Cade continued watching as more people began showing up at the tree.  Besides the mohawk guy, there was: a girl with dark, wavy hair; a girl who displayed the ability to bring a rose back to life; a girl with a prosthetic leg who apparently nearly missed her stop, judging from how the bus almost left before stopping again; a guy who appeared slightly agitated at something; a girl who started eating an energy bar, not unlike the one Cade had eaten for lunch; a girl who looked a little dazed, as if she had recently been daydreaming; and a handful of others with all manner of hairstyles, skin tones, and apparent personalities.  Some seemed confident, some downright arrogant, some withdrawn.  After the mohawk guy and the flower girl, though, Cade guessed they all had one thing in common: mutant abilities of some sort.

Hearing the creaking of a branch above him, Cade turned his attention on the tree he sat underneath.  He stared at it for nearly a minute, scanning everything he could see for signs of human or animal life.  Seeing nothing, he returned his attention to the growing group, which now consisted of about fifteen people, muttering, "Probably just a squirrel or something."

Knowing he wouldn't get any more information from observing the group from this distance, he stood and walked towards the group.  Specifically, he approached the girl who had made the rose blossom.  As he did, he passed by the girl who had almost missed the bus stop, who had just sat down next to another girl.

[i]"Are you here for the school, too?"[/i]

So there's a school, Cade thought.  Maybe these people were students.  That was promising - it probably meant they weren't enemies, at any rate.  But he needed more information.  As he neared the rose girl, he looked at her and said, "Hey.  Name's Cade.  I saw you bring the rose back a little bit ago.  That's a pretty cool ability."

[hr]

Kyle was fairly sure nobody had seen his little trick.  Not that it mattered, really.  Soon he would be at the school he had heard so much about from his older brother, who was already there.  He had no need to hide.  He just didn't want to draw attention to his power.  A mute twin, he could explain.  A vanishing twin, not so much.

Shortly after he got to tree, others started showing up.  It was as if his appearance had triggered some kind of signal for them all to show up.  Most of them ignored him, but one decided to approach him.

[i]"Hi I'm Elliot"[/i]

"Hi Elliot.  I'm Kyle.  It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

It struck him how odd he probably sounded.  Those words belonged at least fifty years in the past, and by all appearances, he definitely belonged in the Millennial generation.  At the same time... he didn't really care how he sounded.  He was who he was.  Wasn't that the whole reason he had gotten the mohawk?  To be different?