((Please note that this is intended to take place BEFORE the raid. Anyone is welcome to reply if they like))

Kyle was heading toward the place called 'The Sanctuary'. He'd left most of his stuff at the hotel, being that he was still paid up for another day, packing only the essentials into a boring black cloth backpack he'd picked up at a thrift store. Mostly what he kept on him was electronics. His laptop, his two ipods... oh, and there was the handgun he'd swiped from Eckman's collection before heading for NYC. For some reason he felt like he didn't want to go to this place unarmed. Something felt... wrong about it. He didn't know what it was that was bothering him, or why he decided to check the place out anyway.

To get rid of this persistent feeling, he grabbed his new ipod and searched for something interesting to listen to. Warren Zevon? What was that? He decided to give it a shot. By the time he got to the gold gates of The Sanctuary he was howling at the sky along with the music, not caring who heard..

"Aaaaaa-ooooooooo. Werewolves of London. Aaaaaa-ooooooooo."

>What in the world is that?<

"What is what?"

>It sounds like something is dying. Painfully.<

Amp grinned. "Glad I can't hear it."

>Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.< Vibe rolled her eyes, and walked across the foyer to find out what was making such a racket. The redheaded Sonic sisters had been wandering around, looking for trouble to get into, when Vibe picked up on the 'singing' from outside. The great doors muffled the sounds greatly, but she could still hear clearly. Amp could feel the vibrations of the noise, but was spared the actual sounds.

Vibe pulled open the door, having to struggle a bit because of her petite build. She stepped out, huffing in irritation slightly, followed by her sister.

And abruptly both Twins found themselves in the path of another person walking down the street. They jumped apart to avoid a collision.

>"Hey! Watch where you're walkin'!"< they chorused, though only one was audible. Then they paused to take in the howling pedestrian's appearance. Tall, brown hair cut a bit on the long side, brown eyes, a bit lanky for the Twins' tastes, but not all that bad looking, either.

"Well, now," Amp said aloud, "what have we here?" She crossed her arms across her chest. Vibe placed one hand on her hip, shifting most of her weight onto one foot, and began playing with her longer hair with the other hand.

The pair stood on either side of the boy, looking him up and down. Once they finished with their 'inspection', mirrored smirks planted themselves on their faces. Combined with their almost-glowing green eyes, they gave off the impression on a pair of lionesses stalking a zebra. Smiling lionesses....

"eh?" Kyle stopped in his tracks as two girls near ran him over coming out of the sanctuary. He pulled the tiny white corded speakers out of his ears and draped them across the back of his neck. "...'xcuse me. Did either of you say something?" He obviously hadn't heard a thing. The music had been far too loud, and Kyle wasn't expecting two pretty girls, twins, to pop out at him. In all honesty, he hadn't really expected anyone to come to the door.

Hell, he hadn't even gotten to the door yet.

Kyle smiled at the two girls, "Do you live here? I was told that this is a good place to go if... if you... don't have anywhere else." He figured it was better to speak delicately, and sounding unsure of himself wouldn't hurt either. The girls were pretty, but something in their eyes made him a little uneasy. He tried to remind himself that he wasn't used to dealing with people when he wasn't totally screwing them over. Granted, he'd been outside Eckman's base plenty. He had to be in order to get whatever information Eckman wanted. But now... now he was just... drifting.

"eh?" The boy paused and removed his earbuds. "...'xcuse me. Did either of you say something?"

The girls exchanged a quick glance. "Nothing special," Amp replied, still smiling.

"Do you live here? I was told that this is a good place to go if... if you... don't have anywhere else."

"No place to go? That's a shame. Well, sure, there's plenty of room for ya here, if ya need to crash. But, now why wouldn't a cutie like you have a place to go?" Amp asked, seeming full of concern. Her sister's expression mirrored her supposed worry. Both of them closed in on the boy, completely ignoring personal space issues.

Kyle smiled at the girls, "From what I hear tell of things, it's not that uncommon... to have no where to go. I've been given the impression that people really don't come here if they've got a lot of other options, so I can't help thinking you two likely don't have a lot of other places to go either..."

Kyle paused and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, "... and the two of you are way cuter than I am, so I don't think appearance holds much sway in this. Of course... I could be totally wrong."

From the way they were talking, he figured they DID live there. He'd just wait for them to invite him in, or something. There was no sense in pressing them. They were the ones in control in this situation. They knew the place. He would just let them run the show. It was better that way.

"From what I hear tell of things, it's not that uncommon... to have no where to go. I've been given the impression that people really don't come here if they've got a lot of other options, so I can't help thinking you two likely don't have a lot of other places to go either... and the two of you are way cuter than I am, so I don't think appearance holds much sway in this. Of course... I could be totally wrong."

Normally the Twins would have taken offense to his first statement, especially considering Vibe's latest mutation allowed them to have nearly anything they wanted. The Sanctuary merely had a few more interesting people than other places to hold them there. However, his second statement appealed to their vanity, and thus offset any negative reaction the pair might otherwise have had. The matching smirks remained in place.

"Nice recovery," Amp remarked with a wink. "Sooo.... lookin' for a place to stay, huh? Well, let's see what we can do about that, shall we?" Without giving him much choice, the girls hooked their arms through his and pulled him toward the doors and into the foyer.

The boy wasn't an obvious mutant, but that didn't mean he wasn't a mutant at all. And there were many normal humans at the Sanctuary. Figuring out which he was going to be tricky. Still he was the cutest of the current lot, in the sisters' opinions, so either way would be fine with them. If he was mutant, he could possibly be fun to have around. If he was human, with Vibe's help, he would definately be fun to have around.

The receptionist immediately caught sight of the trio, manicured smile in place as always, ready to wow the newcomer with her welcome speech. And, with the help of a well-placed ultrasonic pulse, Lisa was just as immediately distracted by her computer shutting off by itself. Or rather, by the power plug being shaken out of its socket. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Twins led their new possible playmate toward the cafeteria on the main floor, the one reserved for humans. It wasn't as nice as the one below ground, but it would suffice for conversation. Besides, Syn might have a hissy-fit if she found a not-under-mind-control human in the mutants quarters.

"So, is there a name to go with that awful singing you were doing earlier? Or should we just come up with our own nickname?"

Kyle smiled. He did have a fairly charming smile, "My names Kyle. You can call me Switch if you prefer." Something was nagging at him about these girls. He had the feeling they were mutants, and it pissed him off to no small extent that his mutation wasn't working, and he couldn't seem to check their brains to confirm it. Why had it stopped? Was he becoming human or something? That was absurd, but something was certainly wrong in his head. Why? Would it come back? Why worry about it now. Focus.

The twins. Neither of them seemed shy, but the one did all the talking. Why. It was rude, but he wanted to know.

Kyle looked from Vibe to Amp, back to Vibe, then back to Amp, "Forgive me. I know this is none of my business... but... does she not talk?"

"My names Kyle. You can call me Switch if you prefer."

"Hmm.... Switch? Now that's an interesting nickname. Any particular reasoning behind it?" Amp asked curiously. Vibe chuckled silently.

>You get the feeling he's off-balance?< she remarked with a wink.

"Just a bit." Amp grinned.

"Forgive me. I know this is none of my business... but... does she not talk?"

Vibe rolled her eyes, but the amused smile was still there. >Well now, he's a quick one, isn't he?<

"Oh hush, it's a valid question," Amp replied aloud to the silent quip, adding to the impression that there was something hidden between the petite pair. "Actually, no, she doesn't. I'm Amp, by the way. This is Vibe."

>I'm the cute one.<

"Only in your own world, Sis."

The one-sided conversation was strange to say the least, possibly downright unnerving.

"So, back to that nickname of yours...." Amp let the sentence trail off with a not-so-subtle hint. Both girls smiled with immense interest. The chesshire cat had nothing on this duo.

Kyle nodded solemnly as he listened to Amp, looking between her and her sister and taking it all in carefully. Kyle knew, possibly more than anyone, the value of information... And with his mutation malfunctioning, he couldn't just drag it out of someone when he wanted it. For now, he'd have to pick up on things the traditional way. By listening.

He laughed lightly when Amp turned the conversation back to his nickname, "Well, at the moment there's no reason for it." He was answering, yet not answering. Cryptic, yet somehow blunt. "There are times when nicknames make no sense to anyone but the person who gave it to you. At the moment, Switch doesn't even make sense to me... It did before. And I'm sure it will again. ...But not right now."

Kyle looked up from the almost pensive expression he had slid into and smiles again, "What about yours? Amp and Vibe? I've got to say, it's quite intriguing."

"Well, at the moment there's no reason for it. There are times when nicknames make no sense to anyone but the person who gave it to you. At the moment, Switch doesn't even make sense to me... It did before. And I'm sure it will again. ...But not right now."

The girls raised matching eyebrows.

>Another deep thinker, I see. We seem to run across a lot of those lately....<

"Mmm hmm." Amp tilted her head slightly.

"What about yours? Amp and Vibe? I've got to say, it's quite intriguing."

The Twins unhooked themselves from Kyle long enough to retrieve a granola bar each. Amp shrugged, still smirking. "The names say it all." If he wanted to play word games, they were up for it.

"Well, if you'd like, we can give you a tour of the facilities. There's a lot to offer here, besides a place to sleep and eat. Special perks for a special crowd, ya know?" She put a slight emphasis on the words 'special', to see what he would make of it.

>Should I try out my melody? See what other 'deep thoughts' might be behind that cute smile?<

"Not just yet."

"Do they now... Hmmm... " Kyle mused out loud, "Amp and Vibe."

Amp and Vibe... Amp and Vibe... Amp. As in Amplifier? Like, something you plug your guitar into to make it louder? Vibe? Vibe... I'll have to think on this for a while. A mute girl called Vibe... Wait. Is she mute, or does she just not talk? No... no, she's got to be mute. Doesn't seem emo enough to be silent by choice. She'd be talking if she could.

Kyle, being a little hungry himself, snagged a granola bar as well. Some normal food would be nice. He was still a little traumatized by that Reuben Rupert had fed him.

"A tour?" Kyle raised an eyebrow at the twins, "Shiny. Lead the way." He left the 'special' comment alone, but he didn't miss it. He just tucked it away for future musing.

"Do they now... Hmmm... Amp and Vibe."

The girls did their best to keep a straight face as Kyle seemed to drift off into thought again.

>Hmm.... I think I smell smoke...< Amp bit the inside of her lip, and nudged her sister, trying not to giggle. Eventually he seemed to come out of his musings, perhaps due to hunger, as he retrieved a bar as well.

"A tour? Shiny. Lead the way."

The twin grins widened, and the pair took up their posts on either side of him again.

"Well, obviously if you're hungry, just follow your nose," Amp began, gesturing to their present location. "Best way to get yourself unlost, too, since this place is pretty huge.

"Sooo....," Amp asked as they led him back out into the hall, "Are you a bookworm or a muscle man?" The question was to see if they should hit the library first, and possibly the rec room, or the gym. Judging from his frame, they guessed he was more of the former, but you never knew. The girls themselves were classic examples to show that big surprises often comes in tiny packages.

Kyle took a bite out of the granola bar and allowed the twins to lead him where ever they chose. Allowed? Who was he kidding? He had no choice in the matter. He got the distinct feeling that these two were quite used to getting what they wanted... which would make a person think they had the means to get it.
He stopped to consider their question. He certainly wasn't a muscle man. He was trim at best, but certainly not muscular. And trim was probably a stretch. Okay... so he had little in the muscles area, but he wasn't weak. Certainly not weak.

Right. Moving on.

He wasn't a bookworm either. Far from it. He didn't really care for books honestly. He could read. That was about it. What WAS he good at anyway? Flirting? Like that could really be considered a talent. Screwing people over? Mental theft? Well, he wasn't any good at it at the moment.

"Neither. Can't really say what I AM... but I don't care for books, and I've never set foot in a gym in my life." Kyle commented.

"Neither. Can't really say what I AM... but I don't care for books, and I've never set foot in a gym in my life."

>Hmm... score one, lose one. Score still even,< Vibe announced.

"Guess that leaves the rec room," Amp said aloud, and the pair took the lead.

Mr. King had made sure the cafeteria-style, human rec room was stocked, if a bit generic. The usual game tables, to appeal to the younger teen crowd, old-style arcade games for atmosphere, chess tables for the strategic-minded, and a mini cyber-cafe in one corner. There were pre-paid vending machines set around, mainly for atmosphere since the cafeteria was right down the hall. It was small, compared to the string of rooms below, but very high by 'normal' homeless shelter standards. Surveillance cameras were very discreetely hidden around to prevent any mischief or vandalism.

The place was fairly empty, with only about fifteen to twenty people scattered around. It would fill up later in the evening as people filed back in for a meal and bed for the night. The girls paused to let Kyle look around a bit, to see if anything interested him.

Having finished the granola bars, Vibe moved on to see what else was in the vending machines. Amp continued to pry.

"So, Kyle, I don't hear a funny accent." More true than she let on. "Are you new to the state, or just our neck of the woods?"

"No, I've lived in this state for years." Kyle answered, being honest, yet vague. He wasn't necessarily saying that he had lived in that state the LATEST few years. He wasn't saying that he hadn't always been there. He didn't feel comfortable telling them the intimate details of the history of his residences. He wouldn't have even if he could remember how many places he'd lived before his captivity.

He looked around the room, taking everything in. He noted the chess boards and pondered them for a second. Kyle's brows furrowed, as if he was trying to remember something he had forgotten too long ago to retrieve, or perhaps was trying to think of where he'd seen or heard something before, like someone saying by chance a line from a movie you've seen only once and just can't quite place. Kyle shook his head to bring himself out of it. Really, what the hell was that? He didn't even PLAY chess.

He returned his attention to Amp. Vibe seemed to be occupied with hunting for more snack food. "This is a cool room. Show me something else?" Kyle suggested with a smile.