Zizi’s uber driver pulled into the roundabout in front of the mansion. His car smelled like lemons and his voice was scratchy like he’d had too many Marlboros like her Ipa, but there were no ashes on his seats or smoke anywhere. Just the strong scent of artificial lemons, probably Febreeze.

“Isn’t this establishment so neat looking? This place helped my cousin out and now he’s a doctor in Rio de Janeiro.” He spoke with such pride about his cousin but hadn’t really talked much to her the whole ride. Zizi hadn’t spoken to him either, but he was nice enough of a guy that she didn’t feel uncomfortable around him. He didn’t play any music on the ride up, which allowed her to absorb the sights from the airport to the Mansion. New York seemed just as busy as California, but it had a totally different feel to it.

“Hope to see you out in the world one day, making it a better place, miss.” He got up out of the Sedona, and walked around to open up the door for her.

She gave him a polite smile as she exited, despite being all nerves and a lot homesick inside. He also got out her suitcase from the back seat. Zizi stood in her spot, however, staring at the Mansion’s cobblestone walls with what looked like plants growing up along the exterior. That was new. She heard lawn mowers in the distance and laughter from an open window on the second floor. Her older brothers would have been so jealous had they seen that this was where she was going to live, but neither of them could come to drop her off. Apa and Ima wanted to, but she and her brothers convinced them that they were too old to make the trans-continental, domestic flight by themselves. This was her first trip on her own, and Zizi didn’t really know how to feel. She hoped to see her family in the flesh again, soon.

The uber driver noticed her pause and walked in front of her carrying her suitcase. Zizi followed. He opened the door, dropped the suitcase on a carpet in front of the entrance, and gestured for her to come inside. He obviously was familiar with this place.

“Go on.” The driver said.

Zizi looked inside to see a flurry of warm bodies moving through the halls, up and down the stairs, some giving her glances, while others kept walking. They must have been changing classes. Zizi had almost forgotten that it was a Friday morning and school was going on. Flights normally messed with her sense of time.

“You’re pretty good at your job.” Zizi mentioned to her driver. He pretended to lift his hat to her as a goodbye. His heat signature disappeared behind the Mansion doors and Zizi was left with a whole mansion to know and her loneliness.

Just remember, Zizi. This is the beginning of something great. Ima would say that God never gives us anything we can’t handle.

She breathed in deeply, letting the warmth of the room soak into her skin, as she waited to see which of the warm bodies in the room would come and greet her.

”It wasn’t too bad.” Sam said shrugging and patting the kid on the back, ” barely even burned me this time.” the icemancer said showing his arm which was still covered in soot. ”Just try not to set your room on fire again.” Sam said smirking. ”See you tomorrow kid.” Sam stopped in front of the door. His thermal sense still making sure to counter Nathan’s powers until he was out of range.

”You must be the new student.” he said looking at the bags next to her. Sam was late. He was hoping she wasn’t waiting long. It was hard to end a lesson when the student was on fire. Sam smirked and offered for a handshake. ”Jordan right?” trying to remember the last name. ”I’m Sam, I was the one who talked to your grandparents.” he waited for a moment then waved her to follow. ”Let’s just grab some stuff from my office and we can get you settled in here!”

”How was the flight?” Sam asked trying to recall everything from the conversation her grandparents as he walked to his office which was a few rooms down the hall. The placard on the wall next to his office door gave his full name and jobs he held in the mansion along with his officemates info.

Pushing the door open with purpose he walked over to his desk and removed a pen and a clipboard.

Zizi waited long enough at the entrance to begin having second thoughts. She sat on her suitcase, which was filled primarily with clothes, all short sleeves and short skirts or shorts since she’d lost the need to wear layers since her mutation activated.

She’d only waited for about five minutes, but after seeing so many others around her, who she knew were mutants as well, she began to question whether she’d like being around others like her. Would they be chill? Or would they talk about powers all the time and turn it into a competition? The people she met would probably be a mixed bag and she wouldn’t get her answers til later.

In all her worrying, she began to crave something fried, salty and unhealthy. Fried chicken. A cheeseburger with fries. Foods she’d normally avoid. Then she remembered how she barely had any breakfast and the flight only gave her some saltines to snack on.

The sudden cool air that entered the room took Zizi’s mind off of her hunger for a moment. She saw the cool air before she felt it, and it normally wouldn’t strike her as strange, but the air seemed to be moving as if it were controlled. Soon enough, a man with a darker shade of blue around him emerged from a door and walked over to greet her.

Zizi extended a hand to shake his, though his was huge and hers was tiny. His handshake was cold. Coool.

>>”Jordan right?”

Zizi nodded.

>>”I’m Sam, I was the one who talked to your grandparents.” he waited for a moment then waved her to follow. ”Let’s just grab some stuff from my office and we can get you settled in here!”

Zizi picked up her suitcase and followed Sam. Zizi vaguely remembered overhearing Sam talk with her grandparents, but she was a little too shy to introduce herself by phone.

>>“How was the flight?”

Zizi waited until they arrived at his office door to answer.

“Smooth. I didn’t get much to eat though.” Zizi said as she popped into his office and plopped down onto the guest chair. Paperwork? Yuck

”That would be a problem. Told your Grandparents we got everything you need here. Food included. We can get you something on the way to your new room. They buy the thick cut bacon that’s.... its good.” he said with a little nod and a thumbs up. His stomach growled at the thought of the bacon then looked back to her paperwork. Most of the stuff was just basic information but he squinted at her first name.

Trying to pronounce it in his head before looking to her with his lone eye, ”Alright, I’m probably going to butcher your name at least once. So get ready for it.” he gave a dramatic pause, ”Aziala” it almost sounded like Azula to him. Looking up with a smirk, ”That’s my one.” he said apologetically waiting for her to correct him.

”Alright, I can walk and write. My cold going to be an issue for you?” he asked turning down the area affected by his powers to just around him so he could see anything incoming. ”I kind of use it to help see.” he said waving a hand near his patched eye.

”You do something similar from my understanding.” then held up the clipboard. ”Most of this stuff on here is just questions about you and your powers and any goals you have with them. It’s more for the staff so we get to know you better.” Sam waved her to follow again after grabbing a key from his desk.

”So tell me a little bit about yourself. Hobbies? Favorite classes? Any allergies we need to know about?” he asked making a b-line to the kitchen.

Zizi almost salivated at the mention of thick cut bacon. Then at hearing about her room, her ears perked up even more. What was it going to look like? Would she have cool hallmates? Did they also like bacon? Everyone likes bacon.

"You can call me Zizi." She said, not telling him if he got her name right or wrong and not showing any irk to his mispronounciation. It happened all the time.

>>"Alright, I can walk and write. My cold going to be an issue for you? I kind of use it to help see.”

"I think it's cool... No pun intended." Zizi watched as the cold around him shrunk to just the area surrounding him, and she gave herself a mental pat on the back for realizing it was him earlier. She wanted to ask how he lost his eye, but he kept talking and she was hungry and walking through the hallways had a lot for her to pay attention to. The mansion's wooden decoration, various plants, fancy lights, all of it made her feel comfy.

Sam held the clipboard with her powers, and she was curious about the questions regarding them. But then, he kept asking other questions. Zizi then got distracted by the cloud of cold around Sam and wondered if she could try something.

She put her hand into the blueish heat signature that was Sam's mutation. Her own hand turned slightly blue as the heat began to seep out of her. She focused on her breathing and inhaled, the cold turned a darker purple while her hands grew slightly brighter. So I can pull heat out of something cold!

"Uh. P.E. I guess. I do flips for fun. And I'm allergic to brussel sprouts. Whoever ain't allergic to them is lyin'." The smell of food as they journeyed to the kitchen washed away any fatigue that may have shown on her face.

”Nope, we love puns here.” he laughed more upset she took his best joke. That was fine he could use his rainy day puns later. All of them were either sight related or ice related. Either way someone in this conversation was going to laugh.

She reached out and he blinked with his one eye and almost took a step back it was decent practice to back up when a new stranger to the mansion aimed a hand at you. He had an idea of what she could do but still was ready for everything.

Sam watched her hand change colors and felt the difference in temperature from her hand and then around him. Could she magnify his powers? He looked around his cold area and then wrote several question marks around her powers. There would be a lot more questions. Hopefully she had a handle on it. There would be more time for that after but first... bacon!

The icemancer’s stomach growled as they approached the kitchen knowing what it was going to get, a full stomach and clogged arteries. He’d add that to the stuff DocProf needed to fix up later. ”Not a fan of the sprouts.” he agreed. He wasn’t allergic but the smell usually killed the smell of anything else.

Sam pointed to the stool, ”Have a seat!” he set the clipboard down and went to the fridge and pulled out the large package of thick cut bacon. If anyone ever wanted to get Sam’s attention bacon was the best way now that he had been sober.

”P.E. huh?” he asked pulling the skillet out twirling it in his hand and setting it down on the closest burner kicking the thing on. ”Flips? Nice, Think you’ll fit in just fine here!” he said smirking, ”Gotta make sure you enroll in the self-defense classes though. An elective but that’s my subject!” he smirked.

The bacon went on with a loud sizzle. ”How hungry are you?” people would talk about balanced diets but Sam made do with less before. That and Bacon was the only food group he loved

>>”Have a seat!”

Zizi slid her hand across the granite tabletop and sat on a swirly stool. She spun around, taking note of the huge refrigerator and other various electronic appliances, each with their own temperature reading. It was three times as big as her kitchen at her grandparents house. She realized it would be a while until she would watch her Ima whip up a casserole stuff it in the oven.

>>”Gotta make sure you enroll in the self-defense classes though. An elective but that’s my subject!” he smirked.

“Y’all teach self-defense here?!” Zizi beamed as her head grew warmer, as she soaked in the smell and the heat rising from the pan of bacon.

“So like... what kind of arts do you teach? My Apa practically raised me in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu.” She got off her stool and began to wander the kitchen. She could help with preparing something too. Her Ima’s voice nagged in her head, from the many times she entered her kitchen standing idly.

She looked in the refrigerator and took out a carton of eggs, along with some whole milk. A basic breakfast for lunch would be super sweet. She then took a banana and orange that was sitting on the counter for herself.

>>”How hungry are you?” Sam asked, and Zizi looked slightly embarrassed as she turned to him, realizing she got a little carried away.

“Um… am I taking too much?” The way Sam had low-key brought them to the kitchen for bacon had made her feel comfortable way too quickly. “My Ima taught me to make bomb scrambled eggs and grits.”

”Y’all?” he smirked raising an eyebrow and giving her a smirk. ”Yeah, we teach it. Two of us teaching it right now actually. Serena and I.” he said beaming with pride. She kicked his butt when he was younger, she had Sam’s full support teaching the subject. Well Serena had it before but now he got to brag about how good she was.

The icemancer ran through everything he knew about her from the conversation he had with her grandparents and recalled her grandfather mentioning something along those lines. ”Haven’t run into that particular style too much, maybe you can teach me a little.” he gave her a thumbs up always looking to expand his knowledge of martial arts. The only thing Sam thought he did well... well that and drinking. But he didn’t drink anymore.

[colorD1CC]”While I can’t say what Serena’s is geared towards at the moment, my style takes what I learned over my life. Heavy influences are from Kung fu, Tae kown doe and then sprinkle in a little JuJitsu. I’m kinda a jack of all trades master of none.”[/color] he said shrugging. ”I found what works for me and I kinda tweak my lessons on the person I teach.” he said looking down at the bacon.

Sam’s mouth started to water at the smell of the bacon, ”I also help out with power control sessions.” he said looking up, ”Once I get an understanding of your powers that is.” he smiled.

She grabbed a carton of eggs and some milk along with some fruit. Sam wasn’t as hungry for the fruit but he had no problem with scarfing a few eggs. ”Some would argue not enough. This is your home as long as you want it to be and that means unless there is a name on the food it’s fair game.” he said knowing full well some people didn’t respect that rule, however Sam wasn’t going to mention Carrick by name.

The icemancer smirked, ”Bomb scrambled eggs?” he asked raising an eyebrow and icing over his fingers to flip the bacon. The heat wafted upwards filling the room more with the smell. ”Well you better make enough for two then. Never had it and I’m curious now.”

Sam opened one of the cupboards to reveal more cooking skillets and pans. ”Silverware is to your left and there is a spatula on your right.” he nodded his head not taking his eyes off the bacon.

"This Serena... Is she pretty?" Zizi said as looked for a bowl and a whisk before cracking some eggs into it. She then scanned the spice rack for some paprika and cayenne pepper.

>>”Haven’t run into that particular style too much, maybe you can teach me a little.” Sam gave her a thumbs up and. He also seemed to grow warmer, smiling every so often and treating her like she was already part of the family. He was almost dad-like, definitely softer than her grandpa, who was as stoic as a statue and only alive when he was correcting her fighting stance. She nodded at his request.

"I've sparred with a few outside my art, but I'd be up for a session or two." Zizi was tempted to downplay her abilities, but she also knew that she had a lot more to learn.

>>”I also help out with power control sessions.” he said looking up, ”Once I get an understanding of your powers that is.” he smiled.

Zizi began whisking the eggs ecstatically. “Really? You’re in charge of that?” Some of the eggs spilled over, but she quickly got a paper towel to clean it up. Since she was in the kitchen, this would be the perfect place to show off some of her powers. She’d been practicing since they’d manifest, even though her Ima told her not to try anything crazy until she went to scool.

>> ”Well you better make enough for two then. Never had it and I’m curious now.” Sam said, sounding curious.

“Hope you can handle the heat.” She said, as she went to the cupboard Sam opened and picked a spatula and another skillet before putting it on the stovetop. She then turned on two burners, one to place the skillet on and the other an open flame.

“So, my Ima told me not to try anything crazy with my powers, but it really helps in the kitchen.” She hovered her hand over the open flame and took two deep breaths. The flames died down twice as her hand absorbed the heat. Then she placed her hand on the skillet and exhaled slowly, warming it up enough so that it turned almost the same color as the flame below. She still had extra heat in her hand, which she used to heat up the oil in its glass bottle before pouring it in the pan. The process may have looked seamless from afar, but Zizi was using all her concentration to perform the task and her heart was beating fast, not wanting to mess up.

She then poured in the scrambled eggs and let it cook, stirring here and then. She also placed her hand on the bottom of the pan occasionally to absorb some heat from it and the eggs so they wouldn’t overcook. When finished, she placed the fluffy, spicy eggs on two plates. As she held the two finished plates to show Sam, she exhaled in relief. The eggs then browned and crisped, as she had forgotten how much heat she had stored while in the kitchen and how it all went into the eggs.

“Crap! Nooo!!” She closed her eyes and placed the plates down. “I was so close!”

”.... Yep.” he said not thinking much more of it. While his younger self didn’t know her the Sam now had known her as a student and then a friend for years meaning he had no interest in ruining the relationship they had before he de-aged. Sam imagined her more of the sister he never had than anything. Now that he was back to his usual age however he had been avoiding her like the plague than simply apologizing for being teen in heat.

”Please. I find out you can teach me, it will be more than just a session or two. It’s how I get better as a teacher and give the students a more rounded education. There are flaws in all the styles I’ve learned which is why I focus on tweaking them constantly.” he said confidently. It was something he was trained to do since he was five. Eat, sleep, train, mission repeat.

”One of.” he agreed, it was more whoever could help at the time. Sam right now had more time to himself than most. The only kid he had to worry about now was Eve and she could take care of herself for the most part.

The bacon was removed and relocated to a plate once it was fully cooked. Crispy. The way it should be. Putting more uncooked bacon on to his skillet he watched with his one eye and thermal senses as she transferred heat from one source to another. Did she just transfer heat or could she generate it as well?

Keeping his thoughts and questions to himself for the moment he turned so he could see more without turning his head. She showed off the finished product as he finished the second and final round of bacon. ”Bomb Scrambled Eggs?” he asked when the eggs suddenly browned and turned crispy. Not the way he preferred his eggs.

”So you’re like a battery for heat?” he asked biting into one of his bacon slices. ”Impressive control.” he said smirking. He almost had the eggs before they turned. Sam offered the bacon to her. ”How about I cook the eggs and you enjoy some of the food. You can tell me what to add and when.” he offered biting into his bacon some more.

Zizi placed the plate of burnt eggs on the counter and tried a piece. Then she spat it back out. Blegh!

“I’ll teach you if you teach me.” She said, her frown all droopy and disappointed.

>“So you’re like a battery for heat?” he asked biting into one of his bacon slices. "Impressive control.”

That was a fun way to put it. “Guess you can say that. I think. I’m not sure yet what else I can do.” Zizi took a piece of bacon and crunched on it. The salty, fatty, piece danced in her mouth and made her hungry brain go crazy. She grabbed another piece. Then another.

>>”How about I cook the eggs and you enjoy some of the food. You can tell me what to add and when.” he offered biting into his bacon some more.

“Paprika, a little cumin. Chili powder. That's the good stuff.” She said as she scoured the kitchen for hot sauce.

“Say, Sam. Who’d you say’s the strongest student here?” She asked, hearing the sound of footsteps in the hallway and seeing other warm bodies walk past.

“Y’all don’t have a leaderboard or anything, do you?”

The icemancer smirked, ”I work with kids all day, I excel at making it simple.” he summed up as he traded places with her scrapping the burnt eggs into the sink. While Sam wasn’t the most ‘emotionally connected’ teacher in the school he had his own strengths and there was enough teachers in touch with their emotions to pick up where he fell short.

”It sounds a bit silly when I say it out loud but I’m limited by imagination.” he said grinning and placing the freshly cleaned skillet on the stove top. Ice formed on his torso as it grabbed the oil she had used earlier while his normal hands went to cracking the eggs.

”The heat” he agreed smirking to Zizi. When he was in the woods he often carried a few of the spices with him to give anything a bit more flavor. Try eating freshly fired trout plain... it was impossible. His ice hand set down the oil and he closed the carton of eggs after there were some in the pan.

”Say Zizi, no. We don’t.” he said grabbing the bacon remembering when he was on his ‘leaderboard’ all it did was put a target on his back and he was glad the masnion wasn’t like that. He grabbed a piece of bacon and waved off the ice hand which disolved before it hit the ground.

”Most of the kids here have enough on their plate than worrying about who is the strongest.” he pointed to some of the soot still on his arm, ”In fact Nathan erupts into flames whenever he gets nervous about something and in turn makes it worse. You add Ego into the mix and well...” he gestured upwards in a shrug, ”Our insurance for the school is already through the roof. Last thing the kids need is a ‘Who is strongest.’ Yourself included.”

”I grew up in a place like that and when you add powers into the mix it’s more dangerous than anything and I never want to be apart of a system like that again.” he said biting into his bacon ‘feeling’ for the eggs with his thermal sense. ”Now, if you are talking just brute strength there is a ten year old that can bench press a School bus.”

”You looking for goals to better yourself or just someone to surpass?” he asked curiously finally turning away from her and her ‘bomb’ spices to the eggs.

As Zizi listened, her bacon eating speed picked up speed as her interest grew and grew. A kid who burst into flames? She’d love to meet this Nathan kid. A ten year old with super strength? Zizi wondered how much that one had to eat to maintain that strength.

She had noticed Sam’s tone change as he spoke about the other kids. It must have been tough to have powers that were wild. She knew how scary it was for everything to change after gaining her powers, Her powers seemed pretty tame in comparison, but nevertheless she wanted to know more about her peers. That would come in time, she guessed.

“Sorry to bring it up. All I know is competition.” Zizi said, realizing she didn’t really understand where sam was coming from. He must have had some past, and she wasn’t one to pry. His eyepatch said enough. The way he maneuvered his ice hand while cooking looked almost effortless. One day she’d get there.

All her gymnastics medals and competition trophies all seemed like dust now that she was here, though. Without those to guide her, she kinda seemed lost.

“Not sure how any of this works, really. Like, if we’re not trained to be strong here… what’s the point?” She walked over to pour herself a glass of orange juice and sucked some heat out of it, before offering it to Sam. She herself cared less about whether things were cold or hot now, but she offered it as a kind of peace offering. An OJ flavored chill pill.

“I won’t start fights for nothin’. But, I won’t hold back if something needs to be done.”

Sam found it erie how similar ZiZi was to him when he was a kid. He had to be the best at everything, otherwise at was the point, now he was just glad with where he was, doing what he loved. Teaching something that kept him alive often.

”No, it’s alright.” he said stirring a few of the eggs as they started to solidify. He added the spices. ”Competition is fine, what drove me most of my life.” he said lifting the skillet and stirring. ”I excelled with it, only reason I learned how to do what I can do. There where kids that I grew up with didn’t.” he didn’t smile. It wasn’t something he remembered fondly they were all dead.

”Kinda why I like this place so much.” he explained feeling her move behind him. ”This is a safe place for kids that can’t control their powers. They need help learning and controlling what they can do. This place tries to give them a ‘normal’ life where they are safe and they don't have to worry about hurting anyone, they can learn to control so one day they can lead a normal life.”

The eggs looked golden and he pulled the skillet off and divvied out the eggs on her plate and took a little for himself stealing another piece of bacon. ”And that’s okay too.” he said grabbing the OJ from her and giving a cheers. ”Now if you need goals I got no problem setting some for you.” he took a sip of the OJ and placed the skillet in the sink.

”We got the trainee program for the kids that excel with their abilities.” he said setting down his glass and grabbed a fork and dug into the eggs, ”and that want to help. Now there I can tell you who is the strongest.” Sam smirked digging into the eggs grabbing another piece of bacon making sure he got a few pieces before she ate them all. It was bacon....

>>"This is a safe place for kids that can’t control their powers. They need help learning and controlling what they can do. This place tries to give them a ‘normal’ life where they are safe and they don't have to worry about hurting anyone, they can learn to control so one day they can lead a normal life.”

Zizi nodded, imagining all her friends that she left behind. Alexis hadn’t so supportive of her moving away, though she didn’t ask about why. Zizi could tell she was mad, but there was little she could do about it. Besides, she’d probably be happier now that they didn’t have to compete with each other for the best scores in floor exercise. McKenna told her good luck and asked if she’d still call her every so often. Zizi wasn’t sure how much she’d be able to tell her. Jarrick responded like all the other boys did and asked if she was going to learn how to kill people. Zizi told him that their sensei already taught them how to kill, they just weren’t allowed to.

Then there came her parents, who still didn't know what she'd flown out here for. They seemed to be happy that she'd decided to do something different than be influenced by her grandparents. Zizi didn't really get why her parents didn't approve of Ima and Apa when they'd put her and her brothers in their care. Maybe if she did really well here, her parents would visit for once. Just, maybe.

>>"We got the trainee program for the kids that excel with their abilities.” he said, setting down his glass and grabbed a fork and dug into the eggs, ”and that want to help. Now there I can tell you who is the strongest.” Sam smirked.

"My brothers think I'm, like, going to become a superhero. Or something." Zizi said. “Maybe I do want something like that. I don’t really want to be normal. Plus, my Ima tells me God don’t do nothin’ with no reason.” She slurped up the eggs from the plate Sam handed her and blushed, realizing she’d eaten almost all the bacon.

“Whatchu need to get in that trainee program?” She leaned in across the counter, chin propped up on her hand. Maybe that was something she could work towards.

“And I dunno what kinda goals you could set for me, but I’d sure like to hear’em.” Zizi cleaned off her plate and chugged the glass of OJ. It wasn’t very womanlike, she knew, but it was something she’d learned from her older brothers.