Having only arrived in the foreign country a few days ago, Tanya thought it was about time she got up from her hotel and went and saw what was where in the bustling town. She began her tour in the areas of a town such as this she would like the best - the park. She knew the varied array of wild colours, and the natural effervessence of the animals, each on their own little mission to survive in this decaying world, would remind her of home, and that she wouldn't feel so... lonely... anymore.

The hours passed, and as it got dark, she finally began to walk home, having to trawl through the polluted streets and pass the tainted people. She knew her hatred of civilisation was unjust, but she was unable to control her emotions about such things, and had convinced herself that her past was justification for her feelings.

Hearing the chants of old men down a back alley, coupled with the cries and whimpers of a young girl, just reinforced this. She could see them, about five in total, throwing objects from the ground at what seemed like a wall of ice.

This piqued Tanya's interest. She crossed the dark street so she could inspect the event with greater detail. Positioning herself behind a wall, so she could see, yet not be seen, Tanya could see the mens moves. She had by now realised that the girl was a mutant, and of what seemed like great power to be able to make a wall so thick, and keep the mob from getting her. She could also see the weapons in the mens hands - broken bottles, knives, and guns.

However, she also noticed the men carried the same symbol on their arms. Due to the dark nature of the street, she could only make out that they all had the same pattern, but couldn't read what was written on them. She would have moved in to have a better look as to what was happening, but being extremely weak by herself, she decided that it would be better to stay where she was.

Her mentor had explained about other mutants to her, and how they all have unique powers. She reasoned that this girl must also be of her kind, yet she couldn't understand why these people hated her. She figured that this was the normal attitude to mutants in a city, and added it to her 'reasons why civilisation is bad' list.

The mob carried on charging at the wall for what seemed ten minutes. the wall was beginning to dry out, and she could tell the mutants powers were beginning to fade. She knew she had to act, create a diversion, at least do something. She stood up and was just about to throw a stone at the men to get their attention, when she noticed exactly what the arm bands said - FoH.

Her horrendous past flooded through her mind. She fell to her knees, writhing in the pain of memories best forgotten. A single tear fell to the floor as she remembered images of her bloodied father laying on the floor.

Her rage and sorrow consumed her. She rose from the floor, only her emotions leading her. Picking up a metal pole from the floor next to her, she growled at the mob:

'I'm gonna give you one chance - Leave the girl alone, or regret it for the rest of your lives'.

Regaining some control over her actions, she walked towards them. She knew she was an extremely weak fighter, and that there was no chance of her being able to take them all alone. She just hoped that the mutant girl behind the frozen wall would come out and help her. But she really didn't care - she needed to find out about her mother, and get revenge for the pain they had caused to her throughout the whole of her life.

The men stopped beating the wall, and crowded around her.
They formed a semi-circle around her. Her previous emotions had fled from her - she was simply filled with fear now. She gripped the pole with both hands, and prepared to fight any one of them, not knowing which would lead the assault.

One of the men began to speak to her, as an evil grin creeped along his face.

'Oh look boys, we've got another one. She may look harmless, but don't they all. Just be careful as you take her - you never know when these animals are gonna strike.'

trying to conceal the fear, she tightened the grip on the pole yet again. Raising the pole. the man began to beat her, throwing an endless barrage of punches at her. Some she was able to dodge, but the majority hit home. She tried to counter with a few light swings of the pole, but none of them managed to make contact.

In a final attempt of desperation, she kicked him back, allowing her to have a breather. But it just made things worse. Now they knew she was weak - and her ability was obviously of no help to her, otherwise she would have used it. They all began encircling her, so she had nowhere to run. Her body, bruised and slightly bloodied, was too damaged to move. She was stuck, and she just gave herself to the fact she would have to suffer the same fate as her mother.