>>“Bring it on.”

Maya grinned a devilish grin. It was the weirdest kind of weird - wrestling with someone's hair. Add to the mix that someone is called Rapunzel... and you've got one fine story to tell.
It took her a few moments to get a firm grip on the hair. It still seemed to have its own mind, and when it came to arm wrestling, hands were kinda made to fit into each other, while gripping a strand of hair felt more like a prelude to a cat fight.
When she was finally ready, she nodded. It was usually Gawain who handled all the manly displays of muscular strength... okay, maybe it was him who usually got into trouble that involved muscle one way or another. But still.

How hard can it be to beat a fistful of hair in arm wrestling?
Maya reminded herself to be careful. She didn't want to cause pain.

"Ready?... Steady, go."

Part of Henrietta couldn't believe she was doing this, but it was a small part. The larger part was all for it.She never knew how fun it was to have friends that didn't judge every little aspect of her. She just didn't know anything different, which made her feel like she knew not much at all.

The brunette felt a small tug when Maya grabbed her hair. It felt a little odd. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't a sensation she was absolutely used to.It seemed the other girl was being careful about her hair. Henrietta grinned. Her kindness would most likely be her downfall. Peeking over the table, she looked at Maya.

>> "Ready?... Steady, go."

As soon as the word 'go' was said, Henri made her hair pull at the girl's arm. It felt like she almost had her arm pinned, but she couldn't be sure at the moment. She was a little distracted by her own giggling. Being that it was a little early in the morning, the girl was tired. It was the hyper kind of tired though. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but she was awake all the same.

"Whoa!"

It was a matter of inches and a split second that Maya almost got beaten at arm wrestling by Rapunzel's hair. Shifting her weight and leaning on the table she managed to stop her just before her knuckles hit the wooden surface.
Damn, that hair was strong.
Rapunzel giggled. Didn't she know giggling during such a serious fight was not... nice?

Maya huffed, and worked her hand back up, very slowly. It took her some time to get over the feeling she would cause Henri harm. It dawned on her the hair was more likely to cause her harm, not the other way around.

"Not bad, Princess." she smirked, her arm shaking with the effort "Ya've been practicin' this?"

>> "Not bad, Princess. Ya've been practicin' this?"

Henri smiled. “No, actually. I’ve never attempted arm wrestling with hair before. Never occurred to me, but it’s a good plan. I may actually be able to win against some people for once.” The brunette wasn’t what you would call a wimp, but she didn’t have much for upper body strength. Her legs were more toned from jumping hurtles in Track and Field though. Dancing was good cardio, but had not given her much muscle mass.

Maya had been pushing back and Henri’s hair was starting to get pinned down toward the table. Concentrating with all her might, Henri closed her eyes. It wasn’t helping much. Her hair wasn’t muscular, just very strong in the ‘trying-to-cut-it’ sense. Sighing, she let her hair get pinned down. Henrietta could tell that this was a losing battle.

Whatever Rapunzel said, it was not easy to win against her. When her knuckles finally touched the surface of the table, Maya let out the breath she had been holding, and fell back, letting go of the hair.

"Phew. Not half bad, Rapunzel." she grinned, leaning against the couch "Y're hair has muscle. Which is kinda weird" she added, laughing out as she rubbed her fingers. The grip of Henri's hair left a red mark on them. Not that it mattered, really. It was fun.

"So, ya're aimin' to be a superhero and join the school spandex team?" she asked, putting her feet up onto the table and tilting her head to look at the girl sitting on the other side "Cuz ya're showin' great potential..."

>> "Y're hair has muscle. Which is kinda weird."

Henri laughed when the girl did. It really was kind of weird. She wasn’t sure if it was actually muscle, but she wasn’t sure what else to call it either. Maya had a red mark on her hand from Rapunzel’s hair. “Oh, I’m sorry. Does it hurt?” A pang of guilt hit the brunette all of a sudden.

>> “So, ya're aimin' to be a superhero and join the school spandex team? Cuz ya're showin' great potential..."

School spandex team? This made Henrietta laugh again. When Maya said that Henri showed great potential, she felt herself blush for about the hundredth time in the past couple hours. She really wasn’t sure what she’d be able to do for the X-Men, if anything. Wild, flailing hair didn’t seem like it would help anyone much. “I don’t know. Compared to everyone else, my power seems a little lame. I’d love to be of some help though, if possible.” The brunette paused. “What about you?”

>>“I don’t know. Compared to everyone else, my power seems a little lame. I’d love to be of some help though, if possible.”

Maya nodded.
"Mam says Nature doesn't make anythin' useless, so all mutations are bound to be useful, one way or another" she said "So if ya can't figure out the way ta become a superhero, ya can always end up bein' a model and gettin' filthy rich. It's a win-win" she grinned.

>>“What about you?”

She shrugged.
"Same here, gotta find a way to use my powers to save the world. I wouldn't mind bein' on the team, it most def beats school." she smirked "I'm strictly against spandex though." she added with a shudder. Not to mention Gawain would look horrible in it.

>> "Mam says Nature doesn't make anythin' useless, so all mutations are bound to be useful, one way or another. So if ya can't figure out the way ta become a superhero, ya can always end up bein' a model and gettin' filthy rich. It's a win-win."

Henrietta smiled at Maya. “Your mam seems very smart. My mother’s not stupid, but she’s on the ignorant side.” Which was true. Her mother was decently bright, but she wasn’t very accepting of mutants. She didn’t have to say it, but Henri knew she thought her daughter was a freak.

“A model? I’m not so sure about that one, but I’m glad you have faith in me.” The brunette laughed. “And I think that your power could be very useful. Especially the mirror travel.” It was kind of like teleporting. Henri had a feeling that Maya/Gawain would become a great member of the spandex team, minus the spandex. Henrietta had worn spandex for dancing and practicing for Track and Field, but otherwise she didn’t wear them.

>>“Your mam seems very smart. My mother’s not stupid, but she’s on the ignorant side.”

Maya smiled and for a moment she stared into space. Yeah, Mom was smart... she learned to be smart because she was a mutant, and she needed to survive. Even if she didn't have her abilities, she would have been a great survivor. Sarah Connor caliber.
And she was a good teacher too.

>>“And I think that your power could be very useful. Especially the mirror travel.”

"Oh yeah" Maya found her way back to the present and grinned "It comes in handy once in a while. 't was not much help with the monster, but there's a bunch of useful stuff about being sneaky. Especially 'cuz I've been broke for three years now..."

Well, there. She kinda admitted she was a thief. Or she had been; she cut back on the sneakin'-an'-stealin' since she moved into the Mansion. And anyhow, what was wrong with stealing stuff she needed? Not like all of it would get sold anyway. And street dancing didn't pay all that well.
But it was fun.

"So, what were you before you became Rapunzel?" she asked with true curiosity. There was always more to people than just their mutation...

>> "It comes in handy once in a while. 't was not much help with the monster, but there's a bunch of useful stuff about being sneaky. Especially 'cuz I've been broke for three years now..."

Did she just confess to stealing? Henrietta was slightly surprised, but understood the need to take things if there’s no other way. The brunette always tried to look for the best in people and she was sure that Mirror was not a criminal. Henri smiled at her to let her know she wasn’t disgusted or freaked out by this discovery.

>> "So, what were you before you became Rapunzel?"

“What was I? Hmm…Well, I was scared of what everyone thought of me. My friends were really mean sometimes, so I’m not sure if they were actually my friends or not.” Henri looked down slightly and shrugged. “I love to run. I was in Track and Field and wanted to join the school dance team. My friends told me not to bother though because there was no way I would make it.” Part of her thought at the time that they were trying to spare her the embarrassment of not making it, but she wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I wasn’t popular with much of anyone. I tried to keep quiet so people would like me. I was never asked out or anything. I guess I was lonely before I became Rapunzel…” Thank God for her mutation, in a weird way. She wasn’t lonely anymore. “What about you, Maya?”

Rapunzel gracefully skipped the topic of stealing, Maya was grateful for that. She'd heard enough from Rupert about it - more than enough, actually. She smiled back in silent understanding.

>>“I wasn’t popular with much of anyone. I tried to keep quiet so people would like me. I was never asked out or anything. I guess I was lonely before I became Rapunzel…”

Maya listened to the story, and almost worked up a rush of anger against people whom she didn't even know, but who must have been the stupidest, most ignorant **** there are. She never understood how some people could make life hell for kind, easy-to-like girls like Henri. She frowned.

"That's not fair, ya know, I don't think anything's wring with you, mutant or not." she declared "So... another dancer, huh? We could have our own team here, looks like everyone loves dancin'." she grinned. Twyla, Emerald, and now Henri... oh, it would be fun.

>>“What about you, Maya?”

She shrugged "I never went to school, obviously. Hard to explain to the teachers why only one twin shows up for classes every day... so I didn't have to deal with stuff like that. But since she... went missing, I guess I've been lonely too. Good thing the X gene brings people closer together, huh?"

>> "That's not fair, ya know, I don't think anything's wrong with you, mutant or not. So... another dancer, huh? We could have our own team here, looks like everyone loves dancin'."

Henri smiled at the girl. “Thank you. That means a lot.” It really did to her. She had been so lonely for so long and she had always been scared of what people thought. It was nice to hear someone tell her something nice. Henrietta hadn’t told many people about her friends back home. Just Twyla and Maya. Twyla had said that her friends were probably jealous of her. It was most likely true, but Henri never would have thought it before the girl mentioned it.

>> "I never went to school, obviously. Hard to explain to the teachers why only one twin shows up for classes every day... so I didn't have to deal with stuff like that. But since she... went missing, I guess I've been lonely too. Good thing the X gene brings people closer together, huh?"

The brunette nodded. She hadn’t thought of that. She bet people would be suspicious if only one half of a set showed up. When Maya said she was lonely too, Henrietta gave her an understanding smile. There wasn’t anything to say that could make your mother disappearing seem better and the girl knew that. The X gene certainly did bring people together. The 16-year-old had never had as many real friends as she did since she learned she was a mutant and had been dropped off in front of the huge school

"In a way, I think being a mutant is a blessing. At least it was for me kind of."

>>"In a way, I think being a mutant is a blessing. At least it was for me kind of."

"Well, it certainly is an adventure." Maya agreed with a grin "I've never been 'normal' as humans say it... I was switchin' sexes even 'fore I was born. But I wouldn't go back to 'normal', not for anythin' in the world. It's too much fun, bein' special."

That's how Mom used to say it. Special. Mirror was not sure if it had anything to do with her/his abilities at all.
Not everyone was that lucky with their families.

"Do ya think your mother will come around?..." she asked "I think most parents do. They jus' need time ta get used to the idea... Ya know, sometimes I wonder if my dad was a mutant too. Or maybe he left 'cuz he wasn't..." she mused.

Mirror asked Henri if she thought her mother would come around. The brunette wasn't sure about anything having to do with her mom anymore. She had believed that they were close and that her mom would always love her. It didn't seem like that any longer. Her mother talked harshly to her, if at all. Henri's automatic response was to talk-back. It was like a defense mechanism to the young teenager.


Henrietta's mother had never really talked about her father. When she was younger, she had tried to bring it up, but her mom broke down into tears and became angry. After the one time, Henri decided it wasn't worth making her mother unhappy. She had given up on the topic.


"Special...I like that word. It's so much better that mutant. Well, it sounds nicer at least." She laughed. "So, can I ask you something? Something about why you get that funny look when you talk about Twyla?" Henri smirked slightly. She was curious what it was all about. Besides, Rapunzel liked the idea of matchmaking two friends together.

>>"So, can I ask you something? Something about why you get that funny look when you talk about Twyla?"

Uh-oh. Theeeere went the funny look again. Maya pulled her knees up to her chin, and looked away, really hoping she wouldn't blush and failing at said plan miserably.
Oh c'mon girl, how old are ya, ten?...

"She's..." she muttered, not really sure what to say "She was my first friend in a very long time. We met downtown, and we didn't tell each other we were mutants... I didn't tell her about, um, sometimes being Gawain. But she was... very nice. And fun. I haven't had any friends since I've been on the move, y'know. And then... well, I came here, and it turns out she's a mutant, and she, um, kinda found out about the shiftin'..."

She stopped there. End of story. Who in her right mind would wanna date a guy who's a girl half of her time? It's weird. Maya wouldn't blame them either. It took her all her childhood and a very good mother to come to terms with the shifting, and what she were, and even though Rupert summed it up nice and easy, it didn't mean it sounded less weird from the outside.
Looking up at Henri, she shrugged the rest away.

"Why are you askin'?..."