Neal

Rogue and Bobby introduced me to more of their friends. Once a week for the next couple months, they'd meet me in pairs in public but not crowded parts of Manhattan. Neal was the only one who met me solo in Washington Park. The meeting place was significant; Neal just got accepted into the police academy.

"I feel a little bad because my family pulled some strings," he said. "Nothing too major. Just enough to make sure they didn't do a random gene screen in my intake."

As with the military, there is no official law preventing mutants from entering the police force. There is a medical exam early in the hiring process, including a blood and urine samples taken, ostensibly, for tox screens. Since the second reading of Bill S24, the mutant community has started calling those tests gene screens.

"My dad, my uncles and my big sister are cops. Even back in India, I've got cop relatives. It's a family business, y'know. The blue's in our blood. I think I want to specialize in Special Victims Division. I knew a lot of... in school, there were..." Neal coughed and looked away. "Some people get shit deals in life, y'know? I want to make sure they get their justice."