Tony furiously typed on his keyboard, pulling up files about the older version of yet another birth-day child. So far he'd found an older version of over a dozen people, and knew that there was only one explanation for this. They were clones. At some point someone had gathered DNA from all of these people and Rebirth Inc. had created a clone from that sample, then gave it to one of the local adults to raise. The parents most likely knew this. In fact, every adult in town, possibly everyone from the outside, most likely knew that. There would have been no reason to keep their names so similar to the original if they wanted the cloning to be a secret from the adults. The cloning also explained why the adults more accurately knew the powers and abilities of birth-day children before they manifested than the naturally born children. They had already seen those powers in action.

“Tony, Roberta, supper!” came a call from downstairs, which startled Tony. He looked at the clock. Seven o' six. He had started the program just after four. Had he really lost the last three hours?

“Coming.” he yelled, and after waiting a few seconds for the last of the files to download onto the flash drive, he pulled the flashdrive out and shut down the browser and Open Door app.

He grabbed his stuff and started to run downstairs when he noticed his sister meditating, bolts of lightning inconsistently jumping from her hands into a Tesla coil he built to catch it and channel it away, causing a smell of ozone in the air. “Hey, mom just called us for supper.” he said to her, and she sighed, opening her eyes.

“I heard her. I'll be right there.”

Tony nodded and ran downstairs, getting there just as his mom was putting a large lasagne on the table. “Wow, that looks great.” He grabbed the first slice and immediately started to shovel it in, but his dad glared at him, so he slowed down. “Uh, sorry.” he quickly apologized after swallowing. “I was just going hoping to go bowling with Kurt after supper, so I was trying to hurry. Lost track of time.”

“Well, I guess it's ok, as long as you're back by 10, since you've got school tomorrow.” his dad said. “What have you been doing for the last three hours? I heard you doing something on your computer.”

“Exoskeleton.” he lied, quickly covering his tracks. “Needs a lot of programming to get it working, and I keep getting programming glitches.”

His dad nodded. “Makes sense.”

A few minutes later he got up, just as his sister came downstairs, and excused himself, once again promising to be home by ten. He went next door to Kurt's house, and asked Kurt's mom if Kurt could come bowling with him. Kurt also had to be back by ten, but once Kurt grabbed his wallet and jacket, they were able to teleport there in less than a minute. Tony was a bit queezy from the series of jumps, but after they had gone from the roof of the bowling alley to the sidewalk in front of it and gravity stopped shifting, he quickly recovered. “I'm going to head into the cafe, get a cup of coffee.” Tony told his friend. Hopefully that would settle his stomach.

The Bowling alley was directly beside the cafe, with the movie theater on the other side, and doors connecting the three together. The cafe was essentially the concession stand for the bowling alley, and the theater only served sodas and popcorn as a result of the cafe's location.

Tony took a seat near the back and ordered an espresso, Kurt ordering hot tea for some reason, and when the waitress walked away Tony pulled the flashdrive out of his pocket. “Here.” he said, handing it to Kurt, who plugged it into his phone, “the program you wanted is on there, but I think you should also take a look at the folder with your name on it.” There were fourteen such folders including Tony's, each with the name of a Birth-day child on it, and each containing a full dossier on their alter ego from the outside.

The doors to the cafe slammed open as Clara Past burst in, she was wearing a teal colored dress and wearing star-shaped sunglasses for some reason. "Ahah!" The green haired girl exclaimed, pointing a finger dramatically at nothing in particular. The girl proceeded to march up to a nearby potted plant, looking at it all over.

"Hmmmm...what's this?" Clara leaned her ear towards the plant, as if she was trying to hear it say something. "Oh? You're good on water? What? You think you saw aliens!?" She stood back and looked shocked for a second, but then laughed. "No, I'm pretty sure that was a cat. It's okay I make that mistake sometimes too."

This scene would most likely confuse anyone who witnessed it, unless of course they had met Clara Past at least once. She had a...very unique personality that was hard to forget. "I want a burrito."

Loki groaned inwardly as Clara entered the cafe. Her presence was always a ruckus and Loki was was just trying to head her book on Norse mythology in peace and quiet. Her long black hair and blue-geeen eyes offsetting her pale skin as she sat in the shadowy corner of the cafe. She was just about to rebury herself in her book when she noticed Tony and Kurt acting strangely. Her head snapped up and she listened intently. She caught something about files and she noticed Tony looked distinctly upset which was unusual for him. After a few moments if debate she closed her book and sauntered over to the two of them.

"Files? What files?" She asked as she pulled herself a seat and butted in uninvited. Her British accent making her sound less annoying then she would have otherwise, especially in conjunction with her silver tones.

and

Ororo Oernum hummed quietly to herself as she carefully ran the fabric through her electric sewing machine, both the whirring of the machine and her humming soothed and relaxed her. Once the fabric had been run all the way through she took it from the sewing machine and inspected the stitching. Not her best admittedly but it was good enough for what she making, her mother had asked her to make a pair of curtains for the spare room, her parents often asked her to make things for them as they knew she enjoyed it and it also saved money as well. She was just about to set up the next section to be sewed when their was a light tap on the door and her father popped his head in to the room. She miled as he entered carefully, he was tall and was forever bumping his head on the lower door frames. He had changed out of what he called his school clothes and now wore jeans and shirt with the arms rolled up.

"Hi dad, how was your day?"
"The usual." He said with a grin."Confiscating cigarettes and giving detentions."
"They must love you then." She said dryly before standing to peck him on the cheek.
"I came up to ask if you're in tonight?"
Ororo glanced at the wall and was surprised to see it was past seven, she quickly put away the half finished curtains and followed her father downstairs. Her mother was working late at the salon tonight so it was just the two of them.
"Sorry dad, I said I would pop in and see Tabby. She's stuck on closing shift tonight."
He ruffled her silver white hair and smiled. "It's fine honey you go on. But be back before curfew."
"Thanks dad and I will don't worry."

It was only a short walk from her house into the town proper and she enjoyed the evening air, she could sense the moisture in the air but knew it wasn't enough for rain. Not yet. The cafe was brightly lit and she saw there were quite a few seated inside. She pushed open the door and glanced around. She recognised Loki and Clara though she only knew them vaguely, Kurt sat at a table in the back and she smiled when she saw Tony was with him. She heard mock vomit sounds and turned to see Tabitha grinning at her from beside the counter.

"Hey you." Tabitha said then glanced at her mother who stood behind the counter. "Can I take a break mom?"
Her mother smiled and nodded. "Sure dear, I've got things sorted for now. Go and see your friends."
Tabitha quickly removed her apron and then rolled her eyes at Ororo. "You were gushing again."
Ororo blushed slightly. "I was not."
"Please, if you had stared any harder your eyes would have fell out."
"Oh shush."Ororo said with a grin. "So no James here tonight?" She asked with a teasing note in her voice.
It was Tabitha's turn to blush and she giggled at her friend.

Tabitha was glad to see Ororo, though she knew the other kids in the cafe, hard not to when you worked next to the cinema, she wasn't close friends with them. She knew Tony of course because of Ororo and Kurt who always seemed to be with Tony but she didn't know them well enough to feel she could just join them. It had been a tough day for Tabitha and she was tired but although her mother would have given her the night off Tabitha didn't like her working till late on her own. She'd be tired tomorrow but it was worth it to help her mom.
She felt a pang of sadness as she remembered her dad singing his silly songs under his breath whilst he made the coffees. God she missed him. Ororo noticed the change in her friends expression. "You ok Tabby?" She asked in concern.
Tabitha deliberately put a smile on her face and nodded. "I'm fine. Go and say hi to your boyfriend, I'm going to catch up with Clara."
Ororo nodded and walked to where Tony, Kurt and Loki sat. "Hi guys."

Tabitha approached Clara and grinned. "What's he got to say today Clara?" She asked gesturing to the plant. She wasn't mocking the girl, she knew Clara had a way with plants much like she had her way with sound.

Gabriel had just come out of the cinema with his father. Nick had closed the garage early so that the could spend some father-son time together while Nora was working late in the lab. Gabriel spotted Loki and Tony in the café and turned to his dad and asked,
"Hey dad, can I stay out with Loki and Tony for a bit?" He looked up at his dad, knowing what the answer would be. It was a small town and everyone looked after each other.
"Of course, Gabe. Don't stay out for to long or we'll both be in trouble with your mother!" They both shared a smile and Nick laughed, knowing that would genuinely be the case.
"Dad, before I go..." He was interrupted by his dad handing him $10.
"Here you go. Buy Loki a drink as well," he said suggestively. Gabriel took the money from his dad apprehensively as his dad nudged him in the arm. Gabriel sighed, his father was always joking about him and Loki but they were simply friends.
"Dad..." he said as he sighed audibly.
"I know, I know, I'm just playing with you, son. Go and have fun with your friends and don't be home late," Nick said, smiling. He put his hand on Gabriel's shoulder and nodded. With that the young boy walked over to the café and waved at Loki.
"Hi Loki, hi Tony," he said somewhat nervously. He didn't do well with large crowds of people. He walked closer to Loki and asked quietly,
"I'm getting a drink, would anyone else like one?"

@AbillioncatsTony noticed Clara enter the cafe and immediately start talking to the houseplants. That wasn't that unusual, and as long as she didn't come this way, he didn't feel the need to greet her, so he just went back to watching the emotions on Kurt's face as he read the first article Tony had found on the outside 'net.

When Loki came over Tony briefly wondered why he had to pick a 6 person table. Sure, they needed a table because bench seats hurt Kurt's tale, but instead of grabbing a two person table, he'd went to one in a corner, a six seater. Hopefully Loki would be the only one showing up, and their privacy wouldn't be that disturbed.

@WiccanRose15"Files? What files?" Tony heard, before motioning for her to be quieter.

"Just something I was putting together for all of the Birth-day children. Yours is pretty much done, though, so I guess you can see it now." He motioned for Kurt to let hand the drive to her.

Kurt quickly copied over his folder and the Open Door program and handed the flash drive to Loki. "Just copy the folder with your name on it, and give it back to Tony." Kurt was already watching a video from his folder using wireless earbuds, one which showed the X-men fighting the Brotherhood in Central Park a few weeks ago.

@Virani"Hi guys." Tony heard Ororo say, so he slid out the chair beside him for her to sit down.

"Oh, hey, Ororo." Tony said. "I was just showing Kurt and Loki something I made for the Birth-day children. Whenever Loki's done you can copy the folder with your name on it over and have a look."

By the time he finished saying this Gabriel was also walking his way. Maybe the six person table was kind of a mixed blessing. They needed to know what he found, after all, and this way enough people would know the truth that they couldn't be stopped from revealing it.

@EldarionI"Hi Loki, hi Tony," Gabriel said somewhat nervously. He walked closer to Loki and asked quietly, "I'm getting a drink, would anyone else like one?"

"Nothing for me," Tony replied, "Kurt and I just ordered. I have something I need to show you, though." He pointed to the flashdrive. "I found some files about the Birth-day children that I think we all need to see and talk about. There's a folder on there just for you."

@EldarionI

"Tabby!" Clara exclaimed, her weird sunglasses falling off as she gave the other girl a surprise hug. She let go after a moment and gestured at said plant.

"George wants more fertilizer, though personally I think he's already spoiled too much." She said with a nod. "He doesn't know how hard life is out there for those regular plants that live outdoors, dealing with plant eating bugs, diseases, and of course whatever animals feel like taking a bite out of them. It's a hard knock-life."

"Hey...what are they doing over there?" Clara asked, looking over at Tony and the other at the table. "Hold on I'll ask. HEY, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING OVER THERE?!" She waved at them as she shouted from across the room.

_Theme

It felt natural. His fingers against the metal strings. He didn't know why, but there was just a certain soulfulness in the way that they sounded. His mother told him that the guitar, especially the acoustic, was a very special instrument. From an early age, he wasn't sure why, the sounds that this wooden box with a tail made soothed him like nothing else.

James had been sitting here for a good 45 minutes, just jamming away in his room. He could go on like this for a while, that is, unless he was interrupted. Which he was; his door was knocked upon. Buck rested his palm on the strings to silence them.

"Come in." He spoke to John through the door. He knocked the same way every time. Every person's knock sounded differently, even if only slightly, Buck noticed. The door opened and his brother smiled, leaning on the doorframe.

"You know, there are things outside of this room." John chuckled.

Buck shrugged, but a corner of his lip turned upward in a small smile. "Yeah...I can hear them."

"Well, why not go experience them?"

"Is this another history lesson?" Buck groaned.

"Well, Mom did say that 'Every action you take makes history.'" John hinted, doing his best impression of their mom, and they both laughed a bit.

"Alright. I'll go for a walk."

"Good." His brother commended, pulling out his wallet and placing fifteen dollars on Buck's dresser. "Since I know you're gonna stop by the cafe at some point, pick me up one of their boxes of tea, will you?"

"I'll be sure to..." Buck replied as John already started down the hall and down the stairs. He exhaled some, pulling his ear-plugs off of his desk. The lad always wore ear-plugs when he left from their home, considering that his senses were always dialed to ten. They didn't block the noise out all the way, like they would for most people, but they brought it all down to a bearable level in noisy areas.

John told him that they moved when he was really little, to the farther side of town, to a house on a hill, to limit all the noise. His brother had powers just like he did, but he learned to control them much better. He promised that James would learn one day. For now though, ear-plugs it was.

~~

Buck had been walking around town for a good hour and a half. He went to go hang with Hank who seemed to be experimenting with a toad to try coding it for computer simulation and animations. While the notion sounded cool, James was really more interested in making sure he didn't hurt the little guy. Amphibians are kind of fragile because of how soft and squishable they are.

That aside though, he rode his bike to the downtown area, where X-Presso was located. Looking in the window, he could see some of his friends inside already: Kurt, Ororo, and Tabby. While parking the bike out front, he gently dusted himself off before entering.

Inside, Buck glanced around at the other teens and let off a small sheepish smile, but he went up to the counter first. Faithful to what John asked him to get, he picked up a box of tea that smelled kind of like maple trees and purchased it. Looking at the two groups that formed, he decisively picked the smaller one. Seeing Tabby and Clara, he chuckled but didn't say a word yet so as to not interrupt the conversation between Clara, Tabby, and the potted fern.

As the ever energetic Clara's attention span bounced away, James merely smiled. "Hey Tabby."

Ororo looked curiously at the flash drive Tony was passing around, what was on it that was so important? He said it was something to do with the birth-day children. Maybe it explained why they all developed abilities beyond that of a normal human?
There was no point trying to guess what the information was she decided, best just to wait and see it for herself. She was after all a patient person and didn't think there was any need to rush.

She smiled warmly at Loki and Gabriel when he joined them. She didn't know either one very well but she was a naturally warm and friendly person and wanted to make them feel welcome. She jumped slightly when Clara shouted across the shop to their group and then smiled in embarrassment, trust Clara to liven things up. She didn't want to shout what Tony had told her across the cafe as she figured it was best to keep it amongst themselves.

"Tony has found something that he thinks we'll find interesting." She called back. "Come and take a look."

---

---

Tabitha chuckled at 'George's' opinion on how well he was looked after, she guessed even plants get spoiled sometimes. She was just opening her mouth to continue the conversation when she noticed James come and stand next to them. Though he said nothing she could feel his eyes on them and she knew she was blushing again. Bloody pale skin she thought in frustration. Thankfully Clara distracted her thoughts by shouting at the group sitting across the shop from them. Tabitha winced at the volume and glanced quickly at her mother who was still behind the counter. Her mother frowned, she didn't like anything that might irritate or annoy her guests, but she said nothing. Her mother liked Clara and since the other customers didn't seem bothered she let it go.

She turned and grinned at James. "Hey you. Wondered if you were going to show." She nudged him playfully in the arm. "Being a hermit again were you?"

Loki nodded her greeting and accent to a drink to her friend Gabriel. She was a bit preoccupied with what she had just downloaded onto her phone. Wordlessly, she handed the flash drive back to Tony and began to look through her file. There was no readable expression on her face but inside she was crumbling. How could their parents do this to them? She had spent a bit longer than would normally be necessary with the flash drive as she had not only downloaded her own file but the others as well.
She sat down eventually, just as Clara yelled out. Clones! They were all clones. Why? Were their parents the ones who did it? So many questions swirling through her head finally she stood up and planted herself directly in front of Tony.

"Why?" She knew he was no more likely to have an answer than any one else but his intelligence rivaled her own. She hoped he would at least have some theories.

With hearing Tabby's voice, that could easily fry his sensitive hearing for a while, James' small smile became a grin. It was, interestingly enough, music to his ears. Though, seeing her scarlet dipped face and eyes of fine silver upon him, raised thoughts about her question to him. His brother's words seemed to be more true than he recognized, again. Though, that usually tended to be the case. It was funny when someone else realized his habit of staying to himself mostly.

It was one of the things that people sometimes used to lump him with Clara as a hippie as well. 'Hermits and hippies' seemed to generally have the same sort of mental imagery. Though, these thoughts were taking him off track. "I suppose so...though, John needed tea, so, I came down to get it." He raised the box into clear view for her.

"Besides, I thought it'd be nice to come see you..." He paused, realizing what he just said. "A-and the store mascot, George, of course." Buck gestured to the plant potted beside them. Though, with his hearing, he caught Ororo's voice among the others mention something that Tony was trying to show to the others. With the way that their tones were carried, there seemed to be some weight to the words.

This piqued his interest when his head turned to their direction. The other female of the group, Loki, he believed, asked the question why. Though, in the context it was presented, it didn't sound too good. Thus, his eyes turned back to Tabitha and he gestured with his head.

"Maybe we should go see what's going on over there." Buck suggested, taking a step or two over. It wasn't too close, but it was enough to show attentiveness.

It wasn't very long before Clara was at the table, standing just behind Tony, she leaned down and stuck her head forward to try and get a better look at what Tony was doing, not that she was particularly good which machines, other than using her own smartphone...which she sometimes struggled with as it was. Plants were a lot easier to understand.

"What ya got there Tony? Did you find evidence of an alien civilization living underneath our feet? The rest of the world is overrun with zombies? Walt Disney's secret double life as a superhero?" All completely plausible ideas in Clara's opinion.

Suddenly Clara started looking nervous, fidgeting a bit. "If this is about the cocoa bean incident...that wasn't my fault. How was I supposed to know eating that many at once was a bad idea? They don't put instructions on them!"

Ororo saw the expression on Loki's face and how serious Tony looked and began to worry, when Loki demanded 'Why' she was even more worried and confused. She took the flash drive from Tony and quickly downloaded the folder with her name on it. Her mouth dried when she watched the file and she had to swallow several times to work moisture back into it. Loki's comments made a lot more sense now. She glanced up when she noticed Tabby and James standing not too far away from their table.

Tabitha frowned when she saw the look on Ororo's face, her friend looked worried and a little scared and it took a lot to scare Ororo. She put her hand on her friends shoulder. "You ok?" She asked.

Ororo slowly shook her head and instead of explaining she handed Tabitha the flash drive. "Download the folder with your names on it." She said to both of them. Tabitha looked puzzled but did as her friend said and then handed the flash drive to James. She watched the file on her smart phone and almost dropped it in surprise.

"What the hell?" She demanded.

@AbillioncatsTony cringed when Clara called out to them. Just what he needed, someone calling attention to him while he's trying to do something secretly. Thankfully she soon came over.

"No, nothing like that. And Cocoa beans actually have trace amounts of cocaine in them, so you might want to process them first. No, I found evidence of a different kind of conspiracy." He motioned to the flash drive. "Just copy the folder with your name on it. If you need help, I can show you how."

@WiccanRose15 "Why?" Loki demanded of Tony. At first he wasn't sure what exactly she was asking. "You mean, why did I tell you? I thought you should know. Or "why did they do this"? Or "Why did they hide this"? I'm not sure. Maybe they wanted backups of the originals, in case they died. They seem to be pretty important people. Maybe they were afraid of the outside world turning against them and volunteered. I might consider being cloned if I thought I was going to die. Maybe the people here just liked super-powered people and wanted them to have a safe haven. Lots of other super people here, but they rarely accept outsiders, so that's probably not it."

@Virani Seeing Ororo's reaction to the knowledge of their origin, Tony reached over and took her hand, trying to reassure her. They would need to support each other through this. All of the Birth-day children would need to support each other, not just the two of them, but she came first.

Steve's afternoon had been pretty light. Today was his cardio day, and he decided to spend it running around the town a few times. He always made sure to end his trip at the cafe, where he could grab something quick to eat. Having an enhanced metabolism had its benefits, but also came with a very large appetite. Today was no exception. He had found himself outside of the cafe stretching out his legs after a long run. He wasn't exhausted, but he had worked up quite a sweat. He used the towel wrapped around the back of his neck to quickly wipe off his face and arms of their sweat.

Steve walked into the cafe wearing his usual patriotic-style jogging outfit. He was wearing a dark blue short-sleeve athletic t-shirt with a large white star stitched into its center that hung tightly against his frame after the run. For pants, he simply wore red sweat pants with a white stripe on the sides. As soon as he walked in, Steve's eyes locked onto the group of his fellow birth-day children. They were as wild as ever, and Vivian always said that Steve needed to spend more time with the other children. He took a deep breath and made his way towards the rambunctious crowd.

Tony was someone Steve already knew. Tony was practically a celebrity around town after he developed some weird technical what-sits that Steve didn't want to bother with. Steve began to recognize a few of the others as well, at least by piecing together rumors and such. Loki was a face he recognized almost immediately, which was no surprise given the trouble she had caused over the years. Ororo and Clara were hard to miss given their hair colors, and Steve could only just put a name to James' face as they were in the same year of school. Tabby was recognized as a member of the cafe, but the last person Steve admittedly just didn't know. Given the collection of individuals, Steve already regretted making his way towards them.

Steve only caught a few words as he was approaching. Something about cocaine, and copying files. More than enough to make the boy scout's expression sour into a rather stern expression from his initial smile. Steve approached and folded his arms, leaning back a little as he stood to get a more powerful stance. "What's going on here, Tony? And what is everyone looking at?"

@TheUnknowable "I'm fully aware of what's in cocoa beans!" Clara exclaimed. "I ate them raw for science..."

Clara fiddled with the flash drive, she attempted to connect it to her phone...through the audio jack. "Hmmmmm it doesn't fit...haaaaaalp me Tony~!" Eventually with Tony's help, the files were on Clara's phone. The plant girl got uncharacteristically quiet for a while as she went through her own file.

"I...I..." Clara's arms trembled a bit as she lowered her phone. "...I knew it! See! I was right all along! I've been telling you guys for years that we're clones! I proved it with a ouija board multiple times!" Of course Clara failed to mention that she also often claimed that aliens were living below them underground, watching them, or that they were all secretly inside the matrix.

Over all Clara actually seemed really happy about all this.

Loki's attitude quickly shifted when she saw Steve. She smiled, although it was a smile born of ice. She and Steve weren't close, than again there were very few people Loki was close to. "So glad you could join us Steve." She practically purred. She knew how much he believed in the community and how this would affect him. "Take a look at the files Tony found and then maybe we can have a rousing discussion about truth? Honor? Patriotism?" She handed him her phone with his file pulled up on it. "God bless America." She said sarcastically.

She didn't sound bitter as much as matter of fact. her face held only the barest trace of a sneer and although her words were filled with venom they were not heated. Quite the opposite in face. She looked around at the others while she waited for Steve to finish reading.

"Ameeeeeeeeeeeerica! Fuck yeah!" Clara suddenly sang, making an air guitar for a split second before suddenly stopping and looking slightly sheepish. "Sorry, the conversation sorta make me think of the song and I just felt like...just uh, go ahead and continue like that didn't happen and stuff..."

Clara slowly started to shuffle herself away, heading towards Tony until she was right up to his ear, she then started to whisper.

"So Tony, I was thinking about this whole clone thing and stuff, and it make me think of Mr. Cabb from across the street from the flower shop. The other day I saw him walking down the street with three blunts in his mouth, so I went up to him and was like, 'Hey Mr. Cabb what's shakin?' and he was all like 'Yo Clara what up? Wanna whiff?' and I was all like, 'Nah thanks but I don't blow with people I've only talked to for five minutes' then he looked at me all weird and was like, 'Clara ya crazy bitch you've known me ya whole life' and then..."

Clara paused for a second, looking like she was thinking hard. "...this sort of went off topic, but the point of all this is...I think Mr. Cabb is a clone of Snoop Dogg."