They'd found his weakness. It was worse than detention. Worse than In-School Suspension. Worse, even, than revoking his non-existent Danger Room privileges. It was the dreaded Community Improvement Program.

Ghost wanted him to be an X-kid so hard, she encouraged the school to have him TRY IT OUT.

And people actually signed up to do this kind of stuff. For free.

Jude's mission, and he had no choice but to accept it, was to pick up all trash between 81st and 79th on the west side of Central Park and weed the planters on the sidewalks.

He was supposed to be supervised at all times by an adult, but once the thermostat went over 80, even his Community Mentor beat it. (He was "watching" from inside the air conditioned coffee shop, one street over.)

That's how Jude came to be standing at the front of the American Museum of Natural History with gloves, a safety harness, and a bag of trash in his hand.

They had literature out front advertising the various exhibits, including full dinosaur skeletons!

Jude peeled off his gear and threw it all, including his half full trash bag, into the nearest trash bin.

Screw Community Improvement. Dinosaurs!

Curse summer daylight. It reminded Ty why he was usually out at night, and generally stayed inside during the day. Well...that and most of what he did was better done under cover of darkness, but that really didn't matter. What did matter was that Ty was awake, doped up on caffeine, and outside in this accursed heat.

He figured since he was up, he may as well make some use of his day, so the ginger found himself on the way to the museum. It'd been awhile since he'd been somewhere like a library or a museum, or anywhere that expounded on his love of reading and all things historic. Then again, a life of crime could do that to a guy. As he thought about where he was going, he chuckled. Been awhile since he paid to go anywhere. But it was for a good cause.

As he reached the front door, he suddenly had a thought. What if he'd used his power on something in the museum? Well...one of two things. Either the sheer age of the object would likely throw him into a coma, oooor he'd see the life story of a replica. ...Neither of those ideas sounded very fun. Except part of the first one...if he survived the transfer of memory, he could possess unfathomable knowledge of history. Oh the possibilities...

He snapped out of it when he heard something being tossed into a trash can next to him, and it made him jump slightly. "Heh...what's with you? Ditchin' out on community service?"

Ditching his work? The power copier gave innocent eyes to the ginger who addressed him. Nobody in New York talked to each other. He must be lost. Or a tourist.

"Just throwing out the garbage."

He didn't look like a tourist. He looked more like a hobo in those nappy gloves in this heat. Plus, if the internet was to be believed, red heads had no souls. He had better keep his distance.

"You can have it if you want." Because really, why else would a hobo comment on trash?

Jude stuffed his hands in his pockets and ambled toward the museum entrance. He didn't have any cash, but he could pull the whole 'my mom is in there' thing. That had a rather decent track record.

When he opened the doors, a wash of cool air greeted him. Ahh. Mental stimulation for his adolescent mind and absolute comfort for those growing muscles. Was this still technically in his route? Jude picked up an errant wrapper just in case. He eyed the front desk and tried to plan his approach. He might not get more than one shot at this.

Heh, whatever this kid was doing, Ty had to admit he approved. Of course, the kid was wrong in thinking the ginger was a tourist or a hobo. Granted, even after spending years in New York, his Southern accent and attitude never really left him. Nonetheless, he seemed like a rather interesting young fellow, didn't he?

Ty had to admit he was curious as he walked into the museum behind the boy.He studied the kid--well, more or less his belongings. Something Ty could use his mutation on to find out what this kid was up to. Sure, it was weird, but it wasn't every day people threw gloves and safety harnesses in the trash like that. Walking past the boy, he slapped some money on the counter.

"For me and the kid there," he said casually, knowing all too well what the boy was doing. From Ty's expertise, the body language gave it away. Maybe something good could come of this. Maybe this kid just needed a mentor. Someone to help hone his skills, much like Ty had when he was around that age...

Gross gloves and the inability to leave a kid alone? The guy got upgraded from hobo to mutant. Part of that was the fact that he actually paid for the tickets, but hey- he could just be a cultured, nosy hobo...?

"Erm. Thanks." Jude plucked at his shirt to keep the rapidly cooling sweat from making the cotton stick to his scrawny frame. "I didn't ask for you to do that, you know. They probably would have let me pass since I'm an unaccompanied minor." That thought made Jude smirk. The guy who was supposed to be supervising was going to fuh-reak out.

But he held out his hand for his ticket all the same.

Jude didn't have a lot on him besides his clothing— teeshirt, shorts, and tennis shoes —and all of it was in good condition even if his glasses were taped together and his hair a bit unkempt.

Ty handed the kid the ticket, chuckling a little. "I know I didn't, but something about ya reminds me of...well, a young me. Alone in the city, unsupervised, shirking responsibility, likely looking for mischief..." Aside from his wallet, he had on a black tee shirt, faded blue jeans, his favorite black sneakers laced with green laces, and his black fingerless gloves, lined with silver-colored studs towards the wrist.

"I admit, in retrospect, I should've let you try your way first. That would have probably saved me a little money, anyway. But ah well. You can call me Ty, by the way."

Jude was all ready to be creeped out and ditch the guy, but there was something about him that was rather endearing. Maybe it was the twang. He'd always thought the American southern lilt was a bit intriguing. "Oh, I'm not alone in the city. Unsupervised, yeah, but..." He shrugged lamely. "It's like... boarding school? Kind of?"

And now that they were in proximity, Jude knew for sure this guy was a mutant. Jude's power pulled toward the other guy. Not in the powerful way it pulled toward Svetty or some of the elementals, but... he packed a punch, whatever he did.

"Ty." Jude noticed that the man did not offer his hand. It was better for Jude not to anyway. "Nice to meet you. I'm James." He lied without planning to before hand. It just sort of... happened.

Jude-called-James handed his ticket to the lady and got a stub in return. He stuffed his hands and stub into his pockets to head off the temptation of his power. He didn't want this to be about powers, just guy-to-guy stuff was okay sometimes.

"So what are you up to, Ty?" Jude paused at a map sign and traced the route he wanted to take with his eyes.

"School?" Ty chuckled. "That makes it worse, don't it?" For some reason, when it came to the younger crowd, Ty never thought to offer his hand to them. Then again, maybe having his handshake denied so many times made him less apt to offer it. New York was weird, even after all these years. But it was home.

"Me? Eh, thought I'd indulge my inner history-nut today. Been too long since I've just relaxed or done anything...productive with my free time." After handing his ticket to the lady and getting farther out of earshot from anyone, he added quietly, "Or since I paid to get into anywhere." The way he said it was more or less a joke, but even still, James was about to try the same thing.

He'd opted to leave out his curiosity. If he could get his hands on some ancient artifact, what would that open up to him? Could he even handle the consequences? Thinking about using his mutation on something that old brought back something he hadn't felt towards his power in a long time: fear.

He shook himself out of his daze and continued walking, making sure James was nearby. He didn't know why; usually he'd have gone on his own way by now.

> "School? That makes it worse, don't it?"

Jude sighed with all the teen angst he could muster. "You have no idea."

Adoption, moving countries, learning a new language... well, okay. It was more like he rounded out his English with a full slang vocabulary and then worked very hard to sound American. All of that was BESIDE the fact that he was a power copier with a hard to wrangle power in a mansion chock full of people with powers. And beside the fact that he had to do school. And beside the fact that this was his second time to do it all.

Granted, this time was far, far, far, FAR better.

"I prefer to look to the future, rather than the past. But I'm sure you're going to tell me some crud about ze past being important to learn from." Adults tended to do that. "It doesn't hold anything for me."

Mostly just touchy subjects. Jude sighed again. Boy, that future seeing power had been addictive.

Dinosaurs! Yes. Down through the hallway of apes and evolution. That ought to be fun.

"C'mon. Let's go see dinosaurs. That sounds productive."

"The past? I got two things to learn from that. One, if you screw up, don't do it again. Two, leave it behind ya. The end," he replied, dropping the subject there. "I probably don't. When I turned sixteen, I just quit going to school. One less thing for me to deal with." He shrugged, then chuckled a little.

"Dinosaurs, huh? Let's go." Yep, hanging with this kid was looking to be a good decision.

"Ugh. High school drop out? At least get your GED, man. Legitimate opportunities await and you're actually OLD enough to take advantage of those." What? Was age a touchy subject? Naaaaw.

"Seriously. How do you make a living without education?" That's where he got the hobo vibes no doubt. School would have at LEAST taught him not to weir trashy fingerless gloves through ridicule and peer pressure.

Jude started off their journey to the dinosaurs and, he had to admit, evolution hall wasn't that bad. There were skeletons and dioramas to behold. He flitted like a hummingbird from plaque to plaque.

It started with "Modern man" which didn't include any mutant distinction. In fact, he didn't see anything about mutants at all in here. Lame. Then it progressed back through time toward apes and smaller primates and eventually lizards and he was getting excited now that he knew where this was headed.

"C'mon, old man."

"I didn't so much 'drop out' so much as jump off of that crapwagon," Ty answered with a chuckle. "I've found I really don't need it. Doesn't really matter to me, but if it's what floats your boat, stick with it and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Follow your heart. Your dreams. Learn to do what's best for you, because no one else can live your life."

Ty gave a grin. "How do I live? Let's just say decently, tax free, and...less than....traditional, eh? Just remember who's money got you in here, alright?" He said, not really expecting the kid to turn him in, but if that did happen, the redhead had checked out the map, making note of the emergency exits.

Turning his attention to the displays, his facial expression showed visible disgust of the lack of mutant mention. "Place must be run by humans..." he found himself muttering, 'James' call snapping him out of it. Hesitantly, he grumbled again before following.

Trust his heart?

His heart was split between being a grownup with Svetty and wanting to please his adoptive mother, the one who saved him and brought him here and provided so much for him.

He sighed so hard that for a moment Jude feared that his lungs might be climbing their way up his esophagus to escape.

"I tried the whole no school thing. I'm adopted and from a foreign country, too. I could make a living, but withsout legitimate identification it got... hairy. I don't want to be deported. I have even less to live for in my mother country." He scuffed his shoes along the shiny floor.

"Illegitimate-ness is all fine and good so long as you don't get caught. I don't trust myself to go that far with my whole entire life just yet."

Ty nodded, somewhat understanding. "I wasn't adopted, but my Dad lost custody of me when I was eleven. Ended up living with my aunt and moving to New York." He kept his story short, avoiding the more painful details.

"When it started, I was just hanging out, exploring the city with a group of friends. Then we went from urban exploration to breaking and entering, and I opted out. Few years later, I found myself homeless, and this guy took me under his wing, showed me everything a troubled youth needs to know--to survive, that is. By that time, I didn't have a choice. Then, things changed and I didn't need to anymore....but...well it's still a part of who I am. So, it's not really a choice so much as a necessity. Now it's just a hobby, I guess."

Just a hobby, eh. Put a new spin on the phrase "petty thief."

"I'm glad I have a choice." Limited as it may be, at least he didn't have to straight up steal to survive. And no. Winning at poker did not count as stealing. Chumps deserved to carry lighter wallets.

"Have you ever nicked anything big? Like grand larceny style?" If it weren't for grand theft auto, what 14 year old would be able to sound so smart?

"I took a joy ride in a limo once. To impress a girl." Jude paused at the display where a half fishy lizardy thing's skeleton was suspended behind glass. "I don't think she was all that impressed. Wouldn't have done it if it wasn't during the riots. A bunch of people got away with a bunch of stuff then." Of course he had been out healing people at first. He was really just too selfish for the whole hero shtick.