The gratingly shrill sound of Charlie's phone alarm woke her early the next morning. Blearily, she tried in vain to glare at the display. She had trouble making out the time through the veil of sleep fogging her eyes. The gears of her mind creaked into motion as she puzzled out why on Earth she needed to wake up so early. As she silenced the alarm it clicked into place. Charlie looked at the time again before sitting bolt upright, her red mane sticking out wildly like a fiery halo. She scrambled out of bed, pulling clothes on as she did. They would be here to pick her up in any minute now. Charlie had already made sure all her things were packed and ready the night before. In fact she had spent most of the day checking and rechecking her possessions. Ineitably, she became so restless that she had to take a short walk. She turned back when she came across a bar. She stood, staring a the doorway for a few seconds before shaking her head. Bars were generally full of volatile liquids and volatile people. Lady Molotov didn't quite have the right ring to it anyway, Charlie thought bitterly.<br/><br/>Charlie peered through the blinds of the motel room, looking for any sign of the car she was told they'd be sending. In the back of her mind she still worried that it was all a huge trick or part of an elaborate scheme to make her into a laboratory test subject. Her eyes drifted to the road, she was pretty sure she could still make a break for it. It wouldn't be the first time she would basically be living on the streets. Then again, what did she really have going for her that would make being a freaky science experiment that much worse? The smell of smoke snapped Charlie back to reality. She took a deep breath, shaking her hands in hopes they would stop smoking as she let her anxiety subside. "No turning back now Charlie."<br/><br/>As if on cue, a sleek black car pulled into the lot in front of Charlie's motel room. She was a little impressed because, either this show had more budget than she was expecting or there were some serious rockstars pulling into this motel. She figured the later was pretty unlikely though as she began to shoulder her bag. At least they hadn't shown up in a windowless van or whatever. Within a few moments there was a knock on the door, standing in the doorway was a smartly dressed man wearing sunglasses and an earpiece and  holding himself with an unmistakable air of "time to go." The crimson-haired girl grabbed her suitcase and followed the man. Charlie could have sworn he was giving her a bemused look behind those shades. "Yeah, I pack light, what of it?" She asked. The man remained silent. Charlie stowed her gear in the trunk before calling shotgun. The man looked at her before directing his gaze to the back seat. "I'm gonna call you Mr. Friendly." Charlie replied, as she climbed into the backseat, somewhat dejectedly.<br/><br/>She drew her knees up to her chest and leaned against the widow while putting in her earbuds. She spent a moment fiddling with her phone before settling on a playlist that fit her mood. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting like that, lulled by meandering indie-rock and the passing scenery, when a voice jolted her back to reality. "Miz Reid." Charlie's head pivoted toward's the source of the noise, nearly upsetting her position on the seat of the car. "Hm? Yeah, are we there?" She asked, pulling her earbuds out. "No, sorry Miz Reid, I-" The driver wasn't able to finish his sentence as Charlie cut him off. "Nix the Miz thing, that was my mother. C'mon Mr. Friendly, call me Charlie." The driver sighed, Charlie couldn't tell what kind of look he was giving her in the mirror behind  those sunglasses, but somehow she knew there was a look. By the sigh Charlie figured, with a smirk, that it was likely exasperation.<br/><br/>"Sorry Charlie."<br/>"Eh! Be careful, it's learning." Charlie joked with a self-satisfied smirk.<br/>"Har, har."<br/>"I calls 'em like I sees 'em. And lookit you, all livin' up to the Friendly name and whatnot. Anyway, sup?" She asked, bringing the conversation back around to the point.<br/>"Oh, uh yeah... It's just, they gave us a dossier. Can you really?.. Flame up?"<br/><br/>"What? You got a fire extinguisher under the seat?" All trace of Joking left Charlie's eyes. "And for the record it's not so much flame up as smoke out. What's with that" Yeah, I'm a freak but they said this wasn't a witch hunt." Charlie finished speaking and withdrew into herself. Mr. Friendly's face remained expressionless. As she went to put her earbuds back in Charlie became aware of the sounds of a ventilation fan. Wisps of smoke curled up from Charlie's shoulders. She pulled at the collar of her sweater, suddenly self conscious but only managed to release another puff of smoke from her chest. Thoroughly mortified by her inability to control both her temper and her powers, Charlie's jaw was clamped shut as she hugged her knees in the backseat staring out the window.<br/><br/>The next time Mr. Friendly broke the silence was to say "Looks like we're a little early."<br/>Charlie had been lightly dozing but sat up as the car came to a stop in front of what appeared to be a large office building. She yawned and stretched, looking around before relaxing back into her seat. Was she just supposed to wait in the car..? "The others should be here any minute." Mr. Friendly said as he stepped out of the car. As he opened Charlie's door to help her out he added. "I don't think you're a freak." Charlie looked hard at him for a moment before replying. "Then you're almost as screwed up as I am aren't you?"<br/><br/>Charlie collected her bags from the trunk. She set her bags by her feet on the pavement and leaned with her back against the car door; A car that was far more expensive than she had any business leaning on. Like that she waited, headphones in, anxiously fidgeting with a lock of the red hair that stuck out from under her beanie.