There was a distinct lack of a deep breath as the girl opened her eyes. Sveta sat back on her heels, surprised, but she seemed to be fine, whether she was catching her breath or not. So far, so good.

>>“I’m fine. Sorry for passing out like that. All this chaos must have finally got to me. Thank you. For saving me. But we need to go. You can come with us if you want.”

Sveta nodded and stood, herding the rest of the group away from the burning building and the sirens and flashing lights. They made their way down back alleys for a block or so, and apparently the woman and her son knew where they were going.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Sveta asked the strange girl as they walked "You look... pale."

Emily wondered if she should tell the vigilante about her mutation. What if she hated mutants and would regret saving her? Or worse, try to hurt her. But she owed the truth to the woman who saved her life. “The blood tends to pool in certain parts of the body after death. I’m pale because I have very little blood in that part of my body.” That came out a little blunter than she intended.

The restaurant was rundown on the outside. You couldn’t even tell it was open except for the florescent light that blinked in the darkened window. The inside was slightly more inviting. The décor showed its Dominican pride. The clock on the wall showed 8pm. The restaurant was busy. Many people from the neighborhood had come to talk about the fire and Los Trinitarios. There attacks were growing more violent. Some felt they should do something, take their neighborhood back. But nothing would come of it. Nothing ever came of it.

When the family walked into the restaurant another group stood up and allowed them to sit in their place. As they walked toward the table, people shared their condolences and insisted on helping them with anything they needed. A waitress was already waiting to take their order when they sat.

>>“The blood tends to pool in certain parts of the body after death. I’m pale because I have very little blood in that part of my body.”

It took Sveta a few minutes to realize what the girl just said. And then another few to conclude that she must have heard it wrong. She claimed she was dead, but that couldn't be correct, right? Sveta revived her after she came out of the burning building. Darn the English language. So confusing.

Sveta followed the family into the restaurant and sat down at the table with them. She ordered a glass of water, but not much else.

"I am sorry about your home" she said, now that the adrenaline started to subside (as much as it ever would, given Sveta's coffee buzz aura) "I wish I could have done more... My name is Efimia, by the way. People call me Effie."

The rest of the table ordered water. The son asked for a coke also. No one was hungry, but they ordered an appetizer to share. Hector stroked the turtle that sat in his lap.

The masked woman introduced herself and expressed her condolences. The Dominican woman smiled at her. “It is all right. We will rebuild. Others have already invited us into their home. Everything will be ok. I am Nalia. This is my son, Hector, and my friend, Emily.”

Emily looked over at her friend and her son. She could tell something was bothering the boy. What had caused the Trinitarios to become so enraged that they would set a house on fire? The girl hoped Hector wouldn’t try to get back at the gang. “Thank you for all your help and saving my life. I don’t know how those flames didn’t burn me.”

Nalia nodded in agreement. “It was some sort of miracle.”

>>“It is all right. We will rebuild. Others have already invited us into their home. Everything will be ok. I am Nalia. This is my son, Hector, and my friend, Emily.”

"Nice to meet you" Sveta nodded "I am glad I could help. You will need to find a safe place for a while, though."

>>“Thank you for all your help and saving my life. I don’t know how those flames didn’t burn me.”

Sveta gave a musing look at the girl called Emily. The family said she was a friend, but she did not look like she belonged in the neighborhood, and people seemed to be treating her as a guest, rather than one of their own. Sveta was also not sure she was telling the truth about her miraculous escape from the flames.

>>“It was some sort of miracle.”

"Indeed." Sveta smiled, then looked around "Excuse me. Emily, could you maybe show me the way to the bathroom?"

It was an innocent enough request, but Sveta also looked at Emily with a silent message: She wanted to talk to her, and she wanted to get a few words in in private. They both knew that there was more to the escape than just luck.

Emily grinned at Nalia. She was a strong woman with a good head on her shoulders. Her neighbors would take care of her. Poverty brought people together. Tragedy brought them even closer. Nalia had helped countless others in the neighborhood, bringing food to the elderly and having a couch for them to sleep on. She had even helped an accidental home birth. Emily wasn’t worried for the woman at all. She would be fine.

Emily turned to Sveta when she spoke. She knew the bathroom was just one room, not one with individual stalls. She could just point the way. But there was a message in the woman’s eyes. It seemed she wanted to speak to her about something. Emily wanted to speak to the woman, also. How had she survived the flames? They were on her. Her skin should have sizzled and cracked. Maybe it had something to do with this helpful vigilante.

“Of course I will show you.” She turned to Hector and spoke quietly into his ear so no one else could hear. “Stay here with your mother. She needs you now. Vengeance can come later.” Hector looked surprised. Probably because Emily had guessed what he was thinking. He sat there motionless, then gave a small nod.

Emily stood up and headed toward the lady’s room. She held the door open for Sveta to enter.

>>“Of course I will show you. Stay here with your mother. She needs you now. Vengeance can come later.”

"We'll be right back" Sveta nodded. She knew that mother and son probably realized she was trying to talk to Emily alone, but they didn't seem to care what their mysterious helpers were up to. She followed the other girl to the bathroom and waited until the door closed behind them. It was a one-person bathroom, but Sveta was past caring about what other people might think they were doing in there.

"So... dere is no good way to ask this" she said, turning to Emily "But is dere a chance you are a mutant?"

She was asking out of curiosity and the wish to help, but she realized right after that it might have come off the wrong way.

"I mean" she corrected herself "I am. I don't really do anything, my powers only exist to boost other powers. And since you got out of the fire unharmed... I thought maybe dat was due to my powers interacting with powers you might have."

Emily was puzzled at the question. She thought it was clear when she told the woman she was dead. Her zombified nature wasn’t from magick, but genetics. “Yes, I am a mutant.”

She looked at herself in the full-length mirror, checking for any burns or objects that might have been impaled in her body. Hector’s oversized jersey almost went to her knees. What she could tell, her body was fine. “So your mutation enhances other mutations. Then you truly did save me. I am dead and have been for a long time. But I would have burned in that fire if it wasn’t for you. I would have survived, but I wouldn’t look regular anymore. And honestly, I do care what I look like. Very much.”

Emily went to the sink and wet her face, really just to do something as they spoke. She messed with her hair and began to braid it, speaking to the reflection of the blonde in the mirror. “And your mutation does something. I mean it’s not shooting lasers out of your eyes or psychic abilities, but it’s better than just not dying ever. Your power helps. I’m the one that’s useless.” She voice carried no resentment. Emily had come to terms with herself long ago.

>>“Yes, I am a mutant."

So far, so good.

>>"So your mutation enhances other mutations. Then you truly did save me. I am dead and have been for a long time. But I would have burned in that fire if it wasn’t for you. I would have survived, but I wouldn’t look regular anymore. And honestly, I do care what I look like. Very much.”

"Uh... huh?"

Did she just say dead? Sveta blinked in surprise.

>>“And your mutation does something. I mean it’s not shooting lasers out of your eyes or psychic abilities, but it’s better than just not dying ever. Your power helps. I’m the one that’s useless.”

"Neither of us are." Sveta waved a hand "No mutation is useless. But... what exactly do you mean by 'dead'?... What kind of a power is dat?"

It was unlike anything she ever heard of, and for a moment, Sveta was taken off guard.

Emily shrugged casually. “I don’t really understand it either. I think I was dead for maybe an hour until my mutation kicked in bringing me back. My heart doesn’t beat. I don’t eat or sleep. Blood doesn’t run through my veins, but someone I can move my limbs and everything. I can’t heal though. So if I had burned in that fire...”

She trailed off. Emily didn’t want to get into the gory details. She stared at the floor for a moment, deep in thought. “What about you? How did you realize you could enhance powers?”

>>“I don’t really understand it either. I think I was dead for maybe an hour until my mutation kicked in bringing me back. My heart doesn’t beat. I don’t eat or sleep. Blood doesn’t run through my veins, but someone I can move my limbs and everything. I can’t heal though. So if I had burned in that fire...”

Sveta blinked.

"Whoa."

So, the girl was dead. Like, dead dead. She was practically a zombie. A very smart one, and one that didn't eat brains (wait, did she?), but... still creepy, as far as mutant powers went.

>>“What about you? How did you realize you could enhance powers?”

Sveta leaned back against the wall with a smirk.

"I was going to marry a guy, but when I kissed him... well, he was a mutant too. Took me a bit to figure it out. I can't be around a lot of mutants. Too dangerous... but I like to help where I can."

Emily smiled at the other mutant. “It is obvious. You came to help strangers from a burning building from gang-members with machetes.”

Someone jiggled the handle and knocked on the door. “Un momento, por favor.” Emily knew a little Spanish. “We should probably head back to the table. We’ve been gone for awhile.”

Emile opened the bathroom door and smiled politely at the woman who was waiting to use it. Nalia and her son were still sitting at the table nibbling on some chips and salsa. Emily whisperd at the blonde as they headed back to the table. “I think we should head out of here. We’re no longer needed.”

>>“It is obvious. You came to help strangers from a burning building from gang-members with machetes.”

Sveta smirked at that. All in a good day's work. She did not only help a family that needed help, but also found a new and interesting mutant that could potentially be her friend.
They walked out of the bathroom together and back to the tables.

>>"I think we should head out of here. We’re no longer needed.”

Sveta nodded. They both said goodbye to the family and made sure they were in good hands before walking out of the restaurant together.

"So... do you have some time to talk?" asked Sveta as they walked down the street "Not out here, obviously. But I don't meet other mutants very often... not ones that are safe to be around me anyway. And I feel like you have a story to tell too."

Emily glanced at her new acquaintance. A woman that she owed her life to. “I have all the time in the world.” It was getting pretty late and Emily was surprised this woman didn’t want to go home, clean up, and get some rest. But it was always nice to have someone around to talk to. “Where would you want to go? We should probably get out of this neighborhood actually. My car is back at my friend’s place.” Her vehicle wasn’t actually hers but on loan from her employer. She hoped it hadn’t taken any damage from the chaos that had happened that day.

Emily didn’t know what the girl meant by a story. She had revealed so much about herself already. The dead girl was known for talking someone’s ear off, but it was about frivolous, unimportant things. What did this woman want to talk about?

>>“I have all the time in the world. Where would you want to go? We should probably get out of this neighborhood actually. My car is back at my friend’s place.”

"We should probably get the car out of this neighborhood too" Sveta noted, and she walked with the girl back where they had come from. The fire was already out, and people were rapidly losing interest, clearing out of the way and going back to their own business.

"So... do you know many other mutants?" she asked out of curiosity "I don't get to hang out with a lot of dem, because of my powers. But I always wonder."