Alex was sitting in the passenger seat of Drew's car as they went through New York City, heading towards the X-mansion. It had only been a few hours ago that Alex had been so depressed that a head shrink could of declared him suicidal, and at the time Alex might have agreed with them. He had been rolling around in his grief over killing his own father by mistake, not to mention he did it in front of his whole family which would tear the family apart, and to top it off he had gone back on everything that he had lived for with that one mistake. He had been condemning himself for that for the past three months while being on the run. Alex glanced over at Drew and studied the man for a few seconds. If Drew hadn't shown up at that moment, I think I might have become depressed enough to kill myself. He says I don't owe him... but I think I do. Alex thought as he looked back out the window and saw that they were driving up to a large wall with a gate.

"I guess this is my stop." Alex stated as the car started to slow down. Drew had informed Alex that he had an errand to run and that it couldn't wait, so he would have to drop Alex off at the mansion's front gate and then leave. The news had disappointed Alex a little bit, but he was alright with it. If the Mansion truly was a school for mutants teenagers, then surely he could get access by asking for a job as a custodian. Teenagers were known for being messy, and so were mutants that were getting used to their powers... so Alex guessed that they would gladly accept the help of someone that cleaned up messes for a living.

It didn't take long for Drew's car to pull up to the front gate, and Alex climbed out and shut the car door behind him. Drew drove off, and Alex walked up towards the gate and marveled at how well it was built. Thick tall walls and a very solid gate that used large deadbolt latches to keep it locked. It was very impressed from Alex's point of view. With a nod, he walked towards the gate and through the gate to see if there was anyone there that would let him in. "Hello? Anyone home?"

One more moment stuck inside would be one moment way to long. Despite the cold, the crutches and feeling completely lazy today, the dreadlocks teen was flinging his body across the grounds with his crutches. A coat would have been a good idea, a sweatshirt even, neither though in fact he was facing the brisk cold with just his jeans and crutches. His bare feet dangled between strides as pent up energy coursed through his body. Sure he was feeling like doing nothing, but at the same time he needed to do something.

Just a quick sprint on the crutches and maybe running on just his feet would feel good. He should be walking without the crutches honestly, but having them around tended to give him the option of getting things he normally wouldn't get. Milking the system was what this was about, milk it until the well went dry. Halfway down the driveway, he switched the crutches to rest in the crooks of his arm, while he walked at a leisurely pace. The cold asphalt felt surprisingly refreshing.

Pausing in his stroll, Hokee's head tilted up to the sky taking in momentarily clear sky. Even with trees and such on the grounds, it was nice to know that the sky was still there even if a lot of the time it got lost in all the skyscrapers in the city. Lost in his own daze, he could hear a burly voice coming from a distance.

"Nope. Not a soul. Leave a message after the beep." Who was that? Sure he wasn't the expert in the slightest on who was who and who lived there and all, but he was sure this was a voice he didn't know. Even with his own skirts in and out of the place, he couldn't remember himself calling out like that. Tucking the crutches back under his armpits, Hokee started to make his way towards the voice with the crutches. Getting closer to the gate, he could see a guy standing on the other side. "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep."

As it turned out, Alex didn't have to wait that long before he heard a response to what he had said a few seconds ago. However, what he heard in the response sounded a little weird, and Alex quickly grew puzzled. Did someone seriously just say 'nope, not a soul, leave a message after the beep?' Well, that confirms that there are teenagers here! Alex thought as he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. This was going to be interesting to say the least.

A moment later, Alex thought he saw someone walking towards him, and that person was wearing a pair of blue jeans and what Alex thought was a flesh colored jacket, and he guessed that this guy was the one that asked him to leave a message. As this guy got closer though, Alex's eyes went wide when he realized that the man was actually a young teenager walking with crutches, and that flesh colored jacket was actually the boy's chest! The kid wasn't even wearing shoes! Is this guy nuts, or does his mutation allow him to handle this kind of cold?? Alex thought, clearly perplexed and stunned. What type of place was this that let young teenagers that are injured greet the strangers at the gate? He was going to have some serious questions for the people in charge when it came to that kid.

It was at that moment that the kid suddenly made the 'beep' noise, and Alex narrowed his eyes. So, he wants to play? Fine, I'll play. Lets see how he reacts to this... Alex thought as he drew the malachite dagger from the scabbard at his side. As he lifted the dagger to his right ear, the blade started to curl in on itself and the pommel started to grow out and became square in shape. Once the dagger Defiance had reached Alex's right ear, it looked like an old fashion phone from a payphone. With a smile, he held the malachite phone to his ear and talked into the mouth piece. "Yes, hello? Is this thing recording? My name is Rook. One of your greeters named Drew dropped me off in front of your front gate so I could come in and maybe find a few fellow mutants that I can trust. You can reach me at-" Alex said, then stopped and looked down at the malachite phone. "Rats... the message box is full." Alex pouted, then let out a sigh as the malachite phone turned back into a dagger, which he slipped into the scabbard on his hip.

Then, with a smirk, he turned to face the teenager that was coming up to him and held up his hands with a shrug. "Well, you said leave a message!" Alex stated with a chuckle.

This guy was a freak, a certified freak for sure. Morphing his whatever into a phone and all that. Who knows what junk he could do around the mansion. He just needed to funnel this guy, get him against Taylor and maybe he could get her out of the place...wild dream but he was allowed to have that time to time. The guy was either a mutant or had some really high scifi thing going on. Guy had a sense of humor though, that was something.

"I lied."

Leaning into the crutches, his squinted eyes kept a constant look on the guy. He was older for sure, no doubt in that one. Still, Hokee had the home field advantage here. He was stuck living in the mansion for a bit and was getting a bit familiar where certain things were and such. With the morphing malachite, he knew he had to say something, just for the sake of his own sanity.

"You one of them mutant freaks." Moving closer to the gate, he did what was needed to let him in. "Unless you want to piss off the b**** that runs this place, I wouldn't do anything to anyone here." Clearing his throat, the teen started to make the journey back towards the mansion. So much for his exercising and such to get his muscles all retrained. It was just easier to use the crutches to move faster around the people. Oh well, he had all day to do something. Maybe after he ditched this guy some place he could go to the roof and get his legs going, maybe hit up the weight room or something too. Oddly enough, he was itching to see how fast he could move with crutches on a treadmill. He never owned one and well, knowing how fast he could go would be cool to know.

"This is outdoors. In the winter its cold, don't go swimming in the pool till summer. I ain't jumping in after you to save your skin. Place gots security, don't piss them off unless you want to loose a limb or more." Why in the world did he come outside with no shoes on or socks at least. The lack of shirt was manageable for a bit, but without pushing his body to sweat, he was getting a chill. "Ms Taylor is one of them adapts, annoying as hell about it to. Keep your distance if want or be her lover I don't care but if she asks, tell her I still think she's a b****."

As the boy came over to the gate and told Alex that he had lied about taking a message, Alex shook his head slightly and sighed. Typical full of himself teenager. Why am I not surprised? Alex thought as he rubbed his bare hands together to keep them warm. However, when the boy said that Alex was one of those 'mutant freaks,' Alex narrowed his cyan eyes as they started to glow green. "Mutant, yes... freak, not so much. Thanks for the warning though. As I said, I'm Rook." Alex stated as he walked through the open gate as the green glow in his eyes dimmed back down to their normal cyan color.

Alex turned back to face the kid that had let him through the gate, and slowly shook his head at the fact that the kid was barefoot and had no shirt on, and it was the kid calling him the freak. "Alright, I've just gotta ask... is there a reason why you came out here with nothing on your feet and no shirt? That's making me think you're either really brave or really crazy." Alex said as he started to follow the kid back towards the mansion. The kid seemed to have ignored the question since he started to tell Alex about the outside of the mansion, and warned him about a woman named Taylor and said that she was an adept, which made Alex puzzled. Adept? Does he mean that she's really skilled with her powers, or did he mean something else? Alex thought since he had never even heard of an adept before.

As they headed towards the mansion, Alex glanced around and took in the scenery. Whom ever was their grounds keeper was really good at their job since the place looked rather beautiful even during the winter. He glanced back at the kid, and decided to ask a rather important question. "So, any suggestions on whom I should talk to first since this is my first time here?"

What was it with people and names. He wasn't deaf, hearing the name once was enough, but sure if the guy wanted to keep tossing out his name fine. Just because he didn't toss out his own name or call the guy by his didn't mean he didn't catch on. Manners were not something that he excelled in or cared much about. Where did they get you anyways? Nowhere. "Whatever." Freak or not, the guy would have to admit it sooner or later he was not normal. Funky eyes changing colors, that was not a normal thing in the slightest.

Opening the front door, he hobbled off to the side and took the crutches out from under his arm pits and tucked them in the nook against the wall. "Does it matter?" Rook could think whatever he wanted, it didn't matter one way or another. Since when did he care what people thought of him. If he was known as being crazy or whatever, maybe people would leave him alone and not expect much from him. Low standards meant more time for him doing what he wanted.

"Taylor. She's kinda in charge. Dishes out the rooms and crap. You staying here?" Leaning against the wall, his squinted eyes looked over the guy. He was, well just another mutant to add to the millions of other freaks living in this place. Not his favorite cup of tea, but he was stuck being here with them. Mutant or not right now, he could care less for everyone else. Doing some calf raises, his eyes drifted away.

"Some real freaks live here, flying monkeys and all that odd s***. Kitchen is off that way, classes over there and if you really want your a** handed to you, there is a training facility that will blow your mind." Lifting one of his legs up behind him, he started to stretch a bit using the wall as a center of balance. "So why'd you come here? Cops looking for you or something?"

When the boy responded with an uncaring 'what ever' when Alex had introduced himself to make sure the boy had caught his nickname, he started to think that this boy was a type of person that just didn't really care about much stuff, and that was that. The 'does it really matter' comment confirmed this and Alex decided to stop asking questions about the mansion, because this boy clearly didn't care about what was going on, and his opinion with mutants were rather low. Freaks... sure, from some points of view we could be considered freaks, but in my opinion mutants are just people with very amazing gifts. We should be judged by what we use out mutations for, not by the fact that we have mutations at all. Alex thought with a frown. He didn't voice his opinion though, since this boy clearly didn't care.

When the boy had asked if Alex was going to stay there at the mansion, he didn't answer at first wondering why the kid even cared, however in truth Alex wasn't sure either. "I'm not really sure. I might, but I think I need to wait on that decision until I've talked to Taylor or another high ranking person here." Alex answered as he turned to face the boy as the kid leaned up against the wall. The kid continued to tell Alex where stuff was, such as the kitchen, the classrooms, and where he could get some practice in if he wanted to. When the boy asked what Alex was doing here and if the police were after him, Alex smiled and shook his head. He had looked up his name on the mutant wanted list and he hadn't gotten a response, so his family hasn't pressed charges. "Well, the reason I came here is because I'm basically looking for a place that a newly emerged mutant like myself could find at least one person that I could call a friend. I don't have a habit of getting myself in trouble, but as a mutant now I have a feeling that my luck is gonna change for the worse and I don't want to find myself backed into a corner without anyone to cover my back. Being alone has the advantage of being able to do what ever you want without anyone judging you... but if you get into trouble, no one will help you get out." Alex answered, quoting some of his father's combat training.

Flicking his head to the right to crack his neck, Alex snorted quietly and decided that he might as well make this a two way conversation. "So... that's the reason I'm here. What about you?"

Making a throat sound in response, his attention was still divided. For the most part, this guy seemed to be handling his rough first impression well enough. On the plus side the guy wasn't bossing him around or trying to do that whole father figure thing on him. If the guy was a good what, ten years younger or so maybe things would be different. Though Hokee just happening to be the first impression of the mansion and the inhabitants to the guy wasn't exactly the ideal situation. Life had a way of growing lemons and giving them as door prizes.

Recently emerged....Rook was starting to make his mutation sound like he was swimming or something. Adults and there funny way of talking. They just made no sense at all. Emerged. Emerged....emerged from what, the swamp of humanity scum? Oh, no maybe he took a walk in the park and slipped in some toxic waste or something. Seriously emerged, what kind of word was that?

"Its more then a feeling, it will happen." Taking his weight off the wall, he took a few steps before stalling. "What do you do exactly?" Sure Rook wanted to see someone else now about the mansion and all, but hey he was the only one there for the moment. Not like he was going to do anything horrible to him, well not exactly. Mess around with him a bit but didn't everyone do exactly that?

Looking for friends. Lame. But sure whatever. This guy could be trying to sweet talk his way into things, but he wasn't buying any of it at all. Making his way to a hallway closet, he reached in to grab his discarded shirt from earlier. Barefoot in the mansion was fine, but he didn't want the guy getting jealous of his toned body compared to chub of Rook. The guy wasn't fat, but he didn't look like he was totally in shape either. He could easily run around in circles with this guy, very easily.

"Lucky for you, welcome to the YMCA of mutants." Adjusting his shirt a bit, the teen started to pull his hair out from the back of it. "As long as you don't piss me off and hook me up with McDonald here and there....I might look at your back if I see anything."

What's with this kid? Alex thought as he tried to figure the kid in front of him out. Everything he said seemed to either bounced off of this kid, or it just annoyed the kid. Alex wouldn't call Hokee a snob... but he would say that this boy was full of himself. One thing was for certain, this kid was not a dummy. If anything, Alex thought that this kid was actually figuring him out, which took some doing. Maybe the kid was telepathic? It would explain why the boy was so full of himself and he had assumed correctly that Alex was going to stay here, or at least attempt to. However, if the boy was telepathic, he wouldn't need to be asking all of these questions about Alex, so that theory was now full of holes. With a small shrug, Alex gave up trying to figure this kid out and began to answer his question about what Alex did.

"Well, I used to be a custodian for a high school over in Kansas, and I did that for several years. I kept the students of that school safe by making sure they had a healthy environment to learn in. During that time I did some side work as a locksmith, which allowed me to protect even more people by making sure that their homes were secure and that home owners could sleep soundly without having to worry about break ins." Alex stated, then smirked. "I'm your basic goodie two shoes, I ain't gonna hide it." Alex stated, then shook his head slightly. Or at least I was until I found out I was a mutant and nearly tore my family apart because of how I found out... Alex thought. He didn't mention it because the kid didn't need to know this stuff. Besides, he was too young and too self-centered to understand what it was like for Alex to lose everything so quickly.

The moment that the kid said he would watch Alex's back if he didn't piss him off and hooked him up, Alex had to chuckle. He wasn't quite sure what the kid meant by hooking him up with a McDonald, but he had a good guess. "I'll do my best to not get on your bad side pal... but in terms of hooking you up with someone, you're on your own there. From the looks of you I'm guessing you do way better in that department that I ever could." Alex stated with a chuckle.

School custodian....seriously? This guy was one of the most least lucky people in the whole world now. If the guy was smart at all, he wouldn't want to stay there as long as Hokee was stuck there. Living nightmare, of course. He wasn't necessarily looking for trouble, but it just seemed to be easily available. With a bit of a snicker, he couldn't help but have a slight twinkle in his squinted eyes. If this guy was going to stay at the mansion, which wasn't a certain fact in one way or another, but if he did and more so if he went for the same career, oh there would be some fun to do now for sure.

"Goodie Two Shoes the janitor..." A snort of air from his nose and another snicker. This guy would never live this moment down, ever. "...No wonder you have no luck with ladies. First of McDonalds is fast food and two girls don't dig guys that clean out toilets all day." Yeah, he definitely had a better chance getting girls, even if dreadlocks could be a turn off for most. All the extra added stuff he was saying about making things safe and all, gag-o-rama.

"Do yourself a favor, don't tell ladies you were a janitor. Lie."The guy should be thankful, Hokee was actually being helpful right now. Yeah, giving the guy a small bit of advice over the female population might cut down on the available women for himself to flirt with or whatever, but the guy was going to need some help if he wanted to survive. "Got a car?" Important information to know. Cars were the livelihood of everything.

Locksmith. Not exactly something he would think a janitor would do but that might make a few things more difficult to do. How good was he with locks and such. Did he only use his little locksmithness for good stuff or was it possible he might be able to con this guy for his own use? He was a goodie goodie though, so there could be snags involved. A shame though. But if he played his cards right, he might be able to make things look like it was for the good of something but really not be. Dang it, now he would have to actually think things out a bit more. That sucked, majorly.

The moment that the boy in front of Alex snickered after he told the boy that he used to be a custodian, Alex cocked an eyebrow and his smiled faded. He new that snickered all too well. He had heard it more times then he could count in a single week from teenagers in the schools he used to work in, and they always snickered in that way before they caused trouble or made a huge mess. Ahh... this kid is a trouble maker. I should've picked that up from his non-caring attitude. Alex thought as he noticed the twinkle in Hokee's eye. It was hard for him to miss that look too. This kid was thinking about all sorts of trouble he could cause for Alex if he started to work there at the custodian. I'll have to keep my eyes out for this one if I get hired. I wonder, will I get to be able to spar with those that misbehave to teach them a lesson? I'll have to ask that question. Alex thought as he crossed his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes slightly with a small grin on his face. "You're plotting something, aren't you?" Alex asked after the kid snickered again.

The moment that the kid teased him about girls not wanting to hang out with him because he cleans out toilets, Alex frowned and shook his head as he shrugged off the comment. "Well, around here I'm guessing I'm not going to be doing that much. My guess is that if I get hired here, I'm going to be cleaning up after the mutants that are still learning to control their powers... or play pranks... and I think I'm looking at the guy I'm gonna be at odds with most of the time. Call it a hunch." Alex said with a smirk. He had dealt with more messes in a month then most other custodians deal with in a year, thanks to the fact that water balloon fights in the hallways were a common thing where he worked. Surely he could handle a few messes from a mutant... right?

However, when the kid gave the suggestion about not telling girls what he does for a living, Alex had to nod. "Thanks for the advice... but I kinda caught on with that one already. It's a given." Alex stated as he rolled his shoulders since he was getting a little stiff in the shoulder blades. With the question if Alex had a car, he had to shake his head. "Had an over-sized van that could carry all of my locksmithing equipment when I was in the business. That thing could handle a whole lot, but it wasn't very maneuverable. Sold it when I arrived in New York City. A vehicle that big that can't make sudden moves does very poorly in the highly aggressive traffic of that city, wouldn't you agree? Besides, found it more entertaining to walk." Alex stated. He then quickly jerked his head to the right to crack his neck, and sighed. "So what about you? What's your name and are you a student here?"

Plotting. Now how dare this guy say such a thing, he didn't even know him in the slightest. There were many different forms of plotting and they didn't necessarily mean bad outcomes. Jumping to conclusions, tisk tisk on that guys part. There was no need to be alarmed, or maybe there was. Depended honestly how he felt and how bored he was. The concept of how long he was stuck there also made a difference in what exactly he might do that could be questionable in the eyes of others.

"Put a label on me and I'll make sure you regret it." Friendly advice, a warning, something along those lines. He couldn't put a finger on which one exactly, though how much different was one option from the other. This guy was starting to inch his way over to his bad side. Assuming that he was going to be the source of trouble, to think of such a thing. He wasn't a trouble maker, it just followed him about like a lost child.

"Hmm." The guy sold his van. An over sized van. What in the world was he thinking? Did he think? Sure they might not exactly be the best thing in the world to drive in the city, but man they had their benefits. If he personally had one of them, it would be way more comfortable to live out of then his car....which he needed to get fixed still. Of course his bad luck the van wasn't there. He'd honestly buy it off him on the spot if it was there...granted his cash flow was heavily dented until he got off the crutches for good. With a big van, he could throw a couch in the back to sleep on, no a bed...yeah that would be way cooler. Sleeper couch could work to, possibly...

"Student is a loose term." He didn't want to go in details with this guy, it wasn't something he needed to know. Not like he cared one way or another but he just didn't fell like telling him the life story of Hokee. Blah, blah, blah and crash bang, beep, beep...yeah there was the Cliff notes version. "Hokee." Instead of reaching out with a hand, he instead grabbed the crutches and held them in one hand shifting his weight about. "I'm only here till my car gets fixed up and I don't need these. Don't clear out my room though, storage prices are a real b**** around here."Leaning backwards to the wall, he took some of the weight off his legs. "This place is full of people, some nice others that are real jerks. Don't underestimate people here, people snap and snap hard. This ain't no easy place, you're a** is gonna get whooped. You man enough?"

When Alex had mentioned that he had a guess that the kid might cause a lot of the trouble that Alex would have to clean up after, the malachite manipulator quickly regretted saying that since the kid clearly took it as an insult and warned Alex not to label him as anything. "Considered the label dropped. My apologies." Alex stated as his eyes drifted towards the ground in shame. He had made the judgement from his experience from his years of working as a custodian in several different schools. He had learned to identify some students as trouble makers by their reactions and the way they talked, and most of the time he had been right and had applied it to Hokee. If he wanted to get along with this kid and other kids, Alex was gonna have to toss that line if thinking out the window... which was way easier said then done for a person with the aspergers developmental disorder.

Alex shifted his weight onto his left leg as he listen to Hokee tell him that the kid wasn't exactly a full fledged student per say, but he could be considered one. The kid introduced himself and explained that he was out the door the moment he no longer needed the crutches and his car was fixed, though he wanted Alex to keep his name on his bedroom since storage lockers were very expensive, and Alex shrugged. "If they let me keep your name on it, I'll make sure that no one clears out your stuff." Alex stated with a nod.

The moment that Hokee asked if he was man enough to handle a fight if he pissed someone else off, Alex looked away from the kid as he thought about a possible answer. Sure Alex had been trained in a few forms of combat and was battle hardened, and he had more then a good hold on his powers... but still, Hokee was suggesting that Alex might have to face another mutant that might be pissed off, and that was something Alex was not looking forward to. Finally, he shrugged and turned back to Hokee. "I might be experienced in combat, so I think I'm, as you suggested, 'man enough.' However there are somethings that are better learned at the tip of a sword." Alex stated, remembering one of his father's lessons.

His father... that was a memory that Alex didn't want to think about at the moment. If anyone here found out about how Alex discovered his mutation, they would run him out of here faster then anything else on the planet. He was going have to avoid showing everyone the tattoo on his right shoulder so they didn't ask about the unique looking tat. With a shrug, Alex glanced around and then turned back to Hokee with a question in hopes it would get his mind off of his family. "One last question and then I'll leave you alone... besides Taylor, is there anyone else here that you would suggest I talk to in order to find out if I can find work here?"

Round one, Hokee.

This was a day to mark on the calender. The guy was looking away, apologized and all. Damn, that just did not happen everyday. To think, all those people who told him no one would take him seriously with his attitude towards life, well who was laughing now? His careless attitude seemed to be doing just well, of course his squinted glare and such with a touch of threat sealed the deal.

This was unbelievable. Would this guy honestly believe everything that he fed to him? He didn't know the price of storage, not something he looked into...or was it....he couldn't remember. Who cared really, what really mattered was finding out one particular piece of information. This guy was going to be easy to manipulate to his own needs. Sure if the guy actually got a job there, and if it was janitorial....it couldn't hurt getting the guy on his side. He could use someone to clean up his messes and such.

"I'm talking weird s*** here, major weird." Running a hand through his long locks of dreads, his squinted eyes looked over the older guy. Some training, some? That was not going to be enough, no way possible. Just getting across the lawn without knowing the security could land a person in the hospital and severely mess up a mutant. No amount of power would be enough to be safe forever.

"There's others. Depends what you want. But you'll want to catch up with her, keeper of the keys." Yeah, who exactly would he point him towards. Not like he went around talking to authority figures, if anything he tended to stay away from them. He couldn't care much for them and didn't like the idea of them having any sort of power over his head.

"Why a janitor, really?"

When Hokee said that there was some really weird stuff around the mansion, Alex had to nod in agreement since this was a place where mutants were living after all. During his time working as a custodian and a locksmith, Alex had ran into several dozen mutants and each one of them had a different mutation. During his long trip from Kansas to New York City though, Alex had ran into even more mutants and had even fought a couple... though none of them were trained fighters. This place on the other hand was different. The mansion was a mutant training facility! "I believe you. I'm guessing that I'd have a better shot at becoming the president then my chances would be at having a 'normal' day here, right?" Alex stated in agreement.

When Hokee asked why Alex worked as a janitor, the malachite manipulator grew silent for a moment or two. Would this kid believe the real reason, or would Alex have to come up with a lie in order to satisfy the boy? With a indecisive shrug, Alex chose to tell the truth. "For the same reason I became a locksmith really, and it's a long story. To give you the short version I always wanted to protect the people around me, but a slight disorder prevented me from joining the armed forces and the same problem prevented me from becoming a cop. Since I couldn't protect everyone around me directly, I decided that I would protect everyone indirectly instead by keeping their learning environment healthy and safe. Sure, a janitor is at the bottom of the totem poll, but from my point a view it's the bottom piece that holds up the rest of the totem poll. I became a locksmith for a similar reason; I repaired and maintained the first line of defense of my customer's homes, which is the lock. If that fails, anyone could get into your home. I made sure that didn't happen so I was in a sense protecting them too." Alex explained to Hokee, then stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket with a grumble.

"Sure, both lines of work were rather unrewarding and thankless, and they left almost no room for fun, but I was doing what I wanted to do all my life, protecting people in the best way I could at the time." Alex stated, then sighed. In truth, he was rather disappointed that his life was mostly spent cleaning bathrooms and repairing door locks, but in truth he would've preferred being a policeman or a soldier. Heck, he would've preferred being a vigilante over a janitor, but that didn't bring in any income at all and everyone has bills that they need to pay. Maybe the kid would understand that someday. "Does that answer you're question?"