A/N

It didn't take me an entire month! I'm so proud of myself! Hope everyone enjoys!

I hate museums.

It wasn't the feigned interest of the people that came in, or the all too real interest of others, or the crabby guards, or the fact that the only animals around were dead ones.

It was the security systems.

The museum I was breaking into had one of the best security systems in the world.

For some reason, Bayville Museum had the one security system that could fry a person in ten seconds. What were they hoping to accomplish? It wasn't one of the bigger or more extensive museums, anyway…

In any case, that was the reason I was perched on the roof, unscrewing a rather tight plate that was covering the air vent.

Jaakeni's flower was in there somewhere. It was in the old Victorian exhibit.

I managed to get one small screw undone and started on another. I had to work fast-a few minutes might mean the whole job.

Another screw came undone. I flexed the claws Lord Jaakeni had given me. They could cut through metal, but metal cutting was noisy, and there were sound detectors on the roof. They did well for replacement screwdrivers, however.

The plate shifted a little. I put one hand on it securely to prevent it from banging.

Another screw came undone. I caught it deftly and put it in the small pile with the others.

Pigeons cooed on the sides of the building. They were my lookouts. They were also looking at me, so I didn't have to take off my mask for the time being. Inside the museum would be slightly more difficult.

The last screw fell loose and I snatched before it could hit the ground out of reflex. It probably wouldn't make enough sound to trip the alarms anyway. I set it in the small pile and lifted the metal plate, placing it quietly on the roof. I quickly went done into the vent, careful to move as quietly as possible.

The next air conditioning vent I came to, I pushed open lightly.

SCREECHH!

Son of a…

I ducked down, ready to run.

No alarm sounded.

I cocked my head to the side.

Even if humans can't hear silent alarms, there are other ways to detect them. I stretched my mind out in the direction of Bayville Police Station. No sudden movements, no cars coming out. No cars in the immediate area suddenly flashing lights and coming this way.

I slipped down from the vent and landed on the tile floor. Still nothing.

For something that's the most guarded place ever, this was turning out to be a major disappointment.

I slinked about, hiding behind an exhibit. The vision from the animals was too blurry to keep the mask on.

I pulled it off carefully and stuck it down my jacket. I had an inkling this would happen, so I painted my face in black, blue, and gray. The colors swirled in the darkness and made it impossible to show off any of my defining characteristics. I had combed some black dye in my hair so it wouldn't show up in the darkness.

I looked up and had to stifle a yelp. I was staring face to face with a dying Roman. The victorious Gladiator was frozen in a victory roar with his shield held up. His spear was in the Roman I was barely inches away from.

Gruesome.

I stepped away from the exhibit. I had to be in the Roman rooms.

That was five rooms away from where I wanted to be.

I had come a day earlier to check out the layout with the other tourists. I knew without my animal detection system, things could get dicey, so I wanted to memorize everything beforehand. It paid off.

I snuck out into the hallway and sped past the cameras. I would only be a black blur, hopefully, and no one could tell who I was anyway in this darkness.

I crept carefully into the Inca room. Here was a real golden statue from the Incan period, covered with glass and dozens of infrared sensors, in plain sight in the middle of the room.

I flattened myself against the wall. The infrareds were off.

I frowned. Why, oh why, is a priceless artifact without its most potent protection alarm?

The same reason the alarms didn't go off.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are." I breathed, taking in the area carefully. There was no one here. "Then I'll just find what I want and leave." I whispered quietly. "You and I need not meet."

I slipped away from the Inca room, through the rooms of ancient Vikings, and past the Medieval rooms. I crouched outside the partially opened doors to the Dinosaur Hall.

Dinosaur Hall had been planted smack in the middle of everything about the museum. It drew the biggest customers and was set before the big opening doors.

It was also where I could hear the rustling of late night visitors.

I peered into the Hall.

Ghallian soldiers were crawling up and down the skeletons of Tyrannosaurus and some other carnivore. They seemed to be arguing about something, but I couldn't understand their language. I ducked back into the darkness.

I sat for a minute, concentrating. The Ghallians would stay there for however long it took. They were obviously waiting for someone.

Lord Jaakeni told me to kill any Ghallian soldier in my way.

But suicide can't be the only way. They outnumber me.

I held my head in my hands. I felt a little queasy, but I was keeping it masked.

I bet he knew this would happen.

Lord Jaakeni would never do something like that!

Are you so sure?

SHUT UP!

I shook my head hard. The stupid doubts wouldn't leave me alone. And talking and arguing with myself wasn't going to help anything.

But I had to admit, they were certainly right about one thing. Attacking so many soldiers at once was bound to be suicide.

And there is certainly more than one way to deal with snakes.

I back tracked till I was in the Viking room. There was an emergency phone hooked up there.

Funny thing…When electricity dies, that doesn't necessarily mean the phones do.

I put the phone to my ear and quickly dialed 911.

There was a ring, then a pick up. 'Hello, 911 services.'

'Help!' I cried into the phone in my most panicky whisper. 'There's some mutants breaking into Bayville museum!'

'Stay on the line, Miss. What did they look like?'

'They're ugly in uniforms! I think they're after that priceless Inca exhibit! Please hurry! I'm across the street, and they've already gotten in! Wait, one's coming back out…Oh no! Hel-" I cut the call off and replaced the phone carefully. I needed to find a hiding place as close to the Hall as I could. As soon as the police busted in, the Ghallians would be distracted, and I could get past them into the Victorian.

I slipped back until I was to the doors. There were two large decorative trees that never quite made it to the ceiling on either side of the doorway. The fake vines which circled their trunks made it easy to climb. I climbed the one on the left side and hid in the fake leaves.

Pretty soon, sirens were wailing through the night.

Apparently, mutant was the key word. Everyone with a badge wanted to help.

The Ghallians stopped their arguing to face the intruders. The pigeons on the roof gave me a good view of the dozen of troops running in with guns and swat teams with rifles.

Maybe it was a bit overdone. But it was a big enough problem to keep the Ghallians busy.

The doors busted open, and police swarmed the area.

"GET OFF THE DINOSAUR AND COME DOWN WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" A loudspeaker roared above the chaos.

There was a slight pause and then gunfire started to go off. The doors to the Hall busted open when two Ghallians raced through it, chased by some Police officers. When they were gone I jumped from the tree and slipped into the Hall.

The lights were down still, and the confrontation was getting downright nasty. I hid behind T-rex's broken head, waited for some cops to get their attention on another Ghallian, and ran past the downed skull into the Victorian room.

It was beautiful and velvety. How nice. There were some glass cases at the far wall. I picked up a candlestick and found the case with the flower. Luckily, no one had moved it from yesterday. They hadn't even scrubbed the dirty chocolate some two year old left.

I broke the glass and scooped up the flower. It had been encased in a glass sleeve. I stuck it into my jacket with the mask.

I ran out of the Victorian room into the Hall again. It was risky, but going through the rooms beyond the Victorian was like running into a sardine can-no good could come of it.

A few Ghallians were tearing up the place, using the bones of the dinosaurs as clubs.

No respect for the dead. I thrust my hand into my jacket and pulled out the mask, slapping it to my face as I ran behind another pile of bones.

The pigeons were flying agitatedly now, and giving me a wider range of sight.

And what I saw was not pleasing.

Actual mutants were about to ruin my show. And me, if they caught me. I drew the hood of my jacket back over my head.

Getting out the way I had come in was a no go-the two Ghallions and their police posse were fighting there. It only took one stray bullet to take me out for good.

But there were always the bathrooms.

I zagged between bones as the battle raged and managed to reach the men's bathroom. I opened it ever so slightly.

A window! Small, but a window.

I dashed into the bathroom, making sure not to brush the urinals. If they can't clean a freaking display case, how often do they clean their bathrooms? I tried not to give it too much thought.

The window was up higher than my head, but I got it open anyway. I sank the claws of Lord Jaakeni's gifts into the brick and hoisted myself up with some effort.

"I'm never eating hotdogs again." I muttered as I slipped out of the window and dropped to the pavement below. I dusted the claws off and ran as fast as I could from the museum, barely missing the X-men as their Jet touched down on the roof.

I ran for ten minutes straight, climbed up a fire escape and slid the window open to the apartment I was…borrowing for the week.

I pulled off my clothes till I was just wearing my tank top and shorts. They were my quick disguise, in case I needed to shake someone off and couldn't seem to run fast enough.

I put the mask and the gifts on a cloth, wrapped them up and put them back in my backpack. The jacket and pants I left out to be washed.

I went into the bathroom of my borrowed residence and washed the paint of my face. The hair would wait for a few minutes.

As I dried my face off I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

"You look tired, Dann." I told myself, leaning in to see how heavy the bags under my eyes were. "We need to stop this whole causing public distress stuff, or we'll get sick."

Or dead.

"Would you please shut up?" I murmured to myself as I kept looking at myself in the mirror. "You keep on saying stuff like that and people will think you're crazy."

I shook my head. I had moments where I felt mentally dead, but this one took the cake.

I walked out of the bathroom and curled up on the couch. It didn't feel right to sleep in other people's beds, so I never did. Besides, couches were far nicer sometimes.

I yawned. I had to do laundry tomorrow and straighten the place up. The owners would be back in two days, and I wanted to make sure no one knew I was there.

At least, until I was long gone.

PrincessofWildfire: Thank you for taking the time to send me an e-mail with your review. I know wasn't working for you, but you didn't have to go out of your way. I'm glad you like the new Danny. I like her a lot myself. It's getting pretty fun to play with. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Please leave your reviews, and constructive criticisms are welcome!