This.... had been a mistake. A huge, horrible, mess of a mistake. ...and she couldn't un-do it.

"Hey, come over here! You gotta see this!"

A crowd had gathered. Curious on lookers and teenagers with cell phones out. Camera's pointed at. her.

"oh man... this is great. This is going online as soon As I get home... Hey! Smile for the camera, will you?"

Ohgodohgodohgod, Oh merciful god, why?! The moss shaded mutant tugged again, earning a giggle from the gathered crown, and a sharp pain in the back of her neck. What had she been thinking? Going to the mall!

"Alright, alright, you people have had your fun, disband or I'll have you all banned from the property!" Oh, sweet Jesus... someone was here to help her. Craning her neck, she glanced over at the new voice through her glasses, ending in an awkward position with her head tilted at an odd angle and her butt pressed squarely up against the railing behind her.

"...And you!"

She squeaked. "M..me?" The man before her, hands on his hips, did not look impressed. "Yes you! I want you to stop...whatever it is you are doing, and leave. Right. Now." Oh boy.... If it were only that easy. Sloth curled tighter to his pole, and dragged Andrea down another inch with him. "...I... I would very much like that Sir, but I seem to be stuck.."

He blinked, clearly confused as to what she was talking about, then finally caught sight of the large white snake peering out at him though her dark hair. "Gah! How did you- where did that-... oh, never mind. It's strictly forbidden to have things like... that on mall property, you know... In fact, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to have those thing in this state, period... Just, get it off of there and leave, please."

"...well, its actually attached to me... sir. I cannot remove it..." That earned her another bewildered blink. She sighed and reached up to toss back her hood. A hushed murmur moved through what little of crowd was left, and the three security guards failed to keep a few more people from snapping photos of the pathetic snake headed mutant girl who was stuck on the pole.

"...Ah... well. He thought for a moment, one hand stroking his stubbly chin. He had nothing against mutants, unless they somehow threw a wrench in the works of his business. Hell, he probably wouldn't have even bothered the girl if it wasn't for the numerous complaints he had received within the last two hours about her presence. "...Can't you just tell it to let go, if it's part f you?" or something...

Andrea whined loudly, like a child, and shook her head. Even if they were to listen to her, Sloth was as hard headed as a snake could get. She had been forced to cut her pillow in two to get it away from him just that morning.

"Ah, sir?" Another man stepped forward, catching the stubbly mans attention. "..Someone called the news, apparently. We're holding them off at the front doors... but we don't have enough people to keep them out forever." From the expression on his face, that did not please him any. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. His patience was wearing thin.

"...Listen, um..."

"Andrea..."

"Andrea.... if you can't get it to let go, then I will have to get it to let go. You should probably know that any destruction of mall property has a hefty fine, so if we have to cut that pole in two you are looking at a lot of money and possibly a criminal charge.." The green woman froze, her jaw dropping open. Cameras, news hyena's around the corner, and now criminal charges!? She resumed tugging at the stubborn snake with a renewed determination.

"...Maybe we could call animal control or something, get a sedative in that thing... " The man was talking to himself now, it seemed, as his back was to her. He strode away, ordering the few security guards preset to keep the crowd moving. With a pained groan, Andrea let her forehead bang soundly against the thick metal pole, and grumbled about how she would make snake hide boots out of Sloth when she got out of this mess. What a disaster. Digging her hands into her pockets, she fumbled for her phone and came across something else. A little white card with a name and phone number on it. With a scowl, she flipped open her phone- ignoring the mass of miss call notices- and dialed the number on the card and brought the phone to her ear.

... he was just going to love hearing from her again...

Jorge sighed as he sat in his car, on his meal break, munching on a pink sprinkled doughnut. He did not know why he like the pink sprinkled ones but for some reason they were just better than most other doughnuts. The cake was softer, the frosting sweeter, the pink sprinkles (while feminine looking), were just plain heaven. Not that he would ever admit that to the guys in the office. That was why Jorge sat in the front seat of his Chevy Impala, munching on the festively colored doughnut instead of in the coffee room in the precinct. Course if anyone tried to make fun of him for it, he break their nose and eat the doughnut over their face anyways.

He was simply trying to keep innocent blood from spilling! He was doing this for all the right reason! Obviously!

The detective took another bite of his doughnut as he reached down the lower his seat back a little bit to enjoy his time off. The precinct had been a madhouse so far and all he wanted was a moment or two to himself so he could simply relax with his thoughts. To catch his breath and unwind just a little bit. There was already a lot on his plate so he saw no fault in taking at second to be alone. After all, people get to do that all the time, so why couldn’t he? He loved his job, there was no question in that. But even for someone who loved his job as much as he did, he still needed a break from the angry shouts and the saddened cries.

Looking up at his visor, he smirked a little. As he looked up at a small portrait, wallet-sized, glossy picture he could help but smile. It was an image of Gemma Taylor, his girlfriend, taped up. In it, it looked about early morning, the woman was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt and she was making a funny face at the camera, just to mess it up. Turned out to be one his favorites so he had it taped up in his car. She was definitely a good reason to keep himself alive throughout his dangerous job.

One more bite of his doughnut, but as he thoughtfully chewed, his serenity was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone blasting AC/DC’s Highway to Hell as a ringtone. With a slightly grumble he swallowed the doughnut he had in his mouth, reached over and checked the number. There was no name attached to it, so he quickly wiped his mouth of crumbs and flipped it open.

“Detective Cervantes, how may I be of assistance,” he asked into the phone. As he waited for an answer, the detective tossed the remainder of his sweet treat onto a napkin sitting on the passenger seat. Well, so much for having a second to myself, he thought with a well meaning chuckle.

“Detective Cervantes, how may I be of assistance,”

She almost... almost hung up on him. her voice caught in her throat, thankfully before she could wheeze into the phone like a stalker and she spared a glance at the people trying to sneak past the guards to get pictures with her. "...Um... Hi, you... you probably don't really remember me but-"

"Hey! look over here! Over here!"

She glanced over, and was effectively blinked by the brightest camera flash she had ever seen. "..ah!...Uh...My name is Andrea, you helped me out a little while ago and I... well I may need your help again." She glanced up as a few more mall cops arrived, and heard the words 'News crew', 'Got past', and 'loose in the mall'- which sent her heart into her throat.

"I'm stuck! At the mall! I didn't have anyone else to call!" Sloth reached out and attached himself to the arm rest of the bench next to his pole, claiming that as well while dragging her closer to the cold metal. She tugged, trying to pry her face away from the more than likely germ ridden surface- but gained no distance.

Another flash blotted her vision her, and a wily teen used the distraction to slip past a guard. Andrea felt an arm snake around her awkwardly tilted shoulders and turned her chin to look at whoever was touching her. "Say CHEESE!"

"...Cheese? Wha- AH!" Both the woman and her head full of snakes were momentarily blinded. She felt her phone slip from her grasp, heard it bounce against the floor, and then a few minutes later heard a little plash from the level below as it landed in the fountain.

...she was doomed.

Jorge could hear breathing. So he knew someone else was on the line but why weren’t they talking? Was someone in trouble? Was this simply a prank? If it was a prank he could have the call traced, storm up to their residence that threaten to arrest them. He did it once before in Miami and is scared the hell out of that fifteen year old. Last he heard the kid had turned his life around and made the honor roll in school. That was the kind of life change he liked to hear about, most definitely.

But as he was getting ready to make his threat, small, meek voice finally spoke up.

>> "...Um... Hi, you... you probably don't really remember me but-…ah!...Uh...My name is Andrea, you helped me out a little while ago and I... well I may need your help again."

“Andrea,” it only took him the smallest of seconds before he remember who she was. “Yes I do remember you. Is everything okay?”

The voice sounded so familiar and the second he heard the name, he made the instantly connection with who it was. The young mutant he saved from a group of thugs that wanted to use her as a shield. He remembered…she was very quiet and very mistrusting. Not that he could blame her after an incident like that. Still though, he managed to get through to her and gain some kind trust. And it was obvious that it was still effective because she was calling him right now.

But there was something definitely wrong. It sounded like there was commotion in the background and Andrea sounded like she was either in pain or caught in some kind of situation that could not be helped.

“Andrea? Andrea’s what’s wrong?”


>> "I'm stuck! At the mall! I didn't have anyone else to call!...Cheese? Wha- AH!"

“Andrea!”

The last thing he heard was the yelling of voices and finally what sounded like the splash and gurgle of water followed by static. What the hell was going on over at the mall?

Immediately fearful that the young mutant was in danger, Jorge snapped his phone closed and tossed it onto the passenger seat next to his doughnut. Reaching down he turned the ignition hard and let his Chevy roar to life. The whole care vibrated violently as it was awoken from a dead silence. But the detective needed to get to Andrea and now. It sounded like she was in some deep trouble. God he hoped that another gang of thugs had not captured her. It was not raining today.

A glance over his shoulder and Jorge pulled out of his parking spot, moved into the street and quickly slammed on the gas and tore through the streets of New York. He could only pray that he got to Andrea in time before something bad happened.

“Come on, Andrea,” he muttered to himself as he wove in and out of traffic. “Hold on. I’m coming.”

Kimberly Tallehassie did not like being kept away from her stories. "You can't keep us out forever! The people have a right to the news!" With her microphone in hand, she straightened her salmon pink blazer and blew her perfectly bleached bangs from her eyes. The security guard before her crossed his arms over his chest and refused to budge. The 30-something woman turned her nose up haughtily and stormed off with her one man camera crew stumbling behind. "Come on, lets head around to the other elevator..."

Kimberly was a calculated woman, one who had the displeasure to work on a show that wasn't well known yet- but that would change. Until it did however, she was forced to accept whatever stories came her way, whether she liked it or not. "This... thing... better be worth it." She grumbled, her pink heels clicking on the tile below as she shuffled along towards the elevator.

On the next floor up, Keith Hubbard was trudging in the same direction, more of less. As head of security in the three level mall, he was the man in charge. The fact that his men hadn't been able to absolve the situation which seemed to be drawing all of the attention on the second floor. With his lips set in a thin, firm line, Keith marched along. The forty-five year old man, who was a beast in comparison to the younger males running around attempting to keep things in order, caught sight of the small crowd huddled around his little squad of security drones. The sight that met his eyes as the tall blond came onto the scene was not... what he had expected.

He had figured the call for back up would have been for some young upstart with a bad attitude, or maybe a medical emergency... not a skinny little green woman swathed in red and green. And snakes. His upper lip curled in discomfort. A mutant, of course. Mutants always seemed to be causing trouble. The man stepped forward and bent down next to the girl- who was muttering something under her breath and tugging at the body of a large white snake. A snake that appeared to be attached to the back of her head. He reached out, with his hand as well as what was left of his patience, to grab her by the shoulder. "Hey, I was sent my the-"

He didn't expect the rest of her dark hair to squirm to life as a dozen or more tiny snakes peered out at him, or the larger six that reared back and hissed at him. It took all of his self control not to leap back and draw his gun. It did tick him off though. A vein under the skin of his forehead popped up quite suddenly, and his jaw clenched. "Everybody get back, this one's dangerous..." That sentence snapped Andrea out of her distracted state, and she turned to spot the large man reaching for the radio at his hip. "I'm going to call in law enforcement. They'll have equipment to handle her with."

Equipment....? Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to protest. The hurried clicking of heels on hard flooring interrupted her however, and Kimberly the reporter burst onto the scene in all her pink, tanned glory. She managed to squeeze past a confused Keith, and get a microphone into Andrea's fast before anyone could react. Andrea saw the camera angled her way, and paled considerably. "Miss, what can you tell us about the situation you have found yourself in? Have you received any mistreatment from the staff, or mall goers for being a mutant?" Andrea blinked into the light of the camera like a deer watching a car speeding her way.

... she was double doomed.

The trip to the mall sped by faster than the police officer could anticipate. He was zooming through the streets, honking at cars that were going to slow or attempted to cut him off. Had he not been in such a rush he would have pulled over each and every single one of them! But Andrea was heavy on his mind. She sounded like she was trying to hold some type of composure in her voice, but it quickly evaporated when something else happened. Jorge could hear the commotion but he had no idea what it could have been. Was she hurt? Did someone else attempt to take her hostage? She just couldn’t stay out of trouble, could she?

The detective let the questions bury in the back of his mind as he focused on his driving. Speeding through the streets, he looked up when the mall finally came into view. That glistening monument to consumerism, that hotbed where money is exchanged for both necessary and frivolous things. It was safe to say that Jorge did not always appreciate the mall. The last time he was in one was only because he needed to dress up as Santa.

Hopefully he’d never get wrangled into that again.

As he sped into a parking spot, Jorge jumped out of his Chevy, slammed the door closed and jogged into the hustle and bustle. People were crammed left and right. They were a riot of laughs, giggles, angry shouts and bored yawns. Everyone was there for different reasons, some to shop, some to hang out, some simply to kill time by themselves. It was a bit of a culture shock walking inside because there were so many different types of people all crammed in under one building that Jorge was surprised that more fights never broke out. But then again, the call of the almighty dollar tended to make people forget their personal issues. Buy, buy, buy!!

With a sigh, Jorge looked left and right, really unsure of which way to turn. There’s was people everywhere but nothing that really looked like there was a problem. No hostages, shouts for demands, or threatens of gunfire…so where the hell was Andrea? Looking up at the higher levels, Jorge still could not see anything. This was going to get him nowhere. It was only after he got a few steps in that he heard a pair of youngster grumbling as they passed by him.

“Man, I dunno what the big deal was! She was only a mutant.”

“Yeah. Security didn’t have to yell at us. Only wanted one picture of the freak.”

“Dude! I can’t believe how close you got to those snakes.”

Snakes?

Jorge immediately spun and caught one of the boys on the arm. The kid attempted to break free and flail but Jorge quickly quelled that when he flashed him his badge. The boy immediately froze up and looked away ashamed. Obviously he must have done something else wrong today to warrant that look, but the detective did not have time to question this right now. Instead he only shook his head before he spoke to the boy.

“I don’t care about what you’ve done today. I really don’t,” Jorge assured him. “But you need to tell me where the mutant with the snakes is at.”

The boy gulped as he looked at his friend before he finally turned back to face Jorge’s hard eyes. He nodded as he pointed up to the second floor.

Jorge nodded and stood up once more. “Thanks kid.”

That was all he said as he jogged away from the slowly calming down child. Rushing over to the escalator, Jorge stepped on and waited as it slowly crawled its way up. He could have rushed and knocked people aside but he did not need to be causing a panic right now. He needed to assess the situation and get to the bottom of what was happening. So far every seemed okay, but…what was going on with Andrea? The boy’s saw her, but they said something about “security” and her “snakes” and… “pictures”? What was that girl doing?

It was only when Jorge stepped onto the second floor that he began to hear the commotion. Turning away, he spied a rather large group of people, all of which seemed to be blocked off from something. This immediately peeked his curiosity as he headed in that direction. His heavy footfalls echoed around him as he stepped, sounding like thunder crashes in his ears. People were gawking at something and he could only assume that it was Andrea.

Making his way to the crowd, Jorge held up his badge as he shouted to the top of his lung. “Back away, NYPD! Back away right now, goddammit!”

People either jumped out of his way or stood resolutely. To those all he gave was a harsh enough glare to make them step aside an inch. It was enough for him to squeeze by and nudge them hard in the process. God, everyone was gathered. Old, young, fat, skinny, every ethnicity, whatever it was that was drawing them here must have been quite the sight!

And it was.

Peering past a security guard that was attempting to keep the crowd back, Jorge saw Andrea, struggling with a rather large snake that stuck out from the her mass of black hair and snakes. The snake, Sloth if he remembered, was wrapped tightly around the railing of a bench and refusing to let go of it. This…was definitely not funny. But at least it wasn’t as serious as what he had originally thought it was. With a shake of his head towards the crowd’s behavior, Jorge stepped forward…only to be stopped by a young guard.

“Sir, please back away right now before I detain you.”

Jorge rolled his eyes as he produced his badge from his pocket and nearly shoved it in the kid’s face. The boy immediately relented and let Jorge pass. As he did, he walked without speaking to anyone, and definitely not speaking to the press. Wordlessly, and to their great annoyance, Jorge stepped between Andrea and the news lady and smiled encouragingly at Andrea.

“Andrea,” he smiled warmly, most like a fatherly figure. “I do believe you have something caught in your hair,” he nodded sagely then attempted to comfortingly pat her covered arm.

She wasn't sure how to respond, or if she really even wanted to.. but there was a mic hovering before her eyes and a lady was staring her down with a... sickly sweet smile on her face. "...I...what?" Mistreatment?.... The Greek eyed the woman for a moment, dancing nervously on her toes, before glanced over the woman's shoulder, past the blinding camera- to the none to happy security man behind her.

"Ma'am. I will ask you.. once... to leave." Kimberly stood, turning her back on Andrea, and pointed the deadly mic at Keith instead. She honestly didn't care who she got a story from, so long as it was interesting enough for her to used in the paper. "Sir, you seem to be in charge here. What can you tell us about the situation? Is the public safe with such a dangerous mutant allowed to roam arou- Hey!"

Keith was having none of it. He placed one palm on the camera lens and plucked the whole thing from the arms of the camera man. "Lady, I won't be answering your questions, and you won't be broadcasting this anywhere." He was thankful that the camera she was using was an older model. Not one of those ones that sent the footage straight back to home base. The small woman trembled with rage for a moment, before she tucked her microphone away under her arm and propped her hands on her narrow hips. "You can't stop the news!" Turning from the man, she stomped back towards the green girl- only to get cut off by an older man.

“Andrea,” “I do believe you have something caught in your hair,”

Oh... Andrea could have weeped at the sound of his voice. Instead, all she managed was a surprised little gasp and backed herself into the corner again so she could see him fully. "Jorge! I am so very happy to see you..." She tugged, as if to demonstrate a point, at Sloth. Who was ignoring her while he smelled the surrounding air with a lengthy pink tongue. By now, the other snakes had grown tired and snappy from waiting. Avarice hissed and snapped at the air past her shoulder- the one that was pressed snugly up to the metal pole. A few people past the guards gasped and muttered, and Andrea shot Jorge a desperate frown. "... He won't let go... help me...!"

It was so absolutely pathetic, that Kimberly's nose wrinkled in distaste and she turned on the officer- she had seen him flash his badge. "Officer? Are you here to apprehend this dangerous muta-" Keith reached out to grab her arm, interrupting her. "I believe I asked you to leave, Ma'am... and you," he glanced at Jorge, looking him up at down critically, "you should leave as well. No one is allowed behind the line, and we have a unit on the way to deal with the trouble maker." He had dealt with people like them before, the curious and the annoying do-gooders. It usually just took a little show of force to get them to back off, and then he'd have the situation under control again...

The look on Andrea’s face almost made Jorge feel like he was some sort of superhero that had arrived at the nick of time. The poor thing looked so desperate and aggravated to have gotten herself in this situation. He did not blame her. What a horrible thing to have happen, especially when you really don’t want it to. Especially when you can’t stop it from happening to begin with. He sighed and shook his head, but his smile was sympathetic towards the young mutant who had attempted to once again tug at the largest snake that clung onto the pole.

>> "Jorge! I am so very happy to see you…He won't let go... help me...!"

He smiled and nodded his head. He really had no idea what he was going to do, but he knew he was not going to leave Andrea’s side until he figured it out.

“Don’t worry kiddo,” he said with a nod. “First thing is first, you –“

He was immediately interrupted by a woman, a newswoman, who had attempted to interview him on the spot. Already he was disliking her.

>> "Officer? Are you here to apprehend this dangerous muta-"

>> "I believe I asked you to leave, Ma'am... and you…you should leave as well. No one is allowed behind the line, and we have a unit on the way to deal with the trouble maker."

Jorge watched the exchange and felt like he was babysitting. Really? The pair of them? He could only shake his head inwardly as he ran over the situation in his mind. It was obvious that the reporter was only there to get a news story and she was going to twist it in any way possible. The security guard was different though. He talked like he was a police officer, yet he was a mall patroller/ Something was off about that. It was not only he looked at the man closely that he realized where he knew him from. It was a recent controversy where the man had been kicked out of the precinct for using excessive force with his detainees. The man was a loose cannon.

No wonder they hired him for the mall.

A shake of his head and Jorge stood, finally directing is attention to the pair of them. They both turned to face the serious looking detective as he looked them over.

“Listen up, the both of you, I don’t have time for this.” he whispered. “I have a young lady here who has done no harm other than get herself in a rather sticky situation and neither of you are helping the matter any. You,” he said addressing the news lady, “Can have all the freedom of the press and free speech you want…from the OTHER side of scene.” he pointed over to the crowd that was gathered around. “I’m giving you 5 seconds to take your botox injected self over there or I will have you arrested for obstruction of justice. And…I’m confiscating your camera,” he snapped his fingers to Keith to have him hand over the material.

He stared directly into that woman’s defiant eyes, showing her that he was definitely not kidding. Jorge could be fun loving, but cross the wrong side of the law which him and there would definitely be trouble. Eyebrow arched in a no nonsense way, he waited until she left before he turned his attentions to Keith again.

“And as for you, I’m not going anywhere. This is a mutant in danger, being publically humiliated and you, sir, are doing very little to quell the situation. This is a MRC matter now and you do get your people together and COMPETENTLY work out your crowd control issue right now, I report you to your superiors. And trust me,” Jorge said as he stepped closer, “I doubt you have many other options right now.”

Another stern eyeful and Jorge turned his back on him, heading back for Andrea. The girl had been patient enough. Slipping his coat off, he offered it to Andrea to help cover herself from view. It was déjà vu all over again. He remembered doing this same thing when he first met her so many months ago.

A warm smile and he kneeled as he looked over Sloth who was entertained with the pole he was wrapped around. He sighed as he thought for a second then turned to Andrea.

“Now, as I was saying, the first thing you need to do is calm down, okay?” Jorge said with a nod. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m going to get you out of this but you need to relax.” He nodded. “Now, you know the big guy better than I do. Any ideas, however vague, on what he wants?”

It was a long shot, but it was there only option. Andrea had to know. Somewhere deep down, she had to.

"You, Can have all the freedom of the press and free speech you want…from the OTHER side of scene.”“I’m giving you 5 seconds to take your botox injected self over there or I will have you arrested for obstruction of justice. And…I’m confiscating your camera,”

Kimberly's mouth opened and shut a few times, very much like a fish gasping for water. But, in the face of a badge wielding police officer, not the fumbling security personnel, she had little choice. Her camera man snorted in laughter, one hand over his mouth while he waved the other apologetically at the tan woman. Who's venomous glare was turned on him in a second flat. "Come on perry, we don't have to take this crap. we'll go find a story that's actually worth something." Turning on her heel (but not before snubbing her nose up at Jorge) she marched off past Keith, shouting something that held a hefty number of swear words as she went.

“And as for you, I’m not going anywhere. This is a mutant in danger, being publically humiliated and you, sir, are doing very little to quell the situation. This is a MRC matter now and you do get your people together and COMPETENTLY work out your crowd control issue right now, I report you to your superiors. And trust me, I doubt you have many other options right now.”

Keith's jaw muscles bulged as he ground his teeth together. He wanted desperately to reach out and clock the guy, or maybe toss him over the second story railing. But.... dammit, he had a point. Having been stripped of his job, and his power, years ago. He was a glorified mall cop now, and MRC held a good deal of authority over him. He stared the man down, keeping his lips sealed in a thin, angry line, then turned without a word and snapped at his fellows to gets their acts in line before he gave then all morning shifts. Andrea watched on in mild horror ad tempers flared all around. She couldn't help but feel like it was her fault... mainly because it was, so when Jorge turned his attention back to her she smiled nervously at him.

“Now, as I was saying, the first thing you need to do is calm down, okay? I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m going to get you out of this but you need to relax. Now, you know the big guy better than I do. Any ideas, however vague, on what he wants?”

Okay... calm down. She could do that. A few deep breaths, ignore the giggling and whispering of curious passers-by... Easy. Sort of. With a shuddering little breath she forced herself to relax and stop tugging at the stubborn snake. If he wanted the damn pole, then he could have the damn thing. She felt better with a familiar person around, especially someone who knew more than she did about how the city worked. And hopefully snakes. When it came to 'knowing the big guy' she was clueless. Well, maybe not entirely... She knew he liked to eat pigeons and that random immovable objects attracted him like nothing else.

...and some hobos.

"I think he wants the last shreds of my self respect." And maybe a treat. She found herself vaguely wondering if Jorge had any birds on him... Sloth however, had other things on his mind. He hadn't been even remotely interested in any of the people that had shown up and gone away. Not the odd smelling plastic lady, or the muscly angry male... but this new one. He smelled familiar. While Andrea was talking he started to unhook himself from first the bench, then the pole. Andrea didn't notice at first, until the large snake crawled across the gap between her and the cop and made his intentions known. He latched onto Jorge's arm, as gently as a snake could, and a moment later Andrea felt what was left of the snakes body let go of the pole.

unfortunately, now she was stuck to Jorge's arm. "....ah... I think I know what he wants now."

With the rest of the ramble beginning to break up, and thankfully with the reporter gone, Jorge felt more at ease in helping the young mutant. He remembered how she reacted back when they had been in the hostage situation and how much she did not want the newshounds around. He definitely understood so he was going to assume that she still wanted no one record or see her. For a moment he wondered about this, but then he realized it might just have been because of her mutation. After all she had green skin and snakes for hair. That would be a bit difficult to hide from the rest of the world as it was.

He shook his head at the thought, but was thankful that the woman was gone. That would definitely help matters a bit.

But as he knelt he began to see that the largest snake was beginning to unwind itself. That was at least some progress. A glance to Andrea showed that she was busy trying to calm down, but at the same time she was not noticing that the snake had turned his attention elsewhere. Unfortunately for Jorge…he was the new target.

Having placed his hand on the bench for support, he was trying to calm Andrea when he noticed the much larger snake turning its attention on him. Very gently, more gently than he realized a snake could be, he felt it begin to wrap its way around his arm. It seemed to be combination of affection and curiosity. Great…how was he going to get out of this one?

It took Andrea a moment to finally realize that the snake had let itself loose and acquired something new. Jorge, the hard-nosed detective breathed slowly to keep himself calm as he felt the curious snake wind around his arm and flick its pink tongue repeatedly in his direction.

>> "I think he wants the last shreds of my self-respect…ah... I think I know what he wants now."

“Care to clue me in?” he smirked as he turned to look at Andrea. At least she had the option to get up and move. Gently he ushered her to stand up, trying to ignore the heaviness on his arm from the snake. “Can you stand? I’ll walk you out of here and if he wants to latch onto me, that’s…fine…for now. So long as he does not get any tighter than he is.” He smiled encouragingly at Andrea before he nodded to her. “Just can’t stay out of trouble, can you? Or were you just that desperate to see me again?”

Sighing, the Greek stoop and stretched her back as best she could. The base of her spine hurt and she was pretty sure she had a crick in her neck from suffering through an awkward pose for a few hours... but at least it was over... almost.

"...I have an idea." She started, sticking close to Jorge to limit any pull on her neck. Sloth stared at the man, it's tongue flicking out every now and then as it judged the cop. Andrea's other snakes relaxed a little... though, Vana remained agitated, and his little beady eyes remained locked on Jorge. Andrea didn't care to notice. "I think he is in a phase... he has been locking onto anything within reach for a few days..."

Not to mention the weird attitudes she had been getting from the other reptiles attached to her. Avarice had been snatching things out of her hands of the late... food, pens, even her glasses and a hair brush. She had gotten bitten more in the last week than she had since the darn things had appeared. Lust squirmed next to her ear, tongue flicking out to tickle her neck and shot Jorge the equivalent of snake-y puppy eyes. "...I should have known better to come here, but I fear I have nearly out grown most of my clothes."

Another rather annoying development- or many, in this case. She had never needed a bra before... and borrowing one of Allie's had proved to be uncomfortable. A light flush of brown color swept over her cheeks and she cleared her throat. He offered a change of subject with a joke, which she gladly latched onto. The small crowd around them was disbanding, so she felt comfortable enough to slip away along side Jorge. "Very desperate, as it was... but very happy to see a friendly face. I do hope I did not draw you away from anything too important? I would feel just horrible to have disrupted your day for something so silly..."

Andrea smiled at him, a small timid thing, and eyed the camera in his hand for a moment from behind her dark glasses. With one hand she reached back and pulled her hood securely up into place, tucking the other snakes out of view of the people they passed by. With the other, she attempted to look someone normal by laying her gloved hand on the bulk of Sloths body on his arm... like she was casually strolling by with a friend, rather then forcefully secured to his arm, and he to her. She glanced over the railing of the second floor briefly, and frowned.

"...Um... Jorge? If it is not to much to ask... before we leave I need to retrieve my phone from the...uh... fountain down there." She pointed, and grinned sheepishly.

>> "...I have an idea… I think he is in a phase... he has been locking onto anything within reach for a few days..."

Jorge nodded as he walked with Andrea. The crowd was finally beginning to part now that their entertainment had managed to get herself unhooked from the bench. It is sad the ways in which people find their pastimes. To make fun of a young mutant as she struggles with her abilities was not a laughing manner. While anyone can laugh off an embarrassing slip up or tripping in public, it’s much hard when it is something completely beyond your control. He knew that feeling all too well.

The snake still wrapped around his arm, he decided he would wait until hopefully it got bored enough to let go. God, don’t let it squeeze he thought to himself as he walked along with the young mutant. The last thing he needed was to have to amputate his arm to free himself.

>> "...I should have known better to come here, but I fear I have nearly out grown most of my clothes."

Jorge smirked sadly but nodded in understanding. Desperate measures call for desperate actions, he assmed.

“Don’t worry,” he nodded. “I understand that the need for that. When I first discovered my abilities I had to keep replacing my cassette player because it kept getting drenched.” He winked as he patted her arm reassuringly. “But, it’s a good sign that you forced yourself to get out and shop. Sometimes, people let their fears overtake them and…doesn’t always turn out well.”

He had to admit that he had a lot of respect for Andrea. Considering how her mutation affected her physical appearance, she did show a lot of resolve to force herself out into a public place. Being a cop, Jorge had seen too many times how people let fears of their appearance force them to stay inside, forgoing all people, grow bitter, even pass away without a soul knowing. It was not right, but some people just did not know how to handle. Andrea, though embarrassed, at least made some positive steps.

Shooting a look at a pair of teens that had pulled out their cameras to record, Jorge actually growled loud enough to startle them. Immediately they ran off, their phones being shoved back into their pockets. That would hopefully show them.

His attention back to Andrea, he headed for an empty escalator when she drew his attention away, commenting on his joke about wanting to see him.

>> "Very desperate, as it was... but very happy to see a friendly face. I do hope I did not draw you away from anything too important? I would feel just horrible to have disrupted your day for something so silly...Um... Jorge? If it is not to much to ask... before we leave I need to retrieve my phone from the...uh... fountain down there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get the phone for you.” he said as he ushered her to the rolling stairway that headed down. “And you didn’t draw me away from anything important.” As he said this, he glanced down to notice that there was still a pink crumb or two from his doughnut. Subtly he wiped those off. “Besides I gave you my number so you could use it, okay?”

He was glad that the girl had decided to trust him enough to give him a call when she was in danger. While this may not have been the worst case scenario, she was still in need and he was still able to provide assistance. That definitely made him feel good. With a nod, he motioned towards the water fountain with the most friendly and fatherly of smiles…

“Come on, let’s get your phone.”

“Don’t worry, I understand that the need for that. When I first discovered my abilities I had to keep replacing my cassette player because it kept getting drenched. But, it’s a good sign that you forced yourself to get out and shop. Sometimes, people let their fears overtake them and…doesn’t always turn out well.”

She nodded back, a little stiffly. "I would not say forced... So much as had no choice. It was either go shopping, or go clothes-less." If she were to agree to having forced herself out and into the open, she would feel like she was taking credit where is wasn't deserved. She wasn't being brave... she was being poor and needy... Managing a small smile, she scratched at the back of her head sheepishly. " I probably could have been more prepared.."

“Don’t worry, I’ll get the phone for you. And you didn’t draw me away from anything important. Besides I gave you my number so you could use it, okay?"

She nodded again. He was right... Her smile widened and she felt a little less silly.
Well, still pretty silly, considering she was attached to his arm via a large neck snake. "...Thank you. " It was nice, having someone there to make her feel more like herself and less like an old movie monster. It had been a little while since she had been out and about, not since she had met Mat... and then ventured into the sewers that one time. Andrea shuddered at the memory. The incident was partly why she had been restricting her outside access.

...People had died... and she didn't know how to feel about it yet...

“Come on, let’s get your phone.”

Blinking, her eyes snapped over to him and she drew herself from her thoughts. That was right! Her phone... They had dropped a floor while she wasn't paying attention, and the fountain was within sight. From above it had looked rather small... from the same level the thing looked gigantic. She paused before it, one hand softly tugging at Sloth. He tightened on Jorge's arm in response, pink tongue flicking out in his direction, and Andrea backed off. She turned her attention to the water instead. Her glasses made it far to dark to see under the bubbling surface of the fountain.

Glancing at Jorge to make sure she wouldn't accidentally blind him if she removed them, she lifted the glasses up a little and stared at the water to try and spy the dark shape of her phone. "... I don't see it..." The tiniest of pouts tugged at her lips and she huffed gently. The Greek attempted to shuffle forward slightly, but caught herself on her own feet and pitched forward violently into the water. Sloth felt the sudden yank and attempted to clamp down on Jorge's arm a little too late. The large snake slipped off to join it's mistress in the water, just as Andrea was popping back up from her sudden bath. Her glasses floated off on a wave to her left, and she blinked water logged eyes at a well meaning pedestrian as he came over to help. Pale blue eyes met Striking orange and the guy froze with a startled expression on his face.

Andrea blinked again, and fumbled for her hood in a panic. "Ah, .. sorry!"

Andrea did not seem to want to recognize her own strength for actually making it out the door despite everything. Jorge was not going to argue with her, mainly because he knew it was pointless. When people did not want to recognize something about themselves, they could not be made to see it. He knew that through and through so it was of little surprise. But, as he walked with her, he knew that eventually she would see it. At least he hoped that she would.

As they made their way to the bottom of the escalator and moved over to the fountain, Jorge watched as Andrea attempted to spot the phone she had dropped earlier. He had been curious about the sun glasses but he did not question it. She may have just wanted to hide herself as much as possible.

A glance into the pool of water, the tightening of the large snake on his arm and Jorge kept his eyes peeled but could see nothing of the lost electronic device.

>> "... I don't see it..."

“It’s got to be in here somewhere,” he mumbled as he raised his hand. Gently he began to subtle still some of the churning water in order so that they could get a clearer look at the bottom. But, even though he made the surface almost as quiet as glass…it would not stay that way for long.

Before he knew it, as Andrea was attempting to crane herself forward for a better look (which is always a bad idea), she had suddenly lost her balanced and tripped. Jorge was quick as he spun to catch her but he spun too late. Before he knew it, the large snake that had been wrapped around his arm was loosened and flew off, following Andrea into the cold fountain of water that splashed around her fallen form. Her glasses effectively knocked off, Jorge was about to reach in and help her when a good Samaritan attempted to pull her out. Suddenly though, that man fainted as well.

>> “Ah, .. sorry!"

“Sir? Sir?” Jorge said as he dashed over to fallen person. They were lucky they had not smacked their head onto the edge of the fountain. As a passing guard came up to them, Jorge nodded to him. “Call the ambulance for this gentleman. I think he slipped into a coma.” Jorge then glanced over to Andrea to make sure she was okay. “Andrea, are you okay?”

Ah...crap! Crapcrapcrap! Turning as Jorge ran to help the other man, she flopped back into the water and scrambled for her glasses. A few other unfortunate people stopped to stare at the odd sight, catching her eyes and effectively going as ridged as statues. She watched as one woman toppled over into her husband, who then leaned into a man who's arms were full of shopping bags- who fell over on top of two men who had been walking side by side....like living dominoes. Her gloved fingers curled around her glasses and with a mutter of something awful in Greek, she slammed the shades back onto her nose and dragged herself out of the fountain. Jorge's question reached her just as she got a leg out of the water.

"I'm fine... we...eh... we should leave. I'll just buy another phone!"

Once she was back on her feet she took a moment to survey the damage. Slushy sneakers, wet jeans, and her coat was clinging to her like it was made of cellophane. Crap. Glancing about nervously, she tried not to slip on the puddle forming under her while simultaneously wringing herself out, and shot a glance Jorge's' way. Her serpents were trying to tug her in multiple directions in an attempt to flee from her sopping wet hair, and she was pretty sure she had swallowed a mouthful of fountain water. She couldn't blame them, fleeing from her soaked self seemed like a great idea at the moment.

Her friend was concerned with the man who had fallen, and probably would be concerned with the others too. She winced, and picked at her drenched coat. "...They will be okay Jorge, trust me."

She managed a nervous, shamed grin and shifted as someone came by to set a Wet Floor sign next to her feet. Sloth curled up mournfully around her neck, having lost the object of his interest. He eyed Jorge, tongue flicking in and out, from the darkness of Andrea's wet hair.