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Max felt his face spread into a rich grin. Geo had an infectious smile. You couldn't help but be cheery when the guy was talking to you. No wonder he got along so well with the younger guys here, he basically exuded cool older brother. He joked with Max and even from here he could see that Geo's approval had been enough for the guys in the Rec Room.

Geo excused himself to smoke and Max followed.

"I think I'll head out with ya for a few. Been working all morning and could go for a quick one." Max responded.

Max picked up smoking before he left Virginia. It was a habit his father had passed onto him however unintentionally. He remembered his dad sitting in his study going over case files with an ashtray full of burned down buts. Things had been a lot simpler then.

They entered the courtyard and Max pulled out a pack of smokes from his fanny pack. He lit up and looked at the older gentleman.

"So you said you were gonna be sticking around for a while? Glad to hear it those kids seem to have taken to you." Max observed as he took a drag.

"You so much traveling before you came here? You seem like a guy who knows his way around. This place used to have a pretty rough reputation in some circles."

Max walked the hallways and saw that Sanctuary was obviously more populated than he had first realized. He saw groups of people walking, young, old, some obviously mutants. He felt sorry for the circumstances that had brought them here but a small flame of happiness ran through him as he saw that they seemed to have found a home here.

He made it to the Rec room just in time to nearly run into a man trying to leave. The guy might as well have had a sign on his forehead that read "drifter." He was unshaved, his hair a mane hanging behind him, and a dirty t shirt. Max knew the look, he'd lived it for a few weeks about a year ago

Behind the man Max could see some of the resident looking their way, giving him an assessing look obviously waiting to see how the man before Max reacted to him. "A leader huh?" Max thought to himself.

-
"Hey brother! Don't think I've had the pleasure."

Max took his hand and shook, returning a grin of his own.

"Hey there. Names Max. Just here to help unload a truck of grub for the kitchen and figured I'd run in and check the place out for myself. You been here long?"

Club Vibe wasn't the best spot in town, Inferno held that position in Max's heart pretty firmly, but after spending most nights of the week waiting tables their Max preferred to head to Vibe to cut loose and have some fun. There was less chance of running into a regular who would want to chat, or being mistaken for being on duty and feeling obligated to put in a drink order for a table that waved him down.

Vibe was busy, the line wrapping around the corner. Of course the scantily clad girls giggling in lacks that basically screamed "I'm here with the girls but you could take me home if you like" were getting in with no wait at all. Max stood in a button up shirts a pair of nice jeans and a flat bill baseball hat. His fanny pack was hanging from his hips as usual and after a little bit of a wait he flashed the bouncer his ID. The guy used his littler scan gun to verify the ID, something that Max found pointless given that his was fake and he had never been halted, and after a small satisfying ping Max entered the club.

Vibe was mostly a EDM club that preferred to let flashy, strobing lights and loud music dictate what the crowd wanted. It was pretty packed and Max saw groups gathered around the single bar and most of the tables full. That was fine he wasn't here to drink.

He walked past the railing that separated the dance floor from the bar and entered a sea of people. Some were wearing clubbing attire while what Max could only assume here hired dancers wore glowing body paint and not much else. Max made his way through the crowd moving to the beat and looked for his target. Sure enough he found his mark quickly.

At any dance club you are sure to find a group of people circled around someone who had a large amount of talent. Most people came to places like this to grind on their date without fear of being yelled at for serial harassment or to find a stranger and clumsily shimmy around while making awkward conversation. The circle was where the performers went.

Max saw two guys in the center dancing fervently against one another in a series of back and forth. One was tall and was popping with precise skill. The other was obviously a b boy as he windmilled on his back. It took one round for Max to decide that the taller man would win. Stunts looked good but he had more skill. Sure enough after a few back and forth the taller man recieved a round of cheers and the competitor slinked off into the crowd. The music changed songs and the crowd waited for the next dancer.

Max threw his hat in the ring? Literally. The cap flew into the center of the circle and Max slid on his knees into the circle and picked it up. Swift motions brought the hat around him in circles, the hat spinning around him as he twirled it on his finger before flipping it onto his head as he hop to his feet.

His competitor started dancing, locking and twisting to the music. He was good and Max felt a healthy respect for the man form. Then it was Max's turn again.

He started with tutting making quick and precise squares with his arms before dropping back to his knees. He swept them around him and knelt allowing his momentum to dictate his motion. He took a quick step up and his hips and chest alternated popping to the beat. He got in the man's face, grinning a confident smile.

It went on for a few more rounds but in the end Max found himself surrounded by applause and his opponent fist bumped him respect. This is how dance clubs worked. He might be a thin, gangly looking white boy but he had moves and here that meant more than looks. He was sweating now and made his way to the bar, ordering a water. He was on cloud nine, nothing could ruin his night.

Song

The car pulled up and Max saw Devon literally hop out of the vehicle and beckon him over. Max smiled and rose to head over to the car. Devon looked nothing like he had at the mansion. Apparently despite his professional attitude and politeness he could in fact let loose. At this moment he reminded Max of his father when they used to go to sporting events, energetic and excited.

Max sat in the car and they took off.

"Nice ride." Max said.

With the music pumping in his ears Max leaned back and relaxed. He sipped his coffee and enjoyed the ride as they cruised along. It was nice to be in a vehicle that wasn't a crowded bus or the back of a dirty cab. They crossed a bridge heading off the island and Devon turned down the music

-"What's the drink."

"Mocha frappe. Call me a heathen if you must but I really can't stand coffee by itself. Gotta sweeten it up somehow." He extended the cup to Devon with the straw pointing toward him, "Want some?"

The day was glorious and the sun shone in through the sky roof. Max felt free, the world was his oyster.

"Thanks for the invite today. I was getting a bit stir crazy at the mansion. Sometimes I feel like the kid who graduated but keeps showing up at the high school to visit cause he has nothing better to do ya know? But a roofs a roof."

He saw the cars speeding by and grinned.

"So where are we headed by the way?"

Kendra seemed off as she spoke to Max. She said she had gotten some bad news and she wasn't feeling well.he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had done something wrong. Everything had seemed to be going rather well up until she recieved her phone call.

He noticed her eyes kept jumping around, trying to look everywhere at once. It reminded him a bit of a cornered animal. If she was expecting trouble she sure seemed like she wanted to keep it to herself. Max took her hand and gave an understanding smile.

"Sure I'll walk you home. Thanks for coming out tonight. I've had a really good time."

As he started walking Max tried not to let himself get paranoid. He tried to remind himself that he was fine, Kendra was fine and more than likely she was just not feeling well. Even as he had these thought he couldn't help himself. He looked into every unlit shadow around them, his eyes determined to see anything before it got to them.

Swords clashing, bards singing, what better way to spend a day? Max grinned enthusiastically as he took in the sights. He was wearing light armor over a plain t-shirt and jeans. He had made it himself using some old lacrosse pads he had picked up at a thrift store and some modeling clay and silver paint. A blunted sword hung in a sheathe at his hip and he had carved out a shield from some old plywood lying around in an alley. He had painted it and it bore the sigil of a hawk on the front in bright green paint.

The Renaissance Festival had come to NYC for the weekend, taking over one of the farms just outside the city limits. Hundreds of people had shown up to play amongst the stalls and booths in the fantasy land. Max had decided that maybe a little escapism would do it well.

He passed a blacksmith tent and took a moment to watch ad the worker hammered out a sword. The tent had a number of old weapons hanging on the wall with price tags on them. A little down the way was a makeshift tavern consisting of a number of table by a wooden stand with a grill behind it. Max passed a number of more interesting things including a "wizards school", "a fortune teller" and "a bestiary".

Overall the atmosphere was fantastic. Max made his way to a large circle that had probably been used for horses before the festival. At the moment however it had been divided into numerous rings where men in armor fought one another. He saw sitting on a wooden throne under a canopy a woman sitting watching. Max looked over at the sign ups and put his name down. A little battle for honor and glory would be fun.

He stood around waiting for his turn and watched the crowd.

Max smiled as Mirror explained her experience. He laughed at the idea of her invading a film or television show. Talk about a cool acting exercise. He imagined the girl stepping into a Spanish soap opera and smirked.

She started asking some tough questions. Questions Max hadn't wanted to ask himself. Where had he been and what had he been doing. He took a deep breath and strained to recall what had happened.

"I remember trying to cross the street and the car hitting me. Everything goes black," He said with his eyes shut, "there's just a bunch of nothingness. I remember someone laughing, a sadistic haunting kind of laugh like they found my plight funny."

He didn't realize he was shaking, fighting to recall memories that just weren't there. It was like putting a puzzle together and discovering that a very important piece wasn't missing. He was looking under the table so to speak, trying to locate it.

"I could hear people talking, mumbled voices and then some kind of light. I felt like I was falling and then I woke up in the alley." He concluded

It still didn't make much sense to him. He clenched his fists and opened his eyes. He looked at Mirror and gave a small uncertain shrug.

"Sorry that's all I've got. Maybe a telepath could help me pull more out of here but I just feel like my heads pounding everytime I try to think of it."