Italics indicates thoughts

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Chapter Three: "Fellow Citizens..."

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"Move over."

Aaron looked up from his comfortable place on the couch, and saw Zachary staring down at him. Most other people would probably have been more or less terrified at the annoyed look on Zach's face - the boy could look downright homicidal when he wanted to - but Aaron was not most other people, and he knew his teammate well enough not to fear him.

"Sure," he hissed, his forked tongue swiping out to taste the air. He moved over, and Zach sat down.

"What're we watching?"

Aaron shrugged, not even bothering to look at the TV.

"Some kung-fu movie. Hopelessly inaccurate, as Laetitia would say," he replied, his tongue turning the 's'-sounds into a hiss.

Zach smiled wryly.

"Then it's a good thing that she's training with Blade right now."

Aaron ran a scaled hand through his blond hair, his movements deliberate and oddly graceful, much like those of the creatures he so resembled.

"Training, training. We just got back from a mission. That girl needs to learn to relax."

"Don't say that to her face, though," Zach said, only half-joking. "You're a good guy, I'd hate to see you killed because you pissed off the wrong person."

"She can try. I'll just bite her," Aaron said, and let his tongue caress the two poison fangs in a loving manner. That was one of the things that set him apart from many of the other mutants with obvious mutations - Aaron saw no reason to wallow in self-pity. He'd gotten used to what he had become, and had come to accept it as a natural part of himself, even if his looks were rather unusual.

"You're weird, you know that?" Zach commented.

"Who's weird?"

Both boys looked at the door and were greeted by the sight of two girls watching them curiously. The two made quite a contrast together, Pheonix being dark-skinned, and Hal being a born albino, but none of them really noticed it anymore.

"Just Viper here," Zach replied, nodding towards Aaron. "He's licking his fangs again."

"Aww, he's just hungry. Right, Aaron?" Hal joked good-natured and sat down in a chair next to the couch.

"Exactly," Aaron replied. "Did you get my sushi?"

"How could we forget?" Hal asked and pushed a paper box across the table.

"Thanks, Hal."

"Here, Zach," Pheonix said and handed him a box that was identical to Aaron's.

"Thanks, Fern. I owe you one," Zachary said and opened his box of noodles.

Pheonix just snorted and dumped down in a chair next to Hal. She grabbed her own food, then looked around.

"Where's the rest of the gang?"

Zach shrugged.

"Still going at it in the training room, I guess," he replied and wolfed down another mouthful noodles.

"I'll get 'em," Hal said.

"HEY, GUYS! DINNER'S HERE!" she yelled.

"My poor ears," Aaron complained, sending Hal a vaguely annoyed look. "Would it be too much trouble to actually get out of the chair next time?"

Hal just ginned.

"Did anyone mention the word food?" a female voice asked.

Hal turned around and smirked.

"Ha! I know that would get your attention, Jordane. Your dinner's on the table. Chicken with almonds, fried rice, noodles and extra sweet'n sour on 'em."

Jordane lit up at the sight of the food, and brushed a few strands of damp hair out of her face.

"Great!"

"Where're Blade and Laetitia?" Pheonix asked.

"Still training. They'll be out in a moment," Jordane replied and tore open the boxes like she hadn't eaten for days.

"We got any beers left from last Friday?" Zach asked.

Hal frowned.

"You're not old enough to drink."

"Neither are you," he retorted.

Hal rolled her eyes and tossed him a beer.

"I don't know why you like 'em so much, anyway. They taste disgusting."

Zach just smirked.

"Hey, would anyone mind if I changed the channel? This movie seriously sucks," Jordane said.

Aaron tossed her the remote. As they all knew, it wasn't wise to annoy a girl with a history of berserker rages.

"Knock yourself out, Melee."

Jordane caught the remote and changed the channel.

"Let's see...horror movie. Nope. Some Japanese cartoon...nope. A nature documentary about snakes. No thanks, we already got one. DIY channel..."

"We don't build things, we destroy them," Zach corrected.

"Point taken. Some old movie without colors...I don't think so. The weather channel...nope. Music...sure, why not?"

Jordane finally settled on a channel and tossed the remote back to Aaron, who easily caught it.

Pheonix wrinkled her nose.

"Pop-music? Couldn't you have found something that was a little better?" she asked.

"I have masochistic tendencies, didn't you know?" Jordane replied, not bothering to look up as she continued to wolf down her dinner.

"But you-"

Pheonix' word were cut short as the music-video ended abruptly and was replaced by an image of the Statue of Liberty, partly hidden by a seal that read 'the Atlantic States'.

"We interrupt this program to bring an important message," a cheery voice proclaimed.

The five mutants looked at each other, then at the TV.

What the hell was going on?

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"Kyle, damnit! Give me that remote!" Diana complained, pouting quite deliberately, and finding that much to her annoyance, it didn't work.

Kyle shook his head.

"Uh, uh. We are *not* going to watch whatever romance movie you and Deirdre have decided on."

"And what do you suggest instead?" Diana asked, reached for the remote again, and once again failing to grab it.

"Football," Ben said, and Kyle smirked.

"Ben! I thought you were supposed to be on *my* side!" Deirdre complained.

Ben just sent her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Dre, but I *am* male, you know. Sport is in our blood."

"And I thought you were such a nice boy when I first got here," Deirdre pouted. "Okay, how about we take a vote? Anyone for romance?"

She looked around, but only herself and Diana had raised their hands.

"Suzuka!" she complained. "You're a girl, you're supposed to be on our side!"

"I don't do chick-movies," Suzuka snapped.

Deirdre rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Whatever. Then football it is."

Ryan and Kyle exchanged a high-five and zapped their way to the Sports Network. They never found it, though – the normal programs where suddenly interrupted, and a seal with 'the Atlantic States' appeared on the screen.

The team exchanged a look, then turned their attention to the screen.

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The seal disappeared and was replaced by the image of a middle-age man in a uniform. The man had a no-nonsense air around him, and the members of the Shadow Alliance recognized him immediately – General Adler, the man who had taken control of the American east coast some seven years earlier.

"Fellow citizens of the Atlantic States," General Adler began. "Few of you remember this, but ten years ago, at this exact date, the first mutant registration act was turned down. At that time, we lived in a world that was fundamentally different – mutants were rare, and our nation had yet to be split up by turmoil and destruction. At that time, we thought that we had no reason to fear mutants."

"BLADE! Come NOW!" Jordane yelled.

Finally, Blade and Laetitia appeared the in the doorway, still wearing their training outfits.

"What's wrong, Melee?" Blade asked, his eyes immediately finding the girl - he knew that whatever had caused the girl to yell for them, it had to be important.

Jordane just nodded at the TV, and Blade frowned slightly as the man on the screen continued his speech.

"Fellow citizens, I am sad to say that we were wrong. The number of mutants multiplied, and they started to show their true nature. Times have changed, and that is why I summoned the council to a special voting last night," the General continued.

Blade felt a shiver run down his spine. They couldn't be talking about...

"Oh, no," Laetitia said quietly, and suddenly, the future looked a lot worse than it had when they had woken up that morning.

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"Fellow citizens, I am sad to say that we were wrong. The number of mutants multiplied, and they started to show their true nature. Times have changed, and that is why I summoned the counsel to a special voting last night."

The microphones caught the murmur that rose from the journalists in the room, but the General held up his hand, and the room fell silent once more.

"Fellow citizens, it is with a feeling of profound relief – for you, for my family, for the future generations – that I can now announce that the mutant registration act is a reality. With an overwhelming support, it was passed last night, and even as we speak, mutant camps are being built at across the country."

"Oh, God, no," Diana whispered.

Kyle put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Diana sent him a weak, but grateful, smile.

"Police and military have already started to bring in the most dangerous of the known mutants, and the streets of our cities are already safer than they were a week ago.

We hope that at this time next year, our children will once again be able to play on the sidewalks without fear, and that all mutants have been relocated to special towns and camps where they can use their abilities for something other than violence."

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"The fucking bastards!" Jordane fumed. "They're not gonna 'make us use our powers for good', they're gonna kill us!"

"Easy, Melee, now's not the time. You'll get your chance later, but now is *not* the time," Blade said with as much confidence and authority as he could muster.

Jordane took a deep breath and fought back the rage that coursed through her veins.

"The fucking bastards," she repeated, this time with a lot less fury, and Blade let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

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"Fellow citizens, this signalizes a new chapter in the history of our species. This is the beginning of a new era for Homo Sapiens – the era where we fought back, and once again became the dominant race of this world. This is the event that our children and grandchildren will read about, and they will say that this was the day that the future of this nation was brought back on track.

Good night, and may God bless us all," the General finished.

The recording ended and the Atlantic States' seal once again appeared on the screen.

"We'll now return to our regular program," the cheery voice proclaimed.

Neither group of mutants noticed that, however. They were too shocked. Silence reigned as they tried to come to terms with what they'd just heard.

And maybe by coincidence – or perhaps the irony of the Fates – Blade and Ryan thought the exact same thing at that moment.

We're fucked.

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