Sveta ran a gloved hand through her hair as she waited outside the Haven building for her partner. Partner. For this mission, anyway. She was not used to having partners anymore, if she ever truly had been. Back in the day, she would team up with people in the heat of a fight, or she would be sent along on a mission by Sam, who might or might not show up to help her. After that, in her vigilante days, she was mostly on her own. Jude was there but he was not... with her, on the missions, and since Sveta had always been self-reliant, she thought she did not miss having anyone else around when things needed to get done.

And then she joined Haven.

Devon and Sveta talked about training her powers one on one, and pairing her up with people if a mission or another required her special talent. Right now, as things stood, she was tagged for one - Haven needed to gather more intel about the rift that appeared in the middle of New York City. It was not supposed to be a fight, just cautious probing of resources and angles. Derek, the man she had been paired up with, was also a member of Haven, although she had not really talked to him until now. The blonde, dressed in a dark green jacket and jeans, waited outside the building, fidgeting with the hems of her elbow-length green gloves.

A new day, a new mission, a new partner. She was determined to make the best of it.

Finally! Derek's first, official mission as a Havenite. He was hoping that it wasn't with one of the supermodel men that ran about the Headquarters. He needed his mind in the mission and not in the gutter. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a Haven t-shirt, Derek made his way out of the Haven building and down the steps to meet the person who he was supposed to be scouting with. He glanced around once he landed on the first step.

Derek's eyes scanned around until they landed on a blond haired woman. Was that her? "Excuse me?" Derek slowly started to walk around her, "are you my scout mission partner?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. God, he hoped so or this would be awarded.

After a few minutes, a guy walked out the doors and down the stairs, looking around hesitantly until he decided to join her. Sveta suspected that eh must be her partner, but she allowed him to make the first move, and ask the first question. Less awkward that way. For her. He seemed like a nice person, at least.

>>"are you my scout mission partner?"

"It seems like I am" Sveta smiled, waving a hand to him in greeting "Svetlana. Hi. Sorry, no handshakes, I boost mutant powers. I am also your portable battery for the day. Derek, right?"

Okay, so maybe that was a lot of information in a few short sentences, but she really did not want to go into detail unless he asked. Devon might have told him the basics, or might not. He had not said much to her about Derek either. She was curious what his powers were, and how they were going to get along while scouting.

"It seems like I am...Svetlana. Hi. Sorry, no handshakes, I boost mutant powers. I am also your portable battery for the day. Derek, right?"

Derek was happy when Sveta confirmed that she was, in fact, his partner. That only made the atmosphere become way more relaxed. A bright smile came across the darker skinned mutant's face when he heard her accent. It reminded him of Aleksandr. Did she know Aleksandr? He didn't think so. Just because they were probably from the same place didn't mean that they knew of each other. Plus, New York City was a big place.

"Oh, gotcha. Well, I'm sendin' you a mental hug right now." He teased with a kind smile, "and that's a cool power," Derek added, "nice to meet you, Svetlana. I'm Derek as you guessed. Did Devon brief you on what we were doin' today?" He assumed that the weather-mancer did. As far as Derek knew, this was a simple scouting mission to check out the rift that had formed between this universe and the other.

>>"Oh, gotcha. Well, I'm sendin' you a mental hug right now."

Oh, he was a hugger. Cute. He had a nice smile, and he was being more friendly than professional, which was a nice change, even if Sveta was not quite used to it. She was sure he was going to continue being friendly while they worked, which was not a bad thing. She smiled back.

>>"and that's a cool power. nice to meet you, Svetlana. I'm Derek as you guessed. Did Devon brief you on what we were doin' today?"

"You can call me Sveta" she nodded "Devon told me we should go gather some info on the rift, and what is going on around it..." she had to admit, she was more curious about this than she let on, especially since her encounter with Akshay... right when the rift happened. "Have you seen it up close yet?..." She had not gone that far, the images on TV and the intel at Haven was quite enough for her sense of adventure.

"You can call me Sveta."

Sveta? That was a really pretty name; definitely Russian.

"Devon told me we should go gather some info on the rift, and what is going on around it...Have you seen it up close yet?..."

Derek shook his head, "no, I haven't seen it up close, but I know that different versions of people are entering and leaving this universe," he answered, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "I also know that this is sort of a scouting mission to check out what exactly is the rift and if it's goin' to close again or anytime soon."

>>"no, I haven't seen it up close, but I know that different versions of people are entering and leaving this universe,"

"Yes." Sveta nodded. She was not going to go into detail about Akshay who she suspected might not actually have been Akshay - but it seemed that she was not the only one picking up on the people coming and going through the rift, and their similarities to others.

>>"I also know that this is sort of a scouting mission to check out what exactly is the rift and if it's goin' to close again or anytime soon."

"Dat's right." Sveta nodded as they started walking "And since Haven has no government funding, we have to find things out the hard way... by being charming, asking questions, and looking like we are up to no suspicious things." she grinned at him. Depending on how much trouble they ran into as they got closer to the rift and the check points around it, this was bound to be fun, one way or another...

"Dat's right...And since Haven has no government funding, we have to find things out the hard way... by being charming, asking questions, and looking like we are up to no suspicious things."[/color]

Derek smirked and nodded his head, "awesome. It's my favorite thing to do." It sort of was Derek's favorite thing to do. He enjoyed the rush of doing missions and other Havenite activities. as they continued to walk, Derek decided that it would be a smart idea to get to know his current partner.

"So, Sveta, I get the feelin' that you might be from Russia?"

>>"awesome. It's my favorite thing to do."

Sveta grinned at her new partner, and decided that she definitely liked the guy. He was less serious than some of the other Havenites, and seemed to find enjoyment in the mission objective, and also with working on it with her. He was also not hitting on her, which was nice; Sveta expected something like that from men (and some women) in general, but it was nice to not have to deal with advances like that on a mission.

>>"So, Sveta, I get the feelin' that you might be from Russia?"

"I am" she nodded with a smirk as they walked along "But I have been in the states for a few years now. How about you? Were you born in New York?"

"I am...But I have been in the states for a few years now. How about you? Were you born in New York?"

"Ah,"[/url] Derek nodded his head slowly. He wondered what city she was from. Peterburg? Moscow? "Oh, no. I'm from North Carolina. It's south from here," he answered with a smile on his face.

"What city are you from in Russia?" Derek asked, glancing around at the area around them, then back at Sveta.

>>"Ah. Oh, no. I'm from North Carolina. It's south from here,"

Sveta nodded. She had never been to the Carolinas (or outside of New York City much, other than some missions), but she had the impression that people were friendly there, and Derek definitely fit that image. She wondered what brought him to New York, but before she could ask, he offered another question of his own.

>>"What city are you from in Russia?"

"Moscow" Sveta shrugged "But I... um, moved around a lot, so never really called any city home until New York." she chuckled "I... uh, had a fiancé here, but things didn't work out. I ended up staying anyway. How about you? What brought you to New York?"

>> "Moscow...But I... um, moved around a lot, so never really called any city home until New York."

"Ah," he was sure that Russia was a nice place...for Russians. He had no desire to visit the Asian country anytime soon. Maybe in five years when things have hopefully been more progressive, "I've seen pictures on the Internet, but nothin' in person."

>> "I... uh, had a fiancé here, but things didn't work out. I ended up staying anyway. How about you? What brought you to New York?"

Derek frowned a bit when he heard about Sveta's failed engagement. In the moment, that must've sucked. Though, he was glad that she was still in the country.

"Oh, uh, I came here for more understanding of who I am as a mutant," he admitted with a coy shrug of his shoulders. "Things seem to be more liberal and open here so I decided to leave home and venture up north."

>>"Oh, uh, I came here for more understanding of who I am as a mutant... Things seem to be more liberal and open here so I decided to leave home and venture up north."

"Good idea" Sveta could understand wanting to move to a new place where people seemed to be more accepting... and life easier, even if it was an illusion. For mutants, New York was definitely the place to be. Sure, bigots and idiots existed everywhere, but big cities also had more help, more resources, more community... and if not, it was a lot easier to disappear in them, and start anew.

They came up to the police perimeter around the park, and Sveta paused, looking at her new partner.

"Soo... before we go in, would you mind telling me a little about your powers?"

Soon the police perimeter came into view for the two mutants. Derek's eyes scanned over the scene, then turned to look at his partner.

>> "Soo... before we go in, would you mind telling me a little about your powers?"

"Oh, I can understand and influence the behavior of animals," Derek explained, "so it makes me more sense for me to be a scout." He turned his attention to the skies, watching a couple of pigeons fly over head. "I can ask them," he suggested, pointing to the ave.

>>"Oh, I can understand and influence the behavior of animals, so it makes me more sense for me to be a scout."

Sveta blinked. Long after she thought that she had seen all mutations she could ever find new, she was still surprised by how naturally people talked about the wildest abilities they just happened to possess. Like, talking to animals. On the superhero scheme of things it was a pretty classic power, and one of the oldest ones too (even some princes in old stories did it) - but actually walking down a street in New York with someone who could do it, that was something else. Sveta grinned, and followed Derek's gaze towards the sky.

>>"I can ask them,"

"Please do it" Sveta blurted, before she caught herself and chuckled, a little embarrassed "I mean... that sounds like a good place to start?"