The girl straightened in her chair, suddenly more interested than before. “Is it a grade school?” A bright smile had made its way to Bentley’s face. She adored children. She found them so cute and they did the funniest things, asked the oddest questions. Her tone quieted a little, “It’s just that I love kids.” Bentley munched a fry absentmindedly. “I always told myself that if I don’t make it big, I’ll be perfectly happy just teaching kids ballet.”

Talking about jobs and careers put a sour feeling in Bentley’s gut. She was starting to run really low on cash. There was absolutely no way that she would even consider calling her father for help. Besides, he would only grow more worried than he already was; he might even attempt to drag her back to Georgia if he found out what position she was in. Her smile had fallen and she wore a worried expression in its place.

For a moment Bentley forgot Andrew’s presence and she fell into one of her dreamlike trances. Her eyes were on Andrew but she seemed to be seeing something past him. She still absentmindedly nibbled her fries but only her hand and mouth moved. After several seconds Bentley came out of her daydream. “Oh.” A look of surprise widened her eyes and made her mouth hang slightly agape. She slowly shook her head, hoping to displace the remainder of the fog.

Bentley flashed the man across the table from her a warm smile and continued speaking as if she hadn’t just went catatonic. “I’m thinking that I’m about to have to start searching for a part time job. New York isn’t cheap.” She chuckled quietly.

"The ages vary but it's mostly middle school and upwards."

Andrew smiled at the girl. She wore her emotions plain on her face. Over the course of the conversation it had been fairly easy to determine what she'd been feeling. After expressing an interesting in teaching children ballet if her dream of making it big fell through the girl fell into a thoughtful state. She was looking at him but her eyes were unfocused and not really seeing him. He let her have the time to think, using it to finish off his fries.

Once she came back down to earth she simply said that she'd been thinking about getting a job and stated the well known fact that New York wasn't cheap. Andrew chuckled.

"Yeah it isn't. But on the bright side there is plenty of it so it shouldn't be too hard for you to find a job."

Heck Andrew had had one practically fall into his lap. He still didn't get what Sam had seen in him but no point questioning it. Well, maybe there was but now certainly wasn't the time to be doing it. Andrew chuckled.

"You never know, you might meet a random stranger some place and have them offer you a job. That's how I got mine."

“A random stranger?” Bentley leaned further over the table without even noticing. “How lucky.” She watched the way Andrew chewed his food; his jaw clenching and relaxing. Maybe not so much luck, Andrew looked very intelligent and so far he’d been very polite and generous. The stranger probably had seen that in him and offered him the job then and there.

Bentley realized she didn’t know which school he was a secretary for. There were numerous schools around the city, but she didn’t know of many that were age varied (elementary through to high school) as Andrew had described. “So what school is it that you work for?” Bentley could swear that she saw a flash of some strong emotion streak across the man’s face. But it was there and gone so quickly that she figured she shouldn’t acknowledge it. She wasn’t sure what emotion it had been; maybe worry or annoyance, maybe a mixture of the two. Bentley’s brow scrunched in worriment. She began thinking that she shouldn’t have pried so much.

To try and change the subject Bentley pushed away from the table and leaned slightly back in her chair. “I’m stuffed.” She grinned, her cheek dimpling with the sincerity of the smile. “Thank you so much for doing that for me.” She gestured with her hand toward the food. She hoped Andrew wouldn’t mind that she hadn’t completely finished off the burger.

Andrew nodded.

"It was one of those bad situations that I get into actually. He helped out and then offered me a job."

He shook his head at the memory and focused back on the conversation. Moments later she was asking about which school he worked at. Now that was a problem. He didn't want to reveal too much but then again if he didn't come up with something good then she'd probably be suspicious. Thankfully she attempted to change the subject before he could come up with a decent answer. Andrew smiled. She hadn't eaten all of the burger that that was her choice. Not to mention that it probably wasn't wise to do so since she was a ballerina and would have to work off the extra calories he expected.

"Not a problem. I was happy to do it and I got to meet someone new in the bargain so I'd say it was worth the price."

Mostly true that. Until he knew for certain whether or not she was a mutant and where she stood on the issue he wouldn't be certain if he was glad to have met her or not. As it was the conversation had been interesting, if a little awkward at points.

Bentley was about to excuse herself and thank him one last time. She had even opened her mouth to speak. She didn’t get the chance before her attention was yanked to a table not far from theirs. A group of three grown men were gathered around a table, towering over a young couple. The two at the table only looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. A tall, lanky boy and a petite blonde; the girl looked absolutely mortified. The boy tried to appear unaffected but Bentley could see the nervousness in his eyes. Bentley wouldn’t have even noticed the events unfolding at the table if it hadn’t been for the tone of one of the adults. The deep, threatening growl could be heard even from the fifteen feet that distanced Bentley from the action. “Think you can just do that where ever you want, boy?”

The boy with the somewhat greasy, black locks replied sarcastically. “Well, yeah. Why shouldn’t I? You’re allowed to go on thinking you’re allowed to look that ugly where ever you like.”

Bentley and the small blonde girl both winced as the large man slammed his palm against the surface of the table. “You freak! You can’t talk to me like that!” The man’s eye looked as if it might bulge right out of his skull. His angry glare shifted to the girl. “You one, too? A mutie?” The man’s friends began prodding at the girl. She looked like she was about to begin sobbing any minute. The lanky teen boy shot out of his seat and attempted to pull the girl from her seat, probably trying to get them both out of the way. The men were circled around the two kids.

Bentley couldn’t take it any longer. She jumped from her seat and stalked quickly to the group. “What do you think you’re doing?!” She shoved right past two of the men and got nose to nose with the instigator. The grown man’s eyes bulged more widely. “ You leave them alone, you-you monster.” She practically spat the word.

He looked to be raising his hand to strike her. Bentley grimaced in instinct.

It had looked like their conversation was just about to wrap up and they'd go their separate ways. Andrew had been contemplating the likelihood of them ever meeting again when a ruckus erupted nearby. Andrew watched with increasing displeasure as it became apparent that the whole thing was because a boy over there was a mutant and had apparently been using his ability in public. That wasn't all that smart and neither was the sass that he gave the man for calling him on it.

It was shaping up to be a real beatdown and Andrew had already stood up with the intention of putting a stop to it. Yet again he was beaten to the punch by Bentley. She marched right up to the man that had been yelling and proceeded to yell at him for doing so. Andrew winced and followed her over. This would be trouble and he wanted to be there when it happened. Andrew saw the man move to hit Bentley. He scowled and sped up to a run. He broke through the circle of men just as Bentley had done and grabbed the back of her shirt. He gave a yank, pulling her backwards and out of the way of the man's strike.

"Big man thinks he's King of the world and can hit a woman for calling him out on being a dick? I don't think so."

Andrew maneuvered himself so that he was roughly in front of Bentley, the crying blonde girl, and the boy.

Bentley’s arms had flailed as Andrew jerked her to safety. She hadn’t been expecting him to help her out. Well, actually…she’d sort of forgotten him in her moment of heroics. Her eyes were wide and she watched as the man’s face contorted further in anger. “Well, what’s this? Another one?” So he thought Andrew and her were mutants because they were defending the two kids.

Bentley turned to the couple and smiled weakly at them. “Are you okay?” They both nodded at her; the boy’s eyes remained on the man but the crying girl looked sincerely thankful. Bentley didn’t have time to be scared or worried. She spun on her heel to face ahead again.

The guy was still badgering Andrew. “The mall is just full of you creeps today, huh?” The huge guy (well at least huge in Bentley’s mind) reached out with both hands and caught ahold of the front of Andrew’s shirt. “Get them!” He commanded his friends to do the same.

Bentley heard the young boy behind her tell his girlfriend to make a run for it. A rough hand clamped onto Bentley’s arm and she was jerked sideways, almost off of her feet. Sharp nails dug into her skin and a short yelp escaped her throat. Acting on the first impulse to cross her mind, Bentley kicked out hard. Her foot connected with her captor’s knee. She hated to hurt anyone but she didn’t see any way around it. Besides, the jerk deserved worse.

The fool in front him of felt like he had to run his mouth. Sure the guy was big but unless his looks were hiding a martial arts master Andrew figured he could take him. He assumed they were mutants too for helping the boy out. He was at least half right. If Andrew had a showy power, like say Sam's ice or Shin's weird sharp triangle things then he would be showing it off right now. He was furious at the man and would have liked such a power just to show off what the man was messing with. Since he didn't he merely readied himself for a fight and kept his hands curled into fists.

Bentley made sure that the kids were alright while the man continued to hassle him. When he took hold of the front of Andrew's shirt and told his buddies to fight he was almost relieved. Swinging into motion Andrew threw a few punches at the man's arms, in particular his elbows. Eventually the man let go and Andrew got to work.

"Alright kid let's show these idiots not to mess with us, huh?"

Andrew turned his head to the side briefly to grin at his fellow mutant. With that he twisted sharply back toward the man that had chosen him as his opponent. Andrew shifted into his footwork, never staying quite still. Jorge had drilled him on footwork for ages and it was now bearing fruit. The guy either couldn't hit him or Andrew blocked his shots. He turned for a brief second to make sure Bentley was alright and was rewarded with the sight of her kicking her attacker's knee. At least he wouldn't have to worry that she wouldn't fight. Unfortunately his lapse in attention caused him to take a decently strong punch to the side of his rib cage. Andrew twisted back around to the loudmouth and tossed a couple of simple jabs at him.

Bentley was definiately worried now. The man had released her arm but his face was quickly shifting from an expression of pain to one of pure fury. He looked as if he might grab Bentley again. He lunged toward the tiny ballerina but suddenly the teenage boy was in front of her. Bentley lost her breath in surprise. There seemed to be a lot of that going around for her the past week or so. The boy’s arms were a blur as he pounded away at the human’s chest. The scrawny boy obviously had some power behind his moves; when he stopped the human adult male collapsed onto the floor before crawling backwards and then fleeing. “By the way, name’s Dewayne.” A crooked grin was displayed by the young boy. Bentley wasn’t quick enough to give her name before the boy spoke again, “One down…two to go.” The goofy smile appeared to stretch wider.

The other man that wasn’t fighting Andrew jumped at the mutant boy. Bentley gasped and lurched forward as if to block him. She was beat to the action by the blonde. Bentley’s mouth dropped in awe as the man was blasted backwards by an unseen force. He slid a good ways, knocking over chairs as he did so. Bentley spun to see the girl smiling proudly with her arms crossed over her chest. It was then that Bentley spotted the security. There was a whole posse of them swarming closer with every passing second. She was pretty sure that they wouldn’t be on the mutants and her side. “Um, Andrew.” Her eyes didn’t move from impending trouble. “Andrew!” Maybe he was still busy with the last guy. “I think maybe we should go…Now!” Her hand flew to the teenage girl’s arm and clamped on gently. “We should get out of here.” The girl nodded in agreement.

Andrew was vaguely aware they were running short on time. He was also vaguely aware that the kid had done very well in taking out the moron's buddies. He was a bit more concerned in keeping the big guy busy to pay too much attention to everything else that was happening around him. The large man wasn't very mobile and he swung wild more often than not. However when he did hit it hurt. Therefore Andrew stayed out of reach as much as possible, delivering quick blows whenever he caught an opening.

Bentley's voice broke through his concentration. The security was coming. Andrew was sure they'd see reason. after all, the confrontation before the fight had been loud and one sided. They hadn't made any move to offer violence until the big guy and his cronies had. There were plenty of witnesses around the food court. Then again this wasn't the cops and their MRC division. There was no Jorge here to make sure they got a fair shake. As much as he was loathe to do so, running was probably the best option. The next moment he had an opening Andrew swung and uppercut into the man's gut to relieve him of breath for a while.

"Alright, lets go." Andrew glanced over to the teenage boy, "Good job by the way."

With that he headed toward the closest exit that he knew of and counted on the others to follow.

Bentley was still holding the other girl’s hand as they fled into the world outside of the mall. She dropped it as they finally stopped to catch their breath. Or more likely, stopped so she could catch her breath. The other three didn’t seem even mildly winded.

When Bentley straightened again she exhaled sharply, “Wow!” Adrenaline was an unfamiliar thing for the dancer. She’d never felt so…so…exhilarated? Well, besides when dancing but this was a completely different situation. “That, that was intense.”

As if suddenly remembering what had really just happened, Bentley focused on the two kids. “Are ya’ll alright?” She almost had to restrain herself from fluttering over them and checking for injuries.

They ran until they reached the streets again and were out of sight of the doors. If he had to run from mall security then he didn't want them seeing him right outside. Andrew watched Bentley fight to regain her breath and then immediately ask the kids if they were alright. He smiled a little at that.

"Eh, those guys were mostly blowhards. I don't think these two are too bad off. I'd be surprised if they were even scratched."

It was rather convenient that something had sprung up just when he was doubting whether or not to tell Bentley about his mutation. However that could have just as easily been a product of his ability to attract trouble. Andrew eyed the girl.

"You did well. I didn't think a ballerina would know how to fight like that."

Andrew was starting to get used to getting into fights everywhere he went. It turned out that his assumption that getting involved in the mutant community would get him into exactly those sorts of fights had been right. The main difference between now and then being that he would have run then. Now however he was glad to beat some respect into whoever chose to act on such ridiculous thoughts as what the man inside had.

Her face was already heated from the rush of the situation but it heated more still at Andrew’s words. “I didn’t do much.” Bentley replied before her eyes shifted back to the two kids and then drifted over Andrew. “You guys were awesome! That was so cool. I’ve never seen someone’s powers in action before.”

The lanky, black haired boy, Dewayne, grinned his crooked grin again. “That was pretty cool what you did.” His voice was so full of enthusiasm that it made Bentley giddy.

The blonde girl nodded. “Humans don’t usual stand up for us like that.”

Bentley’s eyes widened in shock. “What?” She gestured back in the direction of the mall. Her eyes locked with Andrew's. “That happens to you guys often?” Sure, she had seen and heard about that type of thing happening on the news. Not very often though; the media like to skirt around the topic of humans harming innocent mutants and instead spotlight the riots that mutant extremists sometimes set into motion. Not that Bentley ever put her faith on the television to be truthful, but she certainly hadn’t expected for mutants to be harassed on a regular basis. You could label her as a very sheltered little thing.

Bentley had apparently been impressed by the show they'd put on in the food court. She couldn't help but complement the two teens. Andrew had to admit that he was impressed with them too. Of course, it was rather expected. A mutant kid had to be tough. They were either tough or lucky. There really wasn't much in between. Bentley of course seemed horrified by the idea. That was in keeping with her character from what he'd seen. She seemed to accuse him of being a mutant when she asked if it happened a lot. She was looking at him as if to include him in the question. Andrew nodded.

"It happens to mutants more often than not. Most humans can't accept them for one reason or another."

Andrew was careful not to identify with either group. Yes Bentley had stood up for these two and even fought for them. That was fact. He still wanted to be careful though. She was a human and a relative stranger. Neither one made him want to trust her too much. Bentley seemed like a nice person though. So he wouldn't mind meeting her again sometime. Maybe he'd tell her in time. He looked over to the kids.

"You should probably get going. Mall security might call the cops and it would be best to be away from here by the time they do."

The kids hurried off but not without a wave from Dewayne and another shy nod from his little girlfriend. Once they ducked out of sight Bentley turned to Andrew. “Well, I definitely didn’t expect to spend my day like this.” Her face was bright; she looked almost excited. Bentley realized then that she was beginning to warm up to Andrew. Sometimes that is just how things happen. A big event occurs where two complete strangers must act together, which can lead to those strangers opening up to one another. In Bentley and Andrew’s case the standing up for two innocent mutant kids was the big event that had occurred. She knew that she felt more comfortable with him but she wasn’t too sure it was the same for him. Andrew still seemed kind of quiet, not that he wasn’t talking. Quiet was just the only way that Bentley could think of to describe it. He was quiet as with the way that he only answered questions in a simple fashion. And asked questions that kept her talking. Well, at least that was how Bentley thought it was. It may not have been.

She could only think to ask, “What now? Do we need to scramble too?” Randomly, a thought of Rhythm drifted into the tiny girl’s mind. She brushed it aside, not wanting to jumble her thoughts with confusion.