The not-so grand openning (Penelope)

While the store had only been open for an hour or two, it seemed only like a few minutes for Alex when two people entered his shop, a young woman who looked like she was in her mid-20's, and she had a small girl with her that looked to be about 10 years old, and the two looked to be related. Alex took a guess in thinking that the small child was either the woman's sister or niece since they looked so much alike, but there was no chance that the little girl was the woman's daughter since the girl was too old to be the woman's daughter... at least that was what Alex hoped since the woman would've had to be 15 when she gave birth for that girl to be her daughter.

"Hello there miss. Welcome to my shop. Feel free to look around as much as you like." Alex stated before walking out from behind the counter and watched as the little girl ran off to a small corner in his shop and started to draw on some paper when she sat down on the floor. This made Alex frown a little bit because the floor had a small coating of clay dust. It was impossible for anyone to keep clay off of the floor in a pottery shop since the forming of clay sculptures always resulted in clay dust getting thrown into the air, and it would go everywhere. Now, Alex knew that the former owner did his best to keep the store clean, but the dust always came into the front of the store from the back because he didn't have a door in between the front and back halves of the shop, a problem that Alex planned on rectifying once he earned enough cash to buy a door. With that in mind, Alex reached behind the counter and pulled out a stool that was fairly clean, and set it in front of the counter. "Little one, there's no need to get your drawings dirty on the floor. Feel free to sit here if you wish and draw on the counter if you want to keep the dirt away from you art." Alex stated kindly before he turned to the woman. He wasn't really worried about the child breaking any pots while at the counter, he didn't keep any there in case he needed to jump over the counter quickly to handle a rude customer.

With that aside, Alex addressed the woman, Lilith, saying "Is there anything in particular that you are looking for ma'am? I can create a custom piece for you if you don't see what you want on the shelves." Alex stated calmly. He was a little outside his element since he had never owned a store before. A locksmithing business was one thing, but this was something else. As a locksmith, he kept everyone away from his merchandise since people might steal it, while a potter would proudly display it. He would get use to it over time.

Seeing the small girl's reaction to his offer of being able to draw up on the counter away from the dusty floor made Alex smile warmly and gave him a fuzzy feeling inside. He always loved seeing children happy, and was more then willing to make a fool of himself if it meant he could make them laugh... though doing that here and now was a bad idea since he was trying to make his first sale. "You're welcome little one, and please call me Mr. Davis." Alex stated politely before turning back to Lilith.

As he listened to Lilith's request of what she wanted and that she had lost her first pot because of an accident, Alex nodded thinking of how he was going to make the pot. It was actually going to be easy to make it. It was when the little girl chipped in saying that Jezebel wouldn't something, but a look from Lilith cut the child off. Alex assumed that Jezebel was a friend of the child and she broke it while the two of them were playing a game. Accidents happen, and there was no stopping them. "Hm... white and brown and being about a foot tall is relatively easy. How wide do you want it, and what shape?" Alex asked as he walked behind the counter and pulled on a string, which opened up a curtain to show off several different types of pots, jugs, bowls, and cups that he could make. Alex motioned at the pot shapes. Some where hour glass shaped, others were wide at the bottom and narrowed at the top while others were narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, some where completely straight, and some were so wide that the looked like big circles. "Any of these shapes fit the bill, or would you like a different shape? Would you like a handle two?" Alex asked politely as he grabbed some of his own paper and a pencil and started to draw out a diagram of the pot, making out the size and shape for it.

As he did this, Penelope's drawings caught Alex's eyes and he glanced over at them. From his point of view, the drawing was actually quite good. Then a thought came to him, and he smiled. "Your drawing is quite good. If you two want, I could put her drawing onto a plate so she can admire her work as she eats her breakfast." Alex mentioned calmly, though it was right after he said it that he was wondering if he was starting to sound like a salesman instead of a potter, trying to get people to buy more products then they need.

While all of this stuff was going on inside the shop, a man that was standing on the opposite side of the street was gazing at the shop, a very annoyed look on his face as he took out his cell phone and held it up to his ear, which had a bald spot right above it. "Hey, it's me. I thought you said picking up this shipment of M-drug was going to be a cake walk from that old fart, but the store has changed hands. Is that shipment still in there?... So basically all I have to do is go in there, ask for a red vase, get out, and break the vase to get all of the M-drug pills out of it? Sounds easy enough, and everyone would think that the owner of the shop was the one who supplied me with the drugs since the pills are inside the lining of a pot instead of a bag. However, from now on I want to get my shipments straight from you. You're my supplier after all, I'm paying you for this stuff... don't get me that 'well how about I just fine a new dealer' trash! I'm the best dealer around, and you're the best supplier! The two of us are suppose to work together!... yeah, alright, fine. But enough of going on these wild goose chases for your stuff! From now on, the more rings I have to jump through to get the next shipment, the less I'm paying you for it. Peace out!" the man in the leather jacket with chains and hung up his cell phone before he started to cross the street.

While that conversation was going on outside, Alex was smiling and nodding as Lilith was telling Alex which shape to make the pot, and he was writing all of these figures down. He was taking his time in writing it all down so he wouldn't miss anything. It was when Lilith agreed to Alex suggestion of putting Penelope's drawing on a plate that his smile broadened, and seeing Penelope's reaction made him smile even more, though he was a little surprised that the child was trying to keep herself calm, as if she understood that being too hyper could result in property damage. With another nod, Alex stated "You're welcome." to Penelope before turning back to his paper as he calculated how much clay and time he would need. After a moment, he put the pen down. "Okay, all of this is easily doable, but it will take me time to make the pot and glaze a plate, and even longer to fire them and then let them cool. It could take as much as 12 hours. Is this alright for you two?" Alex asked, waiting on giving them the full price until they were sure they were willing to wait that long to get their new pottery, but at least they didn't have to stay all of those 12 hours here.

As Alex waited for Lilith's answer, the door opened again, and the man with a bald spot over his right ear and a leather jacket covered with chains. The malachite manipulator glanced up and realized that this was the man that he was expecting to pick up the red pot that was in the back. "I'll be with you in a moment sir." Alex stated as he turned back to Lilith, then his brow furrowed when he realized that he recognized the man, and he slowly turned back to the man that was headed for the counter. "My business won't be put on hold. I ordered a red pot and I... want... it..." The man started to demand when he reached the counter and he had shoved himself right between Penelope and Lilith, but his voice trailed off when he got a good look at Alex's face. "Wait... you!" the man exclaimed loudly as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small hand gun. "You're that guy that nearly got me busted by the cops for murder!" the man shouted in a rage filled shout, and Alex's shoulders slumped. "Oh dear..."

As Lilith moved over towards Penelope in order to protect her sister, Alex was staring down the barrel of a gun... and the feeling that was moving up his spine as a result wasn't that pleasant as he raised his hands into the hold up position. Alex was more then aware that the man that was aiming the weapon at him wasn't afraid to shoot him since the last time they met, the guy fired on the malachite manipulator for asking the dealer if he could ask him a couple of questions. However, as Alex's gazed shifted from the gun to the gun wielding M-drug dealer, Alex couldn't sworn that there was a hint of fear in the man's eyes, and was starting to wonder why the guy didn't shoot him yet.

"This is a set up, isn't it?! Last time I tried to pick up a shipment from my supplier, you and that blond headed friend of yours stop me! It was luck alone that the police didn't look in the alley I was knocked out in. Now I come to pick up a shipment from the same supplier, and here you are again to stop me!" the dealer raged at Alex, and the barrel of the gun wavered a little bit. Alex slowly shook his head but kept his eyes locked on the dealer's eyes. "You've got it all wrong. I'm not working for a drug supplier at all. I bought this place to start my business. You're the one jumping the gun... pun not intended." Alex stated calmly.

The dealer cringed at the thought that Alex could've just cracked a joke enough though his live was in the dealer's hands at the moment. "Shut up! Tell me where that shipment is or I'll blow their heads off!" The dealer roared, indicating Penelope and Lilith. Alex's eyes narrowed in anger when he heard this, then flicked his thumb at the doorway that was behind the counter. "It's back there in the red pot you came here for." Alex replied coldly.

It was after Alex said this that he wanted to kick himself. What the heck am I doing? I've more tricks up my sleeves then I can count, why aren't I using them? Alex thought, and his cyan eyes started to glow a bright green. As the dealer's eyes went wide, a rod of malachite ripped through the sleeve of Alex's long sleeve shirt and rapidly grew towards the gun. When the rod reached the weapon, the rod encased the gun in a crystal of malachite, with a piece of malachite lodged behind the trigger so the dealer could fire the weapon. The dealer tried to pull the trigger, but he couldn't do it because the malachite was almost twice the strength of concrete, so he weapon hand might as well been encased in solid iron. "What the?!" the dealer exclaimed in fear, but he didn't get to say anything else, for a second rod of malachite grew out from the other sleeve and nailed the criminal in the forehead, hard.

The dealer crumpled to the floor with his weapon hand being suspended in mid-air thanks to the fact that Alex was still holding onto the weapon via a malachite rod with a crystal head. The crystal retracted away from the dealer's hand as if it was melting until all that was trapped withing the crystal was the gun, and the dealer's arm fell to the ground, Alex placed the gun on the counter, recalled all of the malachite, and placed a clay pot upside down onto the gun so if the dealer woke up, he wouldn't see the weapon at first and lunge for it. Alex was sure the dealer was still alive since he didn't hit him that hard.

With his eyes still glowing green, he turned to face Lilith and Penelope. "Are you two alright?" Alex asked in his kind and calm tone.

After Alex asked of Penelope and Lilith were alright, he noticed that something wasn't right. Sure, they were both scared, and why wouldn't they be? A nut case had just threatened their lives and he meant it... though the danger had passed now. Were they afraid of him then? His mutation was clear as day to them now, and most humans were afraid of mutants. He was just going to have to tell them that there wasn't any reason to fear him. As he was about to speak though, he noticed that Lilith was completely focused on Penelope and wasn't looking in the direction of the danger. Most people would so they could see when an attack was going to come and avoid it. Penelope on the other hand was looking at her hands, and Alex thought he saw tiny red dots on he hands, and cocked his left eyebrow, causing the green glow in the eye on the same side to brighten slightly. "Are you to alright?" Alex asked calmly, wondering if he could help them calm down.

Seconds later though, Alex found out why they were still so afraid. Penelope's eyes suddenly started to glow a molten yellow, and this red ooze started to come out of the pores of her skin and started to coat her body. The little girl was a mutant, and unlike any he had ever heard of. "Whoa!" Alex exclaimed when the transformation was done, amazed at the child's power. However when he noticed Lilith's reaction and that shes called the child Jezebel, he realized that this was a very bad thing. Remembering that the child said that Jezebel didn't something, Alex realized that this red being that stood before him now wasn't the child at all, and had a completely different personality.

Jezebel's next action confirmed this when she told Lilith to shut up, stated that it was heard turn, and started to crush the man's wind pipe. As much as Alex wanted this guy dead for killing one man and nearly killing himself and these two people as well, he was more then aware that the guy had to live and face justice. With his mind made up, Alex stepped forwards and grabbed Jezebel's forearms with his bare hands, and was surprised that her skin was so hot that it hurt, but the heat quickly faded when he encased her forearms and hands with his malachite. "Stop this. He is already subdued." Alex stated sternly as he looked into her molten yellow eyes with his own glowing green eyes as his malachite started to bend around her fingers in an attempt to get her to let go of the man. The malachite was almost twice as strong as cement so it wasn't going to be easy to break it. Then again, the malachite couldn't apply any more force then Alex himself could apply with his bare hands, so chances were Jezebel would be able to withstand Alex's attempt to make her let go, but the malachite manipulator didn't know this.

"I'm not sure if you're that young child that was laughing a moment ago or someone else entirely, but killing this man isn't the answer. I have more then enough evidence to get this guy life in prison with the murder I witness before hand, and the attempted murder here. I have this situation under control, so stop." Alex stated sternly, his glowing green eyes unwavering and never leaving Jezebel's eyes. Normally he would be blushing because of her being an amazon, but his mind was in full battle mode so at the moment he didn't even notice her features.

When Alex saw Jezebel's eyes twitch in response to him saying that the criminal shouldn't be killed, he realized just how different this... thing... was from that little girl that was overjoyed to hear that he could place her drawing onto a plate for her. This red monster was a killing machine. He was a little relieved to see that she dropped the man, but the moment those molten eyes gazed at him, Alex realized that he was in over his head. This was confirmed when she turned sharply to smash her malachite covered hands into the wall... and since Alex had been holding onto her arms with his malachite covered hands, he got thrown into the wall and hit it with a bang. "OW!" Alex exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head as his ability to sense malachite told him the exact location of every single shard of malachite that was now laying on the floor. He still had most of it wrapped around his forearms, but the chunks that broke off shrank down to their normal size, so they were hard to see. There was also a big hole in the wall where Jezebel had slammed her arms into the wall.

When Jezebel screamed that the criminal deserved to die for threatening a higher life-form such as herself, Alex quickly dived to the right and somersaulted passed Jezebel when she threw a punch at him... which ended up destroying the clay statue that had been just behind Alex before he dodged her attack. As the malachite manipulator got up, several dozen wire thin rods shot out in all directions from Alex's malachite covered forearms, each one of them grabbing onto a stray piece of broken malachite, and pulling it back onto his forearms all at the same time. Since he was able to sense the malachite, he didn't even need to look where he was aiming. With every single chunk back in place, his malachite bracers started to glow green as his fusion ability mended the bracers so they were whole again. He was going to need every single piece of malachite at his disposal for this next move. "I said that was enough."

Knowing full well that he could be signing his death certificate, Alex side-stepped around the red amazon so he was behind her, and with his malachite coated hands, and slammed both of his hands into her back with all of his might, and started to coat her entire body with the malachite. She broke the malachite before hand because she was still able to move, so he was hoping that if he stopped her from moving altogether, she wouldn't be able to escape. The malachite extended quickly, and he could make it grow till it was 18 times its normal size, so he had a lot of malachite to work with. Soon the malachite coating had extended to Jezebel's elbows and knees, but he left her hands, feet, and head clear.

Hoping that it would hold her for a short period of time, Alex started to think of how he could get her to let this criminal live just long enough for the police to grab him, and started to wonder if he could use that mutant pride of her to his advantage. Alex's darker side was going to come out for this, but in some cases that is what it took. "Before you try to break free, I think I should tell you that this guy is an M-drug dealer. In case you don't know, M-drug temporarily gives normal humans the power of mutants, basically fake mutants. An abomination if you ask me. Human law enforcement and mutants alike are trying to stop this flow of M-drug, but nothing seems to work. However, this is the second time I've dealt with this guy trying to get his hands on his next shipment to sell on the streets, and just like last time he was looking for a clay pot that has his shipment of M-drug in it. This means that he is using the same supplier both times, so he has to know a way to contact this supplier." Alex stated, then took a short breath as he kept his guard up, completely ignoring Lilith as he did. "If he dies, that supplier will just find another person willing to sell their m-drug, and more fake mutants will be popping up all over the place. The information of that supplier's possible location is in this guy's head, so unless you can get that info out of him while he is currently black out, then we have no choice but to hand him over to the police, who can get that info out of him and make use of it in order to catch that supplier, and the flow of M-drug will decrease dramatically. Understand?" Alex stated calmly, while mentally praying that Jezebel would understand and would let this criminal live.

Alex then pulled one hand away from Jezebel's back and aimed it at the criminal. "If this wasn't the case, trust me when I say that this guy would've made it to hell in pieces. I don't let anyone harm my customers." Alex stated as a three foot long sword extended towards the criminal and stopped roughly a foot away from him, then dozens of razor sharp spikes grew around the edge of the sword and started to spin around the edge of the blade like it was a chainsaw. Alex had created a chainsaw sword to show Jezebel what he would've done to this guy if this guy had not been the drug dealer Alex knew he was.