Natalie was still focussed on the cat-girl, when someone else came through the door. She didn't bother looking up, it was probably another mutant, and if the latest entrants to the cell were any judge, would probably know most of the others here. But the woman seemed a lot more sure of herself, and a quick glance confirmed she was a nurse. A not-too-pleased-looking nurse, at that. Then Natalie got what she least expected; pain. She jerked back as electricity coursed from the bracelet, but it was only a quick shock. What the hell? I don't have any powers left to use, how come it shocked me? But her moving back had caused the 'bandage' to fall from the cat-girl's side, and revealed that the previously hideous/life-threatening wound had been reduced to a nasty looking but far less life-threatening looking cut. What just happened? Did the cat-girl have some sort of healing power? But she didn't have time to dwell on it, as the nurse seemed to be taking control of all first-aiding. Which was probably a good idea.

Ted looked up at the small squeal that emated from Natalie. He was quickly at her side, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so, the bracelet just shocked me. But she's looking a lot better." Natalie motioned past the round nurse; which was quite difficult considering her roundness; to the cat-girl. "Does she have some sort of healing mutation?"

"Not that I know of, but she could do." Ted shrugged, he really didn't know Nika that well. He turned toward the group hug, "Do any of you guys know if Nika has some sort of healing power? Cause she's looking a lot better."

Neena looked up sharply as the girl squealed and backed away. Ted moved to her side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so, the bracelet just shocked me. But she's looking a lot better. Does she have some sort of healing mutation?"

"Not that I know of, but she could. Do any of you guys know if Nika has some sort of healing power? Cause she's looking a lot better."

Neena tensed slightly, a number of thoughts running through her head. If the bracelet had shocked the girl, then she was the one with the healing powers, not Nika. And from the looks of it, rather potent powers as well, if she managed to do that much healing before the bracelet zapped her. But if the Registration people found out the girl could heal, they may try to do something drastic to keep her in check, and possibly separate her from the others. On the flip-side, the same might happen to Nika if they thought it was her.

"She doesn't," Neena said simply and smiled, then gave the girl a pointed look. She hoped Ted would get it if the girl didn't. "You probably just got a static shock from her fur. Now then, back to helping, what can I do."

She hoped, hoped, hoped that Gwendolyn would accept that explanation without question.

Tec aught Neena's look. Natalie didn't. She frowned in confusion, but Ted gave her another pointed look that clearly said be quiet. He'd have to tell her later, when the angry nurse had left. So natalie also has healing powers? Cool. Neither Ted nor Natalie could see any way to help, so they both backed away, and sat down. Then some guy who called himself Shrapnel spoke, and Ted looked up at him. "Yeah, a bunch of us all came from the same place. I'm Ted, this is Natalie." Natalie gave the guy a half-hearted wave, whilst Ted pointed at each of the mutants he knew in turn, "That's Michael, that's Naomi, that's Raina, that's Neena, and she's Nika."

"Yeah, a bunch of us all came from the same place. I'm Ted, this is Natalie. That's Michael, that's Naomi, that's Raina, that's Neena, and she's Nika."

“Heartwarming,” Gwendolyn said, glancing up at them. She hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud—but since it was out there, she wasn’t about to take it back. She rolled with her own punches. “Ted, Natalie, Michael, Naomi, Raina and the rest of you—are any of you hurt?” She turned to Neena. “If you want to help, get Shrapnel there lying back down.” She glanced to the Asian boy. “Blunt force trauma to your gut, right? I don’t like people who start spitting blood after a hit like that to be walking around. There’s a chance you’ve got some internal bleeding. Not much I can do about it until we get to the medical facilities at the camp, but if you want to kill yourself quicker, by all means, keep standing up. But remember: it’s just as easy to be a smartass on the floor.” She finished bandaging up Nika’s side; the wound looked unnaturally better, but it was still a nasty cut. She glanced to Neena again as she moved to crouch down next to Nika’s dislocated shoulder. “Actually, better idea: we’re going to relocate this while she’s out. Come over here,” she motioned next to her, “and hold her steady. I’ll pop it back in.”

As for the scared girl who’d been shocked by her collar: it didn’t take a genius to peg that one as a healer, even before Neena and Ted had started exchanging loaded looks. Static shock from the cat’s fur, her round ass. Just because Gwendolyn was busy didn’t mean she was unobservant. She’d have to check out what other powers the girl had—if they weren’t dangerous, Natalie there might find herself getting dragged off to help in the camp’s infirmary on occasion. It would certainly be one of the better jobs around, for the mutants.

Healing powers were a whispered-of lore in med schools; despite herself, Gwendolyn was interested to see them in action again.

Michael didn’t want this smart mouthed guy costing them medical help. They were in bad enough shape as it was, and he wasn’t helping. Getting to his feet he put himself between the guy and the nurse.

“Knock it off,” he said firmly, “She’s trying to help us. If you don’t want her help that’s fine, go and sulk in your corner, but don’t cost others their chance at getting medical help that they need.” He would not let this guy make an already terrible situation worse.

From the looks of it, the nurse didn't seem to buy Neena's story, but she didn't do anything about it, so Ted decided to leave it at that. He let Michael have a go at the smart-ass-who-should-be-on-the-floor-but-is-too-stubborn, mentally cheering him on. He looked uneasy at Nika's shoulder, as he knew what relocating someone's shoulder involved. Hell, a couple of times he had relocated someone's shoulder after a rough tackle in rugby practise. It wasn't pleasent. Or without pain. So it was probably a good idea to do it now, whilst Nika was blissfully unconscious. That didn't make it any less painful to watch. So he didn't. Instead he glared at the loud-mouth Shrapnel, willing him to shut up and sit down.

ooc: Rupert did a bit of a song post, i'm latching on to that too. There will be a link at the end to go watch the video, tis my favourite musician! Who i just met

Raina sat in the corner the entire time completley unaware of what was going on. She was like a different person. It was odd to see the transformation the camps already had on her- or was that Rupert.

She was singing a song in her head, to ease the pain and forget. She wished she had her guitar... even if she couldnt speak it would be a comfort to strum away. Her fingers hurt too much anyway.

There ain't nothing to this but your daughter, and the life you would not give, forsake your plans, trapsed across the continent a squatter, for you lies at night to sleep between my hands.

She looked up finally with a tear stained face to see a nurse come in and start to tend to the others. Thank God. She pulled her knees closer to her chest and tried to ignore the pounding in it.

when the lights go on this whole place gets ugly, but when they're out strangers fall in love. She could never say that flat out she don't want me. But I could never say that halfway ain't enough

She was flashing back to when she first came to the mansion, how she felt after the battle with Iris... and her mind was seeping back to Rupert. "no no no." she thought "focus on the others"

New order's on the turn table we're dancin, cuz what else do you do when you don't talk? crucified to crawl into your mansion, yeah that's why I learned to crawl before I walk...

She brought her hands to her face and felt where her hair would have been. It was gone. It was gone like her voice... like everything else... like Rupert. "No." What was she expecting afterall? Rupert was a mutant hating cop... it wasn't like she didn't know this...
She should have never tried to keep something like this from him.

We're back, where we belong. Strait back, where we belong. No days for nights, no cocain cons... Just back, where we belong

Really. What more could she have asked for? She put the entire group at risk by her connection to Rupert. She made Shield pretend like he didn't know anything. How did she know it wasnt because of Rupert that they were found? Maybe he knew all along she was a mutant... maybe he used her to get to them... maybe... she shuddered remembering the night in his apartment. Maybe all that was to get to the mansion

Take me out back to your piranahs, and beat me until i can't even stand. If you're whole life's a plane without no landing gear... well if this is it then come on let me land...

It didn't matter. She was an idiot for falling... for falling so fast. Raina wanted so badley to feel like everyone else, normal. To do the normal things people her age did. It wasnt like her mutation was strong enough for others to see... only if she used it. If not for Rupert... could she have passed as a human?

That trailer trash pedigree is calling. It rats you out when you're down on all fours, me I like to cast my death on yesterday... cuz what doesn't kill us now just makes us better whores...

Raina didn't really expect Rupert to accept her. The thought had never actually crossed her mind to tell him who she really was or force him to give up his beliefs about mutants. She was content to pretend like she was normal. Raina would give up that gift, never sing, so he'd be happy. Now she felt like a fool. Where did it get her? She'd probably die here...

We're back, where we belong. Strait back, where we belong. No days for nights, no cocain cons... Just back, where we belong

Raina began to get angry as all these thoughts swirlled around her head. After all this, after it all... she was *still* in love and she knew it. Even it Rupert had been faking it this whole time... she knew she couldn't turn off her feelings. She wanted nothing more then to hate him

go put it in the ground. go bury it somewhere it cant be found. Go put it in the ground...

No. This was it. She wouldnt think about him anymore. No more satisfaction for him. She finally pulled herself silently to her feet amist the others. She walked toward the nurse, her eyes focused but emptier than they'd ever been... a shell of a person. She'd help the others. She wasn't going down any more

There ain't nothing to this but your daughter, and the life you would not give, forsake your plans, trapsed across the continent a squatter, for you lies at night to sleep between my hands.

ooc:
Ee, this song rocks. Check out the video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti1krnHyLL8
He just came to my hometown, and signed my guitar, eee! I loves him.

"Are any of you hurt?”

Neena smiled and shrugged. "Speaking for myself, not exactly hurt. Though I may end up blind in a few weeks if I don't find another pair of sunglasses." The tone was lighthearted, though the words were completely true. Mutation aside, her eyes couldn't handle sunlight. If she had to spend too much time outdoors, most likely she wouldn't be seeing anything soon. And with the bracelet and collar restraints, it was possible the blindness would be permanent.

Neena glanced up as one of the unconscious bodies returned to the land of the living. And with quite a speech too. Shrapnel, was it? Interesting name. It was obvious he did not like humans. She also got the impression Gwendolyn wasn't fond of mutants, either. She just hoped he wasn't going to try and attack her at some point.

“Blunt force trauma to your gut, right? I don’t like people who start spitting blood after a hit like that to be walking around. There’s a chance you’ve got some internal bleeding. Not much I can do about it until we get to the medical facilities at the camp, but if you want to kill yourself quicker, by all means, keep standing up. But remember: it’s just as easy to be a smartass on the floor.”

In that entire speech, one word stood out to Neena. Camp. It took pure will power for her not to groan aloud. So the rumors were true after all. History thus repeats itself..... But how far?

"We’re going to relocate this while she’s out. Come over here, and hold her steady. I’ll pop it back in.” The statement pulled Neena out of her depressing thoughts, replacing them with an inward cringe in sympathetic pain as she complied. She braced herself to keep Nika from moving when Gwendolyn relocated the girl's shoulder.

By that time Shield and Ted had all but squared off with Shrapnel. Gwendolyn didn't seem concerned, for which Neena was grateful. While the nurse finished up with Nika, Neena stood up went over to the boys.

"Shield, Ted, take it easy. Why don't you two go around and find out who else needs help." Her voice was gentle, but firm. It was unusual to see actual, since most of the time the thirty-year-old didn't act her age. Then she turned to Shrapnel.

"Sitting is only common sense, you know," she told him. "Whether you think you're hurt or not, it would be wise to conserve your energies. The day has only begun, after all." Her voice calm and level, but not threatening. It was obvious that his fierceness did not intimidate her, but she made her words sound as if, should he comply, he would be the wisest of people.

She turned back to see if Gwendolyn needed anymore help, and saw Raina approaching.

Neena's heart wrenched. This Raina wasn't even a shadow of the Raina she'd met in the Mansion kitchen. It was awful to see. Tears pricked her eyes; she was glad to know she could still feel sorrow. Pushing them back, she walked over and placed her arm around Raina, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She couldn't think of anything appropriate or comforting to say, so she settled for as warm of a smile as she could make, and try to let the woman know that she had support.

Jason was next in line for registration. His eyes wondered all around him. Looking... seeing more and more fellow mutants being mentally and physically abused but it didn't seem to bother him one bit. All he wanted to do was be normal again. He was better then all these mutants he thought. He new he could live his life normal be been doing it ever since he left the mansion a few months ago.

"Was that Nika they took in that room earlier?" Jason herd a girl over his shoulder. 'Nah there's no way it could be the Nika he knew.'

"Next!... You Mutant Next!" said a lady sitting behind the desk in front of Jason. Jason stepped forward. "Name...birth date..... Origin of your ability...." Said the woman with a snarl in her voice. "Um yeah by any chance did a young lady that looked like a cat come here? About yea tall. cute little thing." Jason asked. "Name... birth date.... origin of ability...." The lady said motioning to three guards. "Now you got two choices you can answer my question or you can be taken off to the room where im sure your stupid little friend is." The rude lady told Jason as 3 of the guards surrounded around him. As Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath one of the guards got a bit jumpy and smacked Jason across the face with his baton. Jason fell to the ground quickly as the world seemed to start spinning around him. "Now Im only going to ask you one last time. Name... Birth date... Origin of ability. answer the question or im sure you can find your friend well you do sometime in the camp."

Jason felt the blood around on his face begin to harden and the metallic taste in his arm. Jason stood up and looked at the lady. The guards grabbed ahold of him and place the bracelet on his wrist. Jason wasn't here to fight but he couldn't stand being pushed around. With the blink of a eye Jason swong knocking one of the guards about five feet away and turned to attack the other two but was surprised to see not two men but that robot he saw earlier then a brief second later Jason was out cold.

Three more guards showed up and carried Jason away. Throw him in with the rest of the trouble makers someone said. But Jason couldn't make out who said that. Something hit him... And something hit him hard. A door opened and Jason was tossed in to a room hitting hard on the cold concrete Jason couldn't make anything out expect he wasn't the only person that caused some sort of trouble in this room.

(OOC: I'd just like to say that I thought Raina's last post was awesome!)

Ted looked to Neena, then to Michael. Maybe it would be better to leave it to good old 'Shield' if it did turn to a fight. Wait, Shield? Was that what she said? Cool. Ted leant against the wall, and slid down it, deciding that if Shrapnel wanted to kill himself, then that was entirely his problem. He sent a pang of sorrow for Raina, and hoped that she would find comfort in Neena. Then the door opened, and someone else was thrown in. Ted had no idea who the person was, and didn't really care any more. People were just getting beaten up, and thrown in without a care. The fact that they had sent in a nurse surprised him, but if he was any judge of character she would just as likely kill them as help them, if she had a mind to. So he remained leant against the wall, no longer caring for what would happen.

The relocation was done with smooth efficiency, and a respectful nod to Neena for assisting. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you glasses.” The woman didn’t sound like she was kidding about going blind. While Gwendolyn didn’t think she could swing a real pair for the woman—glasses tended to have a lot of pieces that a creative woman could put to obscure uses when put in a desperate situation—she thought she knew of something that might work. Those flimsy plastic sunglasses that eye doctors liked to stick on their patients after making their eyes sting like hell seemed like a suitable alternative. Gwendolyn tugged off the pair of gloves she’d used with Nika, and got a fresh pair out from her red bag. She moved to her next patient: the young blonde woman with the red highlights. Besides the angry red mark on her face where it looked very much like the girl had been pistol-whipped, she seemed otherwise fine. Unconscious, but fine. She checked on the other woman next—same situation, minus the pistol whip to the face. Obviously, the guards were getting a little hit-happy out there.

Only after she was done with her work did she stand up, and turn to Shrapnel and the others. She nodded cordially to Michael. He looked like such a normal kid—it was odd to see that bracelet around his wrist. Most of the people in this room were her own age or younger, actually. “Don’t worry,” she told him, “I’m here to do a job, and I’ll get it done. I don’t scare off easily.” She didn’t say anything to Shrapnel—but she didn’t avoid eye contact with him, either. Judging by that attitude, they were going to spend a lot of quality time together at the camps. Joy. Her eyes flickered briefly to the interaction between Neena and the young woman with the shaved head, but she tactfully kept her nose out of it.

The door opened, and something got tossed in. Gwendolyn preemptively slapped her face, and ran her fingers down. “That better not be what I think it is.” She turned around, and glowered down at the newest addition the unconscious row on the floor. She checked this newest kid’s vitals, then stood up, and rapped twice on the door. Loudly. It opened.

“Done?” The guard asked her, not unfriendly.

“No,” Gwendolyn replied, quite unfriendly; “and I won’t be unless you boys stop making work for me. Kapesh?” She turned back to the assembled mutants, looking about as irate as she felt. “Anyone else need medical attention? Anyone, anyone? Going once, going twice...”

She did not predict that she was going to enjoy this job.

A soft groan came from Nika's mouth as she layed on the floor. She hurt and she hurt bad but she attempted to look around for a familiar face. A smile slowly made it's way across her lips as she saw several people she recognized. Nika coughed as some blood came up but it wasn't a whole lot. She spoke with a definate strain in her voice from the pain.

"Are we all sharing a room? Cause if we are....*winces*....I get the bed first"

(OOC: sorry for not posting much, just can't come up with anything to say or do.)

Sadly, Naomi hadn't even realised that Raina was with them. She had only just met her a few days prior, and when she did, she had been a happy glowing woman with red hair and a buitiful voice. Naomi had just realised who she was when she got a goot look at her face. Naomi couldn't believe it. They had stript her of who she was. Her voice, her appearance... even her personality. Naomi could tell that she had sustained much more than physical damage.

Naomi half crawled half slid across the room towards ted, and leaned up against the wall beside him. She needed to talk to someone, but she didn't want to bring attention to herself.

"I've been hiding from this my entire life, you know?" She whispered to ted, "In Shanghai, they had people patrol the streets for mutants. They would look for anyone who looked different, or anyone who could do something exdrodinary. They would find them, and take them away. They would take them to camps... and," Naomi had to stop and swallow the lump in her throat, and try to keep herself calm, "They said they where taken there so they could be made normal... but no one ever saw them again... That why I came to america, so that I could be different."

Naomi looked down at her clothes. Two multicolored striped socks that didn't match, a plaid skirt, three belt, none of which where the same size or shape, and a black t-shirt with a pretty pink flower in the middle. She had bought these clothes as soon as she came into the country, because they appealed to her so much.

She looked up at ted, not quite knowing why she was sharing this with him, She didn't know if he even cared. She just had to get it off her chest. She had to talk to someone about it.

Raina let herself be hugged as she scanned the faces of the other. she tried to put on a brave face but it she winced with the buzz of her collar. She saw the water on the floor and eagerly grabbed a mouthful. It slid down her throat like acid and she moaned causing a shock to rivet through her body. She braved it, but it wasnt hard to see her twitch.

She was surprised by who she saw in the room. they were more and more. She pushed a hand across her buzzed head and frowned. That would take some getting used too. Did the humans think it would stop her hair from changing colour? She needed to seriously invest in some wigs when this was over...

OOC: Any idea how long it will be until we get carted off to the camps? Just wondering

IC:
Ted looked down at Naomi. He was surprised that she had chosen to confide in him; it wasn't like they knew each other very well. He was shocked to know that it was even worse back in Shanghai. How could a country get away with something like that? He then took a look aroud the room, and realised that America had done the same thing. He felt more homesick than ever, even more so than those first few weeks on the streets of New York. If only they could all escape back to England, they'd be safe there. But then again, he was supposed to have been safe there, and he had been shipped over here.

But what she said made a difference in him. He realised that a lot of the people in here had given up hope, and that any that were still clinging to the last threads were losing their grip fast. He had to keep people's hopes up, or they might as well give up now. He put his arm around her comfortingly, "It's not so bad. It could be a lot worse, at least we're all together. Just because it seems helpless now, doesn't mean that we've got no chance. We've just to persevere, surely the camps won't be too bad. It'll be almost like a holiday!" He tried to laugh, but it died in his throat. Regardless of what he said, he couldn't change the fact that they were all royally screwed.