Ari stayed another night, surprising everyone and even herself. She slept on one of the twin beds in the girls' room. Noelle volunteered to sleep on the couch, even though Amy tried to volunteer first. Ari noticed how Noelle wasn't as bad as she seemed. She even gave Ari new clothes to wear.

"Wake up, everyone!" the African-American girl called throughout the house.

"Why can't we ever sleep in on Saturday's?" Danny asked groggily. They all gathered around the kitchen table as Noelle and Henry handed out plates.

"Because Noey here doesn't like us having the luxuries of normal teenagers," Henry said. Noelle slapped his arm. "Hey!"

"Shut it, Casper," she said. "We aren't normal teenagers anyways." She gave a plate to Ari and then went over to pick up the eggs from the pan. Henry turned and made a "loco" motion, and Amy hid her laugh by stuffing a pancake in her mouth.

"So anyways," Danny turned to Ari. "How're you liking the notebook?" He nodded to the black notebook near Ari's elbow. She fidgeted with the smooth pen.

It's nice, she wrote. He grinned and made some jazz hands. Ari smiled.

"Hey, do you know sign language?" asked Henry. He and Noelle sat down, and everyone began to grab food. Ari took the food slower though; she hadn't eaten a full breakfast in years. She shook her head at him.

"We can teach you!" Amy suggested. "We all learned a while ago."

Why? wrote Ari. They all exchanged glances. Noelle cleared her throat.

"We knew someone who was deaf," she said. Henry poked his food, and Amy picked at the tablecloth.

"He's uh not here now," Danny said quickly.

"Yeah," Amy said. They all paused, and Ari felt like the topic was needed to change.

I won't mind to learn, she wrote. But can someone pass the pancakes? I'm hungry over here. Henry laughed and passed the plate.

"She fits right in!" he said. Noelle rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Do we need another sassy person?" Danny mumbled. Noelle glared at him.

"Can we have one meal in peace? That's all I ask!"

"Ha! That's not all you ask..." 

"Henry, I swear-"

//

Ari sat on the couch next to Amy who was showing her some videos on a site called YouTube. They were watching videos of kittens, something Ari guessed was very popular for some reason. There were various types of videos from feeding the kittens, to playing with the kittens, to even bathing them. Ari missed her little black cat in the alleyway. She wondered if they could go visit him. They were only a few blocks away anyways.

"I'm going out to get lunch!" Danny called, grabbing keys from the door bowl (Henry kept calling it that). He slipped on his sneakers. "First person to yell something out wins!"

"Pizza!" Amy shouted. Danny grinned.

"Pizza it is!"

"Fine by me, I'm done with cooking for today," Noelle said from the kitchen table. She was reading a large book, something about wizards and witches. Ari thought it looked interesting.

"I want pepperoni!" Henry yelled. He ran into the living room, pulling on a shirt quickly. Ari averted his gaze, and Noelle rolled her eyes at the action.

"Alright, anything else?" Danny asked, glancing at Ari. She wrote something down.

I've never had pizza before, so I don't know what to get, it said in black ink. They all gasped in horror.

"You've never had it before?!" said Danny, eyes wide. She shook her head.

"Not even from the mall?" Amy said. Ari shook her head again.

Didn't look good enough to eat. I'd rather have a sandwich, she replied. Noelle threw her hands up.

"Well Danny, why don't you take our newbie to get pizza with you?" she suggested. "Then we can teach Ari some sign language after you guys come back."

"I volunteer to teach her the alphabet," Henry's hand shot up.

"Because that's the easiest thing to teach," scoffed Danny. Henry grumbled something he wanted to do to his younger brother, and Noelle raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, that's a good idea, Noelle. Wanna come with me, Ari?" He smiled his goofy smile.

Ari thought for a second. Going out in public wasn't her most preferred activity at the moment, but she was protected now, even if it was only a bit. Plus, she did want to see what all the hype was about "pizza."

Ari got up from the couch and nodded. She pocketed the small notebook and pen, and pulled on her worn sneakers. Henry winked at Danny, but the younger boy waved him away. What's that about?

"Ok we'll be back in a few minutes!" Danny said, opening the door for Ari. She stepped out, and he followed. They heard the door lock. He turned to her. "The shop is like down the street. It's really really good." Ari took out her notebook again.

I'll bet, she wrote doubtfully. He grinned and started walking out of the hallway.

"C'mon!" Danny waved. She ran after him, pulling her jacket closer.

The walk to the pizza shop was quiet between the two, but the space was filled with the brilliant sounds of the city. Cars honked, people yelled, and there was the occasional woosh of the metro. Danny had begun the walk by talking about pizza to Ari, and she wrote down her reactions every other sentence. However, there wasn't much to talk about after the various combinations of toppings and tomato sauce so the conversation lapsed into silence. Ari didn't mind, and she could tell Danny didn't mind either.

As she observed him, she noticed that he and his brother did have their differences. Danny was less impulsive, even though he was younger. He seemed to be more thoughtful, quiet, and shy. He still had lots of energy like Henry, but not as much of it was projected outwards.

"One street away," Danny said. He pointed to the left, and they turned. Ari could see the metal sign gleam brightly in the afternoon sun.

Suddenly, a bulking shadow crossed their path, cutting them off. The two stopped and looked up at the obstacle, a muscular man with a signature ring. Clearly, a gang member and hench man. Ari told herself to stay calm and not scream. Danny gave a small, friendly smile. He seemed to be prepared in these instances.

"Hey there," he said. "Uh we were just about to get pizza, so we'll be on our way." He tried to walk around, but the man stood still.

"Hi kids," he said with a grin. It was full of silver teeth. Danny gulped. "I'm looking for someone, someone important. A street rat." Spit landed on Ari's jacket, and it took all of her self control not to scream in revenge.

"Oh really? W-what do they look like?" Danny asked, stammering slightly. He pushed Ari behind him subtly. She held onto his arm.

"A bit like your girl over here actually," the man sneered. He looked behind Danny, and his expression suddenly shifted to surprise. Ari wondered what happened. Her hair and eyes stung lightly. "Wha..."

"You were saying, sir?" Danny's tone changed to smug. "What does that uh street reat look like?"

"Brown hair, brown eyes, medium height," he recited, glancing at Ari. She blanked. Was this the moment when all would go to hell? Was this the moment when they would finally catch her?

"Well that description doesn't match my girl at all," Danny said, smiling. Ari was confused. She matched that description perfectly. What was he talking about? The man looked confused also, but more shocked.

"Uh...wait...she..."

"See, my girl has silver hair and blue eyes," Danny pointed out. Ari was taken aback. She tugged on his sleeve, but he just patted her arm. "So you must have the wrong girl. Sorry, dude." He turned to Ari.

"What-how-"

"Alright, let's get that pizza!" Danny interrupted. He escorted Ari around the bewildered man and into the shop quickly. As soon as they were inside, Ari pulled her hand off his arm. He gave an apologetic look. "Sorry I didn't ask your permission before, but uh you look pretty good." Danny blushed a bit. Ari narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you go to the bathroom while I order? I can change it back if you want. But we were in a situation and all." He walked off before she could take out her notebook for a question.

Ari sighed and found the bathroom in the back of the shop. It was small and cramped, but it did have a mirror. She looked inside of the mirror and almost screamed in surprise. She had to put a hand over her mouth to keep the scream inside.

She looked almost completely different. Her light brown hair had turned into silky silver locks, and her ordinary brown eyes had changed to startling blue. Ari backed away from the mirror. She had to agree with Danny, it did look good, but how did it happen?! She remembered Danny saying something about not asking her permission. Did he do the transformation? How?

Ari walked out of the bathroom on slightly shaky legs. Danny was waiting at a small table, tapping his fingers on the top. She walked over and sat next to him.

"Uh...so what do you think?" he asked meekly. She started writing in the notebook, and he looked over her shoulder. 

I have silver hair now?! And blue eyes?! How did this happen?! When did it happen?! She took a pause. And yeah, it looks good, I guess. Danny grinned at the last line. Before he could say anything, an employee called out his name.

"Oh that's us. I'll be right back." He walked away, leaving Ari frustrated. She clicked her pen while she waited for him to return. He came back in a few minutes, after paying, with two medium boxes. He handed one to Ari, who held it cautiously. "I can explain on the way back."

On the walk to the apartment, Ari examined the pizza box with curiosity. Why was it so greasy? Why did it smell so good? Danny interrupted her thoughts by clearing his throat. She looked up at him.

"So you're probably wondering about the hair and stuff, right?" he said. Ari nodded. He shifted the box in his hands. They walked on an empty curb. "I have uh powers." She raised an eyebrow. "You know, like um...the Avengers? Like superheroes?" She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm kinda like them. But not as good." He laughed. She gave another confused look. "Actually our whole apartment has powers too. And I'm guessing you do also." They turned into the apartment building and started going up the stairs. "That's why Henry brought you back. It's dangerous for mutants to be out in the city by themselves. Especially with all of those thugs who get money hunting us down." They reached the front door, and Danny put the pizza box on the ground to get his keys. Ari was silent still, trying to absorb the information. Was it all true?

"They're back!" she heard as they walked into the apartment. Henry ran over, grabbed the food, and ran back to the kitchen.

"Hey! Not fair!" Danny said after him. He pulled off his shoes and chased his brother. Ari was left at the door, still in slight shock. She took off her shoes and saw Amy wave her over.

"Woah! Danny! You didn't tell us Ari wanted a makeover!" she said. "Looks good!"

"She didn't actually uh ask," Danny said, biting his lip

"You showed your powers?!" Henry came into the room. He saw Ari. "Woah! Silver hair and blue eyes! Really, Danny? Creative."

"That was the only colour I could think of!" Danny put his hands up. Noelle joined them in the room, and she raised an eyebrow at Ari.

"She looks fine at least," she commented. Amy nodded. Ari narrowed her eyes and started writing in her notebook.

What powers? Mutants? Who exactly are those gang members? What did Danny do to me? Also, are we going to eat now? I still haven't tried pizza, she said. Noelle smiled at the last question.

"We can eat now and explain," she said, ushering everyone to the dining table.

"Don't worry," Amy put a reassuring hand on Ari's shoulder. "All you need to know is that you aren't alone, ok?" Ari nodded cautiously.

Lunch was a bit tense in the beginning. Henry looked mad at Danny, and Noelle was annoyed at both of them. Amy was the only cheerful one. Ari liked the pizza. In fact, she couldn't believe she had never tried it before.

The pizza is great, she wrote to try and break the ice. Danny grinned and reached for another slice.

"Yay!" he cheered. Ari gave a small smile.

Is anyone going to explain now? Ari asked on paper. They all exchanged glances, and Ari was more confused. Noelle cleared her throat, cleaning her hands on a cloth napkin.

"Ok, Ari," she said. "What we're about to tell you is strictly confidential. We're a team, alright? A family. We have to have each other's backs." Noelle looked at the girl. "We have to know that you'll be loyal."

I don't know what I'm being loyal to, Ari wrote.

"Doesn't matter," Noelle said.

"She gets it, Noelle," said Henry. "We're like you. Special."

How exactly? asked Ari.

"How about we show you?" Amy smiled.

A/N

I AM SO SORRY IVE BEEN BEING SLOW ON UPDATES

but i hoped you like the cliffhanger eheheheheehh

goodness i love danny, he's so smol

OK WELP I HOPE YALL ENJOYED