Something Slender (and Awful) - First and Second Breakfasts

[x-invisiblegirl.livejournal.com]

Matt and Sue's brunch date is ruined by the sense that something is just not right, and a man with no heartbeat who smells like funerals.



The little diner was tucked into a dingy little building not far away from the East Village, and had the three most important things that a diner needed these days. Wifi, an espresso machines, and cheap tasty food, including unlimited pancakes, as long as you didn't piss off the waitresses. They were familiar with the Xavier's kids, or near most all of them - enough so that it was a popular drop-off point for the weekend bus trips.

"Sure thing, ducks, should've remembered you from last time." The waitress scooped up one of the laminated menus she'd placed in front of the teenagers and slid away to grab one of the braille ones.

Not every restaurant had braille menus, especially smaller places like this, so the fact that this diner took the time to get one printed meant a lot even if it wasn't just for him. "Ah, New York in winter. Gotta love it," Matt sighed, pleased. It was cold, it was windy and it was slushy. Just how it was supposed to be. "Especially when you can get hot drinks with free refills to keep you warm."

Sue shivered as she wrapped her hands around her hot coffee and took an experimental sip. "You say that now, but just think how much nice it would be in Hawaii or the Sahara desert" she pointed out. Not that she'd ever been to the Sahara, but she heard it was gloriously hot there; the blonde may have been a city girl born and raised but the cold was one thing she could have done without.

"I've never been to either, but I guess you can get as sick of the hot as the cold. I like the change in seasons," it would be nice to go to Florida or someplace like that one day. Disney World or something. He'd been to the beach, but it had been up here in New York. "We should go swimming when we get back," the school did have an indoor pool.

"You're not supposed to be logical about this," Sue complained playfully, "Although the pool does sound like a good idea. Especially if we can get Angel to heat up the water." Sue grinned, that idea had definite possibilities, she'd have to see their mentor was up for it when they got back to the mansion.

"Sorry," Matt replied, completely unashamed, "I think this sounds amazing. It's too bad we have to get the bus back to campus and not just magically teleport. Can you teleport?" There were those at the mansion who could, just not them. Unfair right now.

The steaming pot of coffee had been wafting it's smell across the table at Matt since the waitress set it down. The warmth it provided didn't diminsh, but the smell shifted suddenly to a cloyingly sweet small of old flowers - liles and roses - and underneath, the stale musty smell of damp. Behind Matt, a black-clad figure stood up from an booth, oddly empty - no plates or menus or mugs - and glided near-silently away past the teens to the back of the diner

Wrinkling his nose at the smell, Matt turned, his senses not picking up a person or anything, though the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Do you see something?" He asked Sue, unsure if there was something there or not.

"Sorry what?" Sue asked distractedly "No nothing really, the man sitting behind you just left is all." There was something about that man...something unsettling. Apart from his height that is, the girl realised she couldn't remember anything about his features, his face was just a blur of white. "Didn't you notice him?" she asked Matt, Sue had gotten so used to Matt being aware of his surroundings that she was slightly worried she was seeing things.

He shook his head, "Not really..." he could hear every persons heartbeat for a six block radius if he concentrated (though usually he concentrated on NOT doing that), "I didn't notice anything until there was this sort of movement and weird...almost floral smell," and even when he was intentionally trying to curb his powers, he could hear the heartbeats of everyone in his immediate surroundings. "I wasn't sure what it was...." that he couldn't hear someone's heartbeat was disturbing. Very, very disturbing.

"You smelt flowers?", Sue span around in her chair, searching for the tall man who had just passed them. Try as she might the girl couldn't spot him, he had just vanished into thin air. Sue shuddered involuntarily, subconsciously leaning closer to Matt, "He didn't smell of flowers, he didn't really smell of anything." Matt may have a better sense of smell than she did but surely she'd have smelled something.

"Not like fresh flowers," Matt tried to explain, "That...sort of sickly sweet dead smell that flowers can get. Does that make sense? And maybe...laundry? Wet laundry, not fresh, clean laundry," ugh, not terrible smells, but not the best ones either. Matt's enhanced senses allowed him to smell and hear well beyond the normal person, it didn't surprise him at all to notice something Sue didn't.

"I...I didn't get anything like that," Sue replied hesitantly "Who smells like dead flowers and wet laundry? And can vanish like that?" The girl didn't want to focus on the fact that the man didn't have a heartbeat that Matt could hear. "He's got to be some kind of mutant right?" she rationalized, "Someone who can just disappear and doesn't have..." the girls voice trailed off into a whisper and she glanced at Matt for reassurance.

Matt had no reassurances to give, not when he was completely weirded out by someone with no heartbeat. "I guess..." he trailed off, a note of doubt in his voice. "Maybe we should head back now. Just, you know. In case." The memories of the kidnapping that lead to Genosha popped in his mind.

Sue nodded gratefully, the cup of coffee in front of her completely forgotten, "Lets get out of here." Without thinking about it she slipped her hand into Matt's, gripping his hand tightly, and pulled in close to his side, desperately seeking out the comfort of contact. Her boyfriend felt solid, warm and most importantly real. The blonde didn't know what was going on here, but suddenly she wanted nothing more than to get back to the safety of the mansion.

It didn't take long to get their check - some coffee didn't cost very much, after all. The waitress would've comp'd them if she'd seen how troubled both kids looked before she got to the register, but once the check was in, it was in - comping would take it out of her check, and she needed every penny.

They were both waiting at the register for the waitress to hand Sue her debit card back when a blast of chilly dry air came in with a group of college-aged guys. The door shut, the bells on the handle jangled loudly, only to turn to a soft swishing sound, and the cloying smell of dried potpourri and wet coats. The waitress glanced up, directed the group of young men to a large table - she knew that group, loud and messy but good tippers - and then handed Sue the receipt and her card.

The man who tipped his hat to Matt and Sue as they made their way out would have stood out no matter what in his crisp black suit with a plain white shirt, but the brim of his hat cast a shadow on a black featureless face, with no more color than his shirt, and the smell of damp and petals clung to him.

Squeezing Sue's hand, Matt decided that he was switching from his usual white cane to the walking stick Wade had gotten him for Christmas. Just in case. As it was, he paid and then unfolded his cane, prepared to use it if needed, though he wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't a ghost.

Sue mechanically took back her card from the waitress, unable to tear her eyes away from the man who had just appeared. The blonde prepared a forcefield, holding it just ready to throw up around herself and Matt in case the ... man tried anything. Keeping a tight grip on Matt's hand Sue started to back towards the door choosing discretion over valour this time, "Come on, lets get out of here."




Being the last girls on the bus is about as unwelcoming as it sounds. Molly and Renee try to make the best of a bad situation, but their plan for waffles is interuppted by an unwelcome encounter.




New York City was a big strange place if you weren't familiar with it, more so if you were the last girls off the van and most of your classmates had skipped off to do various things with brunch reservations or breakfast dates. Tandy and Hope and Topaz hurried off down the street into a crowd, behind a pair of businessmen in their dark suits, Sue and Matt waited at the crosswalk, hand in hand, and Jean-Philippe and the van pulled into the parking structure, leaving Renee and Molly at the entrance to the garage with cell phones that had maps and yelp reviews and little else except a time and place - and calendar alarms in case they ran late - for their "socially conscious volunteer work" Molly scratched her nose, then tugged at one of the poof balls that was dangling from one of her hats as she watched everybody else leave but only one of the other older girls.

"So...What do we do now?" she said, glancing over. She didn't remember meeting her before, but Miss Frost the 2nd said that was okay. She might remember her eventually. She hoped so.

"Uhm." Way to be an eloquent role model, Renee. "We've got some time before the volunteer thing but I've never been to New York before, believe it or not, so..." She paused and then her eyes lit up. "You've been here before though, right? Tons of times probably? What do you usually do when you're here?"

She'd follow the younger girl willingly and it'd be a fair trade off--Molly would show her around and she'd keep her from getting lost or kidnapped or whatever other dire fate the chaperones would be worrying about.

Molly blinked at her, and glanced up at the big buildings, and the cars and people rushing by, trudging through the snow. It felt funny to have an older person ask her for help. She was used to being the littlest and going with the grown ups wherever they wanted to go.

She stood there for a few long moments with wide eyes, looking back and forth until her shoulders sagged and her eyes lowered.

"I...I...don't remember," she said. It was still fuzzy. She didn't know if the buildings they went to before were in the big city or the little city. It all looked the same. Even the stuff she remembered before was kinda hazy because her brain had been scrambled. But they said that was normal...even if she didn't like it.

She swallowed. "Maybe if we...find something....close...we can go eat?" She was a little hungry.

"Oh, hey, no worries." Aww, she hadn't meant to upset her. Renee gave the younger girl a big smile. "It's no big deal, there's food all over the place I bet. Let's see what we can find. You in the mood for anything in particular?" She extended her hand to Molly since this was the official start of Venturing Forth from the garage.

Feeling a little sheepish Molly took Renee's hand, then glanced back and forth again. "Waffles?" she said hopefully. Maybe the place Wademan took her to was close by. Closing her eyes, Molly pointed right, then left, then right, quietly using eeny meeny miney moe as her method of determining direction before settling on left.

"That way."

"Oh my god, do you have any idea how long it's been since I had waffles that didn't come from a toaster?" The excitement in her voice probably gave away that it was way too long. "OK. We can go this way for a little bit and if we don't find anything maybe our phones can help." They could help now if Renee was honest but exploring was more fun. If Molly wasn't with her she'd probably forget to eat or sight see or do anything other than just run around looking at stuff.

Renee's happiness made Molly crack a smile, which quickly turned into a grin. "My friend Meggan makes pancakes too! Real ones! But...Wademan took me to this one place....they ADD stuff to the batter...like chocolate! And fruit! And candy! And they top it with ice cream," she said. She paused a few moments thoughtfully.

"Yeah....let's look around first.." If she found the place maybe they'd think she was smart.

Yes, she was smiling too! Nice recovery, Nee. "Do you remember what it was called? It's OK if you don't," she said quickly, not wanting Molly's spirits to falter again, "I'm sure we can still find it."

Molly made a face. "Not sure...but it had a knight on the outside?" she said as she started down the street, trying to keep an eye out for anything familiar. Knights were out of place...so that was good.

Renee looked up at the buildings around them. The ground was snowy but at least the sky was clear. "It's a good day for walking around anyway, right?"

Molly carefully dodged any ice, but she wore her good boots, to keep from slipping. People had also put down some salt too, to melt the ice.

"Mmmhmm..." Maybe they could get hot cocoa too.

"Do you think...." Molly bit her lip. "Nevermind."

"No, what's up?" Renee glanced down at her and smiled. "You're as much in charge today as I am so what're you thinking?"

Rubbing the back of her head, Molly kept her attention on the people passing by as she spoke. "Do you think the others left me with you cause I'm the youngest?"

Renee shook her head. "I don't know but I don't think so, and even if they did, that'd probably say more about me than you. I mean, they all know you but I'm still the weird new kid." She did still feel kind of out of the loop with her classmates but she'd been invited to their party last month and that wasn't a small thing. "And even if they did, it's their loss. We get waffles."

Molly managed a smile. "I like---"

A small gust of cold air blew past the girls, blowing some of the salt and kicking up a little bit of ice. A woman walking ahead of them hurried her pace and ran into the bus shelter ahead of them. She sat down, tucking her bag onto her lap and then looked around, and carefully stood up and slowly walked away, shaking her head and rubbing at her arms, as though the shelter was even colder than the sidewalk.

A man followed her, but walked past her and around the side of the shelter, leaning against it with his legs crossed at the ankle. He pulled the collar of his black suit up, and then curled an arm around one of the supports, wrapping around it several times with a solid black arm that ended not in a hand, but a single digit colored the same black as his jacket. As the girls passed, he turned to watch them facelessly, and waved his peculiar hand on the end of his very long arm at them.

Molly did a double take, blinking. "I---wha....Did you see?" she said, slowing down in that moment enough to cause a bit of a jerk in movement as she pointed.

Renee tried to avoid making eye contact with pretty much anyone on the street in the city so when Molly slowed down and tugged her arm she was reluctant to look up but maybe it was a celebrity. She'd hate to be the only one at the volunteer event saying no, she'd been too determined to look antisocial to actually notice Robert Downey Jr. or someone like that.

Looking up, though... no, no celebrity. "What the hell..."

Molly took a step forward, tilting her head. "What...is it?" she said. It reminded her of a combo of the Question, that guy in the comic books with a suit and no face, and Jack Skellington. Except creepier.

"Maybe it's a superhero?" she offered helpfully.

"I don't think that's a hero, Molly. C'mon." Renee reluctantly turned her back on the weird figure at the bus stop and tugged on the younger girl's hand, hoping she'd follow. This was pretty much the definition of a bad thing, some strange looking guy waving to two young, unaccompanied women in a huge city. Good things rarely came from that.

"But--" Molly began, but followed her anyway. He looked odd but what if he was just a mutant being friendly?

"What if he was just saying--Whoa!" She jumped when she saw the guy up ahead of them on the next block as they were walking, leaning against one of the bus stop shelters. He was still waving.

She was still getting used to the idea of mutants being friendly and frankly, meeting one here on the street, a mutant who would just happen to wave to two completely normal looking girls who also just happened to be mutants... Renee didn't believe in coincidences like that.

*Uh..." The fact that he'd managed to leapfrog ahead of them to the next stop screamed mutant to her now but he still didn't friendly so all that he was waving. "I'm sorry, Molly, but this just doesn't feel right to me. If he wants to say hello he can find someone else to say it to."

Biting her lip, Molly finally nodded. "Okay," she said. She was getting a little scary vibe too, even if she got it from the ghosts when she saw them before even if they turned out nice. But...if he was a nice mutant wouldn't he say hello like...with words?

"I think it might be better if you just kept your head... down..." Renee couldn't believe it. As soon as they'd managed to pass him he appeared again around the corner of a bus shelter a couple of blocks up. She could barely make his shape out but that was enough.

"On second thought, we're turning. C'mon, let's try this way." She started to lead Molly around the next corner.

Molly followed, occasionally glancing over her shoulder. He was still there.

"Maybe....we should tell him to leave us alone? I can punch him! If um....we need to?"

"If he turns up again, I think I will, but maybe we can hold off on the punching." Bus stop creepers aside, she could see it now. Her first outing with the New Mutants and what happens? She and Molly end up getting arrested for assault. Not if she could help it.

"But what if he is evil?" Molly said, occasionally glancing over her shoulder.

"Then can I punch him?"

"I think we should probably wait for him to kind of act evil before punching, but once we're sure he's evil you can absolutely punch him." Renee didn't really want to punch him. She wanted to avoid him as long as possible, hopefully until they could actually get into the restaurant or something.

Unfortunately that didn't seem to match the creeper's plans. Even though they'd turned the corner, he was suddenly there again, but to Renee's eyes he seemed to have emerged from behind the slim pole of a lightpost. "Molly, did you see that?"

Arching her eyebrows, Molly nodded. "Uh huh," she said. Did the guy eat? Or did he have powers like Angelo...except without any bones or anything?

"Did you um....wanna tell him to leave us alone?" she said quietly.

Almost as though he'd heard her - though of course, he couldn't have, they girls were too far away, the strange man swung around the light post to face them, leaving one arm hooked around - and around and around - it, and used the other to wave at them before stepping away from the post, and gliding away and across the street on legs that moved sinuously, like twin snakes.

Renee could only watch with wide eyes as the creature seemed to turn to living rubber, stretching and moving in physically impossible ways. Or ways that seemed physically impossible. If he was a mutant then who knew but right now she was just glad that he seemed--seemed--to have lost interest. "OK, we're going into the next food place we see. I don't want to be out here anymore."

Keeping her eye on the dude (just in case), Molly nodded again.

"There's a hotdog place.." she said, pointing to the bright yellow and red building at the corner.

"Sorry Molly," Renee said as they approached the door to the building, "I know it's not waffles but hopefully this will still be OK." She wasn't sure what to do once they got inside other than get something to eat and watch the door to make sure the person, thing, whatever didn't follow them in, but it still seemed safer than being out on the street in the open.

"Okay," Molly said, keeping watch. "I'm not really that hungry anymore."

"Me either. We'll figure something out." Renee held the door open for the younger girl, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket and debating if she should call someone at the community service event or someone else from the team to let them know what happened. Had anything even really happened? She could probably wait until the actual event to tell them.

Probably.