Nail smiled alittle, still messing withhis shards.

"A tall, frosted glass of coke, and juicy chicken burger, with lettuce mayo and pickles... maybe some fries too."

He felt his stomach slightely naw at itself, and realised just how horrible the topic was.

"Ugh, you're right, that is torture..."

Fiddleing with another shard, he looked it over again, wondering what it would taste like if he licked it. It looked very much like rock candy, and he wondered if it might taste sweet.

"I geuss thats one thing we can be greatful for. The most horrible thing they've done is stuck us in her and gave us crappy food. Not like they've been beating us up or anything..."

"A tall, frosted glass of coke, and juicy chicken burger, with lettuce mayo and pickles... maybe some fries too. Ugh, you're right, that is torture..."

Iris actually chuckled at that. She could've sworn she heard Nail's stomach growl. Or maybe it was hers. Either way, she was grateful for the distraction.

"I geuss thats one thing we can be greatful for. The most horrible thing they've done is stuck us in her and gave us crappy food. Not like they've been beating us up or anything..."

"Yes...that's true..." She wasn't so sure that was a good thing though. She had a friend back home who was still recovering from family abuse as a child. She was never beaten, but the mental abuse she recieved landed her in the hospital at fourteen, just the same. "Sometimes the mind and heart heal slower than the body," her Tia Carol had told her.

Iris rubbed her eyes tiredly. She tried to follow Nail's example and switch to a more positive subject. "I never did get a chance to ask where you're from. Do you live here?"

"What? Me? A New York local? No way. My home town is actually way north west, in Vancoover Canada, but I've been on the road for a couple years now. I actually just got into town when we met."

He smilled to himself.

"It's just my luck that as soon as I walk into town this would happen to me. How bout you? You from around here?"

Iris whistled softly. "Vancouver? That's quite a move."

She shook her head in answer to his question. "No, I'm from the Colorado Rockies, but I do come here a lot on business. Actually, this started out as a business trip, with a side stop." She sighed and closed her eyes again. "Supposed to be learning control, not losing it," she grumbled. "Sorry your first days were so...um...well...chaotic..."

Quiet by nature, she wasn't sure where to go with the conversation, so she simply continued watching him mess with the crystal shards. At one point she yawned and stretched, and knocked over her half-empty water bottle. Fortunately the lid was still on, so the cell didn't react like it had the last time.

She closed her eyes and visualized the violet gem on her back. As usual her hair and eyes changed. She opened the bottle and the water floated out in a blob. She was careful to keep it away from the floor and walls. as she began to manipulate it in different ways; spirals, prisms, flying discs, animal shapes, image of Syn with a mustache....

Iris grimaced at that last one and quickly got rid of it. Not only was it childish, with her luck the black-and-red haired woman was watching.

Her mind wandered, and the blob continued to shift according to her thoughts. Eventually, it began to form the shape of the Mansion.

Nail found himself much more entertained by Iris' work than his own and stopped fiddling with the shards. Watching the shimmering water hover inmid air and constantly morph from one thing to the next seemed almost otherworldly.

His expressions seemed to change with the water, as Syn poped up, he grimmaced, and he smiled at the animals.

When the mansion came up, be became curious.

"That your home?"

"That your home?"

Iris blinked, her violet eyes showing momentary confusion. She hadn't been paying attention to the last few water shapes. "My home? Oh! No, I don't live there. At least not permanently. I was... I am... just visiting." She changed her wording slightly midsentance. "It's actually a school, for mutants. A safe place for them to live and learn about their mutations."

However, her voice betrayed a hint of uncertainty. Kaz's announcement of going to visit a 'friend' there still hung in the back of her mind, along with the info that Deathstar was Syn and Abyss's sister. Was the Mansion really a safe place after all? She'd only spent a short time there, and met only a few people. She really didn't know a whole lot about the place.

She rubbed her eyes again, pushing the thoughts aside. It was never good to question things when you were so tired you couldn't sleep.

"Iara lives there. And I'm pretty sure I saw that other quiet guy once. But I never actually met him. I haven't been there for long," she said aloud. "Actually, when I met you in the park I was shopping for my cat, because my guardians sent her to stay with me." The blob of water morphed again, forming the shape of a siamese/persain cat. Iris cringed, almost able to hear that piercing yowl her friend was famous for.

A safe haven for mutants. Nail wasn't exactly surprised by its existance. He had heard that there were plenty of other mutants out there. There had to be a couple of places that they could call home.

What did strike him as odd was how elegant and peaceful they place seemed in the water. He thought it was strange that he had never heard of the place before, even though the place seemed huge... He watched as the cat formed in the air, shimmering and translucent in the air.

"I like cats... They know how to take care of themselves... You don't always have to look after them..."

In his experience that was true, but he was mostely just saying that to raise Iris hopes even more. He felt good. She seemed have calmed down a great deal from them talking, and that in turn made him feel alittle better about their situation.

"I like cats... They know how to take care of themselves... You don't always have to look after them..."

"Mmm hm. Just gotta hide your pens and jewelry." Iris yawned, and the water continued to change. She turned and smiled at him. "Thanks Nail."

Syn slowly walked back into the holding area as she could hear talking. It was the two remaining captive mutants. She had walked in at just the right time as they had finished a conversation.

"Well, I see the two of you are getting along."

Iris heard footsteps headed in their direction. Fearing it might be Jack again, she quickly returned the water to the bottle, and deactivated her power. She still wasn't sure what had happened the last time. She thought that, maybe, if her power wasn't active when Jack was near they'd be safe.

"Well, I see the two of you are getting along."

Syn. Iris grimaced, and moved away from the front of the cell. She never had asked what Syn's mutation was, and she'd rather not find out.

Syn noticed Iris move away from the front of her cell. The gesture made Syn laugh a bit. "Don't worry Iris, you're not going to become an ice block again." She looked to Nail to see what he was up to. "Nice buidling blocks."

Nail smiled. At least he had lightened the mood alittle. But just as she said that, footsteps came, and Syn wandered into sight.

"Well, I see the two of you are getting along. Don't worry Iris, you're not going to become an ice block again. Nice buidling blocks."

He picked up one of the shards that she was reffering to, turning it in his fingers, and watching her with steely eyes.

"You guys ever going to clean my cell out?"

He tossed the shard into the air again, and threw the shard at Syn. It embedded itself in the front wall, about head level to where she was. It soon was pushed out aswell and fell to the floor.

"Don't worry Iris, you're not going to become an ice block again."

"How comforting," Iris grumbled quietly.

Syn was the last person...no, second-to-last person... that Iris wanted to see right at that moment. When Nail tossed a shard at the wall where she was standing, a small smile crossed Iris' face. It seemed Nail felt the same way.

"So, why are you here?" She really wanted to ask, 'Why are we still here?' But she figured that wouldn't get a straight answer.

The evil black and red haired girl smiled at Nail as he threw a shard at Syn's head. Even though the cell had stopped the projectile from striking the girl she gave Nail a look that dared him to try it again withouy a barrier between them. "I'm affraid that if you're going to keep that attitude you're just going to have to live in your own mess."

Iris' question also made Syn smile but in a much more false hope kind of way. "I didn't want you two to be too bored so I thought I'd come check on you both." She glanced at both of them. Syn could tell that they both wanted to get out of here yet there was a hint of helplessness as well.

Nail stood up, stretching his arms and legs. He had been sitting for far too long anyway.

"Aw, thats kinda sweet...You giving a crap about us. Give me a break."

His tone was thick with sarcasm. He crossed his arms, and stood at the front of the cell right where Syn was. It was his attempt at looking tough, and showing her that he wasn't afraid of her, but seeing as how he was the one who was caged up, it was kinda hard to act like he had any power at all. Still he continued to scowl at her.

"Do what you came her to do and leave."