It had been... a week. A strange few weeks, actually. Between Kalos and Becca's kidnapping, the change from mutants to magic, and also Iris' newly manifested... extra powers, all Maya could do was keep up and go with the flow. She supported her wife and daughter the best she could, she kept up caring for Iris, and she did her job around the Mansion, now loaded with the tensions of magic being revealed as something that existed in the world. She had to be a strong pillar for the family, and for the school. But it did make her exhausted, most of the time.

It was early in the afternoon, and Iris was down for a nap, so Maya made her way to the kitchen to make herself a large mug of coffee, and scavenge something to eat. She had been living on the former, and often forgot about the latter. It probably showed. As she walked in, wearing sweatpants and a tank top, with her newly short hair messed up, she spotted Sam, who probably had the same idea about food. "Oh, hey. Anything edible left?"

”Not much...” Sam responded to the familiar voice from inside the fridge as he was looking around the somewhat barren fridge. There was plenty to drink but he was already thinking about the fresh pot of coffee that was currently brewing.

It was a school sure, but there were enough adults living at the school most of which worked odd hours and odd jobs. Not to mention a good chunk of them were on the X-team with the icemancer meaning Coffee was always ready.

”Thinking about grilling some of my steaks though if your hungry.” Sam grabbed some OJ out of the fridge and shut it behind him. ”Whoa!” Maya looked tired, like super tired. ”Do something with your hair?” Sam asked trying to play off his reaction.

”You look.... tired? Exhausted?” he asked not sure what else to say. ”Kid keeping you up? Telling ya, Uncle Sam’s just down the hallway tag me in coach.” he smirked, always willing to help a hand when it came to babysitting. It reminded him of his kids that didn’t exist.

Reaching into the nearest drawer he produced the skillet and spun it in his hand before placing it on the stove.

Sam had beaten Maya to the fridge, and was already rummaging around, likely for some food. Maya took a seat at the table to wait her turn.

>>”Not much... Thinking about grilling some of my steaks though if your hungry.”

"I could eat" Maya nodded. She was too tired to tell if she was famished, or not hungry at all. Sam emerged from the fridge, and his reaction to seeing her was very telling.

>>”Whoa! Do something with your hair?”

"I kept forgetting to brush it so I had it cut" Maya shrugged, running a hand through her hair. She knew the style wasn't really the issue here.

>>”You look.... tired? Exhausted? Kid keeping you up? Telling ya, Uncle Sam’s just down the hallway tag me in coach.”

"Yeah it's... toddlers are a lot" Maya admitted, suppressing a yawn. "You can take her any time. But I'm warning you, turns out the kid inherited more from me than we thought..."

”Oh yeah?” Sam asked curiously as dropped some butter into the pan and then rooting around for some garlic. ”We talking gender shifting or that weird thing that kept happening to you and Becca where your skin turned colors and you two grew horns and tails?” Sam might have not been around much during the pregnancy but he was aware of some of the things that was happening to his friend.

”More than I had to deal with...” he said tapping his head a little as he sliced said garlic with an ice knife, ”Sure it was all fabricated but had my hands full when the powers kicked in. Floating kids, pipes freezing.” he said doing his best not to let the conversation affect him. He was there for Maya now and what she needed was a big juicy steak.

”As long as it isn’t like Sveta and her power enhancing I shouldn’t have a problem.” he said grinning and kicking the stove on now that he was pretty well prepared. The steaks were delivered in their own marinade.

Grabbing a mug for the coffee he poured himself a cup and Maya one then slid it on the counter to her. ”You ask Gemma to give you a hand? Maybe you need an adapted nanny till she can get her powers under control. I can start asking around if you want.” he said turning back to the skillet and started to move the butter around till it melted.

>>”Oh yeah? We talking gender shifting or that weird thing that kept happening to you and Becca where your skin turned colors and you two grew horns and tails?”

"Gender shifting." Maya muttered. Except, the kid didn't just shift. She also shifted everyone else. Horns and tails were normal by comparison.

Sam went on talking and cooking. The garlic smelled good. Eventually he also remembered to pour himself a mug of coffee, and make one for Maya too. Much needed.

>>”You ask Gemma to give you a hand? Maybe you need an adapted nanny till she can get her powers under control. I can start asking around if you want.”

"The kid turned Becca into a guy." Maya summarized, taking a gulp of the coffee straight up. "It wears off after an hour like the rest of them, thank god. But yeah, I think anyone who's not an adapted is gonna have to sign some kind of a consent form to babysit her..."

Sam didn’t think it was too bad to have a child that could gender shift, Maya had plenty of practice with it so he didn’t think it was too big a deal. He kept the comment to himself however, figuring that wasn’t what Maya needed to hear at the moment. What she needed was the sound of a meal being cooked.

”Wait... what!?!?” he stopped to look at Maya for confirmation before realizing he was supposed to be cooking. ”A guy? Becca... Seriously?” Sam started to chuckle. ”I’m sorry... but... “ he chuckled to himself a bit more imagining Becca as a guy and his thoughts immediately went to Braveheart. He tried to hide his laughter with a sip off his coffee.

Opening the bag he iced over his hands and pulled two thick steaks from the bag. The smell of heaven wafted out of the bag for a moment as he dropped the meat on the skillet. The sound of steak searing echoed from the pan. ”I’ve dealt with worse.” Sam said shrugging and no longer fighting back from a chuckle. ”Offer still stands.” he said emptying the marinade into the sink before taking care of the bag.

”Kid’s healthy though right?” he asked already knowing the answer. Maya and Becca could handle anything. ”How’d Becca handle the change? Should I call him Beck?” he asked cracking a smile.

Gender shifting by itself would not have come as too much of a surprise. Mutations were often inherited, one way or another, and Maya herself was proof that a shifter and a teleporter could... make a strange kid. Iris, on the other hand, took strange to a whole new level.

>>”Wait... what!?!? A guy? Becca... Seriously? I’m sorry... but... “

"I know" Maya smirked, rolling her eyes. That had been most of her reaction to it at first too.

>>”I’ve dealt with worse. Offer still stands.”

"You just wanna see if you'd be hot as a chick." Maya pointed out, burying her nose in the coffee mug. Sam was a good babysitter. He was also predictable.

>>”Kid’s healthy though right? How’d Becca handle the change? Should I call him Beck?

"Iris is peachy. And Becca's gonna have a large following of women with a Farlander fetish." Maya grinned. Her wife was hot in any shape or form. "And nah, no guy name as of yet. Gender is... a whole other thing now than when Mom was raising me... damn, that steak smells good."

”Look at me.” he said gesturing with one hand as he used the other to flip the steaks adding more garlic. ”First time thinking about that since I heard what you can do. But let’s be realistic, I’d be a babe.” Sam said smirking.

”Noted, no name changes.” he smirked, then shouted in his best Scottish accent (far better than his Russian one from what he was told) ”Freeeeddoooooom!!!!!!” Sam might have cued up the steak to sizzle on the quote.

”Should smell good! Got them from my steak guy.” he said into a mug. ”Got a steak guy now. Things are finally turning up Sam.” he said, ”Well other than the Ninjas attacking Cora.” he said not diving any further into that pit.

”How’s your mom? She still ask about me?” he asked giving Maya a sly grin.

>>”Look at me. First time thinking about that since I heard what you can do. But let’s be realistic, I’d be a babe.”

"I'll let you know next time and you can try" Maya promised. Free babysitting, and she got to see it too.

>>”Freeeeddoooooom!!!!!!”

"Never do that in front of Becca." Maya grinned, appreciating the sizzling for effect. God, she was hungry.

>>”Should smell good! Got them from my steak guy. Well other than the Ninjas attacking Cora. How’s your mom? She still ask about me?”

"Yeah, as a cautionary example." Maya finished her coffee and looked sadly at the mug. "I've been thinking about inviting her over. You've got ninjas... I've got the freaking B*tch Witch. And I promised Becks I wouldn't strangle her."

”I’m not saying I want to. Just saying it won’t stop me from watching your kid.” it was clear his friend needed a little help. Just enough to get a few hours of sleep. That was something he was willing to do whatever happened to him.

”Heard.” he said looking at the steaks and pulling the pan off the stove and putting it into the oven for a moment. He didn’t turn the heat on but knew the meat had to rest so it would cook evenly all the way through. They were getting rare. That’s how the steaks were supposed to be.

”@@@@@ witch?” Sam asked folding his arms. Becks as in Becca.”[/color] he said recalling the nickname. She must be in male form then. ”Sounds like you got a problem. Like babysitting, I’m pretty good with problems.” he said leaning on the counter and reaching for the mug.

”Ninja’s aren’t going anywhere.” he sipped his mug then grabbed the pot to refill for Maya and then himself. ”I might have thinned some numbers during our last fight meaning we got some time before they regroup.”

”This got to do with the magic users? Still don’t know how any of that works.” he said honestly.

>>”@@@@@ witch?... Sounds like you got a problem. Like babysitting, I’m pretty good with problems.”

Maya sighed. Some people around the Mansion already knew what had happened to Becca, even though she had not officially broken the news to the X-team yet. It would have been hard to hide the change with Becca and Kalos both affected.

>>”Ninja’s aren’t going anywhere. I might have thinned some numbers during our last fight meaning we got some time before they regroup.”

Well, at least ninjas were not going to join the party. Witch ninjas. The last thing they needed right about now,
Maya drank some more coffee. It did not seem to be kicking in.

>>”This got to do with the magic users? Still don’t know how any of that works.”

You will.

"It's about Becca's half-sister Aoife" she frowned, clear from the way she said the name what she thought about the woman. "Turns out she runs with the mystic cult people. She kidnapped Kalos and ambushed Becca." she took a deep breath. Apparently she was breaking the news here. "They took their powers. Permanently."

The mug dropped from Sam’s hand. He didn’t know if was from the sheer surprise of the comment or the casual way Maya spoke about it. Sam recovered the mug before it fell freezing the coffee midair and catching it. ”What!?!? Are they alright?” Sam had more questions but stopped himself. It was clear this was the main reason why Maya was tired.

They were alive, that much was clear. Sam would have heard about it otherwise or would have found a trail of bodies leading up to his friend before him. The icemancer chewed his words, his jaw clenching for a few. Becca was attacked. She was a teammate which meant this was an attack on him as well. What made Sam more upset about the situation was what this was doing to his friend. The steaks no longer seemed important.

Turning away Sam place his mug in the microwave with the recently melted coffee. The former assassin pressed a few buttons and waited for the microwave to go off. ”I’m... I’m Sorry Maya.” he pulled the coffee from the microwave and took a sip begrudgingly just to give him a few moments on what to say.

”How are you doing?” he asked. Maybe Maya knew where her sister was? Did they bring her in? Did they even want to bring her in? A mutation was a part of who they were for it to be just snuffed out...

Sam reacted in a way that made it clear he had not heard the news before. Maya... felt tired. She felt exhausted, actually, and unable to muster up the kind of shock Sam was feeling right now. Maybe she was still reeling. Or maybe she was staying strong so Becca didn't have to.

>>”I’m... I’m Sorry Maya... How are you doing?”

Maya felt a lump in her throat. Not many people have asked her that. Which was alright, because she was not the victim of this whole thing. But it felt... touching, that Sam asked. She sipped some coffee to wash the lump away.

"F**ing angry." she said finally. "Those cultist are f*** unhinged. And they have the actual ability to take powers away. Kalos..." she sighed. "Aoife manipulated her into choosing it. Becca... was forced." she frowned in disgust, anger still boiling. "They are both back home now, I got them away from the cult. But I was... too late to stop the rest."

The winter wizard stared not sure what to say. His friend was upset with good reasons. Many reasons. If it was Sam half of the city would have been frozen by now. That was who he was and it would more than likely be the words of Maya or Gawain bringing him back to his senses. So what was he supposed to do in this situation?

The steaks went off with a mental timer and he pulled them from the oven and dropped the two steaks on the individual plates he had gathered during the explanation as to why Maya was angry. All he could do was listen. Sam’s stomach turned, he wasn’t hungry anymore. He was pissed. One of their own had their mutation pulled from their body. Sam couldn’t even imagine what that was like but then they added the kid into the mix.

The air became cold. Sam wasn’t exactly focused on controlling it but as it often was with mutations they were effected by the users' mental status and Sam wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. ”Order up.” he said somberly still thinking of the right words to use in this situation.

After a moment, ”I’d say it’s good you are angry it would give you a focus but...” he trailed off eyeing his steak and finally took a bite, ”You got a lot on your plate now.” there was a joke in there somewhere but he didn’t bother to find it. ”Give me the location you rescued her from and I’ll make sure they will regret targeting any of us.” it was a very clear threat.

They hurt someone close to Sam and as always he’d do anything in his power to make it right. If that meant attacking a group of deranged cultists well... old habits die hard.

The air cooled to a threatening chill around them as Sam digested the news. Maya could tell he was angry. They were all family to him, especially Mirror's family, especially the kids. He probably was not as enraged as her, but he came pretty close. Anger mixed awkwardly with the scent of steaks.

>>”I’d say it’s good you are angry it would give you a focus but... You got a lot on your plate now. Give me the location you rescued her from and I’ll make sure they will regret targeting any of us.”

"Believe me, I'd put the b*** into a mirror and smash her with a hammer myself" yes she had thought about it "... but I promised Becca I wouldn't hunt her down. My wife seems to think Aoife was... misguided. Becca's the victim here, it's her call. Gotta support that. With that said... if we can find the rest of those ***f**ers, I think I'm in need of some exercise."