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earlier today...



"Ready?" Clarice jumped the last couple steps to the front door, Terry on her heels. "To the bat mobile!"

"Are you Robin or am I?" Terry asked as they swung the car doors open and flung themselves inside. She eyed Lorna as she took out the keys. "I'll be getting my license soon, you know," she informed her, hinting broadly.

“Good for you,” Lorna replied calmly and slid into the drivers seat. “Then I can stop playing Alfred. Until then, buckle in because I’m not letting you behind the wheel of this car.”

"You're Robin since I'm using the Bat-sewing machine to make the curtains," Clarice grinned, "And I'm getting my license too."

She rolled her eyes at Lorna’s refusal. “Only if I can be Robin III. I want fully armoured tights,” Terry agreed equitably. Lorna smiled but didn’t comment on the silliness of armoured tights when really full body suits were a better bet while crime fighting. It was only a comic book after all.

"Whatever you want. And I think our curtains needs fringe. Or beading. Something. We'll see what we find." Clarice was agreeable like that. Of course, since Paul was getting out of the medlab today, she would probably agree to anything.

Terry grinned, “Beaded fringe sounds like a great idea. Maybe in gold to go with our green drapes?”

“I’m going to need directions to the fabric store, Clarice. I’ve done lots of shopping but not for fabric.” Lorna commented.

"Not gold...it's so over done. Maybe blue?" Clarice suggested, "And it's just off Main near Ashford, you can't miss it."

“Purple?” Terry countered, “Blue’s a safe color after all.”

"Beads are never safe. And I have enough purple thank you. I bet they have multi-colored beads though." If anything, she knew her fabrics.

“We’ll see when we get there, I suppose,” Terry shrugged. “The way Lorna drives that won’t be long.”

Lorna glanced over and stuck her tongue out at Terry, “Keep the commentary to yourself, missy unless you have a license of your own to back it up.”

"It's okay, Terry, I think we can get back from here if she leaves us," Clarice reassured her, at least, she thought she might be able to teleport another person.

Terry grinned, “In that case, Ms. Braddock could have done a better job driving when she was still blind.”

Lorna rolled her eyes, “Clarice, do you know where the health food stores are? No? Stop helping.”

"Who me?" Clarice asked cheekily, "But if we don't go, I'll tell Paul about how you want to switch his rice milk to real milk."

"Not real milk, just a better blend. Real milk would make him ill." Lorna corrected, "I really am going to make you take a nutrition course."

"Blah," Clarice stuck her tongue out, "It's food. I eat it."

Terry laughed, "In mass quantities, the more sugar the better." She was quite used to her roommates eating habits already.

"No, you're mixing me and Jubilee up," Clarice corrected pretending to be insulted, "You forgot to add sports drinks."

"Oh sorry. Gatorade too. Mustn't forget the gatorade." Terry made a hand motion like she was writing it down.

"Exactly. Not like Jubilee," Jubilee wasn't Clarice's favorite person at the moment, after the fight with Amanda. "And I wash my clothes regularly."

"Very much unlike Jubilee. Which is good because I was tired of having a roommate whose wardrobe was a lethal weapon. I wasn't sure which would go first, my sense of smell or my eyesight." Terry's mockery was entirely good natured. She rather liked Jubilee--in moderation.

"Nah, the weapons are under the bed with the fabric. I need to see about getting a storage locker for them since we have so many kidlets running around," and she had legitimate weapons, not laundry.

"At least your weapons can't move on their own." Terry pointed out. "I'll bet Lorna would take us to get a storage locker for them."

Their erstwhile chauffer gave them a glare to disabuse them of that notion.

"Oh sure, I don't think showing up to a weapons shop, even if there was one near here, with a walking magnet is a good idea! Nathan is going to take me and prolly Marie-Ange after his brain stops leaking." And they said Clarice didn't think.

Lorna laughed, "I'm not actually magnetic. But you are much better off going with Nate. He actually knows what you're looking for."

"Tell that to the paperclip sticking to your hair," Clarice replied, leaning forwards from teh backseat to pick it out of her hair. It came, but not too willingly.

Terry giggled even as the paperclip wriggled out of Clarice's fingers and zipped back to burrow into Lorna's hair. "Are they pets?"

“You never know when you’ll need a bit of something,” Lorna replied calmly.

"Too bad paperclips don't give sanity!" Clarice was extra happy and cheeky since Paul was getting out today, "Ooh, there it is!"

"Saved by the store." Lorna grinned anyway and swung into the parking lot. "Out, brats. I'm going to go harrass David. Call me when you're done picking out your curtains."

"Uh huh," the chorused, heading into the store.

"Look over here," Clarice pulled a bolt of shimmery fabric out from a display, purposefully ignoring the looks she was getting from other customers."It's shiny!"

"It's orange!" Terry responded, "With spiders on it! Sure and you don't want Halloween to last all year."

"Well...no. Guess not. Okay, no Halloween fabric," she looked around the store critically, heading towards the rows of bolts, absently running one hand over the fabrics. How they felt was important.

Terry followed behind Clarice, surprised by the range of colors and patterns. "We need something with flash."

"Flash. Right. Easy as pie," without hesitation Clarice led her roommate towards a display of shimmery fabrics. "Like this?"

"Yes!" Terry leaped at one particular fabric, tugging it free. "This one!"

"Oooh, I like that!" Clarice ran across the store stopping in front of racks and racks of ribbons and lace. "Where...a ha! Terry!"

"Coming." Terry tucked the silky fabric under her arm and jogged after her roommate. A middle aged woman rolled her eyes as Terry darted around her. Terry rolled hers right back. "What did you find?"

"This!" Clarice unrolled a string of blue teardrop beads on cording. "For the bottom."

Terry held up the fabric against the beads and squealed with glee, "Those are perfect!"

"I know my fabric stores. And we better get this stuff cut and get out of here..." Clarice nodded towards the security guard standing just inside the door with the manager who was eyeing them. "I don't like tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee."

Terry glanced at the adults and nodded. "You get it cut, I'll call Lorna. I hope she's not far."

"Bastards," Clarice muttered, casting one more glance at the guards before going to find someone to cut the materials for them. "Try to take away my fabric will you, I don't think so!"

Terry snickered in spite of herself. Trust Clarice to be protective of the fabric more than she was worried about getting thrown out. She made her call to Lorna brief, explaining why they were in a rush.

Later, Clarice meets Josh!

"Yes...my precious...good," Clarice was talking to her fabric as she hotglued strands of beads onto the bottom hem outside near the pool. Natural light was good.

Being outside was good. The inside of the mansion was too stifling, Jay felt, so he had to get out. And he might as well learn his way around the place anyway. Wearing a wife-beater (with big holes cut into the back so his wings to fit through) and a baggy pair of denim jeans, he walked outside barefoot, wandering aimlessly. He found himself at a pool after a few minutes, and saw a girl sitting there, doing some fabric work. And she was . . . purple? "Um, hi."

"Hi!" Clarice looked up, "Oh, you're the little Guthrie! What's up?"

"Ah'm third in line, Ah'll have ya' know," Jay pointed out. "Ah'm far from the youngest. And you are?"

"Doesn't matter, you're youngest here. Didn't Paige tell you that Xavier's was the center of the universe?" Clarice gestured absently with the hot glue gun leaving little strands of glue hanging off things, "I'm Clarice." She stuck her hand out, belatedly realizing it still held the gun and awkwardly switched it.

"The mental floss girl?" Jay asked, extending his hand to shake hers. "Nah, Paige didn't tell me nothin' 'bout this place, 'cept that it's dang crazy, but Ah've been able to see that for mahself."

"Amazing powers of observstion. Turn around," Clarice ordered noticing the holes in the back of his shirt.

"Comes with the wings." Jay did so, looking back at Clarice over his shoulder. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Looking at your shirt and wings. There has got to be a better way," she poked his shirt and moved his wings impersonally, it wasn't as if she wasn't friends with Warren. "Zippers. If you aren't going to harness them like Warren does sometimes, then you need zippers." she said it as if it were a Pronouncement of great importance.

Jay just blinked, looking dumbfounded. "Huh? Why would Ah need zippers? S'not like Ah'm gonna be wearin' anythin' over these things and need ta' cover them up."

Clarice sighed. Boys. Were. Stupid. "So you don't have obnoxious holes in the backs of your shirts like this. If you get a normal shirt, I can cut the back and put either zippers or velcro or something so the shirt stays closed without being ripped and your wings can stick out. Don't be an idiot and hide them."

Girls and their need for fashion. Jay sighed too. Was it any wonder he played for the other team? "A hole's a hole. Doesn't matter if Ah made them mahself or if ya' cut them in. Is this what folks do for fun 'round here? Play with other people's clothes?"

"No, it's what I do," she corrected, unoffended, "but if you have properly sewn holes then the shirts won't disenegrate in the wash as quickly. And what about in the winter? It snows here you know."

Jay turned back around and shrugged. "Fine, if ya'll're really fixin' to do it. Just no glitter or sparkles or anythin'. Ah like mah clothes the way there are."

"I'm not stupid!" Now Clarice was mildly offended, she was not going to glitter his clothes, yet anyways. "Glitter is for the strong. You are not of the strong. And you'll like it, means you'll save money on clothes."

"'Cept that I ain't that kinda fairy, thanks," Jay said, smiling just a bit. "Ah don't go for that kinda thing."

"So you're another kind then..." Jay could practically see the lightbulb going off over Clarice's head, "Oh fun! So let me get this straight, you're a gay teenage mutant from hicksville who refuses to stay in the closet?"

"Ah'm a gay mutie from Hicksville who fell in with the wrong crowd," Jay said, not really wanting to elaborate. "That ended, and now Ah'm stuck here."

"Sounds like fun. Want to go to the amusement park this weekend?" Clarice asked, remembering the HeliX outing. "I can have at least several shirts done by then. Maybe even a HeliX shirt if we get them in in time."

"What's HeliX?" Jay asked. "And Ah've never been to one of those before. Never been to anythin' bigger than the county fair."

"Human-mutant relations group, supposed to help people not hate us. We do fun stuff, like going to the amusement park." it was the readers digest version, but it worked. "You get a t-shirt if you join."

"How 'bout a tote bag? Ah need one o' those," he said sarcastically. "Sorry, not interested."

Once more Clarice rolled her eyes. Stupid. "Amusement park! Roller coasters! Not being here all the time!"

"Long lines! Overpriced food! People starin' at mah wings like Ah'm a freak!" he countered. "Thanks, but no. Good luck with your mission, but Ah don't wanna."

"Hanging with friends, overpriced food and hellooo? I'm fucking purple! I'm a freak too! I don't know about you, but I don't want to hide here for the rest of my life! And I'm not too fond of hate crimes either!" Clarice crossed her arms in defiance, "If you aren't part of the solution, you're a part of the problem."

Jay shrugged and turned to walk away. "Then Ah'm a problem child. Sorry."

"I'll be by later to get some shirts from you!" Clarice called after him.