Jacen enjoyed being able to jog at night. It gave him an opportunity for the exercise his body craved without having to be around many people. No, once it got past 10 or 11 at night Central Park was pretty well deserted. Sure there were occasional groups of teenagers here adn there, hanging out, drinking alochol they had smuggled from home, or smoking weed they had pruchased on the streets. At night Central Park became the getaway spot of choice but as the police learned about it there were more and more patrols that would sweep through the park to pick up these wayward teens.

For tonight though, Jacen was not part of any of thsoe patrols. He was just a jogger out for his exercise. A pair of ear buds connected to the small radio that was strapped onto his bicep. A silver gray sleeveless shirt hung loosely over a pair of black jogging pants. White sneakers with reflectors specifically designed for night time activities completed the ensemble.

Slightly heavier than normal breathing and the dull sheen of wet fabric on Jacen's chest and back showed that he'd already been jogging for a little while. The dull beat of soft rock could be heard from his headphones even though his mind was a million miles away. A decision had to be made nwo that doubt had begun to enter Jacen's mind about exactly what he was. The testing had shown he wasn't a mutant but he had abilities that meant he had to be a mutant. Another test... he needed to get his blood tested by someplace that wouldn't report it to the world. Someplace he could be tested without even giving his name. Did such a place even exist?

((OOC: Hope you don't mind Lee running into Jacen. Literally. If you do, I can change it, though.))

Night time was...well, really it depended on the night. Some nights found Lee curled up in bed with Tarin, fast asleep. Other nights, she was sitting on the couch watching late night TV while Tarin was sleeping, waiting for her to get rid of just enough energy that she could fall asleep.

And then there were nights like this, nights that she had been dreaming of since she had found out that Tarin had been taken to the mansion, since that very first night that Tarin had been in a coma. Nights when, despite the fact that Tarin was passed out and exhausted, that she had too much energy to simply sit at home.

Yes, the nights without sleep did get rather long, could be tedious, but Lee wouldn't trade them because they were a price she was more than willing to pay in exchange for what had happened earlier that evening.

So after Tarin had fallen asleep, Lee got changed into a pair of light grey sweat pants, a white tank top, and, because she wasn't exactly sure just how chilly the night air might be, a grey zippered sweatshirt. Throwing her running shoes on, and putting her iPod in her pocket, Lee was set, and made her way out of the apartment and toward Central Park.

Lee needed to run, and run a lot. At least by running at night, now that the Registration Act had been abolished, she could let herself go a bit and didn't have to watch her speed quite so much when she was energized like this. If she got rid of enough energy tonight, and her and Tarin didn't get carried away the next day, she should be able to sleep the next night.

As she stepped into the park, Lee slipped her ear buds in and started her music up. Then she started running. Though the paths were dimly lit, it was still dark in the park, making it fairly difficult to see whether there was anyone coming toward her on the path, and even harder to see if there was anyone off the edges of the path. And, while Central Park at night probably wasn't considered the safest place for a woman to go running, Lee wasn't exactly your average woman. As she went, she kept her focus on two things: the music playing in her ears, and her siphoning to feel when someone was getting close to her.

With the running, it was a bit harder for Lee to feel when people were close to her, to feel where they were, simply because she was moving so much faster than she normally was. However, thanks to her work with Sam at the mansion testing and working her powers out, and her work on her own since then, Lee was still able to feel people. Maybe not quite as accurately as if she was standing still, but she could still tell where they were.

Running like this, Lee didn't even really worry about where she was. She knew her path, she had run it enough times over the previous year that she knew where she was going and her feet automatically turning when she needed to. And so, short of her siphoning, Lee really wasn't paying attention to much of anything as she ran; her siphoning would tell her when she needed to focus her eyes to watch out for someone.

At least that had been her thought until all of a sudden Lee saw a man right in front of her, mere steps away, too close for her to actually be able to avoid.

Before she knew it, Lee found herself sitting on the ground, the breath knocked out of her more from the shock of finding herself on the chilly ground than the actual hit. Looking up at a man who had apparently also been running through the park.

"I'm so sorry!" Lee said, pulling a bud out of one ear as she looked up at the man. "I didn't see you, and was kind of lost in my thoughts there."

The running was going great and Jacen was even beginning to tire out his body enough that he was just starting to forget the whole situation with his blood results. Exercise not only helped him to keep his body in shape but it also helped to clear his mind. It was a cleansing process that had been drilled into him back during his time doing competitive swimming for the school as well as during his time in the military.

Then the great part of running suddenly stopped. Out of nowhere another runner suddenly appeared out of the shadows and ran into him going full tilt. Apparently with his being distracted by running, thinking, and listening to music he had missed the gray clad female.

Stumbling slightly, Jacen went down on one knee before catching his balance to keep from going down any farther. In the dim light he could barely make out the young woman he had just ran into but he did see her reaching up to remove ear buds of her own. Quickly following suit Jacen unplugged his ears and then just hung the chord around his shoulders to keep it from falling to the ground.

"I was distracted too so it was just as much my fault." Jacen replied with a smile as he did his best not to think about how tired he was. Slowly standing up Jacen offered a hand to the young woman to help her back to her feet. "I guess I'm just so used to having the park almost all to myself at this time of night that I wasn't even keeping an eye out."

As he went through the motions of helping Lee back to her feet his eyes began to focus on her just enough to make out a little bit more through the dim light. His eyes had already been adjusted to the dim lighting but with extra shadows from a tree she had been hidden until she began to move. Her rich brown hair had the slightest touch of a curl to it and framed her face beautiful and while her clothes at least partially hid her figure, there was no denying the beauty of the woman before him.

"Are you OK? Nothing broken or twisted I hope."

Lee was solidly on the ground, trying to catch her breath after being knocked over and surprised. And, she had hit the man hard enough that he had fallen as well, though in his case only as far as to one knee.

And then he was, well not quite apologizing, but was taking just as much blame on himself, saying it was equally his fault because he hadn't been paying attention either. Well, at least that explained why they hadn't seen each other, if neither of them had really been paying attention, and it was rather dark there in the park. But that didn't explain why she hadn't felt him. Sure, she hadn't been paying 100% attention, but she'd been focused enough on her siphoning that she should have felt him before she was just three steps away, right?

"I know what you mean," Lee said, extending her hand to let the man help her up off the ground after only a moment and a half of hesitation. "I don't normally see many people-"

Lee's voice cut off, her eyes shooting down to their clasped hands as she regained her feet. She was touching him, that much she could see, and she could feel his hand in hers. But, like with Sam's ice person-thing, though she could see it touching her, feel the skin to skin contact, as far as her siphoning was concerned, there was no one there.

Lee blinked, squeezing the man's hand slightly. Still nothing. Not even the slightest hint of energy flowing into her at all. And, though she was securely on her feet by this point, Lee felt off balance. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way, not even before her powers had manifested. Well, she knew that she must have felt this way before, knew that there had to have been a time when she hadn't siphoned, but Lee couldn't remember it. Even with the collar on while she had been in the camp, she had still been siphoning.

Lee didn't know what to do, what to think. Was this actually another person standing in front of her, or was it a creation from a mutant, like Sam's ice, only much more realistic?

And then she heard the man speaking again, though her mind was too preoccupied to realize what it was he had actually said to her. Blinking, and only then realizing that she was still holding onto his hand after he had helped her to her feet, Lee looked up, way up, into his shadowed eyes. "Sorry, what was that?" She asked, a bit confused. She wasn't feeling any energy from anywhere else around her, but that could simply be because there wasn't anyone else around them, it was late after all. But the weird, confusing part was that she couldn't sense the man standing right in front of her.

It was a little unnerving.

"Who are you?" She went on to ask cautiously.

Apparently the woman was a little more out of it than Jacen had first thought. Sure they had run into each other but he didn't think it had actually been a hard enough collision to injure her. What if he was wrong? What if she actually had a concussion or some other head injury?

"I asked if you were OK. Nothing broken or twisted?" Jacen repeated, stepping just a little closer to the woman so that he could try and see her a little better in the darkness. He couldn't see any blood but it was quite possible that such a sight would be lost in the darkness of her hair. "Does your head hurt?"

Something was up with this woman. She hadn't yet released his hand and she was staring at him like he had two heads or something. She must have had some type of head injury to be acting this way. There was really no other explanation. was there?

"I'm Jacen King. Do you need me to take you to the hospital? Why don't you come over here and sit down." He introduced before gently tugging at the hand that she still hadn't released. Walking slowly he led the woman over to a nearby park bench and then took a seat at one end of it while waving her to the other end.

The woman just had such a strange expression on her face that Jacen knew something was up. Then it hit him. Could she be a mutant? Was she experiencing his aura and that was the reason she was so out of it?

"Are you sure you're OK? I can call an ambulance or take you to the hospital if you need me to." Jacen said slowly, "Or would it be better if I called Xavier School?"

Hearing the man repeat his question, Lee nodded her head. "No, I don't think so," Lee asked, briefly turning her attention toward her body to see if she was feeling any pain anywhere. Shaking her head after a moment, Lee looked back up at the man. "I think it was more the shock of suddenly being on the ground...

"And no, my head's fine," Lee continued a moment before the man introduced himself, and asked if she needed to go to the hospital before leading her toward a nearby bench.

This was not normal for Lee, she didn't normally let herself be dragged to sit down by strangers like this, especially ones she had literally run into, but there was something strange about this man, she couldn't feel him, his energy, and she hadn't exactly removed her hand from Jacen's after he had helped her up, so Lee cautiously followed him over to the bench. If he got out of line, Lee was still energized, she could take care of him without a problem.

At least as she sat down, her hand finally letting go of Jacen's, Lee wasn't quite as off balance. Not as badly off balance as when she was actually touching him. At least this way Lee could pretend to herself it didn't feel weird not feeling herself siphon.

Then Jacen was asking again if she was alright, if she needed him to call her an ambulance. "No, no," she said, waving the man off. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken, that's all."

At the man's next words, Lee's eyes shot over to him, blinking in surprise, trying to see him better in the darkness. Had he really said what it sounded like he had just said? She didn't think he looked familiar, and she had spent a good solid month at the mansion.

"So it's you doing this to me," Lee said thoughtfully, her eyes boring into Jacen's. "You're why I'm feeling like this? How are you doing it?"

He was right. She was a mutant and that explained precisely why she had been acting so strangely since they ran into each other. Any regular human would have automatically denied the idea that they could be a mutant but this particular woman accepted the face that he knew she was a mutant without any shock at all.

Inwardly Jacen was wincing as she asked how he was affecting her because he honestly didn't know. His blood test from the hospital had come back negative for the X-Gene but that just wasn't possible. How in the world could he have an ability like this and not be a mutant? There was no other explanation that fit. He had to be a mutant!

"I'm a mutant like yourself." Jacen replied quietly, saying it out loud as much for her benefit as his own, "But apparently my only ability is a field that nullifies other mutant's powers. It doesn't seem to affect people without the X-Gene but I'm like the giant off button for people with powers. Get to close and you're just as normal as anyone else in the world."

She was beautiful. Now that they were on a bench with a nearby light illuminating things just a little better he could see it quite clearly. Sure she might not have been the blond bombshell that so many guys including himself seemed to be drawn to, but she was definitely attractive in her own right.

"I'm sorry about making you feel strange." Jacen apologized as he returned Lee's stare without any sign of flinching. He truly was sorry especially since he still couldn't fully understand what good this particular ability really was. Sure it meant he could get together with mutant women that no other man might be able to handle but beyond that what real use was it? It hadn't proven all that helpful in his fight against the cat and giant a few weeks before so how was he supposed to use this to his advantage? Whatever this might be. "Was that the reason we ran into each other? Because your powers turned off or something?"

Well, at least Jacen seemed off of the whole making sure she was alright thing, and had stopped asking if she needed to go to the hospital by this point. Which was a good thing, since half of Lee's mind seemed to be distracted by the fact that she still wasn't siphoning, still couldn't feel the energy from the man sitting just a foot away from her on the bench. Normally, she should have been able to feel that without a problem, should have been able to point out in which direction the energy was coming from without even seeing him there since he was so close.

But Lee wasn't feeling anything from him. At all. It had her feeling off still, like she had no sense of smell, or like missing a step going down stairs. Nothing extremely serious, but it had her feeling off balance, unsure.

And then he started to explain. "You null?" Lee asked slowly, quietly, unable at that moment to actually get any more words out. She wasn't siphoning, she didn't have any powers, not around Jacen apparently.

She was normal.

This is what she had been wanting, almost wishing for since she was 15, to stop siphoning, to not steal energy from people, to be normal again. And yet, now that she had it, now that she wasn't siphoning, Lee just simply felt... off.

"Yeah," Lee confirmed Jacen's question about why they had actually run into each other, her eyes dropping to her lap for a moment before looking back up at him. "I can sense people, feel their energy, so I was using that instead of actually paying attention as I ran.

"Don't be sorry," Lee continued, her voice almost thoughtfully slow as she looked back up at Jacen. "I can't even remember the last time I didn't feel my powers, can't even remember what it really felt like when I was a kid and didn't have them.

"You're really doing this?" Lee asked, a small smile crossing her face. Strange as it was, it really was amazing, this chance to be normal again.

It was interesting to watch the woman's expression as she tried to come to grips with the idea of not having her power. For the first few minutes she still seemed very wary of the whole situation. Like this was some great cosmic joke that would soon be delivering the punch line. Then she shifted into a look of confusion. It amde sense that things would be confusing since she couldn't even remember a time in her life when she had been without her abilities.

Jacen could remember going through those exact same emotions back when he had first met Lori. First it had been pure shock at the very idea she could ever mistake him for a mutant. Then as she explained the situation and how his ability affected hers he had become confused. Hell, he was still confused if he wanted to be completely honest with himself. Maybe even more confused now and all because of that damn blood test! But this meeting was just more proof that he had to be a mutant. How else could he affect yet another woman so that she could enjoy a few minutes without her ability?

The smile and question showed that she was beginning to accept this minor miracle. She was accepting the thing that Jacen still found himself struggling with. On the one hand he was glad to be able to help some people but on the other hand he just wanted to live a normal life. Was that so hard to ask? Why had the cosmos decided that he should have something like this? How in the hell had he been the one chosen?

"I guess I'm doing it." Jacen replied with a slight shrug, "I don't feel or sense anything from it. But after having encountered three or four mutants who all had similar reactions to me, I'd say it's a pretty fair to conclude that I really am the cause."

The way his body was beginning to cool down Jacen knew he wouldn't really get back into running. A quick walk to the car would probably wrap up this workout when he and the woman parted. Which reminded him... he still didn't know her name. How in the world had he let that happen for so long? Obviously he was more distracted by the whole 'mutant' question more than he thought because any other time he never would have let this much time pass before he found out a beautiful woman's name.

"I'm afraid I don't know your name. I know what your ability is and apparently know a little bit about you but I've missed out on the name." Jacen said as his lips curved into a slight smile, "Can I ask you what it is?"

Jacen wasn't exactly sure what it was he was doing, he didn't feel like he was doing anything, seemingly didn't have any control over what he was doing, and yet he was most definitely doing something because Lee was most certainly not siphoning from him at all.

"Not all powers are controllable," Lee said softly as she gazed over at Jacen. "I couldn't control mine for the longest time. I've finally got some measure of control, not much mind you, and I can't stop it on my own, but I've gotten some control."

But then Jacen continued, and any smile that had been on her face faded as Lee dipped her head, looking down at her lap again. She knew his name, knew his powers, and yet he didn't know pretty much a thing about her. He thought he knew her powers, but that wasn't exactly right.

"Lee Brooks," she said after a moment, finally managing to use her new last name without almost saying 'Smith' first. "And no, you don't really know what my powers are. I can feel people's energy because I take people's energy. Not a whole lot, mind you, and I can't help it, like I said I can't remember a time when I haven't felt my powers, but I still do it."

As she finished speaking, Lee glanced up slightly, though her eyelashes, to see what Jacen's reaction would be. Hopefully he wouldn't react as badly as many people seemed to since she wasn't actually siphoning from him.

"I've heard stories about mutants that couldn't' control their powers." Jacen admitted with a slight nod, "I guess the most frustrating part is I don't even feel it. I can't tell that I'm doing anything or affecting anyone. It's like... like someone that has a million dollars in the bank but they don't know the account number or access codes. I know I have this ability but I have no clue how to access it in any way. It's just... just there."

Lee Brooks... well at least the name didn't set off any alarm bells. With his working on the police department there were definitely some mutants names that would immediately put him on high alert but Brooks was not one of them. It definitely wasn't a name from one of those mass murderer types so that meant that he could relax at least a little bit.

"You take people's energy because you don't have a choice." Jacen said quietly, his eyes meeting Lee's gaze as she peeked at him through her eyelashes. She did have nice eyes from what he could see. Very attractive. "It might be wrong of you to take the energy if you could actually control your power but since you struggled with your ability just like I struggle with mine there's no way I can judge you. We both try to fit in with a 'normal' life but even then we know that we're different. The ability is a part of who you are Lee."

Slowly and slightly regretfully the S.W.A.T. officer stood back to his feet and began to go through some light stretching exercises. As much as he just wanted to sit and keep talking he knew that going to long without some type of movement could result in his being very stiff on the way home.

"Uh... would you be interested in me buying you coffee or a bottled water or something?" Jacen ventured as he lifted his gaze back up and looked at the brown haired woman. He wasn't necessarily looking for a date, just someone he could talk with. Lori was out and about in the city somewhere and it would be really nice to have someone to talk to that knew what it was like to have an uncontrollable power. That was something that even his blond friend just couldn't understand.

Lee nodded as Jacen said he'd heard about mutants who couldn't control their abilities. But, as he was saying, he couldn't even feel that he was doing it, either. That was a bit different, but as Lee thought, she realized that it had been similar for her to start with too. It had taken a while for her and her family to realize she was a mutant because no one knew what it was she was doing at first, didn't realize that she was doing anything.

"It took a while for me to be able to feel it," Lee said thoughtfully. "I guess it probably started slowly, not just 'bang there it is', so I guess I kind of got used to feeling the siphoning as it first began."

Jacen's voice also dropped down as he continued speaking after she had explained what exactly her powers did. And, like she had hoped, he didn't think less of her for it, didn't react badly, but it wasn't because of any reasons she had thought. He said he couldn't blame her for it, or judge her, because he couldn't help his powers either.

Before she knew it, Jacen was standing up and starting to stretch. Probably not a bad idea, but before she could move, Jacen had looked over and asked if she wanted a coffee or something. Lee definitely didn't need a coffee, she still had more than enough energy since she hadn't run even close to all of it off yet. But at the same time, it wasn't like a cup of coffee would keep her up longer than night.

"Yeah, I think a coffee sounds good," Lee said, standing as well.

As soon as Lee said yes, Jacen's mind was racing to figure out what coffee shop would be the best to go to while still being somewhat close to central park. There was a little place called "Insomniac's Anonymous" that he had heard of but that would deffinately require driving.

"There's a little stand a block or two that direction." Jacen finally recalled as he pointed in the direction that was actually opposite of his truck. If he remembered correctly it was almost like a sidewalk cart that sold only coffee and nothing else but at least they used a decent blend of beans and brewed it to the correct strength, "I can drive us there but it's actually close enough that we could jog over there if you still feel still like using up some energy."

Looking back over at Lee, Jacen just waited for her to decide. If she wanted to run then he promised himself he could handle whatever pace she might set but if she wanted a ride over there he wouldn't complain either. On the one hand he kind of hoped she'd go for the ride but on the other he knew that a single woman accepting a ride from a stranger was no really the best idea in most situation.

Lee paused in thought for a moment after Jacen mentioned that there was a little stand just over in that direction a little way. "That place is still open?" Lee asked. She knew that stand was there, she actually went to it quite often, but only during the day. The fact of the matter was Lee any time that Lee was actually really awake at this time of night, she really didn't need coffee, she needed to work off energy.

"Either walking or jogging over would probably be best," Lee commented as she started to walk in the direction of that coffee stand. "I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't work off more energy."

With that, Lee started jogging in the direction of the coffee stand, sure that Jacen would follow her. She wasn't running nearly as fast as she had been before she had run into Jacen, merely a jog this time. After a couple of moments, she looked over her shoulder to him. "So, do you do this often?" She asked. "Run into women in the park at night and take them for coffee?"

As Lee began to jog away, Jacen fell in stop with her. He started off just a little bit behind her but as they moved forward his longer strides began to close the distance. It was obvious that neither of them were having to over exert themselves in order to maintain this place but at the same time anyone watching closely would have seen the fine sheen of sweat reappearing on his forehead.

"I go running often enough but as for literally running into women and then asking them for coffee... you're the first." Jacen replied with a slight grin even as his mind continued to focus on keeping his breathing as even as possible.

Really, Jacen expected a quester other than that. He didn't know Lee so oviously he couldnt' judge her on experiences between the two of them, just on his experience with other women. At least it gave him an opportunity to pay her a compliment.

"But, I also don't normally see many attractive women such as yourself running at this time of night." He said with a slight twinkle in his eye, "What about you? Do you make a habbit of running into strange guys and then accepting their invitation to coffee?"