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Frustrating was the simplest word Sybil could use to describe her current situation. Slowly but surely her student loans were coming back, knocking hard on door each week with another ‘hey pay up!’ request. And it wasn’t as if she didn’t have the money to pay it; the salary she was being paid at Romano’s was surprisingly high for what she did. But… Something just didn’t feel right. At the end of the day, her morals got to her, and she found herself regretting having done what she did to get the job.

In the beginning, during her days of interviews and meetings that lead up to her hiring, there was a single requirement that she truly was beginning to wish she didn’t take. Join the Negaverse if you want this job.

Of course, it didn’t even cross her mind to say no back then… She had been a naive child who had made way too many agreements to owe so much back to the loan companies to the point where it felt like she was drowning. And the job just looked so good, so promising…

How stupid could she have been, she asked herself every day.

Having finally finished the last paper that needed to be graded and entered in the system, Sybil packed up her bag and groaned. It was already 8 PM on a Friday night, and if any of her friends had plans, well, she wasn’t part of them. She supposed it was time for a drink all alone.. Ah well.

The closest and least seediest bar about was Under Lock and Key so… She supposed that was where she’d drink her sorrows away and then Uber home. The place wasn’t far at all, and before she even realized it, her aching heeled feet were resting at the bar, sitting on a stool towards the end of it so that only one side was exposed to creepy strangers.

“Bartender, when you have a moment please… Something hard and sweet.”

The Lock and Key was always Negaverse friendly. In fact, the owners were secretly making the neighborhood unlivable for anyone else but the Negaverse, giving it a reputation for being a seedy and generally dangerous neighborhood. But that was good for their fellow Negas, some known members taking over the shops and such surrounding the bar as their current owners moved out. It made for a safe place for them and took a little territory from the White Moon.

Opal was working, though she hardly needed to. Buddy could cover the bar easily enough since it wasn’t the crazy of Friday nights. When the girl walked in she took note, studying her appraisingly as she took a seat at the counter. When their regular bartender went to serve her she stopped him. This seemed to be a job she wanted to handle. She mixed up a Saucy Wench, specialty of the house, and slid it over. It wasn’t going to get her roaring drunk, but it would do the job in the immediate.

“You look like you’ve been run over, if you don’t mind me saying.”

She was usually sensitive to people in her bar with obvious problems and this girl looked about as down and alone as they came. If Karma had been around she would have bent over backwards to make her smile. She supposed it was on her, then.

“So what brings a girl like you to the wrong side of town?”

Sybil didn’t really pay much attention to her surroundings once she sat down at the bar. In fact, she reached into her school bag and pulled out a notepad, scribbling down thoughts for her next lessons. Even as irritated as she was, she couldn’t stop working.

Soon enough a drink was set down before her and she looked up, meeting the eyes of another woman,rather than the bartender who she had spotted in the beginning. And...Damn, did she really look that bad?

“Thank you. Not for the running over comment, but for the drink.” She sighed, taking the drink and taking a long drink before putting it down. It was exactly what she wanted, not too burny but had that kick and sweetness she wanted. Perfect.

“Well, you know, work had me not too far from here, then, of course, I don’t want to deal with a big rush down town. My co-workers told me this was a good place to go so...Yeah, here I am. I must say, this drink really hits the spot… Once it’s empty, please have another ready for me.”

Destiny let out a little breath that could have been a laugh as she watched the well meaning young woman, a little curious about what she was scribbling down. It didn’t stop her from doing her job, though, and she could recognize an overworked woman any day of the week. She found herself on that list more often than not. It took a lot of work to run a business and she’d been without sleep or days off enough times to know what it looked like.

“Wasn’t trying to offend. You just have that look about you that you know how hard you’re working. You could use a vacation, am I right?”

She prided herself on being able to pour a good drink and her menu had drink names like “Saucy Wench” and “Spicy Tart” and things like that. It made sense to her and Karma and that was what counted.

“What you just had there was a Spicy Tart. If you make it in again you can ask for it by name. It’s really just an apple pie in a glass. This was originally going to be a bakery restaurant, if things had gone differently.”

“No offense taken, miss! I suppose I’m just tired. Being a teacher is draining, even more so when your students are just…. Well, they are high schoolers.” Sybil didn’t think much more needed to be said in reference to her students. High schoolers these days had such firm voices and beliefs that if you made a single mistake, they were quick to correct and berate you.While she wasn’t a delicate flower, Sybil certainly found offense to that. “Pair that up with the other abrasiveness of the other teachers… Stress. So yes, Vacation is totally needed, but alas, Student Loans.”

She looked down into her glass again then sighed.

“I’m sorry, I am a bit cranky, truth be told. But your drinks are amazing. It really does taste like an apple pie. Do you have other Dessert based drinks?:

“Destiny. You can call me Destiny. I own this little hole in the wall.”

She nodded along with the woman’s tale, a common one around this bar. A lot of people in the city were under appreciated and overworked. God knew she wouldn’t have the patience to teach a bunch of high school students. It was perhaps why she and Karma had never talked about having children. They just hadn’t really considered the possibility, despite having been together for a long time now.

But she knew all about debt and chuckled.

“I can make you any kind of a drink you want. What are you in the mood for?”

She fixed her up something that tasted like a butterscotch sundae. She set the tumbler in front of her with a smile on her lips.

“Give that a taste and see if you like it.”

She just wasn’t going to mention what it was called as it was another sex joke.

“Destiny… Just like the city. Sounds like a burden of a name, I think…” Maybe she was feeling a bit more ornery than first anticipated because Sybil just had no filter today. She wasn’t normally so rude or forward with her words but right now, in this particular moment, she had little to no ******** left to give. Despite all of that and generally feeling like there was a dark cloud hovering above her head, she smiled back at the barkeep, watching with amusement as she stirred up the next drink.

“Anything sweet. Bills are paid as much as they can be, and all that’s left is chump change, so might as well blow the last pennies on something good to drink.” Sybil too no time at all to down the last bit of her first before happily reaching out and taking a swing of the next one. To her delight, it tasted just as fantastic as the first.

“Mmm… This is awesome too… What do you call this one, Destiny?”

“I won’t deny that my parents had an odd sense of humor to move me to a place like this and name me the way they did.”

Besides, how were they to know she actually did have a Destiny and it was to be part of the Negaverse? All in all she was rather content with her life and her little hole in the wall bar. She had a good business, a great girl, and her own wine collection to indulge in from time to time. Not much ruffled her feathers, either, except for when someone threatened her Karma. Even looking at her lover sideways was cause for retribution.

She chuckled at the question.

“Believe me when I tell you that you don’t want to know.”

The names in their bar were geared more toward men or women of, say, her persuasion. Opal had never been attracted to a man in her entire life save one, and he wasn’t even real.

“That one’s on the house.”

It was her prerogative as proprietor to give away free drinks anyway.

“Tell me a little about yourself, darlin.”

She had an ear and time to kill. Buddy could handle the bar on his own. There were mostly regulars in, anyway. Get em’ hooked, that was her philosophy. Because of that, and the bar’s reputation, they had a group of loyal regulars that spent time there for the ambiance, or maybe just for the booze. Either way, she didn’t mind it.

“What makes you think I don’t want to know?” Sadly, it wasn’t so much that Sybil wanted to know what exactly the name of the drink was, more of, she didn’t like being denied information. Even something as trivial as the name of a food item being withheld from her caused her eyes to roll a little and a small bit of irritation to bubble up within her head. Or maybe it was just that she was really that tired.

“Thanks for the free drink, but the name would still be appreciated, thank you.” For a moment she debated whether or not she really wanted to tell this woman anything. Why should she when there was starting to be a less and less chance of her returning. But maybe it really was just her tiredness that was stirring up such a bitchy attitude, so she decided to try and relax.

“Well… I’m a teacher at Romano’s, kids are awful little snots sometimes, but you do what you gotta do to protect them… I’m mid-twenties and these are my first delicious drinks since I’ve started working. I do appreciate it, thank you.”

Destiny gave her a look that stated plainly that she had been warned. If she wanted to know that was fine by her and it sounded like the woman was being insistent. All of their drinks had mildly suggestive names but this one was more overt, conjuring up many a mental image among her patrons, when they asked about it on the menu. Still, despite the name the drink was rather popular and she got to where she could make them in her sleep.

“Creamed hussy.” She responded with a remarkably straight face.

She made another face at the mention of children. It wasn’t that she wasn’t good around children, she certainly could be, but her patience level had never been such that she’d considered having and raising a child of her own. Also - the lesbianism helped to be unable to procreate from sex. If she were to make that decision, it would be deliberate and, thankfully, it had never come up. She and Karma had a fish, appropriately named DeFeesh, and that was quite enough for her.

“Glad to oblige. We’re not very large, but I do know my way around a good drink.”

“.... Forgive my ignorance, but why exactly is it called a Creamed Hussy? Since it’s Butterscotch and Vanilla based, I feel like Creamed Jane. Like a Plain Jane? I’m trying to think of a better name but I think I’ll just take another sip.” Words were starting to escape her for a more proper name to give the drink, but hey, it wasn’t her shop, so what reason did she have to judge. Names didn’t matter, just the taste, and damn was the taste good. The last of the second drink quickly made it’s way down her throat and she set the glass down, her face finally relaxing and a slightly bemused smile settling down there.

“Alright, Miss, tell me more about YOURSELF. Do you try to keep your patrons coming with free drinks all the time?”

“Hussy, Tart, Wench…” All of their drinks went along the same lines for feminine euphemisms. Somehow Jane just didn’t fit the right way. And, after all, it only needed to taste good and get someone drunk to serve its purpose. Taste wasn’t even a requirement, to the right person. She had more pride than that, but still.

“Normally I don’t need to try to keep my patrons coming back.”

The bar was a great gig. Earn money off of people wanting to get drunk, steal energy from drunk people that couldn’t fight back. Keep the Negaverse happy and off her back to do whatever she and Karma wanted to do. Not a bad life, all things considered. It gave her enough time and money to pay the bills and to have her wine collection on the side.

“Not sure what there is to tell. I went to culinary school and envisioned a restaurant before I met my cinnamon bun. Then she and I decided to settle down in this hole and here I am.”

“Why is everything so… Slutty? Give me a drink called something a little less… Dirty. Call it a challenge. Give me the least euphemism filled drink you got.” Yeeessss, this was the perfect challenge, she giggled to herself and into her empty glass. Drinking truly did seem to make everything better. Maybe she’d be an old spinster and adopt ten cats and carry on a wine problem. But not whine, more of these tasty drinks.

“Ooh, cinnamon bun. OH it’s a lady? How cute… I need to find me someone to settle down with, but who wants to date a teacher who doesn’t even really have time for herself, let alone someone else. Negaverse stuff is bullshit…” The drinks so far had loosened her tongue enough to let that last bit to slip out before she thought about it. Bah, what are they going to do, cut her tongue out? Kill her? Atleast no student loans then.

“Whatever you make, make it a big one.”

“We’re all for a sex positive culture around here. Besides, it entertains a certain clientele.”

When she asked for something more tame Destiny shrugged and set a large mug of beer on the counter. That, at least, had some generic name and could be served in large quantities. It wasn’t a hard challenge, nor even something that took a lot of time to decide on. She chuckled and poured herself a shot, taking it expertly as she watched her patron.

“My Karma.” She motioned to a picture of them hanging next to the barback.

The other word caught her attention, though, and her eyes widened. Jesus, did she not know better than to reveal her identity aloud? Who was her Captain? I mean, she and Onyx had one, she supposed, but they never spoke to one or checked in or...anything.

“You’ll keep your mouth shut, using words like that out loud, if you know what’s good for you.” She hissed quietly. “You must be new.”

“What…?” Sybil seemed downright offended by the beer placed in front of her and she turned her nose up at it. “I did say for something sweet, right? I don’t want to waste it, so… Go ahead and hand it off to someone else, I’ll pay for it. I’ll have a shot though… Do you do the Dirty Girl Scout here?”

A hand came up to cover a half yawn half chuckle as the words came out of her mouth. At least she knew what THAT one was. Sybil didn’t really think the other heard her comment about the Negaverse but she supposed she was wrong.

“Wait, what..? Oh, so you’re one of THEM too... “ Her voice lowered just a bit. “Still bullshit though.”

“You asked for the least sexualized drink on the menu. That’s what you get.”

Destiny chuckled, pouring her a shot to make up for it and sliding down the bar for her pleasure. She was dead serious when the conversation turned, though. From what she heard people had been killed for less, being careless where they ought not be careless. She knew what an important thing it was to keep her identity a secret but this was sort of an emergency situation. She clamped a hand on Sybil’s wrist and held it down hard enough to hurt, just to impress upon her the gravity of her words.

“Think whatever you want so long as you keep it in your head. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Or, worse, turned into one of those...things?”

The monsters they had at their beck and call, some of them used to be people, officers that didn’t do what they were supposed to. Some that rebelled or considered switching to the other side. Some were accidents, of course, but there were punishments for betraying the Negaverse.

“If you’re one of us, be one of us. Never forget that. Keep that s**t to yourself if you want to stay safe.”

“Yeah, I thought you were gonna make up something cool, not hand me fried fish batter ingredients.” Beer batter shrimp, beer in beef stew, sure, but just beer… So gross. But at least the shot was nice and she downed it in an instant. Right before she let out a yelp in pain, luckily she had already swallowed and didn’t begin to choke.


“What the h--” Oh. Oops, she supposed her tongue was a little loose… But at least this lady was one of them.

“Yeah, well, What are they going to do? I’m not even really assigned to anyone! I just teach the kids, brain wash them subtly to make them think everything is okay.” She whispered, the shot easily causing her true emotions spill out, and she became sad, almost heart broken. “What’s the point of staying safe If I can’t even keep those little shits innocent as long as I can…?”

Destiny let the topic of beer fall to the wayside as it was supremely less important than the conversation at hand. If she didn’t keep her mouth shut, around other company, she probably wouldn’t last very long. Those damn terrorists would find her and work on her and God only knew what sort of havoc that would wreak. She had no sympathy at all for the little school teacher and her woes with the kiddies.

“You have a job to do, like all of us! You keep your head down and you ******** do it,” she hissed, trying to make it appear that everything was still alright even though it wasn’t. “You think being around the kids is the worst you can do?”

True, she and Onyx hadn’t exactly been model Negaverse agents since corrupting, but they did things in their own way and it worked out well for them. As long as they delivered energy and starseeds every so often it all seemed to fall to the side of good. After all, they were only lieutenants and the General King that corrupted them hadn’t been seen in a very long time.

She relented a little, letting go of her wrist and softening her tone.

“You are keeping them innocent. Do you want those same little shits to live in fear because you told them what’s really going on? It’s better to keep them in the dark until they’re old enough to decide, if they even have the potential.”

“Hey, you know what? ******** you, Miss Bar Owner.” While sober, Sybil would hardly ever use such vulgar language, but now she was irritated, and partially drunk so she didn’t care. What did she even know about what these kids were being taught anyway?! Once the wrist was let go, she snatched it further away, reaching into her school bag and pulling out her wallet and phone. She was done here.

“You think it’s easy teaching those little ******** what’s going on? Do you think it’s a GOOD thing to tell them it’s okay to murder people if they disagree, that there’s always going to be someone ‘stronger’ or your ‘leader’ so you always have to follow their rules or risk being killed yourself? Pfft, you don’t know s**t… All you do is probably pour drinks and drain people when they are drunk, huh? Your life is so easy I bet and you go home and sleep so well because you’re just following orders.” As pissed as she was, her voice remained low and cold instead of rising with her anger. She was drunk, not INCREDIBLY stupid. And as she spoke, she pulled out a twenty or so, enough to cover the drinks and whatever was left, she didn’t care. Her fingers had already moved to her phone and quickly ordered an Uber to pick her up as if this had happened countless times before.

“You keep doing what you’re doing. Who knows, maybe you’ll be fighting alongside one of these kids and you’ll see how ******** up that really is.” Though she tried to dismount her stool as gracefully as she could, she still stumbled a bit, grabbing the counter to steady herself before finding her balance and grabbing her bag.

“Good night. Keep the change or whatever.”