Central Park had always been one of her favorite places, as it was one of the few places in town where she did not have to behave like a queen. Of course she loved to act like the queen she wanted to be, but sometimes, just sometimes, a break from the daily routine, from orders and obligations, was very welcomed. And on those rare occasions, she always ended up in Central Park. A place full of nature, that despite being surrounded by the noise of the city could create a relaxing atmosphere.

Besides, the proximity to her home made ​​it her favorite place to waste some time and walk. She loved to walk every little road she could find, but that eventually caused her to get hungry for what she needed to go back to her home to meet all her obligations again.
Ready to enjoy a little more of that wild landscape jailed by the urban environment, the girl moved to the nearest Hot Dog stand. A popular commoner food.

Since there was a couple buying in the same stand, she had enough time to decide what she was going to order. Truth be told, she did not have much to choice, contrary to the spectacular restaurants she frequented. Even when she knew what she would ask, she remained still. Watching with horror some sausages drifting in the water that was not transparent, and did not see healthy at all. "Do you have permission from the Health Department?" Asked the girl trying to hide her doubts and fears as best she could, but clearly to no avail.

Next week would be hell week. John needed to lose weight before his next fight, and it was never easy. Weight control was his least favorite thing about boxing. It's one thing to avoid punches thrown at your face with the intention to knock your lights out, it's another thing entirely to avoid delicious food.

John would worry about that later, for now it was time to return to his daily schedule. There was a hot dog man on his way to the gym, cutting through Central Park, that John often frequented. He planned on stopping by there while he still could, next week he would have to take a cab to the gym or something, to avoid temptation. John slipped on his tennis shoes and started his jog to the park.

It took John a while to get used to the city air, but now he could jog to the gym without hacking up a lung. If this was good or bad John didn't yet know, he tried not to think about it. There was a short line at the vendor today, John took his place at the back behind a young girl. Usually the line was much larger, must be everyone's burrito day today.

"Do you have permission from the Health Department?" The young girl in front of John asked the vendor. The vendor smiled and nodded to the girl as he served a young couple. They walked off and the girl was next,

“Of course leetle girl, is safe.” he smiled at her.

John noticed the vendor was different than usual, he sounded Russian for one thing. Usually he was a skinny and loud New Yorker, now he was a short Russian man? John inwardly shrugged to himself, guess they share the stand and switch out every once in a while.

She watched the couple and followed them with her beautiful black eyes.They moved away cheerfully, talking nonsense and giving large bites to their hot dogs. Apparently there was nothing wrong with the food since they were still alive despite all the warning signs that said they should not be in that precious state. Once the couple walked away, came her turn and the man behind the hot dog cart kindly smiled and answered her question. His voice was strange with a unlike accent, which made his words change constantly in her head.

She was still trying to discover if the man had called her beetle, little or litter when she noticed that a man was waiting in the line behind her. Likely to buy his own portion of death as the couple had done before. With great agility the girl took a step aside, leaving the place free for the stranger to approach. "Go ahead." The girl said with feigned indifference. "I still deciding." She said, trying to hide her fear toward that suspicious beverage, or rather to the man preparing the popular food. After all it was not the first time she was about to eat in the street.

A voice in her head insisted that the man was evil, another claimed he was a spy from some country in northern Europe, many other odd ideas joined them. Many were the voices that insisted to stay away from those wicked hot dogs, but only one told her to stay and calm her hunger with one of those aberrations.

John was surprised by the girls kindness. He was getting far to used to the numb and indifferent people that littered the city, even the simple act of allowing someone to go before you in a line was so rare it was unheard of. He didn't often see young ones in the city alone though, that troubled him. He didn't want to draw attention to the fact though, he knew when he was that age how annoying it was adults always worrying about him. Though he secretly made a mental note to make sure nothing bad happened to her long as she was in sight.

“ Well thanks a bunch!” He said to her and took a spot in the front, right by the stand.

Now that he was close, John noticed more unusual things. Even as a human he could smell that something was not right. Everything looked fine, but something was telling him that he should just move on and avoid eating here today. He could feel his initial excitement for his nice treat ebbing away. While he was thinking on it he vendor clapped his hands together to get John's attention.

“ What will et be today?”

John's hunger gone but not wanting to be impolite, especially since that young girl let him past so nicely, he decided to just order some chips or something and throw them out later. Silly but social situations were so awkward for him sometimes.

“ I'll just take some chips today I guess.”

Immediately the vendors haggard face dropped, he looked extremely disappointed and upset.

“ What? No meat? No dog with the works? Just stinky chips?!”

Not being used to this sort of behavior John just stood and watched the man, bewildered. The vendor was just getting started though it seems.

“ You come to me just wanting chips, when you can get stinky chips anywhere? I give good food! Don't dogs like meat?”

John took a step back from the stand and tensed up. He hoped that he misheard the man, but he knew he didn't. Was that just some sort of insult where he came from or did he know what John was John couldn't decide. In John's peripheral vision however, he noticed the couple who initially bought food were collapsed in the street.

Celeste nodded politely as the man responded to her cordiality with a energetic verbal thanks. In fact, she also was somewhat surprised by the kindness that she received in return but she knew better than to hide it from the man, so the change was barely perceptible. She knew there were few people who thanked and apologized openly, many more would ignore for being only a child, only to discover she was not a common girl, but part of the glorious Manfrella family. Usually that sweet revelation came after a deserved punishment.

From her place, a few steps away from the cart but still within its circle of influence, she could see the whole scene. The seller asked something difficult to understand, but the buyer understood its meaning in a way that was beyond her comprehension, and then he replied with courtesy ... that's was when the logic order of the situation broke. Instead of the seller delivering the desired product to the buyer, it began to speak in a tone too high to be considered anything but yelling. His face was transformed from a quiet face to a mask full of annoyance. But there was nothing to justify that anger, the man had just asked chips.

The girl remained in the same place, staring in disbelief at the two subjects. The kind man, was maybe as confused as she was and did not know what to respond, however the seller almost continued shouting incomprehensible words. Were they fighting for hot dogs? It was unlikely... Then she saw how the couple fell to the ground. Both crumbled together, attached to the same fate by an invisible bond.

Without hesitation, Celeste ran toward the two bodies which remained immobile in the ground, leaving behind her the discussions and confusing words of the foreign seller. Kneeling beside the girl, she put two fingers on her neck looking with despair for her main artery, the aorta, to determine her status. The echo of her heart seemed to avoid her fingers in some way, but she persistently seek for it until she could felt a faint tapping that indicated that they were still alive. Without wasting a moment, she took out her cell from her backpack and dialed quickly the emergency number.

Surprising, this day was different for a change. The stupid vendor kept talking but John wasn't paying attention anymore. Seeing the couple laying there like that, just after seeing them awake and lively, was unsettling. If only John had remembered his cell phone, he usually brought it with him everywhere but this morning it must have been plugged into the wall or something, and went unnoticed.

The young girl ran past John to the couple. John was glad to see she was fast to check their pulse and call for help. Maybe he spent to much time on the internet, from here it looks like there is still smart young people in the world.

The vendor continued to rant at John as he jogged up to the girl and couple to see if he could help, but he was stopped midway. John turned and the vendor had grabbed his arm trying to stop so he could continue to yell. John shivered at the touch, his hands were ice cold. He expected rudeness from New Yorkers but this was a new low.


" No worry, they are fine, just asleep, you listen to me! He nodded toward the couple as he spoke.

John froze and gave the man a stern look. That was the second time he implied he knew things he couldn't possibly know for sure. The lack of logic coming from this man hurt John's brain. Ripping his arm away and giving the vendor one last look that plainly said, touch me again and this dog will bite, and waded his way through the gathering crowd.


" They have a pulse? You called 911 right?" John asked the girl, not unkindly, when he got close enough.

He knelt down beside the couple to see if they were still breathing. They really did look asleep. For some reason John felt like warning the girl about the vendor, who was now staring at them both, but it didn't seem to be the right time for that. Nor would it make much sense coming from a stranger.

Instead he added, " Im John by the way."

After the initial explosion of strange events that included a very angry hot dog vendor and a couple who lost conscience in unison, the world seemed to come back suddenly to its normal state. People left their reverie to notice what was happening around them, a small group watched with attention to the seller and the buyer, expecting a fight. With their cell phone in hand, ready to take videos and digital photos. On her side there also were a lot of gathering people, curious who wanted to know what had happened to the lovers. At least ten people were witnessing the events at the time, but they did nothing to help and keep interfering and making stupid questions, so she ignored them all.

All her attention was focused on the two people who for some strange event remained in her custody. The pulse of the woman kept a steady pace, her chest barely moved, but it did, which meant she was breathing normally. With the practice gained from her first patient, she found the man's pulse much faster. He also seemed to be almost asleep. Fortunately both were stable. Silently, Celeste thanked that she did not have to use mouth to mouth breathing and waste her first kiss.

Then the buyer quickly came to her side, escaping the tyranny of the seller. To his two questions, the girls nodded her head and added, "They are on their way." in an attempt to reassure him, or perhaps to reassure herself since it was the first time when she started to think about the situation. They had been poisoned, probably by the seller. "Celeste." Replied the girl in an impolite way, not because the man deserved it, but because the situation asked to not lose time. In other circumstances she would have given her name and her surname with a practiced Italian accent, at the same time she gave him a beautiful reverence once used only in the presence of the nobility."Do you know him?" Asked the girl, as her thoughts turned to the evil hot dog vendor who had planned everything. For some strange reason the culprit did not move from its place, even when all the evidence pointed toward him. Strange.

"Thankfully, no I dont."

John pondered the girl's name, it was very unique. He was unfazed by her quick response, he didn't expect a answer at all given the circumstances. Most likely, under normal circumstances, John wouldn't have asked at all. This wasn't how he pictured his morning going, he was more out of place and nervous here than in the ring.

John was straining his ears trying to hear the ambulance, or sirens of any kind, but none were to be heard so far. He couldn't stop rubbing his arm, it still felt cold where the vendor had touched it. Thinking about it, John turned around to look and he was still standing there by the cart, this time smiling.

It felt like something poked him in the forehead, and John suddenly felt a emotion not his own. It didn't feel like anything normal, like sadness or excitement, but it felt very complex. Thinking on it for just a few seconds gave him a rush of understanding. Somehow this new feeling was one of anger, toward him and the two unconscious people, it also felt disappointed that something didn't happen. John blinked and he realized that the feeling was disappointed that John wasn't on the floor next to them.

John stood there, eyes locked with the vendor's, who was now chuckling to himself. If he knew what was going on, John certainly did not.

Once her thoughts made the connection between "seller" and "guilty”, it was impossible for her to think of something else. No matter where she looked, she found clues that pointed directly to the foreign seller and his peculiar behavior, and the fact that all the "witnesses" digital or organic ignored him made her furious. Perhaps the only one who suspected the truth was that her partner that did not buy a hot dog. So far no one had spoken aloud the words that the girl dared to shout. "It was your fault." She yelled to the seller while her black eyes looked like two abysses that tried to suck his soul and make him pay for that little experiment.

The few that managed to hear her, watched each other trying to find the culprit among them, while the seller gave her a smile as only answer. Then the accumulated anger exploded. When she was unable to contain the wrath, she stood up and moved towards the lunatic poisoner who now laughed to himself producing a muffled sound of pure satisfaction that only she seemed to heard, since no one else reacted to it. Standing, much closer than before, she put her hand inside her purse to produce her beloved Taser.

The electric device soon filled with life when the child stretched out her arm and pointed the weapon toward the madman. A circle of light the size of a fist was projected over the chest of her enemy, marking the exact spot where the metal tooth would impact. "What did you do?" Asked the girl. Her black eyes stabbing the man, searching his face and movements in hopes of getting a no verbal answer.

The feeling vanished and John's head and emotions were his own again. He had never felt anything like it before, and never wanted to again. His skin was getting goosebumps and he started to sweat with anticipation, just like he would before a fight. John Tried to calm himself down before he did something he would regret, life would be so much easier if street fighting were legal.

The girl named Celeste had pulled a tazer at the vendor and confirmed John's suspicions. Not that he wasn't nearly sure before, but hearing someone else come to the same conclusion he did made him feel better.

John was thankful that the tazer wasn't pointed at him. He knew first hand just how painful they were. The crowd around him took a few steps away from the girl, and most were looking at the vendor as if they were waiting for a show to begin.

He was glad he wasn't the only one to suspect the man, and after his experience just now, and others seeming to think like him, that confirmed it. He wanted to warn Celeste about the man's eyes. It was after he looked directly into them that he felt so strange. Though John had no idea how to warn someone about something like that without sounding insane.

" He must have drugged them or something. And uh, be careful I think this man is a mutant. He did something really weird to me just now... I think."

The vendor's smile vanished and he glared at John.

" Don't say mutant to me! Filthy word! Insult! Your the filthy one! Both of you! And leetle girl toy no scare me!

He looked at Celeste and glared at her to. But finally, finally John could hear ambulance sirens approaching. Hopefully they didn't wait to long.

The simple vision of her weapon made people receded, causing a strange silence that enveloped all as if it were a thick fog. The invisible curtain had managed to kill all nearly whispers and unpleasant questions, only a few dared to speak but they did it in a tone that she did not managed to listen. It was as if everyone were holding their breath, waiting for the shot of the girl.

While silence ruled that small area creating a bubble of expectation, the rest of the city was still in motion. The constant roar of car engines and the occasional angry horn created an artificial symphony known by all the inhabitants of the city. The siren of the ambulance soon added its sound for the music, and though distant, it was shouting with too much power to be ignored.

Her provisional ally was the first to break the silence, which caused a couple of voices to take advantage of the situation, chatting to their nearest neighbors. Without taking her eyes off her target, Celeste replied to John, wanting to know how to avoid the invisible attack that was probably mentally. "How did he..." Her question was interrupted by the seller who raised his voice over all the other sounds. It was still a voice at human levels, but something changed in the air momentarily, giving it a strength no human voice should have. Was it an illusion or the seller had been bigger for a moment?

When she could see the reality through her own eyes, the hotdog vendor had the same height and same thin body than before. It was then, she recalled her anger. "You are the filthy one!" The girl screamed with all her might, making some other people step back, intimidated both by her voice and her weapon that was not a toy. "Fool." She thought before shooting.

Two metal needles flew from the modern device at high speed to penetrate easily beneath the skin of her enemy, just where the circle of light had been a second ago. At the very instant the fangs touched his muscles; the unit shipped all her anger through the delicate filaments. The seller remained standing. Two meters to the left, one of the spectators fell to his knees and then bend his body into a fetal position. The man was clearly under the influence of the disruptive electricity that somehow was biting his muscles instead of the seller.
Immediately, Celeste looked down to the thin wires that still connected the needle to the Taser, and checked with surprise that they remained united to the seller. "I... It was not..." Unable to find an explanation, she continued to watch the wires, the Taser and the seller alternatively. She could almost feel the accusing stares on her skin.

Insults didn't really register with John, they never did. But he had never been called a mutant before, at least not in that tone. That condescending tone that made it sound like he was a horrible person, or that it was horrible to be a mutant. It didn't make sense, unless he was going crazy the weird feeling he just had must have came from the vendor, and normal people can't do things like that. The vendor must be a mutant to, that was the only logical explanation. In any case, the ambulance sirens were finally close by.


Celeste however seemed to think the situation was over. Or at least her patience with the vendor had run out, because she fired her taser right at him. John flinched when the taser was fired, but he was smiling to himself, this would prove to be amusing at the very least.

But that wasn't the case, the vendor didn't seem phased at all. In fact a random bystander reacted instead, even though the taser clearly hit the vendor. The wires went from him to the gun, yet it didn't work. The bystander was quivering on the ground as if he was hit, and the vendor was giggling to himself.

John decided enough was enough, and if he was using his powers on innocent people, for no discernible reason, John would have no part of it. Plus he felt responsible in a way, even though he knew it was silly to think so.

" Stop it! Or ill do it for you."
John stood at his full height, trying to be as intimidating as possible, his hands curled into fists and glared at the vendor.

He knew very well that hitting a man outside the ring could land him in serious trouble. And a man the size of the vendor compared to himself; it was no comparison. However John hoped that this would be enough. He certainly didn't blame Celeste, there was no way anyone could have known it would turn out this way.

Behind him the ambulance finally had arrived, and for once the vendor looked nervous.

The accusatory looks from the crowd crossed the few yards that separated them in just an instant like swift javelins that pierced her skin with anger. The pain the silent accusation caused was even bigger than the hatred she felt for the damn seller that had started that chain of strange events.
Only a few persons appeared to be able to see the cables that were still chained to the seller, but those few did not dare to contradict the masses who stared with a terrifying calm, like mindless zombies.

Celeste knew that with these needles under the skin of the seller, and with the cable still connecting these metal antennas to the Taser, she could still send another shock to his muscles. The possibility was extremely tempting, and more than once the girl was about to push the button but the fear prevented her to do it. So she quietly dropped the device to the floor, that bounced just once to end a few inches away from her feet. She had no weapons to fight that battle, and the demonstration of power showed that everything she could do would be transmitted to another person. Defeated, she turned away, walking to the victims of the drug, grateful to give the spotlight to John.

The ambulance parked in a hurry, and before she could even decide what to do, two paramedics came down from the vehicle and ran in the direction of the lying people. The stares on that side of the park focused again on her. Once they arrived at her side, the oldest of the two, a man in his forties began to ask her questions until he finally reached the most important question "What happened?" With trembling hands the girl pointed toward the seller. "That man drugged them." Once she finished her report, the girl remained silent, praying that the men to believe her and call for reinforcements.

The EMTs finally had arrived. Two men ran out of the ambulance toward the fallen. They didn't ask anyone what had happened, but it was obvious at least to them who needed help. John heard Celeste explain who was at fault, and assumed the EMTs would react appropriately. He wished police as well as the ambulance were here, perhaps there was a patrolman nearby he could wave down.

But the situation wasn't so lucky.

John was hoping for a signal. Something that gave him a reason to charge the man without guilt. Fate seemed to hate such violence and John could not seem to see any openings. The ambulance had finally arrived, and he could hear the rescuers attending the wounded. The vendor seemed to be very wary at this point, watching the two EMTs attend the two fallen victims. He seemed nervous and scared for once. As to why John had no clue, until now he was smiling at them as if he were in complete control.

He started to back away, looking to the random bystander that had cowered at the taser shot. He stood up and looked at Celeste and the EMTs as if they had done him a horrible wrong. He charged them as if he was going to hit them, arms raised to throw downward. The bystander's eyes were clouded, and it was obvious to all around that he was headed straight for the young girl and the EMTs. The crowd had finally started to disperse, by running away in panic.

John went into ring debut mode, fists raised and all. Waiting for a opening was technically his job, and finally having seen one, he had reacted in reflex. He shifted to the left, the bystander headed past him, tripping over John's left foot as he intended. Falling the bystander yelled in the direction of the fallen victims. John loved the thrill of finally having a reason to act. Life slowed down and actions sped up as he entered fight mode, they always did, and it felt amazing.

Tripping the charging bystander changed the expression of the vendor; John had been looking for that. He knew then he was controlling him, just as he sent those emotions into John; he was trying to get away. Perhaps the vendor saw his disadvantage now that the EMTs were finally present, not that he had a real advantage either way.

John's defensive stance raised, after tripping the bystander he shifted his weight onto his left foot, to start advancing onto the vendor. He knew that if he was controlling someone, that maybe, just maybe, he would be distracted enough that he could get close to do something. What he would do exactly John didn't know, but he had already felt like doing this before a opening, might as well continue to express upon the vendor his situation.

John never fought anyone outside the ring if he could help it. The consequences were never worth it. However this time, this one time, John felt like he could at least explain himself. The bystander charging in was obviously, at least according to John, the direct action of the vendor. Perhaps that was a good enough excuse, perhaps not.

John's left leg tensed as the bystander's right left connected with it. It was as if the bystander had not seem John at all, it was so smooth of a trip. He fell flat onto his face and grumbled, not getting up. Letting the vibration flow through him, John readied himself to head toward the vendor. He had a feeling that he would run now, and wanting him to pay for his crimes, John wouldn't let him.

John was only planning on getting in front of the vendor, close enough to scare him, not hit. But upon John's advance the vendor raised his arms in a V shape and pushed the air as if there was something in front of him. Not close enough yet to hit the vendor even if he wanted to, John found his legs feeling as if they were set in stone. The moment of surprise had vanished, and John felt himself being pushed backward and downward, into the ground.

Unable to move, time had sped up again, and the moment of adrenaline had vanished. John took a deep breath, having held his breath since the first instant. He was stunned, confused as to what happened. He couldn't move, and losing his balance he fell face first into the cold, hard New York concrete.

Bystanders around him were either running or screaming, John could hardly tell at this point. Looking up he could see the vednor was once again smiling as if he had full control.

John fought to see the situation clearly, his vision currently full of stars.

When the short questionnaire ended, one of the paramedics ran to the ambulance where he produced two stretchers. Then he moved one of them, pushing people aside with good manners and some cursing until he managed to get near the two victims. Under the watchful eyes, both men worked in unison to put the woman on one of the stretcher. Although the situation appeared to be highly sensitive, neither man seemed to be suffering any kind of stress, both were as calm as their profession demanded. That at least achieved to calm Celeste that had been about to explode when the seller had concentrated his soulless eyes on her.

When she looked up, she became aware of the events around her, she watched in horror as the crowd began to scream and run, frightened by the confrontation of one of the spectators... with her partner. Seeing him there, struggling with that innocent man, Celeste could not prevent her heart to fill with rage and anguish... they were supposed to be the good guys. She wanted to get up and hit him, make him stop, but she still did nothing. She just watched. John seemed to be enjoying the moment, it was almost like he was making fun of his enemy that could not coordinate a direct attack. Almost like a bullfighter, John let the stranger run toward him to step aside and made him trip over his leg. The man fell, the seller´s smile disappeared. It was then that Celeste recalled that they were dealing with a puppeteer. That man was just under his control.

The man fell once again, giving John the opportunity for to move for his real objective. He walked quickly until he was a few feet away, his arm raised to strike the diabolical puppet master in the face. The seller's hands raised too, but his gesture was almost primitive, he was trying to protect from the blow. Seconds after, John fell flat on his face as if someone had turned him into a statue.

Somehow that damn puppeteer had managed to avoid the hit and create some kind of shield at the same time. The man seemed to be almost untouchable by what they had seen until then. Even when she had no weapon or useful ability, the girl advanced toward the monster. With each step, she expected to bump into an invisible wall as had happened with John, but the wall never came. When she finally arrived to the place where they waited, she let out a long sigh, took air and began to speak.
"Please stop this madness." Fury and pity mixed in her voice. When he did not answer, she added the magic words that always moved people in the direction she wanted. "I have money. Plenty of it. Do you want money?" She hoped to buy that man and end that madness. "Is that what you want?" If everything failed, the exchange of words would stop the fighting and conflict long enough for someone from the MRC to arrive, or for John to get up and try to hit him again.