>>“I dunno! This isn’t me! They’re not trying to protect me, they’re attacking everyone!”

Sveta was still brushing her hands over herself, hunting for invisible spiders, and shuddered at the sight all around them. It was something out of a nightmare.

>>“Wha…What’s going on? They’re not…attacking me…”

She watched in awe and horror as more and more insects approached Agnes, and none of them attacked her. They were just... somehow... drawn to her, like her own roaches and wasps and flies.

"Maybe your power works vid all of dem..." she guessed. Now there was a thought. How many insects can fit inside a girl's chest?...

>>“Hahahah! That feel good!? HUH! Let’s see how YOU like being embarrassed!!”

"You!" Sveta snapped, abandoning theory for hard facts. The guy who yelled at them. Now he was laughing. Crazy laugh.

>>“Oh my god… I think…I think’s HE’S making them do all this!”

"You think?!" Sveta fumed, glaring daggers at the guy "Such a disgusting, crazy, horrible..."

Apparently, Agnes was thinking along the same lines. There was the loud buzzing sound, and more insects... oh no.

"No no no no" Sveta yelled, reaching out to Agnes but not touching her "Agnes, don't, don't do dat. Calm down. We don't need more insects. You here? No. More. Bugs."

Oh God.

The man was still laughing; Sveta was seeing red. Reaching down with one swift movement, she yanked one of her high heeled shoes off her foot, and threw it across the hall at the ugly man. She was not really aiming to do any serious harm; just blowing off some of the steam.

"Agnes!" she turned back to the girl "You can control dem. If dey come to you, dey will stop hurting people. Can you do it?..."

>> "You think?!...Such a disgusting, crazy, horrible...No no no no…Agnes, don't, don't do dat. Calm down. We don't need more insects. You here? No. More. Bugs."

Agnes tried. She tried so hard to stay calm, to keep the swarm at bay but for every second that she managed to calm herself down, it was another second of her glaring angrily at that greasy faced monster that was using the insects to attack the people in the museum. He had no right to do that, to use the bugs in such a way as was unnatural for them. Yes, her own insects attacked people, but that was because she or themselves were in danger, not before she forced them. They were not slaves to her like these other insects were to right now that had to do every bit of this man’s bidding.

She did not know why but she was feeling greatly offended by this. And it was that offense and anger that was keeping her from staying calm.

No more bugs

The words made sense. After all if the man was controlling bugs, then providing him with more ammo from her own Swarm was definitely not the right thing to do. But she simply could not help herself. Her angry was high that the man was causing so much suffering, he was actually KILLING people and no one seemed able to stop him. She was so close to falling into her own despair over the situation because she really had no idea what she was going to do. How could she do anything to help…

Then she saw a shoe fly across the room and pelt the man directly across the cheek. Normally something like that would have made Agnes laugh, but instead it distracted her enough to turned her attention back onto Sveta. Her anger merely simmered on the surface of her mind. Her attention focused, she watched as Sveta batted other insects away from her, but was not running in fear away from them either. She was standing defiant against the man’s onslaught and for whatever reason she was not running away. It was almost enough to make Agnes calm enough to call back the swarm…

…almost.

>> "Agnes!...You can control dem. If dey come to you, dey will stop hurting people. Can you do it?..."

“I…I dunno.” she answered honestly as she took a step. Immediately the army of fire ants marched on after her. “I don’t know how much of this room I can cover before there’s too many to handle! Sveta, there are millions here, I don’t thinl-“

“AAAAAAARRRGRHHHHH!!!” a man ran by with scorpions and beetles biting and stinging every part of his body. Agnes stumbled, knocking into another table which in turn knocked all the cages onto the ground. Immediately more insects were joining the fray. It was pure anarchy.

Agnes continued to back away and more insects started to clamor near her. This must have been what a rock star felt like when he was trying to dodge a mob of fans. Only thing was her “fans” consisted of the six-legged, antennae wielding variety. That was definitely not a fan club that she wanted to keep all to herself.

But as she found herself now separated from Sveta, a river of insects between them, she watched in horror as the fat man, turned his gaze on the Russian. First there was surprise from the shoe being thrown, then recognition of the thrower, and then his lips curled into the cruelest of smiles. With a wave of his hands, he summoned up another flying, buzzing swarm of bugs. These, though, consisted of yellow and black colored bees; not the European, honey collecting variety, but the Africanized killer ones. They buzzed into a swirl in the air before suddenly the man shot out his hand sent the wave of them towards her from across the room.

“No! Sveta run!!” Agnes screamed as her panic and rage spiked through the roof.

She ran, leapt and dodged around obstacles as the lithe teenager made her way across the room. She could not get to Sveta or the swarm of killer bees in time so she needed to stop the source. Her chest buzzing, her lips itching to open, Agnes ran with all her might until finally she seemed to catch the greasy man’s attention. It was too late for him to react to her though. As Agnes threw herself forward, her mouth open directly in front of his face and OUT they came! The black, swirling cloud of wasps, flies and roaches flew from her gaping maw and were aimed directly into Arthur’s face.

All that erupted after that only added to the anarchy…

>>“I…I dunno. I don’t know how much of this room I can cover before there’s too many to handle! Sveta, there are millions here, I don’t thinl-“

Sveta's mind was racing. Could she use her powers to help Agnes? Would that create more chaos? She did not really need control, just the power that drew the bugs to her. As long as they all flocked to Agnes, they could be harmless... or not...

The man noticed Sveta, and the next thing she knew, a swarm of huge, deadly looking bees was moving towards her at an alarming speed.

Oh sh*t.

>>“No! Sveta run!!”

Sveta ran.
There was no way she could reach the entrance, or any other door in time. Looking around for something, anything to escape, her eyes fell on a bunch of cages that were knocked over in the turmoil and now lay on the floor, their previous inhabitants long gone. Some of those cages were pretty big...
With a string of Russian swearwords, Sveta wiggled into a cage that was almost big enough for her to stand in; there were plants, stones and sand scattered inside it, but no bugs (unless they were the invisible-but-deadly kind, which at this point really did not make any difference, at least not against visible-and-deadly). Pulling the door closed, she turned to look at Agnes, who was fighting the mutant man. Bugs were still attacking people all over the museum.

"Agnes!" she yelled, as the bees swarmed around the cage "Come here I can help!"

Hopefully.

“Aaaaahhh!” Arthur grunted, sputtered and spit as a cloud of black flies, hornets and roaches spilled all over his face.

The fat bug manipulator was gagging as several of the insects had fallen into his mouth and several others were stinging and biting his face. Because of this momentarily loss of his control over the few insects he had his manipulating influence on, all those that were being attacked were suddenly given a reprieve. Many of the victims were taking the opportunity of running away from the confused looking bugs as they skittered around the ground or buzzed around helplessly in the air. But not every bug was peacefully wandering around in a lost manner. Instead there were those that were fighting for their tiny lives.

Agnes had managed to catch Arthur by surprise. Once she had thrown herself at him, nearly all her swarm was released with were now enveloping and attacking the man with all their might. It must have been agony for the man to get a taste of his own medicine…

…but it was bitter taste he would not have to live with for long.

Arthur, with a grunt, suddenly lashed out with his overly large, flabby arm and struck Agnes square in the stomach. The runaway, though her intentions were good, was still outweighed by this man by a whole lot. The flail of his arm struck her hard and ejected nearly several single bit of air from her lungs and effectively knocked her backwards.

Agnes could only see stars in front of her. Her feet felt weak as she fought to keep herself balanced and standing but the two of those things were obviously impossible right now. She staggered, struggling to take in a breath, even a gasp, but she was just hit much too hard. The blackness was persistent around her eyes and the only sound she could heard was the shuffling of her own feet and the panic-driven heartbeat that pounded in her ears. She still could not believe that she actually threw herself into the face of danger like that. It was stupid, idiotic and made her really hate herself for trying to be noble. But…she was doing it to save a friend. She had to remember that.

When her vision finally cleared, all she could see was the running, jiggling form of Arthur as he charged at her with everything he had. Agnes tried, she tried so hard to slip away, to side-step, to even allow herself to fall so that he would miss…but there was no use. First his shoulder, then it was followed by the full brunt of weight slammed into her chest. The agony coursed throughout her entire body and sent her flying backward.

She landed hard on her butt, followed by her back and then slid across the hard, tiled floor in such a comical way that Agnes would have laughed had she seen it in a movie. But this was not a movie. No, this man held nothing back, he was really out to harm her.

The salty, copper taste of blood dotted the corner of her mouth and Agnes found herself struggling to breathe again. But as she sat up, leaning against her elbow, a dark, maniacal laughter began to fill the air around her…

“Heheheheh…” Arthur snorted as he stood there, sweating through his shirt and grinning wide at Agnes. “So…you’re some kind of freak too…and with bugs. Hehehehe, guess that makes us kindred spirits…”

“Ugh…d-don’t make me…retch…” Agnes muttered as she struggled to make herself stand. She prayed and hoped that her swarm would aide her, but as she looked past Arthur, she saw so many bugs around fluttering about aimlessly that she could not tell which were hers. But before she could contemplate what to do next, her firm grip grabbed her hair and pulled her up. “ARGH!” she hissed.

Arthur had her tight by the hair on her head and pulled her back some to glare at her. “D…Don’t…get snippy…” he wheezed into her ear. “…with me…” He pulled her hair tighter making her hiss louder. “I…I can be…generous. Maybe…make you…a bug queen…”

Weakening and feeling like her bugs had abandoned her, Agnes meekly stared past him and watched as her own swarm were buzzing about to his manipulations. He had a control over them after they had attacked! No wonder they were not coming to her aide, because he already had them under his sway. To them, Agnes did not seem to exist anymore. That alone was what made her angry enough to pull up her courage and spit the man directly into his eyes.

The action only roused the man’s anger further as he pulled Agnes hair up, forcing her to painfully stand and shoved her backward as hard as he could. Agnes tumbled, tripping over her own feet until she went plowing back into another table. Another cage of bees toppled open, but instead of attacking her, they flew around her protectively. Arthur did not see this, he only saw more ammunition and, with his “generous” proposition spurned, the man threw out his open hand once more and attempted to command.

“Oh well…maybe your pretty Russian friend will know a deal when she hears it! Toodles!”

The bees around her shuddered…but there was no effect other than that. Instead of attacking, the bees continued to protectively circled her head, their buzzing serving as an ominous warning to Arthur to keep away. The man was too stubborn to relent though. Instead he continued to attempt to work his influence over the bees, hand held out as he pumped more and more of his mutant ability into the hapless insects. Slowly…very slowly they began to shake. It was apparent that for some reason they did not see Agnes as a threat at all, instead they wanted to keep her safe. But Arthur was forcing them and his influence was growing as the seconds ticked on.

Agnes needed a plan, anything to get a firmer control over the bugs…

>> "Agnes! Come here I can help!"

Her attention turned, Agnes caught sight of Sveta, ducked inside one of the larger cages. She looked like she had escaped the killer bees and that eased the runaway’s anxieties a little. But now she was offering to help? How could she possibly…she had a mutation as well! She had told her about it, said that when people touched her they got a boost…or something. But…what would that do to Agnes? What would that mean for her? The shuddering of the bees and their angry buzzing as Arthur’s influence over them grew, steeled her resolve. She had to play a gamble here.

A glance to Arthur showed he was still too intently concentrating on pushing his influence over their bees. It was her only opening. Hand subtly grabbing an empty cage of sand, Agnes suddenly hurled it at Arthur’s face and ran for Sveta, even with the pain emanating from her ribs. She prayed, hoped and wished this was going to work…

Sveta watched Agnes fight for her life, and hated herself for not having a more useful mutation. The hits looked painful; Sveta looked at the fat man with utter disgust. Hitting a girl like that? It was just plain wrong. Sveta tried to inch closer with the cage. Bugs were still buzzing around, and some people got away. She hoped someone was calling the police.

Agnes heard her yell, and ran towards the cage; now or never. Sveta yaned the glove off her right hand, and waited till the girl got close enough. Then, she opened the cage door.
Here goes nothing.

Catching Agnes' bare hand with her own, she held it for a few long seconds.

"Dis will help you draw the bugs to you" she said "Just hold on someone should be here soon..."

She took a deep breath, and then she let go.

Agnes ran, she ran with every bit of energy she had left. Fighting with Arthur had really taken it out of her, especially since he was hitting back so hard. She could barely catch her breath and she was sure that the blood she tasted inside her mouth was a result of stitches that were going to be required. She bit down pretty hard on the inside of her lip when the fat man pushed her back earlier. Now though, with exhausted limbs, a sore stomach and the taste of blood in her mouth, Agnes attempted to use the second wind she had to get to Sveta.

As she watched the woman take off her glove from inside the cage, a plethora of thoughts began to run rampant through her head. She did hear Sveta mention that she could boost a mutant’s power…but what was that going to mean for her? What was it going to do to her?

As much as Agnes wanted to debate the question, she simply did not have the time. She needed to gamble here and pray she could gain enough power to pull those innocent insects out of Arthur’s manipulating grip. She prayed that her Russian friend’s abilities would be enough to do that.

>> "Dis will help you draw the bugs to you…Just hold on someone should be here soon..."

The cage door flew open and Agnes ran harder. She could hear Arthur swearing from somewhere behind her. The man was angry he could not get the killer bees to attack her but the second they were out of whatever scent or aura she gave off, they attacked the table with impunity. Another curse flew from Arthur’s curled lips. But Agnes could not pay him any heed. She needed to keep running, to run with every last bit of strength she had left in her.

Door open…

A slender, white hand reaching out…

Agnes, finding it harder and harder to breathe…

Reached out and curled her fingers around Sveta’s hand...

Then…the moment she let go...bang…

Agnes saw a cartoon once.

Long time ago. It was one of those things she wanted to experience without her parents knowing about it. She had one friend in public high school who was a guy and he was a complete nerd, but so sweet. Whenever they would have a secret lunch together, he would talk about those Japanese cartoons…the animes…where big eyed men and women fly giant robots or conduct martial arts battles with each other. Agnes went along with it, even if it was not really her thing, and watched one of those cartoons with him on his phone. It was a of a overly muscular man with large eyed, tall, spiky blonde hair and wearing an orange and blue uniform. Agnes did not think the voice acting was very well done, but sometimes the art could be pretty. In this episode, she watched as this character, whenever he was fighting, became encased in an aura of golden light. Her friend told her he was “charging up his ki”, his energies.

If life were an anime…Agnes would be encased in an aura of golden light right now…

The moment she touched Sveta’s hand there was a brief millisecond of complete and utter silence. She could see nothing but blackness and hear nothing but a dull buzz from somewhere in the room. But that moment was short lived when suddenly there was a sensation, like a reverse atomic bomb sucking in all the air, all the sound, all the atoms into the room towards her. Agnes felt dizzy, like she was going to be sick as several cell in her body seemed to be expanding and exploding with absolute power. She could practically see the golden aura swirling around her…

For a moment, Agnes’ body was frozen, eyes closed as she held onto Sveta’s hand. At first it seemed like nothing was going on to happen, but slowly all the attacking bugs in the room began to make their ways toward her. Roaches, beetles, mantises, walking sticks crawled, flies, bees, hornets, flew, even crickets and grasshoppers hopped. No insect in the room was left behind as they all made their way towards Agnes direction.

Arthur, shocked by this behavior, kept snapping his fingers, trying to insert more of his willpower over the little creepy crawlies. There was a shudder from those who were closest to him but after a moment they continued on their way. Barely any of them were staying behind and the few that did seemed so confused that they simply flew in one place or stood still on the ground. Arthur was at the end of his rope as he watched the majority of them all circle Agnes and harming none of the people whom he had sicced them on.

“No! What’re you doing?!” he screamed. “That’s not fair! You’re nothing but a freak!! You have no right to stop me getting my revenge!!!!”

“Shut up.” the voice was low and barely heard, but there was more to it. There was a low buzz behind her every word, almost as if a hundred-thousand miniscule voices were speaking at the same time she was. “We do not appreciate what you have done.”

Agnes was growling now as she turned back around to face Arthur. She looked menacing, even with her eyes closed as she regarded the man closely. Bugs were everywhere, crawling around her feet, flying around her head or landing in her hair. None of them seemed vicious though. Instead they were all content to be in her presence. Even the pair of large, disgusting, poisonous centipedes were crawling affectionately around her forearms. Open hands, palms up, Agnes suddenly shot her closed eyes in Arthur’s direction…a gesture which, creepily enough, was followed by every single insect that was protectively standing around her. A curl of her lip and her echoing voice spoke much more menacingly as she finally opened her eyes.

“We are not your slaves…” she announced. But the vision that made Arthur literally wet his pants, was the sight of her eyes. Instead of the angry, normal human eyes, they were compounded and looked like a giant fly’s eyes. Each segment an eye, making up hundreds and hundreds tiny eyes, all of which were glaring daggers straight at Arthur. “And you will pay for what you’ve done. For we are legion...and we are many[/b]!!!”[/color]

With an angry shout of thousands of bugs Agnes screamed in Arthur’s direction and suddenly every last bug that was now on her side charged with no sign of stopping…

Sveta let go of Agnes' hand, and pulled the cage door closed. Just in case.

>>“We do not appreciate what you have done.”

All right, so it was creepy. Nothing exploded, no one died; but all the bugs in the building started marching, and that was a sight Sveta knew she would never forget. Agnes seemed calm.
She also sounded terrifying.

It was not the kind of creepy like the millions of bugs; it was more along the lines of Japanese horror movies. The pretty young girl with the terrible power. Sveta looked at her; she knew she had boosted her powers considerably, still, it was a force of nature that one day Agnes might be able to use on her own. She really was a queen. For now.

>>“We are not your slaves… And you will pay for what you’ve done. For we are legion...and we are many!!!”

All right, so that was... more than most people could handle.
Sveta watched with wide eyes as Agnes give a sign to the insects, and they all attacked the man at once. This was not good. Controlling them, sure; protecting people, of course. But revenge? Attack? That was not going to look good on the security cameras...
Sveta counted seconds quietly; Agnes had three, maybe four mintues tops before the boost wore off. Right now, it seemed like it was going to be more than enough. She thought she headr plice sirens in the distance; it was hart to tell from all the buzz. Sveta watched from the cage.

"Agnes!" she yelled over the sound of angry insects "Don't kill him!"

Ninety-four... ninety-five... ninety-six...

>> "Agnes! Don't kill him!"

There was little to no recognition of the voice that just shouted through the air. Agnes was too wrapped up in the overload of sensations and feelings she was getting inside her head. The mass of insects, the roaches, the wasps, the centipedes, the beetles, the locusts, every single last bug that was attracted to her now was one the attack. Arthur looked feeble and sweaty as he stood a fair distance from her, attempting to gather what insects he could under his control and Agnes stood defiantly in his line of sight. The floor looked like a living, moving carpet which expanded over the tiles, while the air in front of her vibrated in a black cloud of insects, all of which flew directly at Arthur.

Arthur, in the mean time was rally what troops he could, inserting as much of his influence into all the bugs who got too close. He managed to get a couple on his side, but it was a hard process that was exhausting him as the time ticked on. Still, there was some insects he had control over and those skittered or floated before him like a shield of protection.

It was the battle of insect royalty. Arthur forcing bugs under his control, and Agnes influencing them towards their revenge.

Arthur, panting at the sight of the bugs that came at him, for the first time, felt real fear towards the six-legged creatures. He had never been once to shy away from picking one up and holding it as it skittered about in his hand, but right now, he felt real apprehension towards them. Now, every bad thing he had ever done towards an insect, he was starting to repent inside of his head.

“You can’t beat me!” he cried, trying to sound brave but only coming off as pathetic. “You cannot do this to me!”

Agnes, in her new creepy voice only sneered with malice as she shook her head. “We can…because of what you have done to us…”

The runaway truly looked a horrible sight. Bugs circled her protectively while others crawled or flew into the fray. Roaches circled her feet while a thick cloud of flies began to circle about her shoulders. Her large, buggy eyes flashed dangerously as centipedes circled her arms and neck, crawling up to hide in her hair. If even her parents sought proof that their daughter was possessed by the Horseman of Pestilence, that she was a plague, this was the perfect moment to prove that to them.

Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!

Somewhere, off to a corner of the room, unheard and unseen by Agnes, a camera phone click over and over again, snapping shots of this bug possessed young woman.

The scene that followed was just as disturbing. The swarm of insects that she had unleashed flew with focus and intent, each on barreling directly for Arthur who, held out his hand in order to seized as many of them as he could. Seconds ticked by and before either of them knew it, both sides were frozen in place. It looked as if an invisible wall were between them, causing any bug that crawled into the spot to be lost and confused. They remained static as both sides fought for influence over the creatures. Arthur imposed on them slavery while Agnes promised them freedom…it was a tense sight to watch as both swarms of insects began to push and shove against one another, attempting to break through that invisible wall where both the mutant’s influences had clashed.

Then, as the sirens broke the silence and the flashes of red and blue lights could be seen bathing the windows in light, Arthur made the mistake of looking away…

Fwoooooooooooosh!!

Every ground crawling, air buzzing insect broke free of Arthur’s control and were filled with Agnes’ only command…attack. They broke over Arthur like a flood, sweeping over his large, ample frame, stinging, biting, crawling, bombarding, every little inch of skin they could find was under attack. Arthur screamed, for the first time, unable to stand the feeling of the insects as they crawled everywhere. Nothing he did, no influence could be strong enough to pull them out of the attack. Instead, all he could do was scream, but even that was cut off when a bit, mass of insects began to crawl down his throat…

You’re not a demon…you’re not a monster…

Agnes shuddered as she stood there, filled with the voices of thousands of insects on the attack…but only a single human voice ricocheting inside her skull. It was her own, the last part of her that was human, struggling to make its way back into her mind as Sveta’s power boost began to slowly decline. The poor runaway shuddered, trying, begging herself to stop, to pull back. She did not want to become what her parents had always said she was. She knew that she was better than that…she was not going to be the monster in this scenario…

Finally…holding herself close, Agnes screamed loud and hard, making her throat raw as she fell onto her knees. Over and over and over again, all she kept repeated was a single word in her mind and sending it out over to ever bug that was attacking on her behalf:

Free! Free! Free! Free! Free! Free!

She prayed it would be enough to make them stop…

It was like watching some very bad Hollywood movie. So many insects it didn't look real, or even possible; the look on Agnes' face as she spoke for all of the creatures, and the man who tried to be a villain while all he was was a victim from the moment Sveta let go of the girl's hand. Now it was only a matter of time.

Sveta stayed in the cage, even though all the insects were gone, fighting their battle between the two mutant powers. She bit her lips and watched, because that was all she could do.

Agnes was going to kill the guy.
Correction. The bugs were going to kill the guy.

Also, police and security. Cameras. People looking. The whole deal.
Someone's gonna kill me. Sam, Ghost, the X's. It's just a matter of who finds out first...

Agnes screamed, and fell to her knees; the swarm of bugs looked like they were not under control anymore. Some policemen showed up outside, but they did not seem eager to go in. Sveta looked. Sh*t, all they saw was probably a girl controlling bugs and attacking someone. And they couldn't shoot at flies, but they sure could shoot a mutant.

"Dat's all right!" Sveta yelled, trying her best to get out of the cage without stumbling (too much) "She's wid de X-men. Situation is under control."

That was what someone was supposed to say, right?...

Agnes held herself, crying to maintain some type of control from the whole situation. The connected mind to all of those bugs was still swimming around in her head and Agnes tried her best to push them out. She was so tired, so worn out from trying to keep so many of them wrangled that a migraine was beginning to throb in the back of her skull. But even as Sveta’s power began to slowly seep away, Agnes felt the call, that wildness from all those insects that had just run to her aide as they skittered in an attempt to get back into her mind. They were lost now, slowly coming out of attack mode and crawling around blindly. Only a few were returning to Agnes’ side because boost or no boost…she still smelled of home.

Through blurry eyes, Agnes managed to look up and watched, as her head waved weakly back and forth, the still, lifeless looking sight of the man that started this whole mess. Arthur lay on his back, unmoving, his shirt full of tiny bite marks, his skin swelled up from various punctures and stings. It was obvious that the man was in terrible shape. A dot or two of foam lay at the corner of his lips as he lay there, quiet, still, with only the occasional twitch in his arms…

And Agnes could not feel guiltier.

I…did that… she whispered to herself. I…made them do…that. I’m…no better than him…

Immediately Agnes’ eyes welled up as she watched the occasional signs of life in the man as he twitched and coughed up globs of the white froth. He was alive, but he definitely would not be for very much longer. Though the man more than likely deserved every last bit of those stings for what he did not only to her but the rest of the people in this museum, as well as the insects, Agnes still felt sick to her stomach for having given out the order. She influenced them to attack Arthur, she had egged them on to exact their revenge for being used in such a way. It was within her power to simply hold them back, to keep everyone safe…but their influence mixed with her anger and all she wanted was complete and utter revenge.

Gently she attempted to move onto her feet, but quickly she winced and collapsed back onto her knees. Arthur had worked her over pretty good and hit without holding anything back. She was sure her rib was bruised, at least that much, and the migraine in her head was barely tolerable. But she had to move, she had to get up and see if Sveta was okay.

“S-Sveta?” she muttered exhaustedly as she turned her sore frame to look at the young Russian woman again. “Are you…okay…?”

But before she could get an answer, there was a new sound. Rushing footsteps echoed in the hallway as several people could be heard stomping their way towards the exhibit. Her eyes turning to the hall, she watched as several armed police officers burst into the scene, guns drawn and eyes scanning the whole scene. Several of them stayed at the entrance, not wanting to rush into the room the second that they spied the variety of insects that were skittering about, now free of Arthur’s influence. But they managed to make themselves move into the room. After all…there were several dead bodies and many, many more who were badly injured.

One of the officers came into the room, checking all corners as those behind him checked on bodies and other fallen victims. It was only when he caught sight of Agnes with the flies buzzing around her that he raised his gun high and pointed it directly at her…

“FREEZE! NYPD!!!” he screamed as he charged into the room, eyeballing the insects that protectively circled her. “Put your hands up! NOW!”

>> "Dat's all right! She's wid de X-men. Situation is under control."

The officer looked surprised at Sveta as she came stumbling out of one of the larger cages. His gun still trained on the crouching teenager, he watched as the woman with the Russian accept came running, her hands waving to leave her alone. It was obvious that he was not fully buying it, but there was no way for him to tell if she were telling the truth, at least not by himself.

Gun still on Agnes as several officers began to flood into the room, stepping over bugs and checking for other survivors, the cop did not lower his gun. But he still addressed Sveta as he for any sudden moves from Agnes.

“Ma’am, you come over here and stay away from her, understand?” he said with no arguing in his voice. “If she’s X-Men where is her uniform? And her I.D.?” He shook his head but slowly he reached for his radio and clicked the button. “Dispatch, dispatch…get me the MRC on the horn. We need to notify and clear up a statement…”

Sveta did not like the way the gun was pointed at Agnes. She was clearly hurt and scared. Sveta huffed and marched towards the policemen.

>>“Ma’am, you come over here and stay away from her, understand? If she’s X-Men where is her uniform? And her I.D.? Dispatch, dispatch…get me the MRC on the horn. We need to notify and clear up a statement…”

"Vat, so she can only go and save people if she changes into red panties first?" Sveta demanded to know, holding her hands up just for good measure. She was really pissed at the policemen now; they had no idea what was going on and they were still pointing guns at Agnes "It is our day off, and people are very lucky we are here and not somewhere else." she glared "You call dem, dey will tell you."

Hopefully they would get Sam on the line and everything will be sorted out.

"Dat man beat her up, she is hurt." she continued "Could you not shoot her please? She was trying to save everyone else."

>> "Vat, so she can only go and save people if she changes into red panties first? It is our day off, and people are very lucky we are here and not somewhere else…You call dem, dey will tell you."

“Alright, alright! Just calm down,” Officer Alderman said as he shook his head. “I’m contacting them now, just, go have a seat. Now.”

Alderman, clearly disliking that the woman was talking back to him, practically growled as he said that last word. For too long he has had to clean up the aftermath of what he viewed as “freaks” and did not like it when he was given attitude for it. To him, it would probably be a lot better if the majority them were just shipped off to some island somewhere rather they pollute his city. But, personal issues aside, he had to uphold the law and could not go around shooting everyone he damn well pleased.

With a resent sigh he lowered his gun just a tad as he listened for a response from dispatch.


>> "Dat man beat her up, she is hurt…Could you not shoot her please? She was trying to save everyone else."

The elder officer’s eyebrow arched a bit as he cast a glance at the kneeling form of Agnes who looked way too tired to stand up and then to the fallen man who was twitching from the neurotoxins that were coursing through his veins. Then based on the blonde’s last statement, he turned his attention back to the kneeling girl and saw that she indeed did look worse for the wear. Her body was bruised, she looked extremely tired, as if she had not had sleep in days.

Meekly he nodded as he turned to shout over his shoulder…

“Get EMTs in here! We have two more down!” he shouted.

Gun now even lower, he watched as several paramedics ran into the scene, stepping over fallen insects and checking bodies for signs of life. As those victims were being checked, another pair of dashed over, one stopping next to Agnes and the other kneeling next to the Arthur. They worked quietly as they checked wounds, asked questions to get responses. Agnes was scared but doing her best to answer while the Arthur was completely unresponsive except for the shallow breathing that echoed out from his chest.

Alderman sighed as he turned back to Sveta eyed her closely as if to tell her to behave, when suddenly his radio sprang to life…

“MRC, Detective Cervantes here, what is going on over there?”

The officer rolled his eyes and sighed as he grabbed his radio. It was obvious that he really did not like dealing with this particular officer. He turned his back to Sveta and Agnes and walked off, talking into the radio…

***

“Okay, honey, can you tell me your name?” the EMT asked as she dropped her bag onto the floor and began to pull out equipment to take the young runaway’s vitals.

“A-Agnes…just…Agnes…” she muttered.

Agnes could not have been more tired. She sat there exhausted as the woman began to check her wounds, felt to see if any of her ribs were broken and began to take other vitals to make sure she was okay. Agnes put up very little of a fight. Normally she wanted nothing to do with officials, especially those in the medical profession. If they got nosey and wanted to find out who she was, found her scars, investigated them, anything, it could lead to her parents finding out where she was. And that was simply not an option.

“Okay, blood pressure is fine, your wounds seem superficial at best,” the EMT muttered as she began to go down her list. “Can you please lift your shirt so I can feel your ribs bett-?”

“No,” Agnes said firmly, some of her own paranoia beginning to work its way back into her tired mind.

“Honey, you could have a fractured rib, I need to see it,” she replied.

“I said, no,” Agnes shakily said as she began to clench her fists. Already bugs were beginning to skitter towards her.

“Honey…”

“I’M NOT YOUR HONEY!!!” Agnes screamed as she scooted back, holding onto her bottom of her shirt.

Instantly Agnes was on the defense again closing up and sealing herself off like a steel trap. She was not going to let that woman touch her. Not after everything that happened today. That fat monster across from her, who was being looked over by the other EMT, had down a number on her. Agnes was sore everywhere even breathing was hard, but that did not mean she wanted this woman to check on her. Her scars were still there, still hidden beneath her clothes and she was not going to allow anyone else to see them. She simply was not. And that point was reiterated with the daggers she stared at the shocked, female EMT.

God how Agnes simply wanted to go home…

>>“Alright, alright! Just calm down. I’m contacting them now, just, go have a seat. Now.”

Sveta made a face, but turned around none the less to take a seat as she was told. She really hoped there were some reasonable people on the other end of the line...

>>“MRC, Detective Cervantes here, what is going on over there?”

Hopefully.

Sveta walked with the EMTs andsat as close to Agnes as she could without accidentally touching her.

"It's okay" she told her quietly "You did very good."

She really did. In fact, she was the first person Sveta saw who could handle a power boost without literally falling apart.
She watched the EMT check Agnes' wounds; another did the same to her, although Svera was unhurt, apart from a few scratches. Her eyes were still on Agnes; she wanted to tell her a lot of things she couldn't tell in front of people, and she wanted to hug her, and she felt sorry when she realized she was about the last person who ever will be able to do that.

>>“I’M NOT YOUR HONEY!!!”

"It is okay, Agnes, sshhhh" she said, scooting closer to shield the girl from the medic "It's okay I'm here. Look at me? I'm going to talk to them okay? It's all right. Shhhh."

Turning back to the doctors, Sveta sighed and walked a few steps with them.

"Look, we have our own doctors. She is mutant, she needs special doctors." she tried to explain as calmly and smoothly as possible "She does not like being seen by others. Dey will take care of her wen we get back home, it's okay. She has been trough a lot."

We all have.

Sitting back down next to Agnes, she smiled at the girl. "See? We just wait here. Dey will pick us up and we go back to the school okay?"

>> "It is okay, Agnes, sshhhh…It's okay I'm here. Look at me? I'm going to talk to them okay? It's all right. Shhhh."

No words could leave her mouth. Agnes could find nothing to say other than try and focus in on Sveta’s words. Her friend’s voice was calming but the runaway was increasingly upset right now.

She was definitely panicking. Her mind was still weak after having been connected to all those insects and really, right now, she could not handle the added stress of having to deal with the thoughts of her parents as well. It was just absolutely insane the unfolding of all the events today and really, she did not want to have to think about her parents at the same time. Those psychos who ruined her life…no. She was absolutely done with that nonsense and mention of them right now was only going to completely set her off. That was why she freaked out…she was tired…

Eyes blazing, Agnes glared at the EMT still who looked shocked between the two young women. It was obvious she really was not sure how to handle a situation like this. Difficult patients were one thing, but those who are traumatized were definitely another.

>> "Look, we have our own doctors. She is mutant, she needs special doctors…She does not like being seen by others. Dey will take care of her wen we get back home, it's okay. She has been through a lot."

The EMT watched them closely before she nodded her head. “A-All right, all right. Her vitals are fine so…I guess I can’t make her,” she said as she stood up and gathered her things. “Just, make sure whoever you see, they look at her ribs and now. I don’t want one of them to be fracture and pointed at some organ.”

Agnes only continued to glare until the woman had effectively sulked away to check other victims from the insect Armageddon that had occurred in the room. Her breathing had begun to slow but the pain from it was still there. She was sure that there was a problem with her ribs, but if that DocProf back at the mansion could heal her without having to make her show her scars, then that was definitely the better option. She did not want some blabber mouthed paramedic suddenly announcing to the world that she met some teenager with ritualized scarring all over her body. That definitely was not a good option.

Once she was gone, Agnes began to relax a bit, thankful to have Sveta by her side, but why couldn’t they leave yet? She just wanted to be back in the mansion hidden under her covers and have a good cry after everything that happened today.

>> “See? We just wait here. Dey will pick us up and we go back to the school okay?"

Agnes meekly nodded, finally just too exhausted to stay angry anymore. The last of Sveta’s power boost and her adrenaline had finally seeped away and all Agnes was left with was regret, sadness, and an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. For that moment prior, she had connected with all those insects, every last one of them, she didn’t feel alone anymore. She felt important because they listened to her. Now that they were gone though…she was back to feeling like the same, old, ordinary Agnes...

…and that was a lonely feeling.

“I’m tired,” was all she had the energy to say as she leaned her head back against a table, completely drained and looking just a little paler.

>>“Just, make sure whoever you see, they look at her ribs and now. I don’t want one of them to be fracture and pointed at some organ.”

"I will make sure." Sveta nodded, making a mental note to tell that to DocProf, who will probably grumble and frown at human doctors and their suggestions and where they should stick them. Sveta was sure Agnes would be fine, not many hospitals had a areal healer after all.

>>“I’m tired.”

Sveta sat back too, adrenaline slowly dissolving in her body leaving her with just the usual level of coffee buzz. She was tired. Exhausted, even. She never slept more than three or four hours, but right now, sleep sounded great...

"I'm sorry" she said quietly, turning to look at Agnes "Maybe it was too much. I did not know how much we need, so, I think I overdid it. I can't tell how my powers affect people. So, I'm sorry."

She really was. She felt guilty for putting Agnes through the whole 'legion' experience.

"But I mean it, you did very good. I did not really meet many other mutants who could control demselves after I boosted them. Most of them just... pfft. Collapse."

Or kill a few hundred people.

"Thank you. For, you know, saving me."