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Jorge was careful with teaching young Kalos how to bake a cake. While he was sure that he was opening a can of worms with this (he imagined how many times after this that staff here at the mansion would find her down in the kitchen, trying replicate her creation today), he wanted her to learn properly. He was gentle with her, not wanting to make her think she was making any terrible mistakes lest he make her no longer want to learn with him, and instead spoke to her gently and with a smile. So far it seemed to be working fine, that is until he found that she wasn’t distributing the sugar properly.

He offered her a small correction, that it would be better for her to tap the side of the sifter with her free hand as to better distribute the sugar, rather than just shaking it like a maraca. Kalos seemed a little timid about something but Jorge was still all gentle smiles and caring...that is until she showed him what the problem was.

>>"I lost a finger...It's just over there. It got stuck."

He blinked. ”Oh my…” He didn’t appeared affronted by the sight, or disturbed, more concerned than anything else. However Kalos didn’t seem hurt or in pain from the experience, instead she merely pointed out where her wayward digit had run off to. With a smile, he gave her a small, comforting pat on her shoulder. ”...are you okay? I’ll get it.”

He stepped away from her in that instant to reach the broken digit with the glob of offending butter slathered onto it. Picking it up carefully he, he noted the rough texture of it. Carrying it to the sink, he gently wiped off the excess butter and did his best to pat it dry before returning to the young Atlantean’s side. He handed the coral back to her.

”Here you go, honey.” he smiled and waited for her to take it.

When she did, he turned back to the cakes that they were preparing, picking up his own mixed batter and started to pour it into the prepared pan. As she scooped the remaining batter into it, scraping it from the edges of the bowl, he turned to Kalos as she inspected the sugar closely.

>>"Can I eat this white? This powdered sugar?"

”Um...yes, but only very, very little,” he said. ”Just put a little on your fingertip, ok? It’s pretty sweet.”

Okay so things had taken a decidedly different turn. If there was one thing that Jorge was not expecting today, it was to be facing down a giant beast that seemed to be made up of several, smaller, wriggling beasts, poor citizens transformed by whatever it was that the light was bringing upon them. The dimensional void, whatever it was, it was affecting people in the worst way. While they had managed to subdue most of them, this was going to be a problem.

The towering creature immediately became their highest priority. How were they going to handle this thing? Jorge had no idea what to do and just ground his teeth trying to think of a way through it. Thankfully he wasn’t here alone…

>> ”We could…I could try to lead it away. Right off of Manhattan and into the Hudson.”

>>"That doesn't sound like a bad plan, if we had enough light...We have the car battery which keeps generating power because it's running..."

He was honestly tired of Juliette using herself as bait but it seemed like light was the only way to get these things attention. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. If they could get the X-Woman charged up, then certainly she would be able to stay out of harm’s reach, at least until they could figure out what to do. He nodded.

”Sounds fair…”

>>"For now, let's try to implement Firefly's plan using the car's headlights? And maybe some Jorge prodding? I can..."

Jorge was about to agree when a massive hand swiped in their directions. The man’s eyes widened as he quickly jumped out of the way, rolling onto the concrete as both Ghost and Firefly dodged as well. With a groan he moved onto his knee and shook his head. He was about to condemn the creature for trying to kill them but it seemed more interested in the car it was holding than the trio of heroes who were trying to bring it down. He shook his head. Oh, he would prod it all right…

Another swipe and suddenly Ghost was gone, slamming through a nearby building and landing somewhere on the other side. Looking up, Jorge glanced over to Firefly who still seemed too low on energy and sighed. Of everywhere here, it seemed like he was going to have to keep that thing off of Firefly’s back. He turned to her.

”Stay out of it’s way for now,” he said. ”I’m going to see if I can keep it busy myself.”

Like that the flesh melted away, replaced with a surge of water. Again pulling up from all nearby sources, Jorge piled the water higher and higher onto himself so that the water effigy of the elemental was the only thing that rivaled the beast in height. The monster kept turning the car over, almost not really noticing the towering elemental that stood before him, that is until it caught sight of the limited light sparking across the water droplets that churned around the officer. With a gurgling roar, Jorge lashed out, punching at the beast, sending it stumbling backwards, dropping the car, and turning an angry glare in his direction. He had his attention now.

The beast grabbed at Jorge but could only take handfuls of water. With it so close, Jorge pushed back, sending torrents of wave forward, causing the beast to growl and hiss, stepping back several feet due to the pressure. Another firm shove and Jorge knocked it back further, making the ground shake with every heavy step. Jorge knew he couldn’t maintain this for long so he prayed that someone had an idea -- until he heard the faint crackle of a voice of his earpiece floating somewhere near his head.

>>"I got it! Do whatever you can to get another car running! We're taking the big guy to the movies!"

He nodded. He wasn’t sure what Ghost had in mind but he needed to get another car going. With another mighty shove, Jorge send the beast stumbling backwards until it fell into its back. Jorge himself collapsed, falling into a puddle that quickly spilled into his clothing and reformed into a man. Clothes over his body, he bolted to the a car and quickly broken in the window with his elbow, there was no playing nice now. Climbing in, Jorge started to hotwire a new car, growling as it struggled to turn over.

”Come on, you piece of ****,” he grumbled over and over again. The beast barely got back onto its feet when the car finally revved to life.

>>”I can’t wait, Tío, really. I’ll even make sure to give the little guy a dance,” she said, chuckling, before she realized, ”Assuming the ‘little guy’ is even still shorter than me…”

Jorge had to laugh at that. While Chase was indeed growing like a weed, it was actually hard to tell if he and Marisol were even close to height yet. After all, this was his first time seeing his niece in person for years and she was taller than he last remembered. It would be a close call but given the fact that Marisol was seventeen and Chase was only twelve, he had an idea that she was going to have a few inches on him -- at least for now.

”I’m sure he’ll give you a run for your money,” he said with a laugh.

When they finally got off at the parking lot, it immediately came apparent to Jorge exactly what his niece was. As she bounded off after his car, he could feel his senses snapping back into place. And, upon stepping closer to her, he felt them fade away once again. There was no denying it at this point, his niece was an adapted. It was possible she was a mutant with abilities like that, but it seemed unlikely as it was essentially unprecedented. The smart money was on Marisol being an adapted -- but did she know?

Adapteds weren’t common knowledge, but had she even met many mutants when living out in the west coast? Mutants were everywhere but how many of them had Marisol knowingly interacted with? He couldn’t flat out ask her because if she didn’t know, that wouldn’t be the best way to approach it. Rather he needed to use to subtlety to inquire. Once he confirmed how much she did or didn’t know, then she was most certainly going to have to talk with Gemma.

Huh. It was strange. If anything he expected the x-gene to run in the family, not whatever it is that makes an adapted and adapted. It seemed that the Cervantes gene pool was fairly diverse.

>>”You sure, Tío? I have my license now. It could be a beautiful bonding experience.”

She was teasing him. She knew very well that few people were actually allowed to drive his car, especially this one as he painstakingly kept it maintained and ready to roll. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust other people it was just that...well...there was no way he was going to allow a seventeen year-old behind the wheel. Still, he had to admire her moxie. So he shook his head as he approached, his watery senses slipping away with every step until he was fully within whatever aura she gave off.

”Oh I’m sure it is. But you know the even more beautiful bonding experience is you bonding your little butt into the passenger seat.” He smirked as he took her bag. ”I’ll put this in the trunk.”

He unlocked the passenger side door for her and gestured for her to climb in. Once she was in, he closed the door, moved to the trunk and placed her luggage within. He left the large blue whale in her arms as the plush had been in a bag the whole trip up, so it deserved a chance to watch the scenery from his niece’s lap. The trunk slammed closed and Jorge moved back to the driver’s seat where he climbed in, put the key into the ignition and revved the vehicle to life.

His seat belt buckled into place, Jorge glanced over to ensure Marisol had done the same before he started to pull out. ”Alright. Well, Mari, let’s get you acquainted with your new home, shall we?”

>>”Really? Well, I’m interested,”

Jorge just smirked. The young man was certainly eager. If he were an experienced swimmer than there was clearly a reason as to why. Swimmers needed to compete, it was an impulse that coursed through their veins just as much as water did. They needed to be in the water and they needed to test out their skills against other people. Jorge knew the urge well as it was something he dealt with many times when he was in school. Briefly he had entertained the thoughts of becoming olympic grade, but then his mutation kicked in. No way that would work, would it? At least that was what he convinced himself of.

The world was different when he was a kid, though. Yes there was prejudice and there would always be those who question whether or not you really won on your own merit. But the world was far more understanding, at least since his time. Maybe this kid would get the chance that he didn’t. Stranger things had happened.

>>“Oh, yeah. Definitely. I didn’t even know I could… I didn’t think mutants were allowed to participate in sports.”

He shrugged his shoulders. ”It’s a brand new world, kid,” said an encouraging smile. ”And there’s no harm in bringing it up to the headmaster. I was actually going to have a meeting with him later today concerning other matters, but I’ll make sure to bring it up.”

He smirked. He turned and started to fold his newspaper again. Really he hoped that he could help the kid. It wasn’t his fault he was a mutant and a swimmer. But were his abilities connected with his swimming in anyway? Or water in general? In either case, really it was fortunate that Jorge would meet this kid because, really, of everyone in the school Jorge was probably the one who could best help him. The universe was interesting in that regard.

>>“If it does become an official team, what other schools would we compete against? I mean, me and whoever else wants to be on the team. Unless you want to be the coach?”

Jorge blinked at the torrent of questions that were unleashed towards him. He smirked a bit, letting the boy finish the questioning as he tried his best to answer each and every inquiry. When it came down to it, a lot of it was going to hinge on what the headmaster said, but Jorge would do his best to fight for the cause.

”I’m sure the headmaster will figure all that out,” he said in regards to which schools they would compete against. After all, Xavier’s sister school didn’t fight hard to deny that it was a school for mutants. ”As for the coach, well, I guess I would be the most qualified.” He gave him a smile. ”So, yeah, probably.” He nodded to the kid. ”You seem eager, though. I take it to mean that you’re experienced in the drink? What’s your best time?”

The people started to thin and already Jorge was beginning to understand something that, for the most part, he wasn’t sure how to deal with. It seemed that there may be something more about his little nice than she was telling them. Of course she could simply not know, but with every step towards the tram, every person who left their little field of influence, Jorge began to put pieces together, pieces that, to be quite honest, he wasn’t sure how to address.

There was a moment where the both of them had stepped far enough away that they were clear on all sides from people; and in that moment Jorge still couldn’t get any of the water sense that he was used to. It was exactly like being in Gemma’s adapted bubble, a space in which his abilities were completely turned off, where any mutant’s abilities were turned off. Truly it was a face that was just a tad surprising. Was his niece really an adapted?

Jorge let the thought momentarily distract him, losing himself in the implications of it, when he chimed in again on Marisol talking. Really he needed to stop that or he was going to end up offended the young girl. Besides, this didn’t change anything. He was still her uncle, she was still his niece, and they were still family. If she was an adapted, then so what? She would have to be educated, of course, but it was a good thing that his fiance was definitely experienced in the field.

So Jorge chimed in, inquiring if she wanted food. Food always made everything better...

>>”I can totally do food first! But… I mean, I’m trying to eat healthy for dancing and stuff..You know what? I can get back to healthy eating tomorrow. Today’s a big day, right?”

He smirked before he shook his head in a chuckle. They climbed into the tram and claimed seats in the near empty vehicle as it took them to the parking lot. ”The biggest. The same goes for the pizza place I’m taking you to.” He grinned. Pizza was kryptonite to teenagers, as far as his experience taught him. Even if she were trying to maintain her diet, the mention of it would have probably made her break that vow then and there. ”And it’s just one slice. Trust me, in New York, that’s all you’ll need.”

>>”Nice, there’s barely anyone on hear. Which reminds me, how is your fiancée? And little Chase? I’m really excited to meet mi primo.”

He chuckled. ”There all good. Gemma is getting ready for the wedding. I’m helping out as much as I can but best to side step when she’s in planning mode.” A smirk on his lips. ”We’re both enjoying it, though. And Chase has been good. Shooting up like a weed. Almost a teenager already.”


The rest of the trip to the parking lot was filled with small chatter, mainly Marisol looking out the windows and holding up her phone to take pictures. Several times she leaned over onto Jorge, making a goofy face at her camera while Jorge just squinted his eyes and looked confused. She explained that a selfie was just a photograph that she would post onto the internet. That was rude. He didn’t give the internet his permission to use his likeness. But after assurances from Marisol that it was all safe and sound, he finally managed to take a couple pictures with a funny face.

In one of the he subtly flipped off the camera and made his niece promise to send that one to her mother. She would love that to be the first image she gets from a now Marisol-infested New York City.

When the tram came to a stop and both Jorge and Marisol were the only ones to get off at their location, he sighed as he climbed out of the vehicle, allowing his niece to take a few steps ahead of him. When she was effectively several feet away, Jorge winced, feeling that flood of sense returning to him. People in their nearby cars, pipes running beneath his feet, even someone’s bottle of water in a nearby car. Dammit...he was right. He smirked to his niece, catching up to her, and within stepping within a few feet of his her felt those senses dull and then vanish.

She was an adapted.

”Hey, wait up, kiddo,” he said as he caught up to her. Even after all these years, she still knew his black ‘67 Chevy Impala. ”You know, just because we occupy the same city, now, doesn’t mean you get to drive my car.”

>>"I had two families, I watched Humans kill one the other fell apart due to lack of direction. I tried to save it but I'm no leader, i'm a front line solider. I Know how to kill people not lead an organization and put a plan past wipe out humanity.”

It was bittersweet to listen to Aura’s story. It was good to know that he wasn’t the only mutant to take up the cause of protecting the rights of his people, but it was saddening to learn that two separate institutions had failed. Aura herself had apparently tried to make it work but admitted that she couldn’t lead, she worked better down in the trenches. He could respect that, someone who knew where they would be most effective. Too many organizations fall due to leaders overstepping what they have the capability to do.

Shaking the thought from his head, Jorge refocused on the young woman, thinking back to the alley and the mayhem that she was able to incur. Those SUPER agents really were absolutely butter to the blazing hot knife that this woman was. Honestly, if there were another like her in this realm, he would have snatched her up as quickly as possible.

He explained a bit about why he created what he did, even going so far as to speak about his poor, fallen sister. She didn’t deserve the fate that had befallen her and he would make sure that the world of humanity understood that.

>>"Sorry about your sister, your story is echoed on my world. I Have talked with many like you. Far to many of our people have such horrible pasts. I wish there were more like you, who saw the need to protect our people, to fight for the world we deserve. It's far to rare on my world. "

”That is tragic to hear,” he admitted. Mutants, no matter where they were from, needed to band and defend themselves. To know that such a thing failed in Aura’s own dimension was terrible. Jorge had already made strives towards these thoughts, but it was even more important now with the more he learned about this dimension. Something should be done...

>>"It certainly seems like you have built much, all you have shown me sings of a bigger organization at work. You knew the tactics of those you fought and responded in kind and effectively, like you had done so before. Plus the dead humans don't seem to have weighed on you to much. You don't get that unless you have a lot of blood on your hands one way or another"

Jorge offered the woman a knowing smirk. Taking a sip from his drink, the businessman / crime boss dipped his head, confirming that her assumptions about his life steeped in blood was correct. Killers, well, they could just smell it on one another and even if he hadn’t witnessed the horror show that she partook in, he would have known. But that gave the man an interesting idea -- if a soldier needed an army...why not join one?

A slick smile, Jorge took another sip from his drink as he faced her. ”You know, you really do have a knack for what you do. And you clearly have the experience working besides people such as myself.” A pause to let what he said sink in. ”Would you be open to trying another family? From across the dimensional void?”

It felt good to hug his niece. Admittedly, while drifting amongst the waves, her image flashed through his head of those people he lamented never seeing again. Of course the last time he had seen her, she was a tween and not at all the teenager who was now here, her arms wrapped around his neck. He sighed, just savoring the fact that he could be around his family again, momentarily remembering just how close he had come to being gone from their lives forever. It was a trauma that Jorge, for as much as he tried, still needed time to get over.

But there would be time enough for that later. Right now he just wanted to focus on the fact that his niece was here and that she was going to be a part of his life. Of course she still had school and her own thing that she would be doing while in the city, but part of the negotiation with allowing her to come to school out here was that there would be alotted time that she spent with her uncle. Not an extremely obsessive amount (Jorge managed to talk Jayda out of that) but just enough to at least check in with him.

Any other times she wanted to spend with the detective, well, that would be for the two of them to figure out.

>> ”Don’t tell her that...She might fly here to give you a punch in the arm.”

Jorge teased the young teen about how quickly she was growing up, and the fact that she would soon end up taller than her mom. He loved his sister but she definitely had a case of the short-person syndrome. She would fight any and all people who would dare call her short, making sure to make them bruise in the process. Jorge had been on the receiving end of those punches for various reasons over the years and she could still pack a wallop.

”Then it’s a good thing I’m telling you and you won’t say anything.” He grinned.

Handing over the present to her, he did feel a little silly. It was the gift for someone far younger than the teenager standing in front of him. Then again, the last he had seen the young girl face to face, she was still young enough to collect them. But, watching her take it from his hand, he did off the alternative of a more grown up gift, if that was what she wanted.

>>”I love it. Way better than tax forms and perfectly appropriate from the man who taught me to swim,”

He grinned. Marisol was always the sweetest member of the Cervantes clan. Where she got it from, Jorge would never be able to understand. Jayde was nice in her own way, but she was very much not the type of woman you would expect to raise a bunny-loving ballerina. Still, Jayda did an excellent job of raising her; Jorge would always believe that. Happy she enjoyed the gift he nodded his head as he gestured to the baggage claim.

”Are you waiting for more?” he asked. ”What does it look like?”