Redención House, L.A.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Dios mio! Te dije que las malas hierbas, hasta que no tire todo!" Anna Fernandez threw up her hands and ran into the backyard, high stepping over the wires that loosely fenced in the garden. A young man sat back on his heels, a pile of greens at his knees.

"What?" he said, "You know I don't understand Spanish."

"Oh, my, Ronnie..." Anna punched him in the arm and he yelped. "These are carrots!" She pushed the thin gnarled white roots back into the soil. "Not weeds!"

"Oh, oops," The teen said, looking down at his pile. "I thought these were the weeds."

"No, no, no," She said, pausing to sweep her thick dark hair up into a pony tail. "Here, re-plant these plantas poco, and then join us inside for dinner."

Wiping her hands on her jeans, Anna laughed at something a girl said from somewhere inside the sprouting corn stalks, and headed back inside. Redención House, her heavily mortgaged, ten bedroom home in South Los Angeles, was quiet.

The doors were open for any mutant young person who happened to be nearby and in need. If you calculated in floor space and couches, she could house up to twenty-five people, and sometimes did. Right now many of the bedrooms were empty. The local police knew her well, and had referred several mutant runaways or other kids in need to her over the few years she'd been running the house.

The rules were few, and simple. Everyone was welcome, no matter their mutation, as long as it was safe for the other residents. All gang stuff was forbidden, and would get a kid kicked out quickly if he started posturing or fighting with the other residents. No drugs. And if you were school age you had to attend school. There was a bus stop at the end of the street. Anna had an old Dodge van that would seat twelve that she drove everywhere, and would often take her kids out on 'field trips' on the weekends.

There was no case too hard, no kid too lost that they wouldn't find a pair of arms open for a hug in Redención House. Anna called up the stairs, "Jake! Necesito ayuda con la cena!" She paused, and added, "Its just five for dinner, c'mon get your butt down here!"

[Jacob Foley]

The sound of Morrissey singing Sheila Take a Bow drifted out of an open attic window. Inside, Jacob Foley, Jake, lied on his musty old bed staring at the rafters where the wood was charred black. The stubby remnant of a smoking joint stood erect in his dry lips, coiling wisps of olive were whipped through the window by a cool evening breeze and carried high over the garden where he heard youngsters laughing in the moment of silence between one song and the next.

David Bowie had only croaked the first line of his Eight Line Poem when the sound of his sister's voice speared his daydreaming. He stubbed his cigarette out in the copper ashtray he'd picked up on a school fieldtrip to an open-pit mine in New Mexico. That was where he'd lost his virginity to Emily Statham. He grinned at the memory and shambled downstairs into the kitchen where he found his sister busy. His bare feet slapped on the tiled floor and he braced himself for a reprimand, knowing he wasn't dressed for kitchen chores; his greasy jeans lacked a belt, exposing the white band of his underwear, and he wore nothing else other than a gold chain around his neck. He folded his arms which, along with his chest, were covered in a myriad colourful and very beautiful tattoos. His sister turned to face him.

"I'm not peeling anything. I hate peeling."

[Anna Fernandez]

"You will peel if I tell you to peel," Thirty-one year old Anna shook a slim finger at Jake. "And, you will like it!

"Tch! Where are your clothes?" She threw a dishtowel at him in mock disgust. "Todo lo que hago por aquí y no se puede incluso usar una camiseta?" Anna raised her hands and shooed him into the laundry room to find a clean shirt. "And wash your hands. You're chopping vegetables!"

She opened up the old fridge and located the veggies she wanted for the pasta dish they were going to prepare, setting them up on the butcher block island. She was just pulling them out of bags and rinsing them in the sink when the doorbell rang. Jake was still rummaging in the laundry baskets, so she called over her shoulder, "I'm getting it, Ronnie, Aidan, and Jamie are all in the garden. I left the hortalizas on the counter..."

Drying her hands, Anna walked down the hallway to the front door, opening it without bothering to use the peep hole. "Hello..?"

[Freight Train]

A tiny little girl stood there, her clothes dirty and ragged, her hair sticking up wildly from going weeks without any care. Slate grey eyes looked up with a wide expression at the woman they hadn't expected to see.

"Is this the, uh, the Rendition House?" It was clear from her tone that she knew she'd butchered the pronunciation. She wrung her shirt tail, feeling foolish. "The, uh...friendly place? For special kids?"

[Jacob Foley]

Buried deep in a laundry basket Jacob found an old Megadeth t-shirt which his brother Paolo had given to him when suddenly, it had become too small to accomodate his swelling beer gut. He pulled it over his head, printed on it there was a picture of a burnt skeleton in military uniform and pilot shades, he suspected it had been hidden deliberately at the bottom of the pile but it still stunk of lavender fabric softener. In his head, he caught a glimpse of the little girl at the front door.

"Rendition House," he said to himself, amused, as he rinsed his hands in cold water. Then he resigned himself to the grim task of chopping vegetables.

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna looked down at the little girl, who she suspected was older than her size indicated. "The Rendención House, yes! Come in, come in," she stepped back and held the door wide for the girl. "My name is Anna, this is my home, and all special kids are welcome here."

She winked, and carefully closed the door behind the hesitant girl. "Here, lets go into the kitchen, we're just making dinner." Anna led the way, and added, "What is your name?" She caught sight of Jake wielding a knife over the vegetables, and narrowed her eyes at him at the sight of the Megadeth shirt. She should have thrown it out instead of washing it.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"This damn car."

Vipul fussed and fretted with the Nissan Altima that should have died five years ago, and willed it to drive. He'd bought the thing for $150 and was beginning to think it was a ripoff. By a thousand miracles, he managed to pull it into a gentle parallel park in front of Rendención House, which had become one of his many homes of late.

For a while, he sat in the car, listening to every ping and groan as it cooled down. With a sigh, he shouldered the four bags of groceries he'd brought along with him.

Although not a resident of Rendención, Vipul had met Anna months ago, and the topic had inevitably drawn toward mutants. While earning peanuts doing TA work on a fake ID at UCLA, Vipul found himself increasingly drawn into this little community.

Shifting the contents of his armload, Vipul carefully rapped on the door with his elbow.


"Anna I have both arms full."

[Jacob Foley]

He tore himself, red-eyed, away from a cutting board full of diced onion and made his from the kitchen into the hallway. He was wiping away tears as he passed Anna and the girl, he sniffed, and gave the new arrival an awkward thumbs up and with a rather sheepish smile, managed to say, "Hey!"

The door rattled open on its hinges and beyond it was a familiar face. Jake's smile was more enthusiastic this time and in his soft voice there was genuine warmth.

"Hey, Vipul. Good to see you. Here..."

He relieved him of two grocery bags and allowed him to lead the way into the house.

"You gonna stick around this time, you lousy free-loader?"

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"Freeloader huh?"

Vipul headed to the kitchen with Jake, and began working to put the food away in the pantry and refrigerator. He immediately went to work at scouting whatever Anna had begun work on, picking a few bits of food before the lady of the house was able to finish cooking it.

"Guilty as charged. If I have to grade another test I may go cross-eyed."

Rummaging through one of the grocery bags, he tossed Jake a glass bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola, made with real sugar.

"How's your day been?"

[Freight Train]

She didn't answer Anna or see Jake's welcoming gesture as she hurried past him, the floorboards creaking mightily under her feet as she ran to find a place to hide. It seemed her old professor hadn't seen her yet, which was good.

Her mind raced as she moved into their living room, wiggling into a corner behind a big recliner to hide. Why was he here? Maybe he'd come to take her back to Cullen's? She'd run away...had to have been a month ago. It'd been too much, staying there where the Boulder had killed him and his clones, even after the glowing guy had tried to help her vent all the negative feeling she'd been carrying after the incident. Hopefully he'd go away quickly.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Ronnie still labored with the hand shovel, scooping out small pits to cover the young roots he'd just unearthed, though he wasn't optimistic he could put them back just the way they were. Anna would probably make him redo the whole row, but at least they'd survive through dinner.

As he reached for one of the scraggly little carrots, he nearly laid his hand on the blunt head of a serpent nosing its way out of the peas.

Ronnie shouted something that usually got him in trouble with Anna and scrambled backwards, tripping over the wire at the edge of the garden and landing hard on his backside.

"Hey, Ronnie," a girl's voice called from the pea plants, "d'ya know what the most venomous snake in the world is?"

Ronnie's heart pounded as the snake swayed its head back and forth, flicking at the air now and then with its tongue. The late afternoon light glistened on its jeweled skin. "Is it brown?" he asked fearfully.

"It's the inland taipan. It's also called the fierce snake. One bite can kill a hundred people. Isn't that cool?"

Ronnie pulled his legs back over the wire and clutched the hand shovel in front of him like a weapon. "Jamie, what the heck are you reading back there?"

"It's an Australian field guide. I got it at the library. Wow, it gets up to seven feet long!"

Before Ronnie's eyes, the snake grew, and the thirteen-year-old boy fought down a whimper as it crawled toward him. "Aren't you supposed to be picking peas?"

"Oh, I got 'em already," Jamie replied, and she came walking out of the pea plants with a basket under one arm and an open book in her other hand. "How does a snake kill a hundred people with one bite?"

"I don't want to know!" Ronnie blurted out. "Stop thinking about the snake!"

Jamie put the book down with a look of perplexity, and then she saw the serpent exploring the baby carrots. She gasped. "Ohhhh, he's so cute!"

"Jamie, you've gotta stop that!" Ronnie objected. "I almost had a heart attack!"

Jamie had dropped the book and laid her hand down in the soil in front of the snake's head. Obediently, it slithered up her arm and draped itself over her shoulders. She giggled as its tongue tickled her ear. "Aw, he wouldn'ta hurt you, Ronnie!" she said. "He only bites bad people. Isn't that right, Aussie?"

Before Ronnie could reply, Jamie's head snapped up at the sound of a familiar voice from the kitchen, and she hopped over the wire fence and ran inside, peas, imaginary snake, and all. "Vipul!" she cried, and she threw both her arms around his waist, spilling a few pea pods from the top of her basket. Aussie the fierce snake just scrunched himself back to make room.

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna turned as Jake passed her to look at the silent girl, and was distracted when Vipul entered la casa, arms full of groceries. "Ah, welcome, welcome!" She beamed, and then looked for the girl. She'd disappeared.

Leaving the two guys in the kitchen (Jake would probably serve up macaroni and cheese if she left him to it, but Vipul was a fair hand in the kitchen) Anna retraced her steps with a slight frown on her face. Perhaps the girl had an invisibility mutation or...

Ah, no. "Ah, aquí está! No hay necesidad de ocultar aquí, todos somos amigos." Anna looked sideways at the girl, beckoning her to come out from behind the La-Z-Boy that had seen better days. "There is nothing to fear, we are all amigos, yes?" She sat down on the couch, adjusting her position slightly to avoid a rogue spring, and smiled. "You do not need to worry, this is a safe place."

[Jacob Foley]

"How's your day been?"

"Short," he said, propping the bottle top against the edge of the table, he struck it with his open palm and the buckled metal cap somersaulted in the air.

"You know me, Veep..." he paused to swig from the bottle, "I'm a night person- damn! This is good!"

After a few hearty chugs of coke, he returned to the cutting board and took the knife to some carrots. From the kitchen window he saw Jamie run up the garden path, then heard her crash happily into Vipul. He grinned.

"Jamie, what did Anna say about animals in the house?"

[Freight Train]

"There is nothing to fear, we are all amigos, yes?" She sat down on the couch, adjusting her position slightly to avoid a rogue spring, and smiled. "You do not need to worry, this is a safe place."

"That's not the problem," came the sheepish voice. She slide carefully out from behind the chair, feeling silly. With Vipul in the other room, she felt like she'd be okay for the moment. Besides, she could always switch rooms if he came in. "I don't need to be safe. I just need to be away from that guy." Chelsea (she still didn't feel like a Freight Train yet) shuffled over and sat on the other side of the spring, fixing on her knees. "Guess you're wondering why?"

[Anna Fernandez]

"Yes..." Anna paused, "You know Vipul? Are you a student at the universidad where he teaches?"

She frowned. If there was something about Vipul that would cause a young girl to run away and hide, then she needed to know about it.

[Feral]

"Maybe he gives her the heebie jeebies," Feral said as he walked in to poke around in the refrigerator.

Feral--or Apollos as he was known to the house--had made himself available as a handy man and an intimidating presence to those who wanted to nose about too much around the house.

It was good to travel across America. Along the way he had begun several small chapters of chaotic mutants willing to show humans who was in charge.

Feral liked the house and he also liked the house's keeper, Anna Fernandez. She was a real firecracker of a woman who guarded the mutants in her house with jealousy. He'd love to see what she looked like in a fight. He liked her a lot.

She was headstrong and take charge. It was a good change of pace from whimsical and flighty Oddity, who was still with Ricky on their way to the States.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked Anna as he settled on getting some water from the tap. "I see the work I did to the sink is helping. And the water is finally coming out clear."

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Vipul nodded, knowing Jake's penchant for living things up when he could.

"The consignment shop on Figueroa had those for very cheap, so I grabbed a few. Oh, that reminds me..."

Before Vipul could change gears, he was tackled by a tiny girl.

"Hello Jamie!"

He took it in stride, reminding himself to clean up the spilled peas after the excitement waned. He paused with a funny expression at Jamie's latest friend, and gave her a funny look. He'd learned from experience around her that he should probably take whatever strange things she had around her with a grain of salt. Everybody has deadly tropical snakes for imaginary friends, right?

"Got a new friend then? I hope he likes arugula."

Awkwardly, Vipul eased around her friendly embrace and set a bag of arugula greens on the counter, giving Jacob a knowing look.

[Freight Train]

"Yes..." Anna paused, "You know Vipul? Are you a student at the universidad where he teaches?"

She frowned. If there was something about Vipul that would cause a young girl to run away and hide, then she needed to know about it.
"Um...I was..." Technically she's still attending Cullen's, but it wouldn't be good for Anna to know that. The little girl looked up at Feral when he spoke, but didn't acknowledge the statement he made. She felt uncomfortable suddenly, and didn't really wanna be there anymore. "It's just a lot of drama," she said. "I don't want to cause a scene or anything."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie released her hold on Vipul and looked curiously up at the bag of plant leaves. It didn't look that appetizing, especially not to snakes. She and Aussie quickly lost interest.

"He likes vindaloo," she rebutted, trying to get a peek at the other grocery bags. "He likes vindaloo a lot."

It was, coincidentally, her favorite of the meals Vipul had brought in the past. She tried to give him subtle reminders now and then.

Remembering Jake's admonition, she looked up impishly, and Aussie stuck out his tongue at him. Then she reached the basket of peas up onto a vacant spot on the counter.

"I was reading about Australian snakes today," she said to the kitchen at large. "Australia's got the coolest animals. They're like, animal mutants."

She followed Jake as he fetched another onion and laid it on the cutting board. She was, happily, below the expanding cloud of sulphenic acids and didn't bat an eye as he started chopping.

"This one spider, the Sydney funnelweb, has fangs, like this big, and it can bite through workboots. And platypuses have got these poisonous spines under their legs. I mean, how do people even survive there?"

[Anna Fernandez]

"You attended UCLA, then?" Anna waved off Apollos, who had appeared from nowhere and was poking his head into the living room. The noise level in the kitchen went up a few notches, and she realized there would be just a few more than five for dinner. Good thing the dining room had two long tables in it. The smell of onions filled the air as Jake kept working on the veggies she'd left on the island. Hopefully he wasn't cutting everything up, she hadn't gotten a chance to tell him how much to chop!

"Were you studying science?" The girl didn't look like a college student, but when dealing with mutants Anna knew better than to assume anything about someone because of their appearance. She patted the petite, but silent, girl on the shoulder, figuring she was a young looking seventeen year old.

"Look, we are fixing dinner, and you are welcome to stay for the meal. Pollo and pasta, with a vegetable cream sauce..." Anna smiled encouragingly. "We can sort out everything after then, if you like."

[Jacob Foley]

"What's this? Arugula?" he asked, raising the bag of greens to his nose, he sniffed then quickly returned it to the counter with a look of revulsion, "I'm a man of simple tastes, Veep. A beer and a burger will make me happier than any of this leafy shi- err rubbish. No offense."

He hacked into the second onion, dicing it up in whatever makeshift way he found quickest, from over his shoulder Vipul's disapproval was almost palpable. He paused and frowned at the mutilated onion; Vipul's mind was an encylopedia of cooking knowledge and in an instant, Jake fished out the correct procedure for preparing a vegetable crean sauce, and redoubled his efforts. He smirked and turned to the little girl, who'd just asked him about surviving the Australian wildlife.

"Maybe they're all mutants with anti-venom for blood!"

He took the little girl by the hand and allowed her to twirl gracefully under his arm, by the time they were facing each other again, he was eye-level and presented her with a chunk of onion.

"I dare you to eat this then go and give Anna a big sloppy kiss... on the lips!"

She was about to protest when he added, "If you do, I promise to go to Australia with you tomorrow to find a friend for Aussie. Deal?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie eyed him dubiously, and then a grin spread across her face. Jake saw her pluck the onion chunk out of his hand and chomp on it spiritedly, and she gave him a pulpy smile before turning on one heel and bouncing down the hall to the living room.

But after she was gone, Jake still held the piece of onion between his thumb and forefinger.

Jamie was about to come careening into the living room when she heard low voices from inside - Anna and a girl she didn't recognize. Jamie loved to meet new people, especially when they had new and interesting mutations, but she knew it'd be rude to just crash into a conversation.

Carefully, she peered around the corner. Anna was on the couch and talking to somebody else on the couch, but because the couch faced the TV, Jamie couldn't see who it was. Maybe it was someone close to her own age!

The red-headed girl tiptoed along the back of the couch and around the far side, where she saw a girl not much bigger than her with black hair and dirty-looking clothes. Jamie tried to reflect Anna's look of solemn compassion.

Aussie did, too, but it might have been difficult to tell from the way he flicked his tongue out.

[Feral]

Feral raised an eyebrow at Anna's antics. He was nearly used to it. Of course, when he was being Feral and not Apollos it was easier to keep people's attention on him.

Anna would see it one day. One day soon she would understand that she had a real man on her hands. He grinned at that idea.

He stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, sipping water and watching Anna work with the mutants. Most of the kids tended to stay out of his way except for when he was fixing something. In which case they would gather around his work area and ask a thousand questions.

Feral managed to field the questions rather handily and even managed to get a couple of kids to help him for a few minutes. Honestly, he didn't mind the company. They were small mutants. Investments he could make to mold them to their true destinies.

"Jamie, what has Jake put you up to this time?" He said this in a low voice so Anna wouldn't hear. He actually loved the little girl's spunk and Jacob's conniving mind would be brilliant when put to the right uses.

"It's ok, you can tell me. You know I love to help you get Anna out of her turbo-director mode and relax."

[Jacob Foley]

"That's cheating," he said, staring at the onion still clamped between his fingers. He discarded it and surveyed the culmination of his work with the vegetables, he sighed and stretched, realising his culinary limits had been reached.

The Mexican Coca-Cola in hand, he slumped into a chair at the dinner table, and glanced up at Vipul.

"So, how's school?"

[Freight Train]

"You attended UCLA, then?" Anna waved off Apollos, who had appeared from nowhere and was poking his head into the living room. The noise level in the kitchen went up a few notches, and she realized there would be just a few more than five for dinner. Good thing the dining room had two long tables in it. The smell of onions filled the air as Jake kept working on the veggies she'd left on the island. Hopefully he wasn't cutting everything up, she hadn't gotten a chance to tell him how much to chop!

"Were you studying science?" The girl didn't look like a college student, but when dealing with mutants Anna knew better than to assume anything about someone because of their appearance. She patted the petite, but silent, girl on the shoulder, figuring she was a young looking seventeen year old.

"Look, we are fixing dinner, and you are welcome to stay for the meal. Pollo and pasta, with a vegetable cream sauce..." Anna smiled encouragingly. "We can sort out everything after then, if you like." She shook her head at UCLA. She shook it more vigorously at science. Anna seemed willing to drop the matter for the moment, which made Chelsea feel grateful, but...

"I...I'd rather not eat downstairs if Professor Chandreshekar is gonna be eating here, too. Can I get a shower and borrow some clothes? I don't really feel hungry." That was a lie, though thankfully her stomach didn't make any noise to underscore that fact. "I mean, if that's okay."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie nearly squeaked in surprise at the sound of the voice behind her - good thing she didn't, or she'd have blown her cover. Apollos was cool, but sometimes the way he moved around the house so quietly was a little creepy.

She tiptoed back to the doorway. "He just wanted me to give her a kiss with onion-breath," she whispered back. "But I want to find out about this new girl. She's like my age, but she goes to college and is afraid of Vipul."

It was unimaginable to her. How could anyone be afraid of someone who was friendly and had such a cool accent and brought all kinds of delicious, spicy food?

In her incredulity, she might have lost containment on that last phrase and said it nearly out loud.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Of course you can, amiga," Anna said, standing up. "Follow me." She cast a look over her shoulder at Jamie and Apollos and added, "Jamie, venir con nosotros por favor, we'll need some of your clothes."

She led the two girls up the stairs to the second floor and into one of the small bedrooms. A bunkbed lined one wall, and two dressers with a beaten up and doodled on desk between them sat up against the opposite wall. One dresser was empty, the other had a pair of socks hanging out of the top drawer. "Amiga I do not mean to pry, but what is your name?"

Anna sat on the edge of the bottom bunk, leaned over so she wouldn't hit her head on the top bunk. She wasn't worried about dinner not getting prepared, Vipul was probably already comandeering the kitchen from Jake, who would be more than happy to give up control to the Indian.

The mysterious girl's aversion to Vipul was astonishing, as Anna had never felt that the Indian teachers assistant was in any way a danger to the house or anyone in it. If he hurt Jamie... A frown creased her forehead as she watched the girl open her drawers to find the newcomer a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

[Feral]

Apollos watched the three go away upstairs and decided he had enough time to fix the porch railings in the back yard. They were very weak and wobbly. But first he would check to see if the people in the kitchen needed help. Peeling, chopping, and cutting were his specialty. Otherwise he was going to demolish the porch.

"Do you need any help in here?"

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"What's this? Arugula?" he asked, raising the bag of greens to his nose, he sniffed then quickly returned it to the counter with a look of revulsion, "I'm a man of simple tastes, Veep. A beer and a burger will make me happier than any of this leafy shi- err rubbish. No offense."

"It's just a wild green, Jake. Like spinach, but better."

He eyed the orderly chaos that was Anna's counter. A few items were already set aside into a mise en place, but Vipul hadn't the slightest idea what she was up to.

"Did she say what she was making?"

He hesitated to dive into her prep, so he went to work sorting out groceries and putting them away.



The Mexican Coca-Cola in hand, he slumped into a chair at the dinner table, and glanced up at Vipul.

"So, how's school?"

Vipul shrugged.

"Drudgery thus far. I'm hoping that I get enough time in the teaching staff to begin working with research. Until then I'm treading water and grading tests."

He cracked a smile.

"At least it pays for groceries."

[Jacob Foley]

"You have a good job, buddy," he said, daring to prop his feet up on the table in Anna's absence, "You'll have to let me in on your secret one day."


"Do you need any help in here?"

"If you know what to do with that, be my guest."

He gestured haphazardly at the assortment of chopped vegetables along with a host of other ingedients Anna had lined up. His eyes fell upon Apollos, if only for an instant, before returning to Vipul.

"It's some sort of chicken with vegetable and cream sauce."

The three of them glanced over at the ingredients once more, Jake shrugged.

"What kind of research do you want to get into, man? You wanna find out what makes mutants tick?"

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"I'll fix the vegetables, if you take the chicken. That's, uh, not my thing."

Vipul smiled apologetically at his deference from meat. He set the wooden cutting board to the side and began to zip through the vegetables with practiced speed.

At Jake's question, he didn't skip a beat, going from onions to carrots, to tomatoes, to cilantro.

"Right now I'm working in microbiology, but I'm looking into nucleic structure dynamics, which is less about microscopes and petri dishes and more about the math of it."

He slowed down a little as he thought about how to explain.

"Basically, what makes us mutants and what doesn't make somebody else a mutant is kind of like a computer program, but we don't quite know all of the parts of it, and what's going in and what's going out. If we figure that out, or at least some of it, we can predict outcomes better."

[Freight Train]

"Of course you can, amiga," Anna said, standing up. "Follow me." She cast a look over her shoulder at Jamie and Apollos and added, "Jamie, venir con nosotros por favor, we'll need some of your clothes."

She led the two girls up the stairs to the second floor and into one of the small bedrooms. A bunkbed lined one wall, and two dressers with a beaten up and doodled on desk between them sat up against the opposite wall. One dresser was empty, the other had a pair of socks hanging out of the top drawer. "Amiga I do not mean to pry, but what is your name?"

Chelsea got up and followed obediently, feeling awkward for the small scene she was causing. She sat on the desk's chair, watching idly as Anna explored the dresser for clothes.

"Uh...Chelsea," she answered. "Though some people call me Freight Train because of my power." She kicked her feet a little, feeling the chair scoot as her heels hit the legs. "Um...when I move, I make more force than normal, and I become invincible to harm. Once I stop, though, I'm vulnerable again."

[Feral]

Feral took the chicken, rinsed it, and drew two claws from his hand. He pinned the chicken with his other hand and started to rake the claws through the chicken to form strips, which he then cut in half again.

"What makes mutants mutants?" Apollos repeated. "Where the extra DNA comes from?"

If there was a way to find out which people were likely to give mutant offspring, it could be helpful. It would certainly help him to decide which of the normal people he ought to keep. Mutant bearing normals would be immensely helpful as surrogate parents and breeders.

"Is the mutant gene able to be picked out of the DNA from birth?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie tugged at the top drawer of the dresser and felt around inside.

"You can wear the Clippers shirt Jake got me for Christmas," she offered. "He didn't know my size, so it's a little too big for me. Should be perfect on you."

She turned and gave Chelsea her most winning smile.

"I'm Jamie. Guess what my power is."

She decided to bend verisimilitude (she loved that word!) a little, and Aussie turned his head and winked at the older girl.

[Anna Fernandez]

ooc: I said Jamie was looking in the dresser, sillies /ic:

"Oh yes, here it is," Anna said, having walked from the bed to the dresser and started looking herself. Pulling the shirt out of the bottom of a drawer, she gave it a snap to get rid of wrinkles. She passed it over to the newcomer. "Here you go, Chelsea," she smiled, "I thin' that Jamie's jeans will be a little snug on you, but if you want to borrow a pair of sweats I will throw yours in the wash right away."

[Freight Train]

Chelsea couldn't help feeling a little creeped out by the snake. It'd been fine up until it'd winked. "You, uh...what, you control animals? Snakes don't wink like that."

She took the shirt from Anna, studying the logo of the L.A. Clippers as if she'd never seen it before. The colors were almost the same as her beloved Pistons, but the blue was too light and girly. She accepted a pair of jeans shortly before she snapped out of her staring contest with the shirt. "We'll try 'em," she said, looking over the pants. "If they don't work out I'll come get some pants from you." She folded the clothes over her arm and stood. "It'll be good to get a shower."

[Jacob Foley]

"Apollos, is that a good idea?" he said, staring at his unorthodox cutting implements, "Those things are clean, right? Anna will have kittens, man!"

He finished his cola and took it to the glass recycling bin in the pantry while mulling over the science they were discussing. It confused him.

"Wait a minute," he said, "The mutant gene doesn't surface until mutation actually kicks in, right? How can we detect that shit? Why would we want to detect it?"

He sounded disturbed, the thought of treating or preventing mutation left him feeling agitated.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Vipul smiled knowingly. The questions they were asking were all perfectly reasonable ones. As he expertly wielded the santoku blade in quick, economic motions, he explained.

"It isn't really one 'mutant gene', as it were. They are thousands, perhaps more. Think of all of our unique talents. These are different genes, expressing themselves in different ways."

He flipped the flat end of the knife against the board and used it to sweep up a mound of minced onion.

"The question is, what factor, or interaction of factors, causes certain traits in certain genes to behave in an anomalous fashion? That's sort of the question we're trying to answer."

Quickly transitioning, Vipul began to rapidly rock the blade over a bunch of washed cilantro.

"The ethics of why, like any science, should be carefully weighed. For me, giving a family of potential mutants enough advance notice can help to provide for any special needs."

He paused in the process of cutting, and thought about it more.

"If the science of gene therapy continues, there may even be the possibility of retarding the effect of such genes. There are people who legitimately do not wish to live as mutants. If there is a choice, I'm not entirely comfortable in denying someone that choice."

[Jamie Morrigan]

"No, they don't," Jamie agreed. "But he's not real. I just imagined him. Your power sounds cool! Like you're some kind of jug... jugger..."

She made a face as she tried to remember the word she'd read in that Rudyard Kipling story. "It was from a book I read," she said, "and it was talking about a charging bull elephant. But I don't know if it means elephant or something else."

As her thoughts turned to the Indian plains, an arid savannah appeared in miniature on the walls of her room as if projected there. Jamie seemed completely unaware as she continued searching the dresser for anything else Chelsea might need, and Aussie slithered up from her shoulder into the scene on the wall, disappearing into the long grass.

[Feral]

Feral looked at the two claws at the end of his fist. They where bone white and clear of anything. They always came out clear. Usually they retracted bloody or covered in some kind of flesh or fluid or some body parts.

"They're always clean when they're new."

Feral put the chicken in the pan and started to cook it through.

"Not be a mutant? Who would want that?"

Feral chuckled. "Being a mutant is great. You're the next step in a changing world."

[Anna Fernandez]

"Jamie likes to let her imagination run away with her," Anna said, and added, "Thankfully it has not run away with anyone else."

She looked to the side, listening to the hum of voices from the first floor. "I need to look after dinner... Jamie can you get Chelsea set up with the shower?" Anna looked at the petite teen, "We can talk about anything you want after you're all cleaned up, okay?"

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"Well, we're generally the lucky ones, I think. But think about somebody who has a trait that drastically changes their appearance, or makes interaction with people difficult?"

Vipul cleaned the knife and carefully put it away.

"I have to admit, when I first discovered my gift, I paid a pretty heavy price for it. I lost my job, my parents quit speaking to me, and I lost Padma, er, my girlfriend."

Vipul washed a few used dishes as he continued to talk.

"Of course, I did find many new friends and meaningful relationships, but the transition was very difficult."

[Jacob Foley]

Quite content to remain silent while Vipul spoke, Jake hoisted himself up onto the breakfast bar and listened intently. It was a pleasure to hear him talk, even if Jake didn't understand some of the things he said, Vipul made conversation interesting. He was the smartest person he knew and a real gentleman, which was why it struck a chord with him when he spoke so frankly of his lost life. From a rack of utensils, Jake took a couple of balloon whisks and played them on his thighs like drumsticks.

"Speaking of meaningful relationships, how are things with the chicks over here?"

Then he grinned with a wicked thought and, pointing a whisk at him, added, "Shit, Veep, you're a one-man gang-banger. There must be a market for that kinda thing. I bet there are chicks with your name tattooed in places their own mothers have never seen! Hahaha!"

[Feral]

Nearly every time Feral got the idea that Jacob had the makings of a man, he said something to cause Feral to take ten steps back from that. The chicken was done, so he set it aside for when all the ingredients were supposed to go together.

"Jacob, would you help me with the porch, please?" Feral was clearly annoyed with the boy's shamelessness. "We still have some time before dinner. I'd like to get the railings torn down."

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"Don't sweat it, it's okay."

Vipul took on a slightly conspiratorial grin, and looked around for any signs of youngsters. With the coast temporarily clear, he spoke a little lower.

"I don't talk about what I do in other places much, because honestly its pretty boring. I mostly do what I do when I'm not here, you know, study and research and stuff. Sometimes if I find a good vinyl store I'll check into that or maybe a club that's okay. But I hang around enough college campuses to know how to shop for trim."

He grinned and took a drink from his own mexican coke.

"And it is my scientific theory that asking a girl to help show my newly-arrived twin brother a good time is without a doubt the easiest way to get laid."

He could tell that his candor was a little surprising, so he helped them to deal with it.

"Look, the first way to not marginalize ourselves for being mutants is to not make a part of ourselves into some kind of taboo. You use your natural gifts, right? If you were blessed with a ten inch cock, you'd make that a selling point, so I figure there's no harm in a little showboating."

[Freight Train]

"Jamie likes to let her imagination run away with her," Anna said, and added, "Thankfully it has not run away with anyone else."

She looked to the side, listening to the hum of voices from the first floor. "I need to look after dinner... Jamie can you get Chelsea set up with the shower?" Anna looked at the petite teen, "We can talk about anything you want after you're all cleaned up, okay?"

Chelsea nodded. "Sure, that's fine." She clutched the clothes in her hands as she hopped up from the chair, feet thudding a little louder than would be expected. "I'll try to be quick." She went to the door and turned to wait on Jamie.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie conducted Chelsea to the bathroom and found a clean towel for her out of the closet.

"Why are you afraid of Vipul?" she asked finally - and it was plain she'd been itching to ask. "He's a nice guy, and he always brings really good food."

[Jacob Foley]

Somthing he'd said had upset Apollos. He knew it by the tone of his voice and the unmistakeable sense of irritation he'd felt pulsing away from him subconsciously. It left Jake feeling immediately deflated and small. Even the use of his proper name, for which he was about to correct Apollos, hadn't annoyed him as much as it normally would.

Then Vipul chimed in, quite unexpectedly, and Jake found himself grinning from ear-to-ear. When he used the expression, "Trim," he could hardly contain his glee. And he found himself rendered wonderfully speechless from the Indian's candor, particularly the revelation of his tactics with the ladies. He wondered if Vipul knew how funny he was, and by the time he had finished rationalising self-perceptions of mutation with cock length, Jake had slipped off the breakfast bar and was bent double on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh man, you're too much," he blurted, hugging his belly, the whisks had flown askew.

"Ahahaha! And what about the rough ones, Veep- the heffers, the mules... give em the slip and act all innocent or is there a wingman involved? Ahaha!"

[Dee Cusiak]

A reluctantly leashed Timber, pulled Dee down the sidewalk, forcing the girl to quicken her steps or stumble and fall to the ground - which had happened twice already, knee shinned and all. After getting fined twice for 50 bucks because a leashless Timber, Dee couldn't take another hit from her savings. Working at the library was great since she didn't have to be around too many people cataloging books, newspapers and magazines. It just didn't pay all that great.

Once Anna's house came into view, Dee tugged on the leash and Timber ignore her. "Aw come on! We're here already."

The gray wolf trotted before Dee and sat down, looking ever innocent. "You're a pain, ya know?"

He yowled and lick his chops, almost looking expectantly. "Yeah, yeah."

Ruffling his fur, she released Timber, who pounced on her right away, forcing Dee on her back so his tongue could attack her face with kisses - but quickly the assault ended. New found freedom was at hand! Dee coughed as the wind was pushed out of her from firm paws and watched as Timber raced up the stairs, whining outside the front door where all the wonderful smelling cooking scents were coming from. Dee was taking too long for his liking and started pawing at the door.

[Feral]

Feral's irritation grew. "So in order to establish ourselves as something to be accepted, we should sell ourselves as novelties? Do you want people to take you seriously or just have people think of you as the newest thrill ride?"

His face flushed with anger. "Cheapening your gifts is not acceptable! Use your gifts for something with weight! Something with substance! Your natural talents are not parlor tricks and side shows!"

Feral furiously picked up the two whisks and tossed them into the sink. "I'm going to go tear up the porch."

[Anna Fernandez]

Once down the stairs, Anna was turning up the hallway towards the kitchen when she heard the scratching at the front door. It looked like it was going to be one of those days. She opened up the door, and her face lit up. "Dee!"

She stepped aside as Timber bounded inside, running immediately into the kitchen and causing a ruckus. Anna hugged Dee, "Es bueno ver que mi amigo!"

[Freight Train]

Chelsea shut the door and tossed her shirt in the corner as Jamie produced a towel. The tiny bruiser placed it on the rack near the shower and stripped off her shirt and pants, feeling no embarrassment or hesitation about Jamie's presence by the small closet.

She hadn't expected the smaller girl to question her about Vipul, though judging by her tone she'd been dying to ask. Chelsea sat on the edge of the tub, yanking her socks off one by one and throwing them into the pile with her other clothes. She was even less interested in telling Jamie what had happened than she was in telling Anna.

"It was nothing, ok? I really don't wanna tell you. It was really bad business and I've been trying to deal with it." Except not really. She'd come all this way to escape the issue. She leaned forward, resting elbows on knees, hands running up into her hair as she stared at the faded mat snugged up next to the tub. "It's just rough."

[Dee Cusiak]

She returned the hug awkwardly, "Hey yourself."

Pulling back, Dee peered past Anna, her head this way and that to figure out where that wolf ran off too. "Sorry that Timber's being a pain. He's really hating on that leash crap."

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

"Ahahaha! And what about the rough ones, Veep- the heffers, the mules... give em the slip and act all innocent or is there a wingman involved? Ahaha!"

"That's a risk with girls at university here, I've noticed."

He shrugged and took another sip of soda.

"It really depends. If it's a bad case I'll excuse myself to study or something. But sometimes you can get major appreciation points by being a team player, you know?"

The semi-lewd discussion had caused Feral to be upset, and Vipul bit on his lower lip a little.

"I'm sorry if you feel I'm cheapening what I can do."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie didn't really understand. But she'd been involved in bad business before, and she knew what it was like to not want to talk about it. Even so, she wanted to help.

And then she got an idea. "I can make you look like someone else if you want. So he won't recognize you at dinner."

She looked over at the mirror, which was long enough that both girls could see Chelsea's reflection. The Chelsea in the mirror stood up off the edge of the tub and winked. Her hair lightened to a dusty blonde, and her facial features melted slightly and lost some of their harder, teenaged edges. The girl in the mirror now looked younger, more in line with Chelsea's short stature - she could easily have been one of Jamie's older friends from school.

"Y'know, if you want."

Jamie offered a brief smile, and when Chelsea looked back at the mirror, her reflection was back to normal.

[Jacob Foley]

"Don't mind Apollos. He's just tightly wound over his mutant crusade."

Jake picked himself up and rubbed his eyes. A couple of secondary chuckles rumbled to the surface like amused aftershocks before he settled back into his seat at the kitchen table.

"I don't know what it is with some people. Like they're out to prove something to the world. Isn't mutant equality enough? That's what I want, and I don't see any point in trying to squeeze it into some over-zealous agenda. I mean, it's not a war, just a change."

He yawned, his limbs stretching out in different directions, and he glanced at the door, "Where the hell's Anna?"

[Feral]

Feral was just outside the kitchen when he heard Jake's comment and decided to settle things with the two. "Very well, do what you like. But my experience shows that you are on a dangerous path."

Feral extended two claws from his fist. "When I lived in Greece and my powers manifested, I was in love with a beautiful woman who loved me more than anyone else in the entire world. Or so she said. We were engaged to be married and then the day my powers took hold she turned me out. We made love before our engagement, oh yes. And it was wonderful. But then she found out I was a mutant."

Feral snarled and his voice became cold and dangerous. "She told her family and the police I had violated her. That I took her by force and held these very claws to her throat and threatened to kill her if she told. Now you tell me that the girl you meet one day that wants to take you to bed won't wake up the next morning and feeling regret or shame that she lied with a mutant won't tell them that you--"he pointed to Vipul--"cloned yourself and held her down while you slaked your lust."

He pointed a claw at Jake, "Or that you tricked her with some mind power and took her to you against her will."

Feral sheathed the claws with an effort. "Now tell me that I am wrong to fear you will come to harm if you do not choose your partners carefully and find one that you know and trust enough not to turn you over to people who would kill you."

He went back to the kitchen door. "As soon as one girl cries 'rape' and they find out you live here, this whole house is in danger. And all because you couldn't keep it in your pants."

Having said his piece, Feral stalked out to the rotten, warped porch and began to tear it to pieces.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Vipul stood in silence. Of course Apollos had a point, even if it was capable of debate. Living as a mutant was still a precarious situation. While not feeling ashamed of a power and living to your fullest was ultimately a goal, he was correct in that there were some people who weren't yet ready to let mutants live normal lives without feeling caged or guilty.

Vipul discarded his empty glass bottle.

"I'd better go help out."

He said, and sheathed the kitchen knife as he headed outside.

[Jacob Foley]

"I'd better not," Jake muttered, "Shit got too serious."

He made his way to the fridge, retrieved a bottle of beer, and stepped outside into the garden and the warmth of the setting sun.

[Freight Train]

Jamie didn't really understand. But she'd been involved in bad business before, and she knew what it was like to not want to talk about it. Even so, she wanted to help.

And then she got an idea. "I can make you look like someone else if you want. So he won't recognize you at dinner."

She looked over at the mirror, which was long enough that both girls could see Chelsea's reflection. The Chelsea in the mirror stood up off the edge of the tub and winked. Her hair lightened to a dusty blonde, and her facial features melted slightly and lost some of their harder, teenaged edges. The girl in the mirror now looked younger, more in line with Chelsea's short stature - she could easily have been one of Jamie's older friends from school.

"Y'know, if you want."

Jamie offered a brief smile, and when Chelsea looked back at the mirror, her reflection was back to normal.

Her reflection looked astonished as it returned to normal. That had been so surreal. But if this girl, Jamie, could do that, keep up with her movements and stuff without letting the illusion fade, that could really work.

"Yeah, yeah, we can do that," she said, a slight smile coming to her face. That'll work fine." She turned the water on and tossed her underwear into the pile with her outer clothes and stepped into the tub, pulling the curtain closed. The water was still cold, but heating rapidly, and Chelsea stretched delightedly at the feel of the water. "Oh yeah, I've been dying for a shower." Her head poked out of the curtain. "Thanks Jamie, you can go on. I'll meet you back in your room?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

"Deal!"

Jamie bounced out of the room and made sure to pull the door tightly shut behind her, since the doorframe bowed out a little and made it bounce back if you didn't get the latch to click. Then she hurried to her room to practice making the blonde, younger version of Chelsea appear...

[Anna Fernandez]

"Oh, don' worry about Timber, as long as he doesn't get into the chickens."

The kitchen was loud, and then it was quiet, the back screen door closing with a bang. It always closed with a bang, so that wasn't unusual. Dee and Anna walked into the kitchen as the shower turned on upstairs, and Anna looked around. "I guess everyone left..."

She made a face and rolled her eyes. "I have to make dinner, I think Jake is outside if you want to say hello." Anna looked down at the preparations on the countertops and made a few mental calculations. "Are you staying to eat?"

[Dee Cusiak]

"Only if it ain't any trouble," she said and looked around the kitchen. "If it is, I can just say my hi's and goodbyes."

Timber padded on by, swishing his tail against Anna's legs, before disappearing out the back door. "I um, better go make sure he doesn't ..."

Loud bawking and feathers ruffling was heard outside. Dee ran to the nearest window and saw Timber laying low, watching the chickens with a hunter's stare.

"Aw hell." She opened the door. "HEY!"

Timber looked back at her with the most innocent of expressions, tongue panting and big brown eyes. "Oh don't. Get over here."

He whined and looked back at the chickens, to Dee, and then remained fixated with the fowls. But then hind legs stretched backwards before the Grey Wolf trotted across the grass and into the house.

[Feral]

Feral was already well on his way through the wrecked porch when Vipul arrived. Granted it had not been very long since Feral got started, but he was very very angry.

His bare forearms were covered in spikes and blades which he swung in a backhand motion to make the most use of them. Already the rails were gone and most of the floorboards were too. The other half of the deck was still mostly in tact.

Feral was covered in sweat from his exertions and took a moment to catch his breath when he noticed the Indian mutant standing at the back door. "What?" He said. His voice was calmer and most of the bladed man's fury had already been unleashed on the rotten and warped wood.

[Freight Train]

Jamie could hear the shower turn off from down the hall. Chelsea stepped out of the tub, standing on the bath mat as she towelled herself dry. She got dressed and finished her hair with the hair dryer, borrowing a brush and comb to make it behave, then wandered back into Jamie's room with her clothes all bundled up inside the used towel. She was a little surprised to find her illusory duplicate standing in front the girl with hands posted on hips, but couldn't help grinning at it. "So what do I do with the dirt laundry?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

The real girl and the illusory girl both turned to look at Chelsea. "There's a hamper at the end of the hall," Jamie said. "Oh, wait..."

She glanced over at the illusion-girl, who winked at Chelsea and walked toward her - and into her. Or perhaps around her would be a better way of putting it. In any case, Chelsea was now wearing the other girl like a suit, and she could see dark blonde bangs hanging over her forehead.