~~"I've no idea how it happened, I jus' know that one day I went to bed in a hotel and woke up the next, naked, a woman, and in bed with some fella that I don't know." "When I located Charge, in my body, she...he...whatever, was still asleep in the hotel room. When we finally got around ta talking, after a brief period of violence which ended in...I guess I'll jus' use 'her'... her winning due to the way my power works and my lack of knowledge of hers."

Mars twitched at the thought of Lori with another man, He had been ok with her being untamable before but it seemed that as he grew more attached the more likely it was going to cause a problem. It wasn’t as if she could run around not participating in using protection so on a logical level it didn’t bother him. on the level the she unequivocally belonged to him and only him, it was a bit of a nuisance.

~~"Anyway, we discussed what might'a caused this. We didn't really reach any conclusions other than we had both been at that mutant brawl. Granted we only discussed places where those nearby wore their animosity on their sleeves. She ran off before we could get any answers"My power is not, and no mutant I know has, the power to move consciousnesses. My power is simply that my muscles react to the demand placed on 'em. So when liftin' I can lift more, runnin' I can run faster, etc. It does not require one to know it's their and how to use it like this body's seems more ta be. The water touchin' thing aside."

Mars wasn’t even going to think on what exactly Michel was doing when he was flirting with him and or kissing him. Mars filled it under he was still kissing lori, and he refused to judge him as he certainly didn’t know what or how this whole body snatchers thing worked. Mars was silent in thought not out of being uncomfortable


** “So. You know what we have to do next, right?" "Find her. Bring her back. Protect both peoples' bodies while doing so. And..." "We find whatever has caused this, and reverse it. Any objections?"

Mars raised an eyebrow, he was liking the initiative of Lenna more and more, she was also processing what they needed faster than he was , as he focusing some on trying to figure out the bigger solution. And he was happy with Micheal as well, in spite of the odd situation he was performing spectacularly. He certainly was working with charges abilities well enough, keeping the power from bursting out constantly must certainly be a task to one inexperienced.

“None here, when we get things settled, I want you to know you are both welcome around the sanctuary you are both level headed in sticky situations, something I personally appreciate to no end.” He sighed. “ Not to mention something we are lacking in. I suggest we start with police scanners and the NYPD network out put, I am sure she has done something they’ve noticed, I hope you weren’t particularly attached to your car Mike.”

“So. You know what we have to do next, right?" "Find her. Bring her back. Protect both peoples' bodies while doing so. And..." "We find whatever has caused this, and reverse it. Any objections?"

“None here, when we get things settled, I want you to know you are both welcome around the sanctuary you are both level headed in sticky situations, something I personally appreciate to no end.”“ Not to mention something we are lacking in. I suggest we start with police scanners and the NYPD network out put, I am sure she has done something they’ve noticed, I hope you weren’t particularly attached to your car Mike.”

What Lenna had said was the best course of action and Mars' suggestion to use police scanners was a good expansion on it. Yet, as for being welcome around the Sanctuary the Ranger was unsure about. This place obviously had excellent resources to make use of at least until he regained his body, but beyond that his recent actions with two members would undoubtedly create uncomfortable situations. Also the Ranger had a feeling that this place doesn't strive for the same ends as him.

"That plan sounds good, an' thank you fer the offer." At the thought of his car he laughed. "Well it did have a lot'a work in it, but it will be easy to learn if somethin' happened to it. '69 Dodge Charger, orange paint, rebel flag on top, 'Zero One' on the doors which are welded shut, and General Lee printed above the doors. It's noticeable." The Ranger than paused for a moment to think. "If somethin' does happen to it and the LEOs look in the trunk she had better get away fast. There is a metal case in the back with firearms that are of questionable legality in this city."

The Ranger finished off the tea and set the glass on the table. S/he then looked at the female hand gripping it, hopefully this would not be the hand that s/he would forever see gripping things. But there was no time to dwell on such things. The Ranger looked up at Mars, "Do you have a police scanner in this place?"

>>"... both welcome around the sanctuary ... " Oho. Lenna's mind zoomed in on the statement. Now, that... was exploitable. If she went through with her plans with Slate... if she didn't. Either way.

Lenna nodded at Mars's police scanner plan. "Sounds good. And thanks."

She filed the offer away for the moment, and focused on the matter at hand. By now, she assumed Michael's car would be long gone. What did he drive around in, anyway? They'd need a good description, if they were to tune into police frequencies.

Her attention turned back towards Michael as he provided the answer to just that.

>>"69 Dodge Charger, orange paint, rebel flag on top, 'Zero One' on the doors which are welded shut..."

Oddly specific. General Lee? Lenna had lived in Columbia most of her life. She'd never had the chance to brush up on American television. As such, the reference was completely lost on her. Still... Didn't the American Civil War have a General Lee? ... He'd lost.

Well, if ManCharge crashed the car and the police found it... the General Lee would lose once more... it wouldn't ride again.

And questionable legality? She looked at the Ranger approvingly. He was up on his firearms knowledge, last she'd checked. It seemed he really was a Ranger.

>>"Do you have a police scanner in this place?"

Lenna looked to Mars curiously. "Do we?"

~~"That plan sounds good, an' thank you fer the offer.".

**"Sounds good. And thanks."

"Well it did have a lot'a work in it, but it will be easy to learn if somethin' happened to it. '69 Dodge Charger, orange paint, rebel flag on top, 'Zero One' on the doors which are welded shut, and General Lee printed above the doors. It's noticeable." "If somethin' does happen to it and the LEOs look in the trunk she had better get away fast. There is a metal case in the back with firearms that are of questionable legality in this city."

“You owned the dukes of Hazard Car? How could she not be in a car chase right now? She’s good at getting into and out of trouble so, I suspect she’ll run if she needs to.”

~~"Do you have a police scanner in this place?"

**"Do we?"

“How else would we keep track of anyone around here? “ mars said sarcastically as he stood up. “ follow me.”

The Large Red/not quite as large Pink mutant had the others follow him along until they came to room that greatly resembled what they have in most police stations a few monitors and then a lot of out put on a pair of speakers the local police broadcast could be heard. Mars set down and had to fight a full on smile as he picked up the cb. “Anybody got an APB on the general, a 69 charger from the dukes of hazard? Rebel flag up top?” He waited and listened. It wasn’t too long before information rained down on them. they must have been well aware of her trail.

“How else would we keep track of anyone around here? “ “ follow me.”

The three of them got up from the table, the Ranger took hold of the purse turned gun holster, and Mars led them to a room that easily resembled a big city's police dispatch. Mars took a seat in front of a CB radio and, taking hold of the microphone clled out, “Anybody got an APB on the general, a 69 charger from the dukes of hazard? Rebel flag up top?" It wasn't exactly standard form over police bands but it must was good enough to warrant a string of details.

Pieces stood out to the Ranger, "...crashed.." "...Texas plate, X-Ray, two, two, Paul, Charlie, George." That was the plate on the General, as recanted by NYPD's non-NATO phonetic alphabet. Elle had crashed the General, great... The officer continued, "False plate..." "...no description for a BOLO on the driver." So Elle has been able to elude the police after crashing the General, at least there was some good news. Returning to his body only to find a police tail at every turn would be an operational nightmare. The chatter soon broke into conversations between officers and talk arose of searching for prints on the car.

"Good luck with that," The Ranger said quietly to him/herself "I was removed from AFIS."

The Ranger took hold of a chair and then sat down, he was not on his A game and had missed where the car had crashed. S/he surmised Lenna or Mars had probably heard, they weren't as worried about whether or not law enforcement had a large collection of data to help them pin some crime Elle would commit back on him/her when he was himself again. "If they haven't seen her..or me... yet than chances are they won't. Unless someone on the force is an Olympic runner my body can easily outrun them if need be."

Did they have a police scanner, did they have a police scanner. He acted like it was ludicrous to think they would not. A thin smirk cut across Lenna's lips at the sarcasm in his voice, then he began to lead.

How could she do anything else but follow? She kept close to him as gave them the tour, purse over her shoulder. The duffel bags could stay in the cafeteria. Cornelius would watch them.

As they reached the room with the police scanner deluxe, Lenna crossed her arms.

Mars called in the question as her eyes scanned the tech. Before she had a chance to fully take it in, he'd already gotten responses. It seemed everyone worked fast around here.

>> "...crashed.." "...Texas plate, X-Ray, two, two, Paul, Charlie, George."

Lenna heard what Michael heard. So, it had crashed? Shame for the general. More importantly... she concentrated harder on listening for tell of a body. No description came. That meant little Mister Charge wasn't dead yet. That was good.

Lenna turned towards Michael. "... Crashed into a lingerie store... Tough luck." She commented. Her eyes snapped to Mars. "Wait, what was that about a red man sighted near the wreckage?"

She took a step, and leaned in towards the radio to listen closer.

"Register, robbed. Two suspects escaped on-foot."

Lenna glanced back at Michael. What had he just said about them 'not seeing' him?

The police were being cooperative today; it seemed they were riled up. Something about multiple robberies, probably.

Mars grinned. "Apparently we already have the situation under control, weird but one of my brothers is with her, with him...must be." He dialed the first number and spoke to Jupiter momentarily. nope. He dialed the second number, and spoke, someone sounded grouch and didn't like being bothered, not with Venus. He dialed the third number, a few questions, not with Pluto. Saturn wouldn't help a stranger, Mercury was more than likely in the house...He dialed for Abyss and the phone rang and rang and nothing…but it was there first one that was a maybe. He went ahead and texted the other two. And a pair of texts came back fairly quickly. “nope and nu uh” So eloquent his brothers.

“Well, I thought we had a pretty good lead, but it turns out the only one not near his phone is the one with her. so we are back to square one. Or around it, at least they will be traceable. “ Mars leaned back and put his hands toward it, if you have any other questions, I don’t know, but I assume that Lori and Abyss would head back her at some point, we could wait it out?”

"Register, robbed. Two suspects escaped on-foot."

The Ranger let out a mildly irritated sigh. Elle had stolen money from a 7-11 and fled in the General, s/he had cleared the evidence of that theft from the stores hard-drives. Now she was using his body to steal money from a register after crashing the General. Great...

"Apparently we already have the situation under control, weird but one of my brothers is with her, with him...must be." Mars then whipped out his phone and placed a few calls and sent and received a few texts.

"Well, I thought we had a pretty good lead, but it turns out the only one not near his phone is the one with her. so we are back to square one. Or around it, at least they will be traceable. “ Mars leaned back before continuing "if you have any other questions, I don’t know, but I assume that Lori and Abyss would head back her at some point, we could wait it out?”

So Lori is Elle's real name... The Ranger assumed Elle was an alias and now a new name was provided by someone she knew. It had a higher chance of being Charge's real name. The Ranger glanced at Mars as he thought about waiting it out here. There was no guarantee that she would return here, she seemed more interested in running around stealing. And in the meantime the Ranger felt uncomfortable around Mars. Mars now knew that he was a man in Lori's body and s/he had come on to him. And some of the desire was still there.

"She may not decide to come straight here, in the meantime I could be out there looking for her. If she returns here...I could get a prepaid phone to be called on."

So, they had a lead?! Lenna imagined hope flares in Marsy's eyes?

Nuh uh.

No such luck. 'Back to Square One.' She didn't like how that sounded.

>>"... if you have any other questions..." The clone added.

Lenna noted the woman's true name. Lori.

Her eyes shifted to Michael. Uncomfortable silence. Then he spoke.

"If you need a place to crash," Lenna interjected. "I've got an apartment near Central Park. It's not much. Loft with a view, but... I have a spare room. Keep you safe." While they waited, at least. It made sense. She owed him. Lenna looked to Mars. "And while we're waiting for Lori to come on home with her friend, you could tell us a little bit about her? If we need to search her out, we need to understand how she thinks."

~~"She may not decide to come straight here, in the meantime I could be out there looking for her. If she returns here...I could get a prepaid phone to be called on."

**"If you need a place to crash," Lenna interjected. "I've got an apartment near Central Park. It's not much. Loft with a view, but... I have a spare room. Keep you safe." While they waited, at least. It made sense. She owed him. Lenna looked to Mars. "And while we're waiting for Lori to come on home with her friend, you could tell us a little bit about her? If we need to search her out, we need to understand how she thinks."

Mars concentrated for a few moments. And a slight smile came to his mouth. “My bet is she is having fun being a man. If you had a good name, she is more than likely mucking it up, at least with the ladies. Crime in a face I doubt she intends on keeping. You may be right about not sitting around and waiting. Abyss how ever is pretty logical I wouldn’t be surprised if he checks in sooner than later…that is if she tells him in the first place. If not he may just be having fun on the town with a new friend. Hmmmm. I am afraid the best I can truly tell you is that she is unpredictable.” That was after all one of his favorite features of the women, unpredictable dangerous and with an absolute and utter survival instinct. He sent out another text, ---Go look for Abyss and another mutant male.--- he might need help--- that last was a lie, but it might motivate his brothers more.

“ Ask Lisa at the front desk for one of the disposable phones and she won’t think twice about handing it over. So do we split up from here and simply stay in touch? If so I will have the number of the temp phone.”

"If you need a place to crash," "I've got an apartment near Central Park. It's not much. Loft with a view, but... I have a spare room. Keep you safe." "And while we're waiting for Lori to come on home with her friend, you could tell us a little bit about her? If we need to search her out, we need to understand how she thinks."

"That sounds good, Lenna. I'll stay with you than.

“My bet is she is having fun being a man. If you had a good name, she is more than likely mucking it up, at least with the ladies. Crime in a face I doubt she intends on keeping. You may be right about not sitting around and waiting. Abyss how ever is pretty logical I wouldn’t be surprised if he checks in sooner than later…that is if she tells him in the first place. If not he may just be having fun on the town with a new friend. Hmmmm. I am afraid the best I can truly tell you is that she is unpredictable.”

The Ranger sighed and Mars sent out a text message. "I can tell she is unpredictable. Hopefully this Abyss can get her to head this way...soon." As the Ranger finished his comment his/her gaze drifted off to a more distant stare. Attention returning to Mars when he spoke again,

“ Ask Lisa at the front desk for one of the disposable phones and she won’t think twice about handing it over. So do we split up from here and simply stay in touch? If so I will have the number of the temp phone.”

"That'll work. And splitting up now seems as good a time as any." S/He turned to face Lenna, "Unless you have a reason to stay."

>>"That sounds good, Lenna. I'll stay with you than."

That was decided, then.

Lenna turned to listen to what Mars had to say.

The basic message was this: 'Lori is unpredictable.' 'Lori likes having fun in man bodies.' 'Lori commits lots of crimes, and runs wild with the thunderous litheness of youth.' 'Don't sit around. Get up off your asses, girls!'

Each said with the same singsong girly voice as the last, with the exception of the last, which was stated in a boomingly resounding baritone.

Then, Mars messaged his brothers, and told the girls to get free phones.

Lenna fell silent. ". . ." What did she just imagine Mars with a singsong girly voice for?

>>"That'll work," Michael stated. "And splitting up now seems as good a time as any." "Unless you have a reason to stay."

"Naw. No reason. That sounds good." Really. They had no plan at all. The best lead they had was to check the local strip clubs for big red men, or Michael-shaped boys. Lenna looked to Mars. "Side note. I've got a phone. So, if you wanted to give me your number, I could toss that on my list." She bent to unzip the duffel bag, and retrieved her iphone. Then, she jiggled it. Jiggling black plastic caught the cafeteria light.

"That'll work. And splitting up now seems as good a time as any” "Unless you have a reason to stay."

He nodded to Michael. “ I am quite fond of the woman you have switched places with and would appreciate it if you took care of her body while you are in it. though I am guessing with the current predicament, you’d probably want to anyhow.”

Mars furrowed his brow wondering what exactly was going through the dark haired woman’s head that made her make the face she was currently wearing. He looked to the jiggling black plastic in her hand and nodded.

“That works too,” He rattled out his phone number, looking to the pair. “ I hope I see you both sooner than later.” he stood up and realized he should show them out.he couldn't have anyone seeing the leader run around like she didn't know where she was.

“ I am quite fond of the woman you have switched places with and would appreciate it if you took care of her body while you are in it. though I am guessing with the current predicament, you’d probably want to anyhow.”

"Don't worry, I'll keep it safe."

The Ranger waited as Lenna took out her phone and Mars gave her his number. Mars then said, “ I hope I see you both sooner than later.” The Ranger looked around, given the time s/he could find his/her way back to the entrance. Yet, when there is someone who could easily direct them out having them help would be the best course of action. Perhaps Mars decided that it would be best if "Lori" didn't wander around lost in a place she was supposudly familiar with.

"Lead the way?" The Ranger asked Mars, careful to say it in a way where it would appear to any passerbys that "Lori" was just having Mars walk with her, not show her how to get out.

Lenna took down Mars's number as he recited it. After that, she returned her phone to the duffel bag, and gathered their things.

>>"Lead the way?" Michael requested.

Lenna paused, and swung the duffel bags over her shoulders. She teetered for a second. "I think I can find the way out on my own..." Lenna trailed. Then, she started walking. Out of the cafeteria, through the hallways, and to the front desk.

She held up two fingers. "Disposable phones. Mars wants to keep in contact with us."

Lisa took a moment to grab them, then held them out for Lenna and Michael. Lenna took hers, and slid it into her bag.