It was not easy, dealing with the aftermath of the whole bug apocalypse.
First things first, Gemma had to deal with Agnes; the last thing she wasnted was the girl getting scared and running away, especially now that her parents could have seen her on TV. Then, she had to deal with the other girl too, although that one seemed much calmer. Like someone who has been through the same stuff before. Huh.
Then, she had to make sure the Mansion was indeed as safe as she promised Agnes it was. That took some time too. As well as finding out as much as she could, and at least almost as much as she needed to know.
Then, she had to go talk to Jorge. Hopefully her boyfriend was working on the same care very very quietly; they needed to deal with it as ast as they can. Gemma wanted the whole mutant-hating-worst-parent-of-the-century gag behind bars, as soon as possible.
She arrived to the police station early in the afternoon, bringing some lunch, and looking for Detective Cervantes, as a dutiful girlfirend would, knowing her boyfriend was in need of some food, and an innocent word or two.

Jorge Cervantes, detective for the Mutant Related Crimes Unit never rarely ever had a good day when it came to work. Normally when he was out on the streets it was always to stop some rampaging mutant or break apart some anti-mutant demonstration. It was needless to say that no matter what, his days usually ended up with him nearly always seeing the worst that both human and mutant kind could offer. At times it was a thankless job, one that usually ended up with him being injured, thrown through a wall or singed. Whatever the case, though, for multitude of bad things his job entailed, it was the one or two “thank you”s that made the job worth it.

Unfortunately this was not one of those days.

“Cathy!! You need to calm down! NOW!” the detective yelled.

Inside of the office of the MRC division, it looked as if a hurricane had run through it. Water soaked everything, papers were tossed left and right in tiny twisters, even one of the desks looked as if it had been smoldering from a lightning strike. It was as if a storm had suddenly developed inside the office…and that actually is what happened.

“I WANT MY DADDY!!” A dark, black storm cloud thundered as it covered the ceiling of the office.

Jorge groaned as he held up his hands, trying to manipulate the steady rainfall away from the rest of the office. Behind him, several of the other officers were trying to pulled out necessary files to keep them from getting damaged while others were attempt to pull out injured workers. The water manipulating detective squinted his eyes as the blistering wind from the angry storm cloud lashed against him but he was able to keep most of the water back and away from everyone else.

Cathy Sinclair is the youngest daughter of Joshua Sinclair, a noted cat burglar and mutant with the ability to turn into mist and who robbed apartments all across the Harlem. It took several tries but he was finally tracked down and captured. Though the man was only stealing in order to provide money for one of his sick daughters, his other daughter Cathy did not take the news so well. That was why when she showed up at the precinct today, asking why her daddy was in prison, that she threw a fit. Cathy, also a mutant, did not like she could not see him and instead turned into the thunderous storm cloud that swirled against the division’s roof. And nothing was calming her down.

“DADDY!!” She thundered once more.

Jorge groaned as he gathered up as much water as he could into a swirling globe in front of him. He could scarcely see the faint outline of Cathy inside the storm cloud. Part of her was still physical, that meant she could be hurt. Not that he wanted to hurt her, but if he could break her concentration just a little, that could knock her powers out of commission. At least until they could have a chance to calm her down because right now she simply was not listening to reason.

“Cathy! You need to calm down! I giving you to the count of three!” Jorge yelled as he struggled to keep sight of the young girl’s silhouette inside the cloud. “One…”

“NO! NO! NO! MY DADDY!!!” Another lightning flash followed by thunder shook the room.

“TWO…!”

“Detective…” one of the other officers asked behind him.

“Just get ready to catch her…”

“WHERE IS HE?!!”

“THREE! You’re on time out!”

The crackle in the air, the hairs on his arm standing, and Jorge growled as he pulled his arm back and readied the mass of water he had collected from the rainstorm Cathy had unleashed. He could feel that she was getting reading to fire him with a lightning bolt and he doubted he could survive a direct hit. He needed to put a stop to the ten year-old’s tantrum right now. So, aiming in order to distract and not harm, Jorge shot a jet of water directly towards the storm cloud, and at the silhouette of the young girl within. The result was instantaneous as Cathy yelled out, water smacking her in the face and distracting her from keeping the storm cloud power going.

As soon as she lost grip, Cathy solidified and plummeted to the ground.

Jorge watched as the officer who had been behind him suddenly dashed forward, skit across the paper and water strewn floor and caught Cathy in his arms. Thankfully she looked more tired than harmed so that was going to be okay. He just hoped that she was not going to do that again. The detective sighed as he stood there amidst the mess, hands on his hips as he took a calm breath. That was a lot of water to control.

After a few claps on his shoulders from appreciative detective’s Jorge turned and, to his surprise, found Gemma standing there with lunch.

“Oh, hey hon. Uh…how’s your day going?” he asked with a grin.

Gemma arrived just in time to see a thundercloud turn into a girl. Just another day in the office, apparently. She thought about helping, but by the time she walked over to them, it was all taken care of. Nevertheless, she made sure she stood close enough to keep the girl in solid form. She tapped Jorge's shoulder.

>>“Oh, hey hon. Uh…how’s your day going?”

"Better than yours, apparently" she grinned "None of my kids destoryed anything yet. But it is barely noon yet, so...." she chuckled, holding out the bag "You look like you need some food. And a towel."

"I had a kid like that once" she added while the office was slowly being cleaned up "she would make puddles of water wherever she stepped. Boy was she bad for the carpets... but adorable anyway."

>> "Better than yours, apparently…None of my kids destoryed anything yet. But it is barely noon yet, so....You look like you need some food. And a towel."

Jorge chuckled as she looked up at this angel of woman who not only offered him a warm smile and a bright disposition but also a food! All joking aside though, the police detective really had no idea what he would do without her. She always seemed to show up in the nick of time to help out when needed, even if it was to just be there with a loving smile. He had to admit he was lucky man to have her in his life.

With a grin he stepped up and gently took the prepared food from her hands with a smile. “You, are a life saver.”

A smile on his face he led Gemma away from the precinct before they pulled either of them in for clean up. Now that Cathy was out of her tantrum mode, she should be okay. Gemma’s power-stopping field should not be required. Still though, he make her to have her on call more often.

>> "I had a kid like that once…she would make puddles of water wherever she stepped. Boy was she bad for the carpets... but adorable anyway."

Jorge smirked. “Sounds like that was a lot of fun for you to deal with.” he said as he walked with her. “Kid would’ve prolly been a most helpful in a desert.”

He smirked as he found a bench for her to sit and snagged a towel from one of the clean-up crews that passed by to tackle the unit’s now trashed and drenched room. They were going to have their work cut out for them. With a sigh, Jorge began an attempt to pat himself dry, disliking the squish that came from his boxers every time he took a step. Finally, the man sighed as he set the towel aside, held out his hands and began to pull as much of the moisture from his clothes as he could. His control was not that pinpointed yet, but he was able to get a good majority of it off. Now his clothes were just going to be exceptionally cooler.

He sighed contentedly as he took a seat next to Gemma. Sometimes just sitting next to her was enough to reinvigorate him to challenge the rest of the day. What brings you by, besides this awesome and obviously homemade lunch?” he beamed as he began to open the pack. “Just looking to feed a starving police officer? Or could you not go another second without seeing me?” He joked before he leaned in to kiss her cheek. “To be honest, I’m hoping for the latter.”

>>" What brings you by, besides this awesome and obviously homemade lunch? Just looking to feed a starving police officer? Or could you not go another second without seeing me? To be honest, I’m hoping for the latter.”

Gemma chuckled.

"If it was the first, I would give that food to your poor soaked non-mutant collegues" she pointed out "And as for the second... well. That's for me to know and you to wonder." she smiled for a moment, then sighed, and reminded herself why she was truly here.

"We need to talk. About the girl and her parents. I talked to her again, after the... museum visit."

One could never be too careful. They were at MRC, which was far from being the best place for this... but they were running out of time.

>> "If it was the first, I would give that food to your poor soaked non-mutant collegues…And as for the second... well. That's for me to know and you to wonder."

“Hey, some water splashed on me too, I’ll have you know,” the detective chuckled once he caught that twinkle in his girlfriend’s eyes. He lean to the side of a bit to show a droplet or two of water that had splattered onto his shirt. It was a wonder that the man had survived the incident at all. “Besides, the rest of them ate like, yesterday. They’re completely good for now.”

The detective was really enjoying this. Having time to spend with his girlfriend while in the middle of the work day. It had been so long since he had this type of relationship that he really forgot what it was like. Even when dating back in Miami, nothing like this ever made him feel this good. His life was lonely and the few times he had dated, they had never turned out to be like this. Normally being a cop meant that the gap between himself and whoever his romance was at the time would suffer greatly. Whether it was stress, or his job, or what have you, things never worked out.

But Gemma, she was definitely not part of the norm. After all, it takes a strong woman to stick with a man after a large handed criminal threatens their lives during dinner.

Heh, someone outta marry her, he thought to himself. Then he paused, thought for a moment before suddenly her voice broke his thoughts.

>> "We need to talk. About the girl and her parents. I talked to her again, after the... museum visit."

For a moment Jorge was confused as to what she was talking about. After all, she was being quite vague. But that confusion was only momentary and before long he caught onto what she was saying. She was, of course, talking about that bug attack that happened at the museum and the young girl whom he had helped get out of there. Gemma had admitted that she was worried about her because of something from her past, an experience of torture and brutality that her parents committed on her. Jorge knew she was hellbent to bring those people in but there was little that Jorge could do legally unless the girl was willing to give some kind of information. She needed to come forward and admit what had happened.

“Okay,” he said as he stood up and nodded to the receptionist. “Carol, I’m going for a quick walk to dry off. I’ll be right back.”

“You got it Cervantes,” the receptionist chirped as she turned her attention back to the phones.

Jorge nodded as he turned his attention back to Gemma and waited for her to stand with him. “Come on, you can tell me outside.” he said warmly as he began to lead the way. Instinctively he pulled his notepad and pencil from his jean pocket and flipped to a blank page. It was finally time to get the ball rolling on this. "I'm glad you she finally decided to talk. I've been searching about anti-mutant religious street acts, and I can tell you it's like looking for a fish in a fish tank. They're absolutely everywhere. I just need a few more details."

>>“Hey, some water splashed on me too, I’ll have you know. Besides, the rest of them ate like, yesterday. They’re completely good for now.”

"Oh my poor baby hero" Gemma grinned, handing him the food "There, it would be a shame if you starved to death."

It took him a moment or two to catch the meaning of her words; but finally he caught up to speed, and decided it was better to talk about the matter in private. Gemma smiled as she followed him. The man was a detective for a reason.

>>"I'm glad you she finally decided to talk. I've been searching about anti-mutant religious street acts, and I can tell you it's like looking for a fish in a fish tank. They're absolutely everywhere. I just need a few more details."

"Tell me about it" she sighed "I have talked to kids who have been through a lot, but this girl.... she is the worst I have ever seen. The worst sane one, anyway..." she added, trailing off as she remembered Aura briefly.

"Anyhow. The parents. Zacheria and Maria Nicholas. They are some kind of religious fanatics - the nasty kind, obviously, judging from what they did to their daughter..." she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair "They branded her, Jorge. She'll wear those scars for the rest of her life..." she took a breath "They own a store, it's called "God Watches All". And they have quite a few followers, some of them people with power, as far as Agnes knows."

She watched Jorge take notes, and wondered if it was really possible to bring those people to justice.

The crisp air of New York was refreshing to the water-manipulating cop’s senses as he stepped out with his girlfriend. The hustle and bustle of the city life around them was good, it showed the life force of the city. Even the honking horns of passing cars and the general chatting of people on cell phones as they passed was a welcome sign of life here. Jorge really could not imagine being away from it right now. It was also especially good because it drowned out their conversation from the rest of the officers gathered.

Agnes Nicholas was a special case, one that he was handling at the request of his girlfriend Gemma. This girl was a mutant, a runaway who appeared at the Mansion and found a home and help. Unfortunately she had a tragic backstory that she had managed to keep secret for awhile…at least until Gemma had found out about it. Now he was trying to help the girl out without drawing too much attention to her.

Needless to say, it was difficult. After her run in at the museum against another mutant with bug powers, the girl was filmed live and posted onto that damn ViewTube.com website. Now everyone in the city knew about her. It was apparent that this terrified the girl since she did not want to be in the limelight, but in this day and age where everyone is recording everyone else, there is little surprise that she found herself to be an internet sensation. Luckily, though, there has been no calls about her being harassed out in the city. He hoped that it would blow over pretty quick. Mutant videos being on the internet were a popular craze right now so hopefully her video would get lost in the shuffle.

But it was not just the internet she feared. It was also the fact that those parents she ran from might now realize that she was still in the city and find her.

>> "Tell me about it…I have talked to kids who have been through a lot, but this girl.... she is the worst I have ever seen. The worst sane one, anyway..."

“Thank god for tiny miracles,” he mused. From everything that Gemma had told him about her, he was surprised she managed to keep her sanity together. It was a horrible thing that she lived through. Hopefully she could stay strong.

Moving off to the side, Jorge paused as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Gemma was still very visibly upset about this whole thing. Not that he could blame her. Hearing a story like that could make anyone’s blood go cold.

>> "Anyhow. The parents. Zacheria and Maria Nicholas. They are some kind of religious fanatics - the nasty kind, obviously, judging from what they did to their daughter...They branded her, Jorge. She'll wear those scars for the rest of her life...They own a store, it's called ‘God Watches All’. And they have quite a few followers, some of them people with power, as far as Agnes knows."

Diligently he began to take down notes. It was all good stuff. Now that he had a name he could go on, that should help track down the people that did this to Agnes. He had names, a store they owned, as well as knowledge that they had fellow religious followers. That was going to make things more difficult. It was always difficult when religious gets involved with the law because the lines get so blurred. But religious torture does not fall into one of those protected categories. He was not going to stop until he managed to bring them to justice.

He sighed as he jotted down another note, stuck the pen behind his ear and looked closely a Gemma; this was his serious cop face time.

“Gemma, I’m going to do what I can, but I won’t lie…this is going to be hard.” he said he turned to look at the city. “If there is one controversy that people love is when the law mixes in with religion. And even though I’m going after these bastards for child abuse and torture, religion will inevitably get mixed in. Especially if they have as many powerful followers as Agnes claims.” Jorge sighed as he slipped the notepad into his pocket. “But I’m going to do everything I can. But, you’re also going to need to prepare her. Once this starts getting investigated, she’s going to be thrown into the floodlights, whether she wants to or not.”

>>“Gemma, I’m going to do what I can, but I won’t lie…this is going to be hard. If there is one controversy that people love is when the law mixes in with religion. And even though I’m going after these bastards for child abuse and torture, religion will inevitably get mixed in. Especially if they have as many powerful followers as Agnes claims. But I’m going to do everything I can. But, you’re also going to need to prepare her. Once this starts getting investigated, she’s going to be thrown into the floodlights, whether she wants to or not.”

Gemma sighed and leaned against his shoulder for a brief moment.

"I know. And I honestly have no idea how to do this. It was hard enough for her to see the news, and the videos, and..." she bit her lips "I promised her we'd keep her safe. But I have seen fanatics like that before... not quite so cruel, but... you know, the worst part is, you can never know what to expect from them. They sound like people capable of really hurting their daughter, if it came to that. And I am not a mutant to protect her. If anything, I make things worse..."

Jorge could see the waning hope in her eyes. It was hard for him to say something like that but it was the truth. There was really no telling how this situation will unravel when the case gets brought before the attention of the city. Soon it will be politics versus religious, lines will be drawn, etc., it was not a situation he wanted to see happen. But he could no longer waste time trying to figure out what all the outcomes could be. He had to move against those parents. There was no way he could just let them go one with what they had done to their daughter, to what they were possibly doing to other mutants. If they had followers, there was no way that Agnes was the first.

With her against his shoulder, he sighed as he reached up and gently stroked her shoulder. He hated seeing her like this and there was little he could do. That Agnes girl’s scars must have really been bad. He had tried to imagine what they were when Gemma first told him, but the thought made himself sick. To think that parents could do that to their child was mind boggling.

>> "I know. And I honestly have no idea how to do this. It was hard enough for her to see the news, and the videos, and...I promised her we'd keep her safe. But I have seen fanatics like that before... not quite so cruel, but... you know, the worst part is, you can never know what to expect from them. They sound like people capable of really hurting their daughter, if it came to that. And I am not a mutant to protect her. If anything, I make things worse..."

Jorge tried to smile a bit encouragingly as he looked her in the eyes.

“Listen, I know you’re worried about her. I am too. But she is in one of the safest environments for her. She is surrounded by people whom I believe will look out for her. That staff and those students are surely able to keep her safe.” He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “And don’t be putting yourself down either. You may cause a hiccup in other mutants’ powers, but I don’t doubt for a second that you will do everything within your ability to keep her safe.”

He meant every word of it. Gemma had this great inner strength that he simply admired above everything else about her. She would throw herself into the path of a running bus for these kids, though he hoped it never came to that. It was true, her abilities to stop other mutant powers could put some people at the disadvantage, but that did not mean she would do anything possible to save that girl. Agnes could not be in safer hands.

“Besides, she’s a smart girl. I saw it when I met her.” He nodded. “And I will work fast, get a couple of the guys in this as quickly as possible in order to bring these people down. No one will know where Agnes is unless they personally go through me, okay? She’ll be safe. We’re all going to make sure of that.”

>>“Listen, I know you’re worried about her. I am too. But she is in one of the safest environments for her. She is surrounded by people whom I believe will look out for her. That staff and those students are surely able to keep her safe. And don’t be putting yourself down either. You may cause a hiccup in other mutants’ powers, but I don’t doubt for a second that you will do everything within your ability to keep her safe.”

"Yes, that's about the same I told her" Gemma smiled a bit "And it is all true, but I would be happy if it didn't came down to other kids with mutations portecting her from religious fanatics... or the X-men, they don't need that kind of attention either."

>>“Besides, she’s a smart girl. I saw it when I met her. And I will work fast, get a couple of the guys in this as quickly as possible in order to bring these people down. No one will know where Agnes is unless they personally go through me, okay? She’ll be safe. We’re all going to make sure of that.”

Gemma nodded and smiled at him, kissing him on the cheek. "What would I do without you" she murmured, then pulled back to look at him. "Thank you, Jorge."

After all the things he said, she was starting to feel just a little bit better. There was still a lot do, and a lot to talk about, and it was going to be hard... but at least she and Agnes were not in it on their own.

>> "Yes, that's about the same I told her" Gemma smiled a bit "And it is all true, but I would be happy if it didn't came down to other kids with mutations portecting her from religious fanatics... or the X-men, they don't need that kind of attention either."

He nodded in understanding. He really did get it. It was not like the X-Men were a popular group among the law enforcement crowd and they definitely would not be with a religious group of this magnitude. Getting involved with Agnes safety, they could definitely be putting themselves in danger as well. That was definitely not an outcome that he wanted for them. They were a good group but having them involved could turn into over kill. The same with Agnes’ fellow students keeping her safe. He did not want to see breaking news about an injured student that had been attempting to protect Agnes as well.

As he said before, it was a slippery slope. He was going to do his best to navigate that middle ground as safely as possible. But even as careful as he was, he doubted that he could keep it going for longer. They had to be prepared in any case.

But he still smiled reassuringly as Gemma leaned close and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled as he watched her lean back and watched her eyes closely. There was concern there but at least it was beginning to calm a little. He only hoped he could deliver for them, just as much as she wanted to deliver for Agnes. A lot of promises needed to be kept.

>> "What would I do without you…Thank you, Jorge."

“Eh, you’d probably wither up and melt into goo.” he smirked playfully, but nodded his head in all seriousness. “It’s my job, no thanks are necessary.”

He sighed as he patted the notepad in his pocket. He was going to get going on this the second he got back into the precinct. Maybe if he went through his quieter channels the beginning of this investigation could start on the down low, that way no one with a blabber mouth could get involved and spread the news prematurely. They needed to go about this quietly that way Agnes would not get thrown into the spotlight too early and her parents and their followers would catch wind until it was too late. Careful footing needed to be taken.

“Okay,” he finally said. “Gemma, there any way you can set up a meeting between Agnes and me?” He did not want Agnes to have to think about this so soon, but he needed to speak to her. “I’m going to have to prepare her for what’s coming. She needs to know what to expect and what she’s going to have to do.”