Caim stood towards the back of the gym near the doors so that he could see everything and have somewhere to go if something happened. His shifted his shoulders, not used to not having the weight of his backpack behind him. Riley had taken it from him after they had left the bathroom, saying that he would store it with his stuff in another room so that Caim wouldn't have to worry about it. Part of Caim liked that he didn't have the bulky accessory but the other part of him longed for the security that having it gave him.

He took a breath and slid his hands into his pockets, looking around the room. It was pretty busy but not the busiest one that Caim had been too, though that wasn't saying a lot since he'd only been to four. That one in D.C back in April was pretty big...

"Excuse me everyone?"

The simple polite tone caught everyone's attention and the crowd instantly went silent; if this meeting was going to be as serious as it was sounding then no one wanted to miss anything.

"Thank you." The male up at the podium looked out at them with a strained smile.

This guy really doesn't want to be talking does he?

The speaker took a breath before shifting into what was probably a more comfortable stance. "There's no way to sugar coat what we need to talk about today, and I need to say right now that no matter your reactions there is to be no fighting tonight." His last couple words were stressed and clipped; he meant business. "We have been lucky enough to gain this secure space and if anything happens to it you'll be fixing it beyond perfection. Do I make myself clear?"

Caim couldn't help but let a smile twitch on his lips. The guy looked like a grown up kid with his bright blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. He looked like the type of guy that would work at a pet store with all the girls fawning over him. Not my type. Caim drew his attention elsewhere and started glancing around the room to see if he recognised anyone.

"Good, so let's get started…" His voice trailed off but then he quickly scrambled to keep speaking. "As everyone knows Senator Kelley, with the help of William Stryker, is trying to institute the Mutant Registration Act."

There was a mutter of voices despite that everyone knew, whether they went to the meeting in D.C or not, that it was going on. Caim felt himself tense and his shoulder start to burn. He quickly shook his head and clenched and unclenched his fists in the hope that it would calm his tattoos.

"Well Senator Kelley has something new for the mutant community as well. In my opinion it's worse than the Act."

"What could be worse than the act!?" someone shouted. "What could be worse than a modern day Auschwitz?!"

How about you be quiet and we'll find out.

"How about something that will strip us of everything that we are?" the speaker shot back. "And nothing can compare to Auschwitz so don't be dramatic."

The Auschwitz guy shut up but, as Caim could see him a couple feet away, he still fumed. Caim looked away from him as the speaker took a breath.

For a child look-a-like he sure knows how to shut people down.

"The government and some of the world's top medical companies have created a supposed 'cure' for the mutant problem-"

"Mutant problem!?" several people exclaimed at once. Caim winced slightly at the sudden noise.

Let him finish guys.

"How did they make a cure?" someone demanded.

"That's for them to know and us to worry about," the speaker replied. "All I know is that a source has told us that the government is in the process of planning its release and that it is supposed to work."

"How do they know that it'll work?" another person asked.

"My guess is that they've tested it."

"What mutant would let sssssomeone do that to them?" Caim heard Riley ask.

"Who knows," the speaker replied, shrugging a shoulder. "All we know is that it's been made and it's going to be publicized. Everyone in the mutant community will be confronted with the decision about whether or not to take it-"

"Who would want to take it?" someone else asked.

Caim swallowed and looked down, not able to keep his gaze away from his hands.

"A lot of people would," the speaker replied. "We need to remember that some people have a harder time with being themselves than others, or perhaps they have a physical mutation that they don't want or can't hide. We need to respect everyone's decision."

"But there's nothing to cure!" Aaron combated. "We're made the way we're made. They haven't come up with a cure for African-Americans or Asians or anyone from another culture. There's nothing wrong with us."

My father would have loved to see a cure for everyone.

"Some think differently," the speaker explained. "Now, I've done my bit and I've voiced my opinions-" That you're on both sides? Or that you actually don't have one? "-so I think it's time to bring an expert in."

A low murmur ran through the crowd as the grown up kid stepped down and another man stepped up to the microphone. He fixed his tie with a large blue hand and Caim blinked, taken aback. And I thought Riley and Marrow had a physical mutation. All the skin that was visible was covered in blue, but whether it was his skin or fur Caim couldn't tell. His whole face was covered in it too and a neatly combed head of blue hair rested on his head. His tux fit him well but it was too formal and he wore what seemed like a pair of too small glasses over a pair of shining blue eyes that locked with Caim's as he looked his way.

Caim quickly turned his to a spot on the floor.

"Welcome everyone," the man introduced. "I'll try to keep this short as I know that many of you wish to discuss the issue amongst yourselves. What Blaine-" Grown up kid. "-has told you is true, the government as created a cure-"

"Why are you repeating what we've been told!?" a guy called out.

"Because Blaine said that it is a supposed cure, indicating that it doesn't work, but I know for a fact that it does."

Caim snapped his attention back to the blue man.

"How do you know?" a girl asked.

"Because I've seen it. While I believe the cure is unneeded and will only cause more problems, I do know that it works." He paused to look around the entire room. "The government will not be forcing it on anyone, you will all have the choice to take it, but there is the choice. I hope you all make a decision that will benefit yourself and not what others want you to do." He gave them all a kind smile before stepping back.

That was when the door to the right of Caim opened and a girl walked in, pushing her green hood off of her brown hair. She brushed a set of white bangs- Are dyed bangs a fad in the mutant community now? -out of her face as she turned to him and spoke: "What did Ah miss?"

Only the fact that our whole world has just turned upside down.