She frowned slightly. Did he mean the one where she found out that there were mutants living in the city? The last place that she recalled him telling her about, she had been in a lot of pain and couldn't remember a single thing about it. So why on earth would he want to bring her here? She opened her mouth to speak, but just then Daniel spoke.
"Are you guys hungry? I brought food."
Alex shot him a grateful smile.
"Thanks, buddy."
He walked ahead of them toward a small store nearby that sold fruits and vegetables.
When they reached the store and entered it, Daniel immediately took one of the fruits that was sitting on display and started munching on it loudly, completely ignoring the curious looks he was receiving from the store owner. Pexy followed closely behind Alex and Daniel as the trio made their way towards the fruit section.
"Why do you two keep buying food?" She asked them. "We can easily eat whatever we find here."
"Well, obviously we can afford to buy our groceries now, but still, sometimes I enjoy eating healthy food," Daniel explained with a shrug. "Besides, it gives me energy and it keeps us warm at night."
She looked at Alex who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Don't mind him, Pexy. You just sit down anywhere, and whatever you choose is fine with me."
She nodded her head and took a seat next to Daniel who had taken a chair right next to the fruits display. Daniel placed the fruit that he held directly beside him, and Alex sat down next to him.
After picking out several different varieties of fruit that had a variety of textures and tastes, she began eating. Soon, they had finished their meal and Daniel had ordered some coffee while Alex and Pexy continued their discussions about the things that she wanted to discuss regarding the meeting. However, she didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. She kept glancing at the door that led to the parking garage, and then at the exit that lead outside. She wanted to get home before midnight. She couldn't allow anyone to see her leaving or entering the building. Although that was difficult since most of the time she spent outside in the daylight hours, it was still safer to stay in the shadows than to go out during the day. That was also why she had chosen not to take a taxi to where she had agreed to meet Dan. Even though it wasn't that far from the hotel, the fact that the car wouldn't start was enough to remind her of the consequences she'd encounter the minute they crossed paths. She could easily imagine the type of reaction that she would receive if someone caught sight of a mutant walking down the sidewalk. Especially since this was a public building.
Pexy sighed deeply.
This whole situation had started because of her father. If she hadn't met him and he hadn't met her mother, then maybe things would have ended a lot differently. They both probably would have died long ago had her father not taken it upon himself to track down her mother and try to force her to turn over the money in exchange for peace with her former captors. Her mother had been a fighter back then, and it must have been her spirit that was the reason why her father had been able to persuade her to give in. The two of them were stubborn individuals, and it had only taken them a few weeks before they realized that no amount of persuasion was going to change their daughter's mind. The moment her mother learned that her father had found out where her mother was hiding, her resolve broke apart completely, and she gave everything in order to free herself. It wasn't until a couple days later that it finally hit her what she had done, and she begged forgiveness for what she had done. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Her father had given in to his anger and hurt and sent her off to prison for life. It was the same for her mother, though; she had tried to get out before they found her. And that was when they had finally met her brother. She hoped that he wasn't involved in this mess as well, but she knew better than to believe anything else anymore. Everything about her life had gone downhill ever since that day that her father had discovered the truth about her mother and forced her to turn over the money that they had used to raise her as he demanded it.
Suddenly feeling tired, she stretched her arms above her head while closing her eyes.
"I'll just rest my eyes for a minute," she muttered before leaning against Alex and letting her eyelids fall shut, falling asleep almost instantly.
As soon as she fell unconscious, Alex gently shook her awake, smiling fondly as he did so. She blinked her eyes open slowly and gave him an unamused glare.
"I'm getting tired of everyone calling me'sleepyhead' and telling me to take care of myself!"
He chuckled lightly.
"Sorry about that." He placed an arm around her shoulders in order to support her. "But seriously, you need to wake up soon so we can leave."
She groaned quietly before pulling herself away from him.
"You know it's weird that I haven't seen any of the other mutants, right? Not even Mr. Davenport has told us anything yet, and they're supposed to be all arriving tonight!"
"Yeah, they'll show up eventually, don't worry."
A moment later Daniel joined them, and they started walking again.
"By the way Pexy, are you sure that you don't need anything? I think the store keeper said something about fresh fruit in case you get hungry."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Fresh fruit?! I haven't eaten anything since yesterday! No one knows when I will eat again..."
She stopped talking abruptly, realizing that they were approaching the restaurant. After giving Daniel another warning glance, she turned towards Alex.
"You've heard what the store keeper had said. You know that we don't need anything, Alex! Now please stop wasting your own money like that!"
He raised his hands in defense.
"All right, all right. But, really, we don't have anything for you."
Her jaw clenched as she turned around and walked inside the restaurant.
Chapter 12
Pexy stood next to the door as Alex pushed it open. She waited patiently for him to walk through first before following him inside. When she entered the main restaurant area, she spotted him right away.
Dan and Pexy were seated at one table while Alex had managed to grab a table near the window and Pexy was seated between him and a waitress. The waitress took their orders for their drinks, and Daniel turned around to face Pexy after they were served with their drinks.
"So, did you manage to get in touch with those friends of yours and inform them what happened, or should we have waited until tomorrow morning to tell them about your arrival in Metropolis?"
Pexy shook her head.
"No thanks. Don't bother informing them now, anyway. They might not come to the city at all."
Daniel frowned worriedly as he glanced over towards Alex. Alex had begun drinking his soda, so he decided not to say anything more. For the next few minutes, nobody said anything as they continued eating and sipping on their drinks. Suddenly, a loud roar startled them, making them flinch. Immediately, they looked around to see what the noise was. All of a sudden, someone came crashing through the large glass doors at the end of the restaurant. Several heads whipped around and all the customers quickly got up out of their seats, staring at the person that had just barged into the restaurant like an angry elephant coming straight to them. A big guy, wearing a suit, strode up towards one of the tables, glaring angrily at each and every one of the people sitting inside.
"What the hell is going on?!"
The restaurant manager had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, seemingly out of thin air. His expression was stern, and his brows formed a dark