Times like this always wore on Erik. It was the inevitable circumstances one faced when you were so wholesomely different from the vast majority of people. Especially when amongst John Q public in something mundane as attempting to cross the street without jaywalking. Some remembered a more wholesome upbringing about staring at people and kept their looks surreptitious. Others openly glanced over at him like he was about to turn them all into human mashed potatoes. His personal favorite were the old time New Yorkers, the ones that pretended like they had seen everything even if the furtive movement of their eyes betrayed that long tale. Not that Erik blamed anyone all that much. Even he would be surprised to see someone else as tall as him let alone one the color of dried blood or wearing patchwork pants and shirt. Smiling only seemed to unnerve people more and he figured it must be something about the stark contrast of pearly whites against the dark backdrop surrounded by BIG. 

He gave an internal sigh at the utterly boring mundaneness of it all. Feeling a slight pressure on his leg he quickly dismissed it as someone's grabby toddler until it grew more insistent. With his eyebrows pushing  up on his forehead he glanced down to see a kid jerking on his pant leg like someone ringing a church bell. "Yes?" he grumbled out, lacking its usual go the hell away undertone as it was just a kid. An adorable little blond haired girl with a cheshire cat small that he was determined not to let get the better of him. "I like your pants!" Erik blinked once and tilted his head some. "Thanks, nice uh.. dress kid. Don't you know your not supposed to talk to strangers kid?" That was like being a kid 101! She beamed and chimed back "If you were a baddie you woulda squished me already! My name is Kylie whats yours?" He figured there was some logic to that he supposed. Not to mention a bad guy as visible as him probably wouldn't be using a crosswalk. With a shrug Erik smiled a tiny bit. "Nice to meet you Kylie. People call me Red like the color." The shuffle of people moving past their little island of serenity offered by his size let them know the crosswalk had finally changed.

"Best we get moving Kylie before one of these mean adults try to step on you." Unable to help but grin big in response to her own giggle and exuberant mirth. He began to walk with her to the other side of the street. The moment was crushed by the sound of tires squealing, shattering glass and the crunch of plastic up the street. Erik's eyes snapped in the direction of the noise in time to see a big yellow bus careening towards them from the wrong side of the road. People scattered as they realized their danger, unfortunately his diminutive companion had stopped when he had and was currently staring at her oncoming doom. Erik scooped her up by her backpack and cradled her body with his own and relaxed into it as he became a grill ornament with a thud. 

It took a moment for him to orientate himself to his predicament. Keeping an arm cradled around the girl he felt for the bumper with his other and got a good grip before thrusting his feet towards the ground, skidding for several feet before they started to dig into the asphalt to being slowing the runaway bus to a stop as he grit his teeth to the pain and strain. After what felt like forever they finally skidded to a stop. The tires on the bus still squealing in futility against his mutant wedged body. Almost gingerly he pulled Kylie from him and set her down next to him before his free hand shoved itself through the grating to feel around for a handful of wires and yanked them out to kill the engine causing him to flop onto his backside at the lack of resistance. He sucked in a large breath and exhaled as he looked over to Kylie. "Well that was exciting. You ok?" She blinked a bit before yelling "That was so cool do it again!" His hand connected to his face with a slap as he shook his head, kids! Standing he glanced into the bus to check to see if everyone was alright before ushering Kylie across the street leaving someone else to deal with the aftermath. "Probably best if you get going home." Sending her off before sighing and taking a moment to look back and take in the scene of destruction before moving to be on his way once again.  

Javier was beginning to develop an instinct to run the other way when he heard commotion or crashing sounds. And yet, developing such a natural thing proved to be harder than he'd thought. Thinking of himself as an eternal coward, and not at all superhero material, the tailor nonetheless had some kind of a moral drive that made him want to help people, even if his powers were limited to say the least. Why would evolution create strength that cut in and out at odd moments? Maybe he was more of a failed science project than the next step in human history.

Anyhow, once again, the habit failed to work as he turned towards the crashing sound, and followed in the steps of other curious people heading towards the scene. The cries and claps gave a hint about something extraordinary, but not tragic happening; Javier made a beeline to the edge of the sidewalk, looking at the bulk of a runaway bus, wondering if he could, or should, help avoid disaster.

When he finally got to the front, he realized he didn't need to.

The large figure had killed the engine, and ushered the little girl to safety. Javier stared. Definitely a mutant. And with superhuman strength. What were the odds? He stood still, wondering what he should do. Walking up to people, saying "hi, I'm a mutant too" generally did not get good reactions, and for someone as chronically socially awkward as Javi, it was about as scary as a runaway bus. And yet, with every person that had similar powers, there was a chance to learn more about his own.

So, Javi did the next best thing: He followed the guy from a safe distance.

Not creepy at all.

The jolly red giant got what he felt was a safe distance away to shake any casual interrogators or pursuers. Feeling a slight chill to his toes he looked down at the tattered remains of his shoes and sighed. Peeling the tattered remnants off his feet and examining them before deciding there was no saving them and chucking them into a nearby garbage with another sigh. It was true what they said about no good deed goes unpunished. The reptilian part of his brain started itching and he glanced covertly about.. he hated being this size at times like these. There were always a few people who were looking, staring, at him and it was difficult to sort the casual interest from the ones wanting something from him. If it was someone from the couple of criminal organizations he had party crashed he doubted they would do much more then follow him. Of course he would feel really foolish if it was someone that wanted a autograph or something equally as innocent and turned them into a meat puddle.

Erik shoved down his pervasive paranoia in an attempt to continue to act casual until he could sort out who or what was going on. The silly part of him enjoyed the spy thriller feel of it all. After moving down the street for a bit he walked into an alleyway like it was his plan all along. As soon as he felt he was safely out of few he propelled himself into a hiding spot that would hide his considerable bulk and awaited his prey. At worst he would quell his paranoia, at best he would get to squish someone! Feeling a little surge of adrenaline at the thought he worked to still the beating in his chest as he heard footsteps in the comparatively quiet alleyway. A small cheer going up for his paranoia.

Once a figure came into his vision he snapped up and grabbed the front of the stalker's shirt and hauled him up eye to eye, a full 3 feet off the ground for most people. "What?!" His voice boomed out  in a rush of air. Quickly looking over his new catch to ensure he hadn't just nabbed some hobo returning home after a pilgrimage. That would have been a bit like breaking into someone's house and asking them why they came home early. Talk about embarrassing!  

He wasn't exactly a hard person to follow. Crowds seemed to part as he walked, or at least people kept a respectful distance, and there was a lot more staring at him than at Javier who strolled a few paces behind. It wasn't like he had tailed anyone before... he was probably doing it wrong. And he should have stopped like three corners ago. What was he gonna do if he caught up to the guy anyway?...

Lost in thought, Javier kept moving, even when the person turned a corner into a side street.

>>"What?!"

Javier gasped as his feet left the ground, suddenly coming face to angry face with the guy he was trying to inconspicuously tail. Obviously, he had failed on that count, because he had definitely noticed Javier.

Oh boy.

Danging in the air by one's shirt was not exactly comfortable. Javier froze for a long moment, hands instinctively grabbing for the man's wrists, eyes wide with surprise and shock.

"I'm not... uh... I'm sorry... I didn't..."

Erik was more than a little surprised when the person he picked up had about as much reaction as your average person. No weapon pulling or getting stabbed in the hand.. Not even that little oh sh*t look people got when they were caught. This was just a plain old life question oh crap moment that he was inflicting on the, as of yet, innocent bystander. Erik gave the man a studious once over and concluded that he was too well dressed to be a hobo, and distinctly lacking in any visible gang tattoos.

There was a long sigh as he set Javier down very gently, now acting as if the man was made of porcelain and let out a deep sigh. It appeared this individual was not a part of the local public speaking conventions either. It took a considerable amount of willpower not to slap his hand into his face at such strange misfortune.

"Best just to say your piece and be done with it. Especially curious why someone like you would follow someone like me." A bushy eyebrow raising at the man as he meandered over to a recycle bin and pulled out some magazine before retrieving a flattened roll of duct tape (the state of which caused him to swear under his breath) from his backpack turned fanny pack and beginning to fashion himself a pair of hobo shoes with the contents of the paper recyclables.     

For the longest moment Javier dangled, and the man stared. The situation could have escalated in several different directions, and Javier felt like his heart was about to pound out of his chest. In the end, something similar to regret flashed across the man's face, as he placed Javier back on his feet very gently. So far, so good. At least he was not a violent person. That would have made Javier's little adventure sound a lot more stupid in retrospect.

>>"Best just to say your piece and be done with it. Especially curious why someone like you would follow someone like me."

"Um." Javier took a deep breath. If he excused himself and retreated now, he would just look more suspicious. Besides, he was in it now. Might as well proceed with the plan. "That's because... I am kinda like you. Well, not... not really, but... I'm strong too. Very strong, sometimes..." he blinked as the man began to... do some kind of a DIY project, involving duct tape and magazines. "Uh... may I ask what you are doing?"

If Javier had ever mentioned aloud that he was thankful the big red giant wasn't violent it would have elicited a increasingly rare laugh from the red youth. Ignorance was indeed bliss. Erik was far more fond of turning drug dealers and people peddlers into paste. Some overly curious... fanboy? was hardly deserving of becoming 6ft under. 

He paused the taping of his magazines as the unknown entity inquired. "Making some hobo soles for what left of my shoes. Clothes aren't as durable as I am sadly. Plus it is New York. Noone in their right mind would walk these streets bare foot if they can help it." Taking a moment to duct tape the two little stacks of magazines to his feet, while being rather liberal in his usage of tape before being satisfied. This time he regarded the spaniard with a bit more scrutiny. "Uh huh.. and you what? Think I have some cure for what sounds like mutant erectile dysfunction?" The meaty forearms crossed over the even larger chest as he leaned against the wall of the alleyway. "Not sure how exactly you expect me to help you bud."

>>"Making some hobo soles for what left of my shoes. Clothes aren't as durable as I am sadly. Plus it is New York. Noone in their right mind would walk these streets bare foot if they can help it."

Javier had to agree with that. The thought of walking barefoot in New York did sound very unpleasant, at it made him cringe. Still, the hobo solution was neither elegant not practical on the long run. The man's shoes must have gotten damaged in the accident, so he had to do the best he could. Still, he listened to Javier's mumbled explanation.

>>"Uh huh.. and you what? Think I have some cure for what sounds like mutant erectile dysfunction? Not sure how exactly you expect me to help you bud."

"I don't want a cure" Javier said quickly, but the follow up was less sure "... um, I just... I wanted to talk to someone else who has similar powers. I am not sure if I'm... using them right, I guess. And it's kind of hard to explain to anyone who doesn't have super strength."

At this point Erik was fairly sure the fellow mutant wasn't going to try and get him in trouble in some way. He was too meek to be some reporter looking for a story or some sort of fanboy. The entire situation still struck the red giant as odd as he figured someone Javier's age would have some handle on their powers. So Erik sighed somewhat. 

"it was just a joke. You seemed a bit nervous. Read in a magazine a joke can help nervous people relax. Guess I need practice. Bad guys are not exactly the greatest at talking when getting pummeled." The broad shoulders heaved into a shrug and gave the shoes a bit of a slap to make sure they would at least last until he shrank back down. "Well I can try to help. Us mutants have to stick together like a big family don't you agree? Though are you sure you want to keep this conversation going in an alleyway?" Either way he gestured for Javier to proceed however he wished. 

>>"it was just a joke. You seemed a bit nervous. Read in a magazine a joke can help nervous people relax. Guess I need practice. Bad guys are not exactly the greatest at talking when getting pummeled."

Javier let out a sigh. Leave it up to him to not get a joke. He was bad about that sometimes, especially when he was nervour, which was, frankly, most of the time. At least the guy was trying to be friendly. That was a good start... or rather, continuation... for a botched first meeting.

>>"Well I can try to help. Us mutants have to stick together like a big family don't you agree? Though are you sure you want to keep this conversation going in an alleyway?"

"Uh... no?" Javier was so excited by his agreement to stick together than he almost missed the second part. The man was right, though. The two of them, discussing super strength in an alleyway, that was just asking for trouble. "I... my shop is not far, if you want to come by." as usual, he remembered to add an explanation after the fact "I'm a tailor. I have a tailor shop. Hi. My name is Javier." he offered a hand.

The big red man blinked at first before smiling some. "Incoming joke: If you were a tailor with a spy shop I would be mildly concerned. Hi, everyone calls me Red, Javier." Forking a couple of fingers for the guy to shake since it would be impossible for Javier to shake the whole of it in a normal fashion. "You wouldn't happen to be one of those super famous and rich, reclusive fashion designers that happens to secretly be a mutant would you?" That would be super awesome! Everyone could use a rich friend. Though just being a tailor was pretty neat in itself. It wouldn't surprise him to find out New York was one of the few places where one could find cobblers, and tailors and the like. 

After offering a large 'lead on' gesture towards the entrance of the alleyway he fell into step alongside his new smaller companion. Grateful to be putting more space between him and his impromptu heroism. More than anything he simply didn't want someone like the X Men trying to recruit him into their little gang of paladins. "Do you often corner people after displaying feats of unusual capability and trying to flee sed scenes?" Doing his level best to keep his deep voice sound amused rather then annoyed.

>>"Incoming joke: If you were a tailor with a spy shop I would be mildly concerned. Hi, everyone calls me Red, Javier."

They shook hands. Or rather, Javier shook a few fingers. Geez, the guy was large. But at least he was friendly? "Nice to meet you, Red."

Now that the initial scare was over, Javier felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe he would make a friend this time? Maybe Red could help him work out his powers.

>>"You wouldn't happen to be one of those super famous and rich, reclusive fashion designers that happens to secretly be a mutant would you?"

"Um... no." Javier smirked "I mean, I'm not rich or famous. I am a designer, though. And... kinda reclusive?"

>>"Do you often corner people after displaying feats of unusual capability and trying to flee sed scenes?"

"No." it would have been weird to say yes, wouldn't it? Javier led Red to his shop, and opened the door with his keys, letting him inside the small space. "I just... strength seems to be a basic power, as far as powers go. It just doesn't make much sense to me to see others use it and I... well, I kinda suck at it."

"Nice to meet you, Red." "Eh, should probably get to know me better before you say that, but the thought is appreciated." He gave the mousy tailor a small smile to keep the man at ease.

The large man gave a mock sigh of disappointment. "A shame. It would be nice to find some loaded guy who needs a bodyguard and live out my days fat and happy until I catch a bullet." A little chuckle rumbled out from the red man and followed the man along. At the entrance to the place he turned sideways and did a sort of crab walk to get in without destroying anything and found himself a clear area to stand in where he didn't have to worry about destroying anything if he got surprised and turned too fast.

"Suck at being strong? That has to be a new one. I figured it was just one of those either you have it or don't things. Figured the opposite problem was the case and   people were a little too good at being strong and accidentally breaking stuff. Like myself." His eyes looking around the little shop and trying to get a feel for it. He read somewhere that craftsmen work areas were a reflection on their journeymen and he wondered what that said about Javier. After a moment he found an open space on the floor and took a seat, letting his bulk settle with a thud.

"So how is it you 'suck' at it? You sure you are a mutant and have super strength and you don't just need a shrink?" A teasing tone behind the deep voiced giant. Well as much of one as he was able to pull off anyway. "And more importantly why does it matter to you to control it?"