Mahmoud reclined in his chair, a puff of smoke from his cigar wafted in to the air as he awaited the reports from his informants. Mahmoud was a busy man, it took much time to maintain the secrecy and the fluidity of his organizations work. But these were not the reasons for his meeting today. There were other matter that Mahmoud had interest in. This informant was one of many who worked between the nations of the EU for Mamhoud, seeking out others that, like Mamoud himself, had certain powers. Powers that were of great interest to the crime lord.

"Mr. Nobakht, I belive I have some information that is of interest for you." said the informant, triumphantly reporting on his catch. "We have heard reports of a guy who hits up places in the EU, he robs places and when the cops come, place is frozen up. No one has been able to catch him, but I got someone tracking him and reporting back to me. If we're lucky we'll find him, but it might take a while; he never stays in one place understandably."

Mahmoud smiled and tossed some rubles at the Informant. "Do you have any idea where he might be at the moment?"

"Nowhere specific, but we suspect somewhere in Central Europe"

Mahmoud nodded his head, "You have done well"



Alessa's body shot up as she awoke, looking down to see she had fallen asleep studying again. She groaned before looking over to the clock and gasping. "Shit!" she screamed, grabbing for her backpack, only for her bags and homework to spill out all over the floor. Alessa groaned loudly before shambling to the floor to straighten out her papers. Once in order, Alessa bolted out the door, slamming it shut behind her as she sprinted out of the apartment complex and towards the campus halls. "Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck not again. He's going to kill me if I'm late again." she muttered to herself as she made her way thought the living wall of students and into the hall.

Archaeology class had already began, the professor in the middle of a lecture on the alchemical artifacts of Islamic Egypt. As the pointer made its way to a primitive distiller, Alessa tried to sneak in unnoticed in the back row. It didn't work.

"Ah, late again Miss Guillory?"

Alessa groaned as she hid her face behind her purple backpack in shame. Not again, not again. Maybe buying an alarm would be a good idea, assuming she didn't accidentally kill anyone when she tried to plug it in. Alessa tuned into the dissertation on the Muslim Chemists. Chemistry, ugh, how she hated chemistry. Too much math, too much dangerous chemicals. Archaeology was safe, and just her kind of thing.

Ra lifted up her eyepatch, looking at the mass amounts of scarring around where here should be. It was an ugly area of her face. And her eye had been damaged without any hope of repair. Stabbed and mutilated beyond belief. But, this wouldn't stop Ra from living life as best as she could. And with that she walked out of her dorm room, heading to the first class of the day she had.

---

Fa sat on his bed. His first class wouldn't start for another twenty minuets. So Fa had a hood five minuets before he would have to leave for it. He thought about his sister. Her sweet blue eyes and lilac hair. How they had played as children. But that had been years ago. And Fa doubted that Ra looked the same as she had the last time he had seen her. But for now Fa had to prepare for chemistry class. An ironic class for someone like Fa. Francium.

The smell of chlorine wafted into Chloe's nostrils as she sat at the edge of the large, rec-center pool that she'd just spent the last two hours swimming in. She used to love the smell, but now she wasn't so sure. Chlorine had been the smell that hung in the air after she killed that poor guy, who had stalked her through the darkness after the party. Half of her wanted to run straight to the police station and turn herself in, but the other half doubted the police would quite believe that she had killed a man with her breath.
She took her feet out of the pool and halfheartedly dried herself. Sitting at the pool and thinking about that night wouldn't help her get over anything. It was an accident. Just an accident, she repeated to herself mentally, but she couldn't help the relief that washed over her when the smell of the swimming pool finally faded to nothing.

Jan looked out at the New York sky line from his penthouse apartment enjoying his view as the sun reflected off the skyscrapers. He had enjoyed his time in Europe, but the banks were getting annoying with all the security measures that he had forced them to institute. Hopefully the American banks had not caught on yet to what had happened and were still easy enough to break into that he wouldn't need to reveal to much about himself to become rich.

He had been enjoying the currency exchange rate from Euros to the U.S. dollar which made him feel richer than he actually was, which meant that he had been blowing through his money faster then he probably should have. It was time for him to plan another heist which meant he needed a new crew as he had left his old one back in Germany. As he made his way from the living room back into his bedroom, he picked up his cell and shifted through his contacts until he found the number he was looking for.

"Yuri, listen I need you to put together a team for me in New York. I heard about someone that might be very interesting, I hear she is very flexible and can melt stuff. Track her down and recruit her along with maybe two more and of course don't forget to buy them all gas masks."

It was yet another day at the Stock Exchange, really. With a heritage dating back as early as 1585, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was unquestionably one of the world's foremost financial institutions. Though the methods had changed over the centuries, the simple facts were the same- fortunes made and lost within moments, the financial word divided between the quick and the dead.

Outwardly it was the same for Hannelore Buchholz, a middle-aged woman married to her career. She was, as always, seated between Schumann and Nguyen, having orders barked to her by her boss Weisser. Billions of Euros she would never see or touch passed tantalizingly close before her, untouchable despite being only inches away on her computer screen. Pantsuit, earpiece, screen, it was all there, all comfortingly familiar.

But today things were a bit different.

Unnoticed beneath her desk, Hannelore was practicing with her free hand. It had been two months since she had figured out what she could do with her entire body, and she had spent a couple nights afterwards at the old railyard, cautiously lifting coaches when she was sure no one was around. But she was unsure of the extent to which she could control her transformation, and so here she was today. Her left hand out of sight under her desk, she tried to will it to turn into titanium- her left hand and nothing else. Her educated, orderly mind insisted on these tests, it was good to know her limits and capabilities as she searched for an actual use for this strange ability.

She concentrated, eyes squinting, brow sweating. Perhaps too much.

"Buchholz!" Weisser, her supervisor, snapped. Despite his dreamy expression and wooly cardigan, the old man always knew when someone's attention lapsed, even momentarily.

She automatically spun around, looking guilty and apologetic, as she had done a hundred times before. But this time was different, of course. She miscalculated her turn.

And her hand tore through the wooden desk without difficulty, simply the horrendous sound of wood splintering and tearing. Guiltily, she looked down to her left hand, only briefly taking in Schumann's open mouth or Nguyen's subtler arched eyebrow. She expected to see metal.

But instead, her hand was only flesh and blood.

"Frau Buchholz," Weisser said after a long moment, staring at the massive hole in the wooden desk. "Perhaps you might like to return home for the remainder of the day?" It was a rare display of charity from the unforgiving old man, doubtlessly brought on simply by confusion.

Nevertheless, Hannelore took it. It would be smarter for her to practice at home, anyways. "Yes, Herr Weisser, perhaps I should," she said humbly, gathering up her few items as Nguyen and Schumann stared at the torn desk in confusion. She left quickly, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The confused silence was soon overtaken by the sound of typing once more, though. The quick and the dead.

Herme---Mercury

Herme threw her head back, a single tear running down her face as she spoke in a hurried, defeated tone, "Greg, how could you do this to me! I loved you more than anyone else in the world and you had to run to Samantha? Was there something she could give you that I couldn't? Is it something wrong with my face? It's something wrong with my face, isn't it?" The elderly man who stood before her wore a tight Hawaiian shirt that was just a little too form revealing, and the thoughts that were running through his head were probably thoughts of utter confusion.

"Ma'am do I know you?" At these words Herme drew her arm back and slapped him across the face.

"Gregory how dare you! You... you've already forgotten me? After all we went through together? You're a disgrace to the human race! Go dig your own grave!" With his face, now quite red the old man began to grow angrier with each passing second.

"Look lady, I came into this store to buy a tv. Leave me to shop at my leisure before I sue for assault and harassment, and frankly my name isn't even Greg, it's Richard Irelo Samuel Bighe. Leave-me-be"

Herme threw her head to the side, betrayal etched into every line on her face. "Greg... you're too cruel," she said with a whimper before rushing out of the store, sobbing as tears streamed down her face. She ran and ran, and when she was out of eye shot of the tv store instantly turned off the water works, and began chuckling to herself almost menacingly.

Herme stopped running as soon as she came to a chain link fence, standing eight feet high and blocking her pathway into the alley, it would deter the average person. However, she wasn't average. She grabbed the fence, pushed off the ground with her feet, bending her wrists at an impossible angle, she flung her legs up and vaulted backwards over the fence, landing smoothly on the other side. She looked back at the fence and noticed that the metal had begun to dissolve here she'd placed her hands. "A chain link fence not made of iron? When did this become a thing?" She said, twisting her head sideways, staring at it with a puzzled expression. She pulled out Richards phone and did a quick search on the internet. "Huh, so they started using aluminum for fences in some places in New York? Weird."

"So, we will come back tomorrow and finish up our chapter on Islamic civilization. Please read though the rest of chapter 11 by next class period." Professor Juliano told the class as each student lazily made their way to the door. Alessa followed suit, until a gruff noise found its way between the grunts and muttered thoughts of her fellow classmates. "Alessandra, could I have a word with you?"

Alessa cringed and turned her body back to her professor, the bald, middle aged man before her. Professor Juliano stood with proper, tight posture as usual. His attire was nothing special, a sweater, khaki slacks and leather shoes, his reddish face not looking angry as she expected, but rather taunting.

"I take it that the classroom is no longer the exciting world it used to be for you, Miss Guillory"

Alessa stammered out, "oh, no Professor Juliano...and buy no I mean "no, I love it just as much as usual"! Like, if we were speaking French I would say Si" Idiot! That mouthful was not uncommon for Alessa to blurt out. It was as if all that time in the world of books had made her forget how to talk to other humans.

Professor Juliano chuckled a bit, "Don't worry, Alessandra, I know the classroom is becoming a bore for you." The man reaching back for the papers on his podium. "You are a fine student, and I belive something out of the ordinary is just what you need to help stimulate your mind."

Professor Juliano handed Alessa the papers. They detailed a dig site sponsered by the University, unearthing fossils out in a mountain range.

"The school asked me to pick a student to do some hands on work and contribute to the project. You were my first pick." The professor explained, "It's out in North Carolina, near a place called Dark Ridge. You'd be leaving ASAP, with full exemption from all classes"

Alessa wasn't sure how to feel about this; being dropped off in the middle of nowhere, far from home on such short notice. But, that was the archaeologist experience. "I...I guess I will go. It's a great honor that you've chosen me for this project, Proffessor Juliano." The professor nodded, explaining that Alessa should get ready, she would be taking the next flight out to North Carolina the following morning.

The call finished with an almost forgotten little detail, there was an archaeological dig being conducted in some nearby caves by... the senator couldn't recall which school was doing the dig and had forgotten to write it down. Sarah raised and admonishing eyebrow at Tecumseh, knowing that he'd forgotten to do exactly that no less than fifteen times since she started working for him two weeks ago. And he'd probably forget the dig too if she wasn't careful to remind him later; so she added it to the week's to do list. Tecumseh ignored Sarah's raised eyebrow and thanked the senator for the heads up and wished him luck on the floor in the coming session. The Senator hung up shortly there after and Tecumseh drained the last of his coffee before asking Sarah what she thought of the call.

"Well, how do you think the call went?"

"I think it went as well as it could have. You and the senator are on pretty good terms and you aren't asking him to do anything that isn't already in his best interests to do. He should have no problems supporting your case before the senate and might even burn a few favors to get the vote swung in his favor. I wonder what they'll find in those caves."

"Mold, mildew, guano, bugs... what? You asked, I answered. You don't like stupid answers don't ask stupid questions. Besides, I'm sure you'll find out exactly what they are looking for while you're down there handing out pamphlets and doing some personal advertising for the Dark Ridge Resort. We can do that later this week, maybe we'll even get the team to move it's lodgings up to the resort."

Sarah sighed, another day wasted trying to garner customers from people who couldn't possibly afford the resort, but she was just the intern, what did she know? It hadn't occurred to her that her boss might have other reasons to keep an eye on the new arrivals. And if he had his way about it, she never would. Tecumseh began the next task, a necessary task, though often less pleasant than keeping up with the legalities of running a resort. This morning he was scheduled to mingle with the guests and host a casual brunch for the VIP members, before they went out and played golf or, less frequently, hiked the clearly marked trails. The ridge had several nice views to offer, and some of them could only be reached by hiking half an hour or more from the resort. Hiking off the trails was highly discouraged for "insurance" reasons. Insurance was part of it, but mostly Tecumseh didn't want people wandering around with out his knowing their general whereabouts. Tecumseh sighed, as he stepped out of the office building and walked over towards the main building's lobby where he could see several patrons waiting for him and already vying with each other for a chance to speak with him about this problem or that problem. Tecumseh briefly wished that he could watch these rich sobs walk the Trail of Tears, as his ancestors had been forced too, but he pushed the thought out of his mind as it would do nothing for him or his ancestors.

The call finished with an almost forgotten little detail, there was an archaeological dig being conducted in some nearby caves by... the senator couldn't recall which school was doing the dig and had forgotten to write it down. Sarah raised and admonishing eyebrow at Tecumseh, knowing that he'd forgotten to do exactly that no less than fifteen times since she started working for him two weeks ago. And he'd probably forget the dig too if she wasn't careful to remind him later; so she added it to the week's to do list. Tecumseh ignored Sarah's raised eyebrow and thanked the senator for the heads up and wished him luck on the floor in the coming session. The Senator hung up shortly there after and Tecumseh drained the last of his coffee before asking Sarah what she thought of the call.

"Well, how do you think the call went?"

"I think it went as well as it could have. You and the senator are on pretty good terms and you aren't asking him to do anything that isn't already in his best interests to do. He should have no problems supporting your case before the senate and might even burn a few favors to get the vote swung in his favor. I wonder what they'll find in those caves."

"Mold, mildew, guano, bugs... what? You asked, I answered. You don't like stupid answers don't ask stupid questions. Besides, I'm sure you'll find out exactly what they are looking for while you're down there handing out pamphlets and doing some personal advertising for the Dark Ridge Resort. We can do that later this week, maybe we'll even get the team to move it's lodgings up to the resort."

Sarah sighed, another day wasted trying to garner customers from people who couldn't possibly afford the resort, but she was just the intern, what did she know? It hadn't occurred to her that her boss might have other reasons to keep an eye on the new arrivals. And if he had his way about it, she never would. Tecumseh began the next task, a necessary task, though often less pleasant than keeping up with the legalities of running a resort. This morning he was scheduled to mingle with the guests and host a casual brunch for the VIP members, before they went out and played golf or, less frequently, hiked the clearly marked trails. The ridge had several nice views to offer, and some of them could only be reached by hiking half an hour or more from the resort. Hiking off the trails was highly discouraged for "insurance" reasons. Insurance was part of it, but mostly Tecumseh didn't want people wandering around with out his knowing their general whereabouts. Tecumseh sighed, as he stepped out of the office building and walked over towards the main building's lobby where he could see several patrons waiting for him and already vying with each other for a chance to speak with him about this problem or that problem. Tecumseh briefly wished that he could watch these rich sobs walk the Trail of Tears, as his ancestors had been forced too, but he pushed the thought out of his mind as it would do nothing for him or his ancestors.

Hey, this is the beginning for the characters right?

Jaden Thurston

A heavy sigh left the brown haired boy as he walked down the worn, cobblestoned sidewalk on his way to another day of work – monotonous as it was, he knew that a tiny bit of normalcy would be welcomed. A few screeching sounds of bikes passed him as he tugged at his scarf and trudged on the through the bitter cold of Oxford, England. Sometimes, he questioned why he had decided to leave America, yet he also supposed it meant doing more than just sitting there waiting for someone to come along and make another remark about how positively strange he was.

“Its not like I can do anything about it…stupid humans always jumping to conclusions.”

The chime of a doorbell was heard over head as he walked into the inviting warmth of the pub-café owned by a middle-aged man from the north of England. He was greeted by the scents of cooking food, fresh brewed teas, fire wood, alcohol – thought distinctly faint – and the sensation of being somewhere he felt comfortable in. he stepped behind a door next to the bar and shrugged off his coat, scarf, and gloves and put on the black apron that was given to them alongside the typical uniform of a black vest, tie, slacks, shoes, and a white button down shirt. Running a hand through his hair Jaden looked into the small mirror at the hooks. Pale skin, messy dark brown hair with flecks of pale chocolate. The last thing he stared back at were his own eyes.

They were dark, lifeless and hard iron gray. A color he knew to well. He glanced at the thin chain and metal marble around his neck that rested against his tie and puffed out his cheeks before turning on his heel and walking out the door. He saw customers coming in and felt himself go into the same reaction he did every day –

“Hello! Welcome to Midnight Pub and Café! How can I help you this morning?”

That fake, insulting, and far-to sweet smile and voice he used while in the presence of their customers was just something he did to keep people from asking – no one needed to know what he was really like, nor how he tended to keep his distance for good reasons and went through a great deal of trouble to do so. He took the orders and went up to the window to give it to the chef who greeted him in his normal kind tone – the man’s slightly red face hidden behind a walrus mustache and a white chef’s hat sat atop his head. He was on in his years and grandfatherly in his attitude towards everyone, but that didn’t change how Jaden felt.

Why did he try so hard to make things well….normal? he wasn’t, none of the ones like him were – they were freaks, and when normal humans found out they were treated like demons. He remembered, the kids in his high school saw him use his power when he had just turned fourteen – they had taunted him at first, then they were cruel, bullying him, and even occasionally beating him up. Finally he retaliated and ultimately….word began to spread a bit and the boys who tormented him ended up either safe minus a few scratches or like the only one who hadn’t been so lucky – receiving a lung made of the very thing that had hurt him.

“Fe huh…..Iron….an element that exists in everything….why was I cursed with it?”

The doorbell rang and he sighed before looking at the person who came in with another false smile and a kind voice. He could be nice if he chose to, but most of the time when he encountered people he only felt one thing – distain. They really didn’t care, and they really didn’t know what was walking past them either. Jaden considered himself anything but a human being at this point in his life and he was ready for all his efforts to pay off – he’d never met anyone like him. With a sigh he spent his hours picking up and taking orders back and forth until they finally let him off for break. By then, he was prepared to commit murder.

“Again…why did I get this? Who did I piss off in a past life?”

"Watch where you put that bag, man; it's got all the fruit in it!"
"Sorry, Fargus! Hey, when's your brother going to get here?"
"He'll get here when he gets here. Listen, I want you guys to take it easy from now on. We got ourselves a second chance, and I sure as hell don't want to screw it up."
"Sure thing, boss! Hey, you think the cops're still after us?"
"Nah! The docs old Lo-Hat gave us were rock solid! Speaking of which, both of you are now officially Oberschmidts, got it? Having a family member in America's gonna make the immigration process a hell of a lot easier, and I don't want either of you screwing it up! Gunther, that includes you!"
"You got it, boss! Gunther Oberschmidt doesn't sound too hot, but I think I can manage."
"Good! Peaches, put away the food. I'm gonna try and relax before my doctor's appointment. I'm gonna get this pain all over my ribs checked out."

Fargus Oberschmidt staggered down to the impromptu living room he had made out of the three-room studio he and his gang had rented. The Smilies were long-gone, and now the only thing left was to pick up the scraps. Fargus turned on the TV, and dozed off as the dull tones of the local news echoed through the apartment's paper-thin walls.
"In other news, police are still investigating the gas leak that had claimed one life just this morning. Authorities say that chlorine was used, and suspect a broken pool filter as the cause."

3:45pm – Oxford, England: Midnight Pub & Café

“Hey did you hear about that bank robber?” the chattery character Mason stated as he looked to the iron gray eyes of his co-worker.

“Oh him? Yea kind of…” he took a sip of the tea that had been given him and felt himself restrain a wince. It tasted weak.

“They said that everything in his heists were frozen! Do you think he used some kind of chemical?” Jaden frowned when the curvy blonde barista Kelsie walked over.

“Frozen over? Really? What could cause that?” asked Mason.

Jaden felt himself narrow his eyes. Was it possible that someone was out there like him? He glanced at the rough iron cup sitting at the middle of the table in questioning before watching the object slightly indent. He sighed not liking the lack of control he had on his abilities yet. Apparently Iron was as stubborn as a mule.

“Nitrogen would be the most likely case – but someone who touches it would die because it freezes and destroys what it touches,” he said in a half-bored tone.

“Really? Do you think he figured out how to use it?” Jaden glanced at Kelsie.

“I guess….its been used in science and in warfare for years….its on the periodic table remember?” the two nodded.

“Why aren’t you in school Jaden? Your so smart!” Kelsie stated with a giggle.

“Yea….I bet you could get into one of the preparatory schools with ease.” Jaden sighed and finished the cup of tea.

“I don’t want people gawking at me….besides….I prefer the least bit of interaction with humans as possible….”

The two of them he knew were looking at him in questioning. They didn’t know what he was, none of the people he was around had even an inkling of what it was like though – why should they? They were normal, had boring average lives, and didn’t have to worry about accidently turning their teeth or nails into a metal without maintaining focus or over consuming an element that could potentially make them weak and sickly. Jaden picked up the dishes on the table next to them and glanced at their staring eyes.

“You aren’t that weird…” Jaden bristled visibly.

“Not….that….weird….what the HELL!” he rounded on the other and went rigid as he felt a chilling slide of cold metal run up his arm. A bracelet made of iron – purely and enough for him to use to defend himself alongside the marble on his necklace…just in case. But this wasn’t a dangerous threat – it was a co-worker who hadn’t meant to make him feel irritated….he was just being his normal self but…this. Jaden shivered as he felt the bracelet form back to normal and took a deep breath.

“S-Sorry…I didn’t meant to make you mad…” Jaden glanced at the boy.

“Its fine…I don’t want people asking questions of why I’m so far from America….its no ones business….thanks for the idea but I’d rather not crowd myself amongst human beings.” Kelsie frowned as he turned back to putting items on the tray and getting things set up for their evening crowd.

“Don’t talk like you’re different from us,” she said.

“Am I like you?” Mason came to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He tensed and glanced at the other.

“Your human too – don’t talk like you aren’t,” he stated with a smile.

“I’m human too…sure…” he walked away and looked down as he entered the back room and began putting the dishes into the sink for their washer Timmy to start on them when he got back from his last class of the day at New College Academy.

“And your fools for thinking that.”

Mason and Kelsie were nice, they were a fairly good description of how humans were supposed to be. Kind, honest, hardworking, sympathetic, and innocent to the reality of the world – how dumb could they be though? Him? Human? Jaden shook his head. What had made them believe he was friends with them? True, he was polite – but he didn’t want friends. His at one point best friend and a girl he had honestly had quite the crush on Rissa Harper had seen what he’d done before he’d vanished from America and the look on her face was nothing short of disgust.

“You’re a monster! Stay away from me!”

He had realized so quickly that day that she was right – himself and anyone else out there in the world who had these powers…whatever they may be…were monsters. Why had he even bothered to defend himself? Why hadn’t he just let those guys kill him? Was it because of Rissa? He sighed as
he smiled solemly and sighed.

“Monster….demon….inhuman…..why do I have the title of Guardian then? Rissa didn’t think that…and I’m not much of a guardian if I keep being so distant from people…”

“God your emo! Cheer up!” he swung around to see Kelsie standing there with a smile.

“What are you doing? We need to go back out in a minute for the dinner crowd!” he declared this and she stepped forward.

“Well I….wanted to make sure you were okay because of what you said earlier.” Jaden stared momentarily.

“I’m fine…just tired….you both know how odd I can be when I’m tired,” he answered this and she came a little closer.

“I’m glad…now…are you ready to face the dinner crowd?” Jade looked her over and nodded slowly. The girl turned and looked to him with crystal blue eyes sparkling.

“Sure…oh and by the way….” He stepped ahead of her.

“What?” she asked with a smile.

“You brew your tea far to weak – what kind of English girl are you?” with that he stepped out.

“JADEN I’M IRISH! YOU KNOW THAT!” She said as she came out whining and fussing at him as he grabbed a pitcher of ice water and looked at Mason.

“Calm your girlfriend down.” The ginger sputtered at the statement.

“G-G-GIRLFRIEND? I’ll have you know that we’re….” Jaden went to move the pitcher and then picked up the broom to sweep a bit.

“Uhuh….I’ll believe that when I don’t see you two woven together under a streetlight when I go out for a walk in the evenings,” he said giving
them a bland expression as their faces went blood red.

“Jaden…you scare me sometimes.” He glanced to the side from under his bangs and grinned.

“Then be afraid….a good dosage of fear is healthy,” he said. Mason gulped.

“Yup….scary.”

“More than you hopefully will ever know.”

(I’m lost on what to post sooo…)
Midnight Pub and Café, 4:15 PM
"Oh, you can't be serious, Aura!" Two young girls stood on the sidewalk outside of a small, quaint-looking cafe. "I am NOT going in there, not when there are so many people around!" The smaller of the two said, lightly shoving her older sister.
"Of course I'm serious, Aria. It's just a cafe. And I heard a rumor that someone "strange" works here, someone who has a similar problem to us." The older one giggled lightly, hooking her elbow through her sister's arm and pulling her into the cafe.
Their arrival was heralded by a tinkling bell. Squinting around the interior of the cafe, for it was cozily lit, unlike the bright sunlight outside, the girls found an empty table by the windows and sat down.
Poor Aria. The girl was obviously nervous, clutching at the plain glass vial that hung on a silver chain around her neck. She was trembling, her mouth set in a tight line.
"Aria, calm down. There's nothing wrong with you as far as the world can see. You're just a really small girl out for lunch with her only-slightly-bigger older sister." Aura said softly, keeping her voice down.
Aria met her sister's blue-green eyes, her pale blue ones really wide and panicked. "But everything here is wooden and if I lose control..."
Aura sighed heavily. "The more you panic the more likely you are to set things on fire. Just calm down and everything will be fine."
Aria grumbled. “Easy for you to say. You levitated the clothes right off of--” Aura clapped her hand over her sister’s mouth.
“I’ll go to jail if someone hears about that!” she whispered fiercely. Aria rolled her eyes and licked Aura’s hand. With a yelp she let go.
“And I won’t go to jail for burning those three girls?” Aria asked. Her eyes glittered with tears over her worst mistake
Again Aura sighed. Her sister kept harping on that. “It was one mistake. It was an accident. Mine was not an accident. I did it deliberately to keep them from hurting me again.” She looked over Aria’s shoulder, seeing several of the other customers staring at them. “Okay, change subjects. Music class.”
“Music class. Right” Aria’s eyes flashed with fear and pride in equal measure. “Well, I got the Wind solo.”
Aura’s eyes filled with happiness. Aria had been practicing for months to get a solo, the Wind Princess in their high school’s original play, “The Four Elements.” Kind of ironic, actually, but… No, don’t think about it, Aura, or you’ll trigger something.
Aura forced nonchalance. “Well, you’re the only girl in the class who can hit the high C more than a quarter of the time. And you’re definitely the only one who can hit the E at all.” She remembered when the two of them had tried out for choir, the teacher had assessed their ranges. He’d stopped at high C and Aria had just kept going and going, up almost a full octave above that. “And you are the lightest element, after all. Stands to reason you’d be able to sing up in the rafters like the solo requires.”
Aria blushed. “What about you? I was rather shocked that you’d gotten Fire queen, and not me. I’d have thought you’d have been air and I’d have been fire, all things considered.” The bitterness was back.
Oh, Aria. You’re too guilty over something you have no control over. “Right, but you can’t sing anywhere below the staff. And I have better control when I’m jumping from one register to the other.”
“I suppose that’s true.” Idly Aria twirled her clear vial necklace, the one filled with pure hydrogen. As a memento more than anything, and certainly not useful in anything. She exhaled more than enough hydrogen to suit her purposes and light everything on fire if she needed to—Nope. Not thinking about it, Aria. Not thinking about it or you’ll explode.
She turned to Aura again. “I wonder where the waiter or waitress is? We’ve been here about ten minutes by now.”
Aura shrugged, then ruffled her hair in an annoying way. “And you haven’t even smoldered yet. You’re doing awesomely.”
Aria hissed at her sister, but good-naturedly. Then she turned to look out the window and see the world going by.

Chloe felt a little uneasy walking around alone after the "incident", but it was very much doable, since for one thing, it was still light out, and for another she was completely certain that she would be able to incapacitate any attackers. Hopefully if there were to be a next time she wouldn't exhale a lethal amount of gas on anyone. She was at a loss of where to go, however. There wasn't much waiting for her at the little apartment she was currently residing in, although maybe she could order a pizza...
She almost passed the sign but caught herself and stopped walking. Midnight Pub and Café. She had never been to the establishment before, but she'd seen it sometimes while walking home. At some point in the past she had decided to make a point of trying it out one day, but until now, she'd simply never gotten around to it.
She followed two teenage girls inside and took a seat at a booth, wondering whether to order an alcoholic beverage or not.

4:30pm – Midnight Pub & Café

The doorbell had rung twice now. Jaden had thought nothing of it and then he felt a small chill go up his spine and looked at the two girls sitting at the window. One was impossibly tiny and the other only a tad bit bigger – both of them seemed like phantoms, their hair defying gravity and their eyes blue. It was odd but he caught a strange sensation when he saw them. He huffed and took two menus over and cleared his throat as he looked at the two of them and gave his typical smile.

“Hello, welcome to the Midnight Pub and Café….my name is Jaden is there anything I can do for you today?” just as he said it the scent of
chlorine entered the room and his hair stood on end almost.

His eyes locked with that of a girl who had the greenest eyes he’d ever seen and momentarily he felt a twinge of discomfort in her looks before smiling and then he turned his attention back to the girls at hand. Something was wrong with them. He slightly listened to them and all the while kept an eye on the girl off to the side who had set just a table down from the one he was currently at – why were they sitting in his section. He took a deep breath and handed the green eyed girl a menu and gave her a kind smile.

“I’ll also be your waiter today miss – my name is Jaden, let me know if there’s anything I can get for you.”

They glanced to one another and Jaden smiled as he left them to decide and get the girls their drinks. As he did a sensation of foreboding came to him. What was up with them? There were magnetic fields roaring in different directions and making his entire body tense – he needed to focus on his job, not three girls who were at current freaking him out. And then it got his attention, but no….they couldn’t be….surely not.

“They aren’t…there’s no way four of us would converge in one spot….I’ll just have to wait and see…should I listen to what they’re talking about? Yes, if they’re like me this could be bad…”

He took the drinks to the tables and looked at the two small girls. He smiled and gave them to them and then excused himself to get the drink of the green eyed girl. As he dashed behind the counter he felt himself bristle – they were not normal people. Something was wrong. He glanced towards them and narrowed his eyes.

“I am going to find out about this.”

As he stood there though, the two sisters were watching him intently - keeping a look out for his behavior. The green eyed girl nervously eyeing him and the two siblings as well.

Aria took one look at their waiter, at the metal pendant and at the bizarre metallic shade of his eyes, and felt a shudder run through her. She looked sidelong at Aura, knowing that she saw it too. Aura kicked her lightly under the table, a silent warning to behave herself.
"Why did we decide this was a good idea?" Aria whispered, her already high voice shifting up another full octave. "Why didn't you listen to me?"
"Because I thought it was just social anxiety, you idiot! If I'd have known... I thought it was just a rumor! I didn't expect it to be true!" Because there was no mistaking that haunted look in the boy's dark-gray eyes. Or the iron bangle bracelet, how it had thickened just a tiny bit, extending up his arm, once he'd laid eyes on them.
Seeing the girl with the brilliant green eyes, catching the scent of chlorine on the air, Aura stiffened slightly in her seat, her hands going up into a defensive position automatically. Aria saw it and her eyes went wide, feeling a warm sensation in her fingers. Several of the normal people around them started talking loudly in unusually high-pitched voices; one started gasping like there was no air in the room. One spark and the room could quite possibly go up in flames. Aura shut her eyes tightly, taking a shuddering breath in; so did Aria.
"Get it together, get it together get it together." Aria whispered. Still that warmth built in her hands the way it always did when she was stressed. "No no no, Aria. No." She whispered, out loud. Don't you even, Aria, because if you do all these people will die.
When the boy brought her drink Aria grabbed for her cup, grabbing a handful of ice cubes and gripping them so tightly that her knuckles went white, sighing in relief as the melting ice eased the almost-painful heat in her fingertips.
Aura was trembling too, her already pale skin gone bone-white. "Aria, are you okay?" she whispered. "God, why are we so jittery at the idea of this?"
"I have no idea, but I just about blew the whole place up and I'm terrified and trying to focus so hard that I don't think I could eat even if I tried right now." Aria whispered, grabbing another handful of ice out of her cup. Most of the people in the room had quit talking with such high-pitched voices, except for Aura. Hers was still squeaky, revealing how stressed she was.
"I think the woman behind us is one too... She smells like chlorine and has eyes that are too green to be natural."
"Or she's wearing contacts and just came from open swim."
"Open swim isn't until 5:30, Aria. The swim team has practice before then and she looks too old to be on the USA team."
"Okay, I'm terrified, and I'm trying to delude myself into calming down before I spark and blow up all the hydrogen that I'm sweating right now. I don't want to die in a fireball before I finish high school."
"Sheesh, fine. But don't you think we should ask them about it?"
"Maybe we should go outside for that conversation, or I guarantee that I will blow something up out of fear."
"Alright. You ask. Oh look, here he comes."
When the boy came over again, Aria flashed him a very small, very nervous smile. "E-excuse me, Jaden? I... I was w-wondering if... when... Oh dear... um... c-could we m-m-maybe go t-t-talk out-outside for a m-moment? w-w-when you're d-done with w-work, of c-course." Wincing at her own stuttering and how terribly high-pitched her voice was, she fell silent lest she babble any more than she already had.

Midnight Pub & Café: 4:57pm

"I suppose...is there a problem?" he listened to her stuttery reply and sighed.

"Well you see we um...." he glanced at the pixie of a girl on her other side and nodded.

"Alright then, I'll see you at the end of my shift at six-thirty sharp."

Jaden left before the girl could answer. What did he just agree too? Was he insane? shaking his head he went about serving their meals and kept a close eye on the two girls as they went about trying to keep their obvious nervous state toned down. He knew without a question that the girls were going to be troublesome. While he went into the area behind the bar to assist Mason as Kelsie worked the floor he heard the muffled stutter of the tiny girl and felt himself momentarily grumble as he cleaned glasses and kept looking at the clock - it read 5:24pm in sharp red as he tried to keep himself at peace - what peace was there for him though? The two fairy-typed girls, windswept, ghostly and looking like they suited a child's story, the green eyed young woman who made him cringe not because she wasn't beautiful - because she most definitely was - but it was that ghastly scent of chlorine.

"You have those two girls all a twitter! I knew you were a lady killer!" Mason said. Sometimes, he wanted to hit the other teen - with an Iron clad fist.

"If you attempt to state that I should ask them both out - save it. The elder one requested that I meet them after my shift to discuss something." Jaden put up the glass he was cleaning as the bangle grew colder and widened a few inches. God what was he doing?

"Oh? Did they like what they saw?" he looked at Mason with a deadpanned stare.

"People like you make me want to commit heinous crimes against humanity," he said.

“Ouch…” Jaden shot him another look as he locked eyes with that of the tiniest girl and frowned.

“This isn’t right.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but from time to time he had hoped that someone in the world was like him – now that he was potentially going to meet someone like him though…he was uncomfortable and made him cringe and his insides quake. What did they want? Who were they? Why were they here? So many questions, and he didn’t like it. He sighed and looked at the clock again.

“Twenty minutes….and then hell descends upon me…”
Without much question, those twenty minutes would go by quickly and then he wouldn’t have an excuse and because of that he half-prayed that his boss would ask him to close up – if he was lucky he’d have the place to discuss this that wasn’t where passers by could over hear them.

“Don’t look so severe….those girls will never go on a date with you if you look like you’re the most sour person in the world,” said Mason. Jaden felt himself bristle.

“I want to commit homicide…” the other flinched.

“Sorry I said anything….you sure are in a bitter mood,” he told him. Jaden glanced at the three females.

“No….not bitter….just….awaiting some unfathomable trouble.”

“Huh?” he shook his head.

“Nevermind….my shift ends in fifteen minutes.”

Chloe decided to order some wine and a meal, but she couldn't help overhearing the two girls by the window as she waited. It wasn't polite to eavesdrop, she knew, but it was by no means a conscious decision. She caught snippets of a squeaky voice mentioning that she nearly blew the place up. What on Earth? When she heard one of the girls mention that her eyes were too green to be natural, she felt a twinge of irritation and turned her head to give a sharp retort to that. However, their conversation had already continued and was really peaking Chloe's interest, so she simply turned back around, twiddled her thumbs and listened.

When one of them had finished a stuttered request to speak to the waiter (whose presence unnerved her as much as the girls for some unknown reason) and the young man had gone, she turned yet again. Her eyebrows were knotted together in a distinctive expression of worry, and she asked awkwardly, "Is everything, er...okay?" She wanted to ask why anyone would sweat hydrogen unless it was in the form of water, but she held herself back.

Aura let out a pent-up breath. "Well, that could have been worse." she said, until she realized just how badly her sister's hair was floofing up. "Aria, calm down, calm down, we'll be fine. Fifteen minutes and then it will all be over." She smoothed Aria's hair down, giggling slightly even as her own fluffed up.
"But I was tall for a second! As long as my hair is I was almost average height, there for a moment!" Aria whispered, unable to mask the trembling in her voice as the boy locked eyes with her. Her own went very wide with fear and shock and she gasped, scrambling for something to say, anything to say in that moment, something to do with her hands to give her an excuse to look away. How long she sat like that she didn't know.
"Aria? Ari? Aaaari. Earth to Ari." Aura waved a hand in front of her sister's face and the spell was broken. Aria quickly averted her eyes. "I was saying, you should try to eat something. You look like you're about to pass out. At least drink some water. We've got ten minutes and then we'll get some answers."
Aria picked up her water glass with trembling hands, only to sit bolt upright and nearly drop it as she heard the quiet question from behind her. She carefully set her water down and turned to Chloe, who was sitting behind them, and tried not to stare at the woman's brilliant green eyes. "Y-yes ma'am... E-everything's f-fine..." Even though she leaked enough hydrogen at that moment that the person sitting in the booth opposite them started coughing and hacking. Gritting her teeth she forced herself to calm down. Big deep breaths, contain the gas in a bubble of calm. The person across from her quit sounding like he was dying, though he still wheezed some. She opened her eyes and smiled a tad forcedly at Chloe. "I-I'm fine. I've just... just got a headache." A terribly lame excuse.