Aidan was driving down Central Park West on his way to lunch at Tavern on the Green, a delightful little restaurant located in Central Park itself. As he stopped at a traffic light he took a brief second to change the song his iPod was playing and to readjust his backpack. As the light turned green, Aidan twisted the accelerator and shot off the line, the engine of his silver bullet roaring loud enough to cause the people dining in the café’s along the side of the street to look up in annoyance. Aidan, however, didn’t care what they thought; he liked his bike and the way it was and there wasn’t any one in the world that could change that.

Before he realized it, Aidan had arrived at the Tavern. He pulled up outside and parked his bike a good distance from the door. He was feeling a bit wired and that could only mean that his body was reaching its power limit. He tried to think of the last time he had been able to discharge a good amount of the electricity he stored but couldn’t remember. ‘Damn this registration act and the government,’ he thought to himself as he touched a passing car and released some electricity into the metal body. He felt slightly bad for the human who would receive the static shock later; yet, at the same time, he also knew that if it wasn’t for their unbiased fear of all mutants he would be able to use his power to properly discharge his stored electricity. He did this to every car he passed on his way to the front door until the feeling of being wired left him. It was only a quick fix to a bigger problem but it was all he could do until he could find a safer place to hide. As he reached the door, a man from inside opened it up.

“Welcome sir, to the ‘Tavern on the Green’. The hostess will seat you when you are ready!” said the man who was obviously a greeter of some kind. The man held out his hand as if expecting a tip and that was when Aidan realized he was a valet.

“Sorry, boy-o. I rode me bike here and parked it meself,” Aidan answered as he clapped the man on the arm in apology. The simple gesture also carried a slight shock and Aidan smirked as the man jumped a little. “Apologies again. Must’ve picked that up of the cars I was admirin’ out there.” He chuckled a little and so did the valet. With nothing left to say the valet let him pass and Aidan smiled at the hostess was waiting to seat him. She took him to a table near the back picture window with a view of Central Park and told him that his waiter would be with him shortly. Aidan nodded in response and sat down so that he could still the see the door and enjoy some of the view.

His waiter, a man named Stephen, appeared a few moments later to ask if he would care for a glass of wine. Knowing what wine did to his head, Aidan politely declined and asked simply for water. He ordered a simple Salad with vinaigrette dressing and Flat Iron Filet Mignon to eat and then sat back to wait for his food to arrive. As Stephen walked away to take the order to the kitchen, Aidan looked at the window at Central Park and sighed. It wasn’t long ago that he could go out in public without having to hide what he was and he longed for the day when he could again. He silently vowed to make sure it happened as well and then sat back to wait on his food. Finding a way to help his fellow mutants and fight the registration act could wait till after he had eaten.

While Aidan may have managed to keep off of the police’s radar, and thus avoid a visit from a Stalker, he had not managed to completely hide himself. Nigel had found him quite easily, though keeping him hidden from the police had been a bit more of a challenge.

Knowing the boy’s talent Nigel was well prepared for this encounter. Underneath his smart business suit he wore a one piece rubber suit that would prevent him from getting shocked. His leather gloved where also lined with rubber on the inside. Without his mutant abilities that only left the boy with his physical ones.

While he had certainly taken good care of his body, he would still be no match for Nigel in unarmed combat. Nigel’s CIA training, coupled with further training from Hunter himself put him at the near peak of human performance. However, this was all just precautions, and he did not expect a hostile encounter.

Entering the restaurant he made his way to the table that Aidan was sitting at and took a seat. Elsewhere in the establishment someone ordered food for him and made sure that it would arrive with Aidan’s. “You’re a brave man Mr Orion,” Nigel said as he accepted a glass of wine, “Using your real name to not only enrol at college, but to also get a job.”

Aidan was slightly startled as a man unknown to him sat down at his table. He took the moment before the man spoke to look him over. The man was extremely well dressed in a quality suit and appeared to take as much care of his body as Aidan took care of his. A waiter brought the man of glass of wine as he spoke.

“You’re a brave man Mr. Orion, using your real name to not only enroll at college, but to get a job as well.”

‘Crap,’ Aidan thought to himself as he turned to fully face the man. ‘Shame he doesn’t have any obvious mutations. It would be easy to know if I could trust him then.’ Aidan took a drink of his water before answering, “A brave man, huh? I don’t know how true that is meself but I do like to think I am brave. I, however, have nothing to hide.” As Aidan finished the sentence he thought back on the time that had passed since the Registration Act had become law. He didn’t remember doing anything that could have given him away. As he wracked his brain a look of worry flashed over his face, only there for an instant but most likely more than long enough for a trained eye. ‘I wonder if my discharging by leaving electricity in metal objects has alerted the police about me. Its not an obvious use of my power but I suppose it could be enough,’ he thought as he took another drink of his water. “Just what is it that makes me a brave man. Mister….” Aidan let the question work for two things; figuring out how much the man knew about him and who this man was.

As the two sat there, Stephen brought their food out. Aidan’s stomach let out an audible rumble as the smell of the steak reached his nostrils and he licked his lips expectantly. He cut it open first, instead of going for the salad, to make sure that it was cooked right. The chefs at the Tavern, like most times he came here, had done an exquisite job. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and tasted delicious. After savoring his test bite, Aidan began to eat his salad as he waited his guest’s answer.

“Banks,” he answered as a similar steak and salad was placed in front of him, “Nigel Banks. And the reason that you are brave is that a quick cross reference with your medical files in Ireland reveals you to be a mutant, something that is not easy in America nowadays.”

“I do however work for a group of people such as yourself that are working towards changing that.” Nigel took a bite of his steak and waited to see if Aidan would rise to the bait.

Aidan smirked as the man mentioned his medical history. In truth his first urge was to zap the man where he sat, frying him to a crisp and then walk away. However, as this thought crossed Aidan’s mind one thing occurred to him; if this man had the resources to find out that he was a mutant, he also had the resources to know exactly what his power was and how to negate them. Aidan forced himself to finish his salad and start in on his steak before replying. The food served to call him down a bit, though his adrenaline was still up from being outed as a mutie.

“Then I am most fortunate that you do not work for the government, Mr. Banks, and that our government does not look to closely into the background of those who already live here,” Aidan said still forcing himself not to charge up. He didn’t really like the fact that this man had so much power over him. “You claim to work for people who are like me and that these people seek to dismantle the registration act and end this period where mutants fear for themselves because of what they are. That sounds like something I would like to be a part of. Think you could introduce me to them?”

Aidan finished his spiel and set about eating his steak. He cut the meat into cubes first and then ate them one at a time, and slowly, savoring each bite as he waited for Mr. Banks to answer

Nigel could sense the hostility coming off the man in waves. He did however keep a firm grip on his temper and avoid doing anything rash. When he finally answered it was what Nigel had expected, a request to join the resistance.

“Mr Orion,” said Nigel, finishing his steak and setting down his cutlery, “Over the past few days my employer has been gathering mutants. As well as offering them sanctuary from the prying eyes of the government he has also offered them a chance to fight back.”

“It is a little know fact that many mutants have been taken to what resembles concentration camps. One of the main aims of my employer is to free those imprisoned in the camps, by force is necessary.” Having explained the situation Nigel waited for the man’s response as he savoured his glass of wine.

((OOC; Terribly sorry for the delay in posting Hunter. Got tangled up in errands and real life monday and today I lost track of time while cleaning my house!))

IC;
Aidan may have meant to eat slowly but by the time Mr. Banks had finished explaining what his employer was doing and what had been done to mutants since the registration bill became law he was done. It was probably a good thing too because he had little appetite now that he knew the mutants that had been rounded up had been forced into ‘concentration camps.’

‘I guess history really does repeat itself,’ Aidan thought to himself as he pushed his plate away from him and grabbed his glass of water. ‘This man claims to offer sanctuary and a chance to fight. That’s what I’ll do then. Fight to free the other mutants and fight this absurd law.’ Aidan took a drink from his glass and sighed. What didn’t cross his mind, and perhaps it would have made him think twice about swearing to fight, was the lives the coming war would cost and the price he might have to pay as well. Such was the way Aidan worked though. He enjoyed the thrill of action and rarely thought of the consequences till it was too late.

Aidan finished his glass of water and then spoke. “ It sounds like your boss and his group of mutants are people I would enjoy meeting. How would I arrange for that to happen, Mr. Banks?” he asked as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out $30 dollars. He placed it on the table beside his plate then put his wallet back in his pocket and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Mr. Banks to let him know what the next step was.

Nigel waved the money away as Aidan placed it down. “The meal is already paid for,” he said, “And the next step is this. We go out to my car, you take the static charge off it, and we go to the resistance. Your disappearance from the world will be explained, no one will question you absence.”

Aidan looked at Mr. Banks quizzically as his money was waved away but didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled his wallet out and flipped it open with one hand. He slid the thirty dollars back in and closed it. As he replaced his wallet he listened to Mr. Banks tell him that He would be driven to the resistance and his disappearance would be explained.

“That sounds fine and all but I’m not leaving me bike here and frankly, I would like it to come with me. Is there some way you can make sure it gets to where we are going? Or possibly I could follow you,” Aidan said as he drank the last of his water and placed the glass on the trey that the dishes from the table were being placed on. He pushed back from the table and stood up, grabbing his back pack from the floor and slinging its single strap over his left shoulder. He let his ipod headphones dangle over his shoulder and made his way to the front door where he waited for Mr. Banks to point out which car he needed to remove the static charge from and picked out a few more to add a charge to.

“No need to worry,” Nigel said, rising with a smile, “You’ll find the bike waiting for you when we get there.” Stepping out of the door he pointed towards a silver Chrysler. “If you’d been so kind as to remove the charge we can get underway.”

Aidan smirked as Mr. Banks pointed to a silver Chrysler 300 on the far side of the lot from the door. He made his way there slowly, passings several cars that weren't in the lot earlier and adding a charge to them, bringing his charge level to almost nothing. As he reached the 300 he reached out and touched it and the Porsche 911 next to it, using himself as a conduit to change the placement of the charge from the 300 to the 911. A sly smile crossed Aidan's face as he added a bit more of a charge to the 911. The owner of the Porsche would get a nice little jolt when he came out to his car.

"There we are," Aidan said as he looked over his shoulder at Mr. Banks. "Charge is gone and the car is safe to get into. Shall we begin the adventure?"

Nigel nodded to Aidan and got in the car. Waiting for him to get in as well he started the engine. Once the pair were seated he set off towards Mondragon labs. After they had left a man in black leather and a motorcycle helmet arrived by Aidan’s bike, inserted a copy of Aidan’s keys and set off after them.

(OOC: Feel free to jump in anywhere at the labs)