Neon lights came into view as I walked down a set of stairs from middle to lower Gloria, narrow streets greeted me when I reached the bottom, all of them paved with black brick that seemed to absorb all the light yet glistened with them all the same. Here, the buildings are wood and brick, a small sign that tells anyone paying close attention that I'm still in a rich part of the city.
The architecture here are houses that stood on two to three stories with small circular windows with frames shaped like a cross. Seeing as it is night, most of them have curtains drawn from the inside, covering anyone who's willing to snoop and take a peek. Up top are balconies, square with cylindrical railings made from wood, potted plants of various kinds are placed atop the railing's flat counter, the most common of them being a purple ivy that got modified to absorb and glow with neon light.
Most of the balconies faced each other in a fascinating display that allows the owners to greet each other every morning.
The old, medieval feel of the place had been mostly influenced by some of the Aristrocats feeling nostalgic while designing the houses for the area, showing that even cold hearted bastards that extort money can sometimes feel emotion too.
A child's laughter came from the inside of a house somewhere.
'And it's not like they aren't human, either.' I thought while feeling disdain. I didn't have the right to get angry at little kids for being born with enough money because it would just make me a hypocrite because I was born with money myself, my life under Jericho before running away and living on my own had been more than what most of the people living in Broker's Dam could have for themselves. 'Not that I can't mock them for being stupid,'
Well, I can mock some of them- the ones that stay useless and keep relying on their parents after growing up- but most of those are outliers since the term the Elite refers to themselves as does hold weight. Not much, but enough that their children are educated and capable of taking care of themselves.
The rich looking houses kept going the more I walked, never stopping until I reached a low bridge made from brick, this was the edge of the lower Gloria's richer parts, and now, ahead of me, is the place of sexual activity this area is known for. Already I can tell everything ahead of me is built for illicit activities; 4-story tall buildings with the standard square shape took over everything that I can see, blocking most of the view within the deeper parts of the red-light district.
Much like the upper parts of Gloria, that type of building is common here because not only is the economy good enough to sustain them by the bare minimum, the way they have a large interior while not swallowing entire plots is a good way for some of the businessmen make more money by having more space.
I crossed the bridge and the scent of drugs and incense ate up my nose. Gathering Theikos, I boosted myself to resist the addicting scent while dodging a curvy woman walking towards me. My head felt clear and I inhaled a lungful of breath just as the prostitute's footsteps went away.
The journey further down Gloria had been unnerving, as I kept walking past these alleyways full of homeless people huddled around a barrel lit with fire, I kept hearing bits and pieces of a conversation that seems to be a widespread and popular topic among the people living here. And it was, to no one's surprise, about an explosion by the dried up water channel 2 days ago. I know it's still early so that even is still alive in the minds of everyone in the lower parts but hearing about it personally just feels... terrifying.
I kept looking back behind me whenever I turned a corner, half-expecting that some villain or mercenary is gonna come and kill me while I have my guard down. It didn't happen, of course, but the paranoia that I feel about it persists.
"Hey there man, you should turn back from here." I stopped walking- an action that encouraged the pre-teen to talk further, "I heard that something happened back at the water channel-" I sighed and gave the little guy a smile while rubbing his head. "What? You think I'm joking aren't you?"
My eyes locked with his, "Nope. I just-" I'm the reason why it happened. "-you know, I know that I'm gonna be fine yeah?"
He rolled his eyes, "Yes, I know that you know that the confidence you're feigning is absolute bullshit. You sound nervous. You should just turn back."
"I have somewhere to go," I ruffled his hair again and walked past him and to the right side of the forked street we were in front of. A lamppost with a sign on it says that the path that I picked leads to the lower part's Neon District and near the water channel or not, that's the place where I'm headed because most mercs usually go there to hang out or wait for a job.
After thinking about it back in the shower, I thought that joining a team of mercs wouldn't be a bad idea for the first few times that I'm doing a mission. It's not gonna be permanent, and I plan on going solo once I have enough experience to fend for myself without getting scammed or picked for a suicide squad. The latter of the two especially since it's common for jobs to have little to no information given to a merc until they see for themselves that the place they're pulling a job in is actually the lair of a deadly supervillain.
And I need to know how to gather my own information whilst also looking out for jobs that don't have any. Or at least learn how to tell the difference between a safe job that has no information and one that's the same but dangerous.
Little by little, the tall buildings of the red-light district started to fade to get replaced by short, but lively places whose front entrances are littered with signs- pretty much not that different from the strippers with bodies full of tattoos working inside of them really.
And as the scenery changed, so did the people; no longer the slipper-wearing homeless people that lived between buildings of the red light district, the men and women going here have changed drastically, now they had become the scantily clad party goers that visit from the richer parts of the city. As expected, the largest of them that go here are teens and old people who can pretend to be teens. Their faces were young, all smiles, and sometimes even innocent.
Unlike the merchants of Broker's Dam, these were the type of people that a mercenary would work for and so, now that I'm around my preferred target demographic for jobs, I went between buildings and changed my looks- My hair turned dark grey and my clothes went ahead and followed the color scheme, making them look like a mime. Then a mask and a pair of black gloves went on, pulled out from some cargo pants pockets that seemed to contain all the things I need.
I took out a throwing my knife from my pocket and started to test how it feels through the glove's fabric by rolling it around my fingers, satisfied, I walked quicker to get out of the building's shadow and move back into the open street.
The shift of attitude that people had towards me was pretty noticeable the moment that I started walking around looking like a cape. Save for the little few that looked at me with barely hidden sensuality, almost everyone looked at and treated me like I was a bomb that was ready to go off at any given moment, avoiding me in any way possible. And some, I noticed, deliberately went out of their way to enter buildings or take detours right as long as they didn't pass me by.
I snorted, which caused some girl sitting in front of a bar near me to flinch. The invisible barrier that divides the normal person from the typical mutant couldn't be any more obvious. Hearing about how mutants get treated badly hadn't really matter to me back then but I guess experiencing it now... I can see why some of us would feel alienated. 'Probably because we are.'
The people who were in between are so minuscule that if I wasn't specifically looking for them, I wouldn't even notice them- I like to think of myself as someone who's empathic enough that I can figure out what people think of me right as long as I pay attention to it and because of that, I'm confident that the passive glares some of the others were sending my way isn't what the rest think it is; my best guess is that they're doing it to intimidate some newbie merc but that sounds pretty farfetched so I decided to stop thinking about it after that one bad guess.
Whatever the reason for that glare is though, it helped me figure out who's a recruiter as well as who're other mercs- who, unlike me, are blending in with the rest of the crowd by wearing regular clothes instead of some badly designed hero costume. Which... thinking about it, is a good idea now that I recognize who the people I need to approach for a job are.
With a tired sigh, I decided to take a detour and move behind another building for another change of looks.
I stepped out as regular old Tyler again and started walking around the place. I'll wait for a while before I go to one of the recruiters to not blow their cover so with that in mind, I sidestepped a man with a fancy looking suit approaching me with a smile and said- "Sorry dude, not gay." and walked to the nearest girl who snickered at my bad joke.
"Weird dude huh?" I said as I walked up to her and she giggled. She stopped but her smirk increased in intensity as I eyed her up and down, sending a clear message as I checked her out and the lovely lady obliged, pushing her chest forward and arching her back so that her breast and ass got emphasized.
Her tiny waist twisted itself as she turned her entire body to face me, both her arms framed themselves into an L as she pressed one elbow into the open countertop and pushed that arm against the size of her chest while her other arm slid down and held up her breasts, emphasizing them further and showing more of her cleavage, "Hey."
"You don't like the joke?" I faked a pout and took a seat right next to her. The perfume that she wore complimented her red dress well, "Your perfume fits well with your dress."
"Really now?" She passed me her glass and I took a sip, "Like it?"
"You know I can ask the same about my joke," I said, pushing the clear dead end further because I was gonna be a clown, I might as well commit to it while in my civvies damnit!
A forced laugh came out of her mouth and she downed the new cup handed to her in one setting like she was a mother preparing to deal with an unruly child, "It was good. You're right."
I laughed, "Sorry, sorry. I just- you were ignoring it you know?" I said and did the same as her, emptying the glass cup without so much as a fuss.
I felt my face heat up and it wasn't because a red nail was rubbing against the skin of my right arm as she ran her hand across it, "Yeah?" She softly moaned before giggling. Her hand went away from my arm and went up to caress my face, "It's because I was distracted by this..." She snapped her fingers and two more glasses went to the two of us.
"I get that a lot." I said, taking a drink, "You gonna pay for this?" I said and she shrugged, not giving a clear answer. "I had the money but it's you know- Complicated since I spent it on watching two guys beat each other up."
Wrong. I actually lost all of my Digits on betting on Tussle as he tried to get up from that half-giant's punches because goddamn was the crowd's cries for him to continue fighting infectious. And it's not like I was the only one that did that either, the Tusk sitting beside me did the same.
"Hoh? Do tell." She fished a few bills from her pocket and slid them across the counter.
"Thank you," I raised the glass and she did the same, we clinked them together before downing them, "But-" I stopped from the sudden burn in my throat, "But- if you're curious then there's this place back up top, a boxing gym."
"Ah." She smiled, "A relic of the past." She nodded as if nostalgic.
"Damn right!" Another glass went down, "But even if that's the case, it's pretty entertaining to watch people punch each other you know? Especially if you're just there. You get me?" She nodded with pursed lips and a shrug, even from where I am, I can tell that she was losing interest so I decided to finish my story, "It's like I wanna join you know?"
Her eyes lit up, "I get you," She shook her head in agreement as her hand trailed my arm again, this time starting from the bicep and down to the wrist, "I watched my classmates fight each other once, and standing there, I just kept thinking of what I wanna do when I'm in her situation you know?"
I nodded, "You're absolutely right." I agreed and took that segway for what it is; she wanted me to ask more about her? Sure- "And your classmates, they sound interesting. What happened?"
She smirked, "Oh, if only you knew, like-" Ah, guess she's a teen after all. A genuine smirk found itself on my lips and I downed another glass, "- There were these three idiots right?"
"Right." I nodded.
I woke up with a headache and slipped out of bed, leaving the naked form of the girl who I forgot the name of alone in bed. She moved with a groan, sending a wave amongst the bedsheets. I stared at her, surprised, "Huh, I honestly thought she was a body handler." Guess I was wrong. Body handlers can survive alcohol and not faint because if they do, the user disconnects. I snorted and shook my head before putting on my clothes.
That done, I stepped up to my partner and shook her shoulders, "Hey, you said you had something for drunkenness?" My powers were mine and they're the reason why I'm fine now.
She nodded, raising a hand to move a strand of red hair sticking to her red lips away, "Purse."
"Ah." Yeah, that makes sense. Should've thought of that.
I checked her stuff and took out a bunch of pills inside a thumb sized ziplock plastic bag, taking out one of the circular pills, I walked back to bed and grabbed the water bottle by the nightstand, opened it, and then handed them to her, "Here," she took the pill and drank, then the bottle got emptied.
"Thanks." Her voice sounded better. Good.
"I'll just tie my shoelace okay?" I said and walked to the front end of the bed.
"That's a bad reason for abandoning me, you think?" I heard her laugh from underneath the covers.
"Nah, I'm waiting for you." I replied.
"Wow. You really are huh?" I turned back to see a pile of red hair peek out of the covers. A hand moved and some of them parted, revealing almond eyes staring at me in confusion, "Damn."
I shrugged, "I do my best."
She laughed, "You clearly do!" I smiled and went back to tying my shoe laces and as I did, something rustled behind me and seconds later, two arms wrapped themselves around my neck while body heat started to seep into my body starting from the back. "So? How about it? Wanna go again?"
She was already in front of me, straddling me before I can respond, "So?"
"I have somewhere to go," I replied.
"Oh." She pouted and went away, "How about exchanging Contacts then?"
And so we did.
"You sure took your sweet time huh?" The guy who I just confirmed is an actual recruiter said to me as I walked up to him. "You were that mime, correct?"
"Clown. But yes." I corrected.
"Whatever, all of them are the same." I tried not to retort to that. "But before I talk, let me ask you, why didn't you just talk to that guy earlier?"
"You sure he wasn't just gay?" I asked with a smirk. Was he asking me if I wanted to go on a suicide mission? 'Wait, is he implying that I'm insane for not accepting it?'
He snickered, "Maybe he was? Who knows?" He said. Then his expression went back to being professional, "Let's get down straight to it shall we?" He threw an open palm out like he was asking for something and thank god I reacted quickly because I'd just crawl back to the circus if I stood there like an idiot while wondering what he wanted.
"Here," I handed him my Mutant ID and he whistled.
"I can work with you," He said with a smile. "Name's Jeremy."
"Tyler."
Neon lights came into view as I walked down a set of stairs from middle to lower Gloria, narrow streets greeted me when I reached the bottom, all of them paved with black brick that seemed to absorb all the light yet glistened with them all the same. Here, the buildings are wood and brick, a small sign that tells anyone paying close attention that I'm still in a rich part of the city.
The architecture here are houses that stood on two to three stories with small circular windows with frames shaped like a cross. Seeing as it is night, most of them have curtains drawn from the inside, covering anyone who's willing to snoop and take a peek. Up top are balconies, square with cylindrical railings made from wood, potted plants of various kinds are placed atop the railing's flat counter, the most common of them being a purple ivy that got modified to absorb and glow with neon light.
Most of the balconies faced each other in a fascinating display that allows the owners to greet each other every morning.
The old, medieval feel of the place had been mostly influenced by some of the Aristrocats feeling nostalgic while designing the houses for the area, showing that even cold hearted bastards that extort money can sometimes feel emotion too.
A child's laughter came from the inside of a house somewhere.
'And it's not like they aren't human, either.' I thought while feeling disdain. I didn't have the right to get angry at little kids for being born with enough money because it would just make me a hypocrite because I was born with money myself, my life under Jericho before running away and living on my own had been more than what most of the people living in Broker's Dam could have for themselves. 'Not that I can't mock them for being stupid,'
Well, I can mock some of them- the ones that stay useless and keep relying on their parents after growing up- but most of those are outliers since the term the Elite refers to themselves as does hold weight. Not much, but enough that their children are educated and capable of taking care of themselves.
The rich looking houses kept going the more I walked, never stopping until I reached a low bridge made from brick, this was the edge of the lower Gloria's richer parts, and now, ahead of me, is the place of sexual activity this area is known for. Already I can tell everything ahead of me is built for illicit activities; 4-story tall buildings with the standard square shape took over everything that I can see, blocking most of the view within the deeper parts of the red-light district.
Much like the upper parts of Gloria, that type of building is common here because not only is the economy good enough to sustain them by the bare minimum, the way they have a large interior while not swallowing entire plots is a good way for some of the businessmen make more money by having more space.
I crossed the bridge and the scent of drugs and incense ate up my nose. Gathering Theikos, I boosted myself to resist the addicting scent while dodging a curvy woman walking towards me. My head felt clear and I inhaled a lungful of breath just as the prostitute's footsteps went away.
The journey further down Gloria had been unnerving, as I kept walking past these alleyways full of homeless people huddled around a barrel lit with fire, I kept hearing bits and pieces of a conversation that seems to be a widespread and popular topic among the people living here. And it was, to no one's surprise, about an explosion by the dried up water channel 2 days ago. I know it's still early so that even is still alive in the minds of everyone in the lower parts but hearing about it personally just feels... terrifying.
I kept looking back behind me whenever I turned a corner, half-expecting that some villain or mercenary is gonna come and kill me while I have my guard down. It didn't happen, of course, but the paranoia that I feel about it persists.
"Hey there man, you should turn back from here." I stopped walking- an action that encouraged the pre-teen to talk further, "I heard that something happened back at the water channel-" I sighed and gave the little guy a smile while rubbing his head. "What? You think I'm joking aren't you?"
My eyes locked with his, "Nope. I just-" I'm the reason why it happened. "-you know, I know that I'm gonna be fine yeah?"
He rolled his eyes, "Yes, I know that you know that the confidence you're feigning is absolute bullshit. You sound nervous. You should just turn back."
"I have somewhere to go," I ruffled his hair again and walked past him and to the right side of the forked street we were in front of. A lamppost with a sign on it says that the path that I picked leads to the lower part's Neon District and near the water channel or not, that's the place where I'm headed because most mercs usually go there to hang out or wait for a job.
After thinking about it back in the shower, I thought that joining a team of mercs wouldn't be a bad idea for the first few times that I'm doing a mission. It's not gonna be permanent, and I plan on going solo once I have enough experience to fend for myself without getting scammed or picked for a suicide squad. The latter of the two especially since it's common for jobs to have little to no information given to a merc until they see for themselves that the place they're pulling a job in is actually the lair of a deadly supervillain.
And I need to know how to gather my own information whilst also looking out for jobs that don't have any. Or at least learn how to tell the difference between a safe job that has no information and one that's the same but dangerous.
Little by little, the tall buildings of the red-light district started to fade to get replaced by short, but lively places whose front entrances are littered with signs- pretty much not that different from the strippers with bodies full of tattoos working inside of them really.
And as the scenery changed, so did the people; no longer the slipper-wearing homeless people that lived between buildings of the red light district, the men and women going here have changed drastically, now they had become the scantily clad party goers that visit from the richer parts of the city. As expected, the largest of them that go here are teens and old people who can pretend to be teens. Their faces were young, all smiles, and sometimes even innocent.
Unlike the merchants of Broker's Dam, these were the type of people that a mercenary would work for and so, now that I'm around my preferred target demographic for jobs, I went between buildings and changed my looks- My hair turned dark grey and my clothes went ahead and followed the color scheme, making them look like a mime. Then a mask and a pair of black gloves went on, pulled out from some cargo pants pockets that seemed to contain all the things I need.
I took out a throwing my knife from my pocket and started to test how it feels through the glove's fabric by rolling it around my fingers, satisfied, I walked quicker to get out of the building's shadow and move back into the open street.
The shift of attitude that people had towards me was pretty noticeable the moment that I started walking around looking like a cape. Save for the little few that looked at me with barely hidden sensuality, almost everyone looked at and treated me like I was a bomb that was ready to go off at any given moment, avoiding me in any way possible. And some, I noticed, deliberately went out of their way to enter buildings or take detours right as long as they didn't pass me by.
I snorted, which caused some girl sitting in front of a bar near me to flinch. The invisible barrier that divides the normal person from the typical mutant couldn't be any more obvious. Hearing about how mutants get treated badly hadn't really matter to me back then but I guess experiencing it now... I can see why some of us would feel alienated. 'Probably because we are.'
The people who were in between are so minuscule that if I wasn't specifically looking for them, I wouldn't even notice them- I like to think of myself as someone who's empathic enough that I can figure out what people think of me right as long as I pay attention to it and because of that, I'm confident that the passive glares some of the others were sending my way isn't what the rest think it is; my best guess is that they're doing it to intimidate some newbie merc but that sounds pretty farfetched so I decided to stop thinking about it after that one bad guess.
Whatever the reason for that glare is though, it helped me figure out who's a recruiter as well as who're other mercs- who, unlike me, are blending in with the rest of the crowd by wearing regular clothes instead of some badly designed hero costume. Which... thinking about it, is a good idea now that I recognize who the people I need to approach for a job are.
With a tired sigh, I decided to take a detour and move behind another building for another change of looks.
I stepped out as regular old Tyler again and started walking around the place. I'll wait for a while before I go to one of the recruiters to not blow their cover so with that in mind, I sidestepped a man with a fancy looking suit approaching me with a smile and said- "Sorry dude, not gay." and walked to the nearest girl who snickered at my bad joke.
"Weird dude huh?" I said as I walked up to her and she giggled. She stopped but her smirk increased in intensity as I eyed her up and down, sending a clear message as I checked her out and the lovely lady obliged, pushing her chest forward and arching her back so that her breast and ass got emphasized.
Her tiny waist twisted itself as she turned her entire body to face me, both her arms framed themselves into an L as she pressed one elbow into the open countertop and pushed that arm against the size of her chest while her other arm slid down and held up her breasts, emphasizing them further and showing more of her cleavage, "Hey."
"You don't like the joke?" I faked a pout and took a seat right next to her. The perfume that she wore complimented her red dress well, "Your perfume fits well with your dress."
"Really now?" She passed me her glass and I took a sip, "Like it?"
"You know I can ask the same about my joke," I said, pushing the clear dead end further because I was gonna be a clown, I might as well commit to it while in my civvies damnit!
A forced laugh came out of her mouth and she downed the new cup handed to her in one setting like she was a mother preparing to deal with an unruly child, "It was good. You're right."
I laughed, "Sorry, sorry. I just- you were ignoring it you know?" I said and did the same as her, emptying the glass cup without so much as a fuss.
I felt my face heat up and it wasn't because a red nail was rubbing against the skin of my right arm as she ran her hand across it, "Yeah?" She softly moaned before giggling. Her hand went away from my arm and went up to caress my face, "It's because I was distracted by this..." She snapped her fingers and two more glasses went to the two of us.
"I get that a lot." I said, taking a drink, "You gonna pay for this?" I said and she shrugged, not giving a clear answer. "I had the money but it's you know- Complicated since I spent it on watching two guys beat each other up."
Wrong. I actually lost all of my Digits on betting on Tussle as he tried to get up from that half-giant's punches because goddamn was the crowd's cries for him to continue fighting infectious. And it's not like I was the only one that did that either, the Tusk sitting beside me did the same.
"Hoh? Do tell." She fished a few bills from her pocket and slid them across the counter.
"Thank you," I raised the glass and she did the same, we clinked them together before downing them, "But-" I stopped from the sudden burn in my throat, "But- if you're curious then there's this place back up top, a boxing gym."
"Ah." She smiled, "A relic of the past." She nodded as if nostalgic.
"Damn right!" Another glass went down, "But even if that's the case, it's pretty entertaining to watch people punch each other you know? Especially if you're just there. You get me?" She nodded with pursed lips and a shrug, even from where I am, I can tell that she was losing interest so I decided to finish my story, "It's like I wanna join you know?"
Her eyes lit up, "I get you," She shook her head in agreement as her hand trailed my arm again, this time starting from the bicep and down to the wrist, "I watched my classmates fight each other once, and standing there, I just kept thinking of what I wanna do when I'm in her situation you know?"
I nodded, "You're absolutely right." I agreed and took that segway for what it is; she wanted me to ask more about her? Sure- "And your classmates, they sound interesting. What happened?"
She smirked, "Oh, if only you knew, like-" Ah, guess she's a teen after all. A genuine smirk found itself on my lips and I downed another glass, "- There were these three idiots right?"
"Right." I nodded.
I woke up with a headache and slipped out of bed, leaving the naked form of the girl who I forgot the name of alone in bed. She moved with a groan, sending a wave amongst the bedsheets. I stared at her, surprised, "Huh, I honestly thought she was a body handler." Guess I was wrong. Body handlers can survive alcohol and not faint because if they do, the user disconnects. I snorted and shook my head before putting on my clothes.
That done, I stepped up to my partner and shook her shoulders, "Hey, you said you had something for drunkenness?" My powers were mine and they're the reason why I'm fine now.
She nodded, raising a hand to move a strand of red hair sticking to her red lips away, "Purse."
"Ah." Yeah, that makes sense. Should've thought of that.
I checked her stuff and took out a bunch of pills inside a thumb sized ziplock plastic bag, taking out one of the circular pills, I walked back to bed and grabbed the water bottle by the nightstand, opened it, and then handed them to her, "Here," she took the pill and drank, then the bottle got emptied.
"Thanks." Her voice sounded better. Good.
"I'll just tie my shoelace okay?" I said and walked to the front end of the bed.
"That's a bad reason for abandoning me, you think?" I heard her laugh from underneath the covers.
"Nah, I'm waiting for you." I replied.
"Wow. You really are huh?" I turned back to see a pile of red hair peek out of the covers. A hand moved and some of them parted, revealing almond eyes staring at me in confusion, "Damn."
I shrugged, "I do my best."
She laughed, "You clearly do!" I smiled and went back to tying my shoe laces and as I did, something rustled behind me and seconds later, two arms wrapped themselves around my neck while body heat started to seep into my body starting from the back. "So? How about it? Wanna go again?"
She was already in front of me, straddling me before I can respond, "So?"
"I have somewhere to go," I replied.
"Oh." She pouted and went away, "How about exchanging Contacts then?"
And so we did.
"You sure took your sweet time huh?" The guy who I just confirmed is an actual recruiter said to me as I walked up to him. "You were that mime, correct?"
"Clown. But yes." I corrected.
"Whatever, all of them are the same." I tried not to retort to that. "But before I talk, let me ask you, why didn't you just talk to that guy earlier?"
"You sure he wasn't just gay?" I asked with a smirk. Was he asking me if I wanted to go on a suicide mission? 'Wait, is he implying that I'm insane for not accepting it?'
He snickered, "Maybe he was? Who knows?" He said. Then his expression went back to being professional, "Let's get down straight to it shall we?" He threw an open palm out like he was asking for something and thank god I reacted quickly because I'd just crawl back to the circus if I stood there like an idiot while wondering what he wanted.
"Here," I handed him my Mutant ID and he whistled.
"I can work with you," He said with a smile. "Name's Jeremy."
"Tyler."
