> "You do that a lot I take it.”

"Then I can learn or adjust without going back into it. I can let the memories die." She needed to sleep. That was probably the only thing that would let out some of that pressure from her skull. She also knew that was when her fragmented memories got resolved. Erasures became permanent. That kind of thing.

> ”I'm..sorry.”

He took her hand in his and she looked down at the place where they met skin to skin. It wasn't that she thought him disingenuous. She knew he meant it. It was just... unexpected. She didn't like it.

"I told myself I wasn't going to be helpless again. Ever. That I was going to fight until I have no other options. I was going to brain you with your own hairdryer if it came to that. I'm not... I don't..." She needed her hand so she disentangled it from Kaz's. She folded that hand into her other hand almost like it was what needed protecting.

There. Now it was easier to think. "I don't need to be accepted. I just need—" She cast around for what she was trying to say, finally she settled for, "—context. I need to know as much information as I can so that I can make the right decisions."

> "It's always a risk, trusting someone."

She frowned. Was it a risk, though? She could discern intentions to some extent. And she liked using her powers to thin out her memories. She could work at peak efficiency then.

"People are weird. And dumb." She agreed there, but her tattoos told a different story about dependability. 'Everyone will betray you eventually.' "Can't depend on anybody else, Kaz. Surely you've learned that by now."

> ”Some would call me a bad person, but I don't think I am."

"Every villain is a hero in his own mind." She hugged herself and went back to looking a the ceiling fan. "You kill people. I kill people. The difference is that you smile when you talk about it."

Noel touched her cheek again. "He smiled too when he carved me up." He'd probably said something witty, now forgotten. Something about making her smile too.

Joke was on him. She'd gotten it healed away, usually forgotten. Her fingers brushed her collar bone and found a knot there. That was from the same encounter. She was almost sure.

Kaz looked at Noel with obvious disbelief. She sat there, fingers on her collar bone, and just blinked at her.

”Bullshit. Lie to yourself if you want to, but don't lie to me. You want to be accepted, that's why you went further than you needed to, why you wanted to know my history with psychics, if I had any, and wanted to know if I'd hurt you. It's all about acceptance. Them accepting you and your lack of accepting them. Replace acceptance with trust, it's the same issue, it's what you lack and what you want.”

Kaz stood up and moved to the tiny window. ”If you accept people and they accept you, you can find trust and mutual understanding. You can depend on them. Like..Abyss. Big red guy, insanely strong. Probably one of the only people I could, and do, call a friend. We don't see eye to eye on everything, hell we've gotten into it once or twice. But if I need his help with something, and it doesn't go against what he believes, I know he'd be willing to help me. I trust him, and he trusts me. I can depend on him being exactly who he is. That's acceptance.”

Kaz turned to her, ”Need more? If you didn't care about being accepted, you wouldn't have erased your own memories. If all you cared about was context and information for the future to make better decisions, you would have kept whatever it was you had gotten. It wasn't about placating me, or hoping I'd be more forgiving or whatever, for all you knew, it would just make things worse.”

”Y'er trying to me look like the bad guy here.” Kaz said it with a smile and wry tone. ”I'm no hero, never claimed to be, hell I'm not even all that nice. He might have smiled when he carved you up, but why did he do it? Because he could? Because he didn't like something that happened between you two?” Kaz shrugged, ”Or did he do it because it would be fun for him. That would be my guess.”

Kaz looked away from Noel, ”I smile when I talk about killing those humans for one reason: They plan on hurting, killing Mutants, because they don't like us. That's it. I'll kill any human that does that without a backwards glance. That's what I do, it's not pretty, it's not nice, and most people would call it evil.”

Glancing at her, ”I use to hate all humans just for being human, because of what humans had done to me and what they did to..someone I loved. Didn't matter to me, humans were humans, and they hated us. Only way to keep myself and other mutants safe was to kill them all...without getting myself killed in the process. Now though,” He looked at his own hands, ”Now I just want to help Mutants, all of us if I can. I'll build places for us to live, employ any and all methods I can to protect them. I'll find jobs for us, help them get homes, educations. And if a human, or a group of them, threaten my people, I'll kill them too. So I take pleasure in that, in knowing that by removing them I'll hopefully make things just a little better, a little safer for us.”

Kaz reached up and touched his own facial scars, ”I won't allow another registration, won't allow those responsible for that sort of thing to go unpunished. You can think I'm an evil person if you want to Noel, it doesn't bother me. I've found my purpose. This is who I am, and what I do.”

”So I may do those things, but if you or another mutant needs help, and I can help, I will. I will do whatever I can. That's why I was mad at myself about you. Just because I'm jaded from other psychics, I shouldn't have included you in that from the get-go. It was completely contrary to what I've decided is my path. So I may not be the good guy, but sometimes you can't accomplish anything by being good.”

He held his arms out, ”So? Are you okay with that? Can you deal with it?”

> "Bullshit. Lie to yourself if you want to, but don't lie to me."

Lie to herself? That felt pretty well impossible. But then, this was a conversation that would would sound better on the other side of a solid 8 hour rest. Noel watched Kaz move around the room like a mouse might watch a snake. She didn't feel like a peer here. She didn't feel like a prisoner, either. Something in between.

She did, however, give thoughtful consideration to what he was saying. Did he have a valid point? Her power felt unconscious, subconscious. Whatever. But maybe it was her distrust that made her double check everyone's words all the time.

"If I could trust like you're talking about trust... maybe then I could learn to turn it off."

That idea had merit. It also made her feel grumpy.

> "...But if I need his help with something, and it doesn't go against what he believes, I know he'd be willing to help me. I trust him, and he trusts me. I can depend on him being exactly who he is."

Did that mean Noel was not consistent? Was she day to day someone different depending on what she knew or did not know? That was one of her biggest fears. One day the villain, the next a saint.

"If you called me tomorrow and asked for my help, I would give it provided those same stipulations were met." Even with the death threats. That hadn't been personal, strictly speaking. Well, not personal to her. Personal to him.

> ”Y'er trying to me look like the bad guy here.”

"I drew an unfair parallel and that's my bad. You're not... him. Not any more than I'm..." She felt bewildered for a moment. She had a point there and she couldn't finish it. A fresh sluice of pain lanced through her head. Noel shut that thought process down before she opened the door. She put her hands over her eyes beneath the sunglasses. God she needed to sleep.

> ”Need more?"

Uuuugh she'd made things worse. She'd made him start in on a tirade. "I have to assume that it's context I didn't need to interact with you. You value your mental privacy more than I needed the context. When I had the information I made that call. So to continue to interact with you and to establish that trust you're saying I suck so bad at, it had to go." Right? That sounded right. 'Trust is a BFD here.' She'd written that in her note to herself.

"Unless you're now changing your tune and you want me to have that context? But that's why I told myself not to go into anything without your permission. Permission is the difference here. Not... uhm." She sniffed and tasted copper. Crap. No. She was very stubbornly still having this conversation.

What was she saying? Noel wiped at her nose.

"Not trust. I didn't earn your trust as me. We don't have enough common ground yet."

>”I'll kill any human that does that without a backwards glance. That's what I do, it's not pretty, it's not nice, and most people would call it evil.”

She sighed. This whole conversation was making her tired when she was already tired to begin with. "How does that make you different from them? You're what? Gonna subjugate the whole of humanity by murdering the people who don't agree with you?"

He had an answer for that. That he was coming from a place of protection. Protect the mutants. Did he not see that, however misguided, the humans were just trying to do the same thing? There were extremes on every side.

Noel's phone buzzed. She slipped it out of her pocket, checked, and dismissed her calendar pop up. No. She had not forgotten to eat today. So at least it wasn't a total loss.

He talked about the registration from the perspective of someone who'd been embroiled directly. It set Noel's brain humming again. She had the experience of someone who'd dodged. A young man with black hair. She had the experience of someone who'd been in the camps. They had a tail. She had a few more and she flicked through them like flashcards. None of them were her.

Noel didn't know where she'd been then. She didn't know a lot before the last couple years, in fact. She knew she'd had at least one "hard reset" that she'd tried to mitigate by giving someone else the memories first. Ty. Her tattoo. Her back up in absentia.

> "I've found my purpose. This is who I am, and what I do.”

That begged the question... what was Noel's purpose? She sort of drifted from cause to cause as she found people to trust and once those people left or betrayed her, she moved on. If she had to choose one for herself, though... what would she do?

Noel didn't buy the whole mutant supremacy angle, but she did like the idea of a safe place. Who wouldn't want a safe place? But, why couldn't they all be safe? Wasn't there some middle ground?

> ”So I may not be the good guy, but sometimes you can't accomplish anything by being good.”

"'Sometimes you can't accomplish anything by being good' sounds like a tattoo I need. It's been coming up a lot recently and I don't know if that means I'm going down a bad path or I finally have some perspective." Noel dabbed at her nose again. Damn bleeder.

> "So? Are you okay with that? Can you deal with it?"

"That's fine. We don't have to agree on morals to agree not to kill each other." One day's talking was not enough to cover it by half.

She stood, fully intent on going home then. Only, with her head swimming Noel found that she couldn't quite bring herself to take a step. She'd pushed it too far. She didn't finish her run. She didn't follow her routine. She had too many loose ends swimming around in her head, a fact made worse by the new dead ends she'd created with Kaz.

Dead end. Dead. Dead psychic. Psychic who'd messed with Kaz.

"Can I pass out here for a while?" If his answer was no, her rebuttal might be too late. She was already stubbornly keeping herself on her feet so that she would not just sink to the ground.

After explaining his trust in Abyss and how both of them could depend on the other one, trust each other, helping when and however much they could as long as it didn't go against their morals and goals Noel said and offered something similar. The unfortunate part is that while Kaz thought her statement was probably true he didn't know her yet, not really. He didn't trust her completely either, a product of what she had done, but mostly because he didn't know what drove her, hadn't been through enough with her to get a sense of who she was.

Finding out who Noel was could end up being very difficult. She seemed not to know herself completely either, not to mention when she erased her memories, which Kaz knew was a frequent thing, it was very possible that the Noel in front of him might not be the same Noel he met next month, or week even.

..Permission is the difference here. Not... uhm.”

He wasn't sure what she had been thinking, where she had been going but he found himself wondering if he was changing his mind. ”..I..uh-hmm..” Had he ever wanted her to get rid of the memories she had taken? Kind of, but she had done it, and gotten something from it, something she hadn't encountered before. It would probably be good for her to have those memories, to know what she had taken. Knowing it might help her interact with Kaz, to know what topics to stay away from. Though he had been annoyed and upset at what she did, he still was to a certain extent, but he figured knowing might help in her interactions with others.

Kaz continued to rant, something he had worked hard at not doing anymore. It was so natural for him that until he saw the blood coming from Noel's nose he hadn't realized what he had been doing. 'Gah..I did it again. ...She's not looking too hot.'

'...Really? A little blood and all of a sudde-'

'Not like that dumbass. I mean she looks like she's ready to pass out.

Kaz lurched forward to steady Noel when it seemed like her legs were going to give out on her. An arm around behind her back and the other gripping her bicep enough to keep her from falling. ”Yeah, that's fine. I don't think you'd make it to the lift if I said no.” Leaning down he let go of her arm and used it to lift the woman from her feet.

He moved to the head of the bed. ”The bed is much more comfortable than the floor.” In one smooth motion Kaz slid the covers down the bed before he put Noel's weight on them. When he removed his arm from behind her back he lifted the blankets and slid them over her. ”If you need anything, just say so.” It was one thing to be tired and exhausted, and to have a headache, those were fairly common issues for mutants when they overused their abilities, but bleeding for seemingly no reason...not so much. It wasn't a stretch for Kaz to link the two. Erasing memories was destructive, and he could believe that doing it to herself was more destructive than if done on someone else. It was possible for her body to be reacting to the erasure, some sort of 'mind over matter' thing.

Kaz felt guilty about Noel. Sure, he didn't want to kill her and they weren't fighting, but he couldn't see that they were doing alright. To go anywhere, the tension, or whatever it was, was going to have to be dealt with. Sighing he turned off the lights and made sure the intercom in the room was on so he could hear if something happened.

Kaz turned the lights on the rest of the floor down to nearly nothing. It would be enough for him to see, but to anyone else, it would be almost pitch black. Getting a glass of water, he picked up the pain killers and placed a few of them and the water next to Noel on her bed's nightstand. Once back in the living room he sat down in his chair in front of the fireplace, liquor and cigar on the table next to him. As he poured himself a drink Kalli hopped into his lap. Stroking the feline's head he sat in silence listening until he was sure Noel was completely asleep.

Using his tablet he selected and played E Nomine on low as he enjoyed the rumble from his cat that served as her idea of purring. He put his feet up on the ottoman, causing the cat to shift around a little, and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He fell asleep without touching his drink or the cigar.

She couldn't read his tone, but he didn't sound mad. Or maybe she was just too numb to care if he was. He said she could stay here no problem. She got her permission so she let go. Kaz helped her into the bed and she didn't move a muscle, not to remove the sunglasses, not even to roll over.

"Money, as we both know, is fleeting... just like beauty." The angle of the knife took a sharp turn and in one motion, Roland impaled her cheek and pulled the knife through until it snapped through the side of her mouth. "If you need fingerprints, there they are. I just wanted you to know that you are not the only one capable of applying pressure..."

"F***all, I don't know why you're p****ing out! We can take a 20 even with just the five of us." He ran his hand over his favorite brawling chain. Mutants were a menace. "He's a physical type too. Maybe go for the face. They hate that shit."

He started noticing the inconsistencies there along the soft curves of her skin. Nothing physical. Lies. It didn't match up. She didn't cover her bases well enough so he killed her while they were in bed together.

Under normal circumstances, she wasn't a screamer in life or death situations, but he bit her. He didn't just love nibble, he got flesh.

There were more and more of them all the time. Taking his job? No. But they were just walking around like it was okay to have feathers and horns and shit. They should be ashamed.

Spine. He wasn't exactly sure why he did it, but it was there in his hand. Spine. It felt good.

"That. Is. My. Job." Noel squeezed the words out from between clenched teeth, she was trying for smile but she felt like mauling than smiling. "I. Make. People. Forget."

She wasn't sure how long she'd slept, but it wasn't the restful kind of sleep. It was the kind of sleep where she woke up cold and sweaty all at the same time with only one whispered word left to sum it all up. "Fuck."

It was dark. Less so when she pulled the sunglasses off her face.

What day was it? Hades should be back soon. Maybe his next job would mandate a lot of mental space. She couldn't justify blanking things on purpose without reason, but after that... she felt caught between terror, revulsion, and exhilaration.

Her face.

She touched her cheek and thought back to a moment where she had looked at herself in the mirror and decided that she didn't want a tattooed vendetta. She didn't want to remember his name. Conveniently blank. She couldn't even remember his face. Not the whole thing. Just his mouth. He'd found something funny when he'd dumped her there in a pile of seething pool of rage.

That was why she'd started training so mercilessly. The man with the horn was the other. Sebastian. She'd forgotten that he'd bit her when they first met. She'd been terrified. Fighting a healer was terrifying.

Noel swung her legs over the side of the bed. She felt stale. Used. Sore.

"Fuck." She rubbed her face and knew she needed a run even if she felt weak. Anything not resolved in sleep could be hammered out on a run. Her pants were too big. She had to go back to the safehouse.

"You around, Kazimierz?" Noel called out as she grabbed the glasses from where she'd flung them and put them back on before chugging the water. She left the pills. Maybe it was paranoia, but she didn't exactly feel like taking anything not from her own stash right now.

Maybe hunting the hunters would be a better application of her time. Tomorrow. Or later. Today, she just needed to go. Noel made sure she had her phone. 23 missed notifications. Crap. She padded on bare feet out to the middle area. Did she have shoes on today at some point? That seemed like a silly question to ask, but she couldn't for the life of her think where they might have ended up.

Kaz awoke with a start, eyes wide and wild. Muscles tense, ready to act instantly. His senses were hyperactive as he took in every detail of his surroundings.

He heard heartbeats, two loud thumping hearts, one quieter and quicker, two humans one animal. The sound of their breathing confirmed it. Beyond the thick walls he could just barely hear the sound of vehicles rolling down the city streets.

His fingers felt the soft, comfortable material beneath him, felt the warm air around him, felt the way it moved, the ventilation system's work. He could feel the fur on his face, a single strand across his cheek, touching his bare skin and resting on new growth of hair on his face.

Inhaling he tasted the air, it tasted normal, though there was a hint of something....no, that was just morning mouth. Ash, he could taste ash, not from a cigarette or cigar...Fire. It was still on, no. No it wasn't, it had died out long ago

Cat. That was the first thing he smelled, cat everywhere, and himself, and...he sniffed again. The scent wasn't new, but it wasn't one he recognized instantly. It was...sweat, not from exertion..fear? Pizza, he could smell pizza, greasy, cheesy, meaty, delicious. His stomach rumbled. Burned wood, the pleasant scent of a fire long dead, the embers still giving off enough heat to warm the larger pieces that hadn't burned completely.

His fingers and toes moved in minute motions, almost undetectable. Muscles responded correctly, no sluggishness. No pai-..there was pain; Nothing new, mostly soreness.

Kalli prowled through the kitchen to her bowl, Kaz watched her tail move lazily.

It had taken mere moments for his now conscious mind to take in the information. Less than a handful of human heartbeats had gone by before he was fully awake and ready to act. The routine was normal, but Kaz was keyed up and that wasn't normal. Why? If it was because of a dream, he didn't remember it, but it was the most likely reason. He didn't often remember them, but they weren't often things he'd want to remember either.

Someone moved in his peripheral, in bare feet. His heart beat hard in his chest. For just a moment his emotions lurched. For just the barest of moments he thought, knew, believed, hoped it was Nicki. Another step. Reality smashed all of that. If she had, there was no way he would have be away from her, that he would have slept in the chair while she slept in their bed, alone. Another soft footfall. His eyes moved to look at the figure. He saw Nicki's face on the woman who stood in the room. As he looked the features changed, melted away, they were wrong. It took him another heartbeat to realize who he was looking at.

Kaz clenched his jaw, shut his eyes tight, and pushed everything down. Crushed it and locked it away. She was gone, had been for years. He had moved on, or he had believed that he had. He loved her still, but that wasn't why he still looked...had others looking for her at least. He had changed since she went missing, he knew that she would have as well, knew that there was a good chance that even if she came back, back to him, they wouldn't have any reason to be together.

Kaz sat up and leaned forward, putting his face in his hands. 'Idiot. Moron. She's gone. She isn't coming back. Ever. She left you.' He felt the hitch in his breath, felt the tightness. 'No...I won't...no...' A deep, slow breath. Hands slid down his face until he rested his head on his fists.

Standing up he turned to Noel. ”You say something Noel?” Yes that's who was in his house, his home. Guilt stabbed at him. He pushed that away as well. Looking at the clock, ”It's after noon, you hungry?” He started moving towards the kitchen to heat up the pizza. Even if she wasn't hungry, Kaz was, he needed to eat, he could feel his guts gnawing at him. There was no risk of starvation, not for a while at least, but he would get weak and unable to use his body to its fullest, not to mention shift much, or at all.

”You're free to use the shower again if you'd like. Looks like you didn't sleep that great.” Of course it was possible she always looked the way she did when she woke up, but Kaz based the smell of on the sweat coming from her.

Noel hesitated. She didn't understand what she was seeing from him. Kaz merely looked at her and his expression hardly changed but she sensed... disappointment. Then blankness. Finally recognition.

She must have done a number on him. That kind of confusion didn't happen without memory manipulation.

Noel's foot hovered just over the plush carpet.

She had a spine in her hand. A visceral memory that tripped her up only for a moment's hesitation. The phrase "memory manipulation" had triggered that thought, but it wasn't her memory. A man's hand had a spine in it. After ingestion, the memories felt like hers. She had to watch out for those little details, though. A man's hand. Not hers.

He put his face in his hands. Those. Hands.

Noel set her foot down.

Yeah. She really had to get out of here.

> ”You say something Noel?”

"Only making sure you were still around. You... okay?" Noel looked around for her shoes. They had to be somewhere. She had been running when all this started so they were her running shoes. Neon orange unless she remembered wrong. Impossible to miss.

Was she hungry? Noel started to check her phone and realized that was silly. "Yeah, but not really." Did that make sense? She felt weak and pizza wasn't going to fix that. Her shoes were not in the kitchen.

> ”You're free to use the shower again if you'd like. Looks like you didn't sleep that great.”

"I considered it, but I think I'd rather get out of your hair." Not under the coffee table. Bathroom maybe. She had showered. "Sleep is... it's fine. I'm fine." She winced a bit at that statement. She was going to be fine. Stupid splitting hairs truth sense.

Noel could really, really go for a shake down job about now, though. Any excuse to rough a guy up. Perfect then, that her phone was now informing her that she had missed a meeting with some Russians. They would be testy whenever she got around to meeting up with them. Which would not be until she felt like a human again. Or. Mutant. Whatever.

She needed some self care. Running for sure.

"You want to schedule a thing for hunting the Bird Hunters?" She called from the bathroom where she found her shoes. They were wet. Still sweaty. Splashed with blood. Ugh. Noel squished into them anyway, not even caring where her socks had ended up.

Kaz shook his head slightly, ”Yeah, I'm okay. It's just..” He looked at her, a little bit of what he felt showed on his face. ”I don't think about Nicki often. I mean, I do, but not...Heh. For a moment, just a moment, I thought she had come back, that you were her. That's all.” 'Well then, this day is starting out just fine isn't it. Get a grip. She didn't ask for your life story.'

'But she got it didn't she, got my memories inside her now.'

'.......'

'Yeah, but not really.' Kaz looked at Noel, unbelieving. How could you be hungry but not be hungry? That didn't make a lot of sense to Kaz. As he watched her he noticed she seemed distracted, looking for something. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, it wasn't like she had had much when he brought her to his place.

'Ahh...I get it now' Leaving, she was getting ready to leave. He looked at her and guessed what she was looking for. Unfortunately for her, he had no idea where she had put them. As he thought about that, he realized he had no idea what she had done with the clothes she had changed out of.

For some reason that he couldn't pinpoint, Kaz wasn't looking forward to her leaving. Granted, there seemed to an awkwardness between them, but for a little while the night before, on the rooftop and in the living room, it had been nice, peaceful. He had had fun.

'And you weren't alone.'

He wondered about that. Was that why he didn't like the idea of her leaving? That was part of it. Part but not all, he didn't like where things were between them. It had ended on a bit of an odd point, before the both went to sleep. Kaz stopped his food preparation as he watched her go back to the room.

She had no car, and they were a ways away from Central Park where they had met. Kaz needed to go back there to pick up his Hummer as well. Putting things away, he grabbed his phone and made a call.

”Yeah, that's probably a good idea. We can figure that out on the way. A limo will be here soon.” Once in the car he could do what he had offered the day before, to get her fixed up. ”If you need anything we can stop and pick it up on the way.” Kaz went to his own room and changed into a pair of dark blue jeans, gray t-shirt, heavy brown leather boots, and a brown bomber jacket. Before leaving the room, he slipped a necklace over his head and tucked it under his shirt. His hand was resting atop it as he left his room. 'I hope you're safe Nicki.'

Noel hesitated as she looked at herself in the mirror. There was only the tiniest bit of blood dried at her nose. Embarrassing.

> ”...For a moment, just a moment, I thought she had come back, that you were her. That's all.”

Nicki? Must have been a loved one. She opened her mouth to ask, but ultimately decided that wasn't a topic to broach even if he had ventured the information first. After all, what if she'd died? Or looked like Noel? No reason to make things weird when she could just skate past it.

She washed her face again and ventured back out to the middle where Kaz was packing food away and finishing up a call.

> ”...A limo will be here soon.”

That earned him an eyebrow. A limo? Really?

"I am perfectly capable of hailing a cab." Her tone said he was being a crazy rich guy even if her words did not.

> ”If you need anything we can stop and pick it up on the way.”

He just took it for granted that she was going along with him.

"Hey! No, I—" She'd followed him to protest, but he'd gone into his room and started changing. Noel abruptly turned about face, embarrassed. He was changing. She'd seen worse in memories, but that was different. She could fast forward those.

Somehow her embarrassment took the wind right out of her argument. Didn't mean she didn't still try. "I'll make my own way, Kaz." In fact she was going right now. There were stairs, right? Yeah. Totally stairs. She didn't want him walking her up to the doorstep of the safe house. It wasn't her secret to share.

Kaz smirked as Noel began to follow him to his room. He hadn't bothered to shut the door completely, not that he planned on changing in full view from the door. There was a definite smile in his voice as he spoke. ”You don't have to turn away if you don't want to, it wouldn't bother me.” He continued speaking as he changed. ”I'm sure you are perfectly capable of getting a cab, but doesn't a limo sound so much better?”

As he left his room he passed by her on the way to the lift. ”Besides, you can't get out by yourself, at least not on ground level. You might as well take my offer.” 'Unless you're Panu, then you just make everything do as you want.' Kaz hadn't gotten around to changing or updating his security since Panu's...visit. He wasn't sure what to do to stop someone like Panu, not without some major work, but he had begun to keep things turned off like the kid had mentioned.

He pressed the call button to bring the lift up. ”Since you may not remember, I do still have to go pick up my Hummer from the park, the one I left there when we were going to get some pizza after we sparred.”

Kaz slid the gate open and stepped into the lift, waiting for Noel to follow him. ”And if you do come with me, we can both get fixed up. What do you say?” As he waited for her answer a thought occurred to him, and if he thought about it, maybe she would to. ”If you're wondering why, don't. You're a mutant. Helping mutants is what I do. Even if you had nothing to offer me, nothing I could gain from helping you, I'd still do this.”

Once they were both in the lift they began their decent to the ground floor, stopping at the combined third and fourth floor and the second floor. At each stop Kaz left Noel on the lift for a few moments as he grabbed a few things, slipping them into a cloth bag. At each floor the lift came to, a series of lights lit up, illuminating the floor in soft light. The lights weren't enough to see everything in detail, but it was enough to get an idea of what was on the floor and to walk around without running into anything if the main lights weren't turned on.

Once on the ground floor, Kaz lead Noel to the main entrance where they waited a few minutes until the limo showed up. The two of them got into the silver limo and Kaz told the driver where to go. ”Maybe it's just me, but if I were going to walk home from Central Park, I wouldn't want to do it in PJ's and bloody shoes.” The limo left Kaz's warehouse heading for Hendriksen's, a store Kaz frequently went to for his apparel that wasn't custom work. It wasn't somewhere a person could buy an Armani suit, but it was all high quality and hand made, from the typical t-shirt to high heels, they had it. Ignoring the quality and designs of the store's product, the reason Kaz went to Hendriksen's, was because he owned it, so any money he spent came right back to him.

Hendriksen's was only the first of two stops they would make before they headed to Central Park. The second stop was one he was both looking forward to and dreading a bit. He'd deal with that when they got there.

> ”You don't have to turn away if you don't want to, it wouldn't bother me.”

"Well, it bothers me." She folded her arms and was again determined not to be embarrassed as she addressed the drywall. "No, Kaz. A limo sounds over the top and humiliating. It's flashy." And apparently just his style. He walked past in his actual clothes and Noel stuffed down a flash of jealousy. It was just starting to get nippy, but it was the heat of the day. She would be absolutely fine or die trying.

> ”Besides, you can't get out by yourself..."

"Hummers are also pretty dang flashy. Let me guess. Yellow?" No judgement. It just wasn't her thing. She saved her note and pocketed the phone. At least she had that.

"Fixed up like... healer? Mine went AWOL so that'd actually be handy considering my workload. Does your healer take on commission work?"

> ”If you're wondering why, don't. You're a mutant. Helping mutants is what I do. Even if you had nothing to offer me, nothing I could gain from helping you, I'd still do this.”

Not a lie. Not exactly. Noel rolled her tongue across her soft palate. Maybe, not his only motivation then? Or something he knew was untrue in his heart, but didn't want to believe out loud. Unfortunately, a faint bad taste in the mouth wasn't helpful in discerning the truth. That's what her other tastes were for. Only, she had a note about that.

If you use your power again without permission, past me gives Kaz permission to hurt you. Bad.

She assumed that meant the actual memory ingestion power since she couldn't help but taste someone's words.

"But I do have something to offer you," she replied after mulling it over on one of his mysterious lift stops. His warehouse was a veritable fun house from what she could see. "So you may as well just consider it on my tab." She made a note about that too. Noel wasn't about to owe someone something. That just wasn't how people worked. It especially was not how rich people worked.

Aaaand they weren't going to Central Park, but that was okay. Noel assumed they were going to see the healer.

Nope.

Clothes.

This guy was unbelievable.

"I am going to assume you're not trying to Pretty Woman me because I don't think you meant it as an insult." Still. Noel folded her arms so that she would not touch the nice things. "People like me... The pajamas are fine, Kaz. I didn't say I'd be walking. I think I mentioned the words 'hail' and 'cab' before. They have to have seen worse."

She could still hail a cab. In fact, the street was just a few steps away. Had she not been interested in meeting the healer, she would have just left already.

”Oh god no! You couldn't get me to wear yellow or drive anything that color.” He really did not care for yellow, especially the yellow many people painted their sports cars. It was like putting a tutu on a dog, disgraceful and just pain wrong. He held his hand up and ticked off colors on his fingers, ”Black, red, silver....and blue I suppose,” He seemed a little hesitant on the last one, ”They're the only acceptable colors for any vehicle I'd own.”

Snorting, ”Nooo, I was thinking we'd go to a spa, get pampered and get our hair and nails done.” The sarcasm was thick. ”I'm pretty sure she has a job already, anything beyond that....well, that would be between you and her. She's not my healer, just..someone I know.” He frowned a bit, not in anger but in skepticism, ”You had your own personal healer?”

When the silver limo pulled up to and stopped in front of Hendriksen's Kaz waited to see Noel's reaction before he said anything. All Kaz could do at first was blink at her. 'Pretty Woman her? What the hell does that mean?' He had no idea how going to the store could be taken as an insult. It had to have something to do with the 'Pretty Woman' comment, but hell if he knew why or how.

”You're a pretty woman as you are Noel, I don't know how stopping here would change that?” Glancing out the window to the store's entrance, ”You can think of it as paying back your 'tab' a bit, if you want.” Kaz opened his door and stepped around to the other side of the car. When he opened Noel's door he offered his hand to her with a slight bow. ”You don't even have to pick out anything if you don't want to. Just indulge me a little, please.”

No one in Hendriksen's knew Kaz owned the company, but they did know him on sight. He wasn't known just for his VIP status, there were more than a few mutants that worked at this particular location that Kaz had personally placed there. Mutants like Thomas and Gwen.

Thomas was a man who had no eyes but who could see the world in perfect detail, who, at a glance could take a person's measurements with perfect accuracy. Thomas always wore large, dark sunglasses to cover his lack of eye sockets so he didn't disturb customers. Thomas worked the front of the store, assisting customers, providing excellent customer service while Gwen worked the back, doing what she loved: Making clothes. Gwen was a one woman factory and design studio. Not only did the woman have an eye for what designs would look good on anyone, her abilities allowed her to take the raw materials and create new items in a fraction of the time it would take others or a machine. Altering an existing item was almost as simple as breathing for her.

And just like that, they were back on easy terms all because she'd incorrectly guessed that he liked yellow cars. Guess she really didn't remember the hummer.

"What? A spa sounds nice." She had never been to a spa, but the sound of it was tempting. Private self-care. A nice place to just chill out and hide away. She'd done worse. "Your nails might look good in what was it? Silver? Black, red, or blue?" She wrinkled her nose at Kaz as she teased him. She probably hadn't painted her nails in years. Maybe since she was a kid. She couldn't possibly expect him to like it when she didn't.

> ”You had your own personal healer?”

Now that was funny. "No. I just let a healer go halfsies on the rent for an apartment." She smirked. "Granted, the jerk was the reason for half my injuries, but... eh." Sebastian had been the most fun sparring partner she'd ever had. Maybe because their talents were, after her muscles caught up to her mind, exactly equally matched.

By his response, he clearly had not seen the classic 90's movie about the rich guy who chose a whore. Probably for the best. He probably would not have appreciated the implications and this wasn't a romcom and she wasn't a streetwalker, even if having someone buy her things felt... wrong.

"So. Let me get this straight." She rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "You buy me something and that makes us more square?" That was a new one. She couldn't possibly imagine it was true.

>"Just indulge me a little, please.”

Maybe it was the please. No. It was definitely the promise that she didn't have to pick anything out.

"Fine." She wasn't trying to be a teenager about it. It was just a weird situation. "Fine." She repeated, with a touch less hostility and peeled her arms away from their defensive fold. She could indulge him to a point. Kaz had taken good care of her despite her missteps.

Noel liked Thomas immediately. Not only was he perfectly honest, but he wasn't a threat to her mind and she would never be a threat to his. He was a professional and good at what he did. She appreciated that. A lot.

They tried at first to get her in a dress. It was utilitarian: a button up shirt dress. But there just wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she was going to wear it.

She instead tried on some black jeans that turned out to be rather close fitting and a loose white shirt that made her tan glow like summer in the fall air. They chose black boots that laced up past her ankles and a lined canvas jacket in dark green.

What she appreciated most were the undergarments. They were the best fitting things she'd ever felt. Ever. Kaz didn't even understand the value of what she had on.

"Forget the clothes! I want the undies." She had exactly zero dollars on her person, but she did have a way to pay through her phone. "I need like 10 of these and I don't even care how much it costs, I'll pay." And she wasn't even joking. A good bra was worth its weight in gold.

”A spa sounds nice.”

He had been sarcastic when he had mentioned it but when she voiced that thought he had to agree. It did sound nice. Spas weren't something Kaz went to, not after the first time. It wasn't that he didn't like or enjoy it, but he wasn't always comfortable letting himself be in a position where he was too relaxed and not in control. He just wasn't trusting enough, or more correctly, was too paranoid. ”Eh, they're alright lookin', silver nails look best with dark skin tones, from my experience. Black and red are a bit more sinister, and blue nails look a bit strange.” Kaz wiggled the fingers of one hand, the nails changing colors as he did so. ”I don't need to paint them to change'm.”

Noel seemed to be under the impression that scars were a negative thing. Kaz didn't agree with that. Scars were proof of life. Proof that someone had survived, lived, struggled and overcame something. Pursing his lips a bit before he spoke, ”Just cuz you've got some scars doesn't mean you don't have nice skin Noel...” His mouth stayed open for a moment or two longer before he shut it. He had seen, and touched, a few of her scars. How could he explain it without getting it all confused and awkward?

”Splitting a place with a healer would have made my life a lot easier.” He had never had a personal healer or even lived with one. Sure there had been a healer in Sanctuary when he had lived there, and there was one at the Mansion as well, even Hunter had had the equivalent, but that wasn't quite the same as having one live with you, in a place you considered your home. Not that he hadn't had the opportunity. If he had given in not only could he have had his own personal healer but she would have lived with him. All he would have had to do was...love her.

Kaz quirked a brow and smiled. ”Well, I don't expect you to pay me back with money Noel. Just having that stuff ordered and delivered to my place....So yeah, basically.” Kaz was going to have to find out what she had meant by the 'Pretty Woman' thing, since it didn't seem like she was going to explain that comment.

He frowned when she spoke with such terse hostility. There was nothing going on that Kaz knew about to warrant the reaction. Just as he was about to say something about it, she spoke again, in a much more agreeable tone. Kaz lead her into the building, holding the doors open for her as he did so, as a proper gentleman should. Not the he was a proper gentleman, but he did have some manners.

It didn't take any time at all for the staff to notice them. The greeter just inside the main entrance came up to Kaz with his hand held out, “Mr. Corydon. It's a pleasure to see you again.” The man looked at Noel, taking all of her in with a quick glance that was neither judging or invasive, but professional interest. Looking them both in the eyes, “Thomas is available today, if you would like to see him.” He noticed Kaz's slight nod, “Then if you would both please follow me.”

When the man had escorted the two of them to Thomas he left with a slight bow, leaving them in Thomas' capable hands.

Thomas, as professional as he was, did loose a bit of it as he came over to Kaz and gave the silver haired man a hug. Kaz returned it with a smile, ”I'm glad to see you're doing well Thomas, looking sharp as always.”

Stepping back from Kaz he straightened his suit. “Of course, Hendriksen's does has an image to maintain after all.” Though Thomas' words were heavily inflected he was none the less very clear with his speech. Leaning over towards Kaz he placed a hand over his mouth as if to block his words from anyone overhearing and spoke in a whisper to Kaz, “Just between us, the jacket does pinch a little in the shoulder.” As Thomas stood straight again, Kaz snorted, ”Don't let Gwen hear you say that. She'd be so upset.”

Thomas looked a little shocked, “I could never do that to Gwen. She did make this jacket personally, just for me.” He touched the folded handkerchief in his breast pocket with an affectionate smile.

Turning from Kaz he faced Noel directly. “Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Thomas, and it would be my pleasure to assist you today.” Thomas gave Noel a slight bow of his body and head. There was nothing ingenuous about Thomas' words or actions, he was a good man who loved to help others.

Kaz couldn't help but frown slightly when Thomas began helping Noel. Thomas and Gwen had both been being used to do things that went against their consciences. If Kaz had gotten to them a few minutes later than he had, he was sure Thomas would have killed himself. As it was, he had stopped the man from killing his captor. Though he didn't have eyes, Thomas was crying, crying over what he thought was the only way to end it, to be free. There had been more mutants with Thomas and Gwen, but they had wanted to go home, to be free. Thomas and Gwen had no home, their families were dead. The two of them hadn't known each other before they had been captured, but they had common interests and a friendship had grown between them, it had helped give them hope, to keep them sane.

Kaz watched as Thomas took down Noel's measurements, without ever needing any sort of tool or instrument to do so, and handed them off to a clerk to add to the store's system. It didn't take the man long to pick out a few items he thought would compliment Noel. When she turned the dress down Thomas didn't show the slightest disappointment, only a smile as he filed away the information. He set a few other items aside to be returned to their place as he brought others for Noel to try. The man knew his job, and it was evident by Noel's reaction.

Kaz whistled when he saw the outfit she wore. It looked good on her.

”Forget the clothes! I want the undies.”

Kaz barked out a laugh as Thomas' smile broadened and he bowed his head to her a bit, “I'll be sure to inform Gwen. She does love to know her work is appreciated.” Thomas turned and made a few gestures to one of the other employees. “If there is anything else, please, do not hesitate. If not, we'll just need to get a little information from you at the desk.” As he lead her to the desk, Thomas looked at Kaz and saw him nod in response. Even if Noel was willing to pay, Kaz had brought her, and since he was the VIP, handling things under his name would give Noel a few bonuses.

After getting the address where she would like to have the rest of her clothes sent, “If you need any alterations, or repairs,” Thomas gave Kaz a pointed look and Kaz looked away with a slightly embarrassed laugh. “Feel free to stop in or send the items to us and we will do the work free of charge. Also, because you are a guest of Mr. Corydon, if you would like, we can send you a box of items every month or two, whichever you choose, of clothing for you to try. You can send back anything you do not want, and pay for only those that you do.” Thomas slid a sheet of paper across the desk to Noel, “Just fill out the type of clothing you may be interested in. You need not worry about sizes at all, I've already taken the liberty of entering your measurements into our system.”

Thomas fiddled around behind the desk for a few moments before he slid a slim, leather bound booklet to her. Inside the cover was a membership card and information about the VIP membership and its benefits. “Because Mr. Corydon has brought you here today, we're extending you a complimentary six month VIP membership. Your card is inside,” He opened the booklet and slide the card out, showing it to Noel, “as well as information about your membership. You shouldn't need the card at this store, but it will be helpful if you ever travel to one of our other locations. If you ever loose it, we can access your information and membership at any location and make a replacement in house. If you have any questions or if you'd like to place a custom order, all the information you would need is on the back of the card.” Thomas flipped the card over pointing out what he had just mentioned and then slide the card inside its holder. Shutting the cover and securing it, he smiled at her. “I do hope to see you again. Please stop by any time. Well, any time we're open that is.” If he had eyes, Thomas would have winked at his little joke, though he was somehow able to convey the same thing with his smile and body language.

No one from the store mentioned the clothes Noel had walked in with, there wouldn't be anything left of them if she had asked about them. It wasn't Hendriksen's policy, but it was a service certain employees provided. Those that knew Kaz would take such clothes and destroy them, removing anything that may be incriminating in any way or that could be linked to Kaz. Since he had brought Noel in, Thomas would make sure the same thing would be provided to her, even if she didn't renew her VIP membership in the future.

”So...” Kaz smirked at Noel. ”Are you glad you took my offer and went in? It looks good on you.” Kaz opened the limo door for Noel, ”Now, for the second stop.” The apprehension in Kaz's voice was very slight, there was just a hint of nervousness in his tone.

It didn't take long for the limo to drive from Hendriksen's to Lyn's business, 'The Golden Touch'. It was an out of the way business, tucked away from the busy streets foot and car traffic with a small parking lot beside it. As he got out of the limo to open Noel's door he mumbled to himself, ”It's a little obvious Lyn.”

Before stepping into the building he looked at Noel. ”I've never been here before, and it's been years since I've seen her..so...I don't exactly know how she'll react.” Kaz took a visibly deep breath and opened the door.

As they walked in they saw the shop was filled with books and shelves covering all sorts of home remedies, natural cures, and other such stuff. Near the back of the store, there was a beaded curtain separating the main storefront from the other rooms. Above the counter at the back of the store was a list of services Lyn provided, including acupuncture and massages. Soft, calming music played throughout the building, which may have been enough to cover the sound of something falling to the floor in a back room. Kaz heard the sound and stiffened just a little. He was already in the middle of the main storefront when a brunette woman came into view. She stopped suddenly when she saw him, eyes going wide as a smile grew across her face. ”Kaz!”

Kaz braced himself as Lyn literally launched herself, from where she had been at the back of the store 15ft away, into Kaz, almost knocking him over despite the large difference in weight. Her arms wrapped around his chest as he held onto him. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. ”I thought you were dead!” Lyn pulled away from him a little, reached up and pulled his head down to hers as she kissed him. Kaz flinched just a little, surprised at the move. When he began pulling away, she grabbed his shirt and slapped him across the face. ”I thought you died you bastard. You just up and disappeared six years ago, no word, no clues, nothing, not a damned thing, and now you waltz in here like old times. Like nothing changed. I should flay you just so I can fix you after.” Lyn put her hands on her hips in a very 'angry mama' sort of way. Even the way she looked at him was if she were scolding a child, somehow looking down at him even though she had to look up to meet his eyes.

It was only when Kaz looked away did Lyn notice Noel. ”Oh..oh, I'm sorry, I didn't..realize...” She looked from Noel to Kaz and back again.

Kaz spoke up rubbing his cheek a bit, ”Not like that Lyn. We kinda got a...scuffle with some biker guys. I was hoping you could fix her up.” Kaz held up a hand when Lyn started to scowl at him, ”I'll pay whatever. This is worse than when you'd slap the back of my head.”

Lyn raised one perfect eyebrow at him, ”Serves you right, you deserve it, and I don't need your money Kaz..but...” She gave Kaz a predatory leer, ”I'll take a..donation..as payment.” Kaz didn't hesitate when he nodded and agreed. He knew that would probably be the price. He knew how her powers worked.

Turning to Noel, ”Now m'dear, what's your name? Would you like my help?”

Kaz looked at Lyn when she turned her attention to Noel. She was still beautiful, still very attractive and young looking. 35 and still looking like she wasn't able to drink or smoke, she did have a little more roundness to her. She hadn't let her figure go, but it seemed life had changed her a little. Even the clothes she wore were different, more modest. The top of her dress was still tight but the neckline didn't go down nearly as far as it once would have, she wasn't showing nearly as much skin now, but somehow, it made her seem more mature. The bottom of her dress hugged her hips and thighs enough to show off her figure while being modest. If the light hadn't winked off of it at the moment he was looking he wouldn't have noticed the simple gold band on her left ring finger. She was married. That more than anything stunned him. He wanted to say something about it, but couldn't find his voice. He was shocked stupid.

(Thomas: color=teal; Lyn: color=gold)

A lot could be communicated through the eyes. It was interesting to see Thomas do just as well without. A tilt of the head or a slight bend at the neck did just as well once she'd gotten used to the idea. Mutants were strange creatures.

>"...we'll just need to get a little information from you at the desk.”

Information? Noel chewed her lip and hoped she had what was needed. Or was allowed to share what they needed.

If she needed repairs? Noel looked between Thomas and Kaz. Did he come in with repairs needed a lot? Did he come in with women who needed underwear repairs a lot? She tried to keep her judgy eyebrows to herself.

"Actually. About the address." Noel asked if she could pick up her things instead and was relieved that she could. The memorymancer had a tendency to move around a lot and where she was staying now would not be her permanent address. Probably.

She turned down the box service for similar reasons and tried very hard to humor Thomas about the VIP thing. She couldn't help but paint unsavory images of Mr. Corydon in her head the whole while. Because, clearly he was a repeat offender.

Somehow she ended up not only leaving in new clothes, but ordering more for later. Noel made her thank yous and goodbyes and then it was back to the ostentatious limo. What a hard life.

>”So... Are you glad you took my offer and went in? It looks good on you.”

"Yeah. I guess, thank you." Was pretty much all she had to say about that. It was weird to be the focus of all that time and energy. Weirder to have someone sitting there waiting on her while she had made preference choices.

For a moment, in the dressing room, she'd paused over a pair of high heels confused. Did she like them or had she just had some like that at some point? She couldn't imagine liking something so... impractical. So she'd set them in the reject pile. Just in case.

"Is there a mutant in town that you don't know or do you just like to frequent the same places?" Or were they all under his thumb? There had been a lot of inside feeling jokes and head tilts and references. He was a big fan of mutants. He kept saying that. It was weird to know so many people, right? Or maybe that was her own failing.

Kaz's warnings about the healer earned him an eyebrow. The healer herself earned him two.

Happy. Then angry.

Six years, huh? Noel pulled out her phone and hesitated. Thomas had touched her VIP card. He clearly had a shared history with Kaz even if it was just seeing who he brought in and... no. That was just a round about way of using her power on him and that was a no-no. She made a note. Put the phone away again while they were still talking.

> ”Oh..oh, I'm sorry, I didn't..realize...”

> ”Not like that Lyn."

"Just acquaintances." Noel backed him up lest she get a slap too.

> ”I'll pay whatever.”

"If he's paying for me, I'm paying for him. He got clocked in the head." Noel put her hand on Kaz's arm. Just a touch to get his attention before she spoke lowly, for his ears only. "I don't do debts, Kaz. I can't. Whatever has to be settled between waking periods otherwise I have to rely on notes and those... I can't rely on that." It could be a bald faced lie and she would believe it. Heck. She sometimes used that to her advantage.

> "...I don't need your money Kaz, but... I'll take a ...donation... as payment.”

Was she... leering at Kaz? Noel stepped a half step between the two of them even though Kaz soooo did not need her protection. She didn't like that look on a man's face. It was downright unsettling on a woman's. Apparently the movement drew the healer's attention to Noel.

> ”Now m'dear, what's your name? Would you like my help?”

"Noel." All business, the memorymancer offered her hand for the shaking and maybe a little sizing up squeeze. Habit. "I would like your help provided the price is not too steep."

Kaz was busy being dumbfounded about something. Maybe the fact that the woman had kissed him, slapped him, and asked for a "donation" with that look on her face all while wearing a wedding ring.