Thank you turquoisesunset and TheRealDreadPirateRoberts for reviewing. I hope you enjoy! I own nothing except a dysfunctional computer.
Davey wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to happen in the big city, but it sure as heck wasn't this.
The kids were everywhere. Jack didn't even try to keep them together as they ran all over the place. Some of the teenagers were just casually having a backflip contest- in the middle of the road- while Les and Romeo ran around trying to mess them up. And even the ones not having the contest, like Albert and Lucky, kept getting distracted and running off to go say hi to someone walking down the street, or stare at cool smoke formations. The only one behaving somewhat normally was Jack, who was just calmly strolling down the street, occasionally glancing around to make sure all of the kids were within screaming distance. It was very different from the peace, quiet and calm of Everton, but it was kinda nice, being surrounded by so much energy.
The kids walked to a restaurant in the center of the factory area, with a huge sign declaring "Jacobi's." Davey started to go inside, before noticing that no one else was. They were all just staring at the building. Embarrassed, he stepped back as Jack and another boy strolled to the front of the group.
"Alright," Jack said, somehow managing to be both loud and quiet at the same time. "Henry and I are gonna go inside and order. Everyone else, head to the park. Be careful, and listen to Specs. Stay together, Ok?" As the kids nodded their consent, they turned and started walking towards what looked like a park imitation. It was big and there were a few grassy spots, but there was also a lot of cement and dirt and no trees. The only spots to sit down were two side-by-side picnic tables, which the kids quickly took over. Les, Romeo, Lucky and one other ran off to the small playground, while the rest sat near the picnic tables talking. Out of habit, Davey got up and followed Les. He still didn't know about these people, and didn't want to leave his brother alone with them for too long.
Though now he wondered why he hadn't trusted them. Les and Romeo were having a great time, sliding and racing each other around while the two other kids swang and chatted. It looked like the kind of natural scene that you'd see at any park, not like the thing serial killers would probably do. Although Davey didn't think he knew any so he couldn't really compare it to anything… whatever. The point is, these kids seemed trustworthy.
He'd always had an instinct for this sort of thing. He could look at any kid in his school, and know whether they were kids who wouldn't make fun of him or the kids who'd steal his lunch money. It was 100% of the time right, and he had a feeling he'd need it if he stayed in the city with these kids-which sounded more appealing by the second.
After about thirty minutes, Jack and Henry arrived carrying four boxes of pizzas. The kids all dug in, and it was probably some of the best pizza Davey had ever eaten in his life. He didn't know why because it looked like an Italian place, and pizza isn't really an Italian food, but it tasted like it was made of real mozzarella. There were only three slices of pizza left in the box by the time they were done, which Jack silently grabbed and ran back in the direction of the factory- probably to save it for another meal. While he was gone, the kids wandered around, picking up trash and talking. Davey mainly just kept an eye on Les, but the guy whose name was apparently Specs came over and talked to him. It turned out that the kids didn't really go to school, they just read books in the library. That was… odd, but Davey could deal with that. If they stayed, Les would enjoy that. He didn't like traditional school very much.
Jack came back a few minutes later, and the rest of the kids ran out of the park and down the street. Davey had no idea where they were going, but Les was with them so he had to follow. They soon were in a slightly nicer section of town, where there were more streetlights and the buildings looked more out together and clean. The group stopped moving at a big theater, with bright lights flashing around the entryway and a long line of people waiting for tickets. The kids ignored that line, sneaking into the space between the theater and another building and entering through a side door. Before Davey could protest about how completely illegal this was, Les had already gone in too.
It looked like they'd come in through some kind of fire escape, next to the bathrooms. The only person in the theater was a woman, who smiled when she saw them. "Hey, Miss Medda!" Romeo excitedly squealed as he ran forward and hugged her. The woman laughed.
"Well, hello! I heard it's your birthday today?" Romeo nodded as the woman leaned in. "I got something for you, if you think you want it…" "Yeah!" And just like that, the woman and Romeo just walked off. That was… definitely a thing. Before the woman turned out of view, she called back at the kids, "You guys got your usual seats. I'll come chat in a second."
"You're a gem!" Jack called after her. He led the kids up a long staircase and through a door, which opened into one of the largest theaters Davey had ever seen, with four towering balconies, one of which housed some mutant kids. Davey couldn't focus on that however, because he was pretty sure that he'd just committed his first felony. Well, besides breaking into an old factory which someone probably still owned. "Is this even legal?" he hissed to Specs as they took their seats.
Specs shrugged. "Normally I'd say no, but Ms. Medda, who owns the theater, is real close to Jack. I think they knew each other before we met, so she helps us out. She lets us sneak in when we need to, and has offered Jack money before. She's nice." After a few minutes of the kids being annoyingly loud in a theater, Miss Medda and Romeo returned while people started trickling in. The woman smiled at the group before noticing Davey and Les for the first time.
"Who are you, new kids?" she asked, and while normally Davey would not give his name to a random lady, Les answered before Davey could even have a ten-second pro/con debate with himself. The woman smiled at them. "Welcome to my theater! This place is always open if you ever need a place to hide or to get outta the cold, clear?" After waiting for Davey to mod, she turned to Jack. "I put up the reserved sign, so no one will come in here. You guys got all night. Enjoy the show, and remember to clap!" And with that, she left. A few minutes later, the show began and the kids miraculously quieted down.
The show was pretty good- something generic about a princess, but the music and acting was good. Davey found it a little difficult to get into, however, because of the feeling that he was being stared at from another balcony, but whenever he turned to look no one was looking at him. He kept looking over at random intervals, and when he didn't see anyone staring he dismissed it as paranoia. But during the last song of Act 1, Davey gave into the temptation to look over, and saw an older man staring at them. As soon as he saw the guy, Davey's instincts started screaming "Danger! Danger!" That voice got louder when the man started to move, looking like he was about to get up.
"Jack," Davey whispered to the boy sitting in front of him. When Jack turned to glare, he gestured with his head towards the man. Jack's eyes widened when he saw him. He started nudging the other kids, telling them to move and that they had to leave quietly. Davey grabbed his brother's hand and quickly ran out with the others. But the man was already standing at the entrance to the stairway, glaring at them.
"Kelly," he hissed, moving closer. Suddenly he stopped and jumped to the side for no apparent reason, like he'd seen something jump out at him that wasn't real. That gave Tommy Boy a chance to shoot fire out of his hands, forming a wall that was already evaporating in the air, but would last for a few more seconds. The group sprinted for the staircase. Some of them even slid down the railing to reach the bottom as quickly as possible. One of the boys- his name was probably… Elmer?- froze the railing, which Tommy Boy melted as he ran by.
As they ran outside the theater into the night air, Davey felt something grab him and yank him down. As he fell, he twisted around to see the man gripping his sleeve, his face twisted in anger. "Freak," he growled. "You need to be taught not to run from me!" Davey heard Les scream, and suddenly the man was no longer gripping him. He was thirty feet away, lying facedown next to a wall. Davey pushed himself to his feet and started sprinting back towards the group.
"C'mon, we gotta go!" Jack called as they sprinted away from the theater and towards the factory. The part of Davey that was not freaking out and running off of adrenaline thought about how weird it was watching other people use their powers. They had looked so natural doing it, like they knew exactly what they wanted to do and how to do it. Davey had never felt natural using his power, but maybe that needed to change. If he was gonna survive with people like that man out there, he needed to perfect his powers. At last they reached the factory and clambered inside, turning off all the lights and just sitting in the door. "What was that?" Davey asked once everyone had caught their breath.
"That was Snyder the Spider," Jack spat. "He runs a place for mutants whose parents don't want them. It's a crap place. He keeps trying to drag us in because we keep evading him or breaking out. It's become his obsession." Everyone was silent for a few minutes before it sounded like Jack was standing up. "Alright, enough moping! We still got a party, and some presents to give out! You still haven't opened the present from Miss Medda, right?" Someone pulled Davey up, and all of them shuffled down to the bottom level, where someone turned the lights back on.
The kids all gathered Romeo, who opened his presents. It looked like all of the original kids plus Medda had gotten him something small, like a toy or drawing. He laughed as he received everything, and thanked everyone. Davey didn't see how the kids could relax like this. How, when there were men like that Snyder guy constantly looming over them threateningly? But someone turned the radio on, and the kids all started dancing around and laughing. Davey had to admire their spirit. "So, you having fun yet?"
Davey turned around to see Jack, standing next to him besides the wall. He smiled sadly. "This is why you may not want to stay with us. There are always people like him, who try to hurt us. And we don't usually get dinner like this. Today was special, and usually our dinners are just microwavable soup or rice and beans. And we don't get real school, and a lot of us have to get work. But… your powers could be useful. Well, your's and the kid's. And you really got nowhere else to go, if we're being honest."
Davey stared at the group of dancing kids. He knew that Les would want to stay, even after what happened earlier. The kid could thrive anywhere, and seemed to already be close with Romeo. But Davey could see how this could be dangerous. He knew that logically he should sneak away, use his powers to get him and Les into one of those schools for rich mutant kids. But he kinda… wanted to stay. He liked being around kids like him- normal kids, who happened to have powers. If there was any danger might as well face it with people he liked, right? "If Les agrees…" Davey said hesitantly. "And the rest of the kids are fine with it… I think we should stay."
Jack smiled and yelled. "Hey everyone!" Everyone turned around to face him. "Does anyone have a problem with Davey and Les joining the gang?" Everyone yelled various variations of "That's cool!" before resuming dancing. Les beamed at Davey before resuming his game with Romeo. And as Davey started swaying to the music, he had to admit that being in a group felt right.
Well, hope you guys like it! Please leave a review with constructive criticism, questions or plot suggestions! Later, potaters!