From her resting place nestled under a large tree a young girl sighed, she'd been on her feet for almost a day and a half and had come no closer to her goal. Rachael had heard of a place in New York that dealt with/looked after mutants like her, runaways and outcasts. Problem was New York was much bigger than she'd thought, there was no guarantee she'd find this place anytime soon. "I'm not getting anywhere today," She admitted to herself in a mumble.

Rachael was tired of walking, ever since she'd arrived in this country in a shipping container that's all she'd done. In hindsight it would have been a better idea to bring some money when running away, something she'd remember for next time. 'Next time?' To be honest Rachael surprised even herself with that train of thought. The last month had been like hell on earth for the green skinned mutant, she was fairly certain that she'd cried the entire time she'd been locked in the container and would be dead by now if not for her mutation. Of course it was because of her mutation that she was in this situation so it was the least it could do for her.

Through squinted eyes she glanced through the leaves of the tree, the sun hung quite high in the sky, plenty of daylight hours left. 'If I'm not going to be searching I should at least put this sunlight to some use.' Quickly she threw off her battered and tattered old coat and stepped out from the shade of the great tree, her white tee while not as damaged as her coat still showed signs of wear and tear. The effect was almost instantaneous, as she stepped into the warm embrace of sunlight she felt herself relax. Her muscles loosened, her mind became clearer and the fatigue of a day on her feet slowly began to fade away. She supposed her mutation had some benefits.

Content that she was far enough from footpath Rachael lowered herself onto the grass and closed her eyes. She still had no-idea what she was going to do or where she was going to go after the sun went down but for now she didn't care, she'd just enjoy this feeling while it lasted. 

It hadn't been so long ago that Darkshift had fled home and come to New York, seeking out a better place where she might learn to survive as a mutant.  Months, it had only been months although at times it felt like so much longer.  The list of ways her life had changed since that fateful decision were long.  Survival had been her goal and had she achieved it?  Well, she was still alive so that would be an emphatic 'yes'.  She was, in fact, well on her way to thriving, with the small but steady influx of money coming in from her association with The Order.  Gone were the days where she had to steal to survive although old habit died hard and skills needed to be maintained.

Usually more of a night owl, it was mid-afternoon by the time she awoke and exited her small apartment.  Her power just melded with the night, black shifts blending with the darkness.  Besides, mutant vigilante super heroes (a title she thought of only in her head and mostly with the sharp bit of sarcasm) didn't operate openly during the daytime.  Still, there were things better done during the daylight hours and besides, wasn't it considered unhealthy to never see the sun?  Probably not something she really needed to worry about in her decidedly dangerous line of work.

Grocery shopping was one of those mundane tasks better done during the daylight hours but before chores, coffee.  She stopped at a small shop to grab her much needed morning (ok, afternoon) caffeine and wandered into a nearby park.  As always, black claws were worn openly because it wasn't right to be ashamed of being a mutant and damn it, she wasn't ashamed!  

As she sipped on her pleasantly hot beverage, it was hard to miss the green skinned girl standing next to a tree.  She couldn't have been much younger than Darkshift herself and her clothing looked threadbare.  Runnaway like herself?  Visible mutant like that, it seemed likely.  "Hey," she called out to the girl.  "Do you need some money for food?  Or a place to stay?"  Both mutant and possible runnaway meant she couldn't walk past without offering to help.

With a content sigh Rachael nestled further into the grass, a blissful little smile spread over her face as she basked in the afternoon sun. She had to admit despite her mutations many flaws and drawbacks Rachael could get used to this. The feeling of a warm summers day against her skin was both electrifying and relaxing at the same time, a strange combination to be sure. Hell, if it weren't for the green skin terrifying passersby and making her feel like a freak Rachael wouldn't have minded her mutation. However Rachael was not that fortunate, for now she made do with staying out of heavily populated areas and wearing heavy layers.

'Speaking of which' Rachael thought as she finally opened her eyes, the sun hung considerably lower than when she'd originally lay down. There was likely only a small window of sunlight left in the day, a last opportunity to find this potential haven for runaways, or even just a good place to spend the night. Slowly Rachael pulled herself to her feet and reached up above her head, stretching out any kinks from an indeterminate amount of time resting on the grass.

Confident that she was far enough from the main path to be undisturbed Rachael hadn't heard anyone approach, however it was quite apparent when a girls voice broke through the relative silence that she' been seen. Quickly Rachael scrambled for her jacket, the rather frayed article of clothing being haphazardly thrown on as she spun to face the voice. 'She saw me didn't she...' Rachael thought with a groan.

Rachael wasn't exactly sure what to make of the girl before her, the concern in her voice when she spoke appeared genuine but how did she know that Rachael was homeless, and more importantly why would she help her? "I-I'm fine," Rachael responded uncertainly, an obvious lie if ever Darkshift had heard one. It took a while but Rachael's gaze eventually found it's way to the other girl's hands, lingering there for quite some time before she looked back up. "Who are you?"  

When you spent time on the streets, you could see the signs of it in others.  It wasn't just the threadbare clothing or the layer of dirt that was so common, but also something in the eyes.  Not having a place to call your own, where you might be safe and warm, it did something to a person.  Sometimes, if one was really perceptive, it was even possible to pick up that certain look years after the fact.  Darkshift knew she still had it and maybe always wood.  She could almost read the question in the other girl's eyes.  How did you she know?  Sometimes you had to live it to understand.

The 'I'm fine' clearly wasn't as heart felt as it might of been, but she understood that too.  When you had nothing and no one, you had to be fine because there was no other way to be.  Not fine wasn't an answer. She caught the other girl's inspection of her hands and was pleased.  That, among other reasons, was why she kept them out always.  Because it was a way for other mutants to recognize her; mutants who might need another friendly face and might need help.  

"My name's Darkshift."  She smiled at the girl but didn't approach, not wanting to spook her.  "I work for a safe place that helps mutants like yourself with food and shelter.  They helped me once.  I saw you here and couldn't walk away."  It wasn't, strictly speaking, entirely true.  She did work for The Order who operated out of Sanctuary and she did regularly bring in stray mutants.  However, when she found the place herself she had her own meager shelter paid for through her own ingenuity and a less than complete respect for the law.  Still, the message was true enough and the details didn't really matter.

Rachael was almost tempted to go with the other girl then and there, a roof over her head and perhaps even a nice warm bath or shower were powerful persuasive tools. Not to mention fresh clothes, it was a little disturbing that she couldn't recall what she'd worn before her current outfit. Rachael took a few tentative steps towards Darkshift, perhaps her 'safe place' was the same one she had been looking for earlier. In that case Rachael had to admit that following her may be a good idea.

However she had to admit the sight of Darkshift's mutation was more than a little intimidating, she'd never seen any quite like it before. While in Australia the only time mutations were ever discussed or observed in detail was during an attack or detainment. The fact that people who could quite easily cut through tree's or call down bolts of lightening effortlessly were calmly walking unrestricted or monitored here was slightly unnerving. She had of course met other mutants since her arrival in the US and they had been hospitable, Darkshift included. Despite this being why she had been scouring the city she couldn't shut out that voice though that this might be a mistake. If they just guide anyone that looks like they need help to this place it's only a matter of time before someone, human bigot or mutant, decides to attack it. 

"This safe place, how can I find it?" She asked Darkshift. As intimidated as she might have been from the unknown of the shelter she had to admit the positives outweighed them. Shelter from weather extremes and a place to return to. "I'm Rachael by the way." 

Spasm looked round the streets, "just a routine patrol" he had been told. "Nothing too much to worry about after the last march". Yeah right, if it wasn't rogue robots attacking innocent mutants left, right, and centre, it was your classical problem with your average criminals-mutant or otherwise. He decided on plain clothes this time, better for these "half deserted streets" as Eliot would say.

Walking down the street, it easy to see two girls. One oddly... green. While he had encountered other mutants of course, her skin tone was unusual. She was obviously younger than the other lady, and he could see that she didn't have much place to go. Her clothes and the dirt on her were dead giveaways. "Gangs recruit young women like this" he said under his breath. He knew what could happen to such runaways -he'd had to comfort some, others were unable to be comforted...he could not let that happen to a fellow mutant.

It was clearly time to act-they were talking, and it could be too late if the green girl was persuaded to go with this stranger. He walked towards them "excuse me ladies" (he flashed his Police badge) "is everything alright here?"

When Rachael had scouted this place as an adequate place to 'Rest' she'd done it for two good reasons. The first being it's seclusion, being a fair distance from the walking path she hadn't expected too many people to wander this way. Secondly, if anyone did end up coming her way she'd notice them that much easier. Unfortunately she'd been a little to preoccupied with the warm bliss of sunlight that she hadn't noticed the Darkshift approach, though whether that remained to be unfortunate would soon be seen. However this time she was much more aware of her surroundings, that man was definitely heading towards them.

At first she was tempted to run, what if Darkshift had been lying to her? What if she and this man were actually hunting, not helping, stray mutants. A quick glance down at Darkshift's claws though scrapped that idea, if she thought Rachael was trying to escape she may actually use them. As such she clenched her teeth and watched as the man strode closer and closer, her heart sinking with every step. She knew she shouldn't have trusted her, damn mutants would turn on their own.

Eventually the man stood beside him and Rachael tried her hardest to look away, all her running and this is how she'd gotten caught. She'd thought Darkshift had been trying to help her, but instead she'd being stalling for her... Wait he's a cop!?! A myriad of emotions flashed across Rachael's face: Relief, embarrassment, worry to name a few. Was this just some sort of co-incidence? Probably, Rachael couldn't imagine the police would just randomly stop people in the street to ensure they were legally allowed to be there. No it was likely her homeless appearance, however if they were to take her in how long until they realised she was an illegal?

She tried to steel herself but it was likely to late, she'd been visibly nervous ever since the man had present himself as an officer. Something he was likely trained to look for, "Ye-Yep, everything is fine here. Nothing to concern yourself here officer." She replied. If by some miracle she got out of this there was one thing Rachael was certain of, she was never coming back to this park.
 

The girl seemed nervous-too nervous. Her Australian accent was obvious-he knew what it was like there-she was probably an illegal as well. Poor girl. Spasm let a wry smile cross his face. "Young lady, you don't have to worry, believe me I know what it's like to be different. And I have heard what they do to people like us in Australia,which means I understand what your circumstances may be. I also know that there are people who would seek to exploit you. Now-I don't know who your-"
He gave the other girl a dark look-Punk-typical of the gangs round here and...those claws? A mutant! No wonder they'd use her to lure vulnerable people such as this young lady into goodness knows what! Trying his best not to look threatening, he drew his baton from its sheath-and placed himself  in a quick advance between the two girls, facing the Punk.
He continued speaking, though his voice was slightly raised "friend is, but I think it's best you come with me. I have a spare room, a hot shower, and I come with no-"He glowered at the Punk- "strings attached". He wouldn't normally do this, but this girl was in clear and obvious danger. "Then I'll see if I can contact someone who will be able to help you". While he wasn't affiliated with Xavier's school , this girl was far safer with him and their capable hands than here and with goodness knows who.
He reached out his non-occupied hand "Detective Linely, otherwise known as Spasm". He kept his eyes fixed on the Punk, and spat these words at her"If you try anything miss, after planning to do whatever it was to this vulnerable young lady, I shall be forced to arrest you, and you should count yourself lucky I haven't already". 

Rachael stared in confusion as the police officer stepped in between Darkshift and herself, he thought the other girl was going to do what? Suddenly the whole situation grew much more complicated and Rachael wasn't exactly sure what to do. On the one hand Darkshift had offered her some sort of safe haven, a place she could hold up while trying to get her life back in order. However Rachael knew next to nothing about this city, whether this haven existed was debatable. If Darkshift had counted on the young Australian's lack of knowledge regarding the locale then the officer's concerns could be justified. Silently Rachael cursed herself for almost agreeing so easily to the other girls request. Besides wasn't the name Darkshift a little shady to begin with.

On the other hand there was the Officer's proposal. Again a safe place to rest before contacting 'someone else'. It was this ominous 'someone else' that had Rachael worried. The most logical chain of thought would be the Detective reporting this to his superior, someone who was likely not as accepting and thoughtful towards her situation. If that happened the most likely outcome would be deportation. There was no way Rachael was going back.

So there they were, her two choices. Both riddled with potentially dangerous outcomes and requiring her to put trust in people she'd never met before. Rachael looked between the two strangers before her, the baton in the detectives hands and the other girls claws both somewhat intimidating. Yeah, this wasn't going to work. She'd need to go with Option three.

With the detective's attention focused primarily on Darkshift Rachael used the opportunity to slide one of her legs behind her and dig it into the ground. Spasm may have been much larger than Rachael was but the girl did have one advantage in this situation, the man was expecting attack from the front. With as much force as she could muster Rachael thrust her hands towards the Officer's back and attempted to push him into Darkshift. After all she doubted she could outrun a police officer, even with her mutation enhanced stamina.  Regardless of the outcome though Rachael turned and began to run.

Spasm's training had prepared him for attacks from behind, and this girl's attempt to push him into the Punk failed. It succeeded in making him step forward. He turned around, furious that his offer of help had been treated with such contempt. She hadn't got far. Stretching his hand towards her he lashed out with his mind. He wasn't even concerning himself with the Punk anymore, so much he had lost his temper.

The girl wasn't particularly tired but he could sense the pain from a mile off-full body-long time ago, but it was overwhelming. It had caused her to collapse before- and he pulled it straight to the surface.It took some effort, he ran in her direction despite the pain he felt , just in case that wasn't enough.

Drat, she thought as she darted toward the tree-line. The officer had recovered much faster than Rachael had hoped, though to be honest with her strength she really wasn't counting on much. Either way she had a few seconds now before the officer or Darkshift gave chase, she'd use those seconds to put as much distance between her and them as she could. She may not be overly fast but as long as the sun was up she could keep going. Or at least that's what she thought. Suddenly her legs seized up and she crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Pain, pain everywhere! Her vision swam as she tried to determine what had just happened, her legs and head felt as though someone had taken a club to them. With pained cries Rachael slowly moved her hands under her body and pushed up, she could hear someone getting closer. She had to move now! Another wave slammed into her however, flooding her chest and head with unimaginable pain. Once again she dropped face first into the ground, she couldn't breathe. Her vision quickly darkened as she struggled for breath, before completely succumbing to darkness.

Spasm ran and stopped himself from treading on the girl as she fell. The pain he felt from that was awful, no wonder she'd collapsed. "Looks like I overestimated your capabilities somewhat, then again, my powers are incident based" he muttered to himself. "Well, I'm not going to hurt you, my temper can be quite bad, I'm sorry." He knew that he was falling on deaf ears. He felt her pulse-alive, good, some had been less lucky...Carefully, tenderly, he picked up the girl, she was lying across his arms. Well-now what?

His home was a short walk away, and that was probably easiest. No one would question him so long as he made his badge visible-after all, for all they cared she was just some drunk mutant that a police officer had taken pity on. He put the girl down-gently, attached his badge to his overcoat, and picked her up again. The pain was fading for him, slowly.

He carefully walked in the direction his house. It was getting later-less people around now. Less people to question what was going on. The truth , nothing was going on. He was going to give her the spare room as promised, and prepare a hearty breakfast for her once she got up. Mutants must stick together.

The hardest part was negotiating the stairs to his first floor apartment , and having to carefully rest the girl on the floor-most of his neighbors were still out or in their flats already. He was glad now, that he'd splashed out on a two bedroom apartment-he was going to have a guest after all.

Home-simple but it was his, the white walls were reasonably blank-save for the wooden crucifix above the front door. A black leather sofa and small Television were carefully arranged. Two small windows with a view of the street, curtains were drawn, little sunlight was coming through. Entering the 2nd bedroom was easy, it was as clear as your average empty room-the bed was there, it was basically a mattress, but it was a double bed. There was also a small wooden cupboard, enough for her to put belongings in if she so wished. Another small window was present in the room, again curtains drawn. It was too high up to climb through-and the fall would likely kill anyone who tried to use it. He locked it just in case. He placed the girl upon that bed , and quickly locked the front door.

He left a series of notes for her hand, saying not to be afraid , apologising for his lashing out , that he wasn't going to contact his superiors and that she wasn't a prisoner, telling her where the shower was, what time to expect breakfast (or dinner if she woke up), not to try and use the window to leave as there was a severe drop that would likely kill her, he prepared bed sheets , neatly ironed and creased. Placing them on the cupboard with a note on that as well to say what they were. He brought a clock for her , and set the alarm to 7 am sharp. He set his alarm for 6am . He changed into his dressing gown and pj's and started watch TV in his lounge.  It was 8pm.

The quiet murmur of unknown voices were the first thing to rouse the young mutant, a light groan escaping her lips as a heavy fog weighed upon her mind. Her stomach was doing flips, her arms and legs seemed to weigh a ton and her mouth felt like she'd been eating sand. In short Rachael had hardly felt more rotten in her life. She let out another groan and rolled over in the bed as her stomach continued it's dance routine, something obviously hadn't agreed with her.  She didn't remember eating anything though, in fact Rachael didn't remember going to sleep. 

Slowly she cracked open an eye, too bright! Almost immediately a sharp pain cut through her addled mind and she let out a pained cry. It took a while for Rachael to become accustomed to the brightness of what she realised was a small room. This confused her even more. It had been quite some time since she'd run out of money, therefore this couldn't be a hotel or motel room. If not those options then where was she?

To avoid anymore fits of nausea Rachael slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, there was a small clock right next to the bed. Through squinted eyes she could see that it read 1:30, whether that was AM or PM she had yet to determine. Still didn't answer her question though, where was she? Slowly she allowed her gaze to drift around the rest of the room, rather bare she noted. There was a small cupboard and that was it, even her bed was just a mattress, no bed sheet, quilt or doona. There was a window though, perhaps if she looked out she could get her bearings?

Rachael was just about to drag herself over to the window when her hand brushed against something, a note. Quickly her scooped up the piece of paper and brought it to her face, the writing already difficult to read without her current states hindrance. Slowly she worked her way down the note, the pit in her stomach deepening with each word. It was starting to come back to her now. Darkshift and the Detective in the park, her attempting to run and then... the pain! That was the detective? What sort of police officer utilises that sort of force on a teenager, and then proceeds to bring them back to his house against their will. Rachael wasn't sure whether this guy was just a well meaning officer with strange methods or a complete psychopath. It was hard not to be afraid when the person in the next room could put you through excruciating pain with a mere look.

She had to get out of here, that much was certain. The note had stated that the window wasn't a viable escape route and that any attempt to use it would result in a grizzly death. It stood to reason that Rachael check it out first, the bed serving as a makeshift step ladder. Quietly she slid open the curtains and peered through the glass, he was right. The window would be difficult enough to climb in through as it was, not to mention the lack of any fire escape or ledge to climb through. At least through that little activity she learnt it was 1:30AM the clock had read earlier. That of course left only one way out, the front door.

As quiet as she could manage it she opened the door to her room and peered out. She couldn't see or hear the detective, just the quiet murmur of the local news. Perhaps another time she may have been interested in the goings on of New York but not now. She had to get that front door.

Spasm woke with a start-...what was the time? "What the?". Damn nightmares...he must have dozed off during the news....His keys were locked on his belt... good, he hadn't lost them...wait- the green girl was peering through the door. Wouldn't have seen her , save for the fact that his eyes were searching the room, as one does when waking suddenly. "Young Lady, please, I really just want to help." Time 1:35.

Regaining his composure, "Look, I wasn't sure when you were going to wake up, and I know you must be pretty scared now, but I took you in. Least I could do after losing my temper like that." They were in his lounge , with the Kitchen annex-the local news was reporting on...protests. What else? "I think we need to have a sit down and talk". He quickly sat upright on the sofa, and offered her a seat.

"To start with, I might as well say that you can stay as long as you want. The people I wanted to put you in contact with were Xavier's school, designed for young mutants, and accepting of all. You don't have to make a decision yet. Now, can I get you a glass of water? Cup of tea ?" He walked to the door and opened it, smiling in a friendly, albeit tired way.

Rachael cursed herself as she heard the detective stir, had she been to loud earlier and woken him? Likely, it had only been little over three minutes since she realized she even needed to be quiet. She was tempted to slowly close the door and dive back onto the bed, with any luck the detective would believe her asleep and drift off back to the land of nod himself. She could use that moment to hurry out the front door, easy as pie. However that plan came crashing down when a pair of blue eyes met her own, she'd seen him.

Rachael tried to maintain a stoic expression as the detective explained himself, she had to admit his words did indeed feel heartfelt and the name Xavier rang some familiar bells within Rachael's head. It was possible he was trying to help. However, she couldn't overlook the fact that Spasm had caused her a significant amount of pain, and then practically kidnapped her. As such she took an instinctive step back as he approached the door, barely blinking as she looked up at the man.

"Water please," She replied with to break her silence. Her mouth still felt as though she'd gorged herself with sand in her sleep, perhaps a glass of water would help with that. As the detective left to fetch her drink Rachael moved herself over to the man's couch and tuned into the news. Protests, why wasn't she surprised? It seemed every second day now a protest spawned in some corner of this country and Rachael for the life of her could not figure out why, to what end did these protests serve? Gathering all like-minded individuals into one area so they could be targeted more easily? Convincing some nobody off the street to support their cause? For every one person that stopped to listen there were likely ten more that walked by.  Honestly if the manpower available to the protests took up more constructive pursuits they could likely do some good.

Rachael had more important things to think about however and she turned her attention back to the detective. "I'm sorry for earlier." She stated. "I didn't know what to do, I just decided to run and thought it would be easier if neither of you could chase me. Which leads me to the question, why help me? I obviously didn't want it.