"Good." Shade said simply, not turning from the television in response to Miles's reconfirmation that he did not want to turn the shadow mutant into a zombie. For a moment, the night crawler wondered how it would feel to be a zombie. Would he remember any of his memories? Would he even know if he was a zombie? would he be trapped in his own head unable to stop doing the things Miles told him to? Or would his mind have traveled on to the next life? Shade shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. He did not like thinking about being dead, let alone a zombie. Plus, he doubted the kid had the guts to turn him or even try anyways.

"They have to be dead first? Well if ever want to make a human zombie, you should follow me around for a night or two. We might come across a corpse or two." Or five to ten. Shade thought to himself, smiling off-handedly. He sighed as he relaxed more, sliding deeper into the couch as he placed his hands up, behind his head. His right hand still was stained in some places from the blood of the elderly man.

"I never want to make a human zombie!" the boy snapped back at the suggestion. It was one of his greatest fears, one that could potentially happen since the two times he had turned into his dark persona he had been so emotionally distraught that he had little control over what he was doing. That irresistible temptation he felt when he was in that state, that urgent need to touch the dead and raise monsters... it was too much for his will. This is why he never spoke about this with others, because then he could be easily manipulated to... to...

Oh boy.

Miles turned his face to look at his shadowy, couch companion. This... zombie-murder loving guy with the wicked grin and the sneakiest mutation he had seen so far, whose name was a word and not a real name. A man who Miles truly knew nothing about.

There was a scene in the movie showing daylight and the room lit up somewhat. The guy was enjoying the movie, perhaps a little too much, and his arm had dark splotches in it. Was that red or brown?

"Follow you around where?" Miles asked with a hint of hesitation in his voice. "Do you work at a slaughterhouse or something?"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, shorty!" Shade replied with a small chuckle. Man, the kid sure got worked up over making human zombies. The night crawler did not see what the big was about it. If the person was already dead, they didn't really need their body anymore, did they? And humans zombies would be much more convenient than dog zombies. Humans had opposable thumbs.

Shade shot a glance over to the youngster when he asked the question. Was he serious? A slaughter plant? Did he smell so bad that he reeked like cattle intestines?

"Uh...no...follow me around when I make my rounds for protection payments from the local businesses and residents around here. The Sanctuary has to generate money somehow. Sometimes, the collections don't go so smoothly, if you catch my drift." Shade replied cooely. He could always say he had to murder some uncooperative, but that would be too easy. Shade would let the young man come to that conclusion himself.

Protection payments? Was he serious? Did Sanctuary generate their money mafia style? It couldn't be. He always thought there was a mutant somewhere whose boogers were made out of gold or some such or that whoever ran the place received donations or had businesses using mutants to do stuff... but not this stuff.

Then again, Shade was surprisingly relaxed telling him these things. He had that smile of his with hints of mocking and seriousness in it that made it difficult to tell if he meant what he said or not. Miles knew that as a teenager, he was likely to get pranked or even picked on by the older residents, but hurting and extorting people didn't exactly have this 'haha!' vibe to it. It seemed more like Shade wanted to spook him and he was doing a good job at it, with the stains in his arm looking a lot like real blood.

He tried to keep his cool and take it in stride though. Shade had to be joking. People just didn't flat out admit to these things to youngsters they just met while watching TV.

"Yeah, suuuure..." he said. "Maybe we can terrorize them real good! You can go Hey, if you don't pay me, I'll have my friend here turn you into a zombie so you'll end up paying your debt by working for us.... foreeeveeeer!"

The boy leaned back on the couch, thinking he had riposted nicely to the joke, but something in the back of his head was making him feel a wee bit uncomfortable, to the point he delivered a voiceless, mental command to his dogs, just in case the albino had been reckless enough to tell him the truth.

"Stay where you are, but stay alert. If this man attempts anything against me, then protect me at all cost."

Shade watched as Miles face changed between horror and disbelief. Maybe, it was a good thing the youngster did not know the full truth about the Sanctuary...and the fact that it was a front for a murderous mutant organization. The shadow mutant mentally reminded himself he should be careful who he talked to about the Order's dealings. He had become too accustomed to only talking to people who were in the Order. He had almost forgotten that there were others in the Sanctuary who were not as inclined to the death of pathetic humans as the bloodthirsty Orderlings.

Speaking of which, Shade wondered how the other members would take it if they were to discover of Miles's mutation to raise the undead. Of course, many would jump at the idea of an undead army to strengthen their. And Lady Syn would be absolutely thrilled to have such a resource at her disposal. Should he tell the dark queen about their new arrival and his extraordinary ability?

Chuckling genuinely at Miles's impression of him (Did that confuse the boy's thoughts more? Good.), Shade redirected his attention to the movie for a moment but quickly returned his blue eyes to Miles. The movie was in one of the boring 'love' scenes where the hero and his girl finally meet after being separated. Stupid romantic nonsense. Shade hoped the zombies killed them all.

"You know, you would be careful you knows about your mutation. Others mutants might want to use you for their own gains." Shade said, the smile fading from his face to a stone cold gaze. It was not a threat. It was statement.

"Is that why you came to the Sanctuary? For protection?"

Miles pretended to be relaxed, listening to Shade chuckle and not knowing what to make of it. He turned his gaze to the movie, as he tried to convince himself it had all been a jape on the albino's part. A love scene amidst the massacre? Good! Maybe there'd be boobs later on.

He felt Shade's eyes piercing at him and he could swear the gears inside the man's head were turning, but to what conclusion, he could not know. Miles met his gaze, brown against blue, and the man's face had changed completely, the wicked smile was entirely gone as he delivered a warning with a stare that was way too serious for the boy's taste.

Why deny it? Miles balls shrank a little when he said that. He already felt he had revealed too much and to the wrong person even. He had tried to hide these little and very important facts about his mutation but it was difficult to do when people lent an ear. As soon as someone had an inkling that his dogs were dead, it didn't take that much to have Miles keep on talking about it.

So far, he hadn't met any mutants that had specifically intended to do him harm, but their ignorance was his protection. To most people, he was just a kid who had creepy dogs at his beck and call, but as soon as people realized his true potential, who's to say they would not get greedy? Miles himself knew and feared this could happen. He knew he had the potential to become a truly horrifying weapon but he would try his best not to let it happen.

>>"Is that why you came to the Sanctuary? For protection?"

"Isn't it written on it's very name?" he asked, trying to summon his courage and pretend he wasn't scared. Unlike Xavier's school, who took on students, Sanctuary was a shelter and as long as you were a mutant, you were allowed in. Who's to say there weren't any rotten apples in the bunch? And by the by, how rotten an apple was Shade?

"I came for food and a roof. I came for a better life. I came... I came..." he stuttered "I came because Syn told me to."

She had been an angel, that woman. She picked him up when he was hungry and dirty and desperate for a place to stay. She had saved his life.

"She's a very nice lady" he finished, breaking the staring contest and giving Shade his victory.

The kid was trying to look tough. Shade could understand that. Half the reason the shadow mutant resorted to situations so violently was to show the other party that he was not here to play. And he would kill, if need be. It gave him an advantage against other, more powerful mutant who were not ready to suddenly jump to such a rash decision. And Shade to agree that yes, the Sanctuary did sound appealing to mutants who might not exactly be wanted in modern society, or who might be wanted by all the wrong people.

Then Miles revealed the true reason he had come to the Sanctuary. Lady Syn. If she had invited him to take shelter here, the dark queen most definitely knew the potential of Mr. Undead-Army-Raiser here. There was no reason for the shadow mutant to inform her of their new arrival then.

The smirk on Shade's face returned as Miles expressed his feelings of their leader. He shook his head slightly as the boy turned away as he did the same. Draining the last of his Mountain Dew, Shade bent the can and crushed it in-between his palms. He tossed it in a nearby garage can as he stood up.

"She can be very deceiving." Shade said simply, as he looked back at the youth.

Syn? Deceiving? She had been nothing but nice to Miles. Well, apart from the keeping a video of Miles kissing a dude, of course, but that had been his own fault. She had joked about them kissing and he stupidly followed through for some reason. He regretted it almost immediately and it was difficult to tell what had possessed him to do it, but in the end he did it and it was his own damn fault.

Maybe he was thinking of her as some kind of surrogate mother, or aunt, or more like an older sister, since she wasn't really old enough to be his mother or aunt, but he respected her, appreciated her and listened to anything she had to say. When things got rough for him and Ty, she didn't doubt for an instant to help them, even if Miles had done nothing but disappoint her that day.

She was secretive, that was for sure and Miles had no clue how this guy actually knew her. They were both inSanctuary, so maybe they did know each other quite well, but his words could mean so many things. Was he an old boyfriend of hers she had cheated on? Did she lie to him and he totally fell for it? Was she very good at poker and he could never see through her bluffs?

"Deceiving... how?" he asked, returning the look and almost afraid to make the question. If she was secretive, it must be for a reason and to intrude or nose around in her personal life made him feel like he was betraying her.

A look of confusion fell onto the youth's face at Shade's words. The shadow mutant could almost see the cracks forming to the mask that the Queen of Deception had drapped over his eyes. What Shade would pay to see what was going through Miles's mind at that moment. It was enjoyable to watch and Shade's grin could not help but widen at the sight. This was a delicate web to weave, and the shadow mutant did not want to push the young mutant too hard. He would leave it with this for night.

"In every way imaginable..." Shade replied. It was the truth, somewhat. Lady Syn probably had ways of deceiption that weren't even imaginable. And those ways were the ones you needed to be especially watchful for.

"You have a good night, Miles." The shadow mutant said suddenly, before making his way back to the shadow at the edge of the room that he had appeared mysterious from. The television flashed to a dark scene then back to light and Shade was gone.

Seeing him leave was not the same as seeing him enter. You don't expect him to enter, but watching him being enveloped by the shadows and simply not being there anymore made Miles feel quite vulnerable. All the man needed was a shadow. A bit of darkness, big enough for his body to sneak in and he could be right there, next to your bed, in the bathroom, in the closet, just about anywhere.

He shuddered, but at the same time, unclenched as he saw Shade's back leave the room. He'd left the boy with questions instead of giving him answers. Was he just trying to get under his skin or was he telling the truth and there was more to Syn than meets the eye? Why should he trust a stranger over the woman who brought him to safe haven with no strings attached so far? Then again, maybe he just couldn't see the strings. Maybe next time he saw Syn he could bring this subject up, preferably with a little subtlety, lest he hurt the poor woman's feelings.

Miles got up from the couch, still not sleepy but determined not to stay in the room any longer, in case he ended up meeting someone else even more creepy. He fetched his rubber sandals and one of them had landed close to Shade's hoodie, which remained on the floor where the man had thrown it. The boy got closer to it, noticing it was wet with a dark substance and as the room lit up with another daylight scene from the movie, Miles saw the red, sticky color in the garment, sprayed in violent splotches.

He stepped back, urging his dogs to follow and keeping the widest berth from the hoodie he could possible muster. Shade could come pick it up himself, for Miles wasn't going anywhere near it. Tonight, he was going to sleep with his lights on, if and only if, he could manage to sleep at all.