Kendra bravely walked him out onto the dance floor as they made their way to the edge of the ocean of bodies moving in rythme. She seemed confident and Max felt a rush of excitement as she let go of his hand and started dancing.

Kendra was sweet, intelligent, and beautiful...but a dancer she was not. He gave her credit for her effort as she twisted about, enjoying herself. He raised an eyebrow curiosly, was she trying to make him smile? Or was she simply unaccustomed to salsa music. She smiled at him.

- "Come on show me what you got. I'm sure you've got a few moves."

He gave her a devilish grin and raised one hand over his head in rythme with the beat. Latin flavor was one of Max's favorite dance influences. He offered his other hand to Kendra.

Before she could take it he spun, turning himself so he landed behind her facing her back. His hand went onto the back of her neck and he used his power in her, making her light as a feather. With a twist of his hand he spun her to face him. His right arm landing on the small of her back, the left grabbing her free hand. He pressed himself against her, moving to the rythme and guiding her. With his power active it made her an easy partner.

He lead her through the crowd, a simple task despite the numbers when you flow with the music and moved towards the center of the dance floor. He found a pocket of free space and guided Kendra to it. He moved his right hand and spun her with his left out so his arm was fully extended and then back in and into a deep dip.

As he raised her back up he placed both hands firmly on her back and smiled.

"You tell me? Do I have moves?" He said with a wink.

Well well well. She thought. She felt Max's influence all around her. She felt almost weightless. She was light on her feet and floated like a feather as he twirled her around and made her seem more graceful than she really was. Kendra was born with what was known as two left feet.  And they were both clumsy and weird. Kendra dipped and he asked her if she thought he had "the moves" Oh brother. What a ham.

Kendra was surprised to find that everyone was now looking at them. The crowd had dispersed enough to give them a nice tight little circle. They were on display as the showcase of the dance floor. "Everyone is looking at us Max." Kendra said suddenly a little self conscious.

Kendra straightened out her clothes as she stood up and everyone started clapping. The applause was all for Max. Kendra was just the partner. "You're pretty popular." She said smiling.

Kendra moved back a bit and released Max's hand. She felt his influence fade away and suddenly she felt the change in her body. The weight came back and it made her legs a little wobbly, she wasn't used to shifting the gravitational fields around her. The next song was a little faster pace. A little less salsa a little more rege tone.  Kendra was more into country music.  She could country line dance her ass off even if half way through she'd throw in a few random chicken dance moves.  It wasn't that she was trying to be funny or cute, she was just that bad at dancing.  Born with no rhythm.

The crowd was still formed around them.  Thy were expecting a repeat performance.  Kendra knew by the way Max danced that he had to have been trained.  Maybe not classically trained, but he had some background in dance. Either that, or he was just naturally gifted.   Well, here goes nothing!  Kendra said as the crowd cheered them on. 

We're the life of the party I suppose.  She thought.  She felt like she was about to do something she'd regret, now all eyes were on them, she started to sway her hips and try and get a feeling for the music.  Time to show of my moves. 

The circle of people around him didn't matter. The applause didn't matter. What mattered was the music. Kendra pointed out the watchful eyes on the pair. He wondered if she was nervous from all the attention. Maybe she was used to being invisible, blending in as she dreamwalked, but tonight she wad on display.

-"You're pretty popular."

"Hey it takes two to tango. They're just as interested in you." He grinned.

The music changed, the regea tones filling the night air. Kendra released Max's hand and he allowed his power to drop. As the crowd eyed her expectantly he saw her start to dance. The new style of music was faster and more chaotic. It made dancing to it easy.

Max threw his arms up and allowed his body to twist and sway with the music as the drums pounded and the music sang. He made a quick trip around the circle letting Kendra be the focus. As he completed his circuit he slid back into the middle on his knees, landing at his date's feet. He allowed the best to dictate his movement as he planted a hand behind himself and threw his legs out, framing Kendra. Two quick pops and he rose up in front of her grinning.

The crowd was on fire for them. After awhile Kendra didn't even notice them anymore. It was like that school dance scene in grease where they cheered and popped for Danny and Sandy and they could do no wrong. For a moment, Kendra was blown away by th fact that she hadn't stumbled or fell on her face in front of a watchful crowd. She was breathing heavy as Max stood up grinning. The song was over and there was more cheers. 

Kendra took a step forward and put her arms around his neck.  She doubted that the next song was going to be a slow dance but she didn't care. For the moment, she was in her own little world. The music didn't exist. The other people didn't exist. The only thing that existed was the two of them in the rockus club.

Kendra pressed her forehead against Max's. She was girnning. "I've never done anythang like that!" She exclaimed in a burst of laughter. It was a rush. Her heart was still racing from the whole ordeal. She couldn't believe she had just stood there in front of a crowd full of people and did a spotlight dance in a club.  Max was right. She was much more used to being invisible. But she got through it. she didn't know that her magical night was about to come to an abrupt ending.

Kendra looked down when she felt the phone in her pocket vibrating. She frowned and looked down.  Hurriedly she pulled the phone from her pocket and took a step back. It was her friend back in Georgia, Delilah. Kendra answered. Everything about her body language said that she was worried about something. She put the phone to her ear and struggled to hear over the next song that came on. "Lie. Lie Hang on I can't hear ya. What?" Kendra looked over at Max apologetically.  "I need to answr this." She said as if to offer another apology to him.

Kendra pushed her way to the crowd and found the exit. Moving outside she stood there on the phone trying to get the information from her friend. She had tasked her with doing some research on the name of the guy who attacked her in the alley. Kendra's google search for his name turned up very little. Her friend Delilah was a investigative journalist she had more resources to get to the truth. Kendra listened to what she was saying in silence. Her mouth slightly ajar at the information relayed. Kendra was scared.

Still she didn't want to get Max involved in this. He had asked about it at dinner in fact, but they didn't know about Max whoever these people were. Kendra didn't want to put him in danger.  On the phone her friend explained that he had a military background. Real black ops stuff and that he had no record of ever having registered as mutant. Kendra was almost sure he was thought. Delilah also said that he had several cases for murder he was suspected of, but that there wasn't enough evidence to convict.

Kendra listened to all this with a sinking feeling in her heart. She just wanted to get back to the mansion now. Not that she didn't think Max would try to keep her safe, but she didn't want to put him at risk either. If someone was after her they'd have to go through a heck of a lot of mutants to get to her at the mansion. Kendra turned to the door. On the phone he friend worriedly called out.

"Kendra? Hey Kenny you there?"

Kendra hung up and allowed the phone to fall to her side. She almost felt like this was a dream. Not her normal dream, but a surreal one where everything wasn't as it should be. Like that horrible train crash was coming and everything started to move in slow motion right before the carnage. Kendra turned to look for Max. She wanted him to walk her home. Suddenly she was creeped out and very scared.

Kendra's phone went off and she told him she needed to take the call. He gave her a thumbs up and continued dancing. With his partner gone he made his way through the crowd, joining those who were allowing themselves to cut loose and enjoy themselves.

He was tempted to follow Kendra but she was a big girl, she could take care of herself. Not to mention last time he had followed her without her knowing he had gotten more than he bargained for. Instead he allowed himself to get caught up in the music and waited for her return.

After a few minutes Kendra still had not returned and Max bags to worry. He dislodged himself from the Conga line he had helped form and went to look for her. The sissapointed grumbles of his fellow dancers echoing in his ears. It didn't take him long to find her and he approached.

She was standing just outside the warehouse by the nearest exit and was off the phone. Even from a distance he could see she was a bit disheveled and looked slightly panicked. He walked up to her, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Hey everything okay?" He asked.

Kendra looked up when she heard Max's voice. Her face was a war of emotions. She was worried, scared, she felt as if she was letting Max down. It was stupid of her to worry about that, but she did. Kendra gave him an apologetic look. Her shoulders were shuddering from a combination of fear and the cold outside.

Kendra's arms were across her chest.  How much of this was she willing to let him in on?  She didn't know much of what was happening, but she knew that the guy who attacked her was bad new.  She didn't want him getting mixed up in something that would get him hurt.  "I just got some really bad news, not feelin well was going to call it a night."  She lied.  She felt awful about lying, but what else could she say.  She didn't have any clue what to tell him.  Kendra looked up at him with those big brown eyes. 

"Can you walk me home?  The mansion's not far from here."  Kendra said.  As she did so, she was looking around a little nervously making sure that there wasn't anyone hiding in the shadows in some alley off to the side.  When her eyes returned to him she was smiling again.  She didn't know how convincing her smile was but she tried to set him at ease even though internally she was a nervous wreck.  Her phone went off again.  It was an text from her friend Delilah.

Kendra didn't have but a handful of friends and most of them she had met here in New York after she moved, but her two best friends in Georgia were Delilah a journalist she had met when submitting some photographs to the local paper, and Libby.  Libby was a mutant as well, though she was even more in the closet about her powers than Kendra was.  Even Kendra didn't know she was a mutant.  Kendra reached out for Max's hand.  She wanted the comfort it could provide as she took one last glance around.  The coast seemed clear.

Kendra didn't bother to check her cell phone. The text she received was an address.  The last known address of the mutant that attacked her.  Kendra didn't know it yet, but when she would read the text later she would do something reckless and stupid.  Like go check out the address all alone.

Kendra seemed off as she spoke to Max. She said she had gotten some bad news and she wasn't feeling well.he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had done something wrong. Everything had seemed to be going rather well up until she recieved her phone call.

He noticed her eyes kept jumping around, trying to look everywhere at once. It reminded him a bit of a cornered animal. If she was expecting trouble she sure seemed like she wanted to keep it to herself. Max took her hand and gave an understanding smile.

"Sure I'll walk you home. Thanks for coming out tonight. I've had a really good time."

As he started walking Max tried not to let himself get paranoid. He tried to remind himself that he was fine, Kendra was fine and more than likely she was just not feeling well. Even as he had these thought he couldn't help himself. He looked into every unlit shadow around them, his eyes determined to see anything before it got to them.

Kendra was beyond the point of paranoid. She tried hard to keep her composure, but she couldn't wait to get back to the safety of the mansion. If anyone wanted to get her there they'd have to go through a whole lot of mutants to do so. It made sense.  Max was sweet, but she wasn't sure that being able to fly for a few minutes was going to save him from a gunshot. Ever heard of skeet shooting? 

Kendra's eyes darted around dark alleys and open windows. She was even looking at rooftops. She needed a tinfoil hat because she thought the black helicopters were coming for her. She didn't want to even know what they're end game was. He was going to out right murder her in that alley, but she had to assume that being captured alive would be worse. You're ok. You're just walking down the street no one's going to get you. Kendra decided right then and there that she needed weapons. Dream walking wasn't a power that could be used practically if she had to defend herself.

Kendra made a mental note to get herself a tranquilizer gun and some sort of weapon like a collapsible baton. Something light that she could carry with her. If she ever needed to escape she could run and hide, tranq herself and then cause a distraction to lure them away from her body. She had the ability to be in two places at once. She had long thought that she needed a tranquilizer gun to carry with her. Sure, it would make her vulnerable but it was also a good way to quickly sleep into a dream if she needed it. I'll check into it tomorrow.  She thought as they began approaching the mansion.

Kendra didn't want to invite Max up.  She wanted him to get home safely. She wanted to tell him to be careful, but she didn't know how to say it without sounding paranoid or scared.  Kendra put on her best smile.... It was unconvincing.  She turned to Max when they reached the front gate.  "Thanks for walking me."  She said softly.  Kendra's eyes looked up at his.  Max was a good guy, but she didn't want him tangled up in her mess whatever it was.  She didn't think she'd be able to forgive herself if she got him hurt. 

"I ....."  She began.  Kendra closed her mouth unsure how to proceed. 

"Be safe."  She said finally.  It was the only thing she could think of.  The worry and fear clearly expressed in her eyes as she lingered but a moment longer before pressing the button to buzz herself into the gate.  After a moment the gate swung open and Kendra stepped inside without delay.  She didn't look back.  This was probably goodbye for his own sake.  She didn't want to see his face, it was breaking her heart enough to walk away from a friend.