So… this is gonna be an awesome thing. In case the summary wasn't enough, this is a Newies AU where they're mutants. Hiding in an old factory. The only ones in here are the ones in my playbill and one OC, got it? No random teenagers who may or may not have actually been characters in the show. Quick note on my OC because I hate it when Newsies authors write AUs with OCs and expect us to know who they're talking about… so this OC is called Lucky, and this entire thing isn't gonna be about her, I just felt like it would be weird if there were no females. I think she's probably going to be a background character. Well, I've ranted so enjoy the story!

A boy walked through the house. Sounds perfectly normal, except it was midnight and not his house. Actually, he wasn't sure whose house it was. All that mattered is that they were sleeping, and so it was all free game for an experienced thief. Sadly, he had a lot of experience.

The boy looked around for cash and stray food, anything that may not be missed. It wasn't until he entered the kitchen when he hit the jackpot- fifty bucks in cash lying on the table, and on a nearby counter, an unnatural number of boxes of Thin Mints. Maybe not the most nutritious breakfast, but certainly good enough when your other option is starving. He pocketed the cash and was about to grab the Thin Mints when he heard someone approaching. Crap, he thought as a shadowy shape appeared at the door.

A young girl walked into the empty kitchen. She was about seven, and looked tired and almost drunk as she staggered to the sink, filled a cup with water, and left the empty kitchen. The boy smiled, though no one would be able to see it, and raced out of the kitchen with his prize. He slid out of a window in the living room and started running for home.

Normally the boy didn't like stealing. He found it cruel to separate people from their probably hard earned cash. But the people who owned that house had gotten rich by selling medicine and hospital equipment at high prices, so they could spare a few dollars. Plus tomorrow was special for the boy. He needed the money and treats.

After running silently through the neighborhood of the rich and beautiful, the boy entered a working class area filled with factories and storing facilities. A few factories still belched out smoke, and people still staggered out of them. Behind a barbed-wire fence was a small neighborhood, full of broken down houses and crime. The only place with any real life to it (besides for the factories, but that had less of a life and more of a tortured existence) was a bar a few blocks away. The yells coming from it could be heard even by the boy, but he was used to it. It was just more noise now, in the soundtrack of his life.

After a few more minutes of running, the boy reached a huge factory that had long ago been closed down. It was intimidating, with a door that was padlocked shut, a gate made of what may have been barbed wire, and high, hypothetically locked windows. The boy leapt over the gate and ran to the back of the building, which faced a dirty river where only the most unluckiest of fish lived. He quickly climbed a ladder that had been propped there a long time ago, and slid through the window with a broken lock, closing it behind him.

This floor of the factory was a wide open space, with nothing in it or walls. Once it had been filled with machinery, but now it was just empty and creepy in the dark. The boy crept to a staircase half hidden in the corner. He was almost there when-

"Race?"

The boy winced and turned around, coming into sight. He had brown hair and light brown eyes, and was skinny for his age. The person who he was staring at was an older boy, with black hair and dark brown eyes. He was sitting in a folding chair next to the window, and did not look happy.

"Jack, I-"

"You what? You snuck out and came back at 2 a.m.? You broke into someone's house and stole a bunch of-" Jack gestured to the cookies that Race was still gripping onto. "-thin mints?"

"And fifty dollars," Race muttered, pulling the money out of his jacket pocket. Jack groaned, facepalming. "Oh c'mon, it wasn't like they could've seen me!"

"What if they saw some floating Thin Mints though? Or what if your invisibility dropped and you didn't notice it?"

"It didn't! I'm fine!"

"But what if it had? Would you really risk all of us for a few dollars and Thin Mints?" Race didn't understand what Jack was so upset about.

"Jack, tomorrow is Romeo's birthday. He deserves a present." Jack blinked. He looked at the cookies- Romeo's favorite kind. He shook his head softly.

"Race- there's gotta be a better way to do this than stealing."

"But it's fine! They had a whole bunch of cookies because I think the daughter's a girl scout and I only took one box and this money is enough to buy him a decent dinner and not just beans or cold soup and he'd be so happy and I know you got him those action figures he wanted but still he needs something else-" The rest of Race's rant was cut off by Jack hugging him tightly.

"It's really OK," the older boy whispered. "You shouldn't have done this, but you were just trying to help. I get it. Just… don't do it again. Please?"

Race nodded, though they both knew how slim the chances were of him actually listening. They both did. "Alright," Jack said, gently letting go of the younger boy. "Go get some sleep. We got work tomorrow, and I want you to spend at least a little time at the library before the party."

As Race nodded and started walking down the stairs,Jack walked over to the window. He stared out at the river- more like an above ground sewage line- and at the tall buildings of the downtown beyond. He thought about what would happen if the people living in it found out about the factory by the river. "I won't let you take them," he whispered to no one. And the only response he got was the river gurgling past uncaringly.

The next morning came- way too quickly for a boy who was up until 2 a.m. Race groaned, burying his head under the stuffed backpack he used as a pillow. He was attempting to ignore the other boys, who were moving around and saying good morning to each other. The boy sitting beside him laughed. "I swear, you sleep more than a grizzly in the dead of winter."

Race pulled his head out from under his blanket to glare at the redhead. "Al, if you don't shut up I'll tell Jack you and Finch went flying again."

"You wouldn't dare!" a voice called from the ceiling. A dark-haired boy was sitting up there, calmly floating with his legs crossed. "If you do, I'll tell him you were thinking about sneaking into a bar!"

"You guys are stupid," another boy grumbled. "Why can't we all just get along?"

"And now you sound like Crutchie," Finch yelled down. "C'mon Specs, stop being a copycat."

"I know where all of you sleep."

Another boy ran into the room, his dark brown eyes shining. "Race!" he yelled, jumping up and landing besides where Race was lying. "It's my birthday, Race! C'mon, Jack said he had something special for breakfast!"

Race grumbled as he allowed the overly excited newly-ten-year-old to pull him up and yank him up the stairs to where the group ate. Jack was already standing by the make-shift fireplace, putting rows of Thin Mints on plates. Romeo squealed and ran over excitedly. "Thin Mints!" he yelled. He hadn't eaten Thin Mints in at least two years. Jack ruffled his hair.

"You're gonna have to wait until I finish up here, Tiny. I gotta get everyone's plates out and set the table." Romeo nodded and twirled away to go bother another boy who had just walked down the stairs.

Birthdays were a huge deal in the factory. They didn't have money for real meals most of the time, so only on people's birthdays did they go out for real dinners. Or at least they did on some people's birthdays. Jack hadn't even told them what day his birthday was, they had to hear it from Crutchie. Race shook his head at the memory. It was great having someone care for him, but he wished Jack didn't sacrifice his own wellbeing and happiness to do it. Anyway, everyone made sure that if it was your birthday, you got at least one present. It was their way of trying to be normal kids, and to grow up happily in a world where no one wanted them.

Slowly the other kids trickled in, though much faster than they would've if Romeo hadn't run into their rooms yelling "Wake up, we gotta go eat Thin Mints!" Race missed having that much energy. After all 13 of them had gathered downstairs and enjoyed their Thin Mints, Jack started to rally them to go outside to walk to the city.

Everyday they would walk downtown so that the oldest kids could work. Jack had a nearly full time job at Chick-fil-a, Race, Albert and Elmer worked at a Walmart nearby, Specs tutored elementary school kids after school hours, and Henry worked at a movie theater. The rest of them hung out at the library. The librarians never asked questions, they had snacks sometimes, and the kids could stay there as long as they needed, reading books and studying.

They didn't have a legal guardian, so they couldn't go to school without someone finding out. The older ones still wanted them to get an education and go to college, so every night Jack wrote up lesson plans for what types of books they would need to read the next day. It usually worked fairly well, but they'd have to see because Jack and Specs were both trying to get into college at the end of the year on a mostly self-taught education. Both of them had applied for a lot of scholarships, Jack for his art and Specs for his work in math and science. They'd know the results soon, but it was driving all the kids crazy.

Nothing exciting happened in the library after the kids arrived and Jack and Albert left for work. The only people in there were the kids, some old dude and a couple of librarians. Most of the librarians were pretty concerned about the kids who didn't seem to go to school, but were there almost every day. They'd thought about calling social services, but quickly realized there must be a reason they didn't go to school, and they were all very well behaved kids who were, according to them after being hesitantly asked, "just homeschooled." Once a month one of the librarians would test them to see if they were actually learning, so they were basically their teachers. Whenever the kids had a question that no one else could answer, they'd ask a librarian and write down what they said. Everyone seemed fine with this arrangement, and all of the librarians secretly loved the kids and sometimes even brought them candy and treats on holidays.

"How's it going, kiddo?" Ms. Gray asked Jojo as she walked by the section where he was reading with Lucky. They were both reading a science book, and it looked like they were both very bored by it. Both of them jolted their heads up when she walked by.

"It's all good, Ms. Gray," Jojo smiled. The boy waved his book around in the air. "Just reading about how a flower reproduces. Fun!" Ms. Gray laughed, and continued on her journey to put some books away.

The only sound breaking the stillness was the low chatter that you usually get when you put a bunch of teens/pre-teens together. The older ones always kept the younger ones in line, so things didn't get too unruly. The librarians went about their day, and the only one not content with how things were right then was the old man sitting in a corner pretending to read while really just watching the kids.

He pulled out his phone and sent three words to an unnamed contact: I found them.

Welp, that happened! Thanks for reading! I'll continue the story if anyone likes it. And just because you read a story doesn't tell me you liked it. Please review, I love constructive criticism, plot suggestions or just advice!