"Hun...get up, you have to eat something."

Victoria barely stirred from her hotel bed covers. She made an audible groan more fit for an animal than a princess. Why did she call me that? It was about 24 hours after the attack, and she hadn't moved a muscle since arriving at their new hotel.

"Look, you don't have to skate today if you don't want...you can take a break."

At the suggestion, Victoria bolted upright to meet the caring gaze of her coach. "No, I wanna go." She was determined not to let the memories of the demon girl haunt her dreams any longer. They had all last night.

"Well, just don't look at the news..."

Too late... Victoria mused. She was already pulling it up on her now caseless iphone. 'Police searching for winged mutant who mugged young girl, attacked crowd in Central Park.' "Wait, but no, seriously?!" The lights grew bright and then dim again.

That wasn't a reason she wanted her face at the top of an article. Yet, there she was in the picture, a hand shielding her face from the camera. It was almost enough to make her start crying again. Her coach sat down next to her and embraced the young figure skater.

"Don't worry Tori, everything's gonna be ok. We can fly home tonight and get you to your mom."

Victoria certainly hoped so. After training, they still had to talk to the police.

It was two hours later and Victoria was in a taxi cab riding through Manhattan. She nibbled on a granola bar her coach forced upon her; it was something to keep her going.

The city passed by slowly. There were endless skyscrapers and pedestrian filled sidewalks. The girl's blue eyes wandered as the city scenery meandered past her window.
It was almost peaceful until they reached their destination. There, Victoria was surprised by all the people on the sidewalk. Camera lights flashed and journalists pressed questions as Victoria and her coach exited the car.

'How do you feel? Was it scary?' 'Do you think all mutants are evil?' 'Did it hurt you?' 'Are you afraid?' 'What are you doing after the attack?'

"Uh....," Victoria was stunned speechless as she was swarmed. Her mouth hung open in confusion. Really?! Her mind raced. Yes, I'm afraid. Yes, it was scary. No, not all mutants are evil. She answered all their questions in her mind but said nothing as the crowd pressed around her. Get away from me! She wanted to scream. Tight spaces like this definitely weren't her thing. She did her best to keep moving and nimbly slipped through into the ice arena.

The blonde didn't say anything as she went to the locker room and found a bench. She could hear her coach chewing out someone in the lobby as she opened a locker and stashed her bag. The blonde took a seat and laced up her skates. She sighed and walked out to the ice.

She couldn't blame people for simply being curious, but couldn't the world let her be? It was hard enough knowing the winged girl was still out there somewhere, waiting and watching. Smile, Victoria reminded herself, and she did. Moping around wouldn't help her achieve her dreams.

"Good morning, you must be Victoria? Sorry about the people outside, I didn't realize there were so many or I'd have asked them to clear out before you arrived."

Victoria spun around to meet an elderly gentleman whom she didn't recognize. He was shorter than the average man, but still tall to her. He offered a gentle handshake; she hesitantly accepted. Afterwards, he was all business. "Ya, and it's ok, I'm fine."

"That's good. If you would, I'd like you to warm up and show me what you know."

Victoria nodded, while slightly confused, and stepped off to the side to stretch as her coach talked with the old guy. He sounded important. When she was finished, she stepped on the ice and skated around for a few minutes to catch her bearings. She pushed any thought of yesterday's events from her mind for the time being. Victoria needed to focus.

The old guy was another coach. She figured that much by the way he frowned on a few of her jumps and shook his head when she fell on what should have been a simple double. You can do better than that... Victoria was quick to pick herself off the ice with an apology. "Sorry!"

"Don't be sorry. Try it again."

The man seemed less happy but the figure skater didn't let it phase her. If this was some sort of test, she wanted to ace it. Gliding back around she repeated the spin and stuck the landing. The blonde smiled as her blades sliced over the frozen ground. The old man didn't.

Well...here goes everything... Victoria hated losing, and judging by the man's stoicalness, she figured she was. Gaining speed for one last jump, she entered the air with her arms tucked into a triple axel. Time seemed to slow as she was airborne. The feeling of weightlessness was surreal; it's why she skated. Then came the ground. It wasn't clean and she had to use an arm to hold her balance and keep from tumbling, but Victoria stood back up without falling.

Now, the old guy looked slightly impressed. Victoria was even more so. She just landed the hardest jump in woman's figure skating.

"That'll be enough. Why don't you come back into the lobby..."

Dude! Did the guy have to be so serious all the time? Victoria was pumped. She was stoked. She was on top of the world! A light burst above her as she stepped onto the rubber matting. She quickly glanced to make sure no one else saw it happen as she ducked into the lobby behind him. What does he want? She wondered.

"Victoria, my name is Mr. Warren. I used to coach your coach when she was your age. After talking it over with her and your parents, I believe I can help you take your skating to the next level in time for the next year's national championship. That is, if you're willing to stay in New York City for awhile. You should be proud; you have real talent."

Victoria's face lit up with excitement, as did the light in the nearby supply closet if anyone was paying attention, but it quickly faded. How was she supposed to answer? New York was cool...but it was so far from her home. And the evil winged girl...and how would she see her parents? Her home and her heart were still in Minnesota, but her dreams were here. "Thank you sir, I..."

Her coach understood her hesitancy, probably more than anyone else, and offered her an out.

"You have some time to think about it. We have to fly back to Minneapolis tomorrow anyways, before that though, we need to get to the police station to finish your witness report. Thanks again Mr. Warren, I'll be in touch."

"Thank you!" Victoria did her best to remain professional until they left the building, but as they returned to their cab, Victoria grinned from ear to ear. "Holy crap! Did you see that?!" Maybe today wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

Victoria's hair was still wet from showering in the locker room when she walked into the precinct with her coach. A detective was waiting and after a few minutes of the grown-ups talking, she was taken with him for questioning in a small room. The detective was young, tall and handsome with slick hair. She sat down and smiled as he began her interview.

"Good afternoon Ms. Bor-jason, we just need to talk for a little bit and you can be on your way. Let's start with your account of what happened."

"Ok." Victoria started from the very beginning of her jog and relayed what happened up until the police showed up. Ignoring the detectives butchering of her last name, she also left out the part where she burst a few street lights. The girl wanted more than anything to cooperate but she didn't dare expose herself.

"Ok, that all checks out."

Victoria exhaled in relief. It was time to...

"Except for one thing."

Victoria's gut wrenched and she deadpanned. "What?" The lights in the room flickered. The detective shuffled his notes and jotted something down.

"Did you happen to see any fluctuations, any abnormalities, in the lights around the park?"

"N-no." Shoot.

"Are you certain?"

"No...I...I was too busy running for my life."

"I see. Are you a mutant?"

Victoria fiddled with her pen and looked down at the desk. She never was a good liar. She just couldn't do it. Why am I? Why is he- She had to. It was her life on the line. "What?...no..."

"Have you lied at all during this interview?"

"No!" The detective smirked as if he had cornered prey; Victoria squirmed in her chair as he continued to speak quietly. The guy was a creep. Wasn't he supposed to be helping her? The winged girl was the bad guy!

"Good. It's not illegal to be a mutant, but it is illegal to lie. I also believe... it's against the rules to figure skate competitively as a mutant. You wouldn't mind submitting to a voluntary scan would you?"

Heck no! Victoria about puked. She wanted to run out but the detective was between her and the door. The room felt too small all of a sudden and she began to freak out inside. 

"No! I want my dad! He's a lawyer."

The man didn't miss a beat as he bent under the desk. What is he doing? Is that a case? It was a scanner. "Hey! No! Wait!!"  She almost kicked him as he surfaced with the device. What if she had been wearing a skirt?! He pointed it at her and she screamed. There was a loud bang above her head and the room went dark. She had burst another light. The petite blonde wasted no time in jumping around the desk and out of the room in a panic. She walked straight down the hall, ignoring his calls for her to stop. He had nothing concrete on her. She had done nothing wrong and whatever crusade the guy was on made her realize something. She needed professional help.

Back at the hotel, everything seemed to be falling apart. Victoria cried silently as her coach tried to console her. All the while her father on speaker promised to wipe the courtroom with the NYPD if they refused to settle a suit. Nobody, and he meant nobody, got away with calling his baby girl a mutant.

Victoria just cried harder. How could she tell them now? I'm a freak. She thought back to what she called the winged girl. I'm thinking too much.

Curled up in bed on her phone, Victoria searched for anything on the internet that could help her. The only link she could find of any use was the homepage for some mansion in the city, but there was no way she could just walk out into the streets and visit.

Maybe, there was a way.

She opened her hotel window. There was a fire escape...but no...she couldn't. It'd be too dangerous. Victoria turned out the lights and crawled back in her bed. A breeze chilled the room and she remembered the window was still open.

Later, tonight.

If she couldn't control her powers than her world would fall apart. The mansion could help her.