"I'm escaping this world

one step at a time

but all I need first

is a partner in crime" - J.H.

 

Laughter and posh lectures one with another. Gentlemen in suits and ladies in dresses. The environment felt elegant and suffocating in this venue, at least for the seven year old Giotto. He looked adorable in his little suit, at least that’s what everyone said as his father showed him off. His father was the chief of security of the city, wealthy, handsome, widower, everything and anything Giotto could care less of. His most popular trait was his hatred and fear against mutants, beings with supernatural abilities that could surpass animal and machine. The city both feared them and revered them, it was a dividing side. But being a small minority they would only stand out every so often in the news. What his father would never know was that his own son was a mutant with developing powers. Another rub to the head, causing his hair to get messed up caused Giotto to groan and sneak away, away from the strong smelling perfumes and out a door that led to the outside for fresh air, the back parking lot barely lit up by a street lamp and decorated with a few garbage cans. “Stupid party, stupid stuff, stupid dad.” Giotto muttered under his breath as he got his hands in his pockets and kicked around a rock. He hated social events like this. Not only was he ignored, he was used as an item to show off. “Stupid!” He kicked the rock again.

Giotto stared at Jesse and then looked down. He had a point. "Right...sorry." Giotto said. Jesse was right. Besides, Giotto had no right to play god and take away someone's life. He could only try to save it. "Then go ahead and find this doctor. Otherwise I'll be forced to go to the swamp and find myself some leeches to keep the kid from having an infection." Giotto said as he knelt back down and made sure to keep the straw still. "Alright kid. I want you to tell me everything you know about them. Any schedule. Where is your family shop located at. Everything and anything. We're going to get you some help, and I promise you that we're going to do something about to skulls to avoid them from hurting your family. Tell me everything. Anything you can tell me about them." Giotto said, insisting and refusing to let the kid rest. "Johnny, calm Mimi down, please..." Giotto asked, as gently as he could, even though his tone started to resemble much like his father's when he was losing his own patience.

Jesse rubbed the back of his head. He gave the kid one final glance before heading for the basement window. "I'll be quick." With that, he left.

The boy struggled to get more breaths in. "Bakery..." He muttered. He kept taking minutes in order to breathe and do get the energy to speak. He just wanted to close his eyes and let fate take its course. "Mer...cer.... Street.... Night..."

Johnny looked on in pity for a few minutes. "Hey, let the kid rest. He can barely talk." Johnny sighed and decided to do what Giotto asked. He closed the door and Mimi's silent cries died down as she fell asleep.

About fifteen minutes passed and Jesse called Giotto's cell phone. "I'm outside." Jesse muttered. "Bring the kid out. There's a car waiting for him."

Giotto took a mental note of the address he was given. Bakery at Mercer Street, at night, at least that's what he could figure out. He would insert that into the database to make it look over next time he was around. He answered the phone and quickly put it away. He didn't even ask Johnny for help. "Alright kid, this might hurt a bit." Giotto said as he picked him up and slumped him over his own body, blood getting everywhere on himself. He hurried to the window and as gently as possible for the current situation, pulled and pushed him through it and out. He carried the kid to the street side, where he saw the car, Jesse next to it. He would be lying if he didn't say that the scene alone was the most suspicious scene he had ever seen so far. He carried the kid over to Jesse and the car. "Here he is. He's getting weaker by the minute, though."

The boy quietly pleaded to not be picked up and whimpered in pain as he was picked up. Once Giotto got to the car, a black SUV, Jesse quickly opened the car door and helped Giotto get the boy inside. "Get in." Jesse muttered as he quickly jumped in next to the boy to make sure he would be okay. In the front of the car driving was a young woman with long snow white hair and yellow eyes. She looked to be more than displeased and was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were whiter than her already pale skin. Her face somewhat softened when she saw the boy in the back. "Is he okay?" She asked.

Jesse rolled his eyes and was about to retort with a sarcastic comment, but just waited for Giotto to come in the car.

Grotto got in the car, resting the kid down and making sure he kept breathing. "He's stable but I don't know for how long that will last." Grotto said as he slowly turned to Jesse. What had he done to get them a transport, to somewhere? Moreover, why didn't he just used such contacts in the first place instead of hovering over the dilemma for so long? Those questions will come later. "Jesse, who is she? What did you do or who did you talk to, exactly?" Grotto asked. He could feel that bags would start to form under his eyes. But he wee curious overall.

Jesse looked out the window idyly. The girl began to drive, immediately putting the car into gear and stomping on the paddle.

"Giotto this is Beauty. Beauty this is Giotto." Jesse muttered. There was an intense darkness loming over him like a dark cloud.

The girl, Beauty looked to Giotto through her front mirror, and also checked on the boy.

"Hey there." She said, speeding through a yellow light. She continued to check on the boy from time to time. "It's nice to meet you."

Edited May 11, 201510 yr by Aqua7KH

Giotto blinked a few times. What kind of name was that? He wouldn't ask questions. The night was getting weirder and weirder. "(There's obviously some unspoken rules I don't know about.)" Giotto thought as he gave a small nod. "Nice to meet you, Miss Night." Giotto said with a small bow of the head. He looked over at the kid. By this point he was in a state between freaking out, not knowing what the heck was going on, and just not caring if he bleed out in the car. "Jesse...what is going on? What aren't you telling me?" Giotto asked. He could notice the dark sensation around his friend. It wasn't something that he saw a lot. He usually saw the very angry side. Not the angry and scary side. "Jesse." He said again. He didn't know if he'd get a respond out of him just yet. "(Well I know one thing that will get him to pay attention to my question.)" Giotto thought. Suddenly, he grabbed Jesse by the shirt and pulled him close, kissing him right on the lips in hopes to knock him back to reality. Though to Giotto it didn't meant anything that bad, to Jesse it might finally spark him to actually do something.

(I'm actually changing the girls name to Beauty LOL Sorry I actually was going to make it Beauty to begin with but my mind farted earlier and I put Midnight because it was one of the names I was thinking about. It's not her real name btw either. It's just a nickname.)

Jesse was somewhat ignoring Giotto, only responding with a mutter and "I'll tell you later." Until Giotto suddenly took Jesse and kissed his lips. Jesse was immediately taken aback from that, and he pulled away. His face was so red it looked to be on fire. He stared at Giotto with eyes the size of dinner plates. Jesse was going to say something, but could barely make a complete sentence. "W-Wha- f***???"

Beauty raised her eyebrows at the scene. She really didn't make much of it, and found it somewhat amusing. She pulled up in the back of a building that was connected to a hospital. The building, as well as the hospital was in terrible condition from low budget in the Bronze Layer. Beauty jumped out of the car and opened the door to the back seat.

"Come on. That kid's gonna bleed out."

Giotto didn't think much about the kiss, it actually felt strange but not as strange as apparently Jesse felt it. Of course, he knew that if his dad found out, he'd get a smacking of a life time. Not because he didn't want Giotto dating a boy. But because he was afraid that he would fall in love with a boy and not get married to a girl, thus unable to provide an heir to the family business. Giotto looked at Jesse with what could be almost a smirk, his face still rather close to the kid. "Do I have your attention now? Don't tell me I stole your first kiss?" Giotto asked, teasing the young boy. His attention was cut short when they reached their destination. Giotto jumped onto his feet and held the kid by the arms, holding the only thing that kept him breathing intact. "Help me get him inside, Jesse."

Jesse was going to respond but instead he took a minute to wipe his mouth with his sleeve. His face was still as red as a tomato. "That wasn't my first kiss!" He claimed. "I used to get a lot of girls all the time. I'm not even a virgin anymore..." He muttered. It was either the truth, or a lie. Most likely a lie. Jesse jumped out of the car and began to carry the boy by his legs. As he was carrying him in Jesse muttered "Don't. Tell. Anyone." Beauty stayed behind.

Once they got into the building, most of the rooms were empty and run down. It was some kind of abandoned hospital. Jesse led Giotto down the hallway until they got to a lit up room. Inside was a tall doctor getting ready some medical equipment. He looked to the newcomers.

"Put him down on the bed." He said.

Giotto rolled his eyes. "Your face tells me otherwise." He said, chuckling before looking away. "I won't say anything. I'll keep it in my arsenal for things to tell Johnny in case I need a favor out of you." With that, Giotto helped lay the kid on the table. "You'll be alright now." Giotto told the kid, looking at Beauty. "I used the straw to help with the breathing." He mentioned, before turning to Jesse. "Now, unless you want another kiss...or more than that. Tell me what did you do?"Giotto said. Not like it was a threat.

Jesse crossed his arms. He wasn't expecting that from Giotto. Actually now that he thought about it, that was something he himself would do. That only made him realize that maybe he really was rubbing off onto Giotto. Giotto changed, and so had Jesse. Jesse only hoped he wasn't growing 'soft.' "Yeah right I know all your secrets too." He looked at the kid as he was resting, barely conscious. "I asked around..." Jesse muttered in response to Giotto's question.

Meanwhile the doctor immediately went to work. "My name is Stiles. I will do my best to help this boy." He ripped open the boy's shirt and placed his hands over the boy's chest over the lesser wounds. Stiles' hands began to glow a soft yellow color, and the boy's wounds began to close ever so slightly. "It's smart that you made that incision on his neck and used a straw to help him breathe. I think that saved his life."

(I still dunno if I should type in a German accent for Stiles LOL)

Giotto had changed his ways ever since meeting Jesse. Though he was still naive in certain areas, his perspective and mind had broaden, and he was able to see things in different lights rather than just one. He knew more than what he was meant to know. It was enlightening. He could never be more grateful of such, even if it meant to technically gain a few bad habits here and there. Giotto was about to mention something about the straw, when he saw the glow. He gasped in amazement. "You're a mutant..." Giotto whispered in awe. He watched as the doctor did his thing and by the use of his powers the minor injuries started to close up. "(What a beautiful power...)" Giotto thought. The power to heal was something easily pushed off as a miracle, even so only healing small ones and external ones due to the need of so much energy. It was amazing. This was the type of powers his mother would say that could change the world, if mutants were given a second chance. Any caught mutants were locked away in the Security Administrative building...and heaven only knows what happens to them afterwards. "Like a hero..." Giotto muttered under his breath.

Stiles chuckled as he continued to work his magic. "I'm just un man doing my job." He said with a soft smile. The boy shifted slightly in the bed, and his face softened. He looked to be much more relax and in less pain. "I provide care to mutants and other emergencies. Many mutants stopped going to hospitals because stories have emerged where some mutants go into hospitals never to return."

"Well, I have no idea if this boy is a mutant." Jesse muttered. "He got jumped by the Skulls. He didn't want to go to the hospital because he didn't want his family to pay the bills or else they won't have money to pay the Skulls."

Stiles shook his head sadly as he continued with his healing. "Yeah, she told me. The Skulls have been targeting more mutants than normal people... And lately there has been a spike in mutants being born. Most politicians still try to ignore it and say that mutants doesn't exist like they do with global warming." He said with a sigh. "Where is she?"

"She's outside in the car." Jesse muttered. "I don't know if she's coming in soon.

Giotto was about to speak up, about to mention something involving the whole mutants disappearing situation, but instead paused and bit his bottom lip. "(I remember dad speaking of something like that...all mutants found go directly to the Security Administrative Building...)" Giotto thought. The building was huge, being one of the many skyscrapers within the city, and it was the main base operation for the security of the city. The police, reports, everything that happened went through that building at least once. He wondered if maybe...there was something more going on. He was afraid to even think of looking into it. Everyone in that building knew him, the boss's only son. Access itself was restricted. "I don't get it...we're not so different..." Giotto muttered, looking at Jesse. "The Skulls are targeting mutants just for that, I bet. Mutants aren't liked in society. Some can't even control their powers as well...they're attacking them because they want to see themselves stronger when they aren't!" Giotto said, almost going into a fit, but calming himself down. "We can't just let them keep this up...if they aren't safe with the police and not safe without...there's nowhere else to go. We have to do something...!" Giotto sounded heartbroken as he said that. He knew very well how the world treated mutants. Especially the gold layer and its police. If they knew he was a mutant, they could simply avoid reporting it and leave them to their own devices...He gripped Jesse by the arm, almost in desperation as he searched for something to hold. "Jesse...you don't think my dad might be responsible for this kid's misery...right...? I know dad doesn't like mutants but...he's good...he wouldn't want innocent people hurt...?"

Jesse sighed softly and looked to the side. Honestly he didn't even know who was good and who wasn't anymore. He even heard stories of mutants killing other mutants. Jesse didn't really know what to say. Honestly it wasn't about who was the good guy now. It was about who was the lesser evil. "We can't do s*** right now..." Jesse muttered. "All we can do is try to wipe out those Skulls. And your dad isn't responsible for this. It was the Skulls who jumped him. Not our dad. So get that out of your head alright? Just don't think about it..." The dark cloud had returned.

Meanwhile Stiles signed softly at the conversation. He was finished with his healing abilities and had moved on to cleaning and stitching the wounds. He tried to change the subject. "He might be in here for a few days..." Stiles said. "After he's good enough to walk, you two should take him home. You can ask him who he is and whatnot when he's fully conscious." The boy was slipping in and out of consciousness, occasionally groaning here and there and muttering random words.

Giotto lowered his head against Jesse’s arm. The world, no, the city seemed to be starting to fall apart. At least in the Bronze Layer. Mutants were being pushed down and attacked for their powers, the Skulls were attacking both mutants and humans and threatening them with death if they weren’t given what they wished. Everything was spiraling out of control when a few days ago it seemed that everything was going pretty good. Not perfect, but better than now. Giotto separated from Jesse and looked up at Stiles, getting his arms to his side and giving a bow, to which he was used to give. “You saved his life. Thank you very much, Mr. Stiles. We will assure he gets home as soon as he is able.” Giotto said as he stood back up. It had been one hell of a night. He turned to Jesse. “Before you arrived, he told me about his family business. A Bakery on Mercer Street, at night. That’s what I got out of him. I don’t know about you, Jesse, but I’m going to check it out and keep a watch out for the Bakery. If any Skulls show up, they aren’t going to get away with hurting this kid.” Giotto said, determined. He rubbed his forehead. It was early in the morning. If he didn’t return soon, he’d be found out. “I’m going to ask Sebastian to help us…” Giotto said as he rubbed his eyes.

Jesse shook his head. At first, he really didn't care at all of what Giotto was going to do. He was just too tired and exhausted to think. But after a few moments Jesse looked at Giotto with a serious expression. "I think you should just go home and rest... We don't know the full story yet. But if you do go to that bakery, make sure you don't bump into that kid's family or something. Right now they're probably looking for him, but we can't just tell them the kid is here and is alright. If the Skulls find anything out right now it could but him, the family and us in danger. I doubt the Skulls likes it when their victim survives..."

Stiles looked over to Jesse with an eyebrow raised as Giotto thanked him. Stiles replied with a grateful "Thank you." In German, of coarse.

"You don't really seem to me as a sort of... 'Wise one." He said to Jesse with a small grin.

Jesse rolled his eyes and looked into the corner. "Whatever toaster strudel." He uttered under his breath.

"And he is extremely unskilled at racial remarks." Stiles said with a hum. He looked to Giotto. "Be careful out there ja? It's difficult to know who you can trust."

Giotto gave a small nod before giving another bow. "I will. I'll be on my way." Giotto said as he turned to Jesse. "Call me or text me if anything comes up." Giotto said. He looked down at the kid and gave a small frown before turning and leaving. "(Who I can trust...who can I trust anymore? Ever since meeting Jesse so much has happened, my eyes have opened, and I've come to realize you can't simply trust some people because someone else says they can be trusted. Dad...I can't even trust dad with this kind of info or any for that matter. If he were to find out I'd be locked in my room by a chain. He would freak out and try to find out where I've been...it's better if he doesn't know any of this.)" Giotto thought as he walked. On his way home he walked by the junkyard, where he dropped his bloodied hoodie onto the piles of clothing that would be burnt later on. The moment he got home he took a well deserved shower and headed straight to bed. Even as he was tired, his mind was plagued with the current situation. What could they do? He wanted to help. For Jesse's sake, for the sake of the rest of the mutants. But what could a kid like him do? He considered himself lucky to not get caught tonight considering how late he came back. "Mommy...I really could use your advice right now..." Giotto muttered, falling asleep with heavy thoughts. He would play investigator the next day and spy around the Bronze Layer, whether Jesse liked it or not.

Jesse gave a small nod and went back to looking at the boy. He didn't appear to actually be looking at him, but rather was in his own little world of thought. "Yeah." He muttered.

The next few days went well. The boy was in a speedy recovery. Stiles decided to discharge the boy as soon as he was stable feeling well enough to leave. Stiles needed the room for other patients, so he couldn't spend too much time on the boy. Jesse had visited for the third time that day, and was currently sitting down next to the bed as Stiles was off getting supplies. He heard the boy was fully conscious and stable, so he dropped a text to Giotto to let him know.

'The kid is awake.' He typed, watching the boy attempt to eat grapes Stiles has left for him. 'We're trying to get him to eat. Stiles wants to try to get him home today and recover at home.'

Giotto was quick to answer. 'I'm on my way, just getting finished with linguistics.' the message read. "Giotto." A voice spoke. Giotto sat up as Sebastian stood in front of him, holding out a book. "Let's give a quick recap to the introductions. Italian." Sebastian said. " Buon pomeriggio, il mio nome è Giotto, piacere di conoscerti." Giotto responded. "Latin." " Salve est nomen meum pendebat, noscere gaudeo." "Russian." "H-Hey, Ecco la prossima settimana! I mean, that's next week!" Giotto said, correcting himself quickly as Sebastian sighed. "How will you be able to speak to ambassadors and important people if you don't practice the language." Sebastian muttered. "I'm practicing. Just need time to separate the languages and all...are we done?" Giotto asked. "Yes. You're done. Remember to work on your pamphlet. Practice Italian when you can for the test." With that Sebastian stood up and closed the book. Giotto excused himself to his room, and after getting dressed in something other than a semi formal attire, he snuck out as he always did. He wore a leather jacket and a cap to cover his red hair as he had ran out of blue spray paint. He made his way across to the Bronze layer, crossing streets and almost getting run over, screaming profanities in Italian, for 'practice'. He made his way to the place, entering quietly as he greeted everyone. "Good afternoon. Buon pomeriggio." Giotto said as he walked over to Jesse and the kid. "I'm glad to see you up and awake. You excited to head home soon? Your parents will be so happy to see you." Giotto said. He had investigated the place and the Bronze layer as he had promised...but not a single lead had come up.

Jesse wasn't expecting the sudden arrival of Giotto. He expected Giotto would be here at least after fifteen more minutes. Then again Giotto always found a way to slip out. He got up, and gave Giotto a quick sudden hug before sitting back down. If was a sort of Jesse way to show that he was sorry for being so rude the other day, and what he was worried. "Afternoon." Jesse said. "What's with the random Italian?"

The boy smiled softly at Giotto's arrival. There was a bandage around his neck. "I... I know Italian too..." The boy said. He talked quietly because he didn't have the energy too. It hurt to talk too loud anyway. "I never told you my name... It's Miliani. Thank you for saving me. My mama must be worried sick." He said with a sigh."

Giotto smiled gently at Jesse. "I have a test next week. I need to practice if I'm to pass it with flying colors. The cab driver that almost ran me over heard more than what he expected for the day, though." Giotto said with a chuckle. He turned to the kid, Miliani. "My name is Giotto. We're just glad that you were able to make it, and that Jesse and Stiles got you in time. I'm sure your mom is worried...but she will be glad." Giotto assured as he crossed his arms. "(The Skulls however. We still have to worry about them. If they find this kid walking again, we may not find him again alive.)" Giotto thought. He wouldn't bring it up. It would ruin the somewhat cheery mood. "When you're feeling ready, we'll help you home. Do you need help eating the grapes?...not that we'll chew them for you but we can pick out the seeds if you don't like them." He turned to Jesse. "Jesse here is the one who found you though. So he and Stiles are the heroes."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. Tests? That sounded utterly terrible. Jesse almost failed every single test when he went to school forever ago.

"Damn I forgot tests even existed..." He said, cringing at the thought of it. Everything in his being hated tests. It was literally just a judging contest to see if you were completely stupid or not. He also hated the kids that rubbed it in when they got an A.

Miliani looked down at the grape he was trying his best to nibble on. So far the grapes was the easiest thing he could eat. There was other foods sure, but grapes had sugar and tasted great. "Yeah..." He said, taking a small bowl of grapes into his hand. "Can you pick out the seeds for me please?" He thought about Giotto's comment about Jesse being the hero. "I think you're the hero too... Maybe the biggest hero." Miliani said. "If you didn't put that straw in my neck to help me breathe, I would have died. Even the doctor said I would have choked on my own blood if it wasn't for that straw."

Giotto took the grapes, and one by one he gently took out the seeds, doing his best to not have them fall apart. "To be honest I didn't know if the straw trick would work. I saw it on a movie once, and my biology book mentioned something about the throat. I'm glad it worked though." Giotto said as he gave the kid the seedless grapes one at a time. "You flatter me with such heroic title. I was just hoping to help." Giotto said smiling. Truthfully the less praised he was the better he felt. Being his father's son gave him enough attention as it was from the media and other people. Cameras and photographs, photos of him and his father on magazines and newspapers whenever they were out on a public event. He liked blending in the background and being normal for once. "Here we go, more grapes." Giotto said, handing more seedless grapes to the kid. He then looked over at Jesse. "Tests exist everywhere, Jesse. Even in jobs. They're just called interviews instead of tests."