It was late in the afternoon, and Blaine had left his apartment just to take a walk to the gym and blow off some steam. He'd had a rough fight the night before, and the loss was still weighing pretty big on his ego. At least he couldn't actually the beatdown that was put on him, anyway. Though, to be fair, the guy seemed like he weighed about as much as Blaine did, but once the bell rang, the guy seemed to gain 75 pounds of muscle, and Blaine was outclassed. Granted, it still took a hell of a lot for Painkiller to go down, but the fact was...he went down. And though he couldn't physically feel, his emotions and his pride took the brunt of the damage.

However, in his black leather jacket, black jeans, and black boots, with his hair tied back in a ponytail and his face sporting a rather nasty bruise, he looked like quite the force to be reckoned with. He briskly walked down the sidewalk, occasionally brushing shoulders with people. But for one, he didn't care; he couldn't feel them. And on top of that, not many people would dare cross someone who looked like him.

Gemma had a whole lot of shopping to do. Christmas was just around the corner, and as usual, she had a long list of friends and family members to buy or make gifts for, as well as an executive list of Mansion decorations, Christmas food menus, and the like, to make the holidays cozy for the students who did not have a family to go home to. Gemma was a good planner; she had been slowly accumulating things for weeks now, but along with the preparations for her own wedding she was still a little overworked. Today, she was carrying two boxes of Christmas lights and tree ornaments, walking at a brisk pace on the sidewalk, trying to get the end of her to-do list before the cold really got to her. She tried as much as she could not to bump into people, but the crowd was pretty bad, and carrying the boxes did not help much with navigating it.

"I'm sorry, excuse me..." she really just wanted to get back to her car. New York City was always crazy around the holidays...

Blaine was somewhat lost in thought, thinking on the odd events that had taken place at his fight the night before, the loss still weighing heavy on his mind. Suddenly, someone brushed by him, and he stopped and turned. "Oh it's quite alri-- Wait...he felt...he felt her brush him. And that....was that...wind? His hair brushing against his cheek? The chill of the December air on his face. His clothes brushing against his--

Suddenly his entire body jerked as he let out a scream not unlike that of a wounded bear. His face hurt, his head was pounding, and it hurt to move his arms; he felt it right in the pit of his chest. His heart was racing, and he could feel it pounding inside of his chest. Every breath was sharp. Everything hurt as he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. Even the bruise on his face seemed to have a pulse as he shook, kneeling right there on the sidewalk with his hands on his head as he groaned.

"What....the....hell...." he gasped, and most people just walked around him. He wanted to just curl up, but he figured that would hurt too. "I...I felt a breeze..." he murmured with a slight smile. "But OH MY **** GOD WHAT THE **** IS HAPPENING TO ME?!?"

One moment Gemma was brushing past someone without really looking at them... and the next, someone was screaming, a male voice, and then the person behind her collapsed on the sidewalk. Most people waked past, or even a little faster; weird things happened in New York all the time, and weird things often involved mutant powers, and most people did not want any of that mess in the middle of their Christmas shopping. Sadly, they tended to have the same attitude towards mental illness as well.

Gemma turned, looking at the man who was now kneeling on the ground, clearly in pain.

>>"What....the....hell.... I...I felt a breeze... But OH MY **** GOD WHAT THE **** IS HAPPENING TO ME?!?"

Gemma hurried over, placing her boxes on the ground as she crouched down next to the man.

"Talk to me" she said n the voice she usually used with students who were scared or confused "What's wrong?"

Scared and confused was right. He could feel the bandages wrapped around his midsection; it seemed to make his breath even harder. But now there was someone next to him, and it made him feel better. Emotionally, anyway.

He was still pale and shaking, sweat pouring from his brow. You know, real tough guy.

"I...feel....I'm...not...supposed to...feel... " he panted. "But...I can feel...everything... and...I don't know....why....****..." He closed his eyes, just trying to focus on the good sensations. The wind, his hands against his face. The hair on his skin. Anything but the overwhelming pain...

There was nothing visibly wrong with the man. Gemma checked him over as much as she could without touching; he had a bruise on his face, but he was not bleeding anywhere, or having any kind of a seizure. He was just... in pain. Gemma dug into her purse for her phone in case she needed to call an ambulance. Next thing after a medical condition was some kind of a mutation... but if it had been, it would have gotten better the moment she got near.

>>"I...feel....I'm...not...supposed to...feel... But...I can feel...everything... and...I don't know....why....****..."

Gemma blinked, confused. Maybe he was not in physical pain? Maybe it was some kind of an emotional breakdown?

"Feel? What is it that you feel?"

He opened his eyes to look at her. "I'm...mutant. I don't feel....anything...physical. Haven't in over twenty years..." He paused,letting out another groan as he moved to a sitting position.

"...Something's....wrong...cracked a rib last night...got it doctored but...****... " He bit his lip.

>>"I'm...mutant. I don't feel....anything...physical. Haven't in over twenty years..."

"Oh." Gemma blinked again, as things became clear "... oh."

Mutants sometimes reacted violently to her adapted aura. Some lost powers that they relied on in their everyday life, and others shifted in painful and unexpected ways. Gemma suddenly felt guilty for not assuming sooner that her aura had something to do with the man's pain.

>>"...Something's....wrong...cracked a rib last night...got it doctored but...****... "

Not feeling... anything... was not an ability she had ever encountered before. Gemma stood, hurriedly backing away until the man way just outside her adapted range.

"How about now?"

And just as instantly as it happened...he was numb again. He hopped rather nimbly to his feet, scratching his head and noting she'd moved away.

This was...weird, and he was just so confused. He looked at her, but didn't move from his spot. "Much better, " he called out. "But I still wonder what the hell happened. " Out of habit, he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets, still as confused as ever.

Even if she had not known what was causing the sudden pain to the man, it would have been glaringly obvious to Gemma that she was the source of it. The moment she stepped away he was back on his feet, not showing any sign of discomfort. If he was telling the truth, and was not feeling any of the effects of a broken rib... well, that was quite impressive. And a little disconcerting.

>>"Much better. But I still wonder what the hell happened. "

"I happened, I'm afraid" Gemma noted apologetically, holding up a hand so that he would not come any closer "I'm an adapted human. You must have accidentally walked inside my aura."

He started to approach, but stopped when she put her hand up; he recognized that symbol. He blinked; Blaine had no idea what an adapted was, but from the way she was talking, and how things had happened, he had a pretty good idea of what it meant.

"I have no idea what that is, but correct me if I'm wrong. You can....make people's mutations not work? And the word 'aura' tells me you can't turn it off, right?" He looked at her from a distance, thinking over things, but actually kind of enjoying his inability to feel at the moment. Pain was definitely something he didn't want to be reacquainted with anytime soon.

"My name's Blaine, by the way."

Ha was standing without effort for apparent pain now, and paused when Gemma held up a hand. He was a mutant, with a power that... made him not feel pain? Gemma wondered how that worked, if not feeling did not come with a healing factor. Could he accidentally hurt himself? She did not want to see him collapse or something like that.

>>"I have no idea what that is, but correct me if I'm wrong. You can....make people's mutations not work? And the word 'aura' tells me you can't turn it off, right?"

"That's right." Gemma nodded "My aura cancels out mutant powers. I can't turn it off. You are just outside of it now."

>>"My name's Blaine, by the way."

"Gemma. Nice to meet you... I apologize for the... what happened."

He nodded, biting his lip as he thought it over. And then she apologized. Truly, it was a lot to process. Though the feeling was gone again, it was fresh on his mind: The sharp pain in his chest, the dull throbbing of the bruise on his face. The faint beating of his heart, the cool caress of the breeze, his hair faintly tickling hos face, and the almost bitter bite to the air. In a way, it was all welcome.

"Don't apologize. It was...rather welcome. I missed what the breeze felt like...and my hair. That was worth the pain, honestly." A faint smile crossed his face as he began to chuckle warmly.

He was okay. From what she could tell he was okay, and not angry at her for accidentally causing him to feel pain.

>>"Don't apologize. It was...rather welcome. I missed what the breeze felt like...and my hair. That was worth the pain, honestly."

"So... you don't feel anything?" she ventured, curious about his powers "Does that... make things difficult for you?"

There were so many implications. Accidentally shifting broken bones? Having illnesses or injuries without noticing? Not being able to sense by touch?... Gemma wondered why a mutation like that would manifest itself. Sure, like all mutations, it could have benefits too... they were just hard to imagine.

"Nope. Not a thing," he answered, just loud enough for her to hear him. "It did, at first, yeah. But eventually, my brain compensated, and I was able to develop muscle memory for those mundane, everyday things. Like holding a glass without breaking it." He chuckled. "My parents swapped to all plastic, and even some stainless steel while I was still learning. It was...rather difficult for a twelve year old, to be honest."

He opted to stop there, not going into his failed fighting career, or his rather successful illegal one. Those things, one tended to keep to themselves, especially on a crowded city street. "But it's not all bad. I'm a bouncer at some of the bars and clubs in the city; I work freelance right now, hoping to find something more permanent. No feeling really helps when you're dealing with a bunch of ornery drunks," he said lightly, giving a small shrug.