Augusta, Maine, was a hell of a drive away. Hours, in fact. Longer hours if somebody insisted on taking the scenic route. Cafas sat in the passenger seat of Ruddy's '67 Chevy Impala, rolled back as far as it could go. He hadn't taken Ruddy for a Kansas fan, but there it was on the radio. Carry on My Wayward Son. Cafas tried to ignore it.

"Anyway, he misjudges his own reach, misses by a good two inches, threw himself off balance." Cafas drained the last of his water and tossed the bottle onto the floor, "So I gave him directions to my rapidly rising knee. Out like a light." Cafas chuckled, shaking his head. "Honestly don't know why people think they can take us. What do they think we do all day?"

You wouldn't think Maine would need our advice...

They'd been invited up to Augusta to advise the local and state police on safely and respectfully dealing with mutants. Cafas suspected it was far more of the former than the latter. The invitation had been for any two X-men, but it just made good sense to send their two most capable hand to hand combatants. What would Maya have said? Wrap them in a tornado? Didn't do much good to humans.

Still, it's bloody effective what she does.

Sobering Sam up enough to drive had taken hours longer than Cafas had intended. Actually, Cafas had intended to just bundle him into the passenger seat and do the driving himself, but CS had been insistent, and Cafas wasn't in the mood to fight the only guy he knew that might be a challenge. So it was that the sun would be dipping below the horizon behind them by the time their car rumbled its way into Salem, Massachusetts. They still had a little while before that though.

Ah this is gonna go badly...

"You know Sam, I'm kinda worried about your drinking dude," Cafas kept his eyes carefully out the window, but he was watching Sam in the reflection, "and that's coming from a guy who still can't risk going near open bottles when stressed." As his little trip to visit Simon had proven. "You're kinda our leader, and it sends a bad message." What the kids at the Mansion saw of X-men, they tried to emulate, it was just the way of things there, "Beyond that it puts people at risk when they go out with you, not least of which is you. This team is a family, and it's bad enough worrying about everyone sober, let alone drunk." God did he ever worry. It was constant. Someone was always risking their life somewhere.

"Look, I get what it takes to push a guy to drink, and I'm not judging you for it. We've all seen too much in this job. I'm just saying, if you ever wanna talk..." Cafas left it hanging and sighed. He'd been working on how to broach the topic the whole trip. Somehow, he still felt like he'd screwed it.

It was already a long drive and they weren’t even there yet. They were getting close but the longer they were on the road the more he was actually enjoying Cafas’s company. Sure he had worked with the guy before but Sam would have never considered them good friends. One of the beautiful things of being on a team, they were forced into situations like these and Sam was forced to be sober long enough to drive.

When the song started to play Sam turned it up slightly just loud enough to hear in the background as Cafas told him about a rising knee. ”Drink?” was Sam’s answer, he was also asking Cafas to reach into the cooler and grab him one of the many road beers he had brought along for the trip. Honestly Sam didn’t know how else to do a road trip.

Knowing Cafas he wasn’t going to let the ice-mancer drink while driving so Sam smirked, ”Honestly, best is when they slip when they are throwing something. I had a guy actually slip on a banana peel once. Wasn’t sure if I was getting pranked or not.” Sam smirked, ”Criminals aren’t that smart. They see a few fighting flicks or go take a lesson once and they think they are capable of anything.”

”Thanks dad.” Sam said trying not to sound as sarcastic as it was. Sam was getting sick of people trying to get him to talk even if he appreciated it and knew it was coming from a good place. They were a family and in his mind even drunk Sam was more than capable of protecting his family. The real one, not the fake one he saw in his dreams or nightmares. They weren’t real.

”Sorry…” Sam said finally watching the sun set making the stars appear far earlier than they did in the city. ”Been hearing it a lot lately and it doesn’t really inspire me to stop drinking, talking about it I mean.” he is dating Ghost one of his best friends meaning he might be speaking for her as well. Sam ran a free hand through his hair and cracked the window a bit.

”I never wanted to be ‘the leader’.” Sam said finally, ”Team Leader sure but when shit hits the fan like this I never wanted to be in the spot light.” the song was calling for him to turn the radio up more and drown out the talking but he refrained. ”I got and had too much going on in my life to send a positive message constantly.” Sam wanted to say more but he didn’t not yet anyway. They’d be touching down soon and that meant one of the beers in the cooler could be consumed.

”Soooo….. you and Ghost…”

Cafas was not about to assist in a drink driving offence, and as such left Sam hanging. He knew what having a problem was like, so his judgement was less harsh than it otherwise would have been. He just ignored it entirely. He could have a beer when they pulled over. Cafas couldn't. Only seemed fair they should both suffer in the car.

>>”Thanks dad.”

That was a yes on having screwed up. Cafas managed to contain the urge to slam his head into the headrest, but his teeth grit in frustration at himself. He'd have been just as sarcastic if Sam had ever done the same thing to him. Why would it not be the same the other way round? Maybe CS picked up on his frustration though, because after a brooding silence he continued.

>>”Sorry… Been hearing it a lot lately..."

Cafas blew a sigh out of his cheeks, nodding a series of short, sympathetic nods. He adjusted his seating position and stared out the windshield. "Don't I know it. We've got enough going on for three people, and we're expected to have no vices? But there it is, right?" The pinkermint haired mutant grabbed Sam by the shoulder and gave him a light shake. "You do what you need to, I just want to be laughing about stupid criminals when we have grey hair and our good looks have faded." It's really all he hoped for any X-man. Retirement.

>>”Soooo….. you and Ghost…”

Cafas retracted his hand and ran it nervously through his hair. Now there was a conversation he'd been putting off. The metal manipulator became even more determinedly focused on the road ahead. "Yeah, me and Maya," He couldn't contain a nervous chuckle, "Kinda came out of nowhere didn't it? But she's amazing, and Rowan's awesome..." He grew pensive for a moment, eyes unfocusing. "You know, I'm still determined we can save her. You think... I dunno, you think if we do, she might... You know... If I asked. Not that I have plans, or a ring, just... Thinking aloud." Cafas sighed at his own vain optimism, unwilling to imagine a future without Maya now that he'd found her.

I hope she would say yes...

Cafas refocused, eyes settling on a shape ahead. "S*** SAM, BRAKE!" A panicked woman had just run out on the road ahead in her bathrobe and hair-curlers, trying to flag them down. Cafas winced preemptively.

Sam shifted slightly as he looked out before him not sure what to say. When the icemancer felt his shoulder shake slightly he resisted the urge to shrug his shoulder. It was cold but it was also a reaction. When he drank less he found himself to be more jumpy. Sam however smirked when Cafas mentioned being old and grey. Truth be told Sam didn’t see himself being old and grey. Having lived a dozen lifetimes in his fantasy world it usually reset before he got to be old. Meaning he died or his family did. Sam shifted a bit more and wanted to turn up the radio.

Sam settled for turning the sprayer on cleaning the windshield. Even if there was hardly any dirt or bugs on it. ”You’ll still be dying your hair then.” Sam joked finally figuring a lighthearted comment opposed to what he had thought.

>>> "Yeah, me and Maya,"

The radio suddenly became a little quitter; Sam didn’t realize he had turned it down a little. He meant to turn it up. Sam waited a second before responding.

>>> "Kinda came out of nowhere didn't it? But she's amazing, and Rowan's awesome..."

If both his hands weren’t on the wheel he would have thought he turned the AC on but they were both on the wheel so he guessed his powers were active. It wasn’t frigid but the windows did fog up slightly. Sam turned it off shortly after it started and he turned the heat on in the car. ”They are great.” Sam said nodding his head. Rowan quickly became like a… well his godchild. Sam often joked with Ghost but he wasn’t sure if she had thought he was serious.

Speaking of serious, it was starting to sound like a familiar conversation he once had with an immortal unicorn that started a cult broke the ghost and vanished. Sam’s nostrils flared in irritation when he thought of Sebby. Before Sam could answer Cafas to both questions he heard the metal-mancer before he saw the women running out in curlers and a bathrobe. Pink, like Cafas’s hair. Sam cursed loudly and slammed on the breaks and cut the wheel causing the car to skate by the woman and come to a complete stop.

The smell of burning rubber entered the cab and Sam opened up the door and looked at the car. ”Come on! It’s a classic!” it was a classic and it wasn’t his meaning he wanted to make sure that Rudy or Jorge (whoever the owner was) weren’t going to be upset with the condition the vehicle was returned to them.

”The hell?” Sam asked the woman who seemed almost hysterical. ”There is a sidewalk for people. Cars are for the road… which we are standing on and you wandered out to.” Sam said wanting to grab a beer more now because he was too amped up.

Sam was out of the car almost as soon as it had come to a skidding halt, the air thick with the acrid smell of burned rubber. He seemed mad. Cafas took a moment to recenter himself. He eyed the cooler and sighed. Looked like he'd be doing some driving. He fetched a bottle out quickly then followed the Cold Steel out of the car. The other mutant was already lecturing the woman by the time Cafas got to him. The beer cap shot off into the air at speed. Cafas held it out to his partner.

"Here, let me handle this a sec." Cafas turned to the woman, who was still speaking in a frightened stream of borderline nonsense. The metal manipulator was dead certain he heard the word ghost though. Gently, he steered the woman off the road before someone else came. The car would need to be moved too, but that could wait.

"Miss, miss please slow down. I need you to slow down, and tell us what's going on." aside from hysterical women running in front of moving vehicles. The woman kept going, but at least she started again, even if it was almost too fast to hear.

"The witch's ghost back for vengeance! She said she would burn me! Burn us all!"

As if on cue, the house they were stood next to began to billow smoke out of the doors and windows. Cafas' eyes went wide with surprise and he took a step back. Within seconds flames were licking out from every room. A loud cackling laugh burst forth from the house, and Cafas thought he could almost see a glowing figure fly off behind the house. The smoke made it hard to tell.

"Um... Sam?" He knew it was a mutant. It had to be. There was no such thing as ghosts. Just his, and she wasn't some malevolent spirit. He was like, 99% sure. Had been 99% sure. He was feeling much closer to 75% after what he'd just seen. Cafas turned a worried gaze to Sam. "We should call the fire department. Then, I think we should look into this." Because he really needed to know that hauntings weren't real.

Without realizing it the beer was already in his hand with the cap off. Sam took a swig then realized what he was doing. The icemancer took another swig and then took a breath and walked to the passenger side of the car. Sam didn’t know if he liked Cafas’s response to shut him up or not but now he had a beer so he’d stop yelling. Even if he had every reason to, not like he actually wanted to kill the women.

Sam did his best to listen to the hysterical women as she rambled on to Cafas about a witch and something burning, Sam’s sixth sense flashed white-hot before he could control his thermal vision. Sam took a swig of his beer trying to help dull his senses before he turned to the source and nodded his head at the plume of smoke coming from the building. ”Yeah…. That’s a fire.” Sam’s body iced up and he started to walk towards the house just as a figure flew away. Was that a glowing woman? Couldn’t have been his girlfriend she was still at the mansion. At least he thought she was.

”Yeah you do that Cafas. I’ll make sure no one dies by then.” the flames danced around the windows and doors and were met with a thick jet of blue as Sam’s free hand blasted some snow at them. A loud sizzle could be heard as the snow melted and turned to water almost immediately. Sipping his beer Sam yelled back, ”Lady is there anyone else in this building or not? Witch wants to burn you but is anyone else gonna be set on fire?” his bedside manner probably wasn’t the best at the moment but there was a burning building and Sam needed to make sure no one died.

After the door frame was no longer on fire Sam entered making sure to blast as much cold as possible, the heat made it hard for him to summon enough moisture to turn to ice and snow but once he got started on putting some of the fire out he just reused some of the steam. Once his beer was finished he dropped the bottle and used both hands making quick work of the flames on the first floor then he worked his way up to make sure that he didn’t fall through anything. It wasn’t like it was a large apartment fire.

Once the flames were out and Sam was satisfied with his work he managed to find an old grey cat under a bed covered in soot. Upon hearing the low rumble Sam reached under the bed and scuffed the cat and held it in his arms as it tried to claw it’s way through the ice that covered his arm.

Grumbling about needing another beer Sam started to walk back towards the stairs when he stopped short at the scorched outline of a figure in the wall. Sam looked at it for a second then ran his iced up fingers over where the chest would have been if it were a human. The markings were still way to hot. Sam took a step back reminded of the outlines one would get after an explosion went off. ”Cafas… think our ghost is a mutant. All the ones Tarin could summon couldn’t make markings like this.” Sam hated dealing with Tarin and anything Tarin could summon, ghosts and spirits couldn’t be kicked or punched and they defiantly didn’t feel cold so he had a tough time dealing with them. ”Also I’m gonna need another beer.”