Tyranny ran down the six flights of emergency exit stairs, in a downward circle as if she was circling a stair strew drain. She wasn't in her typical black and spike covered gear. today she wore flannel PJ's and a strappy top. She was currently making a snack run after unsucessfully trying to figure out what to watch with her roomates on video day. they managed to get one steady day off all at the same time and they tried to use it for staying in, but again they often failed.

She burst out of the emergency doors on the first floor and sprinted down the hall in combat boots that didn't quite match the rest of the relaxed outfit. she turned left on the sidewalk and sprinted to the convient store tucked into the block of her building, she entered the building in a huff and waved to Hector, They guy typically behind the counter.

She went back toward the chips and began to grab a bunch of things that looked yummy.

The boy came out from the meeting with the band, they practiced the new songs a lot and they did not ave enough time to ate anything , almost always their meetings or social visits included a large assortment of candies, cookies and cakes prepared by the best bakers in the hotel exclusively for them. Fausto became quickly one of the most hated people by all the staff in the hotel except for the doorman who always appreciated that he appeared there, if he handled him well he would receive a generous tip from Miss Cielle.
the rest of them hated him when they had to prepare tea for them, because even when they were only three small mutant ,they were responsible for devour everything. the flavors were incredible, the pastry cooks do a very good job with each cake but these pieces disintegrate in his mouth at an alarming rate that pushed them to bake enough cake for an army every time Fausto visited his friends.
This time, the bakers were able to breathe a sigh of relief when Iron Mouth leave the hotel without even eat a single cake .they breathed a sigh of relief when the little boy came out, because from the time he asked for his keys at reception and went upstairs every soul in the hotel was shivering waiting for the call of the girl to ask her usual ¨ever-changing¨ menu.
She felt guilty for having made him practice so much that gave him some ¨coins¨ to buy something to eat in the way to the mansion .she said ¨coins¨, which actually was money enough to buy food for three days. Fausto might not accept the money, after all he did not deserve that money. he could eat anything that seems pleasing to his eye and promised to have a unique taste and as unique as an iron gate a little rusty. he had always liked the bitter and metallic taste of oxide. the cold metal gives way to the warm sensation of melting to lose their shape and hardness in a matter of seconds.

the child wanted to arrived to the mansion before dark, but he really had a great desire to eat something worthy of his magnificent person. so he entered into the first store that he could found on the way.
it was not a big store nor also very small, the size was the necessary to sell all sorts of things. it was paradise, Fausto could buy many different things without raising suspicions about his mutation, at least not raise suspicion if he do not eat anything strange in front of the seller. but prior to that he had something to do, it was very important.
¨Sir do you have that super-resistant chewing gum that keeps its flavor for hours? ya know the one that appeared on commercials ...¨ he looked how the seller was a little puzzled, obviously he had so many different types of chewing gum, but which one wanted the boy? seeing his face the child added to him ... ¨ the song is something like this ... ¨It stretch to the infinite nite nite, chew it like a Ruminant Nant Nant ¨. do you know what chewing gum? hell , never mind . I would find it somewhere ...¨
his eyes began to explore the possibilities offered by the objects in his sight. yes , he could walk a few steps toward the gondola of snacks and buy some ones but the flavors would last only a few seconds so it had to be an object that would provide a unique flavor. ¨ I think I will take one of those, and also that other one. no , better two of them .¨
Fausto smiled while he was watching the objects that were added to his paper bag. pens, small notebooks, lighters, batteries, Chapstick, Eyeshadow. when he finished buying all the things that were at the reach of his sight that promised to have a special flavor he asked again ¨are you sure you don't have it ?¨

Tyranny took the arm load of snacks up toward hector and the counter and watched curiously as a young man stacked anything he could reach in a pile of what he wanted, it seemed to her at least that he was just buying the first eight things he saw. And then he started singing a jingle that she couldn’t get out of her Head.

~~¨are you sure you don't have it ?¨

“ I think you are looking for Stride.” She knew he was looking for stride. She nodded toward a box that looked like someone’s knees might have knocked it under the shelf. She struggled to free a finger and then pointed down at the bright green box.

She shifted her items to one arm in a pile and then moved that pile to the open counter that was reserved for a second cashier and then bent down.

“oh, last pack, looks like your lucky day.” She smiled and then stood up handing the young man the pack of gum.

¨ Yes this is what I was looking for, thanks. How could I forget the name? ¨
The child smiled happily. ¨ Every day is my lucky day, i could say that I am the son of Fortune, The Fortune that is commonly regarde as a mythical being distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life ... Well, my name is Fausto. nice to meet you ¨

Fausto quickly took the package . Could be true what the commercial said? Could he chew it without dissolving it?
The last time he had chewed gum had been when he was 8 years old before his mutation appeared. The child was anxious just by the idea that it could work , he could even jump of joy.

His fingers were hampered by impatient but he managed to open it, he offered one to the girl and put another one in his mouth.
Strider did not dissolved, he could feel the taste of mint. he could fully enjoy this delicacy without losing the flavor because of the chemical processes that trigger his saliva.
He stayed a few seconds with the mouth closed and the gum on his tongue, it did not dissolved or melted neither begin to disappear or be reduced to nothing, there was the gum on his tongue and yet nothing happened. he little boy grinned his approval to the miraculous product .he chewed quietly, patiently, enjoying every moment when the gum touched his tongue.
Even when neither the seller nor the girl would understand he spoke aloud what he was thinking.
¨ Strider really works, it's incredible. I never found an object with this resistance ¨

His face showed happiness, the joy of a child eating candies, but it also showed a smile that had little to do with simple snacks. anyone would have thought that the boy had discovered the cure for a illness or he had resolved some complicated enigma since his face showed a surprise worthy of such situations.

~~¨ Yes this….Well, my name is Fausto. nice to meet you ¨

“Hello, Fausto, Son of Fortune, I am Tyranny, daughter of Chaos.”


Tyranny grinned as the young man chewed the gum before he even paid for it He was a character and she liked that, eccentric people were her favorite. Hector started to complain but she shook her head and winked at him before he opened his mouth, even if he bolted out the door right now , she would pay for the pack of gum, he liked it too much, it was hilarious. It was like it was the first pack of gum he ever chewed. She took a piece from the young man with a “Thanks.”


~~¨ Strider really works, it's incredible. I never found an object with this resistance ¨

“I take it you are a gum aficionado ?” He seemed to have been on a hunt for and it made her happy seeing that he was enjoying his gum. It was good.

She turned around and then went and got her things briefly leaving fortune’s son outside of the outer radius of her anti-mutant sphere. Then she turned around with her things and got in line again, giving him the subtle hint to buy his things.

¨A nickname , eh? what kind of nickname is that ? chaos is never good . anyway you can call me Iron Mouth . current rockstar and future conqueror of the World ¨
At the end of the sentence he take a second to finish what he could not include in the sentence about his life. he did not like much boasting about his position in Kabal but he was very proud of what they were doing and what they would do in the world in the near future. ¨also i am in a big organization that would make this world a better place for everyone ¨ Then he continued with his speech ¨ nice to meet you again ¨ he said , then he added quickly seeing that she was heading back again to search some other things .

¨ I am not a aficionado to to gum ... is just that ... well , is a long story .¨
Fausto did not want to talk about the circumstances that had made that he could not chew gum. That would led to his childhood, to remember the happy days with his family and would do well to remember the fateful day in which they left his life forever.

His face slowly change from joy to disappointed through all the steps between it . if someone had film him was easy to recognize the exact moment that the disappointment seized the smile that had drawn on his face to transform it into a crooked smile. He spat on the floor more for a reflex than for any kind of reason , he just was disappointed with the fake miracle of the most resistant chewing gum . A second of angry made him spat on the floor . the portion of floor melted quickly with a thin thread of smoke . ¨sorry ¨ he quickly apologize for the problem he caused . He quickly put the cash in the counter . it was surely 10 times more than what needed to pay for the things .
¨it melted¨ It was what always happened. it had melted ,there was no other option. as someone like him would have a mutation that is overridden by normal gum, it was stupid. but the fact that he had been chewing it for at least 1 minute was sufficient for him.¨same as always good things last a few seconds ¨

~~¨A nickname , eh? what kind of nickname is that ? chaos is never good . anyway you can call me Iron Mouth . current rockstar and future conqueror of the World ¨


“Actually Tyranny is my name, od parents.” She gave the short version. “ And chaos isn’t bad, it is natural. Mankind is what tries to chaos.” She looked thoughtful for a moment and added. “ fortune is chaotic. Rockstar and ruler, not bad, Iron Mouth”

~~¨also the second in command of a big organization that would make this world a better place for everyone ¨

uh huh. rock star and world ruler.Interesting kid, delusional, but interesting.

~~¨ nice to meet you again ¨

“My Pleasure

~~¨ I am not a aficionado to to gum ... is just that ... well , is a long story .¨

“I’ve got time….Whooo!” she said as she stepped back from the spit…that burnt a hole in the ground. She tossed her food on the counter again and took up a ready to fight pose.

~~¨sorry ¨ ¨it melted¨

and he just wanted to chew gum… she furrowed her brow as he paid for damages…

“hang on a sec try another piece she said as she took a step closer moving her hands down and repeating in her head, he is just a kid. He is just a kid. A kid that spits acid…just a kid. She forced her head to smile, this was the moment of truth, was her mutant power to cancel out mutant powers?….

¨ What? i already asked for forgiveness and pay for the damage, what happens? ¨ the child was trying to find the answer to what was the cause for why the girl was reacting in that way. his mutant pride did not allow or never will allow him to think that was a problem, its mutation never was a serious problem in the way he used it . he did not ate a person, or stole banks licking the armored walls of it . simply and without realizing it had spat on the floor, as he usual did at the park of the mansion and on the streets every time something bothers him, it was a warning that he always did. I can bite and it will hurt but this time the warning had been directed to the stupid gum that refused to stay in his mouth more than a few minutes.

¨Do you want me to try again? Well ... I do not see what is going to change is just chewing gum. ¨
So he did, it was just another piece of gum in his mouth, as expected it was not melting , the gum was actually good compared to other things. What substances would have in it that make it last longer than most of the metals in his mouth? He followed wondering while chewing.

¨ Is there something special about how i chew? ¨

~~¨Do you want …..is just chewing gum. ¨


“Not the gum. Hector, I’ll be back for that stuff,” she put a pair of twenties on the counter. And grabbed up the pile of things that hector had bagged up while they made an exchange the young man had more than paid for the floor and the stuff with it.

She handed him the beg and put a hand lightly on his arm. “walk with me?” she started to walk anyway.

~~¨ Is there something special about how i chew? ¨

“no I don’t think so…I think it is me. I think I am a mutant that cancels other mutants out….when I am close.” he is just a boy she reminded herself again in her head when she saw his neck and considered snapping it.

“You want to help me figure it out?” a test was something she needed to do on friendly terms for awhile now, see what her range was, understand more.

She asked to him to walk with her but she didn't wait for the answer. she was carrying him out as she commented about his suspicions.

¨Bye Hector¨ the boy greeted while he went out through the door pulled by the girl who insisted that she was a mutant that nullified other mutants. it was funny to think about it.
¨I do not think you're, is the chewing gum. is very strong. the jingle explain it well, ¨chew it like a Ruminant ¨. Ruminant chew, chew, then they swallow it and after a while they make it go back to the mouth again for further chewing if the gum can withstand such abuse ... why it will not hold my mutation? ¨

He preferred to say "mutation" and not ¨corrosive saliva¨ because she seemed to have enough problems with her supposed mutation , for some reason she was going crazy just thinking that she could be a mutant. Why people think it's bad to be a mutant? is spectacular.you are not equal to the rest of the people,you have more resources.

¨ i can help you. but what do you want me to do? ¨

¨I do not think you're, is the chewing gum. is very strong. the jingle explain it well, ¨chew it like a Ruminant ¨. Ruminant chew, chew, then they swallow it and after a while they make it go back to the mouth again for further chewing if the gum can withstand such abuse ... why it will not hold my mutation? ¨
“yeah, I saw that new Gross commercial. Bleh! Ok, your mutation makes acid in your mouth?” just a boy, yeah, an acid mouth boy, that can burn through the ground with a spit wad. “So I think that it will last as long as I am near you. Whenever you are ready I will take a couple steps back and I bet the gum goes away.”

¨ i can help you. but what do you want me to do? ¨

“We could try it with something else, what is the food you like the most?” she paused for a moment. “something back there, a hot dog? Pizza?” she hoped that she didn’t sound absolutely nuts. He was just a boy and one that was polite, though he did want to rule the world….she prepared to take a step back on his word that he was ready to destroy another piece of gum.

(feel free to have her move back and forth or even go somewhere with you if you want to move the thread to a resturant.)

The child has no other options he would have to rely on what she said, why not? maybe she was a mutant and he was wrong. if her experiment did not work he did not want to waste time going to a restaurant , he was hungry . go to a restaurant just will complicate things, we should wait for the food to to be prepared and it would not have enough space to check the distance of effect of the mutation of Tyranny.
The boy put a hand on the bag that Hector had prepared, it contained the items he had just purchased. his hand played with the various objects while his mind tried to predict the taste of everything. For what object should he start first? without doubt, the AA batteries were the best choice . for him it was as a chocolate pole covered with more chocolate . The main components of the batteries are mercury, cadmium, nickel and manganese. any human would die or fall into a high state of intoxication. For Iron Mouth were just sweets.

He took one of the batteries that he brought and put half in his mouth, the rest of the battery stood out of his mouth. the battery on his lips looked like a huge cigarette such that people buy when they have money to spare or when they achieves something important and want to look rich and successful.
To his surprise she was right, the battery was not melting in his mouth. he could feel the plastic of the battery on his tongue. he made a sign to her to walk away a bit but the battery remained without signs of change.
¨a bit more ¨the boy managed to mutter while he strongly hold it with his lips.

She took a few steps away again when the boy felt that the plastic quickly dissapear in his saliva, first the plastic that surrounded it. then the metal until the chemicals touched his tongue. he fell a the warm and melted metal going down through his throat . each chemical component had a different taste and they all were mixed in his mouth to form a final taste. it was something metallic, warm, with a very strong flavor difficult to express in words.

Fausto yelled af her soon after swallowing the battery. he took the rest of the battery in his hand, being careful not to throw the contents that could cause heavily polluting of the environment and could be dangerous to other humans. ¨my mutation worked again "and even more quickly got the rest of the battery in his mouth. he really had chosen well, it was an exotic flavor that very few people or just him were able to appreciate.

Tyranny’s jaw dropped as she realized what he had bought all those random items for, eating, he ate what ever he wanted for fun…the acid must go further then his mouth, but that made sense other wise the saliva would have killed him in his sleep the first night.

“SO, batteries are your favorite food then?...I guess we could hit up auto zone.” They had car batteries. Maybe that would be like a birthday cake to him….

¨a bit more ¨

She stayed very still, one quick move toward him and she could ruin his little mutant mouth. She paused and took a deep breath. “ let me know when you are done, I Don’t” she smiled “ I don’t want to hurt you.” It was the honest truth. There was n way this kid was directly responsible for the incident…maybe she should focus on the ones that were only. Lord knows there were pictures of the ones involved.


She wondered if her roommates would hate her for the delay or simple figure she was just being tyranny and she went on some sort of adventure. “so Mr. Iron mouth, I appreciate your help you sure you don’t want to try a more traditional snack or chew some gum while I am around?

¨ Not really , but my favorite meals are those that have some metal in it , if is a little rusty better. I love the taste of rusty metal . ¨ The child quickly swallowed the battery already melted in his mouth, the idea of losing their mutations and then that the toxic materials of the battery as the toxic liquid metals will burn his mouth, tongue throat and it was not a pleasant idea.

¨Done ! ¨ Fausto added when he finish it. Would she dare to approach without warning ?? how easy was for her to kill others mutants . she just have to walk around when he was eating some unusual food to cause him a great harm. in this case it will be a seriously burn in the entire mouth and throat with perhaps some internal damage to the stomach or tracheae, maybe an ulcer.

He whispered a few world without thinking , his mouth was more quick than his brain . ¨ well, there is something I like to try ...¨ He was completely embarrassing just for what he insinuated . ¨not with you ¨ he hasten to add in in a tone of voice that really eliminate any misunderstanding .
¨Just forget it ...¨ He was blushed so hard that he barely could speak normal .

~~¨Done ! ¨

She nodded but hesitated. “ I’ll give your stomach a moment to catch up just in case.


~~¨ well, there is something I like to try ...¨

“Sure just name it.” He changed his mind about the snack pretty quick.

~~ ¨not with you ¨

“Oh!”

~~¨Just forget it ...¨

“Oh… you got a girl somewhere that you would like to try that with?...maybe if she didn’t mind a woman being nearby, that is a simple enough request. Sure, why not. I’d be offended but you’re a bit young for me.” She said tapping a playful punch on his arm as she walked up assuming that his batteries had been decimated by his stomach and the rest in the mean time. “hmmm. One last favor for Me? Could you spit on the ground while I am close? I am just having trouble believing what I can do…” you know if she got some of his normal spit in a container and then threw it away from her it would be a pretty effective attack…vials of venom? That could be effective against some of the forces she opposed.