David heard the comment about not being the only one, she must have came to the city alone. He knew how intimidating it was, to go to a brand new place alone was bad enough, but New York city just made it ten times worse. Everyone in the city was busy and moving from one place to another, trying to find a place to start felt impossible.

He led her to one of the booths by the window and took a seat, not thinking he responded to her comment "You came here alone also? or did you just meet up with more family." After saying it he immediately regretted it. He just met the girl, they were practically strangers, and now he just asked a pretty personal question. His body language showed his own shock at himself, immediately he tried to rectify the situation "I'm sorry you don't need to answer that, I wasn't thinking." He still felt a little uneasy about the situation.

"It's just that when I came to the city I was alone and didn't know what to do." He blurted out, trying to do what he could to put her more at ease. He picked up the menu on the table and started trying to act more casual, "I was lucky and found the school, they were mutants like me and had no problem taking me in..." The realization of what he said hit him like a brick. He dropped the menu, a worried look spread across his face. He didn't know what to say, he just told her he was a mutant, what would she think. "I... uhmmm..." a complete blank, all he could think to say was "Please don't think I'm wiered, being a mutant and all."

Neither of them said anything as they sat down at one of the booths that had a good view of the park. Twyla looked out the window and watched a cluster of birds peck and hop around the grass at the edge of the park. "You came here alone also? or did you just meet up with more family." His question pulled Twyla abruptly out of her examination of the birds. She looked down and didn’t answer his question. Her heart began beating faster. I can’t answer that. I can’t tell him the answer to that question. Twyla’s immediate instinct was to run. She almost made the move to get up but then he went on. "I'm sorry you don't need to answer that, I wasn't thinking." Twyla let her shoulders relax and she looked up at David’s chin again, he looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. She was still ready to ditch if this conversation didn’t right itself though.

Still trying to do a bit of damage control he kept speaking. He admitted to being alone in the city and she still didn’t say anything. "I was lucky and found the school, they were mutants like me and had no problem taking me in..." This pulled Twyla from her silent panic. She looked David full in the face this time. Before she could think of a good response she noted that he looked worried and he had dropped his menu. Twyla let a small smile light up her features. He didn’t seem to notice and said: "Please don't think I'm weird, being a mutant and all." This comment almost made her laugh and her smile became more knowing. She reached across the space between them and grabbed one of his hands. “If you’re weird for being a mutant, I’m a total freak.” She said, letting her powers camouflage the part of her arm and his hand that were touching the Formica of the tabletop. She moved her menu and propped it up so that it hid their hands from the other patrons and looked up at David, trying to gauge his reaction. “I think we have a lot more in common than either of us realized a moment ago.”

At first David was confused, very confused. The girl had a smile on her face, that was definitely not the reaction he was expecting; although, to be fair, he didn't know what to expect anyway. She reached out and touched his hand, and before he could respond to what she said, her arm and his hand seemed to turn invisible. As soon as it happened David's face seemed to light up "Wow" He said, still in shock. "What were the chances" He thought to himself.

He reached his other free hand over to the spot, he could still feel her arm and his hand there, it was like she camouflaged them. He started to laugh a little, looking around the cafe at the other customers, "And to think, I was scared to tell a mutant that I was a mutant." He looked up at her, his smile echoing hers, "So you can blend in with anything, that's pretty amazing." He moved his hand, while still holding her's, a little bit, and the camouflage matched it.

David was only the third person she had ever shown her powers to. ‘Wow’ was definitely a good reaction. She watched him examine the spot where their hands were masked and her smile grew wider. “I don’t go incorporeal or anything like that.” She explained in a hushed tone. His laughter drew curious glances from some of the other café goers. She looked back at them, still smiling and they looked away–making up some accepted excuse for the two’s behavior. "And to think, I was scared to tell a mutant that I was a mutant." He told her. “In all honesty, I was terrified that you’d find out. Crazy city, huh?” Twyla’s panicky mood was gone and she was pleasantly surprised with the way events were unfolding.

"So you can blend in with anything, that's pretty amazing." He praised her, moving their hands around the table. Twyla blushed at this comment. “Not quite ANYTHING...Most things...I still have trouble with reflective surfaces. I can never get the reflections right, it’s really really hard to get mirrors right.” Twyla realized that she was still holding onto his hand. Her face flushed briefly. Alright, demonstration over. She decided, pulling her hand away and resting it in her lap. “I don’t have all the hows and whys figured out yet.” She shrugged and waited a moment before going on. “I showed you mine, care to share your mutation, Mr. David?” She asked him in a teasing tone that she hoped hid her sudden awkwardness.

Funny, bot hof them were mutants, and both were afraid the other would find out. It made David question whether keeping his mutation a secret. It's not like anyway ever reacted badly when he told them, but for some reason that need to fit in always took control. David thought about the whole mirror, and could see why it would be hard, the power was definitely interesting. He felt so relieved now, much more relaxed then before.

As she pulled her hand away David's went back to normal, he held it up in front of his face and kept smiling "That really is neat." He quickly dropped his hand when she asked asked him about his power, "Huh? mine? well..." He started trying to think of the best way to show her, his face showing it. "Oh I know" He said as he closed his eyes and started to connect. After a few moments of silence he snapped back to reality, "Ok, you said you were from Trempealeau? Trempealeau has a population of 1,319 as of 2000, it's 738 feet above sea level, and has a total area of 1.3 square miles. Currently the temperature is 80 degrees, and cloudy." He said, proud of himself. He raised a finger and put it to his temple, " I can connect to any satellite, it's like having a 3g network in my head, only better."

I’ve seen so many mutants in my travels, it’s weird to think that I haven’t told anyone what my powers were until just recently. It was true that Twyla had seen many mutant in her travels, mostly because she usually stayed in mutant crash pads in the cities she went to. These weren’t the best places to stay, especially not for a seventeen year old girl, and Twyla knew that so she usually kept to herself and left as soon as possible. He seems to think they’re cool. I haven’t really thought about them as anything other than a burden. Well, that’s not totally true, I did use them as a tool when I was evading the police with Meld and Dead. Crazy week.

"That really is neat." He told her after his hand was back to normal and hers was safely under the table with its twin. She shrugged. “It is what it is, I guess.” Twyla still hadn’t come to grips with the fact that her gift could make her special, she still saw her mutation as something that was holding her back and this was evident in her tone although she tried to cover it up. He seemed to be having trouble explaining his mutation but Twyla just waited patiently for David to organize his thoughts. Then he closed his eyes and seemed to be spacing out or something. Twyla really didn’t have a name for the look on his face. She was confused for a moment but then his eyes opened and he seemed to snap out of whatever it was he was doing.

"Ok, you said you were from Trempealeau? Trempealeau has a population of 1,319 as of 2000, it's 738 feet above sea level, and has a total area of 1.3 square miles. Currently the temperature is 80 degrees, and cloudy." Twyla could feel her eyes grow wide as he said this, she was still confused but impressed. He explained himself by putting a finger to his temple and saying: " I can connect to any satellite, it's like having a 3g network in my head, only better." Ooh, that makes A LOT more sense. “Now THAT’S a cool power. That’s gotta be pretty useful, more useful than matching wallpaper by far. So do you need to be in any special place to do this, or does it not matter where you are?” Twyla asked, thinking of the café’s wi-fi. Twyla’s only experience with any kind of modern technology came from school, her family didn’t own a computer. The milking parlor was the most modern area of their entire farm and that had nothing to do with networks. So Twyla didn’t totally understand all of the implications of what he was saying but she was pretty sure she had caught the gist of it.

David was happy that she liked his power, he wasn't used to people being that interested in what he did, considering he spent most of the time just learning. "Well I'm not completely sure how it works, I tried to learn what I could on how the mutations work, I know it has something to do with the X-gene, but past that I'm not sure. The gene causes such a wide variety of mutations, such as your ability to blend in, that it's hard to pinpoint. What I do know is that it lets me connect my mind to any satellite, or even groups of satellites." He said motioning with his arms as he explained.

"Originally I thought it was just internet, like what I just showed you. But after going to the mansion I learned it works past that, if it uses a satellite or network, I can use it, be phones, or GPS." He realized he was babbling, but a thought dawned on him. "Hey you said you were having a hard time working on reflections, I bet they could help you. I know it kinda sounds odd, a school dedicated to mutants, but it really works."

Twyla watched in quiet fascination as David, to use her phrase, ‘went off’. He was moving his arms for emphasis. I don’t think anybody totally understands the mutant phenomena. She decided. He told her that his powers went beyond just connecting to the internet and she was impressed. That really is very cool, it seems appropriate that he grew up in Silicon Valley. She paused so that he could continue speaking if he wanted to, he seemed to be on a tangent. Twyla didn’t mind be talked at, she preferred to listen anyway; no one can judge what you say if you don’t say anything. Besides her preferences, what he had to say was interesting and he seemed enthused about it so it was easy to pay attention.

What David went on to say next startled Twyla. "Hey you said you were having a hard time working on reflections, I bet they could help you. I know it kinda sounds odd, a school dedicated to mutants, but it really works." She had never heard of such a thing until he had let it slip that he went to one–a school that taught just mutants. To Twyla it sounded like something wonderful. Her mutation wouldn’t be holding her back if she could get an education and learn to control her powers better. She had just two reservations about the subject. First of all, she didn’t have any money and boarding schools cost a lot as far a she knew and she didn’t want the school’s administration to send her back to her parents. Twyla bit her lip for the millionth time that day and looked out the window, her eyes not focusing on anything as she thought. “I don’t know...I’m not really good right now as far as finances go right now, if you catch my meaning. I don’t think I could afford a boarding school.” She wasn’t going to tell him about being a runaway, it was hard enough to tell him she had money problems. Or lack of money problems. I have no money, therefore I can’t have money problems. I just have problems and no money.

David wasn't quite sure what to say, he couldn't guarantee that the school would let her in, he didn't know how it worked exactly, but he did know they were very helpful. The school wanted to students, they wanted to help out whoever they could, so he didn't think they would turn her away. "I know how you feel, but I'm sure they have ways to help, they take in all sorts of people." He said reassuringly.

"I can understand if it seems a little intimidating, but it doesn't hurt to check, right?" He reached over and grabbed one of the napkins, pulling out a pen he jotted down the address of the school, "If you want to head down their with me it's fine, if you want to think about it here is the address." He said sliding the napkin across to her.

Twyla was relieved when it didn’t seem like David would try to press the idea of the school on her. He tried to reassure her by saying: "I know how you feel, but I'm sure they have ways to help, they take in all sorts of people.". She smiled politely to this. I don’t know if they take in my sorts without alerting social services. "I can understand if it seems a little intimidating, but it doesn't hurt to check, right?" That’s true, very true. She mulled over his words while he wrote something on one of the napkins at their table. Maybe I could check it out, it couldn’t hurt to ask questions, right? It’s not like I’d have to admit to anything. If I got any vibes that they’d turn me over to authorities I could just ditch, right? No harm no foul and all that. But what if something happened, something went wrong? How do I even know this school is legit? I know nothing about it. I haven’t even heard of such a thing. But what if...what if it IS legit?

Before Twyla had made any sense of her thoughts David had finished writing and slid the napkin across the table to her. "If you want to head down their with me it's fine, if you want to think about it here is the address." Twyla studied the ink on the thin paper for a moment without really registering what it said. I need more information first. She looked up from the napkin suddenly and finally replied to David. “Thanks. I’ll have to think about it. It seems like it should be simple, but I like to make things way too complicated.” She was serious but she said this with the ghost of a smile on her face and tucked the napkin into Sense and Sensibility. “So you said you can tap into cell phone networks, does that mean you can intercept phone calls and texts and stuff like that?” Twyla was curious and she wanted to push the conversation into another direction, a safer direction.

David could understand her response, and he didn't want to push it on her. From what he gathered from the school it seemed they preferred to just get their name out there and let whoever wanted to come, come. "Don't worry about it, the school will always be there." David could tell she was ending the subject, and decided to just roll with it.

"Well, yeah I could, but I never do, it's an ethical thing." He said thinking about the concept. He thought about he would feel if someone would just eavesdrop on all of his private stuff, it would make him pretty angry. "Your power could do almost the same thing, you could be the figurative fly on the wall." He said with a grin.

"Don't worry about it, the school will always be there." Twyla nodded and they moved on from the uncomfortable topic. Twyla had hoped that David wouldn’t use his powers for what she had asked about and he didn’t disappoint."Well, yeah I could, but I never do, it's an ethical thing." Twyla smiled at this. Good plan. That’d be so embarrassing-to find out that someone had been reading all of your messages. Some people wouldn’t care about the ethics of it though. "Your power could do almost the same thing, you could be the figurative fly on the wall." He went on as he grinned.

“So you don’t think of it like you were given power so you’re allowed to use it however? You’re not one of those high and mighty mutant types who thinks that they can do what they want with humans because they’re just humans?” Twyla had met the type she mentioned many times. She had yet to agree with any of their arguments. In fact, she had started a heated argument when she was in Boston about mutant supremacy that had almost landed her with a severe beating that she only got out of through dumb luck. Memories from that night flooded her but she kept them in check and contemplated David’s second comment.

“I never really thought of it like that. I mean, I’ve used it to hide and I’ve accidentally listened in on other people, but I’ve never gone out of my way to be sneaky just to be sneaky.” Pausing for a moment to think again, Twyla had a thought that would make her older brother Nate proud. “We could go into the spy business if we were less ethical people. You’ve got the technical surveillance covered and I can do field work.” Twyla laughed at the image of herself in a black trench coat. In her imagination she matched the wall behind her and then a group of thugs walked into the room. The wallpaper her was shaking so badly that the paintings on the wall all fell of.

“Maybe not spies. I’m not nearly brave enough. I’m more of a wallflower, than a fly on the wall.” Memories flooded her mind again but these weren’t from Boston. These were from the night that she renamed herself Wallflower. She opened her mouth to tell David the story but thought better of it and closed it again.