Hello earthlings! I own nothing except a dysfunctional computer.

Katherine hadn't left her room in three days. She had been stuck in there since her father had found out she was sneaking out to meet with the mutants. It was boring. She was almost grateful when her father barged into her room without asking. It was at least something new.

"Come on," he said curtly, barely even looking at her. She cautiously followed him down to the meeting room, where Hannah, Bunsen, Seitz, Wiesel, Wiesel's cronies who she didn't know, and a man she'd never seen before were gathered. And was that the mayor? Why was he here? Pulitzer pushed his daughter into a chair.

"I don't see why you brought your daughter here," Hannah said, looking at Katherine sympathetically. She had always been one of the kindest of her father's associates. The one who asked Katherine how she was when they ran into each other at Pulitzer's office. She didn't seem like a mutant bounty hunter. But then, neither did the rest of them. They all seemed… ordinary. Like any people you might meet on the street.

"I brought her here so she can start to learn the family business." Pulitzer slid the door shut in a smooth motion. "She needs to know the truth about mutants."

"I already do!" Katherine protested. "I know that mutants think and act and feel just like humans, and it's people like all of you who make them seem like monsters!"

"Mutants are monsters! They are inhuman, and need to be controlled!"

"They're just people! Some are good and some are bad, but-"

"Katherine, a mutant killed your mother!"

Katherine stared at Pulitzer, shocked. She hadn't known that. She knew that her mother had died when she was a toddler, but she didn't know what had happened to her. Pulitzer sat down and sighed deeply.

"One night she was driving home from work and got stuck in traffic. While she was waiting… there was a mutant, who could blow up anything he touched. It was walking and tripped and fell against her car and…" Katherine's father's voice trailed off as he stared at the table. "All mutants are dangerous, even if they don't mean to be. They need to be controlled, so they don't hurt anyone."

"Is that when you started hunting?" Katherine breathed. She knew what the answer was from the looks the adults exchanged: no. Her father had always been in this for the money. The fact that he was hunting the people he blamed for his wife's death was a bonus.

Was he right? Were all mutants dangerous? Katherine didn't think any of the kids in the factory would ever intentionally hurt anyone, but what if they lost control or focus? She had seen how that little kid, Les, had been able to move things without touching them. What if he got angry and threw something out a window? And what if the kid who could manipulate fire, Tommy Boy, lost control one day? They could hurt so many people without trying. Were the hunters right to try to take all of the mutants to a place where they couldn't hurt anyone?

She completely zoned out her father's meeting, only tuning back in when she heard the sound of the doorbell echoing faintly through the house. "Who's that?" Pulitzer wondered aloud as he checked the door-watching app on his phone. His eyes widened as he projected the video feed onto the TV screen and- holy crap, was that Jack?

Yep. It was him, standing next to the door and looking appreciatively at the huge house. Katherine couldn't stop herself from gasping, and her father turned and looked at her sharply. "Katherine," he said slowly. "Isn't that the boy you recognized from the mutant attack?" Her face must have told him the answer, because he grinned widely. "Right." Him smiling like this was a little terrifying. "Katherine, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Wiesel, Mr. George and the Delanceys, go over there and do not come out until I tell you to." The ones he named walked over to a small, partly walled off area of the room, probably built just for hiding. Katherine didn't know what her father was planning, but it couldn't be good.

Nunzio, Pulitzer's "personal assistance"/ servant, led Jack into the room. The boy sat down in the nearest chair, grinning. "Nice house you got," he said, somehow making the words that would be a compliment from anyone else an insult.

"Let's get to the point." Pulitzer stared at the boy. "Your name is Jack Kelly, correct?"

Jack looked faintly surprised. "Yeah. How'd you guess? Oh, I bet you had some of your spies track me down, huh?"

"Why are you here, Mr. Kelly?"

Jack leaned closer. "You sent people to attack my home, Joe. You can't do that. I'm here to issue a warning: you better come to an agreement with us muties. Or else you're in for a long ride."

Pulitzer laughed. "Oh, so the boy comes to my house alone and threatens me? How do you think this ends?"

"I'm here under truce. I'm not gonna attack you or something. I just wanted to give you fair warning about what you're in for."

"Oh, aren't you a little tough boy? Your father would be proud of that, you know?."

Jack tensed. "You know nothing about my dad."

"I know that he was a mutant, just like you." Pulitzer stood up and began to pace around the table. "I know that his body couldn't support his power, and one day he just… died. Kneeled over in the street. I know that your mother sent you to the Refuge, not wanting to have to deal with a dangerous mutant son. I know that you ran away when you were only nine years ago."

Jack shot to his feet, fists clenched. "Shut up!"

"I know that you were taken back two more times, and each time you escaped. The most recent time was when you were fourteen years old. I know that you found an abandoned old factory and started using it as a hiding face for kid mutants who'd rather live on the streets than a safe place with three guaranteed meals a day. And from all that, I can deduce that your worst fear is you or some of those kids you care for being taken to the Refuge.

"But don't you understand that that's what'll happen if you keep fighting? All of you will be rounded up and taken to the Refuge, or worse, shot down. Wouldn't you rather at least try to help them? Try to stop the fighting? How long do you think you can keep this up?

"We can give you and your friends who are still running around in the city all the money you need to get to that little all-mutant town out west. I presume you've heard of it? It's called Peace, right outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico?" If at all possible, Jack tensed even more at that. "Yes, I know how your father had always wanted to move out there. You and most of your friends can skip town. I'll give you enough money to support you while you and your friends go to school and even college, and eventually get decent jobs. Doesn't that sound just perfect?"

"Forget it," Jack said after a long pause. "It wouldn't be fair to the others."

"Oh, but a lot of things in the world aren't fair. Wouldn't you say so, Mr. Snyder?" Apparently that was the cue he was waiting on, because the man walked out from behind the wall, followed by Wiesel and the Delancey brothers. Jack's eyes widened. He tried to run from the room but was grabbed by the two human boys. Snyder pulled a Repressor out of his pocket, and even though the circular instrument wasn't aimed at her, Katherine still felt her powers weaken. The sensation was awful.

"Does anyone else feel a noose tightening here?" Pulitzer asked. He was half-smiling sarcastically, and in that moment Katherine hated him. She hated her own father.

"But you can still take it," he continued. "You tell me where you think the mutants may be hiding, and I'll let you go and give you enough money to get you all the way to Peace, New Mexico. And you can still bring all your little friends who haven't already been rounded up. How does that sound?"

Jack spat at Pulitzer. "You may own this city, but there are still some people who won't be bullied! Even some normies!"

"Oh, like that lovely young woman who visited you in your factory. Katherine, right?" Pulitzer chuckled as Jack struggled harder. "No need to be worried. She's a smart young woman. Beautiful too, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I'll tell her you said so."

"Oh, there's no need. She can hear for herself. Katherine? Would you come on out, darling?" Katherine didn't want to. She didn't want to go out there and face Jack, see the look of disappointment and betrayal on his face. But she didn't think she had a choice. Cautiously she stepped out, making sure not to meet Jack's eyes. Pulitzer laughed. It sounded almost maniacal. "I think you have met my daughter?"

Katherine nervously looked up, but regretted it when she saw the look in Jack's eyes. "Jack-" she said desperately, rushing forward only to stop when Jack twisted away from her. The girl tried not to cry as she stepped back behind her father.

"Now Mr. Kelly," Pulitzer continued, "You have two options here. Either you go to New Mexico and start a new life for yourself, or you go to the Refuge, where you can't help anyone. What are you going to do?"

"There isn't a person in this room who doesn't know you stink!" Jack growled at the man.

"And if they know me… they know I don't care." The man gestured his head towards the Delancey brothers. "We'll give him some time to think about it. Take him to the basement." As Jack was pulled out, struggling to no avail, Katherine looked at her father.

"Why did you need me here?" She asked angrily. "There was no point-"

"The point was, Katherine, for you to see how easily the mutants will turn on each other." Pulitzer sat back down at the table. "Now, let's get back to business. Katherine, please have a seat."

The meeting had been over for a few hours. It was nighttime. Katherine had been very good all day, doing everything her father asked without questioning him or arguing. Now she was going to disobey him big time. She phased through her bedroom door so the sound of it opening wouldn't wake anyone else up and crept to the basement door.

No one was guarding it. There wasn't a need to, since the door locked from the outside and Jack didn't have a mutation that would be useful here. Katherine carefully unlocked the door and walked down the steps. "Jack?" she called quietly. "Are you here?"

"What does it matter to you, liar?" a rough voice called from the side of the room. For some reason, that irritated Katherine.

"I never lied," she announced indignantly. "I just… didn't tell you everything."

Jack sighed deeply. "Why are you here?"

Katherine made her way towards him. "I'm busting you out, obviously!"

"Why?"

"Because it's not fair that you're in here! C'mon let's go!" She tried to pull Jack to his feet, but he grabbed her wrist instead.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because-"

"I don't mean helping me. I mean trying to help mutants. That's not a thing the daughter of a big hunter usually does. So why are you doing it?"

Katherine blinked at him. "Because it's the right thing to do. Now c'mon, someone's bound to come in at any second-"

"There's gotta be something in it for you. Few people do anything out of the good in their hearts."

Katherine wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to tell him that she was a mutant, but what else could she say? "Does it matter? I'm helping you, so take it!"

The boy sighed. "Alright, alright." He clambered to his feet and the two teenagers ran out of the basement, locking the door behind them. Katherine disabled the alarm system and the two raced out the door and into the night.

They didn't know that someone was following them. Actually, a whole group of someones.

That's a wrap! I love the scene in Pulitzer's office, it's one of my favorites. And in case it wasn't obvious, Mr. George is the name I gave the mayor because I couldn't think of another one. Anywhoo, I think I'm going to be wrapping up this story soon. I'm kinda excited because I've never actually finished a multi-chapter project before without getting distracted! Please leave a review if you have any suggestions, constructive criticism or words of encouragement! Later, potaters!