❣ Divided Paths ❣

[Kicks]

http://fotos.fotoflexer.com/967e6012b0a888c251ac88e94d5ab61b.jpg


Prepare for disaster



Doubt that it's really over? That it's really all solved with so many questions left?
It's not.
The war is still waging on in Northern Canada. Mutants are still scum to ever walk on American territory. And by the way, where are all those mutants who were swept up when the Annihilation Act passed?
Though Thomas has been captured, it doesn't necessarily mean the end when a mysterious binder is still missing and the research Admiral Thomas spoke of hasn't been finished.

Just how long will the team remain dissolved until something terrifying pops up?

You may begin.
Story takes place following dinner.

[Lil]

Faye looked up at Blake with large blue eyes. "What're we going to do?" Faye whispered as he pulled her into his arms. "I mean, I'm happy but I'm also lost." Faye murmured while letting her head rest against his chest. She knew this wouldn't be her last time seeing the team, they'd be invited to the wedding without a doubt and she was sure they'd keep in touch but it wouldn't quite be the same.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

After while, Zakai was sitting on the bed in his room wearing a clean red t-shirt and jeans with a wet towel hanging over his head. He wasn't feeling too well. It was like the weight of a boulder had been put onto his chest and was making his heart sink lower and lower with every passing second.
"A normal life with normal people..." he lied down, "Who could ask for more?"
He stared at the wall. He wasn't smiling anymore. He wasn't crying. He wasn't sad. What was this? Some form of upset? He thought of calling Isaac, but Isaac had told him not to the last time. He thought of talking to Colton but... Colton had his own problems. So did Faye and Blake. Adalia? No! Not Adalia! He was supposed to be happy to be going and living with her and her family normally... so then why did he feel this way? What was wrong? What was he going to do?
He left the towel on his bed, walked out of the room, and kept walking till he reached the roof of the White House and just stared. He remembered a long time ago, standing at the edge and thinking about what it would be like to jump off, but... no. He didn't have that same feeling now. For the moment, he wasn't even worried. He was confused. Maybe some part of him was subtly scared. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He stared at the sky, as if he could get some sort of answer from that. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to go home. For the first time in a long time, he wanted his mom. He wanted his dad and little sister. It wasn't that he wished none of this had happened, he just longed for that time's simplicity. He wasn't used to being in a new family, and he hadn't had to get used to it because they were busy fighting terrorism and Tamara and Thomas. Now he was going to have to fully accept... everything. He didn't want to. He didn't want to be fully aware of everything that had happened. Why couldn't ha just get it out of his head already? How was he supposed to forget San Francisco and adapt to his new life? He didn't know. This "normal life"... it wasn't normal to him anymore. He'd forgotten all of that to survive. How was he supposed to get it all back?

[Kicks]

"You're not paying attention, Colton."
Her words brought his mind back around. He had been looking at houses on the touch pad in the living room with Adalia, but then his mind took him away again. He rubbed his face furiously before peering at the screen. The house that she had up now was a two story brick house. It was suiting, he supposed. He just wondered if he could actually live in a house like a regular citizen again. At least in the military he sort of fit. But in the real world... he wouldn't know how to act.
"Where are we going to live again?" Colton asked after bringing his mind back around to the house on the screen. It took everything in him to stay focused on just the screen. His mind was whirring over many things, Thomas especially. It wasn't over. How could his dad just think it was over? There were so many things left! It couldn't just be over because his dad said so. But Clayton had said something else that Colton caught. He had to remember that and focus on just that instead of the words he must have rehearsed before coming into the dining room.
"Far away from Utah." Adalia decided, "That's where Thomas is being held, right?"
Colton nodded his head slowly. Maybe he wanted to be near Thomas just so that he could do exactly the opposite of what his dad told him not to do. It wasn't over. This was going to drive him insane. But he had to keep his family safe too.
"Nowhere near New York either." Adalia went on, "Or Texas."
"Alaska." Colton stated just for the heck of it. But neither of them would survive there. It was too cold.
"I was thinking Florida because it's warm." Adalia commented, "That's why I'm looking at houses in Florida." Colton wasn't listening to her again, she could tell. She released a sigh and flipped to a new house. "Colton, we have to find a house."

Blake was lost to. He didn't know what to do. He felt as if they were just thrown into this. If they were eased back into the real world, he would have been fine with it and more than ready. But now he felt... so panicked. It was frightening. It was times like these where he wished he could just call his mum and ask what to do. But she would tell them to move to the Isle of Wight, and as much as he loved her, he couldn't do that.
"Well... let's start with where you've always dreamed of living." Blake said at last in a shaky voice. He didn't know the United States like she did. She was American, he was a foreigner who had only merely wished of being American. And now that it was coming true, he was so lost.

[Lil]

"Well that depends. Do you still want to live in Hawaii?" Faye asked with a shrug. That was a good start, finding a place to live. She didn't know where she would like to live. It had always been a dream of hers to travel far away from America and live in Europe or Australia or something but that was unreasonable now it seemed.

[Kicks]

For some reason, Blake had completely forgotten about Hawaii. It must have been the shock of the moment that the team was now dissolved that had caused his mind to draw a blank.
He nodded his head feverishly and murmured: "I know it sounds crazy, but I still really want to. Only if you do though. We kind of have to live together, you know." He commented with a small smile.
That was one thing he was excited for. Now that this was... said to be over... they could finally get married! However, he still really did need help finding a suit. Maybe he could still get Colton to help him. They could remain in contact for longer then if he was helping Blake on the groom's side of the wedding.
"I think I'm going to ask Colton to help me." Blake told her after a moment. "With being a groom that is. He's done it before, you know?"

[Lil]

Faye nodded. "Yeah I think we'll like it there." Faye agreed. When he mentioned getting Colton's help she giggled. "He's an experienced groom." Faye said and leaned back on Blake so they fell back onto the bed. Her back was sore and she wanted to lay down and now they were. "I should probably get some help with the girly stuff from Adalia."

[Kicks]

"But not an experienced hugger." Blake added with a grin. That image would always be in his head. It was just so funny! He had never met someone before who was that against touching people. He wondered why Colton was like that, but he had noticed that Richard was the same way. Had the man even ever touched one of them before?
He wrapped his arms around her when they were laying back on the bed and he peered up at the ceiling. He liked this idea. If they could have Adalia and Colton help them, then they wouldn't lose contact for awhile.
"Maybe we can stay in apartment in the same state as them until we have everything figured out for the wedding." Blake suggested, "I wonder if Dix knows anything about settling teenagers into the real world as adults? Or if he were given lines to rehearse to us?"

[Lil]

"I'm going to say that Clayton probably have him a script." Faye rested with her head on his chest. "Well we should probably look for an apartment soon then huh?" Faye asked not against the idea of doing that. They could be really helpful and then they could have their wedding in England and then head off to Hawaii, well honeymoon between the two obviously but she had no clue what that'd be like or where they'd go. "This is going to be hard isn't it and truthfully I don't want a lot of help from Dix I imagine he's going to be rather condescending.

[Kicks]

ArraBella hung up the phone that Carter had passed to her. The two of them were in the living room to a small apartment in Utah. It had been Clayton on the phone telling her the news. She wasn't phased by it, really. She had sort of been doing her own thing anyways. It was after her terrifying experience in Russia that she had decided she was not cut out for military business. And the fact that Carson had been removed from the team only gave her more of an excuse to not be around all of that so that she could come visit him and help where she could.
A lot had happened during that time. Tamara for one had come, and though Carter wasn't pleased to see her at first, he was less weary of her when Carson stopped violently hallucinating. The hallucinations had begun to cause him seizures after so long with them. But he had stopped seizing and hallucinating since Tamara had come to him.
Though Carson didn't talk much, he made one thing clear and that was he had been independent after California and he would remain as such. So Carter had paid in advance for rent on an apartment in Utah. The man came down frequently to see his son, but Carson was never into visiting him.
Currently, ArraBella was inside that apartment making soup because it was storming outside. Carson wasn't the same, she knew that. He was frail, extremely so. He had receded into himself, hardly talked, and frequently shook. But whenever ArraBella was around he lit up, didn't say anything to her, but was extremely happy. How could she possibly leave Utah when she was the one person who could get that reaction from him? Carter had begged her to stay, said his son needed someone there but Carter couldn't be because Carson rejected him. So after striking a deal with Carter, she said yes.
The nurse that came around daily had also taken an interest in her and had even started to train her as a CNA, saying that in due time she could become a registered nurse. Though it wasn't exactly the path that ArraBella had imagined for herself, it was something she found she actually enjoyed doing.

"I guess we sort of have to figure out where they're going to live and then find a temporary apartment." Blake remarked. He actually really liked this idea. He could see Adalia especially being a big help to them. Not just for the wedding, but for guidance too. Colton was in the same position they were, except different in that he had Adalia to bring him back to civilian life. He imagined it would still be rough though.
"It will be hard." Blake admitted after a little while, "But I think it will be worth it too. I mean, we got through a lot of things that people would never get through. We can get through this too."

[Lil]

"I think things will work out." She said quietly but confidently. They had made it through so much that this wasn't about to stop them. If anything this would hopefully be one of the easiest challenges they had faced. And now this meant they'd get to get married which compensated for most of the fear and worry. Faye nodded then leaned up and kissed Blake gently. "Just because we got interrupted earlier." She whispered before dropping her head so it was even with Blake's but hers was sideways while his lied facing the ceiling. This allowed her to nuzzle her nose against his cheek though so she was perfectly comfy.

[Kicks]

Blake closed his eyes when he was gifted a kiss. They were always sweet, and though they weren't full blown out making out, it meant a lot more to him than just a little kiss. He was still frightened over all of this. But at least now they had a plan. Kind of. But Adalia would help them work out the details of everything anyways. They would be married soon, and then they would live in Hawaii. He was really glad him and Faye had met. But even further was that he was more than happy they ended up falling in love. He didn't know exactly where he would be without her, but he didn't have to picture than and he didn't want to because what they had was all he wanted to dwell on.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai stared and sighed, "I wish I could fly," then he turned and went back into the White House.
Staying outside wasn't going to solve anything, but he needed to think. He couldn't get everything out of his mind at once, but he didn't know how he was going to live with a normal life. He just paced wildly back and forth in a hallway.
What do I do? Who do I talk to? I don't wanna talk to Dix! I don't even know where he is!
He stopped pacing and stared at the ground. This is getting me nowhere... He found a lone staircase where he was sure no one would come, sat down on the stairs and buried his head in his arms. This isn't getting me anywhere either... but he didn't move.

[Lil]

Faye pressed a soft kiss against his jaw and smiled. "I love you." She said before closing her eyes and starting to drift off again. She was really quite exhausted and they were still aloud to stay the night tonight right? She sure hoped so cause it's not like they could find a place in just a few hours. "We should talk to Colton and Adalia." Faye murmured floating in between awake and asleep.

[Kicks]

It was after Adalia and him had settled on a new home (http://adorable-home.com/wp-content/gallery/traditional-and-modern-gorgeous-house/gorgeous-house-1.jpg) that Colton was allowed to space out with Adalia yelling at him to pay attention. She put the tablet back on the table where she had found it, and settled into his chest. Spring was asleep on the chair, cuddled into her blanket again and with a barrier of two pillows to keep her safe.
"I want to be a doctor." Colton told her at last. "But I don't want to go back to medical school right now."
"Well, what do you want to do then?" Adalia asked him as she stroked his arm lightly. "Veterans get very good benefits, but I don't think you'd just want to sit around, would you?"
"I can't tell you." Colton answered her, "Not in the White House, at least. I'll tell you in Florida."
"Colton." Adalia began sternly, "It better not have to do with Thomas."
"It doesn't." Colton told her lightly. It has to do with Ads.

Blake nodded his head in agreement. He sat up in the bed and glanced down at her for a minute. She was tired. He could tell she was. He leaned down and pressed his lips gently to her forehead. Hopefully she would feel better by the time they got to moving and settling down. He knew those sorts of things could make sickness worse.
"You want to sleep? Or do you want to come with me to go talk to them?" He asked her while pulling his lips away from her forehead.

[Lil]

"You can go. I think I'll sleep." Faye said as she crawled up to the pillows and settled in cozily. Blake could handle explaining that couldn't he, Colton would probably react better to him anyways since apparently all he liked to do was torment Faye. Anyways she was completely exhausted so sleep was preferable right now.

[Kicks]

"I'll be back in five minutes tops." Blake promised her before leaving her with a kiss to her cheek. He left the room quickly and ran as quickly as he could until he came across the dining room. They weren't in there, but Richard directed him in the right direction. Blake paused briefly though at the weird sight of Anton in a headlock with his legs wrapped tightly around one of Richard's. How was that even possible? And what were they doing?
He shook his head and left quickly to find Adalia and Colton in the living room. It took him thirty seconds to quickly spit out what him and Faye had discussed and twenty seconds for Colton and Adalia to look at each other for a few seconds and then agree.
"Of course." Adalia told him gently, "We wouldn't just leave you kids without a way to find out your path."
Oh there it was. She was talking to him like that again. Treating him gently. Blake inwardly groaned, but smiled nonetheless. "Thanks."
Colton glanced at Adalia and then towards Blake. He had noticed the way she talked and that look that had crossed Blake's face. "We'll talk later, Blake. In Florida. Do you guys have a way of getting there?"
No. Blake didn't want to. He groaned inwardly again. Colton knew. Colton had been the one to always know. "Not really..."
"I can give them a lift." Dix said in the doorway. He had been coming in to find his book, but got distracted by the discussion. "When are you leaving, Adalia?"
"Tomorrow." She stated, "We bought the house online and ordered some home furnishings and such. We'll get there after it's all been delivered."
"Okay. Then I'll drive them out tomorrow." Dix remarked casually, "They won't have to worry about finding an apartment. They won't be able to without hassle, so I'll do it for them."
He was being awfully nice. Blake frowned. Clayton hadn't been lying. "Thanks..." he felt awkward for thanking Dix for anything.
"Yea. It's no problem." Dix replied with, stepping aside in the doorway so that the blonde could pass by him, "Don't tell Faye though. Otherwise she probably wouldn't accept the apartment."
That may be more or less true. Blake smiled a little bit as he passed by the man and hurried off to get back to Faye.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai's stood up an continued wandering, not really paying attention to where he went. He still wasn't feeling good. He kept walking until he came across the weirdest thing ever... Richard and Anton...... He wasn't far behind Blake, as he'd seen the guy walk this way, but he wasn't going by any route to any specific place and he stopped in his tracks at the sight of them. He was confused, but still felt down, so he just stared at them.
"Why are you guys being such good friends right now?" he asked, dryly.

[Lil]

In the few minutes Blake was gone Faye fell asleep and the nightmares kicked in. It was different this time though. It started with her and that woman, the one from back in Hawaii, but this time the woman wasn't turning into a zombie and Faye didn't hold a gun. Instead their spots were switched and Faye cowered on the ground while the woman aimed the gun at her. Is this what she felt like? Terrified and helpless because that's how Faye was feeling. When the shot was taken that nightmare melted away and she found herself in a familiar place. One that had visited every time she had fallen asleep today. Faye pushed down on Jonah's chest but this time she remembered. She remembered it wasn't real and this wasn't real so instead if focusing in saving his life she focused on his mouth and the words escaping it. Faye watched curiously, anxious to discover what he may have been saying. And at last it clicked.

[Kicks]

For the second time, Anton and Richard were interrupted. The first one to say anything was Richard because he could actually speak. "I don't make friends, Zakai. I just beat people up until they respect me."
Anton let out a choked laugh. After awhile he unwrapped his legs from one of Richard's and dropped his hands down from Richard's large arm. At the response, Richard released him and took a step away.
"He was showing me how to escape a choke hold." Anton explained breathlessly, "But he is not good teacher. I failed."
Richard rubbed his hands together, not really caring much for the topic any longer. He changed it to ask Zakai: "You holding up well with the news, kid?"

[Kicks]

Blake returned to the room, feeling as if the breath were knocked from him. He had been as quick as he could to get back to him. But he knew he had taken longer than he had intended to because of his hold up with surprise over Dix's attitude.
He slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. He switched off the light and returned to the bed where he had come to find Faye sleeping. Hopefully she was having better dreams than she did before.

[Lil]

"I've got it!" The blonde yelled upon popping awake and sitting up. "Blake I've got it. It may not even be important but I've got it!" Faye chirped and smiled over at him. She had felt his weight on the bed which is how she knew he was in there and that excited her too. "I need to find Jonah. None of this may matter but I've got to at least tell him." Faye said while standing up from the bed. The man had lost his memory for goodness sake. She just hoped this could at least help with his head a little bit if it served no other importance.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai watched as Anton let go of Richard and then Richard let go of Anton.
"That's a really weird teaching method." he remarked, still dryly.
When he was asked the next question, he looked at the ground and felt like he would topple forward... but he didn't.
"I'm taking it exceptionally well. I can't wait to be normal. It sounds amazing." the way he spoke was almost robotic and he swayed a bit as he spoke. He really wasn't feeling good, "I feel so amazing... that I think I'm gonna throw up."
He wasn't kidding. He turned around and ran to the nearest bathroom and threw up. After the fact he flushed it, washed out his mouth and just stared at himself in the mirror, trembling slightly. It's gonna be fine. Why am I being so weird?

[Kicks]

Blake had already begun to fall asleep when Faye started shouting. He jumped up, his heart racing in his chest. What? What was she saying? He stared at her for a long time until he finally understood.
"Um." Blake began while scratching the back of his head, "Okay. Right." He mumbled as he started to get out of the bed, "Yea."
Where was Jonah? He had been at dinner. He had needed someone to escort him. Richard and Anton had been left in the dining room. So maybe they knew where Jonah had taken off to. Or wait. Maybe he was in one of the rooms closest to the dining hall. That was a safer bet than anything, he thought. Less of Jonah getting lost in this big place.
"Maybe check one of those rooms closest to the dining room." He murmured, dropping his hand from his hair.

[Kicks]

Richard didn't like the way Zakai was talking. He didn't sound like he was taking this well. In fact, he sounded like the complete opposite. When the child said he was going to throw up, Richard's eyes widened and he started frantically looking for a bowl. But the child was already taking off.
He didn't really think about what he was doing when he started following Zakai. But he was doing it anyways, even if it wasn't necessarily like him. This was going to be his nephew soon. Richard had to start treating him like family and not like another one of the people he spat and yelled at.
Richard glanced around, having lost sight of Zakai. His eyes fell on the nearest bathroom. Assuming that is where Zakai ran to, Richard moved over to the door and tapped his knuckles on it.

[Lil]

"Okay I'll be back soon!" Faye chirped kissing him on the cheek the leaving the room in a hurry. She left towards the dining room and knocked on a few doors around it to see if Jonah was in any of them without just barging in. Wow this medicine was working wonders! Some more would be great in the morning so she could try and feel this good tomorrow.

[Kicks]

Blake fell back onto the bed when she left. He didn't even know why he had gotten up. He melted back into the sheets once more and turned his face into a pillow. He would never understand why what Faye was doing was so important to her, but he would support her anyways. He shut his eyes again and released a tired exhale.
Jonah slowly woke up when he heard a knock at the door. "Getting there!" He called to the door while sitting up in the comfortable bed. It was the president that had shown this room and Jonah had been too afraid of getting lost again to leave it after he was shown it. Now though, he slipped out of the bed and grabbed his discarded shirt from the chair. He pulled it on, feeling the tug of the tight skin and scar where he had been stabbed through. It made him feel uncomfortable and felt weird, but he was something he had gotten a little used to.
He moved towards the door and opened it up fully.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

His shivering as only getting worse, and he was beginning to feel like he was hiding somewhere in San Francisco all over again. This was a new problem. Why was this such a problem? Why couldn't he just be happy?
He took the picture of his family out of his pocket. Why wasn't he over that yet? That was a long time ago! He hadn't thought like that in a long time! He was getting a new family now! He could move on! Why was he.... There was a knock at the door. He put the picture back in his pocket and tried to regain his composure. It wasn't working. He was still shaking like a leaf. It's fine. They probably just have to use the bathroom. Just let them in and... and leave.
He opened the door and smiled at Richard.
"H-h-hi... uh..." the child knew that he probably didn't have to use the bathroom, but still, "G-go ahead."
He pushed past the man and kept walking. Please just go into the bathroom! Please let that be the reason why you're here!

[Lil]

"I remembered something from back in- on- I don't really know how to use it- Isle of Wight!" Faye beamed. "You told me not to tell your bosses or whatever and I didn't know why cause you were taken by some paramedics and stuff." Faye nodded. "I have no idea if you already remember or if this is important at all but I thought I'd let you know in case it was."

[Kicks]

Richard was surprised when the child smiled and then walked away. He could smell the stench of bile in the bathroom. It was one of those odors that stuck around a lot longer than it was ever welcome. How upset would one person have to be to puke like that? Pretty upset, he was imagining.
He turned the fan on in the bathroom and shut the door. It wasn't what he had come for, but it was something he would do so that the smell didn't travel.
Once he had taken care of that, he jogged to catch up to Zakai. When he was managing to walk alongside him, he peered down at the child. He didn't know how to start one of these conversations. He also didn't know a lot about being there for a person.
"Um. So." He began slowly, "I thought you would be happy now that you don't have to chase terrorists and monsters around? Or is it easier to do than being a normal person?"

[Kicks]

Jonah peered down at the blonde girl. She was talking about that day when that crazy mutant put a pole through his chest. Was it a pole? Some kind of sword? He didn't know and really didn't care to discern the difference. He did care what Faye was talking about because he didn't remember anything from that time. He remembered being stabbed, and then waking up. That was pretty much it.
"No, please go on." He insisted of her while putting his hand on the door frame. Not to tell his bosses? Well, then he definitely wanted to know.

[Lil]

"Something about California, Redding and Station 7 more specifically." Faye said slowly. "And an attack on it?" Faye almost asked, uncertain if that was completely correct. "Those were the last things you said to me before they took you away and I just imagined what someone imagines to be their last words must be important.

[Kicks]

California, Redding, and Station 7. Jonah knew for a fact, and not as a memory, that Redding was a city in California. He had no idea what Station 7 was. It sounded like an American military thing. An attack? He didn't know. He closed his eyes for a second. Those were the last things he told her? And they were important, no doubt, if he told her not to tell his bosses. Which mean he must have been doing some snooping.
"I'm going to have to look into that." He murmured at last while opening his eyes, "Thank you, Faye." He meant it too. He was grateful that she had told him, even if he didn't know what it meant.

[Lil]

"No problem." Faye nodded and turned to leave but before she could she spun around and hugged Jonah again. "I don't know when I'm going to see anyone again so might as well go ahead and give hugs right? You'll be at the wedding when it comes around won't you?" She asked with bright, hopeful eyes.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai glanced at Richard and then looked ahead. He quickly smiled again, "Oh... I-I am h-happy. I s-s-said I was doing a-amazing, r-r-right?"
He sped up a bit, trying to stop himself from shivering so that he wasn't so quaky when he talked and Richard would believe him. Everything's fine... perfectly... we're all safe now and Colton won't die. Everything's fine!
He still didn't feel fine. He put his hands in his pockets. He wanted to take the picture out again, but Richard was here and taking it out would show that he was most definitely not fine... but he was! He just wanted to look at it. He took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms so that he wouldn't be tempted, and then put them behind his back, then on his head, and then finally let them swing at his sides. You're okay! Calm down!

[Kicks]

Jonah picked her off the ground again in a hug. When he released her, he broke into a grin and nodded his head. "I thought you would never ask. Remember to send me an invitation so I know what to wear. If I could bring a plus one, that would be great too. But if you're not comfortable with that, and I know Blake's family is Catholic, so it might be weird, then that's okay too. Also, I need to find you guys a wedding gift! Bloody hell, this is going to be so hard! I'm always so indecisive when choosing gifts for people. It needs to be perfect, you know?"

[Kicks]

Richard lengthened his steps to keep pace with the child. The way he was stuttering certainly implied the opposite of what Zakai was attempting to convince him of. After awhile of trying to keep pace with the obviously disturbed child, he gave up and put himself right in Zakai's path. He extended his arms to either side of him and crouched down a little bit.
"If you're so fine, then why do you look like you might pass out any second?" He questioned in a serious voice. He ditched the act of trying to pass off as a nice person. He couldn't be like Adalia and just hug a person, or talk gently with them. Showing that he cared came in a box of yells and threats.

[Lil]

"You can bring anyone you want." Faye insisted. She wasn't going to make Jonah come alone just because Blake's family was Catholic, they wouldn't care that much. She hoped. "Well I'll hopefully see you soon then." Faye smile before walking off down the hall with a little burst of energy. She didn't know where it had come from but suddenly she felt rather bouncy. The girl reentered the room with her fiancé inside and crawled up on too of him and tickled his stomach softly.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Seeing Richard stand in front of him made him even more nervous. There didn't seem to be a way out of this! There was no way out of this! No! There was a way out of this! There was always a way out of this! There had to be a way out of this! He didn't need to talk about this when everything was fine!
"U-um... I-I-I-I.. b-because I'm t-tired! That's all! B-but I'm p-p-perfectly happy!"
He glanced behind him and took a few steps back before looking back towards Richard, readying himself to take off depending on the man's response. Everything would be fine! Why wasn't he just talking? He'd wanted to talk, and here Richard was! But Richard was going to be his uncle! He couldn't talk! He couldn't talk! He didn't have to! There was no need to talk! He took a few more steps back, "Th-th-that's it!"

[Kicks]

"You're such a doll!" Jonah called after the girl. When she was gone, he slipped back inside the room and shut the door. He threw off his shirt again and tossed it into the chair he had placed it before. It used to be that he would answer the door shirtless all the time or go without a shirt for days. But now he had a hideous scar and he could no longer do that without getting grotesque stares.
Blake had been dreaming of the building. The ground kept coming faster and faster, the monster's terrible screeches and awful gnashing teeth... before his back could slam and break against the ground he was awoken by something on him. He woke up gasping in a cold sweat and looking frantically for what had been on his stomach.

[Kicks]

"Zakai, you seriously, and I kid you not, look like a trapped animal." Richard told him when he noticed the child start to back up.
"Richard."
Richard glanced behind him at the sound of his brother's voice. He didn't look pleased, and Richard understood why. This situation didn't look good. He must have looked like he was ready to tackle the retreating boy.
"I was just making sure he was okay." Richard insisted after a long time. He straightened up and dropped his hands back down to his sides, "But he says he's fine so I guess I have to believe him- even though I don't."
Colton waited until Richard had walked past him to take a full look at Zakai. He did look like a trapped animal, like he had heard his brother mention.
"He can be real pushy sometimes." Colton remarked after a moment, "I think he means it in the best interests, but sometimes it's hard to tell." He took another look at Zakai, trying to decide whether or not that look on his face was because of his brother, or because he really wasn't okay. "You want to go for a walk somewhere?"

[Lil]

Faye looked at Blake with alarmed eyes . She say back before pulling her leg to the side so she sat on one side of him. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly. Faye hadn't seen Blake have a lot of nightmares before so this was a rare sight to her. He looked extremely worried and panicked and an ounce of fear lingered in his eyes.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai was shivering more violently by the second. He didn't care if he looked like a trapped animal! He just wanted to run away! Then Colton came and got Richard to back off. The child looked up at the man then back down at the ground. He felt more comfortable around Colton than Richard, that was for sure, but he didn't calm down in the least bit. When Colton asked Zakai if he wanted to walk though the child looked up again.
"Yes."
He always felt better when he was out walking! Maybe that was all he needed! Maybe he'd get better then! But I doubt it...

[Kicks]

It was Faye. It had been Faye. She was back... she was awake. He stared at her and pulled his eyebrows together for a few seconds. He sat up in the bed ran his hands through his hair. It had just been Faye. What had she been doing?
He cringed suddenly and moved so that he was leaning forward his hands on his back. That dream, that recurrence of that event, always brought on the soreness and pain in his back.
"Were you trying to rape me?" He asked her after a moment of catching his breath. It was meant to be a joke because of how he had woken up.

[Lil]

"Why would I do that? I don't think that would be required." Faye smirked leaning in and whispered into his ear. Gosh she was so full of energy out of nowhere! Where had it all come from, she had no clue but she loved it because it made her forget about all the soreness in her body. Faye leaned back a moment later though, giggling, and said. "I'm sorry I woke you up though." As said more innocently now as her hands folded in her lap.

[Kicks]

Colton shrugged his shoulders and said: "Kay." They weren't too far from the front door anyways, that's why he had heard Richard and Zakai anyways; the living room was just a small ways from the front door as was this hall.
He walked up to the door and pulled it open for the kid and him to go through and go on a walk. He knew that Zakai didn't like being trapped in places, and though he found it funny when Zakai slept outside, he could understand it. He was strongly against being in enclosed spaces for a period of time. Things like jets were easier to deal with though than things like rooms.
He needed a walk anyways. His brain wasn't going to slow down any time soon from all these thoughts, and if he told Adalia any of them she might get upset because she was really hoping it was all really over. But Colton knew for a fact it wasn't. He just didn't want to tell her that. He didn't want to tell her about the letter, how he had killed Ads, and the monster they had captured. With Zakai, he didn't have to tell the kid any of that because he already knew all of that. So it would be easier to walk with him than it would be to sit cuddled up on a couch with Adalia talking about home furnishings, check ups, and a security system for the home.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, that was the honest truth. She wouldn't have to. She would never believe just how much self control Blake really had if she only knew. No teenage guy would be able to spend every night in the same bed with a beautiful girl without pulling some kind of move- unless they were Blake and had incredible self control. And even then, sometimes it was hard. Like with earlier when he didn't care if she got him sick with kissing. But then the dinner bell had ruined that.
"You seem to be doing better." He commented after a little while of sitting there with his hands on his back. "You know, I have that oil in my suitcase right over there." He added with a nod towards it, "I wouldn't mind a massage."

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai followed after Colton, taking a moment to tug on his shoes, then he ran after the man. He was glad to be out of the White House. It did do a good deal in calming him. He stopped shivering so violently, and his heart was no longer beating out of his chest... but there was still a dragging feeling. He looked at Colton. He seemed to have a lot on his mind too, and understandably. At the time when he'd perceived they needed to keep their heads straight and alert, they ended up getting discharged... that made it a whole lot worse, and he could only imagine how hard that was on Colton.
Everyone needed to think. Everyone needed to calm down and take a moment it seemed... so maybe being discharged now wasn't so bad but... unless they could calm down, nothing was going to get done. The child didn't say a word. He didn't mind the silence. It was noisy enough in his head as it was, anyway.

[Lil]

Faye looked from Blake to the suitcase and back. "Wait seriously?" She asked almost shocked but quickly nodded after. "I can do that. I can totally do they." She beamed while hopping up from the bed and moving to his suitcase. Wow for medicine that had practically put her to sleep earlier she now felt like she could run a marathon or something. Faye dug around in there before pulling out the bottle, did she even know how to give a massage? Nope, but she could try her best, and if it didn't work she could just kiss him and her his mind off of it. Oh man, now she really wanted to kiss him. Her mind was scattered all over the place as she returned and sat down on the edge of the bed and examined the bottle curiously.

[Kicks]

Colton made sure to close the door behind them. He had noticed that compared from the beginning and now, Secret Service had backed off quite a bit from them. He no longer found that they were having trouble even talking to his dad. It seemed that his dad had just whipped his men into shape to deal with the people that seemed to in and out of the capital building frequently.
He trailed down the steps and onto the path that cut through the lawn and would eventually lead to Kennedy's Garden. He used to go there when he was younger to focus on studying or figuring things out. This time of the year it was flourishing with flowers and plants.
He slid his hands into the pockets of his sweats and stared down at the path as they walked. He was glad that there wasn't any city noises. If there were it probably would have overwhelmed him.
There was a lot to think about and he had to figure out a way to prioritize each one like his dad had taught him when he was younger. But he didn't know which one was more important in this case: Thomas or returning to normal life? He wanted to chase the case. It wasn't solved. Nothing was. But Adalia wanted things to be normal... he wasn't sure if it would be though with Thomas locked up in that prison.

[Kicks]

"I didn't expect you actually to." Blake commented with a groan caused by the pain. What was stepping on his back? Oh. Those were his hands. He moved his hands away and slid down onto his stomach. That didn't relieve enough of the tension to make him feel relieved though.
Funnily though, he really hadn't been expecting Faye to go and fetch the oil that Jerome had gifted them. He had meant it as a half-joke when he had said that. But hey, if she were all up for it then he certainly wasn't going to complain. Massages were amazing, even if this oil would make his back feel like someone was spreading hot water over him. He knew these kinds of oils would feel hot on the skin, but cool when air was blown onto it. It was interesting and he always wondered how exactly that worked. Was he complaining? No. His back really hurt.

[Lil]

"Do you not want me to?" Faye asked and placed the oil down but trickled her fingers over his back gently anyways. "Cause I won't if you don't want me to." Faye said softly and looking at him nervously. He looked so uncomfortable and it was making her sad.

[Kicks]

"No, it's okay. I don't mind." Blake murmured back to her with his face in the blankets. "Maybe I can give you one after this?" He added while smiling down into the blankets. Maybe it wasn't the recurring dream that brought on the pain. Maybe it just reminded him of the pain. That would make a lot more sense. He was pretty darn good at ignoring it, until he had that dream.

[Lil]

"Oh okay." Faye said and climbed back over Blake so she was on her knees over his back as to not hurt him. She picked up the bottle again and looked at it oddly before popping it open and squeezing a little out onto her hands. It was thick like a lotion now which she found odd. Carefully she lowered her hands and began to work out some of the knots towards his upper back gently. As she did so the oil turned into that, an actual oil and spread over his back and she rubbed it in while attempting to loosen the muscles without hurting him.

[Kicks]

Blake could feel something wet on his back, and then he felt pressure. He bit back a groan and shut his eyes. From climbing fleets of stairs, running, and carrying Faye around his back had become something of a monster to him. It was worse than it had been when in Hawaii he didn't want to move.
He wondered if the back ever completely healed from being broken, or if it would always remain this way. He didn't want to think about. Instead, he chose to focus on the heat that the oil gave off. It was interesting and actually felt really good on his skin.

[Lil]

"Does it hurt?" Faye asked quietly while relieving the pressure she was pressing down with, afraid she was hurting him. Her hand moved down a little bit spreading the oil with them but now she just ran her fingers along his skin carefully until he responded.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai walked alongside Colton, calmly. A new life... a normal life... was he ready for that? 'Normal' didn't make sense to him anymore. Before it had been so easy. It was so easy to think that once things ended, he would be just fine, but... it wasn't. He knew it. California... his family, his friends and school... Dog... everything.. they were gone now. The United States, here! So vast and big... it was different. His new family, which he loved and adored was still different. He would have to get used to it. He'd gotten exposure to the world when he left California and it was like a giant smack in the face to him. He didn't know anything. He didn't know how to do anything. Everything he'd done before, whether it be drawing or baseball or anything... they were all gone now. TV? Who cared? Video games: trash! All those things had lost their appeal to him. Every second, out of habit now, he was waiting to see if something was going to come around the corner and attack him. He wasn't always good at it, but it was something he expected. He needed to know every single little detail because that had helped him survive. All the time, even when he wasn't thinking about it, he was waiting for everything to disappear. These things weren't normal. He didn't like to kill, but he could do it. He didn't want to be afraid, but he was. He was so out of proportion, tere was absolutely no way for him to ever be normal again! Or was there? If there was, then he didn't know what the way was or if he even wanted it anymore. Once he'd dropped everything... it didn't feel like something he could pick up because... because after he dropped them, he started walking... and he left them behind but... he couldn't help looking back. He knew they were all there, but that was a place he couldn't go back to. It hurt.

[Kicks]

"Yes and no." He mumbled back to her, "It's like, that good kind of hurt that you get when you're working out a really sore muscle." It was hard to explain. It hurt, but it was also good. It was hurting in a good way, but his back was hurting in a bad way. They were on two very different levels of the pain scale. One he enjoyed, and the other he felt like dying because of.

[Kicks]

A successor? Colton was supposed to take on some kind of research that Ads had been doing. But he didn't know what that was. He knew that the binder had a message in it. Admiral Thomas was always playing those kinds of games with him. The letter had confirmed it. It was in the last line telling him to look in the binder to find out what he was supposed to do. It was like telling him to look at a patient's file to find out what he was supposed to do. It was the same thing!
But he didn't have the binder. Thomas did. Or at least, he must have hidden it somewhere. But where? Colton may never know, and it sucked. He really wanted to know so he could find it and figure out what Admiral Thomas had wanted from him.
He wished Tamara were there so he could ask her if she had any faintest idea where he would hide something. She had been the most directly intertwined with all of this. But then again, she didn't remember a whole lot because she had been programmed into doing the things she did. So maybe she wouldn't be helpful. That sucked.
A lot of things sucked about this. Such as that he had been discharged. Sure, he got the benefits and pay but he didn't care about that kind of stuff. He had lost all access that he previously had to things like cool weapons, but most importantly to resources of information. He knew at some point the military would kick him out because he was a mutant. He had been expecting it when he first came home. He didn't mind that. He had decided after California that he hated the military. But it was the lack of resources that was upsetting him. And now he also didn't know how to go back to civilian life. He had never actually experienced it as an adult. This was going to be frightening.
He wondered just how the kid was holding up though. He too would be going back to civilian life. But he was so young that a good portion of his life had been spent living as a survivor. How was he going to fit back into an education system, exactly? It was through education that Zakai got his first experience with the zombies: him and a hammer facing it all. And could he really sit in a classroom without becoming all sorts of anxious? Colton knew very well he probably couldn't go into a store and be an adult buying groceries. It would be too many people at once. Too closed of a space. Even thinking about it he could feel his chest tightening up.

[Lil]

"O-okay." Faye said a bit nervously before starting to massage her fingers into the muscles at his side and around his spine. These were crazy tight but the heat from the oil did help quite a bit to work them out. She moved up and down making she covered all parts of his back but the entire time she was afraid she was going to hurt him.

[Kicks]

Blake released a sigh into the blankets. The longer she worked at them, the more he felt his muscles start to relax. The heat was like having a heating pad on his back or sitting in a hot tub. And her fingers digging into her muscles made the experience even better. Soon he was completely relaxed and the soreness in his back was just a throb in the distance.
He shut his eyes briefly and murmured: "Thank you, Faye. You're an angel." It really did feel a lot better than when he had woken up from the nightmare. And though the memory was still vivid behind closed eyes, Faye was here which allowed him to focus on the present and not the terrifying past.

[Lil]

Faye smiled and put the bottle of massage oil to the side and crawled off of Blake. "I'm glad your back is feeling better." Faye said snuggling close to his side and lying on her own so she could continue to gently skim her fingers over his back. Her eyes closed as she lied there letting her fingers move gently on their own since this had essentially become a subconscious motion anyways.

[Kicks]

Blake moved his head to the side so he was facing her and not the blankets. He didn't really want to move now that his back muscles were unwound and relaxed. And the way she skimmed her fingers over his back was making him sleepy. He shut his eyes again for a moment.
He really couldn't wait to get married to her. He felt as if it were drawing out just to torment him. He wanted to marry her desperately. He wanted to say that she was his wife, and he wanted to wear rings that proved they belonged to each other. He wanted to continue to be there for her, hold her, and kiss her.
He opened his eyes up again and asked her: "You want a turn now?"

[Lil]

"No thanks. I'm good right here." Faye murmured while moving her head so her forehead pressed against his. Faye loved just sitting like this almost as much as she enjoyed actually kissing him. Just to sit here, so close but not having to force a kiss, not that it was ever a chore to Faye. A smile spread on her lips before she whispered, "I love you so much. I can't wait to be your wife."

[Kicks]

Blake peered at her face for a little while, a smile of his own coming across his at her statement. "I love you too." He whispered back to her quietly, "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." No matter what.There were ups and downs, but even through those he loved her and they always made it through stronger than before. He had faith their marriage would flourish. He loved her, she loved him.
He closed his eyes again and moved a hand to the back of her hair. He stroked it for a little while, enjoying how soft it was to the touch and the way it slipped through his fingers like sand.

[Lil]

"Do you think we'll get married soon?" Faye asked quietly, genuinely wondering. Thomas was captured for now by how long would it stay like that. Once they were back at work she doubted it would end quickly and they'd have to wait even longer to get married and she was ready anxious for it to happen and they had barely begun to plan.

[Kicks]

"If we make it happen." Blake responded to her honestly. Getting married however soon was up to them. Hopefully they were married before anything popped up that forced it aside. That's why he was excited when Adalia and Colton had- "Oh yea, they agreed to help us." He told her after he remembered, "With everything from how to live life to the wedding." Should he mention Dix getting them an apartment? "And Dix is giving us a ride to Florida. That's where they're going to live. Um... he also... is getting us an apartment."

[Lil]

"Wait. The drive from here to Florida is going to be like 10 hours. In the car with Dix for ten hours." Faye moaned and pressed her forehead to his again. "I guess the apartment is alright if he's trying to help out. I just hope it isn't a crappy one and it has a big bed." Faye giggled.

[Kicks]

Blake laughed at both of her responses. Well, at least she wasn't totally against it. He pressed a kiss to her forehead while still laughing a little bit. "Ah well, Clayton swore him to be nice or something like that otherwise he's destroyed." He didn't exactly know what politicians could do to destroy each other, but he imagined it had to do a lot with public appeal. But since Clayton had been in the military at one point, maybe he would take Dix down like an enemy in World War III.
"Are you feeling better, by the way?" He asked her when he opened up his eyes again.

[Lil]

"Feeling good enough to do this." Faye said before pressing a kiss to his lips and holding it for a few seconds before pulling away. "I miss doing that so much." She sighed out and whispered against his lips.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

"Colton?" Zakai finally spoke up, "Why are they doing this? There are still monsters and zombies out there, there's still the virus, and Thomas might very well be escaping. When Tamara was the bad guy and she was captured the team hadn't been dissolved. Why now? Don't they see that this could be the most important time that someone is needed, and our team is the one with the most experience and systematic way of doing it? I mean... it's really weird. Suddenly we're a off a case that isn't even closed. Why can't they see that?"
At this point, the child wasn't even sure why he was asking this. Was it really because he wanted to save America from Thomas, or was it because he didn't want to go into this "normal life"? What was it?

[Kicks]

No, why did she have to pull away? He was enjoying that. Blake used the hand he was keeping against the back of her head to bring her closer to him. He locked his lips with her's and closed his eyes tightly. It had been too long since they actually kissed. Hugging was amazing, cuddling was the best. But although they were both great and enjoyed them, kissing was a thing of its own he craved from her.

[Kicks]

That was a very good question that Colton figured he had sort of figured out in his head, though he had no actual proof behind it.
"Part of it I think is because it's now a personal case." He admitted while rubbing his hands together a bit anxiously. "When people are tied in close with the case, it starts to become biased. For instance... I didn't want to kill Thomas. I was biased. Now that we have captured him, it's easier for my dad to say it's solved and kick us off of it than it would have been for before. I think a lot of things have complicated it though. Like, how are they going to deal with an American? It was easier for them to deal with Tamara. And not only that, but the public believes Tamara is behind this. So to come out with the truth could rock the public. ...I don't know, I don't really like politics. I'm better off doing what I do and not bothering with the whole politics of things."
And though it may have been true with the bias, his mind was still on what his dad had said. The sneaky remark. The ease of how he said it.
"I also think that my superiors are strongly against this team. And now that we have, in their eyes, solved it they don't want us." Colton added thoughtfully. He remembered his treatment in Utah getting back from California the second time wasn't exactly the way a soldier should be treated by soldier brethren.

[Lil]

Faye didn't fight him pulling her in. She would've pulled herself closer if she didn't fear hurting Blake's back. She was just so happy to be kissing him again that her smile made it's way into the kiss but she didn't dare break such a blissful moment.

[Kicks]

Blake kissed her without restrain and allowed his lips to work with her's. He slid his hand away from her hair and down to the side of her face. It may be night, and they should be asleep, but how long had he been restraining himself from doing just this? Too long, far too long. He yearned for just this, and to finally have it back in his grasp would be unbearable to release too quickly.

[Lil]

Their lips clashed over and over as his opened and closed around each of her lips and hers did the same. Her hand moved from his back and held around the back of his head now while carefully dragging through his soft blonde hair. She loved the high, light headed feeling she for when they kissed like this. Every peck or short sweet kiss also filled her with joy but they never created this feeling in her and it was one she quite enjoyed.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai listened to Colton and sighed.
"Maybe but..." he looked at the sky, "what are they gonna do? Personal as it is, biased as we are, do they even have a clue what their up against? They have to keep it a secret. They have to be quiet while keeping an eye on him. They're not civil. I don't care who says what: if they're anything like Richard then they're not going to be civil, no offense to him. Not that Thomas deserves civil treatment, but if they should remain cool enough so that they don't stoop to his level just because they're mad or see him as a monster. That would be stupid, and they wouldn't be able to think clearly. They're just as biased as we are. We had to be careful who we told too, but when you think about it, we didn't have to keep it a secret really, because we have no one to tell anyways. We may not be liked or respected or valued, but because of that, we could hide things without actually having to hide them. This all seems really messed up. I don't see why it's so hard to believe an American did this. It was Americans who wanted to persecute innocent mutants in their normal everyday lives, and even then, just one American is still just one guy. Just because I'm American and Thomas is American doesn't mean I'm about to go and do all sorts of things like he does. We're both from California, after all. That's totally making things biased. I don't think it's smart what they're doing. Maybe it's not stupid, but it isn't smart either."

[Kicks]

It was an overwhelming desire to just keep colliding in lips and breaths. There was that butterfly feeling in his stomach, a buzz in his head, and a mysterious fire that drove him to keep kissing her over and over. He remembered he was so reluctant to kiss her when they first started dating, but after so long and so much together it was a craving he could hardly quench. Her touch was soft and not forced, but her hand in his hair encouraged him not to stop.

[Lil]

Faye felt the pressure and passion start to rise in Blake which only resulted her to do the same. Her other hand trailed up until it was resting over his shoulder and gently holding his neck close to her. Faye thought she was hot before but now it felt as someone had turned it on full throttle but she didn't fight this heat, no instead she embraced it.

[Kicks]

Colton completely agreed with Zakai. He didn't like this situation. He didn't like the team being dissolved, or being discharged. He didn't like the thought of how they were going to treat this case, or the way they would do things. Thomas was worse than a monster because he was actually contagious to humans and could make anyone yield to life threatening illnesses and ales. He doubted the military knew about that, and even if they did he doubted they would bother to take that into consideration. He knew for a fact they were going to mess this up. And what made it even worse it was that he was becoming infuriated by it because he actually wanted to talk to Thomas and demand to know where the binder was!
Richard would go back to work at Utah no doubt after this, and that was even terrifying to think about. He didn't want to be separated from his older brother! It was because of Thomas's threat that he felt this way. He suddenly groaned and rose his hands up to his face. No, no, no. He had forgotten about that threat til now. Richard was important to the efforts against California. He was the admiral in charge of all operations to do with keeping the fort secure and zombies and monsters pushed back to the island of death. He couldn't always be away from the fort, so he would have to return. But Colton didn't want him to because Thomas was there!
"I don't think this team will remain dissolved for long." Colton admitted into his hands. He doubted they would. Especially if Thomas went through with his threat. His chest tightened. He didn't want his brother to die. He didn't want to see that. He didn't even want to imagine that! But he had a feeling Richard returning might be a motive for Thomas to escape. And when he did, the team would be put back together.

[Kicks]

Blake slid a hand up the back of her shirt and rested his hand against her small back. He used it to press her as close as he could get her to him without breaking the contact with her lips except to merely reposition them all over again. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears and a fuzzy feeling in his head that was blocking all judgement. She was so soft, so beautiful. And he loved her. He was going to marry this girl.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai sighed, "So you thought so too?"
It certainly seemed that way. He didn't know all the fine little fragments and details, but he still knew that if Thomas' plan carried out, no one would probably survive, and more than that, the monster would probably stop at nothing to make sure that it was carried out.
"A normal life... on such short notice," Zakai shuddered, "just to be thrown back into havoc... what is everyone thinking?"
The child still didn't feel that good about the whole "normal" thing, and he wasn't sure which he liked worse, Thomas or a normal life? They both seemed like difficult situations!

[Lil]

Faye was taken by surprise when Blake's cool hand slid up onto her bare back but she had to admit it did relinquish some of the heat and she liked how it felt when he used it to press then even closer. She could feel Blake's heart fluttering against her own chest now and she wondered if he could feel how rapid hers was pounding. It literally felt like a drum in her chest. Faye's breaths even started to pick up so she could fit one in between each kiss so she wouldn't pass out. Faye managed to roll over so she sat with her knees on either side of him to support her from not putting too much weight on Blake and moved her hands to either side of his head to hold herself up as her lips repeatedly met with his.

[Kicks]

"I don't want to." Colton admitted when Zakai brought up the normal life thing. "I don't think either of us are prepared for normal life. Like at all. I mean, we're just kind of being shoved into it. And to shove us into it at such a time like this... when nothing is even finished! Thomas is just going to escape, and then he's going to kill Richard, and then he'll just continue trying to accomplish whatever he was going for to begin with! They should have just let us continue."
Still, there was a certain temptation at the sound of normal life. He wanted to live one for Adalia. But he couldn't in a situation like this. How could he live a normal life when nothing was normal yet? When Thomas was still alive? When there were still zombies in New York? And war waging on in Canada! He couldn't pretend to be a normal civilian when his head was stuck in his military life!
He wanted to live a life without worry or zombies, disaster or monsters. But... it wasn't possible when Thomas was still around and the case wasn't solved. What was the research that was mentioned in the letter? What was the message in the binder? What was he supposed to be the successor of? He had to know all of these things before he could actually ever even start to think of being a civilian again!

[Kicks]

When Faye switched positions, he kept a hand on her back and the other one he moved to the back of her head. It wasn't only that he could hear his own heartbeat, but now he could feel her's too. The experience was incredible and he could taste her own desire on her lips. Her breaths were quick, and his were mere gasps he was managing every time their lips would separate just long enough for him to manage to get a breath.
Though they wouldn't be kissing like this in front of other people, he imagined, they would still share a binding kiss soon that would intertwine them into marriage. From then on, for as long as they lived, they could share in moments like these.

[Lil]

Faye moved her hands in so now they held either side of Blake's face as she still tried to avoid putting too much weight down in him. It was so hard not to keep pressed so close to him now though. The heat resonating from him only drew her closer and the way he held one hand on her back and the other in her hair created a position so easy to press chest to chest. Her own desire clouded her thoughts and it was getting harder to control the urges to pull herself down or to even pull him closer to her.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

"I think," Zakai began, "and I don't know about anyone else... but at this point, I don't think I should care... that we should just keep figuring things out and working on it, even if it's indirectly. If Thomas wins, screw a normal life for the team, all of America will be in ruins. Then not even normal people will have normal lives. I know that a lot of people mean things for the better, but to drop everything just because people are afraid of mutants or want to enjoy themselves just because they're not affected yet is stupid. Sometimes if you drop things, you get to the point where it's too late to pick them up again. That's what happened to our normal lives. If we ignore this though, we won't have a life to live. I know that sounds awful, but I don't think anyone's going to be spared this time."
Zakai was scared of his own thoughts and words, but to continue on would not be bad even if it went against what others said, because people didn't seem to know what was best for them right now. They only knew what they wanted to happen, but this had to be out of the way first before anything could happen at all!

[Kicks]

It was bliss. It was a blinding bliss he could get lost in. But his self control was limited at the moment. Her skin, taste, and lips were testing him. He had to slow down their progress by forcing their lips to cherish the slow kisses. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to continue kissing her, holding her, having her skin touch his, escalating. But there was a time and a place for everything.
He pulled his lips away from her's and opened his eyes to gaze up at her. She truly was beautiful, even more so from down here when he was able to get a close look at her. Blake broke into a smile, and though he wanted to pull her down onto him and never stop, he forced himself to resist.

[Lil]

Faye felt the kisses grow slower until Blake pulled away and she knew it was probably a good idea. Two teenagers with hormones running high, engaged, and now told to live normal lives, well not everyone had unlimited self control. Faye kissed the corner of Blake's lips before allowing herself to roll off to the side and lie on the bed next to him. "Oh gosh, I've missed that." Faye whispered through a smile.

[Kicks]

Zakai's thoughts were finally able to straighten out Colton's brain. It was amazing what talking with this kid could do for his head sometimes. Colton peered down at his with an approving look. "You are my son." He stated while putting a hand down on the child's head. This was the first time he had openly claimed Zakai, but he embraced it even though he wasn't really the kind of guy to express these sorts of things.
"I think we should continue as well. We could play the role of normal lives just to satisfy my soon to be ex-superiors and my dad, but we can be behind the scenes continuing." Colton stated confidently. It could work. Maybe. It had worked before when Colton was keeping the binder an absolute secret that he had told only Adalia about. It was before things got so weird and wacky, when he had first come home. It may only work for a short amount of time. But even a short period of time could make enough of an impact.

- - - Updated - - -

Blake slowly grabbed a pillow and nonchalantly put it over his shorts in the dark. He was trying not to laugh or give away anything. He grinned for a moment and then turned his eyes towards her.
"I don't think we can do that again until we're actually married." He told her, soon finding himself cracking up with laughter. "And then we won't have to stop!"

[Lil]

"Marriage better come soon then." Faye smirked but when Blake started laughing she was extremely confused. "What's so funny?"
Faye asked looking at him curiously. Whatever it was it had him dying of laughter which was frankly kind of cute but made he suspicious since she didn't know what was going on.

[Kicks]

"Nothing." Blake answered her after he managed to compose himself. He was still grinning though, a hint that he might start laughing again any second. "Honestly, it's nothing you should be concerned with. But if you must know, I am a guy. And things as intense as this get a reaction from guys." He was laughing again and he had to turn his face into the blankets. "I love you, Faye. I love you a lot."

[Lil]

"Oh." Faye mouthed once she understood. Her cheeks blushed a bright red but she was happy it was dark and he couldn't tell that. Well she hadn't caught that at all and now she felt weird and kind of bad. Faye hadn't meant for that to happen but he seemed to find it funny so she guessed it wasn't that bad of a thing. "I love you very much too." She said and lifted her hand to play with some of his hairs. That was one of the truest things she had said all day. She loved everything about Blake because all of it together made him and she was totally, undeniably in love with him. "So I guess I should ask, do I need to wait to cuddle?" She chuckled awkwardly.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai gave Colton a funny look when he mentioned him being his son, and just laughed, "Of course I am."
He listened to Colton's plan, a little relieved that he was agreeing. He'd been afraid that the man would say something about being normal citizens and following rules but... well, it made less sense than what Colton was saying now simply because this was Colton he was talking to. He nodded.
"Yeah... but... would it just be us? I mean... would the rest of the team be in on it, or not?"
That was the only thing the child wasn't sure of. He didn't know how this would all play out. He didn't want to think of the team getting smaller again, but if it had to happen, it had to happen, he supposed. All he knew for sure was that he wanted to help no matter what.

[Kicks]

Blake turned his head away from her so that she couldn't touch his hair at the moment. "You just probably shouldn't touch me at all for the next few minutes because I'm not going to lie. I will start making out with you again, and I doubt I will have enough self control to stop next time."

[Lil]

"Okay, okay, okay." Faye said not pleased with that response. She really just wanted to cuddle and attempt to fall asleep now but if that wasn't possible she could try and sleep by herself, it wasn't that she couldn't but I was weird with Blake there, so accessible while not at the same time. Faye closed her eyes and curled up. "But when you're feeling controlled again don't hesitate to wrap me up." Faye said with a smirk before rolling over so that her back was to Blake now.

[Kicks]

"It's official then." Colton told him in a dramatic way, "You are now awesome." For a moment he acted like he was going to cry and rose a hand up to his face. "Oh, I've been waiting for this day so long to say I have a son who is more or less as awesome as I! Less! Probably less! Because no one can get more awesome than Captain Awesome!"
When Zakai asked about the rest of the team being involved, Colton wasn't sure. Undoubtedly, they'd be involved at some point. At the moment, he kind of just wanted Blake and Faye to enjoy being teenagers planning their wedding. So he wouldn't trouble them with the truth of everything just yet. But he would let them in on it because they were family in a team sort of way. He didn't know exactly what had become of ArraBella, but he figured since the girl wasn't around she was probably in Utah. If that were the case, then he would have to warn her. She was in Utah. The closest to Thomas who knew of her involvement with the team.
"I think everything will come in due time." He said at last with a nod of his head, "Although, I will have to tell Bells of some things since she's in Utah. I don't know what to expect from Thomas, really. So I want her to be prepared for anything."

- - - Updated - - -

Blake laughed again, but tried this time to muffle it with the bed. He kept his face pressed into the bed for some time. He was trying to think of anything that didn't have to do with Faye. Because if he thought of her, and her just being right there, he might try to make out with her again. He wanted to come down from that high of no self control.
So of course, his mind immediately went to the one thing he hated most: the building and the monster. Just a few minutes thinking about that was enough to get him to hide and quake, shake and freak out. He swallowed hard and tried to press back the memory of his back slamming into the ground. He grimaced at the image.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai stared at Colton as he talked about wanting a son and how he was more awesome and Zakai was less, at which Zakai stood up straight, "Ha! Don't flatter yourself old man!" he grinned smugly, "No one but me could have made this day come for you! Clearly, I am on the path that will lead to become far more awesome than you could ever hope to be!"
The child dropped his act when Colton answered his question, "Oh. Okay then." he thought on Adalia, "What about Carson, though? He's in danger too, right? But he can't really be moved."

[Kicks]

"No, because you see I will get older so will start losing how awesome I am. So really by the time you're as awesome as me, you will only think you're more awesome. But you will never be more awesome than me in the moment of how awesome I am right now. You will only ever just reach my level of awesome." Colton told him logically. "And then you will start to decline in awesomeness when you get old."
Colton honestly hadn't heard a lot on Carson. He had been given no updates on how he was besides the one from Tamara. But that wasn't a lot of information there. He stood for a moment trying to think about that. When at last he decided that ArraBella was over there, he said: "Well, Bells is a fiery one. So I think he'll be just fine if she starts making crazy things with her mind."

[Lil]

Faye ran her fingers in circles over the sheets quietly while she waited. It was weird to have Blake so close but not to be cuddled up in his arms and she hated it as a matter of fact. So she waited until he was calmed down or something so that his arms could wrap around her and make her feel safe again. After it had been a while she started to wonder if he had fallen asleep, assuming her had she closed her eyes and started to try herself.

[Kicks]

It was after some time that Blake was beginning to fall asleep. But he couldn't just yet. He reached over and put his arms around Faye. There, that felt more like home. Now he could actually asleep. It was sort of weird how being cuddled up with one person could make a huge difference on just how he slept. Alone, he wasn't comfortable. With his arms around Faye however, it was the most at home, comfortable feeling.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai shook his head, "No. I'll be more awesome than you are now. You're just saying that to make yourself feel better."
He thought on Colton's explanation of ArraBella. She was as he said, but... he didn't know how well she could handle Thomas. Then again, he'd never seen in a standoff on her own, and she seemed to have the right skills and spirit for it, no doubt.
"Well then, I hope they'll be okay. Will you just call them, or are we even allowed to do that?"

[Kicks]

Colton made a 'pfting' noise at Zakai's argument. He would drop it for now because he had a feeling the two of them could go at this for hours. At the mention of calling them, Colton found himself wondering about that. Why wouldn't he be allowed to call them? Or would that be classified under going against what his dad said? Like he cared.
"I'll call them." He decided, "And Richard is going to return to Utah anyways, so he might drop by and check on them." Although his brother wasn't necessarily reliable in this sort of instance when Thomas had threatened to kill him. His stomach twisted at the thought of that again. He really hoped his brother didn't plan to be careless.
What if Thomas did manage to do something to his brother? Colton was going to be 'living' in Florida, which was far from Utah. It was an hour or so to get from Florida to Utah in a military jet, but Colton was discharged so he wouldn't have that resource. To drive took even longer, even if they took the SpeedWays. And a normal airline would still take longer than he wanted it too.
Maybe he would just call his brother every other hour and become super clingy until Richard started being more on guard or moved away from Utah- which Colton knew he couldn't do being that his job was stationed in Utah.

[Lil]

When Blake finally pulled Faye towards him she settled into his arms much more comfortable as if by magic. Having Blake there made everything easier but she was sure not to say anything so they could stay wrapped up like this without him having to release her again.

[Kicks]

It was like cuddling a giant, amazing teddy bear. Except unlike having to wrestle to get comfortable, it just happened. It was as if they just melted together like this.
Blake shut his eyes and rested his head on the pillow behind him. He was pretty tired from everything, but he was afraid of going back to sleep and seeing that monster. Of all the things his mind could have nightmares over, and it chose to replay the most horrifying and terrifying experience of his life.

[Lil]

Faye sighed quietly trying to calm her head but she had grown anxious while sitting quietly in the dark. What was tomorrow going to be like? They'd be moving to Florida temporarily and would have a place of their own, the could make out all they wanted! Oh gosh, why did that pop into her head, probably because her mind was still lingering on the moments before. But in all seriousness this meant they'd actually get to start planing their wedding and it was making her very excited. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

[Kicks]

His head was heavy with exhaustion and his eyelids didn't want to open up again. But he kept his mind awake and active by listening to Faye's heart. It didn't help that if Blake let it, it was going to put him to sleep. But he managed to stay awake nonetheless by keeping one of his hands moving over her hair to stroke the blonde strands.
He wondered what kind of apartment Dix would have managed to find. Hopefully the man wasn't actually being mean in disguise and when they got there would be welcomed by a rat infestation. But he supposed Dix didn't battle that way. He was a politician which meant he preferred to use status and words to be rude.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai watched Colton think. He said he'd call her, but there seemed to be something else wrong in his eyes that the child could see, but what? Of course, Zakai had no idea they would be going to Florida. He wondered, though, what were they going to do? How far away would they be? Right now, all they had was what they already knew to back them up. Taking action and actually working on the case as they always had was not an option. His mind was racing for some sort of idea. Was there anyone they could talk to who would understand their point of view to help them? Pulling resources seemed to be their only chance at keeping their advancements forward steady. He could think of several people they'd come into contact with who would qualify as reliable, but as far as their willingness to help, he was unsure.
"Colton, I think we'll need help. I don't know who from though."

[Lil]

Faye eventually fell asleep thinking of what was to come. Not in a bad way but imagining what it'd be like. Heck, she even dreamed about it and what she hoped the apartment would be like. With Adalia and Colton to help them settle in things may not be that bad.

[Kicks]

They probably would need help. As much as Colton didn't like recruiting help, they didn't have the resources they used to. But what was worse was all the soldiers that he had actually been close to and was able to call a friend or a brother, they were all zombies or monsters now. He couldn't ask for their help. The soldiers he did know now were either strongly against mutants, or they were his brother and Jerome. Those were the only two soldiers he knew who weren't against mutants and would be willing to help if they were allowed to.
Maybe he should start thinking with what sort of resources they would need and then go from there to finding people who would be willing to help.
"A pilot with access to high speed aircraft, some sort of weapon dealer..." Those were the two he could think off the top of his head that they would need. "We need people who do those sorts of things."

- - - Updated - - -

He hadn't heard from his cousin in awhile. She was in Utah, he knew without a doubt. But he didn't know what she was up to and if she were okay. Blake wish he had a way to contact her and make sure that everything was okay. But he didn't have that sort of access. He wondered who would know how to contact her. Maybe he could ask Dix in the car on the way to Florida.
Blake peered over at Faye, wondering if she had managed to fall asleep. When he saw her eyes closed, he relaxed again. She had managed to fall asleep and she didn't seem to be disturbed either, so that was good.

[Lil]

She slept rather peacefully for the first time in a long time. Peacefully and actually restful to, not just a sleep where she was dozed off but it didn't actually cure her exhaustion. This medicine was working miracles. Faye would have to start learning about that kind of stuff and would have to do adult things like grocery shopping, and cleaning, and driving. Sounded like a lot of work.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai nodded and thought for a moment.
"The only pilot I ever actually got to know was Rashid, and I don't really know if he'd be a good person to go to since he's with the Air Force, so I'm sure he wouldn't be allowed to help us." he thought more, "The only weapons dealer I ever knew was in San Francisco, and he's dead. You probably wouldn't have liked him anyway." He kept thinking. Someone had to be able to help them! He didn't know anyone like that though. He didn't know anyone at all! "We could ask Tamara for help... but...." he shook his head, "That seems too risky and she's got her hands full anyway. Maybe Anton? But I don't know what he can do. I never talked to him, really, so I don't think we should take that risk. Then what about... how about... hmmm..." he was really lost. Everyone he knew who could do all those things were official workers in places that would be against them. "Unless you know someone on the underground, I don't think we'll get anywhere with the people we've met, unless I'm just not thinking of someone."

[Kicks]

Blake stayed in the bed for a long time without actually sleeping. He was glad Faye was though, she really needed sleep. After some time of being awake and motionless, completely comfortable, he carefully slid out of the bed and moved to the bathroom. He grabbed his suitcase and dragged it into the bathroom with him. He needed a shower. He wanted to smell good and be less dirty. He rested the suitcase on the counter and then turned on the shower. He hoped the sound of it wouldn't wake Faye up.

Colton laughed a little bit when Zakai mentioned a weapons dealer from San Francisco. Though it did remind him of Carson. He knew the guy was into the black market and had even faked Blake's citizenship papers. But he doubted Carson was still able to do any of that kind of stuff. He probably had connections to the black market though. He didn't want to press the disturbed teenager for anything though.
His mind was put off from that when he heard Adalia call from the front: "Five minutes before we leave! I know you're out there somewhere! Better get back here!"
Colton glanced towards the front and turned his body reluctantly towards it. Five minutes and they start on a not so normal life. "We're moving to Florida, by the way." He told Zakai while beginning to slowly drag his feet back towards the front, "She found a big house with large windows." It was big because Adalia was afraid of closing Colton in. And it had large windows for Zakai who liked to sleep in weird places- like roofs and benches- so there was more natural light and made them feel like they weren't actually inside a closed structure. Something like that. He hadn't really been paying attention when she explained it all.

[Lil]

When Blake left Faye didn't wake up but she did roll over to face where he had been and lied her own head on the pillow he had previously been on. Oh gosh, it smelt like him which was incredible. She even got the sense of him while asleep.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai looked back towards the White House when Adalia suddenly called out to them. He gave Colton a questioning look. They were going somewhere? Where? When Colton said Florida though, his face fell. Florida? Moving? Oh no... He looked down at his feet as he walked behind Colton, glad that the man was taking his time, because he was not looking forward to this. He put his hands behind his back and gripped them into fists as he walked. He didn't want to move. Florida sounded so far away. He wasn't used to it. He didn't want to go... but he didn't say anything. It was where his family was going. It was where they'd be pretending to be normal. He didn't have a choice.

[Kicks]

Blake could see all the dirt go down the drain when he peered down. Ew. He turned the water off when he was certain he was clean. He hadn't found any conditioner or shampoo, but there was a bar soap he used instead of either. That was one thing he would have to remember to get for the apartment.
He dried off and found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to change into. He brought the towel up to his hair and rubbed at it until it was no longer dripping wet. When he was done, he turned off the light and rolled the suitcase out again. The good thing about the shower was that he felt more awake now and there was no temptation to try to sleep either.

[Kicks]

Colton sighed when he reached Adalia at the door. She dangled keys in front of his face, but it was teasingly she did it. She wouldn't allow him to drive, he knew that. "Can't we move to some place like... Utah?"
"Mmm. No." She answered back to him while laying a hand down on his shoulder. "You heard Clayton. It's over."
But it's not. Colton didn't say anything like that out loud though. He just nodded his head and murmured: "Guess it's just a little hard to believe it's really over." Because it wasn't.
Adalia gestured towards her red car. "Spring is already in the backseat of the car. Sleeping like a rock."
Colton glanced towards the car and nodded his head. "Sure thing. Where's Richard?"
"He left for Utah last night." Adalia told him, a frown crossing her face. "Why?"
Colton shrugged his shoulders and headed towards the car, "He's my brother. Just wanted to punch him before I never see him again is all."
Adalia smiled and shook her head, "It's not the last time, Colton!"
It might be. Colton slid into the passenger side of the car and shut the door. He shuddered and opened the door again. He wasn't going to close that door until the car was started, he decided.

[Lil]

Faye finally woke up from the light coming from the bathroom before Blake switched off the lights. She sat up and noticed he had showered from his damp hair. "My turn." The blonde murmured while pushing herself out of the bed. She was also in desperate need of a shower, she felt quite disgusting and maybe it could help wash some of the sickness she was feeling away.

[Kicks]

"Good luck, don't slip into the toilet." Blake remarked with a small smile. He opened the door to the room just to get some fresh air flowing through the room. He placed his suitcase outside the door and searched the room for a moment for his sandals. He found them near the bed and slid them on. It was now just a waiting game before they hit the road, smushed into a car with a not so nice guy.

[Lil]

Faye grabbed a change if clothes consisting of a loose tank top and some athletic shorts. It was hot in Florida and she also wanted to be comfy if they were going to be in a car for who knows how long. She turned on the water but didn't put it very hot, she was actually looking forward to a cold shower right now. Faye wasn't about to take a shower without any shampoo or conditioner though so she searched he bathroom before she found some in the cabinet under the sink. With that she hopped it and cleaned off pretty quick and she was right. Some of the grossness of being sick had seemed to wash away and now her hair smelt like green apples. She got out quick, dried off, and changed in a hurry concerned that they'd be leaving soon and she wouldn't be ready. When she exited back into the room she slid on some flip flops she had gotten for Hawaii.

[Kicks]

Dix came by their room and tapped on the door though it was already open. "We better get going. It's a long drive." Normally on long drives he would leave at night so the people in the car would sleep and not bother him. But Adalia was taking off now, and he knew the teenagers needed her help so he wanted to leave roughly the same time as her. Whereas he had a lead foot, she was a careful driver.
"How does it feel to be babysitting instead of doing politics?" Blake asked him curiously with a sly grin.
"Oh, I just have a feeling this car ride is going to be fun." Dix whispered back to him with a smile. He patted the teenager on his head and began to move down the hall.

[Lil]

"Please don't make this anymore miserable than it's already going to be." Faye sighed to Blake with pleading eyes. She was already not looking forward to going with Dix but maybe they should be nice and hopefully he would do the same. Faye hoped that she could possibly fall asleep in the car because it always made them seem to go by quicker when you were asleep.

[Kicks]

"Fine." Blake sighed back to her as if it were really going to be a chore. It wouldn't. He could play nice. He followed Dix out with the suitcases to the car running and waiting for them. Dix opened the trunk and grabbed the suitcases. He fitted them down and then shut the trunk.
"We'll pull up to a drive-thru for breakfast once we're on the road." Dix stated before sliding into the driver's side. "Adalia said something about telling her if someone doesn't eat."
"Oh my gosh." Blake mouthed to himself while rolling his eyes. He got into the back seat and put his forehead to the window.

[Lil]

Faye got in on the other side of the car and leaned back against the door and pulled her legs up into the seat. She hated riding in the car, it was terribly uncomfortable so she always managed to sit incorrectly and make herself comfy. The blonde leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes but she didn't feel tired anymore so this would probably be a very long car ride.

[Kicks]

Dix didn't start yet. When he refused to start driving, Blake just had to ask: "Why aren't you driving?"
"Seatbelts." Dix whispered back, "Follow the law, please. In front of the vice president too. Who are you?"
"Are you being serious?" Blake asked him with a look of surprise.
"No." Dix laughed back, putting the car into drive and taking off towards the gates, "I just thought it would be funny. I guess not."

[Lil]

Faye didn't respond after she found out he wasn't being serious. If he was she was going to be very upset but she would've snuck it off later anyways. "Do you know how long the drive is?" Faye asked looking up at Dix.

[Kicks]

"Well if we take the highways it will take about thirteen hours. If we take the SpeedWays it will take about six hours. And if I drive like a criminal, four hours." Dix answered her, "There are some tolls though either way which can take up to twenty minutes to get through. Longer if there are mutants in the car. And everyone is tested for the disease. We'll get a tag at the first toll that says we're not carriers of the disease. And then- well, I don't know what they're going to do because you're both mutants but have immunity. They'll probably have to improvise a tag."
Blake understood the disease and the mutant thing because of the Annihilation Act and how much many people were killed from the plague. But he still didn't like to here about the mutant thing.

[Lil]

"Alright." Faye nodded. "Well I just hope we get there soon." She sighed and looked over at Blake now and flopped her feet into his lap. A smile spread on her lips as she thought about what this meant. They were on their way to a new life and a new beginning. Hopefully it could stay like this for a while.

[Kicks]

Blake glanced down at her feet and slid off her flip flops. He put them down on the floor of the car and then began to rub her feet. He turned his head towards her and began to make seductive faces as he rubbed her feet.
"Note to self. Never check the rear view mirror again." Dix murmured to himself with wide eyes.

[Lil]

"Oh my gosh." Faye giggled and pulled her feet back considering they were extremely ticklish then he was making those faces at her. She buried her face in her hands as it blushed bright red. And Dix even saw it! That was pretty weird.

[Kicks]

Blake broke into a grin and relaxed back into his seat. He peered out the window trying not to laugh at what he had just accomplished. He didn't even realize that they had gotten pretty far until Dix pulled the car into a drive-thru at the good ol' fashioned McDonald's. He ordered the breakfast sausage, egg, and cheese muffins then pulled up to the window. He paid for the food and grabbed the bag they had passed him.
"Thank you for serving America with your service." He told the man in a serious voice, "You have done this man good." And then he drove away.
"So, do you always order food like that?" Blake asked him curiously after he drove away.
"When I'm feeling cocky." Dix told him, passing back two of the muffins.
"So all the time." Blake whispered, taking the muffin into his hand. He had never, ever had one of these before. He peered down at it, wondering just how it would taste or if he should even dare. But Adalia was holding it over his head, and Dix would tell her if he didn't eat. "America." He said in the best American accent he could pull off while raising the muffin a little bit as if it were some football.

[Lil]

Faye glared at Blake but it was soon erased by a smile. She wasn't too surprised by how Dix acted in the drive-thru, seemed like something her would do. Faye took one of the muffins but didn't eat it. She wasn't hungry just yet, she never really was in the morning. She leaned over and against the back of the seat while putting her feet in the seat between her and Blake and crossing her arms over her chest. Sleep, she wanted to sleep and hurry this ride along.

[Kicks]

Blake unwrapped the thin paper surrounding the muffin. When he saw what was inside, he let out an audible gag while the feeling of vomiting rose up.
"Take a deep breath, Blake. That's the soul of America right there. Fast food in all its magnificent glory." Dix breathed out from the front after he had taken a large bite from his own breakfast sandwich.
"I don't think I want to be an American anymore." Blake moaned quietly. He picked the sandwich up, immediately feeling the disgusting grease on his fingers. He shuddered and gagged again.
"It tastes better than it looks." Dix promised as he drove with one hand and ate with the other one, "The grease is the greatest flavoring, I promise."
"How are you not dead from a heart attack?" Blake murmured as he rose the sandwich towards his face. The look of the sausage was enough to repulse him. "Is that even real egg?"
"None of it's real." Dix laughed back, "Just eat it, man. It's totally worth the heart burn."

[Lil]

Faye opened her eyes upon hearing Blake gag, she thought he was choking for a second. "Could we possibly get something less disgusting?" Faye asked while she also looked at his mats looking breakfast food. "Please." She asked more kindly this time. Faye still wasn't hungry but she also knew that for someone who had barely eaten the last few months that that much grease would make him sick.

[Kicks]

Dix released a small groan and reached back for Blake's muffin. He took and ate a bite from it. After chewing for awhile, he shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. "Yea, okay. Maybe one of these drive-thrus has some kind of granola yogurt parfait." He glanced back towards Blake when he heard the guy laugh, "What's funny?"
"I just heard a lot about Californians being granola eaters." Blake answered him through a grin, "I didn't know it was true until now."
"That's not what that means when someone refers to granola eater in California." Dix laughed back at him. "Anyways, you don't know what you're missing with these breakfast sammies. So good. I can feel my arteries clot."

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai didn't stop to talk to watch Colton and Adalia talk. He just got into the car beside Spring, buckled up, and stared out the window. How long would it take to get there? Also, what was going to happen once they did get there? He hoped it would be late at night. Were they going to have neighbors? Were the neighbors going to be prejudiced against them? He remembered coming out of San Francisco and being welcomed by everyone like they were some sort of heroes. People Zakai had never seen looked happy to meet them, and now that Colton was a mutant and had a little baby who was part mutant, everyone seemed to turn on them. How stupid.
Even if their neighbors were nice, Zakai didn't want to meet them. Not yet anyway. He didn't know anyone there. He'd never been to Florida in his life. Why were they moving to Florida? Why so far away? He didn't like it. He just didn't.
Zakai looked down, fidgeting a bit. He was nervous. Please, let it be night, and let everyone be asleep when we get there.

[Lil]

Faye's shoulders fell with relief when Dix said they could. "Thank you." Faye said genuinely. She liked yogurt too so she'd probably actually eat this instead of putting it off to the side. For now though Faye looked at Blake and winked before chuckling and leaning back again.

[Kicks]

When Adalia got in, she started the car up and began on their trip to Florida. She knew there were a few things that would have to be worked out after they settled in. By how long it would take, it would be around dinner time when they got to Florida which didn't give them a lot of time to get groceries, clothes, and the works.
"Could I convince you to take Zakai shopping tomorrow?" She asked Colton with a small smile.
"And here we go." Colton sighed, knowing this must be the start of the 'normal' life. He had rolled down the window as soon as they began to drive, but he didn't know how long he would be allowed to keep it up before the weather prevented him. He glanced out the window now and stuck his hand out, latching it onto the roof of the car. "If we go, I'm not going when there's a lot of people out."
"So go in the morning or late at night." Adalia purred back merrily.
Colton shifted uncomfortably. He glanced over at her briefly and asked: "What kind of shopping?"
"I can do groceries if you do clothes." She answered him.
Colton looked back out the window again and puffed out his cheeks. It's not that he had a problem taking Zakai anywhere. He enjoyed the kid's company very much. He just didn't like big crowds after so long of being around big crowds of zombies. It would be... off putting. Not only that, but he didn't like how Americans treated mutants. Yes, because they totally asked to become complete outcasts.
"Are businesses still checking for mutants?" He asked, not knowing the answer to the question.
"It's part of the Annihilation Act to do the scans, so yes." Adalia replied after a long time. She hadn't wanted to answer that. But she knew he would have just found out anyways.

- - - Updated - - -

Blake winked one eye at a time back at her. He made a little 'unfing' noise though when the car came to a stop at another drive thru. Dix went forward with his same cocky display. And when he drove off, he passed two parfaits back to the teenagers- including spoons.
"If we take the SpeedWay, I hope to be in Florida by late afternoon." Dix stated from the front, "And reach our destination by somewhere around four. So some time between the two, we'll get lunch."

[Lil]

Faye took the yogurt and opened it up. It actually looked really good with little berries mixed in. "That's not too bad then." She shrugged and took a bite. "We'll have some time before it gets dark to hopefully her some basic things to settle in. Do we have furniture?" Faye asked looking up at Dix.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai sat quietly, listening to Colton and Adalia talk to each other. When the mutant thing came up and he heard that stores were checking for mutants, the child lowered his head. Oh great. Just perfect.
It sounded like, no matter what, something was going to go wrong. What about Blake and Faye? Were they aware of this? He knew they had immunity, but in a way, that might just make everything worse! He bit his lip nervously and stared out the window once more. He really wasn't looking forward to this. He knew they'd be doing abnormal things in secret, but that didn't change the fact that he would be stuck in a normal environment.

[Kicks]

Blake definitely preferred this food a lot more than that crap from McDonald's. He didn't exactly know what that thing had been, but it looked lethal. He was grateful to Dix nonetheless for the effort, it was better than nothing... even though he didn't eat it. Now that he had the yogurt though, it was only so much less of a chore to eat- still a chore though.
He dug his spoon into it and lapped the yogurt into his mouth. Granola, berries, and yogurt. Needless to say, it was a divine mixture.
"The apartment is furnished." Dix stated as he tapped the steering wheel, "I paid extra for that."

[Kicks]

Colton fell silent for a long time. He kept his eyes focused on the outside passing by. He was still thinking over Utah and Thomas. When was he going to try escape and how would he do it? He was witty, Colton knew that. Maybe he would strike when a guard came by with food or something. It may be prison, but even the military had to abide by the justice system.
When Thomas escaped, Colton couldn't help but worry about his brother. He had been so... well, so Richard to obnoxiously read that letter. Though Colton hadn't been against it until after the beginning of the letter was read. He hadn't wanted to hear more. He didn't want to know more. But now he knew more than he wanted to, now he was troubled by that alongside the threat Thomas had made about killing Richard.
When he knew all of this would just cause him to panic, he took his mind off of it by glancing back to check on the children. His eyes moved over to Spring who was awake now and reaching for Zakai's face. Colton smiled a bit and relaxed into his seat again. "She's so weird."
"It annoys Richard." Adalia remarked with a little giggle, "I don't know why she does it. Part of me wonders with all the things she does, if she's blind."
Colton frowned and glanced back again, and then towards Adalia. "Maybe that's what you should do tomorrow while grocery shopping- take her in and find out. Or maybe I should." He added the last part when remembering that Spring wasn't exactly the most human of the race.

[Lil]

"Do you have a picture?" Faye asked she'd like to see it. "Actually no, I'd rather be surprised." Faye changed her mind and are another spoonful. "What do you think it looks like Blake?" Faye asked him, she was very happy he was eating.

[Kicks]

"Even if I did, I'm currently driving." Dix responded to her. Traffic was slowing on the SpeedWay. That meant they were coming upon a toll. He released a long breath. At least they only had to be stopped at one for longer than the other times.
Blake stopped eating his yogurt when he finished it and looked around for a trash. He glanced towards the politician who pointed to the floor. Blake stared confused at him but dropped it anyways. He released a shocked breath when the floor seemed to suck it somewhere below.
"I have to empty out the trash every month." Dix stated, "Or right after this. Gosh, yogurt containers smell disgusting after like three days."
Blake wanted a car that did that! That would be awesome! They were probably really expensive though. He looked towards Faye when she asked about what he thought it would look like. "Like... an apartment?" He wasn't sure how to answer that, because he really didn't know.

[Lil]

"Well duh." Faye said dropping her own container. "I mean like inside. I hope it's just a few rooms with a big living room area, like a studio apartment." Faye nodded her head and leaned back against the window. "That'd be cool. And I hope we have a big window." Faye imagined it now.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai noticed Spring reaching for him and he looked at her, tilting his head to the side as he wondered what it was that she wanted from him... or anyone that she reached up for, really. Then again, she was a baby. All babies did weird things that he couldn't and could understand. Was it out of curiosity? Was it out of playfulness? He didn't know. He just stared at her for a moment when a thought occurred to him. She was reaching for his face; faces intrigued her for some reason.
The child stared at the baby for a moment longer before slowly leaning down over her and stopping at the point where her hand was touching his cheek. What would she do now? He was letting her have his face for the moment. This probably looks so weird...

[Kicks]

"That sounds pretty much like the one I rented." Dix remarked, "I think a lot of apartments are like that though in Florida. Not so much in New York, but places like California and Florida, definitely." He stopped his car then after it had been creeping forward for so long. He unrolled his window and peered at the guy at the toll. "How you doing today?"
"It's been a long day, sir." The man responded while waving his little scanner gun, "Can I ask all three of you to unroll your windows? This will only take a few minutes."
Dix moved his hand to the driver's controls and unrolled the windows for the man. "Before you start calling SWAT or whatever it is you do when you find mutants, these two here have immunity. I think you might have heard about that in the news a little while back. When that whole team got up and bagged on America for their incredible ignorance against mutants?"
"Oh yea, caused a real stir." The man agreed, scanning Dix's eyes. "I'll have to hand write a tag for this. Could take longer."

[Kicks]

Spring squealed when she touched Zakai's face. She patted his nose and gurgled with a big smile on her face. After some time of patting his nose, she moved her hand away and shut her eyes.
Colton glanced back when he heard the first squeal. This wasn't a sight he was exactly accustomed to, but he could tell by the way Spring was acting that she was absolutely pleased with having touched Zakai's face. He smiled and turned his body back around while suppressing a laugh when he saw the baby close her eyes. He didn't know if he would ever understand her whole thing with touching people's faces, but it was always funny to witness.

[Lil]

When they rolled up Faye looked to Blake kind of nervously. This seemed a littler easier seeing how Dix explained the situation to the man. She hoped being mutants didn't effect their life in Florida too much or this would really suck. She just wanted a semi-normal life. Was that too much to ask, actually it probably was.

[Kicks]

Blake moved his hand over to Faye's when he caught the nervous look. He gripped her hand and squeezed it gently in a way of silent reassurance. He found it uncomfortable when a scanner was suddenly in his eyes and the thing started to beep. The man stood back and tapped at the screen until it printed a little white sheet and the beeping stopped. He pocketed the white sheet and then scanned Faye's eyes, the scanner getting the same result. He took the two white papers with him to the box.
For awhile, Dix waited impatiently to get back onto the road. But after a few minutes the man came back with the two white small sheets of paper slid into a plastic envelope with a tag that read: Healthy, two immune mutants.
"Kay. Hang that from your rear view mirror and you can go." The man stated while patting the hood.
Dix shifted the car after having hung the tag and then took off past the toll.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai only became more confused when the baby patted his nose and then... went to sleep? That's it? That's what you were so excited about?
Zakai sat up and stared at his knees for a moment. That didn't make sense. All she'd done was patted his nose and apparently that was amazing! He didn't understand at all! He sighed and scratched his head.
"Colton, Adalia... your daughter has a face fetish."
That was the only thing that seemed to make sense... even though he was sure it wasn't true.

[Lil]

Faye certainly didn't like that but it was over in a few minutes. She leaned over onto Blake as they pulled off and closed her eyes. She hoped they wouldn't do that to their eyes at every stop because it was bright and terrible. Faye reached down and linked hands with him again while curling her legs up and sighing.

[Kicks]

Adalia started to laugh but had to quickly control herself because she was driving and didn't want to wreck. "It seems to be that way, doesn't it? She's just a little thing of her own."
"Traffic is so slow!" Colton shouted out the window, "HEY. HEEEEEEEEEY. RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRAKES IS A GAS PEDAL. STEP ON IT, YOU-"
Adalia grabbed him by his collar and pulled him back into the car. "Stop it! You're going to get us pulled over! It's just the toll. Traffic slows at it. It will be over soon. Goodness me, Colton. This is why you're not allowed to drive. You turn into Richard with traffic, I swear."
"I'm sorry." Colton apologized sweetly. But he didn't mean it. He hated it when people went so slow. It annoyed him. Did they not know there was a gas pedal? His mind finally caught up to Zakai's remark though and he laughed a little bit. "Maybe she does it just to creep you out?"

- - - Updated - - -

Blake leaned against the door and extended his legs across the whole floor of the backseat. He wrapped his arms around Faye when she scooted into him. He leaned his head back against the window and shut his eyes. He hated it, but long distance driving always made him so tired. It was the steady speed and the rush of the wind against the car that made him so drowsy. He didn't want to sleep, but it would make Florida come quicker.

[Lil]

Faye fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Maybe she had been more tired than she had even realized until she was actually dozing off. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing though, now the drive wouldn't seem as long and she got to be cuddled with Blake still so it wasn't a completely awful situation to sleep in. It did partially remind her of when they were leaving Utah up to New York though and that awkward car ride.

[Kicks]

It was an awful fight between staying awake and sleeping. In the end, sleep won out and Blake had fallen for its clutches again. It wasn't as comfortable to sleep in a car even if he had Faye in his arms. But at least there was still a little room.
Dix glanced back towards the teenager when he noticed it was silent. He was just making sure they weren't making out. When he saw that they weren't, he turned his eyes back on the road.

[Lil]

Faye rolled so that her head rested on Blake's chest while one of her arms wrapped around Blake and the other stayed pulled in close to her. Nightmares wreaked havoc in her head but she amazingly didn't shoot up completely terrified this time around. Her eyes did pop open and she felt panicked but she had managed not to freak out in the back seat of the car fortunately. The blonde relaxed back into Blake and closed her eyes but didn't allow herself to be pulled to sleep again.

[Kicks]

As the teenagers slept, Dix had bought some burgers from another fast food place. Burgers and fries. All American. When he saw that Faye's eyes were open, he flicked the bag of food he had bought. "Dinner's up." But then her eyes were closed again, and he decided it was probably just a false alarm of her being awake. It wasn't actually that bad driving with these teenagers. He had been expecting worse. But it was similar to when he had taken his own kids on a road trip to places like Montana for hunting and camping. Though, only his daughter had been able to hunt because his son was a special kind of breed.
He had noticed though that whereas he had seen Faye open her eyes, Blake remained asleep. For a moment he wondered if he was dead, but then he remembered if he were dead Faye would have noticed because of how they were positioned.

[Lil]

"Thanks. I can't believe it's really been that long." Faye murmured towards Dix but she wasn't hungry yet. "I'm not really hungry though and Blake hardly ever sleeps so I don't really want to wake him." She said quietly while opening her eyes and looked at Dix through the rear view mirror. "Oh and by the way. Thanks for doing this, even if you were completely forced into it by Clayton."

[Kicks]

Oh, so she really had been awake. Well that was good, he felt less weird now and he didn't have to repeat the message twice. He shrugged his shoulders when she thanked him and mentioned the president forcing him to.
"It gets him off my back." He replied with, "He knows I'm up to something with my group. He's afraid we'll try something on Tamara during the war. She's not the enemy we're after though. I told him that, but he doesn't believe. So to get me away from office, he's having me help with all of this crazy."

[Lil]

"I feel like there's not a real fight with Tamara anymore. She has to have ulterior motives for starting this war, especially with the way she's been treating the team and such now." Faye said quietly while lying back down on Blake. "But that doesn't concern me so I don't really want to talk about it anymore." Her hands raised to her face where she rubbed it for a moment until she felt slightly more awake. "Do you have anything to drink?"

[Kicks]

Oh she does. Dix knew for a fact that she did. He didn't say anything though. He just pulled a bottle of water from the compartment in the front. He carried them around with him in his car because he had to give a lot of public speeches as a politician. He had learned as a governor that if he didn't have water in his car or with him traveling, he was doomed for not being able to speak for awhile. His voice was his job, he needed it so he kept water around.
He passed the water back to Faye and said: "Don't. Spill."

[Lil]

"Didn't. Plan on it." Faye said taking the water bottle. It was nice and cold which rocked because cold water always could cool you down. She took a sip and and turned the cap back on before leaning back against Blake and sliding a water bottle into one if the cup holders. "How much longer?" She asked before yawning.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai grinned when Colton started yelling at the people in front of them to speed up. It didn't surprise him that Colton was like this in traffic considering the way he'd driven in the past.
He thought on Colton's remark on Spring and then shook his head.
"Nope. She doesn't just reach for my face. She reaches for everyone's face. That is clearly a fetish."

[Kicks]

"Soon." Dix answered her, but gave no specific time regarding when they would arrive.
Blake felt movement and started to panic a little bit. Were they under attack? Where was his pole? He couldn't shoot a gun! He should learn. Where was that pole? He knew how to hit a baseball, zombies's heads shouldn't be that different... He stopped panicking when he actually opened his eyes and saw that it was Faye who had been moving around.

[Lil]

Faye felt Blake's heart beat start to quicken and she slowly started to run her fingers through his hair trying to calm him down. Soon his eyes opened and he surely looked panicked. "You okay?" She asked quietly looking up into his alarmed blue eyes.

[Kicks]

"At least it's a good fetish, instead of an ankle fetish." Colton commented thoughtfully, "Though, I won't like the day when it arrives when she's a teenager. Or you for that matter. But we don't have to have the talk." That was good. Colton hated the talk. Ugh. He didn't care which side he was on, he hated it regardless.
Adalia pulled up to the toll and peered up at the man on duty. "Hello! You look tired!"
"Long day." He murmured back while raising his scanner, "Please roll down all your windows."
Adalia pushed the little buttons that controlled the windows, rolling them down in the process. He scanned the two humans first being that they were on the same side of the car so were easier to reach. When it came up healthy and human, he moved onto the other side where he got a beeping noise at Colton.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the vehicle."
"I have immunity." Colton said in a feminine voice, "Being that I am entirely awesome in who I am and everything I do."
The man peered at him for a long time. "Oh yea. Yea, I had two of you come by just earlier. Saw you guys on the news. Lucky I did too, otherwise it would be a mess." He stated before straightening up again. He pushed his fingers to the screen of the scanner and waited for the small piece of white paper to pop out. He tucked it into his pocket and moved onto Spring.
"I don't think it's going to work on her." Colton reasoned, but moved his hand back anyways to tap her gently awake. When her eyes were open long enough to scan, he watched the man stare at the scanner for a long time.
"Nothing's coming up." He said, "I'll be right back." He stated before moving away from the car.
"Hit the gas." Colton whispered to Adalia, "Just drive."
"Settle down." Adalia whispered back, "It will only take a few more minutes."
"Ugh. That's a long time to be stuck in a car!" Colton complained loudly.

- - - Updated - - -

Blake looked around the car for a moment. It was a car. They were on the road to Florida. Were they in Florida? He saw a bag of food. They were in Florida then from what Dix had said earlier.
He moved his eyes back to Faye and nodded his head a bit in a daze. "Yea. Just forgot we weren't in California for a moment." It was weird. Why did his brain do that? Maybe it was just because of the dream he had the other night.

[Lil]

Faye nodded and very quietly said, "Okay." She didn't really know what she could say to possibly help. Blake now knew they weren't and they would most likely never be back there but she couldn't guarantee that. "Dix said we'll be there soon." Faye said at last trying to switch the topic.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai looked a bit nervously at Spring, then out the window... and then back forward. This didn't seem like a good situation. Part of him was agreeing with Colton. They should just get out of here! If something happened, Spring would not have immunity, and Adalia was acting as if this was all okay. He didn't know who to side with, to be honest. Adalia had been living just fine with Spring on her own. She was probably right... but Colton knew how prejudiced people could be because he had to deal with it for him and his former team. What was going to happen if Spring came up as a mutant?

[Kicks]

Blake rose a hand up to his head and squeezed his eyes shut. The way that he had been sleeping caused a headache. He knew when they got out that his back would pop in all ways that weren't welcome too. He decided then that he hated long car rides.
When Faye told him that Dix said they would be there soon, he nodded his head a little bit. Well, that was good. He wanted to get out of this car.

[Lil]

Faye pressed her forehead against Blake's cheek and wrapped her arm around the back of him. She gently slipped her hand up the back of his shirt and traced her fingers along it softly. Car rides were terrible for aching bodies and his back must be killing him right now. Since she couldn't just give him a full out massage right now she figured this could at least feel good. "When we get there what're you going to want to do first?"

[Kicks]

Colton glanced towards the booth where he saw the men discussing what the scanner was reading off. He rolled his eyes and turned them towards Spring who was starting to sniffle. Quickly, he reached a hand back to her that she latched her tiny hands onto. "It'll be just fine, girl. Daddy knows how to electrocute people that hurt his family." He whispered back to her. That deserved a hit from Adalia to the shoulder. "What?" He asked with wide eyes.
"Don't tell her that." Adalia told him in a hushed voice that way the men didn't hear her.
"Well it's true." Colton murmured to Spring, trying not to grin when he saw the look on his wife's face from the corner of his eyes.
Spring brought his hand down to her face and cried into it when the man came back to Adalia's side of the car. She was not a happy girl at all at the moment, Colton noted. He unbuckled his seat belt and switched around so that he was taking her out of her seat and bringing her into his arms. He knew he probably shouldn't be doing this in front of a toll, but how else was he going to get her to stop crying?
"We're going to let you through because she's just a baby." The man said, "The reading didn't show human or mutant. We've never had to deal with this before. So we're letting you go."
Colton laughed when Spring grabbed his nose and put a hand over his left eye. He knew it was a serious situation, but Zakai was right- Spring had a face fetish. She gurgled back at him as the car started moving forward again with a worried Adalia driving the car.

- - - Updated - - -

Blake shut his eyes, but didn't remove the hand from his forehead. It felt good what she was doing- her fingers on his back. It was always so calming and managed to relax him. He didn't know why that was, but it felt really good. When she asked what he wanted to do first there, he answered with: "Break in the bed, of course. I have an idea of how we can do that."
"Whoa. Whoa!" Dix called from the front, "I'm still here! And I for one do not want to see what a mutant on mutant baby would be like! I was scared when Adalia was pregnant. I do not want to go through that again! Do not make me die young, please!"

[Lil]

Faye laughed against his jaw not moving her head when he or Dix said anything. Instead she just continued to run her fingers along his back. "Hey you never know, maybe Blake was just going to say we could take a nap, or jump on the bed. Who knows?" Faye smiled and pulled her head back a little and looked up at Dix up front. He was clearly frightened by that idea, and thinking about it, it was kind if scary for Faye to think of too. Her and Blake were getting married and both eventually wanted kids but should they risk having their own? Maybe adoption was a better idea, but Faye also wanted to be able to have their own kid. It was still so amazing to her to see Colton and Adalia so happy with Spring their own mini masterpiece.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

When they got through, Zakai calmed down significantly and smiled with relief. Spring was going to be safe. Everything was going to be okay.
His chest tightened, suddenly, and he looked out the window. He hadn't realized it, but even though he was so worried, he liked being with Colton, Adalia, and Spring, altogether like this. It felt... warm? No, cool.... in a bliss sort of way. In other words: it was weird. Maybe in a good sort of way, but weird nonetheless. He just stared out the window again and listened to Spring make her weird, excited baby noises as Colton held her.

[Kicks]

"He's a guy. A teenage guy. I think I know what he meant." Dix remarked with a shake of his head, "Listen, if you guys are going to do the deed, please use protection. At least use protection until some genius scientist somewhere can tell me what will come of a mutant and a mutant. And if Faye does end up pregnant, you better believe I will torment her the same as I did Adalia. Why? Because I am scared of what will come popping out of that body. And that is how I deal with fear- I get mean."
"Are you giving us a talk?" Blake asked with amused eyes, "I think this is seriously the most entertaining talk I've ever been involved in. I've never had one targeted to mutants before."
"Please don't make this into a job." Dix whispered back, "I will punch you in the sack until you aren't capable of having children. End of story."

[Kicks]

Colton leaned his chair back so far it was almost touching the baby seat in the back. He laid Spring down on his chest and peered down at her smiling up at his eyes. "What are you doing?" He asked her in a teasing way, "You think you can just stare like that?" She squealed back in response and put her face into his chest. Colton laughed and brought his hands up to her small baby so he didn't let her roll off of him or go flying forward if the car did something weird. This was the most time he had actually gotten to spend with Spring. It was exciting to him because he hardly got to see her, and now that he did he could only enjoy just amusing she was to him. In fact, this was the most time he had gotten to spend with all of them together. If one good thing were going to come out of this normal life ruse, it was that they were getting to spend some actual time together. He wondered how long that would last before his quest against Thomas led him elsewhere.
Adalia wasn't thinking of any of that though. She was thinking about what the man had said at the toll. Spring hadn't come up as mutant or human. But... she acted so human. If she weren't either of them, what did that make her and was it dangerous? She didn't want to think of it that way when it was her own child, but she had to know what exactly this meant.

[Lil]

Faye laughed again. "Oh come on Dix. We're not even married yet, Blake and I are better than that." Faye said closing her eyes again. Usually Blake and her were rather controlled and behave but after last night Faye could definitely see some desire coming out in him, but she also knew he had a large sum of self control along with Faye so she doubted they'd have to worry about any of that for a while, at least until after the wedding. She'd be interested to see what happens to Blake after that and the same for her.

[Kicks]

"Nope. Listen to me. Protection." Dix told them both slowly, "Protection. I mean it. Protection."
Blake moved the hand that was on his forehead, over his eyes now. The more Dix talked about it, the more Blake didn't want to listen to him. Which was awful, but it was in his nature as a teenage guy to feel a little bit rebellious towards a figure of authority. He had managed to stop himself last night, he was certain he could do it again. Until they were married. Because then he didn't know what would happen. That really all depended on Faye, honestly. But now he really wanted to make out again. Too bad he couldn't at this very moment.
"Here's the apartment complex." Dix stated while driving up into the large, beautiful residence. "Your room is on the first floor. Something to do with someone not liking heights. I wasn't really listening to Adalia that well."

[Lil]

Well this had gotten really awkward and fast, why were they talking about this with Dix? It didn't make sense considering the guy usually wanted nothing to do with them. When he announced they were there she was anxious to get out quickly Faye looked over Blake and out the window at the large building. "Holy crap." She murmured while poking over the entire building. It was beautiful and if the inside matched the outside at all then they were in luck. How much were they going to owe Dix though was a good question. Faye scrambled out her own door into the warm Florida air and sighed with happiness as she stretched her legs out.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

After a moment of peace, Zakai found himself laying his head against the window as he stared outside, and he closed his eyes. He felt calm. He felt safe and secure, as if there was absolutely nothing to fear. He wasn't used to it, but didn't mean he did not like it. He wasn't worried right now. He felt like he didn't have to... for the moment, he reminded himself, but still. Actually, in that moment, he realized just how tired he was. When the last time he'd slept? He felt like he couldn't remember. He was so caught up in Hawaii and Utah. He found himself dozing off after a while and soon, he was in a steady sleep.

[Kicks]

Dix put his car into park and handed the key to Blake since he was still in the car. "2A. Go through that door, I'm guessing." He said while pointing.
Blake nodded his head and murmured a thanks before getting out stiffly. As soon as he stood up straight he heard a loud pop from his back. He twisted his back to both sides and continued to hear popping until all that was left was just soreness. He moved to the trunk and grabbed the suitcases out before shutting the trunk again.
He tossed the key and nodded towards the door they were supposed to go in to find their room.

[Kicks]

Colton asked once on the drive through Florida if he could drive. He was immediately shot down. But he didn't have to wait for much longer to stretch his legs. Adalia pulled the car into the roundabout driveway of a large home. The most prominent thing about it was its size and how big the windows were. A good portion of the exterior was all window.
Adalia stopped the car and turned it off. She stared at the home for a little while, noticing how different it was from the brick house they had in Texas. But it was for the best that they had a bigger home with so much natural light.
She glanced back at the sleeping boy and reached a hand out to gently shake his shoulder. "We're here, Zakai."
Colton fumbled with the door for a minute before he was able to open it. He held Spring still who was asleep again and he shut the car door. From one of the windows, he could see into a large living room where there were boxes that had been delivered. Some large and others small.

[Lil]

Faye smiled to Dix in thanks then grabbed the key from Blake and started towards the door. This was weird, not necessarily bad weird but certainly new. They were about to start a new life it seemed, some things would be the same without a doubt but their lives would certainly be less busy. She opened the first door for Blake who had their suitcases. "I can take mine." She insisted with a nod and a soft smile.

[Kicks]

"I got it." Blake replied to her while passing through the door with the suitcases. He looked out all the other doors in the hall and walked until he found 2A which wasn't too far from the door. He stood outside the door and wondered what would be behind the door. Did it really matter to him? Not really, but he was still pretty curious to know.

[Lil]

Faye walked up behind him and bounced anxiously on her heels. She rubbed Blake's arm nervously before unlocking the door and slowly opening the door. This was really it. It was all materializing around her, they were going to be normal- well semi-normal- for a little while and it didn't seem all that bad as long as she had Blake. And the help of Ada and Colton of course. "Just think, soon we'll be stepping over the threshold of our own home." Faye smiled softly.

[Kicks]

Blake moved inside the living room and peered around. The first thing he noticed about the place was that the kitchen and the living room were connected. But it wasn't that bad because the living room had carpet and the large kitchen had dark wood floors. From here he could see a door and when he turned his head to the left there was another door. He moved to the door on the right first and peeked in. It was a bathroom with tile floor. There was a shower with a glass door, and when he opened it he saw that there was a tub and not just a little risen ground to keep the water from going everywhere. He moved away from the bathroom and went to the second room. It was the bedroom, a large wooden floored room with one wall being made entirely out of a window covered by a thin white curtain. He put the suitcases near the bed and came back out into the furnished living room.
"I guess this is the start of something that's supposed to be a normal life then." He remarked with a nervous excitement inside of him.

[Lil]

Faye looked around with a smile. "Dix did a nice job." She nodded with approval. This was quite nice and exactly what she was hoping for. She plopped down on the couch for a second before she caught sight of he bedroom. "I hope the bed is nice and big." She chucked and winked at the blonde boy.

[Kicks]

Blake winked back at her, "It's perfect." He was grinning now as he moved over to the kitchen. He slipped his hands over the island counter while looking around. "Should we go get some groceries?" He asked her curiously. She would no doubt get hungry, and from what he had seen of American fast food... he didn't want her dying of a heart attack. And though he never felt hungry, he had this weird feeling Adalia was looking over him and if he didn't eat she would ship him off. She could be so evil.

[Lil]

"How are we supposed to go get them? We don't have a car of any type." Faye said while standing and walking over to the kitchen also. She hopped up on the counter and looked at Blake with a soft smile. This was their first place together, of their very own. It was awesome. She wondered if they'd be here long enough to make it more than an apartment and make it a home.

[Kicks]

"I guess that's one of the things we'll ask Adalia about..." Blake remarked thoughtfully after a moment. He glanced over at her and smiled a bit as well. It was actually pretty terrifying to be out like this on their own. Before, when he moved to California he was used to having the responsibility of an adult. Though cooking was one thing he didn't do, ArraBella did that. But now that they were mutants in a world where mutants were hated... he wasn't sure it would be the same. Not only that, but now they were facing the memories of California on top of the stress of Thomas and war.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai stirred when he felt Adalia shake his shoulder and tell him that they had made it to the house. He yawned and stretched, then looked up at the house before them. It was big. A different style than his first house in San Francisco, but probably just a little bigger in height. He looked around. There was no one outside, it seemed. Good. We're fine then. He stepped out of the car and looked around a moment longer, deciding that he would have to out for a walk some time soon to get a better layout of their surroundings... but not now. Right now, he just needed to get used to the house. He walked up the driveway and to the front door where he stared at its threshold. He hoped this would be okay.

[Lil]

Faye pulled Blake over and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Well if we can't really leave might as well try and find something to do here hmm?" She hummed out while smiling playfully then letting her fingers linger to the hair over his forehead and gently pushing it back.

[Kicks]

Adalia came up to the door and scooped a key up from beneath a rock that had been placed at the door.
"Because that's not obvious." Colton commented a bit sarcastically, "Whoever was the real estate agent needs a better hiding place for keys."
"Big ol' soldier isn't satisfied with security." Adalia cooed back after opening the door. She was welcomed by an open floor plan. The kitchen and living were separated by a wall that had a metal sheet on it to stick magnetic things against. The living room was large and had many boxes to unpack and put in the right places. She looked towards the stairs that spiraled up to the second floor. Under the stairs a bit was a door, and near the kitchen was another door.
Colton took Spring up the stairs with him, deciding to look there first. The stairs led into another living space, this one smaller and with different doors leading places. The first door he discovered led into a bedroom much like the third door did. The second door was a bathroom, and the fourth door led into what could be made into an office, theater room, or game room. He was most interested in all the windows though. The fourth door's room didn't have any windows in it, but that was okay if he wanted to turn it into a theater room. But the other rooms had large windows in them that could be open by rotating a lever. He traveled back down the stairs again after peering into the large bathroom upstairs.
"Two full baths, one half bath, and four rooms is what the site said." Adalia stated from below. She had went into the kitchen first to take in its spacious environment. It was perfect for cooking and having a big family to sit down at a table. She had traveled to the door by the stairs afterwards to discover it was the half bath, a toilet, sink, and window. No shower. Then she moved to the door by the kitchen to find it was the master's bedroom. The master's bedroom had an adjoining bathroom to it that reminded her of the one they had in Texas.
Colton peered up above them where the upstairs could have been added to if it weren't for the large skylight above his head.
"So all this natural light, we don't really need fluorescent." Colton commented after looking back down again, "Except for at night."
Adalia took Spring from him and smiled, "Well, that should be good on the electricity bill then, huh?"
"Do we really need to pay for city electricity?" Colton asked her in a cocky, skeptical way. Before she could answer to him, he turned towards Zakai and pointed towards the stairs, "It leads up to two bedrooms, some kind of other room, and a bathroom. Go ahead and choose your room so we can set up that hammock."
Adalia glanced towards the boxes, wondering which ones had which in them. "Should be here somewhere..."

[Kicks]

Blake was a bit surprised when he was pulled over to her. He put his hand down on the counter to keep himself from falling into her. He tried not to laugh at her comment, but it was a little hard to do after the discussion they had with Dix.
"What are you thinking we should do?" He asked her with a tricky look in his eyes.

[Lil]

"Oh I don't know. We got this whole big apartment to ourselves. There's got to be something we can do." Faye said innocently while smiling and looking back down into his blue eyes which showed a hint of mischievousness.

[Kicks]

"We can't be loud. The other tenants might get annoyed and call the land lord on us." Blake remarked as a grin spread across his face. "But I know something we can do that won't get loud." He added while putting a hand up to the back of her hair.

[Lil]

"Oh darn." Faye sighed and shrugged. "Well what could that be?" She asked curiously genuinely not knowing what he could be thinking. It could be a lot of thing, maybe be even wanted to leave the apartment. Even that'll she did want to go and looked around and see what was nearby to them but for now she was okay staying here if he was.

[Kicks]

Blake grabbed her into his arms and then hopped down from the counter. He picked her legs up so he was full on carrying her and walked to the door. "Let's go be sexy and walk around the complex outside." He had seen a lot of flowers and grass. The place was truly beautiful. It was as if someone had built the apartment complex in the middle of a park.

[Lil]

"Cause that's super sexy." Faye chuckled. She did like the idea of looking around though. They'd probably be here a while, might as well get used to it and discover what there was to do. It was also extremely pretty here so that was a bonus.

[Lil]

"Sounds super sexy." Faye chuckled but was definitely okay with it. It was so pretty and warm out here she could stay outside forever if that was acceptable. She was glad they had a window and could look out and see the pretty blue Florida skies whenever they wanted.

[Kicks]

Blake left the door unlocked when he carried Faye out of the apartment. He managed to open the second door with his foot and come out being blinded by the sun almost immediately. He put Faye down and raised a hand up to his eyes. The headache still wasn't gone despite being out of the car now. So the sun hurt worse than it should have. But that wasn't going to stop him from seeing what was around. He could tell the sun was going down and sooner than not it would be night. So while they still had just a bit of sunlight, he wanted to see what there was.

[Lil]

Faye wrapped one of her hands around Blake's as he put her down. "Can we please, please, pleeeease watch the sunset on the beach." Faye asked while smiling up at Blake. That would be so beautiful she imagined and super romantic. Sounded like a perfect way to end their day here.

[Kicks]

Sounded like something Faye really wanted to do. Unfortunately, Blake didn't know how to get there. But he had a feeling that wouldn't stop Faye. "Lead the way." He replied to her, shifting so he was a little behind her. He wondered how warm the beach water here was. California it was freezing, Hawaii's was like a bath.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai walked in and looked around curiously. It was definitely spacious. He liked it, he supposed, but he wasn't sure how he'd ever get accustomed to living here. It wasn't that it somehow dissatisfied him, but he was not used to thinking of it as his. He was going to be staying here. How long would it be before he got used to that? What was going to happen tomorrow? He bit his lip when Adalia told him about the two bedrooms and he nodded, heading up the stairs to take a look.
He looked around a bit cautiously, for some reason, though he was very sure it was safe here. He looked inside all of the rooms he found, not daring to step foot into the one without any windows. That just didn't seem safe. He, instead, based his judgment on the room that had the biggest window. After making his decision, he went downstairs.
"I picked one." he informed Adalia, once he was all the way down.

[Lil]

"Yay." Faye said and started to run down the sidewalk pulling Blake behind her. There had to be a beach somewhere around here right? She just go until she smelt the crisp, ocean air and hope they could find their way back.

[Kicks]

"Kay, Spring gets the other one then." Colton commented as he began to carry a box up the stairs. "I found the hammock! I've never actually set one of these up before, but it should be pretty easy." He would just throw away the instructions like he did for most things. For him it was pretty easy just to look at something and decide what fit with what to make it work.
Adalia smiled at the sight and shook her head. When she heard a tapping at the door, she furrowed her eyebrows together.
"Shhh we're not here." Colton whispered to her while shaking his head.
Adalia rolled her eyes back at him as she grinned and went to the door. When she opened it, two big men came in and started going to the boxes. One was darker than the other, but they were about the same size and age. "Hey!" She cried out.
Jerome looked back at her while Richard continued to look at the boxes, "It was Richard's idea! We were in Utah and sitting around watching the screens, right? And then he goes 'I bet Colton can't lift a king mattress to save his life'. And I was like 'I want to see that'. And then he's like 'we should probably go to Florida and see if they need help'. And so we came!"
Colton scoffed from the stairs, "Go back to Utah! I don't need your help! I am the man of this house! And as the man I will not be shown up by you two!"
"Shut up and go read a manual." Richard replied as he grabbed a large box, wrapping his two arms around it. "Or at least get your butt up the stairs. This is Zakai's dresser, right?"
Adalia peered at the box for a moment before nodding her head in affirmation. "That's the one."
Jerome grabbed a smaller box that would contain the pieces to a crib. He whispered towards Colton in a loud voice: "I also think that Richard was scared to be in Utah."
"Was not!" Richard snapped at him, "Keep talking, Jerome. I dare you."

[Kicks]

Blake stumbled at first when she began to run. But the more she did so, the better footing he got. She was really excited to go to the beach. He wondered if this were a girl thing. Nonetheless, he was still curious to find out what the water was like here and how soft the sand would be. After growing up on an island, he took a great interest in things like these. That's why Hawaii was so perfect. An island with an amazing ocean.

[Lil]

Soon little patches of sand started to appear on the sidewalk and Faye knew they were getting close. She veered off to the side when at last She spotted a bridge to take them over the dunes and down onto the beach. The couple had some time before the sun set though so she slowed down once they were about half way across the bridge.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai nodded to Colton and made a strange face when Colton said that he'd put up the hammock even though he'd never done it before.
"Um.. are you sure you can do that?" But then there was a knock at the door, and his head shot towards it as panic came over him for a second. Who was here? It was late. No one was supposed to be up this late!
He wanted to run over and stop Adalia from opening the door when she took the handle, but he calmed down immediately when he saw it was just Richard and Jerome.
He watched as they started grabbing the boxes that scattered about the floor and also as they heard the different reasons as to why they were here. He laughed when Richard denied so defensively that he wasn't scared, then walked over.
"Want me to show you where you're taking that?" he offered, as he was sure the man had no idea where or which room was his.

[Kicks]

Blake peered around as Faye led him along. He loved to see all the flowers! They weren't as pretty as the Hawaiian ones, but to see so much life was amazing. They had so many different colors to them. And though it was a dry kind of hot in Florida, he didn't mind it because as the sun started to fall in the sky, the temperature also began to drop. He liked to see all the houses they passed. When he started feeling something grainy under his feet, he glanced down to see the sand on the sidewalk, and then back up to where Faye was leading him.

[Kicks]

Richard turned his scowl away from Jerome and glanced towards Zakai when he came over. "Yea, I guess. Whatever. Show me away then." Then he turned his eyes on a glare back towards the dark man who was starting to laugh. "Colton, are you going to block the stairs or are you going to move?"
"I'm resting." Colton replied exhaustively. He stood up from the stair again and dragged the box with him up the stairs. He paused in the living area and glanced around the rooms, wondering which one would be Zakai's and the other Spring's. He didn't like having a room so far away from Spring because of a protective nature in him, but Zakai wouldn't be too far from here so at least he knew neither of them were alone up here.
Richard followed him up the stairs with the large box and then Jerome with his box. "So many windows. Hope I don't accidentally shove Jerome through one of them."
"Shhh." Jerome hushed him in response, "It's okay, Richard. Everyone gets scared."
"Suck my-" Richard began before Colton made a loud sound as he cleared his throat.

[Lil]

Faye dropped down into the sand of the beach and it was surprisingly warm as it seeped up onto her flip flops. "Wow." I say looked out at the water crashing down on the white sand beaches. It really was a beautiful sight and the sun hadn't begun to set yet. "That's like one of the prettiest things I've ever seen."

[Kicks]

Blake kicked his sandals up and swept down to pick them up. As he stood up again he felt an uncomfortable pop in his back. When his feet slid into the sand, he liked how soft the sand was. It wasn't as grainy or itchy as he thought it would be. When Faye took a seat, he took one beside her and put his sandals to the side of him.
He glanced towards the water, noting how dark it looked at the beginning where the sun was no longer hitting it. But the further out the more orange and blue the water got as the sky above their heads turned into a mixture of oranges and pinks.

[Lil]

Faye leaned over onto Blake's shoulder as the sun started to melt into the water and create an array of colors above. She could certainly get used to sunsets in the beach that was for sure. Faye smiled at the thought of that.

[Kicks]

Blake was amazed by how quiet and peaceful it was out here. With beautiful colors across the sky and dancing on the waters, he thought more people would be out here to watch it. Or maybe those people had watched it so many times they exhausted themselves with it. For him though, it was mystifying. He had always loved just how far the ocean had seemed to stretch when he was living in England. Now as he stared at the ocean here, he wondered just how far it would go out until the water touched more land.

[Lil]

The sun continued to slowly fall until it dipped below the water and the sky grew dark. Faye sighed and looked to Blake. "I have to say, I could get used to this." She said quietly and smiled before pecking him on the cheek.

[Kicks]

Blake nodded his head in agreement. He reached over for his sandals and slid them back on his feet after he had brushed the sand away. After he had put his sandals on, he turned towards Faye and gave her a kiss. When he pulled away, he told her: "We'll have the rest of our lives to do this."

[Lil]

"I can't wait." She smiled through closed eyes then sighed and stood up. "So about breaking in the bed..." Faye smirked and looked down at her fiancé. "We should probably get some sleep, I have a feeling tomorrow will be a long day."

[Kicks]

"I was really hoping you would suggest something else." Blake told her as he got to his feet. He took her hand and interlocked their fingers together. "But okay, sleep it is. Boring sleep it is. Nightmare filled sleep it is." He remarked with a few sighs. As he looked down at the sand, he grinned and began to walk back the way they had came.

[Lil]

Faye shook her head. "No one said about going to sleep as soon as we get back." Faye said while giving his hand a light squeeze while her smile spread even further. Faye walked with Blake back to the apartment complex and when it came in sight she immediately felt panicked. "I forgot the key!" She said worried that they were now locked out.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai walked along, grinning slightly at the conversation going on between Richard and Jerome. He was pretty sure, now that Richard had been scared to be in Utah, but he said nothing. He was actually relieved that Richard was here instead of being gutted by Thomas or something.
The child walked to a room with several large windows going across on one side, and one smaller window faced the road in front of the house. That view, besides the windows being larger than in the other room, was another of the main reasons why he chose this room. He didn't like not having any way of knowing whether people or other things were out there and without it he'd be uneasy.
"Uh... put it wherever. I don't think it matters." he walked towards the door again before looking back, "Why did you come here really?"

[Kicks]

"I unlocked the door before we left so we wouldn't have to worry about a key." Blake explained to her when she began to freak out over a key. It was something he remembered to do because of the time when he lived in an apartment with his mum. He would leave the door unlocked almost always because his neighbors were nice people and he wasn't afraid of anyone breaking in.

[Lil]

"Oh. Good." Faye said relieved. She walked back inside and looked around still so please with their apartment. Without doing anything she headed straight to the bedroom and jumped onto the bed and flopped down onto her back.

[Kicks]

Richard shuffled into the room with the box. He started tearing it open and laying out the pieces for the dresser. He glanced back towards Jerome and said: "Go see if Adalia has any tools."
Jerome put the box down in the living area and went back down the stairs to find the tools that the man needed. In a few minutes, he came back up while tearing open a box with his teeth. He pulled out a drill and passed it to Richard before going out and asking Colton where Spring's room was.
Richard's eyes moved to Zakai and away from the power drill in his hands. "If you're not happy where we put things, you can always rearrange it later." He remarked with a shrug. He turned his eyes to the drill again and started using it to put together the dresser. Considering other dressers he had put together, this was fairly simple. What wasn't so simple was answering Zakai's question.
"Why does that matter?" He snorted in response over the sound of the drill.

[Kicks]

Blake shut the door behind him and locked it. During the day he felt it was okay to lock the door behind him. But at night when he was sleeping, it was better to lock it because that's when it was really time to worry about burglars. Oddly enough, something told him they wouldn't have to worry about that even if someone broke in.
He turned off the lights and then walked to the bedroom after Faye. He turned off the light in the room and shut the door behind him before slipping onto the bed.

[Lil]

Faye crawled up to Blake. "I have a dilemma." She explained to him and frowned. "And I'm not sure what to do about it." She continued before sighing. "I really, really wanna kiss you, but I find myself also wanting to cuddle with you to fall asleep." Se said with a sneaky grin.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

"Well..." Zakai said, "Before the team was even dissolved, Clayton said something about Colton being in charge of Anton and you being in charge of Thomas, but I'm not even sure if that went through. On the other hand, things still don't look really good, and Thomas might possibly escape despite all the security, so someone should be there to keep an eye on him and observe since we were dissolved, and on the last hand, you hate him and its not like you to abandon a post randomly when it comes to someone you hate and you're the one who always says terror never sleeps and is so gung-ho about his job all the time, so for whatever reason you came here, it's gotta have a lot of weight, so what is it?"
It made Zakai curious, and he really wanted to know, especially since it might have something to do with Thomas.

[Kicks]

Blake made his lips into a straight line when she presented her problem. That was a problem. Kiss or cuddle and fall asleep? He glanced towards her and narrowed his eyes with thought.
"Well, you need sleep." He began slowly, "So I say cuddle and fall asleep, and then in the morning if you still want a little smoochie-smoochie then you can have it."

[Kicks]

As Zakai talked, Richard continued to set up the dresser. He felt so flattered by some of his words and displayed it with a proud look on his face. But behind the seriousness of everything, he wasn't so proud.
"Our prisons aren't meant to hold monsters." Richard stated after awhile of focusing on putting together the dresser. "He's going to get out. Even if he doesn't have help. And I pissed him off a lot by reading that letter. But it's not his threat of killing me that I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of what he'll do when he escapes. That letter is the only lead we have. And the only person we have that can figure out what it is Thomas wants to accomplish has been discharged." He picked the finished dresser up from the floor and stood it up against a wall. "As far as I'm concerned, my job is stopping his plan and not babysitting California. Other soldiers can do that as well as I can. So I'm here. I know Colton ain't going to return to civilian life without knowing all the answers and being able to sleep at night knowing the threat is removed. And I ain't going to be able to return to my job without knowing whether or not it's even worth it because some monster might collapse everything."

[Lil]

I nod. "Okay, that's a deal I guess." I say before relaxing into into his chest. "I'm so excited to start a life with you Blake." Faye said quietly before closing her eyes and attempting to sleep although she wasn't very tired from her nap today.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai couldn't help but be a little bit surprised at Richard's words since he thought he'd one of the people who didn't want Colton to work on something like this like the time when he'd tried to keep Colton from going to the White House a bit of time ago. When he said everything he did, however, the child couldn't help but be relieved. Even he was, though, he didn't let any of it show on his face.
Zakai sat down on the floor, "Do you think Thomas already knows how to escape, and if he might be waiting for something?"

[Kicks]

Blake put his arms around her and relaxed when she melted into his chest. This was a lot more comfortable than the car ride had been. Even his back preferred the bed rather than the car. His legs could stretch out too and his neck wasn't bent in such a way so he wouldn't get a headache. The headache that had been caused from how he sat was now diminishing because of the quiet and the dark.
He was still scared to think about starting a new life. Especially during these times. But he was also very excited because Faye and him could at least get married and then really start a life together.

[Kicks]

Richard moved to the hammock box and tore it open with the help of his teeth like Jerome had done with the drill box. He poured out the contents and then grabbed the plastic wrapped hammock pad. It was cushioned so he figured that would be a lot more comfortable for the boy. He didn't want to know why he had a hammock instead of a bed, but shrugged it off anyways.
He glanced towards Zakai briefly at his question and shrugged his shoulders. He turned back to setting the hammock up and thought about that for a moment. He could imagine Thomas knowing a way out, but he could also imagine him finding a way out. To wait or not to wait? It could be either.
"Thomas is unpredictable." He said at last. To him he was anyways.
He hooked the hammock up onto its chains and then hooked the chains onto the wood. Set up was easy, which made it simple for him.
"Well, there's that. Sleep or not sleep, your choice. I'm going back down to help."

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai nodded when Richard announced his leave and stood to his feet, but he didn't follow out the door. He turned, instead, to the window that showed view of the front of the house. It was dark and still, no one was outside. Even with all the windows, he still felt a bit trapped, though they did help. He surveyed the ground below, as if looking for something. This place was so strange. It was surrounded by other people. Would he become familiar with them? Would they like him? Would he like them? Would they meet anyone new tomorrow? He didn't know. He still needed to go for a walk and find out how it looked outside, but he probably wouldn't be allowed to this late. Maybe everything would turn out to be alright here and he would be fine. It wasn't like he wanted Thomas to escape or anything.... but in a way, things had seemed easier back when the killer was on the loose.

[Kicks]

Richard returned to the living room to find his brother laying defeated and sprawled out on the floor next to a box for a bed frame and a mattress. Adalia was laughing herself into tears by the table Colton had already set up in the kitchen.
"No!" Colton shouted when his brother started to grab the box. "I got it! It's not that heavy! I just need to sleep before I can move it."
"Ads wanted to turn you into a mutant because you're not as strong as me. And even as a mutant, you're still weaker than me." Richard laughed, grabbing the box despite protests. "How's that for ironic?"
"I'm awesome." Colton murmured back. He didn't bother to get off the ground though. He actually really was tired. But there was so much to do before he could sleep.
Jerome came down from the upstairs after having put together the changing station, baby dresser, and crib. The little girl was now sleeping in her crib with a baby monitor sitting on the dresser and the other monitor in his pocket. He put it down on the table then and moved towards the large mattress. He glanced down at the young man on the ground and then laughed. "Defeated by a mattress."
"It's just so much bigger than me." Colton muttered back, "I couldn't wrap my arms around it and when I tried to drag it I only got so far before it wouldn't move."
"It was so funny." Adalia breathed out at last from the table. She moved back into the living room and picked up a box marked for the kitchen.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai closed his bedroom door and went over to the hammock to lie down. Living normally was no longer normal... Thomas might escape... this place was so new... how was he supposed to be able to sleep? He sighed and sat up again. He did like the hammock better than a bed, but he wasn't in the mood for sleeping right now. He went to the window again and stared outside before beginning to examine the window itself. Hmmmm...
He reached up and turned the latch that locked it into place, then slid it open. A smile came across his face when he did so, for he noticed the roof was flat. He climbed out and sat down against the wall of the house, sighing with a bit of relief. It felt better outside, and here he got an even better view of the street. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Slowly, his mind was beginning to clear.

[Lil]

"I love you." Faye said quietly before allowing her mind to wander to thoughts she hadn't considered until just now. How were they going to pay bills and what kind of jobs could they possibly get? How long would they last off the money they had made working for the team? It was scary to think about it like this.

[Kicks]

Colton pulled open another box that belonged to pillows, sheets, and blankets. The blanket that was smaller than the rest he assumed was for Zakai and he put it off to the side in a pile he was making for him. He was down to the last two boxes. The others Adalia had opened up. When they had left her in Texas, she had grabbed the photos of their families and attached magnets to the backs so she could pin them to the metal sheet wall among other things like a mirror.
The more boxes that were flattened out, the more it began to look like a home. The couch was a wrap around couch that extended from one wall to the next by a window and faced a TV that Jerome and Richard were putting up. The two chairs matched the red leather couch and faced the same way from different positions in the living room. There was a cherry wood coffee table near the couch, and another one by the arm of a chair. Adalia had put down coasters and candles. The kitchen was finished being decorated and things put where they belong- but still in desperate need of groceries.
After Jerome and Richard had put together the bed, Adalia had disappeared inside to get the place feeling more like home.
Colton flattened out the blanket and pillow box and then moved onto the last one. He opened it up and pulled out a lamp he would give to Zakai for when night came in case he didn't want to face the dark- Colton certainly didn't want to face the dark. There was a red doormat with 'support our troops' scrawled across it that he would put outside the door. And the last things he found were for the bathroom. The two bathrooms downstairs he and Adalia had furnished with bathroom mats and supplies. But the one upstairs Colton hadn't been up to yet. He grabbed the box, the blanket, and the lamp and headed up there now.
He stopped by the bathroom first and put two mats down, one to wrap around the toilet, and the other one outside the bath to step on and not get water everywhere. He hung up towels on the hooks that descended down the wall. He put shampoo, conditioner, and a bar of soap in the bath before putting a bar of soap by the sink alongside a brush and some toilet paper in a drawer. He put a garbage can under the sink before he moved onto Zakai's room with the lamp and the blanket. He was certain that as time went along they would find things Zakai would like to put in his room, or gift him presents for birthdays, Christmas, holidays, and 'just because'.
When he stepped in the room, he didn't see the child at first until he noticed the window was open. He could see Zakai out on the roof and for some reason that made him smile. He put the blanket down by the hammock and then the lamp on the dresser before he crossed over to the window and tapped on it with his knuckles.

[Kicks]

Blake stared up at the ceiling for a long time. But he didn't want to sleep. He needed to sleep, but it was hard to do that when he didn't want to. It was easier for him to stay up too when he let his mind think about the next day. They needed groceries in the apartment which should be easy to get if they had a car. And he also wanted to get Colton's help for a suit. He wondered if he should call Adalia in the morning or if she would be asleep or not.
Would she be asleep now? Was there a phone in the apartment?
Slowly he crept out of the bed and went towards the door of the bedroom.

[Lil]

Faye felt a shift in the bed and realized Blake had slipped out but she didn't mind. She didn't think he would sleep anyways. The blonde girl then in turn just pulled herself up into the pillows and hugged her arms around one and drifted off, she just wanted to stop thinking about the scary part of normalcy and instead get to the parts she was excited about.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai hadn't been paying attention, and he dozed off. He couldn't sleep in such a new place unless it was outside for some reason. It was easier. The knock on the window brought him out of it however, and he opened his eyes and yawned before looking up to see who it was.
"Mmmph... whaat?" he was really sleepy. His eyes were half shut and he could only see the blurry figure of someone looking down at him from the window. Before they could answer him, though, he drew his knees to his chest and crossed his arms over them, using them as a pillow as he prepared to fall asleep again without really thinking.

[Kicks]

Luckily there was a phone in the apartment. Thank goodness for Dix. He grabbed the phone and dialed Adalia's number. After a few rings he heard her answer with a hello.
"Hi, this is Blake." He greeted her in response.
"Oh hey, Blake! You've been eating, right? Dix called and said so. You guys doing okay?"
"Um yea, I think so." Blake responded, "But we're kind of in a rut. We need groceries but don't have a car and I was also wondering if Colton could help me out with a suit for the wedding."
"I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow. Faye and I can go together! It would be like girl time!" Adalia cheered on the other end, "And Colton is taking Zakai clothes shopping tomorrow, so that would be no problem. Guy time!"
"But I thought you only had one car?" Blake asked in a confused voice. Nonetheless, he was grateful. He would just have to run this by Faye when she was awake to make sure it was okay.
"My friend Grace is driving Colton's truck up from Texas. I don't know when she'll be here with it." Adalia explained on the other end, "I think Colton would seriously go crazy if I didn't let him drive some time."
"Is he not a good driver?"
"Road rage to the ultimate max, and he also has a thing against speed limits."
"Oh." Blake remarked with a small laugh, "Better than me at least. I should go now though. Thanks for everything."
"Sure thing. I'll come by and pick Faye up tomorrow." Adalia told him before hanging up.
Blake put the phone back down and then snuck back to the room. He closed the door again and laid down on the bed.
Colton laughed at the child's response and how sleepy he looked. "I don't want you falling off the roof." He said with another tap to the window, "We got you a hammock and everything. Though in the future I might put up a guard rail on the roof if you want to sleep up here. So it'll be more safe."

[Lil]

Faye got up after some time sleeping and dreaming of something from a very long time again. Before the zombie outbreak and being mutants, before all of this. Back when all her worried wee focused around her alcoholic, abusive father. She leaned against the back wall behind the bed and hugged a pillow close to herself and stared down at her feet.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai listened to the man's voice. It was Colton. He didn't want to go inside, but he was too tired to really say anything against him.
"Mmkay..." he turned, and got a grip on the windowsill, pulling himself up as he tried to climb into the house again, but ended up toppling over because he was out of it. He was a bit startled by the fall and sat up, blinking a few times as his mind let him be alert for a small five seconds before he wilted again, and practically dragged himself to the hammock before he climbed into it and closed his eyes. He was too tired to be worried. Before he actually went to sleep, though, he reached onto the ground and grabbed the blanket set aside. He curled himself up into a tangled mess before he settled down and sighed contentedly, letting himself drift away again.

[Kicks]

Blake rose his head up from the blanket when he felt movement. It was Faye. She was awake! Why was he excited about her being awake? She didn't look good. Did she have a nightmare?
He pulled himself up in the bed and crawled over to her. He sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I think it would have been better if I got some cool telepathic power to fight away nightmares for you. But alas, I'm stuck being a mosquito." He glanced at her and asked: "Are you okay?"

[Lil]

Faye smiled at him. She had certainly found that funny. "You're the most amazing mosquito I've ever met then." She stated with a smile. "I'm fine though. Just a nightmare but it wasn't even that bad." Faye said attempting to reassure him. She reached over to his free hand and started to play with his fingers before looking up at him with a sort of goofy grin.

[Kicks]

Colton's heart stopped in his chest when he saw Zakai stumble. But the kid was okay. He was okay. That was good. He breathed out in relief and waited until Zakai was safe in his hammock before going over to the light. This kid could really be frightening sometimes, from stumbling on a roof to falling asleep on a bench. But he was okay now and apparently exhausted. Colton smiled a bit and shook his head. He turned the light off and shut the door behind him, but not all the way just in case Zakai felt trapped in the room. He went to Spring's room next to find that she was still asleep in her crib. He put his hands down on the rail and peered down at her. He knew what had been done earlier with the scanner had scared Adalia. But to him, Spring was just as normal as ever. She didn't even exhibit signs of being a mutant. She acted completely human, and that's all that mattered to him.
He gave her a kiss on the forehead before leaving the bedroom, also leaving her door cracked open. He returned to the first floor and found that Jerome and Richard were asleep on the couch, one on each section of the couch. He moved away from them and to the master's bedroom where he found Adalia rubbing her hands nervously waiting for him. "Finally!" She exclaimed when she saw him, "I didn't want to lay down on the bed without you because I wanted it to be special, you know?"
Colton didn't understand, but the gesture was sweet anyways and he broke into a grin at it. He grabbed her up into his arms and then collapsed down into the made bed. "Special?"
Adalia sighed into his chest and nodded her head, "Better than how I imagined it to be."

[Kicks]

"I just want you to imagine me whenever you start to have one. Imagine me as a giant mosquito sucking away their life's energy." Blake told her in a dreamy way. He then grinned over at her and kissed her on the cheek when she began to play with his fingers. "Adalia offered to take you grocery shopping with her. She said she'll come by tomorrow with her car. And Colton's taking me with him and Zakai tomorrow. He's getting his truck back or something like that. Hey, does right now count as morning because that grin on your face makes me want to really kiss it?"

[Lil]

"I'll be sure to do that." Faye responded while giggling when he kissed her cheek. Ten he mentioned going shopping tomorrow and she wasn't sure why or where he's be going with Colton but before he could ask he was talking about kissing and that immediately took over her head like it would yet about any other teenagers this far in love. "I sure hope so." Faye whispered while her smile only grew.

[DizzyMaelstrom!]

Zakai woke up again. He wasn't nearly as out of it. He was still sleepy, but not nearly as out of it. He looked around for a moment. This was a normal house... it was normal.... it was just a normal house........ He tried to get up and fell out of the hammock as he did. He was shivering. This was just a normal house. Totally and completely normal. All of it! There was nothing wrong! There was nothing.....!
The sound of footsteps sounded in the darkness and then he felt something sharp dig into his neck. He screamed.

He woke up. He was fine. There was nothing there. The door was open and the glow of the night from outside came in through the windows. He shivered and turned onto his side. It's just a normal house...

[Kicks]

"Oh that's good. Because you have really awesome lips." Blake told her before kissing her. He had told her what he had to, and though he wanted to talk more his mind was really stuck on her lips since she was faced with the problem of kissing or cuddling. "We can fall asleep to this." He murmured against her lips, "Who says we can't? It's like cuddling with our lips."

[Lil]

Faye pushed her lips against his in return but when he mentioned cuddling with their lips and laughed softly. "I like that. Our lips should cuddle more often." Faye said before pressing a long, sweet kiss to his lips again. She only pulled away to giggle again thinking about lip cuddling and how their lips usually did a little bit more than cuddle.