Theodore sighed as he exited the room he was being briefed in. It was such a drag that the government kept assigning him partners.. if that's what he could even call them at this point. He felt like he'd become more of a babysitter as of late. Each one getting lazier and lazier, just watching him do their job.

The whole partner thing wasn't an issue though, it was them getting credit despite doing nothing. Unfortunately, there was nothing Theo could really do about it. At least not yet. He looked down at the paper detailing his mission. A yellow, bone manipulation, frequently seen around some of the woods not too far off by a lake. There was also a picture attached and he stared at it for a few solid moments, ingraining the face into his memory.

He tossed the file to the girl, "Be sure to get rid of it when you're done." he said curtly. He didn't know anything about who he was working with.. except her name. Roxana was it..? Not that it really mattered. He wasn't sure if he had been briefed but he made it a point to give the people that followed him another round because they never seemed to pay attention the first time they were briefed.

Theo didn't care about the talk of others, he did his best to stick to his own road. It wasn't that he was anti-social in the sense that he wasn't sure how to interact with others, the humans around here just wasn't worth his time to interact with. Theo adjusted his headphones to help him quiet the noises around him and began walking for the forest. "So why are you a guardian?" The mutant didn't really care but they had some time before he had to get serious so, Theo figured he would make idle chat until they grew closer.

Theo looked over at Rox briefly when she asked why. He didn't really care to know if she wanted to be difficult but before he could say 'nevermind' she continued. Theodore chewed lightly on the inside of his cheek as he thought over Rox's response.

Was there really a possibility that the guardians were a thing before now? He missed out. He then scoffed at her asking the question in return and looked to the sky briefly. "Is it really betrayal if you were betrayed first? I'd say it's more so evening the score out. Besides, there's not much of a choice regardless if I thought it was wrong." he finished, looking to Rox curiously.

Some might say this was all revenge but Theo wasn't so sure anymore. Once he had learned about the people that killed his parents being gone, he felt a need to make sure it didn't happen again to someone else. With that said, he didn't hate all mutants, this was just his reasoning when he was capturing them and bringing them back. They're just rogue mutants was all. Theodore knew better to put his trust on the government though. He knew they saw him as expendable and so he was sure to only do what was asked of him, no going above and beyond for them.

"And on top of that, there's no going back to normal after all this." Theo said softly with a chuckle as he looked ahead, "Now mutants have a reason to hate humans and there's no stopping them from killing humans because there's nothing a human can do to prevent it. So the less of them out there, the better." Of course, all of his logic wasn't foolproof and a lot of it was having bad luck in the past but it was what he stuck to while on missions.

Theo gave a simple shrug to Rox's response about view points. She wasn't wrong and he knew that it wasn't the greatest reasoning to turn other mutants in but it was what worked for him. It left him with the least amount of guilt though there were brief moments when he wondered if this was just who he was. After all, not everyone could be the good guy, right?

The mutant cracked an amused smile for the first time when Rox spoke about always having a choice. He wasn't so sure that was exactly how having a choice worked, but he couldn't really defend against her logic it either. It was easy to see that you always had a choice if you looked at it from the point of 'could you deal with the consequences?'. "Then I guess you could say I accept the consequences of turning other mutants in." he said looking back at her, doing his best to judge her reaction. It wasn't as if she could argue it much either, after all, she was hunting mutants just like he was. At least for the moment.

Our nature... meaning, Roxana was a human perhaps? If so, it was quite bold to say such a thing in front of a mutant. He looked her up and down curiously, silently studying her. "I believe there's nothing a human could do to stop a mutant from killing them." he said matter of factly as he looked away from Rox to study the area before him. He closed his eyes and took a deep in before taking his headphones off, leaving them around his neck and breathed out slowly. Letting the overwhelming noises surround him. He did this in stride, not missing a step as he reopened his eyes as he looked around. They were getting closer so it wouldn't be too long before they found an actual lead.

"You people think you have the mutants figured out with your ridiculous colours," he said in a quieter tone, more so to save his ears than to be quiet, "but there is so much more to it. If a 'green' or 'blue', mutant wanted to use their power to harm people, I guarantee they'd be able to find a way that was just as dangerous as being around a 'red'." he finished with a brief laugh. Theo knew that sure, a blue or green could just shoot a human but that wasn't what he meant. "It would be wise for humans to remember that."

Theo offered another smile, "Perhaps I am foolish but unless mutants start living under rocks, I feel as though there's no comparison." Yes, he could agree that mutants were humans, only superior but he wouldn't, couldn't, agree that humans could make something to put them ahead of mutants. If they were the same, what was stopping mutants from using this upgraded technology that always gave them the advantage? Theo knew mutants weren't invincible, but as long as they weren't thinking like cavemen then there was no way would a fight ever be 'fair'.

Regardless, he was happy to hear that he wasn't the only one that found the colour system the government had issued was absurd. She seemed to have thought about rankings and such a little more than he had but the idea was the same and he nodded in agreement. He smirked as Rox reiterated what he had said about humans being careful. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind." Theo looked around for a moment, his face becoming more serious yet his body still fairly relaxed looking. "This is also the time where you can go hide or whatever if you'd like. He's here."

Of course, he wouldn't frown upon receiving help but he found himself on his own more often than not. For various reasons, either simply because he was a mutant or because his partner(s) were too afraid to help to name a few of the recent occasions. Theo could hear the stray mutant moving about behind the trees, his breath already heavy. Theo assumed the stray was nervous. The guardian wondered if maybe he had known they were coming, not that it mattered. The results would be the same, Theo held himself to too high of a standard to let someone go, even if it was stupid and reckless.

He sighed to himself and wondered if it would be worth trying to talk to the stray. It usually wasn't but what was the harm? It's not like they had an element of surprise. With his mind made up, Theo stepped out into a more open-ish area and put his hands up, "Hey uh, you probably know why I'm here so.." he said looking about for a moment before focusing his eyes on the tree the mutant was behind, focusing on the sound of his breaths to find him. "if you'd like to just come willingly-ish, I'll put in a good word for you when we get back. Deal?" He knew it probably wouldn't work but it would have been a much better alternative.

Theo took a moment to appreciate Rox's... offer to help? He wasn't sure what to call it exactly but the fact that she offered was fairly respectable. If she would actually be able to help at all, that was to be determined but should everything go smoothly she wouldn't be needed at all. Except for maybe an intimidation tactic?? While it wasn't planned out originally when Theo called out to the mutant, maybe he would be more willing to surrender when he saw that Theo wasn't alone. He made a quick note that if that's how things went down, it was totally planned that way.

It didn't take long for the mutant to emerge from behind the tree, to which Theo offered a big warm smile. "Hey great! Nice to see you, I'm Th-" he paused abruptly to lean to the side slightly as the rogue mutant threw a bone spike at him. Theo raised his eyebrow at the rogue then looked to Rox with a wink before looking back to the rogue mutant. That was about the flashiest thing Theo could do. Of course, Theo had help that this mutant was weaker from doing his best to survive in a forest as well as being able to see that the mutants muscles were starting to flex before he had even moved. That wasn't the point though, he had to try and show off a little bit in front of the new partner.

On to a more serious note, unfortunately, or fortunately, Theo had come to understand playing to his own strengths very quickly. He didn't have some super awesome power to overpower others or anything like that in fact the only really useful powers he had was being able to see the finer details as well as hear a lot better than others though the latter often felt like a curse as well. When he was first getting a hang of things and his powers, he had gotten pretty roughed up almost every time. In some ways, he guessed it had made him wisen up faster and work harder than his peers, leading him to where he was today. Quick, reliable, and a touch of smarts though he couldn't like that it wasn't uncommon for his plans to not quite turn out like he hoped. He was more of a guy to get a task completed rather than come up with the plan.

Theo had become well versed in up close fighting. He wasn't an expert by any means but he was no slouch either. He made sure every he touched his opponent they felt his firm hits. The guardian cleared his throat a bit before continuing, "So uh, greetings aside then. It really sucks to live in the forest constantly on the hunt, yeah? The camp has food and a place to sleep, and you won't be alone." he managed to finish with a nod. Of course, Theo knew that his 'good word offer' was no longer on the table but the 'yellow' didn't know that. "So what do ya say buddy?" Theo sniffed a bit as he took the slightest step forward. He hoped that the other mutant couldn't see his patience wearing thin and if the rogue tried anymore funny business, Theo couldn't promise him and Rox would be going back with everyone alive.

Theodore stood for a solid minute staring the other mutant down. The rogue was quite tense but it was to be expected, it's wasn't an easy situation for him. Theo turned his head ever so slightly when Rox spoke out. He was surprised to say the least, maybe she was hoping to just go home as soon as possible like Theo.. For whatever reason though, the rogue didn't seem so keen on just coming along with them all buddy buddy. Theo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, why did they never want to just come easily? Everything would end up so much 'nicer' for them.

There was approximately 5 or 6 metres between Theo and the mutant and he was now tired of the tension. Theo was preparing himself to close the gap as quickly as possible before the mutant grew a more worried look instead of the hardened look earlier, which really worried Theo. He wouldn't run.. right? Theo groaned internally, he couldn't allow him to run, he was not in the mood to just chase after someone. "What will your friends say when you get captured and I tell them all that you ran from someone without powers?" he said carefully, doing his best to taunt the mutant. The guardian smiled as the other mutants face showed some more hope and then even more hope when he looked at Rox who was sitting down.

The rogue mutant took a brief second to loosen his arms, giving them a shake at his sides and that's when Theo made his move. He made sure to close the space within a second. Theo didn't need the biggest of opportunities to end a fight, just one. He made them all count. He felt his fist in the stomach of the mutant as he curled over, dropping to his knees as he gasped for air. Life wasn't fair though, and neither was Theodore as he kicked the mutant in the side firmly. The guardian then knelt down and hit the other person in the face in an attempt to knock him out. Once he looked knocked out enough, he looked up and gave a smile to Rox, "So uh. I fight you carry, right?" That's how it worked.. right? Of course, if she refused then he had no real issue with carrying him back.. or even just dragging him back on his own.