A Rogue's Tale

Escape Clause: Part 7

They were on the road for days but they finally made it to Philadelphia and showed up at Bruno's aunt's door. Karen Mobley was a mutant herself. She was a healer and worked as a nurse at the local hospital. In all her years as a nurse, hardly any of her patients died. She could heal minor ailments, even what would have been fatal gunshot wounds, but when it came to diseases like cancer or diabetes, the best she could do was alleviate their pain.

She had just gotten home after coming off a double shift, and all she wanted to do was relax but a knock came at her door. She thought it was a little odd seeing that she was not expecting any guests, and all her friends knew to call ahead before dropping by.

She was still in her nurse's uniform when she got up and answered the door. When she opened it, she was shocked to see who it was. "Hey, Aunt Karen."

"Bruno," she said in a surprised tone. "Sweetie, what are you doing here?"

"Runnin' away... well... sort of," he said, and she noticed there was a girl with him. She looked sad but relieved that they had made it there. "This is my girlfriend, Tara. Can we crash here for a while?"

"Maybe," she said and let them in. "First, you tell me why you left Mississippi." He came in and sat down on the couch with Tara by his side. "I'll make some tea and then we'll talk."

After a few minutes, Karen came back in the room carrying her tea service. She poured a cup for each of them. Bruno took his straight, not really liking the taste of tea. He would rather have coffee or a beer, but Aunt Karen didn't annoy drinking in her house. Tara took an extra two lumps of sugar, feeding her insatiable sweet tooth.

"So, what is this all about?" Karen asked.

"This," Bruno said and conjured a swirl of water in his hand. He formed it into the shape on one of her silver teacups.

"Oh, my," she said and put her hand on her chest. A smile was forming on her face, and at that moment he realized that he had made the right decision in coming here. "Does your mother know?"

"Yeah, and she thought it was best I come here. See, something happened in Mississippi with a friend of ours and Tara thought it best if we split."

"So, is Tara...?" Karen asked not able to finish the question and pointing at his nephew's girlfriend.

"Show her, Tar," Bruno said but Tara was reluctant. "It's okay, my aunt's cool." Tara nodded and stood up and took off her jacket. Her wings unfolded and spread out. Karen gasped at the sight of her wings that were a dark gray at the tip and faded to a light gray almost off white towards the bottom. They were transparent and looked to have a personality of their own.

Karen had always believed in fairies since she was a little girl, but this is the closest she gotten to see one up close, or at least a close facsimile. Tara's wings contracted and she put her jacket back on and sat back down next to Bruno. "When did they start... for both of you?"

"A few days for me," Bruno said and then looked over to Tara.

"Well, I've been having back pain on and off for months, and then just tonight this happened. They just came out. My mom freaked, so I kind of flew out the window."

"Then the two of you came here," Karen said. She hadn't touched her tea. She was too stunned. That last thing she was expecting was two mutant teenagers at her door, one of them her own nephew.

"So, can we crash here?" Bruno asked.

"Yes, just for tonight," she said, getting up out of her set and fiddling with the drapes. They were usually closed, not wanting the neighbors to see anything they shouldn't, but Bruno guessed his aunt was being careful, especially because of Tara. He could easily hide his powers, but Tara couldn't. "We'll figure out something tomorrow."

Just then the phone rang. She still had a landline not having caught up with the modern tech of the cell phone. "Hello," she said distractedly. "Oh, Charles, how nice to hear from you." There was a pause. "Oh, you know." Another pause. "Yes, they're here, and you want to meet with them." A long pause. "It is up to them, but I think it will be okay."

"What's going on, Aunt Karen." Bruno asked.

She put her hand up to silence her nephew. "I'll explain it to them tomorrow and call me in the morning from your hotel." Another pause. "Alright, talk to you soon." She hung up the phone and looked straight at her guests.

"Are we in trouble?" Tara asked.

"No, dear, but I have a friend who wants to meet the two of you, tomorrow morning. He's a mutant like the two of you, and he helps young mutants like yourselves."

"Is he a doctor or something?"

"Not exactly... more of a teacher... so would you agree to meet with him. He's brought along two of his students... about your age."

"Well, okay, but...." Bruno said and trailed off. He looked over at Tara who was quite overwhelmed. "We don't agree to anything."

"There's no pressure," Karen said and finally picked up her tea and took a drink, but it was lukewarm by that time. "Just hear what he has to say."

Bruno knew exactly who that guy was. He ran a mutant school up in New York. His aunt went there when she was young and told him all about it, although his mother hoped that mutant 'curse' as she put it would not touch her son. That wish apparently didn't come true. 

To Be Continued...