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Before the waitress got away from them she touched her arm lightly to get her attention.  The waitress looked down at Kendra's hand unamused then shot her a look.  Kendra's fingers recoiled from the touch and she shrunk back a little in her seat.  "Uh.... I'll have'a coffee too if'n it's not to much trouble."  She said.  Her voice was wavering, unsure.  If looks could kill, the look the waitress gave her would have her twitching on the floor dead.  Kendra's eyes slunk down to her nervous hands in front of her. 

She was really two halves of the same whole.  She was a shy sweet southern girl.  She was a bit socially awkward and a bit neurotic.  She constantly narrated in her own head, weighing out situations.  She was very indecisive.  When she was asleep in astral form she was much more free.  She had a total lack of inhibition.  She explored the world and the people in it.  It was the one time in her life she didn't have to be nervous, or shy, around people.  There was no social awkwardness, because people generally didn't know she was there. The woman the scot had met tonight was not how she usually acted. 

She found herself giving into the whims of her wild alter ego, because it was fun.  It was exciting.  She lived in a perpetual state of conscious awareness she tended to have wild moments because her cognitive processes were all wonky.  The impulse control centers of her brain lit up like a freaking candle when she was in this alter ego persona that she had come to know as simply 'Dream.'  That was not Kendra however.  She was the mild mannered photographer by day.  Trouble making invisible vixen by night.

The waitress came back and set her coffee onto the table and walked off rolling her eyes.  Kendra eagerly took it into her hands. and dared to look at Artair.  It was the first eye contact she had honestly made with him since she arrived.  For the first time her gaze wasn't averted to some much less threatening thing.  It wasn't because of the interactions they had, had.  It was more that meeting anyone in person was more intense for her. 

Kendra pulled her coffee closer and considered his question when he asked her where she grew up.  He proceeded to tell her where he grew up.  It was no big surprise to her however to learn that he wasn't American.  She offered him a nervous smile and took a sip of her coffee.  Coffee was her best friend.  She drank more than she should just to keep herself awake sometimes.  Often times she found it helpful just to have a quiet night.  She knew that when she fell asleep she would slip into this wild persona.  It was fun most nights, some nights she'd rather just read a book in her room quietly instead of breaking into people's houses to snoop on them, or chase a random gentleman into a club and steal his drinks.

Setting her coffee back down Kendra sat back.  She felt the cushion of the booth pressing into the small of her back and shifted uncomfortably trying to make the hard seat more bearable.  "Well.... I grew up in Georgia.  Southern girl with southern values.  I'm a photographer.  Freelance mostly." She said.  As she spoke she realized she wasn't talking very loud and made a conscious effort to speak louder.  "I work for this magazine called The Divide.  It's this radicle publication that focuses on mutant rights issues and equality.  All the articles in the magazine are submitted by concerned citizens.  Pro mutants who want'a give'a voice to the cause.  Articles could be about anything.  Ethics of mutants playing professional sports, to weather or not they should be in public schools.  But it's a very pro mutant publication..... I take a good amount of the photos that appear in it."

There were other photographers that submitted their work to The Divide, and all of the articles were from joe nobodys. The same way a sports radio show would have a caller call in to voice their concerns, that is how this magazine got it's articles.  They all went through a editor to make sure nothing hateful was submitted, but it was pretty much a anyone can contribute kind of thing and Kendra was rather proud of her work there.  She was a well respected photographer though she didn't use her real name.  She instead submitted her photos under the assumed name 'Madison Hope.' As in she 'hoped' that her work could make a difference.  It was all very naive but it was her small way of making the world a better place.

Kendra looked over at Artiar who seemed to be listening, but her voice trailed off.  She was still quite nervous to be sitting down with him.  It was interesting for sure, but she found herself organizing the stuff on the table; or pulling at the hem of her shirt.  She couldn't find something to keep her hands occupied for more than a few minutes and began to nervously chew on her lips.  She did have questions, she just didn't have the courage to ask any yet.  She took another small sip of her coffee while they waited for their food. 

Kendra stood there awkwardly. She had followed Becca into this room and to her surprise it was filled to the brim with metal monsters. Her eyes went wide. Her mouth hung open. And she couldn't be sure, her mind was so busy trying to figure out what her play was; but she was pretty sure she heard herself utter a tiny whimper. Kendra hadn't been in many fights in her life. Especially not while wielding a giant stone hammer. Becca seemed to already be throwing herself into the fight as she seemed to lung at a metal monster with a large sword. I have to help her fight these! Kendra thought.

She was still invisible, but that didn't matter. She noticed one of the metal monsters turning towards her with a shield. Oh great! No time for a game plan I suppose. Kendra wasn't a great fighter, she wasn't graceful. There was one thing she did very well and that was teleport. She had a mastery over her teleport that almost made her seem like a thing of beauty dashing around the room. If you could even see her that was.  Kendra was invisible, but when she teleported, or blinked as she liked to call it.  She exploded into a cloud of smoke. The smoke was colored the complexion of her pale skin and the bright red of her fiery hair. When she reappeared she was just there. She just blinked into existence at another fixed point.

Kendra narrowed her eyes at the approaching beastie and began to run. Beside her Becca was about to engage in a fight of her own. Kendra charged the shield wielding metal beastie and before she reached him she looked up above it's head.  Kendra teleported. She teleported above his head and came flying down from up near the ceiling with a heavy downward strike of the hammer. She was screaming a guttural primal roar of mostly fear and anxious nerves. The hammer was heavy enough and coming down hard enough to destroy the target. It collapsed in the floor short circuiting and sparking tiny blue sparks.

Kendra's grip on the hammer tightened when she felt a tight grip on her shoulder. She looked over to see one of the bots had grabbed her. Without thinking she teleported. She brought the creature with her.  She had teleported up onto a chandelier. Her weight plus the weight of the creature caused the chandelier to fall on several other bots. Pieces of metal and broken chandelier went flying every which way. Kendra hit the floor. Hard! Her hammer went skittering out of her reach across the smooth floor. Crap on'a cracker! She thought as she scurried to her feet. She didn't have time to think about Becca, one of the bots under the chandiler grabbed her ankle as she tried to flee causing her to belly flop and land hard again on the unforgiving floor.  Umpph!!!!!!!!!

The creature's grip was torturously tight on her ankle.  "Ahhhhhh!"  Kendra cried out.  She feverishly kicked at the thing trying to get it to let her go.  This was survival now.  She wasn't sure how dying in the program would work, but she had to assume that it would be bad.  She stretched out in a frenzy desperately trying to reach for the shield that was fingertips away.  It was something.  The hammer was across the room, that wasn't an option.  The creature's grip squeezed a little tighter and Kendra could feel the tears starting to swell in her eyes it hurt so bad.  Got it!  Kendra grabbed the shield. Turning around quickly and sitting up she bashed the shield over it's head again and again and again until it's grip loosened and finally let go. 

Kendra hobbled to her feet.  She couldn't put much weight on it right off.  The pain shot through her ankle, but she'd manage.  She lost her balance and stumbled into a wall.  Hitting the wall with her shoulder she realized that they seemed to be mostly ignoring her.  They all seemed to be focused on Becca now.  The invisible threat had disappeared to them.  Kendra teleported again.  Exploding in a cloud of Kendra BLINK! She reappeared closer to Becca now.  She was going to face the beasties with Becca.  She realized she still had the shield in her hand.  It was a wooden shield with a sharp metal edge around it.  It was much more manageable than the heavy hammer.  Kendra hobbled back a bit.  It was more about trying to balance her weight to be comfortable and less about backing down from the fight.  She was ready, she was determined.  And there were plenty left to fight.  "Look alive!"  She shouted over the loud metallic droning that now seemed to fill the room.

Daydream snapped a few photos as he posed for her. She watched as he really began to ham it up for the camera. He wasn't shy in the slightest. "Just keep'ya hair up for the moment."  Daydream snapped a few more photos while the ham continued to show off a big. She could tell he was getting anxious to show off for the camera. She sighed with a little smile and told him to let his hair down for a bit. She'd get a few photos with his hair down and choose from them later. Daydream didn't like to look at her photos till after shoot or session. It wasn't about frustration, or getting upset that you weren't getting the shot you wanted.  It was about finding the perfect moment to cause while you were still in the moment. 

Daydream watched as he seemed to summon something from the ground. It was a large mass, but she wasn't sure what it was supposed to be yet.  She just took a few pictures with him next to it.  "Alright then.  Show me somethin."  She said.  She really didn't know what to expect.  She had seem a few of the things he could do, but she didn't know the full range of what he was capable of.  Daydream was going to ask him to shape that mass of dirt into something to sit on.  For the final shot.  She really liked the idea of him sitting on a literal throne of dirt.  If he was capable of it.

Daydream got closer.  Very close.  She got low down to the ground for a few hero shots.  Looming shots of Tristen from a low angle pointing up.  It made him seem more imposing.  "Ok let's kick'it up a notch."  She said standing back up and taking a few steps back.  She figured whatever he was going to do he was going to need some room to do it safely. 

This should be good.  She thought.  Suddenly a thought struck her.  Daydream decided that she was going to write an article about this.  She was going to send it in with the photos she took here today.  She the world a real shining example of a mutant who was making the world a better place.  She would leave out the parts about murder of course.  No one needed to know about that, and chances were that only people in Georgia were only going to read this article.  But she'd be sure to get a few issues sent up here from her friend Delilah back in Georgia. 

"Don't hold back now!"  She yelled.  The wind picked up.  Right at the moment Trisiten Geo started to use his power.  The wind blew Daydream's hair around her face.  It was like even the wind was ready to see what Geo could really do.  Daydream focused her lens getting ready whatever it was he was going to show her.  Was he going to make dirt turn into some giant golem?  Could he even do that? Oh what if he made the ground open up and he stood on either side of it!  She started getting distracted.  The anticipation of the 'show' making her a bit anxious herself.  "Whenever you're ready."  She said as the show began to start.

The air outside was nice. It was warm and pleasant. The soft breezed blew Kendra's hair gently around her face. Reaching up she absentmindedly pulled her hair to one side of her neck.  All of her hair flowed down one shoulder leaving the side closest to Leon exposed and open to the hot air around them.  It was a beautiful day out.  The sun sat in the sky as it was mid afternoon.  The grounds of the mansion were lush and green.  The birds could be heard chirping happily from their nests in the nearby trees.

Kendra was off in her head of course.  Like her codename suggested she was a bit of a daydreamer, but that wasn't her fault.  Her mutation meant that even when she went to sleep she was fully conscious and aware.  Her astral body and her physical body were just vessels to transport her always active mind.  One could imagine how being in a never ending state of conscious awareness could made some people go mad!  It constantly made her feel run down and tired, and she sometimes had trouble focusing.  It was easy for her to get distracted by this or that.   It was easy for her to get allow her mind to get caught in a daydream and fantasize about things that were often floating in her subconscious mind.

Like right now for example.  She was thinking about why she didn't bring her camera with her.  A simple enough thought.  That thought led to the thought of what kind of photos she would have liked to take naturally, then that thought led to getting some photos of everything!  It was a beautiful day out.  She wondered if Leon would like his photo taken.  Kendra was a photographer for a local magazine in Georgia called The Divide.  It was a pro mutant magazine  that focused on civil rights. The articles within the magazine were submitted by pro mutant people in the city that wanted their voices heard.  They were reviewed by the editor and if it fit with the message they were trying send then they were included.  Basically everything about the magazine was freelance the photographs, the articles....

Kendra wasn't going to take pictures of mutants, or mutants using their powers without their permission.  This was a publication very popular in Georgia and she didn't want to out anyone as a mutant that didn't want to be outted, but she did wonder.  She realized that her mind had drifted from her camera to her magazine she worked for.  Feeling slightly embarrassed that she had allowed herself to fall off into such a long stir of internal thought smiled.  "If'n you could have three wishes Leon, Would would those be?"  She knew one of them already.  She knew he'd wish to look normal.  She had come to realize it was a constant factor of stress for him.

She didn't know what the other two wishes would be and that was the really telling part.  Kendra's soft pale skin almost seemed to shine in the the rays of the son.  Her hair cascading down one shoulder in a river of red.  Her big brown eyes filled with inquisitive wonder as she stared at him softly.  Her pouty lips pulled into an unsatisfied half smirk.  Like she wouldn't be satisfied until she really knew one truly unique thing about him.  Something about him that wasn't painfully obvious or easily deduce.  The football thing was a surprise, but she could have guessed it was something physical.  He was a big guy.  She wanted to know something about his character that no one else knew.  She wanted to know something about his soul, that he was afraid to share with anyone else. 

Kendra's curiosity and kindness both were endlessly deep oceans.  She wouldn't give up on Leon just because he was a little hard to get to know.  She was stubborn enough and persistent enough to crack open his heart and nestle herself in there.  Everyone needs someone they can count on.  She wasn't sure if she was that person for Leon, but she was trying to get to know him.  She was trying to peel back the layers and get at the person underneath.  The reason she loved working for her magazine was because it went with what she truly believed.  That mutants were just.... Humans.  Just one step up on the evolutionary later, but at their core the were still human and part of the human race.  She embraced her humanity.  She didn't shrink away from it.  She knew that Leon, despite his appearance was human to.  That's what she was trying to uncover.  She was trying to help him reach his humanity, so he didn't have to feel like a monster.

Daydream was quiet. She couldn't hold Tristen's gaze. His hazel eyes were like staring down a double barreled shotgun. The usually cocky, flirty elemental was deadly serious.  His eyes seemed to bounce around her face almost as if he was searching for something in her.  She didn't know what that was, but his piercing eyes were to much for her to handle and she dropped her eyes to the floor.  She was staring at Tristen's dirty feet.  His toes wiggled a bit in the plush carpet.  "If'n we kill him.  We're the monsters."  She spoke softly.

She didn't know what was the truly right thing to do here.  Even if the mutants at the circus were happy so what?  Did that make it right?  Did they even have a right to do anything about it if they were there under their own free will?  She knew that not to be the case though.  Like Tristen had pointed out, that girl must've had a family.  Must've had friends.  She didn't just happen upon a circus and decide that it looked like a barrel of laughs. 

Daydreamed finally nodded.  Her head moved up and down rapidly as she agreed with Tristen's assessment.  "Ok." She said.  They didn't know that the little girl they were both so worried about was actually the most powerful mutant there.  That young sweet innocent little girl had a power that terrified even Gavin himself.  Daydream moved over to the nightstand beside the bed.  She didn't even feel as if she were walking.  She felt as if ghostly fingers were carrying her, making her glide across the room. She grabbed her camera.  Her eyes were still downcast, to afraid to meet his stare.  If'n we do go there, we might need proof.  She thought as she turned the camera over in her hand.

Daydream slipped the strap of the camera around her neck.  She took a step closer to Tristen.  Her hands found his chest and slowly her hands crawled up over his shoulders.  Her slender fingers wrapped around the back of his neck and she laid her head on his chest.  It was hard. It felt like a rock, but she could hear the muffled sound of a heart beating  in there.  Tristen had a heart.  She didn't know how much the things he had done in his life had darkened it, but she didn't want this to be one more thing that did. 

You can only walk through the flames so many times before people start calling you the devil.  He wasn't that to her.  He had been an angel.  A protector.  A friend.  Tristen had shown Daydream what it was to truly and proudly embrace the mutant side of her.  Something that she severely lacked confidence in.  He came along and did in a day, what she hadn't managed to make herself do in twenty-one years.  Accept who she was.

Daydream's lips parted slightly.  Her eyes had fallen halfway closed to the sweet sound of the rhymemic beating of his heart. Her palms were itchy, her throat felt dry.  She could feel the constriction in her esophagus.  The delicious breakfast from this morning threatening to come back and revisit her.  She was terrified of Gavin, but she knew he couldn't go alone.  She swallowed and fought back the queasy feeling.  I have to go.  I won't let him go alone.  She thought as she took a step back.  Held him at arm's length.  The soft handsome features of a man she could never thank.  An easy feeling.  There was a war of emotions raging on her face.  Sadness, worry, fear, happiness to have a friend.  Each one of them daring to leap up and overwhelm her. 

Daydream's big brown eyes settled on his.  She blinked a few times, batting her eyelashes.  She didn't do it in an erotic or flirtatious way, it was natural.  It was sweet.  It was the look of a woman shaking loose the last little bit of doubt that clutched at her frightened heart like a twisted claw.  She knew Tristen wanted to help.  He wanted to help her, the mutants.  He wanted to kill Gavin Sinclair and she understood why, he was terrible.  She knew that he would succeed somehow.  In that moment, she wasn't afraid as she looked into his eyes and saw the raw determination within them.  She knew that he was going to set the mutants in the circus free and he would come back.  She had a sense about these things after all.  Call it woman's intuition.  She'd still follow him of course, but she smiled lighter knowing in her heart that even Gavin Sinclair wasn't a match for Geo the incredible dirty man.

"Waffles right! I'll see you there in ten minutes?" She didn't wait for an answer. She teleported out of the room and onto the other side of the closed door. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone and looked up the number of a cab. Closing her eyes and thinking about the outside of the building she teleported outside. She was outside the night club now. "Yeah you need a cab? Where should we send it?" A rather dry and bored sounding voice asked her from the other end of the line. Daydream told him the address of the X-Mansion and quickly hung up. 

It was cold out. She could feel that even in astral form. Sense of taste, smell, touch and pain were all muted in this state, but it wasn't gone. She was cold, but not much. She knew by the way her powers worked that when she stepped outside it would be colder than this so she knew a change of closes were in order. Daydream sighed. Taking one last look at this nightclub she smiled. Pressing one on the speed dial rang the phone in her room. 

Her eyes shot open. Suddenly she wasn't standing in front of a nightclub shivering slightly and eagerly thinking about pancakes. Now she was laying face down in her bed. A small pool of drool soaked her pillow. Turning her head she saw that her girlfriend was gone. It didn't surprise her.  They hadn't been dating long, she didn't always stay through the night, though it had happened once or twice. 

Daydream sat up wiping her face with her arm. She didn't have that half asleep groggy feeling when she woke up. Her conscious thought transferred from one vessel to the next with no delay. It was like she just simply changed t-shirts. Only instead of t-shirts she was changing bodies. Daydream sat up in her bed and realized she would need something warmer. Stripping out of her shirt she slipped on a warm wool sweater that was just a little to big. The beige sleeves dwarfed her hands but it was soft and warm. Perfect for tonight. She didn't exactly own any jeans that didn't have rips in them. It was more an issue of not getting around to doing some shopping yet since she got to New York.

Daydream slipped on a pair of jeans however, that had slightly less rips and slide her boots back on. She was still wearing the black wool fingerless gloves to keep her hands warm. Daydream completed her new look by tying her hair back in a messy bun.  To be honest she didn't really care how she looked. She wasn't trying to impress the guy.  She looked cute all the same, this had always been her favorite sweater and the neckline was just a little to big as well.  The neckline kept falling over a pale shoulder revealing one of her bra straps. She had to constantly pull it back up. Still, didn't change the fact that she loved that sweater.

Daydream hurried downstairs after that and found that the cab was already waiting for her. She didn't bring anything with her other than her cell phone. She didn't feel threatened anymore by Artair.  They were going to meet in a public place. Honestly, what could he do in a public place without getting branded as a dangerous mutant. Daydream didn't have any problems playing the innocent scared human if things went crazy. She looked human. She didn't have any powers when she was awake and though she wasn't a strong liar most people were willing to give the one claiming human the benfit of the doubt when it came to altercations with a mutant.

Daydream slipped inside the cab and told him where the diner was and the cab started to head off into the night. She pulled out her phone and checked her messages as she rode quietly in the backseat. The soft glow of her screen illuminating her face in the dark and nothing else.  She scrolled through the screens with a few swipes and frowned when she didn't find a text from Emily. Well.... Let her get'sum rest. I will be alright.

Kendra casually used her fork and knife to cut another piece of steak and pop it into her mouth. The next time she looked up Leon's steak was gone. Well... Dang! She thought. Must've been good! Kendra smiled and finished the last of her steak. There was only one or two bite left though it was little awkward being the last one to finish. She feel him looking at her.

When he steadfastly declared that he didn't play football anymore she visibly winced. It was like watching the joy leave someone's eyes. She thought she saw a twinkle in his eye for a hair of a second, but it quickly left when he realized he couldn't do anything in life without hurting people. She had to find an activity. Something that he could do safely and a few things came to mid.  Batting cage? Tennis? Frisbee?  She sighed and allowed her shoulders to slump as she stood up taking the dirty dishes with her.

"Come on honey how's bout we take'a walk you'n me."  She said sweetly as she finished washing the dishes.  Looking at Leon batting her big brown eyes.  She had no idea if her looks factored into it in anyways.  Leon was quite hard to read and he didn't exactly seem into her in that way which was fine, but still she used her puppy dog eyes on him to try to get him to agree to the walk.  She hadn't learned jack squat!  Leon finished his meal in 2.3 seconds it wasn't exactly a nice sit down and get to know ya! 

Kendra moved around the counter to where Leon sat and leaned on the back of the chair.  She could find out more about him if he decided to go for a walk.  If he wanted something a bit more challenging she knew of a place that had a hiking trail near by actually.  It all really depended on what Leon said.  She had no idea what was rattling around in that head of his, but she wanted access to it.  He was like a big old mystery puzzle.  Puzzles bugged her, she was so nosey she had to solve them and figure them out or it would drive her crazy.