Late night, pitch black with the exception of the street lights. Andrew Madsen walked briskly back towards his apartment. It was a warm night so he walked with his suit jacket open. The nightclub was now closed and he'd gotten a couple good tips from people desperate to get in over the hours he'd spent stood outside, it would keep his student lifestyle going a bit longer.

Andrew had been having a weird week, starting with a pseudo-robot, and he was tired. He didn't notice the figure leaving the alley as he passed, or the bulge of a gun in the guy's pocket.

There was a hard thud and Andrew's vision blurred, he dropped to his knees letting out a grunt of pain and instinctively brought his right hand up to the back of his head.

"Wallet! Now!"

Andrew looked round to see a gun pointed in his face. His head was throbbing and he couldn't concentrate properly.

It was another slow night but Juka really didn't mind. His life had been a roller coaster of discovery lately, mainly centering around his recent discovered immortality. He had only just begun to come to terms with the fact, assisted along by a healthy dose of books. Yes indeed, he had discovered the library shortly after the fact he had discovered he probably no longer aged and, oh what a glorious thing that it was. In fact, he was now intending to learn Spanish so that he could, one day soon, visit Spain. It was a truly glorious plan that he had full intentions of going through with.

For the time being, however, he needed to complete his nightly patrol. For months Juka had been going out for a few hours every night in order to help make the city a little safer of a place. Normally there wasn't much to do aside from deal with the odd mugging or gang beat down, but every so often it was more serious. He even had to deal with mutants causing trouble on occasion. But tonight had been uneventful and it was getting close to time for him to return to his apartment.

"Wallet! Now!"

Hearing the demand, Juka turned his bubble in the direction of the words, anvils floating around him. This was exactly what he came to the city to combat, evil people like that who demanded wallets and other possessions. How could they be so inconsiderate?

"Drop the gun and you won't get hurt," Juka yelled, as soon as the thug and his potential victim came into view. He really did hate when they were armed with guns. Neither ninja masks and Green Mage cloaks, nor anvils were much of a defense against them. Hopefully he'd be a smart one and give up without a fight but so few of them were.

Kyle was heading towards a local reastraunt for some diner when he noticed somthing strange up ahead. Or rather, someone strange up ahead. Whoever it was was wearing a green cloak and what appeared to be a... ninja mask? What was even odder was that the person seemed to be surrounded by four floating anvils.
Kyle was broken from his contemplations regarding the necessity of floating anvils by someone shouting. "Wallet Now!"
The person with the anvils heard it too and quickly moved to investigate. "Drop the gun and you won't get hurt," The anvil wielder yelled.
To tell the truth, Kyle thought the man should have dropped the gun instead of trying to go up against floating anvils but hey, Kyle also wouldn't have tried to mug someone. Grabbing a piece of broken brick Kyle hover-skated around anvil-man and behind the mugger. Holding the brick ready for easy launch he called out; "I'd listen to him if I were you. If the anvils don't get you, this brick will."

Andrew's head had cleared enough for him to concentrate again, but he was distracted by a floating green becloaked ninja surrounded with hovering anvils... maybe he'd been hit harder than he thought.

>>"Drop the gun and you won't get hurt,"

The mugger turned to aim at the ninja when an Australian who was highly recognisable to Andrew skated into a view... in a way that was highly recognisable to Andrew.

>>"I'd listen to him if I were you. If the anvils don't get you, this brick will."

The mugger turned again, switching his aim between the ninja and the brick-wielder. But mostly aiming at the ninja. Andrew had recovered enough to concentrate and let his hand drop from the back of his head, he focused on his powers, growing heavier, there were more targets now but he had no desire to catch a bullet.

"What the! Stay back!"

"Hi, aren't you supposed to be mugging me?"

"Shut up!"

The mugger swung the gun down hard into Andrew's face, and winced as he made contact. Andrew on the other hand didn't seem to care.

"I'd listen to him if I were you. If the anvils don't get you, this brick will."

Juka allowed the new voice distract him for just a moment as he lifted his eyes from the gun wielding would be mugger to the newcomer. The newcomer who was indeed wielding a brick and, apparently, also happened to be hovering just above the ground. Well, it was certainly neat to find another floating mutant.

Focusing his eyes back on the intended mugger, who was now pointing his gun at Juka himself, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for the man. Oh, he knew that he really shouldn't after all, he was the bad guy in the situation. But what he had intended to be a simple mugging had suddenly turned into so much more. Not only did he now have his potential victim to deal with, but two mutants as well. He could see the indecision on the criminal's face as the same thoughts went through his own head.

The mugger then, apparently decided against his early plan of attacking Juka and swung his gun at his almost victim, using it as a sort of makeshift club. Unfortunately for him, it appeared that he hurt himself more than he hurt his target causing Juka to smirk in amusement all the more.

"You know, I'd say you're a little outmatched here," Juka helpfully informed the thug. "What do you say you leave the gun behind and we let you scurry off with your tail between your legs? Oh, and of course you'd have to promise not to try to mug anyone else in the future and get a real job instead." There, completely reasonable and no need for anyone to get hurt.

The attempted mugger tried to knock his victim out, but ended up just hurting his hand. When he did so Kyle finally got a good look at the guys face. It was the person he's seen a few days ago at central park. The one who'd been running with the robot. Andy, or something. The cloaked anvil wielding ninja issued an ultimatum, that he give up, go home and never try to mug people again.

The man seemed to think about it for a moment, so Kyle decided to give him a bit more to think about. "Just so you know, I can launch this brick at you in an instant, so don't think you can get away with anything tricky." He said, sounding a bit more confident then he felt. Hopefully the man wouldn't get any ideas. After all, he was up against three mutants, four anvils and a brick with very good acceleration.

Under verbal barrage from an anvil-wielder and a brick-wielder the amatuer mugger began to panic Constantly switching his aim. Andrew got back to his feet, drawing the aim back to himself. The mugger was obviously scared... and stupid, severely stupid, but he seemed to be getting the idea.

>>"Just so you know, I can launch this brick at you in an instant, so don't think you can get away with anything tricky."

The gun clattered to the ground as the mugger turned and ran. After he'd got some distance away Andrew relaxed ands let his density drop back to normal. He turned to the other two, rubbing the back of his head lightly. He'd been having a weird week so he tried to act as though a green ninja with floating anvils was perfectly normal.

"Thanks for the help guys."

He was already tired and the brief use of his power had made things worse, he was now hungry as well. His stomach rumbled noticeably.

It really was amusing the see the panic in the almost mugger's face, as he desperately switched his aim from one to the other to the other and back again. When he finally came to the realization that it was not only a lost cause but they were also willing to let him go, Juka coudln't prevent the giggle that escaped him when the man dropped his gun and fled. Some people would just never learn.

Once the villain was out of sight, Juka returned his attention to the man he had so valiantly saved (with help of course). "You are most welcome, darling." He bowed deeply to the stranger. "And thank you, my stalwart ally," he turned his attention to the floating mutant, "for aiding me in the halting of the unacceptable actions of that would be mugger." It was good to let your allies know that they were appreciated.

"Are you all right? I couldn't help but notice that the man hit you pretty hard with his gun," Juka asked the almost victim, concern evident in his voice.

The man finally realised he was completely outmatched and fled, throwing his gun away as he did so. When the 'victim' thanked his 'rescuers' Kyle nodded as the green cloaked individual responded. As Kyle chucked his brick into the alley the mugger had been hiding in the masked man turned to face him.

>>"...thank you, my stalwart ally," said the anvil ninja, "for aiding me in the halting of the unacceptable actions of that would be mugger."

"Uh, you're welcome, I guess. I'm Kyle, and you are?" Kyle didn't really think the ninja would respond, after all, he was wearing a mask and cloak, probably to protect his identity. Kyle looked at the 'victim'. "You okay now... Andrew was it?"

As he waited for a response his stomach grumbled, reminding him of what he'd been doing before this exitement started: going to dinner. "Well, this was fun and all, but I've got to get going. Food first then an all-nighter watching over Xavier's..." Of course, an all-nighter meant something different to Kyle than it did most people since Kyle didn't actually need sleep. The downside was he needed more food, and his body was definately letting him know that now.

>>"Are you all right? I couldn't help but notice that the man hit you pretty hard with his gun,"

>>"You okay now... Andrew was it?"

"I'm good, really hard to hurt when I want to be."

Andrew shot a friendly grin at the ninja, he seemed concerned and Andrew wanted to reassure the masked stranger. Andrew's head was feeling much better but he blinked rapidly a few times out of fatigue. He turned to look at his other rescuer.

"Funny bumping into you again... Kyle..."

>>"Well, this was fun and all, but I've got to get going. Food first then an all-nighter watching over Xavier's..."

Andrew had noticed the noise Kyle's stomach made, it reminded him of his own hunger... food sounded like a very good idea at that point.

"Mind if I tag along? I could use something to eat; being near invulnerable works up an appetite."

"Uh, you're welcome, I guess. I'm Kyle, and you are?"

"Juka Miami," Juka introduced himself with a flourish of his arm. "Such a pleasure to meet the both of you." It didn't even occur to him that the mask that so many super heroes wore was, in theory, there to protect their identity. He probably wouldn't have been so open with the bad guys, but these two seemed pretty nice. Besides, it wasn't like his bubbles weren't distinctive and he did perform with them publicly at shows, so if anyone really wanted to track down his identity, they probably wouldn't have that hard a time of it.

"Well, this was fun and all, but I've got to get going. Food first then an all-nighter watching over Xavier's..."

Juka beamed at Kyle. "You work at the Mansion? I kind of live there. Maybe I'll keep you company during that horrible boring night shift, what do you think?" It wasn't like he had anything better to do in the small hours of the morning. At least when he wasn't patrolling the city for evil doers.

"I'm good, really hard to hurt when I want to be."

Two and two came together and Juka came to the sudden realization that Andrew, his almost victim, probably hadn't needed his rescuing after all. "You're a mutant, aren't you?" It was always disappointing when he discovered that his heroics weren't needed after all.

"Can I join you for food too? I mean, minus the anvils and mask," Juka assured the two of them with a giggle. Not that he needed to eat, but he still liked to meet new people, especially if they were awesome cool mutant people.

Kyle gave a little grin. "Sure, it'd be nice to have some company for once." He replied to Andrew. He turned to Juka and nodded. "Nice to meet you. Yes, I'm the night-guard at the mansion which works out really well since I don't need to sleep, though I would be glad for some company if you're not too tired."

Kyle was about to head to the restaurant when Juka asked if he could join them, minus the elaborate get-up. "Alright, the more the merrier." He chuckled as he thought that going to a restaurant in his cape and mask would be a quick way to get the cops called in, mainly the mask, although if he had the anvils around too...It'd be comical, but he doubted the staff would appreciate it. "I was headed to a little diner a few blocks from here but if either of you knows somewhere good we could eat there... I'm still kinda new to the big apple and don't really know many places."

Kyle hoped one of the two did know somewhere since the place he'd been headed didn't have much variety, he only went there since they had reliable service and were small enough not to require a booking.

>> "You're a mutant, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but thanks all the same, that guy got the drop on me."

Andrew decided he'd have to be more aware of his surroundings, he needed the help he got more than he was willing to admit, was there anywhere that taught that kind of thing?... hopefully cheaply. He was become more and more aware of how hungry he was, he'd only used his powers for thirty seconds at most but he was already pretty tired when he did.

>>"I was headed to a little diner a few blocks from here but if either of you knows somewhere good we could eat there... I'm still kinda new to the big apple and don't really know many places."

"There's an IHOP a couple blocks away... I can't think of anywhere else nearby that would be open at this time of night... maybe I'm just biased towards pancakes."

The thought had gotten into his head and he couldn't get rid of it... pancakes... carbohydrates and sugar... they'd do nicely.

"Be back in a minute," Juka gave a happy wave as he floated to the nearest roof and deposited his anvils safely on top of it. Who would ever steal a bunch of anvils and even if someone did feel like stealing anvils, who would go on top of a roof to do so? He also removed his ninja mask, tucking it into one of his inner pockets before returning to the ground. Once back on the same level as the others, he unbubbled.

"You don't sleep?" Juka asked, with excitement in his voice. "Here I thought I was the only one. Oh, my long lonely boredom filled nights are finally over." Who would have thought he'd meet someone to entertain him in his moments of strongest boredom while patrolling the city for bad guys?

"IHOP sounds lovely," Juka assured Andrew. He couldn't remember when the last time was that he had enjoyed pancakes. "Say, what is your power anyway? Do you have super armor?" Seemed a reasonable guess given gun strike that had failed to hurt him.

"An IHOP, that's the pancake place isn't it? Sure I could go for some pancakes." Kyle had never been to an IHOP before, but he did like pancakes, so a place named after pancakes ought to be pretty good. "And no, I don't sleep. As near as I can figure, the same energy that lets me do this," He indicated to his feet, which briefly hovered above the ground before he settled back on the pavement. "Keeps me awake all the time. I don't get sleepy and fatigue goes away pretty quickly, but I need an extra meal to make up for it."

The thought of someone else having the same condition he had, that of extreme boredom whilst everyone else slept gave Kyle a mixed feeling. He was a bit sad that someone else had to stay awake too, but also happy that he'd have have some company when he had previously been alone. >>"IHOP sounds lovely." Said Juka after he'd hidden his anvils on a nearby rooftop and taken off his mask.

Kyle turned to Andrew. "Looks like pancakes it is then. Lead the way." Never having been to an IHOP before, Kyle had no-idea where the nearest one was, not even which direction it was in.