Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men franchise, as much as I would like too…particularly a green fellow called Toad…

________________________________________________________________________

"Get out of here you mutant freak! Don't think I didn't see what you just did!"

The girl stumbled out of the club's back entrance, closely followed by the hulking bouncer. As she backed away from the angry man, she began to form an energy 'bomb' in her right hand.

"You should be nicer to a lady. You never know what she can do." She released the bomb and let it roll toward the man. Her aim was slightly off, however, and it exploded before it got too close to the bouncer, resulting in a blinding flash, mild debris, and a very angry man. Before she could form another bomb the bouncer lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat. His right hand curled around her throat, the left grasped her hands together in an attempt to prevent another bomb.

"Bad idea girly. You mutant freaks disgust me. Strutting around like you're better than us, like you're God's gift to mankind. You ain't so special." The man squeezed her hands painfully, and the girl heard a few of her knuckles pop. "See, when you can't use your powers you're useless, just a scared little trouble-maker. Now, the bartender has probably already called the cops, but I don't need no boys in blue to deal with you, bitch."

The bouncer's right hand began to squeeze and pull upward, and the girl's eyes widened in fear as she felt her feet slowly lift off the ground.

"Hey, hey, take it easy there big guy. Whatever the problem is, I'm sure we can settle it in a more civilized manner."

The bouncer's enraged face turned toward the newcomer. He didn't like to be bothered when he was dealing with mutants, and he had really wanted to teach this one a lesson. The girl he was currently strangling shifted her gaze toward the girl walking toward them. The new girl was tall with blond hair. That's all the struggling girl could see.

"How about you just put her down, go back inside, and tell any cops that arrive that there's no problem here?" The blond girl said, staring the bouncer directly in the eyes. The bouncer's face seemed to blank itself of any emotion, and he immediately released the other girl's neck and hands. He continued to look a bit dazed, and walked back into the club, without even casting a glance back at the girl he had nearly killed.

The first girl hit the ground coughing and gasping for air. The second girl was her side a moment later. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"Y-yeah. I think so." The first girl gasped out. "You know him or something? Why did he listen to you?" She looked at her rescuer's face and gasped when she saw her eyes. They were a normal blue color, but that wasn't what caused her to gasp. The pupils were most definitely not normal. They were thin and vertical, and looked very much as a snake's would. "Oh thank God! You're a mutant too!"

"Shh! Jesus, you trying to get us jumped? In a neighborhood like this, being a mutant is something you keep under your hat, you know?"

The first girl exhaled forcefully, and began to breathe normally. "Sure, sure. Thanks for your help. What did you do to him?"

"My mutation. People do whatever I tell them to do; as long as they're looking me in the eyes, anyway. So what happened in there that got you thrown out here?"

The first girl laughed. "Well, I was just sitting at the bar having a good time, and this total skeeze-ball kept hitting on me. I mean, when did it become O.K. for a 40 year-old balding man to hit on a girl whose clearly out of his league? Anyway, I thought I could get him to go away by tossing a small energy bomb his way. That's my ability by the way. I can make these nifty energy bombs, any size I want. So I made a small one, only about the size of a marble, and flicked it at him. As luck would have it, it landed in his beer mug and exploded. Glass and booze went everywhere. Unfortunately, the bouncer must have seen me throw it, and he dragged me out here. You know the rest."

The other girl nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. You should probably get out of here. The bouncer won't say anything, but I can't guarantee that the cops won't hear the story from someone else and come out here looking for you."

The first girl nodded and stood up. Brushing the dirt from her knees, she faced the new girl and noticed her pupils had dilated to a normal size. "I'm Tabitha, by the way. You can call my Tabby, or Boom-Boom. What's with your eyes?"

"My name is Krystal, but I'm also known as Hypno. My pupils only constrict like that when I'm using my mutation, and they stay that way for a bit. Most of the time they look normal. Come on, we should go." Krystal turned and began to walk down the alley way.

"Hey, I don't really have anywhere to go. I was running away from my dad again, and now I don't have a place to stay. Do you think I could stay with you, just for tonight, you know? I'll start looking for apartments tomorrow, I swear."

"Yeah, you can stay with me. But I have to warn you, my living conditions aren't exactly ideal," Krystal smiled almost sheepishly. "I got kicked out of my apartment a few months ago. I've been living in a storage garage ever since."

"A storage garage is better than a cardboard box. I'll take it."

________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note: Yes, I realize this is a short and boring chapter. Things will pick up in the next few chapters, so bear with me.