Hello earthlings! In case it's not obvious, I'm literally making this chapter up as I go. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy! I own nothing except a dysfunctional computer.

The kids marched out of the factory on the day of the mutant rebellion. They walked silently down the streets, lacking all of their usual enthusiasm. They tried to drag out the walk as much as they could, but all too soon they arrived at the place where Spot's gang had told them to meet.

Davey was terrified, and he probably wasn't the only person feeling that way. They had agreed to fight after hearing what had happened to Jojo and Lucky, but none of them were happy about it. They were kids, after all. They shouldn't be fighting at all.

At least Les was semi-safe. Jack had made the two youngest boys stay at the factory, with Specs looking after them. His mutation wasn't much use in a fight. There was always the danger that the fight would spread as far as the factory… Davey shook his head, telling himself that wouldn't happen.

The tiny hideout was surrounded by people, young and old. Some of them were obviously mutants, while with some it was a little harder to tell. A man walked out of the house. He was short, but something about him seemed dangerous. Davey didn't trust him. He presumed this was Spot.

The man grinned. "Hey, guys. Are you ready?"

"Let's get this done quickly," Jack grumbled. "Where are we going to be... fighting?" For a second, it looked almost like he was going to say dying.

"We'll start in front of the mayor's office," Spot said authoritatively. "We'll attempt to make them listen without fighting, and if that doesn't work… the fighters will be waiting nearby."

"Are any other mutants coming to this thing?"

"There'll be sssome," the creepy snake-woman hissed. Davey wasn't sure where she'd come from, but Jojo and Lucky were with her. Both of the kids instantly ran to Jack.

"We're sorry," Jojo gasped. "We didn't mean for this to happen, and we tried to get away, honest!" He looked miserable. Actually, they both did.

Jack gently hugged them. "It's not your fault, guys. You didn't do anything wrong." He pushed them into the safety of the rest of the kids in the group, before turning back to face Spot. "So what's the plan?"

"A group of us will march on the mayor. We don't want any mutants to get hurt when they don't have to," Spot ordered. That was…nice of him?. "If that fails, the fighters will come out. They'll be hiding across the road, in and behind the restaurant across from the mayor's office. We'll have to do it as quick as we can, before the hunters can show up."

"And what's the aim here?" Davey asked. He was surprised he had spoken up, but he felt like he needed to. "What are we trying to do? Like, not just help all mutants, but specifically."

Spot looked at Davey for a few seconds like he was an idiot. "We kill the mayor and take over the city, of course!"

He's insane. That's the only logical explanation. Didn't Spot realize that that wasn't how this worked? They couldn't just kill one guy and be in charge of the city! There were the city council people to consider, and the judges and the police captains- there were so many people they'd have to kill if Spot was really serious about this. This would never work. Ever.

Spot gestured at Davey, Jack, Elmer and Lucky. "The three of you, you'll be joining the first peaceful march. Everyone else, hide out until you see cops fighting. Is everyone ready to start a new era, one that will be better for mutants?"

Most of the full members of Spot's gang shouted proudly. None of the kids did. Some of them were trembling, but all of them made sure that they didn't look scared.

When Davey had run away from Virginia, he hadn't thought that this would be what happened. He hadn't thought he'd die fighting beside a bunch of other mutant children. But he was probably going to. He wondered whether Les would be ok. Maybe he'd learn to hide his mutation, and could find a place to live where he could live a good life, with school and food and friends. Davey hoped so.

Spot bellowed "Let's go!" and the mutants walked forward.

Katherine walked into the living room with her bowl of cereal and turned on the local news channel. She did this a lot of mornings. The news channel was the best kind- the kind that just gave you facts with no opinions mixed in. But today she had to pay close attention. She was pretty sure that today was the day that the mutant rebellion was supposed to happen.

She still felt a little bad that she hadn't stayed back to help with that. But then she remembered that Jack had told her to leave, and that made her angry because why had she listened to him? And then she remembered that she hadn't even tried going back. Because she was scared. But she couldn't exactly fight even if she went back, because that would mean admitting that she was a mutant, and her dad would find out. And that was a look inside the thoughts in her head for every second of the past few days.

The news was decently uneventful so far- traffic on one of the biggest roads, an announcement about the upcoming high school talent show, some new sock store opening- which made Katherine feel relieved. Maybe this King guy who had started the rebellion had forgotten all about it. During the commercial break, her dad sat down on the couch beside her. "Hey, princess!" he said cheerily. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," Katherine mumbled. She had barely seen her dad since she had found out he was a mutant hunter. She'd tried to pretend he wasn't, but she couldn't deny the fact that there was a famous hunter named Pulitzer and that she'd seen him in a suspicious meeting in the middle of the night. It was too much to just be coincidence. She just didn't understand how her own father could do that to people.

The commercial break ended, but the newsperson this time looked frazzled and worried. "We're coming in live from the mayor's office," they said hurriedly, "where there seems to be some sort of rally going on, made up of advocates for mutant's rights!" The camera shifted to show a crowd of people, young and old, many of whom were carrying big signs saying 'equal rights for mutants!' and 'stop the hunting!'. And some more creative signs.

Katherine felt like her heart would stop. Was it better or worse that they were attempting a peaceful protest first? She glanced nervously at her father, who was watching the screen angrily. "The nerve of them!" he burst out. "Pretending that they have the same rights as all of us! They're not even human!"

Not even human. Katherine had heard those words before, and she'd suspected for a long time that her father felt that way, but he'd never actually said it. It hurt a little. "Why aren't they people?" she shouted before she could think about the consequences. "They may not be completely human, but they still have feelings!"

Pulitzer looked at her curiously, but he didn't have time to say anything before the newsperson announced that they were "going to interview some of the protestors!" Most of the mutants Katherine didn't know, but she did recognize one face, in the background of a shot of a dog-headed woman talking about how she wanted to be able to enter a pet shop without hearing people say that she belonged in a cage.

"Jack!" she gasped before realizing she had done it.

Pulitzer glared at her suspiciously. "Katherine," he said slowly and menacingly. "Do you know some of these mutants?"

Katherine couldn't lie. She very rarely had to lie to her dad because he didn't really pay attention most of the time, but whenever she did, he was always able to catch her. "Yes," she mumbled nervously.

"How?"

"I… I've been sneaking out. To meet with them." Katherine took a deep breath, hoping to say everything she had to before her father started yelling. "They're a group of kid mutants who don't have any parents, and that boy's the only person looking out for them. They're just normal kids, trying to survive! I know that one of your jobs is to hunt mutants down, but they're not bad! Please, Dad, I-"

"How do you know I hunt mutants?" Pulitzer looked nervous now, but also way angrier than he had before. Katherine realized her mistake quickly.

"Well, I, um… I sort of heard a meeting you were having with Wiesel and Hannah and those people…"

"Katherine Pulitzer! My meetings are private!" Katherine's father looked furious- the maddest she'd ever seen him. "I have to go and deal with the mutant problem. You… go up to your room. Do not leave until I get home. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Katherine whispered. She wished she could fight back, argue with him, but she could never do that with her father. He was too demanding, too insistent. She could fight back in subtler ways, but she hated how she could never fight against him face-to-face. As the man left and Katherine climbed the stairs to her bedroom, she wondered what was going to happen to Jack and the other kids in the factory.

The peaceful rally wasn't going too well.

Race watched from behind the building across the street as the mutants protested. There were a lot of them. He was almost surprised at how many had shown up. He didn't know there were that many mutants in the city. Plus the ones hiding , waiting to fight… wow, that's a lot. But it wasn't enough. They were being completely ignored, and the police were starting to arrive.

And then a fancy black car drove up and an elegantly dressed man stepped out. Besides Race, Finch gasped. "That's Pulitzer," he whispered fearfully. "I only saw him once, but I remember."

Pulitzer strolled up to the group. "Who is your leader?" he said. His voice was loud and terrifying.

Spot stepped out from the crowd. "I organized this thing. What do you want?" Race had to admit, Spot may be insane, but he was brave. Or maybe that was because of the insanity.

"Stop this at once!" If Race were Spot, he would've. Pulitzer had the kind of voice that made you want to listen to his every command. "You are blocking the road!"

"We got the right to protest. We're American citizens.'

"Only humans can be American citizens! You mutants-"

"We deserve the same rights as all other people!" a new voice cut in. Race's eyes widened as he saw Jack push his way through the crowd to face the older man.

Pulitzer frowned at him. "Boy, you should not be here. You should go home to your family and do not concern yourself with adult business."

"But, see, it's my business. I want to be treated just like a non-mutant kid, and this is the best way to do it!" Race wondered whether Jack was just saying all that to get one Spot's good side and help to avoid a battle, or if he actually believed all this.

Pulitzer ignored him, turning back to Spot. "You need to tell your… friends to disperse. Otherwise we will have to take measures to make sure that all humans are safe."

Spot stood his ground. "No can do, Pulitzer."

The mutant hunter sighed, like he was disappointed. "I really do not want to hurt anyone, but…" More care pulled up. Out of them stepped many, many people with guns. It looked like a whole army of hunters. All of them glared at the crowd of protestors. Pulitzer smiled cockily. "Last chance. Leave."

"Last chance. Treat us like real people," Spot retorted.

Pulitzer shook his head. "Do not kill! We want them to go to jail, not to die if it is avoidable!" Before his words had really sunk in, all of the hunters surged forward at once, guns waving. The crowd of bystanders screamed, scrambling backwards.

"Everyone!" Spot yelled. Race knew what that meant. He and the rest of the hiding mutants sprinted to join the others across the street, meeting them there. The hunters looked surprised, but kept coming. Race took a deep breath. This was one of the scariest moments of his life.

A real, two-armies involved battle.

Ok! I don't know when the next time I'll be able to publish is, so even though it's not incredible I wanted to get it out there. Please review with constructive criticism, suggestions and/or words of encouragement! Later potaters!