Alex sat against the wall, his right leg extended out with his left leg bent in the middle so his knee was going off to the side, and his arms were crossed over his chest. He was inside of a box car that was attached to a freight train that was making its way to New York City. It was the middle of the night and the only sound that Alex could hear was the well oiled wheels that were under the floorboards, spinning constantly against the rails. It was actually a rather smooth trip, apart from a bump here and there. Despite that, Alex couldn't sleep, and it had been a day or two since he last slept. Still though, what happened a few days ago was really taking a toll on him. Alex opened his eyes and glanced around the box car he was in. There were a few homeless people also in the box car, all of them asleep. There was nothing else in the freight car. Good. Alex thought, not wanting those people to see tears on his face once he started to think about what happened during the past few months.

Alex was walking briskly though the hall of the motel he was staying in, heading towards the front desk so he could pay the bill to stay another week. The last few days had been hard on him. He had tried his hand at being an extra in a movie but had left when the director had been shot in the head by an anti-mutant activist, abruptly ending the movie filming and making the check in his pocket void, he tried to save a human that couldn't control the powers an M-drug pill gave him and nearly drowned as a result, he tried to fight off a gang in an alley the following night and nearly got crushed by a mutant made of bricks, and then got caught in a gun and mutant fight that had happened in a hospital that he was being treated in. Now all Alex wanted to do was to take a nap, but he had to pay that bill first before he could hit the sack. However as he made his way to the counter, the woman behind it pointed at someone that was in the corner of the lobby. "There's someone here to see you. I'm not sure who she is, but she's a bombshell. If shes here for you, I hope you enjoy yourself." the man stated, and the comment made Alex blush a little, but it also got him worried. Who would want to see him... and for that matter, who knew he was here at this motel? No one did! Still, Alex shrugged and turned to face the woman.

The moment he did, Alex felt like his heart stopped. There, on the left side of her neck, was a tattoo of a black Pegasus with red demon wings, holding a blue rose in its mouth. Alex had that same tattoo on his shoulder, and it was the emblem of his family. That meant only one thing... this woman was part of that family, and as far as Alex knew they all wanted him dead. "Uh oh..." Alex mumbled under his breath and was about to run out the door when the woman turned, revealing her face to him. "Alex! My little brother! We've been looking all over for you!" the woman exclaimed with a joyous smile before she took Alex by surprise by hugging him. "We've missed you so much!" She said into his ear as she held him tight, not allowing him to get away. Alex was completely stunned. He have expected her to pull out a knife or a gun and end his existence right then and there, but instead she was holding him tight with tears of joy pouring down her cheeks. "Uh... Erica... what are you..." Alex stuttered, unable to push away the sense of shock. "Alex, it's time for you to come home. Everyone misses you, and Mom has been fussing over it this whole time." Erica stated, which made Alex flinch and finally pulled away from his sister's arms.

"But... what I did... Dad..." Alex tried to say, but his sense of shock was making it almost impossible to talk. Erica responded by shaking her head. "First of all, everyone knows it was an accident. No one knows about the gifts that they have until they get into a situation in which that gift reveals itself. You didn't know about it, so how could you possibility control it? Second of all... is this what I think I'm hearing? You really think Dad is dead? Not even close! Dad's alive and is perfectly healthy. You missed every single vital organ and artery! It was only skin and muscle damage!" Erica stated with a warm smile... and that made Alex's legs buckle and he fell to his knees. "Alive? Dad's alive?" Alex exclaimed in surprise before he fainted into his sister's arms, who was able to catch him easily because of how strong she was. "Heh, you always were easily surprised Alex. Nice to know that you haven't changed." Erica stated before she started to drag him towards the door that leads outside. "I'll be taking him back home sir. Where is the rest of his things?" Erica stated and the man behind the counter nodded and held up the key to Alex's motel room.

Alex shook his head and looked back down at the floor. "If only I had left the day before then. None of this would've happened." Alex stated with a sigh before he started to doze off.

Alex had finally fallen asleep while in that sitting position, his chin against his chest as he dozed. He slept for a total of three hours like that, shifting positions in his sleep every now and then, but was woken up by the sound of one of the homeless people sneezing hard in his sleep... and the sound echoed throughout the box car, making it loud enough to be heard from several yards away from the tracks that the freight train was riding on. Alex grumbled about it, but a few seconds later he was almost glad that the bum had woken him up. Alex could hear a slight squealing sound coming from underneath him, and realized that it was the air-brakes of the freight train. It was slowing down, possibly to take on cargo. It was time to leave. Alex got up and started to head for the door that would let him out of the box car. Opening up the door a little, Alex leaned out and looked out to see that they were nearing the bridge that would take them over the river, and on the other side was New York City. Alex could walk from this distance. One of the bums walked over to him with a puzzled look on his face. "Hey man, close the door. They'll see us." the man droned out, Alex turned around and gave the guy a warm smile as his cyan eyes started to glow a bright green. "Actually, I think you want me to leave. Just close the door behind me, okay?" Alex responded, and the frightened bum nodded. After waiting a few moments, Alex jumped out of the train and a rod of malachite shot of from under Alex's jacket sleeve, hit the ground in front of him, and created a large malachite block that Alex landed on so he had a flat surface to land on. The moment Alex hit it though, the malachite acted like a piece of foam and compressed, absorbing the force of Alex's landed. Once Alex had stopped moving, he was sitting in what looked like a malachite pool because he was surrounded by three foot tall walls on all sides. "That was softer then a dumpster full of foam." Alex stated with a smile as the malachite shrank down and retracted back into his arm, where his new malachite tool, a bracer, was hidden. It was still a bit hard to believe that the bracer that was around his right wrist used to be the Defiance, a two foot long malachite dagger. However, that wasn’t his only piece of malachite that he had now. He had another malachite bracer of equal size on his left wrist. Both were smooth, flawless, and had absolutely no joints to make it look like they opened up, so they looked like it was impossible to get them off of his wrists… and that was the point. He didn’t want to be caught unarmed after what happened in Kansas. True he could use his manipulation ability to remove them, but he didn’t think he would be taking them off for a long time.

Alex sat in the passenger seat of his sister’s ruby red Lamborghini, driving down Highway 70, heading towards Kansas. Glancing around the interior of his sister’s expensive car, the malachite manipulator couldn’t help but shake his head at how Erica flaunted all of the money she makes from being a pop star, and that every one of her shows is standing room only. She was also making a statement that you don’t have to be a man to be a fast car owner. With a sad sigh, Alex glanced back out the window and crossed his arms over his chest. As she shifted gears, Erica noticed Alex’s position and the sigh, and knew what he was feeling. ”You’re depressed, aren’t you? Something you want to talk about?” She asked kindly, and Alex responded with a nod, though Erica didn’t see it since her eyes were on the road, which is where they should be. ”Yeah. I know you said that the family knows it was an accident, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m a mutant. How are they going to react to that?” Alex stated with a sigh as he glanced over at her, and Erica smiled slightly and glanced over at Alex… and the malachite manipulator just about jumped out of his seat belt. Erica’s eyes were glowing red, just like the way Alex’s eyes glowed green when he used his powers. ”You’re a mutant too?!” Alex exclaimed in surprise, and Erica chuckled as her eyes stopped glowing and she turned her head back to the road. ”Not just me Alex, but every single keeper is a mutant, and our mutations are very similar.” Erica stated, and Alex’s jaw dropped. ”Dad, cousin Jack, uncle Phil, aunt Rachel, you, and second-cousin Ron are all mutants? All of them?!” Alex exclaimed with surprise, and Erica nodded. ”Yep. They are all mutants, and every single keeper that there ever has been was a mutant since great-great-grandfather Ben became a keeper of the diamond claymore… which he created by the way. We’ve kept it a secret for a very long time.” Erica stated.

Alex just shook his head. ”You’re pulling my leg. Are you telling me that the role of the keepers has changed from being the glue that holds our family together to being a way to keep it secret that there are mutants within our family? Counting me, that seven!” Alex exclaimed. ”Eight. The horror of seeing you stab father caused my daughter’s mutation to awaken. Unlike the rest of us whose’ powers are related to gemstones, Heather’s mutation basically allows her to enhance the mutations of those around her. She’s a power multiplier.” Erica explained, and Alex slumped back into his chair. ”Oh boy. What are the powers of everyone one else?” Alex asked, and Erica shook her head. ”Some things you just have to wait for Alex.”

Alex sighed as he lifted his gaze from his malachite bracers and back at the Big Apple. Just a half a day’s walk away and he would be back in the largest city he had ever been in.