Slowly but surely, Vanessa was settling herself into the Mansion. She never got to experience being a college freshman living the dorm life, so it was a new and anxious experience living around so many of her teenage peers. The thought of dorms always concerned Nessa, who wondered if she would have been forced into a room with guys due to her situation, or potentially worse, girls who did not want her there. Suffice to say, shared living was a point of contention for the young woman.

The Mansion was kind enough to arrange for a single room for Nessa for however long she planned on staying. The situation was temporary, though Nessa had no specified timeline. She could figure out her own living situation, but she needed to get her feet under her first in an unfamiliar world.

In the meantime, being around other mutants helped Vanessa normalize this part of her public identity. When she ventured out of her cozy little room, she would pass students in the halls. Some of them were like her with invisible mutations, but she saw mutants who were clearly mutated walking around casually. There was even one girl made entirely of slime that Nessa made an effort to not stare at in amazement as she puddled around the halls.

Being around mutants made Nessa slightly less apprehensive about wandering around. She worried about people eyeing her and marking her as trans, but with people who had coral hair or space skin, Nessa was starting to believe she stuck out less than she was giving herself credit for.

The Mansion was impressive. There were so many places to explore, and as someone still feeling aimless with where to go next in life, she could at the very least find new directions to physically go. The gym was well-equipped, she was becoming familiar with the kitchen, and the pool caught her eye even if the notion of swimming in public still filled her with uncertain dread.

Eventually, Nessa asked Miss Grey if the woods out back were open to the students. The kind teacher awkwardly confirmed residents could go into the woods, but warned her not to stray so far she got lost. The averted mismatched eyes from Miss Grey had little to do with Nessa’s mutation, she was pretty sure. Evidently, when you had a messy breakup with a girl who you suddenly had to be responsible for, it made it hard to meet her eye.

It was a pleasant spring day with the weather idling around seventy and sun peeking through the trees as Nessa’s converse padded along a packed dirt path. Nessa was already pleased with her decision; there was something serene about being surrounded by woods. The sound around her was limited to the ambiance of birds chirping and leaves rustling.

That was why it was such an unfortunate surprise when she was struck atop the head. ”Ow!” It was not a serious strike, but something had fallen upon her and clattered on the ground. She crouched down, realizing a pencil was the culprit. A pencil? From where? Curiously, the telepath looked around, then finally tilted her head up.

There were seldom places to really be along at the mansion. Single rooms were fine, but there inevitably was the problem of needing a change of scenery. However, to achieve that one had to go out into the world and explore. This often meant that many places that were left were already exposed. This was a school, after all, therefore students were absolutely everywhere. The pool, the kitchen, the halls, even the hedge maze wasn’t as isolating as some thought. It meant that the need for alone time was high.

Agnes was one such student. The often shy and quiet insect mutant needed to have time to collect her thoughts. After all, she was thrown into a world that wasn’t familiar to her anymore. She didn’t have the career, personal, or love life that she had often hoped she would have achieved by this point. But, she couldn’t wallow. Instead, she had to decide.

That was the rub of all this. Even though she couldn’t remember it, she had done all this before. She went to school, went on job interviews, had a career, had a significant other, and now, here she was, apparently having to do all of that all over again. It should have made things easier seeing as she couldn’t remember any of it, but she couldn’t help grumbling about just how much it sucked.

Still, it wasn’t as if she could spend the rest of her time (whether this was permanent or not) being a bitter sorehead about it. That was why she sought solitude today. She needed to think about what she was going to do next.

With no where in the mansion for her to find peace, she went for the next best thing -- out in the woods behind the mansion. Honestly she was surprised that there were “woods” here. Seeing as the mansion was in the middle of New York, how did that make any sense. But she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The older kids didn't want to come out this far because where was nowhere to plug in their phones, and the younger ones seemed to think this was some kind of enchanted, forbidden forest for some reason.

That was fine with her. The less the better.

High up in one of the trees, Agnes stretched out, her jean-clad legs crossed in front of her, wearing a purple blouse, open flannel shirt, and what was quickly becoming her favorite leather jacket. Her legs tucked up, she had a teal notebook sitting on her lap, swirling a Fauna Junction pencil between her fingers.

On the paper was a list she had written out, various things that she was trying to decide on. College? Career? Life goals? A few ideas were jotted down, but they eventually devolved to a rather risque sketch of an hourglass figured vampiress listed under “Life Goals”. Ugh this was really pointless, was it? She always wanted to go to Julliard, but learning that she moved away from music later in life made her suspicious as to why. Was she really just not that good? Why would she give up that career she thought she always wanted?

She grumbled and twirled her pencil a little faster between her fingers. Her annoyance with the state of things grew to such a point that, before she knew it, the pencil flew from her grasp. With an obscenity uttered under her breath, she rolled her eyes, and started to move when a muffled, ”Ow!” lifted from below.

With a tilt of her body, she gazed down at the ground below, and standing amid the grass and roots was...another girl. Her eyes narrowed. Seriously? Was no place sacred?

Standing on the tree branch, she stuck one foot out and began to plummet from the tree. But mere seconds after stepping off, her wings beat hard and fast, instantly catching her in the air. The buzzing was loud, enough for anyone to hear, and carried closer to the ground. However, she didn’t step down, but instead just hovered off the grass.

”Hey sweetie,” she said, notebook under her arm and hands in her pockets. She nodded to the pencil that the newcomer held. ”Mind handing that off? It’s an instrumental tool in deciding the fate of the universe.”

The Mansion was full of nice people. Nessa was pleasantly surprised by how accepting the people in her new world were, which did encourage her to leave her room. There were games in the lounge, the kitchen was well-stocked, and she could handle it when students and staff came around to talk to her. She was not socially incapable, but she did need her alone time to recharge now that she was dealing with so many people.

Sometimes it was nice to walk alone, enjoying the peace of a beautiful day outside. When a pencil dropped on her head to break up her peace, Nessa had to wake up from her zone and pop her earbud out. Everyone knew you could see better when you could hear the world around you.

That was good, because she was glad she could see the young woman in the tree. She liked seeing pretty things, and the girl in the tree, with her raven black hair and shimmering wings was a sight to see. Nessa was blinking into the light as the figure floated down, her wings beating like a bee or a dragonfly. Nessa was a mutant, but this girl wore her mutation, and she wore it well.

And she was calling Nessa sweetie, and did it just get warm out, or was that just Nessa’s cheeks?

Okay, so she was caught off guard, but Nessa was not a total spaz. Standing, she looked at the pencil in her hand, then back to the woman hovering in front of her. She twirled it between her fingers. ”Well, that makes this sound like quite the important little device. Can’t just go handing something so crucial off without thinking about the consequences?” Nessa smirked. ”What if you’re the villain? Can’t leave the villain with the fate of the universe in her hands, right?”

It wasn't often that Agnes interacted with others when she was seeking alone time. Not because she was antisocial but when she had a lot on her mind, she wasn't interested in being distracted. That was her whole reasoning for being out the mansion today. There was a lot that she was putting off and she was finally committing to finding the answer.

What were the odds that her committed plan would be ruined by a cute girl wandering the woods where no others dareth tread? Apparently very good.

Hovering near the ground, Agnes wings beat fast and hard, keeping her aloft. With hands tucked into her pockets, she eyed the other girl, waiting for her to relinquish her much sought after pencil. She was really only teasing about the gravity of it.

It was odd. Agnes never thought of herself as a serial flirter. She always remembered herself being so meek and quiet. But things were different now. Such words and comments came so much easier to her, bolstered by some experience or skill from an older self she could not remember.

That was fine, she guessed. She wasn't going to knit pick the fact that she had some heightened confidence finally. It just made it strange when she could so clearly recall a time when that wasn't the issue.

She blinked, pulled back into the moment and out of her own head. Wait, what? Her brow arched as the other denied her get rightful property. Sure she had a point, but keeping the pencil was essentially theft now, right?

Agnes snickered a little at other's comment. Finally she landed upon the ground, get wings stopping and laying flat against her back. A peek of iridescent, filtered light sparkled from her sides as she stepped closer, creating a rainbow-like aura.

"Well...they do say villainy is subjective..." she edged closer. "...after all, between the two of us, you're the only one committing a crime by holding hostage the pencil of an innocent bystander." She grinned, crystalline blue eyes briefly looking over the other girl before she stepped up, unfurled one of her arms, offering her hand to shake. "Name's Agnes, " she said, then gestured to the most powerful tool in the universe. "See? Name's right there. On the black and white pig. We're practically identical and thus, proof of ownership." With that settled, she grinned, held out her open palm, waiting for her pencil back.

The floating girl finally descended down to the ground, landing delicately on her feet and allowing her wings to rest. Now that she was not bobbing up and down slightly in the air and stood closer, Nessa could really see her eyes.

Those guys were such a beautiful crystal blue. Vanessa was just getting used to having blue eyes of her own, but hers were more of an electric blue. This girl's eyes were somehow more pure.

Maybe it was unfair to sneak a peek, but you had to meet someone's eyes when you were talking, and Vanessa couldn't shut off her power to ignore the thoughts that this girl was surprised by her own confidence and thought Vanessa was cute.

Vanessa clung to that morale boost when Agnes introduced herself. "They still name people Agnes?" Okay, maybe the confidence to speak without thinking was not something Vanessa needed. "Which was incredibly fucking rude of me to say. It's just, I mean, you're a lot prettier than your name." Smooth.

She focused back on the pencil and the name indeed marked on it. "Well, if I'm going to hand over a tool of such power, can you at least tell me what makes it so important? The fate of the universe is in the balance, and I'm part of the universe. I'm also Nessa, by the way," she thought to add at the end somehow.

Okay so the girl was cute. The old Agnes probably would have been flabbergasted and unable to make appropriate sentences. But now there were not “Ughs” or “Ums”, but rather an eloquent, teasing young woman who now stood in her place. Admittedly that was a shocking change but one that she was altogether pleased had come about. But for all of her confidence and smooth talk -- it was clear that this other girl was a reflection of the former Agnes, not the later.

Her brow arched at her comment. Still people named “Agnes”? She gave the other a firm “Are you serious?” look but said nothing as by the time started to breathe out words, a rapid apology tumbled out from the girl’s mouth. Interesting.

Her lips twitched, partially into a smile (more a confused grin) as the girl continued to bury herself deeper into that hole. Shaking her head softy, she held up her hand. She wasn’t all that cruel after all.

”Wow. It’s...okay...we’ll both skip over that last comment,” she smirked.

Admittedly this was an interesting turn of events but that didn’t mean she didn’t want her pencil back. She still had some monumental decisions to make and the one item she needed to help make those decisions was currently being held hostage by a cute, distracting girl. Okay, she had to focus. Her mind wanted to be anywhere but focused on what she needed to be doing. Still, it wasn’t as if she could just ignore the other girl.

However, when she requested her writing tool back, she was denied as the other girl seemed suspicious as to exactly how it would be used -- considering the fact that she was part of the universe as well. That also happened to be how Agnes received the girl’s name. Nessa. Honestly she wanted snap back with her own witty retort but couldn’t quite think of something in time.

So, instead, she merely pushed past that minor annoyance and placed a hand on her jutted out hip.

”Well Nessa, if that is your real name,” she eyed her in a playfully suspicious way. ”That there you’re holding is helping to decide the outcome of my universe. Powered with lists, ideas, and really badly sketched vampire heroines.” She snorted and sighed. ”So it should be safe enough to assume that you’ll be fine, so long as you’re not central part of my universe, after all.”

Vanessa was accustomed to shoving her whole metaphorical foot in her mouth on a good day, and talking to cute cis girls did little to save her from herself. Girls were just so gosh damn pretty, and talking to them was distracting because she was mentally playing the game of whether she was more attracted to her or whether she wanted to look like her.

This girl was in the both camp, she decided.

Fortunately, Agnes chose to show mercy on the thoughtless comment. Nessa was so thankful, she barely noticed she had called this stranger pretty. Skipping past that comment let Nessa change the pace of things by antagonizing in her own light-hearted way.

To Agnes’s credit, she did not grumpily demand her pencil. The insect girl even chose to play along. ”It is,” she rebutted when she felt Agnes’s accusatory gaze, before realizing she had to technically clarify, ”Well, Vanessa. Both count.”

Apparently, Agnes was trying to decide her own faith with a notebook. Quite an undertaking, particularly if she was getting distracted with vampiress doodles. She had to grin at that; how could she ignore that?

Handing the pencil over with a heavy sigh, Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. ”Shame I’m not then,” she answered without thinking. And then noticing that sounded suspiciously like flirting. ”Because then you could just solve all my big existential questions with your notebook. Heaven knows I’ve got enough these days. Or at least I’d possibly get to sneak a peek at what I’m sure is some wholesome, well-drawn vampires.” If only her notebook had been the thing to drop. Not that Nessa would have snooped, but… well, if it had fallen open, no one would have blamed her for a peek.

Nessa was short for Vanessa. Clearly the other girl had already lied to her by offering a false identity. Yes it was only for fractions of a second but it was enough but it was still enough of an infraction to earn the insect queen’s suspicion. Not really, but it was fun to think about.

Accusations aside, she at least had a full name to go with the face. Nessa was cute, not that Agnes was really thinking about that. It was just an observation that popped into her head without provocation. Instead she pressed on with the reason that she needed her pencil back, explaining the properties that it had in relation to deciding the fate of her own universe.

It was perfectly reasoned why she needed her pencil back: to complete her vampire heroine drawing -- or, rather, finish her list of next steps. Ugh, she really didn’t want to work on that list anymore as it hurt her head to trying and figure out what she wanted to do with her life. However, she couldn’t put it off any longer. She put it off long enough and now she needed to make some decisions.

Decisions that, frankly, couldn’t be made until she was given back her pencil.

With a sigh the pencil was handed back over to her. Her property returned, Agnes felt like grumbling. Yeah she wanted it back, but she didn’t really either. It was complicated. Either way, she was grateful for the return of her pencil and gently tucked it into the pocket of her leather jacket. Little troublemaker needed to be grounded in there for trying to escape, totally not because she didn’t want to work on her list.

She snorted as she playfully pulled the notebook behind her back, keeping it firmly held in both her hands. The reality was that while she described a robust and skilling drawn picture of a busty vampire woman with a low cut top, the truth was that it was little more than a stick figure with very round circles in place of the breasts. She didn’t know why she drew it. Her mind had been wandering, that was all.

”Well, then, I guess we’ll never know what you thought about my ‘well-drawn vampire’,” she smirked.

The girl’s voice had a familiar tinge to it. The sound of someone who didn’t know what the future held and had questions that needed answers. That was enough to flare the empathy in the insect queen’s head. That had been one of her more caring qualities that got her in trouble when she was living on the streets. But she was safe enough on the mansion grounds...she assumed.

But she wouldn’t outright ask Nessa anything yet. She didn’t want to just presume that the other felt open enough to talk about it. Instead she just pressed on with simpler questions.

”Are you new to Xavier’s?” she asked, gesturing to the school that was in the distance behind her. ”Or visiting family?”

Despite Nessa’s interest, Agnes selfishly hid away her personal journal behind her back. It was absolutely her right and it was Vanessa’s right to pout. ”I just met you and you’re withholding vampire goodness from me.” She tisked her tongue a few times. ”Not off to a great start, Agnes. If that is YOUR real name,” she retorted teasingly.

Stubbornness aside, Agnes had what she came for and could return to her lofty perch if she wanted. Despite that, she turned the lens of the conversation around on Vanessa. Fair was fair. ”Newish. Got here a week or two. The Mansion seemed like a good place to figure out where I go from here.” She did not foresee the Mansion as a permanent solution, but it was a good place to get her feet under her as a mutant and a woman displaced in time.

Which Nessa debated and ultimately decided was harmless to share. It was not like the de-aging problem was a secret, right? ”I’m in this sort of weird position. I have a life I can jump back into, but it doesn’t feel like my life. It’s like… an older, better me’s life. Just a lot to process, ya know?”

Agnes arched her brow. She then smirked and shook her head. ”Of course it’s my real name. Who would willingly name themselves Agnes?” she grinned. She knew the flack that her name earned her over the years. it was easy to make fun of because it was so old-sounding that no one had that name anymore. But she wasn’t just anyone. If anything the name made her unique now.

But that was enough of that. It was time for some introductions. While initially she had wanted the alone time to think about what she wanted to do for the future, now she was willing to accept a distraction -- especially one as pretty as Nessa. Not that Agnes was looking to hook up or anything, but it was nice to be surrounded by pretty things. It helps to ease any anxieties she may have about the future.

Nessa revealed that she was fairly new to the mansion, a week or two. She came here because she needed to figure out what to do next. Where did that sound familiar from? As she began to delve further into that thought, the words and descriptions she was using sounded so very very familiar. Odd position? Jumping back into her life? A future self? It felt like a bolt of lightning lit up the corners of her mind. This did sound familiar -- because it was what she was going through herself.

Agnes didn’t want to just outright ask Nessa about being deaged but it was kind of hard to ignore. She had met a couple of students at the mansion who were going through that, some of them having more drastic changes than others. Agnes herself lost about 7 years (give or take). She wondered how much time Nessa had lost?

As she contemplated this, her eyes narrowed as she watched Nessa closely. Slowly she began to move off to a nearby tree, stopping and leaning against it as she looked her over. A crack of a smile formed on her lips as she spoke.

”Yeah, I can…relate,” she replied. If Nessa wanted to continue talking about it, Agnes would reveal more, but she wasn’t going to dig uninvited. ”Well...welcome to Xavier’s. I hope the school can help...process...and figure out what to do next. Do you have a list?” she asked, briefly gesturing to her notebook in her hand. ”Because I have a list. Not that it’s much help.”

Agnes had a good point; if you were going to pick an alias, you would want to pick something believable, or at least fashionable. When Nessa picked her name, she put days of time into the selection, considering fictional characters and searching for name meanings. Ultimately, she settled on a name with no meaning she just happened to like. Some poet had a thing for a girl named Esther whose last name started with Van. It was a silly fact, but she liked that her name was made by a poet to pine after some girl. Not enough of a reason to name herself Esther, but definitely a nifty Vanessa fact.

The insect girl started to move away, but even she was interested in this shared experience they were dancing around. She all but confirmed that they were both dealing with the same de-aged experience. That made Nessa smile, surprised at the relief she felt actually talking to someone else in the same boat. There were others at the Mansion in her position, but Agnes was the one she stumbled into. "Well, nice to relate, right?"

It was a little late for the welcome wagon, but Nessa was not going to turn down a warm welcome from Agnes. She asked about Nessa's process and whether or not she had a list she was jotting ideas down in. The notion made Nessa chuckle. "I'm not actually the list-making type. I've been alternating between confronting my own existence in bed at night and watching videos of older me, which is its own kind of existential crisis." Sure, it was cool that she got hotter, but really, how did you live up to your own online legacy?

Maybe that was why she was holding off on her return to The POW Block Party. "Today, I guess I'm giving a cliche soul-searching walk a try." This conversation made her realize that was what this was. Looking at the pretty black-haired girl, Nessa took a chance. "Any chance you want to join me? Or should I leave you with your all-important notebook I suspect is filled with lists?"

It didn’t take Nessa long to confirm Agnes’ suspicions. She was a deaged as well. It seemed that while she didn’t take the list approach that Agnes did, she found her own methods of dealing with this trauma. Mainly deciding between staring into the darkness from her bed or watching videos of her older self that she was missing out on. Agnes did wonder why she would have videos of herself, but she would rather ask about that later.

Still the comment made her snort a little. She definitely understood that pain. Sadly she didn’t have videos of an older self to turn to. Apparently Miss Grey knew who she was (intimately) but she didn’t share many photos and apparently there were no videos. Understandable. Whomever she had grown up to be, she doubted that filming herself was going to be a major aspect of her life. That seemed like a thing someone with more confidence would do.

Then again, she couldn’t help the confidence she was currently having. But that was besides the point. Point was, she seemed to have much less to go on so she had to turn to lists as opposed to anything else. But to each their own. Nessa had her way and Agnes had hers.

”That does sound crisis-y,” she smirked a little. ”I mean, for me, the worst part was the last thing I remembered was going on this amazing date with a really cute girl and then, boom, I wake up in an alley and she’s now in her thirties and married to someone else. Apparently we had drifted apart,” she shrugged. ”Seems there’s plenty of existential crises to go around.”

Chuckling she stepped away from her tree, holding her notebook in her hands and trying to decide what to do next. She was glad to have the conversation with someone else. She knew that there were others in the mansion who were dealing with this mess, but she didn’t actively seek them out. To find someone who was willing to freely talk about it meant a lot to her. Already she could feel the knot undoing itself in her chest.

That was why, when Nessa invited her to partake in a walk in the woods that she agreed. Her sapphire eyes caught the other and she nodded her head with a broad smile. ”Yeah,” she said, turning to walk towards the woods, offering her space to join her at her side. ”Let’s feed our souls, shall we?”

Making a list seemed unnecessary to Vanessa because realistically, her options were clear. She had her dream job waiting for her. Gian let her know she was welcome back to The POW Block Party when she was ready. It was an easy choice, or it would be if it did not give Nessa a boatload of anxiety.

It was easier to wander around the Mansion and the grounds nearby. She was not in front of thousands of people here; just a cute girl with wings. A queer girl, evidently, based on the date she missed out on. That knowledge tied a little knot in Nessa’s stomach. ”That’s a bummer, really. I have two exes but I was focusing on… my own things. Self-betterment.” Hormones. Getting comfortable in her skin. Chloe helped Nessa figure herself out, but things ended normally and Nessa wanted to get comfortable as a girl before bringing a new girl into her life. ”But yeah, normal life, woke up in a convention hall bathroom. I feel that.”

The struggle to live in a world that had moved on from them was worth taking time to understand. Walking together could help them, or could at least be an escape from the existential crisis. They met each other’s eyes and Nessa may have checked into what was on Agnes’s mind. Agnes knew she was a mutant, given where they met; at that point, it was kind of on her to not ask about the mutation yet.

”Let’s go. I appreciate the company,” she admitted, falling in stride with Agnes at her side. ”So what are some of the plans on your list? Have you been told what you did the first time?” Doing something new was always an option, but it made sense to at least consider what they did the first time before their resets.

Yeah, they were definitely in similar boats. Agnes listened intently as Nessa explained her own situation. For her she was found in the bathroom of a convention center, having lost several years and a couple of exes now. Truly that was a tragedy and one that Agnes knew only too well. To suddenly blink and be told you had missed out on several years as the entire world moved on without you? That was a hard pill to swallow, but one that Agnes was now forced to do.

”Wow, that’s harsh,” she said with a sigh. She wouldn’t go into the whole “I was forcefully exorcised and tortured by my own parents” schtick. There was no need to and she didn’t want it to be misinterpreted as her trying to one-up Nessa. After all, her parents were dead and locked-up. That’s all that mattered to her now. The less thought she gave to them, the better. ”At least you’re in the right place. Xavier’s should be able to help.”

But that was enough lamenting. Nessa was out here on a walk. When a pretty girl asks you on a walk, the only conceivable answer you can give is a resounding “yes”. So, stepping away from the tree, she nodded as she proceeded to head off towards the thicket of trees, Nessa at her side. They could both certainly use the company right now.

The grass bent underfoot, causing a scent of chlorophyll to cloud the air. That added with the rustling leaves and the cool breeze that wafted through felt so absolutely rejuvenating. Agnes breathed it in and smiled deeply. This really felt good. Movement out of the corner of her eye pulled her attention to Nessa. She smirked as she turned her attention back to the extensive woods in front of them. Who knew something like this existed in New York City of all places?

To fill the empty space, Nessa inquired a bit further about Agnes. Namely, what was on her list and if she had any clue what she had been doing before all this happened. She hummed for a second before she nodded.

”I was told a little. Apparently I graduated and went to music school. It had been my lifelong dream,” she said with a little shrug. ”I guess I made it as a violinist for the New York Philharmonic. And then…” she sighed and shrugged. ”Guess I dropped out. Teacher’s say that I left it. No reason why. Just that I fell out of life and they lost track of me for a couple years after that. So…” she shrugged. ”...that was disappointing to hear.”

She cracked another smile. She couldn’t believe that she had given up on her dream but this wasn’t her time. There had to be a little trust offered if she were going to make it in this world.

”As for the list...I dunno. Just some random ideas. I’m still trying to figure out what to do next. It’s like of a bitter pill to hear that I achieved my dream only to give it up after a couple of years. So, you know, deciding if I want to go back to music school or pursue something else.” After taking a breath, she nodded back to her. ”And you? Who was ‘Nessa’ before she deaged? Globetrotting superstar? Singer songwriter? International femme fatale?” she grinned.

Dealing with the same issues, Nessa felt like Agnes’s opinions mattered. Knowing the blue-eyed girl vouched for the Mansion assured Nessa the right decision was made. ”Thanks. I wasn’t sure at first, really. I wasn’t out as a mutant before I woke up. Apparently, I’m… like, really out now. So I’m getting used to being with other mutants.”

The private nature reserve behind the Mansion was serene. The sounds of nature kept Nessa at ease as she and Agnes caught up on each other’s journeys.

After finding out she was a semi-famous internet personality, Nessa was cautious about bringing it up. It felt like bragging. It felt significantly less like bragging when Agnes was a violinist in the New York Philharmonic. ”Are you kidding? That’s insane! So cool!” Realizing she was being a little too enthusiastic with something Agnes was clearly disappointed by, she awkwardly backtracked to an explanation. ”I mean, the ending sucks, but who knows what happened to that Agnes’s life? Could have been anything. At least you know you have that kind of amazing talent in you.”

The coin was flipped to Nessa, which was fair. It also meant those concerns about bragging were coming back. ”Let’s turn Superstar all the way down to ‘internet famous gaming personality’ and you’ve nailed it. Can’t confirm or deny the femme fatale thing, though. Gotta keep some mystery,” she joked, hoping that sounded as cool as she hoped it did. ”The production company I was with is willing to take me back. I’ll probably go back. It’s just… I guess it’s weird feeling like I have to live up to expectations set by a woman I didn’t know who ran around getting sorta famous with my name.”