The sheer amount of people in the Underground drove the sweat out on his forehead. He doubted, that he would have another ride anytime soon, but seeing that traffic was unavoidable here he knew that he would find himself in one of these enclosed spaces with greater numbers of people again. Again and freely so, for traveling around the city any other way was both too costly and too slow.

Wearing a completely black attire -complete with shirt and gloves of course- today; he was surprised to see, that those helped to create an empty space around him. A small free room, left only for him even though there wa sa great deal of shoving going on around him. He realized that he must be looking scary with his pale skin and the black cloth making it even paler -almost inhumanly pale, but certaintly unhealthy- and made a mental note. It would come in handy to be avoided like this. And it gave him the little edge he needed, so with a fluid movement he took a small book from his pocket.

As the stations raced by one after the other he was writing. The small black book filling with dates and names, appointments and personal anecdotes. He was writing down his life, not looking up. Completely absorbed in his work it seemed to others. To him the stations just went by one after the other without much time in between them. Nothing out of the ordinary.

It seemed as if he was developing a daily routine. He found that quite intriguing.

10:30

Meet with possible employer at his apartment [enter adress]

He was geting closer to his destination.

The world of the subway wasn’t pretty, Like giant Worms burrowing under the ant pile just above she was an ant. And she was surrounded by ants, most of the ants carefully avoided eyecontact, it was a mazing what a blank stare into space did for ones sanity and mimicry of being an unapproachable statue. However the ones that were actively trying to make eye contact were the ones to avoid. Like the one that tried to causully grab her bottom while she wasn’t facing them.

The young man was flanked by a pair of just as grimy looking trouble makers, sure she had a pair of jeans that hugged her bottom in a way that said look at me, but then this girl could get away with it, this girl was well versed in self defense. She slpped the hell out of the one in the middle and took two steps back getting ready for a scuffle but, he honestly just looked shocked like, no one had ever bothered to show him the proper response for such disrespect. Her second step was timed just right with the next stop and it caused her to bump into a man that had been concentrating on his little black book. She would tell him to see a doctor if she knew him. But she didn’t and wasn’t trying to draw the attention. Thie however would certainly interrupt the mutants work as he was temporirly out of service his mutation just didn’t have proper signal or battery power to let him work. Or it could have been the interference that her adapted dna was having on his advanced dna.

She stepped forward again fists held high and got ready to whoop some thug butt, but they honestly looked scared. And the one in the middle shook his head and claimed that he was too much of a gentle man to hit a lady. She laughed and told him to leave their cart. They did. Today was going fine.

He was absorbed in his work, but the first slapping sound snapped his concentration. His eyes were scanning his surroundings, noticing the revealingly dressed lady, but he was unable to avoid her stumbling into him. And so as he was still thinking about how very obscene youths had become these day, her elbow hit him hard in his stomach. And there was a second of

Darkness

There was light. He blinked furiously and checked quickly whether his skin was exposed anywhere, not even noticing that his book had hit the ground. While still seeing black spots in his vision, the most curious sensation overcame him. It was like being driven head on into a brick wall. Time, his curse and his bliss. The ever flowing, ever growing. It finally flowed. He could feel his skin tingle with the sensation, his very being sighed in relief as the weight of a mountain finally was released from his shoulders. The weight that always threatened to crush him was gone all of a sudden. He stumbled helplessly through the wagon, overcome by his senses he was unable to notice anything. To even think anything.

The return of the weight hit him even harder. His heart raced as he spun around, stemming the river yet again with his shoulders, his very being. And as he did, things slowed down to an acceptable pace.

What the he** had that been?

He saw the thugs leave the train and the young ladies satisfied grin. Did she even notice, what she had done to him?
Probably not.

With a sigh he approached the woman, making thoroughly sure not to come too close. He really did not want that thing to happen again.

“Woah. Awesome.” I'm just a stupid 20 year old, nothing more he repeated in his mind. A twen totally rept by you young lady he thought. As if that would make his act better.

Today would be difficult yet again.

She flipped her hair at the young man's impressed comment. " yeah well, somebody has to do something right, if you thought that was any good, you would have loved it if they didn't know when not to press their luck. Sorry about running into you, I wouldn't have if the stinking subway hadn't lurched. Oh! your book." she half screamed in excitement as she went to grab it for him. He was concentrating on it pretty hard core, it must be important and she probably made him drop it. She bent over and shook it off. and held it out to him.

She wasn't quite in his space yet, but if he reached for it he certainly would be. " So you heading to 32'd or 44th or are you being adventurous and going past that?" she was heading to 44th to drop off some books at the library that she rarely went to. she would also be paying off some late fees, or depending on how much they were, making peace with losing her library rights. A tiny little strap and a miniature back pack held the tiny books that she had gotten last time. "I'm tyranny by the way." she said as she found a person that broke through their privacy bubble to converse. it was amazing , and since he had been in he was mre than likely harmless.

As he was studying the features of his

-what should he call her.. That was an important question here. She was dangerous. She was dangerously helpful. Not for him really, but for herself. And she was still smiling at him quite friendly it was no easy decision he had to make right now. The name defines. Counterpart. He settled on Counterpart. Yes that would do nicely- Neutral. Distanced. Never too close. You don't get close to dangerous people. Unless they are too dangerous. Then getting close was always good. And as this was an unknown one, she was certainly very dangerous.

She grabbed the book. Grabbed his life so to speak. And he was able to keep himself from flinching. Barely. He bent it into some form of smile. A dry smile one might have called it, a friendly, distant smile. A sudden urge to shudder overcame him as he watched her hands place themselves on the black cover. A little bit un-twen. Broadening his smile he said:

“Hey its ok.”

Please don't notice. Please. As the subway held at the next station with screeching brakes he let his eyes wander over her figure a second time, deliberately pausing a certain spots a little too long. Maybe not too long to process consciously, but who knows what a woman might notice? An approving look it was he gave her. Or so he tried to do, while he asked himself how people could dress like this. Surely she did not have varices. Not at her age. The jeans must be cutting off the blood flow the way they were clinging to her legs. Not to speak of the other body parts. Not a very modest one this was. Thoughts were racing in his head as pieces fell into place one after the other. He was dissecting her mentally. Alien thoughts they were. He was a twenty year old boy. Nothing more.

“Hey the library. Sure.”

Blatant. Blunt. He was proud of those words and his smile changed to a more honest one, though the reason was entirely not present company. Not that he knew his present company. But he would surely try to make this easy on her and him.

“If you could just carry the book 'til there. See it as a price for bumping into me.”

He was teasing her. Just a little. As he was making a plan. With the next start of the train he managed to seemingly stumble a little into her direction. Just that little bit, that was not too much. She would know. He would know that she knew.

“I'm Martin. Nice to meetcha.”

The foreign accent was still coming through, but as his English was getting better every day it was much thinner then before. He hoped it would be enough. Lets dance little one. And please don't make it hard.

oh she noticed his appraisal, and it was an appreciative one that didn’t include him grabbing her bottom with out so much as a warning. So it was acceptable, why dress like this if you didn’t want the boys to look.
He wasn’t doing so bad himself, though the black wasn’t helping his pallid skin tone. But if he went a little bit more for the goth look, it would more than work for him.

~~“If you could just carry the book 'til there. See it as a price for bumping into me.”

“Not a problem. though I did apologize, and you said it was ok, but I suppose a price to pay, is a price to pay.”

She dropped one arm and let the back pack strap fall and let the little bag twist around to her side.she unzipped the bag and put it in with the rest of her books. An zipped the bac back up an returned the little strap. Normally she would have stuck it in a pocket but, she might have been tempted to read it too. So in to the back pack it went. She had a hostage, he would hav to ask nicely now for the book or wait until she dumped the bag out. Either way guys were less likely to start hitting on her this way.

~~“I’m Martin. Nice to meetcha.”

“Nice to meet you too, Martin.” She paused and was about to ask about his accent but who didn’t have an accent around here right? Right.

“So Martin, what brings you to the subway today?” she asked casually wondering what he was giving up or delaying for a pretty girl and the library.

The dance had begun, the first steps taken in the wide floor of human interaction. This would be interesting. But she had his life suspended with a little strap on her shoulder. And he was determined to get it back with interest, so he put on a thin smile and spoke in a low, carrying voice.

“I was hunting.”

Here the accent came in quite handy as the hard intonation conferred just the certain amount of spookiness he had intended them to go with. Around them people were rushing, trying to reach destined points like bees flying about the nest as the train halted and started multiple times. It was this rushing, which made transport dangerous, the constant flow of drones. Yet he still stood in the same place as before, unmoving. In hives accidents were rare he had learned. The only thing that changed was his hand that casually wandered into his right pocket. Eyes were fixed solely upon Tyranny.

And as if in an afterthought he added:

“And so were you it seems.”

He broke into an all out smile.

"I was going to look for some gardening jobs, but you just saved me from that chain smoking old lady from across the street ... Ill have to pay you back for that sometime."

~~“I was hunting.”

“oh?” she said with a hint of sly interest.

~~“And so were you it seems.”

“and what were we hunting today?” she said with a tone of innocence that could hardly be accepted as anything but just that.

~~"I was going to look for some gardening jobs, but you just saved me from that chain smoking old lady from across the street ... Ill have to pay you back for that sometime."

She laughed at that. An escort to the library after that little incident is more than enough.” She paused and hit a different tangent. “I never tied smokers into being gardeners as well, I’m not sure why.”


I mean smoking was such a self destructive habit, you sit there and numb your senses and give them over to an addictive habit, all while slowly chipping away at the quality of your lungs. where as gardening is such a nuturing hobby, It is fulfilling and takes time and effort, it just seemed like a ying yang to her. but She bet that somewhere out there that there was an organization for gardening Tabaco and all of its members would happily blow smoke at her while they tooled around in there garden.

She tapped her cheek for a moment.

“Gardening hmmmm? I know somebody that might be able to get you something at the botanical gardens in central.” She nodded to herself. “Though it would just be an interview, you’d have to prove how green your thumbs were.”

Well then. Changing directions are we? Let us see how well you take humor.
Eyes sparkling with silent laughter he fell onto the -not very clean- plastic floor of the compartment and bowed before her in a way that would have sufficed even in medieval times. Left fist planted on the ground, right arm resting on the left knee, while he was kneeling on the right.

“If Milady wishes an Escort, that she shall get.”

Just as the wagon moved to halt at the station they had to leave he got up and went before her suddenly looking quite impressive, shoulders and head held high, regal almost, he created an empty space only through rough shoving with shoulders. Strangely enough he did not use his arms. But why use more, if you can achieve the desired effect without lifting a single finger.

As she told him about the opportunity his eyes were serious once more, leading her with slow steps outside. It carried the air of a procession.

“If you could arrange....” He broke off. He was playacting a playact. It was a bit hard to keep in character double. At least he ad not slipped anything.

“Milady is honoring me. Your humble servant. He has gardened since his teenage years and with your Blessing will surely not dissapoint.”

As he went into another bow, while moving backwards against the flow of people trying to reach the train. Bad idea it shot through his head as he was already falling. Some ellbow had just hit him in the side and knocked him over.

And as fate had it the humble servant found himself sitting on his bottom in front of his lady.

What am I? Surely not the Damel in Distress. Surely not that. He wanted to laugh out loud as roles were upturned.

~~“If Milady wishes an Escort, that she shall get.”

“This is a most glorious day then, Sir Martin, rise and we shall go forth!” Ah, a man that already knew when to bow, how unexpected on the subway.

~~“If you could arrange....”

Her eyebrows rose in concern as he stopped midsentence.

~~“Milady is honoring me. Your humble servant. He has gardened since his teenage years and with your Blessing will surely not dissapoint.”

“Well then I shall, send out the hawks…once the sky is there for them to travel in.” if that wasn’t the greatest way she had ever said her cell phone didn’t get any signal in the subway, she didn’t know what was.

Her eyes flashed at the lack humanity in the world, what was so important that people should knock another over, the subway wouldn’t leave until the doors shut. She maneuvered to Martin’s side and put out a hand even as she set her shoulder and rammed into the first person that wasn’t watching where they were going which just happen to be a new anchor looking man, that gave her a dirty look for not allowing him to walk over her friend. She tried to heave martin up even as her unconventional thinking was preparing their escape.
She pointed toward the other end of the car and screamed at the top of her lungs. “DRAGON!” it was enough to give them the moment or so of stunned confusion to get moving and out the mess.

Part of him watched in horror as she closed in on him, the feeling of displacement washing over him for a second time. He probably had dropped to the floor if he had not been lying there already, so he only cringed. Pictures were rushing forward and few others were falling into place. His whole mindset was screaming in agony as it rearranged, his mutations work being forcefully undone.

Another was just watching himself from a distance. Pain and strain were mere distant memories where he was, so somehow he went there, went to the painless place. Even the memory of burning fire was subsiding, being lost so to speak as his mind was racing to escape. And he realized, what he was. A knight in dark armor and his Lady had had to raise her glorified hand to protect him.

Shame overcame him as he hurried to get to his feet, when she issued her cry, eyes darting over the scene. Dragons were far to strong to be fought in present condition, and even more so in present company since everyone knew Dragons enjoyed female flesh. His nemesis was lying at his feet,
-the other would probably be approaching through one of the caves tunnels; he could already see a light closing in from one of them- apparently overcome by the pleasure and bliss of being touched by her Highness. He got an unfriendly kick in his side for making him fall on the ground and a second one for being in his way. People were watching confoundedly into another direction, the second he scooped the girl up in his hand and went on his way through the parting crowd, still staring in different directions.

As the light of the incoming enemy crept over the first lost ones, he sat her down on a moving platform, that was carrying them away. Wonderful magic to aid them.

“Milady shall continue going upward, while I take care of the danger below.”

He said as she ascended upwards and he was left behind. He was glad that she would be safe now. He was quite ready to die on the spot.

“whooo!” was the odd sound that escaped her lips as she was picked up instead of planting her self ready for a hissy fit from Mr. I’m high maintenance and worth too much to touch, much less knock over.

He continued on ward as she helpfully wrapped her arms around his neck to help support some of her own wait.

“Thank you, Sir Martin!” She smiled tilting her head so she had to see him through her long dark and momentarily royal eyelashes.

~~“Milady shall continue going upward, while I take care of the danger below.”

“Return swiftly!” she called to him with a slight smile. When she reached the top of the escalator she twirled lightly with a giggle and leaned up against a column waiting for him to catch up, she would have insisted on staying with him except that he looked as if carrying her might have taken some energy out of him. So she would give him a moment to compose himself in the mean time, it looked like the hawks were ready to take flight.

A button, pressed a scroll down to J and another pressed button sent them flying. “Jerry? This is Tyr, Yeah, I’m good. You? Mhmmm. Mhmmm. sounds good. Hey you got a spot open at the CPBG? Hmm. You got any one you don’t like. I have a guy that is simply marvelous at all things gardening. You think maybe something could open up?” she paused knowing that some slacker was about to meet the axe due to her prodding, But that was capitalism baby. “You’re a doll Jerry. When and where can he meet you? Okie dok. I’ll let him know. Mhmmm. Yeah his name is Martin skrrrrrrrrrsssssssssssshhhhhh. You there Jerry? You’re breaking up babe. I’ll let him know. Cant hear ya Jer. Ciao!” She needed to remember to get peoples full names before she got them interviews.

And just like that she pulled the strings on another guy that just didn’t know how to say no to her. She then pressed her palms together and struck the pose of purity an royalty rolled into her frame.

His Lady saved he went for cover at one of the tunnel walls just in time to see his world fade away.

Did you ever hit a door head on? No? Let me tell you it hurts. Combine it with a real good migraine take times two and this would be what our knight in shining armor went through after his lady had left. His head was pulsing in waves that seemed oddly calm despite his rapid pulse. Calmly they came and went as he crouched into a corner involuntarily, gripping the source of his agony with both hands.

Around him people were slowing, not slowing, going on. Then again, not again.

Focus. Its all in your head. Focus. He was carried back to the hospital with the white floors and silent nurses, the never smiling personnel and their words walking side by side in white floors, antiseptic air, antiseptic employees. The tunnels were the same everywhere, the walks towards eternity on white tiles, linoleum, concrete.

Like a slide show he was swept up and carried away, while his brain was searching for solutions for a problem it could not begin to fathom.
Was this game really over yet?

And then it was gone. All gone.The pain left his brains like crawling worms eating their way out. The tingling on his scalp being the last thing to subside.

As he was lying in a corner, people walking by, not even looking at him twice, he asked himself how much time might have gone by?

Tyranny waited with her good news, the royal gardens would need a new champion to protect its fair visitors. And her brave and true knight was the one to do it. Now where was Sir Martin the true? She began to pace back to the escalators…and walked slowly but surely around to find him, when she couldn’t find him she walked to the escalator to wait at the top…well, if he was lost or ditched her she would still have his book ransom. Speaking of which she might be able to find his address in there…the library could wait.

If she started taking it there now she might even be able to beat him there….or she could wait right here…or she could meet him at the library. Decisions, decisions.

She reached into her back pack after about ten minutes…she hoped he wasn’t attacking a subway right now because she had said it was a dragon and he was actually mentally unstable, that would be a drag to see on the news tonight. She had the black book in her hands, another two minutes and she was going to read this puppy. What else was she supposed to read, one of the ten other books in her back pack. And how long was she supposed to be standing here a damsel in bored distress. Hmph!

The escalator was creeping along, so he decided halfway up to have a run. And as soon as he reached the upper floors he saw her, holding his book in her hands, her look and obviously bored stance not foreboding anything good. Why did he have to be that careless anyways?

He walked right past her, but straight and intentionally through her line of sight. As he crossed her me mumbled:

“They are watching us.”

But was seemingly not able to take two more steps, before bursting like some bomb into fits of laughter. For this kind of acting I deserve an Oscar at least, he thought, holding his stomach and turning around slowly, while visibly composing himself. In his mind he was bracing himself actually. Bracing for more of the same. I am a twen. I am a twen. He kept repeating in his mind again. His lips moved slightly.

“I am regretting the long delay Milady, but the cowardly dragon went away without looking at my sword twice. Shall we go up to see the falcons rise freely?”


With a bow to her he began making his way to the last few steps that kept them from sunlight.