Heroes and Villains

7 - The mutants live below

I allow the Foreseer (I really need to start calling her Yumi) to go in before I do, then jump down, landing on all fours.

Both Jensen and Yumi look at me as I stand up. Jensen smiles, shaking his head.

“She always has to give a grand entrance” He says.

“Oh, don’t complain” I say, pulling the backpack into my arms. “I know how much you like my entrances”

I hand him the bags of money I pull out of the backpack. “Sorry, it’s not much. I had to leave in a hurry”

I pointedly look at Yumi but she looks around, trying not to look guilty.

“It’s more than enough to support us for now” Jensen says. “Why don’t you come in for a little while? We still have some time before the others come back with the groceries”

I look behind at Yumi, unsure if she is welcomed in as well.

“Your friend can come along too” Jensen says, understanding my hesitation. “Just let me talk to Gideon first”

I nod, knowing it won’t be easy to convince that old monkey to accept an outsider.

“We’ll wait here” I tell him and he goes ahead through the sewers.

I turn my attention back to Yumi and am disappointed when I notice the disgusted look she has on her face as she looks around. She really is a princess.

“You’re never going to be a hero if you’re scared to get dirty” I say and she turns to me, slightly offended.

“Do you bathe in dirt often?” She asks.

“Of course, I do” I say, touching my face with both hands. “Haven’t you noticed how smooth my skin is?”

“You’re really something…” She comments.

“Well, someone has to be the comic relief” I say. “Listen… You can’t tell anyone about this, ok?”

She looks at me and for once I wish I could see her face through the white mask.

“I took a big risk bringing you down here” I continue. “These people depend on me. They are innocent and they are in constant danger because your company wants to see what makes them tick”

She looks down as I say this. “I know… And… I am sorry”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s not your fault. I know” I say. “Just promise me something, alright?”

She looks intrigued at me. “Yes?”

“Whatever you do, however you can, just… Try to change things, ok?” I start, suddenly a little embarrassed to be asking this of her. “You, more than anyone else, can make a huge difference if you know who to really fight for”

There is a moment of silence between us while she takes in what I just said. Then, she surprises me when she approaches me and raises her pinky finger towards me.

“Uh…” I mumble, unsure what she wants me to do with her pinky.

“Place your pinky intertwined in mine” She tells me and I do so, still unsure what this whole thing means.

“I promise I will do everything in my power to help you and your fellow mutants” She says, shaking her hand, and pulling mine along the way, and breaking our pinky entanglement.

“Is this a Japanese thing too?” I ask. “Or are you just weird?”

“My father taught me” She says. “He… Was very important to me”

“As all fathers are” I say, wishing I could remember who my father is.

“His death made me realize the injustices of the real world” She says. “I want to change it”

“And you thought becoming the Foreseer was the best way to do it?” I ask, trying not to sound too mocking.

She has a lot more power as Yumi Hamato than as the Foreseer.

“Yes” She simply answers. “You may not understand my decision, but no one has ever taken me seriously because of… My condition”

“Because you’re blind?” I ask, astonished.

She nods, confirming my words.

“Girl, trust me, it doesn’t matter if you’re blind” I tell her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “You see the world as it really is. You see clearer than anyone else around you”

She smiles timidly and I smile back, even though I know she can’t really see it.

“Kitty Girl…” She calls out once I remove my hands from her shoulders.

“Right, I never really told you my real name” I say. “It’s Michelle, but call me Mia”

“Mia…” She corrects. “Once we return… I would like you to come to visit my home”

“Your home?” I ask, surprised at her request.

“Yes” She states.

“Why would I do that?” I ask. “You live at the Hamato facilities. I can’t go there. It’s suicide”

“It’s true we are currently living in the mansion next to the facilities, but…” She continues. “If I am going to change anything there, I will need your help”

“I don’t see how I of all people can help you with any of that” I say. “I’m a stripper. I live downtown. Currently, I am the only mutant who can shift to human at will. If your company gets their hands on me, I can’t imagine the horror”

“Please…” She insists. “I… Have no one else to talk to about this sort of things”

Ah, so she is the type of princess who has no friends.

“Right…” I say, looking closely at her demeanor. She is insecure about her request. Even if she could see me, I know she would be avoiding my eyes right now. She is gripping her hands in one another as if that will hold her together.

“Fine” I finally state. “I’ll go there, but you’re gonna have to help me with the security”

She beams at my acceptance. She looks like a toddler after I tell her she can have a lollipop.

“Thank you!” She says and I brace myself for a bear hug but it never comes. I guess she is not that kind of princess.

At that moment, Jensen returns.

“Gideon has accepted your presence there, but he wants to talk to you” He tells us, looking at Yumi.

“I am willing to talk to him if that is his wish” She affirms politely.

Jensen looks at her and then at me. “Seems like we agree with each other then. I’ll have to blind fold you, though”

I laugh at the idiocy of the idea. “Don’t bother”

“But she can’t know where we’re going” Jensen objects. “Gideon’s orders”

“Dude, have you noticed her mask?” I say, pointing at Yumi’s face.

Jensen looks at Yumi again and for the first time seems to notice he can’t see her eyes through the mask because they are completely covered.

“But…” He mumbles, confused. “She can see?”

“She can and can’t” I say. “It’s complicated. But blindfolding her is useless. Let’s just go”

This time, I am the one who walks ahead. Jensen quickly runs after me, leaving Yumi slightly behind.

“Are you sure about this?” He whispers. “Do you trust her?”

I look back at Yumi as she quietly follows us through the smelly sewers.

“Yes” I answer Jensen. “And you can too. She’s going to help us”

Jensen still looks a little unsure but lets it go for now. We continue our way through the sewer tunnels until we reach a metal wall. Jensen steps up and knocks at the metal in a specific way.

Seconds later, we hear wheels turning and the metal wall goes up, causing dust to fall around us from the brick walls.

I cough from the dust. “Man, I’ll never get used to this”

As I cough, I am suddenly thrown to the ground by what seems to be a hoard of little monsters. Just kidding. They’re the young mutant kids who live at the lair.

“Kitty!” Cora, a little girl with bunny ears shouts, touching my ear as the rest of the kids assault my other ear and my tail.

“Alright, alright” Jensen says, pulling one of the kids from me. “Get off of her. Seriously, guys. It’s not like you’ve never seen a cat mutant before”

When the kids ignore him and continue assaulting my soft fur, Jensen growls gently. Almost immediately after, the kids retreat and allow me to quickly get back up and adjust my clothes, feeling slightly violated.

“Why do you always have to do that?” I mumble, still dizzy from the assault.

“Your ears are so fluffy!” Carl, a little wombat, says.

“And your tail is so soft!” Iris, a colorful macaw, says.

“Can we touch it again?” Lucy, a little beagle dog, says.

I chuckle at the kids’ energy. These kids barely look like mutants anymore due to the diluted blood. Most of them have only little signs of their heritage, like some feathers or fur here and there, little ears and tails, or even greenish colored skin in the case of the reptiles.

Maxie, a little turtle pulls at my tail. “Ow!” I shout, holding my tail close to me.

“That’s it, you miscreants” Jensen says. “Go back to your mothers. And that means you too, Milo”

He kisses the little red panda in his arms and puts him down, allowing him to run along with the other kids back into the lair.

Yumi has remained silent all this time and I am starting to wonder if this is too much for her. She has never seen so many mutants in the same place before. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought her here.

“Sorry about that” Jensen tells me. “Let’s move along. Gideon is waiting to talk to you”

As Jensen leads the way into the lair, I look at Yumi and notice she is taking everything in, observing all the scents, sights, and noises.

The lair isn’t much at first sight, it’s the people that turn this place into a home. These are the typical brick sewer walls, but the mutant kids have gotten them filled with drawings throughout the generations.

With what they manage to buy and collect, rooms, and little houses were made to accommodate the families, but everyone lives as a community down here. Essentially, a big family.

The ceiling in this area of the sewers is taller and wider than the rest of the sewers. I think they told me once that this was where the water currents converged but have long since dried after the tunnels started converging elsewhere.

The smell isn’t pleasant but one gets used to it after a while. They managed to get light lamps throughout the lair, so they can always see where they’re going. There is no sunlight down here.

She seems wondered at all of this. Wondered at how such a place exists beneath everything she ever knew was real.

“Are you ok?” I ask her.

“Yeah, it’s just…” She says, but can’t finish her sentence as she suddenly grips her head and gasps in pain.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask, rushing to her.

She continues grasping her head, mumbles of pain coming out of her mouth in sobs. Then, she suddenly collapses and I only have enough time to grab her before her head hits the ground.

“What’s wrong with her?” Jensen asks as a crowd of mutants gathers around us, lured by Yumi’s sobs of pain.

“I don’t know” I answer sincerely. I really have no idea what just got into her.

Scaring the s**t out of me, she suddenly gasps and sits up, visibly shaking.

“Yumi?” I ask, still shocked at what just happened. “Are you ok? What happened?”

She turns her attention to me and I know she isn’t looking at me, even if she could see me. She is plainly troubled by what just happened to her.

“This place…” She mumbles, still shaking.

I hold her shoulders to try to calm down her nerves. “This place what?”

Reacting to my touch, she clings to my arms with both hands, hurting me when her nails stab my skin.

“This place is going to get destroyed”