Sveta had to admit to herself that she has been lonely lately.
Jude was super busy, with work, and god knows what. Ever since... the dreams, things had not been the same. It was getting more and more troublesome to be a mutant in New York City, and sveta felt bad for being glad she could pass for human, as long as she bundled up.
Things were... strange.

And all the strangeness called for... normal things. Small things. Things like a walk in the park, or a talk with a friend, a cup of hot chocolate. Or, in today's case, visiting a museum.

Museums were well guarded, organized places. Safe, to a certain extent, but safe none the less. Sveta chose one by random, closest to the Clinic, and decided to walk the few blocks, and see what was on exhibit. Could have been anything, it did not matter. She was going to take a day off from worrying about the world.

Jacob was really starting to get agitated. That was a significant thing too… he had a very strong will, high tolerance for most people, and the ability to let things go… but the people of this city were really starting to test his patience. He had chosen to take the day off, get out of the shop, away from work, and go visit a museum that was relatively near the mansion. He wanted to find someone… anyone… who would make good conversation and allow him to relax, restore his faith in humanity.

Most of that was because he had a busy morning.

He had broken up two fights… one from a group of humans picking on a mutant, and another were a young kid with powers was terrifying a crowd of people trapped in their home. Both of which were defused quickly, simply, and without any bloodshed… although there was likely some pride broken. Jacob couldn’t stand bullying of any kind… an even one on one fight? Sure, knock yourselves out… but when the odds started to tip and there was no respect between those fighting, he hated that type of pointless violence with a passion. No one had a fighter’s spirit anymore, respect for those they fought and tested their mettle against.

It was like they had no care about the Law of War. The unspoken law that every Soldier who had seen true combat knew. Jacob knew… all too well. So, as he neared the entrance, having parked his Impala a short distance away, he saw a young blonde walking towards the same place, and moved quickly, allowing himself time to open the door for her. “After you Ma’am.” He was in his traditional leather jacket, T-shirt, blue jeans and tan combat boots, and his 6’ 3” muscular frame was by no means small. After the young woman entered, he would follow.

>>“After you Ma’am.”

It was good to know that there were still some polite people left in the world. Sveta smiled at the man who opened the door for her. Warm air radiated from inside the building, nice and soothing after the cold outside. Sveta was used to the cold - she was Russian, after all - but it still felt nice to unbutton her coat and...

"Hey!"

A group of kids ran out the door, laughing as they went, not watching where - as kids often do. One of the bumped into Sveta, who, in turn. staggered backwards and bumped into the guy behind her. So much about nice and polite.

"Watch it!" she yelled after the kids in Russian, trying to find her feet.

(I can edit if needbe. Just trying to figure out how to make this work.

Jacob saw them coming, but there was no true way to prepare yourself for a swarm of kids getting done with what they likely considered a very boring field trip. He usually didn’t have much of a problem, but the swarm came when he was mid-step, and as he put his foot down, he felt the tell-tale feeling of coming down nearly on top of someone else’s foot. He immediately and instinctively brought his foot up, taking a little bit larger of a step than he would have preferred, and thanks to his proximity with the young woman in front of him, he nearly stumbled into her. His hand, trying to catch himself from falling, brushed her shoulder, and it felt like his mind exploded for a moment.

He could sense mechanical things in far greater detail… and at much longer ranges… it was like his mutant ability had been put on a super-charger… and there was only one explanation. He had heard rumors that a very rare mutation didn’t have function on its own, but instead assisted other powers. Still, he never imagined that this woman could be so… but then again, he was in the Big Apple, and what about this city ever came as something you expected? Recoiling back, he stood still for a moment, trying his best to collect his mind after the experience.

He then locked onto the woman, if she was trying to flee, he wanted to talk to her. Fate had a funny way of throwing him a curveball, and talking to a fellow mutant would serve well right now… especially to find out if the effects were permanent.

He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or worried if it was true.

Sveta pulled her arm away from the man behind her - even small touches like that could cause a problem as she had seen before. Peole could die. She did not want people to die.

Standing apart from the man and from the door, she pulled the coat tighter around herself and looked for a clear way out. She was not going to attempt walking in again until she was sure she would not be pushed around.

She glanced at the man who opened the door for her. He looked... confused. Maybe it was just from young blondes bumping into him, or maybe the fact that she was yelling in Russian - that tended to confuse Americans, even in New York. She hoped she did not hurt him.

Jacob cleared his head, as much as he could, and regained his composure. No chance that he was wrong about her enhancing his mutation… what else could it have possibly be? Still, he had to be careful here, because any sudden brash words and she would likely scare off. Perhaps it would be best to ensure they were in private tidings… and he thought he knew a way to make it work. “I’m sorry for bumping into you, Ma’am. Kids can be rather unruly. Perhaps if we walk together they won’t be able to swarm us so easily? I have never been in this Museum before.” All true facts, but to wait until they got inside so they could talk.

He quickly searched her with his ability, looking for something he could lock onto should they get separated so that he could find her again. His heightened abilities, which were hard to reign in at this point, found her phone and watch instantly, and while their mechanical functions were mostly electrical, thanks to his empowerment tracking them would be simple. He didn’t dare try manipulating anything mechanical… with it being over-charged, he might turn a car into a Transformer or something… That would be awkward. If she chose to, they would walk in together, and Jacob would carve a path for her if another swarm came through.

>>“I’m sorry for bumping into you, Ma’am. Kids can be rather unruly. Perhaps if we walk together they won’t be able to swarm us so easily? I have never been in this Museum before.”

Well, the guy was nothing if not polite. Sveta straightened her coat and smiled at him, politely, amikng sure she had not made some crucial mistake. The kids were long gone, and the doorway way clear.

"Sure" she nodded as they walked in. "I have never been here either."

She stole another glance at him, trying to guess if he had been hit by her powers. Nothing tragic happened yet, so it was safe to guess he was either not a mutant, or his powers did not cause obvious effects like... boom.

"Please don't touch me." she added kind of hesitantly, there was really no better way of saying it, but she needed to make it clear. Hopefully it did not make her sound like some socially awkward person... "Um, I mean..."

Jacob waited a few moments, allowing her time to think about his request and fix her coat, and then she accepted his invitation. That worked out well… he hadn’t expected it to be so simple as for her to accept his invitation. He never did have much practice talking with women, and this Russian woman, based on the accent and her speech towards the kids earlier, was nothing if not beautiful. She was a bit young for Colt to look at in any way but Society’s typical view of women, but that was fine with him, he didn’t think there would be many people looking at a grease jockey anyway.

Jacob took a position by her side, and she said something that confirmed every suspicious that he had formed about his brush with her earlier. “I’m afraid it’s a little late for that, Ma’am, but it is amazing. Although I would like to talk to you…” he paused, looking around, and found an art viewing room close by that was vacant, “…perhaps somewhere a little more discreet?” Hopefully she accepted, as mutants weren’t always taken kindly to by the general populace, and thus, talking about different abilities and stuff like that was generally best kept to a need to know basis. If she accepted, he would walk with her towards the room, and they could talk there.

>>“I’m afraid it’s a little late for that, Ma’am, but it is amazing. Although I would like to talk to you…perhaps somewhere a little more discreet?”

Sveta's eye narrowed. So he did notice. That still did not mean he was a mutant - coffee buzz was free for everyone - but with all the things going on around the city, she wanted to be safe. She had been kidnapped enough for a lifetime, and after the... dream, falling back into her nice and relatively comfortable life, she felt more vulnerable than before the amazon memories.

"Um..." she glanced towards the room It was open on both ends, part of the exhibition, but probably did not contain anything too interesting, since most people passed by it without a glance. Still, it was close enought to the main entrance to be in security's line of view. Sveta nodded slowly, walking towards the room with the guy. She made sure to keep her distance.

Jacob could almost smell the apprehension coming from the young woman. She didn’t like this situation, but was willing to oblige her, and thus, he would have to reassure her that he meant her absolutely no harm. But how was he, a man with not so small stature, going to do that? He couldn’t sit down, because there were no chairs, and talking to someone who is sitting on the floor in an art gallery was not really something most sane people did. He considered it for a moment while they walked to the private room, and he too made sure that the guards had a clear line of sight, which would hopefully ease the tension a bit.

“Thank you Ma’am… I can tell talking to me is something that you perhaps would rather not do, and I am glad you chose to oblige me. I am merely curious about what has happened to me… I feel… supercharged, if that makes any sense… it’s amazing.” It was not a lie either… he had an odd look in his eye that seemed similar to a kid on Christmas, that gleam that they had just been given something truly spectacular and didn’t know how or why. Part of his didn’t care, but this was something that he certainly wanted to know more about, because he felt really powerful in his ability right now. He also knew that he couldn’t come at her too strong, kept his distance, and stood to where both his hands were exposed, no ability to pull out a weapon or hide anything. He also looked at her dead in the eyes, to show his respect for the woman and try to convey that he was being truthful.

>>“Thank you Ma’am… I can tell talking to me is something that you perhaps would rather not do, and I am glad you chose to oblige me. I am merely curious about what has happened to me… I feel… supercharged, if that makes any sense… it’s amazing.”

Oh, he was one of those.

Sveta pulled her best pokerface (she had developed one back in the day around the times of Stepdad No. 4, and kept it ever since, very useful skill for a mail order bride). She was not going to talk about her powers to a stranger just because he liked them.
Especially not if he liked them. She had known that look all too well. It made her feel like a drug on legs.

"I don't know what you are talking about" she said, tilting her head "Did you have coffee, maybe?"

Jacob recognized the reaction… she still felt threatened, if he could guess, and he probably wasn’t doing any favors in that direction considering how blunt his conversation normally was. Worked great on the most men, and the more ‘hands on’ type of females, but when it came to talking to a normal woman, Jacob was a novice. Perhaps he should try a different approach. Putting his hands up slightly, he ensured there was enough distance between them that he wasn’t hovering over her, and took in a breath. She played it off well, he had to admit, and if he wasn’t sure of what had happened, he would have probably backed off the situation and tried to figure out what had occurred.

“I apologize Ma’am. My name is Jacob Corbulo, Retired Army, and owner of Jacob’s Junkyard and Shop.” He instinctively held out his hand to shake hers, and only after a moment, and likely a look from her wondering why he was trying to shake her hand, did he withdraw it, recalling the ‘please don’t touch me’ comment from earlier. If she did shake his hand, it would be gentle yet firm. He really needed to work on his social skills… just plain horrible. He then gave her the opportunity to introduce herself.

>>“I apologize Ma’am. My name is Jacob Corbulo, Retired Army, and owner of Jacob’s Junkyard and Shop.”

She winced at the mention of the army. She did not like the American army. They had too much secret stuff going on, and for someone who has been on the worse end of mutant research, that was not a positive aspect.
He was still nice though. And polite. He introduced himself, and hand out a hand for a handshake, but pulled it back when he remembered her request. That was good, that he did not insist on touching. Sveta relaxed a bit.

"Efimia Nikolayeva" she answered, not reaching out for the handshake "Effie. I... work at a clinic."

Jacob noticed the visible wince when he mentioned that he was a member of the armed forces. Perhaps he had a bad run in with another troop of some kind, but regardless, he would forgo mentioning anything else relating to that for the moment. No need for previous animosity to take precedence and make this conversation any harder than it already was. He nodded as he was given a name to match to her face, and proceeded with a simple query; “I recognize it slightly, and from your words earlier, Russian, correct?” He had a few friends that were originally from Russia… good guys, and occasionally they would talk in Russian. He had no clue what was being said, just the general dialect.

That being said, it was time to come clean. “The reason I made that assumption, Ma’am, is I am a mutant, and I have heard rumors that there are people who can turn people’s powers off, and others who can make them much stronger in their ability. When I accidently bumped you… my ability was enhanced… I’m fortunate to have control over my ability, but I can certainly understand your predicament about not wanting to accidently bump the wrong person, if I am indeed correct in my thoughts that you are the latter variety. I don’t want anything other than to understand better.”

Jacob noticed the visible wince when he mentioned that he was a member of the armed forces. Perhaps he had a bad run in with another troop of some kind, but regardless, he would forgo mentioning anything else relating to that for the moment. No need for previous animosity to take precedence and make this conversation any harder than it already was. He nodded as he was given a name to match to her face, and proceeded with a simple query; “I recognize it slightly, and from your words earlier, Russian, correct?” He had a few friends that were originally from Russia… good guys, and occasionally they would talk in Russian. He had no clue what was being said, just the general dialect.

That being said, it was time to come clean. “The reason I made that assumption, Ma’am, is I am a mutant, and I have heard rumors that there are people who can turn people’s powers off, and others who can make them much stronger in their ability. When I accidently bumped you… my ability was enhanced… I’m fortunate to have control over my ability, but I can certainly understand your predicament about not wanting to accidently bump the wrong person, if I am indeed correct in my thoughts that you are the latter variety. I don’t want anything other than to understand better.”