14689/A Night at Lux

A Night at Lux
Date of Scene:	02 February 2023
Location:	Club Lux, Melville
Synopsis:	The Pink Ranger and Black Canary visit Lux only to meet the Devil and his doctor.
Cast of Characters:	Lucifer, Sinister, Pink Ranger, Black Canary

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Lucifer has posed:
Weekday evenings can be hit and miss for Club Lux. They tend to get their regulars in, business people who want to take a load or few off before they fully head home. Scatterings of degenerates who don't have to pay much to watch nearly naked people dance around in cages. The DJ is spinning the hottest tunes, the dance floor is hot and the drinks are cold (if you prefer them that way).

Lucifer is, as he normally always is, standing in his little 'perch' of sorts. A crook right at the top of a spiral set of stairs where he can watch both the above and below with a simple sweep of his eyes. He's dressed immaculately in black and red this evening. Black pants, black jacket, red shirt and black tie - a 3-piece affair finished off with a red handkerchief neatly tucked in his breast pocket. A glass of whiskey neat has just been handed off to him by a traveling waitress, and he sips as he takes in the night's patronage.

Sinister has posed:
At a booth near to that nook is a man that none could call nondescript, but he does not look strange in any way. Sinister, Aka: Nathaniel Essex is wearing his human face tonight. Merely a glow of red, hinted at by the club lights, resides in the depths of his eyes, like a distant dying sun. He's groomed for the night, goatee neatly trimmed and aligned, hair tied back at the nape of his neck with a leather tie and suit lines immpeccable; a leather frock coat with silver cuffs over black shirt and pants, polished wingtips. His is a different kind of vantage point, below and looking up from the shadows, he appears to be indulging in a fruity girly drink with an umbrella and a wiggly straw, which seems ludicrous in contrast to his demeanor.

He has one of those business types at his booth, who looks as if he's not unwinding quite like he ought to, given the loads that others are taking off; the sweat dripping off the man's temple down the side of his face makes a slow, inexorable path toward his collar like the doom of his pitch.

Pink Ranger has posed:
Clubbing in New York post a gymnastics tournament and after all her friends and teammates had headed off for the night Kimberly was quite happy to make the most of her night off!

With her hair tied up in a ponytail and her form wrapped in an asymetric black minidress matched with a pink-trimmed black choker that was almost certainly a product of her recent shopping trip with Dinah, the brunette moved her way into the club!

Black Canary has posed:
Dinah follows Kimberly in, dressed in, following the cinematic male gaze, sheer black stockings whose tops almost, but not quite, vanish beneath a too-short black pleated skirt, the garters holding them up making a hint of an appearance from the right angles of view. The very thin gap between the skirt's waistband and her top accentuates the tight white tee over which a frilly, loose, black shrug is drawn, quarter-length sleeves leaving most of her muscular arms bare until they are covered again by black lace gloves.

Adding now the parts the male gaze usually doesn't bother to check, distracted as it would be by the aforementioned parts, her bottle blonde mane is topped by a jauntily-angled beret and her feet shod in sensible leather shoes with a two-inch block heel.

And on her face is plastered a huge grin as she prepares to unwind for the evening.

"OK," she says to Kimberly as they enter, "if this place goes into a brawl, I've got dibs on that huge mirror behind the bar!"

She winks at Kimberly with mischief in her eyes.

"But I'd prefer to just dance. Let's get our drinks and hit the floor!"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer is always made aware of when 'new blood' enters his club, and so when Kimberly and Dinah make their way in, his gaze shifts subtly in the direction of the entrance. He'll wait to see which bar they head to - the one on top or the smaller one downstairs - and then turns to eye Sinister a moment. Finding the man still in cahoots with a business deal, Lucifer figures he'll have to greet the newcommers on his own for the moment.

It's one step, two, and then he's behind the bar and smiling to the two women with that Grin(tm) he carries so well. "Well hello, Ladies, and welcome to Lux. What can I get started for you?"

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's business dealing does not seem to be going well, at least not for the other guy. A slow slide of gaze is sent that way and a subtle shake of the head. "Go away, before you hurt yourself and bring me back a proposition that looks as if it was thought out and not the equivalent of doodled on a napkin with a crayon. Shoo. You are cramping my style." -- A dismissive backhand dandyhand at the fellow and Sinister takes up his drink, sipping through the curly straw for a long moment before tracking Lucifer at the bar, the legs that go all the way up and the ladies that they're attached to. Interesting.

With a crack of the neck, he slides out of the shadow and begins a kind of glide through the crowd, never colliding, always being exactly where people aren't, as he makes his way toward the Host and that which is New and Shiny.

Pink Ranger has posed:
"I swear the chance of something turning into a brawl goes up by about half when you're a part of it," Kimberly muses to Dinah as the pair move in, a little grin on her lips in the playful commenting tone. Quite pleased with their own attire the girl does give a little gesture over the setting. "Besides, this place is all 'shiney' and stuff. I figure brawls are -slightly- less common than that biker bar you dragged me to..."

She'd say more, gaze moving to the dance floor when the approach behind the pair of them has her looking over her shoulders before she comes to a light smile. "Hi...uh...I think we're trying to decide if it's drinks or dancing first."

Black Canary has posed:
"Oh, come on! You've got to admit it's fun putting a bunch of sexist pigs in their place!"

Dinah smiles fondly at the memory of snagging the grabby hand before it even landed and holding it up in front of the grizzled biker's eyes, bent at a painful angle, making him kneel. Who knew that's all it took to spark a brawl?

Dinah. That's who.

"But you're right. This place is classy. I'm going to have to check the rules on the expense account before I break them all. NO way I can afford this on my salary!"

She's joking, judging by those twinkling eyes. Probably.

Lucifer probably overheard those last two sentences as the pair approach.

"Best bourbon you've got. Neat."

Dinah either isn't aware of how expensive bourbons can get, or doesn't care.

"Scratch that. Best bourbon you've got on that shelf." Second from the top. She is aware.

"Double."

If Sinister's following registers (it does...) she's not showing any sign of it.

"And after that, we'll see how many I can guzzle in an evening." Demeanour suggests a lot.

Lucifer has posed:
"There isn't a lot you can break in here that cannot get fixed. Though I would have to ask you nicely to try and remain as civil as possible. I don't allow anyone to sly on anyone else. Pigs aren't allowed here..and I have a slaughterhouse on call." Lucifer says this much to the first thing he hears from Dinah, all smiles as he says this.

And the slaughterhouse comment is probably quite true.

"As for drinking affordably, are you looking to get sloshed or just warm enough for a good time?" He asks this even as he moves to grab the bottle, second from the top of the shelf, just as Dinah pointed out. A glance given to her friend who is coming off as shy (tho likely isn't) and uncertain. That will change. "Cause I might have something else if you think you can handle it. Special shipment just came in. You could be the first ladies to try it..."

With an expert's grace he pours the ordered bourbon with a little bit of flare. A bottle spin on the palm, and the pour is done without the use of any type of measuring element. "Now. The rules. First drinks are always on the house. If you choose to drink more you can either pay as you guzzle or open a tab. Food is also available, from some of the finest chefs in all of New York offering the perfect bar fare. Everything you see on these two floors is free for the partaking of - but the casino at the other end there and hotel rooms are additional fees."

Then he grins. "And, as a cherry on top, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lucifer Morningstar. Owner and proprieter of Club Lux."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister's stalk reaches a conclusion -- victory achieved by a slide onto one of the few bar stools that exist here, he places a single finger tip on a coaster and glides it over precise as you like, in order to set down his drink square in the middle. A small smile is given to himself, then the view partaken of once again. Contours, carriage, body-language, demeanor, subtleties and klaxon horns alike. He looks away to the bourbon upon the shelf, tilts his head to the side as if in recollection, then proceeds to prepare two cigarettes from a silver case.

"That went down like a lead baloon," is commented toward Lucifer, with a little reverse nod toward the booth where he'd been. A cigarette is offered to the Host. "Might I trouble you for a cognac, whilst you're being the man of the hour?" Cultured, deep baritone and quintessentially English, he then looks toward the ladies. "And I'm his doctor."

Pink Ranger has posed:
"Fancy!" Kimberly comments as the pair of them are given the abridged tour and the blonde beside her making her orders brings a little giggle from her lips before the offer of the mystery drink brings a little shrug of her bared shoulders. "Uh sure, I mean we could give it a try..." Of course, it was almost certain that Kimberly wasn't the sort who could match Dinah for drinking, but hey? It might be entertaining to see her try!

"Kimberly Hart," she offers in introduction only for the 'Good' doctor to make his own introduction and the brunette to blink.

"Should we be worried, if your nightclub needs a house doctor?"

Black Canary has posed:
"I'm here for the good time angle," Dinah says. "Getting sloshed might happen, but it's not the goal." Her brow wrinkles as the strange man offers her an unfamiliar beverage in a bar she's never been in before. Kimberly has accepted so...

"Nah, I'm fine with bourbon. I've got basic tastes, and bourbon fits them perfectly."

She pauses, looking at the doctor, then at Lucifer, a raised eyebrow in effect asking Kimberly's question all over again.

"Dinah Drake," she says. Adding, unconvincingly, given the conversational snippet Lucifer overheard, "I'm a florist."

She's not lying...

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer regards Kimberly for a moment and then - when Dinah declines the drink - he simply pours a whiskey for Kimberly and sets it in front of her. Then, a side eye to Sinister, and a cognac is produced for the man while the cigarette on offer is plucked.

"He's not the house doctor... though I do have a few of those on hand because humans are dumb and do stupid things. He," a nod to Sinister then, "is -my- doctor. Because I also tend to do stupid things, but the consequences of my stupidity can be...quite pricey..."

A little smirk is sent Dinah's way and he lifts a single shoulder in a shrug. "Florist. I'll buy it. For now." Before he glances to Kimberly then. "And, what is it you do? Since we're all sharing professions now..."

Sinister has posed:
"Thank you, Lucifer," because manners are everything. The cognac is lifted and raised in a toast to the ladies at the table, he tips it lightly toward Lucifer as the Host explains and clarifies. "My rates would be far too high for the average individual in this establishment to afford, I fear." The cognac is downed, set down gently and precisely and the cigarette is set to the corner of his lips. "Essex," not even the full name, presumably he prefaces it with 'doctor' most of the time.

"Never underestimate florists. They can be quite exemplary serial killers," he observes, giving Lucifer a regard beneath his brows, then relaxing into his seat. "Good times too, should never be underestimated, for similar reasons." When did that cigarette get lit?

Pink Ranger has posed:
"Humans?" Kimberly muses aloud as her drink comes down in front of her and there's a glance towards Dinah and a little tilt of her head questioningly. Maybe the guy was a mutant? Certainly that was far from unlikely...or maybe it was just a choice of phrase. Then again the guy was also introducing himself as the Devil so...who knows?

"I'm a gymnast," Kimberly adds on the answer of her own profession. Not a lie either, any more than Dinah...just a little omission or two.

A small, experiemental sniff of the whiskey and then Kimberly reaches to take a small sip of the beverage!

Black Canary has posed:
"OK," Dinah says, laughing, holding her hands up in mock defensive stance. "You got me. I'm not just a florist. I also front a rock band."

She's not lying. Again.

"Ashes on Wednesday. You've probably never heard of us. First album is finally in the works, though. We've been on tour to build up material."

Ah, yes. That explains the rough-and-tumble outlook on life. The topsy-turvy world of rock'n'roll!

"I've got some merch out in the bike if you're interested?..."

Bike.

She rode a motorbike.

In this outfit.

Her drink, unlike Kimberly's disappears in a single, smooth, "blink and you missed it" movement.

"Sorry, doc, not a killer. Dead people can't feel pain." She winks Sinister's way. "And where's the fun in that!?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Yes. I've read the Gotham Times and know much about a one Miss Poison Ivy..." Lucifer comments towards Sinister, a sly grin curling the lips of the Devil for a moment. A snap of fingers and fire flicks at his fingertip so he can light the cigarettes of himself and Sinister. One will find, however, that the smoke always trails upwards and - somehow also - does not taint the air with it's otherwise foul scent.

Dinah has snuck out to the dance floor a little after she one shot her drink. Lucifer watches her go and then turns his attention back onto Kimberly for a moment.

"How does a gymnast and a florist meet? Some boyfriend buy you flowers and you loved them so much you had to figure out where they came from?"

Sinister has posed:
"Oh, stars forfend," Sinister waves a hand dismissively. "But pain can be transcendent, regardless of whether one is alive or dead. Once upon a time, I would wager that would've been a rather strange thing to say, but in modern times..." he smiles politely as he watches the gravity defying movements of that outfit for a moment, as Dinah moves off. There is a shake of the head, in wonderment and for some reason a glance down at his own chest.

The question to Kimberley draws him back to the moment though, grey eyes settling at a lidded half-mast to lilsten to her response. Maybe even to guage it. "A valid question, methinks."

Pink Ranger has posed:
Kimberly herself -didn't- know Poison Ivy, so the mention of florist serial killers brings a blink from the brunette before she gives a little chuckle and lifts her drink to her lips for an experimental sip. "Not quite. We met at the gym actually. Well, the youth center over in Starling City. I was on the balance beam practicing and we sort of hit it off."

A shrug, she tilts her head to the side. "What about you? Nightclub guy and doctor?"

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer chuckles. "Well.. my club invites all sorts here. But most of my clientele are the elite of the elite. Cream of the crops. Nathaniel here was a guest at my club one night...some time ago...and after some slightly awkward dating...well." He shrugs. "I suppose I defied a few odds. I'm sure most people like to spread stories about me being nothing more than a manwhore, a womanizer...not the kind to fall in love..." He takes a drag off his cigarette, blowing smoke upwards and refills a few drinks since he's still behind the bar.

"Did I get that about right, my dearest doctor?"

Sinister has posed:
"The brief version, indeed you did, my dearest," Sinister smiles and 'tis neither facetious, nor condescending, but rather it is radiant and bestowed of dimples. Colgate commercial and all thatt jazz. "There is a long and a short of it, but unless people are genuinely curious?" He shrugs, apparently not going to go any further unless invited. "And there are very few instances where one such as Lucifer needs a physician, but arguably there are very few in this world on any other, that are able to treat him. It worked out."

He looks warmly to the Host and back to Kimberley. "I admire gymnastics. You're all so very flexible... but it is quite amusing to me, that what started out as the art of infiltration warfare, is now an olympic sport dominated by compact young women."

Pink Ranger has posed:
Okay, that was sweet, sweet enough that a soft 'Awww!' comes from Kimberly's lips at the exchange before she smiles before tilting her head to the side and blinking. She's still assuming that Sinister was talking of Lucifer being a mutant or alien or something, because someone like her meeting the actual Devil would be crazy, right?

Another little sip from her drink, testing taste and punch both, Kim gives a little giggle at the comment from Nathaniel. "I dunno, if you'd seen how nasty some of the girls can get? It might be closer to warfare at times than you think."

Of course, that wasn't counting Kim's -actual- warfare she was so often engaged in as a Ranger.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer's eyes flash a moment, a spark of actual flme filling his pupils for a moment as Sinister adds his own commentary on their relationship. All the while he is smiling, and tips his head a moment. "I suppose the curiosity is sated for the moment...which is fine. I think there are other curiosities within the young woman's mind...but she hasn't the want to ask of them just yet..." That smile remains as his gaze shifts to take in the whole of Kimberly after he speaks. "So, tell me, what is on that mind of yours? What so cautiously drinks the whiskey she was offered as if the Devil spiked it for whatever nefarious reason..."

Sinister has posed:
"Ah, yes. The wonder that is a teenage girl. Sometimes, it's amazing that any parent survives those years. Trial by fire," clucking his tongue, he catches the fire in eyes on the Host and chuckles, blowing a faint air-kiss that'a-way. "That's psychological though, unless there's hair pulling involved," his cigarette is shaved, the tip made into a precise little cone as he glances from the cherry to Kimberley at the new line of invite to questioning and expression.

"I could argue she's pacing herself, you know Lucifer. Not everyone has a taste for Ouisca..."

Pink Ranger has posed:
"It doesn't always get better in the twenties," Kimberly points out to Sinister, although Lucifer's second question brings a laugh from the brunette who shrugs and points lightly towards Sinister. "There is that about it, and I'm not the biggest whiskey drinker...not that this is bad. Beside," she shrugs and gestures around them. "Being careful with your drinks in a nightclub isn't the worst idea."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer lifts his shoulders in a shrug and then lets his eyes settle back to their normal dark blue. "Well if you don't like the whiskey, I can certainly change it to something else." Offering at least this before he leans a bit against the bar and side eyes Sinister for a moment. "Do we have any pressing matters on the agenda tonight?"

Sinister has posed:
A wry chuckle at the post-pubscent rage of the female of the species. "And that is why they do say the female is more deadly than the male." Pause, beat. Gaze at Lucifer.

"My dear, you take smoldering looks to a whole different meaning," Sinister murmurs with a single bobble of eyebrows. Flick, goes his gaze from the Host to the Guest, a sly attention. "In general, that is a good principle to work by. There are a good many unscrupulous types out there. It would have taken quite some sleight of hand in this particular instance, for you to have been roofied." A sniff, with a point toward the whiskey bottle which was poured directly before her, but the question posed to him is considered and chewed upon. "Pressing matters --" he considers further "--only the potential results of that gene sequencing, from our handy one." Handy. Hah.

Pink Ranger has posed:
"Oh no, it's fine, really!" Kim offers, lest she be a bad guest. Apparently satisfied with her safety (or trusting in her enhanced health) the girl does indeed take a larger culp as she throws it back before blinking a little and looking back between the two before clearing her throat. "Gene sequencing? Have you got some sort of 'secret lab' in the basement here?"

Lucifer has posed:
"It's actually up in the penthouse." Lucifer casually offers in respone to Kimberly's question. A look between the two and he gives another grin. "Any idea when those results will be available?" He asks this of Sinister before looking back to Kimberly. "Honestly, I just put a drink in front of you...if it's not something you prefer then you ought tell me or I'll never know. And that makes me a bad host. Not you a bad guest." His eyes flash once more with Hellfire and then he moves to do a few more other refills.

Sinister has posed:
"One can never have too many laboratories, unless one is particularly absent minded, then it can be problematic and requires extensive note taking." Is said with a single digit lifted in universal caution. One can only imagine what happens when you can't remember which lab you were growing your Diabolical Creation <tm> in. No comment is made upon the Hosting or Hosted dilemma, taking up what remains of his fruity girly drink to suck the contents home. With a slurp, that is then set aside and his cigarette toked deep upon, exhaling in a rather film noire manner, from the corner of his mouth. The eyes tick to Lucifer. "They may even be ready, now. The genome of that particular species is quite complex, long and mutable. Thus, its capacity to splice itself onto others or others onto itself-- the MRNA and transcriptase is extremely adaptable. I once..." he pauses, glances at Kimberley and back to Lucifer "...erm... //attempted// to isolate its characteristics for medical use with some mixed results, you see."

Pink Ranger has posed:
"You sound like a high school friend of mine," she begins, apparently having missed that little flare of hellfire in Lucifer's gaze as she sips her drink down and then tilting her head to the side. Did she understand or was she simply trying to look like she was being polite and listening while she tried to translate for herself. Olympic level gymnasts weren't particularly required to understand gene therapy or MRNA vectors after all.

Lucifer has posed:
Even Lucifer doesn't know all the things that Sinister can prattle on about. He just nods and smiles, and will likely ask a ton of questions later. Or look things up himself. None the less, he wipes down the bar a bit and glances but reminds himself he also poured Sinister a cognac so he likely doesn't need another drink. "Probably something that we should go and check on tonight, yes? Besides, I have a few pieces of business to handle upstairs on a few other matters." Offering this much more and then he glances to Kimberly. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Kimberly. Perhaps you can bring a few more of your friends by at another time. I would love to meet them all."

Sinister has posed:
Sinister arches an eyebrow up. "You do have interesting friends then -- I would say that's a nod to the education system, but I suspect it is the exception that proves the rule," Quirking lips into a half-smile, he inclines his head to Kimberly. "Do enjoy your evening and I recommend the hurricane. They do a good one here..." then there's a nod to Lucifer as he slides off of his barstool.

"I will go and check the results... it was a pleasure..." as he makes his way to the elevator up.

Pink Ranger has posed:
"I should go find Dinah," Kimberly nods, making to stand once more and offer the pair a smile before nodding her head. "It was a pleasure to meet you both, Doctor and...Lucifer," she offers in fairwell, the latter name still odd for her to say before she slips off to join her dancing blonde buddy for the rest of the evening.