10987/Is That An After Church Drink

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Is That An After Church Drink
Date of Scene: 01 May 2022
Location: Luke's Bar
Synopsis: April, Luke, Matt, and a bunch of Jamies all hang out at Luke's Bar! It's a good ol' time down where everbody knows ur name!
Cast of Characters: Matthew Murdock, Luke Cage, April O'Neil, Jamie Madrox




Matthew Murdock has posed:
The tip of Matt Murdock's cane has a rubber stop that helps keep it from being noisy as it swings back and forth, touching the ground in front of him. Matt's wearing a suit, his Sunday best, if not as nice as the ones worn by many Manhattan lawyers would be.

The obviously blind man gets a glance or two from other pedestrians on the sidewalk, but not too many. The sounds and smells tell Matt more than most people could believe. The man who smells of perfume, but probably too subtly for his wife to be able to pick up on. The delicious takeout in someone else's bag, but that used a bit too much spice in it.

Reaching his destination, Matt's cane taps the door before he reaches out, feigning the need to locate the handle by feel before opening it and and stepping within.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke's always at his bar these days. At least, when he's not doing something to save Harlem or punching criminals into the next room. Either way, Luke's behind the bar and doing the whole working for himself thing complete with wiping down of the bar and everything.

Luke looks up when the door opens and there's a familiar grin that crosses his features as he tosses the towel onto his shoulder. "Matt." Cage offers with a familiar tone of greeting.

April O'Neil has posed:
April's bike rolls up outside the bar shortly after Matt went inside. She skids to a stop beside a good place to lock the bike up while leaving it assumedly visible from one of the bar's windows. She steps off the bike and takes her bike helmet off, stowing it in her black messenger bag. Her blue eyes look around the street outside as she runs a hand through her hair. She then starts to walk toward the front door also, and catches it before it closes behind the well dressed man.

AS her eyes adjust to the dimmer interior lit bar, April steps off to the side of Matt, on his left, glancing over at him she smiles at him out of reflex before noting, he's blind. Instead then she just looks to Luke and offers him a smile.

"Am I interrupting anything?" The young reporter asks, donning a yellow leather jacket since its still cool outside in the shade, beneath it a light grey hoodie and blue jeans on her lower half, with some heeled leather boots.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt Murdock steps into the bar. Not really affected by the change from the sunny day outside moving into the darker confines of the bar. His lips curl in a small grin, the man's chin lacking its normal stubble, as if he shaved for church today.

"Missed you down at Clinton," he says, naming the Catholic church he attends. Not that it's Luke's church necessarily, but Matt has invited-slash-teased Luke about coming sometime. "How're things?" Matt asks in his typically quiet, deep voice as he moves over to the bar, habitually tapping with his can until he reaches it. Feeling a chair he takes a seat.

Matt's head tilts slightly as if listening to the arrival behind him. Scents of some kind of grease. Maybe that used on a bicycle. And... is that fresh herbs of some sort? Not cooking, fresher than that. "Not unless I am also," Matt says in the direction of the woman's voice. "Luke's is a friendly enough place. Like its namesake."

Luke Cage has posed:
"Happy Hour. What can I say?"

Luke's excuse about the non-attendance to church is mostly because of his family history but that's a long way around. It's so much easier to just blame it on the bar that is definitely not filled with Happy Hour patrons. You don't have to be blind to hear that either. It's pretty obvious.

Luke glances over at the arrival of April, "Not a thing. What can I get you?" Luke's on the move behind the bar making sure he's grabbing a glass for whatever Matt's about to order.

"Hey now. Don't paint me as too friendly. I have a rep or two around here." Luke's grinning as he says this though, clearly with the teasing.

April O'Neil has posed:
It's a good thing April hasn't been down in the sewers yte today, or Matt may be less inclined to be so interested in her scents.

April affords the well dressed blind man a little exhaled laugh and a nod. "I suppose so." She says quietly before looking to Luke. She steps over to the bar then, and reeaches her hands up to her messenger bag strap to slip it up over her head as she sets it on the floor at her feet while she slides on to a seat.

"Uh, can I get..." Her eyes go to the list of options as she drums her fingertips on the edge of the bar. "I guess just a beer, whatever you enjoy most." She says to Luke with a light grin before she casts her eyes around the bar. "I haven't been to church since I was like.. five. I'd probably burst into flames just stepping through the door of one now." She idly comments with a little snort at herself.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
"I'll have a Maker's Mark," Matt tells Luke, before turning his head slightly towards April after the whiskey order has been placed. "That isn't so much a danger anymore," he replies in his quiet, even tones, before motioning as if overhead. "They have automated extinguishers now," he says, expression giving little to show he'd just made a joke.

"Before I forget," Matt tells Luke, "I have some turnips. Something one of our clients paid us with, have a cousin with a farm. I'm not quite sure what to do with them. Have any family turnip recipes I could try?"

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke knows behind the bar like the back of his hand and he's already on the move as the orders come in. "Maker's Mark for my religious conscience and a Luke Cage Special for the lady. I'm on it." There's no top notch pouring like Cocktail but he does at least manage to get the glasses filled with ease. Napkins are slid in front of both of his bar patrons, quickly followed by said drinks.

"Turnips?" Luke leans on the bar as he ponders this for the moment. "I can probably dig something up. I'll check the Mama Cage Cookbook." It's unclear if this is an actual real thing but he's very likely got something like that back in his apartment. "How many turnips are we talking about here?" It's a valid question!

April O'Neil has posed:
April lays her right forearm across the bar in front of her, while her left goes up to press her hand against the side of her face. She looks over at the two of them, laughing softly at Matt's little dry wit humor about sprinklers. She then just listens to their talk of turnips. She's nosey, it's part of her job.

"See. Now." She starts to say after Luke replies to Matt. "The Reporter in me would overhear a conversation like this, and think some kind of nefarious deeds are going down that are being code-worded to try and keep the deep secrets, just so. But... the innocent side of me that wants to believe in people still going to Church on Sundays, and enjoying nice home cooked meals of turnips... wants to believe everything is on the level here."

When her drink is there, April lowers her left hand down to wrap a hand around it. "I'm going to assume the latter here, because I'm trying to take a moment off of getting myself in to trouble."


She raises the drink up then to take a sip from its contents.

"Mmm. Delicious." She notes, dabbing at her lips with the provided napkin.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt Murdock receives his drink and gives a nod of his head towards Luke. "Thank you," he tells the larger man before taking a small sip of the beverage and setting it back onto the bar.

"Ah, a reporter," Matt Murdock says after hearing the word from April. "I thought your voice sounded familiar. April O'Neil isn't it? From Channel Six?" he asks her. "And yes, completely on the level," he says in his quiet, smooth tones. "The perils of a neighborhood legal firm. Not everyone is able to pay in ways that convert to rent money easily," he says with a smile that while wry, doesn't suggest he has any real issues with that fact.

"How many," Matt repeats the question from Luke. Matt holds up his hands as if to indicate a pretty small box. "You know, as turnips go it's..." he says, and then readjusts his hands. To something that's a pretty big box by most standards. "I really don't know, to be honest. It's a lot by my not used to eating turnip standards," Matt admits.

Luke Cage has posed:
"Yeah, but you know what pays rent money? Rent money. Just sayin'." Luke just has to throw that out there because one of his side hustles is focused on being a hero for hire. He's not all about the money but the money does help. With rent. Which is always too high.

Luke grins in April's direction. "Yeah, no nefarious deeds around here. I run a clean bar. So please, no chilling reports of badness or anything." Luke smiles. "I will take a free advertisement though."

Luke's focus is back on Matt in the next moment. "If I can't find a recipe, maybe we can donate them to the market 'round the corner. We'll figure it out." Luke has faith. And also a bunch of people he can call in favors from.

April O'Neil has posed:
After another sip from her drink, April smiles again at what both of the men say. "Good ears." She quietly notes to Matt who seems to ID her based on her voice alone. "Channel Six, yep. Though I pay /my/ rent far better off of my internet presence these days." She takes her hand off her drink glass then as she lowers her arm down to grasp hold of her bag strap, lifting it up to place it upon her lap.

AS she rifles around inside it, she brushes her hair out of her face. "You know, I got a recipe book here from a neighbor that has a garden that she does all kinds of stuff with. I uh..." She pulls the book out of the bag then sets it down on the bar over toward Matt, hesitates, then toward Luke. "It's not in braile, sadly, though. But I do remember it had some turnip related suggestions within it when I thumbed through it."

A grin is shown then before she puts her hand back on her drink.

To LUke then, April looks. "How about some free shoutouts on my podcast? That's not a bad deal as far as advertising goes, yeah?"

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The comment about his ears draws a slight smile from Matt behind his dark glasses. "Comes with the territory," he says, a hand finding where his folded cane is sitting on the bar next to his drink. "Really? I'd have thought television would pay more," he comments with a small note of curiosity.

A nod is given Luke's direction. "I figured it would be nice to make something tasty of them for Karen. At least with some of them. I could tell from her voice that she was a bit perplexed what to do with them. Though happy to share the wealth, as it were," he says of the notion of sharing them at the market.

A word of explanation is given to April. "Karen works at our practice. The glue, as it were. And thank you. Maybe you could take a few screenshots of it for me and I could get someone else to read it to me," he suggests, pulling out his phone, unlocking it and offering it towards April.

Luke Cage has posed:
When it comes to all of this blind stuff, Luke's not exactly sure how to help with all of this. He's more about just trying to make sure that he treats everyone like there's nothing wrong with them because that's how things happen in Harlem! Everybody gets treated the same except for criminals. They usually get punched in the face.

"That'd be nice." Luke offers to April. "How does an On The House Tab sound as payment?" Luke's all about the free drinks it seems. He almost never makes anyone pay for whatever reason.

"We gotta' get you one of those text-to-voice apps, Matt." Luke does take a moment to look at the book and start flipping through it. "Hey, Mama Cage makes half this stuff." Looks like there may be some stream crossing in the world of cooking!

April O'Neil has posed:
april watches Matt fish out his phone, assuming Luke is gonna help him with that she just laughs lightly at the offer of a free tab. "That's very generous. I'll make sure to get you some more traffic for sure now." She tells the big guy. Her eyes drop back down to the recipe book and she grins at him mentioning some recipe crossovers.

"It's a small world, after all." She quips lightly before enjoying another sip of her drink.

"I have a garden on my roof that someone tends too also, but she's... a bit defensive about cooking and eating the bountiful fruits of the hard labor." April eludes to the fact that Poison Ivy lives on her roof. IT's not easy to mention such things!

"And yeah... most people figure tv pays better than the internet, and it did for awhile... But once I got a bit of a name for myself, the tables turned, so to speak."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Matt Murdock gets the photos of the cookbook. "Thanks, will have to look into that. Karen is always saying there are more tools than I make use of. She really got into helping me with that kind of stuff after we hired her."

He retrieves his phone and finishes his drink. Matt gets out some payment, of the not-turnip, suitable-for-rent variety and sets it on the bar. "Good talking to you Luke," he says as he picks up his cane and unfolds it while rising to his feet.

"Miss O'Neil, nice to meet you. I'll have to find your podcast online," he tells her. The man gives a sedate smile and nod of his head towards them before using the cane to tap his way to the door and depart.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Sometimes Jamie Madrox looses track of a dupe or two.

Sometimes dupes just decide to go for a night on the town. Luke's bar is probably their last stop, because they all but _tumble_ in, tripping over each other, laughing, and being a lot more boisterous than any one man (no matter how many versions of him are present) has any right to be.

There's five dupes in total, they're all dressed a little different, and they all manage to dodge the blind guy on the way out, but by the time they get to the bar, each one hiking up onto a stool, it becomes clear: these men are quintuplets!

Or, if you know Jamie Madrox, they're just Jamie Madrox.

The before and after meeting Jamie Madrox are _very_ different!

Luke Cage has posed:
"Things do tend to change when your name's on the thing. Whatever that thing is." Luke comments this to follow up April's comments. He knows all about it with having a bar with his name on it and everything. It's annoying but also fruitful in some ways.

Luke grabs the cash and gives Matt a nod as he heads over to the register to put it away. He grabs Matt's glass and is on the move to make with the cleaning of it.

"Alright. Happy Hour's extended." Luke stares at the Madrox Collective that have arrived at the bar. "Alright, so are we gonna' make it easy on me and we're ordering the same thing or is this about to be one of those days where I'm gonna' really earn my tips?" Luke teases as he approaches The Madrox Five.

April O'Neil has posed:
Matt gets some parting words from April who offers him a wave too, but then instantly regrets it. Habbits are weird like that.

She sees the arrival of the five guys and it takes her a moment to realize that they're all identical to one another. Her eyebrows raise up at this realization though, and her blue eyed stare shoots over to Luke before bouncing back to the rare sight.

How rare is it to see five people all who look the same? Too rare, really.

Nevertheless, April just plays along, takes another sip of her drink and laughs lightly at Luke's question. "Good luck with this one." She tells the Bartender with a grin. "At least you all look to be in good spirits, get it, spirits?" She laughs dumbly at her own dumb joke too!

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Luke!"

"Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke!"

"LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE! LUKE LUKE LUKE LUKE!"

Yeah. They're drunk. The dupes chant as they smack their hands on the bartop. But it doesn't last long. Eventually one of them -- in a hawaiian t-shirt -- says, "Appletini."

"What? No, bourbon!"

"Two bourbons!"

"Three bourbons!"

"Old Fashioned!"

Appletini!Dupe looks at Luke and then shrugs, mouthing 'sorry'. Guess it isn't as easy as the same drink for all four of them. But at least it's not a different drink for each of them.

One of the Madroxes shimmies over and sits next to April. "Hey. You're funny. Hi, Funny, I'm Jamie." Oh boy.

Luke Cage has posed:
Drunk Madroxing is a thing that happens in here often which is why Luke's already on it. He takes a moment to look over at April with a grin, "This is a regular thing. Too regular." It's just a playful grin as he grabs up some glasses and pours the bourbons. They get lined up in front of those Jamies that requested them.

"Do I need to do a key check or you guys Ubering?" Luke turns his attention to pouring up the Appletini in the next moment. He sets it down in front of Hawaii Jamie-O and also grabs an empty bowl to set on the bar for keys if they do need to put them somewhere.

April O'Neil has posed:
April is just smiling at the revelry of what she assumes is five brothers. She glances toward Luke, then toward the one who sits down beside her. His words have her grinning as she holds on to the handle of her beer mug with her right hand, her left going back up to the side of her face. "Hello, Jamie. I am funny. But I'm also named April. I'm a Reporter for Channel Six News, and I'm spending a bit of free time here between jobs in the city today."

Usually, when she tells people about her job as a Reporter, it gets mixed reactions. Some get curious, others start to back off with vigor. She's not sure what to expect from this one.

"Looks like a big afternoon on the town for you and your siblings." She further states.

Another glance is shot to Luke. "You get quite the characters in here." She tells the Tender.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
There's a snort from the doorway. "I pulled the short straw," a _sixth_ Jamie says, waving over to Luke, April, and the dupes. "Designated driver." He wanders over to a booth and sits down. "Root beer, if you got it!"

All five of the Madroxes at the bar grin as their drinks get set down. "How you doin', Luke? You get bigger since the last time I saw you?" asks one of the dupes.

The one chatting up April raises his brows and then snaps his fingers, pointing at her,. "Oh yeaaaaaaaaah. O'Neil! Did you used to wear a yellow jumper? I couldda sworn..." She mentions brothers and he snorts. "Uh huh. We've been having some fun."

There's Fraternity-level chortling going on now.

Luke Cage has posed:
"It's a living." Luke tosses that comment in the direction of April because he's not really sure if he should be trying to figure out a way to protect her from all this Madroxing. Still, though, he's pretty content to let it ride out for the moment, at least. He'll be around if things need to get handled or a Madrox needs to get bounced.

When JM6 comes in, Luke seems more like he's ready to be even more relaxed. "I was hoping there was another one of you. Good." Cage grabs the empty bowl and tucks it back under the bar. "I hope not. I don't wanna' have to buy new hoodies." Luke grins and immediately moves to fix JM6 a non-alcoholic beverage of deliciousness. There's even a cherry in it.

"You guys celebrating or just another one of those days?"

April O'Neil has posed:
April shows a smile toward Luke, and then a look of disbelief at a sixth brother entering the bar. "Wow. This is wild." She says, still oblivious as to the origins of all these replicas of one another.

Her eyes go back to Jamie speaking to her though and she offers him a big smirk.

"Right. Yeah. My first exposure as an employee of Channel Six was to be on a retro news buildboard ad for them. They had me in a bright yellow jumpsuit. I still have it. Yellow is my favorite color, so that was at least one part of that which made it a little less ... whatever."

She smirks then at herself and looks around at all the dupes.

"Your poor mother." April says in good humor, after all, expecting a woman to have had to push out all these kids at some point!

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Designated Driver Jamie lifts his glass up in salute to Luke. "Thanks, buddy."

The four Jamies at the bar not talking to April turn to Luke. "We closed a case!" This is followed by a general cheer. "And then we ditched Prime and went on a world-wind tour of New York's finest establishments, leaving THE BEST FOR LAST!"

Jamie is going to get so fucking drunk when he merges back.

"I always thought the yellow jumpsuit looked super hot," the Jamie talking to April says, laughing. When she mentions their 'mother', he lets out a drunk stutter-laugh. "Yeah, she uh, she didn't have a good time."

Luke Cage has posed:
"If this happens every time you close a case..." Luke can't even finish that up since he's too busy trying to keep an eye on the drunken stupor that is the Madrox Collective taking up most of the seats at his bar. "Maybe make it a theme night or something." Luke's not really sure if that's going to work but he'll make sure that there's enough alcohol for the celebration.

His attention whirls back to the Designated Madrox, "My condolences." Luke can just imagine how hard the ride back home is going to actually be considering the wildness of the Madrox Collective at the moment.

April O'Neil has posed:
April shows a smile to the Jamie talking to her. "You liked it?" She asks of the famous jumpsuit. "Well, maybe I'll bring it by here some time and our kind Bartender here will let you have it, since you seem to be regulars around here." She jokes back with him, shooting a grin toward Luke.

"But yes, I've heard a number of compliments on that advertisement. Maybe there will be more, who knows!" She smirks then before sipping her beer again.

Her phone buzzes though, and she sits up straight on her seat, raising up to take the phone out of her side pocket on her yellow leather jacket. She reads the text and grumbles. "Damnit Vern, I told you where to go..." she mutters "Excuse me, I gotta text yell at my camera man..." O'Neil says as she starts to walk toward a side area to text him, just as she gets a call. NOw the reporter is having a little quiet argument with whomever is on the other end of the line.