>> "Ahorta is her name. At least that's what she told me. She's a bit paranoid though so no mentioning that I mentioned her to you. I've also met Lori and Kaitlyn. Lori gave me a tour of the place and Kaitlyn showed up as I was trying to leave.”

Ahorta? Lydia thought, searching her memory to see if she was familiar with the female. Nope, she didn’t ring a bell. The name Lori was vaguely familiar, and she had definitely heard people speaking about her. Apparently she was a very important person at the Sanctuary, although the teenager had never had the chance to actually see her or meet her. And Kaitlyn…well, how could Lyd forget about that explosive little kid? Their first meeting was so memorable (and volatile).

“Well, I’ve never heard of Ahorta, but I do definitely know Kaitlyn. An adorable little handful, isn’t she?” She asked with a grin, incredibly dangerous and uncontrolled mutations aside.

>> "Oh that's not how it works. I can make promises I can't keep. I can make any promise I want. I could promise to turn the moon into swiss cheese if I wanted to. It's simply that I'd get hurt for not keeping them. It's nice of you to try and say otherwise but my mutation isn't useful at all."

Andrew missed her point. “I meant that because of your mutation, well, I’d assume you limit yourself with promises. So you’d try not to make promises you can’t keep, since if you break them…well, you explained what happens. I mean, you can make promises you can’t keep, but you don’t try to, do you?” She wasn’t sure if her explanation made sense at all, but she hoped the young man would get the gist of it.

But anyhow, if he didn’t listen to her, then he didn’t listen to her. She wasn’t going to push it any further. “So…you go to college here or something?” Lydia asked, trying to make small talk again.

Andrew grinned at the assessment of Kaitlyn.

"Yes to both counts. When I met her she'd gutted and hung a Santa decoration and declared the North Pole a communist state. If I remember correctly she said that Santa didn't treat his elven workers fairly so they'd risen up to form The Democratic Republic of the North Pole, or something like that."

He failed to mention that the girl had ended up crying mere minutes later and that the conversation had ended up about mutations before a bus crashed through the doors. She went on about his mutation again. The point was valid he supposed but that didn't do a thing to change his mind. She seemed to grasp this because after she finished expounding on that point she changed subjects. This time she asked whether he was a college student or not.

"Two years of college but I'm taking some time off to think about things. Plus I've got a job that I like well enough."

He'd never get rich working at the Mansion but it was enough to live on and he did enjoy his work. It felt like home to him and he got to do a little something for other mutants. It wasn't precisely the way he wanted to help but it would do for a start.

Lydia was in the middle of downing the last of her coffee when Andrew explained his first meeting with Kaitlyn. She snorted, and her nose began to burn as she felt the beverage painfully travel up the wrong way, a very wrong way. She started coughing and chuckling at the story. She tried hard to restrain the laughter that was bursting out of her to avoid further exacerbating her pain, but she failed miserably. Gutted Santa? Democratic Republic of the North Pole? Oh dear, that crazy kid, if only Dia had been there to witness this holiday revolution.

Things were dangerously close to spilling out of her nostrils, but she, by some miracle, managed to contain it. That would’ve made the already embarrassing situation even worse. It wasn’t enough that everyone around her in the cafe was staring at her now, and Andrew was probably freaked out at her sudden cough-giggle combo attack. “Somehow I’m not surprised,” she managed to get out, after finally calming down.

>> "Two years of college but I'm taking some time off to think about things. Plus I've got a job that I like well enough."

She cleared her throat. “Ah, that’s cool,” The skin-shifter said, having barely heard what the man had said, “It’s good to think and take things slow.” That was kind of what she was doing at the moment too. ”So are you from here? I’m actually from California myself.” She tried to keep her voice as level as possible, pretending nothing had happened.

The tale of his meeting with Kaitlyn produced some interesting results. Lydia started to laugh but that quickly dissolved into a messy combination of laughter and coughing. She'd been drinking her coffee at the time and her nasal passages and lungs probably hadn't liked the influx of liquid. Andrew just smiled and tried not to laugh. Lillian hadn't raised him to be rude like that.

"It was an interesting way to meet her. I'll say that."

She apparently approved of his lack of college at the moment. Andrew didn't really want approval but it was nice. He was happy where he was at and there was no point wasting scholarship money if he had no clue what he what degree he wanted. The next question pertained to where he was a from.

"No I've been here two, almost three years. I'm from Kentucky."

She appeared to be trying to move on from the minor incident and if she wasn't going to dwell on it neither would he. Andrew directed a couple of irritated looks at a few people that stared for too long and then returned his attention to his coffee companion.

Fortunately Andrew didn’t laugh at her, even though he looked like he wanted to. Honestly Lydia wouldn’t have minded. She would’ve laughed if that had happened to someone else, so it wouldn’t really be fair if she got offended.

>> "No I've been here two, almost three years. I'm from Kentucky."

“Oh really? Kentucky…interesting.” Truth be told, she had no idea where Kentucky even was on the map. Was it some Southern state…or Eastern…or something? (Hey, at least she knew it was in the United States.) Lyd didn’t know how to ask about the place without sounding ignorant or offensive…or just plain dumb. “Erm, where exactly is—“

But she was interrupted by a shrill cry of terror coming from outside the coffee shop. “Help! There’s a mutant!” Frightened voices called out, running from a large, hulking figure with what seemed to be a tail swinging from behind him. Actually, make those three tails. Three tails with huge metallic spikes all over them. The café customers’ heads all snapped to the store-front window, through which the rampaging mutant was seen ramming his tails into the sides of buildings, the pavement, everything around him. He must’ve been at least seven feet tall, with additional spikes gleaming on his chest, which was bare. He lifted up a car and threw it down the street, into the path of an oncoming bus. The bus tried swerving around the flaming car, but ended up hitting the wreckage with its side instead.

The mutant met the horrified gazes of those inside the café, and with a malicious grin he lifted up another parked car, and tossed it at the shop.

“Oh f—“ Lyd began before people began to scream. The vehicle made contact with the window with a horrible crunching noise. Time seemed to slow as it went through the glass and hit a couple tables, along with the people who were sitting at them. Broken debris began flying everywhere. The skin-shifter felt more than a few glass shards slice through the literally paper-thin skin on her arms as she covered her head.

As the dust began to settle, she slowly looked up to see the spiked mutant looming over the ruin he had caused. The car was only two feet or so inside the shop, but the devastation it had created was clear. Five people lay unconscious around it, splintered wooden tables next to them. Those who had calmly been enjoying their coffee now cowered under tables and behind the barista counter, some injured and bleeding. Lydia herself felt something warm trickle from her arms and hands.

"A-Andrew...are you all right?" She whispered, blue eyes staring at the villain in front of her. Why do bad things happen when I'm with this guy?

Andrew could tell that Lydia was a little lost as to where Kentucky was but he didn't get the chance to tell her. Chaos erupted outside as a tri-tailed and metallic spiked mutant rampaged down the street. There were cops on the scene but the most they could do was warn the civilians away and bear witness as the man brought about destruction. A car was hurled at a bus and the driver narrowly avoided a head on collision. Adrenaline was already beginning to pump through his body when the mutant turned his head toward the cafe and it's crowd of terrified onlookers. Andrew swore under his breath and made a dive away from the windows the second the grinning man reached for the car.

The car shattered the glass store front. Several people were unconscious, injured, and probably dead. If they weren't now they would be by the time someone got to them. Why couldn't he have been a healer instead of keeping promises? Andrew picked himself up to see the man responsible nearby and surveying the damage he'd caused. The girl was asking if he was alright. Andrew managed a nod. He was stiff and was cut in a few places from the spray of glass shards but otherwise fine.

"Not dead or broken. You?"

He was for the moment kneeling not far from the girl. Andrew was at war with himself at that point. Part of him wanted to face off against the man in an effort to protect the people in the cafe. However the portion of his mind that was concerned with his survival pointed out that that was a monumentally stupid idea. The person in question was highly dangerous and if the well trained and armed police men outside couldn't stop him what made him think he could do anything? That didn't stop him from wanting to try and play hero though.

Lydia swore as she tried to wipe some of the blood off the bare parts of her arms, but it just stained and absorbed into the white fiber and the sleeves of her coat. The cuts were also in danger of growing larger as she pulled against the skin. Of all the days to be shifted into paper...she swore again. Police officers continually tried to surround the violent mutant man, but a few got knocked away by his tail every time they neared him. Could someone really be that powerful where a dozen armed officers didn’t faze him one bit?

Bullets clanked harmlessly off his spikes until one managed to sneak its way into the mutant’s flesh. He flinched as he felt the effects of the slug but only paused for a moment. Ah, so he wasn’t completely invincible. But that was a lucky shot. They’d need a whole lot of lucky shots if they wanted to knock this guy down. Numerous sirens wailed in the distance, indicating the arrival of more, much needed back-up.

>> "Not dead or broken. You?"

She gave a small sigh of relief when she heard Andrew’s voice, although it was not coming from where he’d been sitting previously. He was on the ground a few feet away from her, apparently having ducked out of the way when the car came crashing in.

“I-I’m fine,” she responded. She opened her mouth to say more, but the sight of the people lying on the ground near the window stopped her. ”Oh…oh my God…are they—are they…dead?” She whispered the last word. There was too much blood and limbs bent in unnatural ways. The girl swallowed against the lump growing in her throat. She felt sick, her insides twisted. She shut her eyes, surprised to find tears coming out of them when she did, and sucked in a long breath of air, hoping it would help. The atmosphere tasted like smoke, sweat, and sheer panic. It didn’t help at all.

She was fine, or so she claimed, and understandably horrified at the prospect of the people that had been hit by the car being dead. Andrew simply grimaced and looked away from them.

"If they aren't now then they will be soon enough. I doubt the police would risk rescue crews around that guy. With luck a few of them will only have minor injuries and will survive until help comes."

Andrew was a bit surprised he could be as cold about it as that. It was something to be thought about at another time. Right now he needed to be more concerned with the health and safety of people that weren't pinned under cars. He watching the continuing police battle with the man and noticed a bullet strike something other than a spike with a fair amount of success. It wasn't going to put him down any time soon but it was a start. Why they weren't aiming for more lethal shots was beyond him. He'd caused enough damage that he'd thought they'd have started aiming for the head by now.

For now he would stay put. It was too risky with the hail of bullets and sheer power of the man for him to do anything. A familiar feeling of helplessness washed over him that he quashed in favor of being prepared. If the guy turned on any of the relatively uninjured people in the coffee shop he wanted to be ready to intervene. For now though he had an idea and was going to follow it.

"I'll be right back. Keep an eye on that guy and try and keep yourself out of danger."

With that Andrew slowly began to make his way to the counter where the workers were huddled. If the place had a back door then they could get it open and start getting people out so there weren't quite so many targets.

>> "If they aren't now then they will be soon enough. I doubt the police would risk rescue crews around that guy. With luck a few of them will only have minor injuries and will survive until help comes."

Lydia was shocked at how calm Andrew sounded, how collected. How could he be so immune to the horror they were witnessing? She herself was quickly becoming quite the emotional wreck, but was trying hard to keep it in check. She couldn’t lose her head in this sort of situation. She had to think clearly, and keep the fear at bay until the crisis was over. But that was so much easier said than done.

>> “I'll be right back. Keep an eye on that guy and try and keep yourself out of danger."

“Wait what?!” Lyd exclaimed, but immediately quieted herself down. “Where are you going?” She whispered after him, afraid of what he might do. After all, self-preservation didn’t really seem to be an issue for this guy. He wasn’t going to go after this huge, out-of-control mutant was he? The cowardly, sensible part of her wanted to listen to him and stay put, out of harm’s way, even if that meant letting him rush into it. The girl couldn’t let him get himself killed, she had to stop him.

She ignored the voice screaming at her to stop and started towards the promise-keeper. “Andrew! I think whatever you’re about to do is a really bad idea!” She whispered as loudly as she could as she tried not step on any particularly crunchy glass. I swear this guy...if we survive I'm going to kill him.

Andrew had gotten about a quarter of the way to the barista counter when he heard his companion speak up. He'd caught only snippets of her initial outburst and whatever she'd said after that. The noises of the battle that was still happening outside the cafe had drowned it out. However her statement against what he was going to do he had heard. If it were another situation he might have stopped to explain. However there happened to be a maniac out front that found throwing cars at innocent and not so innocent bystanders alike to be a fun activity. She would understand what he was doing either when she realized he was headed away from the action or when he talked to the barista's about getting the back door open.

It wasn't the polite thing to do but Andrew ignored her and continued on. Polite didn't really work in these situations. This was only the second time he'd basically been in charge of anyone during a battle situation. The first time hadn't gone well but it had been resolved. He still got headaches when he thought about the princess. More to the point though, Andrew was now within a few feet of the counter and the barista's cowering behind it had noticed him and his trailing companion now. Wide fearful eyes regarded him as he joined them behind the counter.

"Is there a back door to this place?"

He asked his question quietly but not so quietly that the barista he'd asked, a red-haired thirty something, couldn't hear. The man in question nodded and his coworker, a younger woman with blonde hair and an attitude, demanded to know what difference that made.

"Get that door open then. We can start getting these people out of here so that that maniac out there doesn't have more targets."

It a minute for the two workers to get up and get moving but eventually they did and opened up the employee area and the back door it contained. Now all he had to do was get the people in here headed toward it. Shouting was out of order since it would get the guy's attention. He'd have to go to the people individually and tell them. With luck some of the less scared ones would notice what was happening and head toward the counter on their own.

Andrew ignored Lydia. He clearly, openly ignored her. Exasperation and annoyance briefly won out over fear, as a frustrated expression took over her face. Was this guy trying to get himself hurt? Did he think he was some sort of hero? Because he wasn’t! His mutation was useless in these sorts of situations, and he obviously wasn’t invincible. He was a regular guy with good intentions, but that was it. Why couldn’t he realize that and stop? “Seriously Andrew, this is a bad idea!” The teenager muttered as she continued to follow him behind the counter. She was still a few feet away from him.

>> "Is there a back door to this place? Get that door open then. We can start getting these people out of here so that that maniac out there doesn't have more targets."

She barely heard what he said to two of the employees hiding behind the table, and understanding began to wash over her. She didn’t hear the workers’ responses, but the woman’s look when she was replying was quite snarky. Dia picked up her pace to catch up to Andrew. “I can help get these people out.” At least she could shift her skin into something more durable to protect herself. Most of the patrons in the coffee shop were frightened and defenseless.

The young man started around the counter, to the other people in the café. Apparently he was going to tell them what was going on. “Be careful…” She trailed after him, before going after the employees. The back door was open and ready to go, and thankfully it opened to a completely different street, away from the destruction the menacing mutant was creating. “You two go out and find somewhere safe to stay at. Can one of you come back to help guide the others to wherever you find?” The male employee nodded and took off with his blonde coworker. Some of the other employees noticed what was going on and started to make their way to the door as well, and Lydia sent them after the other two. Hopefully they would be able find a secure location.

As he figured she would, the girl picked up on what he was doing once she heard his questions to the employees. In fact she volunteered to help get people out so that the employees could go. Andrew gave her a brief smile as she told him to be careful and disappeared into the back room. The ones nearest to the glass windows would need to be moved first. They were closest to the danger. Thankfully there were that many of them. Most had moved as close to the back of the shop as possible. With a deep breath and the knowledge that his rational side had just stomped off in a huff since he clearly wasn't listening Andrew made his way toward the front of the shop as quickly as he dared.

Along the way he told those customers he passed to head for the counter and through the employee area. Most of them got moving right away. Some were too scared to move that quickly but they eventually got going. Venturing a glance behind him as he moved he saw some of the people from the back of the room beginning to move too. That was good. It meant he'd have fewer to move once he got done up front. There were about four all total left near the front of the room. He got to the first three of them fine. They were simply frozen with fear. Once he'd calmed them and told them they bolted for the back door. It wasn't easy with some of them. They were pretty scared. One he'd actually had to put on her feet and shove her toward the counter to get going.

The final person at the front of the shop was a short skinny kid. Probably a teenager that hadn't yet had his growth spurt. Unfortunately puberty had caught up to him in other ways. A face full of fear, fascination, and acne greeted Andrew once he got close enough to get a look at the guy. He wore a black shirt with a Dungeons and Dragons logo emblazoned across it. As Andrew reached his side he realized the boy was muttering under his breath. Most of it he didn't hear. Andrew didn't get the time to ask either.

Just as Andrew had latched onto the young man and had started to tell him to head for the back of the cafe the cause of the chaos noticed them. Andrew didn't see the man take notice, not at first. He finished tell the kid to head to the back of the cafe and had started to pull him to his feet when he heard the man and the gunshots get closer. Andrew turned his head just enough to confirm what he feared from the sounds. Andrew pushed the kid out of the way, and heard him say something about this making one heck of a campaign, just before the mass of flesh and spikes approached. He didn't even get a chance to turn around fully.

The three tails with bloodied spikes whipped around and caught Andrew across his left shoulder and back. The spikes left long gashes from the motion and Andrew was sent hurtling sideways to land among the shattered glass.

The pace of people heading out the door quickened, and the red-headed man who had said he would come back to help did. He aided the scared people to the safe haven he had located, and quickly they were taken to safety. Lydia took the role of guide and soother. She pushed aside her own fear to help calm down the terror of others. She didn’t know what was happening outside of the employee room with Andrew, but he seemed to be doing his job as what felt like most of the patrons exited the café. As the stream of people tapered, she heard a cry coming from the front of the shop. It sounded like a guy…Andrew??

Lyd rushed past those just reaching the back door and poked her head out. Damnit! It is Andrew! He was sprawled on the ground, and blood coated his shoulder and back. It seemed he had been hit by the spikey mutant, who was currently being distracted by the police to do dish out any more pain on the poor guy. A hand covered her mouth and she barely noticed the awkward teenager running past her. The kid seemed freaked out but kind of excited at the same time. Weird.

A foot hesitantly stepped out of the room, and the skin-shifter willed the other to follow. It wouldn’t move, but she needed it to. She had to get Andrew away from the hulking mass of violence before he caused any more bodily harm. The police could distract him for that long, right? She hoped so. Paper was so easy to tear, especially with sharp metal spikes. She started concentrating, trying to shift her skin back to normal. It took a moment, but Dia managed to get the change started. Regular flesh fared better than thin, skimpy paper. At least now she wouldn’t be overly susceptible to harm.

She managed to get moving and crept past the counter towards the injured promise-keeper. Spikey was pushed a bit farther away from him by the cops and their hail of bullets, thankfully, so she had an opening to him. She quickened her pace and darted to his side. “Andrew you need to move out of here. Can you stand up?” She didn’t even bother asking if he was all right. Clearly he wasn’t, but Lydia had no idea what to do about the bleeding. It wasn’t gushing out of him or anything, but the blood flow obviously wasn’t going to stop itself. You need to apply pressure or something, right? Her thought flew around, panic setting in. She had come to help Andrew and she had no clue how to. She didn’t know how much time they had until the mutant noticed them, either.

Hmm, the floor wasn't too bad. Sure it was littered with sharp shards of glass but the idea of getting back up and possibly having to face that guy again were infinitely less appealing now. His back was torn open and bleeding freely. Yeah, just laying there and playing dead until that guy was taken care of sounded like a much better plan. Of course he wouldn't be allowed to stay there. Andrew heard the girl's approach rather than saw it and wondered what had possessed her to try and come to his rescue.

A horrifying thought came over him. Was his foolish heroism rubbing off on her? Andrew rather hoped not. As his painful back and shoulder would attest it wasn't the safest of courses. He sat up and did his best to avoid wincing.

"I'll manage. He got my back, not my legs."

Andrew stood with a clear wince on his face when he did so. That part of his back had nothing to do with standing up. What right did it have to hurt? Andrew shot a glare at the walking tank that was once again playing with the police. It was a pity he couldn't just roast the guy with a fire power or freeze him solid. Anything would have done. That wasn't in the cards for him and his useless mutation though. Instead he waited just a moment for Lydia to regain her feet and headed back toward the counter.

There would likely be a towel or two behind the counter somewhere. If they could be found then they could be used to stop the bleeding. Was there a conspiracy against his clothes today? First coffee on his coat and now blood on his shirt. Oh well, he'd investigate that idea later. Right now he and the girl needed to get back to cover.

Coffee shops were always a good place to crash. They weren't as good as places like malls or cheap take out joints but the smell coming out of them was usually enough to offset the terrible smell of the alley that Ashley was currently behind. Well, at the moment she really couldn't smell anything seeing as she was sleeping soundly, wrapped up in her trenchcoat and various layers of clothing. Her productive time dumpster diving had gotten her what she needed and, cuddled up in her clothing, had wrapped her headphones securely around her head (so as to keep any stray bum from stealing them) and promptly went to sleep.

That is, until a huge crash made startled her awake an unknown time later. As she became aware of the gunshots and screams and instantly woke up, her head perking as she blinked a few times and wearily got to her feet. “Digital Love” by Daft Punk was playing on her headphones, but it was on low so the very loud noises that woke her up could still be heard quite clearly. Ashley took a moment to remember where she was before a door that was very near to her slammed open (making her jump back a bit) and people began to file out. Clearly whatever was going on was happening at the cafe she was sleeping behind, as she recognized a few of the people that gave her coffee and a doughnut whenever she could scrounge up a few dollars for it.

Ashley took off her headphones for a moment, listening carefully to the scared whispers as the people around her (who were SO not paying attention to her, thank god) talked about what was going on inside, and wondering if the people that were hurt were going to be okay. Something tugged at Ashley's chest, urging her to go inside and help in any way she could. She batted the feeling down for the moment, up until she saw a pretty brunette go back inside what one of the coffee making people (they had a title, Ashley just couldn't remember what it was) called a 'war zone'.

“Stupid.” Ashley muttered to herself. She followed after the girl into the back way of the cafe and right into...well, the war zone.

She took a moment to survey the situation and nodded. She really wasn't sure why she did this, but it seemed like the right thing to do. The first thing was that the girl was picking up a guy that seemed to be injured, and...well, the monster that was causing the destruction seemed to be hell bent on taking everyone with him. Though, from Ashley's point of view, that wasn't going to be too hard since he was huge with three spiked tails. She huffed for a moment before looking between the girl and the guy and the huge mutant before coming to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, they needed her help.

It was a pleasant though, really, to feel needed even if no one else knew it.

Immediately after the thought Ashley took off her trenchcoat and pushed to a certain playlist on her iPod that was attached to her headphones. This situation called for a bit of strength, and Papa Roach's Getting Away With Murder was a good way to get it started. She jammed the headphones on head and secured them tightly before doing what was possibly one of the stupidest things she'd ever done: run straight at a huge, metal mutant with three spiked tails and a taste for extreme violence and pain.

Should be fun.

The hail of bullets stopped for a moment as she appeared on the scene, leaping up to what many would be a considerable height and slamming an elbow into the mutants face. Unsurprisingly, the only thing she really managed to do with that blow was make him stumble back a bit in surprise. The though process was clear on his face; who would DARE try to best him up close in a hand to hand combat situation? Maybe not those exact words, but the thought WAS there. The mutant blinked before growling and lashing out at the annoying insect that was trying to taking him down with nothing but her bare hands.

Ashley smiled as the music filled her up, intoxicating her with that sense of invulnerability that it often did when she played any track that increased her strength. She took the monster's momentarily confusion to hit him a few more times in the stomach with well timed knees before leaping back some to avoid any counter hits. The mutant roared as it came after Ashley, swiping with his massive arms only to miss and miss again as Ashley nimbly avoided his attacks and countering with a few well aimed punches and finally a front kick to the elbow joint of the mutant that made him take a step back...

...only to take a huge step forward and slam a foot into Ashley's stomach (actually, the foot was about the side of her whole body, but whatever), sending her flying back into the cafe. She landed (hard) on the windshield of the car that was thrown in there, a fact that Ashley barley took in because EVERY part of her body hurt at that current moment. Never in her life had she ever been hit so hard. She grimaced as she felt what could only be blood run out of her mouth in pools and saw the mutant that had slapped her around roar in pain as he held his elbow. From the odd angle it was bent at it looked like it was broken, despite being metal.

The hail of bullets renewed with her out of the way and Ashley smiled. Well...whatever. They would stop again when she went back. She slid off the car and cracked her neck from side to side. She never backed down from a fight, not ever, even if she did just get her ass handed to her in one hit. That thing was going down.