Being a super hero, Juka decided, was boring. Well, the actual hero part of it wasn't boring and the super part of it could be fun also, but the endless patrols, those were the boring part. He had been out for almost two hours, floating above the city, anvils rotating slowly around him, searing in vain for poor helpless damsels to rescue. Unfortunately he saw no damsels in need of rescue, nor even any cats that might be caught in trees that needed to be brought to earth. No, alas, the worst he had seen was an evil litterer and, really, was that all that evil? Not so much and certainly not so much that he had to rescue someone.

Juka was about to go home in despairing defeat once again (maybe he was looking in the wrong part of the city?) when something caught his eye. It was a flash only, a green flash and it would probably end up as nothing, but he wouldn't be a proper super hero if he didn't at least check it out, right? So, thoughts of heroics in his head, he turned his bubble around and floated in all haste towards the bright green flash.

What exactly it was that Juka was expecting to see he wasn't quite sure, but he was pretty sure that it was different than he actually did see. The green flash appeared to be a mutant, or at least the flash appeared to have come from a mutant. The mutant, in fact, was surrounded by hundreds of floating green crystals, which looked rather sharp to Juka's untrained eye. In one hand he held a green sword that appeared to be made of the same substance and in the other hand he held a green shield.

Standing near the first mutant was a second mutant, this one looking much less human than the first one. The second mutant looked more insectoid than human. He was covered in what appeared to be a black exoskeleton with blades coming out of his elbows and shins and large pinchers where his mouth should be. There was a pair of antennae on his head and his eyes were multifaceted, much like insect eyes.

The two mutants were both glaring rather menacingly at a woman that was caught between them. Their expressions were sadistic and Juka really didn't want to imagine what it was they planned on doing to the poor lady. This was what he had been training for: saving innocents from mutants who used their powers for evil and really didn't respect life at all. "Leave that woman alone or feel the wrath of Juka Miami!" he yelled at them. As he floated closer, his anvils began rotating faster, preparing himself for battle.

All Deirdra had wanted was a nice walk, but was that possible? No, no it was not. It had been a few blocks ago that the woman had sensed she was being followed. Unfortunately, she had been right. A couple idiots had been staying close behind her for a good majority of her stroll. Getting sick of the whole situation, the blond walked into an alley and waited for dumb and dumber to follow her in. After a few moments, it became obvious they weren't just normal thugs. Irritated, the woman had sighed and dropped her purse next to her. The two mutants kept creeping their was closer and closer to her. "I'd turn back now, if I were you." When they continued to come forward, she shrugged. "Don't say I didn't tell you so."

The woman's lower half of her body began to turn into some sort of black exoskeleton. Where human legs should have been, a scorpion body began to form. When the transformation was complete, a beautiful woman's bust now became one with a large body with a tail and stinger. She stretched her legs out far enough that she was able to take up a large majority of the alley's space. Deirdra came at the two mutants and pinned the insect one down. No longer interested in the half-defeated one, she turned and looked at the other one. Thrusting her tail forward, she stung him and he fell over.

She glanced around nervously when she heard some yelling. There was a man..or woman, in a floating bubble. Are those anvils? The insect mutant struggled under her large scorpion body for freedom. Deirdra began to get annoyed and stung him to make him go still. Crawling back off of him with her many legs, she backed up and stared at the man...or woman. She stood there, waiting to see what..it would do. If they flew off, she may have to pursue them to see if they were going to the police. It had seemed like they were yelling to leave Deirdra alone.

She wasn't sure how to react to this situation or what she should do. After a moment of thinking, the blond beckoned to them with her finger. If they came down from the sky so she could reach them, she wouldn't have to follow them all the way across town. It would be even better if this person didn't feel the need to say anything to anyone or if she could just charm them into remaining quiet. So she stood patiently, waiting for her would-be saviour to descend from the skies.

Juka was fully prepared to be heroic, really he was. He floated magnificently through the sky, anvils whirling around him, prepared to knock both of the offending mutants out cold. After all who, mutant or not, could stand against his stupendous bubblefull anvils. Unfortunately his defenseless and beleaguered maiden turned out to be not so defenseless and instead of waiting for his grand rescue, as she rightly should have she...transformed into a half scorpion half human? And then proceeded to stab first one mutant thug and then the other with a rather sinister looking tail. His first thought was disappointment that his plans of being the hero were once again foiled and his second thought was for the poor unsuspecting thugs; specifically wondering if they were still alive. He had met mutants in the past with no qualms about killing, after all.

Juka halted his approach a few feet in front of the half scorpion woman and hovered about 10 feet above her; just in range of his anvils should he deem it necessary to use them and (hopefully) out of range of her dangerous looking tail. "I guess I don't need to rescue you after all, do I?" he said with just a hint of a frown and a dramatic sigh. Its not that he was a bad super hero, not really, its just that he hadn't had much of an opportunity to do anything super heroic.

Now that Juka was no longer concerned with doing any defending and had the opportunity to really look at the scorpion woman he realized that she was actually...rather attractive. Discounting the giant scorpion tail, of course. "So, are those two still alive? I mean, what they did, or at least tried to do, was wrong and all but you didn't kill them did you?" He really hoped the answer was no because he didn't want to have to punish the person he had, just moments before, been rushing over to save.

The man/woman floated down closed and Deirdra grinned. "No, I don't really need rescuing, but it was a very sweet thought." The longer the woman looked, the more certain she was that this person was a man and he seemed concerned. He asked if the two mutants were still alive. The blond nodded. "Yes, of course. I only stung them once and it would take three doses of my toxin to kill them. It just makes a nice stun-gun." Deirdra inched her way back towards her purse and picked it up. Turning around, she smiled. "It's a pretty useful mutation and I'm quite proud to have it."

After a moment, the woman added another sentiment. "The only negative thing about it is its tendency to destroy pants and skirts. Dresses aren't as bad because I can pull them up, but pants are just obliterated. She shook her head. "It's sad, really. I do love my clothing." Deirdra gestured to the torn remains of her pants and then a thought struck her. "And there's the fact that when I change back, I no longer have anything to put on my bottom half. Some people consider that indecent." She shrugged and then laughed softly to herself. "I haven't yet come up with a solution to that problem, but maybe someday."

She tilted her head to the side and bumped one of the stunned mutants with her scorpion leg. The person moaned slightly and then she looked back at the man. "See? He's fine. Why don't you come down here? I'd put the tail away, but then I'd be half naked." Deirdra jammed her thumb out to point at her large tail, complete with stinger. "By the way, I'm Deirdra. Deirdra Sykes and I see that you've also been gifted with an ability. It looks very impressive." She gave him a smile, then she held her hand out for a handshake and waited for him to float down to her.

Juka didn't ask how, exactly, the scorpion mutant knew that 3 doses of her toxin were lethal, he was pretty sure that he simply didn't want to know. He was just thankful that the two thugs were still alive. It was perfectly acceptable to use a potentially painful and unpleasant stun gun (so to speak) against mutants that were clearly intent upon doing you physical harm, just so long as the punishment wasn't permanent. It had been his intent, after all, to knock them out with anvils to the head and he was reasonably certain that anvils and scorpion stings pretty much amounted to the same thing in the end.

"Well its good to know they're still alive," Juka nodded his head. "Still, I think they'll definitely have learned their lesson; hopefully they won't go around trying to attack seemingly defenseless women again. They give us a bad name." He shook his head sadly, looking down at the unconscious mutants. When would they ever learn? "That tail of yours is very impressive by the way," Juka agreed admiringly. No shame in being proud of one's own mutation, after all. He loved showing off his bubbles to people.

Juka nodded considerately as Deirdre described her mutation related clothing dilemma. "Maybe if you carried an extra skirt with you just in case?" It was the best suggestion he could come up with for the moment; after all he had never had to worry about his clothing being destroyed really, well, ever. If anything his bubble preserved clothing, protecting it from the evil harms of rain and wind though it probably woudln't do much against shape shifting.

Juka floated a little closer, almost touching the ground with his bubble. Instead of taking Deirdre's hand, however, he bowed elegantly. "I'm afraid I have a similar problem as you if I de-bubble. Well, maybe not a similar problem since I do have a skirt on, but a problem nonetheless. If I un-bubble I won't be able to carry my anvils. Did you know those things are heavy?" He smirked.

Deirdra beamed when he complimented her tail. It flicked slightly when it was mentioned and she laughed. “Look, it likes you,” she joked. “No, I wouldn’t kill them for something that really didn’t pose a threat in the first place, especially since they’re mutants.” She didn’t add that it might’ve been different if they had been human, but it was implied. Her hatred of the race wasn’t really something she wanted to, or would, discuss with someone she barely knew that obviously went around trying to save people.

She couldn’t help but smile when he recommended carrying an extra skirt with her. “Yeah, I’ve thought of that too, but I’d still be a little bare before I got the chance to put it on. I’m thinking that maybe someday I should find someone to make me scorpion pants or something that alters as I do, though I’m not sure if that’s possible or not.” The blond tapped her chin with her right pointed finger in thought and then finally shrugged, giving up on the subject.

The man didn’t give his name, though she was pretty sure he had yelled it earlier. “Did you say your name was Juka Miami? I’m going to take a guess and say you’re Japanese, yes?” There was a brief pause. “I, personally, am a bit of a mutt, so to speak. I’m of too many descents to be identified.” Deirdra smiled. He bowed inside his bubble and informed her of the heaviness of the anvils. “I would guess they are pretty heavy. That bubble of yours must be very strong to be able to hold them.”

Upon the mention of Juka's bubbles being strong, he beamed in much the same way that Deirdre before him had beamed when he had complimented her tail. There was no shame in being proud of one's powers, no shame at all. She had a giant scorpion tail and, if it was as it appeared an exoskeleton to go with it, and he had floating soap bubbles. Personally he was glad he got the soap bubble part of the deal, but still there was something to be said about almost all mutations and hers was one of the more impressive he'd seen.

"I am certainly Japanese," Juka agreed with one of his famous winning smiles. Or at least in his own mind they were famous, whether or not his mind had anything to do with reality was, perhaps, a question up for debate. "What's a radiantly lovely mutant lady such as yourself doing out here so late at night anyway? Would you desire an escort?" Clearly she didn't actually need an escort it was quite apparent that she was most capable of taking care of herself, but Juka thought that he would enjoy escorting her.

The man now seemed to glow at the mention of his own power. She thought it was great to see such pride in one's abilities. Deirdra had to admit, she had never seen a giant, floating bubble for a mutation. She had more questions about the odd power, but could ask later, if time allowed. Juka asked what she was doing out by herself and also threw the word 'radiant' in there, which made her grin. "Well, I was trying to take a walk after getting done with work, but it seems that these two wanted a fight." The woman glanced at the two stunned mutants.

She was going to turn back into her original form, but the lack of pants kind of threw a wrench in the plan. "Excuse me a moment." The blond began to dig around in her bag. Please be pants, please be pants. With a sigh of relief, the woman pulled out a pair of shorts. They didn't seem to match her shirt and they appeared to be more like women's boxer-underwear. It didn't matter to her that much though, so she would make do with what she could. "I would love an escort, if you would turn around a second to let me put pants on and get out of this form." She held the shorts up so he could see them and smiled. "it should only take a minute or so."

Juka turned politely when asked to, not even trying to catch a glimpse of the scorpion shifter. He was a gentleman, after all, and gentlemen did not try to catch glimpses of proper ladies, especially proper ladies they were going to escort. "You need to be careful," Juka cautioned, back still turned. "There are dangerous people out here, you know and not all of them may be as easy to defend against as those two poor thugs." It didn't occur to him that he was also out here late at night and was probably just as defenseless (and that was to say, not really defenseless at all) as Deirdre was. He was, after all, supposed to be the hero of the pair of them.

"Where do you live? I'm guessing its not at the Mansion," Juka stated thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure I would have noticed such a lovely woman walking its halls." He had mixed feelings about whether or not he hoped it was Sanctuary in which she lived. He had heard about Sanctuary from Abyss but had yet to actually see the place and wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to anyway. After all, that's where the murderous mutants lived, or so he had heard.

The young woman quickly shifted back into her human form and slipped on the shorts before anyone even walked by the alleyway. She wasn't sure which form felt more natural for her. There were good and bad to each. Deirdra personally knew that having the body of a scorpion wasn't attractive. It had been obvious since the very first time it happened, but it was very useful and she was proud of her unique mutation. Not to mention the fast that her toxin could only be made in the scorpion form. That was sometimes a bit of a setback.

The blond thought it was adorable how the man tried to warn her to be careful. She had to admit that he was quite the gentlemen, even if he did sort of look like a woman. In all honesty, Deirdra just liked attention in general and any attention to her, was good attention. She didn't care if it was a woman or not, but it never went far past kissing or the like. She was quite sure she liked men, it had been clear to her for a while now.

Deirdra turned around at the mention of a mansion. "No, I don't like at a mansion. I live in an apartment complex not far from here." A pause. "You live at a mansion? May I ask what it's like?" She tilted her head and slung her purse over her shoulder, but not before a smirk at the 'lovely' comment. "Why, thank you, Juka. I must say you're pretty good-looking yourself. If you'll follow me this way, I will assist you in your escorting of myself." She laughed. "I fgure it would be easier to do if you knew where my house was."

Juka, of course, knew how good looking he was; he certainly should know considering how long he spent making sure that he always looked his best but he never tired of getting complimented for it and he smiled down at Andrea when she said it. "I will follow you're lead my lovely damsel," he stated valiantly. After a moment's thought he added, "if you wait a moment I'm sure I can stash these anvils on a rooftop somewhere and follow you on foot like a normal person." He grinned. If there was one thing that did not describe Juka under any circumstances, it was normal.

Juka looked around until he spotted a tall apartment building. Waving down at Deirdre, he floated up to the roof and deposited his four anvils on top. Even if someone could get up there, it wasn't like there was much risk of someone actually stealing them. After all, who was going to take a block of metal that weighed around 150 Lbs, let alone 4 of them? And what exactly would a normal person do with a giant anvil anyway?

Once his anvils were safely away, Juka returned to the ground and un-bubbled for the first time. "Now you may certainly lead the way." He began walking beside her. "As for the Mansion, I don't technically live there, I'm just there a lot. I have an apartment not to far from here. Its an interesting place though, I think it has to be with that many mutants around and that many different powers. You'd be amazed at the variety out there."

Juka deposited his anvils on top of a building. She raised an eyebrow as she watched him float to the top of a building. The woman found it interesting that his bubble was able to hold so much weight and not burst. I'll have to keep the saying 'burst your bubble' in mind when with him. I may actually be able to make him laugh or something. Deirdra had never been a very funny woman. She was smart, angry, and quite beautiful, but not funny. She supposed that if she had to drop a quality, it probably would've been humor anyway.

For the first time since they had met, the man stood on the ground. No bubble in sight either. She smiled at him. They were actually on the same level now, literally. Although she had found the bubble quite amazing, she had not liked that he had appeared high than her. Deirdra had never done well with authority or others who thought they were better than her. Maybe that little problem had stemmed from her parental figures, but it didn't really matter any longer. She was her own person and would do as she saw fit.

The blond turned her head toward Juka quickly when he said there were mutants at this so called 'mansion'. She narrowed her eyes and wondered if they wanted to be there or if they were forced. And if they weren't forced, did they interact well with humans or were they more like her, with hatred in their hearts? He said there was quite a variety of abilities and she could only imagine. Deirdra couldn't begin to comprehend all of the abilities that a mutant could have. She wasn't even sure if there was some kind of limit on them. Maybe they could be as big and complex as they wanted and maybe some were unstoppable. She shook her head in an attempt to make the thoughts leave. "So Juka, you live in an apartment building not far from here either, hm? Is it in this direction or the other?"

"So Juka, you live in an apartment building not far from here either, hm? Is it in this direction or the other?"

Juka pointed in the vague direction of his apartment, in the opposite direction of where they appeared to be going. It was rare that he actually had to walk or drive to where he was going and he was far more used to navigating from above, where he could see the entire city laid out before him so he wasn't positive of exactly where his apartment was from on the ground.

As Juka walked with Deirdre he considered that, even if he hadn't actually managed to rescue her he was still doing a good thing by escorting her. He was a proper gentleman, after all and proper gentleman didn't let defenseless woman wander around by themselves late at night even if those women also happened to be mutants who could grow giant scorpion tails and sting people into unconsciousness. He paused briefly to look back at the two unfortunate victims before continuing on. Mutant powers truly were amazing things.

"How long have you been in the city? Well, that is assuming you weren't born here of course. Seems to be more mutants here than anywhere else, at least more than Tokyo or Seattle. I guess I can't comment on anywhere else since I haven't lived anywhere else."

Juka pointed in the opposite direction of their travel and she raised an eyebrow. She thought it was funny that he said nothing, just kind of gestured. Something about the non-specificness of it was just humorous to her. Maybe in that way, they were similar. Deirdra had a habit of being quite vague at times. If possible, she wouldn't share anything we almost anybody. She had some major trust issues and knew it. There was no desire in her to see a counselor for it or to try to work on it by herself. It was the way she was, and she was satisfied with that.

The blond walked next to the interesting man and listened to him speak. He asked her how long she had been in the city. She bit her lip as she tried to recall. "Well, since I was 18, so five years. I'm 22 now and I came here right after I finished high school. Not a very long time in comparison to others." She shrugged and continued to walk. Glancing at Juka, she smiled. "I can agree that there are more mutants here then where I've lived in the past. On the other hand, I'm from Wyoming. I then lived in North Dakota for five years before I came here. The west is where I come from, which is funny considering my mutation is a scorpion." Deirdra laughed. "There are quite a few types of scorpions out there in the deserts."

There were about a block from her apartment. She nodded toward and pointed at the building. "That's my building up here." The woman was debating what to do. Should she just make him go away or let him come in? She was quite tired, but he had been as kind as to escort her in the total opposite direction of his building. "You can come in for a while or something if you want. You've been such a gentlemen." She smiled at him as she got closer to her apartment's front door.

Juka personally couldn't imagine living in the southern United States. He was a flamboyant cross dresser and was well aware of the reputation that he carried with him as well as how acepted people like him tended to be in the south. Well, technically he only knew from reputation since he'd never actually been there but the stories he'd heard didn't exactly paint a pretty picture. But even if not for the human factor, there was the heat and the dryness, both abomidable. Then again, he did have a bubble of perfect environment so perhaps even that wouldn't have been such a big deal after all.

"What was it like in the south?" Juka asked with genuine curiosity. "I mean, I've heard but I've never been there. Maybe I should visit sometime?" Or maybe not. But with a floating bubble that could travel the speed of a (slow) car and a non-need of food or sleep, travelling down south probably wouldn't be too difficult. The question was whether it would be worth it or not.

"That's my building up here. You can come in for a while or something if you want. You've been such a gentlemen."

"I would love to come in if you'd have me," Juka agreed authentically. He could tell that she was tired and he'd offer to help her with that problem except that the last time he'd helped a lady who was feeling exhausted it hadn't quite worked right. As in, her hair started wiggling and wouldn't stop. He certainly didn't want to repeat that little episode again, even if it wasn't likely to happen for a second time.