Murder. Was it that or indeed self-defense. Another student one of his charges was forced to kill to protect their own skin. At least that was what he intended to find out tonight. It was late, past midnight and the room was empty. Either he was going to the bathroom or was wandering the mansion halls no doubt worried about what the world had in store for him. He was still a kid but had brutally murdered someone. At least that was what everyone saw. Sam wasn’t sure it was just a simple killing. Not everyone was like Aura.

Some kids actually had to defend themselves to survive. The world was cruel to mutants, even if there were places like this and people like the rest of the mansion staff. Kids had a right to be kids to not have to worry about survival. Not like he had to and after the mind control incident last summer he made a promise to himself that no one was ever going to take being a kid away from a kid. Though it seemed that for some kids it might have been too late. Alex seemed to have an interesting life.

One of a wanderer he was sixteen years old and for the better part of his life he was on his own. The files the mansion had filled in the rest of the information he could piece together from the police report and whatever else he heard about the kid. Sam also called in a few favors to do a background check on the kid. What background there was there wasn’t much to go on. A few sightings at some gas stations across the country but other than that nothing really stood out. It was sad to Sam, really sad. If it wasn’t for the whiskey in his system he might have shed a tear for the kid but there would be no tears shed today.

No, Sam was there to find out if this kid was indeed a killer or just another victim to humanities cruelties. Sure it wasn’t the most well thought out plan and if anyone found out what he was about to do they’d either reprimand after or try and stop him. The icemancer was alone now hidden in the kids room. There were two kids living in the room and from what he could tell two very different personalities.

One side was bare and the other was clearly not the side of the intended target. Sam sat in the dark and waited till he could feel the heat signature of the kid approach the door and enter. Sam was wearing all black and was currently hidden from plain sight the plan was to sneak up on the kid before the lights were on and the kid was safely tucked away in his bed. Again not the best strategy but it is hard to ‘act’ when you are about to **** yourself.

Research wasn't helping making sleep any easier to gain. Alex had hoped that the massive amount of legal terminology and information on the proceedings would tire him out. It was a lot to take in after all. But the only thing that it seemed to do was give Alex a massive headache. He was just going to lay down and force himself to sleep. How that would work was currently up in the air. But it was something. Plus the library was kind of closed at the moment so there was no point to staying up any longer.

Down the hall and toward his bedroom. Well the bedroom he shared with Jiri, who was currently out for the night. Doing what? He had no idea but he was grateful for the uninterrupted night's sleep. Not that he was going to tell that to Jiri's face. The other boy has been a good friend to him and very kind with his situation. So he really wouldn't switch out roomates any time soon.

He opened the door to the shared room and stepped in, not bothering to switch on the lights. The window provided enough light that he could see his bed waiting for him. Besides, unlike Jiri, his side of the room was relatively clean and easy to navigate in low light. More than once he had heard his roommate trip over clothes and whatnot.

He toed off his shoes, pulled off his shirt and dug out his clothes for the night. It was a newer set then he would usually wear. But hearing one too many people complain about the lack of variety in his clothing forced him to go to shopping. So, appropriate shorts and shirt pulled on, he promptly flopped into bed. It took him a moment to pull the covers over and bury his face into the pillow.

To his great surprise, despite struggling with it earlier that night, he found himself quickly slipping into sleep. He made a silent prayer that there wouldn’t be any nightmares that followed and let himself drift. Never once did he notice the stranger hiding in his room.

The kid was oblivious it seemed which was good. Sam was in the corner of the room above the door pinned to the wall with ice. He waited until the kid was comfortable in the bed and then he lowered himself to the ground in silence. Tiptoeing over the bed he waited till he was in striking distance of the kid who thought he was safely tucked in. if he still been an assassin the kid would already be dead but he wasn’t he was a teacher now and in this case the kids worst nightmare.

Sam placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. ”HEYYA!!!!!” he yelled and removed his hand quickly hoping that the kid was properly startled. Sam also took the liberty of taking a step back so if the kid was scared to death his powers wouldn’t kick in. Not to mention Sam had a layer of ice over his skin under his clothing.

It wasn’t the scare tactic he had in mind originally but he doubted him pulling an ice knife to the kids throat would be widely accepted in the mansion’s staff. His drinking habits already put him on thin ice with Gemma and his dating habits were frowned upon as well he didn’t really feel like getting chewed out again.

Alex had been moments away from blissful sleep when there was a sudden hand on his shoulder and a shout in his ear. He jerked awake and glared up at the figure. His first thought was of his two friends. "Jiri?" His eyes widened when he realized it was in fact, not Jiri or Leo. There was a complete stranger in his room, standing over him, smelling vaguely of alcohol.

His first instincts were to of course punch the man in the nuts. Which he did, as hard as he could in a laying position before rolling out of bed, fumbling for his knife under the mattress and backing way. He panted as he looked from the stranger to the doorway, looking to escape, maybe get help. But his greatest focus was to put distance between him and this intruder.

However, the man was closer to the door than he was and from the window...he’d probably break an ankle or worse. He took up the fighting stance Hades taught him, planting his feet, trying to focus his mind. The rush of panic was the worse, because it wasn’t just him who was freaking out but everyone else his brain shared space with.

“Who are you?!” The demand came out frail and far more frightened than he intended. But he was terrified, because nothing good came from strangers looming over you while you slept. The smell of alcohol didn’t help either. He was reminded of the few times he’d accidentally fallen asleep in a claimed spot. Scent was usually the first sign of if you were welcome or not. Alcohol was usually a big red flag.

Sam was now on the ground even with the ice covering him a punch to the nuts still hurt. It was like getting hit with a cup on. Anyone could still say that hurt. Sam started to laugh despite the amount of pain he was feeling. ”Come ‘on kid. I use those.” Sam grunted and smacked the ground fro a second with a fist after he was done cradling himself.

Sam could feel the movements of the kid when Sam was still on the ground. He didn’t use his powers but went for something under his bed. It was a knife, Sam was sure of it. The kid did send a lot of time on the streets so he’d be used to trying to protect himself while he slept. ”Put it away.” Sam said still trying to catch his breath. ”Not gonna need it. Just wanted to see if you were really a cold blooded killer.” he wasn’t it was clear from the panic he held in his voice. Killers don’t panic like that and they don’t hesitate while they have a knife and someone was down on the ground.

”Sam.” Sam grunted as his normal vision became more focused instead of blurred like it had been since the punch a few moments ago. ”My name is Sam Johnson, teacher and a team leader.” Sam said he shook his head and regained his breathing and got on his hands and knees. ”Well, answered my question though. You aren’t a killer.”

It had been a good solid hit it seemed, as the man was writhing on the ground in pain. He watched the man cautious of possible traps. It would be a first but it didn't pay not to be paranoid. What you saw wasn't always what you'd get. The man smacked the ground a couple of times, seemingly trying to get over the pain, "Come ‘on kid. I use those."

"I don't care. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Going for the nuts was street self-defense 101. He would have gone for the eyes next, then the throat if the guy hadn't fallen to the ground. It was dirty fighting, but it was meant to deter attackers long enough to escape, not win.

”Put it away. Not gonna need it. Just wanted to see if you were really a cold blooded killer.”

Alex shook his head, no way in hell was he letting go of the knife. A strange man had snuck into his room while he was sleeping, frightened the living shit out of him. He didn't know who this guy could be or what he wanted. He said he was hear to see if he was a killer, like the media thought but he didn't know how much to believe of that.

”Sam...My name is Sam Johnson, teacher and a team leader. Well, answered my question though. You aren’t a killer.”

He watched as the man gathered himself and at least got to his hands and knees. "A teacher my ass! What kind of teacher sneaks into a students room at night? Especially smelling like a liquor store?"He glared down at the so-called team leader, ready to kick the man out of the room and head back to bed. Except... "And of course I'm not a killer! Or at least...I try not to be..." It was hard not to view oneself as a monster after everything that's happened.

Sam was really surprised how many people doubted he was a teacher. Okay, no he didn’t not in the slightest, his methods of teaching were unorthodox, he was drunk a lot and any time there was a kid in trouble his first response is either to threaten to throw him off the ledge of the mansion or scare the **** out of them. ”I’m an out of box thinker.” Sam decided to say as he slowly stood one hand still cupping his nether region just in case.

The room got colder as the kid went on about how he tries to not be a killer. He was worked up in Sam’s opinion and Sam just responded with a sly grin. ”You are either a great actor or you really believe it.” he shrugged and lowered his hands. ”I scared the **** out of you because I wanted to know for my self. If you were a cold blooded killer,” the room got colder and frost started to cover the windows and the blade the kid was holding soon it would be uncomfortable to still hold it. ”If you were that knife would have been in the back of my neck or in my ribs at this point. You’d fail to do that but that’s what you should have tried. Startling someone usually triggers someone to drop an act.”

”Congrats kid you are a victim of wrong place wrong time and happened to be filmed, Alex Maurell.” Sam thought about going into more detail and then decided not to instead Sam pulled his pants up slightly and leaned back as a chair of ice formed behind him. It took a second but when it did it was just a normal stool, which happened to be made of ice. ”Sit down. We have a talk and I’m gonna tell you how things are went down and how things are gonna go.” the room got a little colder to enforce Sam’s command.

The room was growing steadily colder and the man was standing up, looking cocky and confident. Alex's grip tightened on the blade, knowing that the cold must be coming from the stranger. He wasn't about to let it drop though. It was a barrier between him and the man. He didn't have anything to use his powers on. Well nothing that wouldn't cause stomach problems.

”You are either a great actor or you really believe it. I scared the **** out of you because I wanted to know for my self. If you were a cold blooded killer, if you were that knife would have been in the back of my neck or in my ribs at this point. You’d fail to do that but that’s what you should have tried. Startling someone usually triggers someone to drop an act.”

"No shit. And what if I stabbed you as a reaction to potentially being attacked at night, would I be a cold blooded killer then? You are aware that to me you're still a room invader, right?" This guy needed to work on his ideas some more. It wasn't a secret that Alex had basically lived on the street before this. That alone implied that he would be defensive if startled, even violent. The potential for stabbing was pretty great.

He watched the man form a chair out of ice and sit down. All the while the temperature dropped even further, frosting the window and the blade. It wasn't long before he had to let go, the frozen metal felt like it had been burning against his skin. With the blade gone he took a further step back, still not trusting the man to be who he said he was.

”Sit down. We have a talk and I’m gonna tell you how things are went down and how things are gonna go.”

"And if I don't want to?" That was the real question, wasn't it. If he was going to cooperate. Sam said he was a teacher, a team leader. But Alex saw no evidence of that. The man smelled of alcohol, had no uniform, and decided the best way to test Alex's morality was to terrify him in the middle of the night. For all he knew, Sam could be a random mutant who lived in the mansion that had one too many drinks.

”You don’t have much of a choice do you?” Sam asked rhetorically. He couldn’t pick up the knife any longer and the room would continue to get colder till Alex decided to sit. ”Think about it.” Sam pointed to his head, ”I didn’t break in here. I have keys. If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead I wouldn’t have woken you up. I would have slipped a knife,” Sam waved his hand and a cold blue dagger formed in his hand then he showed it off like it was a magic trick ”into the back between the ribs puncturing your ribs letting you bleed internally in silence.” Sam tossed the knife straight up into the air and it turned to snow and fell apart.

”I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to help now knowing that you aren’t the killer the media is portraying you to be.” Sam brought his leg up and crossed it. Tapping his finger to his knee he added again, ”Now sit, or you can try to be a killer and pick up that knife and try to stab me with it. You’d fail of course. Terribly I might add.” Sam smirked and than raised an eyebrow.

”I am actually a teacher here. Self defense. I also happen to deal with killers, rapists and thugs on a regular basis.” Sam reached into his pocket and tossed Alex his honorary officer badge along with his I.D. ”I know killers when I see them and I know if you start treating someone like a monster they become one. That is why I’m here. To treat you like a human, mutant rather, eh doesn’t matter we are all the same when it comes down to it.” Sam waved his hand as he continued to explain, ”You Alex Murall are an orphan. One since you were a child. You were left in foster care at the age of three and didn’t have a home until the age of seven. You ended up in Kuna Idaho. You then ran away at the age of thirteen, I’m guessing because your foster parents weren’t exactly warm to the idea of you developing your mutation.” the last part Sam guessed but it was a familiar story, most of the kids in the mansion were runaways. Sam was a runaway.

”I can continue if you want. There isn’t anything that happens in this mansion that I don’t know about.” it was a lie but Sam had a good poker face and he did happen to read some files after not asking Gemma for them. ”You Alex are a scared little boy looking for a home. You have it here and as long as I am alive no one will ever take it from you.” Sam nodded his head ”I’m an orphan as well, though or childhoods are grossly different we both want the same thing. A safe place to lay our head, a family.” that was his little speech he gave Alex to seem a little more relatable.

He listened to the man explain how he couldn't be out to kill him. He watched the impressive display of power. But he was more and more aware of how cold the room was getting. He could see his breath at this point and he had a feeling it wasn't going to warm up any time soon. Not unless he cooperated, which he really really didn't want to. He should have been making a break for the door. Even though he was sure Sam could have caught him just as easily as he had snuck into his room.

What surprised him though was the fact that the man tossed him his badge. A real badge, engraved metal in a leather wallet. He had seen badges before, but never up close. Never stuck around long enough to look at it. He felt his gut twist in a familiar knot. The kind that told him he was in trouble, judgement was about to fall squarely on his shoulders.

"You Alex Murall are an orphan. One since you were a child. You were left in foster care at the age of three and didn’t have a home until the age of seven. You ended up in Kuna, Idaho. You then ran away at the age of thirteen, I’m guessing because your foster parents weren’t exactly warm to the idea of you developing your mutation. I can continue if you want. There isn’t anything that happens in this mansion that I don’t know about."

He winced at the reveal, his little life story tossed out so easily. Had he really given that much away? He knew he told Gemma basically everything. He trusted her to keep it a secret, hidden away unless it was important to bring up again. Did this man, a complete stranger, have access to those files? What else did he know? He swallow nervously, he didn't want to test that. Wouldn't be very smart.

"You, Alex, are a scared little boy looking for a home. You have it here and as long as I am alive no one will ever take it from you. I’m an orphan as well, though our childhoods are grossly different we both want the same thing. A safe place to lay our head, a family."

He glanced up at the man, then averted his gaze again before walking over to his bed and sitting down. He wrapped the blanket around himself, cocooning just so he wouldn't loose any more body heat. He held on to the badge though, ran his thumb over the engraving over and over. This was supposed to be the symbol of those who served and protected but he had seen his fair share of cops doing harm.

Still, Sam wasn't wrong. Deep down Alex knew he wanted a home. A place that should have been his from the beginning. The kind you would see in old tv shows. White picket fence and all. Kuna had been close, but the man was right about his foster parents and their 'dislike' of mutants. The isolation that came from his condition of genetics only further separated him from them. Then with everything that happened between there and here...He was starting to become convinced that dream was a lie or worse, that he didn't deserve it.

"So what happens now? What are you going to do?" Submitting to Sam in a way that might be reminiscent of one animal to another. He kept his gaze downward, firmly on the badge, head lowered, shoulders hunched beneath the blanket. He still didn't completely trust Sam but he really didn't have a choice in the matter.

‘Good the kid could follow directions.’ thought Sam as the room temperature started to warm up a bit when he decided he didn’t need to assert himself anymore. The main focus of Sam was now the kid wrapped up in the blankets. A so-called cold bloodied murder. If only the world could seem him from what he really was. A kid that was too afraid to die, a survivor. ”What happens now is you do everything I say. You listen to start,” Sam sighed and readjusted his legs as he leaned forward as if what he was saying was the most important thing the kid would ever here in his life. ”It might seem like some kind of nightmare to you now, but it’s a cold reality.” Sam paused.

”I want you to know that this will seem like it will never end but it does, you are gonna make it through this because you are a fighter. You are a survivor.” Sam let the words sink in for a second. ”You just need a little direction is all, show you the best route for survival.” Sam smiled and leaned back straightening his posture, ”I already paid for a team of lawyers. Best in the business when it comes to mutant’s rights. Pretty sure they could get Aura off of some of her charges.” it was a dark joke that only he would get unless the kid knew Aura or what she had done.

”You found a home kid, we take care of our own. As long as I am here you will always have a home and no one will ever take that away from you.” Sam reached in his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. ”Four numbers are on this. Mine, and the three lawyers. You call us if you have any questions. The lawyers will be here within a day or so and they will be here to help you prep for your case. You listen to them. Understand?”

"What happens now is you do everything I say. You listen to start, it might seem like some kind of nightmare to you now, but it’s a cold reality. I want you to know that this will seem like it will never end but it does, you are gonna make it through this because you are a fighter. You are a survivor."

Sam was strangely intense about this, way more assured that everything would turn out okay. More than him anyway. Alex didn't know how much he really believed. How much he could believe that surviving this wouldn't end in catastrophe. Everybody had faith that things would go alright. That he wouldn't end up in jail or at best on the run again. That's as far as his thinking could go. Maybe Margo was right and he was being dumb.

"I already paid for a team of lawyers. Best in the business when it comes to mutant’s rights. Pretty sure they could get Aura off of some of her charges."

Well that was definitely reassuring and startling. The mansion had already set him up with a local lawyer but Sam had a whole team flying in. One's who specialized in cases like this. They'd actually prepare him for this, let him know what he was supposed to do or say. He wasn't sure who Sam meant by Aura but it must have been a well-known criminal.

Then he gave him a cell phone. A cell phone. A device he had never owned. Sure he had borrowed and used ones on occasion. But he never owned one. It was a status symbol. Something adults and kids with money had. And Sam was just giving him one. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew to everyone else it wasn’t that big of a deal. Phones were commonplace, standard things everyone had. But it was a big deal to him.

"Four numbers are on this. Mine, and the three lawyers. You call us if you have any questions. The lawyers will be here within a day or so and they will be here to help you prep for your case. You listen to them. Understand?"

He looked from the phone to Sam and nodded, “Yes sir.” He glanced down at the badge still in his hand and held it out for the older man. “Here, you probably want this back.” It was kind of important after all, part of Sam’s job...as an X. He didn’t know why didn’t really settle in his brain until now. He was essentially sitting with a cop. It was a strange thought. Though he was still getting used to a lot of things, so one new strangeness wasn’t a complete cause for alarm.

“So…” He was at a loss for how to continue the conversation, if they even should. “Should I tell you what happened? The attack and everything?” Technically nobody knew the whole story, up until this point he just talked about the bus incident. The mansion noticed that he was missing for about a week and when he reappeared he was being attacked on the bus. They didn’t know that he knew those guys, or rather that they had attacked him before forcing him to flee for a time.

Sam raised an eyebrow as he took his badge back. ”Only if you want to dude. Told you before I know a killer when I see one. You seem pretty messed up about it still.” Sam had been there before he knew that people should pry if some didn’t want to talk. Though Alex did bring it up.

”As long as the story won’t change in any detail what so ever you can tell me.” Sam said knowing that the kid wasn’t a killer but if the story did change in court or when talking to the lawyers Sam might regret helping the kid somewhat. ”I checked camera phones, the video that was uploaded on the internet and traffic cameras.” Sam shrugged there wasn’t anything else on the internet other than the murder.

"Only if you want to dude. Told you before I know a killer when I see one. You seem pretty messed up about it still."

That was an understatement. The nightmares were a nightly thing, mixing with old memories and new alike. When he had nothing to distract him it filled his time with over analyzation and what-ifs. And well, Sam saw how he reacted to being startled. He wasn't in a good spot right now but there were things-

"As long as the story won’t change in any detail what so ever you can tell me. I checked camera phones, the video that was uploaded on the internet and traffic cameras."

And there it was. Now he had to say, there was more information that Sam and really everybody didn't know. Alex slumped, tugging the blankets tighter around him. "Well, there is one detail that I really haven't talked about..." He shifted nervously for a moment, trying not to make it seem like he was guilty. Because he wasn't, he was still a victim even with this new information. "This wasn't the first time those guys attacked me."

"The first time, I was practicing alone in a park...at night. Which was dumb I know, but I wanted to be alone and it's not like I'm defenseless. Though, I guess that time I was. Cause that time they ganged up on me and I just barely got away. It's why I was gone for about a week. It's why I was on the bus that night. I was coming back because I thought I had waited long enough." He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess they were still pissed off that I got away."

Sam listened to Alex as he recounted what had happened from his point of view. The ice-mancer waited until Alex was done before he asked his questions. ”Why a week? Where did you stay?” Sam didn’t like the long time lapse. With his dealings with the law it could be viewed as premeditative if Alex was attacked then some time passed and then he killed who attacked him. Sam leaned forward and scratched the scruff growing on his face.

”Why did you go to the park? We have enough grounds here where you could be alone to practice at night.” again Sam was asking the questions that were going to be asked by his lawyers and the prosecutors. Sam wanted to make sure none of them changed. ”Was this the first two instances that you had with any of them? Why didn’t you contact the police after you were attacked the first time?” his voice sounded a little more stern than he intended.