Red pandas had to be some of the most adorable creatures ever. Kaitlyn had missed watching them.

There was a time when she made it a point to visit the zoo at least once every two weeks, even if it meant going by herself. Then Terror-Fest happened. For reasons she couldn't understand, thinking about Central Park gave her a sense of dread ever since. But now, sitting in front of the red panda exhibit and reading their fact-panel-thing for what felt like the hundredth time, everything was right in the world. No matter how many times she'd seen them, the zoo animals enthralled her.

Look! One of the red pandas was wrapping her tail around herself, like a big, fuzzy blanket. D'aaaaaw.

After taking a few more moments to bask in the red pandas' concentrated cuteness, she decided to move on to the snow leopards and completely ignore that niggling feeling of dread in the back of her mind. She also took the opportunity to remind herself that there is nothing scary about the zoo, and to think otherwise would be to act like some kind of little kid.

...Or, at least a kid that was younger than her. That might not have been the most convincing analogy to use, even on herself.

Meanwhile, a wolflike mutant prowled through the zoo and enjoyed the sights. The wolf-man felt like he was communing with kindred spirits every time he visited. Usually, his Zoo visits had a therapeutic effect on his psyche. Somehow, they even gave him an abstract sense of belonging, a feeling that many mutants craved.

This particular visit wouldn't be good for him.

Cosmina was bored. Her toy had run off and she'd had little luck finding him again. As such she had no one to tease or play with at all except when she was working and it just wasn't the same. There had been a couple of others she'd encountered but they weren't nearly as fun. Her lack of things to do had led her to Central Park and that in turn had led her to the zoo. Aside from watching the animals she could watch people as well. They were essentially the same thing from certain points of view. Animals probably didn't come back after dying like humans did though.

Or maybe they did. It wasn't as though Cosmina could communicate with them to find out. It was an interesting thought but Cosmina didn't indulge it long. No one paid her to kill animals. As such their status upon death didn't really concern her over much. Eventually Cosmina ended up somewhere across from the snow leopard habitat where she was content to stand and people watch. The diversity of New York being what it was there were all sorts of people about for Cosmina to study. Most of them she disregarded. Most of them just weren't worth her time. They were the sort of people who'd probably never even bruised someone else on purpose and wouldn't last five minutes under serious threat.

The ones that did catch her gaze for any length of time looked rich or dangerous. Very rarely were the two word applicable to a single person in such a way as mattered to her. Money was powerful of course. Cosmina couldn't imagine being without it. However the sort of danger she was looking for was more in the life threatening school of danger, not the life ruining. Though the existence of people like herself meant that someone could have both sorts of power if willing to pay enough. This emphasis meant that Cosmina didn't notice the young girl standing in from of the exhibit. No, at the moment she was too busy noticing a man that could be aptly described as a wolfman.

Wolf-man gazed at the snow leopards, fascinated. Their grace, their beauty held him captive. Once, these creatures' ancestors used this grace for hunting, but today they had their own personal paradise. A comfortable little cage, the company of friends, their own personal food service, and free, state-of-the-art health care, all given to them in return for living at the zoo. It was hard to come up with a word for how he felt about this... was it longing? Envy?

It was like a half-remembered nightmare had crawled from the deepest depths of her mind and materialized right in front of her. Every instinct, every bone and muscle in her body, urged Kaitlyn to make a decision: fight, or flight.

Either one would have worked. The fact of the matter was that these lucky creatures were being payed, generously, just for being what they were. They didn't have to suffer for the way they looked, or how they acted, or how they thought, like he did. They didn't have to work a 9-5 job, deal with a bigoted boss, or fight to keep his head above a sea of paperwork while weighed down by a mental handicap, like he did. They didn't have to worry about divorce, or debt, or discrimination, like he did. The intricacies of human society had very little bearing on their day-to-day survival.

They were going to catch her, and they were going to eat her. She knew how the wolf-men operated. The child had seen it happen with her own eyes, replayed endlessly in her dreams ever since. She knew that she had to do something before it tried to get her, but the only thing she could make herself do was keep staring.

It was impolite to stare. Hadn't anyone told her that? That was one of the few tenets of human civilization that Robert didn't have trouble understanding, and this kid was ignoring it, just so she could get a really good look at the freaky wolf man. He put his leathery wolf-nose to work, snorting a big, discontented wolf-snort. It wasn't the first time that somebody would wrong him thus, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Still, the kid was making him uncomfortable, and it didn't look like there were any parents nearby to resolve the situation for him. He was bad with kids, too, and he didn't quite know how to politely make her go away. There weren't many options available at this point.

The wolf-man had already seen her, and Kaitlyn knew that she couldn't outrun one of them. As much as she hated the alternative, her chance to choose flight was long gone. The crowd, the zoo animals, and even the time of day melted away. It was evening, the night of Halloween. Kaitlyn could see their blood-stained handiwork all around her.

There was only one thing that could happen at this point.

Robert didn't think that it could do any harm. A bit of growling, and maybe even a snarl or two – just to scare her off. It should have just made her go away.

It shouldn't have left him lying flat on his back, feeling like he'd just been hit by a car.

Only then did Kaitlyn snap out of it. She had just blasted everyone near the Snow Leopard exhibit. As chaos and confusion took hold of zoogoers and zoo animals alike, Kaitlyn did what she could to stumble away without tripping over herself.

Now Cosmina was noticing the child in front of the exhibit. Of course she was only noticing because the wolfman had noticed. She was staring at him. Gawking was a better word for it. He seemed annoyed by it and Cosmina stood back and enjoyed this little spectacle before her. If she had to guess the girl was probably frightened of the wolfman. Given her apparent age and body language that was the most likely reason for her rude behavior. When presented with a fight or flight situation her body had probably frozen up in fear and she'd done neither. This continued for some time. The wolfman grew more and more irritated as the moments of the girl's staring passed and Cosmina just sat and grinned. Why she was just about to laugh when he started growling but was preempted by the all too sudden blast of force and sound that sent her backwards onto the ground.

Unwilling to be caught disadvantaged during a possible attack Cosmina dragged herself to her feet as soon as she was able. Pretty much everyone in the vicinity of the enclosure had been blasted off their feet by the blast. Though her eyes scoured the area for a device capable of generating such an attack she found none. As she had initially suspected it was the work of a mutant. After another minute of searching Cosmina's eyes landed on the girl. She'd been frightened by the wolfman and now he was bowled over and unlikely to terrorize anyone until he recovered. Moreover, despite the blast, she was up and moving before anyone else. As chaos took hold, Cosmina moved in to stop this girl from leaving.

It wasn't any misguided attempt at justice that informed this decision to interfere with the girl. Nor was it an attempt to make money, at least not directly. No, Cosmina was simply curious about the mutation that could cause such a ruckus and it's applications. Such power could be useful to her if focused properly. With a grin firmly in place and her balance sufficiently recovered Cosmina dashed the final few steps between her and the girl's apparent route.

"Such a naughty girl, causing such a ruckus and trying to leave. Didn't your mommy teach you to take responsibility for your actions?"

A throaty chuckle followed the condescending comment. Cosmina was confident she could prevent another untimely meeting between her behind and the pavement now that she was anticipating another blast.

Kaitlyn stopped in her tracks. The lady in her way was accusing her of being "naughty." In the child's mind, there was something decidedly ominous about that remark. Naughty kids get punished, whether they get caught, or "take responsibility" for it like other people's parents might teach.

If Kaitlyn Faust had anything to say on the matter, she wasn't about to face any punishment. Assuming a defiant stance, the girl looked her obstacle in the eyes and answered the question.

"Not really."

Then, she tried to walk right past her. As if it would be as easy as that.

Cosmina smirked at the girl's attempt to brush off her taunt and walk past her. She wouldn't let it be that easy. Not at all. She moved to block the girl's way again.

"Well then she's been a horrible mommy. Letting a bad child like you run around and get into such mischief. She ought to be ashamed."

Cosmina feigned a moment of thought.

"Unless of course you don't have a mommy and whoever is taking care of you is to blame for you being so utterly horrid. Just look at all the panic you caused. Not to mention the rude way you stared at that poor mutant man."

Another pause complete with a smirk.

"I never thought I'd see the day when one mutant could be so bad to another mutant."

Maybe that would have the desired affect. Cosmina wasn't about to let the little girl leave with seeing that power again.

As the blonde spoke, Kaitlyn got angrier. The lady was insulting Kaitlyn, she was insulting Lori, and she was saying that Kaitlyn was mean to other mutants. None of that was true!

"I didn't mean to!" she shouted defensively. "I just... he looked like somebody else! So, shut up!" That last part was punctuated with an angry shove to the woman's midsection. Whoever this person was, she was being a big bully.

Kaitlyn wasn't going to put up with being insulted by a bully. "Get out of my way, or I'll blast you!" The little redhead looked angry enough to start snarling.

Cosmina laughed as she felt the young one shove against her stomach. Oh it had worked all too well! All it would take was one more push to make the girl turn her powers loose again. Then the fun would begin. With a wicked grin in place she responded to her small potential adversary.

"Oh I think you did mean to and you just don't want to admit. Admitting it makes it true and you don't want to be known as a child that hates her fellow mutants. A freak that hates the freaks."

The girl threatened to blast her and Cosmina leaned in close.

"Do it. You know you want to. I've said horrible things about you so go on. Attack me!"

Cosmina hadn't precisely been expecting trouble when she'd left today but she'd tucked a semi-automatic handgun in her purse anyway. She'd grown complacent enough to stop carrying and then she'd been caught without during the theft with Effigy. That was a mistake she had quickly rectified and wouldn't be making again. It was only a good thing no one important had been there to witness it. She stuck one hand in her purse and grasped the weapon. She wouldn't be aiming to kill here. There was no money to be gained or any other direct benefit. But she would wound. Cosmina generally held back when facing children. Not from any reluctance mind you but simply because she saw no point in exerting herself to her fullest for an adversary that wouldn't be much of a challenge.

She didn't need to be told twice.

Leaning into it, Kaitlyn thrust her arms out towards the woman, seemingly preparing for an impact. One second later, a wave of warped air shot from her hands, carrying enough force to knock over a stout tree.

The resultant recoil knocked the child off of her feet, and onto her back. Then everything started spinning around her. It took a while before she felt comfortable enough to lift her head and survey the damage she caused.

The second the girl brought her arms forward Cosmina braced herself for the blast that she knew would be coming. The hand that had been inside her purse grasping her gun was withdrawn so that the weapon was out in the open. While she disengaged the safety on the handgun Cosmina pulled up a silencing field focus on herself. She couldn't be sure that it would do anything to the blast that would be coming her way in a moment or two but it couldn't hurt to try it.

The blast shot forward. It was obvious the girl had aimed the the entire blast at her instead of the area attack she'd unleashed previously. If that was the same amount of energy she'd used in the area attack Cosmina was in trouble. Instinctively she moved out of the way of the blast as quickly as possible. It barreled through her silencing field and hit her side but with less force than she'd expected. Though Cosmina was spun around and knocked off balance she managed to remain standing. That side would be bruised and painful for a while but seemed intact for the most part. The fencing of the enclosure behind her though? It wasn't so lucky. The blast had hit it and it hadn't had the benefit of Cosmina's power to protect it. It was essentially demolished.

If that was anything to go by then the girl's blasts seemed to be at least partially made up of sound. If that were the case then her power could dampen it's effectiveness. Cosmina grinned. A fight that had looked like a bit too much merely moments before was now looking doable. Mina dropped the silencing around herself.

"What's the matter girl? No one taught you how to aim?"

The lady was still standing.

As the youngest Order member struggled to her feet, chaos enveloped the zoo around her. That last blast just set a bunch of lions free, and they were already taking the opportunity to explore the world outside of their cells. Meanwhile, the other zoo patrons were flipping out, running away, screaming, panicking, and calling the police.

None of these things mattered. What did matter was the fact that this lady was still standing. Kaitlyn definitely wasn't going to miss this time.

Once she was on her feet, the Orderling ran straight towards her opponent. She was going to stop right in front of her. Then, pure, unfocused Kaboom.

Well this was an interesting situation. Cosmina was now caught between a little girl that could essentially blow things up and a bunch of lions. Between and explosion and a sharp place if you would. Other people were running and screaming and it would have been wise for the two females to do the same. Wisdom could wait. It was possibly one of her more foolish moves but she was giving priority to finding more about the girl's mutation and just how much her own mutation would affect the blast.

Eventually the girl got up. Upon seeing that Cosmina had not been knocked down the girl ran at her. Cosmina brought her silencing back up. Unless the girl got so close they were practically hugging she probably wouldn't end up close enough to notice the field at all. She was keeping it close to her so as to not give away the reason why the girl's blasts weren't having the intended effect. She stopped right in front of Cosmina and loosed another attack. This one was weaker than the previous blast by a considerable amount. It would have forced her back just a little bit if she hadn't had her silencing up but with it it felt like a normal push.

The only reason Cosmina could think of for using a less powerful blast than before that made any sense at all was that the girl couldn't control the power level. Mina smirked.

"Awww, that almost tickled."

Small as it might have been, the loud explosion let the lions know that sticking around wasn't a good idea. These two human females were not to be messed with. The great cats bolted away in search of new territory to claim, scaring countless humans along the way.

"Wha--!?"

Kaitlyn was getting furious. Admittedly, that was a pretty weak blast, but it was clear that all the blasting wasn't working.

Time for a change of tactics.

The girl put her hand in her right pocket, feeling around for the pepper spray that Lenna had given her. It was still there. As she slowly approached her nemesis, she stared her down, pointer finger finding the little bottle's release button. Once she was close enough, she threw her arms out towards the jerk's face, as if she was about to blast it off.

One of her hands was holding the pepper spray, whose bright orange contents went flying out with a psssst!

If that stuff did its job, the Orderling would follow up with a swift kick to her foe's shin.

Kaitlyn was gonna tell Lenna all about this when she got home.

Cosmina had no time to taunt the girl again. She seemed to be gearing up for another blast. The child just didn't seem to learn. However Cosmina's mutation interacted with the girl's saw to it that the blasts were weakened enough for her to withstand. Did she really think another would do anything? Though, on the bright side, the blast had scared the lions off. That alone was good. Now they were the other patrons' problem.

The little girl's arms came forward in what looked like another blast and Cosmina stood confident. Then she noticed the bottle in the girl's hand. It was too late to do much other than minimize the damage. Cosmina ducked under the spray and rolled to the side. Her eyes burned from the peppery assault and so did the skin around them. However she couldn't let them shut. Some vision was better than none. Cosmina forced her eyes to stay open, raising one hand to wipe away the tears that were welling up quickly.

Mina raised her gun and pointed it in what she assumed was the girl's direction. It was hard to tell through the tears that she just couldn't get rid of.

"Try that again kid and I won't hesitate to kill you where you stand."

Interesting the girl might be and Cosmina was the one that had started the fight. However there was no way she was going to allow a small child to best her with pepper spray. It was just not going to happen.

Now, she was waving a gun around. A gun! She's gonna kill me!

CRACKOOM! A wave of distorted air shot our from Kaitlyn's small frame before she even knew it was happening, decimating a park bench, one of those zoo map signs, and the glass that held in many of the animals around them. Monkeys, lemurs, leopards, and more swarmed out of their holding pens, then loudly stampeded as far from the dangerous duo as they could possibly get.

Now, Kaitlyn was having difficulty seeing things. But she had a strong feeling that the crazy lady was going to start shooting, so she ducked down to make herself a small target.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Don't shoot!"