As the alarm went off in her 7th-floor hotel room, Rouge woke up, yawned, and stretched her arms. She turned off the alarm and got out of bed. She had a big day ahead, for she would be looking for her new home.
It was neither a fancy hotel nor a shitty one. It was mid-tier. Think like maybe a Holiday Inn or something comparable. It cost her a hundred bucks a night, which was about as much as Rouge was willing to pay. Especially considering that she had no solid plans as to where she would be living.
She headed out of her hotel room, down to the first floor, and into the lobby. She wasn't too impressed with the complimentary breakfast or the continental breakfast or whatever the hell it's called: coffee and a bagel. Mediocre coffee and a mediocre bagel at that. It was a plain bagel and they didn't even have any cream cheese left! Perhaps she woke up too late, she told herself.
She had her first appointment to look at an apartment at 9:15 AM. It was only 8:22. So she figured she had some time to kill. So she went back to her hotel room and took a shower.
By the time she got out of the shower, she still had some time on her hands. So she turned on the TV and flipped to the news. She caught the tail end of the president's speech. The transmission panned over a crowd gathered outside the White House fence and then cut back to a live feed of the president, who stood in front of the White House behind a podium bearing the official seal of the US government.
"…So, basically, we don't know Sonic's motives for stealing from the Federal Reserve building. What you need to know is that he and his friend Tails are now officially terrorists in the eyes of the US government. Tails is in US government custody while Sonic remains at large… And one more thing. I know you don't want to hear this, but we're going to have to raise taxes because of this."
The crowd booed.
"Thanks, folks," said the president as he turned around and walked back into the White House. The transmission cut to the round table of the news anchors, each one with a rather displeased look on his or her face.
"Speaking of Sonic and Tails, next weekend Congress will vote on the landmark Mutant Animals Protections Act—" said the female anchor, before Rouge turned off the television to head to her first appointment.
As she headed to her first appointment, she thought about what it meant to live in America as a mutant. As a young bat-girl, she constantly got picked on by the human kids in her neighborhood and at school because of her pointy ears and her wings. She had a hard time finding a job since most employers discriminated against her. Hence why she started stealing.
She definitely felt like an outcast for most of her life. Until she met Sonic, that is. He taught her that it's okay to be a mutant. In fact, he taught her to be proud of being a mutant.
The Mutant Animals Protections Act, at its core, is an attempt to give mutants more rights than normal animals, although not quite as many as humans. For example, they would have a right to fair compensation for their work, but they would not be able to vote as humans can. It has been very divisive. Sonic and a handful of other mutant activists were the authors of the original initiative that has today become the bill. That was before Amy disappeared.
She couldn't help but feel bad about the whole situation with Sonic being exiled and made public enemy number one. She knew he was a good guy deep down. But she had her disagreements with him. And she knew if she came out with the truth, the media would call her crazy and Dr. Robotnik would try to have her killed.
Rouge had three appointments booked to look at apartments.
The first apartment was too spacious and too expensive. Plus it was not very conveniently located. She would have to drive 30 minutes to the nearest store.
The second apartment, on the other hand, was too small and in a very sketchy, urban neighborhood. The rent was very low, rightfully so, and she knew she could afford something a little nicer.
The third apartment, with a riverfront view, was spacious, but not too spacious, and located in a quaint neighborhood within a reasonable distance of anything she might need: stores, a gym, a movie theatre, etc. And it fit right into her budget. This is where she would call home for the years to come while she hid from the wrath of Dr. Robotnik.