New York City was big.

Like, stupid big. It was massive and still a little intimidating, even after a few weeks of acclimating. Marisol was still a creature of habit, so she was clinging to the relative safety of the three places she knew well: her school, her uncle’s apartment, and her job. It was not like she had much time to go out exploring anyway, given her packed schedule. She had classes, rehearsals for the first show of the year, and plenty of homework—more than one would expect a student of performing arts to have. Outside of her studies, she took shifts at the Diner and made occasional visits to her Tío’s place. She knew she would have to branch out eventually, but she decided she would wait until… well, until she had no choice.

Cut to the present scene! Marisol had a set of pointe shoes to pick up from a local dance shop and she was too excited to wait two extra days (and fifteen extra dollars) to have them delivered. She worked until four in the afternoon, which gave her ample time to reach the shop before they closed at seven. She would enjoy the cool weather by walking to the shop, then find the nearest metro station to return to her dorm to finally change out of her retro waitress outfit.

Of course, “ample time” felt a lot less ample when Marisol looked around and realized she took a wrong turn somewhere along her walk. She wanted to get annoyed with New York, but it was almost undoubtedly her fault since she was running lines for Heathers in her head. Her inability to set aside a task was coming back to bite her in the butt as she found herself lost in New York.

Marisol reached into her phone to begrudgingly set a course on her phone. She had been convinced she could manage the trip without her GPS. Unfortunately, she was going to have to: Marisol sifted around her belongings, but her phone was not among them. She groaned loudly, catching the eyes of people passing by as she accepted her phone was still on the counter back at the diner.

Okay, she was not sure where she was. No reason to panic. She was a young woman in a conspicuous waitressing dress in a cold, unfeeling city with no means of reaching out for help. Okay, several reasons to panic. Marisol tried to keep her breathing steady so she could remain calm, but it was hard with her heart racing like a hummingbird.

She considered whether she could make it back to the diner, but if she got turned around, would she just get more lost? She was too new to the city, but maybe if she had help from a native, she could find her way to the shop and figure things out from there. (Logically, her plan should have been to return to the diner, but Marisol was not going to let a setback stop her from claiming her shoes.)

Marisol steeled her nerves and ignored every lesson from her mother and children’s television as she looked for the best stranger to talk to. New Yorkers were known for being so helpful, after all. She eliminated any man who looked over twenty-five, followed by any man in general. She considered middle-aged women who could feel a maternal sense of protection for a girl in her position, but in the end, a girl around Marisol’s age with blue hair caught her eye.

Marisol approached and did her best, but failed, to pace her speech. ”Hi, I’m really sorry and I’m sure this is a long shot, but do you know where the Set the Barre Dance Shop is?”

September, was a god send. It was just too damn warm during the summer for the Brit but now that Autumn was rolling around and the temperature was dropping she could actually handle a day outside every now and then. Like maybe once a week, two if it was a good one so she found herself on a wander. With her standard punkish clothes and a shirt she'd managed to get a hold of finally. So many of her favourite franchises ran out of female tee's so quickly it was kind of stupid. Like shouldn't they print more then if the demand was that high?

She'd been saving a little money too from her allowance and she'd been itching to check out some of the game stores for some rare games, maybe even something to add to her console collection. After a decent chunk of time spent inside stores ranging from the big soulless franchises to the dingy little back alley shops she had burned through most of the money she was willing to spend.

Between lusting after computer parts and considering a new nerdy t-shirt her stomach started growling very loudly. Her hunger bar was low again wasn't it? Ugh. how could it drop so quickly all the time, couldn't she get a break like once?

Deep in thought about what fast food she was going to get, she got a minor shock when her HUD disappeared. Just poof and it was gone. Worse she was suddenly assailed by someone talking to her fairly quickly and completely out of the blue. "Erm, I.....what?" Alice had heard words and them all seemed to be in some kind of order but her brain was a little distracted by all that, world, she could see. That was what the bottom right of her sight looked like!? Wait. Oh no, no, no. She was hungry. She knew she was hungry. But how hungry. How long did she have until her bar went down below and she felt ill. Where was her bar!!!

"I, uh, sorry I'm just having issues with my power or something what did you say? Oh and I'm Alice by the way" Yes, focus on something, like the cute girl asking....something from her. The cute girl who was a little shorter than her and was dressed like a waitress. That was a bit weird choice of clothes for shopping but then again maybe she'd just gotten off work. Which made sense. Because people worked for money.

They didn't get allowances from parents like she did. Or the amount she did.

Marisol was unsure why she picked the girl with the blue-hair. Maybe the look was just eye-catching, and Marisol was looking through the crowd for someone who would catch her eye. New York had hundreds of thousands of people walking through the city, so she needed some arbitrary way of divining the best stranger to accost with her request.

Ironically, the blue-haired girl was not someone Marisol would have talked to normally. It was nothing she did wrong; Marisol was not a social person and she generally relegated herself to social circles she naturally fit into. She was friendly with some of the girls she danced with, some she acted with, and some she worked with. The blue-haired girl seemed like something out of a punk-rock magazine with her brilliant hair and a t-shirt adorned with an intense wolf emblem. It was hard for Marisol to imagine a world where they ended up traveling the same social circles, and without that, they might as well have been in separate universes.

In Marisol’s moment of panic, she was reaching out to someone new and wholly foreign to her, so she could only hope it went well. Alice, the blue-haired girl who thankfully provided her name, seemed caught off guard by Marisol. It was understandable; she was a stranger on the streets in a fifties era outfit asking for directions. Marisol was not an everyday occurrence in her current state.

Right away, Marisol noted Alice’s accent, which proved that she somehow found one person amidst the droves that was not a native New Yorker. It was bittersweet; the Brit might have been more receptive and helpful, but the odds of her knowing the streets like the back of her hand seemed iffy. Alice also made a weird comment about power issues, which took Marisol a moment to process. ”Oh, is your phone dead? I’m sorry. I was on my way to pick something up from a dance shop, but I left my phone at work—which is why I’m dressed like this, by the way. I don’t just… you know, dress like this.” She felt her cheeks pinken at her unfortunate state of dress. She was not bringing her A-Game to this pivotal social interaction.

”Anyway, I’m kinda lost. I was hoping you might be able to direct me to the Set the Barre Dance Shop, but I’m guessing you might not know it off the top of your head. I’m… really sorry to bother you,” she said, backpedaling and bowing apologetically as she unintentionally stepped Alice out of her six-foot Adapted bubble.

Yep, she was a waitress. Made sense to a logical mind but hers wasn't entirely functioning at full speed, the sudden disappearance of the HUD she'd lived with for years was more than a little rattling. Like, where was she now? How did normal people know which way to go without markers and maps and a compass? It was also really off putting seeing so.....much. She knew her vision was blocked by bits of her power but not this much! It had been so long she'd forgotten what peripheral vision was like.

Made her a little sick if she was being honest, all that extra space around her.

And then the girl was talking again. Fast. Wait, that was brilliant! Her phone, that had a map and stuff on it didn't it, with GPS built in! With that she could get back to the mansion and figure out what the hell was going on with her mutation. No way the 'servers' were down, it wasn't an actual game after all. Unless it was. That was a pretty depressing thought actually.

"Wait, it's fine I was talking abo......." trailing off slowly and blinking it was back. In all it's glory. As soon as this girl backed away. That was.....weird. But probably just a coincidence but it was damn perfectly timed if it was. Shaking her head and looking back up at the girl she brought her phone up, "Sorry, I wasn't quite talking about my phone. That's fine, it was my mutation acting up." Wow, a week months ago just casually admitting being a mutant was unthinkable. Now thought it was totally natural. That was a little strange to Alice but there were cuter problems at hand.

A quick search on the phone and she had the shop up and directions mapped. See, when she had a map she knew exactly which way to go. Which was kind of the point of maps but hey, she was still good at navigating them. "You're in luck though, it's not too far away. Shouldn't take too long to get to. Since your phones dead want me to walk with you? It's not a problem, I'm done with my shopping for the day." Except food, that was important. Always important. Like the most important thing in her life next to games.

With her brain working a little better, and her power co-operating again she had the mental faculties to give the girl a once over. She looked nice, obviously just off work and a little flustered about talking to the Brit. Maybe the White Wolf tee hadn't been the best choice but it was her favourite game and it looked really cool to her. If just a little intimidating to someone not used to that stuff.

Talking to a stranger on the street was already something Marisol would not dream of doing under normal circumstances, so her first-attempt and failure already had her reassessing her plan. Maybe she could cut her losses, try to backtrack to the restaurant, and pick up her shoes at a later date. It was selfish to intrude on a stranger with her issues, especially when they were also dealing with a useless phone.

At least, Marisol jumped to the conclusion that Alice was talking about her phone. After a brief moment of distraction, Alice confirmed that it was actually her mutation acting up. The admission was so natural, it surprised Marisol. She had nothing against mutants, but she was also not used to mutants who talked so casually to strangers about their identities. The would could be a mean place to mutants, so the level of trust Alice was showing toward Marisol was unexpected.

After pulling out her phone, Alice looked up the dance shop via GPS, which was a huge boon for the lost dancer-slash-waitress. She even went as far as to offer some company to Marisol for the walk, possibly so she did not manage to get herself more lost by misremembering directions. It was a very kind gesture that Marisol felt almost bad accepting. She pushed herself into Alice’s life and now she was potentially going to take more time from her day because the blue-haired girl was too nice.

”I really don’t think you have to, Alice. I mean, it’s really nice. I just…” She hesitated in her objections, because it would be a huge inconvenience to end up on the wrong street and have to potentially repeat the whole process again. ’I mean, are you sure I wouldn’t be taking you away from anything?” Marisol did not want to be the kind of person who let someone inconvenience themselves for her sake.

And then there was the other problem. The powers problem. Alice was very forthcoming with who she was, but Marisol worried she might sour once she realized who Marisol was and what she could do. ”Also… I really should warn you, if you come with me, you’re not going to be able to use your powers. That was my fault,” she admitted, looking down at her feet. ”I’m what people call an Adapted, I guess? If you’re within six feet, whatever your mutation does, well… doesn’t.”

Shrugging, "Not really, just food. I'm sure I can grab something on the way." Shaking the bag she had a firm grasp on for emphasis, "I'm already done my shopping for the day at least and frankly I could do with a distraction." With someone cute. Which wasn't a crime now was it? Enjoying a nice day with some nice girl who was lost in the big city.

That wasn't her home city. At all. But hey, thank god for technology! Her phone would totally lead them the right way.

Blinking a couple of times at the admission Alice couldn't help but be a little confused. What the hell was an adapted? And why did that mean she couldn't use her power? Wait....didn't that also mean she wouldn't be hungry if she stayed with Marisol. Or only be able to see like three quarters of what she really should be able to. That. Would. Be. Awesome. She was so up for experimenting with that a little. "I've not got any particular problems with it, if that's what you're worried about. I'm guessing this ins't something you have an off switch for?"

Not that she had an idea what it was like. At all.

"It's this way," pointing in the general direction of the shop, "With a proper map it should be pretty easy to find." She was pretty skilled at navigation, even with the power. Years of using a mini-map had kind of just gotten her used to how to use the cardinal directions to move about.

Now the next question was what to eat. Did she fancy a burger, or maybe a burrito? There was just so much choice in New York it was kind of hard to narrow it all down. Oh God, there was also ramen! She'd never been able to get much of it back home and it was like everywhere in the U.S. About the only thing she was missing was a good curry but with Mexican food on every corner she frankly found it very hard to complain. It was so useful to have a weird metabolism sometimes when it came to being able to try loads of daft food's without much guilt.

Bringing herself back into the actual moment and away from the more foodie thoughts in her, she flashed a smile at her companion. "Anyway, on wards to adventure!"

 

While Marisol was expecting Alice’s offer came from some sense of polite obligation, the blue-haired girl seemed all for the idea. Marisol had to admit, she was impressed by the girl’s willingness to just jump into some unexpected new plan. If someone came to Marisol asking for directions, she would give them, but she would never dream of accompanying them. It sounded like the easiest way to get taken, and while her uncle had a set of skills, Marisol tried her best not to end up in the position where he would need to use him. On the bright side, Alice apparently saw her as trustworthy enough not to be part of the Albanian sex trafficking scene!

With a phone in hand, Alice was going to lead their way to the dance shop. She was up for anything and she was not scared off by Marisol’s adapted ability. Calling it an ability seemed generous since an ability was normally something someone did. As Alice guessed, she had no off switch, making her mutation nullification zone more of a trait. ”Unfortunately, it’s one of those always on things. I hope that’s alright, Alice. If not, I guess you could walk just outside of my range, but that’s still a little far for the sidewalk.” Marisol did not enjoy feeling like a burden, so when her presence inconvenienced the mutants around her, she was anxious to make it right.

Following along as Alice blazed the path, Marisol was already thinking of ways to thank her for her kindness. ”This is really nice of you, Alice. If you’re hungry, we can even get food after. My treat.” Marisol was not rolling in money, but she had a job and she could do something nice for the Good Samaritan saving her butt.

Glimpsing the computer screen, Marisol knew they had time to walk, which means time to talk as well. If Alice was going out of her way to help Marisol, maybe she was someone worth getting to know. ”So I’m going to guess you’re not from around here? The accent is kind of a dead giveaway.” It was a more genuine accent than Marisol could fake on a stage and she certainly found it easy on the ears. ”I’m actually pretty new, too. It’s been, like, a month since I came from Cali. What brought you to the city? Have you been in the city long?” She paused and something hit her. ”I’m being obnoxious with the questions. Sorry.” Marisol was still working on socializing like a “normal person,” which felt like such an impossible task, she almost considered asking her mother if she was really an alien.

"Nah, shouldn't be a problem. If anything it'll be novel to actually have my peripheral vision again, although it is pretty distracting seeing so......much." Years without it had kind of gotten her used not having it, now it was weird to see again. It was still wrong to her though, how did normal people function with so many things flickering in and out of sight at the edge of view? Every little movement put her on edge now that she could actual, well, make it out.

Wait, a nice walk with a nice girl and free food!? Sign her up for that, not the worst way to spend an afternoon and it's not like she had anything worthwhile to do in the meantime. "Can't argue against the odd charitable burger. Or hot dog. Or cake." And now she was starving again. Damn stupid power and it's annoying need to be fed all the time. Well that or it was just part of being a teenager, but somehow she doubted other people her age ate as much as two grown men with room for more. "I might snack on the way but don't worry, it'll not do much to my appetite."

"Keen observational skills you've got there," she replied lightly, a grin on her face, "can't figure out what gave me away. But yes, I'm not from around here. Like at all. English born and bred, only came across a few months ago to meet someone." That she hadn't known existed until about the same amount of time sh'd been in the U.S. but that was another, entirely more dramatic, topic. "Oooo Cali, that's awesome. Explains your own accent, but without telling me I'd not have been able to place it except a broad 'not from here' category."

Giving a warm smile, "Don't worry about it. Frankly I find it adorable and it's flattering you want to know more," she reassured her companion, guiding them down street from one of the many identical junctions. "What about yourself though, why have you come to the city?" Alice could have made a couple of guesses, given the shop they were going to but it could also be something entirely different. Seemed best to not assume and just ask.

Plus it meant they got to have a pleasant conversation as they walked and what kind of girl would she be to say no to that?

Marisol was still getting used to being around mutants, with Jorge, Chase, and Celeste all playing growing roles in her life. For some, it was convenient; others might be inconvenienced or worse, put in danger. If she thought about it too much it almost made her question going out in public for fear that she might cross paths with the wrong mutant and make them unable to breathe or something.

Evidently, Marisol was affecting the power Alice had, which was something affecting her sight and it sounded like something she had no control over. Marisol could relate to that part.

It made Marisol feel better knowing Alice would accept payment in the form of food. Marisol did not like burdening others and if Alice refused a meal, it would have made her feel more awkward to accept the help and offer nothing in return. She did chuckle at Alice’s dietary suggestions. She gave the blue-haired girl a once-over to reaffirm that she was pretty darn thin. ”I might op for a salad or something, but sure. You choose the place, after all.” Some people were born with great metabolisms, which was unfair, but the harsh truth. ”Though I’m not sure where you’d even put all that.” Maybe Alice was just the kind of girl who could put away greasy foods and sweets without putting on a pound. Lucky her.

As expected, Alice was originally from England which filled Marisol, like most American girls, with envy. It was preposterous since she was living painfully close to Broadway these days, but Marisol still loved the idea of catching shows in the West End and setting foot in the Globe.

Alice returned the favor by calling out Marisol’s own accent, which shot her into a surprised and almost defensive retort. ”I don’t have an accent! Do I?” She pondered on her own voice for a moment, before deflating. ”My God, I totally have an accent, don’t I? I’m a total Cali girl out here.” Most people, particularly actresses, believed they had no accent, but that opinion was often challenged when they were thrown into a new environment. She was not a valley girl or a surfer girl, but there was something to the way she spoke that, if you listened keenly, gave away her Long Beach upbringing.

With all the questions, Mari had worried about being intrusive, but Alice dismissed those thoughts. She also called Marisol’s curiosity adorable, which struck her as odd. Was she being infantilized? Alice seemed nice so far, so Marisol tucked the notion away, but she suddenly found herself more on her guard.

Alice asked her own question of Marisol’s purpose in moving to New York, which was something Marisol thought was pretty apparent, given their shopping mission. ”I mean, we’re going to a dance shop.”

Okay, that came off as rude. Like, way rude. Rude enough for Marisol to realize it and quickly chuckle at her own comment, trying to play it off. ”Really though, I came here to transfer to a school in the city as a student of Theatre and Ballet. The school is kind of a big deal and so is New York, really, so yeah. How could I say no?”

Oh God, yeah. The weight thing. She was kind of thin for how much she ate but in fairness, she didn't exactly have a choice. It was true she got away with a way too unhealthy diet and almost no exercise but the side effect of having to eat a full meal every hour did kind of have it's own caveats to go with it. Like money. So much money went on food it was kind of daft. "I, well it's kind of to do with the power. I have some kind of super metabolism because of it. Which is cool and all but having to eat pretty much all the time is not as much fun as it sounds, trust me." Especially when she was sick. That truly sucked.

Giggling a little at the girls shock, she nodded at the sudden realisation she was having over accents. "Yup, but it's totally cool. Makes it feel like I'm talking to someone right out of a movie from when I grew up." So many American movies, so many accents. And they all sounded so cool. "I guess we're just kind of more aware of it in the UK since we have a different one every thirty miles or so. Hard to forget your own one when you can hear accents from every corner of the country in London by walking down the street." And a fair few from further afield too but that was common for a major metropolis.

It was strange how easy it was to be open with the bright girl she was helping. It might have been something to do with the bright smile and generally 'bubbly' air she exuded. Probably also had a little to do with how cute she was but still, it was kind of cool to be able to talk freely with someone her own age. Allegra was cool and all but they kind of were on totally different wavelengths as far as personalities went. Well, that and she was far too close to the kind of girls she'd grown up with trying to fawn over her when they knew who she was.

Which was never going to come up. At all. In any way. If she managed to not spill it like she'd nearly done half a dozen times already.

A joker too! Oh the beautiful sound of sarcasm was music to her ears. Did explain what she wanted from the city though and it, well it sounded incredible. "That's awesome! Also, not only a dancer you're a theatre girl as well? So cool. There's got to be a story to why you got into that." Dancing and theatre did go hand in hand, but so few people fully embraced them both. Or move across the country to get into a school for them. Took a hell of a lot of guts to do that.

"Totally get wanting to study here though, I mean it's New York! Even us Brits have to, grudgingly, admit it's an amazing place to come and learn at."

Marisol was not going to be petty. She worked hard for the body she had and she was proud of it, even if it meant a lifelong commitment to consuming less than the ideal number of tacos. (The ideal number, of course, being all the tacos.) She danced hard and worked out enough to stay in peak shape because she had to; dance was an even more competitive field than drama, and she had not yet ruled out pursuing a career in dance.

Still, how could she not get a little jealous about Alice’s ability to consume cake without concern? Alice seemed a tiny bit self-conscious about it, pointing out the challenges of constantly needing to eat. Marisol knew how exhausted she could get if she was not eating the right number of calories and that was without a mutation. Marisol continued to listen, but tucked away the question she had been meaning to ask.

It was flattering that Alice wanted to know more about Marisol, but that did not stop it from making her anxious. Why was so much focus on her? Unless she was hiding behind a character, there was no need for a spotlight on the timid brunette. Biting her lip, she mumbled, ”I mean, I really got into dancing and singing early and just never stopped. It’s not that exciting a story, honestly.” Sure, she knew that being a student of the arts in New York was a big deal, but Marisol’s origin story was still pretty pedestrian. ”It is kind of an honor to be studying here, though,” she admitted, feeling the pink hitting her cheeks.

”So…” she started, seeking to move the topic over to Alice, ”What do you do? Or do you want to do? Oh!” she quickly added as she remembered her tucked away topic. ”And I’ve been meaning to ask: what does your mutation do? You know, when you’re not next to a lame off switch like me?”