Saph tensed a little as Aura approached the girl to give her a card, and remained tense until she left. His eyes never left her; part of him wondered if he could just drop the girl off at the mansion, become the Judge, and hunt her down tonight...

Another time, he told himself.

"I understand that you haven't decided yet where you'll go... I'm happy that you're giving the mansion a chance, though."

They turned the corner, and he walked in silence for a minute, stopping at a cross walk or two. He decided to break the silence with a small. "I'm sorry about that situation... I couldn't sit by and watch..." He fell into silence again until they reached a parking lot. He stopped in front of a shiny 2010 camaro with a slick blue paint job and 22 inch rims. "Eh... That's mine there." He pointed to the old junky Mazda with a taped on bumper next to it.

"I... eh... It's not much to look at, but it gets me where i'm goin."

He climbed on in, and unlocked the door for her, brushing some papers off of the seat. He'd never done the whole 'bring a new mutant to the mansion' thing before... He knew how it worked, though, even if his presentation was a bit off.

He put the key in the ignition, and turned it. It barely started. "So... How long were you out on the streets?" She looked about the age he was when he'd first stumbled into an alleyway, maybe a little older... He was glad she'd found people willing to help her so early on; he'd been on the streets for eight years before finding the mansion.

Skydancer stayed quiet, following the masked mutant, just long enough to get out of sight of Aura. If he turned on her, for some reason, she'd run. If he persisted, she'd stab him or strngle him. Just because he claimed he was bringing her some place safe didn't necessarily mean that he was telling the truth. She wasn't just some niave little girl anymore.

"I understand that you haven't decided yet where you'll go... I'm happy that you're giving the mansion a chance, though."

Skydancer shrugged and kept walking, slightly behind the other man just in case. The fact that so far he seemed true to his word was only slightly comforting. "Why do you really wear that mask? Is it because you're a freak like me? Ashamed to show your face to the world? Maybe I should get a mask, I'd stick out less than having purple tubes all under my skin." Bitterness did not become her and yet bitterness was all she had left.

"I... eh... It's not much to look at, but it gets me where i'm goin."

This was where things were likely to get dicey. If the hero decided he wasn't such a hero after all then she wasn't certain she could survive a jump from a moving vehicle; in fact she was fairly certain she could not. Still, even in a car she could probably incapaitate him if need be. Probably. Although she didn't even really know what is power was, so maybe not. The prospect of a dry room and a warm meal caused her to push her doubts to the side and she got in anyway.

"So... How long were you out on the streets?"

"I've been on the streets a year," Skydancer answered. There was no reason to lie about it, after all. "Trust me, it sucks about as much as you'd think it would." There was that bitterness back again, almost like an old friend.

Some of the stuff she said disturbed him a little. He'd never had a visible mutation, but his own particular genetic hiccup had made life tough for many reasons growing up... Mainly the part where he accidentally blew up expensive things, which got him kicked out of more than a few foster homes. Still...

"You aren't a freak... That girl in that alley... She was a freak. As long as you don't let this world get to you like it did to her there is hope for you. Even if it don't seem like it right now. As for the mask... I wear it for the same reasons I said in the alley. It's mostly a formality, I guess. Damn thing only covers my eyes; you'll know my face as soon as soon as we get back to the mansion... You want to stop and get food before then? There's a few fast food places on the way."

He pulled out of the parking lot, and took the nearest right... The mansion wasn't too far away, but he understood what it was like to be hungry. He smiled when she answered the question about how long she'd been on the streets.

"Yeah... The first year was the hardest for me... It got easier, I guess... I lived on the streets for eight. Let me tell you, the place we're headed... It didn't even seem real at first. I felt like I was dreaming for the first week. I'd spent years lying, stealing, conning... And out of the blue came this place where I didn't have to do anything like that to survive. Don't get me wrong. They'll put you to work, goin to classes and stuff like that; but it's all stuff that's good for you in the end."

He paused as he realized he was running his mouth. Damn, this was harder than it looked. He hoped he hadn't annoyed the poor girl. He had to say, though... This was probably the most normal he'd felt in a while... He wasn't killing criminals as the tense judge, acting heroic as the Masochist... He hadn't let himself be... himself in so long.

"You aren't a freak... That girl in that alley... She was a freak. As long as you don't let this world get to you like it did to her there is hope for you. Even if it don't seem like it right now. As for the mask... I wear it for the same reasons I said in the alley. It's mostly a formality, I guess. Damn thing only covers my eyes; you'll know my face as soon as soon as we get back to the mansion... You want to stop and get food before then? There's a few fast food places on the way."

The words rang hollow in Skydancer's ears. What did he know about being a freak anyway? Probably not as much as he thought he knew because it was imposible to really understand until you were there. She certainly hadn't, not even a little bit. "Forgive me if I don't qite believe you. You don't know what its like to have everyone stare at you, to see the fear and hatred in their eyes wherever you go. How can you, if you look normal? I'm not like you, I'm not like most mutants. I'm just a freak and a monster." The words were said with conviction because no one could really deny their truth. "Food would be great though." Her stomach rumbled in agreement.

"Yeah... The first year was the hardest for me... It got easier, I guess... I lived on the streets for eight. Let me tell you, the place we're headed... It didn't even seem real at first. I felt like I was dreaming for the first week. I'd spent years lying, stealing, conning... And out of the blue came this place where I didn't have to do anything like that to survive. Don't get me wrong. They'll put you to work, goin to classes and stuff like that; but it's all stuff that's good for you in the end."

Skydancer listened intently then began to frown. If he had been on the streets too...and was offering to buy her food...maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit. That was still a big maybe though. "You...lived on the streets too? But why? If you look normal why didn't you just hide your differences and integrate? No one would have even known!" It didn't occur to Skydancer that there might have been other difficlties or that other families might not be nearly so accepting as her own. Her own personal bubble of nievety might have been popped, but in some ways it still remained.

Skydancer's stomach growled again as they pulled into the parking lot. It should have been embarassing but after everything else she was beyond embarassment. Of course she was hungry, she had just spent the last year on the streets and if her rescuer was telling the truth, then he would understand what that was like. Not a pleasant experience didn't even begin to cover it.

"Forgive me if I don't quite believe you. You don't know what its like to have everyone stare at you, to see the fear and hatred in their eyes wherever you go. How can you, if you look normal? I'm not like you, I'm not like most mutants. I'm just a freak and a monster."

Saph sat in silence as she responded. Honestly, he didn't have a response for her there... What could he say back? He really didn't know what it was like to grow up with a visible mutation, and honestly part of him was sure that she needed to give that response to him, though.... She needed to say it to someone, because he imagined that he hadn't had a whole bunch of people to say it to over the past year.


He went on to tell her about his experience and the street, and was somewhat surprised by her response
"You...lived on the streets too? But why? If you look normal why didn't you just hide your differences and integrate? No one would have even known!"

"Well... I guess it's kinda a long story... Some of the earlier stuff is a little fuzzy... My mom... She died giving birth to me. The doctors told my dad it had something to do with my mutation. He never forgave me, I guess; he always used to tell me that, anyways... When I was still just a little kid, he put me up for adoption. From there, I went from home to home for a while... Just when things would start to look good my mutation would kick in, and something would explode when I touched it, and they'd ship me back. After a while I guess I just got tired of it, and ran away. By then I was a mess... A dirty, untrained, reject of society, y'know? I started stealin stuff to sell for food... But then I found the mansion, and all that's history." Clearly he was leaving a big chunk of that out, but he would emanate the impression that there were parts of that story he wouldn't tell just any stranger off the street.

He pulled into Mac Dino's the famous dinosaur/clown themed fast food chain, and grinned as he heard her stomach complain. He wondered how long it had been since she last ate. He had enough in his wallet for a good meal, though, and he got paid soon, so he was sure he could afford to splurge without dipping into his 'Saph's dream crime fighting car fund'.

He opted to go through the drive though so they could get to the mansion faster.

...

...


One trip through the drive through later, Saph's wallet was lighter, and they were headed back. He drove while eating a hash brown triangle, careful not to let it distract from his driving too much. "Man, on my budget I don't get to eat fast food too much. Don't get me wrong, they take good care of me, and the fridge there is always full, but I gotta save, y'know. Can't fight crime forever."

They were nearly there... He hoped she would be as wowed as he was when he stood outside the mansion gates on that faithful day... And then hopped the fence before promptly getting shocked by the security system. Now, however, he had clearance, so they could just walk into the front door, even this late at night.

Thank god for that.

"Well... I guess it's kinda a long story... Some of the earlier stuff is a little fuzzy... My mom... She died giving birth to me. The doctors told my dad it had something to do with my mutation. He never forgave me, I guess; he always used to tell me that, anyways... When I was still just a little kid, he put me up for adoption. From there, I went from home to home for a while... Just when things would start to look good my mutation would kick in, and something would explode when I touched it, and they'd ship me back. After a while I guess I just got tired of it, and ran away. By then I was a mess... A dirty, untrained, reject of society, y'know? I started stealin stuff to sell for food... But then I found the mansion, and all that's history."

"But...you turned out ok in the end, right?" It was something Skydancer had to believe, that there might just be hope in the end. It was something of a revalation that other mutants had problems as well, even when they did look normal. She didn't know what her aunt's life had been like before her own power had developted and oregami creations weren't exactly dangerous or particularly uncontrollable. She felt a little ashamed, then, at her judgements.

As they went through the drive through and ordered the food, Skydancer didn't talk too much. Eating was her priority, filling the empty void that had become her stomach. As she dumped several packets of salt onto her meal, she tried her best to ignore any odd looks she might have been getting. Early on she had discovered that not only did she look different than other people, but she also had to eat different and in particular had to eat large amounts of salt and iron. Salt was the easy part, of course. Iron was a little more tricky without any money, but when she had it was was just a matter of iron pills and large portions of red meat. She supposed she could probably resort to drinking blood to get iron as well, but the thought made her vaguely ill.

It was only after Skydancer had finished eating that she spoke again. "Why are you helping me?" That was the question that was bothering her and now didn't seem the time to dance around the issue. Maybe she might even get an honest answer. "I mean, its not like I have money to pay you and I don't think I can really help fight crime." Nor did she think she wanted to help fight crime; the idea that it might even be an option never occurred to her.

"But...you turned out ok in the end, right?"It tugged at his heart strings to hear that question asked by someone like her; someone who had been so close to going through what he had. It made him happy to know that he was giving her a way out.

"I'm working on it... Making something out of yourself isn't something that happens over night, but now I have a fighting chance. I have hope." He finished his hash brown, sitting silently as she filled her empty stomach... Damn, she reminded him so much of his past it was scary. The salt thing was strange, but he figured it might have something to do with her mutation... That, or she just really liked salty food... A lot. He smiled a little as they turned onto the street with the mansion on it. She asked him a question he was sure had been on the tip of her tongue since they got in the car.

"Why are you helping me? I mean, its not like I have money to pay you and I don't think I can really help fight crime."


"This is probably gonna sound cheesy as all hell, but it's because it's the right thing to do. You deserve a chance as much as anyone else, but the world doesn't understand people like us... That makes it hard for them to want to help... So, a long while back a group of mutants made a place where lost mutants could find hope. That place gave me my life back... All I'm doing is paying it forward... And... Here we are."

He pulled his car up to the front gate... The mansion could be seen, though at this hour, most of the lights were already out. opening his sun visor and pressing a button on it. The gate slowly slid open, and he drove up the drive way. Another button push opened the large garage, where he pulled in between two much nicer cars than his. "I... eh... Came from humbler beginnings than a lot of the people here. Didn't treat me any different, though."

He parked the car, climbed out, wincing as his door dinked into Shawn, the resident silver man,'s car just a little. "Aw crap... not again." He slammed his door shut, and eyed the little mark left... A quick lick of the finger/shine proved that the mark was less than even superficial... "Whew..." He froze as he realized the new girl might have seen that.

"I'm working on it... Making something out of yourself isn't something that happens over night, but now I have a fighting chance. I have hope."

It was something to consider. Skydancer was no stranger to the idea of things being worth while taking time. If she hadn't ended up a mutant she likely would have gone professional with her gymnastics and the only reason she had gotten so close was because of hours upon hours of hard work every single day. It still stung that a mere thing like being purple had prevented her from following that dream. The world truly was a cruel place sometimes. Or all the time; she wasn't quite convinced that any kindness the world appeared to do was anything more than illusion.

"This is probably gonna sound cheesy as all hell, but it's because it's the right thing to do. You deserve a chance as much as anyone else, but the world doesn't understand people like us... That makes it hard for them to want to help... So, a long while back a group of mutants made a place where lost mutants could find hope. That place gave me my life back... All I'm doing is paying it forward... And... Here we are."

Skydancer still wasn't quite certain that she bought all that, but just as she was about to say something about it, words were taken from her as The Mansion came into sight. "This...this is the place I'll be staying?" It wasn't that she hadn't seen buildings that large before, but after a year on the streets and a feeling of never having hope again, it was amazing. Too good to be true didn't even begin to go over what was going through her head just then. Nothing that good could possibly come without a price. Either that, or there was some horrible secret inside just waiting to come and bite her in the ass. Still, nothing to be done about it at that moment; after all, the desperate didn't have a lot of options.

Skydancer got wearily out of the car and watched as the masked mutant dinged and then repaired the minor damage to the other vehicle. It made him seem more human, in a way, the fact that he could make mistakes and bandage them up just like everyone else. She didn't comment on what she'd seen though she wore the very slightest of amused smiles. "So, uh, what's next? How does this all work?" The moment of truth, so to speak.

Gosh, this really reminded him of his first day at the mansion. It brought up some memories, mostly fond ones, though being electrocuted and not quite getting off on the right foot with Streak weren't all that great.

"Yup... Home sweet home. I know, it seems too good to be true, huh? That's exactly how I felt when I first came here. Y'know, for the first whole week I had the sneaking suspicion that they were really a bunch of cannibals, luring mutants in with the promise of food and shelter. Haven't been eaten yet, though, so I guess we're fine there."

The last part was said with a laugh in it, as if it were a joke, though he did seriously remember debating on whether or not Jewel was really that nice, or if she wanted to throw him on the BBQ with a nice dry rub.


When it game to the dent, he left out a mental whew when she didn't say anything about it... In fact, it seemed to amuse her a little. Well, at least he'd lightened the mood a little, huh? She then inquired about the whole 'what now' thing.

"Well, for now we find you a guest room. In the morning we can get you someone to fill out all that pesky paperwork. That kinda stuff ain't my strong suit. I can show you where the kitchen is if you get hungry and want a snack, but the tour can wait until tomorrow too, if you're tired. Basically, the person you talk to will get you a room, and you can see about classes. If, down the line, you decide you want to help out around here, there's a bunch of things you can do to help... I've never been one for sitting around, so I tried out to become one of the X-men."

He headed into the mansion from the garage, stepping into a hallway. From there he would head toward the kitchen. "Careful not to make a racket. People are probably sleeping."

"Yup... Home sweet home. I know, it seems too good to be true, huh? That's exactly how I felt when I first came here. Y'know, for the first whole week I had the sneaking suspicion that they were really a bunch of cannibals, luring mutants in with the promise of food and shelter. Haven't been eaten yet, though, so I guess we're fine there."

"Too good to be true." Skydancer nodded, feeling more than slightly stunned and overwhelmed. How quickly things could change, going from life on the streets to, maybe, a life of comparable luxury in an amazing place that offered everything she could ever need to get by and, by the looks of it, get by relatively comfortably. If, of course, it wasn't actually too good to be true and so far she wasn't quite convinced.

"Well, for now we find you a guest room. In the morning we can get you someone to fill out all that pesky paperwork. That kinda stuff ain't my strong suit. I can show you where the kitchen is if you get hungry and want a snack, but the tour can wait until tomorrow too, if you're tired. Basically, the person you talk to will get you a room, and you can see about classes. If, down the line, you decide you want to help out around here, there's a bunch of things you can do to help... I've never been one for sitting around, so I tried out to become one of the X-men."

"What kind of paperwork?" Skydancer asked, the suspicion back in her tone of voice. "And what are the X-Men? I'm willing to help, to contribute for my food and shelter but this is all still a little hard to take in..." Which was putting things mildly, as far as she was concerned. In the past she might not have thought twice about such kindness, but that was a long time ago. Or rather, that was only a short time ago but it sure did feel like a long time ago.

"Careful not to make a racket. People are probably sleeping."

Skydancer nodded and did her best to follow as silently as possible. "I want to say thankyou again for this. I'm not...I still don't know what I think of it, but I know it has to be better than sleeping on the streets. Even if you aren't quite what you seem." She realized just how tired she was, right at that moment, to be so honest with her feelings. It wasn't exactly the most diplomatic thing she could have said, especially since he was basically rescuing her from a life of homelessness.

When she asked the questions about paperwork with that air of suspicion, Saph shrugged; he recalled the experience somewhat vaguely himself. "Nothing too big. They'll want to know your name, level of education, so they can assist you when it comes to classes... whether or not you would be comfortable with a room mate. That kinda stuff. I remember my room mate when I first got here. Fish man. Interesting kid. He moved out not too long ago."

Saph paused to think about the X-men question. "Well... keep it in mind that helping out around here is completely optional. You don't gotta do anything you don't want to, and we won't pressure you to do anything. I joined the X-men cause I wanted to help people. That's what we do. There's bad people out there, some of them mutants, who put a deep scar on how people see us mutants. We work to help mend that scar, I guess. We stop criminals, work with the police, do community service sometimes... Anything to show people that we are here to help, and set a good example for people with power, such as us, to follow." He had to admit, it was the first time he'd ever had to explain the X-men to someone. He thought he'd done a fair job, though.

He lead her into the kitchen, right where Jewel had made Streak and him pancakes on his first night, turning when she took the time to thank him again. "It's no problem. If you stick around a while, you might find that you like it here, past the fact that its more comfortable than a dark alley. Oh yeah!"

A hand reached up to his eyes, where he grabbed the corner of his eye mask, and slowly peeled it off... He'd grown accustomed to the slight sting it provided to pull it off, so he didn't make a big deal out of it.

And there he was, face revealed. "I'm Saphirus. It's nice to meet you." His hand was offered, as well as a friendly smile, even though the area where his mask was was starting to turn a little red from the irritation of pulling it off.

Skydancer nodded at the masked man's description of the sort of paperwork she'd have to fill out. She didn't really have any secrets to keep, when it came down to it. It wasn't like she could hide the fact that she was a mutant and she was actually rather proud of her powers, despite everything else wrong with her life. Beyond that, what was there to hide? The fact that she was a gymnast? Somehow that didn't' seem the type of knowledge to really get her into much trouble.

"I don't think I'd mind a room-mate, except I'm not yet sure how long I'm going to be staying..." There was a lot to figure out and a lot to discover before Skydancer made any sort of definitive decisions about the new direction of her life. Such as checking out Sanctuary for herself, to start off with. No matter how good things at The Mansion were made to sound, she wasn't about to do anything until she had some first hand knowledge of everything important.

Skydancer followed Saphirus into the kitchen. When he finally removed his mask, revealing a face that wasn't so different than any human face she might see on the street, it was one more sign that maybe, just maybe, things actually were as he said they were. It was a start, at least. Skydancer accepted his hand for shaking. "Nice to meet you as well."

Skydancer yawned, the long nights living on the streets catching up to her. "I don't think I'm awake enough to really consider the X-Men at this time. I hate to sound ungrateful, but is there some place I can sleep?" She wasn't entirely sure how much longer she'd be able to remain awake, especially being in a nice warm, dry building like she presently was.

Saphirus enjoyed a good handshake. When you shook hands with someone, it was a gesture of respect that placed two people on equal ground. One was no better than the other. When he'd first come to the mansion, there was a distinct lack of handshaking... at least on Streak's part. He'd held out his hand, and the guy hadn't noticed. He'd been too busy fawning over Jewel. Still, it motivated him to give her the same respect he'd wanted when coming off the streets.

"Yeah, having a room mate ain't bad. A lot of people find it hard to open up to others. Having a roomie kinda helps with that, I guess." He shrugged, and immediately noticed just how tired to woman looked.

Saph yawned in response to her yawn, and let out a little chuckle. "Yeah, I hear you there. Lemme show you to the guest rooms. I'll let someone know about you in the morning, so they can get you all set up." He stepped past her, and headed down the hallway, waving for her to follow him.

Before long, they were standing outside of a hallway. "Eh... Looks like the third one on the left is open. It should have everything you need in it. Lemme know if it don't and I'll take care of it... Until then... Gnight!"