It was a nice day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping...

Oh, hell. Who was he kidding, this was New York. More accurately, the smog had parted, the cars had reached a lull in their honking, there was only one mugging in sight... Danny wasn't too big of a fan of this city, but today, he was almost in a good mood. Almost. There was something irritating him. Over the years, Danny had developed a little bit of a sixth sense whenever something bad was going to happen. Almost ninety percent of the time, though, it was inaccurate. So Danny ignored it this time, deciding that he wasn't going to let this failure of a Spidey-sense ruin his day. He really shouldn't have.

He had just closed up shop at his food cart and was now taking a little walk. Unbeknownst to most people who saw him, seeing as his demeanor didn't exactly scream "spoiled rich kid," he was actually quite well-off in the financial department. He'd saved up over two hundred years' worth of money, and had been working as a janitor for a firm on Wall Street when he overheard that stocks were about to crash. So he sold every single stock he owned, which was quite a bit, and stored all his money in a foreign bank. Also, he had invested in this computer company called Peach, having accidentally met a Stevie Professions, the CEO, on the street once and taking a liking to him and his intellect. Now, he was effectively rich, and his current plans that he were formulating (anonymously fund a program for a local hospital or a local orphanage? Nah, how about both) reflected that.

Which was why he entirely failed to notice when a black Toyota SUV tore down the street towards him, pursued by a handful of black and whites.

The SUV sped down the street, which, to Danny's eternal luck, was bordering Long Island Sound. Only when the car swerved directly towards him did it occur to him that he really should move, and by then it was too late. The front part of the car slammed into him with the force of - well, a speeding car, and it threw him clear over the railing and into the water. From what he saw, all the other bystanders were too busy realizing that they were now about to get hit by said car to even notice (though it wasn't their fault, they probably couldn't even see him or realize that he was there one moment and then gone), and the police cars were far too caught up in the chase.

He hit the water hard, seeing only white for a moment, before the uneasy feeling of being unable to breathe overcame him. He struggled to try and swim up, but noticed with growing irritation that his spine seemed to be broken, and his legs paralyzed. With that, he immediately focused on struggling only to hit his suicide button on his gauntlet, which he had thankfully waterproofed. He tried to stay as limp as possible, noting that he had nothing heavy on him, and just hoped that his body's natural buoyancy would carry him to shore before he woke.

From above the water, there was a muffled explosion beneath the waves, the flames roaring out before almost instantly going out again.

And then, as the water stilled, not even a ripple.

It's easy to get lost in your own world when you're blasting your favorite music on your headphones. You can get lost in your own imagination. You can go through the motions of walking and not even care about what's happening on the outside until you bump into someone and have to apologize.

For Tobias, everything seemed perfect today. A while ago he had picked up a new game which he had placed in his messenger bag with a bunch of stuff he probably didn't need to haul around. He slowly bobbed his head as rock music loudly came from his headphones. He couldn't wait to get home.

Then it happened. A speeding car drove right passed him. And though it didn't hit him, his froze in place. What the heck, man? His headphones fell out of his ears as his senses slowly recovered. If he'd gotten hit by that car, he might have been in some serious trouble. He watched as the car swerved as people moved out of the way in panic. It looked like one guy even jumped in the water just to not get hit.

As the police followed in pursuit of the car, Tobias took out his phone. Taking a selfie, he posted online along with the sentence "Dude, almost got hit by a car." He also moved over to where to diver had jumped to safety and took a picture posting "This guy seriously jumped to get away." He scanned the top of the water, but couldn't see anyone. Oh man, was this guy dead or something? Maybe he already swam off? Or maybe he was just seeing things? He obviously wasn't thinking straight.  His near death experience was messing with him.  He even thought he saw flames on the water for a second.  How's that even possible!?

Danny woke up to a feeling not unlike being hungover, as per usual, but instead of taking a deep breath of air like he normally did after every rebirth, he took a deep breath of water.

He started thrashing around, post-rebirth confusion clouding his thought process, and managed to break the surface and splutter out a good portion of the water from inside his lungs. It seemed that he had drifted close to land, just face-down, which was why his first attempt at breathing failed. Doing a weird sort of doggy paddle, he finally scrambled his way onto a set of concrete steps, chest heaving as he tried to expel the rest of the water from his lungs. His mind was still in a panic, but years of repetitious rebirths had drilled into him the importance of people not realizing you hadn't died. He had not a single scratch on him, which was generally very strange for someone who had just been hit by a car, and so he glanced around a bit first. The stairs led up to the street, only a few hundred feet or so from where he had started. Water was streaming from his clothes, but he ignored it, trying to take deep breaths to calm down.

It didn't work.

Drowning was always and had always been Danny's least favorite way to die, especially since he could always feel the water in his lungs before he was able to activate his gauntlet. So he remembered very clearly and vividly the horrible feeling of not being able to breathe, every inhale instead taking in water. He knew that this was a natural effect of a rebirth, and so he gripped his head with his hands, sitting up, and trying to slow his breathing. He was so busy trying not to hyperventilate that he completely managed to miss the teenager standing just where he had been, peering down into the water where he had vanished.

The panic was beginning to die down as the speeding car was now long gone. Even the black and whites had passed, their sirens barely even notable now. And although the fact that the event did occur, it almost felt like a dream.

Tobias continued to scan the surface of the water. A short while ago, he thought he heard an explosion, a faint one, maybe even muffled. But now he was sure he probably didn't. As Tobias was about to turn away and continue home, something caught his eye. In the distance someone was slowly making their way to shore. Tobias's eyes squinted as he tried to focus, and he was now sure his mind wasn't playing a trick on him. That definitely was a person.

Tobias watched as the person, now on shore just sat there. It looked like this guy used up the last of his energy just to make it back. Oh, man. Maybe he should call the cops or an ambulance or something? But maybe it wasn't that bad? Maybe he should check? But it really wasn't his business. He could just walk away, but his conscience wouldn't let him do that. He raised both of his hands as he put his faith in eenie meenie miney moe to decide.

"Okay, so I guess I'll just check on the guy." Tobias nervously said to himself. As he pondered about jumping into the water, he noticed some stairs in the distance. That was probably the safer choice. Making his way down, the gap between the closed until Tobias was just a few feet away. This guy looked okay, but who knows. Tobias needed a poking stick. "Hey, uh. Are you okay?"

Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths. Calm breaths. Think about happy things. Like...

Okay, really, how could psychologists preach this BS. Danny's heart was still racing, he was disoriented, and his lungs still stung from the foreign (and probably not very clean) water in them. It'd be ironic to go through all this only to die again from a bacterial infection or something.

All of a sudden, somebody near him spoke, and Danny startled. He hadn't heard the newcomer arrive, having been far too busy doing nothing.

"Hey, uh. Are you okay?"

Danny startled, reacting instinctively, years of training paying off. Not really, though, because he completely neglected to actually process what the other guy had just said. Fear shot up his spine like a bolt of electricity - and believe me, he knew what that felt like - and he turned his head to face the intruder. In the split-second that he saw his face, Danny scoured his memory for this guy, and found...nothing. Wow, he really was out of it. It was a good thing he attacked first and asked questions later, right? Well, after a rebirth, at least. He still wasn't thinking straight.

He spring up, lunging at the newcomer in a full-body tackle, hitting him and knocking him on his back. In one smooth movement, Danny pulled the hunting knife from his belt, holding it at his victim's throat. "Who are you?" he snarled, the very picture of aggression and intimidation.

Except for the fact that his knife hand was shaking, ever so slightly, and his voice wavered a little bit. He put almost all his focus into willing his hand to still, and bit his lip to keep his voice from giving so much away again. God, over two centuries and he was still an insecure and traumatized adolescent after a rebirth. He really needed to work that out.

Growing up, Tobias was never into getting into fights. He wasn't a fan of it. He didn't like pain, nor did he ever want to lose his teeth. And although he's been in a couple in the past, one could barely ever call what he did as "fighting."

No good deed goes unpunished it seems as Tobias's eyes widened as he fell to the ground. The man in front of him had knocked him to the ground and was now holding a knife to his throat. Tobias stared at the man's face as the music still coming from his headphones accented the situation. If he hadn't run them under his shirt he would've noticed when they popped off.

Trying to force his attacker off of him, Tobias was using all of his strength to resist the knife hand at his throat while his other hand flailed at his chest. "Hey, come on! I'm sorry! What are you doing!?" Tobias had yelled the first thoughts to come to his mind.  He breathed heavily as he tried to regain focus.

A few pigeons in the area watched as the two struggled on the ground. Their staring stopped as they soon flew into action, almost instantaneously knowing that this wasn't right. They were flying from all around the attacker, aiming straight towards his face. Flapping vigorously, the peck and scratched, creating an opening to the young man at the bottom.

Now's my chance... Tobias thought as he used one of legs to try and kick the man off of him. Even if he could break free for a couple seconds, he could back away and maybe make a break for it. It was a good thing these birds were around.

Danny could faintly hear music. It took him a few moments to figure out why, and then he realized that the boy's earbuds had fallen off and were still playing from beneath his shirt. He had one hand pressed up against Danny's knife, trying to keep it off his neck (even though Danny had no intention of injuring him, just scaring him a bit to not tell the authorities), while the other...flailed, really.

"Hey, come on! I'm sorry! What are you doing!?" Wait a second. That didn't sound like your typical mutant-hating human. He racked his brain for anything that the other teenager may have said before.

But before he could, he was assaulted by pigeons.

They pecked and clawed at his face and torso, and he fell off of the other guy, flailing himself now. With a snarl, he snapped his left hand, activating his gauntlet and grabbing at one of the pigeons. One pigeon was much smaller than a human, and so a normally stunning shock killed the bird outright this time around. Looking at its singed feathers, he couldn't really bring himself to feel guilt about his tiny ball of vicious feathers and claws.

"Dude," he gasped out as he rolled over to face the other guy. "You're a mutant? I thought you were a human trying to attack me!"

Thinking back, he'd been an idiot and a bit paranoid. But he wasn't going to admit that now.

Tobias generally never admitted his condition to others as mutants in his experience weren't usually received well. He'd seen one mutant nearly beaten to death, and another flee for his life. He didn't want to go through that. But maybe it was too late to decide?

"Dude, you're a mutant? I thought you were a human trying to attack me!"

Tobias could hear the man as he spoke, but his eyes glanced slowly back and forth between him and the pigeon he had just killed. All but one pigeons quickly flew off as the danger had halted. But they remained in the area, ever watchful just in case. One of their own had given his life for Tobias. And now he was hesitant to admit anything. The single bird that stayed hopped along the ground just a few feet away staring.

"Am I a mutant? Why? Are you one!?" Tobias questioned. He had been used to hiding among humans that admitting his mutation to a human could break it. But this man's choice of words was interesting as well. From what it sounded like, maybe he was like Tobias as well? He was a bit suspicious, but maybe luck was on his side today.

"Um, say I was..." Tobias said as he clumsily rose to his feet and stumbled back.  Even though this man nearly drowned, he still had enough strength to lunge at Tobias.  He needed to be careful.  "What would you do about it? Cuz, I aint looking for no trouble man!"

"Am I a mutant? Why? Are you one!?"

Either he was trying to change the subject or he actually hadn't realized Danny had just died and come back to life.

"Um, say I was... What would you do about it? Cuz, I aint looking for no trouble man!" Okay, probably hasn't realized.

"You do realize I just died in the water, exploded in a fiery blast, and then swam out perfectly fine," Danny deadpanned. "Let's go with yes, I am a mutant. Seriously, this is just a pretty huge misunderstanding. I thought you were a human who noticed I blew up and came back to life, and generally resurrection isn't the most therapeutic thing in the world, so I attacked. Reflex, sorry. Then you sicced your birds on me - sorry about that one, by the way." He motioned to the still pigeon corpse still lying on the ground by him. "And now we're talking like civilized people. So no knife, no birds, okay?"

Despite everything that had just previously happened, Tobias was ecstatic about this. He could cry tears of joy. This was the first time he had ever been face to face with someone like himself. Someone with an ability others didn't have. And now in a peaceful context.

"Alright, no birds." He told the man. He was trying to stay on this guy's good side. "I didn't even know you died! I thought you just swam to shore or something. That's incredible! I mean, the whole comeback thing, not the dead uh...thing."

Tobias looked at the solitary pigeon on the ground and reached out his arm. The bird then extended its wings and landed on it. With his other hand, he reached the mp3 device in his pocket and turned it off. Tobias thought about his own abilities as he looked at the pigeon and to the man in front of him.

"You probably already know, but guys like these are my friends. You could say we can tell when we're around each other. They like to help out too. I think there's some kind of psychic thing there, I don't know." Tobias bragged.  He wanted to show off more of his power, but despite how far they were from the general public, people might still be able to see.   

"Oh, I'm Tobias by the way."

"Alright, no birds." No birds. That was something Danny could work with. He'd already killed one by accident. "I didn't even know you died! I thought you just swam to shore or something. That's incredible! I mean, the whole comeback thing, not the dead uh...thing." That would've helped quite a bit two minutes ago. Nothing he could do about it now, though.

"You probably already know, but guys like these are my friends. You could say we can tell when we're around each other. They like to help out too. I think there's some kind of psychic thing there, I don't know." Psychic... bird connection? What? No stranger than dying and coming back to life, though.

"Oh, I'm Tobias, by the way."

"Uh. Danny," was the first thing he could think of to say, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you. Uh, I would explain my powers too, but I think you kind of figured them out. I die in a fiery explosion, I come back to life, repeat."

He paused for a moment, unsure of how to fill the awkward silence. "So. How's life?"

"Uh. Danny.  Nice to meet you. Uh, I would explain my powers too, but I think you kind of figured them out. I die in a fiery explosion, I come back to life, repeat."  Tobias stared in awe at Danny as he listened to him explain his powers.  Man this guy's powers were so cool but at the same time horrible.  To have to die the way he did and be reborn only to die again in the same way didn't sound very fun.  "So. How's life?"

Tobias couldn't think of a response to this question.  Which was weird because it was such an easy one to answer.  He could just explain the last few days of his life and what's been going on, but this guy was just an acquaintance.  It wasn't any of his business.

"Oh, you know."  Tobias chuckled to himself.  This guy seemed like a good guy.  Maybe Tobias could tell this guy a tale.  "You know, you're one of the only mutants I've met face to face like this.  Ha ha, you must've met a ton of mutants."  Tobias looked down at his watch.  "Small talk, right?" 

"Oh, you know. You know, you're one of the only mutants I've met face to face like this. Ha ha, you must've met a ton of mutants. Small talk, right?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. He was actually rather surprised that the other mutant - Tobias, was it? - had never met another mutant before. In a bustling metropolis like New York City, there were bound to be a few hundred - maybe even a few thousand - of them, but most of them probably didn't have super obvious mutations. The two of them certainly didn't, and it was only by chance that they had even figured out that the other was a mutant, anyway. Danny opened his mouth, and was about to say something, when he was suddenly stopped.

"Well, well," a menacing voice drawled. Danny glanced up, and saw that two beat cops were making their way down the stone steps to the shoreline. The shorter one of the two, the one who had spoken, was tapping his baton against his other hand in what was clearly supposed to be an imposing manner, but didn't quite reach that point. "What 'ave we 'ere? A little mutie gatherin', issit?"

Dammit. Clearly, they had witnessed most of the conversation from above, and weren't the nicest people when it came to mutants. Danny swore under his breath.

"Yeah, I think it is," the first man continued. His partner was nodding vigorously. "Whaddya say we take 'em in for questionin', partner? Who knows what illegal sh*t dese freaks 'r up to."

Danny cut in before the short man'a partner could respond, with a rather eloquent, "F**k off," and a smoothly raised middle finger. He didn't give a crap about disrespecting jerk policemen, but suddenly realized with horror that Tobias probably didn't have the same advantage Danny did when it came to staying off the grid. The mutant turned his head ever so slightly, just enough so that he could make eye contact with Tobias, and mouthed, "Don't turn around." If the officers saw his face, he'd be in trouble, even as Danny was in the clear.

Seeing how some mutants were treated while in the past, it was usually safer to just play it safe and make sure things didn't go bad. Unlike Danny, Tobias didn't have such a high tolerance for pain, but unfortunately a couple of policemen seemed to have caught the two in the middle of their conversation. As long as they both played it cool though, they might not go to jail or anything. Danny Spoke.

"F*ck off."

Okay. They might be in a little trouble now. Tobias glanced at Danny's arm and saw him flip the bird. Oh, come on! Was this guy trying to get them both into more trouble!? These guys were cops. They had guns. They knew how to fire guns. This was not good.

"Don't turn around" Danny told Tobias. This was intriguing. Tobias usually respected law enforcement enough that wouldn't hide information from them. But this was different though, so he had to trust Danny. He kept his back to the two officers while he planned his next course of action.

"Hey, man, I'm not trying to die here." Tobias whispered to Danny, panting nervously. A couple birds in the area were called, but remained at the very edge of the perimeter. Another bird flew over to the side of the two officers above. If things got messy, these guys were gonna have a big problem of their own. "If sh*t hits the fan." He tilted his head to the side to alert him of his friends.

[OOC: Ack, school. Really sorry about the slow post.]

"Hey, man, I'm not trying to die here." Danny held back a barely-suppressed snicker at his new friend's choice of wording, seeing as that was almost always Danny's Plan B - dying. He glanced around rapidly, trying to figure out something else to do. Catching sight of Tobias again, he saw the other mutant subtly motion to some birds nearby. "If sh*t hits the fan." Backup. That was very good. Danny could work with that.

He stood up slowly, turning to face the two policemen. Their hands started to reach for their guns, wary of him - as they should be, because in the next instant, Danny drew his knife and threw it at the taller of the two. It spun on its way to the target, the handle hitting the policeman square in the skull, and he went down. The other policeman drew his gun with a shout, and aimed it. Good. Danny could handle being shot.

But then the man shifted aim towards Tobias.

Goddammit.

Danny launched himself into the bullet's path, grunting as it hit him in the stomach. That would hurt and probably mean a slow death, but that didn't matter. Civilians first. But he landed on the ground in a rather ungainly manner, and obviously didn't curl up. If he did, it was human/mutant nature to do things like that. Wasn't his fault.

In fact, the most irritating part of this whole scenario was the fact that his "dramatic death" was pointless, seeing as he'd literally just come back to life again, meaning that the whole thing was really a lot less dramatic for everyone. Sadly, it did mean that he was now incapacitated, and Tobias would have to figure out the other policeman on his own.