Kelson Xavier Randall's Story

"Th...ru......re.........t th...Gr...son Ref...rmator.......re s...mpl..." Kelson struggled with the words as they came out of the man's mouth, unable to keep up or focus on the sounds the warden was making or even piece things together with the way that his lips moved. Sure, the man might have had a booming voice, the kind that easily projected over the little crowd of new inmates here at the reformatory, but Kelson still struggled. Brows furrowed and ears tired, he let his shoulders slump and put one hand up to his ear, snapping his fingers the way he normally did as if the action could wake up his hearing and make it better, almost giving up entirely on the words of the man as he rambled on.

"...Anyone failing t.... foll..........se.......r...les.....l........ be at..............cy of...........r ....ny......f th.......ther.......rkers he.......s long...s.........at is....nd...rst...d..........beli...ve......can ca........ur 'orientatio...'.... close." Anyone failing to... what? Fall? F.... Follow? Kelson sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. Ur... rr...... Your.... Orientation..... Close? To a close? It was over? He looked around wide-eyed as everyone else in the vicinity was turning, leaving with their one allowed bag and heading to the respective dormitories. It was! It was over, what a relief.

After a small moment of fumbling, he turned on his heels along with the rest of the crowd, hurrying along in the direction he'd learned to be the boy's dormitory shortly after arriving. His black duffle bag was slung over one shoulder, stuffed mostly with just necessities, seeing as his sentence had barred him from the internet, otherwise he would have brought his laptop as his one allowed electronic, but he'd had to settle for a portable gaming system instead, and therefore it took much less space inside the big bag. One fucking electronic. How was he supposed to survive? But then again, how was he supposed to survive, period? This place was going to be a nightmare, full of a bunch of badass killer/grand-theft-auto/gang-thug/mutants. How was he supposed to keep his cool when he was surrounded by people like that?!

"-ey!"

Kelson hesitated. Was someone saying something? He gave a quick look around before starting to walk again, unsure about the little wisp of a voice he might have or might not have heard. It probably wasn't important, anyway, was it? Yes, the best thing would just be to keep walking.

"-ey, kid!" There it was again.... Kelson stopped dead in his tracks. "HEY!"

Looking behind him, he quickly spotted the dyed-blonde mess-in-a-uniform waltzing over to him. The young man was not incredibly tall (or even tall at all) nor strong looking, with shoulder-length blonde hair tucked behind his ears and dark brown roots, a pair of Ray-Ban Clubmaster glasses on his nose. He looked almost harmless, with friendly brown eyes and a care-free appearance, but Kelson wasn't about to trust any of these guards here at Greyson, or, at least, he wasn't planning on doing so while he still had some things stowed on his person that he wasn't allowed to have. Yes, the best idea would be to steer clear.

"What are yah, deaf or somethin?" The guard asked rhetorically, his glance narrowing at Kelson as he put one hand on his own hip. Kelson subconsciously had taken one step back from the guard, something about him just making him feel even more uncomfortable about the situation. Was this guy going to....? No, no! He couldn't possible tell that Kelson was hiding something, could he? "I'm gonna need to pat you down, kiddo."

Shit.

"Wh-What? Why?!" Kelson snapped in reply, a little too loud and a little too obnoxious. He put a hand on the strap of his duffle bag, his fingers digging into it anxiously. Maybe the guy would change his mind, leave him alone, or maybe he wouldn't find it...

"Just a random pat down! Humor me?" The guy asked, giving a polite little smile, as if to say, 'I'm giving you a choice, but the thing is, you don't actually get a choice.'

Kelson gritted his teeth, his eyes trailing away while the young man put a hand on his back, leading him over to the wall of the nearest building, where he was promptly asked to "spread 'em," and place his hands against the cool bricks, feet apart and feeling his heart beating far too fast with a combination of nerves and embarrassment at getting a pat down. His teeth sunk into his bottom lip as the other boy's hands suddenly came down against his arms, down along his chest, around the waist, and.... "Well, what do we have here~?" The guard exclaimed in almost a sing-song tone. Kelson gritted his teeth as the man's hand slid into his pants and pulled out the little sliver of technology he'd stowed away in there with the hopes of reconnecting his gaming system with it's internet capabilities.

The man twiddled the object in his fingers, looking pretty damn pleased with himself while he looked over his shoulder at one of the other guards, another young man, taller, tanner, with toxic green eyes, who had over to take a look at the find that he was waving around.

"Ryan, what does this look like to you?" He asked, holding it up for the green-eyed man to examine.

"Looks like the inside of a phone, to me." Ryan replied, snatching it out of the shorter guard's fingers to examine it for a moment before promptly snapping it in two and throwing it over his shoulder.

The blonde guard smiled at Kelson, in that pompous way that people with authority do. "My bet is you weren't supposed to have that, now were you?"

"H-How did you... How did you know that I..." Kelson fumbled over the words. His cheeks were red and only now was he letting his hands slide down from their place on the wall, putting his arms around himself and occasionally shifting his eyes over to the little ruined piece of tech that lay on the dusty ground. Sure, he hadn't expected so much to be keeping it for long, but for it to be found this quickly... now that was just fucking ridiculous!

"I have..." The blonde guard put his hands to the back of his ears, cartoonishly, bouncing his glasses up and down on the bridge of his nose by pushing down on the stems of them. "X-ray vision!" Kelson stared at the man, raising up one brow and giving a look somewhere between horrified and confused, before the other guard intercepted.

"Aren't you a purebred?"

The guard narrowed his eyes, letting out a small huff as he turned his head over to face his fellow guard. "That's my business!"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Briton! Take your job more seriously!"

Now, the blonde guard - Briton - was turned completely away from Kelson, putting both hands on his hips and pouting up at Ryan. "Come on! It's only my job for a week! At least let me have a little fun with these guys!"

Wide-eyed and more than likely, more horrified than he had been a few moments ago, Kelson figured the guard's distraction to be fine enough time as any to back the fuck out of there, and as soon as he was out of earshot of the little loudmouth, He turned on his heels and promptly continued on his way where he was going. Well, at the very least, that was one guard who wasn't too intimidating, just really fucking weird... but... What had he said while his back was turned? Sounded like... "Only my" ....ob... "Job" ... week... for a? "For a week." Great, a temporary guard. Well, too bad, because the other guard with him hardly seemed as flamboyant and nuts as Briton had been, and the others in the place that he'd walked past so far seemed just as intimidating. Not being able to hear them ordering him around was even more scary, actually, and the idea of being punished for "not listening" was beginning to terrify him. They had his record, didn't they? The guards would know to cut him some slack for his slowly decaying hearing, right?

He swallowed hard as he pushed through the creaking metal door of the boy's dormitory and entered the ground floor, which was more or less a "rec room," with a cheap pool table and an old TV and an old couch and another of those standard PCs that Kelson knew he wouldn't be able to get onto. A couple other recreational pieces of crap hung around the place, but he didn't take much more of a look into it, as his attention instantly went to the bulletin board on the far wall, hanging a few long lists behind the protective glass of dorm room assignments, lists of names who are barred from a particular activity, who are assigned specific "character building" chores, assigned to punishments, etc, etc. He scanned the list for the dorm room, running it over quickly before spotting his name, Kelson Randall, on the list for dorm room 12, his name alongside two others; Todd Kelepso and Eli Anderson. He was stuck with two other people? Jesus!!

Kelson took a quick look over his shoulder as another boy was shoving into the room. As the boy began making his way over to the same bulletin board, Kelson quickly and eagerly ducked away, avoiding the large figure at all costs. That probably had to be one of the worst parts, he was sure. Everyone here was bigger and tougher and stronger, and with his lack of physique and stark lack of mystical abilities, he hardly stood a chance against anyone. What was he supposed to do? There really wasn't anything they taught kids in schools about what happens when one is surrounded by powerful mutants with no escape. Now... What was it that one was supposed to do when confronted with a bear? Was it to act tough or curl up in a ball on the ground? He couldn't remember. Perhaps it was based on the type of bear. And what if it was say.... hundreds of bears and they all looked like people and thought like people and hated his fucking guts because he was a purebred? No, this certainly wasn't looking so good for him, was it?


He sighed, making his way over to the staircase and hurrying on up. The first floor was all laundry and rec rooms and sitting areas, not rooms, and with his room being twelve... That meant it was on the second floor? Yes, he was pretty sure that was where it would be from the layout of the building that had been posted on the bulletin board as well to show the fire exits. He practically ran up the stairs, actually, trying to avoid the other new guys and the guys who'd be returning from breakfast at this point as well. For just the moment, all the rooms would be empty, and he could get a feel for the situation before two other douche-bags would be rushing in. God did he want to go home. He wanted to go back to sitting in his room, being able to put closed captioning on the TV without anyone bugging him about it, and only having to deal with other people when he damn well felt like it. What had he even done to get himself stuck with all these shit heads, anyway? He'd played a prank. A stupid prank, at that. Sure, it had been hilarious, and sure, it had been all sorts of complicated, but... he hadn't actually intended for people to get killed and injured by the accidents his hack into the city's traffic system had caused. Maybe, though... Maybe he could act like he had. Maybe people would think he was hardcore and badass and they'd leave him alone until he was able to get out of here. It was worth a shot, wasn't it?

By the time Kelson made it to the door, his top teeth were dug so far into his lower lip that he could already taste the tinge of blood on his tongue. This was giving him so much anxiety, he couldn't take it. Quickly, he pushed through the door, having to make the conscious decision to release the force he was applying to his lip. The inside of the room was as plain and prison-like as the rest of the building. Well, not quite prison like. It was distinctly better than prison, though Kelson could hardly tell the difference between the two. He dropped his duffle down in the middle of the floor, examining the room and what little there was to it. One of the three beds seemed occupied, and he could only assume that it meant only one of his roommates had already been here, and the other was new as well. The information gave him absolutely no benefit or even a heads up, and did nothing to relieve any of the anxiety he was feeling. Down at his sides, his hands were even shaking slightly.

"What am I gonna do..." He uttered to himself, just quietly enough that the words coming out were silent to him, and he would have assumed that they were inaudible to other people as well, without taking a second to think about it. He trailed his way back over to the dressers, pulling the open the top drawer on the first one he saw, only to quickly shut it at the sight of someone else's clothes. He most certainly was not going to get used to sharing a room, among all things. And his roommates.... Were they going to be mutants? It was more than likely, what with the number of mutants being delinquents in the first place. Purebreds hardly ever got caught, and when they did, they typically got by with the minimum amount of punishment. But that fact seemed to beg the question, of course...

"Why in hell did this happen to me?!" He moaned, letting his forehead drop down against the front of the dresser with a thud just barely audible to him. It was a fair enough question, but still, there really wasn't any answer there. Instead of trying to bother himself about it much longer, he simply shuffled back over to his duffle, picking up the strap of it and dragging it slowly across the floor to the next available dresser.

On a couple accounts, he contemplated how difficult it might be to just blend in with the crowd, stay quiet and inconspicuous and not draw any attention to himself that would identify him as a purebred, but as he began emptying the clothes in his duffle bag into the dresser, it began becoming more and more apparent that there was no way in hell that he wasn't going to stick out like a sore thumb. Every article of his clothing bore an expensive brand name, even the outfit he wore consisted of expensive brands and obvious labels. How stupid was he? Honestly? He gritted his teeth, tossing his almost empty duffle in the bottom drawer before slamming it closed as loudly as he possibly could. His roommates were going to be back any second, and he almost wished that he would have had the ability to hear them coming up to the door. He bit his lip, snapping his fingers next to his ears as he leaned his back against the dresser with eyes on the door. Oh god...

He was doomed, wasn't he?

*snore*

"You just made some bad..."

*snore*

"Do as your superiors say.

"Be up and..."

Eli Anderson couldn't be bothered to pay attention. "He" had gone through the orientation before, and heard it a thousand times over in just the few months originally spent at Greyson. So, instead of trying to actually look alert, Eli took a nap right next to the many inmates that had arrived this time around, using an old backpack as his pillow with his arms between it and his head.

The bag wasn't his, of course. His was laid over his chest, and a cobra was lying overtop.

The warden finished the orientation, and the real owner of the bag-pillow yanked it out from under the blond teen's sleeping head, dropping it and his arms to the stone below. As he woke up, blue eyes flickering open, Eli found a man in uniform towering over him. A tall, very buff man this man was, and he used that buff to yank Eli up by the collar of his shirt. Eli only rubbed the sleep from his eyes while he picked up his bag, and gave a carefree grin to the guard, who had even blonder hair and bluer eyes than himself.

"Hey," Eli began, lax as he was, "haven't seen ya in... what, four years, Nikki?"

In response, the guard poked Eli's chest and forced him back a step as he cleared things up in an ever-so-clear Russian accent. (He was a transfer from a prison in Moscow, used to working with anal-raping assholes.) "It's Nikita, Eli. Just because you've been here before doesn't mean we can't still beat you into the ground like the maggot you are."

They had deep-seated issues with each other, Nikita knowing the real Eli all too well. He even warned some of the newer guards not to go soft on him as soon as he witnessed Eli being brought in.

"Chill out, Nikki; I just got here! Plus, you know if people think I can kick your ass, I very well can unless the warden wants to stop me."

"You've grown a pair since you were last here. Didn't think that was possible." That remark wasn't because Eli was a wimp in his first visit. Rather, he was a girl. He still is.

Why am I calling him a boy? Well, shut up! I'm about to get to that!

Eli's powers are based around manipulating the universe as he sees fit. No, he's not God. He's an illusionist, so to speak. He creates a surreal dome around him, causing anything within to see — or hear, feel, and smell, or otherwise perceive, including the laws of the universe itself — whatever he wants, from humans to electronics to that little rock that always gets stuck under your big toe when you're wearing your favorite shoes. (And it's always in the shoe that you'll notice more, because it wouldn't have bugged you if it was prodding your bad leg, because that's numb from standing at this orientation for so long, but noooo, it has to be your ass-kicking leg! But you can't just take it out because you'll look like a wuss that can't handle an itty bitty pebble in your loafers! No! Next thing you know, you're three different guys' ass slave at the same time, AND YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE AND MY ASS HURTS SO STOP YELLING AT ME!) Of course, this is really bare bones, but Eli's never needed a deeper explanation. Anyways, Eli's really a girl, using these reality-bending powers to disguise herself as a five-foot-seven, blond-haired, blue-eyed guy in a flannel shirt and blue jeans that she drew when she was twelve.

"Get to your room," Nikita ordered. With a sigh, Eli complied. When he saw the latter heading towards the boys' dormitories instead of the girls' like "he" should have been doing, he asked, "Where in hell are you going?!"

Eli answered over his shoulder, "My room," and Nikita left him on his way after reminding him that breakfast would be ending soon.

He trotted inside, strided through the hall, skipped up the stairs and totally kicked the door to Dorm 12 in.

Just kidding; he opened it normally.

He wasn't too surprised to see someone already in the room, and he was even less surprised to see that absolutely nothing changed in the four years that he'd been gone. Maybe they changed the mattresses and blankets out, but otherwise nothing was different between the girls' and boys' dorms over the years. At first, walking in, Eli only waved to his obviously terrified roommate, delivering him a friendly smile. He paid no mind to the boy's outfit, or the sheer horror in his eyes as if he feared Death would be coming for him. Just a smile that would hopefully put the young man a little more at ease.

Tossing his belongings onto the highest bed in the room, he spoke to the young man in a light and carefree tone. "I call top bunk." Latching his hand to the bedpost, Eli deftly leaped onto the bed with a boost from the ladder at the side, taking a seat with his legs dangling over the edge before introducing himself to try to break the ice with the person he'd be spending his nights with.

"M'name's Eli. Yours?"

"The rules here at the Greyson Reformatory are simple; do as your superiors say. Be up—"

Welp, that's enough of that. Alecia was leaning against a light pole towards the front of the courtyard, sun in her face, arms folded across her chest, hoodie up. The operative word being was. The moment the loudmouth at the front of this little march of the neophytes started pattering on about rules and what not was the moment Alecia lost interest. Not a day through the doors of this concentration camp and these masters of the universe were already trying to shove their despotic dogma down everyone's throats.

Despicable.

With her hands in her pockets and a look of disgust fresh upon her face, Alecia began pushing and shoving her way towards the back of the crowd. Boys and girls alike threw her looks ranging from fright and fragility to menace and sadism, but none moved to block her retreat. She noted the general age range of the inmates as she passed them by. To Alecia's disdain, they all seemed younger than her. Nineteens, eighteens... some sixteens, definitely a fourteen... was that a twelve year old? Alecia shook her head, grimacing, fists balled.

Government fucks. So these were society's new "racially undesirable elements," to be concentrated and exterminated at will by a fascist batshit plutocracy dominated by a monied purebred aristocracy afraid of its fellow citizens. These are children for god's sake. What could they have possibly done that would warrant incarceration?! But the question was purely rhetorical in nature—Alecia already knew the answer. Outside of these walls was a world harsh and unforgiving for your average mutant. You either eat or get eaten.

Most mutants were relegated to the ghettos. An entire sector of society: feared. Subjugated. Boxed in. Persecuted. Caged. Abandoned. And then ignored... that is, until they decided to fight for their rights as human beings—and were summarily crushed for it. Alecia had witnessed mutants being beaten to death on the streets for simply asking questions. For speaking up. Mutant boys on their way back home being stalked in the twilight of the evening dusk—never making it to their destinations. Girls and women being snatched off the streets, to be found in a back alley somewhere the next day. She had to deal with such dangers on more than one occasion herself, so she could relate.

These kids trapped in this "reformatory" were probably caught doing what they had to to survive. Left to feed on the scraps of purebred society in order to stay alive. To provide for their brothers and sisters. Their families. To prevent what's left of their communities from crumbling further.

In short, it was the purebred government behind all of this. At least, Alecia believed so. She inhaled through clenched teeth as memories assailed her. The purebreds took everything. First her only brother. Then her friends when they destroyed her gang. Then her possessions. Her home. And now even her freedom. As icing on the cake: nothing has changed. Despite her best efforts, the purebreds still rule with an iron fist.

Her sacrifices and those of her compatriots were made in vain.

A deep-seated rage bubbled up from the bowels of her gut at the thought, threatening to overwhelm her better judgement, but she managed to keep her cool by reciting her own personal prayer over and over in her head: they will pay if it's the last thing I do.

As she neared the edge of the crowd furthest away from the bloviating warden at the other end of the yard, a hulking mealy bald man locked eyes with her. He was so musclebound that his poor overstretched t-shirt was liable to burst at the seams with the slightest provocation. The most interesting part about him, aside from what looked like the beginnings of a sunburn across the top of his head, were his tattoos. The man was marked from head to toe with swastikas, the symbol of the Xenozi—a mutant supremacist street gang that believed anyone who joined their ranks was somehow "closer to god". Of course, anyone not a member of their gang, including purebreds and even other mutants, were nothing more than scum of the Earth to them. Alecia made sure to smirk at him.

His cold blue eyes were fixed, following her as she walked by, but she turned up her nose. More likely than not, he recognized her, even with the hood shrouding her facial features in shadow. She was, after all, one of the four commanders of the most infamous mutant gang that ever was. Her old gang considered the Xenozi to be a frienemy, but the two gangs hadn't left off on the best of terms last time they'd met. Guess that's as good as enemy Alecia thought, narrowing her eyes threateningly. He confirmed her suspicions by growling softly. Her smirk only deepened. From the looks of the guy, he was definitely an Xenozi hitman. Probably older than she was, too.

The people that surrounded them took a few steps away, privy to the tension in the air.

However, despite her instincts telling her to prepare for a fight, the entire encounter came and went without so much as an exchange of insults. Disappearing back into the crowd, Alecia pushed onward, finally reaching the perimeter of the gathering and the entrance to the Greyson facility. While everyone was busy listening to Master Chief spout his rules, Alecia wanted to do a bit of exploring. You know, be productive. Unfortunately, there was a little problem. Four guards were stationed right behind the group of newbies. Riot guards, by the look of them. Probably insurance in case any of these new arrivals were unable to behave themselves.

There was no way she was getting past them, not until this blathering warden guy finished his little soliloquy, which would go against the idea of leaving early. Unless...

Alecia smirked again, an idea forming in her mind. Slowly she turned, walking back into the crowd, this time a little less courteous with her shoving. There were a few "hey!"s and "watch it!"s, but no one retaliated. Heh. After a few moments, she reached her intended targets: some poor kid who looked like he'd wet himself at any moment and, next to him, some tall guy rocking the hipster chic like there was no tomorrow—oversied glasses, a fedora, five o'clock shadow, the whole nine yards. She came to a rest behind them both, as silent and motionless as a ghost.

"... will not be allowed into each other's—"

Alecia raised both her hands, palms forward, one hovering an inch or two behind the kid, another behind the hipster. She then tapped each of their backs with as much force as the gentle brush of a feather.

The hipster tripped forward into several other inmates, nearly falling over his tangled feet, as if someone had kicked him in the back with all their might. The kid, on the other hand, flew forward as if a jet engine were strapped to his butt, bowling over the person in front of him. Alecia grinned, bleeding back into the crowd behind her just as the fireworks ensued. Mr. hipster turned to look over his shoulder for the person who had pushed him. His eyes immediately locked on to the closest figure—some random girl.

"Hey, huh. Funny girl, huh?" He started, tone threatening, voice rising in octave and intensity with each "huh". "You like pushing people, huh? Huh?!"

The girl gave him a comedic look, a cross between "what are you talking about?" and "go fuck yourself". The girl angled her head, chin up, eyes wide. She was missing some teeth. "Funny? Come say that to my face, pretty boy."

That's when a deep voice boomed, running swiftly upward in crescendo. "YO?!" The very ground itself shook slightly, drawing the gaze of the hipster, the funny girl, and several others. The kid Alecia launched had bowled over the person in front of him—the Xenozi hitman with the swastikas. "WHO. THE. FUCK. IS THROWING LOSERS AT ME? YOU THINK THIS SHIT IS FUNNY?!" He stamped his foot again, causing another miniature earthquake. Unlike the hitman, the poor kid was still on the ground a few feet away, eyes fraught with terror. Alecia began to feel bad for the kid—a boy no older than thirteen—especially with the Xenozi lunatic about to rampage right next to him. She took a step forward, preparing to scrap her plans and step into the conflict on behalf of the boy when she noticed something peculiar. It seemed as though a piece of translucent glass? were in front of him. After a moment, Alecia put two and two together. A force shield? The kid had some sort of telekinesis or something. She retook her place among the crowd, nodding to herself slightly. Good for him.

The hipster simply stared at the Xenozi hitman, eying his body art with an air of distaste, lips pursed. The wrathful hitman turned to face the hipster. "You know me or something, bro?" Though he'd lowered his voice, everyone could feel the ever present promise of violence just below the surface. The hipster did not respond. "You deaf down syndrome havin' hippie mother fucker." The hitman rolled his neck slightly from side to side, punctuating each word in his oddly melodic string of insults. "Why the fuck you staring at me like that? Do you know me?!" When the hipster gave him the finger, Mr. Xenozi went apoplectic. Now a few rows back from the mess she'd caused, Alecia sat back and admired her handiwork. She could almost make out the blood vessel bursting in the hitman's forehead.

She smiled, sighing softly. And it begins.

With a shout, the hitman brought his fists to bear over his head, bringing them crashing down atop the hipster, forming a small crater in the ground with his attack. Alecia's eyebrows shot up, impressed. Mr. hipster had easily avoided the hitman's wrath and was now ever-so-cavalierly defying gravity by floating a few feet above the ground, off to the guy's left. Far from finished, the hitman cocked his fist, preparing to throw another earth-shattering blow. Preempting him, the hipster floated further off to the side, revealing a Latino woman who had been standing behind him. Upon seeing the man's cocked fist, the woman bared her teeth, black spikes emerging from her skin like a porcupine. However, before the hitman could move to attack, he was stopped in his tracks. Throwing a look over his shoulder at his fist, he barked in surprise. It had been bound by some sort of golden lasso. After a moment, more of the luminescent ropes were flung around his fist, pulled taut by their wielder, almost causing the hitman to lose his balance.

"What is this?" He snarled, following the golden glowing ropes back to their source. It was funny girl—the one the hipster first accused of pushing him. Squinting, Alecia noticed that the girl was using strands of her own hair wrapped around her arm to restrain the Xenozi hitman. Interesting.

"Are you insane?! Stop this!" She demanded, her face rife with indignation.

If the warden was even remotely aware of the small skirmish, he didn't bat an eye, but that didn't mean the commotion went unnoticed. As if on cue, the four riot guards along with a few others she hadn't first noticed pushed past Alecia and the other inmates with blatant disregard for manners or common decency, shouting commands at the combatants. With the authorities occupied and the coast temporarily clear, Alecia broke through the remainder of the crowd, shoving one guy into another in her attempt to move expeditiously. Though she now stood on the perimeter of the gathering, there were dozens of wide open yards separating her from the entrance back into Greyson. She be spotted if she tried to run that length at a normal pace. She damn sure couldn't walk it. She didn't have invisibility powers or anything cute like that either. Puckering her lips in concentration, she kneeled down, taking a racer's stance, digging her back foot into the ground.

By the time the guy Alecia shoved dusted himself off a few moments later, she was gone.



"ATTENTION: EXTRA PERSONNEL REQUESTED IN YARD SIX."

Alecia sported a furtive yet smug smirk. Her plan had worked perfectly! They were even asking for more assistance over the intercom. Hah! Dropping her hood, she strolled through the male side of the Reformatory. She'd have years to explore the female side to her heart's content. Why not have some fun here and now on the boy's side?!

She strolled through the halls as if she owned the place, earning a wide variety of looks. She even peeked into some open doors when she thought no one was looking. She was obviously female and obviously didn't belong, but none of the guards seemed to notice, and none of the inmates were peeved enough to care. In fact, some of them were definitely sizing her up, lust evident in their stares.

"Ay mamí. Tù tan caliente!" Alecia paused mid-step, leering at the guy who'd just addressed her. Though she couldn't translate, she recognized the lewd tone. He was a brunet boy surrounded by a few of his friends. Eighteen years old, by her guess. "Come ov'a here," he continued, making a come hither motion with his hand, "let me talk to you right quick."

She flashed a warm smile, moving towards him until she was a couple of arm lengths away. She looked him in the eyes, still smiling. He mirrored her expression, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

Suddenly, she frowned.

"I wish you would," she hissed threateningly, face contorted, head held at a sight angle, voice dripping with vitriol. Shocked, the guy hopped backwards, hitting his head on the wall behind him. His friends just stood there, taken aback, mouths open, utterly non-plussed. With a short chortle, Alecia pivoted on her heel and continued on her way. The cat calls resumed after she got further down the hall, but at a much more hushed tone, as if the sounds weren't meant to reach her ears.

Smart boys.

She had no problem with completely wrecking them if it came down to it. Physical strength meant nothing to her, thanks to her force vector manipulation ability. She'd break them like so many twigs. People would learn the pecking order and learn it fast in here, just as they did out in the real world. She could both handle and dish out more shit than anyone. That's how she become one of the four commanders of the Mutant Militia, after all.

She would not stand to be objectified nor walked all over. Not by the government. Not by the authority in here. Not by other mutants. And for damn sure not by any purebreds.

That's when a new thought struck her. As she turned the corner, her hand found its way to her chin, the knuckles of her index and middle fingers close to her lips—her typical contemplation pose. Are there any purebreds in this place? She wasn't entirely sure. It'd be stupid to put them in here, but if there were... she'd definitely be interested in learning their identities. Surely they'd be obvious to spot, with their sanctimonious world-views and their flashy expensive clothing. Honestly, she'd love to meet one.

Alecia clenched her fists.

She had a few... questions for 'em.

Not one to get lost in her own interrogation daydreams, Alecia continued down the corridor. Every so often, she'd encounter a numbered door, though they didn't seem to follow any specific order. This place was kinda lain out like a maze, with a series of interconnected entrances and exits and extended halls that branched off from this "main" hall. How annoying. Leave it to the will-bearers of the patriarchy to design something so illogical. A circular design would be more fitting for this death camp.

She also noted the positions of the various security cameras that lined the walls and ceiling. They were pretty high-tech. Probably had thermal infrared, night-vision, facial recognition, the whole shebang.

When she first entered the boy's hall, she'd spotted the number "050" on one of the doors. A bit before she'd rounded the corner, she spotted "025". Now, as she made her way down what seemed like the last length of the main hall, the numbers were decreasing even more rapidly. "019" ... "014" ... "012" ... "008" ... "004" ... "001". The space between each of the rooms was bisected by a hallway that lead to even more rooms. Interestingly enough, the cameras around dorms 012 and 014 seemed to have been wired pretty recently, because exposed cables extended from the devices across the ceiling and into the adjacent wall.

Cheapo government. Humans have existed for thousands of years and that fact still hasn't changed.

After a bit more walking, Alecia stopped in front of the door titled "Dorm 001," reaching the end of the main hall. From the looks of things, it would seem as if the neophyte orientation session outside had come to a close, since guys she recognized from the crowd outside had begun to appear in some of the halls as she walked by.

That little fact could wait, though, for Alecia found her interests piqued. The door for Dorm 001 seemed a bit different than the others. Bigger, perhaps? Maybe just older? Hmm. She examined it with her hands, feeling the material. It was some type of metal. Hard and resilient, like the other doors she saw. She grabbed door's handle, giving it a good twist. The metal lever didn't even budge. Locked. She returned her hand to her chin. Hrn... Then why is this part of the hall so—

Alecia's ears perked up, tuning in to a sound in the distance that was growing louder by the second. It was the lockstep rhythm of a synchronized military march.

That meant guards. A lot of them. Thinking quickly, she flipped up her hoodie, hiding her hair and face and leaned against the door to Dorm 001 as if she belonged there. Not a moment later, several guards turned the corner in formation. Between then was... someone. Some kid, by the looks of it. He was definitely young, with curly hair, deep brown eyes, and a look of utter despondency etched into his face. They'd collared him like some sort of animal, as well as cuffed his hands together.

Alecia grimaced. These Greyson assholes sure do have an obsession with mutant children. It was disturbing. What're they trying to do, build a sex ring of some kind? Or worse, maybe a god damn army of indoctrinated kids...

That's when the boy surrounded by guards slowly looked over his shoulder to stare directly at Alecia. Their eyes met, even though Alecia had her hoodie up. For a moment, she was confused by what she saw, but then it clicked.

Mikey? She reached out her hand towards him. "Mikey?!" She vocalized the thought, invoking the name of her only brother, but by the time she stood upright and took a step towards the gaggle of guards surrounding the boy, the kid had turned his head and was now facing forward again. Alecia pinched the bridge of her nose, internally berating herself. Of course that wasn't Mikey, stupid. Mikey is... She couldn't even bear to finish the thought. Fortunately (or perhaps not), she didn't have that kind of time.

"Hey, you! Girl with the hood! What're you doing in the male hall?!"

One of the guards had stopped walking and was now pointing at her. The other guards and some of the inmates in the vicinity all turned their heads to stare at her. Seems like she'd drawn attention to herself.

For a moment, nobody moved.

And then she cheesed it.

"GRAB HER!" The guard who had originally identified her barked the order at the two others that flanked him. After a delay, they responded, barreling at her like two offensive linemen. The others pointed their weapons at her, but by the time they'd aimed, she'd already cut the corner and was headed down one of the side halls. Other inmates were quick to get out of her way, some of them even cheering her on. For those unfortunate enough to remain in the path of the guards, they were mercilessly shoved aside, slamming into the walls or through their doors.

As she raced past the middle of the hall, it was obvious that they weren't going to catch her. She was kind of cheating anyway, using her ability to unnaturally increase her speed. In a few more moments, she'd completely dust them.

That's when the guards got smart. Apparently, they'd dealt with fast ones before. While the guard on the left continued to bear down on her lead, the guard on the right halted his advance and kneeled, aiming his gun at her unprotected back. Pulling the trigger several times, the weapon's report exploded throughout the entire hall, reverberating off the walls and doors in one large cacophony.

But Alecia's speed wasn't her ability, merely a symptom of it. She felt the rounds come into contact with her skin before she heard the gunshots and instantly reacted, nullifying their forward momentum so that they dropped to the ground, harmless. However, such a move required concentration, and her running slowed to sub-olympic levels, allowing the other guard to gain on her.

She didn't have enough time to dig her heels into the ground and launch forward, so instead she turned and was greeted with more gunfire. This time, she caught one of the projectiles in her hand like something out of a Japanese animation, smirking at the guard with the gun as if to say "what now, bitch?". Taking a quick peak at the munition, she noticed something odd. It looked less like a bullet and more like some sort of needle or syringe.

Her smirk grew in intensity, her face twisting in pure conceit, hair snapping around her head as if she were in a hurricane thanks to her countering gunfire with vector manipulation. "Are you bitches trying to tranquilize me? REALLY?!"

That's when the running guard finally got within arm's reach. Again, she was not afraid of physical confrontation. She could manipulate any force, and that's all physical strength is—a combination of forces. This guard posed no threat to her. She'd break him like she'd break a pencil—easily, messily, and all over the place.

She gritted her teeth and adopted an open posture, arms out to the sides, as if welcoming the sprinting guard. Daring him—begging him—to just try it.

When they finally made contact... Alecia was mowed over like a four year old against a speeding train, to careen off the wall and land on the floor several feet away, the guard on top of her. "Aaaah, get off me!"

She was completely confused. How did her ability not work on him? Did she fuck something up? No. Not possible.

She tried pushing him off of her, manipulating the forces as she usually did, and everything seemed to go as planned, until the forces came into contact with the guard's body. At that point, they just... fell apart, as if he had a magic shield or something. "What the fuck, man! Get off!" She protested, pushing at the man's chest, trying to get out from under him.

"Smug punk! Cease your resisting!" He shouted, raising his fist, preparing to strike her.

Thinking a mile a minute, an idea popped into her head. If she couldn't directly manipulate the forces around the guard, then...

As the guard's fist rushed down towards her face, Alecia slapped the ground next to them with the heels of her shoes and the palms of her hands, throwing the majority of her remaining energy into augmenting the resulting reactionary forces. The consequence was spectacular.

Both Alecia and the guard flew up to smash violently into the cement ceiling. Unfortunately for the guard, he was on top to take the brunt of the damage from the impact. So vicious was the collision that the guard's body remained embedded in the ceiling while Alecia fell back down to land painfully on the ground. More gunfire rang out from the second guard. He was much closer now, but had apparently reconsidered engaging her in melee combat.

Smart man.

However, it was becoming harder and harder to nullify the momentum of the tranquilizer rounds. That last move had cost a crap ton of energy, and she hadn't eaten in a while. That's when she noticed the alarm siren blaring over the intercom. "Shit," she muttered. Guard #2 probably called for backup, or radioed in a riot or some crap. She was definitely in trouble now.

Picking herself up, she ran for her life, turning the corner to the hall that led back up to the main hall and dorm 012.

"Don't forget the cameras!"

Right, the cameras. Looking up, she saw the cameras all pivoting on their axes to face her... but she also saw the shitty wiring job along the ceiling. Now that she thought about it, those wires probably supplied electricity to all the cameras along this part of the side hall—either that or video feed. The same was probably true for the surrounding main hall as well. Perhaps even the cameras in some of the rooms!

Good ol' cheapo government!

Feeling hope rise along with the emergence of a strategy, Alecia crouched down like a frog before leaping high into the air, grabbing the massive trunk of wires with both hands and ripping it out of the ceiling.

They snapped as she came down. Luckily, she avoided electrocution.

The red lights on the cameras immediately surrounding her died out instantly.

Without a second to spare, she used vector manipulation to leap towards the end of the side hall, rounding the corner back into the main hall and coming to rest against the first door she saw. The hallway was filled with more guards than inmates, and none of them seemed to notice her.

Yet.

Without further ado, she tried the handle to the door in front of her: Dorm 012. Whatever, it'll do. Luckily, it opened. Without thinking, she rushed inside and closed the door behind her, locking it. She leaned against the door then, taking a quick but necessary respite. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was a security camera overlooking the entire room, but she wasn't sure if it was active or if her little wire stunt had deactivated it along with the others. That's when she noticed the two guys standing there, looking at her like she was a mad woman.

"Hi ya fellas," she said in the calmest voice she could muster. She wasn't much able to hide the panic in her tone, however. "I had a little fun with these mutant-hating purebred assholes, but now I'm in a bit of trouble. Mind hiding me?"

OOC: Of course she'll inevitably be found. They'll probably search all the rooms. Or maybe the camera in the room still works. In the meantime, it's a good chance for some conversation! xD

Kelson jumped, despite there being almost no reason to at all. What had happened? A door had opened. A fucking door. Jesus Christ, he needed to calm down, but who could really blame him for being on edge? There had been nary a warning - at least, nary a warning for him - of the approach of someone before the door was suddenly swinging open. Perhaps someone else would have heard a creak of rubbing metal or old hinges or something of the sort. Someone else would have probably heard the footsteps on the other side, but clearly Kelson was at a disadvantage, and never having to rely on really any of his senses for anything, just because his hearing wasn't on par, didn't mean that any of his others were heightened. Really, he was just obnoxiously loud and relatively jumpy. Though, he supposed, visual stimulation always seemed to bother him much more than other things.

Just stay calm, He tried to tell himself, biting down on his own lip, though in actuality, the thought inside his head would have sounded a lot more along the lines of; OH MY GOD YOU CALL THAT KEEPING YOUR COOL YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LITTLE BITCH?! Okay, he had to admit the mental note was most certainly not helping, and most certainly beginning to sound a lot like his father, in a way, but he was rather disappointing in his inability to regain at least a somewhat calm expression before this other boy had entered. Deep breaths, deep breaths, holy shit. Not helping at all.

He watched as the blonde-headed boy slipped quietly into the room - or at least, it was quiet to Kelson - offering a quick wave and friendly wave to Kelson as he passed by, made his way over to the bunk bed in the room, tossed his things onto the top bunk, and hopped on up there, letting his legs dangle over the side of it. "I ...ll t.....b...nk." Wait... what? Huh? What had the other boy said? The sound somewhat muffled, and not a clear view of the way the boy's mouth moved while he spoke, it was difficult for his head to come up with the idea of what it was. Not even an ounce of context... Or was there? Maybe it wasn't important, maybe if Kelson just didn't reply, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Just to be safe, though, Kelson found himself making the journey around to the middle of the room, giving him a better view of the other boy's face, just in case there would be more speaking. He tried to make the action of moving his position as casual as possible, on hand in the pocket of his skinny jeans, shoulders forced into a relaxed state, and breathing slowed just a bit, if not somewhat heavy still.

"M...n...m...s Eli. Yours?"

Wh-what? WHAT THE FUCK DOES "mnms" MEAN? Even looking at the boy's mouth, it just didn't make sense. Munums? Monomus? What the fuck? M&Ms? Jesus, that didn't make any sense, why would the guy have been saying M&Ms? The statement was... Uh.... What was the statement meant for, actually? That was a good question. Even if he didn't recognize the first word, the sound of the statement was completely different from the statement earlier which he'd completely missed. What were the other words in the statement? Yours... Your what? Didn't make sense without the first word. And then... E... Eli, was it? That was a name, but was he perhaps mistaking the word? No, he wasn't. The statement was meant to be an introduction. So... The first word was-

Ugh.

"M'name's." MY. NAME. IS.

This little prick was one of those guys who slurred their words together, the lazy bastard. Why couldn't these people just articulate? Was it really that hard? Well, the look of fear had washed from his face quickly, and the confusion that had washed over it with that puzzling statement had been suddenly washed over as well. Now, his glance at the other boy - Eli - was narrow and agitated. Still, "Yours" implied that Eli wished to know Kelson's name as well, and thus, he had to oblige, otherwise the boy was probably going to start catching on that something was up.

"My name's Kelson," He replied, his loud voice dripping with the hints of aggravation that he himself could not hear quite well enough to hide. "Don't... ugh... you shouldn't... Don't slur all your words together like that if you want people to respond to you! It's hard to understand! You, uh, you said your name's... Eli, right?" He said, raising an eyebrow. His expression seemed to mix once again with a tinge of fear. What if this kid was a mutant? Hell, he probably was... How many purebred would there really be in this stupid place, after all. But What if he took offence, or thought Kelson was yelling at him... He certainly didn't want to end up dead on his first day.

He bit his lip, almost considering to restate the sentence, or say "Whatever," or something like that, but maybe this counted as 'trying to act big to scare away the bear'? Again, he wasn't sure if that even applied to most bears. Maybe he should have just raised up a white flag and curled up into a ball on the ground, but it was too late now. He couldn't help not being able to understand certain things, and he sure as hell wasn't going to go around blurting out that he was losing his hearing all over the reform! Maybe it would have been good information at least... to share with the people he would be rooming with? Just in case something happened? No. Definitely not. There was no telling if he could trust them, and certainly, he didn't want them telling the whole reform that he was losing his hearing.

It was at that point, when, just by chance, he turned his head towards the door, finally noticing the huffing figure that had just slipped insi- WHEN DID SHE GET THERE?

Kelson's form visibly jumped back a step at the sight of her - and it was quite obvious, in fact, that it was the sight of her that had caused his sudden reaction, rather than anything else like suddenly bursting through the door or making a noise. Had there been a noise? Thinking back on it, maybe he had heard a faint slam to the door closing, though he payed it little mind, as loud sounds, sudden noises, rarely bothered him. In fact, he rather liked sudden and loud noises. It was silence that scared him.

"Hi ya fellas," She uttered, and through the sound of her voice and the sight of her, it wasn't too difficult to understand in the least. "I had a little fun with these mutant-hating purebred assholes, but now I'm in a bit of trouble. Mind hiding me?"

M-mutant-hating... Purebred... Assholes... uhhhhhhh..... Well, at least she articulated.

Biting his lip, his mind instantly flew to the obvious; he was a purebred, and she obviously didn't like purebreds. He huffed, crossing his arms over the Dolce & Gabbana Sicilia print tee-shirt he was wearing, trying to cover up the expensive article of clothing from her view before she could notice it.

"Wh-whatever! You can stay in here if you want! I guess..." He trailed off, gritting his teeth a bit as he tried to hide the mix of agitation and panic on his own face. Again, he really didn't want to end up dead on his first day, but this was just getting out of hand! What was he supposed to do? For now, the only course of action he could come up with was to turn away from her, make his way over to the computer chair and plop down in the seat as casually as he could while still remaining to keep his hands up over the emblem on his shirt. Maybe he could pass it off as just a fake, if either of them asked, or.... Maybe they weren't very versed in brands and wouldn't know! Were mutants knowledgeable about that sort of thing? He really didn't know. After all, he'd never even met one before. "A-and who even said they were all purebreds, anyway?" He continued, though his voice had suddenly become somewhat lower and muttered. He could hear the words coming from his mouth, but they sounded odd as they came out. He wasn't sure if they were understandable, and he wasn't sure if he wanted them to be. "One of the guards that came over to me earlier was a mutant, so..."

He shrugged, unsure where he really was going with that statement. After all, it didn't make him any less of a purebred, and it might have even called him out as one. He almost instantly regretted saying it, but instead of trying to retreat, he straightened his back, and hardened the wavering expression on his face as much as he could. People would leave him alone if he was pompous and full of himself, right? Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe they'd try to torture him more. He wasn't sure. It was like the bear situation all over again. God, he just wanted this to be over. But that was the thing, wasn't it? This wasn't just some shitty day trip and he'd get to run back home to the safety of his bed at the end of the day and never have to come back. He was stuck here, and he was going to be stuck here for a while.

"Don't slur all your words together like that if you want people to respond to you!" Kelson shouted. He seemed a bit prissy, but Eli just laughed it off, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah; a lot'f people tell me I talk too fast. So, Kelson, eh? Nice name. Bet'ya go' thrown in 'ere for getting those threads." Yes, he totally picked up on the brand name gear. It was too obvious.

It wasn't a long conversation, though, as a purebred-hating mutant asshole barged in and startled Kelson, wanting the two of them to hide her. He had to correct her, though, and he did after Kelson said it was fine for her to stay. Wait, doesn't Eli get a say in this? This isn't a dictatorship, and if it was, Kelson sure as hell wouldn't be the one calling the shots! Screw it; back to correcting the woman.

"They're not all bad, hun. Some of 'em're pretty nice." Nikita came to mind. He was such a big teddy bear.



Something broke against a wall in the mess hall. It was hard, like a rock, but it broke like mud against a human-shaped bullseye painted onto the stone. It was actually two balls, striking the head and chest simultaneously.

"Nice shot, Amy," someone told him. "Your two-handed is dead on." Amethyst giggled and smiled, returning to the table behind them.

"I still need to work on actually throwing things."

"Doesn't matter if you can't throw 'em when you can fire 'em off like a bullet like that. We just gotta get you used to moving targets." The other constituents of a little trio — named Quincy and Jason — joined Amy at the table. Jason was a thirty year old guard and had to keep tabs on a few of the inmates, Quincy being one.

Quincy was eighteen, and instructing Amy on his aim. He had an ability he called Deadeye, and his pitch black eyes were downright superhuman; he practically lived in bullet time if he didn't consciously speed himself up, and he had a bunch of immaterial eyes surrounding his body that let him see at any angle and even in third-person from multiple places outside his body. The only time his aim wasn't perfect was if he messed up on purpose.

He was thrown into Greyson a year back for patricide, but he hasn't shown any homicidal activity since he killed his father. "That drunkard deserved to die," he rationalized.

Quincy finished what he was eating — sausage, pancakes and a bagel. Greyson was like a normal prison: it had better food than most schools — and the three left to the courtyard, where they'd been setting up an obstacle course that seemed fit for an extreme version of Ninja Warrior, and started working off their breakfast. Jason didn't interfere. In fact, he'd been helping out to make it more challenging. As long as they weren't hurting anyone or trying to break out, he didn't care.

Alecia sighed. The kid in front of her—probably fifteen... seventeen at the most—was giving her a look somewhere between quizzical befuddlement and oh god why me?! Alecia stared back, facial expression uncompromising, waiting on his response. Ske kept the room's third occupant—this one a bit older—within her peripheral vision.

Something about the kid before her just seemed... off. Different? Maybe it was his demeanor. He looked like the submissive type.

The type that doesn't survive all that long in a place like this.

He huffed then, crossing his arms over his chest, swelling with what was to Alecia something resembling bravado. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, already thinking ahead.

What if they say no? Talk to them a bit more. And if they go for the guards?

Alecia's upper lip twitched. She didn't want to end up having to wreck a fellow mutant on her first day, but she'd rather that than have her little escapade cut short so soon. That... and she did sort of mercilessly smash a guard into a cement ceiling after all, and he did kinda look injured when she fled the scene. Perhaps she'd gone a bit far with that one.

Alecia opened her mouth, preparing to speak again, when the kid finally answered.

"Wh-whatever! You can stay in here if you want! I guess..."

Alecia raised her eyebrows an inch or two, a genuine smile coming to her face. Even then, the kid still looked agitated. The way he held his arms... it was as if he were the girl and she a guy who'd walked in on him getting out of the shower. Like he was trying to protect his "cleavage" from her.

Interesting.

He turned then, moving to plop down stiffly at the room's only computer desk, still hugging himself. Alecia in turn moved deeper into the room to stand in front of one of the beds, facing the dorm's only other occupant: the older guy. He had followed her every move with his eyes up from his perch on the top bunk.

Alecia recognized the look: preconception. Judgement. Indignation, even. Lips pursed, Alecia matched him eye for eye, tilting her head a few degrees, giving him her undivided attention. She didn't much care for asinine assumptions or sanctimony. Then again, she did kinda bust into their room uninvited. Maybe—

"A-and who even said they were all purebreds, anyway?"

That earned an awkward silence. Alecia scrunched her face as if she'd gotten a heavy whiff of something rotten, slowly turning her head to look at the kid in the computer chair.

"One of the guards that came over to me earlier was a mutant, so..."

The resulting silence dragged but for a moment. "Huh. Is that right?" She muttered in response, inflecting her tone slightly. Even if she did just learn something, that was still a pretty random statement. Further, he pretty much whispered that last line. He also didn't face her when he spoke.

And he still had his forearms covering his chest.

Interesting. More than interesting. Fascinating.

He was obviously trying to hide something from her.

"They're not all bad, hun." The one atop the bed started. Alecia glanced back on his direction. "Some of 'em're pretty nice."

In her mind, Alecia scoffed at him. Naive. The word exploded into her head with such viciousness, such vitriol, that she felt a bit dizzy afterwards. Of course "they" aren't "all bad". Her old gang even had a few purebred backers who sympathized with their struggle; however, statistics are statistics, and a vast majority is still vast. Not to mention what their machines did to Mickey...

Alecia sighed, breathing heavily from her nose and blinking several times. These guys were in desperate need of a subject change. She returned her gaze to the kid at the computer. He was still hugging himself.

"Hmph. So. You guys seem pretty uh... laid back." She began, taking a few steps towards the computer desk. "I'm Alecia, by the way. Alecia Moore." She took yet another step towards the computer desk. She was now within arms reach of the kid. "I can manipulate forces and vectors and stuff like that. Makes for fun parties."

By the time she finished her last sentence, she was pretty much standing next to the younger of the two roommates. Suddenly, she leaned in, throwing her arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. Their faces were within inches of each other's, though she had her eyes trained down at his shirt. Honestly, he smelled of sweat and fear. It was somewhat off-putting. "How about you two? What can you do?" She asked, pointing the latter end of her two-part question directly at him.

From this distance, she was able to see past his arms to the emblem on his chest. She just leered at it, her eyes slowly narrowing.

Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. It was completely unfamiliar. She thought it might've been a gang symbol—the kid a mutant from some rival group that recognized her face—but the insignia didn't belong to any organization, mob, or movement she was aware of. He was too flimsy to be in a gang anyway.

Then why attempt to hide the thing? Now that she thought about it, his outfit did look pretty... high-maintenance.

Alecia let go of the kid, flashing him a smile and chuckling softly as the two males responded. "Cool. Well, thanks," she followed, addressing her gratitude to them both. Sauntering back to the single bed opposite the bunk, she leaned against the headboard, leveling the kid in the chair with stolid tranquil eyes. "I owe you two a big one for this."

She meant it. Back where she was from, favors were more valuable than the largest diamond or the most lustrous gold bar.

Now she just had to figure a neat way out of this mess and get to her own dorm before all the good spots were taken (namely the top bunk). By now, she was probably already too late. Drat. Why weren't girls allowed to roam the boys' halls anway? Was there some sort of time constraint?

"Hey so, question. Are females not allowed around here or something?" She asked as casually as possible, throwing her thumb over her shoulder, pointing at the door.

The woman introduced herself as Alecia, and Eli responded with his own name. When he asked what they could do, though, he had to think about that. (He also kind of wanted to know what Kelson was capable of.)

"Can't really explain mine," Eli chuckled out. He didn't think she really heard, though; she was paying a lot of attention to Kelson. He almost thought Alecia was hitting on him, but it didn't seem to be the case when she let go of him so abruptly.

"I owe you two a big one for this," she continued. He really didn't expect much, considering she was a convict that could use the Force, or whatever. (It may have been a thousand years, but Star Wars will forever be a cult classic, bitches. Imagine if aliens saw Star Wars as representative of humanity. That would be the worst prank ever.) Was she a wrongly-accused Jedi? ... Nah. Something about force... Telekinesis? Why didn't she just say so? Criminals are so confusing sometimes. Don't criminals have a sense of honour or something, though, like gang members? There was something about saving someone's life. Did they just save her life? Cool.

"She's gotta be Sith or something," a voice in his head rang. "Darth Moore. Think about it.~" Eli shook it away, though he nearly laughed at the nickname. Maybe she was sent to the Reformatory for blowing up a planet or two, mass slavery, etc. Wait, wouldn't that land her on death row? ... Eh. Fuck, she's talking again; pay attention.

"Are females not allowed around here or something?" Alecia definitely didn't care about the orientation. Maybe even less than Eli, but at least he had an excuse.

"It's not even close to 9:30 yet," he answered after a glance at the clock. "Between 9:30'n the morning and half past eight't night, you can go wild, but they're watching." Eli pointed to a variety of tiny cameras settled in throughout the room, clearing up that there were fewer in the hallway. "If they're payin' any'ttention, they alread'know you're here. Still, it pro'ly wouldn't be smart to stay here until visiting hours're open. It'll get boring."

He hopped off the bed and took a look at Alecia. A closer look made him think she was kinda pretty. Eli's eyes flashed a bright green for a moment, something pulsing off his body, but when it faded nothing seemed to change despite the assuringly goofy grin. "C'mon, I'll get ya out. Just stay close." He looked to Kelson before leaving with the woman, and asked him not to lie to the guards; it'd get his ass kicked. He made sure to enunciate, too, just to piss him off a little.

"Th...y...re not all bad ....n. Some of ...m....r.......retty nice." Eli uttered to the girl after her comment regarding the guards. The comment, at the very least, was understandable from the amount of words within it that made sense. Regardless, Kelson didn't quite feel like he wanted to bother decoding the words that he didn't understand. The girl, on the other hand, had uttered something before Eli's comment, something in response to Kelson's own comment, but it was muttered, too quiet to understand. He had decided it was nothing quite so important to understand.

"Hmph. So.......ou guys seem pr....... laid.....ck." She began again. Kelson instantly tensed as she moved her position closer to the computer chair where Kelson was positioned. "I'm Alecia, by the w...........lecia Moore." Her steps came closer, until she was hovering far too close for comfort. The words coming from her mouth faded in and out vaguely, though most were understandable from Kelson's ears. Unfortunately, he was simply far too preoccupied with her motions, her close range. He - practically a shut in, himself, and hardly very social - just couldn't stand it. "I can manipulat.....rces and vector....nd stuff like that. Make......r fun parties."

What had she said she could do? Manipulate forces and vectors. While simple in words, the actual applications of which made her probably about three thousand times more terrifying. The fact that she was a mutant at all made her more terrifying! He could have sat around for hours thinking about the reasons why she was terrifying, and despite every ounce of sanity he had telling him that thinking about it was only going to make him more fearful, and at this point, he couldn't help but think of every single thing all at once, slowly leaning his body away from her until - with nary a warning - the girl leaned in, her arm tossed over his shoulder and pulled him in close, her cheek mere inches from his.

Kelson's eyes widened, and he had to backtrack to catch what exactly it was that she had said. Yes, this close, this nervous, the words passed by his ear with nary an impression, and he just barely caught a glimpse of her mouth moving to realize that she had said anything at all. What was it, what was it? "How about you two?" Oh shit.

"What can you do?" She reiterated the statement, and it seemed to verify that he'd guess what she'd said previously correctly. However, this statement seemed to stab directly at Kelson, her eyes boring into him despite a friendly expression.

"Can't really explain mine," Eli replied to her, and by the look of his body, he seemed to be chuckling about the thought. Still, even if Eli hadn't exactly mention what his ability was, it still had been implied that he had one, and that it was complicated. Today just kept getting worse and worse, didn't it? He could only imagine what his other roommate was going to be like.

He watched as the gazes turned towards him, awaiting his answer to the question, and absentmindedly dropped his hands from where they had been covering up the emblem on his shirt. "I have the astounding ability to be dealt the worst hand in the deck every. Single. Time." He finally uttered, not quite as loud as his typical speaking voice, and perhaps at the sound level of anyone else's speaking voice would be at. His eyes were wide, and he was trying to do anything he could to look anywhere aside from the two mutants in the room.

Finally releasing her grip on Kelson's shoulders with a chuckle and a smile, probably laughing at Kelson's pitiful, horrified state, she moved slightly away from him, and seemed to change to topic of conversation onto something else.

"Cool. Well, thanks," She uttered, leaning against the headboard of the single bed in the room. "I owe you two a big one for this."

If Kelson weren't shaking in his boots, he probably would have rolled his eyes at the comment. Owed them one? As if a criminal - and a mutant criminal at that - really could be counted on for a favor, especially if they owed it to a purebred. Sure, maybe she was still oblivious to the fact that Kelson was a purebred, but he'd dodged questions, sported expensive clothing, and had the physical capabilities of a chihuahua. If she wasn't suspicious of him being, as she had called them, "A mutant-hating, purebred asshole," then he really didn't know what to say about her mental state.

"Hey so, question. Are females not allowed around here or something?" She asked, suddenly changing the subject once more. Kelson supposed that he been the reason for her running and hiding in their room. He wondered why he hadn't thought of what the reason might have been earlier, perhaps when she'd first entered, but perhaps he had simply just been far too caught up with fear and nerves to appropriately think about what the situation had really entailed. And then, now that he thought of it, he didn't know any of the rules, actually. Hadn't that been a part of the warden's speech? Damnit.

"I don't remember at all, actually," Kelson muttered. More like he hadn't heard the rules at all.

"It's not even close to 9:30 yet," Eli interjected, offering a little light on the subject of the rules. "...tween 9:30...n th.....rning and half past eight..t....ight, you can go wild, but...ey're watchin..." Eli gave a gesture to the camera in the corner of the room. "If they're pa...n...ny......tention, they alre...d.....now you're....re. Still, it pr...ly wouldn...... b...smart to stay...ere unti...isiting hour...re....pen. It..l....et b....ing."

Oh god, could the slurring get any worse?! Kelson near gave up on the majority of the boy's words, and if he hadn't understood some of it - the part about girls only being allowed from nine thirty to what? Eight? - he probably would have disregarded the entire statement. Maybe, he contemplated, it wouldn't hurt just to talk to the guy about it. Maybe he wouldn't tell if Kelson told him that that kind of speech was so difficult for him to hear and make sense of? Oh god, the mere idea was sounding more and more idiotic. He couldn't tell this guy!! Kelson almost felt like the slurring was getting worse on purpose!!

Kelson watched as Eli hopped down from the bed and went closer to Alecia, seeming to study her for a quick moment before speaking again, moving towards the door. Presumably, he'd offered to help her on her way out of the boy's dormitory and back to her own. That was fine and Dandy for Kelson, of course, seeing as the less people, the better, in his opinion. Quickly, as the two were moving a bit closer to the door, Kelson made his way over to the dresser he'd placed his things in earlier, opening up the bottom drawer and pulling his ps-vita and headphones out from the drawer. Eli turned back, giving Kelson some hardy, surprisingly well-articulated advice not to lie to the guards, or whatever. Kelson hardly saw how the advice was worth the sudden articulation, but kind of hoped that it wasn't just a circumstantial thing.

Kelson nodded quietly, leaning against the dresser while he tore at the tangles mess that composed the wire of his headphones. He stared at them with wide eyes, almost pleading them to just leave the room already. The quickly she was gone, he figured, the less chance there was of her coming to the complete realization that he was a purebred, and the less chance there was that she'd do that... that thing again, pulling him in such close range. As if being here at all wasn't nearly bad enough, he had to deal with strangers touching him, too? Certainly something he could live without.

"Between 9:30'n the morning and half past eight't night, you can go wild, but they're watching." Alecia followed the older guy's—Eli, he said his name was—glance with her own, finding the clock on the wall.

9:30, huh? The time sounded somewhat familiar. Didn't that warden guy say something about it? Unfortunately for her, she wasn't exactly paying attention when his majesty was speaking to the neophytes during orientation. Oh well, no girls in before 9:30. Duly noted.

When Eli told her that the guards were probably aware of her location, she narrowed her eyes, sneaking a quick glance over at the door. Staying in here didn't feel like as brilliant a maneuver as it did several moments ago, but before she could decide if taking her chances running the halls was worth it, Eli hopped off the bed, landing gracefully in front of her.

Alecia raised an eyebrow, trying not to look too preturbed. He peered at her, eyes flashing a light green. The atmosphere in the room seemed to shift as a result. She tensed, becoming acutely aware of the proximity between her and this stranger, but the sensation passed as quickly as it had come. Something about him seemed off, but he didn't feel like a threat.

At least, not currently.

"C'mon, I'll get ya out. Just stay close." Eli said, moving towards the door. After a moment, she turned to follow. Better to move now than sit on her haunches and wait for the enemy. Opening the door, Eli turned to address his roommate, the one calling himself Kelson. Alecia turned too, giving the kid a final onceover before following the older male out the door.

Kelson. She smirked. The ability of being dealt "bad hands," huh.

This wouldn't be the last time she saw him.

Eli then led her down the hall at a slow and casual pace, as if there was nothing to worry about. Given his absentminded humming of a popular pop song, there may not have been. A guard approaching put her on guard, though—pun totally intended—but Eli set his arm out in front of her.

"The hell?" she almost hissed, looking down at the appendage before her, muttering as to not attract attention.

In his normal tone, Eli replied, "Chill out. They won't even know we exist until we're outside."

His guarantee was true, at least for the guard that just passed them by without even acknowledging them.

Alecia looked over her shoulder at the guard who had ignored them. He didn't so much as glance back in their direction. If the cameras had spotted them, the guard would've at least been alert, but he just strolled by as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"What'd you just do?" she asked, turning back to face Eli. Curiosity underpinned her tone.

"I told you: I just made us not exist to a few of the others for a little while. It doesn't work on the warden, though."

Was that right. Honestly, something about this kid just irked her. For one, she couldn't use her powers on the guards, so why could he? He also seemed to have a lot of information on this place, too, though she could swear she spotted him at that orientation crap.

Interesting.

"So," Eli started as they trotted down a flight of stairs, "why'd'ya hate purebreds so much?"

Alecia almost missed a step. "Hate? What makes you think I hate them?" She said, her response coming off as caustic.

"Well, you did say something about 'mutant-hating purebreds' chasing you."

Alecia glanced over at Eli before returning her gaze foward. "Was I not accurate?" Her tone was slightly sarcastic.

"Kelson was right that some of them aren't even purebred. They have to stand up to us somehow." The fact they all could have been immune to the inmates' powers passed his mind before, but he knew that it was someone or maybe some special tech making that possible. Rather, one of the guards he'd known years ago had been able to manipulate light. He must have gotten fired for cloaking himself and spying on the girls or something.

Alecia came to an abrupt halt, lips parted, her face the model of consternation. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"Stand up to us? Look around, kid. They're doing a pretty damn good job of that." She crossed her arms. "Have you even seen outside these walls? What they're doing to us?" Her voice was rapidly gaining octaves. Before she knew it, she was in a full-on rage. "The run down neighborhoods we're forced to live in? Their slaughtering of entire families with their synthetic fucking soldiers, while we're left to feed on the scraps of purebred society? Stand up to us?!" She thought of Mikey then. Of Scott, Eren, Michelle, Sophy, and every other mutant that tried to "stand up" for their own rights.

They had to be rolling in their graves.

"These fucks already have their boots on our god damned throats!"

"I have seen," he answered, his uncaring tone failing to... well, care. "It's the fact that most'f's jus'accepted it. We have the power, but we can't use it right, so we get mass murders and the purebreds can still oppress us'nopposed, because no one wants mass murders and stuff like that. Otherwise, the rest'f the world'd be safe, aside from scattered crimes in a first-world country, but isn't that how the world would have been without our powers?"

Alecia grimaced, fixing Eli with a cool steely glare. He'd stopped walking at about the same time she did, though he was a few paces further up the hall. Without breaking eye contact, she slowly closed the distance between them. She was beyond rage, her demeanor speaking to a more tranquil fury. Without warning, she gripped the kid by the collar, effortlessly lifting him off the ground with a single hand.

He didn't seem phased in the slightest.

"You speak of mass murder as if it were the purebred aristocracy being slaughtered in the streets," she uttered, her tone bitter and disparaging, her words scathing. "Don't you even care about your own kind? Don't you—"

Eli stopped her before she continued, acting as if he knew much more than he let on. "I didn't say anythin'of the sort. Mass murder hits everyone, mutant'r not. Purebreds are genetically stable, though, so they were able to take charge 'n' put the discrimination on mutants universally through stereotyping and mob mentality.

"I'm sayin'if't weren't f'people going crazy with power when it first appeared, mutants'll over the world wouldn't be in such terrible conditions."

Alecia remained completely silent, her wolfish scowl boring straight into his eyes, their faces mere centimeters apart. Despite her acrimony, she couldn't help but be impressed. It'd been a long time since she encountered a mutant that could stand up to her glare without pissing himself. Faces from her past forced their way into the forefront of her mind's eye. Friends. Family. Fellow gang members. All of them... freedom fighters, struck down in their prime.

Murdered. Why did mutant deaths not count? It wasn't fair.

Alecia sighed, breaking eye contact first. She was tired of being angry. Anger wouldn't solve the problem. Plus, she needed this kid to get back to her room. And she still owed him one.

Without further ado, Alecia released the handful of material that comprised the front of his shirt and began walking, shoving her hands into her pockets. She didn't bother to check and see if he was following.

"Naive," she said aloud, shaking her head. "Impudent. Foolish. Idiotic. Senseless. Juvenile." She punctuated each word with a footfall, continuing to mutter under her breath. After a moment, she could hear the patter of his footsteps behind her. Still muttering furiously, she looked ahead to see a blonde girl dolled up in makeup heading their way. From the look the girl was giving, Alecia could tell she could see them.

"Y'know," Eli began, moving to walk beside her, "you're kinda cute when you're pissed."