Chase was the sort who simply preferred not to get involved. It tended to get messy, to be quite honest, every time he got involved-- at the Townsend household, at his old school, at the foster home. It was easier to keep his head down and human face on, to blend in, and to stay out of it. He wasn't a terrible person by any means, would leap to the rescue if the situation called for it, but Chase wasn't a saint. He was merely a confused eight-year-old, with a horrible complex over his mutation.

It was that time of the afternoon that most school-aged children were getting out of or had been out of school for some time now. Chase was thus able to roam the streets without being carefully watched, or potentially pursued, by law enforcement. No one stopped and questioned him on the matters of truancy at a non-existent school. Chase was minding his own business, keeping his head down, when events took a sour turn.

Chase was passing a small park, walking along the street, when a boy just older than himself clipped his shoulder, pursuing a wayward basketball out into the busy streets.

>> "Hey, Tony! Look out man!"

It couldn't be said, what it was that drove Chase to lunge into motion, but the eight-year-old was darting off after the older boy. The kid had just enough time to look up and see the car, when Chase all but tackled him. He'd built enough momentum to shove him to the sidewalk, built up enough speed to counteract his tininess. His small, bony hands curled into the kid's shirt as they hit the pavement. The car drifted past without cause for alarm. Chase remained fastened to the other kid's shirt until the coast was clear.

>> "Hey man, thanks for th-"

The kid, Tony, broke off when he turned his gaze to Chase. In that moment of reflexively darting up after the other boy, Chase had lost a hold of his control, and Tony looked up into the face of his duplicate.

Anthony Brookover, age twelve--

Chase released the kid, realizing what had happened. A paled look of terror over came Chase as the transformation took hold, and he scrambled back fearfully.

"I'm sorry," he murmured quickly, "I was- I was really scared- for you." Chase stumbled to his feet as his appearance became his own once again.

>> "What the freak are you pulling, man? You gonna turn on me and attack me like that? Guys--! This kid's a mutant! Can you believe it? Trying to attack me!"

"It's not like that," Chase stammered, the tone becoming quickly and terrifyingly familiar. God, he hoped this kid wasn't hiding a knife. A small crowd began gathering around Chase, whose eyes shifted into a pure, terrified brown-black, "I-I didn't mean any-anything by it."

Chase held his hands up as the crowd grew terrifying close. He didn't want any of them to touch him, none of them at all. He was too jittery to hold his form very well. All ready, his human facade was slipping.

He saw it all happen in slow motion as he peddled his bike nearly a block off of a park. A kid smashed the perfect pitch sending it sailing through the air like a regular home run derby, he was a sandlot hero. He watched as an outfield ran for it and ran for it some more, if he had to guess it was a battle of the team captains the best player on each team facing off. His brain did the math before anyone else's the kid was going into the street and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. He peddled harder as he watched the boy run into the road and momentarily in front of a car, but a blonde kid saw what was happening too and moved on it fast. He slammed into the older boy with a rush that knew it was life or death; the pair sailed through the air and hit the pavement. Life saved, it was awesome.

Aedus remembered to breathe as the car that almost hit not one but two boys just kept driving. He slowed his pace and his eyes widened as not one dark haired boy but two duplicates sat there. He was saved by a mutant that was even better. What happened next, happened quick.

"Hey!" it was all his mind could think of. Hey. He hoped off his bike tossing it to the ground and treating it with a reckless abandon that he would make up to it later. He waded into to the angry and annoyed crowd pushing as necessary. Moving toward the mutant kid that was being pressed up against a parked car in a semicircle. "Back off, you people know what you'd be gathering around if it wasn't for him? That ungrateful punk's body." An angry finger thrust out at Tony. His thumb motioned over his shoulder toward the young mutant as he shoved his way into the crowd, trying to put his own body between the crowd and the young hero. "He just saved his life. You people should be thanking him." It felt like he was having to explain things to someone particularly dimwitted, why couldn’t they see he was a hero? He puffed up to make it obvious that he was willing to do more than just stand up for the kid with words. But the crowd was getting larger and he might as well have been speaking a different nonsense for as much help his words did them.

"You can forget about it, I'm not thankin a freak" said one man in a heavy New York accent. "Yeah!" came the bigoted echo of the worked up crowd. Aedus's hands curled into fists as the crowd tried to press in further. He would be damned if he let someone be punished for saving a life.

Agnes sighed. She loved ice cream. She really did. Especially in the middle of the day, especially outside! And today was such a beautiful day for it too! It was just a little warm. Not a lot but just enough in order to make the ice cream enjoyable, to cool her off, to tantalize her tongue with a combination of sweet and chilliness. It was indeed a perfect day for it. Or…at least it would have been if she had not seen the horror that could have taken place and the terror that followed it.

As Agnes as crossed a small park, enjoying her day out of the mansion, savoring the green mint chocolate chip ice cream on a cone that she licked, she watched a kid running by on the sidewalk, dangerously close to the street. Now, this was New York. Normally she would let such a thing pass because people these days didn’t always take the more care of paying attention to their kids. But as she strolled, she watched as the dark haired kid ran into the street…into the path of a speeding car.

Body tensing, her eyes wide with terror, she knew there was nothing she could do to help, no way she could get there fast enough but she still started to run. But before she was even able to close the distance, there was a flash of blonde hair and small body and suddenly two children were free from path of the dangerous car.

The breath came back into her body and she breathed a sigh of relief. She saw them both, starting to stand, both brown haired twins that had just saved eac- Whaaaaaaaa?

Agnes blinked once…then twice. That was not what she remembered seeing. What was…How was…a mutant. One of them had to be a mutant…

>> "What the freak are you pulling, man? You gonna turn on me and attack me like that? Guys--! This kid's a mutant! Can you believe it? Trying to attack me!"

What?! Agnes exclaimed to herself as she began to jog forward. Her ice long forgotten and melting in the grass behind her.

She could see by the look in the other boy’s face, the mutant’s, that he was terrified. He was shaking, trying not to catch anyways eye, trapped within a semi-circle of pedestrians who all decided that now was the best time to jump in and make their own thoughts known. They ranted, they raved against the mutant child. And that was only beginning to piss her off.

Her smaller frame running up to the group, she looked off to the side just in time to see someone else attempting to break into the group. Another man, looked around his twenties but equally as pissed off as she felt…

>> "Back off, you people know what you'd be gathering around if it wasn't for him? That ungrateful punk's body…He just saved his life. You people should be thanking him."

>> "You can forget about it, I'm not thankin a freak"

>> "Yeah!"

Growling Agnes began to shove against the group, trying to press in. Her entire focus was simply on getting to the upset child within the group. Though people shouted and yelled at him for being a freak, for trying to attack the other boy, Agnes did not let that deter her. Instead all she felt was the buzzing in her chest begin to reach a higher and higher crescendo. Before long, she would not be able to take anymore.

“Hey! Get away from him you gaggle of bastards!!” she screamed as she shoved an older, foul-mouthed woman out of her way. “He’s doesn’t deserve to be treated like that!!”

Agnes’ crystal blue eyes felt like they would turn red at any second but what was most telling of her anger was the buzzing in her chest. The ominous and dangerous sounding buzzing that she could scarcely stop any more…

Chase could feel his human form quiver under the tension-- he'd only been so frightened when he was first attacked, and wasn't aware that there was so much leftover fear until he'd been whisked into a startlingly similar situation. A of couple still-rational people rose up against the injustice, rather than turning on Chase for being what he was, for which he was grateful. First came the tall, black-haired guy with the sharp features and sharper green eyes. This man managed to cut rhough the whole crowd, wedge himself in front of Chase, and began scolding the crowd for their actions towards the obvious savior in the situation. His shouts were met by the deaf ears of mutant-haters. Just Chase's luck. There was even a pretty brunette girl with blue eyes who tried to stand up in his defense. Chase's brown-black gaze cut to her shakily. Get out of here-- get me out of here. The crowd was unrelenting. For, what was two voices, against one dozen?

Then, Tony spoke, the volume of the angry crowd dropping as the "victim" in the situation spoke.

" Man, this isn't any of your business--" to the dark-haired man, "So butt out of it--" to both the guy and the girl that were trying to defend Chase now, "Get outta here, unless ya aim t' beat minors in defense of this kid. This kid's a mutant, he deserves it."

"N-no," Chase tried to say, loud enough to be heard over the crowd. His voice was barely audible, because of the nerves that were simmering within him. He couldn't even rise up in self-defense, feel indignant over mistreatment and speak up against it. He remained silent.

As Tony spoke, the crowd grew more excited, and Chases' irises melted into a solid, black fear. One of the skinnier cohorts managed to slip past the black-haired guy's defense (for it was difficult to make an 180-degree area defensible with one body), jerking Chase by the hood of his jacket. Gravity did the rest of the work, pulling Chase to the ground. Chase let out a yell as he hit the pavement, and the half-dozen, juvenile basketball players descended upon him like flies upon carrion. All the while, the two adults present, and four older children, remained back passively, cheering the kids on and smiling smuggly.

It only took one kick to the ribs for Chase to realize what was going on, to curl up into a ball and cover his face.

"Please, stop-- I didn't do anyth-"

And, after a few more, equally painful well-placed kicks, he determined that in some form or fashion, he had to get away. He couldn't get up and run, though-- not with the people kicking him. Through the gaps between his fingers, beyond trembling hands, he could see the car against which he'd been cornered, the gap between its undercarriage and the street glimmering like sweet salvation. Chase was the only one small enough to fit under there, and it was only a foot away. With an awkward, inching squirm, he began making his way towards the underside of the parked car, his breath hitching as kicks followed.

"Don't let 'im under there! Get 'im!"

Too late. Chase dropped off of the curb and quickly inched under the car. He squirmed out of his bag, pushing it ahead of him, and crawled like he was a military-man to the car's center. Lest anyone throw objects at him, he hugged his backpack to his face.

"Hey man, that's cheating!"

"Yeah, get outta there!"

This was one game that Chase didn't like playing. He was going to stay under this car until it rusted and fell apart around him, if that was how long it took for them to leave. Chase dared to lift his gaze, looked at the smattering of basketball shoes and sneakers that hummed around that side of the car with anticipation, and burrowed his head once again.

He had at least one ally, a young lady was taking up the cause, he thought of New York as a large community that would stand up for each other, but his view was dimming of this neighborhood and quick. Aedus grimaced down at the boy in front of him. The taunt about beating a minor put it in his head, He wouldn’t mind it but first he had to take care of the rest of the situation. Aedus pushed a pair of the bigger boys that wanted to join in on attacking chase to the ground. His hand whipped out and snatched a baseball bat from a third kid’s hand. One of the Adult’s stepped back at this point and Tony tried to get out of his reach. Aedus’s free hand wrenched the front of the boy’s shirt into a knot and held him tight. “Hey freak lover, who do you…” Aedus’s’ glare silenced him and the words his said next got the majority of the crowd’s attention. A couple of the younger kids were grabbing at chases legs.

It was time to bluff, if that didn’t work he would go after the adults with the bat and threaten that the kids were next. His words left his lips with venomous contempt.

“You think that he is the only mutant here?” Aedus shouted in Tony’s face. His feet slightly lifted off the ground “You want to know what my power is?” his eyes popped open mimicking a face his grandfather used to make when he was cranky and in the mood to smack someone with his cane. “ I boil blood, I can burn you from the inside out.” Tony’ started shaking and resisting like a cat above a bath. Aedus’s eyes landed on the New Yorker with the have accent. “You want to get these kids out of here alive? Make them run.”

Bluff called.

The man’s eyes lit up with fear and his hands went for his waist band his right hand clutched at the handle of a revolver. Great. Aedus pushed Tony with a force that he wouldn’t have used on the kid otherwise, but he was hardly going to feel sorry for him either. The kid smashed into the adult and Aedus came charging after. If he didn’t get control of that gun things were only going to get worse and it was already spiraling out of control. Aedus tackled the pair to the ground into the middle of the road. Quite a few of the kids were scattering and the other adult was running with a phone to his ear.

Agnes was desperate to get to that little boy. And why? Because he looked at her.

It was not so much the look he gave her, it was the pleading behind it. Agnes knew a look of desperation when she saw it and that boy was definitely desperate. Normally, when she lived on the streets, Agnes was quick to ignore the pleading of those who begged for help. Not because she was heartless or something, but simply because to survive, one had to mind their own business. But now that she lived at the mansion, now that she did not have to fear her parents anymore, Agnes was not going to let anyone else slip through her fingers…

She forcefully nudged another person out of the way and tried to run into the gap to put herself between the victim and the mob, but that route was quickly cut off. The second Agnes came close to breaking through, she was brushed passed by a young gathering of teens whom attacked the boy rather viciously.

The brutality was fearful and enough to both cause tears in her eyes and the anger to boil over inside of her head. She wanted nothing more than to rip all these fools apart at the first chance she got. But if the sight alone was not enough to set her off…it was the pleading voice that clenched her anger…

>> "Please, stop-- I didn't do anyth-"

Practically growling, Agnes squeezed into the opening just as the boy managed to climb underneath a parked car.

>> "Don't let 'im under there! Get 'im!"

>> "Hey man, that's cheating!"

>> "Yeah, get outta there!"

Thankfully she was not the only one trying to defend him. She glanced off to the side and saw another dark haired man, the one she had seen earlier, now brandishing a baseball bat and he struggled to break up the group. He was pissed and shouted his being a mutant with a terrifying ability in order to send the crowd scurrying off. Agnes did not know if it was a bluff or not but it seemed to have an effect on some of the crowd. They were beginning to break apart, but the majority was still there. Some weren’t sure of the other man’s bluff, other’s weren’t buying it at all.

The buzzing in her chest reached a dangerous cacophony now. It was practically deafening to her ears. If they wanted a display…they were going to get one.

She shoved the nearest person who was cussing her out for trying to defend the boy.

“Back off dammit! You want to pick on a mutant?! Pick on one your own SIZE!!” she screamed.

But as that last rage fueled word flew from her mouth, so did something that pulled all of their attentions. A black, buzzing cloud erupted from between her lips which hovered and danced in mid-air. It took only a second to realized that the cloud was in-fact a large swarm of black houseflies and yellow striped wasps. They buzzed dangerously about her head as thick roaches crawled down her throat, across her clothes and created a line of defense around her shoes.

The teen angrily stood her ground in front of the shocked crowd as the air around her buzzed with the actively of a very angry and defensive swarm. They practically dared anyone, any of them to make a move…

The mob wasn't entirely witless, but they were blinded by whatever-it-was that they had against the mutant-kid. A few of the boys darted around the backside of the of the parked car, took Chase by his ankles, and proceeded to drag him out. Chase let out a yelp of alarm, releasing his backpack as he clawed desperately at the pavement. He couldn't seem to gain traction, so began kicking his feet, black eyes wild with fear as the jeering kids contiued to pull at his legs.

"No!" Chase yelled, "No, no..." When simple writhing didn't suffice, Chase began kicking the undercarriage of the car. As he jammed the hands and fingers of his attackers against the car's underside, the kids released him. Chase scrambled back to the center of the car, tucking his knees to his chest and hugging his backpack. He heard the dark-haired man shouting about boiling people's blood amidst a scuffle, over the shouts of others. Some scattered, others remained for the action. Even the girl began shouting at the mob, trying to silence the crowd.

>> “Back off dammit! You want to pick on a mutant?! Pick on one your own SIZE!!”

There was then a great humming, as if a swarm of insects suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Chase, whose eyes had been shut tightly, dared to slide open, and he lowered the backpack from his face. He could not see the cloud of airborne insects, but he could see a puddle of cockroaches accumulating around the pretty girl's feet, and she simply stood there unflinchingly. This told Chase that these bugs were probably her doing. Chase held his breath, black eyes watchful as the swarm of bugs seemed to silence the remaining mob. Please, let them leave-- is doing me harm really worth the trouble of taking on a swarm of bugs?

His breath wasn't held long, began coming out in short, ragged huffs. Look at all this trouble that he'd caused, look at all the thanks he got, for trying to save another kid. If this was what were to happen every time he intervened, what was the use?

((I'll let you guys control how the mob reacts, since Chase is essentially spectating at this point in time.))

Aedus was at the very moment having a slow motion moment that even a plague of insects couldn’t distract him from at least momentarily. The man that formerly was reaching for a pistol and his back on the ground however had a full view of the swarm growing above his head. Aedus seized the moment to rise up to his knees and smack a baseball bat across the man’s head. Baseball bat beats gun? The math didn’t add up but he didn’t mind at the moment as the mutant haters head lolled to the side. He reached to the front of the man’s trousers and pulled out the hand gun and rose to his feet. He held the weapon high for everyone to see. Everyone was already running. That’s right! Wait what? He hadn’t even gotten to fire it into the sky yet. He looked over his shoulder to see who had done a better job of chasing off the mob then he did. Oh, of course a teenage girl. He had a bat in one hand and a gun in the other and still he lost the save the boy race to a teenage girl, to be fair she brought friends. More importantly though, she got the job done.

Aedus let out a huff of relief. “Thank goodness! I’m on your side by the way.” He said the last as a precaution that she might have missed him in the struggle. He resisted the urge to run like hell. Not from her, She was Pretty. Under all her minions. He looked around once more ensuring everyone Was well away from here and that no one else was causing trouble. He’d pull the unconscious man out of the road in a minute, maybe. He point the barrel of the gun upward released the cylinder, pushed it over and took out all the bullets, dropping them in his pocket. He then dropped onto his hands and knees looking under the Car.
“You got a guardian angel Kid, She saved us both. Its safe to come out.” He spoke to the boy attempting to coax him out from under the vehicle. He then rested on his knees wiping the sweat from his brow. “Thanks for your help.” He spoke sincerely to the young woman above him and aside to the young man. “That’s what they should have said to you too. You were amazing. You both were. Are.” He finished enthusiastically.

Agnes watched as the angered mob slowly began to dissipate. The sight of all the bugs pouring from her mouth, of the defensive line they formed around her, seemed to be enough to send all of them scurrying away. That was good enough for her. She was glad that none of them had attempted to attack her while her bugs were out because if there were one thing that she disliked doing was harming people with them. Once they were provoked to attack, Agnes had little control over making them stop. Their task was to defend her by any mean’s necessary.

Once the mob had begun to run off, Agnes turned when she heard shouting off to the side. The air around her head buzzed with a cloud of bugs but she could see through them enough to spy the young man who was standing with an almost triumphant look. A baseball bat in one hand and a gun in the other. Her eyes widened momentarily at the sight of the firearm but she calmed when he turned to her and smiled…

>> “Thank goodness! I’m on your side by the way.”

“I would hope so,” she replied with a little bit of snarkiness in her tone. She was in no mood to be trifled with, especially considering what she just witnessed that boy go through.

But as she watched the man jog up to the car, she suddenly remembered that he too was also trying to help the boy. She glanced at him when she was trying to push her way through the crowd and evidently he stuck around long enough to fend off most of the crowd. She was definitely thankful that she did not face it alone.

>> “You got a guardian angel Kid, She saved us both. It’s safe to come out.”

Walking up to the her swarm still buzzed defensively in the air but refused to be calmed. It had been awhile since she got that angry so she knew easing them was going to be a tough task. So for now she was going to have to let them hang out in the open air and see that she was not in physical danger anymore. But in the meantime, she blushed a little at the man’s comment and, dropping to her knees, tilted her head so she could look underneath the car.

>> “Thanks for your help…That’s what they should have said to you too. You were amazing. You both were. Are.”

She smiled kindly in response. “Thank you, but trust me, you very brave as well.” Her crystal blue eyes shined with thanks as she turned back to the car, tilted her head and peeked under the car. She watched the boy as he continued to lay in a fetal position and sniffled sadly. What a horrible thing for someone of his age to go through. “Hunny? It’s okay,” she whispered as soothingly as she could. “I’m so sorry you went through that. They’re all gone, though. We won’t hurt you.”

Chase was relieved to see that the mob was clearing, and quite rapidly, too. Only one spare pair of feet remained, and that lone attacker was quickly dropped to the pavement like a sack of potatoes-- presumably, by a blow that was dealt to him by the dark-haired man. The two remaining feet belonged to his two saviors-- the dark-haired man, and the pretty girl.

As Chase decompressed, he started crying-- there were dull, growing aches where he'd been kicked, he'd skinned his hands raw in the fall, and he'd been so panicked while he watched, so fearful for his defenders, that he'd actually made himself cry by hyperventilating, rather than vice-versa. Perfect timing for he just began tearing up as the guy who'd essentially acted as a human shield knelt down to peer under the car. The man assured him, "You got a guardian angel Kid, She saved us both. Its safe to come out."

Chase nodded to show that he comprehended, mopping his eyes with his sleeves. As long as his "guardian angel" didn't see him like this, he was fine. There was some guy's code of conduct about crying around other guys, where it simply wasn't spoken of, but to cry in front of a girl? Embarrassing. He held his breath and counted to ten, the way all children knew to do when they were crying, and listened to the two older kids converse-- how the guy believed that Chase had been amazing, and should have been thanked. Chase neither thought his actions had been amazing, nor deserved thanking. His "quick thinking" had started this mob, in the first place.

Chase saw that the girl was kneeling, and quickly sandwiched his bag to his face in an attempt to maintain some form of masculine dignity. A sniffle might have escaped him, but he tried to contain it as best as he could.

>> "Hunny? It’s okay-- I’m so sorry you went through that. They’re all gone, though. We won’t hurt you."

Chase nodded again, his black-eyed gaze trailing towards the girl as turquoise gradually began to simmer through. Of course they wouldn't hurt him, particularly after all that trouble they went through to protect him. Chase sorely crawled military-man style towards the front of the car, pushing his backpack ahead of him. His tears had dried, and now had been replaced by hiccups. Contrary to the complaints of his aching body and stinging palms, Chase pulled himself up out from under the car, got to his feet, and picked up his bag. Simple "thank you's" wouldn't suffice-- he couldn't remember the last time that someone so selflessly stepped in for him like that.

Chase went towards the guy first, as he stepped up onto the sidewalk. He twined his bony, little arms around the man's waist, burrowing his face into the guy's shirt. Chase was focused now, so didn't shift, and muscled up enough courage to say, "Thank you for protecting me like that." He couldn't lift his gaze, though. Only utter his thanks into the man's shirt, and leave it at that.

He went to the girl, as well, though with slightly more hesitance. His face burning brightly like a stage lamp, he gave the girl the same, earnest yet timid hug, though his arms fit more easily around her bony midsection, and Chase barely managed to utter a, "Thank you for stepping in like that," he hadn't been any more able to look her in the eye, either.

Chase then released her, and was glad to admit that he hadn't left the hugs looking like either of his rescuers, and hadn't begun to read either of their genetic signatures. He didn't think he could handle turning into someone else once more, today-- Chase didn't want to start any more mobs today.

Aedus returned the smile easily to the woman across from him; she made it easy to smile back even as his body ached from the scuffle. He watched as the small boy climbed from under the car. He Gave the boy a soft hug, he didn’t want to squeeze him too much as he wasn’t sure how much damage those kids did. He couldn’t keep everyone from getting past and if he turned his back on the mob it would have meant more people beating on the both of them.

“My pleasure, you are worth protecting.” He then watched as the tender soul hugged the Cutie with the bugs. “You want me to walk you home Kiddo? I’m Aedus by the way, its good to meet you both.” Aedus asked, he would be late to his next delivery but that was already true unavoidable and unfortunate, but well worth the effort.

The man that he had left in the middle of the street was coming to his feet and belatedly running away. A dark moment flashed threw Aedus’s mind of trying to load a round before he got away, he was glad for his temper’s sake that he had already unloaded the firearm. He’d hand it over to a police station and explain the situation; if the gun was registered he’d see about pursuing charges against the man. He shoved the handgun in a pocket in his messenger bag. As Aedus stood up he glanced at his bike that was crashed into a storefront and a newspaper vending machine.

Agnes moved onto her feet as she watched the both beneath the car finally begin to climb out. As he did so, she sighed sadly for him. To have to go through something like that at such a young age really plucked at one of her heartstrings. Unfortunately she had all too similar experiences herself when dealing with her own family and her exorcism. It made one feel as if no matter what they did they would always be in the wrong. Though she hated for such a thought to befall someone so young, there was little Agnes could do but hope and pray that he could be okay.

Once he had freed himself from beneath the car, she immediately saw the shy and quiet look about his person. It was obvious that he was not sure how to compose himself right now. He was no longer crying, though it seemed as if he were trying to hide that fact from both her and the dark haired man who helped them out.

Then the boy gave the man a hug, uttered a thanks, and then came up to Agnes. One look at the boy’s face and Agnes could tell that he wanted to give her a hug as well. But there was something reluctant about it. She did not want to make him so she refused to make the first move. Instead she waited, patiently, quietly, until he stepped forward and buried his face into her stomach and wrapped his arms around her mid-section…

>> "Thank you for stepping in like that,"

She smirked sadly as she carefully wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him the gentlest of hugs she could manage. It simply broke her heart that he had suffered so horribly. But she could not dwell. Instead she simply smiled as she nodded.

“You’re very welcome.” she responded.

>> “My pleasure, you are worth protecting…You want me to walk you home Kiddo? I’m Aedus by the way, it’s good to meet you both.”

She smiled and nodded as gently patted the boy’s back affectionately.

“And I’m Agnes, it is definitely nice to meet the both of you.” she nodded a greeting at Aedus and then back down to the boy. “And I have no problem walking with you home as well.”

By the time the exchanges were complete, Chase's human face was burning with an incredible blush. He was worth protecting? It was a simple, offhanded little compliment, but it hit home. And, he'd just hugged a girl. Yes, this eight-year-old had just died and gone to Heaven-- suddenly, his minor aches weren't so incredible, any longer.

>> "You want me to walk you home Kiddo? I’m Aedus by the way, its good to meet you both."

>> "And I’m Agnes, it is definitely nice to meet the both of you. And I have no problem walking with you home as well."

Good feelings, gone-- Chase's gaze flickered hesitantly, churning with uncertain, confused burnt oranges, and maybe a little, yellow-grean unease. Why did conversations always turn down this avenue? It had to be the overall scruffiness about him. Chase didn't look like he had a home, or if he did, he wasn't very well-cared for. Or perhaps they were attributing his scruffiness to the fight? Chase knew that they were just being kind, but how was he going to get out of this one?

"Chase," he replied quietly, gaze wavering between Aedus and Agnes. He had to make sure that he kept their names straight. He combed his hair back with his hand, palm twinging all the while. He'd have to find a way to bandage them later. Chase was too polite to say no, and then bolt, but too hesitant to tell them that he hadn't a home to walk to.

"How about I walk home with you?" the eight-year-old proposed. Not his smoothest line, but Chase wasn't very skilled in that department. Chase's avoidance of the matter was probably quite transparent to his two saviors-- he groaned upon realizing this. Smooth, Chase, why don't you just tell them you're a runaway, rather than try and dodge the subject? Chase fidgetted, hands fussing with his sleeves. Words simply weren't coming to him easily.

"I, um," Chase began, his explanation halted by a hiccup, "I haven't, uh, got one-- so, I'll just, uh, walk with you." If it were possible for his face to grow any more brilliant with a blush, then it did just then.

Aedus smiled his thanks to Agnes wanting to walk him home as well, as he got a better look at her and heard that she was a compassionate soul as well she seemed to appeal to him more and more.

Aedus’s heart was breaking. This life saving mini hero didn’t have a home. He was beat up, cast out and scared. “Well Chase, we can’t have that. If you need a place to stay, I have a small, but cozy apartment up on 72nd. You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you like. If you have somewhere that you need to be, we’ll figure it out later. For now; let’s get you in out of the cold and fed.” Aedus walked over to his bike and slung it onto his shoulder.

He was going to have to deal with work and the package that wasn’t being delivered when as chance would have it, a fellow QuickTrack-er came racing around the corner. He considered it good Karma. “Freddie! Help me out and take this down to Duncan’s wares on independence. “Freddie simply held his hand out for the package snatched it out of Aedus’s hand and kept on going, as he sped by Freddie turned and shouted.”It’s where I am going anyway! You still owe me a beer!”

“Absolutely!” Aedus shouted back.

He returned to the pair now that the nagging voice of him being screwed work wise was great-fully lifted off of his shoulders. He would call and let them know he was taking the rest of the day off, as family issues had come up. He studied the young man a bit more closely now and realized that he had been on the street for awhile now. Aedus hoped that he wasn't treating the kid like a puppy he had found,but he wouldn't let him stay on the street either. he would have to talk to him about what was going on, if he had parents he needed to get back to. He could call his mom and the kid would be fussed over so thoroughly that he wouldn't have to worry about much anymore, But he wouldn't want to overwhelm him. and he wasn't even sure if he would want to stay with him.

Chase. It was a cute name. Agnes smiled a little at hearing him introduce himself, and then a look of confusion flashed across her face as the boy instead offered them the opportunity to walk them home. Was that…like a pick up line? From an 8-year old? Agnes felt the gears of her brain grind to a halt as she tried to process that. But in the end, all she could come up with was that it was incredibly cute. She smiled a little at his comment but really did not say anything about it. She was honestly too confused. It was obvious that the boy trusted them, but why would he let them walk him hom–

>> "I, um, I haven't, uh, got one-- so, I'll just, uh, walk with you."

Blink. Blink.

The scruffiness of his clothes, his inability to want to go home, his shyness of his appearance. All of it was far too familiar, almost to the point that she could swear she saw herself when she looked at this kid. He didn’t have a home…but why? Parents die? Did he runaway? If he ran, was it because someone was being mean to him? The thoughts raced through Agnes’ mind as she watched the boy and she just felt that much more sympathy for him.

In watching his face her thoughts flew back to the times she lived on the streets. She remembered the feeling of the hard concrete beneath her rear as she sat and rested against a slimy brick wall. She remembered the scouring through trashcan after trashcan looking for one edible piece of food. She could even recall the feel of the cold rain on her drenched, soiled clothing as she curled up in the nook of a building, trying to escape another storm for another night.

Imagining Chase having to do all of them just made her all that much compassionate to him.

>> “Well Chase, we can’t have that. If you need a place to stay, I have a small, but cozy apartment up on 72nd. You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you like. If you have somewhere that you need to be, we’ll figure it out later. For now; let’s get you in out of the cold and fed.”

Stepping forward, she smiled at Aedus’ offer. It was rare to meet someone with that big of a heart. Few people opened their own doors anymore. She sighed as she placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder, trying to pass onto him the true compassion and understanding she had for him. She knew nearly exactly everything that he had gone through so if there was anyone who could understand, it was her.

“Sounds like a good idea to me, Chase.” She smiled sympathetically. “You know, I get it. I was in your predicament. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”