So, this is where all of the action happens... not bad! Alex thought as he entered the crowd that filled up the market street. All along the sides of the street were shop keepers selling their wares and many of them had their prices outrageously high so they would be making a killing... and many of the people on the streets were falling for those prices and were buying those items at those steep prices. Other shop owners were selling their goods at an honest price and were selling even more. There were also the occasional shifty merchant that was selling illegal goods like imitations, watches that ran backwards, and even stolen goods. Still, the place was very lively and Alex had to shoulder his way through to even have a chance at seeing some of the goods.

Thought it had taken a while to get through the crowd, Alex finally managed to get to one of the stalls to take a look at what looked like some purses and hand bags. A few of the hand bags looked like they could be rather good for carrying some essentials, but a few of the purses were clearly knockoffs because you could clearly see the stitching along the edges of the purses, and Alex wrinkled his nose at seeing this and chose to move away from the stall. As Mom used to tell me about shopping at market stalls, keep in mind that one bad product represents everything in the stall. Alex thought as he remembered some of his mother's advice when it came to shopping at market stalls. However, the entire market plaza of Topeka was nothing compared to even a tiny section of the New York City market, so maybe her suggestion would have to be amended some for this place, but still, it worked for him.

Alex was about to head towards another part of the stalls when he felt a growling in his stomach, and realized that it had been a while since he had last ate, and started to look around for where the food stalls were by following his nose. However a loud commotion off to his right stopped him in his tracks and he turned to see what was going on. An extremely beautiful woman with long blond hair and long black eye lashes was having an argument with an elderly Korean merchant that was selling clay pots that looked like they were hand made. The merchant was holding onto a very fabulous vase with both hands as if he was afraid it would shatter if the woman touched it.

"I want that vase! You have no right to deny my right to it!" the woman shouted at the top of her lungs as she lunged for the vase, only to miss when the merchant took a step backed again causing the woman to stumble and bump into the merchant's display and caused a clay pot to fall onto the ground and break up. Clearly it had not been the first time she had lunched for it since there were at least three other broken clay pieces on the ground. "Ma'am, get a hold of yourself! I told you that someone else has already purchased this vase! I will not go back on my word to him!" the shop keeper exclaimed with a thick Korean accent as he looked down at another broken pot with dismay. With his display surrounded by broken pots, no one would do business with him. Seeing the elderly man's reaction to the broken pot, the woman's eyes narrowed and she grabbed a different pot that was decorated with flowers and held it over the pavement with here thumb and forefinger. "If you don't give me that vase, I'll destroy every single one of your crummy pieces of clay junk you have here!" the woman exclaimed, and to prove it she flicked her wrist as she let go of the pot. The elderly man watched in horror as another pot fell towards the ground.

However it never reached the ground since Alex had caught it in mid air and carefully placed it back down on the display. "Ma'am, what is the meaning of this?!" Alex said as his flawless cyan eyes glared at her with a cold look that would make even the most misbehaved high school student would buckle under. However this woman seemed to be enraged with Alex stopping her from braking the pot and gave Alex a look that made Alex thing of the 'hell hath no wrath like a woman's scorn' saying. If looks could kill, he'd been dead on the spot. "That old coot won't sell me the prize piece of his display! He has no right to deny me the best!" the woman exclaimed while pointed an accusing finger with red nail polish at the elderly Korean man. Alex glanced over at the merchant with a curious glance. "Is this true?" Alex asked the merchant in a calm tone. "Are you deft?! I just told you that he-" the woman started to protest, but Alex cut her off by holding up a hand. At first the merchant didn't answer as he kept a fearful eye on the woman. "Yes... it's true, but I-" "See?! He admitted it! Now give me that vase!" the woman interrupted, but Alex stopped her from lunging for the vase again. "Enough! He has a reason behind it so why not listen to what it is?" Alex stated before looking over at the merchant again. "You see, someone else already bought this vase, but his bag wasn't big enough to hold it along with everything else he had bought. He asked me if I could hold onto it while he left to buy a bag for him to carry it in. He already gave the money for it to me, so I agreed. I gave him my word, and I never go back on my word." the elderly merchant stated as he pulled a small handful of dollar bills from his pocket as proof, and Alex nodded.

"I don't care! Give me that vase and I'll pay you triple it's price!" the woman shouted as she tried to claw her way passed Alex, but he didn't budge as the merchant shook his head. "That's enough ma'am. You have broken several display pieces belonging to this man, and that ware is already purchased. If I were him I would've called the police already. Get out of here before I call them myself." Alex sternly told the woman as he reached into his leather jacket. Fuming, the woman turned away and walked away rather quickly for a woman wearing four inch spiked high heels. "You're going to regret this!" the woman roared as she turned and stalked into an alley way. Alex watched her leave, and turned to the elderly Korean. "You alright?" Alex asked, knowing what the answer was since the merchant was trembling as he tried to put down the vase without breaking it. "T-thank you young man. I was afraid that she was going to steal this vase and not pay for it. I'm Mr. Shin." the merchant said with a shaky voice as he mopped his forehead with a hanky before kneeling down to pick up the pieces of broken pots, and Alex knelt down to help. "Call me Rook. Everyone does."

Down in the alley way, the woman glanced around to make sure that no one had followed her before reaching into her purse and pulled out a small pill, and smiled evilly down at the pill. "My little friend, we need to teach a certain merchant a lesson he won't forget, along with his rescuer." the woman said to the pill before moving it towards her mouth. "Too bad he sided with the merchant instead of me. He's a handsome one. He could've been lots of fun." the woman said before she placed the pill in her mouth. Closing her eyes, she swallowed and waited for the pill to kick in.

Lori found herself wandering alone for the first time in a long time. Things were different now that people sometimes thought she was important. She didn't get to wander alone.

With sunglasses, knit hat, boots, jeans and a jacket large enough to swallow her whole, Lori looked like a college student on the prowl for that perfect knockoff to complete an outfit rather than the CEO of a high powered Pharmaceutical company. Part of it was how petit Lori was. Part of it was the fact that even she couldn't get over the fact that she could afford to buy the real thing if she'd wanted to. Growing up without money meant that she had some frugal habits that she just couldn't shake.

One of those was the open street market.

The faux leather flowed. People were everywhere. And best of all, nobody knew or cared who she was. She could linger at a stall with pretty pink things if she wanted to. Not that she did...

In her wandering, Lori came across a small group of people crowded around a developing scene.

> "If you don't give me that vase, I'll destroy every single one of your crummy pieces of clay junk you have here!"

Quite the display. The young do-gooder made peace by having each party say their part and that made it terribly clear that the lady was beyond irrational. She was practically manic. About a vase.

> "I don't care! Give me that vase and I'll pay you triple it's price!"

Had the woman not been blonde, had she not been so clearly out of her mind, Lori might not have cared. But this hit a little too close to home. If that woman had been Lori's mother, that would mean that she wanted that vase for something more than just its looks. It meant something. Or she had hidden something in it. And Lori intended to find out what that something was.

The lady left in a huff and sensing that the drama was over the crowded started to disperse. Lori squeezed her way through people and into the stall. She tried not to step on any of the broken pieces and glanced through them for anything out of place. Drugs. Money. Obviously someone would have noticed if she'd been smashing pots that were used to smuggle things.

"My mom... she's really crazy. I'm so sorry." Unfortunately, this was an apology she had made in earnest too many times before. Lori fumbled her sunglasses off of her face and tucked them into her purse. The lady wasn't her mother, but they were both caucasian and blonde and Lori was much younger looking. That was usually enough to assume familial relations. "We can pay for the damages. Really. So sorry. Do you have any idea why she got so attached to that one in particular?" False bottom hiding something maybe? Or was she just that nuts?

As Alex assisted with picking up all of the pieces of broken pots, Mr. Shin gave Alex a questionable look. "Excuse me, but I've never heard of the name Rook. Is it in a different language?" the old merchant asked, and Alex glanced over his shoulder to look into the old Korean's eyes before answering with a warm smile. "No, it's just a nickname that my father gave me. He was a very skilled chess player and the rook was his favorite chess piece. He nick named me Rook because I'm a lot like a rook... I'm strong, sturdy, and yet I can really move fast when I'm trying to protect those around me. I like it better then my family name." Alex started, though in reality he was just giving the old man his nickname because he wasn't sure he should give his real name out in case there was a warrant for his arrest out. He was guilty of manslaughter after all... sure it was by mistake with his mutation, but a crime was a crime. Mr. Shin seemed satisfied with the answer though, and nodded respectfully before leaving to grab his broom and dust pan to sweep up the smaller pieces of broken clay.

Alex was in the process of picking up a rather badly cracked pot that had splintered into several different pieces when he heard someone walking into the stall, and heard a female voice apologizing for the woman's actions. Alex stood up and turned around to see a woman not much older then himself with blond hair, asking why that woman was so determined to get the vase. Alex's flawless cyan eyes studied the woman's face and found her rather beautiful. It was the first time in three months he had stopped long enough to actually see a woman's face long enough to get his attention; but he quickly looked away since he thought he wouldn't have a chance with her... besides, he was a mutant that was on the run. When Mr. Shin spoke up to answer the young woman, Alex looked over at him. "You are her daughter? I didn't think Susana had a child." That comment caused Alex to do a double take and his mouth hung open.

"'Susana?' You mean you know her?" Alex asked in surprise. The old Korean nodded sadly. "Yes, I do. She's an actress on Broadway and has become... well, I don't wish to be rude, but she has fallen in love with herself and believes herself to always be right. She is also in love with her collection of rare pots and vases. From her point of view I don't have the right to refuse any of her demands because I am worth nothing to her because of my low economical standing. If I had not already sold this vase to another customer, I would have gladly sold it to her just to get her away from my shop. She wanted that piece so badly because it's my best work. She is always after my best work and only pays half the price I put on it." The merchant said, then gave the young woman an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for being rude about your mother child, but it is the truth. I won't hold it against you if you're not willing to pay for the damages after I insulted your mother that way." Mr. Shin added, and he was clearly afraid of this Susana. Alex picked up the last broken pot and set it down in the nearby trash bin while looking over at the young woman that claimed to be Susana's daughter. Funny... I don't see any resemblance between her and that actress. Alex thought as he raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Back in the alleyway, Susana was holding her stomach and fell to her knees as the drug started to work within her, changing her body's genetic makeup, and the pain was making her whimper. But it's well worth it. This pain is nothing compared to the power I have when the drug is fully kicked in. Susana thought with an evil smile, then gasped in pain as her eyes turned from their beautiful green to blood red. Her body shuttered again as her blood solidified within her veins. With a groan, Susana stood up and looked around. Everything had a tinge of red to it now, and she could smell each person walking passed the alley. She looked down at the palms of her hands, and smirked at the holes in the center of her palms. She glanced at a piece of rubbish that was in front of her, and swung her hand towards it. A blood red whip shot out of the hole in her palm and struck the piece of rubbish with such force that the whip broke the cement that was under the crumbled up newspaper she had just whipped at. The whip retracted back into her hand as she used her other hand to put on a pair of sunglasses to hide her blood red eyes. "And now... time to get me a pot and to teach that old coot a lesson... and maybe that boy too if he is still there. No... I change my mind. I wanna have some fun with him before I kill him. I hope he resists, since that makes it even more enjoyable." Susana hissed as she left the alleyway and started to walk towards the stall.

"Not that she would admit it." Clearly Lori was unhappy. She didn't like to get caught off guard about things, but nothing had tipped her off about this man's relationship to the woman before. If she were truly a daughter scorned, though, this would be an appropriate time to pout. So the unhappiness fit the situation perfectly. Susanna. What a b*tch.

"So she's seriously only interested in the vase because it's a vase? I will never understand that woman!" Speaking from her own experience made Lori's words carry powerful believability. She was quite the little actress herself and she had more than enough mommy issues to channel into this performance. "I can only apologize for her so many times!" Lori jerked open her purse and rummaged around, clearly unhappy even when she found a pocketbook.

"How much damage did she do? Let me make it right." She ignored the checkbook buried somewhere in the abyss of the purse. That had her name on it. Besides, Lori had cash. A lot of it. A magnetic mutation meant credit cards were out of the question. She always inadvertently stripped the encoding making the plastic card as useless.

The woman, Susanna, was into bigger problems. Experience taught her that, and Lori intended to take care of Susanna in the way that she should have taken care of her own mother.

Alex watched as the young woman exclaimed in anger that she would never understand her mother, and started to go through her purse in order to find money to pay for all of the damages. Seeing this, Alex let out a small sigh and smiled slightly. The mother might be a total b*tch, but the daughter is a responsible woman. I guess her father was a responsible parent then. Alex thought to himself, knowing that many families had been destroyed from the inside from one single member of the family being a total idiot, and that a child's entire life can be ruined because of an irresponsible parent. Alex was hoping that the woman in front of her wasn't going to suffer that fate.

The merchant looked at the young woman with his eyes widening to the point that someone might think that his eyes would fall out. He looked down at the woman's purse, and then back up at her face, astonished. "You... you're really going to pay for all of the damage she caused?" Mr. Shin asked, clearly perplexed about the current situation. Alex looked over at the Korean elder and smiled warmly. "I think she's serious..." Alex said, hoping that he was right. The merchant hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Well... she did $70 worth of damage to my merchandise today. I couldn't even think of making you pay for all of the damage she caused." the merchant said, and Alex cocked an eyebrow in response to that. "You mean she's done this before? Why haven't you called the cops on her?" Alex asked as his cyan eyes narrowed slightly as he started to get a little hot under the collar. "I did call the cops on her the first time. She paid them off. The second time she did this, the cops accused me of framing an innocent woman, and threatened to arrest me if I tried to accuse her again. The total amount of damage she has done in my shop is over $400, not including the vases she has bought for only a third of their price. I refuse to let you pay for all of that though." Shin stated, and Alex clinched his teeth in anger before cursing under his breath and clenched his fist so tightly that the skin around his knuckles turned white. "That woman could get away with murder if she tried too..."

Just then the door opened, and Susana slipped in without making a noise, still wearing her sunglasses to hide her eyes. She glanced over at the new blond woman that was looking through her purse, and gritted her teeth. "So is this your customer that bought the vase before me? Is she reserving your next great piece of art so I can't have it?" Susana hissed with anger, and the Korean elder took several steps back, terror stricken. "I thought I told you to leave before I called the cops on you." Alex stated with a growl as he glared at Susana with a gaze that would send a shiver up the spine of a professional soldier. Susana only glanced back at Alex before flicking off her glasses to show her blood red eyes. "I suggest you start running. As soon as I'm done with this old coot, I'm coming after you to make you my boy toy." Susana purred, then shot the other woman a glare. "As for you... you better run before I decide to kill you too."

"What?!" the merchant cried as he hid behind his counter. Susana only smiled as she flicked her hand towards the counter, and a blood red whip flew towards the counter. As she did this though, Alex reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a two foot long dagger carved out of one solid piece of a beautiful green gemstone, and aimed it at the swinging whip. His flawless cyan eyes suddenly glowed bright green, and the blade of the dagger curled into a rod grew seven foot long, pinning the blood red whip against the far wall before it reached the counter. Shocked, Susana whipped her head around and glared at Alex as he stated "That was a big mistake..."

> "You... you're really going to pay for all of the damage she caused?"
>> "I think she's serious..."

Her face certainly said that she was serious. Lori listened to the man's sob story and really had a hard time finding pity in her heart for him. There were other ways to handle this, but he had let himself fall into the roll of the victim. At least he wasn't expecting her to make it all better. He was just grousing for money. Lori went through her wallet and pulled out a few bills. More than the $70 worth of damage done today. Less than $400.

>> "That woman could get away with murder if she tried too..."

"You have no idea." The bills she folded once in the middle and was in the process of handing over to the shop keeper when effing Susanna walked back in. Incriminating much?

>"So is this your customer that bought the vase before me? Is she reserving your next great piece of art so I can't have it?"

Hm. The idea hadn't occurred to Lori, but now that Susanna was suggesting it... the helpful boy cut in before Lori could escalate things with her words.

Fine. He could deal with her then. Lori rolled her eyes at Sue, stuffed the bills into the prized vase that was nearby and handed the whole caboodle to the shopkeeper who was huddling down behind the counter. "If you have a back door. Now would be the time to use it." For the threat of violence and the struggle Mr. Helpful had engaged in with crazy lady, Lori was being remarkably calm. She shooed the asian away and then leaned against the counter facing Mr. Helpful and Ms. Crazy. They should probably move the fight out of the shop, but it did serve to keep the scene quieter since the drama was now taking place out of the public eye.

"Is it the fact that you have a power that makes you think you can boss people around? Or did that come naturally with the crazy?"

Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but whips and chains excite me.

Lori could reach out and take hold of the red whip. She could end this with a touch. But it was going to be more satisfying to end it without powers. Just like when she faced her own mommy dearest.

Mr. Shin had watched Lori count out a large number of bills and stuff them into a jar before she told him to flee, but he couldn't move. He tried to get up but it was as if vines had grown out of the floor and had wrapped around all four of his limbs, preventing him from moving. He was paralyzed with fear. He wanted to run, but he could only think about the 'what ifs.' What if Susana got passed his two rescuers? What if everything in his store was destroyed in the fight? What if she held him criminally liable? What if- "Mr. Shin. Get up. Get out. Now." Alex stated with authority. It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. Frantic, the Korean got up, grabbed the vase with the money in it, and fled out the back of the store.

Good. Now I don't have to worry so much about getting a civilian hurt if this turns into a full blown fight. Alex thought as his glowing green eyes gazed into Susana's. He could tell that the woman was clearly scared... and she had no idea how to deal with fear. That didn't surprise Alex in the least. Susana was a star on Broadway that always got her way no matter what, and she had the police in her pocket for when ever she got herself into trouble... and apparently she was more then capable of defending herself if she was in a position that the police couldn't help her.. She had nothing to be afraid of... until now that is. He was more then capable of stopping her attacks before they even reached her target. Susana was so scared that she completely ignored the other woman's question... or she was just too scared to answer it.

There was one thing bothering him though. "Before we get into this, I just have to ask one little thing... why the heck did you leave first and then come back? People do that to get a gun or someone else to do the dirty work. You on the other hand had a mutant power the whole time." Alex asked accusingly. That seemed to get Susana to focus just enough to get her to talk. "I had to take my medication." Susana answered as she yanked back on her whip and managed it to free it from Alex's malachite rod and retract it back into her hand. Hearing her answer, Alex snorted and shook his head as his rod shrank back down to it's normal form of a two foot long dagger. "Oh please. I know junior high students that can lie better then you. Here I thought you were an actress." Alex scoffed as his eyes continued to glow.

Instead of replying to that, Susana threw down her purse and launched a blood red whip out of both hands. One was aimed for Alex's chest, the other for the other woman's face. Alex didn't even move to avoid the attack. He just sighed and raised the malachite dagger as it morphed into a small shield, and the whip bounced off harmlessly. Lesson number one in fighting: keep your eyes on your opponent's eyes, for they will look at the spot they will attack next. Alex thought as he recalled some of his father's lessons in combat. "Shall we end this quickly?" Alex asked the woman he was fighting next to, and had a guess what the answer was. While he focused on Susana, her purse had tipped over, and a tiny pill had rolled out with an 'M' written on the side.

The hiding and the huddling. Lori never understood that. What made animals freeze in the headlights of oncoming cars when running and then hiding would have saved the creature's life? And what made the more evolved human ignore logic and defer back to a more primitive and seemingly useless part of the brain? Mr. Helpful badgered Mr. Vase into leaving.

And he asked a good question os Susanna. Why did she leave if she was just going to come back moments later for trouble? If she was smart about her premeditated revenge, she could have waited until things were closed and taken her time. She could have wanted to be sure to cut off the vase's buyer, but it seemed more likely that she had just left and then changed her mind about taking Mr. Helpful on. That or...

> "I had to take my medication."

Her meaning was not lost on Lori. The blonde froze for half a second and then... laughed. Especially when the evidence rolled right out of her purse.

Lori, mastermind behind the creation the pill that gave humans temporary mutant powers, was facing a human on M. It wasn't the first time someone on M had threatened her safety. It wouldn't be the last. What made it so d*mn amusing was that she had paid off the vase man for damages caused by a human on M with money supplied largely in part by humans on M.

She took a whip across the cheek and the blow was hard enough to turn Lori's face away and toned her laughter down to a trickle.

> "Shall we end this quickly?"

"If you like." Lori resisted the urge to touch her cheek at the feeling of moisture there. Had the whip split her cheek? Was that her blood or residue from the whip? Either way it would help her not spark if she could manage to leave it alone. She turned her face back to Susanna's matching glare for glare. "But Susanna's no mutant. She's on M. Give her time and she'll shrivel back up into a hasbeen."

Lori set her own purse down with poise so that she could catch the next whip with her coat sleeve covered arm instead of bare skin. She fully intended to punch Susanna. In the face. With her fist.

Alex was starting to consider the possibility that it would be better to just knock Susana out with one smack to the forehead with an extending malachite poll, but all that would teach the Broadway star is how much makeup it would take to cover up a bruise on her forehead. Besides, he wanted to make sure that she remembered to never steal again... and that was going to take a little bit more then a bruise. It was very rare for Alex to think like this, but even he thought that Susana needed to be taught a lesson she would never forget.

However, before Alex could act, he was suddenly taken aback when the woman next to him suddenly burst into laughter. Alex glanced over at her puzzled by her reaction to a simple pill rolling out of Susana's purse. It wasn't until the woman explained that Susana wasn't a mutant and she was actually on the M drug. Even he had heard about the M-drug. "Well, that explains a lot. You can tell me why that's funny later though." Alex stated as he turned back to face Susana who seemed to have made up her mind about something.

"All I wanted was a stupid vase for cheap, but no, you had to do the 'morality right' thing." Susana exclaimed as she prodded a finger in Alex's direction. "So now all I wanted was to teach that old coot a lesson and maybe give you a second chance and let you exist only as my boy toy because your cute, but nooo, you just had to be a mutant with an ethical code." Susana stated as her blood red whips started to extend out of her hands. "So now you're dead, and you're lover here is dead too!" Susana yelled as the tips of her whips became needle sharp and began to secret a black liquid that quickly made the shop smell like poison.

With a howl Susana swung her whips at Alex and Lori again, and once again Alex extended his malachite rod and swung it wide to deflect the whip like before... but this time Susana was ready for it and coiled her whip around the rod in an attempt to take the malachite away from Alex. As she pulled on the rod with one whip, she swung her other whip a Lori again, attempting to cut her face again or splatter her with the black toxin that her whips were secreting. "Nice try, but I have a few tricks of my own." Alex said as the malachite rod flattened out as it turned into a broad sword with razor sharp edges. Thanks to Alex pulling back on the malachite sword so he wouldn't lose it and Susana pulling the whip she had coiled around the sword, the razor edges of the sword dug their way into the whip and managed to cut their way through as if the whips were made of wet tissue paper.

In shock, Susana recalled the remains of her whip back into her hand as a few seconds of it fell to the floor and seemed to melt into a red puddle of blood. "My turn..." Alex stated and pointed the sword at Susana, and the tip was unwavering. The end of the sword seemed to inflate like a balloon until the end was shaped like a sphere and was roughly the size of a base ball. Before Susana could guess what was going to happen next, the malachite weapon extended like a harpoon being shot from a gun and nailed Susana in the gut... hard. As the malachite weapon retracted just as fast as it had extended, Susana clenched her stomach and fell to her knees. "What's wrong? Indigestion or a glass stomach?" Alex asked as the malachite weapon turned back into a three foot long rod as Susana coughed and tried to get her breath back.

Selfish and stupid. But mostly stupid. Susanna clearly had no experience in taming boy toys or handing out punishment. She was a woman so full of herself and her own perceived gravity that she couldn't see that the world had gone on without her. She was sad with her vase obsession and her oppression of the vase maker. That was probably one of the few outlets Susanna had. It wasn't healthy. Of course, neither was taking M and facing off one versus two.

Also... that guy as her lover? Lori spared him a glance. This lady had some serious assumption issues.

Lori took a step forward and tread quite deliberately on the red pill with the little M. Crunch. Susanna howled and split her focus between her two adversaries, one whip each. The Order Leader caught the whip against her coat sleeve and the sloppy poison slung droplets around. Lori yanked the whip toward herself. Hard.

Mr. Helpful was already in the middle of ramming his fancy green weapon into her stomach so the combination of Lori pulling her forward meant that Susanna took extra force to her gut. The actress was entirely winded and made it to her knees.

> "What's wrong? Indigestion or a glass stomach?"

"That was in poor taste." Lori graded Mr. Helpful on his banter as she took the few steps forward required to close the distance between herself and Susanna. Boot. Meet face. Lori was a killer forward in her soccer playing days. She expected the blow to be a complete K.O.

That just left the task of disentangling the dripping whip from her arm...

When Susana had accused Alex and the woman as being lovers, which resulted in the woman giving Alex a glance, the malachite manipulator almost laughed. It was easy for him to see that this woman was way out of his league... heck, every woman was out of his league, but the woman he was fighting side by side with was goddess in human form, was rich, and was more then a capable fighter. If it wasn't for the two of them fighting side by side now, chances are that woman wouldn't of even looked at him, or even acknowledge his existence.

After watching Susana fall to the floor from being nailed in the stomach by his malachite rod, which was assisted by the woman pulling on one of Susana's whips, Alex watched as the woman walked up to the downed Susana and nailed the downed Broadway star in the forehead with a powerful kick... powerful enough that Alex was partly surprised that Susana's head didn't come flying off. The star's eyes rolled back into her head before she collapsed onto the floor, which was followed by her whips going limp and uncoiling from the woman's arm and falling onto the floor in a heap. Glad to see the fight was over Alex relaxed and gently let go of his mental hold on the malachite in his hands, resulting in his glowing green eyes to fade back to their normal cyan color as the three foot long rod of malachite shrinking back down to the size of a small dagger, which Alex slipped into the scabbard on his left hip.

He then glanced over at the woman with a puzzled look and finally replied to her comment about his banter being in poor taste. "Of course it was in poor taste... does it look like I have any?" Alex stated in a humorous tone as the side of his mouth lifted up slightly with a grin... though he wasn't expecting her to laugh in reply. The smile quickly faded as he crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Now that the problem is dealt with, would you mind telling me why you lied about being her daughter, and why you paid off part of her debt when there is no relation between the two of you? Sure you're both blond and Caucasian, but you look nothing like her." Alex stated in a plain but calm tone. In reality he had high doubts any man would stoop down low enough to sleep with Susana because how big of a b*tch she was.

Meanwhile, in the alley behind the store, Mr. Shin was heading towards a shadowy area with the expensive vase in his hands, constantly looking around to see if he was followed by any of the three people in the shop or anyone else. Seeing no one, he relaxed a little bit, but still clung tightly to the vase. "Oh... oh what do I do now? Where's that cop that I'm suppose to hand this intercepted shipment of M-drug pills to? And how did Lori know where the stolen shipment was... and why did she come herself? And who was that man with the cyan eyes that glowed green? Oh... oh..." the Korean sobbed as he made his way down the alleyway, unsure of what to do now.

The whip slipped free all on its own, which was great because Lori wanted to minimize her contact with the liquid that had soaked through her coat sleeve. Lori knelt to check Susanna's pulse and gingerly brush a lock of blonde hair out of the woman's face. Oh how the mighty fall.

> "...Sure you're both blond and Caucasian, but you look nothing like her."

"I look more like my dad." And boy was that the truth. Yeah. Not the truth related to this woman, but it was the truth about Lori. What? Did he want to have them to take a maternity test here and now?

Susanna didn't look too bad off. Her temple would bruise, but that was about it unless Mr. Helpful's magical battering ram had hurt her ribs. Lori went to fetch Susanna's purse and look through it for anything overtly interesting. Well, besides the drugs that Lori poured out onto the ground and crushed under her heel.

Nest, Lori lifted Susanna up. Lori's arm with the dampened sleeve was quite a bit weaker than she was used to and shook a fair bit. Still, as it was, a tiny blonde like Lori didn't look the type to be able to handle that much weight as easily as she did. It took a little maneuvering for her to get the lady's arm over her shoulder, but she didn't leave an opportunity open for any help. She didn't need or want it.

"You should go grab your shop keeper friend and tell him the party is over." Not even a single other broken vase to boast about either. Lori would probably stuff Susanna in a cab and tell it to drive her to Ohio or something. The lady would definitely be buying more M so there was no reason to cut off that source of revenue for the Order just because the lady piqued Lori's mommy complex.

As Mr. Shin rounded a corner in the alleyway, a dark figure suddenly grabbed him from behind and pulled the poor Korean into the shadows. Trying to struggle, the merchant dropped the vase, which oddly enough didn't break when it hit the ground, and tried to pull away the hand that was covering his mouth and nose, but his attacker was too strong. As he struggled, only one thought was going through Mr. Shin's mind. Why me? It wasn't long afterwards that the dark figured lowered the Korean's lifeless body to the ground and picked up the vase will pulling out his cell phone and dialed a friend's number. As the phone rang, the dark attacker ran his gloved fingers over the hundred of bumps that covered the vase's surface, counting each bump as he did so.

The man frowned under his mask when the message asking him to leave a message played, since it meant he was going to be taking a little longer this way. "Hey Tony, it's Bob. I just recovered that shipment of M-drugs that the two of us bone heads lost. You're not going to believe this, the old coot had put them all into the lining of a vase he was making. It's almost flawless. We're gonna need another potter or a mutant with control over clay to get all 500 pills out of this vase so we can finally sell this stuff. However I saw something rather bad in front of the shop before I chose to go in through the back. Lori was there, and she had another guy with her whom is clearly battle hardened judging from the look in his eyes, and they were fighting someone else whom could've been an undercover cop for all I know! I thought you said you were gonna keep the loss of the shipment quiet! I don't know who that guy is, if he's either another customer of ours or if he's just another mutant, but his eyes glow green when he uses his power, and it causes something green to grow out of his hands. Freaky, eh? I'm just glad I'm a normal human. Ah, see you at our chick pick up spot. Peace out!" the killer said, then closed his cell phone up and quickly darted into another alleyway.

*******

When the woman said that she looked more like her father, something about her voice made Alex believe her, though he still had high doubts that she was Susana's daughter. However in truth it was none of his business, and he was actually starting to wonder why he asked that question in the first place. "Ah, okay. Considered the question dropped." Alex stated politely as he reached into his back pocket to grab a clean hankie so she could wipe the poison off of her arm, but as she moved to pick Susana up and then seemed to be able to swing her over her shoulder without much effort, Alex realized that she didn't want any of his help and seemed to be doing fine on his own.

When she told him to find Mr. Shin and tell him that the struggle was over, Alex nodded while stuffing the hankie into his back pocket. "Alright. It looks like you have things handled... and that you want me to leave you alone. Later." Alex stated as he turned around and walked around the counter to head towards the back door. "Nice job by the way." Alex stated before he opened the door that led to the rear half of the shop.

Once Alex was through the threshold of the door, he closed it behind him and leaned against the wall next to the door, trying to regain his composure. What it the world was that back there? Alex asked himself as he looked down into his empty palms. He couldn't figure out why he had acted that way when he nailed Susana in the stomach with his malachite. He wasn't one for trash talk, never had been... so why did he do that while she was down? It didn't make any sense to him. Sure, he was trying to protect Mr. Shin and his store, but doing that to someone while they were down didn't have any purpose, other then to rub it in, and that wasn't his way. Must be because I'm a traitor. Traitors don't have a code of honor. They don't even have hearts. Alex thought as he remembered some of the stuff his father taught him as a child when ever they talked about the duties of the Keepers of the family.

With a sigh, Alex got off the wall and headed towards the door that led into the alley way behind the store.

Lori caught a flurry of handkerchief when she stopped to grab up her own purse. Mr. Helpful seemed a bit old fashioned. Lori's "back-up and let me do it myself" attitude probably threw him for a loop.

> "Nice job by the way."

He held the door for Lori. She would have complained if it weren't so convenient. "Uh. You too." Next time she needed someone with the power of a magical green weapon, she would keep him in mind. Mr. Helpful took a breather and leaned against the back wall of the empty shop, maybe to watch Lori go on her awkward way with the weight of her 'mother' balanced against her shoulders.

Lori wasn't about to drop the facade. She hailed a cab, with some help managed to maneuver the woman inside and then had the cabby wait as Lori took a more in-depth look through Susanna's purse. Expensive sunglasses. Tissues. Ah. There it was. The Order Leader fished out Susanna's pocket book and was not disappointed.

The credit card went to the cabby to pay for him to drive until Susanna woke up. Lori wanted him to drive west, off the island and just keep going if he could. The cash went to herself for a job well done. After he swiped and returned the card, Lori ran a little electricity over cache of credit cards and her fancy cell phone so that they would be useless. This way, Susanna would be far, far away with no means to get herself home. Also, Lori stole a tube of lipstick in a very deep, dark red simply because she liked it. With one of Susanna's heavy ball point pens, she scribbled a quick note to the unconscious woman on a napkin.

"This world is full of consequences."

Her cash reservoir refilled, Lori stepped out of the cab and tapped the hood of the vehicle once the door was closed.

Not the way she would have handled her own mother, but satisfying all the same.

By now her arm felt like it was sun burned. She had left it unattended for far too long. Lori started walking back toward the pottery shop and peeled off her jacket carefully. The affected area was red with distinct marks that showed where the liquid had seeped through her jacket the most. Despite the cold, she didn't mind going without the jacket. In fact, her whole face and neck felt warm.

Lori stuffed the jacket into a trash bin and ducked back into the shop to see if Mr. Helpful ever found Mr. Shin.

As Alex opened the door that led into the back alleyway, he was surprised to see just how long it was, and that there were several other alleys that broke off of the alley he was currently walking down, and he was wondering which one Mr. Shin had gone down. The old merchant was clearly not in the first alleyway, that was for certain, it was so well lit that Alex could see every nook and cranny of this alley. He only needed to take four steps to reach the first alleyway, which was on his left, and it was only three feet long, and it was mostly used to store fresh clay for the pottery merchant to use for his clay.

However when Alex reached the second alleyway, he nearly froze up when he saw a person wearing clothes similar to Mr. Shin lying on the ground in a shady area under a fire escape to hide the body. Not thinking about any possible danger, Alex quickly ran towards the downed body and skidded to a stop next to the body. It was Mr. Shin alright, and he wasn't breathing. With sorrow and pity filling his heart, Alex knelt down next to the Korean to check for a pulse. Nothing. Alex you fool. You should've finished that fight as soon as possible to make sure nothing happened to him. He could've panicked to the point that his heart stopped. Alex thought as he blamed himself for this man's death, and slowly closed Mr. Shin's eyes.

It was then that Alex noticed that the vase was missing, and there was some bruising around Mr. Shin's mouth and nose as if something hard had pushed up against it. Curious, he stood back up and looked around, and noticed the shadow of a person vanishing around a corner that led into another alleyway. Now a bit more cautious, he drew his malachite dagger and walked towards the corner and glanced around it. There, walking down the middle of the alleyway, was a man dressed in dark clothes with the vase under his arm. Did he steal the vase from Mr. Shin's body, or did he have something to do with the merchant's death? Alex thought as he stepped around the corner. "Excuse me sir. I need to ask you a couple of questions." Alex stated using a calm yet firm tone, not realizing how much he sounded like a cop.

When the man whirled around with a gun drawn, Alex wished he hadn't said a thing, and he barely had time to dive back around the corner before the bricks that had been behind Alex shattered a little as lead bullets struck the brick wall of the alleyway. The sound of the gun shots echoed through the alleyway and could be heard from the nearby street. Alex didn't dare to look around the corner as another shot rang out. "Rook, why the freak did you come out of the motel today?" Alex asked himself as he glanced around the corner, then jumped back as a bullet missed his nose by a millimeter.