Enigma's Log

"Is she always like that?" Syl wondered.

"Pretty much, she'll warm up. Maybe. Just don't get offended," Obsidia said.

"They dealt with Spyte and Hydroxa, I think they're good," Emma said.

"Wow, last time I dealt with Spyte, I had iced fingers for a week," I muttered. "We stuck my hand in lava to thaw out my fingers."

"They stuck your hand in lava?" Max asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it was annoying to take that detour, we got here late and completely missed seeing Annmarie and Logan before they had to take a trip back to the ocean."

"Spyte's very sorry about that," Emma reassured. "Besides, you got to see them this time."

Secilia walked into the kitchen, a bundle of wires held in front of her. "Onyx, help, I can't get the stupid things undone."

The bundle floated up into the air, and swiftly untangled itself, the different colors of wire bound up by pieces of yarn the same color.

"You are a lifesaver, thanks!" Secilia said over her shoulder as she dashed away.

"So, they stuck your hand in lava? How is your hand not burned beyond repair?" Syl asked.

"I had my uniform on," I replied. "That allowed enough heat to melt the ice. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to work when you can't feel or move three fingers on your dominant hand."

"You don't have a dominant hand, you're ambidextrous," Exxa pointed out.

"While you are right, I believe most zeroes have their right hand as their dominant hand, correct?" I asked.

"Does it matter? You're ambidextrous, you don't have a dominant hand," Exxa insisted.

"That's enough you two," Obsidia said, sighing.

"So, you guys have any worlds you're planning on visiting?" Onyx asked.

"We have an assignment to pick up a teen named Dake. He's a plant type, so that'll be interesting."

"A plant type?" Onyx asked. "Huh, yeah, that'll be fun alright."

"What's a plant type?" Max asked.

"Plant types are photosynthetic," I explained. "That's the defining trait."

"Oh, and what type are you?"

"Water type, you couldn't tell?" I asked.

"Enigma," Obsidia said, sighing.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Anyway, Elance is also a water type. Obsidia's a metal/air/zero type, Exxa and Exxon are land types, and Mirale's a cave type."

"What's the defining characteristic of cave type?" Syl wondered.

"There are two sub-categories in cave type. Mirale's in the extremophile subsection of that type." Obsidia explained.

"And the other kind?"

"Even blinder then earth types," I noted. "They're completely blind, and sometimes glow."

"Glow?"

"An evolutionary trait. They can't see the light themselves, but it attracted prey." Onyx explained. "Anyway, you guys clear out. I need to finish this without worrying about braining you in the head with a bowl of flour." She shooed us out into the backyard, leaving us standing there awkwardly.

"Enigma, how fast can you swim?" Max asked.

"I don't know, in sprints, probably close to what Logan can do. Long distance, I can keep up a pace much faster then a normal human can swim for hours." I replied. "I'm the fasted underwater of the Runaways. Obsidia has everyone else beat on land."

"Even Exxa and Exxon?" Syl wondered.

I nodded gravely. "Yeah, and she can't fly yet."

"She hasn't learned to fly yet?" Max asked incredulously.

I shook my head. "Nope, we haven't stayed grounded for long enough. She's spent most of her life on a ship."

"And she doesn't mind?" Syl wondered.

I briefly wondered if they orchestrated this, each asking one question, then letting the other ask one. "No, she grew up like that, she's fine with it."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Obsidia said proudly.

I jumped internally at her intrusion but quickly got over it. "See what I mean?"

Max and Syl nodded in perfect sync, and it creeped me out a little, so I excused myself. After all, I hadn't met Secilia's cousin yet.

Danny wasn't hard to find as he was apparently basically having a meltdown over the fact that he was meeting more kinds of aliens. And that they would answer questions mostly politely. Well, actually, he found me.

"So, Enigma, you're a carnivore, right?"

"That's correct."

"So, can you digest plant matter, or do you just kinda toss it back up?"

"I can eat it, it just doesn't give me any nutritional value, so it is worthless to me."

"Can you 'taste' underwater like Annmarie can?"

"Yes."

"How do you usually attack? Do you go for the throat or some other method?"

"Throat, it's usually the best way to kill something," I replied, sending a meaningful glance at his throat. He didn't seem to catch the hint and kept asking questions.

"So, can you catch a single drop of blood in an Olympic sized swimming pool?"

"I don't know, I've never been in a Olympic sized swimming pool before. I've only been to this planet four times."

"So, can you taste whether something has plant matter in it?"

"Yes, plant matter tastes quite foul to me, so while I can choke it down if I have too, I prefer to avoid it." Was this kid going to be going on forever? Secilia had fewer questions when I first met her.