[h2]A Xeno's Decision[/h2]

[color=MediumOrchid]"...and that is right about when I relocated back to you."[/color] Riley concluded, swaying back and forth on the plush sofa as she recollected what had happened less then an hour previously. The half-alien girl looked at her audience as though she expected them to applaud, even though she could tell that both of them were in no mood to do so. This was especially true for Mina, who hadn't stopped shaking since she came to the Arbalest HQ in Lost Haven despite a cup of strong tea. Her other listener, Hoxton, continued to sit there in silent contemplation, going over the details of the day's events in his head. They should have been securing themselves in a back room at this point, but because the lower levels of Arbalest had been pulled out to deal with security threats across town, no one was there to see her so the three of them decided to have their talk in the common room outside of the 'barracks'. The only other person Riley had seen was a younger looking man, fast asleep in front of the TV on the other end of the room, whom Hoxton had said could be trusted 'on the million to one chance that the wanker wakes up'. So there they were, crouched around a coffee table, sheltered from the dangers of Lost Haven as the panic rolled on. There was a palpable silence that hung in the air for what felt like years, punctuated only by the muffled snores of the sleeping man, before Mina set down her cup with a soft clinking sound and took a deep breath.

"Riley..." she began cautiously, clearly trying not to raise her voice higher then a whisper. "What you did was...really dangerous. If anything had...[i]happened [/i]to you, or god forbid if you were [i]seen[/i]-"

[color=MediumOrchid]"They might have found us," [/color]Riley mumbled, hanging her head in shame. [color=MediumOrchid]"I know you are upset with me, but I...I could not..."[/color]

"If it's any consolation," Hoxton suddenly interjected, his strong Sheffield accent edging itself roughly into the emotional conversation. "This was probably the best night for you to do something like that." Mina and Riley both looked at the Arbalest guard with incredulity and confusion, respectively, prompting Hoxton to explain further. "Well, look at what's happening in the news right now. Every city worth mentioning has a great bloody dome overhead and a riot underneath it, why would anyone give notice to a mugging gone right?"

"That's...a good point actually," Mina mused. "And considering that the domes are giving people powers, you could have easily been, um, mistaken for a superpower-gifted good Samaritan, or something."

[color=MediumOrchid]"A...sa-mair-a-ten?"[/color] Riley repeated, sounding lost. She would have to look that up later.

"Point being, you lot could parade through Little Ulster flinging dumpsters around and those wankers wouldn't notice a thing." Hoxton concluded over top of them before gesturing around the tidy little common room. "Hell, you could have tried to break into HERE and nobody would be any wiser, what with all the nonsense going on."

"Darrow can be pretty thorough," Mina suggested in a dark tone.

"Well considering you fooled them into thinking there was a freak accident I think they have a few holes in their system. Yes, I know about what happened," Hoxton added hurriedly at the horrified expressions on the girl's faces at this revelation. "Jordan filled me in before you lot got here. Some of the other top guys know you came here but me and Smokey are the only ones who know all the details."

"Does...does that include WHAT she is?" Mina said accusingly, prompting an eyebrow raise from Hoxton.

"Um, I think she was your friend? I mean I'm perfectly okay if you two swing tha-"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Hoxton as he nearly jumped out of his seat in shock, staring at Riley for the first time since he met her. Mina jumped out of her seat as well once she realized what had happened, banging her shins into the coffee table in the process.

"Riley!" she gasped with tears of pain in her eyes. "Turn your suggestion back on, you don't-!"

[color=MediumOrchid]"Miss Mina, he helped us!"[/color] Riley pleaded, lowering her hoodie to reveal all her features after dropping the psychic suggestion that she had been emanating since she got to Lost Haven. [color=MediumOrchid]"If Mr. Hoxton is brave enough to protect us, we should not be keeping him out of light."[/color]

"It's...k-keeping him in the dark, Riley," Mina stuttered, unable to find a decent counterargument besides correcting her tenuous grasp on English. Riley simply gave a pointed nod and turned back to look at Hoxton, who was of course still very shocked and confused about what all of this meant. Underneath that though, Riley could feel the concern that he had shown for their safety. She didn't know where it came from, but it was genuine and it told her that she could trust this man to know the truth.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Mr. Hoxton,"[/color] she began in her usual lighthearted tone, though it was tempered ever so slightly by caution. [color=MediumOrchid]"I am... well, I am not human like you or Miss Mina. I was a lab experiment made by a very bad man, and we are escaping from the people who created me."[/color]

There was, again, a palpable silence as Hoxton stood there, thinking hard. Riley could sense the cogs turning in his head over all of this as she hoped against hope that she did the right thing by telling him this. Finally, Hoxton dropped back onto the couch with a defeated thud, running a hand through his short brown hair.

"Well that explains all the hush-hush about this operation," Hoxton said, sounding exhausted like he had just finished a marathon. "Bloody hell...are you some kind of alien or-?"

"Half-alien," Mina said bluntly. "Riley's a hybrid of human and alien genetics, to put it as simply as I possibly can."

"Well that explains the powers. Fuck me, I thought you got those abilities from a lab accident or something," Hoxton muttered towards the ceiling as he leaned back in the sofa.

[color=MediumOrchid]"I-I understand if you do not want to help..."[/color]

"Did I say I wanted out?" Hoxton retorted, almost sounding offended at the suggestion. "Bugger that! I didn’t come down with the last shower, miss. I've been with this company for a good year now and I've seen a lot of weird things like you around this city in that time. No offense, of course."

[color=MediumOrchid]"None taken,"[/color] Riley said, somewhat relieved that he seemed to be taking all of this in good spirit. [color=MediumOrchid]"So can we trust you and the other people in Arbalest with knowing this?"[/color] Riley already knew the answer of course, but she was hoping that Hoxton would say it aloud for Mina's sake.

"Trust is how we work here at Arbalest," Hoxton replied with a cocky grin. "That's how we keep people safe. Gotta hang together or we'll all hang separately, that's the saying isn't it?"

[color=MediumOrchid]"I wouldn't know, I DID come down with the last shower."[/color] Riley said with rather silly grin. Mina gave a slight giggle at the attempted joke while Hoxton smiled appreciatively. Riley really didn't know exactly what the phrase about the hanging meant, but she got the general meaning behind it. They had to trust one another. Riley liked that thought. It was comforting knowing that there would be someone by your side that you could trust, someone to help you through the bad times. Like how Mina rescued Riley from Darrow. Or how Riley saved that man from those bad people earlier.

"It's getting late," Mina commented with a stifled yawn, checking her phone on the table. "I think I need to get to bed before I pass out. Again." Riley sheepishly looked away.

"Yeah, I need to let Smokey know that we're all holed up here anyway," Hoxton said, getting to his feet and straightening out the lapels on his suit. "There's a room set up for you two down the hall, three doors to the left."

[color=MediumOrchid]"Can I look at the television instead?" [/color]Riley asked earnestly. [color=MediumOrchid]"I am not all that tired, Mina says it is because I do not need to sleep as often as other people do."[/color]

"Mental powers, teleportation, AND you don't need to sleep? Where were you when we needed a night guard a week ago?" Hoxton said with an appreciative laugh. "Sure, go ahead and watch what you want. Just keep it quiet, Sokol gets cranky if you wake him up and his hockey game isn't on." Riley looked over at "Sokol", the young man who was still resting peacefully in front of the blinking white screen, and gave a curt little nod.

[color=MediumOrchid]"I will be quiet as a...thing that is quiet!"[/color] Riley exclaimed softly.

"Church mouse works fine, use that," Hoxton suggested with a laugh. "Alright then, you two get comfortable, I'll be back shortly to stand guard." As Hoxton left to make his phone call, Riley found her attention drawn to the television that "Sokol" had been watching, wondering what this hockey thing that he mentioned was. She was just about to crawl over the back of the couch to get to the television before Mina made a slight coughing noise to get her attention.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Miss Mina?"[/color] Riley said, kneeling with one leg awkwardly draped over the back of the couch. Mina looked back at her, unsure of whether to keep frowning or crack a smile at the amusing position that she was in. Opening and closing her mouth a few times as she pondered her words, Mina gave an exasperated sigh and started small.

"H-hell of a day, wasn't it?"

[color=MediumOrchid]"Oh yes, it was a very hell day,"[/color] Riley mused. [color=MediumOrchid]"But we got here safely, so I guess things turned out well enough, even if I almost got us caught."[/color]

"Funny you mentioned that, actually," Mina began, anxiously rubbing her left forearm with her right hand. "I wanted to...talk to you about what you did earlier..." 

[color=MediumOrchid]"I am still deeply sorry for what I did,"[/color] Riley said, instinctively diving into an apology at the mention of her heroics earlier. [color=MediumOrchid]"I know that we are trying to go into hiding, so I promise I will make every effort to-"[/color]

"No no, stop apologizing, please," Mina interrupted her. "I don't want you to say you're sorry for what you did back there."

Riley blinked, perplexed by her request. [color=MediumOrchid]"But Miss Mina, if I was caught-"[/color]

"I'm not talking about, uh, exposing yourself and risking us getting found by Darrow, Riley," Mina explained, struggling to place each word correctly. "I, er, mean what you went away to do. You know...you know how said you saved someone from being hurt, right?"

[color=MediumOrchid]"Uh huh, there were bad men that were going to hurt someone, and I stopped them. Why?"[/color]

"Well...oh why is this so hard to explain," Mina said with exasperation, trying to rub the sleepiness from her eyes. Riley stood up from the sofa, closed her eyes, then reopened them. Mina gave a slight start at the sight of the purple light emanating from them, something she never quite got used to.

[color=MediumOrchid]"You do not want me to think that saving that man was the wrong thing to do."[/color] Riley stated, the light dying down in her eyes as she finished her 'read'. Mina smiled, thankful that her half-alien experiment...no, her half-alien friend...had the ability to understand her in a way most other people couldn't. It made it easier when she stumbled and couldn't find the right words to say. [color=MediumOrchid]"But...I do no understand,"[/color] Riley continued, sound a bit lost. [color=MediumOrchid]"We were supposed to be hiding, did I not endanger our lives when I-"[/color]

"Riley, forget about the fact that a big scary corporation might be coming after us for just ONE second!" Mina said in exasperation, grabbing hold of both of Riley's shoulders as she spoke. "Do you remember WHY you went to help that man?" Riley paused, thinking back to how she felt when she was in the car, how she felt the fear of the city pressing in on her, how when she felt that man's desperate plea for help, she couldn't stand idly by anymore.

[color=MediumOrchid]"H-he was scared,"[/color] Riley finally recalled. [color=MediumOrchid]"I wanted to help him. To save him, just like...I saved you." [/color]

Mina gently pulled Riley into a hug so she would notice the tears welling in her eyes. "R-Riley, this world that you got thrown into...it can be a scary place, sometimes. There will be bad people out there, and bad things that will happen to good people, and sometimes it's not easy to make the right choices. But this big scary world needs people like you, Riley. People who look at the clouds and fight to see the sun again."

[color=MediumOrchid]"Is...is that a metaphor?"[/color]

"Yeah, pretty much," Mina chuckled, pulling apart from Riley and looking at her with kindness twinkling in her eyes. "What I'm trying to say is... don't ever let this world change who you are. No matter what anyone in this crazy, messed-up place we call home says, follow your heart and fight for what you believe in. In short, just...don't ever stop being Riley, okay?"

Riley nodded, giving her biggest smile yet. [color=MediumOrchid]"I'll do the best I can, Miss Mina!"[/color]

"I never had any doubt about that," Mina said, stifling another yawn. "Well, I'd better get to bed now. Maybe tomorrow we can talk about what to do when Jordan finally gets here. G'night Riley."

And with another quick hug, Mina Seidel vanished into the back room to retire for the evening, leaving Riley with a lot more to think about then that weird game Sokol was watching. [i]Don't ever stop being Riley[/i], Mina had said. But what made her Riley, exactly? She wanted nothing more then to help other people, but what did that make her? What WAS Riley?

Then it hit her. Riley's eyes lit up in glee as the answer came to her in a in a spark of brilliance. Words echoed through her head, not her own or Mina's but the words of a young man, bruised and bloodied, lying in an alleyway after he was saved by the strange girl with the glowing purple eyes.

[i]"You're...you're one of them, aren't you? One of the superheroes."[/i]

Riley's eyes were drawn east, to where the sun would appear from behind the horizon the next day, piercing through the clouds. She clenched her fist in determination as she followed her heart and made her fateful decision.

[color=MediumOrchid]"Yes...I am a superhero!"[/color]