A few days and a quite a few phone conversations after their first date, Jorge and Gemma finally set up their next meeting for dinner to have at the same place, at the same time, namely…a second date. It had been quite a week for Jorge because if there was one thing he was not used to was calling or getting phone calls. This week though, it had been the most active of his phone’s life. He was sure that it would kill him for the constant flipping open and flipping closed, but he could not help it. That first night after their first date, Jorge called, just as he said he would. Their conversation went late into the night, more bits of information released about their lives, more commentary on their days, and none of it was boring. It was another phone call or two that Jorge finally made the suggestion of what they could do next.

And that is why Jorge, dressed in a nice suit but darker than the one he wore on his last date. He thought he looked presentable and had hoped that Gemma would think so as well. Of course the smile on her face was enough for him to feel better about how he had dressed for the night.

Again, their destination was a secret. He only chuckled and shook his head whenever Gemma asked him what they were going to do since the only thing he had asked was if she was susceptible to motion sickness (seasick), and only grinned when she said no. So once he picked her up at the mansion, his conversation remained on the topic of how her week had been so far, if she had to reprimand any kids, the usual type of conversation. But of course, whenever she would ask him about where they were going, he would suddenly go deaf and simply grin.

The drive was short and before they knew it, the smell of water assaulted their nostrils. Jorge shot a cautionary glance to Gemma as he drove down to the piers. The usual dark and forboding place was covered in strings of tiny lights and a small crowd of people. Everyone seemed to have having fun, chit-chatting amongst themselves, glancing out towards the water. Jorge pulled up to the valet and smiled in a friendly way after he offered the name in a red vest the money and received a ticket from him.

“Take good care of it, okay?” Jorge offered the valet and grin as he walked around and opened Gemma’s door.

As soon as they were out and watched his car drive off to the parking lot, Jorge smiled down at Gemma and gave her a once over look. He had to admit that she always found the right thing to where.

“As always, Gemma, you look great,” he whispered as he leaned down and give her a small kiss on her cheek. It was then that he finally nodded to the piers and watched as a large boat pulled up to the dock. As soon as the gangplank was down a mass of nicely dressed ushers stepped out and started to let people on. He then turned back to Gemma, “Heard about it. It’s called ‘Dinner on the Waves’ or something like that. Restaurant bought this used small used cruise boat, completely fixed it up, redecorated it, and made it into a floating extension of their restaurant.” He smiled as he offered his hand to her, jeez he hoped that she liked it. “Surprise?”

***

“Boss? Yeah, we’ve been trailing the Impala. Looks like he’s finally stopped at the piers.”

A growl issued from the back of a large, nondescript, black van with a silver trimming. The van sat in an alley, lights and engine off so nobody knew what be the wiser that it was there. But if anyone were to pass by, they would sense it. An aura of ominous dread, hatred and need for revenge. The source of his heat came from one single man, a man who sat in the back of a van and crushed a cellphone he held with his bare hands. His MASSIVE bare hands.

Mittens sat in the back of the van and growled over to the driver. “Get us to the piers now!”

The van immediately sprung to life and tore off into the street. It swerved, nearly clipping another car, but sped off before someone could get down the license plate.

Mittens, the large handed mutant, sat in the back, nostrils flared as he stared out at the passing New York city. People would recognize him from news reports. He and most of his gang had been captured almost a week back the X-Men and the MRC after his attempted convience store robbery was foiled. Now the man was out for revenge. After some gullible officers failed to double check his handcuffs a couple days back, Mittens was able to make his escape. It was not hard to bowl his way through a squad of police, but disappearing would prove to be more difficult. With trouble he finally found a small group still dedicated to him and they tried to convince him lay low and disappear. But he couldn’t. He wanted the cop who arrested him dead.

“Cervantes…” he growled.

His small band kept tabs, searching all over the city for the police officer. They finally got a hit tonight that he was headed for the docks. He didn’t know what would be going down there, but he whatever it was…he planned to crash it.

>>“As always, Gemma, you look great."

"As always, thank you." she smiled at him. He always made sure to say things like that to her. She was kinda surprised he hadn't said it over the phone yet. "You don't look half bad either."

Gemma was wearing a simple black dress that happened to match his (it really just happened, duh. Black is a universal color, it never goes wrong) and a light coat since, although the weather was surprisingly nice, it was not summer anymore.

>> "Heard about it. It’s called ‘Dinner on the Waves’ or something like that. Restaurant bought this used small used cruise boat, completely fixed it up, redecorated it, and made it into a floating extension of their restaurant. Surprise?”

"I am absolutely suprised" she smiled as they walked on board "This looks very nice. Did you bust them for something too, or you just came across the restaurant by accident?"

She laughed. This was looking out to be a very nice, peaceful second date.
Famous last words.

>> "This looks very nice. Did you bust them for something too, or you just came across the restaurant by accident?"

Jorge smirked as he shook his head and followed Gemma onto the boat. “Surprisingly enough I learned about this outside of the precinct.”

He chuckled as he was led on board the ship, and after having given his name and shown that had a reservation to be there, both he and Gemma were let on. Jorge looked out across the city and had to look a bit in awe at it. Even though he lived in a bustling city like Miami, it was still nothing compared to the view that New York offered. The high buildings, especially at night, were illuminated by the few lights, making it look as if the stars had come down and floated about right in front of him. But, what made it even better was being on water. As he followed their host, he glanced over the edge and watched as the cold water below churned and swirled underneath the boat. In the surface he saw more of the reflected lights and for a moment believed as if their whole boat were surrounded by the night.

It was then that he gently took Gemma’s hand and squeezed it softly. It seemed like a lot more time had passed than just the few days since their first date, but he was glad to have had the time. He did not want to crowd her or make himself a nuisance. Then again, with as much as they’ve been talking on the phone, he was surprised she did not find him annoying anyway.

Not long after they were led to the dining deck where they were greeted with a sight. It was elegant with several tables, all of which were nicely decorated with dark blue cloth and a thick candle in the middle that flickered with the breeze that came in off the water. Somewhere out of sight, several speakers played some gentle music that only added the scene of New York at night.

Jorge smiled at Gemma as they were led to their seats. “Wow, I didn’t think New York really had a view like this. Tonight seems clear too, not too hot or cold. Seems like it’ll be a good night.”

He grinned as the waiter came over and offered them both menus.

***

Outside on the pier, just as the boat was getting ready to shove off, a large black van with silver lining pulled to a screeching halt. Immediately the door was pulled open as four or five men all climbed out, each with an automatic weapon or blunt or sharp instrument of some kind on their person. They were not inconspicuous at all. And behind them, the last to leave the van was the large handed, shaved headed mutant known as Mittens. He cracked his overly large knuckles as he headed over to the head of the group and stared at the boat. It was the only place that Cervantes could be and he knew it.

He turned back to his crew and tipped his head so that they could follow.

“Let’s go. Take whatever you want. Leave the Detective for me though.” He snarled as he jogged off towards the boat with all his mean in tow.

The people on the boat were none the wiser as Mittens and his men dispatched the ushers just as the boat was leaving. They then stayed low and stuck to the shadows as the boat began its cruise on the water, with no one know that it was six people heavier than before.

>>“Wow, I didn’t think New York really had a view like this. Tonight seems clear too, not too hot or cold. Seems like it’ll be a good night.”

"Beautiful." Gemma agreed, looking at the view. She was not one of those people who fall in love wit a city; she had traveled a lot in her life, and moved quite often, and had seen better and worse (much worse) places than New York City. Also, the city was an entitiy in itself, impossible to compare to any other place in the world. Still, in daylight, up close, it was not one of her favorite places. The people, maybe; she found friends and great kids, but the whole place was too big, too crowded, too large for comfort.
But right now, it just looked beautiful.

She noticed Jorge looking at the water, and she smiled.

"Does it feel much different?" she asked as they sat down and started reading the menu "Being close to me, I mean. There is so much water around."

She knew Jorge didn't mind; but still, many mutants told her how it was different, not being able to sense as they usualla sensed something, or just use their abilities whenever they wanted to. She was curious how a waterbender felt without his abilities, in the middle of a river...

>> "Does it feel much different?...Being close to me, I mean. There is so much water around."

Jorge smiled a little absentmindedly as he mulled over Gemma’s question. It was true, it must have felt a little weird to be so close to so much water and with her knowing the types of abilities he had, he was not surprised that she asked. She knew the effect she had on him, she essentially suppressed his ability to control water, something he possessed since he was fifteen years old. Since he was a teenager, Jorge never bothered to imagine his life without his abilities and yet, Gemma reminded him of that there are surprises around every corner.

“It’s…hard to explain,” he said honestly as he set down his menu. He took a sip of water from a complimentary glass and set it down, resting his eyes on it. “When you’re not around, I actually feel water everywhere within twenty or so feet of me, it’s like…a tether. Like I’m connected to it. I feel it running through pipes, I feel it in flower vases, water bottles, a simply glass like that,” he motions towards it with his hand. “Been like that since I was fifteen. Normally, on a boat like this, I would feel every churn of the water, every lap against the side of the boat, it’s almost a reassuring feeling. Knowing that something you’ve depended on for most of your life is right there within reach.”

He smiled at the idea as he stared at the water glass. It was true. Any other time, when he was alone that is, he would have felt the contents in the glass. Sensed that there was water, his helpful friend directly in front of him, ready to leap out to aide him. But in the presence of Gemma’s null field, he felt nothing. No connection, no tether, instead all he could feel was what every other person on the planet felt with they looked at glass filled with water…it was a glass filled with wayer.

Once more he turned his attention up to Gemma and offered a warm smile. “And when I’m around you…it’s suddenly gone. Like my hand or my foot has gone numb. I just don’t feel the connection anymore. It is a little disorienting at first,” he said as he kept his eyes on her, “But, also, when I’m around you, I don’t care about that. Because then I can focus on you.”

He grinned a little as their waiter returned and poured them each a glass of wine. Jorge took his up, swirled it a bit before he raised it up to Gemma so she could clink her glass against his.

“To chance meetings?”

***

Mittens grinned as he watched the shoreline shrink back farther and turned to look at the city that towered on the shore. They were in the middle of the river now, so there would be no swimming for it. At least none without them knowing about it. They had been able to dispatch whatever ushers happened to have the unfortunate accident of wandering their way subtly and quietly. No one on the boat seemed alerted but as ushers went missing, someone was bound to notice eventually. Still, Mittens did not give any of his crew permission to on the offense yet. He wanted to wait until they were nice and away from the shore.

“Boss,” whispered one of the henchmen as he rechecked to make sure his gun was loaded, “they’re going to start noticing the missing ushers soon.”

Mittens glared at the goon and nudged him painfully with his elbow into his chest. “Think I don’t know that? I just want fire more minutes in the water. We can’t have anything making it to shore and alerting the authorities. I just broke out of jail, I’m not going back.”

“Still boss, all this just for a cop?”

The movement was quick as a large hand suddenly seized the goon by the chest. The man gasped as Mitten’s pulled him close, his whole hand applying a lot of pressure to the man’s chest and throat, making him gag for breath. Mittens glared as he squeezed just hard enough to send a message and let the man drop onto the floor. As the man staggered back, Mittens turned back to keeping an eye out for another more stray workers and glanced at his wrist watch (it could only wrap around his thumb).

“Just five minutes. Take what you guys want, but we find Cervantes first!”

>>“Been like that since I was fifteen. Normally, on a boat like this, I would feel every churn of the water, every lap against the side of the boat, it’s almost a reassuring feeling. Knowing that something you’ve depended on for most of your life is right there within reach.”

Gemma nodded, sipping her own glass of water. She could only imagine how that would feel; she did not sense her own ability, or the lack thereof; the only way of telling it was still there was from the reactions of others, like Jorge. Her ability was not really an extension of her senses, like mutations were; it was the lack of all abilites.

>>“And when I’m around you…it’s suddenly gone. Like my hand or my foot has gone numb. I just don’t feel the connection anymore. It is a little disorienting at first. But, also, when I’m around you, I don’t care about that. Because then I can focus on you.”

Gemma smiled at that. Always the charmer. He admitted he missed his abilities, and she wondered how long he would be able to put up with that. He was probably not thinking about that right now. Men never do.

"Controlling such a powerful element as water" she mused "I always wondered how it feels like. It sounds really... special."

She smiled back at him as he raised his glass, and she raised hers in return.

>>“To chance meetings?”

"To chance meetings. Especially those that happen again."

>> "To chance meetings. Especially those that happen again."

“Amen to that,” he replied.

Jorge grinned as he tapped his glass against Gemma’s and took a sip of the wine. She did hit on an interesting point. It really was quite a thing to be connected to one of the most abundant and necessary elements on the planet Earth. He felt water everywhere, almost at all times and it was like a comfort to feel that, to know that if you ever needed help, it was always at hand. But with Gemma that connection was severed, he could feel nothing of it anymore and it was an alien feeling. And yet, no matter what, despite the fact that he could not feel it around her, he knew it was there.

He sat there and continued to people watch as both he glanced over the menu. He did not know why but it almost seemed as if there were less staff around than when they first walked onto the boat. Usher’s flanked them left and right but right now, it seemed as if there were only a couple of waiters running around for the large group of patrons.

“Hm,” Jorge mused and shook the thoughts away. He was on a date, not working, and that was when he turned his attention back onto Gemma. “So, what looks good to you?”

***

On the other side of the boat, six men in black hoods and dark clothing snuck through the shadows, lead by a man who wore no disguise. Mainly because no matter what type of mask, costume or clothing he put on, he would always be identified by his overly large hands. The bulk of a man snarled as he walked the halls and held up his fists to stop his entourage. As soon as he did, he waved off to the left and right, sending them to the left and rights sides of the boat. They would burst in and keep anyone from doing anything stupid, as well as block the detective in, whom he was sure must on the dining deck.

“You all keep them on the deck,” he then grinned maliciously as he started to climb to the second level, towards the control room. “It’s time we reveal the game.”

The trek towards the control room was quick for Mittens. They obviously did not expect anything bad to ever happen to this boat because there was little to no security. At most he ran into one or two guards because he quickly dispatched them (human heads are so soft), and burst his way into the room. Amidst the screams and shrills of terror, Mitten’s quickly knocked them all unconsciously before he leaned down and grabbed the intercom.

He flicked it on…blew into the microphone once or twice to be greeted with the sound of his breath being reproduced much louder throughout the entire ship. He then grinned as he spoke.

***

“So then,” he joked as set down his glass of water after a quick sip. “I’m soaking wet, the suspect is climbing out of the pool, and then – ”

“Ceeeeervanteessssss….”

Jorge paused in his story as he, and mostly everyone else looked up from their meals or wine as the music suddenly went off and was replaced by the creepiest DJ they have ever. At first Jorge thought maybe he misheard, that maybe there was a screech in the CD or song that made a sound which resembled his name. That is until the silence was cut through by his name again.

“Ceeeeeervantes…I know you’re on this boat. And guess what…we’re going to play a game. ‘Sudden Death’!!”

A chill ran up Jorge’s spine as he glanced back to Gemma and turned back towards where he guessed the hidden speakers were.

“Mittens…?” he muttered more to himself than anyone and slowly started to stand.

>>“So then, I’m soaking wet, the suspect is climbing out of the pool, and then – ”

"No way!" Gemma grinned, sipping some more wine. The night was entertaining so far...

>>“Ceeeeervanteessssss….”

... and then it turned just plaing creepy.

>>“Ceeeeeervantes…I know you’re on this boat. And guess what…we’re going to play a game. ‘Sudden Death’!!”

Gemma looked around, looking for the source of the voice; she noticed Jorge moving to stand up, and reached out to put a hand on his arm. Number one rule when someone is calling us out from a hidden spot in a scary voice: we do not stand up. Makes us an easy target.

The sight of her own hand on his arm reminded her of something else: while she was with him, he was... plain human. Even with all the water around.

"Trouble?" she asked calmly in a low voice, looking up at him. It did sound like trouble. Trouble, who was very angry at a certain cop. Gemma glanced around. Panic was mere moments away.

Jorge felt Gemma’s hand on his but he did not heed her attention at first, but still sat back down. Instead he could only stare about dumbfounded as he tried to make heads or tails of what was happening. Mittens was not in captivity anymore? What happened? Was he hallucinating? No he heard the voice clear as day. He remembered it very clearly from when he had confronted the mutant in the robbery none too long ago. But how could the man be out already? Unless something happened he was just never informed.

>> "Trouble?"

“You could say that,” he muttered as he glanced about and saw the panic on everyone’s faces. “I…arrested him already. He’s that guy that took over that apartment building, kept people hostage…”

Jorge wanted to explain more but as he reached down to where his holster should be for his gun, he found that it was not there. After all why should he be carrying it? He was on a date! He grit his teeth a little and glanced once more at Gemma. With her here, his abilities were null. He had no way to summon the water, he had no gun, just an bottle of wine, a couple of dishes, and a troop of masked gunmen running onto the deck…

Wait…what was that? he asked himself.

Before he could really comprehend of it, several gunmen had charged into the dining area. One was placed at each exit while the other four walked into the main area, guns brandished as they glared at each and every one of the people who were dining. Amidst the panicked screams and teary goodbyes, one of the gunmen fired his gun into the air and waved it about the group.

“Now listen here! Which one of you is Detective Cervantes?!”

Jorge exchanged a glance with Gemma. They did not know what he looked like. This could only mean that they were new to the crew and that Mittens was the only one who could identify them. Maybe that could buy him some time, but really how much? Could he get Gemma out of here? Could he separate from her just enough to so he could use his abilities? But before he could think further another gunshot rang into the air as the man snarled through his mask.

“Cervantes, there’s no use hiding. We know you are here,” he said as he strutted about the dining people. “You are not getting away. It would be simpler if you just gave yourself up now. If you don’t,” the man said as he pointed the barrel of his gun at the nearest guest who began to cry suddenly, “We’re going to play Sudden Death. We start picking off someone every minute until you show yourself. So no matter what, either way we’ll get to you Cervantes. Don’t put these people through unneeded misery. Boss only wants you.”

Jorge clenched his jaw and ground his teeth but still tried to keep his expression blank as he stared up at the gunmen. The man watched Jorge for a second before he swept his gaze away to another patron, trying to seek the detective out. Time was running out and Jorge knew that if he did not give himself up, a lot of people would be put at risk. But would Mitten’s keep his word and not harm anyone after he got him? Jorge locked eyes with Gemma again before he turned to the gunman.

>>“You could say that... I…arrested him already. He’s that guy that took over that apartment building, kept people hostage…”

Oh. Right. She remembered hearing about that incident. So, the guy was out? Yay to the police. Except Jorge, of course. And now he was hunting Jorge down? Great. Way to ruin a date.
Masked and armed people appeared on the deck, and Gemma tensed, forcing herself not to make any sudden movement. She had seen people brandishing firerarms before; it was quite a common sight where she gre up. If you were smart, and knew how to behave, you survived. It was as simple as that. Keep your head down.

>>“Cervantes, there’s no use hiding. We know you are here. You are not getting away. It would be simpler if you just gave yourself up now. If you don’t. We’re going to play Sudden Death. We start picking off someone every minute until you show yourself....”

It was never as simple as that.
Gemma looked at Jorge, and she knew what he was going to do before he did it. She just didn't know what she was going to do. If she stood when he did, maybe they'd take her too; if the guy was a mutant, she could be useful. Then again, Jorge had taken him out once before. He needed to use his abilities.

Gemma nodded slowly, and pulled her hand back, letting him go.

"Be careful."

>> "Be careful."

Jorge nodded as he slowly began to stand again, hands help up to show that he was not trying to do anything funny. The last thing he wanted was for a jumpy gunmen to sudden let loose on the crowd like he had seen in the apartment incident. Once he was upright, he cleared his throat to get the gunman’s attention. Though Jorge was the type to surrender himself in the name of the greater good, this actually was for the greater good. There were a lot of innocent people on this boat and it seemed so far that the only thing they wanted was him. He had hoped that those demands would stay like that, but then again, what were the odds? There were always messages to be sent.

“Thirty seconds Cervantes!” the man shouted as he had his back towards Jorge, gun pointed at another patron.

Jorge cleared his throat a little louder again.

The man finally whipped around, gun pointed directly at Jorge’s chest. “What do you want?!”

Jorge briefly rolled his eyes, though unseen to the masked man. “I’m the detective you’re looking for.”

As he stood there, Jorge assessed the situation as best he could. While he would normally give himself up at these types of things, he was not going to do so blindly. He would rather he knew where everything and particularly everyone was. He glanced about as subtly as he could. One man at each entrance and exit, two men wandering the diner deck. Where is Mittens? Must be in the control room.

He sighed as he looked about, he did not like the odds one bit, especially with Gemma here, he could not use his abilities. But then again, if they did pull the detective out and move him to where Mitten’s is, that could open a window of opportunity.

The gunman eyed Jorge closely and shook his head. “Don’t know how an old man like you took in the Boss but you’re coming with me.” The man then suddenly grabbed the detective by the shirt and pulled him off to the side. Then, when gun trained into his back, he nudged Jorge to walk forward. “Now get movin’!”

“Wait a second,” the other gunman who had been patrolling the dining area grinned very toothy like as he glanced over at Jorge’s dining companion. “What do we have here?”

No, no, no! Jorge thought to himself as the man leered at Gemma.

“She’s just my escort I hired for the evening,” Jorge muttered. He knew Gemma would kill him later for making such a statement, if he was not killed by Mittens first, that is. “She doesn’t matter.”

The man at Gemma’s side grinned as he stood up straight and kept his pistol trained on her. “You like the high end stuff, don’t you Cervantes? Dirty cops.” He winked at Gemma before he took a step back and made motion for her to get up. “Well either way, come on Sweetness,” he motioned with his gun for her to stand. “Either way, the Boss loves to give a performance, and he needs an audience for the night.”

Jorge hung his head a little and grit his teeth as he glanced back to Gemma.

I’m killing Mittens myself…

Gemma pressed her hands to her knees under the table to stop them from shaking. She was a sensible woman. She knew she had a good reason to be scared when stupidity and violence paired up in front of her eyes. Especially because those men had guns. And they wanted Jorge.
He was a cop, right? He must be trained to handle these situations.

>> “Wait a second... What do we have here?”

>>“She’s just my escort I hired for the evening. She doesn’t matter.”

Now, that was quick thinking. The corner of Gemma's lips twitched nervously. Escort, huh. Her eyes flashed at Jorge with an expression of hurt dignity; she smirked at the gunman.

>>“You like the high end stuff, don’t you Cervantes? Dirty cops. Well either way, come on Sweetness. Either way, the Boss loves to give a performance, and he needs an audience for the night.”

"Great." she rolled her eyes as she stood, and walked after Jorge and the other gunman, holding her hands up "You know this's gonna cost you a lot extra, right, detective? Gettin' me into this mess." she added, glaring daggers at him. Her eyes flashed at the gunman who was following her. "Stop pointin' that thing at me, you brute. I only bite paying customers."

And so they walked off the diner deck and towars the control room. She couldn't keep a sae dristance from Jorge; sometimes he was inside her aura, other times he was just outside. So far, things were not really going as planned; but now she was in it, and she had a role, and she would have to make the most of the situation. If Jorge was not able to use his powers, at least she could make sure Mittens couldn't either.

>> "Stop pointin' that thing at me, you brute. I only bite paying customers."

Jorge still could not believe how the situation had unfolded. He did not want to pull Gemma into this. He was hoping that if he had said that she was not important to him that it would be enough for the gunmen to leave her alone. Unfortunately his ploy backfired when he stated that she was an escort. He had feared that if he had stated she were a friend or co-worker, there would be no question what to do with her. Now it seems as if they were headed towards the executioner’s officer together.

Any chance he had to give Gemma a glance, he apologized as best he could with his eyes, but there really was little he could do. So instead he continued to march on, trying to think of something, anything that could be done. He had to get Gemma out of here, not only so that he could use his abilities, but most of all, to get her out of harm’s way. There were only two guards with them and both were standing behind Gemma and himself.

There’s got to be something that I can do, but before he could formulate any type of plan, the gunmen shoved the both of them around a corner where they were met with a small flight of stairs.

The trek seemed long as the minutes ticked by much too slowly. It felt as if everything around them were stuck in molasses and crawled on in a pace that he simply could not stand. He wracked his brain, trying to think of something that could help when they arrived a large door at the top of the steps. As Jorge was shoved in, he did not have time to look back to see that Gemma was being held at the doorway and could only stare about in the blackness in front of him. A console at one end of the room was lit up with various lights, buttons and dials and though he knew there was supposed to be a window here so the captain could steer…why couldn’t he see it? Then…the shadows moved.

A heavy step forward and Jorge watched as the familiar, shadowy outline of a large figure came up to him…one with massive hands. The oppressive presence which had been block the windows, grinned in the dim light, his teeth glistened in the blackness. Then, with a force that Jorge did not expect, he felt the back of one of those extremely large hands connect solidly with his cheek. Any other time, it would have broken it, but Mitten’s was holding back. There would not be a quick death for the detective.

“ARRGH!!” Jorge yelped as Mitten back handed him across the room and sent him crashing hard into one of the walls.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Mittens muttered as he started towards the fallen detective, but stopped to glance back at the doorway. “Who’s this?” He motioned towards Gemma.

One of the gunmen jabbed her back with the gun. “Some escort the detective had with him.”

Mittens grinned as he glanced between Jorge and the woman. “Hmm, nice taste detective.” He said as he headed towards her. “Might have to – “ he paused as he got closer to Gemma and came to a sudden stop. He doubled over briefly as his fingers tightened and curled. One of those massive hands he now held up suddenly did not look so menacing. The flesh started to sag, the fingers thinned out, and they started to shrink down…down…back to the size of a normal hand. He gasped in astonishment and fear as he shot a look back to Jorge. “What are you doing?!”

She could tell he was worried, and she didn't need to look at him to tell he was sorry. She just hoped he'd think about getting out of here alive rather than how sorry he was. She would be fine. She was not what (or whom) the criminals wanted.

The man in the control room was something out of a bad dream. Not a nightmare; in nightmares, you are afraid of what you can't see. This one - he was scary as hell. But not mysterious. And it was very, very clear what he wanted.

Gemma winced as Jorge hit the wall, and dug her nails into her palms. Watching somebody got hurt was about the hardest thing to do for her. Doing nothing about it: even worse.

>>“Who’s this?”
>>“Some escort the detective had with him.”

Gemma stepped closer, looking up at the man with the big hands. He was almost close enough...

>>“Hmm, nice taste detective. Might have to – What are you doing?!”

Looking at his hands, Gemma bit her lips. He noticed the effect of her aura, and as far as she could tell, he thought Jorge was responsible for it. She stared at the shringking hands, and then at the detective; she made it obvious enough to let the man know she ws thinking the same. As long as he didn't know where the effects came from, they had the advantage.

"Jorge?" she asked, looking scared; she started towards him. The motion was just one heartbeat too slow; she was expecting to be caught. Hopefully, by Mittens. With hands a few sizes too small for his taste.

>> ”Jorge?”

The sound had brought sense back to Jorge’s mind, seeing him through the haze of blackness that pervaded after Mitten’s had backhanded him so roughly across the room. He could already feel the welt rising on the side of his cheek. He would definitely feel that in the morning…if he lived to see it at all. He groaned as he panicked to refocus his eyes. He did not want to lose sight of Gemma and thankfully he could see her at the doorway of the room. Strangely enough, he could see that the two armed guards that had taken them there, as well as Mittens were momentarily distracted by other things.

Namely…Mittens with almost normal looking hands now.

Jorge was shocked, and almost a little sick, at the sight of the flesh sagging hands (or was that the concussion he almost suffered), but he managed to push down the complimentary bread sticks back into his stomach. He had to focus. Why were his hands like that? Then he saw her proximity to Mittens. Her ability to null powers! He must be too close to her field now. It obvious though that the normally large handed mutant had no knowledge of this. Instead he panicked and put all that fear and hatred towards Jorge…until he saw Gemma.

***

Mittens, shaken up, snapped back around when he saw the woman head into the room. He was angry, as well as terrified, beyond all belief. He had no explanation for what was happening to him, except that maybe the officer had done something to him? He knew he was a mutant, but from their last encounter, all he remembered was water. Could he be doing this? Was he dehydrating his hands or something? In a panic he watched as the woman stepped closer and already he was on her. He needed to regain control of the situation, even if his goons were staring at his seemingly melted down hands, their guns now falling from their hands in shock.

He was up faster than could be processed and threw himself at Gemma. It would be easy for him grab her, even though she was incredibly tall.

Then, he heard a shout.

“Gemma! Down!” the detective yelled.

With that Mittens watched in shock as one of the desk chairs that littered the room, all askew thanks to his grand entrance earlier, came flying towards him. The mutant, who was in mid-lunge ground his teeth as he twisted himself badly to fall short. He landed with a hard THUD! on the ground and looked pleased that the detective had missed him. But, just as he turned to look up, he noted that there was another loud CRACK and turned just in time to see both his men in the doorway going down after the chair the detective threw struck them hard.

Mitten’s, feeling himself suddenly alone, jumped up and made to run, but unable to really move himself well without the extra weight from his usually large hands threw off his balance. Just enough for him to turn and see Detective Cervantes running full force at him with his fist balled up and wound back.