asked Rahne as they walked off. "Ah'd figured ya for a Sandi Patty person." They were talking about Christian singers. Rahne snorted and answered, "A like Newsboys better." "You too!" Sam grabbed Rahne's arm. "You have to see my collection of CCM music!" They ran off into the sunset together. "You know," Krista told Denise, "She's good for him." Denise nodded and added another note to their file. "Just a minute longer, and I would have gotten the actual birthing order of the Guthries," Denise complained. "My turn to write, isn't it?" she asked as she looked over the notes she had taken that day. "Yep," Krista agreed, "Want a Pepsi?" Denise rolled her eyes, "Coke." As they started that familiar disagreement, Mrs. Guthrie leaned out the Bit Player's Bar and asked, "When's that next chapter coming out? Ah want ta get Sam for gittin' that earring, and the rest of them heathens better watch out!" Denise wordless drank the Pepsi. The writers mentioned, depending on their religious views, either belong to themselves or to their respective Deity. The characters belong to Marvel, Me (not me), Denise, and Darqstar. The concept of the Angst Pit belongs to Leary but was modified by Denise. Subreality city belongs to Kielle.