* * * Small Subarb from the City* * *
Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan walked into the small diner. They had been in the small town for almost an hour searching everywhere for this special "mutant" that some government agency was after. The Dominion didn't give them a name, specific location, even age or gender. This was the second time the Dominion withheld the information, making Shalimar and Brennan angry since their last "personal" encounter with the Dominion.
The diner that they walked into was less than flattering, the tables looked like they hadn't been cleaned in years. Maybe a towel off now and then, and Lexa noticed that the Health Inspection License was expired. She grimaced and under only Brennan's stern glare did she sit down at a booth. Shalimar and Brennan sat at the same side, his arm behind her head. Lexa sat alone at the booth, 'like always' she thought. After few minutes of waiting, a waitress came by.
She was barely fifteen, her long brown hair was tied back and spilling around her shoulders still. Her blue eyes traveled their faces in skepticism, 'they're probably not used to visitors' Shalimar observed. The young girl was dressed in tight blue jeans and a spaghetti strapped, red top.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked while she passed three menus to them. "A drink to start?" her voice was less than welcoming. Lexa could tell just by her expression that she did not want to be there. But she was trying, at least.
Brennan was the first to speak first. "Do you serve alcohol here?" he asked, what he needed was a little boost in his spirits.
The girl nodded. 'You don't need any, bro. You look like you've had enough already' she thought, observing his tired eyes. "Yes we do, the list's on the menu. Can't remember them all," she excused.
All three of them looked at the Beverages list on the back, the girl couldn't stop from smiling a little. Lexa passed her a glance and looked back.
"I'll take a shot of that tequila," Brennan said.
"Corona," Shalimar answered.
"Uh---" Lexa stalled, she wasn't especially fond of beer, but she needed something. "Corona."
The girl wrote it down on a tablet and looked back down at them. "Bottle or draft?"
"Bottle," the two women said in unison, just because of the cleanliness of the place. The girl must have assumed that because she gave them a glare and then backed away.
*Hey, Bren, get her name so we can get started on the search* Jesse instructed.
"Hey!" Brennan called. The girl came walking back, obviously annoyed. "What's your name?"
Startled by the question, her eyebrows furrowed. "Andy," she answered after a pause.
*Short for?* Jesse inquired.
"What's that short for?" Shalimar asked, acting as if curious.
Andy looked skeptical and maybe a little embarrassed. "It's short for Andromeda, okay? What'd you wanna know for?" she asked, curiously.
Lexa stopped herself from smiling, even laughing, at the unique name. But, the name Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan wasn't very common either. The only reason for her holding back. "Original name ... just wondering," she excused.
Andy backed away a second time, stalking off. Obviously embarrassed.
*Andromeda, huh? I always liked Greek myth-names* Jesse said admirably.
Lexa rolled her eyes, he wasn't seeing the point. "Search it will you, I'm more of a big-city-type-of-girl," she whispered into her comlink ring.
*Yeah, yeah, yeah ... 'Jesse do this', 'Jess, do that', 'Jesse, don't you ever do that again!'* he mimicked. Lexa grinned.
A second later, Andy came back with a tray full of drinks. She placed it on the edge of the table and grabbed the two Coronas and put them in front of Lexa and Shalimar. "Isn't there a law saying you can't touch alcohol?" Shalimar asked, confused.
Andy grinned. "You ARE new in town."
Last, she grabbed the shotglass. "One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor," she recited with a smile.
Brennan grinned. "Not today ... we're not hungry, what're we up to?"
Andy grabbed the tray and held it at her side and grabbed the tablet from her back pocket. "Ten bucks ...."
"Even?" Shalimar asked.
Andy leaned forward into a whisper. "Some of us don't like to count decimals," she joked.
Brennan reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, he only found a fifty. 'Ah, let's give this to her ... it's not like we're lacking in the money-part of living' he thought. He grabbed the bill and gave it to her. "Keep the change."
Lexa say the bill, and that 50 trailing her vision. Brennan gave her a wary glance, not to make a scene. Lexa just pouted silently.
Andy frowned, realizing there was no catch, she placed it in her back pocket. "Alright," she cheered silently. "New pair of shoes. Enjoy your drinks." She backed away, this time with a grin on her face. Andy turned around and pounded the counter. "Hey, I'm taking off!"
"All right, send your brother our love!" a large woman shouted from the kitchen. Lexa caught this, even though she hadn't known this girl more than five minutes. She liked Andy.
No longer than Andy had left, Jesse connected the comlink. *Hey, Andy's the mutant!*
"What?" Brennan asked.
*Yeah, Andromeda Burton--registered in Adam's database as a gravitative. It's very rare*
"Alright, let's get here," Lexa said as she took one more swig of her Corona and slid out of the booth. Brennan finished his shot and let Shalimar out of the booth and then they took off towards the back where Andy had disappeared no more than a minute ago.
Shalimar's eyes changed to a brilliant yellow and she turned towards an alley across the street. "There ... I hear commotion." Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan raced across the empty street and saw the young girl. Shalimar sensed that Andy's body heat was extremely high, she noticed the level's cause was andrenaline. Their eyes traveled upwards as they saw two men in black suits and sunglasses hanging almost two stories in the air. Now they noticed, Andy's hands were raised, her fingers spread apart.
"Andy!" Lexa made her stop concentrating. Then she regretted it because Andy dropped her control on the men, they fell onto the ground. Andy whirled around and then outstretched her arms towards the three spectators.
"You won't tell anyone," she commanded, she was no longer the funny teenager but the frightened, powerful girl that Lexa once was when someone threatened her brother.
Lexa felt like she was a thousand pounds, she could barely move her fingers. And she was sure that Brennan and Shalimar felt the same way.
Lexa didn't register the pain that came with her feeling like she was going to be flattened into the ground, her eyes widened as she saw the men come from the ground onto their feet. "Behind you!"
Andy turned, keeping her control, but when she saw the men, she let go of the three strangers. Suddenly, blue bolts of electricity shot towards the men and they fell to the ground. Andy turned around and saw the same bolts residing in the man's palm.
The blond held out her hand. "Come on, Andy. You're not safe here. You have to trust us ..." she pleaded.
Andy took a warning step back. "Who are you?"
"We're here to help you ..." Lexa joined in, for a second time, the men came to their feet. Not only was her senses shocking her into a rush of andrenaline but she was also confused. 'How could they get up?' she asked herself.
Shalimar grabbed Andy's hand and pulled her to her side while Brennan and Lexa shot the two men with Tesla coils and laser-blasts. This time, the silent-men didn't fall but seemed to get stronger and more immune to their blasts as before.
"Come on, we can't beat them!" Shalimar shouted at their friends. Her arm was still around Andy's shoulder, keeping her still.
Brennan and Lexa finally gave up when they were exhausted. Brennan motioned for them to run as he hit the two men with more Tesla coils, Lexa ran after Shalimar and Andy then he joined them.
* * * The Helix* * *
Jesse was typing on the computer when Lexa, Shalimar, Brennan, and Andy rushed in. "Come on, Jess, they seem to be immune to our powers .... for the time being," Lexa added.
"Oh, so not only are you super powered but you're also cocky ..." Andy observed outloud. Lexa past her a glance. "Who are you?"
"That's Jesse, Lexa, Shalimar, and I'm Brennan ..." he explained as he plopped into a seat. Only by Shalimar's hand did Andy sit down in her shock.
"Mutant X?" she asked, incredulously. "No way!"
"You've heard of us?" Shalimar asked.
"Of course ... my brother used to go on all about Mutant X," she said.
"Who's your brother?" Jesse asked, as he lifted the Helix off the ground.
"Uh---Loki .... Burton."
Lexa turned around in disbelief. "Loki's your brother? Yes, that's right, Loki did have a sister named Andy. I remember now."
"You know Loki?" Andy asked, gripping the arms of her chair so much her knuckles were turning white. Shalimar noticed and her eyebrows furrowed, she ignored it.
"Yeah, we ran into each other a few times when I was hired to steal something. Where is he now?"
The question made Andy's heart beat slow down, she lost eyecontact with Lexa. "He---uh---he got caught with all those cars ... he's in prison for Grand Theft Auto," she confided.
Lexa turned around slowly. "Sorry ... I know how hard it is to lose a brother."
"I didn't ... just lost a car-thief. He'll be back," Andy argued. "So ... back to those Suits ..."
Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan walked into the small diner. They had been in the small town for almost an hour searching everywhere for this special "mutant" that some government agency was after. The Dominion didn't give them a name, specific location, even age or gender. This was the second time the Dominion withheld the information, making Shalimar and Brennan angry since their last "personal" encounter with the Dominion.
The diner that they walked into was less than flattering, the tables looked like they hadn't been cleaned in years. Maybe a towel off now and then, and Lexa noticed that the Health Inspection License was expired. She grimaced and under only Brennan's stern glare did she sit down at a booth. Shalimar and Brennan sat at the same side, his arm behind her head. Lexa sat alone at the booth, 'like always' she thought. After few minutes of waiting, a waitress came by.
She was barely fifteen, her long brown hair was tied back and spilling around her shoulders still. Her blue eyes traveled their faces in skepticism, 'they're probably not used to visitors' Shalimar observed. The young girl was dressed in tight blue jeans and a spaghetti strapped, red top.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked while she passed three menus to them. "A drink to start?" her voice was less than welcoming. Lexa could tell just by her expression that she did not want to be there. But she was trying, at least.
Brennan was the first to speak first. "Do you serve alcohol here?" he asked, what he needed was a little boost in his spirits.
The girl nodded. 'You don't need any, bro. You look like you've had enough already' she thought, observing his tired eyes. "Yes we do, the list's on the menu. Can't remember them all," she excused.
All three of them looked at the Beverages list on the back, the girl couldn't stop from smiling a little. Lexa passed her a glance and looked back.
"I'll take a shot of that tequila," Brennan said.
"Corona," Shalimar answered.
"Uh---" Lexa stalled, she wasn't especially fond of beer, but she needed something. "Corona."
The girl wrote it down on a tablet and looked back down at them. "Bottle or draft?"
"Bottle," the two women said in unison, just because of the cleanliness of the place. The girl must have assumed that because she gave them a glare and then backed away.
*Hey, Bren, get her name so we can get started on the search* Jesse instructed.
"Hey!" Brennan called. The girl came walking back, obviously annoyed. "What's your name?"
Startled by the question, her eyebrows furrowed. "Andy," she answered after a pause.
*Short for?* Jesse inquired.
"What's that short for?" Shalimar asked, acting as if curious.
Andy looked skeptical and maybe a little embarrassed. "It's short for Andromeda, okay? What'd you wanna know for?" she asked, curiously.
Lexa stopped herself from smiling, even laughing, at the unique name. But, the name Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan wasn't very common either. The only reason for her holding back. "Original name ... just wondering," she excused.
Andy backed away a second time, stalking off. Obviously embarrassed.
*Andromeda, huh? I always liked Greek myth-names* Jesse said admirably.
Lexa rolled her eyes, he wasn't seeing the point. "Search it will you, I'm more of a big-city-type-of-girl," she whispered into her comlink ring.
*Yeah, yeah, yeah ... 'Jesse do this', 'Jess, do that', 'Jesse, don't you ever do that again!'* he mimicked. Lexa grinned.
A second later, Andy came back with a tray full of drinks. She placed it on the edge of the table and grabbed the two Coronas and put them in front of Lexa and Shalimar. "Isn't there a law saying you can't touch alcohol?" Shalimar asked, confused.
Andy grinned. "You ARE new in town."
Last, she grabbed the shotglass. "One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor," she recited with a smile.
Brennan grinned. "Not today ... we're not hungry, what're we up to?"
Andy grabbed the tray and held it at her side and grabbed the tablet from her back pocket. "Ten bucks ...."
"Even?" Shalimar asked.
Andy leaned forward into a whisper. "Some of us don't like to count decimals," she joked.
Brennan reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, he only found a fifty. 'Ah, let's give this to her ... it's not like we're lacking in the money-part of living' he thought. He grabbed the bill and gave it to her. "Keep the change."
Lexa say the bill, and that 50 trailing her vision. Brennan gave her a wary glance, not to make a scene. Lexa just pouted silently.
Andy frowned, realizing there was no catch, she placed it in her back pocket. "Alright," she cheered silently. "New pair of shoes. Enjoy your drinks." She backed away, this time with a grin on her face. Andy turned around and pounded the counter. "Hey, I'm taking off!"
"All right, send your brother our love!" a large woman shouted from the kitchen. Lexa caught this, even though she hadn't known this girl more than five minutes. She liked Andy.
No longer than Andy had left, Jesse connected the comlink. *Hey, Andy's the mutant!*
"What?" Brennan asked.
*Yeah, Andromeda Burton--registered in Adam's database as a gravitative. It's very rare*
"Alright, let's get here," Lexa said as she took one more swig of her Corona and slid out of the booth. Brennan finished his shot and let Shalimar out of the booth and then they took off towards the back where Andy had disappeared no more than a minute ago.
Shalimar's eyes changed to a brilliant yellow and she turned towards an alley across the street. "There ... I hear commotion." Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan raced across the empty street and saw the young girl. Shalimar sensed that Andy's body heat was extremely high, she noticed the level's cause was andrenaline. Their eyes traveled upwards as they saw two men in black suits and sunglasses hanging almost two stories in the air. Now they noticed, Andy's hands were raised, her fingers spread apart.
"Andy!" Lexa made her stop concentrating. Then she regretted it because Andy dropped her control on the men, they fell onto the ground. Andy whirled around and then outstretched her arms towards the three spectators.
"You won't tell anyone," she commanded, she was no longer the funny teenager but the frightened, powerful girl that Lexa once was when someone threatened her brother.
Lexa felt like she was a thousand pounds, she could barely move her fingers. And she was sure that Brennan and Shalimar felt the same way.
Lexa didn't register the pain that came with her feeling like she was going to be flattened into the ground, her eyes widened as she saw the men come from the ground onto their feet. "Behind you!"
Andy turned, keeping her control, but when she saw the men, she let go of the three strangers. Suddenly, blue bolts of electricity shot towards the men and they fell to the ground. Andy turned around and saw the same bolts residing in the man's palm.
The blond held out her hand. "Come on, Andy. You're not safe here. You have to trust us ..." she pleaded.
Andy took a warning step back. "Who are you?"
"We're here to help you ..." Lexa joined in, for a second time, the men came to their feet. Not only was her senses shocking her into a rush of andrenaline but she was also confused. 'How could they get up?' she asked herself.
Shalimar grabbed Andy's hand and pulled her to her side while Brennan and Lexa shot the two men with Tesla coils and laser-blasts. This time, the silent-men didn't fall but seemed to get stronger and more immune to their blasts as before.
"Come on, we can't beat them!" Shalimar shouted at their friends. Her arm was still around Andy's shoulder, keeping her still.
Brennan and Lexa finally gave up when they were exhausted. Brennan motioned for them to run as he hit the two men with more Tesla coils, Lexa ran after Shalimar and Andy then he joined them.
* * * The Helix* * *
Jesse was typing on the computer when Lexa, Shalimar, Brennan, and Andy rushed in. "Come on, Jess, they seem to be immune to our powers .... for the time being," Lexa added.
"Oh, so not only are you super powered but you're also cocky ..." Andy observed outloud. Lexa past her a glance. "Who are you?"
"That's Jesse, Lexa, Shalimar, and I'm Brennan ..." he explained as he plopped into a seat. Only by Shalimar's hand did Andy sit down in her shock.
"Mutant X?" she asked, incredulously. "No way!"
"You've heard of us?" Shalimar asked.
"Of course ... my brother used to go on all about Mutant X," she said.
"Who's your brother?" Jesse asked, as he lifted the Helix off the ground.
"Uh---Loki .... Burton."
Lexa turned around in disbelief. "Loki's your brother? Yes, that's right, Loki did have a sister named Andy. I remember now."
"You know Loki?" Andy asked, gripping the arms of her chair so much her knuckles were turning white. Shalimar noticed and her eyebrows furrowed, she ignored it.
"Yeah, we ran into each other a few times when I was hired to steal something. Where is he now?"
The question made Andy's heart beat slow down, she lost eyecontact with Lexa. "He---uh---he got caught with all those cars ... he's in prison for Grand Theft Auto," she confided.
Lexa turned around slowly. "Sorry ... I know how hard it is to lose a brother."
"I didn't ... just lost a car-thief. He'll be back," Andy argued. "So ... back to those Suits ..."