• A heavy storm of rain had fallen earlier in the evening, drenching everything and everyone in that had gotten caught in the downpour. The passing storm and the fallen rain were dampening the scents and various smells of Bayville’s lesser-traveled alleyways. The echoing rumbles of distant thunderclap still thundered overhead, causing the odd sleeping body to jump and jerk subconsciously at the sound. It was this jumping and jerking of several bodies pressed against her that forced Mike Blade-Xiang to stay awake, with a watchful eye over her self-imposed charges.

    The cool pale shine of the moon peers into the barely boarded up windows of the upper levels of the warehouse, slowly creeping through the sky and moving along the slumbering bodies on the building's floor. The sun's reflected light glances off of Mike's face, causing her to cringe slightly at the light.

    "How long had it been since Life was no longer a mass of confusion moving ever forward?" Mike silently, ever mindful of the dozen or so sleeping forms that slept around her. Since the first day that she'd chosen to live here with these kids, she'd always had the weaker ones either following her or seeking her protection. Tonight hadn't been any different, except maybe a new face or two added to the slowly growing number of kids.

    Honestly, Mike wasn't sure. Her life was always a jumbled mess. From the start at age seven right up to this very moment. Her life was overshadowed by her genetic differences, either by her being a mutant or the fact that she was small portion of the world's population that was a chimera. A woman born with two genetic codes imprinted in her DNA, hers and her dead and absorbed twin. It was difficult to deal with and that wasn't the end of it, she had a demonic, bestial entity inside her head. Ress, the being that was her mind and soul but a more primal and blood thirstier version. It was freaky some days to wake up and see yourself but wonder when that murderous look entered your gaze. Or when the dark, sobering thoughts that aren't your own started creeping into her head at the odd and most inopportune moments.

    It was hard for Mike to deal with but she was dealing with it, in the only way she could. She would use her talents and curse to protect these kids and make sure that no one messed with what was hers. This was something both Mike and Ress agreed on, they enjoyed protecting others, even if Ress was willing to step over the line to do it. For the moment, she was protecting the sleeping place of her charges while they slept. This was hard to do at time because of her healing factor's need to shutdown her body on the seventh day of activity for a period of twenty-four hours, this left her kids unprotected for an entire day. She was starting to figure out a way for her to be able to tend her waking hours by sleeping or resting for four hours day. It wasn't working very well, it was only cutting her coma period by a few minutes. At least she was trying.

    Perking up slightly at the rustling sound not far from her left, Mike sniffs the air and huffs in disgust at the whiff of rodent. The only problem with residing in the warehouse with the kids was the rats. She hated rats but at least here in Bayville, they were normal size and not the small dog version from New York. Mike swallows the quaking shiver at the thought of her first encounter with an overgrown rodent.

    Leaning back against the wall she'd propped herself up against, Mike casts a roaming eye over her group and nods at the sight of a dozen bodies laying intertwined on the floor of the warehouse. A twinge of aching need surges through her, she missed this. She missed protecting, she missed guarding others. With a quiet "Sleep well." Mike leans against the wall, her head resting heavily against it and she sighs a full body, soul cleansing sigh and forces her body to rest for a few hours until her charges awaken.

    The cool pale shine of the moon peers into the barely boarded up windows of the upper levels of the warehouse, slowly creeping through the sky and moving along the slumbering bodies on the building's floor. The sun's reflected light glances off of Mike's face, down the woman's body to her hands lovingly cradling protectively around her charges. Silver light hits silver metal, lighting up for a brief instance the rings on Mike's fingers, allowing the moon's face to read the words 'Protector" on one and 'Guardian' on the other before continuing on its night path.