Restless she was. Alexandra looked at her laptop again and again. She was tired; the dark circles underneath her eyes, the fact that she could barely keep her eyes open showed that clearly. And still, she refused to sleep. Ideas rolled around her head again and again, and she knew that until she’d find the perfect solution to her problem she wouldn’t be able to rest.

Taking another sip of her coffee, she forced her eyes open. And then… the idea came out of nowhere. Just like when a small bulb had been turned on inside her head, all her thoughts were enlightened. Eyes brightened up, sleep faded away into the background. Of course! Why didn’t this come sooner to her thoughts? After all, it had been there almost all the time, waiting to be discovered. With a grin on her face, Alexandra slipped out of her chair and rushed out of her hotel room. Glancing to her sides she made her way to the door that held her interest.

Taking a small breath, she knocked on the door of Fausto Martense AKA Iron Mouth.

How dare they to disturb him even when his door have that clear message. Do not disturb. It was easy to understand , there were not a lot of ways to interpret it . It was simple but even with that kind of subliminal message someone knocked on the door . He was sleeping already , night was so quiet that even the slightest sound was loud as a stampede , the gentle knocks sounded as someone was hammering iron . It hammered Iron's head until he woke up .

He loved the life in fancy hotels . Everything was amazing like the bed that were softer than the mansion's one or the silk pajamas of different colors , deep blue was his choice , or the incredible Room Service .
The pajama was light but the artificial controlled temperature made useless to wear more .
Heaven must be like a expensive room in the fanciest hotel . Someone knocked on heavens door , He answered the call .
¨Why Room Service sent me an angel ? ¨ He smiled and quickly changed his speech when he realized that perhaps something was wrong seeing it was late in the night . ¨Älex , are you ok ? Can i help you ?¨

It took a while before Mr. Fausto Martense, also known as Iron Mouth answered the door. Alexandra guessed that he must have been sleeping. But sleep… sleep was not important right now and without too much patience she waited for him to open his door.

“ ¨Why Room Service sent me an angel? … Alex, are you ok? Can I help you?¨

Alexandra smirked, tilting her head to the side as, in an angel-like manner, she took a small step back. “Oh yes. An angel who has a mission for you.” Alexandra glanced to the sides, now quietly scanning the hallway. No one was in sight, but with a small sigh, the molecule manipulator slightly leaned forward and in a low voice, she spoke. “Tell me Fausto. How well can you play pretend?” And with a corner of her lips curling upwards, she straightened herself up, blue eyes watching the boy in front of her with a curious look.

¨ Angels are the ones doing the dirty work of God, if it exists. ¨ To destroy cities, kill people, bring bad messages and announce the final judgment , all tasks of the angels .. . Why people love them so much? . Since when angels pass their missions to others? Her questions forced him to enhance his acting performance, he physically erased any trace of any smile on his face as he waited anxiously for more information while for sure his aura would radiate brilliant bright colors of joy . Living in the street teaches you to omit certain details, a big grin at the prospect of jumping into action was not a detail to show
. ¨ I am pretending in from of you and you do not suspect anything. ¨ He hated himself for that , he was like ... Slate . Showing no emotions but even when he did not want to lie to her , it was absolutely necessary . ¨ Good enough i guess. What kind of mission are we talking about? ¨

His mind knew that there was no one more appropriate than himself to carry out that mission even when he did not know what was the mission . The problem of believing you are the most important person in the world is that even something as surprising as that, do not surprise you a lot , no one is better qualified to perform the work , then Why not to ask you ?. He was waiting for a mission. If it was not ordered by Slate , he would have to do what he could on his own to help. Fausto forced his mind to ask that question anyway. ¨ "Why me? ¨ His tongue interpreted it well, but his brain still did not understand why to ask a question you already knew the answer.

¨ Good enough i guess. What kind of mission are we talking about? ¨

Alexandra smiled. Also, she hoped that Fausto would find a bit of more interest in the mission because she quite needed a dedicated mutant for this one. And then… his other question. Why him? Why did he have to ask? Should she use sincerity or lie and feed his already inflated ego? A dilemma. But first. “Let’s continue this conversation inside.” She said, face becoming serious now. Alexandra didn’t wait for Fausto to invite her in, after all, he had had his chances to do so. She walked past him undisturbed and blue eyes searched for the nearest chair. Once she found it, she took a seat and, crossing her legs one over the other and placing her hands on her thighs, she took a deep breath. Blue eyes were set upon the boy.

“You asked why I chose you.” The molecule manipulator tilted her head to the side, sighing slightly. “I will tell you the truth. I chose you because I can’t do it. If there was any possibility for me to do it, I wouldn’t have asked you, or anyone else.” Alexandra blinked lazily while pausing for a moment while searching the reactions her words might have caused. “As for what type of mission this is. You will have to infiltrate an organization.” She smiled a bit before continuing. “You’re gonna be a spy.” And then, she stopped talking, letting Fausto speak in case he had anything on his mind worthy of sharing.

His father, a wise man of many words (not many as his son), had a phrase for everything and he had one in particular that used with a sarcastic smile on his face and kindness of the same nature. ¨ If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. ¨ That could only mean two things , for most people it meant that someone did a job wrong and who assigned the job must do it to make it well . but for him the meaning was a little different the most reliable person to do a job is oneself . She could not do it, then she assigned him . If she could not do it , then the person that would get as good results as her or even higher was him.

This time he let his porcelain face to melt to form skin again , it was difficult to contain all his emotions behind a invisible mask , but he was not to bad in that. He let a smile take over his face , he smiled with expectation and emotion at the same time as he imagined what might happen, what would help the mission. Something was still unclear ... ¨ Why this organization in particular? How am i suppose to enter it? ¨ That was extremely important, if this organization was worthy of being spied on, Slate should have someone there ... Had he done it already ? Did he know about the existence of this organization? If he did not know of that organization, he could tell when he could discovered something interesting and Slate would realize his full potential. ¨ Sign me in . ¨. He grinned with the words still in his lips.

Alexandra smirked. “This organization is called the Underground. Are you familiar with the Order in New York? They are something like that. The Underground is a fan of mutant supremacy and their actions are causing troubles during these times. Romania can’t really afford to have mutants put in a bad light while we’re trying to stop the Registration Act.” The molecule manipulator stood up, now pacing trough the room, arms folded in front of her. “I know they are planning something but unfortunately I don’t have the time to work on both sides.”

Alexandra stopped, glancing over the shoulder at Fausto. “That is why I need someone who could spend all his time in there. I figured that you don’t have anything important planned.” The molecule manipulator sighed as she spun on her heels, turning around to face Fausto. “This is important Fausto. Very important. Having someone there, knowing their every move can give us a huge advantage.” Her face was serious now. Fausto needed to understand that this was not a child’s game, nor it was something meant to grow his ego. This was serious and she needed him to stay focused on what was important here. Stop the Mutant Registration Act. Save Romania. “As for how you are getting in.” A dramatic pause followed. “I’m going to introduce you to the big boss there. But once I leave, it’s your job to gain her trust and make her share with you the information we need. The time is short and you need to move fast. You can’t make mistakes.”

Alexandra took a step toward Fausto. “You think you can do it?”

He was so proud of being part of Kabal , it was something to be proud of . An organization doing good things and he was part of that elite . But he feel so tiny cause he did not know of that cancer so wrongly called Order . A supremacist act would accelerate the registration process and the use of extreme force against mutants .
Her serious face intimidated him more than someone else angry face would do . Of course it was an important subject but he could not avoid smiling so hard while thinking in this heroic moment ... Why he was so selfish? The goal seemed to be becoming a hero, not to help itself. Help seemed to be the path to become what he wanted but not the goal itself ... Was that wrong? Did he really was selfish? Was her serious face what made him re stated his next move?
¨As i said , i am here to help and you are giving me a perfect chance . Of course i could do it ...¨
His mouth closed , he forced the smile to disappear , and let his lips closed to avoid smiling while listening everyone of her words as holy words , all she said there would be important to help him success in the mission.

The lingering smile on his face made Alexandra frown. She walked over to him, stopping barely a foot away from Fausto. “Fausto. This needs focus. This is not about you. This could save a country. I won’t give you this mission if you don’t put the goal of this mission before anything else, even yourself.”

Sighing, she unfolded her arms and locked her eyes with Fausto. “Okay?”

After pausing her speech for a few moments, Alexandra started to pace around the room while speaking. “Pacifica, the Underground’s leader, can see right trough you if you don’t play very, very good. She’s good with people. Also, she is manipulative and loves being right. Do not argue with her, no matter what. Share her opinions. Act like you were dedicated to the cause of the Underground. Do what she says. Around there, she’s the queen bitch and whoever stands against her is kicked out.” Alexandra stopped again, glancing at Fausto. “Do you understand why I’m saying that you’ll have to put the mission before your needs? No one will obey you or will be preoccupied with your interests. Especially not Pacifica. You must be prepared to even act like her good little doggie if that is what it gets you in the upper ranks of the Underground.”

His smile vanished , he was selfish trying to be a hero. She statement all the needs for the mission , all the inconvenient , all the problems and the difficult of it , but she also said what would be saved , it was enough for a little sacrifice .
Fausto spoke with the true, from the bottom of his heart . ¨All my life i talked about Justice , to help others is a kind of justice . I would be a liar and a hypocrite if i don't take this opportunity to help .¨ He was sincere , but was sincerity enough for her to believe in him?
¨Pride , my pride . Yes i understood i have to forget all about it , about myself . I must leave my throne to kneel down in front of Pacifica but is for a good cause , this country and all of us . Mutants could be in danger if we mess this ... ¨ If a riot explode in Romania for the Registration , more and more mutant haters would grow and Registration and camps would happen all around the world , it was easy to imagine a entire island transformed into a maximum security prison for mutants . More conflicts would arise and the world would be in war , mutants against humans , mutants against mutants . It was not just a country since it would cause a lot of people to go berserk .
¨Ïs okay , i could do that if is necessary .I just need to do the opposite i always do .¨
The singer winked at her , as she was a fan of him waiting for a little of attention but it was suppose to be a wink of trust , and also a prayer for her to trust him , to trust that he would do it well .

Alexandra only nodded at Fausto. She wasn’t in the mood for theatrics now. “Good, good. Always remember what its at stake and you should do fine.” She moved from her position next to Fausto, patting his arm slightly. Then she remembered, that still, he was a kid. A kid and she was putting a huge responsibility on his shoulders. Alexandra smiled. “I trust you can do a good job Fausto.”

Then, quickly, she moved away, next to the door. “Dress yourself up, I’ll be waiting outside. I’ll tell you the rest of the plan on our way over there.” Without a second glance, Alexandra moved out of the room. She paid only a short visit to her room, to put on a jacket, and then, after locking her room up, she leaned against the wall, arms folded in front of her as she waited for Fausto to come out of his room.

His small and skinny shoulders held the incredible weight without problems, he was a child but also the future world conqueror and as such , he would have tons of huge things to do , so it would be a task that he would have to habituate soon or later . It was possible that he could stop a possible civil war between mutants and humans, if he could find something about the organization . It was not necessary that she told him, he knew that she trusted him. But what she said made him smile . Did she know that his self confident was unlimited?

He chose not to pick expensive clothes, none of which they bought together. He grabbed his everyday clothes, the worn and faded clothes , donated clothes . He did not want them to think he was a spoiled rich kid when he was neither rich nor spoiled. Certainly many members of the organization had difficult life, complicated and if he came with his air of emperor they would look bad at him , maybe they would smell that something was not quite right, then they start to investigate and perhaps, if they have enough skills the spy could be find . to act, playing being a boy living on the streets with nothing to lose and a lot of hatred toward humans. He could do it. He would.
Curiosity ate his mind while he changed clothes quickly, he took his precious knife and went out. He almost ran the last stretch that separated both , with expectation , wanting to know more and more about the mission .

Alexandra smiled briefly, approving Fausto’s choice of outfit. With the amount of shopping they have done, she was almost afraid that he’d choose something expensive to wear if she hadn’t advised him otherwise. But, seeing his current outfit, Alexandra could consider herself satisfied. The kid was learning.

Gesturing him to the elevator, Alexandra began to walk, but did not say a thing. She’d let him know the rest of the mission but once they were in their car. The hotel’s hallways or lobby was not a good location for sharing such details. Reaching the parking lot, Alexandra clicked a button on the small remote control she had retrieved from her pocket. The car beep-ed signaling that the doors have been unlocked. “Get in.” She said, gesturing to the passenger’s seat. Then, she quietly slipped inside and closed the door once she was in.

Once Fausto was in as well, Alexandra started the car and, after leaving the parking lot in favor of the streets, Alexandra started to talk. “Here’s your story. Tonight, while you were traveling with your parents, trying to get out of Romania, the authorities intercepted you. In this fight, your parents have been captured and when they were about to capture you as well, I stepped in and saved you. You must ditch any id you have on, they have the possibility to check if you’re telling the truth… so if they ask you of your real name, tell them that it’s not important. From now on, you’re only known as Iron Mouth.” Turning her head toward Fausto, she scanned the boy. “Got that?”