Garrett was elated when Maya embraced him. As she whispered her feelings to him, he simply nodded. She pulled away, rightfully returning to her Grand Opening. She briefly mentioned catching up, obviously not ready for the kind of reunion they needed. He smiled at her with his eyes and said," I'll hold you to that." He watched her motor around the store, tending to things. He was proud of her accomplishments. More hot coffee slid down his throat as he settled in, surveying the characters in the store.

Garrett was pleased to find that the feline was getting past the initial embarrassment and trying to laugh it off. That was the kind of thing that mutants needed to do. If only humans could drop the freakish stare of ignorant fear. Garrett's work was cutting itself out for him so often that he imagined a gargantuan slice crushing him. His eyes turned to the doors as a familiar face entered, sans miniature drake. Kaz was a definite point of interest. Perhaps the stream had deposited them here again since they missed the opportunity last time, like a karmic lesson passed to another life. Garrett was surely living one and could just as well still need a job before long.

Garrett began milling around in the New Age section. He felt silly just standing and staring. Maya was trying to sell books, so appearing vaguely interested in them at least was a nice gesture. Not that he cared for the whole 'New Age' moniker, but it called to a certain group of people so they didn't have to just look around in vain. While most of the books were of the garden variety, he was happy to see a newly published version of the I Ching. His own copy, while dogeared and personal, definitely was in need of an update. All was well until a crash interrupted his musings.

Poking his shiny head from around a shelf, Garrett was disappointed to see one of the staff standing over a smashed display and an equally smashed protester. Poor Maya. Everything was going so well. Luke was doing the proper business of instructing the humans about solicitation and their rights on the sidewalk. Had there not been media present, it would have all worked itself out nicely. However, the live eye of the camera tended to get edited later for mass consumption. He had to be sure that the right message was sent. He stepped outside through the revolving doors, waving over one of the policemen that were posted for 'security.'" Do you think you could come in here and keep these protesters out? Free speech aside, their place is out here , not in there."

Returning to the scene with a rookie in tow, Garrett pointed out the sign wielding party crashers. The rookie began to usher them out, pointing out the downfalls of resistance, the tried and true mantra of boys in blue. Garrett quickly moved himself to the foreground of the camera's view. The young reporter asked him to move at first, but he remained, flashing his card to her and looking at the camera in a fashion that made it want to rise to greet him. " It's a shame when things like this happen. Obviously, the tensions that caused the unfortunate incident which brought about this new incarnation of the store are still present. However, this store is a place of peace for all to enjoy. Hopefully, as time passes, these tensions can dissolve and the spirit of brotherhood that Vega wishes to espouse will shine." He didn't know if it would be enough to cull the tide of questionable intentions, but it was better than standing around and wringing hands.

Closing his eyes quickly trying to recite the proper location of the text if they had it Sam opened them and nodded, “Goethe's Faust English and German texts…” trying to remember the exact location Sam said, “If I recall, it should be in the ancient lit. section or in the foreign language section…” making a concentrated face Sam looked at the two bookshelves he thought, “Third isle down and it’s on the left or right bottom shelves, if you can’t find them, I’ll be more than happy to help you look for them…”sighing and shrugging he continued, “But as of now I can’t leave the register unattended, the best I can do for the time being is point you in the right direction.”

Taking note of the mans German accent Sam smiled and said, “Well the shop is the second one like it actually, the first one burnt down and this store was rebuilt on the old one, terrible tragedy really.” He sighed then looked over to the large mass of people gathering around what looked like his brother and Luke. ‘shit’ thought Sam to himself as he looked back to the customer and continued with a large and friendly smile, “Luckily the owner of the store, my friend Vega, decided that a store like this needed to exist,” lifting his hands slightly to a few of the customers, “A place where both humans and mutants can peacefully coexist… this store is dedicated to peace….”

Sam’s attention was drawn away as he heard his brother call out "I picked that up from my brother." sighing again Sam wordlessly mutter his brothers name and glanced over at the protesters. Ignoring protesters was something that came as second nature to Sam, sure he wanted to believe in people but sometimes he had his doubts, sometimes he felt that man kind didn’t deserve to fight back, be picked up and held on par with mutants. But then he quickly remembered that they were both man and they both shared the planet.

Watching in slow motion the punches his brother delivered to the young protester Sam just blinked and lowered his head in slight disappointment, sure they were good hits and good form but Sam couldn’t believe that he hit someone so much weaker than him. Worst yet it was in the middle of Ghost grand opening an the fact that it was a protester.

Ready to move Sam motioned and put his hands on the counter then he caught Ghosts eyes sighed and stayed behind his counter, this was his domain, his domain and his prison. “Kid’s gonna give me a heart attack…” muttered Sam as he watched the protester get escorted by the police. But for some reason Sam felt oddly calm about the situation even if he felt like he was trapped behind the counter.

With stinging pain in his knuckles, Dominic stood silently watching the protester groan in pain from the beat down he had just received. A beat down that was a major mistake, something Dominic knew he was in the wrong for doing. Then again, it was wrong, but it felt so right. That protester had it coming. He literally pleaded for Dominic to shut him up. Okay, he asked Dominic to make him leave which could have been done without the violence but, too late now. Dominic wins, flawless victory. A victory that was short lived as he saw Shin walk over to help the human and Dominic caught the death glare from the asian.

The teen complied with Shin's request and fetched the medical kit, and the whole time he sensed someone on his back. Thinking it was Sam, he turned expecting to see an empty counter, but it was still occupied by his older sibling. So who exactly was following him?

>>"Dominic."

Dom's muscled tensed hearing his named called. The voice registered in his mind as Ghost...except with a different tone he had never heard from her before, but he knew that tone. He had heard it from his mother all the time as a child. It never meant anything good.

>>"My office. Now."

A large lump formed in Dominic's throat while he nervously stood dead still, though the animal instinct told him to run. Yes! There was an idea! He could always run away from the scene of the crime....and risk Ghost tearing through the streets in a funnel of raging winds and ultimately capturing him, which would lead to severer consequences than the ones she had already been cooking up in her mind. He gulped turning around and looked down, expecting to see a facial expression of anger...but all he saw on Ghost's face was a smile. "God, I'm so screwed." he said to himself. A smile on an angry woman...now he definitely felt like bolting for the door.

"Yes mam..." he said timidly and decided to just make the smart decision this time and obeyed Ghost, walking towards the back of the store and if he had a tail, it would have definitely been tucked between his legs like a scared dog. Nothing he could do now, and he simply let himself into Ghosts office, posting himself up on the wall, arms folded tight as he began to ponder what kind of punishment would be dished out.

He inclined his head in a thankful manner toward Sam and barely looked at the isles, placing the hands on the counter. It seemed, that those books could yet wait for a while for he seemed oddly calm about the things that were happening around him. Neither did he flinch at the protester being beat nor did his pleased and unrevealing expression move by an inch. A porcelain puppet might have been moved more by the events.

What Sam was not aware of was, that he as observing the whole process of getting rid of those men and women carrying signs and shirts. Observant he was, carefully using his power with just a few glances that dragged out for him, until he could have pinpointed the location of everyone in his line of sight on a map of the store. It was just a precaution. One could never know, when people would get violent. Especially when deluded by hate and fear. The reaction of the police force was magnetically attracting his eyes too, since it was exceptionally obvious, that many of them, now escorting the protesters outside -they did not even bother to stop the chanting until they were on the streets, where they were flashing their signs in every lens there was- did not want to be in this store. Their reluctant steps and disgruntled faces made one thing terribly obvious. They were here for the sake of the law, not for the sake of their own choice. Some grips on shoulders and some shoves did even very much looks like friendly pats on the back to him.

Strangely the leader of the protest held her head royally as she was led to the door last of all of them.

“This is just the beginning.”

Her last words before being shoved outside were so drenched in acid, that it foreboded nothing good both for the shop and its visitors for the future. A distasteful image appeared in his mind. He could already see the Signs posted outside. Do not by with mutants. On every one of them the white cross. A cross that should already be crimson in his opinion.

He did indeed not move, until Sam made his last comment, which made a smile appear on his face. A thin smile. A wary smile. A troubled smile. His hands were gripping the counter tightly. If he had a tail it would be standing stiffly upright now, fangs exposed.

“I see. A good idea. Please give my regards to Miss Vega for it.”

He forced himself to let go of the counter and looked Sam squarely in the face. The gray eyes were stern. Stern and cold. Shadows seemed intent at keeping on crawling in their depths. But what kind of shadows they were?

“But by what power and right are you going to keep the peace?”

He could already see the police turn a blind eye on the protection of the shop unless they were forced not to do so. Would it stay with broken windows then, or would it continue towards fire? Shards of glass on the ground. Why did history have to repeat itself? Did they never learn? But at the same time it was blatantly obvious, that many in the store were mutants themselves. What would they do in retaliation? Sometimes that alone sufficed, to keep people on their guards. Sometimes. Wars had been started over pettier reasons then the destruction of a single shop and with the right mutants the destruction of a city was a thing easily accomplished.

“I don't see them doing it forever.”

A slight wave of the hand in the general direction of the blue clad people it was. Just a hint. Surely they had seen this coming and had prepared for the future. Surely?

"Of course Vega." Luke replied without the slightest hesitation when Ghost left him and the young man named 'Shin' to handle the situation that had unfolded. Apparently she felt it was more important to reprimand the young man that had decided to take things to the next level.

Off at the edge of his sonar Luke saw Sara walk in and began picking up some of the fallen books. Either she was getting really good with her blindness, which was unlikely since he didn't a cane anywhere, or she had regained her vision. What the hell? He was gonna have to ask her about that. Just as he felt the annoyance beginning to rise up within him he began to hear strains of a very calming music. It wasn't enough to completely get rid of all of the tension, but it did seem to help him.

"I'll have to ask Ghosty what she has playing over the speakers... nice bit of music." Luke thought to himself.

Right then several policemen finally made their way inside and over to the protestors. After several comments about 'private property' and 'even they have rights', the police finally began to lead the protestors toward the door and back out onto the sidewalk. Allowing his hands to drop to his side, Luke watched until the last of the protestors was gone and then turned to introduce himself to the 'Shin' character.

"Sorry I couldn't help more. I'm Luke Jacobs, a friend of Vega. I think she said your name was Shin?" He asked as he turned toward the other man and offered a hand to him, "Nice job staying calm by the way."

Shin took the medical kit without a second word to Dominic, turning his attention to treating the injured protestor’s wounds despite his protests. “Stay still,” he wrapped a bandage around the arm. “This may hurt a bit…” The cotton jerked tight. The young man cringed slightly. Silently, Shin worked to doctor him up as Hymn’s song soothed in the background.

The police tromped in, moving the protestors out to the street. Shin’s hands tore another piece of cloth. “There,” he finally exclaimed, letting go. The protestor jerked his arm away from the Asian and stormed out the entrance. Shin smiled weakly, and shook his head. At least the whole incident had gone down without turning into a blood bath. His work done, Shin pushed off his knees and stood. He looked over at the man Ghost had referred to as ‘Luke’.

>>"Sorry I couldn't help more. I'm Luke Jacobs, a friend of Vega. I think she said your name was Shin?" He asked as he turned toward the other man and offered a hand to him, "Nice job staying calm by the way."

“Don’t worry about it, and thanks,” Shin replied, meeting the hand with a shake. “Nice to meet you.” Memory suddenly struck him, and he glanced back to the bar counter with a tentative look. “Thirsty?”

He really had to get back to working that counter…

~*~

A blond-headed bystander looked up from his morning blend as the table split in two. His eyebrow arched. This coffee was good, but for the first mug from a new coffee locale, it had a lot it was lacking. Obviously, that had been the cause of this outbreak to be sure.

He assessed the nervous outbreaks from the crowd, eyes shifting from face to face. One woman bit her lip, a man’s grip on a folded paper tightened, one grandpa’s mustache dove a little too far into his cup… and a terrified girl dove for the cover of a bookshelf and shielded her head. Her lips began to move… the frantic voices around the shop seemed to dull.

“Strange…” He noted. The calm of the room seemed to emanate from her. Stuffing the bemused look behind a smile, he sat down next to her and reached for the blue bag that dangled over one shoulder. The bag unzipped. A red thermos swam through the currents of hushed anger in the shop, clopping down in front of him like the winning tile in a Majhong game. He screwed off the top and poured something hot and good from the depths. The danger doom wind of the scene seemed like it was dying down. Still, she looked worried. Maybe the blend would help calm her? Chocolate and coffee always soothed him. He set the little red lip-cup down in front of her, and gave a friendly nod.

“Are you alright? Have some of this. I think the worst of the protesting is dying down, too. Oh, and watch out. The coffee’s a bit hot.” He casually refilled his own mug as he waited for her response.

Alexandra actually needed all of her control not to go and throw those stupid humans outside herself. Instead, she planted her feet on the ground better and her fists tightened even more as she forced her face to relax for appearance’s sake.

It seemed that everything was taken care off and almost every mutant inside the store known to her did something to keep the peace or at least not involve themselves into this particular business. Well, almost was a good word. Because Dominic punched one of the protestants square in the face.

In that moment, Alexandra was about to congratulate the boy for doing so. She was proud of him. The fact that that kid had smacked her behind and made her unable to walk trough the mansion without hearing the word snoo-snoo behind her back was erased from her memory for the time being.

Her mood relaxed and she didn’t need to force herself not to look angry. She felt just like she punched that guy herself. One cookie for Dom. Of course, his actions wouldn’t go unpunished… a not so happy Ghost appeared summoning the boy into her office. Oh well, she couldn’t do more than lecture him about the non-violent, neutral status of the store and all the X-Men blah blah. One glance in Sam’s direction and she let out a chuckle. She wasn’t sure that Sam would go that easy with his brother.

A soothing song began to play in the background and Alexandra felt a peaceful and relaxing feeling wash over her. In a now much lighter mood, she headed where her new acquaintance Sara and one of the shop employees were picking up books from a pile of wood that once was named table.

The familiar shade of dark blue returned to her eyes as she kneeled and caressed one of the wood pieces. Oak, she concluded as she got up. Pieces of wood started to meld themselves under the influence of her powers and the gracious wave of her hand and soon the table was a table again. Of course, it would never be the same, her skill of reforming objects that weren’t broken by her powers wasn’t perfect. But it would certainly do until Ghost had the chance to replace it.

She looked to the books that were scattered on the floor, some of them with the blood of the filthy human on them, then to Sara and the shop employee. “Can you hold the blood splattered books up? I think I can remove it.” she said to both of them. Oh yes, I think was a wise choice of words because manipulating anything that had to do with human body was damn difficult and she was never sure if she could actually do it. She didn’t even know why she was so kind all of a sudden but the words have came out of her mind and it was too late to retract them. Good practice for powers anyway, she said to herself as she waited.

Trouble. Hoooo, yes, he was in trouble. Ghost followed Dominic, ever the graceful shadow, into her office. She had imagined things going wrong every once in a while, but she just hadn't imagined it coming down so very hard, so very soon. Ghost shut the door gently behind them, but did not lock it. If Kaz, whose money he had actually wasted, chose to come in for a double team, she would not stop him.

Without the pressure of so many eyes and so much else to do, Ghost actually sighed and relaxed a bit and leaning her forehead against the door. This day wasn't even close to being done yet. At least no one was permanently injured.

"Are you okay, Dominic?" Reluctantly, Ghost pulled herself away from the door and went to inspect the youth's knuckles. They seemed red and raw, but there was no way of telling if anything was fractured from just looking. Instead of coddling, as was her nature, Ghost went to stand behind her desk to hand down punishment from on high. "Dominic, I am very disappointed in you."

She leaned her hands against the glass top of her desk and gave him her very best mother look. It couldn't measure up entirely considering that Ghost had no children, but it was still rather convincing. "I know that you know better; however, because you did not act upon your better judgement, you aren't going back out in public today. Unless, of course, you are willing to apologize. And until you can apologize and really mean it, you will be working for me to cover the cost of the ruined books, the table, and the cost of whatever we're going to have to do to make this right. Are we clear?" If she had reading glasses, she would be looking over the top rim of them at Dominic.

She was no longer smiling. In fact fine lines creased beside her mouth in what might even be anger. Yes, she was angry, but she was also stressed. Ghost sighed again and then sat in her chair. She had to go back out there, but she also had to think of something that would occupy Dominic for the rest of the day. A very unpleasant idea came to mind. "Do you know how to take inventory?" Ghost steepled her fingers and leaned back in her chair regarding the youth, all signs pointed to evil mastermind. "It's quite simple, I'll give you a clipboard and a scanner gun. Try not to burn your retinas out. For the rest of the day, I would like you to check our reserve inventory. Of course, the stock is still in boxes and needs to be alphabetized..." What had initially sounded like a fun job just plummeted into the tedious and mundane.

"Let's go to the storage room and I'll show you how it's done." Ghost checked her watch as she stood. "I'll be back to check on you in twenty minutes when I break for lunch. Is there anything you want from the cafe next door?" Well, she wasn't going to starve the poor kid, and she certainly hadn't eaten anything all day. If he had in twenty minutes proved that he could handle a scanner gun, she would leave him alone for his task until closing time... hopefully she wouldn't have to lock him in there to keep him working.

"Yeah...I'm fine..." Dominic said in his usual timid voice, though he was surprised Ghost actually took the time to inspect his hand to make sure everything was alright. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as he thought they would. Ghost had always been so kind and nice to him since the day he arrived at the mansion. Maybe she would understand...

>>>"Dominic, I am very disappointed in you."

Well that crapped all over his optimist mind set like a pigeon on a statue in central park. Even though he kept a straight face, lord knows he wanted to scream and break something as Ghost continued to talk about how he didn't use his better judgment. What kind of bull was that? The kid he decked wouldn't shut up and leave peacefully so Dominic shut him up with his fists.

>>>And until you can apologize and really mean it, you will be working for me to cover the cost of the ruined books, the table, and the cost of whatever we're going to have to do to make this right. Are we clear?"

"Yeah." his answer was short and sweet. There was no use in arguing. Not when everyone in the bookstore was treating him like he was completely in the wrong. Maybe he was, but he was sure some others would beg to differ. Also, it looked like Dominic got that job Sam wanted him to get...except he had something much easier in mind. Like keeping the shelves straightened up...not inventory. He couldn't help but smile when Ghost warned him not to burn out his retinas with a scanner, but then the look on her face reminded him to wipe the smile from his and he nodded and agreed with her instructions.

>>> "I'll be back to check on you in twenty minutes when I break for lunch. Is there anything you want from the cafe next door?"

"A muffin and chocolate milk?" the 16 year old gave his order and looked down at the scanner he was given. Seriously, the burning retinas idea seemed very inviting now. There were hundreds of books back in storage...and it seemed to be no escape from this punishment and all because he tried to stand up for his mutant rights. "F my life."

His attention no longer focused on what just occurred with his younger brother and the protester Sam’s mind was already racing with discipline training that should help his brother be less aggressive in everyday situation most of which required Sam and Dom to get into a one on one fight which would always led to Dom getting dragged down to the infirmary. Sam doubted that Ghost could actually get Dom straightened out with a finger wag and a stern talking to, those never did work on Sam.

“But by what power and right are you going to keep the peace?”

Sam’s attention turned back to Martin and smiled, “A balance is needed, that is and will always be my right. The sad fact of the matter is that with the humans verses mutants there is always to many casualties, it is no better than giving a monkey a loaded gun with the safety off. Some mutants don’t deserve their powers and use it only for selfish and destructive purposes.” Sam shrugged and then let out a small laugh, “Mind you these are my own personal thoughts but they need to be stopped the thought of genocide solely because some one is different is just…just… wrong.”

Smiling his point coming to a head that he had used to convince himself time and time again, “Power corrupts, humans fear the power the mutants posses and makes the mutants fear the humans, it will become a never ending power struggle that only begets more loss.” Shrugging Sam said, “People and mutants both fear the unknown. Other than our mutations we have the same wants and needs humans have, I don’t see any reason we can’t coexist in peace.” Sighing Sam continued, “I may not know who gives the rights to anyone, but if you had a power you could use to achieve a balance or better yet peace, wouldn’t you try and do something with it. To sit idly by as pain begets hate and hate begets more pain it eventually becomes a never ending and unforgiving cycle,”

Memories of him growing up came to his mind as he continued to talk, memories of him thinking that this was the true meaning of his life he was the balancer the one that balanced all the evil in the world, but in reality he was doing more harm than good which is why he had to change be different and run away. Shaking his head back to the present Sam smiled again and continued his thoughts, “To sit by is a waste of a, god given talent. Pain, hated, and ignorance, are all something that I would like to get rid of completely. One day people will truly understand each other and when that day comes it will be a day of peace.”

Shrugging Sam let out a small laugh and said, “Just my thoughts on the matter, sides, most protesters get bored protesting anyways.” Thinking about how long his monologue on his thoughts were Sam looked to the man and apologized holding out his hand for a shake, “Sorry about that didn’t mean to take up much of your time, I tend to be outspoken on occasion, my names Sam.”

Devon Sanada made his way alone down the busy sidewalk. He'd been walking for hours now. Or maybe half a day. he couldn't really remember. Nor did he particularly care at the moment. He was too preoccupied with his most recent discovery. The image of the large green oval that he'd made on the gym wall the previous day. He knew of course, that moping about it wasn't going to solve anything. Eventually his nerves would settle and life would go on. And nothing would change about IT.

Skip... you're a...

He grunted softly as he remembered the look on Chris's face. It wasn't a look of surprise or fear. It was a look of complete amazement. And ambition. He'd spent the latter part of that day listening to every half-assed scheme that his "best friend" had come up with, shrugging in response to half of it, completely trying to pretend he didn't hear him the rest. As much as they'd been through together, through the rumbles and the harassment from school, there were certain matters in which Chris had the sensitivity of an elephant.

And unfortunately, this was one of them.

For today, he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts without someone chattering every single thing HE could think of with something that wasn't even his.

He tried to lose himself in the flow of the city, just watch the surroundings as he made his way to nowhere. He stepped and weaved through the crowd, barely brushing against any of the oncoming pedestrians. The sounds and smells just seemed to all blend together, nothing really seemed to be standing out anymore. Nothing could distract him from the spiral he struggled to keep himself from sinking into.

Except for the faint smell of coffee.

And clapping.

As he looked up, he saw the source of at least one of them. A group of people holding some kind of protest. He couldn't really make out the chant they were shouting, but he did notice a huge sign being held up. He slowed to a stop as he shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall, out of the flow of traffic, taking stock of the situation.

Protesting... a bookstore? He thought.

The situation only served to turn more gears that he wished would just stop. This. This was what he now had to look forward to. A lack of understanding that had been fanned into a towering hatred. Sure he'd heard about it. Up until now, it never concerned him. He was pretty much certain that the only jerks he'd have to put up with were the high school idiots he had to put up with most of his life, anyway.

THEY were ignorant... He concluded as he let out a small huff. These guys are just. Stupid. Gotta have SOMETHING to yell about, huh?

A small, almost indistinguishable sneer came to his face as he pushed off the wall and walked into the bookstore. All of the sudden, the only thing in the world he wanted was a coffee.

“Are you alright? Have some of this. I think the worst of the protesting is dying down, too. Oh, and watch out. The coffee’s a bit hot.”

She was focusing to much on her own control that she didn't notice a young man coming up to her. She was starled when the young man spoke to her. She examined him from up and down and realized she knew him from somewhere, she just couldn't recall from where. It was a problem she had with lots of faces, knowing them but not being able to place them. She blushed and looked down to her feet and nodded to the question the young man asked. She was kind of alright, though a bit starled from everything that was happening around her. First the tail of the kitty cat lady and now the fighting, it was all a bit scary to her.

After that she was handed a mug full of dark brownish stuff. She tilted her head confused as she looked at it. What was it and beter yet, how did it taste. Was it even drinkable, or was he trying to make her drink icky stuff and laugh at her. She sniffed the smell of the liquid that she was handed. It smelled pretty strong of something , but she had no clue what the something was. She quirked a brow and took a small sip. One sip couldn't hurt, could it ?

The sip was quick and painless but the taste was horrible. "Yuck." She said as she swallowed the brown liquid. It was strong flavored and somehow very addictive. She tried another sip and came to the conclusion it still was bad as she pulled a face that said Yuck all over again. This was definanly something she did not want to drink at all if not necesarry.

All the movement in the bookstore should have created a ruckus even now, that the real ruckus had been led to the outside. Thankfully it did not. The people easily dispersed in the shadows alleys filled with books or were sitting at desks and tables (including broken ones) and their noise were not getting bothersome at all. It was the faint sounds of people talking, little movements, that filled the store with life without destroying its atmosphere. The person who built it had been very good at their job. One of the effects was, that he could understand what Sam said with very little trouble. Mark: Understand not comprehend. So he started off with a polite smile and took the offer with a slightly cold gloved hand. His shake was not firm in the way that it had much physical strength, since the hand under the leather seemed to be as bony as the boy himself, but the shake still somehow conveyed a sense of firmness that maybe came from the firmness of the gray eyes.

“It is no trouble at all Sam. I even find it interesting to learn how you view the world. My name is Martin. And I have a few questions to what you said, if you do not mind?” He barely made a pause and did not even seem to notice, that Sam's job was that of a cashier here, not one of entertainer. But those things he had brought upon himself, so why wonder?

“Please correct me if I am wrong. You are saying that there has to be a balance between humans and mutants. Also you say that Mutants may not use their Power for violence, but only to keep that balance´, so humans need not fear the powers that mutants govern.”

Here he let a bigger space of silence. Just for Sam to think on his words. His own words. Didn't they sound strange now? Being repeated back to him like that? He did not care much about that, since repetition was one of the best ways to avoid mistakes in communication. And especially in delicate topics like theirs accurate communication was vital. But if he had gotten it right Sam seemed like the perfect person for this bookstore. He even seemed to fit to another character that moved around here somewhere. If he could just remember the name, but all he could come up with, was that the meeting had involved a rose garden any lay some time back. Days? Weeks? Years? Who could tell.

“But if you allow a few comments?” This was no real question. He would voice his opinions, still pleasantly smiling, his hands now gesturing mildly, drawing lines on the counter in front of him. If someone had followed them with a pen they would be starting to form intricate symbols there, without Martin doing so much as glance at them. His eyes lay fixed on Sam.

“For your scale metaphor to work” Yes he had just called Sam's view a metaphor. It was really, but one question he had was, whether he would accept that. “one would have to assume that both human- and mutant-kind form one homogeneous group, which as you can see right here is a very big assumption. Secondly and more importantly the enforcers of the balance would need power and be according to your words be corrupted. It follows therefore, that the system of the scales would not work properly.”

Oh yes, he had just deconstructed Sam's little Utopian all-is-happy-place with simple logic. There simply was no all and happy. But there might be one day. It was a slim chance even he half dared to bet on. Only half. His eyes and expression had changed to a more concentrated one, but his fingers were still moving over the counters surface not bothered by any of the things he said. Then with a blink, and as if he pulled it out of some lingering dream ,out of a wizards hat so to speak -it were his own ghosts that troubled him- the smile was back there again.

“We will see, if they get tired soon enough. And I will be happy if you are right.”

He sounded sincere still. Got any change for me mister cash? His smile flashed brightly one, before dissipating into a thin line.

"I take it you have powers?"

If something would give him away for at least a mutant supporter it was the fact that there was no fear in his voice, just a little bit of -what was it really, maybe anxiety?- hidden in the wavefunctions.

Devon half-walked, half stormed into the bookstore, slightly hunched over, hands shoved into his pockets. Once inside, he took a quick glance at his surroundings and took a sharp breath as he tried to get his bearings. He glanced at the bookshelves with a hint of disinterest. He'd never been much of a reader, he was just more or less lashing out in the only way he knew wasn't going to end in violence. All things considered, a fight would have really helped ease his anger, but even he was smart enough to know when he was out-numbered. Added to that the fact that the moron convention outside had begun to disperse, he realized that an attack at this point would just end up with him in jail. And that was nothing compared to what his dad would have done to him. Mr. Sanada had proven several times to him what would happen if he ever struck first.

Inside, things seemed to be a bit less tense. people were returning to their reading, and their drinks. The smell hit him full force in here, and he remembered what he came in for.

Fists aren't the only way you can fight back His father's words rang in his head. Of course, back then, he was referring to talking to teachers and not confronting the prejudice of society, but it was the same basic principle, right?

Spotting the counter, he quickly made his way to it. He wondered briefly if there were any books in here that might have anything about mutants and mutation in general. Maybe he could look into it, since he was already here.

Arriving at the counter, he simply leaned on it, arms crossed, and glanced at the menu, occasionally searching side to side, making it clear that he was looking to be served.

Kaz followed behind Vega as she and Dominic went to her office. When they entered he moved off to the corner out of their way, crossed his arms and stood silently listening and watching. Kaz suppressed a chuckle when he saw Vega's 'mother' look. He could tell it wasn't something she was use to, but it was effective still. Vega's scolding and Dominic's body language was almost enough to make Kaz feel compassion toward the kid. Not once since they entered had Kaz taken his eyes off the kid for more than a few seconds to look at Vega.

As she left to get a few things from the cafe, Kaz followed Dominic and waited silently while he kept an eye on the kid. "F my life." Kaz had to chuckle at that. "Yeah, you're pretty screwed, but only for the time being." He walked toward Dominic stopping a few feet from him.

"Three things kid. First, Drop that crap you said, and I'd be congratulating you on the punch. Second, You're a Damned Moron. What did Vega say today, eh? 'Safe and Neutral territory for Mutants and Humans.' What did you do right off the bat, on the opening day? Rattle the brains of some pig headed, ignorant Human. Yes he deserved it, but not here and deffinantly not now. I've half a mind to throttle you like you did him, you should thank Vega that I don't. Third," He shifted and moved a bit closer, "Don't you dare break any thing else I've invested my money in, or endanger this store in any way. I warn you now, if you do, your would will crash down around you before you get the chance to regret it."

Kaz turned on his heals and walked toward the front of the bookstore not bothering to shift back.