((OOC:* = Anyone not in Romania at this time may enjoy the parade and all of its giant balloons and the fun involved with the rest of the city!))

It was 6:32 A.M. and Garrett had to really scheme and shoulder to get right up to the barricades. Though the parade didn't start for a few hours, thousands had already staked their humble piece of concrete as their designated viewing area. From Garrett's perspective, it looked like he could see several blocks down the line from his own little spot. The steamy coffee poured down his gullet as the crowd yammered on about whatever they tend to yam about in these situations.

The result was a large amount of crowd noise and near invisibility among the growing throng of onlookers and families. When a man asked if he could take Garrett's precious spot so his kid could see the parade, the manipulator graciously agreed. It worked as well for him with the increase of frquency that the street patrols cruised by the large steel fence-like structures. Garrett only asked that the man save a spot for him to return to once he emptied his coffee reserve.

He had been keeping up with what precious few details had been leaking from Romania. He imagined that once there was news of any sort of Camps, the kind that branded mutants in a fashion, most of the city's mutant teams would be assembled and sent on their merry way to stamp out injustice and tyranny. There was little need of it here, as usually America tended to be dull in the world of mutant politics. The Registration Act was rpealed here, then the mutants turned inward, as they had no common enemy. Even fighting amongst themselves took a toll. Something would have to change and he wished to be the agent. The catalyst.

After a release of his coffee reserve and a refill, Garrett strode back into what was an even larger cacophony of chaos. Though it was all neatly nestled into the barricade line, he was not on the tidy side. Trash and cigarette butts already rustled underfoot and there was still some time to spare. He worked himself back into the frothing mob, his coffee held high above heads should anyone feel the need to shove. It would be easy to part this sea of people with his gift, but that would ruin his element of surprise. Surprise seemed so much more satisfying in such a large crowd.

Taking his saved spot from Daddy and child, Garrett scanned down the long empty street. The overall view was magnificent and was mostly overlooked when it was full of honking horns and busy people. Today, all eyes were settled on the end of the street, where the first floats would come around the corner. Garrett sipped his coffee and grinned gleefully.

The sharp tap of a snare drum echoed through the streets, a staccato report which struck like a bullet, marking the time for the shuffling lefts and rights making their way around the corner. Various band ensembles began blaring various songs, be it seasonal or not. The sudden welcoming of the musical chaos only ignited the crowd, raising the volume and the camouflage. Garrett quickly became part of the great amalgam rather than a face in the crowd. Just like he liked it.

After many a band and car full of smiling politician or pageant queen, the grand floats came. Masterfully crafted and polished, they were a great sight to see. Of course, that wasn't what so many bright eyed youths came for. They came for the red fat man at the end and all of the grand balloons that would grace the skyline before his arrival. Garrett's own eyes brightened once he saw the first one to round the bend. Snoopy, a staple of the parade since balloons had first been entered

This year, it was to be the Red Baron Snoopy, complete with scarf and goggles. No longer imagining on the back of the red doghouse, this Snoopy was banking this way, his plane alone easily forty feet high. Today, Snoopy. Today you could realize your dreams of flight and soar over the great buildings of the City. where would he fly? Surely the many tethers guided by volunteers were a hindrance to his dreams of aerial exploration. Garrett made his way through the great wall of people, counting the number of balloon wranglers in his head as he prepared to set the Sopwith Camel free.

Ted took a taxi to get to the parade. He’d never been to one of these major parades before. All he’d ever done was watch them on TV with his family. But now that he lived in the area close enough to the main part of New York City he decided that he would go to this one. After all this was the major parade the state held every year. After this one no one really paid attention to any of the others until the Rose Bowl parade on New Years day. Crowds lined the street. People were packed like sardines next to each other and no one seemed to mind. Because he was so young he was able to get around people with a fair amount of ease. Ted dipped this way and dove that way as he made his way to the front of the crowd where the police fences kept the cheering crowds at bay.

It was a struggle to get as close to the front as possible. Once he was there Ted didn’t want to move for fear that he might lose his spot and have to fight his way back to the front. There were many balloons that started their trek up the boulevard and in front of the thousands of people. Bands passed. They were good, some were better than others but none of them were bad. Cars passed and most were annoying and boring as they passed by and the people inside waved at the crowd. When Ted caught the first glimpse of the brown nose he started cheering. It was Snoopy. Snoopy was one of the coolest balloons in the parade and he was sure to be there every year. Pretty soon more and more of the balloons started to round the corner behind Snoopy.