Naturally, it didn't take the kids long to get a little wild. They were excited to be able to cut loose and show off their mutations. Couches were pushed aside, music was cranked and someone (most likely Sean) had managed to find a bottle of scotch hidden behind the bars. With their glasses filled, the group of mutants no longer felt any semblance of self-consciousness.

From the safety of the pinball machine, Fern watched as the other girls danced around, Angel's wings fluttering as Raven bounced around the couch. They had made some cursory attempts to get the young woman to join them, but Fern had waved them off.

When Darwin had called her over to try and break a chair off his shielded back, she politely declined. Ignoring their taunts of being a wet blanket, Fern merely stretched out on the glass cover of the pinball machine. Baseball cap covering most of her face, she clenched her jaw and tried to breathe through the pain in her chest. The tenser bandage was chaffing and too tight, making each inhale difficult. Thankfully, she was far enough away that no one could see the slight shake of her hands.

Vaguely, she wondered if she would be able to sneak away from the group without drawing any attention to herself. Just for a few minutes, so she could change and check herself over; she had never been bound for so long before. She was used to hour long intervals with the wrap, not six. Fern took a sip of her scotch and soda. A smirk drifted over her scaleless lips as Hank made an attempt to walk across the ceiling.

He waved her over and she mockingly twiddled her fingers back as he called, "Show me how you did it!"

"It's not gonna work for you," She warned him, slowly easing off her glass sanctuary.

Each movement rattled her bandaged chest, but she kept her features schooled in a mask of cool indifference. Adjusting her hat, she moved over to where Hank was hanging from the ceiling fan. She eyed his feet with interest, but didn't get too close; the scientist didn't seem to be holding his alcohol that well and while he was rather lanky, Fern was pretty sure it would still hurt if he fell and nailed her with one of his bony elbows.

Behind them, the jukebox switched from Rosemary Clooney's Mambo Italiano to Freddy Cannon's Way Down Yonder in New Orleans. Hank seemed to notice the change in tempo and began to sway to it, much to the exasperation of the young woman below him.

The brunette shook her head. "You just don't got the feet for it."

Hank scowled, swaying dangerously as his long, fingerlike toes flexed around the ceiling fan. "If you can do it so can I!"

"That's not what I'm saying." Fern took another sip of her drink, wincing slightly as it went down. "You're just not made for-"

"Maybe he just needs a running start," Alex offered, spinning the chair he had been ready to hit Darwin with in his hands with a smirk.

"Right- Newton's first law!" Hank told them with a boyish grin. When one of his feet slipped, the woman backed off, even though he caught himself before he could fall. "Things in motion stay in motion!"

Fern shook her head and handed her glass off to Alex. "I can't watch this. I'm going to the bathroom."

"I'll join you." Darwin nodded toward the door. "I wouldn't mind stretching my legs anyhow."

Angel fluttered to the ground. Fixing her long black hair, she asked, "You want us to come with you?"

Fern arched a brow, looking between them curiously as Sean and Raven tried to convince Hank not to do something stupid, like say, try to run across the goddamn ceiling. With a hint of sarcasm, the grey girl asked, "You guys know I'm house trained right? I might be from the boondocks but I know how to use a toilet."

Darwin chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Fern stiffened, but he didn't seem to mind as he told her, "We know."

Angel rolled her eyes at the girl's tone, but merely went back to dancing as the two left the room. The last thing they heard before the door closed was Alex telling Hank to stop being such a pussy.

Darwin shook his head and let his hand fall from her shoulder. "That boy-"

A crash interrupted him, but neither turned back to investigate.

"Has some serious self-esteem issues," He finished.

"You mean Hank or Alex?"

"Well, both, I guess, but I was talking about Alex." Darwin offered her a wide smile. It faltered slightly as he noticed how she seemed to be holding herself; her posture was rigid and her features tense, her gloved hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Hm?" Fern glanced at him and shook her head. "No."

"You sure?"

She nodded firmly. "Absolutely."

The young man grinned at her. "Good. This your first time away from home?"

"Does it show?"

"A little bit…" He slipped a hand in his back pocket and winked at her. "But not much."

She tilted her head curiously. When the brim of her hat obscured her view of him, she spun it around backwards and asked, "Is it yours?"

Darwin offered her a slightly strained laugh. Rubbing the back of his neck, he told her, "Nah. I've been on my own for a while now."

"Because of your mutation?"

"Something like that." The young man swallowed, a hint of a frown on his full lips.

Knowing when to drop the subject, Fern asked him how long he had been driving a cab.

"Couple years now," He told her, a small smile tugging at his mouth.

They turned down the corridor that lead to the bathrooms. Two agents stood at the end of the hall, but the duo didn't pay them any mind.

"And you like it?" She fixed her hat.

"Sure. The pay's good, get to meet a lot of people…" He shrugged and elbowed her gently in the side. "Plus I get to choose the radio station."

"That certainly is a perk."

As they went to pass by the agents, one of them reached out to stop them. His hand hit Darwin's chest with just enough force to knock him back a step, but not enough to make his mutation activate. The man was tall and pale. Muscular under his black suit, his expression was grim as he stared down at them. "Where do you think you're going?"

Darwin glanced at the hand on his chest with a hint of irritation, but he masked it with a smile. "Little lady here's just lookin' for the bathroom."

"We don't have a bathroom for whatever that is," The agent spat, jerking his head at Fern. "Colored washrooms are downstairs."

The young woman glared at him. "I'm not black." Probably, her mind added as an afterthought. "And you should take your hand off my friend."

"I don't care what you are," The agent told her with a sneer, but dropped his hand. "I'm not sharing a bathroom with a freak like you."

Darwin took Fern's hand. "Come on, we'll use the one downstairs."

"That'd probably be the best idea," the other agent told them. He was shorter and clearly the younger of the two, and his expression wasn't quite as hard. Still his words stung and Fern gently squeezed Darwin's hand before she turned away from them.

Unsurprised, but disappointed, the young women held her head high as she led her fellow mutant back down the hall. Swallowing, the young woman grit her teeth. Her sharp canines ground together and she let out a long sigh out her nose as she nudged Darwin in the side. When he glanced down at her, she warned him, "Now I'm uncomfortable."

Darwin offered her a tight smile and let go of her hand as they turned into the other hall. Wrapping his arm around her, he rubbed her shoulder. Vaguely aware that he could feel the thick skin of her glands, the young man ignored how his hand became as callous and heavy as stone. He supposed it was his body's way of protecting him against her mutation, but didn't say anything, less he embarrass her further. "Don't let them bother you. They're not worth it."

"I know." The young woman lifted an apathetic shoulder. "Doesn't make it any less annoying."

"Want me to kick their asses?"

Fern rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile tugged at her lips. "That won't be necessary."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's just get back to the others, okay?"

Despite her casual tone, Darwin eyed her with concern. The words the agent had upset him, so he naturally assumed she too felt the sting of them "You alright?"

"Stop asking me that, you're starting to sound like Raven."

They walked in silence a few moments before he spoke again, "You shouldn't let that guy bother you."

The woman shrugged. "I'm over it."

"He's just some narrow minded jerk," Darwin told her as they slipped back into the room.

Fern waved him off, a bit of frustration slipping into her voice as she repeated, "I said I'm over it."

"Over what?" Raven asked.

The pair looked over to the blonde, unsurprised to find her holding an ice pack to Hank's head. The table they had pushed away was now little more than a heap of wood. Alex stood beside it, looking incredibly smug as he twirled one of it's broken legs between his fingers.

Fern stared at the wreckage a long moment before shaking her head. "Don't worry about it."

"Some suits wouldn't let her use the bathroom."

Fern rounded on him. Giving Darwin a shove, she snapped, "Traitor!"

Raven looked up from where she was playing nurse. Expression surprised and a bit hurt, she gaped at them. "What?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

The others frowned, but nobody said anything as she walked over to the couch. With a hint of a smirk, Fern pointed at Hank. "Told ya so."

"No more booze," Angel told her as she reached for her discarded drink. "It gives the guys too many stupid ideas."

"Hey, I tried to talk him out of it," Sean reminded her.

Fern arched a brow as the redhead moved to grab a bottle of coke from the fridge. "You clearly did a bang up job with that, Red."

Sean feigned indignity a moment before he followed her. Hopping up to sit on the countertop of the bar, he swung his feet in front of him as he peered over her shoulder. "Well, you're the one who put the idea in his head."

Fern bristled as Angel and Raven went back to dancing. "I did not."

"Did too." He smiled and accepted the bottle of Coke she offered him. "Thanks."

Fern pulled her glove off with her teeth. When the redhead reached over to take it from her mouth, she startled, but said nothing. Just eyed him with trepidation as she flipped off the cap and listened as he went on.

"Yup. It was all you and Alex," Sean told her, dropping her leather glove beside him as he went on, "And then you and Darwin left me and Raven to pick up the mess you made. Real nice, Cane."

The young woman rolled her eyes and jumped up to join him on the counter. The movement was graceful, but she landed hard when her breath caught in her throat. Chest burning, she ignored the ripple of her skin and forced herself to man up. Looking weak in front of the others wasn't on her agenda. This in mind, she made a show of leaning back to look around him at the busted remains of the table. "Looks like you did a bang up job, there, Banshee."

He shrugged, gangly shoulders rising and falling nonchalantly.

It struck Fern that the boy was incredibly skinny, scrawny even and it unsettled her slightly. Without a word, she flipped the lid off his Coke and the two shared a smirk as it clattered to the floor. Lifting the bottle to his lips, he elbowed her playfully in the side. "Now who's making a mess, Fe?"

The grey skinned girl shook her head and reached for her glove.

Sean held her drink as she moved to put it back on. He watched with a hint of a frown on his lips before asking why she wore them. "I mean," the young man added as an afterthought, "I get that you like to cover up," he gestured to her outfit with two fingers in a manner that was neither critical nor disapproving, something she appreciated as he went on, "but your hands? Seriously? I mean, they could kind pass for gloves on their own, couldn't they?"

Fern lifted her bare hand and twiddled her fingers. "It's just easier. My fingertips have these things called setae on them. They're like little hairs that stick to things."

To prove her point, she placed the tip of her index finger on the side of his bottle and pulled it back. Sean grinned as it stuck to her skin, but he didn't let go.

"When I bend them one way, they stick," The young woman explained, ignoring the redhead's gaze. "When I bend them the other…"

The bottle broke away from her skin. Peering into the bottle with one eye, he asked, "So you keep the gloves on because it's easier than monitoring your skin all the time?"

Fern blinked with surprise. A smile blossomed over her features, flashing sharp teeth that he paid no mind to as he met her a gaze. She nodded. "Exactly."

Sean took a sip of his Coke as Alex approached them. He gave the young woman a wide berth. Noticing his discomfort, Fern tucked her legs up to give him more room and ignored the sharp pain when her knees grazed her breasts. The blond snagged a bottle of soda from the fridge and leaned back against the wall.

"So, what are you anyway?" He asked, eying the brunette's tight posture with distaste.

When the two just stared at him, Alex waved a hand in front of his face. "Like, racially."

"Oh." Fern shrugged flamboyantly. "No idea."

The blond looked like he wanted to comment on that, but Darwin beat him to it. "Will you three please get over here? It's gettin' a little boring being all over here by myself."

Rolling their eyes at him, the trio moved over to where Hank was nervously holding a chair. The lanky man held it in front of him, cringing slightly; whether it was from the pain in his head, the noise from the jukebox or the prospect of hitting Darwin in the back with a metal chair, Fern didn't know. Nor did she care. Regardless, she felt a smirk twitch at her lips as Alex reached out to take it from him.

"Stand back, McCoy," the blond warned him. "Let the real men show you how it's done."

Sean looked around in a manner similar to how Fern had earlier. "And when are these real men arriving exactly?"

"Shut up, Sean." Alex glared at him before he swung the chair at Armando.

The group shared a laugh as the man's back grew into stone and the force of Alex's strike sent the blond tumbling to the floor.

a/n: I wouldn't mind some reviews on this one. Due to the nature of it, I'm curious as to readers reactions.