Same place same time.

'Jubes!'

'I'm on it Freddo. She walked upto the Malls security guards. They had the food court completely covered from where they were standing. Jubillee put on a paniced face.

'Misters, um misters can you help me?'

They smiled at her gentally. 'Whats wrong miss?'

'I can't find my bag, I was sat eating over there.' She pointed to a far corner where they wouldn't have been able to see if she had been there. 'I got up to get a drink and when I sat back down it was gone.'

'You left your bag unattended?'

'Yes.'

'You know you shouldn't do that.'

Jubes teared her eyes. 'I forgot I was only gone for a moment.'

The other security guard smiled at her. 'Hey it's okay, come with us we'll go and fill out a form okay?'

'Okay.' She added a little sniff. Man these guys were easy, they turned there back on the food court and started to walk away, after a quick wink at Freddo he moved up to the sandwich stand and stood there as if decide ding what to get. She followed the security guards everything was going well.

'STOP THEIF!' The shout from behind came, Jubilee and the security guards turned as one to see Freddo arms ladened with goods running away and an angry serving woman waving her fists at him. 'God Freddo, you always have to cause a scene don't you.' She thought. The security guards started to run across the food court, Jubilee wasn't worried it was too big a distance for them to ever catch up. 'You stay there miss.' One of the security guards shouted behind him. 'Yeah right fatto.' She muttered starting to run in the opposite direction. Down a few walkways and up another and she found what was home for a week, till they could collect another small change for a bus ride to the next mall. It was a reasonable sized cleaners storeroom, abandoned and full of dust, everybody walked past it on a day-to-day basis and never knew it was there. She entered Freddo sat casually on a plastic storage box; he looked up and smiled before walking up to her and dragging her into a passionate kiss. The thrill of the steal always heated their blood. They pulled apart, she smiled at him, the light green skin, that most found repulsive was the sign of his mutation, the thing that made him an outcast of society, made them have to live from day to day moving about different malls and stealing.

'Got you your favoite, Chicken BLT.' He handed her the wrapped torpedo sub. She grabbed it and ate hungrily, no matter how much she got to eat, lately it was never enough. She'd figured out she was pregnant a few weeks ago after missing her second period in a row. Though living on the street there wasn't really a way to make sure. She could steal a pregnancy test to make sure but then Freddo would find out, and she knew for sure if he did there would be a quick knife through her stomach and she'd be left to either bleed to death, or weeks of painful recovery on her own. That's the way of life. There peace was disturbed by a rough voice coming from outside the door.

'They went in there, I saw them.'

'Going to get the little thieves this time.'

They'd been caught, and there was no way out of the cupboard other than the now guarded door. Freddo made a series of quick motions to Jubilee, she didn't exactly know the full meaning but the point was clear enough, they'd fight their way out. Freddo swiftly moved towards the door, indicating for Jubilee to position herself so that she'd be behind it when it opened.

Freddo flung the door open and rushed out his laser eyes flying green bolts all over the corridor. As jubilee rushed out after him she saw people fling themselves to the ground, as a glass window of a nearby boutique smashed showering razor sharp fragments over the panicked shoppers. She tried to judge the distance to the end of the corridor where there were doors leading outside.

'JUBILEE! LEFT!' Jubilee looked to her left where one of the security guards had stood up and pulled a gun. She threw her hand s up and set off a rough blast of plasma in his direction; temporarily blinded he dropped the gun, Jubilee never stopped running. They were getting close now. People were peering up at them from the floor as they ran past. Almost there. Jubilee felt a sense of relief flush over her as they reached the doors. They reached the outside.

In front of her Freddo stopped suddenly flinging his hands in to the air, she couldn't stop her self in time and ran straight into him. She saw him stumble forwards; she heard a noise, many noises, bangs. Freddo fell. Jubilee stood in a daze trying to work out what had happened in the last few seconds.

'PUT YOUR HANDS UP MUTANT, THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!'

What? Jubilee thought, she looked around her, there were men in combat uniforms most crouched behind cars, ones she noticed was standing up holding a megaphone. They, she was surrounded. She looked down at Freddo, lying on the floor a widening pool of blood surrounding him. They'd shot him and in a couple of seconds they were going to shot her. Confused and in shock she couldn't do anything except stare at the pool of blood working its way up to her shoes. The world seemed to have taken on a slow-motion quality.

In this slow motion she looked up to see another man, this one dressed in a flannel shit with a cowboy hat run in front of her, blocking her view of the gunners.

'Run, kid!' He threw over his shoulder. She just stared at his broad red flannelled back.

'KID!' He growled at her angrily. This time his voice stirred something in her and she ran.

'Snickt.'

The horrifying sound of gunshots followed her.

Later that night she was crouched under a bridge, hiding from the pouring rain. Her arms wrapped tightly about her waist rethinking the happenings of the day. He was dead. Freddo was dead and it was her fault, if she hadn't of ran into him they wouldn't have fired. Who was the man who saved her? Was he okay?

She a groan of hunger in her stomach.

'It's okay.' She whispered. 'It's okay baby, I'll find a way to get food first thing in the morning.'

'Kid?' She heard a soft voice, she turned around, it was the man who had saved her, she hadn't heard him coming. He looked unhurt.

'Hey kid, I gotta place you can stay. A place you'll be safe.'

He'll want something back a little voice In Jubilees head told her, he won't you're your pregnant, he could be just like Freddo, dangerous.

'I won't hurt you kid.' He tried to reassure her crouching down so he was eyelevel with her. 'I live in a safe house, for mutants. There are eight of us in all, we live well. You'd have plenty to eat. One of the guys living with us is a doctor he'll get you and your baby nice and healthy again.' She listened to him intently, he knew she was pregnant. He was offering a place to live, food, and health care. Was it too good to be true?

He held out his hand to her, looking straight at her with soul searing blue eyes. Jubilee put her trust in a total and utter stranger, and took his hand.

Because she had no other choice.

Next chapter: Takes place in a world where all mutants are held in concentration camps.