Sneakers pattered against the concrete of the slightly damp sidewalk, their red-headed owner careful to avoid any cracks. With each step, Kaitlyn could hear the shaking of cookies in their boxes, tightly packed into her backpack. Over her customary long-sleeved shirt, she wore a green vest populated by various patches and emblems, the true significance of which could be interpreted by any Girl Scout. A familiar, partially metallic lady followed closely.

Meld's presence made the child feel safe. The heroic mutant had saved her life once before, and she was probably a fellow member of Lori's secret team, too.

Finally, she stopped, checked her clipboard, and checked the numbers on the mailbox in front of her.

"...This is the first place." She told Meld hesitantly, turning to the front door of the small house. It's front lawn was as finely groomed as a rain forest, the pale blue paint on its walls were chipped and cracked in most places, and one of the windows was boarded over with rotting wood. This was one of the nicer homes on the lane. Judging by the light coming out through a non-boarded window, it appeared that someone was home.

Kaitlyn glanced at her metallic friend, her face failing to conceal her anxiety. "How do I do this again?"

Merely stalling for time. The girl had received instructions for carrying out this fund-raising venture many times before, and from several different people. This didn't make her any less afraid of screwing up.

For as long as Meld had been a part of the Order, she hadn't been given a whole lot to do. Under the previous management of Syn, she was pretty sure that no one was given much of anything to do. Syn, in her opinion, was pretty much a waste of space and she didn't have the slightest idea why anyone would show any loyalty at all to the woman. Not that Meld had ever met her, but between her complete disregard for her organization and being the mastermind behind the evil that was the Haywire Virus, she felt confident in saying she was glad the woman was gone and dead.

It had taken a little while, but Meld realized that Lori was finally doing something with The Order, actually taking steps to make a difference. One of the steps was the particular mission that she had just been sent on, trying to get insurance money from those who lived in Order territory. The task was pretty simple, really, and something the Meld had experience at from her days when she worked exclusively with organized crime groups. Knock on doors and if people paid all was well and they got cookies and if they didn't pay? Well, that's when herself and Kaitlyn came in.

Meld had a rather in depth conversation with Lori before agreeing to take Kaitlyn with her on this particular mission. It rubbed her the wrong way to involve a child so young but when Lori had brought up the fact that Kaitlyn needed to be trained early and Meld would be there to protect her, well, there wasn't much she could say to dispute the argument. Thus she had agreed to take Kaitlyn along with her and she vowed to watch over the kid to make sure that nothing unforeseen happened at all.

"Its pretty simple," Meld answered the girl's question. "We go in for the insurance money. If they agree to pay, I collect it and you offer some of those lovely cookies of yours. If not, you show them that accidents happen and paying really is the right way to prevent those accidents." As soon as the girl was ready, Meld would go and knock on the door.

"Maria, you shouldn't go out with people like him!" Carlos bellowed at his teenage daughter, who was sitting on the couch in front of where he now stood.

"People like him? What's that supposed to mean?" The latina crossed her arms defiantly.

"You know very well what I mean! He's a drug dealer!" The father was exasperated now.

"Oh, you mean like Antonio? The last time I checked, he's your son, and you don't care so much about--"

"Leave your brother our of this!"

A series of thuds signaled the presence of somebody at the front door. "I'll get it," the man announced, the floor creaking with each step along the way.

When the door opened, he met a half-metal mutant and a girl scout waiting for him. "Uh... Sorry, I can't afford cookies right now.

The girl glanced at a clipboard in her hands. "Mr. Ramirez? We're here for that insurance money you promised us you'd have by know. You'll get some cookies if you pay!"

Carlos stared blankly between the two, metallic mutant and redheaded girl scout. Was this some kind of practical joke?

Meld knocked loudly on the front door and then proceeded to wait. Titanium was such a versatile material. Not only was it a relatively light and strong metal, perfect for making limbs and razor sharp blades, but it was also excellent for making effortless loud banging noises. That, combined with the fact that all her flesh melds also came complete with super strength, made for a rather intimidating first impression and that was before the door even opened to show a glimpse of the real her, walking arsenal of blades and all.

The door opened and sweet little dangerous Kaitlyn offered cookies for payment of insurance money, just like she was supposed to. Meld could see why Lori had decided to train the girl, she was bright, cute and absolutely perfect for the role. It was a stark contrast between her young innocence and Meld's obvious and deliberate danger.

For a long minute Meld just stood there, saying and doing nothing. She stared at the man, the Mr. Ramirez who was supposed to be paying, her eyes barely blinking. Her goal was to give him time to think, to really consider what the situation was here. She watched his eyes look her up and down, lingering over every shining piece of metal and every deadly blade. She watched him swallow nervously, his adams apple bobbing up and down.

"I, uh, insurance money did you say?" Meld nodded, never taking her eyes off the man. Her tail blinked at the others in the family, just in case anyone decided that they wanted to try and be a hero. Now that would be a very very bad move. "I'll, uh, be right back." The man went skittering off, hopefully to get the promised money. Hopefully for his sake, that is.

"We can stick around for two minutes," Meld informed Kaitlyn cheerfully, although what she was really doing was informing the rest of the family. The man had two minutes to return with their money, otherwise bad things were going to happen.

>>"We can stick around for two minutes."

Kaitlyn nodded at this, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket and using its built-in clock to keep track of the time. The kid glanced at the teenager sitting in the living room, watching as worried eyes flitted between the racketeers on the doorstep. A ticking clock was the only thing that punctuated the silence.

One minute went by. The teen spoke up: "How old are you, anyway?"

"Ten," the faux girl scout announced proudly. Having two digits in her age and being part of a secret organization made her feel like she was all grown up.

Everyone could hear the clock tick another thirty times. No sign of Mr. Ramirez. Finally, the teenager rose to her feet and went to poke her head around a corner. "Dad, what's going on back there?" she shouted, voice tinged with anxiety. Kaitlyn couldn't quite make out Mr. Ramirez's reply from her position on his doorstep.

The two minute mark came and went. Kaitlyn herself was getting worried, now. She didn't like using her mutation, especially when doing so might mean that she could accidentally hurt someone like Meld. Hurting either of the other two wouldn't be such a big deal, but hurting Meld would be terrible.

"Could you give us another minute or two?" the teenager pleaded, her face warped with fear. Kaitlyn looked to Meld for an answer.