Oh honeys! I'm so sorry if I forget to mention your characters. Seriously, I tried this new technique that I love but in the flowing, I forgot a few people. Eeek. Here you are!!

## Where we last left off...##

The thugs circled, two large men at the back cracking their knuckles ominously. Andrew took several steps backward but Mike stopped him. "Don't back down," He whispered to the smaller boy. "Don't give them the satisfaction."

Anastacia shook her head, brow furrowing. "Why are you doing this? We didn't do anything to you and you just attack. Why?"

"Because mutants are abominations in the eyes of the Lord," a weasel-like man in the back said, raising his voice so that the gathering crowd could also hear him.

Mike rolled his eyes, for once his tone serious. "So, it's a religious thing? Damnit, why is everything about Jesus?"

"Because he is the lord and savior of the human race and abhor us dirty mutants," Andrew supplied wryly.

Rogue cracked a smile. "Sounds like the same tune."

"You do not deserve Christ's love," The weasel man spat, looking down his nose at them.

"Them's fighting words," Ryan replied, giving the weasel man a cautioning look. The leader righted himself, swinging his right fist at Anastacia. She ducked the punch and smacked him palm out in the ribs. He staggered backward and the group erupted into violence. A large man dived for Kitty but ended up passing through her mid-waist. She lashed out, kicking at a massive muscled stomach. He sat up, trying to get on his feet when Nathaniel slammed a fist down hard on the back of his neck. She tried to nod a thank you but he spun, swinging a fist at an assailant behind him.

Kitty shrugged and backed away bumping into a stunned Andrew. "They seem to be ignoring us," he said, trying to keep his voice low.

"Is that a good thing??" Kitty asked, stunned as Mike was tossed out of the fray. He landed with a roll and launched himself back into the tussle. Promptly two seconds later he was tossed back out.

He stood up brushing off his shoulders, turning towards an observing Kitty and Andrew. "They seem," he said, "to be focusing mainly on Nathaniel because he's the biggest. But Anastacia is making sure they don't forget her. I think Rogue got thrown out on the other side and Keyaira and Ryan are just kicking butt from behind."

As he spoke to Andrew and Kitty, the largest man took a swing at Nathaniel only to be confronted with Keyaira and Ryan. The thug punched Ryan in the cheek while trying to kick at Keyaira. She couldn't evade it at such a close distance but found herself swept up in a blur of color, thin arms around her waist. 'Some kind of miracle,' her mind registered. Her miracle stopped underneath a nearby stairwell, placing her back on the tile and stepping back. 'Wait, stepping back?'

A thin teenage boy gave her a perplexing look. "You should be more careful."

He turned away but she reached out, still in a daze. "Wait, who are you? Why did you save me?"

The teen glared back at her and Keyaira felt as though she had seen that glare before. "That guy would have cracked a bunch of your ribs. You can't help your friends if you're in a body cast."

"I can't help them if I'm over here," she almost yelled back, frustration rising.

He sucked in his breath, shocked at her tone and she felt as if her ribs had been cracked. "Just forget it," he muttered.

"Thank you," she said quickly. "Will I be seeing you again?"

"If you get in trouble," he replied with a tiny smile. "Then it shouldn't be too long of a wait." She couldn't help but be flirty but still felt out of place.

"I'm Pietro," he blurted out, back towards her.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said softly as he took off becoming only a blur of color. When he was gone from sight, she wheeled around, focusing back on the brawl at hand. Ryan staggered backwards, Kitty and Mike catching his bruised and slightly bloody form. Now only Nathaniel and Anastacia were left, fighting off the five largest of the goons. Four of the men were focusing on Nathaniel, the last trying to overpower Anastacia but failing until he wrapped both hands around her neck. She squirmed but could not get free, the man grinning maliciously.

"No!" Nathaniel tried to come to her rescue but was covered in a dog pile of male bodies. Anastacia sucked breath in through her nose and lifted both arms calmly. The man cocked hi head in confusion and the blonde took the moment to ram her elbows down on the insides of his. His arms buckled and he staggered forward a step. Taking nature's advantage, she rammed her knee to his groin and slammed a palm into his chest. He fell first to his knees then backwards as she spun around and rushed at the pile of men covering Kaiser. She grasped the man closest to the top by the neck and threw him backwards. She would have done the same to all of them but Nathaniel flung his arms back and the rest flew back in a similar method as the first.

Anastacia paused to rub at her neck through the high collar of her shirt, Nathan panting as he gave her a concerned once over. "You OK?"

"Peachy keen," she responded hoarsely. From behind the pair, the remaining conscious thugs were each gathering a piece of furniture from the food court.

"Guys, watch out!!" Kitty and Keyaira screamed at the same time, not realizing the synchronicity. Each thug tried to slam the furniture down on Anastacia and Nathaniel but when it was an inch above Nathaniel's head, each piece crumpled into an amorphous ball. Now the thugs really were frightened, each trading horrified glances and staggering backwards.

"And that," Nathaniel smiled, "is why females are the stronger sex." He gave a little bow in Anastacia's direction and she brushed it off with a modest gesture.

"Who are you with," she demanded of the closest man.

"Fff- Friends of Humanity," he stuttered, scrambling back farther.

"Good," she said, voice husky. "Now sleep." She spread out her fingers, each man falling under the weight of her telekinesis on their bodies. Mike mocked applause as the teens regrouped around Nathaniel and Anastacia.

"Well done, grasshoppers," Ryan muttered in good humor through his split lip and black left eye.

"We need to get out of here before the news shows up," Nathaniel said tiredly.

Keyaira surveyed the damage quickly. "The news is going to come to this??"

Rogue nodded. "They always show up when it's a conflict with mutants. Somebody is going to say some mutants caused some problems and the news won't be far behind." Everyone nodded, except for Ryan who laid his head on Keyaira's shoulder. They picked their way through the bodies and crumpled metal, Anastacia and Nathaniel the last to leave the mess.

"You did good," Nathaniel whispered to Anastacia.

Leaning her head on his shoulder, she whispered back, "You were great. Hey, can I talk to you later? I had the worst feeling of dejavu tonight." He nodded, unknowingly wrapping a possessive arm around her waist. She ignored it and followed everyone else home.

I'm sorry if it took me way too long, but I had a horrible case of writer's block on this story and instead churned out five chapters of another story. That story is much more silly or will be much more silly. Review, please and thank you.