Tim took another bite of his taco. As he chewed on it, he looked out of the window into the street, watching as numerous people constantly passed by the Taco Bell that Tim sat in. Tim particularly stared as a big crowd crossed the street at the same time, all walking very close to each other.
As Tim swallowed his mouthful, he bitterly remembered when he had walked in a big crowd like that an hour back or so. He had pushed all the people around him - not intentionally... in fact, he had no saying in the matter. Of course, it had been mistaken for rudeness and arrogance.
He sighed once again and put the taco down on his tray among the two remaining ones. He grabbed a napkin and wiped the taco grease off his fingers. It wasn't because he didn't like fast-food... he didn't usually eat it though... but for the past few days since he left home, it was all he had lived off of.
Tim looked to his school bag for a moment. It contained the only things he had brought alongside him from home; his laptop and some extra clothes. Tim hadn't had a shower since he left home, and it was starting to get apparent; at least in his opinion. His hair, which was usually completely smooth was starting to get a bit ruffly and it was also greasy. What he would give for a shower at this moment...
Suddenly Tim noticed someone standing by his table.

Chris was usually not a fan of crowds, but at some times they could come in handy. Like when you needed to shake someone of your tail.

At the moment the grey mutant was walking up the street, using the crowd to shield himself from the three men who were following him. His instincts told him to just run for it, but he realized that if he ran it'd catch their attention. And from what he knew, there were no large body of water nearby were he could disappear. His best shot was to disappear in the crowd... something that was hard to do out on the open street.  The amphibian-like mutant wasn't exactly a master at blending in, even with the hoodie's cowl up to hide some of his more unusual features. He'd have a bigger chance inside one of the buildings... like the Taco Bell he was just passing. It seemed like a good place to disappear, as filled with people as it was.

Inside it was even more chaotic than it had looked from the outside. It was probably not worse than your regular lunch rush, but all the people, noise and unfamiliar scents were almost overwhelming for Chris. For a moment he considered exiting the fast-food store and let the people who were looking for him catch him, but then he thought better of it. The Taco Bell might be chaotic, but right now the chaos was working in his favor.

Not if he stayed just in front of the door, though. Chris walked to the side, navigating carefully between the full tables. Most people seemed so focused on their tacos that they didn't even look up when he passed by. He finally found an empty table - well, unless you counted the dark-haired, scruffy-looking kid who sat there. But Chris was desperate for a place to hide.
After casting a glance over his shoulders to make sure his pursuers hadn't entered the fast-food joint jet, he walked over to the booth. The kid looked up, and Chris nervously cleared his throat, his eyes still darting towards the entrance.
"That seat taken?"
Without waiting for an answer he quickly eased down in the seat opposite of the dark-haired kid. He threw another nervous look over his shoulder, and hunched over a bit more. His jittery manner probably showed that something was off, and he didn't want the guy opposed to him making a scene, so tried to force himself to calm down before he continued talking. He gave the kid in front of him a pleading look.
"Please, don't mind me. Enjoy your taco, and, uhm... continue to act natural."

Tim's eyes widened quite a bit in surprise as he glanced at the stranger who suddenly sat down in front of him. He looked so... strange. His skin... it almost looked like some kind of water-creature. And his eyes were yellow! Tim had to admit... he had seen a lot of strange people in his day - including himself - but this guy had the most striking appearance by far!
Tim remained silent for a few seconds. Finally he managed to say: "Are... are you...-?"
Tim stopped himself. Thinking a bit about it, he realized that if he used the wrong words, he could end up offending this guy... but how else to word it... Wait; Tim was like him!
"Are you... like me?" Tim asked in a whisper, somewhat cautiously, hoping no one would end up overhearing them. Tim knew the hostility that the majority of the public showered their kind with. And to be honest, Tim didn't want to have to deal with any of that.
That being said, Tim knew that he wasn't alone... he just hadn't expected to meet someone like himself so soon after he ran away from home.

Chris attention was still mostly directed towards the door, but so far it seemed as if the three men who were after him hadn't seen him go into the taco restaurant. He sighed out in relief, and then became aware that the kid he'd sat down in front of was staring. Chris looked away. He'd never liked when people stared, but this time he didn't really have a say in the matter since he had sat down right in front of the guy with barely a word of warning.
One of the problems with visible mutations was that you'd never know how people would react to you. Even if many New Yorkers were used to the idea of mutants walking around them, you never knew who'd be accepting and who'd be hostile.

>>"Are...are you...-?"
Chris knew what the kid was gonna ask, so he opened his mouth to say yes.
>>"Are you... like me?"
He quickly closed his mouth again. Now it was Chris' turn to stare - he gave the kid a sharp inspection. Having eyes adjusted with seeing under water made him very nearsighted on land, but this close he could tell that the guy in front of him was young, probably younger than himself. Possibly of Asian descent. The only thing they seemed to have in common was that they both looked a little run-down and ruffled.
Of course, that was probably not what the kid had meant. Chris put his elbows on the table and steepled his webbed fingers against each other, then thought better of it and quickly hid his hands under the table.
"...Possibly," he said in a deadpan voice. "Are you also hiding from three very angry men who's promised to flay you alive?"
He cleared his throat nervously and muttered;
"Sorry, that was a joke. Are you a mutant? In that case, yes, I'm like you."

"Possibly. Are you also hiding from these very angry men, who's promised to flay you alive?" Tim blinked a few times and raised an eyebrow in confusion, somewhat shocked by the stranger's answer. Was he serious? Tim had noticed that he glanced a lot towards the door of the Taco Bell that the two sat in, but he hadn't thought there had really been a reason for that. However, the stranger then said, "Sorry, that was a joke. Are you a mutant? In that case, yes, I'm like you."
Tim wasn't exactly surprised. No, he was actually somewhat relieved. Just knowing that he wasn't alone at a time like this was... Wait, what was it with that being-followed-thing?! Were those men some of those mutant-haters? Wait, if they were looking for him, what if they came here?!
"Wait, they're after you?!" Tim asked rather loudly, too shocked to care, after his brain had processed the information that he had just been given. It also took Tim a few seconds to realize that his always active, repulsive waves had grown in volume as he got shocked; he noticed that some of the things on the table had started moving. Tim tried to turn it down, failing a few times, until the waves finally subsided to a very low level.
"T-... Please, explain yourself," Tim said, having calmed himself down, hoping that no one had noticed his powers.

The kid wasn't protesting, which meant that he probably was one. He did, however, react loudly to the news that Chris was being followed. A bit too loudly. Chris made a shushing sound, desperate to get the kid to calm down. That's when he noticed that the tray with tacos that were standing on the table between them was moving forward on it's own accord. It wasn't a constant movement, more like a series of pushes that was driving the tray over the table towards Chris. He watched with fascination as the other mutant struggled to get his ability under control. Some kind of telekinetic power, perhaps? 

Suddenly it felt like somebody was staring at him again. He looked to the side; at the table on the other side of the aisle a family of four sat, all of them enjoying their tacos. Except for a little girl. She couldn't have been more than three or four, and she was staring at them with round, shocked eyes. Chris turned away from her, hoping she'd go back to eating her lunch. Kids had really short attention spans, right? Hopefully she'd forget all about them right away, and not alert her parents or anything.

The telekinetic seemed to have gotten his powers under control, and now he wanted an explanation. Fair enough.
"Well. It's a long story. I needed to get out of town but I was out of gas..."
Suddenly, through the noise inside the fast food joint, he could hear the bell that signaled that the doors had opened. He dared to take a quick look over the shoulder, and his grey skin got even paler. Next to the door stood three men; two of them was of average height and build, while the third one was large. He was cradling his right arm. The three men didn't go to the cashier to order something, instead they seemed to be looking for something. Or someone.
Chris quickly looked away from them.
"It's them. Don't look. Act natural."
He sank down into the booth, trying to keep himself from breathing too rapidly. Hopefully his hoodie would provide enough subterfuge.
"More natural," he hissed at the guy in front of him.

Tim was taken by surprise when the grey-skinned stranger suddenly told him to act natural. He discretely looked around the Taco Bell, trying to figure out why. Everyone there seemed so casual, Tim didn't understand why... oh. Tim finally noticed the three men walking around. It must have been those guys the grey-skinned guy had been talking about.
Tim felt himself panic slightly. If those people were really after the other guy because he was a mutant... that would mean that Tim wouldn't be able to get away in one piece either, considering that they would feel his power if they got too close.
As he tried to seem casual, Tim picked up another taco and took a bite of it, even despite his appetite having rapidly disappeared. He looked at the guy sitting in front of him, asking what to do with his eyes. Tim knew that he could easily lose control of his powers. In fact, it was easier to lose control rather than gain it.
Tim remembered the time when the powers had emerged; he had pushed two students into traffic... It had been in an unconscious self-defense... but Tim wasn't quite happy about it anyway.
Besides, if he had to defend himself... he only had a very limited grasp of his own powers... Who knew what kind of collateral damage Tim could end up causing?

It was hard for Chris to sit still when his instincts were telling him to run, but right now that would mean giving himself away. And not just himself... He looked over at the other guy, who had started eating his taco. The kid might be a runaway, considering his somewhat worn appearance. This whole situation might be new to him. Chris felt a pang of guilt - he hadn't meant to drag anyone else into this mess. Well, this didn't need to end badly.
"Just don't look at them," he whispered.

The men passed by and Chris made sure to follow his own advice. He stared right at the table, forcing himself to sit still and not make any sudden movement. His heart was beating like a hammer, though. The men walked by their table, and for a moment Chris felt relief wash over him.

Suddenly a hand grabbed his collar from behind and he was dragged up from his seat with a yelp, accidentally giving the table a kick. He stopped struggling when he met the eyes of the guy holding him; instead he just went limp with fear. The man seemed furious, and around his right forearm was a distinct, round bite-mark. The man dragged Chris even closer to his face, so he had to stand on his toes, and said in a low, triumphant voice:
"I thought I recognized that stink."
Chris was close to panicking, but he still tried to come up with an apology to save his skin.
"I'm... sorry about before. It was a mistake."
"You bit me, you little freak!"
The commotion was beginning to get the attention of the other customers. The tables around them had fallen silent, and Chris could see a Taco Bell employee standing nearby, hesitant to intervene. One of the other two men put his hands on his friend's arm.
"Let's take this outside."
"Yeah, let's," the man agreed and then turned his attention towards the dark-haired kid. 
"This freak a friend o' yours, boy?"
Chris shook his head quickly.
"I've never seen him before. He's just-"
The man holding him gave him a shake, and he fell silent.
"Shut up. Wasn't asking you."

Tim had frozen in place, not knowing what to do when the three men came over to their table. These guys... Tim knew how dangerous people with a hatred for a certain minority could be, and what kinds of things they could end up doing to him and the grey-skinned.
"This freak a friend o' yours, boy?" Tim was about to answer, but before he could, the guy who sat across the table did.
"I've never seen him before. He's just-"

"Shut up. Wasn't asking you."
Tim remained silent. He looked the grey-skinned guy in the eyes, his eyes telling him to get ready. Meanwhile Tim reached down to grab his bag. "What's it to you guys? I'm sure it was a fault of you that he bit you. You seem like the type."
Before any of the men could answer, Tim gripped his bag tightly. Then without warning, he let loose a powerful thrust of repulsive waves.
Soon the three men flew backwards. Food, drinks, napkins and food trays flew everywhere in one big mess. Tim was the one in the Taco Bell who was quickest to recover from it - mostly because it hadn't affected him - and he hurried over to the other mutant.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Tim said, not even knowing if his waves had somehow hurt the guy. But to Tim, it would be more important to get out with some minor damage, rather than getting skinned alive by those three men.

The kid didn't answer the question right away. He met Chris' eyes with a defiant look - and when he spoke, his choice of words confirmed that he wouldn't let himself get pushed around. Chris, who'd seen him move the food earlier, could guess what was about to go down and braced for impact.

Suddenly some kind of shockwave made the man holding him stagger. Chris used the opportunity to wrestle himself loose from the man's grip - he landed crouched on the floor and got ready to sprint for the exit, but then another wave, even stronger than the previous one, pushed him off balance. He stretched out his hands and landed on the greasy floor.
He wasn't the only one. All three of the nearby men had lost their balance - as Chris watched one of them got pushed into the nearby table where the family of four were sitting. They screamed and rose from their chairs, moving as far away from the chaos as possible. And chaos it was - chairs got knocked down, food was sent flying, even tables were pushed away from the kid. Chris tried to stay close to the ground, but was still hit in the back with a flying soft drink that spilled out over him.

The kid rose from his seat and Chris shakily got up on his feet - it seemed as if the force waves had stopped, for now.
>>"Come on, let's get out of here," the other mutant said. Chris just nodded and started to run towards the door, navigating between the scattered food trays, knocked-down chairs and frightened customers.

The fresh air outside was a welcome change. Chris drew a deep breath, but the screams coming from inside of the fast-food joint was a reminder that they weren't out of harms way yet. The grey mutant, still soaked with Cola, gesticulated towards a nearby alley. He was weighing from foot to foot, antsy to get away.
"Quickly, they'll call the police.We need to get away from here."

"Quickly, they'll call the police.We need to get away from here." Tim tried to think of something. Hiding in an alleyway didn't seem efficient to him; once they went in there, they would be trapped - no way out.
That being said, Tim's instincts would usually have him run into a crowd, but considering that his powers were constantly on, he would draw too much attention to them.
"We need to get away from here," Tim said. "If we hide, they could find us, and we'd be screwed..."
Tim looked around, trying to figure something out. He looked behind himself to see the three men running towards him and the other mutant. "Come on, let's go!"
Tim started running, though he remembered to make sure the other mutant was with him this time. As Tim felt himself grow more and more stressed and even a bit scared of what these men might do to the two young mutants, he failed to notice how his repulsive waves suddenly started acting up.
However, it was dully noticed when he realized that people in front of him were pushed aside. 

What the telekinetic said was true. Chris had tried hiding before, and it hadn't exactly worked out for him. He'd planned on losing their followers among the alleys, but you never knew when an alley would end up in a dead end.
>>"Come on, let's go!"
Chris didn't need to be told twice. He started to follow the kid, but it didn't take long before he began to fall behind. Even though the other mutant was younger he was longer and took bigger steps, and Chris' legs weren't designed for running. At least not on two legs. After realizing he was falling behind the digitigrade mutant dropped to all four and started moving forward with what looked like an awkward mix between running and hopping. It was faster than moving on two legs, but he still had to struggle with keeping up with the faster man.

At least people left them plenty of space, though. It took Chris a moment to realize that this might not be of their own accord; the younger mutant was sending out the same sort of force waves he had inside of the restaurant. Chris didn't know if he was doing it on purpose to keep people out of the way or if it was a sort of automatic defense, but at least they weren't getting stopped by the crowd.

One garbage can got pushed away forcefully from the kid's path, bounced against the wall and rolled out in front of Chris. Still running on all four he put his hands on top of it and leapt over it without slowing down.
"Watch what you're pushing!" he yelled, and then inspiration struck. "Or maybe not. Can you push something in their way?"

"Watch what you're pushing! Or maybe not. Can you push something in their way?"

Tim thought about it for a moment. Maybe it wasn't a half bad idea. He started scanning the area for something useful.
Tim kept looking, but was frustrated to find nothing that would be useful. Once they had to cross the road, Tim stopped. The light was still red...
He turned around. The men approaching them came ever closer. The other mutant kept protesting, but Tim paid him no mind.
Tim clenched his fist.
These powers... First they were a curse... then they were a gift... weren't they at this moment?
They could very well end saving him from these men.
Tim took a deep breath before holding his hands towards the three men, running towards them. Tim felt the very air vibrating. Then suddenly crying out loudly, Tim released repulsive waves more powerfully than ever before. However, what Tim hadn't expected was that this time, the waves were emitted like a nuclear explosion; like a big ring around him.
Tim noticed this however when the windows of the stores next to him started cracking and people all around him were pushed away.
Tim looked towards his fellow mutant, but saw that he was seemingly okay. At least he had recovered fast, and was still standing, as a pose to most of the bystanders.
The followers however, had been knocked off their feet.
Tim knew this was the chance they needed. "Come on, before they get up again," he said, just as the traffic light turned green.

Chris was savvy enough to know what was coming. When the other mutant turned around to face the attackers he quickly grabbed on to a nearby lamppost.
The blast that followed would probably have lifted him of his feet otherwise. Next to them windows started cracking, people were pushed to the ground, a few car alarms went off. But, most importantly; the people who followed them were knocked back a great deal. If Chris hadn't been so frightened and worried about his own skin he might have felt sorry for all the poor bystanders, but right now all he felt was relief.
>>"Come on, before they get up again."
Chris followed the younger mutant across the street, and sighed out in relief as the light shifted to red behind them. Even if the followers were to get up on their feet, they'd have to wait for green light before being able to catch up.

But that was no reason to stand around. Chris started running down the street, sure that the kid would be able to keep up. He did a sharp turn to the left; if they wanted to shake their followers for good they couldn't run in a straight line.
"What do we do now?" Chris asked. His enhanced lung capacity gave him a good stamina, so running barely made him out of breath. His muscles, however, was beginning to ache, and he wasn't sure how long he could keep up the same pace before he'd start to slow down.

"What do we do now?" Tim restlessly looked around, trying to figure something out.
"I... don't know." Tim was thinking as fast as he could. "We can't keep on running... But we can't hide either..."
"This way," Tim suddenly said, rather impulsively, starting to run down a random street. This street wasn't very crowded, so that meant that there was no one there who would accidentally be knocked away by Tim's constant waves.
"Don't you... know some place... we can hide at?" Tim asked in between breaths, getting somewhat exhausted from running. Tim himself surely didn't have any, but if the other mutant did, it would be perfect! Tim had even heard about certain 'mutant-hideouts'.