[Witty title goes here]

Jorge sighed as he sat in his car, on his meal break, munching on a pink sprinkled doughnut. He did not know why he like the pink sprinkled ones but for some reason they were just better than most other doughnuts. The cake was softer, the frosting sweeter, the pink sprinkles (while feminine looking), were just plain heaven. Not that he would ever admit that to the guys in the office. That was why Jorge sat in the front seat of his Chevy Impala, munching on the festively colored doughnut instead of in the coffee room in the precinct. Course if anyone tried to make fun of him for it, he break their nose and eat the doughnut over their face anyways.

He was simply trying to keep innocent blood from spilling! He was doing this for all the right reason! Obviously!

The detective took another bite of his doughnut as he reached down the lower his seat back a little bit to enjoy his time off. The precinct had been a madhouse so far and all he wanted was a moment or two to himself so he could simply relax with his thoughts. To catch his breath and unwind just a little bit. There was already a lot on his plate so he saw no fault in taking at second to be alone. After all, people get to do that all the time, so why couldn’t he? He loved his job, there was no question in that. But even for someone who loved his job as much as he did, he still needed a break from the angry shouts and the saddened cries.

Looking up at his visor, he smirked a little. As he looked up at a small portrait, wallet-sized, glossy picture he could help but smile. It was an image of Gemma Taylor, his girlfriend, taped up. In it, it looked about early morning, the woman was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt and she was making a funny face at the camera, just to mess it up. Turned out to be one his favorites so he had it taped up in his car. She was definitely a good reason to keep himself alive throughout his dangerous job.

One more bite of his doughnut, but as he thoughtfully chewed, his serenity was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone blasting AC/DC’s Highway to Hell as a ringtone. With a slightly grumble he swallowed the doughnut he had in his mouth, reached over and checked the number. There was no name attached to it, so he quickly wiped his mouth of crumbs and flipped it open.

“Detective Cervantes, how may I be of assistance,” he asked into the phone. As he waited for an answer, the detective tossed the remainder of his sweet treat onto a napkin sitting on the passenger seat. Well, so much for having a second to myself, he thought with a well meaning chuckle.

Jorge could hear breathing. So he knew someone else was on the line but why weren’t they talking? Was someone in trouble? Was this simply a prank? If it was a prank he could have the call traced, storm up to their residence that threaten to arrest them. He did it once before in Miami and is scared the hell out of that fifteen year old. Last he heard the kid had turned his life around and made the honor roll in school. That was the kind of life change he liked to hear about, most definitely.

But as he was getting ready to make his threat, small, meek voice finally spoke up.

>> "...Um... Hi, you... you probably don't really remember me but-…ah!...Uh...My name is Andrea, you helped me out a little while ago and I... well I may need your help again."

“Andrea,” it only took him the smallest of seconds before he remember who she was. “Yes I do remember you. Is everything okay?”

The voice sounded so familiar and the second he heard the name, he made the instantly connection with who it was. The young mutant he saved from a group of thugs that wanted to use her as a shield. He remembered…she was very quiet and very mistrusting. Not that he could blame her after an incident like that. Still though, he managed to get through to her and gain some kind trust. And it was obvious that it was still effective because she was calling him right now.

But there was something definitely wrong. It sounded like there was commotion in the background and Andrea sounded like she was either in pain or caught in some kind of situation that could not be helped.

“Andrea? Andrea’s what’s wrong?”


>> "I'm stuck! At the mall! I didn't have anyone else to call!...Cheese? Wha- AH!"

“Andrea!”

The last thing he heard was the yelling of voices and finally what sounded like the splash and gurgle of water followed by static. What the hell was going on over at the mall?

Immediately fearful that the young mutant was in danger, Jorge snapped his phone closed and tossed it onto the passenger seat next to his doughnut. Reaching down he turned the ignition hard and let his Chevy roar to life. The whole care vibrated violently as it was awoken from a dead silence. But the detective needed to get to Andrea and now. It sounded like she was in some deep trouble. God he hoped that another gang of thugs had not captured her. It was not raining today.

A glance over his shoulder and Jorge pulled out of his parking spot, moved into the street and quickly slammed on the gas and tore through the streets of New York. He could only pray that he got to Andrea in time before something bad happened.

“Come on, Andrea,” he muttered to himself as he wove in and out of traffic. “Hold on. I’m coming.”

The trip to the mall sped by faster than the police officer could anticipate. He was zooming through the streets, honking at cars that were going to slow or attempted to cut him off. Had he not been in such a rush he would have pulled over each and every single one of them! But Andrea was heavy on his mind. She sounded like she was trying to hold some type of composure in her voice, but it quickly evaporated when something else happened. Jorge could hear the commotion but he had no idea what it could have been. Was she hurt? Did someone else attempt to take her hostage? She just couldn’t stay out of trouble, could she?

The detective let the questions bury in the back of his mind as he focused on his driving. Speeding through the streets, he looked up when the mall finally came into view. That glistening monument to consumerism, that hotbed where money is exchanged for both necessary and frivolous things. It was safe to say that Jorge did not always appreciate the mall. The last time he was in one was only because he needed to dress up as Santa.

Hopefully he’d never get wrangled into that again.

As he sped into a parking spot, Jorge jumped out of his Chevy, slammed the door closed and jogged into the hustle and bustle. People were crammed left and right. They were a riot of laughs, giggles, angry shouts and bored yawns. Everyone was there for different reasons, some to shop, some to hang out, some simply to kill time by themselves. It was a bit of a culture shock walking inside because there were so many different types of people all crammed in under one building that Jorge was surprised that more fights never broke out. But then again, the call of the almighty dollar tended to make people forget their personal issues. Buy, buy, buy!!

With a sigh, Jorge looked left and right, really unsure of which way to turn. There’s was people everywhere but nothing that really looked like there was a problem. No hostages, shouts for demands, or threatens of gunfire…so where the hell was Andrea? Looking up at the higher levels, Jorge still could not see anything. This was going to get him nowhere. It was only after he got a few steps in that he heard a pair of youngster grumbling as they passed by him.

“Man, I dunno what the big deal was! She was only a mutant.”

“Yeah. Security didn’t have to yell at us. Only wanted one picture of the freak.”

“Dude! I can’t believe how close you got to those snakes.”

Snakes?

Jorge immediately spun and caught one of the boys on the arm. The kid attempted to break free and flail but Jorge quickly quelled that when he flashed him his badge. The boy immediately froze up and looked away ashamed. Obviously he must have done something else wrong today to warrant that look, but the detective did not have time to question this right now. Instead he only shook his head before he spoke to the boy.

“I don’t care about what you’ve done today. I really don’t,” Jorge assured him. “But you need to tell me where the mutant with the snakes is at.”

The boy gulped as he looked at his friend before he finally turned back to face Jorge’s hard eyes. He nodded as he pointed up to the second floor.

Jorge nodded and stood up once more. “Thanks kid.”

That was all he said as he jogged away from the slowly calming down child. Rushing over to the escalator, Jorge stepped on and waited as it slowly crawled its way up. He could have rushed and knocked people aside but he did not need to be causing a panic right now. He needed to assess the situation and get to the bottom of what was happening. So far every seemed okay, but…what was going on with Andrea? The boy’s saw her, but they said something about “security” and her “snakes” and… “pictures”? What was that girl doing?

It was only when Jorge stepped onto the second floor that he began to hear the commotion. Turning away, he spied a rather large group of people, all of which seemed to be blocked off from something. This immediately peeked his curiosity as he headed in that direction. His heavy footfalls echoed around him as he stepped, sounding like thunder crashes in his ears. People were gawking at something and he could only assume that it was Andrea.

Making his way to the crowd, Jorge held up his badge as he shouted to the top of his lung. “Back away, NYPD! Back away right now, goddammit!”

People either jumped out of his way or stood resolutely. To those all he gave was a harsh enough glare to make them step aside an inch. It was enough for him to squeeze by and nudge them hard in the process. God, everyone was gathered. Old, young, fat, skinny, every ethnicity, whatever it was that was drawing them here must have been quite the sight!

And it was.

Peering past a security guard that was attempting to keep the crowd back, Jorge saw Andrea, struggling with a rather large snake that stuck out from the her mass of black hair and snakes. The snake, Sloth if he remembered, was wrapped tightly around the railing of a bench and refusing to let go of it. This…was definitely not funny. But at least it wasn’t as serious as what he had originally thought it was. With a shake of his head towards the crowd’s behavior, Jorge stepped forward…only to be stopped by a young guard.

“Sir, please back away right now before I detain you.”

Jorge rolled his eyes as he produced his badge from his pocket and nearly shoved it in the kid’s face. The boy immediately relented and let Jorge pass. As he did, he walked without speaking to anyone, and definitely not speaking to the press. Wordlessly, and to their great annoyance, Jorge stepped between Andrea and the news lady and smiled encouragingly at Andrea.

“Andrea,” he smiled warmly, most like a fatherly figure. “I do believe you have something caught in your hair,” he nodded sagely then attempted to comfortingly pat her covered arm.

The look on Andrea’s face almost made Jorge feel like he was some sort of superhero that had arrived at the nick of time. The poor thing looked so desperate and aggravated to have gotten herself in this situation. He did not blame her. What a horrible thing to have happen, especially when you really don’t want it to. Especially when you can’t stop it from happening to begin with. He sighed and shook his head, but his smile was sympathetic towards the young mutant who had attempted to once again tug at the largest snake that clung onto the pole.

>> "Jorge! I am so very happy to see you…He won't let go... help me...!"

He smiled and nodded his head. He really had no idea what he was going to do, but he knew he was not going to leave Andrea’s side until he figured it out.

“Don’t worry kiddo,” he said with a nod. “First thing is first, you –“

He was immediately interrupted by a woman, a newswoman, who had attempted to interview him on the spot. Already he was disliking her.

>> "Officer? Are you here to apprehend this dangerous muta-"

>> "I believe I asked you to leave, Ma'am... and you…you should leave as well. No one is allowed behind the line, and we have a unit on the way to deal with the trouble maker."

Jorge watched the exchange and felt like he was babysitting. Really? The pair of them? He could only shake his head inwardly as he ran over the situation in his mind. It was obvious that the reporter was only there to get a news story and she was going to twist it in any way possible. The security guard was different though. He talked like he was a police officer, yet he was a mall patroller/ Something was off about that. It was not only he looked at the man closely that he realized where he knew him from. It was a recent controversy where the man had been kicked out of the precinct for using excessive force with his detainees. The man was a loose cannon.

No wonder they hired him for the mall.

A shake of his head and Jorge stood, finally directing is attention to the pair of them. They both turned to face the serious looking detective as he looked them over.

“Listen up, the both of you, I don’t have time for this.” he whispered. “I have a young lady here who has done no harm other than get herself in a rather sticky situation and neither of you are helping the matter any. You,” he said addressing the news lady, “Can have all the freedom of the press and free speech you want…from the OTHER side of scene.” he pointed over to the crowd that was gathered around. “I’m giving you 5 seconds to take your botox injected self over there or I will have you arrested for obstruction of justice. And…I’m confiscating your camera,” he snapped his fingers to Keith to have him hand over the material.

He stared directly into that woman’s defiant eyes, showing her that he was definitely not kidding. Jorge could be fun loving, but cross the wrong side of the law which him and there would definitely be trouble. Eyebrow arched in a no nonsense way, he waited until she left before he turned his attentions to Keith again.

“And as for you, I’m not going anywhere. This is a mutant in danger, being publically humiliated and you, sir, are doing very little to quell the situation. This is a MRC matter now and you do get your people together and COMPETENTLY work out your crowd control issue right now, I report you to your superiors. And trust me,” Jorge said as he stepped closer, “I doubt you have many other options right now.”

Another stern eyeful and Jorge turned his back on him, heading back for Andrea. The girl had been patient enough. Slipping his coat off, he offered it to Andrea to help cover herself from view. It was déjà vu all over again. He remembered doing this same thing when he first met her so many months ago.

A warm smile and he kneeled as he looked over Sloth who was entertained with the pole he was wrapped around. He sighed as he thought for a second then turned to Andrea.

“Now, as I was saying, the first thing you need to do is calm down, okay?” Jorge said with a nod. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m going to get you out of this but you need to relax.” He nodded. “Now, you know the big guy better than I do. Any ideas, however vague, on what he wants?”

It was a long shot, but it was there only option. Andrea had to know. Somewhere deep down, she had to.

With the rest of the ramble beginning to break up, and thankfully with the reporter gone, Jorge felt more at ease in helping the young mutant. He remembered how she reacted back when they had been in the hostage situation and how much she did not want the newshounds around. He definitely understood so he was going to assume that she still wanted no one record or see her. For a moment he wondered about this, but then he realized it might just have been because of her mutation. After all she had green skin and snakes for hair. That would be a bit difficult to hide from the rest of the world as it was.

He shook his head at the thought, but was thankful that the woman was gone. That would definitely help matters a bit.

But as he knelt he began to see that the largest snake was beginning to unwind itself. That was at least some progress. A glance to Andrea showed that she was busy trying to calm down, but at the same time she was not noticing that the snake had turned his attention elsewhere. Unfortunately for Jorge…he was the new target.

Having placed his hand on the bench for support, he was trying to calm Andrea when he noticed the much larger snake turning its attention on him. Very gently, more gently than he realized a snake could be, he felt it begin to wrap its way around his arm. It seemed to be combination of affection and curiosity. Great…how was he going to get out of this one?

It took Andrea a moment to finally realize that the snake had let itself loose and acquired something new. Jorge, the hard-nosed detective breathed slowly to keep himself calm as he felt the curious snake wind around his arm and flick its pink tongue repeatedly in his direction.

>> "I think he wants the last shreds of my self-respect…ah... I think I know what he wants now."

“Care to clue me in?” he smirked as he turned to look at Andrea. At least she had the option to get up and move. Gently he ushered her to stand up, trying to ignore the heaviness on his arm from the snake. “Can you stand? I’ll walk you out of here and if he wants to latch onto me, that’s…fine…for now. So long as he does not get any tighter than he is.” He smiled encouragingly at Andrea before he nodded to her. “Just can’t stay out of trouble, can you? Or were you just that desperate to see me again?”

>> "...I have an idea… I think he is in a phase... he has been locking onto anything within reach for a few days..."

Jorge nodded as he walked with Andrea. The crowd was finally beginning to part now that their entertainment had managed to get herself unhooked from the bench. It is sad the ways in which people find their pastimes. To make fun of a young mutant as she struggles with her abilities was not a laughing manner. While anyone can laugh off an embarrassing slip up or tripping in public, it’s much hard when it is something completely beyond your control. He knew that feeling all too well.

The snake still wrapped around his arm, he decided he would wait until hopefully it got bored enough to let go. God, don’t let it squeeze he thought to himself as he walked along with the young mutant. The last thing he needed was to have to amputate his arm to free himself.

>> "...I should have known better to come here, but I fear I have nearly out grown most of my clothes."

Jorge smirked sadly but nodded in understanding. Desperate measures call for desperate actions, he assmed.

“Don’t worry,” he nodded. “I understand that the need for that. When I first discovered my abilities I had to keep replacing my cassette player because it kept getting drenched.” He winked as he patted her arm reassuringly. “But, it’s a good sign that you forced yourself to get out and shop. Sometimes, people let their fears overtake them and…doesn’t always turn out well.”

He had to admit that he had a lot of respect for Andrea. Considering how her mutation affected her physical appearance, she did show a lot of resolve to force herself out into a public place. Being a cop, Jorge had seen too many times how people let fears of their appearance force them to stay inside, forgoing all people, grow bitter, even pass away without a soul knowing. It was not right, but some people just did not know how to handle. Andrea, though embarrassed, at least made some positive steps.

Shooting a look at a pair of teens that had pulled out their cameras to record, Jorge actually growled loud enough to startle them. Immediately they ran off, their phones being shoved back into their pockets. That would hopefully show them.

His attention back to Andrea, he headed for an empty escalator when she drew his attention away, commenting on his joke about wanting to see him.

>> "Very desperate, as it was... but very happy to see a friendly face. I do hope I did not draw you away from anything too important? I would feel just horrible to have disrupted your day for something so silly...Um... Jorge? If it is not to much to ask... before we leave I need to retrieve my phone from the...uh... fountain down there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get the phone for you.” he said as he ushered her to the rolling stairway that headed down. “And you didn’t draw me away from anything important.” As he said this, he glanced down to notice that there was still a pink crumb or two from his doughnut. Subtly he wiped those off. “Besides I gave you my number so you could use it, okay?”

He was glad that the girl had decided to trust him enough to give him a call when she was in danger. While this may not have been the worst case scenario, she was still in need and he was still able to provide assistance. That definitely made him feel good. With a nod, he motioned towards the water fountain with the most friendly and fatherly of smiles…

“Come on, let’s get your phone.”

Andrea did not seem to want to recognize her own strength for actually making it out the door despite everything. Jorge was not going to argue with her, mainly because he knew it was pointless. When people did not want to recognize something about themselves, they could not be made to see it. He knew that through and through so it was of little surprise. But, as he walked with her, he knew that eventually she would see it. At least he hoped that she would.

As they made their way to the bottom of the escalator and moved over to the fountain, Jorge watched as Andrea attempted to spot the phone she had dropped earlier. He had been curious about the sun glasses but he did not question it. She may have just wanted to hide herself as much as possible.

A glance into the pool of water, the tightening of the large snake on his arm and Jorge kept his eyes peeled but could see nothing of the lost electronic device.

>> "... I don't see it..."

“It’s got to be in here somewhere,” he mumbled as he raised his hand. Gently he began to subtle still some of the churning water in order so that they could get a clearer look at the bottom. But, even though he made the surface almost as quiet as glass…it would not stay that way for long.

Before he knew it, as Andrea was attempting to crane herself forward for a better look (which is always a bad idea), she had suddenly lost her balanced and tripped. Jorge was quick as he spun to catch her but he spun too late. Before he knew it, the large snake that had been wrapped around his arm was loosened and flew off, following Andrea into the cold fountain of water that splashed around her fallen form. Her glasses effectively knocked off, Jorge was about to reach in and help her when a good Samaritan attempted to pull her out. Suddenly though, that man fainted as well.

>> “Ah, .. sorry!"

“Sir? Sir?” Jorge said as he dashed over to fallen person. They were lucky they had not smacked their head onto the edge of the fountain. As a passing guard came up to them, Jorge nodded to him. “Call the ambulance for this gentleman. I think he slipped into a coma.” Jorge then glanced over to Andrea to make sure she was okay. “Andrea, are you okay?”