The second they were led away from the entrance and guided around the facility, the redhead’s senses were on high alert. She’d been discreetly examining her surroundings, taking in as much detail as she could about the areas and those around her without raising suspicions or appearing paranoid. Not too long after they had entered what the staff called the rec room, the redhead had spotted the man currently beckoning her attention, sitting on a chair in the corner like a king surveying his territory from an iron throne.

Tall. Lanky. Buzzed hair. Pale skin adorned with tattoos… And the sharpest, coldest pair of ice blue eyes Noah had ever seen. At first glance, he looked like the kind of man she’d take a chance on at the pub, if only to get a fun night and a juicy story to tell her friends later on. But the more she stared out at the stranger and his actions out of the corner of her eyes, the more suspicious and intrigued she got. While his eyes did wander around and momentarily settled on each member of the new arrivals, she didn’t miss the way they always seemed to circle back to her. Something in those arctic orbs tugged at Noah’s consciousness, urging her to keep her alert high and her guard even higher. The realization dawned on her like a bucket of ice water: that lascivious glint in the man’s eyes was the same one she’d seen in Howard Sterling’s pools of shit back on the day that had started everything.

The Cypress girl was still trying to come to terms with the implications of the potential threat she’d identified when she heard someone calling out to her from across the room.



It only took a second for Noah’s expression to morph from concern and into something that resembled a bewildered resting bitch face as she turned around to face whoever was calling her. A cloud of tension seemed to settle inside the rec room at the sound of the raised voice and she could feel the eyes of everyone in the room shifting from her, to the iron king and his teenage minion, and back to her again. The general consensus of nervous, petrified looks from both the newbies and veterans alike told her everything she needed to know about this man: he was someone it was best not to mess with.

Although she knew that approaching the iron king might not be the smartest idea, what was Noah supposed to do? Ignore him? That would probably piss him off and put a bigger target on her back than the one she already seemed to have. Tell one of the guards? Fucking laughable. They didn’t look like the types who gave a shit, and chances are they’d find a way to pin anything that happened on her (just like they had back home). Get one of her peers to help her? Absolutely not. It was much too early in the game to know who she could or couldn’t trust, and she wasn’t about to risk anyone’s status or safety by getting them involved in something they hadn’t been initially included in in the first place. So what other choice did she have? As much as she didn’t want to, the best course of action was to charge into the situation head-on and hope she’d come away unscathed.

Taking a deep breath, Noah squared her shoulders and walked across the room, stopping a few steps away from the iron king and his minion. “What do you want?” she pointedly asked the man, clenching her jaw and crossing her arms in front of her chest. She kept her defiant stare locked on his, wanting to show no signs of being intimidated in any way.

"It's not about what I want yet, Red… It's about what I can give you." He smiled disarmingly. "A little birdie told me that the screws took something from you."

Bubblegum. He could smell it on her now. As well as an intoxicating vanilla scent which was unrelated. He fought a leer down at some of his further thoughts.

"Taylor, could you please fetch us a vape pen for the young lady here. Bubblegum cartridge." His head tilted to the side as if considering the number of spares, as if he were at a store. "Make it a five-pack of cartridges. My tab."

Noah bit the inside of her cheek. Yet. Not about what he wanted yet. That was all the proof she needed to know that accepting this seemingly kind offer wouldn't be without consequence. She might not have the street smarts that some of her peers seemed to possess (hello, privileged upbringing in a middle-high class Washington suburb), but she wasn't naive enough to forget that nobody ever did anything without wanting or expecting something in return-- especially in a place like this.

"A free five-pack vape on my very first day? Wow. That's generous of you," the redhead commented with a fake smile, not wanting to raise any suspicions even if a slight edge of sarcasm could be heard in her words. "I must've made a hell of a first impression on you if you're offering me all of that at no charge."

The irony was, he'd not paid her less mind then at that moment, since he first targeted her. The facility was a system. Not unlike a swimming pool, with everything constantly in motion on the eddies and currents of seemingly innocuous events.

He had moved something within the system, and was now interested in seeing who, how and what would react through entanglement. There was a plain kid in a hoodie who'd been eyeballing him since he first saw him. He made him out as someone who viewed themselves as a "hero–type". Until he could properly be threat assessed he was one to be mindful of, and work around his gaze. Once he had his pattern down it would be no more difficult than working around the cameras. The blonde powerhouse also seemed wary of his movements at the time, but then was distracted by Bulk. Not like him to make himself useful under his own initiative, but Billy would take it.

Others were watchful and wary, including "wings". She might be the way to go, if he could drop her without the kid in the hoodie noticing.

Eyeballs weren't a bad thing if shock and awe moves could be made to exploit them and prevent further action.

Nothing stops a person from deciding to be the hero like watching the previous person get stamped out like a dying flame for attempting the exact same thing.

Already he'd seen another lean boy eyeballing him, and he'd been so intimidated he'd scurried off to hide at another table to play chess with that first inscrutable blonde mystery, where he thought he wouldn't be noticed. Never to look back. Pitiful.

"Something makes me think you make a Hell of an impression in every room you're in…" He replied, smiling his Cheshire cat's grin whilst taking in all of the change surrounding him.

Noah flashed the heavily tattooed man a genuine grin of her own. He could say that again. "What can I say? People just seem to have a blast with me," she teased cheekily with a small snicker, unable to resist herself from dropping the imperceptible Easter egg about her abilities before promptly changing the subject to avoid suspicion. "So what am I supposed to call you? I don't think the Alcatraz Fairy Godmother is a suitable enough title for someone that looks as good as you do."

"Call me Billy." He said with a smile, that flashed too many teeth. He doubted she would for long. But long enough…

"Billy…" she repeated, allowing the name to roll off her tongue with the slightest edge of flirtation. The iron king’s name was Billy. While Noah's question seemed innocent enough or an attempt to make conversation, the reality was that she was also trying to gather her own intel about this guy. FBI-levels of investigating people online was one of the redhead's skills, so she was hoping to get enough information to be able to look up this Billy as soon as she had possession of a device with internet capabilities. For now, she had decided to just play along with what was happening, but staying on high alert to spring to action the moment things seemed to take a turn she didn't like.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Billy," Noah declared, extending out her hand for the man to shake while locking her eyes with his again. There was no way of truly disguising how skeptical she was of everything happening, but she could definitely make sure he knew she wasn't someone that would cower around him like the rest of the program attendees seemed to. "I have a feeling that we're going to be great friends."

He liked how his name sounded coming out of her mouth. Perhaps not as much as he'd like something else of his going into her mouth, but this was a start, not a finish. The day was long.

He took her extended hand and saw through her lies. Still. No matter. He wasn't looking for a 'long term friend' from her. Just long enough. He thought again about how his name would sound coming from that mouth again, but now with a twist of panic. His smile broadened. Just have to get her on the hook first…

"Daw– Taylor. My order. For the lady, please."

The younger boy looked within himself - a portal within himself, to be more precise - and satisfied with the other end's location pushed an arm in and came out with a vape pen and five refill cartridges. Both still in their original packaging. He gave them to Billy before turning to the girl.

"You didn't ask for any specific colour or design. This was the first I found. Enjoy." He split without any formal goodbye, eager to extricate himself from this situation.

The way the minion had basically dumped the vapes on Billy's hands and ran off as if he'd just handed out a ticking bomb wasn't missed on Noah. She'd seen the terror on poor Taylor's face, and the way he cowered any time Billy so much as looked in his direction: a clear sign that she should emulate his actions and run while she still could. The redhead knew, however, that backing away now was sure to put a stamp with the word 'coward' on her forehead. She'd been told by someone that being respected in a place like this was vital to avoid being messed with-- and if that meant putting up a front to stay in the good graces of people like Billy, then that was a sacrifice Noah would have to make.

Keeping up her facade, Noah turned her attention from where Taylor had disappeared and onto the goodies in Billy's hands. "That's a pretty pricey stack you got there, Billy. Are you sure you want to waste your money like that and give all of that to me for free?" she asked, furrowing her brow while trying to get the asking price of this deed to be revealed (even if she had a good idea of what it could be).

"Free. Well, what really is 'free' these days. I certainly wouldn't want you to view any kind of 'great friendship' as purely transactional…" He started. She knew full well where he was going. She just wanted to see if he'd balk at spelling it out for her. Not a problem he would have.

"I just thought I'd found someone who looks like they know how to have some fun. And a friend in need, is a friend indeed, so they say. Perhaps they might have some fun at the same time."

'At first, at least.' Were the words left unspoken.

And finally, there it was: the real purpose behind this whole charade.

A wide grin broke across Noah’s face before she could stop herself. Of course that’s what he wanted. The second she’d spotted the Howard look in those icy eyes, she knew exactly what it was that darling Billy was after: some sweeeeeet, sweet lovin'. He didn’t even see her as a threat, just a hot piece of ass he wanted to tap. How… disappointing.

“You want me to let you hit it in exchange for a vape pen and five cartridges?” she asked with a snort, still grinning and unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. “Is that all you think I’m worth?”

His smile turned to a smirk of its own. “Like I said, I don’t want to view this as transactional. I mean, WHO IS ‘only’ worth a vape pen and five cartridges?” ‘You. You are. That’s what’s going to make this happen.’ He thought to himself.

“But I could flip that around as well, and say do I look like I’m worth so little, that time with me should cost more than a vape pen and five cartridges? You don’t think there’d be… quite a bit of fun going around both ways?” He asked.

”Not transactional at all.” He repeated. ”But I can understand how the very suggestion of that would be offensive. I just viewed it as one ‘great friend’ recognising a point of need in another, and hoping to fill it. But this is starting to sound a lot less like your issue with it being transactional, and the point being more that you don’t feel I’ve hit your price point. THAT would be a whole different argument altogether. Like I said, I don’t view it that way. Just… a couple of hot ‘great friends’ feeling each other out, who also may have found something else they could help the other person with. That’s all.”

The more she heard Billy speak, the harder it was for Noah to not roll her eyes and keep a straight face. Did people actually fall for this? What good, genuine intentions could someone have to approach a person out of nowhere making propositions or offering gifts and claiming that all they wanted was just sex in return? Give men like Billy an inch, and they’d take a mile. Consenting to something like this wasn’t just idiotic at best, but could put her in real danger or potentially compromising positions she did not want to be a part of.

Nope. It was time to wrap this thing up.

"As tempting as the offer is to become a pair of ‘hot great friends’ to 'fill my needs' and 'feel each other out', I think I'll pass,” Noah sternly replied to Billy, finally dropping the friendly act. “But don’t worry! I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other girls willing to drink the koolaid you’re selling. I just won’t be one of them.” And with those words still hanging in the air, the redhead gave the man a two-finger salute, turned on her heel and set off in the opposite direction.

"Alright, now just hold up a sec–” He grabbed her firmly by the wrist, as she turned to walk away.

"Hey--- what the fuck?!"

In an attempt to tear herself loose, Noah dug the nails of her free hand on the arm of Billy's that held her other wrist captive, but failed to see how exposed she had left herself to Billy’s other hand in the process, which had gone lower still. She looked into his icy eyes and saw the animal within, revealing a glimpse of its true self at last before disappearing in a flash. His expression no longer matched the situation, a twisted look of confusion on his face.

The redhead looked down and saw why. His hand was frozen in mid-air with two fingers intending to find an unwelcome home in a spot below her waist, as if they’d found only an invisible wall.

The confusion on his face quickly gave way to fear. Billy didn’t know exactly what her power was, but he knew he was about to find out. He’d overplayed his position.

In a matter of seconds, Noah’s face transitioned from shock at the compromising placement of Billy's free hand, to pure, unfiltered rage at the realization of what he had attempted to do. Without warning, the young woman raised her hand, her thumb and middle finger coming together.

"You really fucked with the wrong one."

With a loud snap of her fingers, the table right behind Billy exploded into splinters. The force of its blast propelled Billy's body forward in Noah's direction before slamming him into the invisible wall from earlier, and slowly slumping him down in a crumpled heap.

The redhead stepped back from the pile of a person at her feet, her eyes wide and body trembling as the realization of what she had done began to sink in. Before this moment, she had never deliberately used her powers on someone for harm before, or in such close proximity that the blast could have actually hurt her. Even in the Howard situation, her focus had never been on directly hurting him-- his injuries had been collateral damage from the vehicle's blast. But in the heat of the moment, when faced with the reality that she came so close to being assaulted, her rage, impulsivity and desire for revenge had overcome any sort of logic, rhyme or reason.

However, there was a lingering question fixated on the young woman's mind…


Guards started barking orders amidst the chaos and converged on the site of the explosion, where the seething Noah stood alone over the sprawling boy who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

The large boy previously engaged in conversation with Brooklyn exploded from the other side of the room, plowing through tables and chairs in the process. Still fueled by adrenaline and rage, Noah spun on her heel to face him and raised her hand again, her fingers ever-ready to fearlessly defend herself. The horrid spray hit him from one side, diverting him, before tasers lit him up. The doors opened and more guards flooded the room. Four guards tackled him before an additional two jumped Noah from behind, securing both of her hands to ensure safety. Two more guards continued to order the rest of the Ju-V kids in attendance into behaving peacefully.

The two attendees under heavy physical guard control were removed from the room, as more guards entered and looked to reclaim the peace, all while they waited for medical personnel to take custody of the injured Billy.