After a long day of sitting around on her butt, Henrietta Braun had decided to go for a nice walk. It had started out as looking in little shops, but it eventually got to a point where the brunette stopped focusing on her direction. A stream of random thoughts had carried her mind off somwhere completely different, even if her feet kept going in a straight line. Hmm...Shops around here sure are expensive. I don't know how my mother expects me to be able to buy anything with the lack of money she sends me. She came to a stoplight and waited a minute for it to turn red so she could cross. I guess I could try to get a job, but I'm not good with manual labor. She would say it was all the more reason to get one. The girl let out a sigh and continued to stray in a generally northern direction. Truth is, I'm way too scared to work somewhere out here. I'd be so afraid of getting mugged or something..

As she thought about getting mugged, she paid no attention to the fact that she had been followed for a few blocks now. The two younger men were still trailing her at the moment. I wonder how long you're suppose to wait to call a guy after a date. I hear they scare easy. I don't want to make Van jumpy or anything... Turning onto a different street, she barely noticed the fact that there weren't tons of people on it. She passed a frail old woman with a horrible bright blue colored wig. That's unfortunate. It reminds me of a blue skunk. It even has a stripe looking mark too. What if people did wear roadkill on their heads? We'd probably all need nose plugs to keep us from passing out from the fumes. The girl stuck her tongue out in disgust at the thought.

Walking a little farther down the street, she realized that there was no where else to go. Putting her left hand on her hip, she scratched her head. "Where was I going? Good thing my head's attatched or I'd probably lose it." Henri squinched her eyes when she said this. Her mother had always told her that, but it never made any sense to the girl. She was usually very careful about where she placed things. Maybe her mother had meant about her spacing off. It was more of a frequently occuring event when she had been about 12. Things would make her ponder and she wouldn't realize where she was going.

Sighing, she began to turn around to leave the way she had came. She jumped slightly when she noticed that the two men were standing in the middle of the alley. Henrietta just looked at them a moment and walked up to them. "Excuxe me, I need to get passed you." She began to walk around them when a shorter man with a large mustache put his arm out to stop her. Looking at him, the girl stepped back slowly. The taller man had dirty blonde hair and a case of bad acne. He had a raspy sounding voice that cracked slightly when he talked. "Just give us your money and you can go wherever you want." If only this guy could've heard me thinking about my lack of money. Sighing, she pulled her pockets inside out. "I probably have as much money as you guys do."

Shoving her pockets back in, she got a little closer. "Excuse me." Panicking, the taller man pulled out what looked like a switchblade. Henri just stared at him. "I don't have anything!" The shorter man looked at his friend and squinted. "Come on, man. She doesn't have anything." The blonde's hand was shaking. His voicre trembled and he looked like he was on some sort of withdrawal. "I NEED money! Besides, she'll just rat on us. You know that..." The man with the mustache shook his head. "You're cracking, man." Sighing, he leaned against one of the alley walls."Do what you want, but I want nothing to do with this."

As the tall man approached her, Henrietta's hair began to flare around. She could feel herself shaking. This was even scarier than the first time a man had come at her with a knife. This man seemed crazy. The other one had turned out to be a coward but this one, he seemed out of it. He had a very far away look in his eyes. Oh god. What am I supposed to do?

Stop. Freeze the situation. What's wrong with this picture? Young girl, in the middle of New York city. Two thugs, out for her money. Hair-raising story, and on on all accounts, average! So, what. Is. Wrong. With this picture?

Ah, right. No hero.

Lenna wasn't one to dodge a cliche, though she certainly could point one out. Here, in the hero movies, the caped crusader would appear on a rooftop, and shout down 'Hands off that dame', or something more in with the times, and politically correct. A Jedi might mutter 'this isn't the purse you're looking for. Move along.' Another hero might jump into the middle of the situation, and get his ass beat. Crack a witty comment, or two. Wear spandex. Look bad. A mutant trying heroics could find a real name for him in this situation, or at least a friendly bit of hero worship from a woman. Yet, here she sat, on the fire escape, having a smoke, and not a hero came. Lenna flicked the burnt butt, and let it tumble end over end onto the shoulder of the man with the knife.

It was pathetic, really. That's what it was. As she slid down the side of the fire escape, Lenna let out a sigh. Where was the hero in the situation? Who could he be?

A finger snaked out to tap on the shoulder of the man with the knife. Lenna adopted the most innocent foreigner expression she could find. "Excuse moi? Le airport....le... bus station?"

The man shot her a dark look. His eyes traveled up and down the length of her body, from the black and cream coffee-striped scarf wrapped around her neck, down to the blue sweatshirt and the floral print turquoise and blue skirt, and back.

He smirked. She looked pretty. Pretty girls usually had cash. "Got any money, you little bitc-!!"

The first two knuckles of Lenna's fist connected with the bridge of his nose. She really wouldn't let him finish that remark. Not with children present. That was just rude. "No."

He held his nose, and spat out a stream of curse words. It was bleeding. Obviously, a job well-done. "You freak! You broke my nose!!" A glint passed over the blade of his knife as he held it up.

Lenna frowned.

Aww. No hero was coming to save them. That meant-- She shifted out of his way as he charged her like a mad pig. Her hands caught the sides of his jacket, and his arm. She swung him around into the wall with a crash. He crumpled to the pavement. Lenna's eyes shot the mustachioed man. He looked left, then right. Then, he ran.

Obviously, she'd gotten to play the hero of the scene this time around. Darn, she mourned. Heroes were usually cute.

Lenna turned back to the girl, and smiled at her. "You okay?" The least she could do as the hero in this situation was check on the girl, wasn't it? It was the perfect cliche.

Henri thought she was about to die when a woman dropped down from a fire escape. Tilting her head, the brunette listend as the woman talked with some weird accent. It was obvious the man was going to try to take her money. She had on a very nice outfit, after all. He began to say something, but she punched him in the face. Henrietta's mouth slacked slightly. Wow, she's tough. The man pulled out his blade and took a run at the lady. She just grabbed him and whipped him around like a pillow. She made it look so easy. The other man got a terrified look on his face and took off.

After the danger had passed, the woman walked over and asked Henri if she was okay. She had a pretty nice smile so Henrietta smiled back at her. "Uh, thank you. That was amazing. You must be very strong." The 16 year-old girl stopped talking when she realized she was shaking and her hair was still twitching angrily at the tips. The girl looked at her defender and hoped that she didn't hate mutants. This could only get more ugly from here on out if she did.

Henrietta didn't feel like running even if this woman hated what she was. She was already a little tired before all of this, but now she was freaked out to boot. Mutant-hater or no mutant-hater, the girl would take her own time to get back home. Maybe she didn't mind mutants though. She must've noticed Henri's hair moving wildly before scaring off the two men. If she hated mutants, she wouldn't have saved her, right? Well, this was her theory anyway.

Holding her hand out to the woman, she smiled politely. "Thank you so much for your help. This is the second time since being in New York that I've been attacked for my money." The girl paused. "Even though I really don't have much in my name. I'm Henrietta Braun, by the way. Some people call me Henri." She took a bit of a better look at her now that they were closer. She wore nice clothing and seemed to have a kind smile. "I love your skirt. It's very pretty. Your whole outfit is, actually."

Henri had a knack for finding something to compliment a person on. It was pretty automatic to the girl. It was one of the ways that people could tell she was friendly and kind. The girl could come up with a compliment no matter what the person looked like or how they acted. Well, unless they were mean, ugly, and had no sense of style.

If she was healthy enough to compliment her, then the girl was healthy enough. And shaking. Hair-ends, shaking as well. She was a mutant. Simple as that. The fact her hair was twitching in Lenna's presence, though... meant that hair was pretty strong. Even weakened, it could put up a fight. It reminded her a bit of a cat. All she needed to do was hiss and spit more. That would scare the bad guys away.

The girl extended her hand. Lenna met it with her own.

>>"Thank you so much for your help. This is the second time since being in New York that I've been attacked for my money." The girl paused.

So, she was a bit of a mugging aficionado? Or, celebrity?

>>"Even though I really don't have much in my name. I'm Henrietta Braun, by the way. Some people call me Henri."

But not a rich one. She shook the not-rich-celebrity's hand, then released it. "Lenna."

>>"I love your skirt. It's very pretty. Your whole outfit is, actually."

"Thanks. You too. Nice hair," Lenna paused. The smile never left her face. Then, she glanced towards the unconscious man on the pavement. "What do you say we get out of here? Being around people like this just puts me off..."

They needed to get the damsel off the streets, away from the distress.

The woman said her name was Lenna. Henrietta smiled. After she complimented her, Lenna said she liked her hair. The girl blushed slightly when she noticed that her hair was still twitching a little. “I’m sure you can tell I’m a mutant then. Normal people’s hair doesn’t usually move around when there’s no breeze in an alleyway.”

Lenna suggested they leave the alley and Henri nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.” As they walked out of the dead end street, Henri glanced back at the man one last time. He was out cold on the ground. She sighed and walked away with the woman.

When they were back on a regular street, Henrietta turned to her. “I was with this boy last time. He’s an obvious mutant. He looks kind of like a fish. We got cornered by these guys. They said they’d let us go if we gave them our money.” She paused and looked at the sidewalk. “They knew we were mutants. I barely have any money though. My mom’s in Illinois and she sent me here when my power showed itself. She’ll send me some money here and there, but not a lot. My hair ended up attacking one of the guys. He didn’t get hurt at all, just scared.”

She kicked a chunk of ice down the sidewalk. “I feel like people target mutants more.” Henrietta looked at the woman. “What do you think? About mutants, I mean”

>>“I’m sure you can tell I’m a mutant then. Normal people’s hair doesn’t usually move around when there’s no breeze in an alleyway.”

Yup. Lenna gave a slight nod. It was nice when they came out and said it. It meant she didn't have to do the 'educated guessing' thing. Lenna gave no clues as to her thoughts on mutation when Henrietta came clean. She let her lack of comment speak for itself.

Lenna followed the girl out of the alley way, and casually cast one glance back at the crumpled thug.

Hrm. Some people.

As her eyes swung back to the path ahead of her, Lenna caught Henrietta looking back at him as well. Her mind was obviously focused on the situation... or something related to it. Henrietta took a few steps away from her, and told Lenna as much.

>>“I was with this boy last time. He’s an obvious mutant. He looks kind of like a fish. "

A fish, Lenna pondered. Did that mean 'wearing hooks in his mouth', or 'genuinely floundered'? Maybe he had unblinking eyes and a gaping mouth?

Henrietta paused as she came to middle of her description of the previous situation. Lenna waited for the conclusion to her thoughts in silence.

It seemed the men had known Henrietta and her friend were mutants, and that Henrietta had been sent to New York when her power had manifested. She was just getting by on a parent's kindness.

Her hair had attacked. Lenna imagined that was a sight to see. Her friend hadn't gotten injured, just frightened.

The conclusion of Henrietta's story came as a piece of ice skipped across pavement, towards the gutters.

>>“I feel like people target mutants more.” “What do you think? About mutants, I mean”

"I accept them," Lenna replied. It didn't take more than a second from Henrietta's question until Lenna's answer. It sounded like Lenna had her mutant/human thoughts in order. "I dated one. They can be useful, now and then. They're still human. As in, have feelings, behave in ways that separate them from animals... though sometimes, there is the occasional bad mutant. Just like there's the occasional bad man." Lenna gave an honest smile. "They tend to have interesting hair. What about you? What do you think of humans...?" Lenna looked her in the eye.

Lenna seemed like an honest woman. She told Henri exactly how she felt and the girl listened. When she was done, she asked Henrietta what she thought of humans. She puckered her lips slightly and put them off to the left. What do I think of humans? Hm.. The girl looked down and then at Lenna. “I guess I feel like I like them less than I used to. It seems to me that they can be pretty judgmental. Like you say, we’re still human too, but a lot of people don’t see it that way, including my mother.” When she mentioned her mom, her voice strained a little.

Henrietta glanced at the woman from the corner of her eye. “I think that I’d like to join some sort of mutant group when I get older. Something where I can make a difference, if that makes any sense.” The girl laughed slightly and then smiled at Lenna. “I live at a mansion where mutants are taught and stuff. I’m just not so sure that being a vigilante is what I want. I’m pretty confused about what I’m supposed to think or do.”

The brunette turned to Lenna. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to pour my guts out to you. I just don’t know who I’m supposed to talk to about this. I don’t want to worry my best friend and bringing this up with a boy I just started dating. I think that may be a little heavy for a second date.” She continued to walk along. “You dated a mutant? May I ask what their ability was?” Henrietta was very interested in different kinds of mutant powers. She wanted to know more about people like her.

Her question had elicited a moment of inward thought. A bit of lip-puckering, a bowed head.

>>“I guess I feel like I like them less than I used to. It seems to me that they can be pretty judgmental. Like you say, we’re still human too, but a lot of people don’t see it that way, including my mother.”

A thought nod was Lenna's response. That was too bad, about the mother thing. Lenna had never really met her own mom. She'd died before Lenna could remember. Lenna didn't really know what a lack of approval from one's parents felt like... at the same time, she knew all-too-well.

The thought that humans were too judgmental... perhaps, there was some sheen of truth to those words. But of course, there were plenty of overly-zealous mutants to balance out the order of the world.

The world was tough. Countless opinions and options existed.

Lenna glanced towards the street as a car passed by. "I see." Her focus returned to Henrietta as she continued.

>>“I think that I’d like to join some sort of mutant group when I get older. Something where I can make a difference, if that makes any sense.”

Lenna's interests were piqued.

"How old are you, again?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Her eyes reflected minor amusement veiled in concern. The girl looked a bit too young to try saving the world. Then again, Lenna had probably been around her age when she went out and did her first 'hit-mission'. Youngsters could still accomplish a lot.

Especially youngsters trained at that place. The same place she'd sent off Domingo to, to find himself some friends. She hoped he'd found some.

Henrietta continued with an apology. Lenna shook her head with a small smile, and a laugh. "Don't worry about it." She was sure there were many emotions the girl had to vent after the attempted mugging. As for her previous comment...

"Being a vigilante certainly doesn't get many useful things done." Lenna chided gently. "Have you thought of doing community service? Or maybe volunteering your time towards the betterment of a certain cause...? Maybe, building houses for the homeless, schools for those without?" Look at her, selling it like the Kabal was some organization of Good Samaritans. Or maybe, if the girl chose a different path, she could suggest that other place?

"Who knows? He might even like the idea of working at a soup kitchen?" That was date-material right there, courtesy of an ex-assassin.

As for that other question... "And yeah, I dated a mutant. We kind of worked together. He had exhaust vents all over his body that could let out flames. A bit of a hothead, really... can you guess why I dumped him?" She asked with a feisty smirk.

Lenna asked the girl how old she was. Henrietta smiled slightly. “I’m 16 years-old. I’ll be 17 in May.” Her automatic thought was to ask how old she was, but she avoided that since she was an adult. It was a bit different when you were both teenagers. Sometimes adults got weird about age.

The young woman was very kind and didn’t seem to mind letting the brunette go off about things. She said that being a vigilante didn’t get much done. Henri laughed. “That’s why I don’t want to be one. I don’t think I look at things the same way as most of them who live there do anyway. I know there are bad people and good. Just like there are bad mutants and good ones. I don’t want to hurt anyone, necessarily, but I’m starting to feel a little fed up.”

Lenna was now throwing out ideas of other things Henri could do to help people. “Those are all very good things and I probably wouldn’t get hurt doing those.” She smiled jokingly and then answered about Van. “Yeah, he’s a good person. I’m sure he wouldn’t min d helping out people who are less fortunate.”

Can I guess why she dumped him? Henrietta put her hand on her chin in thought. “Well, there are so many things you could dump a boy for.” She giggled. "Was he a wimp? Whiney? Was he holding you back?" She waited to hear the woman’s answer and hummed quietly to herself. It was ‘Milkshakes’ by Kelis. It was Van’s ringtone. The thought of him reminded her of that funny, awkward moment when she heard it the first time.

16. So, she was right around that age. That age where you test the waters of self-limitation, and try to find yourself. That age. 16 wasn't too young. She was sure they'd be able to find... something.

And do something, to help with that 'fed-up' feeling Henrietta had listed. If community service wasn't enough. Sure, vigilantes rarely got much done. Saving a few people, getting gratitude in return. And Lenna was no vigilante. This whole situation? It wasn't one woman playing hero. It was one girl punching one man in the face. Completely different. That was assault.

The girl didn't want to hurt people, though.

Okay, I can work with that.

And 16-year-old girls not getting hurt was good. Certainly better than them getting stabbed, which was bad.

She was glad to hear Henrietta had a good man. Johnathon... had not been good. Not much. Not at all. Lenna slowly nodded her head as the 16-year-old girl listed a grab bag of dump-worthy reasons, then denied them all.

"Not wimpy, no whiny, not holding me back. He was just reckless." She smiled, and stretched her hands behind her back. "Idiots running into danger are a big turnoff. At least, when they're idiots about it." She glanced back to Henrietta. "It's a lot easier when you know they're prepared."

Henri found herself wanting to ask Lenna if she had heard of the X-Men. She wasn’t sure if that would endanger them or not. She liked a few people who wanted to become X-Men and it wasn’t that she didn’t like the idea of them. It was great for the people who wanted to do it, but Henrietta was sick of no results as far as she could see.

“I wouldn’t want to hurt someone if I could help it. If someone was attacking me or hurting my friends though, I may not be as opposed to violence.” She looked at the woman. “I want to do something to help improve mutants’ lives. I’ve met so many mutants with so many sad stories about how they were treated for being what they are. It’s not fair. I never wanted to be a mutant.”

Henrietta stopped and thought a moment. “I’m glad I am one though. Well, at least I am now. I wasn’t so thrilled at first. I feel that I’d be a different person if my hair couldn’t move and wasn’t super strong. It’s like I’m never alone, if that makes any sense.”

The girl found out that Lenna’s boyfriend had just been reckless. Henri nodded. “I can see how not being prepared to run into danger could turn out very badly. Well, maybe it’s good you aren’t with him anymore then. He could’ve gotten you hurt too. At least if he was acting like an idiot, as you say.”

>>“I wouldn’t want to hurt someone if I could help it. If someone was attacking me or hurting my friends though, I may not be as opposed to violence.” “I want to do something to help improve mutants’ lives. I’ve met so many mutants with so many sad stories about how they were treated for being what they are. It’s not fair. I never wanted to be a mutant.”

Henrietta paused. Lenna looked at her with interest. Improving lives. Yes, this one was right up Slate's alley. She wanted to do something to help mutants all over, wanted to make the world a better place, didn't want to become a mutant... but was glad she was.

Hair, super strong? Lenna wanted a demonstration of this hair...

>>I can see how not being prepared to run into danger could turn out very badly. Well, maybe it’s good you aren’t with him anymore then. He could’ve gotten you hurt too. At least if he was acting like an idiot, as you say.”

She nodded at Henrietta's final comment, paused, and turned. It was an abrupt halt. They'd been walking for a while, but she didn't know where. Lenna smiled a lopsided smile at Henrietta.

"You want to help the world, huh?" Protecting her friends, making things better. "I know someone who could help you find a job where you could make a positive difference... but if the job called on you to use your power, would you?" Her answer would determine her response.

Lenna asked Henrietta if she would use her power to help make the world better. The girl smiled and nodded. “I’m coming to accept my abilities. It was hard at first, but it happened.” Henri looked at the woman. They were now stopped on the sidewalk. “Yeah, I would use my power if it meant making the world better.” This young woman said she knew someone that could find a job where she could make a positive change.

Henrietta wasn’t sure how far she’d take this. If this person wanted her to go around hurting random people, she didn’t think she could do it. Of course, if it was supposed to make the world a better place, it probably wouldn’t involve hurting innocent people. The girl wasn’t sure if she’d want to hurt anyone at all, but was curious about what this job entailed.

“Lenna, would I have to hurt people or is there another way I could help this cause? If it did involve hurting people, would they be bad people?” She continued to look at Lenna. She hoped that she could be part of a good cause.

“Speaking of my power, do you want to see more of it?” Henri grinned at the young lady. She held her purse out so the woman could feel how heavy it was, and then set it on the ground. Bending over, she waited for her hair to wrap around the handle. Without moving her body, her purse moved into the air. “I can lift up to almost 70lbs. with my hair. I’m not sure if it’s possible to increase that or not though.”

>>“Yeah, I would use my power if it meant making the world better.”

Henrietta replied.

Lenna nodded gently. Good, good. If she was willing, that made the sell even easier. "Alright."

Henrietta had another question.

>>“Lenna, would I have to hurt people or is there another way I could help this cause? If it did involve hurting people, would they be bad people?”


Lenna shook her head. "This isn't that kind of thing. There's more to changing the world than fists. You may have to use your powers, but just know, you will be put to use where you can do the most good." She could probably convince Slate to find a job where Henrietta didn't have to hurt anyone. There were jobs for all types of people, from the morally gray, to the innocent, yet determined. What Slate would do with Henrietta, Lenna didn't know, but she had a feeling he'd see to giving her the best job for her skills.

That said, this wasn't purely humanitarian. In the jobs Lenna had been doing recently, even if no one got injured, someone eventually got hurt. They might have been on the side of good. They might have been on the side of bad. They might have been middlemen. In the act of changing worlds, it was bound to happen sooner or later. That was a logical truth. Henrietta didn't have to know it, but it was there.

>>“Speaking of my power, do you want to see more of it?”

"Certainly," Lenna replied with a smirk and a curt nod.

Henrietta held out her purse. Lenna weighed it in her hand, then returned it. Not astonishingly heavy, but then, what purse was? She understood that everything Henrietta displayed for her would be weakened. Thus, the purse would be a fine demonstration. She'd be stunned if a hair-manipulator couldn't lift a purse in her presence.

Henrietta did.

>>“I can lift up to almost 70lbs. with my hair. I’m not sure if it’s possible to increase that or not though.”

She noted.

Lenna nodded. "Neat. Wanna know what I can do?"

Lenna informed the girl that she wouldn’t have to be in a position to hurt people. There were always other things she could do and that there were different jobs for everyone. Henrietta smiled. That’s good, very good. Not having to do something that I find morally wrong is always good. “I’m very interested then. I’d love to meet this person you were speaking of.” The brunette gave the woman a smile.

Henrietta already felt more comfortable with the idea of making some sort of difference. If she could do something for people, it wouldn’t hurt her to at least try. The only thing the girl really didn’t want to do was break her moral values. Lenna made it sound as if her values could remain intact.

She showed the woman her power. Lenna reacted politely and said ‘neat’. Henri felt like chuckling a little when she heard someone use the word neat in such a context. Most people said ‘sweet’ or ‘awesome’, at least the ones she had hung out with at school.

The girl was a little surprised when it felt like her ability had somehow been weakened. The young woman then offered to show the teen what she could do. Henri smiled at her and nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to see what you can do. Show me.”