Reap walked with her eyes focused down on the pavement. She knew where she was going but she did not actually have to look where she was going in the crowded street. People parted around her like the Red Sea around Moses. She knew it was because how she looked and smelled, although, her own nose had grown immune to it and she couldn’t even remember the last time she looked in a mirror. It was better that way though. The matted hair, the dirt encrusted hands and face, and the filthy old unzipped sleeping bag wrapped around her shoulder like a jacket didn’t encourage anyone to look closer. For that she could be grateful, Reap didn’t want any Good Samaritan type to see how young she really was and take it upon themselves to alert the authorities.

Reap saw her goal on the next block. SottoCassa Pizzeria. A popular joint. Always packed with people. Not that Reap had ever been inside it but she had been on the outside looking in on a number of occasions. Mostly with Euphoria. Euphoria used to induce such a feeling of goodwill in the patrons that they would give them their leftovers on their way out. Reap could remember the time they had been given a vegan pizza and how they laughed over the crazy things people with money did to pizza. Reap didn’t think she would ever laugh like that again and she certainly couldn’t charm people into giving her free pizza like Euphoria could.

Reap stole into the back alley behind the restaurant. She would never usually risk coming here at this busy time of day but her stomach was gnawing a hole in itself. She couldn’t remember the last day she had eaten. It was a lot harder to come by food without Euphoria. Reap spotted the pizzeria’s dumpster and approached it. It had been a long time since she had to dumpster dive for food. She used to do it all the time back in Atlanta before she got picked up by Social Services and met Euphoria in the foster home.

Reap took a breath then tried to flip open the lid only to realize she couldn’t. She looked closer and saw that the dumpster was sealed by a lock. She felt a surge of anger. This dumpster was full of things people didn’t want. Things that had been thrown away but still they felt possessive enough over the things they didn’t want to prevent anyone from taking them. Reap felt her stomach grumbling and she slammed her fists against the lock, cutting and bruising her hands in the process.

“No…” She whimpered as she leaned her head against the dumpster…whether it was in her head or wafting from inside the restaurant she could swear she smelt the pizza. Just out of reach. Reap was going to turn away when she remembered that she still had one thing she could try. Reap reached into her pocket and picked out a seed. She eyed the lock then pushed the seed into the keyhole. She tried to concentrate. Tried to feel the energy of the seed waiting to sprout and push it out of its shell. If she could get it to pop with enough force…

Reap couldn’t do it though. She was too tired and too hungry. She couldn’t make her power work.

“Useless,” Reap muttered to herself as she slumped down against the opposite side of the alley wall. If she couldn’t even make a seed pop, something she usually could do without trouble, then there was no hope of trying to get one of the seeds to bear fruit for her to eat.

Sometimes, getting pizza was all the cooking Gemma could do.

It wasn't very often. Generally she was good at preparing (for) meals, and making sure her husband and children were fed properly. Not to mention all the other residents of the Mansion. But some days, work just ran away with the guidance counselor, and on those days, she knew the importance of giving herself a break, and resorting to picking up pizza. It was good pizza, at least. She told herself Jorge would be fine, and Chase and Toby would be ecstatic, if one day they got some... Italian food.

Balancing three pizza boxes in her hands, Gemma made her way out of the restaurant, and took a turn to where she had parked the car. As she walked past the entrance of the alleyway behind the pizzeria, she heard a banging sound; it sounded like someone kicking or hitting something hollow and made of metal. Probably a dumpster. Such sounds were not uncommon in New York City, and nine times out of ten they did not signal anything out of the ordinary. Gemma did not have illusions about how many people in town had to dumpster dive for their food. But sometimes, occasionally, more sinister things happened in alleys. And even if Gemma was not a vigilante, she still had a strong moral compass when it came to bystander intervention.

Rounding the corner to the alley, it took her a moment to notice the small slumped figure by the brick wall.

"Hey there" she said, stopping a comfortable few feet away, because she didn't want to spook the girl "Are you okay?"

Reap felt a crushing sense of hopelessness bear down on her. She was a mutant who couldn’t use her powers. A teenager with no friends or family. A kid who had no home. No future. No livelihood. She couldn’t even be sure how old she was. Fifteen? Sixteen? She kept track of seasons for obvious reasons but days or months? She couldn’t say with any certainty. Reap wasn’t sure she could survive being on her own again. She had relied on Euphoria for so much…

Overwhelmed by her own feelings of despair, Reap didn’t notice that someone else had entered the alley until she spoke. She gave a start of surprise and scrambled to her feet, but in the process, her sleeping bag slipped from her shoulder and revealed more of her face. She took a step back and hurriedly pulled the sleeping bag back around herself. She looked up at the woman, her gaze automatically, hungrily, drawn to the pizza boxes, then immediately back down at her feet. She was too scared to look for long. Was this a Good Samaritan type? An employee from the restaurant come to chase her off?

“I am not doing anything…” Reap insisted, immediately jumping to the defensive, because she assumed the woman would go to the offensive. “I’m leaving now…I don’t want any trouble.” She started to take a few steps backwards to prove her point.

Gemma had worked with enough teenage runaways to know one when she saw one. The girl looked malnourished and skittish, and was wrapped in a blanket. A glance at the dumpster told Gemma that it was padlocked, which probably explained the banging sounds and the girl's obvious distress.

>>“I am not doing anything… I’m leaving now…I don’t want any trouble.”

"I'm not here to get you into trouble" Gemma clarified with a small smile "I just heard the banging and wanted to see what was going on."

She was keeping a safe distance, which was only natural. Gemma on her part kept the same distance, making sure the girl was outside her aura. Accidentally canceling a power they were relying on somehow tended to upset young mutants. She wasn't sure the girl was a mutant, but there was really no way to tell.

"Would you like some pizza? I bought extra."

Reap frowned when the woman claimed that she had no intention of getting her into trouble. It might be sincere but it might not be. She might be trying to stall her long enough for the authorities to arrive. That could be disastrous for Reap. She would rather starve then be arrested because being arrested at her age meant she would be dumped with the Social Services by morning. However, it could also be that this woman leaned more to the Good Samaritan type. That could be just as bad. It would start with questions like ‘where are your parents’ and ‘do you have somewhere to stay’…and it would end up in the same place.

"I tripped…” Reap lied when the woman brought up the banging. “Banged up my hand a little. It’s nothing.” She took another step back even though the woman didn’t appear to try to be getting closer. She stuffed her hands in her pocket to prevent the woman from taking a closer look at her hands. She didn’t want anyone to see them…not because of the bruising and scraps…but the green that had started to appear on her palms. She didn’t want anyone to see that. She didn’t even want to see it.

Reap’s suspicion deepened when the woman offered her some of the pizza she carried. In her world, no one got or gave anything for free. Unless you were Euphoria but she duped people into giving her things with her power so that didn’t count. Her suspicion warred with her hunger and the standoffish demeanor she assumed was somewhat ruined by the audible grumble of her stomach. “What do you want for it?” Reap asked at length.

>>"I tripped… Banged up my hand a little. It’s nothing.”

That was the least likely explanation, but Gemma knew better than to question it. If she really was a runaway, it was bad enough for her to face down a stranger, having been caught attempting to eat food out of the trash. She also didn't show her hands, and Gemma couldn't tell if they were hurt or not. They probably were.

She eyed the pizza with obvious conflict in her face. She was probably hesitant and suspicious of strange adults, but... also hungry.

>>“What do you want for it?”

"Nothing. But I understand why you might ask that." Gemma responded. She looked around, and found a broken chair propped up against the alley wall. She walked over, placed a pizza box on it, then stepped back a couple of steps. "I'm going to leave that there, you can eat it. I'm stepping back because I have an aura that cancels mutant powers. I don't know if you are a mutant or not, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable." she added, nodding at the pizza.

“Nothing,” Reap repeated as if that word did not have any connotation in her vocabulary. She looked down at her feet then back up at Gemma. She met the woman’s eyes and decided that when she said nothing she meant nothing. Reap gave a barely imperceptible nod of her head to show her acceptance of the generosity. She started to step forward as soon as the woman said that she would leave the pizza box on the broken chair but then froze as the woman said the word mutant.

Reap tried to backtrack over what the woman had just said. She had been so focused on pizza that she tuned the rest out. Something about canceling mutant powers. How did the woman know she was a mutant? Other than her whole posture which now read like she had been caught red-handed. Wait…canceling mutant powers? Did that mean she was a mutant? It was so hard to tell sometimes. Further down the line of her thoughts, she wondered where that gift had been when her own powers manifested. No one would ever see or know about such a power…not like hers that had come exploding out of her.

Reap considered just running away at this point but she didn’t really have much to fear from someone who could cancel powers. Hungry canceled her powers well enough on its own. The thought of abandoning the pizza made her want to cry though. It just smelt so good. Reap darted forward to grab the box. If the woman was quick, she would be able to see a brief exposure of Reap’s palms while she reached out to take the box. There were some bruises and scrapes (from banging her hands on the lock) but the most important details were their color. Green.

Reap scurried backwards several paces then not able to contain herself a moment longer, she flipped open the box and grabbed a slice of pizza then stuffed as much of it into her mouth at once as she could. She barely chewed it into a swallow-able size before it disappeared down her throat and she was onto the next bite. Her stomach immediately protested the sudden onslaught of food when it had been empty for days but that didn’t stop Reap from stuffing her face. Realizing that the woman must just be watching her guzzling, she looked up for a fraction of a second then said through a mouthful, “It’s good…” Before returning to shoveling the next slice in.

A battle was fought and quickly lost, between caution and hunger. The latter usually won out sooner or later in Gemma's experience. It barely cost her extra to go and buy more pizza later on, but for this kid, even if she ran away immediately, it was probably life-saving. The flash of green also did not avoid Gemma's attention, although she was not sure what she had seen. Gloves? Bodypaint? Skin discoloration?...

The girl scurried back a safe distance, and began devouring the pizza fast enough that Gemma was worried it might all come back up. If she had doubts before about how hungry she was, it was painfully clear now.

>>“It’s good…”

"Yeah, they make good pizza" Gemma agreed with a smile. She knew she had to tread carefully. With kids like her, many times good-natured help came off just as suspect as a direct attack. Especially if they had had bad experiences with social services before. She waited a bit more for the girl to finish the pizza, so even if she got spooked, she would not miss the meal. "My name is Gemma, by the way. If I promise I will not get you in trouble with the authorities, would you tell me if you have a place to stay? Or if there is anything else you might need?"

Reap nodded in agreement as she stuffed another piece of pizza in her mouth. Her stomach probably wouldn’t be able to take much more but she was bound and determined to keep everything down. There was nothing worse than finally getting a full belly only to throw it all up again.

Reap could feel the woman’s eyes on her and she felt obligated to say something. So, with a mouth full of food, she gargled out, “Glad this isn’t one of those weird vegan pizzas…” Unfortunately, the longest sentence she had said of yet, was immediately followed by her clamming up when the woman…Gemma was the name she gave…promised her that she would not get her in trouble with the authorities then proceeded to ask about her living situation. She stopped eating and flipped the lid of the box closed. She did not want to make eye contact and did not want to answer that question.

Reap swallowed the bite that was still hanging out in her mouth then picked up the pizza box and held it close to her chest. She wasn’t willing to relinquish that even if she wanted out of this conversation. “Thanks for the pizza,” Reap said, “I should be leaving.”

>>“Glad this isn’t one of those weird vegan pizzas…”

Gemma chuckled as she watched the girl eat. She had been starving, that was clear, but if she kept eating at that pace, she might throw the whole thing up. She seemed determined, however, and Gemma kept her distance, trying not to scare her into abandoning the meal. She had seen this all before with many other teens, but each case was different.

The moment she asked her question, the girl was ready to run, pizza and all.

>>“Thanks for the pizza. I should be leaving.”

"You can leave, I'm not going to stop you." Gemma said calmly, trying to get her to feel more comfortable "I'm also not going to report you. I have been working with children long enough to know they don't always do the right thing, even if they mean well. But before you go, can I just say one thing that might help? I promise it's not religion." she added the last part quickly; kids like her had experiences with well-meaning people who tried to convert them, more often than comfortable. And when someone seemed extra nice, the chances were even higher. Gemma took a pause, and then continued.

"I work at Xavier's. It's a school for mutants, but not everyone there is a mutant. It's a safe haven of sorts; we have rooms, food, whatever you need. If you ever feel like it, you are welcome to visit, and you don't have to stay. I just wanted to make sure you know about it."

Reap flinched when Gemma promised that what she wanted to say had nothing to do with religion. She unconsciously reached down to the rosary she kept in her pocket. She had long since given up on finding any hope in religion. She had always thought she was a child of God until her mutant powers manifested her mutant power and she realized that she was actually the child of something else entirely.

The name of Xavier’s stirred some recognition in Reap. She couldn’t remember where she heard about it though. Was it a name she heard mentioned after she arrived in New York City? Had she heard about it in school? The last time she had attended school consistently though was years ago. Nothing she learned there mattered to her now. Reap had more immediate concerns to worry about. Who cared about history, even mutant history, when you weren’t sure about where your next meal would come from?

Even if she didn’t remember the significance of Xavier’s, Reap knew what Gemma’s description sounded like. A foster home. “No, no,” Reap said as she raised one hand with an aggressive fist (the other was too busy holding holding onto the pizza box, “I won’t go back. I won’t ever go back to a home. Never. I can take care of myself. Now, stay away from me!”

Reap tried to access her power but even with a belly full of food, she couldn’t seem to find them so she settled for the fist as she backed away and once she felt that she got far enough away, she spun on her hell and hurried further down the back alley as she kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure that she wasn’t being followed.

The best Gemma could hope for in this situation was to convey some information. The girl did not look ready to accept any help, but if she knew where to look for it, at least she had the option to ask later, if she changed her mind. Gemma knew she could not force help on anyone who wasn't ready. She would just have to say her piece, and hope that some of it stuck for later.

>>“No, no. I won’t go back. I won’t ever go back to a home. Never. I can take care of myself. Now, stay away from me!”

"It's not a home..." Gemma noted, but the conversation was truly over. The girl turned and ran, carrying the pizza with her. Gemma sighed. She wished she could help more. Even if she knew there was no way to force it, deep down she still felt she could have done more to convince the girl. This way, at least she got a meal out of it.

For the rest, they would just have to wait and see.