"These little town blues are melting away", *Godmodding with permission*

[Buffy Sinclare]

Between Belle's constant mood swings and Brit's uncharacteristically huge grin, Buffy was starting to think that she was a co-star in an episode of the Twilight Zone. But they were in New York, the city that never sleeps. The one place in the world where the girls could get lost without having to learn a new language or try to fit in to a new culture.

Buffy had teleported them right onto the middle of a sidewalk in time square. Before they could even catch their breath, the entire population of a small town started crossing the street toward them.

"Okay, girls, let's move." Buffy said, still in her Cheerleader Squad mode.

Without waiting for the other girls to acknowledge what she had said, she started moving with the crowd toward the other side of the street.

[Brittany Adams]

"Maybe I should call my dad. Just to let him know we are okay." Brit said.

"Seriously? We just left!" Buffy said in an exasperated tone.

Brit hurried to follow Buffy across the street. The pace was hectic, which served to stress Brit all the more despite the happy front she forced. She was worried about the people who she had brought into this situation. Before it was just her and her dad, but now the amount of people involved had grown exponentially to include the three other girls and their families.

Brit stuffed her hands into her pockets and held her cell phone. The little electronic rectangle suddenly became a type of comfort, it was the only way she could contact her father and make sure he was okay. She had already lost one parent mysteriously, she would rather not wonder about the other one.

[Bex St James]

"We only just left, Brit, they know we are okay. We can't call them too often or those two will find us. Or go after them." Bex tried to reassure Brit but to also let her know that they had to be careful. She quickly grabbed Belle by the sleeves of her shirt and pulled her along as she followed Buffy and Brit across the street. As she caught up with Buffy, she turned to look at the cheerleader.

"Do you have any idea where we are going?" She asked, her voice slightly anxious. "We need to find a place to sleep for the night and get something to eat."

She looked around, the city was alive with people. It was nothing like the quiet life of Boise. She already missed her dad and her brother and sisters. She knew logically that she couldn't just go back but her heart still ached.

[Buffy Sinclare]

Buffy hadn't thought of the logistics of leaving, she just knew that they had to go and go fast. The issues like sleep and food hadn't been on her mind until Bex brought it up. She had underestimated the seemingly absentminded girl. She actually did have some sort of logic, even just on a very base level.

"Well, I think the first thing we have to do is wait for either Belle's or Brit's phone to ring. We need to know what the password is that Mr. Anderson was talking about, once we have that, we will know who to trust." Buffy said matter of factly.

When the other girls didn't say anything, Buffy took that to mean that they agreed.

"Well, let's get somewhere out of the way and see how much money we have on us."

"I left my purse, oh shoot! I can't shop!" Belle said, more disappointed than actually worried about the financial situation.

Buffy tried desperately not to roll her eyes. "Your dad said that they would look after it, we'll be able to shop later." Buffy took Belle by the shoulder, more to keep track of her absent minded travel partner than to comfort her.

[Brian Anderson]

Brian dialed Belle's number. He was still fighting to keep the fears at bay when his daughter picked up.

[Belle Anderson]

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,
Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together,
Brighter than a lucky penny,

Belle giggled as she pulled her tiny pink cell phone from the front pocket of her jeans. She loved that song, it never failed to make her smile. She noticed her father's number on the caller ID and her smile grew larger.

"Hi Daddy!" She chirped, "Have you ever been to New York, Daddy? Its amazing! It huge and there are so many people and so many things to see. We will have to come here on vacation some day. Its so different from Boise...."

"Belle!" Her father interrupted her, "Honey, we need to talk about your situation for a moment." He explained gently.

Belle took a deep breath, "Ok." She replied waiting for his instructions.

"Someone is coming from my company. They are going to help you out. The code word is 'smile'. Do not go anywhere with anyone unless they say that word to you ok? Do not talk to anyone else and do not trust anyone unless they know the code word."

"I understand, Daddy, please don't worry. We will be ok. We'll be careful." Belle tried to reassure her father but knew it was pointless. He would always worry about her.

"I love you, Daddy. Take care of yourself please. They may come after you next." The worry crept back into her voice.

"I love you too sweetie, and don't worry about me. Just keep yourself and your friends safe. Use your power when you need to, Belle. Don't hesitate. These women. That company. They mean business."

Belle nodded, even though he couldn't see her. After she and her father said their good byes Belle turned to the other girls and told them what her father had said. Now all they had to do was find somewhere to stay and they had to wait for the person who was sent to help them.

[Buffy Sinclare]

"Okay, so we sit still and wait, I think I have some money on me. Let's find a coffee shop and sit there."

Buffy knew that there would be something soon. Starbucks had taken over the world and there had to be one coming up soon.

"Oh, sausage on a bun. I'm so hungry." Brit said, walking over to the hot dog stand on the corner of the street.

"Rule number one, no street meat!" Buffy said, taking Brit by the arm. "We'll get something to eat at the coffee shop."

Before long, they came to a coffee shop that, although it wasn't a Starbucks, it probably had slightly more hygienic cooking practices than a street vendor. The girls went in and ordered some coffee, Brit ordered a sandwich, and they took a seat on a comfy couch set in the middle of the floor.

"So, I am wondering how this person is supposed to find us." Buffy said as muchto the other girls as to herself.

"My daddy has a lot of friends like us. There is probably someone with psychic powers or something who will find us." Belle offered, sipping at her drink.

"Whatever this person is, I hope they have some answers for us, like why the hell are the women after Brit?" Buffy said.

[Gabriel 'Sylar' Gray]

Gabriel focused on the picture and then closed his eyes. He may not have stolen Molly's power, but he had stolen enough psychic abilities to make a pretty close copy. He pictured the girl in his mind and then started the process of sorting through the visions that flew at him in this behemoth city.

It took him what seemed like hours, but was probably only ten minutes. He found an image, it wasn't Belle Anderson, it was one of the other girls. He sent her a message.

"Smile, stay where you are. I'm coming."

[Brittany Adams]

Brit felt a comforting feeling, and then a voice came to her in her thoughts. She jumped a little as the voice said the code word, and then she tried to answer him with the general location of where they were.

"Someone is coming to help us." She said, still looking at Belle. "He said the code-word, and told me that he was coming soon."

Brit relaxed and sat back. Finally there would be some kind of safety. She had been in camp with a kid who had "Brain Mojo" and he could do things that were very similar. He could also make people believe anything.

All this man would have to do is make the women believe that they had killed the other girls and taken Brit in, that would give them enough time to escape again. The mood in their little area of the coffee house instantly brightened. A collective relief swept over the girls, and one by one their shoulders dropped and their heads were held a little higher.

They would be safe soon.

[Buffy Sinclare]

Buffy saw the other girls relax, and decided it was best to keep her doubts to herself. If this guy was able to get into Brit's head, then he would have been able to get into Mr. Anderson's as well and could possibly have stolen the code word.

She was worried, but at the same time, knew that she would be the only person who was thinking clearly. She started to formulate a plan in her mind. It would be easy for the girls to escape this man, if and when he decided to show his true colours, but the other girls had to stick close to her.

The fight to preserve the girls' good moods was being lost to the logical need to let the girls know the plan she had in mind. After a few seconds, she decided that she should say something.

"Okay, first of all, I am not trying to rain on a parade or be the negative one, but I think it would be best if we had a plan." Belle explained her thought process about the psychic and why the girls shouldn't trust him completely.

"Here is what I'm thinking. Every one of us needs to stay within arms reach of each other. If something goes wrong and we need to escape, I will teleport us somewhere safe. It may be right back where we started, but it will only be for a little while until we figure out our next move."