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Flux

Feb 28th, 2013, 09:49:49 PM

Flux walked through the evening streets of Los Santos, wishing the air would cool a little more so he wouldn't sweat himself to death in his hoodie and jeans. He also wished he could've borrowed a car, but he didn't even have a license. Not that it would've done him much good to have one as a fugitive, but at least it'd mean he'd have been trained. Flux supposed that was the point of the protest that'd barred him from a vehicle and wiped his sleeve across his forehead, kicking a small chunk of concrete along until it skipped to the side through a ruined patch of lawn where a fence once stood.

Flux turned to the face the famed Redencion House directly. It looked like a dump, if he was entirely truthful with himself, but it was still miles better than his old cell. He was sure it was a good home to its occupants, maintained as best as could be achieved by its mistress, and stood in defiance of the mundanes who had denied this non-profit refuge funding. He trudged up the walk, hopped up the stairs, and knocked with the back of his fist, adjusting his sunglasses on his face.

Anna Fernandez

Mar 1st, 2013, 10:50:29 AM

She paused for a moment, one hand on her stomach the other on the solid steel of the security door that had been installed a few days previous. It was painted to match the rest of the house, but it was warm to the touch from absorbing sunlight all day.

For once, welcoming someone else to her House was the last thing she wanted to do. Behind her the kitchen was a raucous mess as the teens cleaned up after dinner.

Anna took a deep breath, and pulled the door open, a smile on her face. "Hello, can I help you?"

Flux

Mar 1st, 2013, 09:38:39 PM

"Yes!" he said cheerfully, mustering a confident smile. This is the famed Redencion House, correct? I heard you help mutants. I wanted to see if maybe you could help me, or if I could help you. I'm new in Los Santos, so I thought it'd be smart to drop by and meet you all. You must be..." here he faltered, twitching inside at using a mundane name, but recovered quickly with a snap of his fingers, as if he'd simply forgotten out of nerves. "Ah, Anna. Fernandez, right? I've heard about you through the news."

Anna Fernandez

Mar 2nd, 2013, 12:14:43 AM

Anna's smile twisted a bit. The only news they'd been involved in had been regarding Jamie's school incident months ago, and then the recent gang attack. There had been a small fluff piece done as follow up, to bring awareness to the plight of inner city mutants and what Redención House did to help them, but it had only brought a few pieces of hate mail her way.

"Well, you came to the righ' place," she said finally, but didn't step back or let him inside. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't just take you at your word. We have been targeted by a few anti-mutant groups. Do you carry the gene?"

Flux

Mar 2nd, 2013, 10:19:56 AM

Flux grimaced. He was all too aware of the House's hate-group problems. Making a kill tally of Tres Onces was high on his list of things to do in his spare time, but if he could help directly here, he would.

"Naturally," he said smoothly. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I wouldn't expect you to waste time on ordinary humans when so many of our kind require the safety and security that you provide."

Alex Kaine

Mar 2nd, 2013, 12:06:22 PM

"So, I did some checking, like I said. I've already turned up six separate demonstrations happening between now and September first."

Alex kept his voice low so only Ronnie could hear. The two of them stood at the sink washing dishes in tandem, Ronnie elbow-deep in sudsy water and Alex armed with a towel and a drying rack. Ronnie turned to offer him a dripping-wet frying pan and a guarded look.

"Really?" Ronnie whispered back. "Which one are you planning on getting arrested at this time?"

Alex took the pan, undeterred. "I think we need to be at all of them," he replied. "Or as many as we can. Maybe we can even hold our own."

"Holy shit, man, are you even listening to yourself?" Ronnie said. "Have you even been paying attention the last couple of weeks?"

"Have you?" Alex spat back. "The Three Elevens, the media, the government's fascist stormtroopers, you think any of them are going to back off if we just roll over?"

Ronnie Bluth

Mar 2nd, 2013, 12:15:10 PM

"Wait, Alex, shut up a minute."

"What, is that the best you can do? Are you so afraid of talking about it that you can't--"

"Alex, seriously, shut up." Ronnie dropped the next pan into the sea of soapy water and looked back down the hall toward the family room. "Who's Anna talking to?"

Alex tossed down the towel and followed Ronnie's line of sight, and he heard the unfamiliar voice floating down the hallway. In an instant, the argument was forgotten, and the two boys were back on the same wavelength. There was a stranger at the door, and strangers needed watching.

Leaving the rest of the dishes to soak, Ronnie and Alex dried off their hands and stalked down the hall toward the front door.

"Everything all right, Anna?" Ronnie asked, throwing a cautious look toward Flux.

Anna Fernandez

Mar 2nd, 2013, 12:35:47 PM

Our kind. Just words, but words that both sides used to justify their actions. Her smile faded slightly, and she turned to Ronnie and Alex. "Everything is fine. Just someone who wants to help us."

Anna looked at the young man standing on the Welcome mat. "Lo siento, I didn't catch your name."

Flux

Mar 3rd, 2013, 11:55:11 AM

Flux leaned slightly to get a look at Alex and Ronnie over Anna's right shoulder. Kids his own age? Made sense, but for whatever reason he'd been picturing a house full of mutant third-graders. He held a hand up briefly as a wave, pairing it with another little smile.

"Leo, to friends, and I hope you'll consider me as such," he answered, offering his right hand to shake.

Alex Kaine

Mar 4th, 2013, 01:34:41 PM

Alex caught the stranger looking his way, and he reciprocated with look that was wary even by his standards. "Hi, Leo. I'm Alex, and this is Ronnie."

He frowned slightly as he tried to process the oddly formal meet-and-greet. "Are you a new neighbor or something?"

Anna Fernandez

Mar 4th, 2013, 01:55:00 PM

Anna shook his hand, but didn't let the touch linger. Alex's question was one she had also been wondering. She looked from him back to Leo, and added, "Yes, you mention you want to help us, rather than us helping you..?"

She wondered if this young mutant had been sent by Jane, the Brotherhood leader in the area. Saladin had seemed insistent on protecting Redencion House no matter what Anna thought about it, and sending in a teenage mutant seemed like a logical next step.

José Luis Flores

Mar 4th, 2013, 03:58:41 PM

"Yo, Mrs F!"

José strode in, carrying some paper bags.

"I couldn't remember if you wanted one or two dozen eggs, so I got two. Stuff's almost three fifty, can you believe that? My mom's outside. Don't know if she's planning on..."

He trailed off, noticing a new face.

"Uh, sorry. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Flux

Mar 4th, 2013, 05:37:47 PM

Flux had only begun to form his answer when Jose brushed past. The ex-prisoner stepped aside to let him through and was the first to answer his question.

"Not really. I'm new to the area, heard that this place helps mutants, and catches some hell for doing so. So I thought it was fair and neighborly to come ask if there was anything I could do, like bring some extra food," he explained, answering his Brother's question right along with Anna's and using Jose's errand to back up his offer. "Looks like it's been hard for the place lately."

Alex Kaine

Mar 4th, 2013, 06:14:33 PM

"We hold our own," Ronnie said with a hint of defensiveness.

"But we don't mind a little help now and then," Alex cut in, and he took one of the paper bags from José. "Come on, José, you can set that stuff in the kitchen."

Leaving Ronnie to guard the door with Anna, he led José back down the hall. "You ever seen that guy before?" Alex asked in a low voice. "He just knocked on the door like he's some kind of friendly neighborhood... something or other."

Anna Fernandez

Mar 4th, 2013, 06:35:30 PM

Leo was still standing on the welcome mat, and Anna felt a pang of guilt. "Please, come inside. Do you need a place to stay? We do always welcome donations of time or money, if that is what you and your parents are interested in."

José Luis Flores

Mar 4th, 2013, 07:41:01 PM

"I don't think so," José shrugged, matching his voice to the other's pitch. "But then this city's fulla weirdos, yeah?"

He checked the bag and set it on the table, and the two teens made their way back outside, passing the group, which had begun to enter.

"He doesn't seem too bad though, does he?" he asked once the door had closed behind them and they were on the porch. He glanced toward the Volvo station wagon where his mother was digging for something in the back seat and made to grab some more groceries.

Flux

Mar 4th, 2013, 09:32:27 PM

"Alright," Flux answered, holding his hands up in surrender to the point. It hurt his feelings to see them so defensive and distrustful. He wanted to be their ally, and he hadn't expected to achieve that instantly, but all the same... He wondered if the House and its residents had always been this way. He was so lost in this train of thought that it took a beat for him to realize he'd been invited in.

"Huh? Oh! Oh, thanks. Very kind." He stepped across the threshold and breathed in, sighing a little as he stood to one side of the hallway. It smelled like home. Like, lived in, family and history and all that. "I don't need anywhere to stay, I'm living in the neighborhood. I just wanted to...y'know...do some good?" He turned sheepish, grinning in spite of himself. "My girlfriend's very insistent that I should try to help if I can, if my powers can be used that way."

Ronnie Bluth

Mar 5th, 2013, 12:16:08 AM

Ronnie paced back into the family room to give Leo some space, watching the newcomer carefully as he felt out his surroundings. Most kids who came to Redención House were already at the end of their rope, and that was something Ronnie and the other house residents could relate to. To see someone his age walk in like it was some sort of community service project... well, it was weird, in a way that just being a mutant wasn't.

But Anna had welcomed him in, so that was one fence hurdled. Ronnie shifted his body language to something a little less guarded.

"Really? What can you do?" He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I jump. Like, over the house if you want me to."

Alex Kaine

Mar 5th, 2013, 12:26:49 AM

"I don't think so. But then this city's fulla weirdos, yeah? He doesn't seem too bad though, does he?"

"Not bad, just eager," Alex replied. "Hi there, Mrs. Flores."

He lifted the last two bags of cereal and canned goods and stepped aside as José dropped the station wagon's hatch. "I'm sure he's harmless. I mean, there's gotta be somebody out there willing to help who doesn't turn out to be a complete psycho."

Alex found himself driving out the mental images of Apollos and the havoc he'd wreaked on the House where he used to play handyman. Once he'd done that, memories of Aidan's fireworks on the late night news took their place.

"We're all just a little fried around here lately," he confessed as they headed back up the porch steps.

Anna Fernandez

Mar 5th, 2013, 08:14:51 PM

Anna didn't close the door behind Leo, but left it open, the slightly lopsided screen door keeping the bugs out of the house. Ronnie's question was slightly impertinent, but she was glad he'd asked. It saved her from having to.

"Ronnie," she said, "If you have to show off, don't do it where Senora Martinez can see you from her kitchen window again. The poor old woman nearly had a heart attack last time you jumped over the house, even if she's used to strange things happening around here." Anna gestured to the living room. "If you don't mind, I am going to rest my feet a bit."

Flux

Mar 5th, 2013, 10:15:38 PM

"Hm? Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it," Flux said reassuringly to Anna, just a half-pause late as before. So much distraction in this house! He actually did want to see Ronnie demonstrate his power. But here was a dilemma: What should he say his power is? To confess it truly might clue them in to who he really was, and for once, he didn't want his reputation to precede him. He'd thought of saying it was telekinesis, but that'd be a problem if someone wanted him to move something that had no metal in it. He used his power to scan the house's structure.

"I can adhere to surfaces," he said, deciding that the metal joists and piping would be enough for him to cling to the walls and ceiling. "I've got stick-'em powers."

Ronnie Bluth

Mar 5th, 2013, 10:37:22 PM

"For real?" Ronnie actually cracked a smile and nodded back toward the kitchen. "You should meet Aimee, then. She can do that, too. Climbs on anything."

The screen door swung open again, and in came Alex and José carrying the last of the groceries. "Hey, Alex, we're trading calling cards," Ronnie said. "Leo says he's sticky, like Aimee."

Alex Kaine

Mar 5th, 2013, 10:40:29 PM

Alex looked up from the clinking Chunky Soup cans and nodded in approbation. "Cool. I'm bioelectric. I'd show you, but it makes the lights flicker."

Flux

Mar 6th, 2013, 09:31:58 PM

"All good, Brother," he answered, following them to the kitchen to aid in putting away the groceries. He handed off food items to Ronnie, Alex, and Jose, who knew the layout. "Right. Jose, you're up for power confessional. What incredible talent have you been gifted with?"

Wow, how long had it been since he'd played this game? Talking and showing off powers to people for the first time had been a rush back in New York. It seemed all he'd ever done was show people his magnetism. He was thoroughly familiar with the powers of the Brotherhood, so doing this now hit him with a funny sense of nostalgia. He half-smiled into one of the paper bags, reflecting on the time between then and now.

Aimee Connors

Mar 6th, 2013, 10:14:40 PM

Aimee walked in the backdoor, nearly directly into the back of someone she didn't recognize. "Oh! Sorry - no, no, Alex, that isn't where the soup goes!" She dove forward, into the fray. "Canned soup goes on the second shelf, you're mixing it up with the beans and -"

She grinned. "This is what happens when the shelves get too bare. Anarchy in the kitchen!"

José Luis Flores

Mar 6th, 2013, 11:19:40 PM

José smirked over his shoulder.

"Nothin'," he said with grin, tossing a couple loaves of bread to Ronnie. "I don't do shit. I skateboard, try to find myself a heina, and... well, not much else."

He could hear his mother and Anna begin talking in the living room.

"Nothin' against you guys, but I'm glad I don't have any powers. Fuck, imagine me able to do something incredible like fly or go invisible or teleport or whatever."

"José Luis! Language!" his mother's voice cut into the din in the kitchen. José grimaced but closed his mouth anyway.

Alex Kaine

Mar 7th, 2013, 01:40:12 PM

"I don't know about you, man, but I think your mom has superhuman hearing," Alex said as he rearranged the cans per Aimee's specifications.

This was just one of the liberating things about being a mutant among mutants - talking about your powers freely, not keeping them under wraps like they were some big, embarrassing medical condition, or a social taboo, or your religious beliefs. Alex hated the way the mundane culture had built up all these unspoken rules about what you could or couldn't talk about when it came to mutation. This, this was natural, presenting yourself without fear and without pretense.

The fact that Leo did it so naturally made Alex suspect he was used to the company of other mutants. And then there was the fact that he'd just called Alex his brother.

"So, where are you from, Leo?" he asked. "Usually people are a little intimidated walking into this kind of freakshow for the first time, even if they are mutants."

Svetlana Ustinov

Mar 7th, 2013, 04:42:25 PM

"Vot eto da...lots of people around today..."

Lana said brightly as she stepped into the house, glancing towards the kitchen and blinking as she slid her sunglasses (http://www.polyvore.com/lana_prayer/set?id=74684966) atop her head to hold her hair back. Emerald green eyes were glowing as she paused in the living room for a few moments to greet Anna and Mrs. Flores. It reminded her that she had wanted to introduce her mother to them, and the young mutant made a mental note to do so soon as she politely conversed.

After excusing herself, she padded quietly over to the kitchen where most of the hubbub was, a smile still on her glossy lips. Leaning in the doorway, Lana didn't want to intrude on the conversation, so she simply gave offered a little wave and waited for a more opportune moment to say hello.

Flux

Mar 7th, 2013, 05:42:09 PM

In the space of a breath the house was suddenly bursting with activity. It was almost more stimulation than he could really handle. Aimee's appearance was a welcome one. God, she was GORGEOUS. He blinked and shook his head. Go away, prison brain. Banner's gorgeous, too. Unfortunately Jose's answer snapped him back to reality and soured his mood. A mundane, here?

Flux took a breathand began to slowly wad up the paper bag, glancing up as Lana settled inside the doorway and waved. When he'd first begun to use his powers and meet mutants, he'd made up a Law that Mutant Women Are Hot. He was happy to see the trend continuing. Oh, speaking of at first, and home...

"Noo Yawk," he said in answer to Alex. "In Queeeeens. It wasn't bad. Plenty of places and space to practice the gift. I actually met a bunch of mutants online through a forum, so yeah, I'm pretty used to this sort of thing. Besides, it's not like you're going to--well, nevermind what you're not gonna do." Dry, dark humor had its place, but not here, he decided. He expertly tossed the base-ball sized remains of the paper bag into the recycle bin. "Let's talk about what we ARE gonna do. Games? TV? Power demos?"

Aimee Connors

Mar 8th, 2013, 01:18:22 AM

Aimee waved to Lana, and then turned on the new guy. "New York, huh? That's where I used to live." She brushed her dark hair out of her yellow eyes. She swatted Alex out of the way and took over arranging the groceries while Ronnie and Jose finished with the fridge and folded up the paper bags.

"Power demos are always fun," she teased. "What is it you do..?"

Alex Kaine

Mar 16th, 2013, 03:55:56 PM

"Ronnie says he's sticky like you. Maybe you should have a contest."

Alex moved over to the dining room doorway where Lana had just leaned her golden head in, and he wrapped an arm around her waist as easily as breathing.

"Hey, beautiful. What's up?"

Flux

Mar 22nd, 2013, 08:56:53 PM

"Yes," Flux said, walking to the wall, feeling a hint of jealousy at Alex and Lana. He hadn't yet had much opportunity for PDA with Banner yet, and it was that more than anything that was grinding at him. He put his hands to the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. "I've got stick-'em powers," he said theatrically, and began to climb, magnetizing the metal on his limbs to the metal that held the house's wooden supports together. He made the ceiling and hung upside-down from it. "Pretty good, huh?"

José Luis Flores

Mar 22nd, 2013, 10:28:28 PM

"Dude, that is... effing sweet," José said with wide eyes. He grinned. "I don't know how many things I'm gonna have to see before I'm, you know, totally jaded by it."

He grinned, allowing Alex his time with Lana (hell if she was his girl he'd be doing the same exact damn thing), turning towards the rest and grinning wider.

"Oh, I've got the ability to... I dunno, blow things up with my mind." José shrugged, turned as if looking at the mutant he'd just pretended to be and shook his head as if completely unimpressed. "Eh, that's pretty cool."

He laughed and continued to talk.

"Do you wonder if there's someone out there who can make peanut butter and jelly sangwiches outta thin air?"

Aimee Connors

Apr 22nd, 2013, 03:27:33 PM

"Yeah, that's cool," Aimee said, pleased to meet someone with similar abilities. "Only Anna doesn't like it when we climb on the walls, so you better get down before she sees you."

She grinned, "Outside of the house is fair game though, and we've got a bunch of palm trees I like to scramble up."