The sound of trumpets rang throughout the whole small town of Miss. Dawson's Home for the Truly Gifted, its volume so loud it was sure to wake the deepest of deep sleepers. After the song played out till the end a voice came on the speakers, a happy cheerful voice of a younger woman though was definitely older but not yet middle aged.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome to another day at your new home. Food is being served now at the mall, so hurry over there before it gets cold. Also, jobs start at eleven thirty after lunch and end at dinner time at six thirty. Please be dressed for your jobs and ready to work, as there will be no breaks at all. Have a wonderful day everyone!" The woman said before the speakers shut off. Miss. Dawson took a deep breath in and out, taking a gulp of her strong dark roast coffee and letting out a content sigh.

Her long red hair concealed her face for the most part so no one could see it clearly, her green eyes staring at her monitor of her home. This beautiful place was all hers, yet she could never enjoy it. No, she had to stay down in her secured underground base in order to monitor everyone and keep from being found out. If they had a chance to kill her, she knew that they would in a heart beat. So Miss. Dawson stayed in her comfy computer chair, eating whatever she pleased and drinking coffee to stay awake. Honestly, she hadn't slept in years, which luckily her body could take thanks to her powers but it was starting to take a toll on her.

She was strong, stronger than one could imagine, but her powers were weakening little by little. She knew she would have to rest at some point, but luckily she was skilled enough to keep the force field running while she did so. She took another gulp of her coffee, staring at everyone as she took them all in. Some were older, some were younger, and some were in between. But either way each one was unique and was truly.... Gifted.

---

Artemis Reed woke up as she usually did in her soft bed, knowing now that it was better than sleeping on a cement floor. She had spent three months being experimented on and being cramped in a tight dirty cell, so from that this was a definite upgrade though honestly she wanted to go home. She didn't tell her sister, but she missed her mom and dad, she missed her home, and she missed just being able to laze around all day in her cat form. Artemis stayed silent as she rubbed her eyes and stretched, deciding to get to the grub before the pickings got slim.

She sluggishly made her way to the bathroom, yawning as she combed out her semi-matted curly hair and put on just a touch of mascara and lip gloss. She pulled on her usual attire, which consisted of her hoody with the fur on top, a small corset tube top and het short shorts. She could get cold or hot extremely easily, so she would keep on her hoody unless she got too hot. She headed out to the fields first, counting the cows, pigs and chickens to make sure none had gotten out. Once she was satisfied she headed to the mall, wondering whether to get pancakes or crapes.

---

Persephone Reed had been up long before the morning call on the speaker, tending to her garden as she always did. After all, she was in charge of the produce, she couldn't let it die or get eaten by bugs. She'd get into major trouble if she did, and Persephone knew if she did get into trouble she may not be able to protect her sister if she got into any trouble, and she was not about to let that happen again. Persephone started to hum as she decided whether to grow cucumbers or tomatoes next to the squash, and whether or not to place the potatoes next to the onions or put the carrots there instead.

Oh, and she couldn't forget about the fruits, she would have to go to the orchard later on and see how everything was doing. She smiled contently, happy living here until the time arose that they were able to escape.

Persephone did miss her home and her parents, but she knew that ever going back there even if they did get out just wasn't an option, no matter how much she wished it was. And she would stay strong for her sister, as they needed each other and she was the eldest, so she was the back bone and always would be, and she had accepted that fate long ago. Persephone could feel someone's eyes on her, but decided it was just her imagination, going back to deciding where to place everything before she would create them.

Monica's eyes opened slowly as the sound of trumpets rang through the air. A rather loud groan escaping her lips as she got up and started getting dressed. Throwing on her normal clothes a black tank top with a button up red shirt over it, and a pair of blue jean shorts. She pulled her brown hair up, a braided strand hanging down lose from her ponytail in her face. She rolled her eyes going into her kitchen, as the voice came over the speakers.

How the hell could that woman be so cheery every morning? It was all she could do not to set someone on fire every time she heard Dawson's voice. Still this was a better house that she had grown up it. At least here she was about to be around other people, to have people that appreciated her gift. They were always happy when she put out the fires they created. Which in its way was slightly bitter sweet, seeing that was the reason she was found out.

Her food being warm wasn't one of her biggest worries, after all it was rather easy and quick for her to warm it back up. Grabbing a bottle of milk she had gotten at the mall, she poured two saucers of milk for her cats. She took the time to love on Ember and Nightshade a little bit, before heading out towards the mall.

---

Zaniel was already up and getting dressed when the morning trumpets started playing, he looked toward the window in his room frowning. He made a flicking motion with his hand the shadow of his dark room covering the window, muffling the sound from outside. He could still hear her voice but it wasn't loud enough to randle his brain anymore. Zan didn't really hate Dawson for trapping him here, here he had a place to sleep and food to eat. If anything he hated her because she was annoying. No one wanted to wake up to that voice every day!

He headed out to the garden instead of to the mall like everyone else. He honestly didn't care about the food, never really hungry in the morning in the first place. Seeing that Persephone had already beaten him to the garden he smiled a bit. Every morning he tried to beat her there, still she was always a step ahead of him. It was almost like she either slept in her clothes for the next day or maybe she didn't sleep at all.

He shook his head before walking up behind her, hearing the soft humming as he did. Zaniel concentrated a bit, making a shadow being harder to do without any shade. The shadow going above the garden and blocking the sun from hitting the plants around Persephone and himself. "Good morning Persephone, you're looking lovely today." He said smirking down at her a little bit.

Jace woke up at the sound of the trumpets, groaning as his ear drums were pierced for probably the four-hundredth time he'd been at Miss. Dawson's Home for the Truly Gifted, and got up. He looked down at his arm as he stood and shook his head, his skin had taken on a charcoal-colored, scaly texture again. "Ugh, the snake dream again, great." He quickly dispelled the mimicry of a snake his body had attempted while he was dreaming, used to the strange transformations by now.

He started his day like any other, raiding his closet for a presentable suit first and then getting dressed as Gallus awoke on his perch, also known as the bed's headboard. "'Morning, Jace." The parrot began.

Jace acknowledged the bird a moment later as he buttoned up his shirt. "'Mornin'." A simple statement, yes, but it got the point across. A nearly-botched surgery the previous day meant he was working the bar tonight, and left him in no mood for idle chit-chat today. He thought it pointless, he couldn't legally serve alcohol, so he was restricted to handing out hastily made sandwiches and the rare soft drink in the evening rush. Worst of all, it was a Friday. If you messed up in a huge way or put someone's life at risk, there were few punishments more severe than the graveyard shift at the bar on a Friday.

He made his way down to the mall with Gallus on his shoulder, looking as if he'd just fallen asleep as the trumpets had gone off.

---

Aaron woke grumpily to the sweet sound of trumpets blaring over a loudspeaker. "Oh piss off, dammit!" He rolled onto his side, covering his head with a pillow, and decided around five minutes later he couldn't fall back asleep, despite the comfortable bed and fluffy pillows that surrounded him. He might have a significantly better life than he had just a few weeks ago, but this place was a cage. A gilded cage, but a cage nonetheless. So he got out of bed, a couple sparks of electricity jumping between his fingertips. Nerves waking back up, he concluded, as he had managed to fall asleep on his hand.

The made his way to his closet and pulled out a pair of jeans, some socks and a t-shirt, and got dressed as if an unwanted guest was in the room, having just caught him in his underwear. He'd met most of the other freaks but still hadn't been given a job to do for some reason. Maybe it was his mischievous nature that had kept any administrator from approaching him with a task, but he didn't care. The longer he could get away with doing absolutely nothing, the better.

He headed out of the apartment complex and down to the mall, wondering if he could get away with eating a sausage within striking range of Artemis... not his greatest idea, but he could defend himself if something happened. Plenty of tigers had been struck by lightning by pure coincidence before, right? ...Right?

Silas woke slowly, despite the trumpets. He's had worse wake-up calls than that. His body still wasn't back to good condition, guess two weeks aren't enough to recover from months of experimentation in a lab. When he got here, he was in such a bad condition that he couldn't stand up by himself without a lot of effort, being loopy from drugs like anesthetics didn't help, and he had spent the first few days in the infirmary. Every day since then he's had his own apartment and proceeded on the slow road to recovery, at least physically.

He heard his neighbor doing her stuff before leaving, and he finally got up and got ready himself. Taking a shower and getting dressed, he walked out and looked at his watch. He was going to go to the gym, but not yet, and instead decided to head to the orchard. Outside he passed a couple people by, offering simple "Hi's" to them as he walked,really one of the few words he said to anyone here. After a short bit of walking he was in the orchard, grabbing an apple and, after checking it over, sitting down against one and eating. He didn't have much of an appetite this morning.

Was this supposed to be a punishment?

Lyra held her teacup to her mouth and took a dainty sip of the grape soda within. The lake was beautiful; the water sparkled in the sunlight and the grass seemed so green along its banks.

The weird people who had put her to sleep and delivered her here had been looking at her as if she were a monster. She had expected to be strapped to a hospital bed or something, not put in a place like this. Yes, it was a cage, but it was a far larger cage than the one she'd lived most of her life in. She'd only been here a day, but she already knew it was going to be more fun here than it had ever been at home.

As she laid on her blanket by the lakeside, head propped up by her arms, she kicked her feet back and forth, enjoying the sensation of her flip-flops bouncing this way and that. She had chosen a sky blue sundress for her first outing, and she found it just perfect. No one had bothered her all day long, even though she looked so pretty! She could only suppose being hit on in real life wasn't quite like on TV. Oh well! There would be plenty of time to play around later. She still had her abilities, after all. She wasn't supposed to use them, but in a place like this, who was really going to stop her?

The memory of being stung by one of those tranquilizer darts made her wince.

Lyra shifted until she was sitting cross-legged on her blanket and carefully poured more grape soda from her teapot into her empty cup. For now, there was no need to worry about being attacked again - no one here had come to hate her yet. For the moment, she was blissfully alone.

Jack heard the morning racket from behind his shut eyes causing him to mumble incoherently while he decided if staying inside was worth the hell he'd get later for it. It took a couple minutes before he relented and started to get up, he was a light sleeper which made the trumpets particularly unsettling in the morning and getting good sleep difficult if there was any intrusive sound or light. He started to get himself together putting on a gray shirt and brown pants after quickly pushing through the rest of his morning before checking to see if he needed to get anything from the mall for the apartment. If he did it wasn't occurring to him so he just decided to leave it be for now and head out for his breakfast.

Jack started heading towards the mall at a lazy pace looking around as he progressed. He gave a greeting here or there to a couple other residents knowing most by name and while he was a friendly enough guy he did value his privacy where he didn't have to worry about anyone else directly but it rarely stopped him from talking with the others who wanted to, or not if he was feeling insistent, on a regular basis. Honestly the Home was a decent enough place to live what with most people getting along as well as working together to keep everyone else afloat though he knew it was mostly spurred by that fact they had no real choice in the matter. There were no preconceptions of a carefree place to him here because even though the real world could be harsh there was more life there than here. That along with him not being watched like a caged animal made for a strong urge to leave if he ever got the chance not to mention he had his twin to look after if he did get out. It was not a thought that weighed lightly on him but he figured Nina was still managing on the outside because despite being a prisoner as long as he was she hadn't ended up getting caught. Lets hope it stays that way. He thought feeling a little more positive at the thought. Jack realized he would probably end up at the mall soon enough but he would just take a moment to relax and clear his head before heading in.

Roberta grumbles at the cheerful announcement waking her up, but it's hard to stay annoyed at it after so long. Going back to sleep is an option, but she's probably not going to manage it.

Instead, she lifts her head off the bed, torso off the sofa, legs out the armchair and pulls herself back to normal before getting dressed, selecting a short red skirt, heavy boots and a studded collar to go with her leotard, sliding into all of them without bothering to untie laces or unbuckle straps.

After that, she leaves her top-floor apartment by stepping off the balcony, stretching her legs to touch the ground without missing a step, and keeping them that long until she arrives at the mall, her extra-long stride passing by several people.

She's sure the mall staff let the food go cold faster, to keep people active and competitive.

The morning was still dreaming of fight he had won, when the morning bell rang to wake him up from his blooded paradise. It was Miss Dawson's voice calling them for breakfast, and to reminde them of their jobs. Azai had been prisoned in here for about a month, but still that wasn't his worst nightmares, it was the job he was assigned to a lounge supervisor, why wasn't he assigned for security instead? He would've even taken a bouncer job, he wasn't much of a people's man or a service guy, he worked in restaurant once and was kicked out because he yelled at a customer.

He woke feeling energetic and did some stretching exercises, to get all the sleep from his eyes, he then went to the bathroom and shaved his beard and had a shower. After he got out he got dressed and went to the window, he stood there watching the outside world as it went by without him, he missed his brother, he wanted to see how he was doing. He was thinking about his monochrom, in all this time that he stayed here, and all types of the training he did, he still wasn't able to fully master it, he was still unable to control who to affect and who not. He took a deep breath and scratched his head in confusion, and decided to drop the subject, so headed out to the mall.

Azai didn't notice that he was at the mall, time slipped by quickly while he was lost in thoughts, he was hungry and dying for something to eat. There were all kinds of food here, it was surprising how much effort Miss Dawson put in all this, it made him ever wonder just how much Miss Dawson's wealth is worth. He shook his head and went straight for the eggs, bacon, and the fruits with a cupe of tea to swallow it all. Azai had a huge stomach but it was mainly because of his training and the rest was that he simply loved food.

He went and sat at an empty table, munching down his food and watching other people wondering what kind of powers and abilities they had, and their reasons of coming here, they must've all had some sad history like being deemed dangerous by society for one mistake or either shun out, but he was pretty sure that no one was like him dump enough to come on their own and sentencing their fate to this false paradise. But what intrigued his curiosity was if they ever thought about escaping like him? Or are they really enjoying themselves here? He was sure that he didn't with that crappy job that he had now...

Toby was already on his third protein shake of the morning by the time the morning announcements came on. In the year and a half that he’d been a “guest” of Miss Dawson’s Home, this had become routine. Four shakes in the morning, before what ‘normal’ people would consider breakfast, four before lunch, and finally four before dinner. Granted, he didn’t enjoy the shakes (who would?), but it beat being tired and hungry all the time. He’d heard through the grapevine that it had been Miss Dawson’s idea. At the very least, someone had left a flowery-worded message on the whiteboard in his apartment’s kitchen, with instructions. Neither his parents, nor the medical professionals who had overseen him in the past had thought of it, he knew that for certain. The fact that someone who at least worked for Miss Dawson went out of their way to actually help Toby put him in a minority; he actually didn’t mind living at the Home. In fact, given the choice, he’d probably stay here, where monsters like him belong. He knew that there were many others who felt differently, so when such matters came up in conversation (what few conversations he’d had) he kept his head down and stayed quiet, usually with noncommittal grunts or nods.

He set his cup down and looked in the mirror in his bedroom. “Hi!”

Wow. Too forward much? Not to mention that his smile seemed just a little too big. Facial expressions still gave him some trouble since ‘the incident’. Or incidents, if you’d prefer.

He’d already decided that today would be the day. He was finally going to talk to that girl, Artemis. He should try to approach her during breakfast at the mall. He figured she’d be there; pretty much everyone was there at that time.

“S’up?” Nah, too casual.

But casual would be his approach. He didn’t’ want to seem too nervous. He had to relax. There was this girl in his old high school. He wanted to ask her to the spring dance, because that’s what normal kids did. So he asked her, without any prepping. Bad idea. He stumbled, he stuttered, his voice cracked, and his skin turned a nice shade of sunburnt. Needless to say, she rejected him. No one would want to be seen with a monster like him. He wondered briefly if the other kids had seen him as a monster at that time, or if it was afterward…

“So…I don’t know if you know me. I’m Toby, the-“

Butcher? Slaughtermaster? He chuckled to himself. ‘Slaughtermaster’ sounded like a cool name for a supervillain. Or maybe a death metal band. But villainous or not, that was his job. According to his superior, Toby was the only ‘youngster’ to make it through more than a week. Sure, his first week had been sloppy, but over time, he perfected his technique. Just a quick… Nah, best not to think about that now. Save it for work. He decided to introduce himself as the butcher. Or maybe butcher’s apprentice. Yeah, apprentice sounded good. Did saying his job even matter? What if she hated what he did?

He downed the last of his shake, and immediately set to making another. He’d drink it on the way to breakfast. After getting dressed in his usual attire, a tan-brownish hoodie, cargo pants, and a greenish t-shirt, he grabbed his last shake and headed out the door toward the mall.

---

Amira heard the trumpets blaring through the loudspeakers as she stepped through the entryway to the bar. This was normal for her; a person could almost set their watch by Amira’s arrival, and that was the way she liked it. She stepped behind the counter and found the black apron that she always kept there. She grabbed it and donned it with one swift motion, tying the apron strings behind her with little effort. She hated her job, but if it meant that she could live rent free and be provided for, she would do her job as best she could. Just about the only thing she liked was the uniform, a smart white blouse and black skirt. It was a uniform in the purest sense, nothing flashy or special. It was no flak jacket, but just knowing that she was dressed like everyone else in her ‘unit’ gave her a sense of comfort and security. She brushed a stray strand of hair behind ear and took a breath. Then, she flashed an ever-so-slight smile and asked her first customer:
“How may I help you today?”

A week. It had already been a week. When she first arrived at this place, Robyn had thought it was a paradise. A place where she could be free and be like everyone else. She was beginning to realize however this place was quite the opposite. She had stayed locked up in her (rather fancy) apartment most of the time and the very few times during the week that she had gone outside she had worn regular clothes, to fit in more. As in, the only part of her that was her usual flickering-sketchy-self was her exposed bodyparts. It was a weird feeling having clothes on that wasn't of her own making.
Anyway, the few times she had been out of her apartment people had still looked at her sideways. People had whispered as she passed, some thinking she can't hear them and others not caring. She heard and saw every one of them. Gasping, staring, whispering as she walked by. This wasn't a place where she could fit in at all. It was a prison. She couldn't leave.

The trumpets blared, jerking her awake. She hadn't gotten used to those kinds of awakenings yet. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, and made her way over to the window. Other than her appearance, she was a completely ordinary girl who had slept in her pyjamas. Pyjamas that flickered and looked just like she did.
Opening the shutters halfway, she looked outside. People were starting to wake up by now but she saw a few people already outside, going to... Well, wherever, really.
Robyn thought, Why not? and changed outfit. She wasn't the kind of girl that used makeup. Why would she? How could she? Her appearance didn't make it impossible, just... Unnatural. To hell with their sideways looks and their sneers. she thought nervously to herself, trying to be tough. I'll go to the cafeteria and eat breakfast like everybody else. And I wont care what they think. I wont. she kept telling herself, gathering the courage to venture outside despite her appearance. Her insecurities. At heart, she was still a lonely and shy girl. This was a big deal to her.
Changing didn't take long, and there wasn't really any other morning routines she had. She got out of her apartment quite quickly.

Looking around, she didn't see many other people. She could hear a few others leaving as well, but it seems Robyn was either early or late. She couldn't really tell anymore.
Once outside, she was met with a quite astounding sight. She was headed to the mall area when looking up, she could see a thin line stretching from the top floor balcony. Was it a person? After a few seconds it became clear that yes, it was in fact a person. Stop staring, Robyn. she thought to herself, averted her eyes, and kept walking toward the mall. The entire way there she was met with odd gazes and sideways looks, just like she had thought she would. Her built-up courage was starting to slip away with every whisper she heard and awkward eye-contact she got with passerbys.
Finally, she arrived at the mall. Being as she was, she didn't digest food like most other people. She got whatever she thought looked good and found the most discreet, off-placed corner to sit in, where the least amount of eyes would find her. She took her dry piece of toast (without butter) and her bowl of cereal without milk, and she ate them slowly, absent-mindedly. She avoided any moist foods. She didn't even know how her own body worked that well. She didn't need to go to the bathroom, so she guessed the food she ate was absorbed by her odd body and expelled in other ways. She really had no idea. It would look odd, a cartoon-girl eating a real bowl of cereal, but by now she had gotten used to herself. It's the other people looking at her that she had never gotten used to.

She decided to do some looking of her own. She saw an older, scary-looking fellow munching down his food. She saw a... She looked away. She became concious about a few eyes peering in her direction every now and then. People had started to notice her that hadn't already. More and more people came into the mall to eat their breakfast. Robyn hoped with her entire being that this situation would be over soon...

"Yo, Scribble Girl."

Roberta is about as blunt as possible as she hangs from the upper level of the mall, legs wrapped around the handrail, torso stretched to cover the distance and head level with Robyn's, though upside-down, hair and jacket hanging. She's got a plate of syrup-drenched pancakes in one hand, and a whole pitcher of juice in the other.

Ignorant of how this moisture might make Robyn uncomfortable, Roberta continues "New here? You should get the good stuff first. There's always spare cereal and toast, but the pancakes and bacon get eaten up fast. You picked a good corner though - easy to spot people before they spot you. Hey, if anyone asks if you've seen me, maybe talking about getting me to do a job, do me a solid and tell them I'm hanging out in the arcade. I'll owe you one?"

She has no intention of going to the arcade, of course. As she waits for a reply, Roberta sticks out her tongue, rolling it into a tube and doing a few loops as she dips it into her juice, and drinking through this unusual straw.

Zinnia awoke to the trumpets blaring and groaned from under the covers of her bed. This was a long fall from the life she had recently lived, from a position that had once held significant meaning. Sure, that meaning was lost many years ago when the Ottoman Empire fell, but now it was if she had never existed, on paper at least.
She got up and shivered a bit, used to the hot climate of where she originated, and made her way to the shower, ditching her pajamas on the way there, and took a fairly quick rinse in the water. She looked in the large mirror on her way out, and spoke with a light accent to herself. "Well Zinnia, you can't do much about it now. Let's just hope no one finds out where you came from..." She dried off and got dressed in a maroon tank-top, a brown and maroon hoodie, some skinny jeans, and a pair of sleek, black, knee-high boots, and made her way out after feeding Teif, the large lizard that lazed about most of the day. "Be good, I don't want any stains on the rug when I get back."
Upon her arrival to the cafeteria, she noticed just about everything at once. A girl hanging from the top floor talking to another woman who appeared to be a drawing come to life, a morbid-looking man sitting alone and scarfing down a plate of eggs, bacon, and fruit, a fiery red-head that looked like he was expecting someone with a parrot taking the occasional piece of fruit from him, and a black-haired boy that was twirling a fork between his fingers, leaning back in his chair and eyeing a nearby electrical socket. She went up and looked over the options for food. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast... nothing she was used to eating, nothing nearly spicy enough to satisfy her cravings for the culinary delights of home. She settled on a dry piece of toast and a glass of orange juice after a fierce internal debate, and headed over to the table with the morbid-looking fellow. "Is it alright if I sit here, Mister..?" She began, wondering what the man's name was and why he was here.

---

Jace pushed open the door to the mall, dreading the day already. The end of it, specifically, with the aforementioned shift at the bar looming over him. He gradually made his way to the cafeteria and laid claim to the table Artemis usually sat at, munching on some pancakes and a bowl of fruit he had commandeered from the buffet. "Go ahead n' grab whatever you want, Gallus."
The parrot tweeted happily and dug through the bowl, looking for his favorite snack; blueberries. Upon finding one at the bottom of the bowl, he pulled his head out and ate it slowly, savoring the taste.
The Irishman shook his head and smirked a bit. That bird's really something, he thought, and started to look around for Artemis. She'd be here soon, he knew she usually showed up to eat. He noticed Zinnia come in and stop in the doorway, a strange girl. I'll probably have to give her a physical sometime soon, just like all the others. He sighed. A day in his life at it's finest, really.

---

Aaron walked into the cafeteria with a certain swagger that screamed, 'I own this place,' and grabbed a plate, piling it high with sausages, then sat a table away from Jace. Now to wait for that animal lover to show up, just so I can spite her, he thought, not even having a fondness for sausage. Quite frankly, he hated the things, he just wanted to see how much he could piss the girl off for the hell of it.

2 days it had been. Two sodding days since he was transferred to this godforsaken prison. They made it out to be a nice place (and it did have some very comfy rooms) but a prison is all it is. A maximum security prison to keep dangerous people confined from the outside world. That didn't matter, because as the trumpets blared James just didn't wake up. It was simple enough to block out sound waves, since they all have vectors. So as the siren blared its annoying ramblings, James slowly began to stir. This was the normal time he would arise from bed, only so he could get to school the earliest and have time to get the freshest bacon the school could offer. He awoke, switched of his sound reflection, and then listened to the last part Miss. Dawson's awakening message. That woman must be on some serious meds, he thought, Normal people aren't up this early...

James dressed, did some target practice, grabbed his knife and headed out the apartment complex. It was a big place, with some luxurious living quarters. That was probably the only good thing he got for coming here. He tried to steer clear of some of the others that were heading to the mall, and eventually made his way there. The very first thing he noticed was the quintessence of a spider hanging of the balcony of an upper floor of the mall, talking to a girl made of what looked to be the remnants of a 7 year olds temper tantrum and some pencils. Then there was some over-excited nutcase who filled his plate with sausages equal to how many times a vegetarian will punch him, at least, if there IS a vegetarian. So James walked to the queue, grabbed some toast, some bacon, a pancake and a glass of milk and went to sit by the table as far away from everyone as possible. He then switched on his sound Redirection field, an extension of his vector redirection field. Then he began to eat in silence, and thought about what a shit day it would be; he hadn't even been assigned a job... Tch... Just my luck he thought.

Maybe I can sue them..., he thought, I mean, they did mislabel the place. They should really have called it 'Miss. Dawson's Prison for Freaks of Nature'. He ate in silence, and watched as more people filed into the mall. The silence. For some it is deafening, but for some it is home, and home it is for James. Everything happening around you in complete silence so that one can observe without interference. Plus it gave him time to examine and evaluate the bacon without interruption. He was surprised no one had stared at him; he had stark white hair and blood red eyes. Apparently that wasn't very strange to people.

Being new to the cage of freaked, he didn't really know who anyone was. The only thing he did know, however, was the names of a couple people he heard. Those were: Lyra, Jace and Artemis. Day one James didn't go to the mall, instead he went to the Bowling alley to look around, using his reflection to turn invisible. He wondered what job he would get, if he ever got one. He doubted it would be anything to do with helping people, given his history, nor did he believe it would be anything too complex, given his age. The on,y thing he could think of would be possibly teaching assistant. An ability like vector manipulation isnt an ability one can just use; it takes huge amounts of calculations by the user to control, and even more to maintain. Because of this, despite his young age, a teaching assistant sounded the most fun, easy and well suited to his... Abilities.

"Yo, scribble girl."

Robyn looked up, startled. What the hell? A woman was hanging from... the ceiling? She looked to have a punkish style and held her entire breakfast in her hands. She said something about getting the "good stuff" first. Robyn didn't really get it, but she looked down at her breakfast briefly before looking back up at the very elastic girl above. She wasn't suew how to respond, and couldn't before the girl continued. If anyone asked about her, Robyn was to say she was in the arcade. There's an arcade? Robyn thought to herself. She had seen through Robyn completely. She wasn't hard to spot out in a crowd that she was new here, but the fact that she had chosen this corner to be able to see people before they saw her...

"I, uh... alright. she spoke quietly. She had never had this situation before. It was like this person didn't notice Robyn's strange appearance. She was both scared and ... glad.
"I'm Robyn. And I don't mind the food. I don't eat moist foods."

Jasmina walked into the Mall with an air about her that screamed 'Get out of my way before I punch you in your idiotic looking face', her heels clicking on the tile floor as she looked straight ahead, not wanting to get even more angry than she already was this morning. She had almost broken her necklace, and she knew their probably wasn't a jeweler around who could fix it so she would've been stuck with everyone seeing her cat ears and tail, which she knew would only attract more men.

She hated men, as she had found that so many of them were only interested in sex with her or keeping her as a trophy, and she was not the type to be the trophy at all. She got to the buffet bar, finding the fried haddock had been placed out for her as she requested. A small smile graced her lips as she was happy to have her favorite food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, though each time would be a different fish recipe which was definitely nice.

Jasmina sat at a table near the back of the room to avoid everyone else near her, especially a certain Ebony haired man who had a serious eye for her. She sighed, taking a bite of her fish and wishing she didn't have to go to teach her class at the gym which was all about controlling powers, and it was for those who wished to learn, no one was forced to go. Jasmina wondered if she'd have to get the ebony haired male out of the wall, smirking as she remembered the first time he had done that in class.

He was 16 years old, a definite cutie.... But then he grew up, and now she hated him because of what kind of man he had grown up to be. She grabbed a few more bites of fish before she looked around, hoping to get the chance to hide if she spotted him first.

---

Natalia sighed and shut off the speaker, turning on her monitors and watching the different security footage of each building as they all rotated in order, her eyes scanning each scene for any signs of mischief, violence, arguments, people slacking off, etc. So far everything was quite peaceful, so it seemed she had some time to herself. She took her tablet and ear piece with her just in case she needed to check in on things, heading to the mineral hot springs that were said to relax you and rejuvenate skin.

It was a natural mineral hot spring, and they had found it when they were building her home. It was beautiful, and crystals of all shapes and sizes littered the place which gave off the perfect relaxing atmosphere. She stripped out of her clothes and put on her bathing suit before diving it, reemerging with a smile on her face. She loved this place, but she honestly didn't love her job.

Natalia was forced into this job when she was younger, and was never released from her position, being told this would be her job till she died, which the memory made the smile on her soft lips slowly disappear. She sighed and closed her eyes as she rested against the edge of the hot spring, deciding to not think about that as she was trying to relax.

---

Artemis walked into the cafeteria section of the mall and ignored Aaron's attempt to piss her off by sitting at her table and eating Sausage. She wasn't going to kill anyone today, but she felt like she could if she wanted to. Artemis grabbed a giant bowl full of fruit, oatmeal with brown sugar, and a cup of coffee as she was still quite tired from staying up late birthing twin calves.... Now, that was exhausting.

The young woman spotted her friend Jace sitting at a table with Gallus, his pet parrot, and Artemis' good friend. She smiled a bit and waved going to sit with him instead of at her usual table with Mr. Jerkface and his sausages. Lord, she'd love to punch him in the face right then and there, but she wouldn't.

---

Persephone's smile quickly vanished from her face as she saw a giant shadow looming above her head, knowing exactly who it was as soon as he spoke. "Good morning Zaniel.... What the heck did I say about shadows on our plants?" She asked, hiding her slight feeling of rage under a very impressive poker face as she was not about to let him win this battle. She knew how much he enjoyed seeing her get angry and upset, calling her anger cute which pissed her off even more. She couldn't let him win.... She just couldn't.

"So, you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Then why are you skipping again?" Persephone asked, looking up at him and the smirk on his smug face. She was about ready to tell him off, but she knew he'd enjoy that. Her eyes widened as she felt her hair blow in the breeze a bit, hoping desperately that he hadn't seen her tattoo, feeling her hair move against the mark that told exactly how she and Artemis ended up there and they'd like to keep that a secret.

She let out a small sigh, Persephone knowing that at any time she could have flash backs of what had happened though she didn't want it to be here. No, Zaniel would think she was weird and he'd definitely ask for a job transfer, and even though he was an asshole she just couldn't stand the thought of losing him. He was her best friend and secret crush, and she'd be damned if she lost him to another.

Persephone pushed back her thoughts, deciding that right now was not the time to think of all of her bad thoughts, hoping she didn't seem too distant before while she was lost in thought.

"Hope you're ready to work!" Persephone said with a small smile, hoping she didn't have that dark look in her eyes like she usually did when she thought about all her bad thoughts, as she knew Zaniel could see right through her, and she didn't want him to know she wasn't feeling as happy as she usually was.

A new day, a new dream. As Rebecca slowly woke to the sound of trumpets, the memory of that night's dream quickly left her mind. Something with a bird, and mountains? Probably nonsense anyway, she reckoned. As Miss. Dawson's voice came on, she kicked off the covers of her bed and lazily slumped out of bed. Rubbing the sleep out her eyes, she dragged herself into the bathroom. She took a quick shower, put on a sundress, and threw her hair into a rushed ponytail, pinning away rogue strands of hair with a handful of bobby pins. She glanced quickly at the book on her bedside table, and realised where that night's dream had come from. The chapters she'd read the previous night before going to bed had, in fact, been about a bird and mountains, among other things.

Oh well, Rebecca thought, funny how that works. Maybe I should get going soon though. Food won't be fresh forever, and I am dying for pancakes. With that, she went off in search of fresh food, passing by some somewhat familiar faces on the way. None familiar enough that she could place their names, though. She hadn't been here that long either, and had kept to herself much of the time. Not that it wasn't her own choice, although she had sometimes wished she'd been brave enough to go and talk to someone, or that someone had went to her. I guess I'll have plenty of time to get to know everyone, since it looks like we'll all be stuck here until someone snaps and kills us all and themselves. she thought.

She'd arrived by now, and glanced around. A somewhat chaotic scene, she remarked, but that was pretty much status quo for the Home. Off there, in the corner, a girl hung by her legs from the upper level of the mall, facing a pretty extraordinary-looking girl who didn't exactly look like she'd expected to be talking to someone who could quite literally stretch herself to her limits. All in all, those two were probably the most noticable people in the mall at the moment. She went to fill a plate with delicious, greasy pancakes, adding some fruit for good measure before drenching the whole mess in syrup. She scouted out a table, tucked in the back, empty save for one young man who Rebecca was certain she had never seen before - she knew she'd recall it if she'd seen that combo of white hair and red eyes in the Home before - or on the outside, for that matter. She went over, taking a seat across and to the side of the young man who, she realised, was probably one of the youngest in the Home. She knew many people, such as herself, had only had their powers truly manifest at some point in puberty. This guy certainly seemed to fit the bill. A mental shrug later, she was in full swing devouring the pancakes she'd craved since waking.

Suddenly, the picturesque little scene Lyra had created for herself was disrupted. Her stomach rumbled. How annoying! She hadn't had any breakfast, of course - she didn't even know how to make anything for herself - but she had really hoped her need to eat could wait a while. Nonetheless, the sensation persisted.

Grumpily, she downed the rest of her grape soda before stretching out her limbs and climbing to her feet. She picked up her teapot and cup, of course - she would need those in the cafeteria. Nowhere seemed to ever serve grape soda, so if she didn't bring her own, there would be nothing for her to drink!

For a few long moments, Lyra stood still despite her stomach's growling. Yes, she was hungry, but in the cafeteria, there would be people. Lots of people. She hated people! Of course, they would probably pay her no mind. Compared to some of the oddballs she had seen here, her appearance was downright normal. But that was the problem - among so many weirdos, she might stand out specifically because her appearance was so unremarkable.

Eventually, she sighed and began her trek toward the cafeteria. She left her blanket behind; she couldn't carry it around as well as her teapot, but if someone took it, there would be hell to pay!

It took Lyra the better part of half an hour to actually find the cafeteria. She was totally new here, of course, and she had never been any good at remembering directions. By the time she shambled into the room, her cheeks were red, and sweat was trickling down her face. She felt repulsive - but her hunger had heightened, too, and could no longer be ignored. She had to eat, right away!

Her eyes flicked straight past all the weirdos already seated, eventually landing on a table that was vacant. She scurried over to it and took a seat. There was something distinctly off about her surroundings. People were carrying trays, but everyone holding one ended up sitting in front of it for a long time.

Irked, Lyra couldn't stop herself from raising her voice a bit. "Waiter!" she called, "I'm really, really, hungry, you know!"

"Don't want your ink to run, huh? Or... your paper to get wet? Or do you just not like the taste. Oh, yeah, I'm Roberta, but you can call me Rebound."

Roberta continues by pointing out a few other faces in the cafeteria, putting names and powers to them for Robyn, though there's a few new faces she doesn't know.

When she's done, she turns the conversation back to Robyn. "So, what do you do? Other than that whole sketchbook thing. Enter pictures? Bring drawings to life? It's pretty obvious what my whole deal is..."

When she spots Jasmina, Roberta tucks herself behind the support pillar next to herself and Robyn, between it and the wall in a place normal people couldn't fit. "Oh damnit, Jas looks pissed... she must've seen the mess I left in the gym. I meant to put it away, but I was so tired I couldn't pick up the weights... just kept stretching."

Alex had appeared in the mall for his usual breakfast. Quite a lot of bacon, eggs and some bread. Just like any other day, he ate a lot. Not that he was supposed to for some reason. He just liked eating. But to keep himself balanced he also swam a lot. So he remained slim while still eating quite a lot. He wondered how much time he had left for the gym class. Alex had only recently heard of the class, where you train to control your powers. After a series of failed attempts to create an Arcana orb since the 'accident' Alex had realized he'd need guidance. He made his way to a table where a little black haired girl was just yelling for a waiter.

"You know that they don't have waiters right? You have to pick your own food over there." Alex said with a dry tone. Though he realized that she looked quite hungry. "You want some of mine? I got plenty anyway." He offered as he pointed at his plate filled to the brim with bacon, bread, eggs and 2 bowls of cornflakes. In the past, Alex was far from a gentleman. But right now he reckoned that all small acts of 'goodness' are not forgotten.

Toby found his way to the cafeteria without any issues. He'd been plotting his approach for a couple of days now, and he'd be damned if he was going to let anything stop-

Suddenly, Miss Jasmina strode in front of him like a bat out of Hell, which Toby was pretty sure wasn't far from the truth. Thrown off balance, he stopped and watched the teacher as she found the buffet and grabbed some food. He always had a healthy respect for authority figures, but it seemed like Jasmina had it out for everyone...the guys, for sure. But he wasn't here to stare at teachers; he was here to finally ask out Artemis. Finally...

He glanced over the scene, deciding not to eat anything; he was still full from his protein shake (however brief it might be). After a few moments, he found Artemis. She was waving at some guy...Toby's countenance fell. Jace... Everywhere Artemis was, so it seemed, was he. Were they friends? Were they something more? They had similar occupations, with her being the animals' caretaker, and he being the resident MD. They probably had a lot to talk about. They were pretty much Toby's antithesis. Toby started to think that maybe this whole thing wasn't such a good idea. Maybe Artemis hated him anyway. It was no secret what Toby's job was, after all...

No.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? He tried to remain as cool as he could as he made his way to the table where Artemis and Jace were sitting. He took a seat across from them and smiled at Artemis. "Hi, Artemis."

Then, he nodded to Jace and Gallus. "Jace, Gallus. Hi."

---

Leo had one job: Protect Natalia Dawson. It wasn't too difficult of a job, seeing as she was always in her (albeit spacious) bunker. It also didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes. It was at this moment, however, that he went to her usual spot in front of the monitoring equipment, and failed to find her. He sighed. I go to the loo for five minutes and she disappears like bloody Harry Houdini. He pinched the bridge of his nose, contemplating where she might have gone. She never tells him these things, of course. This must be some kind of game to her. A strange version of Hide-and-Seek. "I hope you're bloody amused, Nat, because I'm not," he muttered. He wandered about the bunker before finally deciding on the hot springs. After all, that's where he goes when he needs to relax...which, with taking care of someone who openly challenges the super powered residents of her home to kill her...is pretty often.

Upon entering, he removed his glasses and wiped the condensation from the lenses. Upon placing them back on his face, he spied Nat at the far end of the pool. He quickly bowed his head and covered his eyes, not out of reverence, but out of embarrassment and not realizing that she was still clothed. "Jesus, Nat! Tell me when you leave the area. It's why we have communication devices!"