twolouises | Crystal - Seeking Help

Crystal was new to America and new to New York. The only reason she was here was because, well, she didn't know what else to do.

Being a mutant was so, so hard. The situation for mutants was worse where she was from - she was legitimately afraid for her life - but in New York, some mutants lived and loved openly. Crystal wanted to do that. She wanted to be a person.

Online, she had heard about a kind of outreach sanctuary run by young mutants in the heart of the city. All the talk was very vague (it had to be, to protect the place and everyone who might use it), but everyone she spoke to, even in veiled terms, told Crystal that the people there could help her build a life she could love, if she just went there.

So she went.

She hoped that once her family saw that this wasn't futile, they would join her. Even though right now they didn't believe - believing she was more or less signing a death sentence.

But Crystal had to hope for a better life.

The building was nondescript, but Crystal was sure, somehow, that she had the right address.

She walked in, quietly, taking note of all available exit points, just in case.

Threaded | Flat

NASA tested for the x-gene, so Johnny's dreams of one day piloting a shuttle had gone pretty quickly down the tubes. Not that he could blame them, really--having someone who could literally turn into super hot plasma in an enclosed, oxygenated tube floating through space wasn't exactly safe.

And it was probably better for everyone if someone stayed on Earth to keep Sue from taking over the world with giant robots or something.

Starting the sanctuary had been a slow, organic process, and they were able to do more and more for local mutants every year. What began as Johnny trying to help Ben and their other friends with visible mutations just get by had become a precious, desperately-needed resource in a world that didn't seem to changing its mind about mutants. And it had helped Johnny as much as it had helped any of their 'clients', because now he had a purpose.

Johnny was chilling on one of the couches in their common area with his laptop, updating their client database. It was all heavily encrypted, of course, and protected six ways to Sunday. If it weren't so important to keep track of everyone--to make sure no one fell off the grid, to put people in contact with each other for jobs or places to live or just support from people who understood because they had similar powers--he never would have risked it.

When he heard someone come in, he saved what he was doing and locked it down immediately. Better safe than sorry. He set the laptop aside and stood up, though he didn't approach. A lot of people were understandably skittish when they came looking for help. "Hey, I'm Johnny. Can I help you?"

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