Credit goes to:

Brad Rodgers created by Maxwell Dark

Kristi Bartlet created by Writing Moose

Patrick Kawasaki created by Writing Moose

Coralie Thorpe created by Cherry Drop

Regan Black created by Aceswild

Chapter Two, Part Two

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Year 2012

"Okay….money, matches, a lighter, extra socks, Tylenol, c.d. player…jacket? Where is that damn jacket?" Kristi muttered to herself in her bedroom. She had considered herself extremely lucky, when she had gotten home both her parents were gone, even though she knew her mother wasn't working today. However, that meant she had to hurry, since she didn't know when her mother would be arriving home.

She rummaged around the pile of clothes that were scattered on the floor, and on the chair, and finally found the jacket where it had been thrown behind her desk.

"Right. . . shoes, jeans, shorts, shirts. . .warm sweaters. . .what else?" She began once again, shoving the jacket into the growing pile of things on her bed. "How I'm ever going to fit this into one backpack's beyond me. . .toothbrush!"

Wandering into the bathroom, she grabbed her toothbrush and some toothpaste from the bottom of the cabinet. "Brush. . .will I need toilet paper? I suppose so. . ." She grabbed a roll of toilet paper, and after moments thought, added shampoo, conditioner, and a face cloth to the pile.

"I suppose we're going to have to buy blankets and towels," she mused thoughtfully, after eyeing her belongings on the floor. Dumping the load on her bed she hurried down to the kitchen and started to raid the cupboards.

"Granola bars…tined tuna and fruit, bread. . .hmm. . .chips. . . cereal will keep and I suppose we'll have to just buy the milk."

She retreated to her bedroom and then set to cramming all the stuff into a shoulder backpack as well as a duffel bag. She dressed in what ever she couldn't fit in, grabbed a toque to cover her hair, and then, giving one last glance around the room, left the apartment.

She decided to walk to the strip mall rather then waste precious time and money on finding a bus or catching a cab. It took her a good two hours walk, and by the time she reached the block that the mall was on, Kristi was exhausted. The straps of the bags were cutting into her shoulders and her feet ached as though she had been walking for days and not just mere hours.

Kristi entered the doors of the mall and immediately turned to where she knew the lockers were, depositing her things in one to hide them and set off to find Tim Hortons.

There were four large TVs on above the table in the food court, each set on a different evening news channel, and Kristi watched them with minor interest until something caught her eye.

A news reporter was speaking in front of Kristi's local high school, what she was saying was subtitled underneath.

"Today has been a traumatic day for the students of Joseph Blake High-school due to a total of four mutant have been discovered hiding there.. A young girl, eighteen-year oldKristi Bartlet was confronted by her principal this afternoon, and was held until the F.o.H were alerted. However when they got there the girl was had disappeared."

Kristi pulled her toque even further over her hair as they flashed a horrible school photo of her from last year on the screen.

"As the F.o.H combed the high-school looking for Kristi, another young girl, now identified as sixteen-year old Coralie Thorpe, was confronted by students in the library. The girl burst into flames, revealing herself as yet another mutant, and injuring at least five people around her. As authorities tried to apprehend Coralie, two boys came to her rescue, and managed to somehow flee before protective back up arrived for the F.o.H. Now, Patrick Kawasaki, Brad Rogers, Coralie Thorpe, and Kristi Bartlet are on the run. If you see them, please call the number on your screen as soon as you possibly can. The police urge you that in now way should you attempt to confront them as they are considered confused, infectious and highly dangerous."

"Thank you for revealing that shocking piece of news, Victoria," a new anchor thanked her, the news cameras now showing back at the studio.

Kristi gazed around her in shock. Coralie had given herself away? God, the F.o.H were after them now, they couldn't just simply disappear like she and Pat had hoped.

Damndamndamndamn…I have to get out of here! But where are they? She panicked, her eyes darting around at all the people in the food court. God, she'd never find them in here, there was simply too many damn people!

She felt a strong hand on her grab her shoulder and whirled around, only to find herself looking straight into a pair of bright green eyes.

"Brad! You scared me!" She whispered angrily, but her relief was evident. "What are you doing here! It's not safe."

"Tell me about it. Look, Pat says we have to get out of here as quickly as we can, because he's not sure if the F.o.H is on our tail." He snorted. "I say, if we find them, we kill them and get it over with."

Kristi stared at him in disgust. "How can you talk about taking lives like that? If you do, you're just as bad as they are…oh god, never mind, we don't have time for this now. My stuff's in one of the lockers by the doors. Pat thought it'd draw too much attention to myself if I was carrying bulging backpacks around in a mall."

Brad laughed. "Yeah, Patrick worries too much. If you sulk around, hiding from them, you're going to be absolutely no use when it comes to fighting them."

"Fighting them? We can't hurt them! They're people!"

"And so are we!" He retorted sharply. "Or have you forgotten that. You know as well as I do what the F.o.H really are, what they're capable of. They wouldn't hesitate for a second to harm us." He lowered his voice, and sighed when he saw her frightened expression. "Look, let's just go get your stuff and find Pat and Coralie.

"Where are we going to go?" She asked.

"I don't know."

The locker wouldn't spit out Kristi's things when they tried to open it. Brad didn't even bother to go and find someone to open it. He simply sent a small mind bullet at the lock, which shot clean through the lock, out the other side of the locker, and, from the sounds of it, right through the wall. He hefted Kristi's things over his shoulder, and together, they went to meet up with Pat and Coralie.

"Kris, you're all right…" Pat breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Brad and Kristi exit the mall.

"You're the one who's in more danger at the moment." She frowned at him and turned to face Coralie. "What happened? Did you want to get caught?

"'Course not," She replied indignantly, "they made me angry and I just lost control, that's all."

"Oh, so you just happened to have a lit match in your hand to light yourself on fire? I know you have to have some form of fire to manipulate, you can't just produce it yourself." Kristi countered angrily.

"No…look Kris, don't get angry with me, we're on the same side here. I was just playing around with my lighter, and they chose to piss me off. I didn't mean to actually hurt them, so just back off." Coralie cried, and for the first time, Kristi realized she was glad looks couldn't kill.

"Now now, girls." Brad intervened. "Enough of the petty cat fights, we need some place to stay for the night, food and water. "And," He continued, glancing at his watch, "we only have another two hours or so until it gets dark. We've got to hurry."

"Where do you suggest we go?" Pat asked seriously. "We've got to be even more careful with the girls around."

"Hey!" Kristi and Coralie cried simultaneously.

"I didn't mean to be sexist or anything," Patrick apologized, "but come on, you've both grown up in New York, you know how dangerous the damn streets are. Gangs just looking for a good time won't hesitate to take on me and Brad for the chance to knock you two up."

"Ick." Was all Kristi could say, and Coralie rolled her eyes.

"Well, he's right." Brad warned her. "So that means we're going to have to find a building of some sort, rather then sleeping outside, even though it is warm enough." He thought for a moment. "We've got two choices. We can either go down into the sewers or we could go break into one of those sleazy hotels…pick a room that's not being used, and get in and out before they realize we've even been there.

"How are those choices any better then on the damn streets?" Coralie replied sarcastically.

"Because in the hotels you don't have room service barging in all hours of the morning, and since the stuff people do there is generally illegal, everyone respects everybody's space. It's a kind of 'you leave me alone, I look the other way' situation." Pat guessed and Brad nodded.

"And the sewers?"

"Hang on here, there is no way, I repeat, no way I am going into a sewer."

"The sewers are probably even safer then the hotels, Kristi. Stop being such a pris, you're not living your well-off life anymore." Brad argued impatiently. "We're fugitives now."

"I'm not being a pris! Look, it's contaminated, there's rats, there's garbage, and there's rumors of monsters living down there! We could get all kinds of infections, we'll be living in muck and not to mention it's just plain gross and unhygienic!" She cried. "And, if we resort to the sewers, it'll mean they've beaten us, the F.o.H, driven us into hiding, like we're common criminals!"

"Like it or not Kristi-"

Pat just sighed, interrupting Brad. "Let's just leave the sewers alone for now."

"No, Pat. Not just for now. The sewers are never going to be an option." Kristi exclaimed angrily.

"Okay, okay, hotels. Look, I know where one is. We can go there, and wait until dark before going to get dinner or anything." Brad interrupted.

It soon began to get cold, as the sun started to set, and the cold and dreary gray buildings didn't do anything to add to the warmth. Kristi shivered, not just from the cold but the shadows that leapt up around her. Pat put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and she cuddled up to her friend for warmth.

"AGHHHHHHH!"

A loud scream echoed throughout the nearly deserted street, and Kristi and Coralie both jumped in surprise. Brad and Patrick both glanced around on the alert, looking for where the scream had originated from, and Coralie reached into her pocket for her lighter.

"It's coming from down there." Kristi whispered to Patrick, pointing into a side alley, about half way down the street. "I can feel them. . .someone's in a lot of pain."

"Can you sense how many there are?" Brad asked quietly, his eyes not leaving the direction of alley.

"No, my powers don't work that way. I'm an empath, not a telepath." She corrected him.

"Well, can't you tell by the emotions you feel?" He replied with frustration.

"No, I just get the general emotions. Anyway, it wouldn't do any good, people can feel more then one emotion at a time."

There came another bout of shouting from the alley, and this time the word 'mutie' was distinguishable, yelled a lot more loudly then anything else.

"Mutants…Guys, we've got to help them, we can't just leave them to get hurt, or captured." Kristi begged, and for once, it was Brad that agreed with her.

"Look, you girls stay here-"

"No way, Brad, you're not having all the fun." Brad grinned at Coralie's comment, and Pat gave an audible groan.

"I don't get what it is with you two and fighting…" He shook his head, and gave a small grin, despite the situation.

They all hurried silently up to the alley entrance, Brad in front, Patrick in the back and the two girls sandwiched in between, all of them on guard for any sudden attacks.

When they were still a good ten feet away, a man stumbled out, holding his hands over his eyes and moaning loudly. He stumbled, and fell to the ground still rubbing his eyes, not noticing the four rebels nearby.

That was enough for Coralie. She flicked her lighter, and the second the flame appeared, it created a fireball in her hand, ready to be launched. She bowled past Brad, who made a grab for her arm and missed, and she ran yelling at the top of her lungs into the alley.

A girl with long black hair, was just visible in the dingy light of the alley, but the look of bewilderment on her face was priceless. Two more men were unconscious at her feet, one with what looked like a red rash covering his entire right arm.

"And just who the hell are you?" The girl's amused voice broke the silence, obviously not afraid of Coralie.

"I was going to help you." Coralie replied indignantly, absently tossing the fire ball from hand to hand.

"I don't need your help. I can take care of myself." She replied, giving one of the guys at her feet a hard kick.

"What did you do to them?" Kristi asked in alarm as she, Pat and Brad entered the alley.

The girl back away slightly as she saw the two boys, and this time she seemed guarded as she answered, but seemed hopeful about the fact that they, or at least Coralie, were mutants like herself.

"I used my powers, of course."

"Well, obviously." Coralie muttered under her breath and absently tossed the fire ball she was holding into the dumpster. Instead of making the whole dumpster catch ablaze, Coralie used her powers to artistically quell the flames.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" The girl raised an eyebrow, and picked up an old bottle that was lying at her feet. There was a flash, a small puff and suddenly she was left holding a small pile of red hot ash, glowing warmly in the dirty alley, casting shadows on everybody's faces.

"Can Coralie get along with anybody without making it a huge crusade?" Pat muttered softly, and Kris giggled.

"Now now children," Brad intervened for the second time that day, before Coralie decided to forget all about powers and resort to fists, "Play nice."

The girl dumped the ashes to the ground, and they glimmered almost magically before snuffing out.

Silence filled the alley once again and the girl shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably as the small group stared at each other. "Well. . .I'm Regan Black." She finally broke the silence.

"Kristi Bartlet." Kristi replied politely, and offered a hand.

"Sorry, if you touch my hand now your skin will melt."

Kristi blinked.

"I can melt things into hot ashes with my hands and it makes them heat to incredibly high temperatures. If you touch me now, it'll most likely cause your skin to melt." She explained. "So cutie, who are you?" She turned to Patrick

Patrick raised an eyebrow and glanced with mock nervousness at Brad, who was chuckling to himself.

"Patrick Kawasaki."

"Patrick Cow-a-what?" She stumbled, but with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Ka-wa-sa-ki." He repeated for her slowly.

"Sure. Okay. What about you two?"

"I'm Brad Rodgers." He replied guardedly. Why should they be telling this to a girl they just met? They didn't know who the hell she was.

Coralie just glared at Regan and Brad sighed with annoyance. Girls. "And this is Her Royal Highness, Coralie Thorpe." He added a bit snippily.

A faint moan emitted from one of the two men that lay at Regan's feet and Pat glanced at them in alarm. "Look, perhaps we'd better just get out of here, before they wake up." He proposed, looking over at Brad who nodded and lead the way out of the alley.

"Well….good-bye." Regan spoke up reluctantly and began to head off in the other direction.

"Pat…we can't just leave her here-"

"'Course we can," Coralie muttered.

"What if she's like us. We're better and safer together, then we are alone."

"You're getting a bit sappy Kristi." Coralie interrupted again.

"Oh just shut it Coralie! I didn't ask for your damn opinion, did I?" Kristi snapped.

"Look Kris, it's not just my choice. We're a team now, and we'd better start thinking and acting like one." Pat replied.

"It's fine with me." Brad agreed. Kristi was thankful that he agreed with her. She knew Pat wouldn't leave any girl alone on the streets and that would have influenced his decision. She didn't particularly care what Coralie thought at the moment. She didn't know Brad personally very well, however she did know Brad was well known for his honesty. He would have said if he had thought anything was about Regan would have endangered them and she knew from her empathy that Regan was very lonely.

"Thank-you!" She breathed in relief, and cupped her hands, hollering down the street. "Hey, Regan!"

Regan turned around in surprise and Kristi could feel, if ever so faint, a feeling of hope emitted from her.

"You're welcome to join us, if you're lonely." Was all Kristi said, and she herself couldn't help but give off a big grin as she felt Regan's emotions explode with happiness.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Well, I'm eighteen, just had my birthday a couple of months ago in May." Regan chatted happily.

Brad groaned to himself silently. He was beginning to think it had been a bad idea to invite her along. . . she just didn't shut up! "Look, that's it down there." He butted in, pointing to where an old sign was hanging off a pole.

"You guys live there. . ?" Regan wrinkled her nose up and Kristi had to admit she agreed with her.

Half of the rooms appeared as though they didn't have windows in them, and the grounds didn't look like they had been weeded since the place had opened. Weeds forced their way up through the side walk and dirt, some nearly as big as tree seedlings. The grounds was littered with all sorts of garbage, broken glass, and what even appeared to be the carcass of a raccoon, though none of them really cared much to venture further and find out.

"No." Kristi replied firmly. "We most certainly do not live here."

"Well, we do tonight." Brad countered her. "We've got to lay low, we're all wanted at the moment, we can't be wandering around the streets of New York at this time of night, and especially in this neighborhood.

They navigated through all the garbage and debris and Brad boldly peeked into windows, searching for an empty room. "Here we go." He pulled open a door and cautiously, as though something was just waiting to jump out at them inside, they trooped into the room.

"Look, no complaints, Coralie, or you Kris, and same to you Regan." Patrick spoke up immediately as they got a glimpse of the room. Coralie's mouth snapped shut. "This is where we're living, tonight, so put your stuff down, and take those sheets off the beds, you don't know how long it's been since they've been changed. If you packed towels or blankets use them instead, if not, you'll just have to dress warmly." Pat directed. "Regan and I will go get us something to eat, make sure one of you is on watch all the time, and have your stuff prepared to leave at a moments notice, just in case."

"Why are you in charge all of a sudden?" Coralie demanded, hands on her hips.

"Oh for…give it a rest Coralie! What complaints could you possibly have about what he just said? Brad demanded.

"Well, none but-"

"Then shut it. This is bad enough without your whining."

Coralie stared at him open mouthed, an almost hurt expression on her face. Kristi felt sorry for her. It took a lot to get Brad mad, and they all knew it.

"Brad, how about you and Regan go get dinner. You appear to know this neighborhood better anyway." Pat broke the silence, and Brad nodded.

"Okay, let's go Regan." He paused and took a moment to study her. "Actually, you'd better get a jacket, and something to hide your hair. You'll attract too much attention."

"Are you saying I look like a hooker?" She challenged.

"I didn't say or imply anything of the sort." Brad replied. "Stop jumping to conclusions. I just thought, with hair as long and black as yours," he motioned to her hair, which, even in it's high pony tail reached her waist, "you might look a bit suspicious. This is a rough neighborhood, usually people don't have shampoo, or even a brush for that matter."

"Oh, sorry." She replied. "Well, no, I don't have a hat, if that's what you're saying."

"I do." Coralie volunteered, still a bit subdued. She rummaged around in one of her bags and finally emerged with the toque, tossing it to Regan. Regan piled up her hair on her head and pulled the toque down over her head. Brad tossed her a jacket and together, they left.

"I feel like Marge Simpson." She joked as she walked out the door.

"Just be thankful you don't look like her." Came Brad's muffled reply, barely audible over the sound of crunching gravel.

Kristi laughed.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Get out! Get out! Hurry!" Regan yelled, bursting in through the door, struggling to catch her breath.

"Shit!" Pat swore, and scrambled up from where he'd fallen asleep on the floor. "Regan. . . Regan!" He grabbed a hold of her shoulders. "What is it?"

"The F.o.H, they've been watching us! That one guy that we let get away, he's managed to follow us!" She cried, and glanced towards the door fearfully.

"Where's Brad?" Coralie demanded. "Did you just leave him behind for them to arrest?"

"I'm right here, now get moving!" Brad urged as he dashed into the room. Loud voices and sirens could now be heard and this seemed to get everybody to spring into action.

"Look, just grab your bags and let's go!" Regan cried.

"Go where?" Pat hissed. " We need a plan Regan, we can't go running blind."

"The sewers." Brad interrupted. "It's the only way."

"NO!" Kristi snapped in protest.

"Kris. . ."

"I said no! Look, they can't get all of us--" Kristi began.

"The whole point of us joining together was so none of us got caught." Coralie countered. "Wasn't that what you said Kristi?"

"Well, what do you suggest we do then, hmm?"

"Well, we've got powers haven't we?"

Pat swore. "Coralie, these are people! We can't hurt them."

"And just why not!" She yelled. "We're people too and they wouldn't hesitate for a moment to kill us."

"Guys, we don't have time for discussing morality issues at the moment, in case you haven't noticed." Kristi shouted.

Brad motioned towards the bathroom. "Let's go out the window."

"Huh?" Everybody stopped.

"The window, in the bathroom. Let's go out that and along the back alley there, across the street."

Pat nodded. "Okay, grab your stuff and let's go!"

Brad didn't waste anytime attempting to open the window, and instead smashed it out with a chair, knocking out the broken glass remaining with his arm wrapped in a towel of Kristi's.

"Regan, you first." Kristi cupped her hands to offer her a leg up.

Pat was the last one out the window, just in time as they could hear the door being forced open, slamming to the floor.

Coralie snorted, and they took off. "It's not like the door was locked or anything," she panted as they ran full out down the alley.

"Don't talk, just run." Brad answered.

"Ahhh!" Kristi screamed as several figures appeared at the end of the alleyway.

"Shit!" Pat swore and grabbed Coralie's arm to prevent her from attacking them.

"Muties! Stop running and put your hands over your heads, NOW! You are under arrest!"

"Guys, look down here." Brad motioned to a manhole by their feet.

"No! No way Brad!" Kristi shook her head vehemently. "We can take them!"

"Damn you Kristi!" Brad groaned, and concentrated hard. For several seconds he didn't move, and Kristi could even see the sweat start to gather on his forehead. Suddenly she felt a breeze whip by her face, and the police officers advancing towards them were tossed high up into the air, landing on the ground so hard that Kristi heard one man's arm snap.

Brad slumped forward slightly and Kristi gasped at what she had, however indirectly, forced Brad to do for her. More people appeared at the alley entrance, and this time their guns were evident.

Brad focused again and let a second psychic ball loose, this one lot harder to muster up then the first, and abruptly everything seemed to be frozen in place. He looked around with anticipation, and then caught sight of Patrick, who was standing just to his left. Pat was gazing a Kristi, a miserable look evident on his face.

Kristi was standing a little bit away from the others and even from the distance Brad could feel the strong crackle of energy engulfing her. Kristi's burst of power overwhelmed the police officers, and they all fell to the ground. Even though her power hadn't been directed at him, Brad could feel the horrifying emotions she influenced them, with causing them to regress deep inside themselves.

There was a slump as everything seemed to rush back to normal, and Kristi turned slightly, so Brad could see the front of her face. Even though tears were visible in her eyes, Kristi's voice was steady as she addressed the lone figure, who's head was just visible behind the police car.

"You will leave us alone! In fact, you will leave all mutants alone. . .we are not diseased. We are people!"

She turned her back to the car as the man slumped down, and walked past the others to where Brad was standing near the manhole cover. Not even looking back, Kristi did the one thing she had vowed never to do.

As she lifted the cover off, the darkness of the sewer reached out and embraced her, welcoming her into her new home.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Right, the first thing I want to point out, is take note of the date when this part took place. (Sorry, I forgot to add it to the last part. I will get around to doing that.)

Second, I do not need anymore characters! I'm just asking the people that already submitted them, back in September or so last year to re-submit them. To the few people that submitted brand new characters last chapter, since you went through the trouble of making them up, I'll give them guest appearances, though it might be quite a bit later on in the story.

Now, for the third item of business, as for the 'Kitty hit by car' comment. *sighs* I'll try to explain this as best I can…

The only reason it's such a weird comment like that, is because crazy peoples' statements don't always make sense until you delve a bit deeper. When Kurt says, "Keety got hit by a car" there are two ways to take that. Either you assume Kurt says Kitty's dead or you can think of the other possibility.

Animals don't always die when hit by a car.

Toss that little bit around and see if it makes any more sense, otherwise, well, I've given up. *sighs*

On a final note, the ff.net authors Cherry Drop and Writing Moose never got back to me, so I have absolutely no clue about what their character's powers, personalities or even their histories are for crying out loud. So…I'm improvising. *winces* Don't hurt me, please!

Next part up soon. Please review. ^_~

-Dalamar