This lady was strange, Elke decided, while watching the woman bend and prod at her duplicate.

The twin itself ceased picking it's nose (thankfully), and turned it's full attention on the costume clad woman.

"Um, how are you? Dae you... um, know what happens tae you when... well, when it's time tae go?"

Why had she just poked her in the shoulder? With a frown, the clone rubbed at the spot, puzzling over such a question. "Go?... Oh, like potty? Nah, I don't have'ta pee right now." An exasperated sigh left Elke, who crossed her arms over her chest. "She means die, you dimwit."

The word 'die' brought an entirely different expression to the clones face. Her eyes went wide, and she lurched backward suddenly. "Ahh! No, lady! I didn't do nuthing! Please don't whack me, i won't squeal!"

A smug smirk bloomed on the Native lips while her duplicate went on the dramatic, collapsing to the ground and kicking her legs. "I'm not a rat! I ain't no squealer! I-... hey, somebody left gum down here."

Before Elke could stop her, the wad of something pink was picked up and deposited in the twins mouth. She chewed happily for a moment, completely forgetting that she had just been begging for her life. Then, she glanced back up and caught sight of the lady in costume again. "Holy crap! Boss! look, a hero!" The excitement and energy that burst from the clone quickly died, as she accidentily inhaled the 'gum' and promptly started coughing.

Elke managed to at least facepalm.

Rebecca was mortified. The Moose-clone was clearly about half-there mentally, but the idea that she was going to die left the little girl panicking and overreacting.

At least until she found a piece of gum to occupy herself with.

And promptly choke on.

Rebecca ran behind the child and applied proper Heimlich technique until the gum popped out of the clone's mouth, rolling on the floor. She turned the child around and wagging her finger, sternly warned, "Nae picking up food on the floor!"

It was terrifying and questionably moral, but it was clear these beings were at least not completely human, or not completely functioning. Rebecca sighed, wondering how often they accidentally ran into insta-death situations.

The hero turned to face the original clone and sighed. "Dae you know if it hurts a lot when they... y'know, end?" Rebecca was hoping to at least be comforted in knowing that dissolving into matter was not the worst way to go. "Ah mean, are they really 'alive' like other people?" Ideally, she wanted to believe that they were just matter with some trace consciousness from Moose and not "truly" alive, as awful as it sounded.

The Native shrugged. "Well, yeah they're alive. I mean, they bleed and stuff... but I don't think it hurts when they melt like that, really." After all, she could feel everything they went through, just on a muted scale. "It's more like... um... like that feeling you get when you eat a bad tuna fish sandwich. Yer stomach gets all cramp-y and you spend the next five hours of your life wishing you'd just eaten a damn corndog, instead."

Only, it lasted for maybe a minute at the most. "It hurts when they get hit by cars and what-not, though. Or if they fall off of something really high." The last sentence came off with a matter-o-factly air too it, because both of those things had already happened. Which, now that she thought of it, reminded her of another awesomely super cool hero type person.

"Say... do you happen to know that Judge fellow? I've got a bone to pick with him... the jerk ran away in the middle of a fight!" Her amrs crossed over her chest and the child huffed, managing to look indignant even though she was talking about a rather fearsome person.

There was a morbid level of comfort in knowing that the natural death of a clone was not particularly painful. There was little point to Rebecca trying to argue the moral quandaries of cloning with a child mutant, so she resigned herself to hoping she would not have to watch a misguided clone wander into absent-minded doom.

Rebecca decided, for her sanity, that talking about the mysterious Judge character was safer for her. "Ah dornt think Ah know a 'Judge.' Is he an X-Man?" There were probably plenty of other vigilantes around New York, after all. "Dae you know what his power was?"

"Ah dornt think Ah know a 'Judge.' Is he an X-Man? Dae you know what his power was?"

The child opened her mouth to respond... and then closed it again. What was the Judge? She knew from the cop she'd talked to that he wasn't the kinda guy who she should hang around... but she didn't know much more about him other than that. She was puzzled into a momentary silence, while her twin picked herself up off the ground and wandered around the masked woman curiously.

"I...uh.. Don't know. I don't think he's an X-man... because, well, the coppers didn't seem too happy with him..." Blinking, she watched her duplicate carefully, until the clone was standing off to her right. "Ey baws.. do aye sowoond laik ah eero nawh?" The twin asked, grinning from ear to ear. The horribly massacred attempt at copying the masked woman's accent made Elke cringe, and she slapped a hand over the duplicates mouth.

"No! God no... don't.. don't ever try that ever again, it sounded like you were gargling broken glass." The twin blinked, confused and slightly insulted. She quickly decided to huff, scowl, and pout with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"Anyway..." She muttered, turning her attention back to the woman. "I don't know exactly what his power is or whatever... but I know he's a dirty cheater! I shot him, straight in the shoulder with an arrow! What does he do? He freakin' ignored it!" Elke huffed as well, copying her clones pout and crossed arms. "Stupid armored bully... All I was trying to do was stop him from pushing that guy off the roof... but nooo. Then I finally corner him, and poof! He's gone just like that..."

It was unfair! Really! If he'd stuck around and fought her she was sure she'd have been able to get a shot at him, and have it hit that time! He probably had armor or something on under his silly costume... but it was impossible to have it everywhere!

Blinking as she suddenly seemed to remember that there was another costumed hero present, Elke snapped herself out of the beginnings of a rant. "...oh... I, um... I never heard your name...lady... It was hard to hear what you were saying from over on the playground."

Rebecca should have been more offended by the clone's mimicry of her accent, but knowing the... deficiencies of the copy and watching her genuinely try matching the Scot lilt was endearing. Without meaning to, Rebecca giggled. "Nice try, sweetie."

The description of the Judge was... dubious. A vigilante that pushed people off buildings and could take arrows without flinching? There might be one or two Xes who could ignore the hit, but there was on way they would have been shoving people to their doom. Probably. "Ah dornt think Ah know him, bit he sounds like a real jerk," she added, agreeing with Moose because it was easier than anything else.

Moose asked for her name, and Rebecca considered giving her actual name; it was not like many of the X-Men put much stock in secret identities these days. Still, that would not be fair. "Well, my hero name is Lodestone, since you've decided to give me a nickname of your own," she accused with a smirk.

Ah... damn... And they'd been having such a nice conversation agreeing about how much of an ass the Judge was, too!

The little girls eyes shifted over to where the two teachers who usually patrolled the playground were, and she frowned. Only a few of the kids here knew her real name, and that was only because she'd forced them to pinky promise not to tell any adults, or else she'd cut them. But... now she was curious, dammit!

She watched the teachers for a moment, who were busy making sure a few kids learned to share a ball correctly, before she pinned her eyes back on the newly named Lodestone. Maybe.... heroes like her could be trusted, just a little bit? It was highly unlikely that she'd know all of Elke's past off the top of her head, and even more unlikely that she'd have anything to do with run away kids... right?

Heroes had other, more important things to worry about anyway. Yeah. So, admitting who she really was would have no negative downside at all!

"Well... My real names Elke."[/color] She started. Managing to look just as shifty and nervous as she felt.

Elke, huh? Where have I heard that name? Oh, yeah... some nice police men came looking for you yesterday."

"@%^$#!" Elke jumped, and spun around. A plump looking, elderly principal was standing behind her. How had such and old crone snuck up on her?! Faster than an old lady right should be, the woman reached out and snatched her arm.

"I came over here to thank you again for volunteering to come all the way down here and speak to the children.." She started, smiling at the costumed x-man. "I hope Ms. Crawford here hasn't given you any trouble? She's not a student here, you see... she just happens to like stopping by every now and then to get herself into trouble."

Elke shot the woman a glare, and squirmed against her grip harder. "Hey! It's not my fault those douches refused to play ball with me! They deserved to eat dirt!" Of course, she had been the one to call them names in the first place, when the two boys had both refused to let her join in on their kickball game. Technicalities~

"Mhm, yes, well... We still don't appreciate such violence, as I've told you once before. I do believe Susan has given you a similar speech before as well, hasn't she Elke?"

The native's only reply was a grumble under her breath while she jerked at her arm some more.

Rebecca was caught off guard at the intervention of the principal, just after Elke finally chose to share her name with the superheroine. The explanation was... less surprising. It was not hard to picture why Elke would be seen as a troublemaker, especially if she was not an actual student of the school.

Rebecca grinned, shaking her head at the principal. "Nae trouble Ah couldnae handle." Elke seemed like a handful, but she was harmless, at least to Rebecca. At least thus far.

The heroine bent down to get closer to Elke's level, her mismatched eyes locked on the mischief-maker. "Maybe you shoulds hae listened a little more tae my talk," she joked in a hushed voice, not wanting to attract the principal's ear.

Rebecca stood erect once more, placing a hand on Elke's shoulder, which was already straining itself to help free her arm from the principal's grip. "If you'd like, Ah coulds escort Miss Crawford home." It was probably a wise decision to remove Elke from the playground, and she would not mind lending a hand and babysitting the punk with a walk home.

The native wrinkled her nose at Lodestone, but wisely kept her mouth shut. With the harpy of a principal latched onto her, one wrong word would land her in the back of a squad car, en-route to her social workers office. Considering that she'd just gotten away from Susan again, it wasn't a ride she was looking forward to.

but... then the Hero did something surprising...

"If you'd like, Ah coulds escort Miss Crawford home."

The shocked expression that flew across Elke's face said it all. It doubled when she glanced up at the principal, and found that the woman was actually considering it! Could she really get away scott free?

"Well... I suppose that would be fine. You're more than qualified to look after this little delinquent, and make sure she gets home safe." The grip on her arm loosened and she was released. The young mutant fought the urge to bolt, simply take off running before either of them could stop her... instead turning her eyes back to the masked woman. Could she be trusted?... She was mutant, so that had that much in common, at least... but... Elke still held onto a thread of suspicion.

"Well, Miss Crawford. I can't say it was a pleasure seeing you again... let's hope this is the last time you get caught on school grounds without actually being a student here, Hmm?"[/i] Without waiting for the child to respond, she bid the X-man a good day and turned to head back inside.

Elke made it her personal mission right then and there to make as many rude faces and gestures at the woman's back as she possibly could, before she vanished inside. Then she turned her attention back to Lodestone... and frowned slightly.

"...Why'd you do that... say you'd take me home and all that?"

The principal mulled the offer over and decided Rebecca was an upstanding, trustworthy young woman who could be trusted to handle a delinquent like Elke. As the principal released the child, Rebecca politely nodded and placed a hand firmly on Elke's shoulder. "'Acourse, miss. Ah'll keep a close eye on th' young one."

The principal walked away and Elke was thoroughly confused by Rebecca's kind offer. It was true that Rebecca could have let the brat deal with her punishment, but it was not in the X-Man to take comfort in someone's suffering. Elke was probably a pain, but that kind of attitude was fixed through nurturing and acceptance, or she hoped so at least.

Rebecca crouched down to speak to Elke at eye-level. "Coz you're a punk, bit you're alsae jist a kid, sae Ah'm giving you th' benefit of th' doubt."

She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair, flakes of black dye clinging to her skin. Rebecca looked forward to rinsing the substance out and returning to her strawberry blonde locks. "Alright, sae if you can promise tae behave, Ah'll bring you home and you get tae not be in trouble." She offered Elke her hand, even if she doubted the kid would take it; it would be just too well behaved a thing to do. "Are you and other Elke ready tae go?"

"Coz you're a punk, bit you're alsae jist a kid, sae Ah'm giving you th' benefit of th' doubt."

... Benefit of the doubt? ... she could work with that. She felt a grin tugging at her lips, and beat it back savagely while plots started to form in her mind. While Lodestone talked about taking her home and the whole "no trouble" thing, which.. really, she didn't have to worry about at home anyway. Her mom would probably still be asleep, and her dad was probably gone.

...which left her brothers... and the possibility of wedgies and noogies until her scalp was sore.

Hmm.. maybe home wasn't the best idea after all.

Elke eyed the offered hand for a moment, before glancing back at her clone. "Just a sec." Kicking up dust to the duplicates side, she threw her arms around it and drew it in for a huddle. "Okay... listen, here's the plan..."

A few moments later, both her and the clone nodded. It understood what she needed from it, and she was already figuring out how to play her own part. When she stood and turned back around, the clone full body tackled her to the ground. In what appeared to be a continuation of the brawl from earlier the twins bickered and grappled each other, rolling a few times for good measure, until it was unclear to most which was the clone and which was the original.

"Your mama smells like a codfish!"

"Your daddy was as slow as a tortoise!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!" And so the argument went, while the two pulled hair and slapped feebly at one another.

The young troublemaker seemed to be on the same page as Lodestone, who was the one reason Elke was getting off with a slap on the wrist. At least, that was probably true until the page was turned and Elke ran over to her clone and huddled up like she had called time out.

Before Rebecca could object to the random decision, the two clones were at it again. Considering the two were the same person, they sure fought a lot. Maybe that was what it was like to see internal conflicts externalized.

Rebecca jumped in and picked the short kids up by the shoulders, chiding them. "Alright, enough of that! First of all, you both have th' same ma and pa!" She released the young ones, still glaring at the pair, realizing that she had forgotten which one was the original copy. "Now is th' squabbling done?"

Lodstone ended the brawl, but the twins tried to slap at each other for another moment or two. Then, when it was clear that they couldn't get at each other any longer, they ceased struggling. "uh-huh." They droned, echoing each other damn near perfectly.

"We gonna go home now? I'm hungry." One said, patting her belly.

The other copied her twin, if a little bit more enthusiastically. "Me too! Me too!"

So far, Elke's plan was going just fine... Now, all she needed to do was keep her mouth in check. The clone already knew where to go, or rather, where "home" was. The native just needed to make an escape as soon as she had the chance.

Sticking her tongue out at the clone, to which the clone responded by copying her, she turned and held her hand out expectantly toward Lodstone. The other Elke stuffed her hands in her pockets, although she looked a little bitter for some reason, and kicked at a pebble on the ground.

Elke was grinning on the inside.