Waiting on the World to Change

[Penance]

Penance stared up through the boards of the Coney Island walkway, waiting for the sun to go down. During the day, she scampered beneath the wooden boardwalk, crouching in the shadows and trying to scrounge up enough thrown-away food to survive.

She had been on the beach, beneath the boardwalk, for almost a week now. Each day she waited eagerly for the sun to dip below the waves and for the night to come. The night was full of exciting noises and lights; Coney Island came alive. All the people, the screaming, the rides, the music - it scared her for the first days there. Slowly, she grew to love the world above her, and longed to be a part of it.

All she needed was someone to show her the way out of her shadowy world...

[Rasp]

The flight had been uneventful but not boring in the slightest. Anthony had watched Pirates of the Caribbean two and had been greatly amused by it. It had been too long since he had been to the movies. Not that the city hadn't had a cinema, he just hadn't been compelled enough to move from the apartment.

Now he was starting to think he'd been missing out. He'd been missing out on alot of things.

The flight had arrived on time and he'd passed through security without so much as a blink of an eye. He kept finding himself looking around, trying to spot mutants in the crowd. So far he hadn't succeeded. They either blended in with the crowds very well or kept themselves hidden.

He had wondered if he looked like a mutant, if people could tell.

The flight to Kenya was not for another two days and Anthony had wondered why Mr. Lensherr had left such a large gap in the schedule. A check of the departures board revealed that there were plenty of flights going out. The flight number and seat were quite specific on the ticket though so he had shrugged, collected his bag and wandered out into the city.

It had struck him that perhaps Mr. Lensherr was giving him a chance to readjust to American civilisation.

He'd forgotten exactly how busy, noisy and fast-paced city life could be. After weeks of near isolation in El Dorado and the quiet life of the apartment before that the city of New York was a chaotic forest of steel and glass.

With forty eight hours to kill and a credit card, Anthony had decided to have himself a little fun before his flight to the African wilds.

Thus it was, that another two hours found Anthony sitting on the edge of the Coney Island board walk eating a hot-dog smothered in ketchup and mustard.

"I have missed this," he said to nobody in particular.

[Penance]

Penance scampered beneath the man who had just bought a hot dog, having been drawn to him as the mustard and ketchup dripped beneath the boardwalk. She followed him to the edge of the boardwalk, where he suddenly sat down. His legs dangled in front of her face and she took a few quick sliding steps backwards.

I have missed this, the man said aloud.

Penance crept forward, peering through the cracks in the boards to see the man's face. He took another bite of his hotdog and a glob of mustard/ketchup dropped off the side. The glob hit the planks and shot through the crack, landing on Penance's lips. She sat back down in the sand and licked her lips quickly. She sure loved mustard.

[Rasp]

Anthony took another bite of the hot-dog and a dribble of ketchup and mustard spilled out onto the boardwalk. He looked down at the mess he had created and sighed. At least it hadn't gone on him; he only had one change of clothes and he wasn't sure when he was going to be able to get to a washer next.

Then his cap fell off, tumbling away and down on to the sand below.

"Crap," he muttered quietly.

Clutching his small bag in one hand and half the hot-dog in the other he shoved himself off and jumped down onto the beach to retrieve his escaping hat.

It was only a short drop and his exercise routine in the Valley of Shadows had toughened him up so that he landed easily despite having both hands in use. Tony dropped the bag and turned to collect his errant hat.

And then he saw the girl under the board-walk.

He'd been looking for mutants when he wandered through the airport, looking for something that made them stand out from the crowd.

Here was somebody that did.

For a start she was red. That and the fact she was dressed in an odd array of leather and buckles that wouldn't look out of place in some of the more specialist clubs of the inner city.

She was quite obviously a mutant.

"Uh ... hi there," he said gently; she looked more than a little timid and he didn't want to scare her.

[Penance]

When the hat tumbled from above her, Penance almost ran out onto the beach after it. She had been fascinated by people's clothing ever since escaping from the Tower. All she had ever known was the dark and restricting feel of the leather suit the Dark Man had provided her...at least, he must have. She never remembered not wearing it...

Penance gasped as the man jumped off the boardwalk and onto the sand. She withdrew further into the darkness, but he spotted her anyway.

"Uh ... hi there."

Penance's mouth opened as if words would come out, but nothing did, and nothing could.

[Rasp]

Anthony watched as she shrank back into the shadows, how mouth working wordlessly. He noted that she wasn't wearing any shoes and was very slightly built. Perhaps she had been living rough and was lurking there in the hope of picking up scraps?

Anthony knew how that could be.

"Hey, hey," he said softly, "don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

He set his bag down and scooped the cap back up, jamming it back on his head.

"I'm ... I'm like you," he said with a smile, "my name's Anthony." he unconsciously put the palm of his free hand on his chest as he said his name.

"Are you hungry?" He offered her the other half of the hot-dog.

[Penance]

Penance knew little of words. It seemed that some made perfect sense to her while others were mere noises. The Dark Man had spoken to her very little, usually only mumbling to himself at most about how hungry he was, damn, how hungry.

So when the man began speaking to her, she understood little up until the last word he said, which caused her blue eyes to go wide. Her body tensed up, ready for the pain and horror to be brought upon her once again, even after her escape.

But then the man held out the thing he had been eating, the thing that had squirted onto her and had tasted so good. Cautiously, she reached out her hand for the food, careful not to touch the man and only the thing in his hand. She didn't have to move forward much due to her long fingers, and once she gingerly snatched the hot dog from his hand, she drew back into the shadows, nibbling on the food and staring at the man.

[Rasp]

Anthony watched as the girl plucked the remaining half of the hot-dog from his hand with her slender, though peculiarly dangerous looking fingers. If he'd needed further evidence that she was a mutant, here it was.

She nibbled on it cautiously and Tony was forced to wonder what sort of life she had a lead to end up so timid. Maybe not even timid. There had been a point where she had looked properly afraid, as if she had expected him to lash out at her.

Was mutant persecution so bad in this day and age?

If that was true, this Genosha, the mutant haven was probably the best place for the both of them.

Would he be able to convince this girl to go with him though?

He'd have to get her a ticket for the flight as well.

One step at a time Anthony.

He watched her eat for a few moments before giving her another tentative smile.

"Is that good?"

He wasn't sure if she even understood what he was saying. For all he knew she could be Dutch, or worse - Welsh.

[Penance]

Penance looked up from the hot dog when the man spoke to her, but offered no response. She blinked and then resumed finishing off the biggest meal she'd had since she could remember. Though she couldn't remember much, all she'd known before this delicious meal and the scraps of Coney Island was the slop the Dark Man dropped in front of her once or twice a day.

She finished the hot dog and licked the ketchup and mustard from her lips. Bits of bread and smears of condiments covered her fingers and chin, but she paid them no mind. It would all wash off in the rain...She really enjoyed standing in the rain when everyone else fled indoors, leaving her the beach all to herself. She felt clean and cool and it was the only time she was out in the world.

[Rasp]

She was either incredibly shy or, as Anthony was beginning to suspect, incapable of speech. He did still have one last gambit to play however. He pressed the palm of one hand against his chest slowly.

"Anthony," he said, hoping she understood the gesture.

"I," he gestured to himself again, "am Anthony."

Then he gestured to her with his eyebrows raised in obvious question.

He set his bag down on the sand and unzipped one of the pockets. Inside he had stashed a couple of candy bars. Caramels. He did like caramels.

Figuring she would still be hungry after the meager meal he pulled the wrapper off and offered that to her as well.

He put his free hand to his chest again.

"Anthony."

[Penance]

Penance once again took food from the nice man's hand. Bringing her long fingers towards her nose, she sniffed the dark brown bar, then stuck out her tongue just a bit. Carefully, she touched it to her tongue and left it there for a moment.

Suddenly, she squinted her eyes shut and popped the entire candy bar into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out from the shape of the candy until she munched down on it happily. Her face still showed no emotion, but her eyes had perhaps become less fearful and possibly...happy?

She watched the man put his hand to his chest and say a word - anthony - three times. She had heard him say this when he first jumped down to the sand, but it had meant little then. Was he trying to tell her something about himself? Is he anthony? Did he need food too? Or maybe...it was his name?

The sad and deadly girl took a shuffled step back into the shadows, then extended one hand to the sand in front of the man's feet. She began to drag her sharp finger through the sand, creating lines and circles which began to form letters.

PENANCE

[Rasp]

"Penance huh," he said with a smile. It was as good a name as Rasp he supposed. He wondered for a moment who had given it to her or if she had chosen it for herself.

One thing was certain; the fact that she had written it rather than spoken further convinced him that she was mute. That, and the fact she sure was hungry.

The afternoon was drawing to a close now, the sun dipping toward the horizon and turning the sea into a lake of molten gold. It would be getting dark soon and Anthony still hadn't sorted himself out somewhere to stay. He didn't much fancy spending the night on the beach if he could possibly help it, but he felt bad about leaving Penance.

She was so timid he had no idea how to convince her to come with him, much less get her out in public.

Sitting back on the sand he pulled a soda from his pack and drank down a gulp.

"What am I going to do with you eh?" He said softly.

[Penance]

He said her name and she flinched at the sound. The only man, the only person, who had ever said her name was the Dark Man.

The man in the sand pulled a drink from his bag and opened it. Penance's eyes opened wider and stared at it. Reaching out a long hand, she scooted forward toward the drink.

[Rasp]

"You want some of this huh?"

Anthony said as she reached for the bottle. Mountain Dew, he reflected, was like the honeyed tears of the gods. It might be exactly what she needed. He handed the bottle of nearly luminous liquid over and smiled.

"Needy little thing arn't you?" He said as she reversed back into the shadows again a little.

"Must be tough living under a sidewalk, but there's more where that lot care from if you want to come with me."

He shook the sand off his bag and shouldered it.

"Get you a decent place to sleep for the night."

It occurred to him that he was trying to entice a young girl to come with him and spend the night.

"But ... uh ... not in that way," he quickly amended, though he was pretty sure she wouldn't understand.

[Penance]

Penance took the bottle gratefully and grasped it in both hands. She tried drinking from the narrow bottleneck and succeeded only in spilling the drink down her chin and cheeks and onto her leather clothing. She pulled the bottle away in one hand and stared at it, frowning a little.

She took her index finger on her opposite hand and quickly flicked it against the neck of the bottle, slicing the plastic neatly. The top of the bottle, from the label upwards, fell to the sand and a bit of soda spilled along with it.

Penance put the opened bottle to her lips and drank easily, gulping the entire beverage down in a moment. She dropped the empty bottle to the ground and looked up at the man, then burped.

[Rasp]

"Thirsty too huh," Anthony said with a small smile.

"Well, I can't stay here all night, sleeping on the beach is bad for your back at my age, and cold too." Plus spending the night on the beach was likely to get him robbed, mutant or not.

"I'm going to head back into the city and find a comfortable little hotel to rest up in, you can come with me if you want," he pointed back toward the now bright lights of the city since the sun was now properly set.

"I'm sure we can find a nice little place that isn't bothered about mutants and don't worry, I'll get us a twin room, promise, no funny stuff."

Anthony knew he was largely talking to himself but it still felt good to talk.

He walked a few steps down the beach toward the stairs that lead back up on to the sidewalk before turning to look at her and gesturing with his head for her to follow.

Quite how he intended to get her into the city through the crowds of people remained to be seen if she decided to follow.

He'd think of something.

[Penance]

Penance watched in fear as the man began to leave her. He had given her food, drink, and spent time with her. No one else had done that. Anyone else who had seen her since her escape reacted in either fear or anger.

She slowly took two steps out of the darkness of the boardwalk and onto the beach, still keeping one long-fingered hand on a support beam in the dark.

She reached out for him, then drew her hand back. She couldn't touch him; he'd be sliced apart. She looked back into the comforting darkness, then back to the man standing in the dying sunlight.

Taking her hand from the beam, Penance took a full step onto the sand and then stood. When she was crouched down low, the man had seemed so big, but now standing, he was only a tiny bit taller than her. She twisted around, looking at the other people on the boardwalk and beach. A few were starting to look at her, and it caused her to hunch up her shoulders and drop her gaze.

[Rasp]

"Hey," he said as she huddled into herself, "don't you mind them, they just don't understand that it's rude to stare."

He fixed a particularly overweight man munching on a burger with a glare that could have killed. Or it could have if that had been his mutation. As it was the fat guy just sneered at him and muttered something like, "freak," under his breath.

Anthony slipped off his jacket and moved toward her with the intention of draping it over her shoulders. He had already seen well enough how sharp her fingers were and guessed that her spiky hair had a similarly keen edge. He didn't want to startle her again and end up back at square one.

"I think you need this more than me," he said, holding the coat out in front of him, "you can keep it until we get you some proper clothes."

[Penance]

The man held the coat out in front of her face and she stared at it, her eyes wide. What did he want her to do with it? She cocked her head sideways and sniffed it. It smelled like the man did, but also like the leather straps she wore now.

She took the jacket gingerly in her hands and let it hang for a moment, then threw it onto her head, covering her face. She pushed it back slowly until her eyes were peeking out. Penance paid no mind to her hair stabbing through the back of the jacket or the sleeves hanging by her sides. Her head was cozy and she couldn't see the mean people anymore, so that probably meant they couldn't see her either.

[Rasp]

Anthony suppressed the urge to chuckle; she looked like one of the little guys with the glowing eyes from Star Wars.

"Not quite what I had in mind, but it'll do," he smiled.

"Come on, the sooner we get out of here the better."

He hoped that she would continue to follow him, even at a distance would work, though from the way she had barely understood the concept of the jacket ...

Or had she?

Either way, he suspected there were interesting times ahead.

He started off toward the steps again, regularly glancing over his shoulder to see how she was doing.