Elizabeth was taking it slow for a bit. After the Christmas Tree incident several weeks back, Liz had decided that she wouldn’t leave the city any time soon. You know, just enough to allow her karma to re-stabilize. Not that she knew what she had ever done to deserve the various assorted things that had happened to her in the past semester at school, but that was her best hypothesis. Besides, nothing bad happened at the mansion so at least it was safe.

That’s why Liz could be found one beautiful Saturday evening, merely strolling around the mansion in the nippy January air. A heavy pale pink jacket covered her torso and a blue, purple, black, and white striped scarf surrounded her neck. Brown gloves with a white-furred interior covered her hands, matching her fur-lined boots perfectly. All in all, she was dressed for the weather. It was still a little cold, but that was okay: she loved the weather. Winter was totally her time of year.

It was also a lot more peaceful than other seasons for some reason. Liz chalked it up to the slightly diminished amounts of students lingering outside the walls of the vast building. Apparently, not everyone liked the cold and refrained from as much contact as possible with it. But that was suitable to her as well. As much as she liked people (that didn’t try hurting her, at least), Liz was perfectly content with a dearth of them.

With a slight song on her lips, singing softly enough to entertain herself but not enough for the lyrics to be distinguishable to anyone else, Liz went lightly skipping across the frosty ground, just enjoying the beautiful day.

It was winter and Agnes was outside. Normally such a statement would not be so hard to imagine, especially considering the fact that for the past several months, the teenager had been leaving in any dark alley she could find herself in. That was different now though. Because of the kindness of a single stranger she was granted an opportunity that she never her abilities, and not just that, but it would also give her a good education and she would not have to hide who she was. All were pluses in her book so she would use this place to the best of her ability. Hopefully before someone got sick of her or her ability.

Her musings aside, Agnes sighed as he sat back in a bench on the mansion grounds and contentedly pulled up a text book for the coming classes. She schedule had not started yet, but the least she could do was get a head start with some reading. With that in mind, she hefted up her large math book and began read the first chapter.

Agnes was dressed warmly, yet causally. In a large, blue and gray sweater that was almost threadbare in certain areas, and wearing jeans and thick black boots, she situated herself back against the bench and red quietly to herself. So far she was in such a good mode that she felt nothing from the swarm that lived inside her. Nor did see any of the companion insects buzz around her head or attempt to crawl up pant leg. They always managed to save her life, but there were simply times that her mutation could be one of the most grotesque and unnerving for not only other people…but herself.

To be afraid of her own mutation. The thought made Agnes scoff many times before, but it was steadily becoming a real reality. She feared what her powers could do, as well as how people will react to them. Nobody really likes bugs, or having them crawl all over your room, or get into your food or clothes…but Agnes quickly shook those thoughts away. She could not allow herself to get upset by anything like that. She simply could not have another incident where get bugs attack just because she is irritated with the world and her lot in life.

So…with a sigh, she turned back to her book and attempted to concentrate…until she heard whistling…

Then in came the skipping, humming interloper. Agnes at first felt upset because her moment of solitude out in nature had been ruined. But slowly that feeling began to turn into indifference. She had to learn to share this place after all. She was not the only one who lived here…and she lived here for free! Obviously that would mean she would have to run across other students. She only hoped that this woman would not turn into another Faye. She did not need that trauma again…

As the girl got closer, Agnes looked up and actually watched her closely. For a few moments she said nothing as she merely observed…no sign of malice or irritation on her face…again…only indifference. It was after another moment that the teenage runaway tucked a strand of hair brown hair behind her ear and offered the girl a friendly nod before she returned to the math book.

The icy-green grass crunched under Elizabeth’s feet as she lightly tripped over it. The brief contact of each foot against the grass crushed the fresh ice, melting it, and leaving dark green footprints on the lawn. Oh well. At least she allowed those grass blades to warm up a bit before the next chill came. Not that she really particularly cared about the grass, but it was a whimsical enough thought that it easily flittered through her temporarily happy-go-lucky brain.

Still singing/humming/making song-like noises, Liz quickly entered view of another student. As soon as the blonde realized that she was no longer alone in the general vicinity, her eyes briefly widened a fraction of an inch and the song died on her lips. That had been a close call. Fortunately, Liz didn’t think she had been singing loud enough for her to actually be overheard doing anything more than humming. Hopefully. A bit of color found its way to her cheeks. She absolutely did not like singing in front of other people. It was very embarrassing. In fact, she rarely sang around Nico, fearful that he would one day repeat it to someone.

After several moments trying to reassure herself, Liz noticed that she seemed to be under some less-than-polite scrutiny by the girl. She herself stared a moment before coming to her senses. The empath put on her “Friendly hat” and immediately smiled at the girl after receiving a greeting in the form of a nod. “Hello,” she said cheerily. But her slightly forced enthusiasm declined a bit as the brunette returned to her intense reading of….a math book. Liz wasn’t certain what caught her off guard more: the mostly expressionless face, or the fact that the girl was spending a wonderful outside with no school reading a textbook.

Thinking as fast as only thoughts can go, Liz accessed and analyzed the situation. It would seem like the girl was a social recluse and lacked a great quantity of friends. But of course, Liz was merely drawing snap conclusions to explain away the slightly unusual behavior.

“I’m Liz,” she continued, speaking after only a moment’s lag. “And you are?” Her smile was warm and sincere. Nothing was fake by then. Elizabeth truly did want to be friendly.

>> “Hello”

With her nose buried in her book, Agnes was suddenly brought up to reality by the fellow greeting from her fellow mansion student. For the briefest of seconds, the runaway was simply unsure of how to respond to that. Short of Amber, she never really had the chance to meet anyone, let alone in a cordial way. Every since she got to this place, she spent her time holed up in her room, exiting only to get food. The few times she had gone out, she had only met with Amber and had an altercation with Faye. This meeting could go either 50-50 so she would have to cross her fingers that it would turn out well.

Agnes only gave another nod of hello in response but this gesture seemed to spur the young lady on to head over and continue the conversational greetings.

Great, now what have you gotten yourself into? she asked herself as she laid her book flat on her lap and looked up as the girl came closer.

>> “I’m Liz…And you are?”

Unintentionally, Agnes sat there and appraised the girl closely. Over time she had learned to watch people, to read the signs in their body language and such to see if they were sincere or simply trying to scam her. Her eyes picked at and hooked onto every little detail about the girl: her warm smile, the glint in her eyes, the lightness of her skin. For a brief second Agnes felt uncomfortable and unsure since she was still unsure about sincere people…but this girl, this Liz, was being straight forward and honest. She really did seem like she cared.

Unable to really hold back her own smile, she smiled politely, stood and held out her hand for her to shake.

“Agnes. My name is Agnes. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” she said with all the civility that she still managed to hold onto from the old days.

Back home, one of the things that her parents had always strived for her to do was to maintain herself as a lady and never be any less than that. She remembered the lessons growing up, the etiquette that went into maintaining one’s self in public. They were lessons that her parents stressed because they believed that they were already above anyone else in the moral and spiritual sense, they might as well continuously prove this high quality of living in the social sphere as well. Still though, Agnes would have liked nothing more than to forget all those lessons since they reminded her too much of her home life…but some things were too deeply ingrained…

Standing up from her cool bench, her backside once again started to regain feeling as she set her book down on the bench and nervously pulled the sleeves of her sweater down to envelope her hands. Her thin, almost skeletal frame looked baggy in her clothes as she reached up and brushed more loose hair from her face and tucked them behind her ears. It was obvious from the gentle shifting of her feet and the fact that she now quasi-hugged herself that she was still feeling a little strange from social interaction. Maybe with practice she would get better.

“Um, I’m…I’m new here. I just got accepted a day or so ago,” she said when she noticed the girl glance to the math book on the bench. “I just trying to catch up and be ready for when classes start.”

Then Agnes had to pause. She had just told this girl her name and ever since that incident where she accidentally sent a swarm of flies and hornets at Faye Roberts, she had remained isolated in her room. She was sure by now that word had spread around campus about what she did, and more than likely embellished to level far more terrifying than what actually happened. Agnes watched Liz closely, wondering if rumors had been spread and her name connected with the idea of a walking pestilence in the school.

For a moment there, it looked like Elizabeth was going to be ignored after the blank expression. It was odd, like the girl was trying to figure out if it was more advantageous to say “hi” or to not say anything at all. But then the brunette smiled and offered a hand and her name. Beth’s eyes crinkled as she took the hand in a light grasp, shaking it up and down a couple of times before withdrawing. It was interesting, the way Agnes suddenly switched gears and went into a formal overdrive after the odd expressions on her face just previously.

But that was okay. Everyone had their quirks, right? And then they were both kind of left there, not really doing anything. Liz briefly turned her head a bit, to view an interesting bush a little better. She’d seen it hundreds of times and it only fascinated her at the moment because it gave her something to do. Then she averted her attention back to Agnes, feeling slightly awkward.

But at least that didn’t last too long. Agnes broke the silence. “Oh, well then, welcome to the mansion,” Liz greeted cordially. “How are you liking it so far?” It was a harmless enough question. One of the most common, surely, when talking to a new student. Not that she’d had any experience greeting new people; she was not acquainted with that many other students at the school, despite the semester she’d spent there already.

Her eyes briefly flicked down, an observation in the back of her mind coming to the front. Liz wasn’t sure: was Agnes naturally that thin? Or did she have any eating disorder? But whatever the case, she rather liked her style. Kind of punk-grunge, in her opinion. Of course, she could never pull it off, but she did admire when others could.

She quickly reestablished eye contact in wait for an answer.

>> “Oh, well then, welcome to the mansion…How are you liking it so far?”

And that started it. Her simply statement earlier had begun the chain reaction of what would be a conversation. Normally Agnes did try to start up or foster real conversations, she tried on most accounts to avoid and slip away into the background. But she had to keep reminding herself that right now, she was not in some dark, dank alley. Instead she was living in a school with plenty of other human beings, some of which would like to get to know a little something about her. Still though, that did not mean that she was any less comfortable with the situation that had started up here.

With a warm smile that curved the end of her lips up, she nodded as her eyes gained this thoughtful look. As she looked up to respond, she suddenly felt as if her fellow’s students eyes had been averted. For a moment she wondered what her thoughts had been stuck on. She seemed to be taking in her attire but Agnes made not motion to show that she had caught onto this. Her clothes were her clothes, it was all she had so she would live with it.

Though she had to admit that the clothes Liz was wearing did look cute on her. But she doubted she could pull it off.

Clearing her throat a little audibly, really only out of habit, she finally responded.

“It’s…interesting. I don’t know what charity funds this place or if it is privately funded, but they are a godsend for the most part.” she said with a nod. “Though I did make my first enemy, but I guess that is to be expected. Seems like is has been a long time since I was in school that I’ve forgotten most of the dynamics.”

Agnes stopped herself because she felt like she was rambling. The truth was that she was more than just a little surprised at herself. She was not one to ramble or stick on one topic for too long because she instead preferred to stop talking at all. But this was a perfect example to help try and change her habits. She had to learn to hold a real conversation with people. Not that she felt annoyed or irritated in doing so, but she had to learn to reconnect with that part of her that used to be social.

Deciding to take the initiative, Agnes stood, scooped up her book and held it to her chest as she stepped closer to the girl. She was thankful that it was too cold out to have any of her insects swarm too closely nearby. At least that is what she hoped for as she scanned her peripheral for any flies or hornets. But she turned and managed to keep her eye on the girl, almost willing her to want to go for a small stroll.

“How about you? Do you like going here? Any tips you care to share with a fellow student?” she inquired with a sincere and earnest smile.

Elizabeth paused for only a moment to digest all things Agnes had said in response. The topic was essentially the same, but it could so easily sprout into three different conversations. Well, she’d just handle one at a time, it seemed. “To tell you the truth, I’ve no idea how it’s funded either. Probably some rich philanthropist dude who wants to look good for doing something like, I don’t know, feeding kids in Africa, but instead chose us. But you’re right. It is a godsend,” she said agreeably.

It was the only place in New York City that was safe for her. Not to mention how it was also home to a certain population of avian-feline hybrids in angel form.

Liz mentally shook her head. Fortunately, her smile never faltered through the arrant train of thought. She had something cheery to say about the enemy thing as well. “And you know? Since you’ve got an arch nemesis, that just means you’re exceptionally cool and awesome. Not many others can boast about that.” Her eyes crinkled and her eyes glittered with laughter.

Very soon, Agnes apparently decided that she didn’t want to sit down on the bench anymore. It also looked like she was inviting Liz for a walk. Beth shrugged her shoulders and bit and went with it. Just because she was happy without many people didn’t mean she hated human-company. And then Agnes asked about secrets and strategies for being a better high school mutant. That and a biography and survey of Liz. It also smelled suspiciously like a ploy to turn conversation away from her. Crafty. Liz liked it.

And she could sympathize. She didn’t always like talking about herself, either. But this wasn’t one of those times. “Me?” she said, saying it in an almost-wistful way while quickly giving an open-armed twirl. “Oh, I utterly love it here. It’s like a really long vacation without your parents, except you still have school. And you can meet so many people and none of them really judge you for much, since we’re all mutants here and need ta stick together. And the animals are so content and happy here that I don’t have to worry about much.” There. The cheesy-sounding-yet-very-sincere-welcoming-and-convincing combo package.

“And for a fellow student at Mutant High, the only tip of advice, really, is study your teachers and figure out what their powers are and limitations. That’ll make following or avoiding the rules a lot easier. It’s just like school, except with powers. Oh, and completely avoid food fights. Sometimes kids can lose control and once a loaf of bread actually came to life. No joke. It was pretty delicious.” Liz grinned and chuckled at herself. She also left out the little fact that she had been a hyper-active dog with a nearly-iron gut at the time.

>> “And you know? Since you’ve got an arch nemesis, that just means you’re exceptionally cool and awesome. Not many others can boast about that.”

Agnes could only smirk at that comment. If Liz only knew how wrong she was about that. The runaway did not believe herself to be “cool” in any way, shape or form. She struggled everyday to try and keep her swarm at bay, she fought against the prejudices of this society, she tried to ignore a past which would not give up the hunt for her…it was maddening half the time. The only thing that ever saved her was back when she lived in the alleys, she was living day by day. She didn’t bother to plan for the future or think about where this life would lead her. The only thing she wanted was the see the morning rise the next day. And now that her situation was a little better, she had something else to focus on. With school she could at least focus on keeping her mind busy, on keeping the demons in her head at bay.

Distractions…was that all her life had summed up to? One long string of distractions, one after another to keep her sane? With a shrug, she only smirked before it quickly fell.

Apparently the girl had not heard about the Faye incidence so she would say nothing. More than likely she would heard of it tomorrow or later in the day and the runaway would be sans another possible friend. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

>> “Me?...Oh, I utterly love it here. It’s like a really long vacation without your parents, except you still have school. And you can meet so many people and none of them really judge you for much, since we’re all mutants here and need ta stick together. And the animals are so content and happy here that I don’t have to worry about much.”

On their walk through the cool air outside the mansion, Agnes hugged her book to her chest as she listened to the girl talk. She definitely did have a lot to say but that did not bother the living bug nest at all. It was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t a con-artist or some preachy converter. The girl liked it here and she made it known to Agnes as she walked, practically calling the place an Eden of sorts. She wondered why Liz was so intent about the animals. Maybe she was just an avid animal lover…

>> “And for a fellow student at Mutant High, the only tip of advice, really, is study your teachers and figure out what their powers are and limitations. That’ll make following or avoiding the rules a lot easier. It’s just like school, except with powers. Oh, and completely avoid food fights. Sometimes kids can lose control and once a loaf of bread actually came to life. No joke. It was pretty delicious.”

Loaf of bread…? Agnes had to repeat the phrase in her mind as she looked at the girl, searching her face for any hint that she was only joking. When she saw that she was serious though, she could do the only thing that any sensible, down-to-earth person could do upon hearing something like that…she began to laugh.

It started low, almost like little more than an intake of breath and would have been lost to the breeze. But before she knew it, the idea of a large piece of monstrous living French Bread popped into her mind and the notion was so tickle inducing that she really could not hold it back anymore. The silent giggle turned into a quiver…then transformed into a chuckle and finally…her own body just shook as she truly and honestly laughed. She couldn’t remember the last time that she laughed but it was so heartfelt and earnest that she felt like she was going to pass out for a moment from lack of doing it for so long.

“Hehehe…HAHHAHA!!” she had to hold herself up against a tree before finally covering her mouth with her hand to hid her laughing smile. Her teary, mirth filled eyes looked at Liz as she tried to keep the idea out of her mind but it was just too funny to let go. “Oh….hahahaha! Hehe, a…A Loaf of Bread…came to life?! HAHA!”

And Agnes…for the first time in months…maybe a year…finally let herself just plain laugh…

The laughter from Agnes was infectious. “True story,” she said, joining in with a musical laugh. “And then there was practically a war against the thing. It was trying to, I dunno, go on a rampage through the mansion, but a couple of us managed to beat Breaddy into the back yard. After that, well, a pyromancer set the world record for the largest slab of toast.” Her pearly whites showed as she smiled, mentally recalling the event with a lighter outlook, a major contrast to her attitude at the time. And again, she left out her part in the story, mainly how she had attacked nearly everyone to save the beast.

But she was glad to have an amusing anecdote about the school. And surprisingly, Agnes believed her. Liz had slightly expected her to blow it off but she must’ve been more open-minded than the empath. Beth doubted she would have ever believed such a thing if she hadn’t seen it herself.

She grinned as she watched Agnes laugh. In fact, the girl’s reaction was nearly deserving of laughter itself. Liz stood in the path, hugging her arms around herself for lack of anything better to do as Agnes counted on an ancient specimen of the oak family for support. A small splash of varying emotions gently pressed against Elizabeth’s mental boundaries as a swallow chased some sort of insect mere yards above her head. It didn’t bother her, though. She could easily handle those few emotions.

A gust of wind carried a few dead maple leaves by as the blonde waited for the newly-met girl to finish laughing. She wasn’t impatient; she knew how hard it was to stop when laughing that hard. A pleasant memory involving Carrick and birdseed swam up from the depths of her mind before sinking as she chose to pay attention to reality instead of memory lane.

“Soooo….” she started when it seemed that Agnes' laughter was subsiding, “Anything else you’d like to know about our wonderful public mansion paradise?” Her voice was bright and chipper, like a squirrel who’d just buried a bunch of acorns.

For Agnes, the situation simply could not be helped. She had to laugh and keep on laughing even though the blonde had just finished with her story. The whole thing seemed so utterly ridiculous that anyone else would have simply dismissed the story. They would have chalked it up to an overactive imagination, or a lie being told with a sarcastic manner. But if there was one thing that Agnes was learning as time rolled on was that even the most obscure and unbelievable of things was definitely possible in this city. After all she was a young woman who had insects living inside of her body that defended her every single time she was either threatened or upset!

If given the choice between believing in a bug girl or a walk bread monster…she would have more than likely believed in the bread monster.

Slowly, after more time of hearty laughter, Agnes finally began to calm down. The thought was still so funny in her head, but having the need to prop herself up against a tree and the splitting pain in her side to distract, the runaway was able to stop. A chuckle still rumbled inside of her stomach, giving her a slight quiver but by sheer force of will and determination, she finally managed to make all of it stop.

A heavy sigh and she cracked a smile to show to Liz that she was okay. She really needed that laugh. It was a good reminder of the person she once was…of the person that she one day hoped she could be again.

>> “Soooo….Anything else you’d like to know about our wonderful public mansion paradise?”

With another chuckle and another grin she shook her head. “No, that’s pretty much all I can take for one sitting.”

She smiled. She actually smiled because she actually liked the person that she was talking to. So few people actually took the time to talk to her, much less attempt to get to know her, and even FEWER of them were able to make her laugh. This girl, though, seemed to be genuine. She didn’t seem to care about what Agnes had done earlier to Faye Roberts, that or she didn’t know. Either way, it set the runaway’s mind at ease as she took a steadying breath and forced down the last bit of laughter that tickled her sides. When that was done and over with she smiled appreciatively at Liz…until she heard the buzzing.

Earlier she had noticed Liz’s attention shift away for a second, but she did not know what it was for. She figured the girl had simply had her attention caught elsewhere. But as she stood there, she heard that familiar buzz somewhere above her head. She forced her fear away as she glanced up and spied, to her horror, a pair of flies buzzing around above her head. Her eyes widened momentarily as she pushed herself away from the tree. She prayed those flies were only there for something sweet in the leaves or branches…but she knew the truth. They were here for her. She didn’t want this time with Liz to be spoiled so she attempted to walk a little faster, trying to not notice them.

“Err, um…so, I take it that you’re a mutant too?” she asked quickly. It was the only question she could come up with to divert their attentions from any wandering bugs. “I take it most everyone here has a cool power.”

Another twitter of light-hearted laughter escaped Liz again at Agnes’ refusal. “I totally understand,” she said, smiling warmly like it was an inside joke between them. So far Elizabeth was liking this new girl. Agnes was quite easy to get along with and Liz found herself to be completely at ease around her. After all, a person who could laugh that hard and that much had to be a pretty nifty person. That kind of appreciation for even the slightest humor just didn’t happen with people who more or less went against the grain of the normal, preferred behavior of society.

Then Agnes seemed eager to leave the tree for some reason, practically rushing back to the little path with what looked like a shocked expression? It was a pretty abrupt change from the smiling and happy face just moments before. Before Liz resumed walking with Agnes, she frowned at the tree a bit. Did it do something to her? She wouldn’t put it past it. Liz had a slight distrust of trees, especially since Christmas Adam. Was the tree moving a little? Or was it the wind? Nah, she was just imagining things. As she turned back to catch up with Agnes, she decided that she would be keeping an eye on that tree, just in case.

As she fell into step with the slightly accelerated pace set by Agnes, Liz glanced up at the swallow flitting around. It seemed to be chasing the bugs still, and it was hanging around pretty close to the girls. Well, that would be distracting to them and Liz really didn’t want to find herself longing for a hefty snack just because some tiny avian wanted a fly. She blew a bang out of her eyes and sent a concentrated bolt of satisfaction at the bird. She touched the bird’s emotions and verified that her assault had effectively overwhelmed any hunger the swallow would be feeling. And since it didn’t feel hungry any more, there was no reason in chasing a couple of flies around a couple of girls, was there?

It flew off just as Agnes spoke up. “Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m a mutant. And most of the others are as well. In fact, I think we only have a few non-mutants here, if that. But as for powers, it would depend on your definition of ‘cool’.” Liz held up her fingers in air quotes. “Like, the headmaster can make ice out of nothing, but there’s this other guy who belches so low that it feels like a mini-earthquake. I find ‘em interesting, but not everyone does.”

Which led up to a new path. “So, what do you do?” Liz asked, genuinely interested. She was assuming that Agnes was a mutant, since every student she was aware of at the school was a mutant, except for some little French guy. She figured it was a safe bet.

>> “Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m a mutant. And most of the others are as well. In fact, I think we only have a few non-mutants here, if that. But as for powers, it would depend on your definition of ‘cool’…Like, the headmaster can make ice out of nothing, but there’s this other guy who belches so low that it feels like a mini-earthquake. I find ‘em interesting, but not everyone does.”

Agnes had successfully steered them away from the anymore of those bugs. As much as she wanted to convince herself that the bugs were there for the tree, she knew that they would be following her. She did not want to jeopardize possible friendships by grossing out the other person with her abilities, then again, it would definitely be something hard to hide. After all, the insects may be slower to appear during the winter seasons but once summer comes around, they would be around more often. She hated putting people through situations like that, but she was human too…she wanted to make connections as much as anyone else.


She was shaken from her musings as Liz began to go on about the various types of mutants that were here. Already she was impressed with the different powers that people possessed and she was jealous. So far everyone else’s sounded infinitely better and were not nearly as embarrassing as having bugs come out of their mouth. The headmaster could create ice, someone could cause mini-earthquakes…she already met that strange boy who could walk through mirrors, and of course there was Amber and Gina. Some people just had to unfortunate luck to wear their powers on their sleeves. Agnes was one of those people, as displayed by the constant presence of insects around her.

She knew she should not be jealous though. Though everyone else’s powers seemed very cool and helpful, she was sure that they all had their own trials and hardships. She did not know any of these people’s stories…they all could have had it has hard as she has…maybe harder.

Then the conversation shifted in a direction that she should have expected…

>> “So, what do you do?”

Agnes paused, a little at a loss for what to say for moment. Should she tell her? It would be better to just admit her abilities than hide them and have to admit that she lied to Liz later. But still…there was an inkling of pride in her that was still reluctant to admit it.

“Oh, you know, I can like…make things…turn into…green jelly? By staring at them?” Agnes choked before she finally just closed her eyes and shook her head. Even when trying to lie about her powers, she could only come up with something extremely lame. Honesty would have to be the best policy here and his Liz ran, well, then they were not meant to be friends. She took a breath for courage, stopped in her walk and watched Liz closely. “I…have insects.” she whispered as she placed her hand on her own chest and tapped gently. “They…live here, they follow me everywhere, they defend me when I’m in trouble or upset.” She cast her eyes down as she turned away from Liz and began to walk slowly. “For all intensive purposes…I’m nothing more than a walking, talking, living insect hive.”

Elizabeth’s smile widened and her eyes glimmered at Agnes’ description of her powers. Green jelly transmogrification? That sounded random and ridiculous, but also surprisingly useful. Agnes would never need to worry about plain toast and if she didn’t want something in her way, then BAM! Instant jelly. She would’ve offered the appropriate exclamations of wonder and amazement, but it seemed that Agnes was having a bit of a health issue, what with all the choking and head-jerking.

“You okay?” she asked, concerned. “Don’t die on me here or anything. I really wouldn’t want to have to explain it to Mr. Johnson.” She stopped walking as well once she noticed Agnes had stopped. She turned around on the path so she could look directly at the brunette, her brow furrowed with uncertainty. “You don’t have asth- I’m sorry,” she apologized realizing that she was interrupting Agnes.

The whispered words were hard to hear, even from her relatively short distance away. Did she say insets? What were those? Some kind of artificial heart? Liz’ mental ramble was soon answered, though. Oops. She said insects. Well, that’s nifty. Agnes’ serious expression made her believe that it was truth. Which meant the jelly-thing was a lie, but it hadn’t seemed too plausible anyways. Words that expressed her positive thoughts bubbled to the tip of her tongue but died away as she saw the downcast expression on the other girl’s face.

Now, Liz’ mutation only allowed her to sense the emotions of animals, but she was still a teenage girl who cared about how others felt. “Whoa there,” she said, quickly falling into step. “What’s wrong?” Was it something she had said? Liz had only asked what her mutation was. What was wrong with that? But maybe that sort of thing offended people, like how some people didn’t care if talked about their weight while others would start crying. Who could tell with mutants? Liz was still trying to get the hang of them.

“I’m sorry if I was rude,” she said apologetically.

>> “Whoa there…What’s wrong?... I’m sorry if I was rude,”

Agnes sniffled and attempted to keep her tears back. It really was hard for her to admit what her powers were like. Too many people these days just get the willies when thinking about what she could do. How could she blame them? After all, actual insects lived inside of her body. It was kind of gross and unsanitary to think about. She was sure that most people would get just completely grossed out but it seemed different with this girl. Maybe that was why she was still crying a bit.

They both stopped and it took a minute to just breathe. Liz seemed to be apologetic to Agnes, while Agnes calmed down, embarrassed for crying so hard in front of Liz. It really had been a long time since she met anyone who could be understanding towards her.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffled as she forced herself to calm down. The last bit of her sadness slowly seeped away as she wiped the last tear from her eye. “Really, I’m sorry.”

She took one long, steady breath and immediately a sense of calmness began to wash over her. It really was difficult. She did not like the idea of breaking down in front of people. The streets taught her to be tough, to be a rock, to never let anyone know that they are getting to you. It was a hard life but if you wanted to survive, it is what you had to do. You had to cut that part of our brain off of all people would see is weakness. And that was something you could never show.

Still though, this place was different. It was not a cold, hard alley. It was warm, the people, for the most part, were friendly and some even seem to understand where she was coming from. She was sure that she was not the first mutant runaway.

She sighed as she turned her attention back to Liz. “I didn’t mean to break down like that…just…people don’t always react well when they see what I can do.” she continued their walk again. “It’s hard. No one likes to know that the girl sitting next to them can suddenly spit out a swarm of roaches, flies, and hornets.” She shrugged. “Tends to turn people off.”

Elizabeth started wringing her hands. She could see Agnes was having a rough time, trying to be tough. Liz didn’t know how to help, which she dearly wanted to. She didn’t know what was wrong and she didn’t want to accidentally offend her, either. For a brief moment, Liz thought she saw color flush the brunette’s face but it vanished behind a hand that sought to sponge away tears.

Liz’ eyes grew rounder. Tears? That was horrible! Before the teen could apologize again, she was beaten to it. Agnes seemed to pull herself together, mimicking Elizabeth’s previous apologies. “Hey, it’s okay,” Liz told her gently, “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said anything.” Because that was the only way she knew to have not said what she must’ve said.

Guilt started to burn in her. What a person she was, making some new person fall apart in tears over what she’d said. Her stomach twisted in a knot and the air didn’t seem nearly as cold as before. In fact, it seemed like a summer day at the moment to her burning cheeks. What had she done? She briefly placed a hand on Agnes’ shoulder, trying to give as much comfort as possible while trying to think of her mistake. How could she learn what not to say if she didn’t know what she had said?

Agnes evidently felt ready to resume their walk. The blonde extracted her hand from the shoulder and kept up with the raggedy-looking teen. Agnes began talking as they walked. The explanation warranted a quick, darting glance at Agnes’ mouth. Spitting bugs. Liz could tell how it’d be hard for people to be around the girl. Most people freaked out whenever a wasp was sighted or a cockroach was rumored to be in the house. But them to be afraid of this woman for the same reasons…

Elizabeth’s heart nearly broke. What had Agnes been through? Isolation and abandonment by everyone? Liz couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. Compared to Agnes, her life had existed in an ivory tower in the clouds. She’d always had her circle of friends and a close family. Even at the mansion she knew quite a few people and was on pretty good terms with them. Poor Agnes!

Liz knew she needed to say something-anything- to her. The first thought that flitted across her mind flew out of her mouth. “So, you have a bunch of guardian angels inside of you, fighting your battles?” Okay, that was a stretch, even by Beth’s optimistic standards. But she hadn’t quite stopped to think about it, in order to avoid a much more embarrassing situation than it already was.