Come and get me (Hazard's pick up... open to my escort. you know who you are)

The rain fell hard as Tobin stepped out of his father’s old black Ford Mustang. Tobin and his father had worked on that car when his father had still been alive, and Tobin had worked on it alone in the years after his father’s death. That car was a piece of him, so when he left home, he couldn’t leave it behind. Walking through the rain, Tobin noticed that the only other vehicle at the rest stop was an 18-wheeled truck made his way into the facilities that the rest stop had to offer. Tobin was slowly driving out to the East Coast, but he still didn’t know why. Something was out there, waiting for him.

Stepping into the building, Tobin slicked the rain off of his leather jacket and headed to the restroom. So many thoughts flicked through his mind, thoughts about the family he had left behind and thoughts about his future. In the restroom, he accidentally collided with whom he guessed was the driver of the truck outside. “Watch where you’re going, dude?” he said absently and somewhat harshly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had interacted with another person. His interaction with people only caused them to get hurt, so he tried his best to stay away.

“’xcuse me, son?” replied the trucker in a heavy Louisiana accent. “I believe you best be watchin’ where you’re goin’!” The words caused Tobin to stop dead in his tracks. Who was this guy to talk to him that way? He didn’t need this from anyone right now. All he wanted was to be left alone.

“You’d listen to me if you knew what was good for ya…” Tobin replied while at urinal. “You don’t want to make me angry.” He shot the trucker a look as he hit the flusher and made his way to the sink to wash up.

“Well, you’ve already done that to me, boy,” the trucker replied. “So how about you apologize before things get messy.” Tobin could see the trucker in the mirror in front of him, and he watched as the older man pounded one fist into the other. Sighing, Tobin shook some of the water on his hands before turning to the trucker.

“Look, bro,” he replied, “just walk away or you will get hurt.” Tobin tried to stay calm, but he could feel the blood rushing through his body. He didn’t need this, not tonight. “Now, get away FROM ME!!!” The last words came out as a scream because as he spoke them the trucker lunged for Tobin. Being younger and more agile, Tobin ducked the punch, but the trucker didn’t escape harm’s way. As the fist passed by Tobin’s shoulder, Tobin could hear the sound of crackling skin, a sign that the trucker’s skin was frying. Tobin didn’t look back; he didn’t even check to see if the trucker was okay. Instead, he just ran out of the building and into the rain. Outside, he projected his anger and power into the open night sky, causing rain to sizzle as it fell to the ground. Why was this his lot in life? He didn't know, and that above all else made him angry.

Ok, Vader had to admit that the car was a little over the top, but she couldn’t help herself, it was amazing. She’d seen the car at the dealer in Dallas, and had immediately stopped and bought the blue BMW Z4. Well, bought wasn’t the exact word, it was more like stolen, but the dealer had told her to take it…after she’d made him do so. She’d return it before she went back to the academy, so Vader preferred to call it borrowing. Vader hadn’t ever thought about getting a car while in Dallas, but she’d figured that if she were only here for a few days it would be fine. Besides, if she didn’t find the mutant in Dallas, she was going to drive to San Antonio, Houston, or Austin. Vader was currently on her second retrieval mission, her first one had been strange, even by Charlie’s standards. She’d gotten back from London and then was told that she was going to Dallas to find another mutant. Strangely, finding the mutant this time had been harder so far than the fist time, but she hardly expected another mutant to randomly call out her name, like Aiden had, and then proceed to tell her that they used to be friends. At first Vader hadn’t believed him, but now she was leaning towards the fact that he was probably right.

Up ahead Vader saw a rest stop with what seemed to be a few vending machines. Sighing she pulled into the parking lot; she was hungry and really needed to stretch her legs, so she figured now would be as good of a place to stop as any. Stepping out of the car, Vader noticed that the two vehicles in the parking lot were a truck and an old mustang. Her BMW stuck out like a shiny penny amongst the dull ones. Neither of the car seemed to be occupied, so Vader figured the drivers were both inside. She pulled her light rain jacket tighter around her, with a faint smile. It rarely ever rained in Texas, especially in the hot, dry summer months where one would be lucky to see a few clouds in the sky. This year had been particularly dry, and any rain at all was welcomed with open arms, so to speak. Vader loved watching the big thunderstorms that occurred one or twice a summer rolling over the land; the clouds creating an almost eerie semi darkness that was so different from the typical near-blinding sunlight that plagued the typical summer day.

The young mutant walked quickly through the rain with her head bent slightly downwards. She straightened up to her full height (Five feet, Three inches) once she got under the roof. Vader strolled over to the vending machines, and got a bottle of water and a bag of chips. She heard whispers of thoughts coming from the men’s room, but Vader was used to it and really didn’t care what they were thinking so she tried to block them out as best she could. Vader was tucking the bag of chips into her bag when she heard raised voices, she couldn’t quite make them out. Suddenly she heard a guy’s voice scream; “Now, get away from me!” A guy around her age stormed out of the restroom. His thoughts were angry, but there was something else beside that so Vader dug a little deeper. She barely even noticed the sizzling sound the rain made when it touched the ground, but when she did she came to the conclusion at once. Mutant. She thought, stepping out of the shadows, where she had been standing when the guy had stormed out. Vader quickly scanned the guy’s memories for what had happened. “You know, the trucker is going to come out soon and kick your butt, there’s no use standing there.” She said quietly, hoping she was heard.

It took Tobin some time to register the words spoken to him by an anonymous young woman who must have arrived at the rest stop in the time he had been in the restroom. The echo of his scream was still heavy in his ears, making it hard for him to hear, and he hadn’t expected a stranger to speak to him. Plus, she had hit the situation on the head, making Tobin wonder. How had she known about the trucker and the fighting? Sure, she could have heard him and that jerk in the restroom, especially from where she was standing. Still, there had been a tone to her voice, a kind of knowing behind what she said. Tobin still feel the heat radiating from him; high energy radiation would drain him of energy for the night, and he doubted he could’ve kept radiating this much if it hadn’t been for the anger boiling inside of him. “He’ll be sorry if he does,” Tobin replied as he turned to face the young woman. What he saw took him by surprise.

Standing in front of him was a short, slim girl about his age with an attractive face. Her hair looked like it was on fire because of the light that reflected off of it. Altogether, she looked rather impressive. Then, when Tobin had realized which car in the lot belonged to this bombshell, he couldn’t hide the shock and awe on his face. After all, she was driving a BMW Z4, a pretty impressive car. Tobin guessed that she had to be from Dallas, maybe the daughter of a rich Texas businessman who lived in the nearby metropolis. Tobin tried to remember what product Texas was known for, and he landed on either oil or cattle. Every movie he remembered that had Texans in it always featured them riding horses and wearing cowboy hats, which was why he hadn’t planned on staying in the state for that long, but if the girls looked like this, then he might just have to stay.

The newcomer had given Tobin enough of a startle and a distraction to calm him down and shut off his radiation, for which he was grateful. Still, he could hear the trucker’s swears come from the bathroom, and he tensed as the sound of running water stopped. He must have stopped trying to cool off his burn. “You should get out of here, babe,” Tobin called to the girl. “Things might get messy, and I don’t want you or that beautiful car of yours to be collateral damage.” He heard the restroom door slam open just as he finished talking, so he turned away from the young woman and faced the trucker. Tobin was tiring. The epinephrine in his system was helping him out a little bit, but it wasn’t enough to diminish fully the after-effects of his rage-induced outburst. Lucky for Tobin, he wasn’t going to be off guard this time, so he would have a little more control over his powers. The trucker wouldn’t know what hit him.

“He’ll be sorry if he does,” The guy said. “And so will you.” Vader replied. She didn’t exactly know what to say so she just threw the words out there, thinking they sounded appropriate. Vader blushed slightly as she heard the guy’s thoughts on her. She’d never really cared about her appearance that much, and if she tried, she was sure she could alter people’s minds in a way that would make them perceive her differently, so it was a bit shocking to see that people found her pretty. Not that Vader actually cared that much, but it was still nice to know. She almost laughed at who he thought she was though, but she supposed she looked the part. Vader glanced at the BMW, yeah, she definitely fit the part. She was glad she wasn’t though, she’d passed several of those girl’s in Dallas, their thoughts had been mainly self focused; it was very irritating to Vader, but it wasn’t her problem so she had just let them go on their way.

The hissing of the rain on the glowing pavement stopped, and Vader stepped out from the overhanging roof; she wasn’t afraid of getting wet. She focused on the trucker thoughts for a moment, he was angry as heck, and was most certainly going to act on that anger. “You should get out of here, babe. Things might get messy, and I don’t want you or that beautiful car of yours to be collateral damage.” The guy said. Babe? Vader thought, a spark of irritation visible in her eyes. She was silent for a moment, debating on what to say and whether or not she should say it directly into the guy’s head or not. “I think,” Vader said in a calm voice. “That I’ll be perfectly fine staying here, and that neither me nor my car will be collateral damage…if there is any, and that you shouldn’t be picking fights with truckers. I also think that you shouldn’t call me babe.” Vader finished, turning to the bathroom door, as it slammed open. Even from just his appearance, the trucker looked angry, but in his mind her was absolutely raging. An idea popped into her head, and Vader immediately acted on it. She walked in between the two guys, who both were towering over her, and prohibited either of them from moving. Vader was in both their heads at once, controlling them, she knew she couldn’t hold out for very long, and there would be a huge headache afterward. “Okay, both of you apologize. Now. And don’t bother trying to move, it’s not going to work.” She said with as much force as she could muster while focusing on keeping them both still.

Tobin could barely hear the words that came from behind him as he faced the restroom door. “I think,” the girl said in a calm voice that also betrayed some not so calm thoughts. “That I’ll be perfectly fine staying here, and that neither me nor my car will be collateral damage…if there is any.” Tobin only smiled at her comment. She had no idea what he was capable of. He could disintegrate the entire region with just a thought and enough anger to fuel the explosion. Still, the girl continued, “And that you shouldn’t be picking fights with truckers. I also think that you shouldn’t call me babe.” Tobin wanted so badly to make a sarcastic remark back to the girl, but just as she finished the door flew open. Immediately, Tobin crouched down in a ready position, fists in front of his face to defend himself. Let that son of a gun come after him; not only would Tobin hit the guy, but every punch would leave a radiation burn as well – a bad radiation burn. If Tobin was lucky, he could even penetrate through some of the guy’s organs. Then, the trucker would be completely out of luck. Gamma radiation poisoning was fatal, and Tobin was the primary giver of that kind of death.

However, before the trucker could even take a few steps forward, Daddy’s Girl dashed in between both the trucker and Tobin. Tobin tried to move to push her out of the way, but he couldn’t move his body. He could think and feel, but whenever he tried to move, it was like his brain signals didn’t reach his limbs. It was eerie and extremely frightening. What was happening to him? Looking across the courtyard, he realized that the same thing was happening to the trucker, who had a look of surprise and fright on his face. Then, a voice called out through the rain. “Okay, both of you apologize. Now. And don’t bother trying to move, it’s not going to work.” For the first time, Tobin wondered if this girl was doing this to him. And he wondered if she could be special like he was special. He tried to make his mouth move, but he found it impossible for some time. Then, all of a sudden his words rushed out like a flood. “You are like me,” he panted out in a rush of words, so quickly that they slurred together. “You are special too!” The excitement in his voice was apparent, and the serotonin rushing through him had replaced the anger in him. “Dude, my bad,” he called to the trucker. “Let’s just forget about it, alright, brah?”

Tobin didn’t even wait for the reply from the trucker. Instead, he focused his attention on Daddy’s Girl. “So,” he said, “are there others like us. What am I?” He hoped for answers to his questions. He hoped beyond hope that she wouldn’t leave him and that he wouldn’t be alone anymore. Sure, he put on a good front for the family and school. He was the loner to everyone else, but deep down inside, he just wanted to belong somewhere.

((I'm officially stalking this thread *nods* Just putting that out there. P.S. Tobin, your really good at rp'ing. It makes me happy.))

They were both struggling against Vader and it was giving her a huge headache, she would definitely have to sleep on the plane ride home now, or she’d be sick for days. She got the idea that she only had to prohibit movement in their arms and legs, and adjusted her control over them to where it was just their arms and legs that were immobile. “You are like me. You are special too!” The guy said in a rush. Vader smiled. “No shiz, Sherlock. And I’m not a ‘Daddy’s Girl.’” Vader said sharply in his head. It might have been a little rude, but as shown by the BMW sitting in the parking lot, Vader was a little over the top. Fortunately for Vader, he was excited, which was good because he might be interested in the academy. “Dude, my bad, Let’s just forget about it, alright, brah?” The guy said, apologizing to the trucker. “So,” The guy said, “are there others like us. What am I?” Vader gave him a slight nod, held up a slender finger and then turned to the trucker, who was still resisting and raised an eyebrow, which probably couldn’t be seen through the rain. “Are you going to apologize, or not?” Vader said calmly, she pressed farther into his head and prepared to force him to apologize.

“Sorry.” Vader heard faintly. She figured that was just about all that was going to come out of the truckers’ mouth without force, so Vader let them both go. She watched him begin to walk towards his truck, but stayed inside his head; he was debating in his head to turn around and fight or not, and Vader wasn’t sure what he would chose. She turned to face the guy who was a mutant, who, now that she cared to notice, was rather attractive; blond hair, blue eyes, tall and muscular. He reminded her of Aiden in a strange way, but there was no barrier protecting this guy’s mind. His face was less angular than Aiden’s, and Aiden had dark hair, while this guy had light hair, but they had similar eyes.

She shook her head slightly trying to clear it; they weren’t really alike at all, she didn’t know where that thought had come from. “Uh, yes, there are tons of others with powers like ours. We’re called mutants...there is a school in New York, called the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. It’s a place to train, live, and learn. There are lots of other mutants there, so you’re not alone…” Vader trailed off, not knowing what else to say. She’d said pretty much all that Charlie had told her when she’d been invited to the academy, so she figured that she could go back to New York soon. “I’m Vader by the way. And you are?” She asked politely, not wanting to dig inside the guy’s head for his name.

Tobin flinched as a voice inside his head replied, “No shiz, Sherlock. And I’m not a ‘Daddy’s Girl.’” So she had been reading his mind while they had been talking earlier. That was so totally unfair. He felt slightly embarrassed by the thoughts he had had of her while they had been talking, but more so, he was just angry that she had invaded his privacy like that. The girl then ignored his further questions while she dealt with the trucker. Tobin did not need someone to fight his battles for him, and while he was still excited that he had met someone who was special like him, he found himself thinking this particular person to be stuck up as she was acting like she was entitled to the world. Tobin felt the pressure on his limbs disappear as the trucker apologized. That was not enough for Tobin, who decided he was going to play a trick on the guy before he left. Focusing, he pictured that the guy’s truck was gone, no longer there, and the light became like he wanted it to. The huge truck was once there and was now gone. Tobin couldn’t help but smile at the simplicity of the matter.

After some time, he let the image go, causing the truck to reappear. He wouldn’t have been able to hold the image for much longer, but he felt satisfied that the prick had gotten what he deserved. Also, he couldn’t help but feel proud that he had done it in front of this pretty girl. And no matter what she said, he would never stop thinking of her as anything other than Daddy’s Girl. He turned his attention back the Daddy’s Girl, and he saw that she was admiring him as much as he had admired her. Renewed confidence burst inside of him, along with the excitement of finding someone who was different like Tobin was different. He listened as she explained everything to him.

“Uh, yes, there are tons of others with powers like ours,” Daddy’s girl told Tobin, who just soaked up all the new information. “We’re called mutants...there is a school in New York, called the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. It’s a place to train, live, and learn. There are lots of other mutants there, so you’re not alone…”

Tobin couldn’t believe that there was a whole school for people like him. It was all too much to handle, so he barely caught that Daddy’s Girl had introduced herself. “It’s nice to meet you,” he mumbled, still lost in thought. Then, he realized he was being impolite by not offering his name in return. “I’m Tobin, Tobin Abernathy, from California.” Tobin replied, shaking his head clear. “It really is nice to meet you. So does this mean I can join the Institute? I mean; did you come looking for me? Or was this just some sort of an accident?”

Vader sensed the guy’s embarrassment and smiled inwardly. That’s right! She thought, keeping her thoughts to herself. I can hear your every thought, sense your every emotion, and see every memory, not to mention, control you, and you can’t do much to stop it! Along with his embarrassment, Vader could also sense his anger, which she ignored completely; she was used to it, but it wasn’t as if she could control her presence in someone’s mind! She was just instantly there; she could hear the voices of hundreds of people at once and could barely hear her own thoughts over the headache-causing roar as soon as she walked into a large room filled with people. Unless that person is Aiden, she thought, once again thinking back to her last mission to London.

The guy’s thoughts about how he could fight his own battles nearly made Vader laugh. She could tell just by his initial thoughts that he had a big ego. Vader glanced back just in time to see the eighteen-wheeler, that belonged to the trucker, disappear from sight. Since she knew it was a trick, Vader wasn’t surprised, but the trucker sure was; he let out a startled yell, which Vader ignored as she turned back to the guy who had caused trouble in the first place. “You’re only making matters worse, please stop.” She asked politely, despite her sharp gaze. Since the trucker wasn’t going to turn around for fear of both of the mutants, nothing was really going to happen, so despite her better judgment, she let the guy have his fun, while reassuring discreetly that his truck was still there. If it got out of hand (which Vader doubted would happen), she figured she could probably fix the problem within a matter of moments, but since the truck appeared again and there was no issue worth dealing with at the moment. Vader rolled her eyes at the surge of pride that filled the guys brain, but frowned slightly at his next thought. He had decided to call her Daddy’s Girl. Her; Vader the girl who had no idea who her parents were and practically stole things for a living! Seriously? Vader thought angrily as the hand in her right pocket formed into a fist. Daddy’s Girl? Her irritation was apparent, but she decided that now was not the best time to address the situation of her current nickname, and tried focusing on getting this guy to go to the academy.

After Vader introduced herself, he replied with a distant. “It’s nice to meet you.” Which Vader didn’t feel inclined to reply to. “I’m Tobin, Tobin Abernathy, from California. It really is nice to meet you. So does this mean I can join the Institute? I mean; did you come looking for me? Or was this just some sort of an accident?” Tobin said. Vader smiled brightly, remembering what it was like to find out about the academy, of course she hadn’t been so desperate, and had been managing perfectly well on her own. “Ditto.” She replied. “And yes, it means that you can join the Academy. It’s basically open to every mutant. I didn’t come looking for you specifically, the some of the other telepaths at the Academy sensed that a mutant was in the Dallas area, and sent me to find the mutant because I lived here before going to the Academy. So no, it wasn’t an accident, well not exactly; I didn’t expect to run into you at a rest stop.” Vader finished, answering all of his questions.

Tobin wasn’t one hundred percent sure that he liked the fact that Daddy’s Girl was in his head. In fact, he was one hundred percent sure that he did not like that she could read his mind. Tobin just felted completely violated. His mind was his place. His thoughts were his own private thoughts, and no one was supposed to be able to access them. Plus, he couldn’t keep her out. There was no defense against Daddy’s Girl and her power, which Tobin had to admit was rather frustrating, but he couldn’t let that get to him. He knew what it was like to have a power that wasn’t controllable at times. That could be the thing for Daddy’s Girl, but she didn’t need to flaunt it.

“Ditto.” Daddy’s Girl replied, but Tobin she actually meant it. “And yes, it means that you can join the Academy. It’s basically open to every mutant. I didn’t come looking for you specifically, the some of the other telepaths at the Academy sensed that a mutant was in the Dallas area, and sent me to find the mutant because I lived here before going to the Academy. So no, it wasn’t an accident, well not exactly; I didn’t expect to run into you at a rest stop.” Tobin nodded as she explained how she had found him. So there wasn’t some special way they found mutants. Telepaths felt another mutant’s presence, and someone came and got them.

“Oh,” Tobin said, kind of downhearted. So he wasn’t specially wanted. “I guess I can make the time to check it out.” Tobin couldn’t let her see that he was upset, but then again, it didn’t really matter. Daddy’s Girl could read his mind, so she probably knew he wasn’t feeling wanted. “You said New York, right? How we getting there? You going to leave that beautiful BMW here and we can hop into my ‘Stang and drive the whole way. Just know there was no way I am leaving this car behind.” It was the only thing of his dad’s that he had left. She had to see that.

Vader looked around absentmindedly; the rain was lighter that it had been when she’d gotten out of the car, but the sky was still relatively dark compared to the typical sunny Texas day. “Oh,” Tobin said. “I guess I can make the time to check it out.” He was obviously disappointed and was trying to cover it up. “You said New York, right? How we getting there? You going to leave that beautiful BMW here and we can hop into my ‘Stang and drive the whole way. Just know there was no way I am leaving this car behind.” He added. Vader was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. She bit her lip upon finding a memory of Tobin’s family, instantly jealous of him. He had a family, dead or not; he had memories of them, memories of being his family.

Vader gripped her unopened water bottle tightly, her knuckles turning white as she did so. She hated not having those memories, twelve years of her life, just gone. Vader tried to remember something, anything, before being on the doorstep, but there was always nothing; black nothingness. To Vader the lack of memory felt like she hadn’t lived until four years ago, but she knew that wasn’t the case; she still knew things, stuff she’d learned in school, but there was no memory of learning those things, she just knew them. A flash of pity for Aiden filled her, he was having to deal with her lack of memories. His best friend didn’t know him, couldn’t remember him. You were his best friend, and you can’t remember him. She reminded herself, she believed him now, but she didn’t believe it was just a coincidence that they’d met in London, that he’d been the mutant she’d been looking for. No, there was no way that was a coincidence, but then again…

Vader blinked, coming out of her thoughts quickly. “Fine. We’re normally supposed to fly back, but if you really want to take the car, I guess it’s ok. Well, it’s ok as long as you don’t listen to screamo or rap and don’t turn the music up really loud.” Vader said stiffly, still recovering from her thoughts. She didn’t really know why it had hit her again just then, it had been happening a lot more frequently now that she was at the Academy and talking to Aiden. Vader sucked in a shaky breath that was nearly inaudible through the rain. “I’m going to get my stuff then.” Vader said, quickly walking to her car and opening the door. She grabbed her dark green messenger bag that held her laptop and stuff and then yanked her car charger out of the cigarette lighter. She tucked the key in the sun visor, thinking that some random person would take it out for a joyride and then get busted for stealing it. She hadn’t signed any papers for the car so she didn’t own it legally. With a small sigh Vader shut the car door and walked over to where she’d been standing, stuffing her car charger in the front pocket of her bag as she walked.

Something that Tobin said affected Vader; he could tell. He wondered what that was. All he had wanted to do was to drive his car to the Institute. She didn’t have to come with him. He was a big boy and could get there on his own. As it was, this drive would be pretty awkward as Vader would be able to read his mind the entire way there. That was not something Tobin thought he wanted to deal with for hours on end, but then again, he was going to an Institute that housed a lot of mutants, some of them probably shared the same power as Vader which meant that Tobin would have to deal with this issue eventually. It was better to deal now with how uncomfortable it made him rather than having to deal when there was a whole gang of people reading his thoughts. Besides, it wasn’t fair of him to dislike her because of her ability because he hated it when people did that. Still, if she didn’t let him take his car, things would be different.

Tobin smiled as Vader answered, “Fine. We’re normally supposed to fly back, but if you really want to take the car, I guess it’s ok. Well, it’s ok as long as you don’t listen to screamo or rap and don’t turn the music up really loud.” There was no need to blast the girl into oblivion, then, or to try and run away. Tobin was really good at staying hidden, but he had never had to hide from someone who could read his mind just by being close to him. Vader said something that sounded like “I’m going to get my stuff then.” Tobin didn’t really hear her. He was on his way to his car, and when he looked up for Vader, he saw that she was indeed grabbing her stuff. He opened the trunk of his car and made room for her things.

“You don’t have to worry,” he told her. “I don’t like screamo, and I enjoy some rap. I won’t turn any of it on, though, because you asked me to.” Moving to the driver’s side door, Tobin slid into the car. Pulling out his keys from his pants pocket, he put the key in the ignition and turned the engine over, starting the car. “Well,” he said as the car engine revved. “Are we getting out of here, or what?”