Zoe frowned when Booker talked about destroying the library. ”Who said anything about destruction other than you?” she asked, then laughed and shook her head at the mention of gorillas. ”Nah, gorillas would be far too difficult to get out of the library, never mind through the streets and actually into the library. But a dog, or maybe a wolf, that I could probably do,” Zoe said with a shrug. Who knew, Jay may be interested in doing something like that. She had better not mention it unless she was serious about it.

Then he said that a true stalker would find things out on her own, and Zoe just rolled her eyes. ”What do you think that was? I asked the question myself to find out the information. Just because I was trying the easy route before doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t put the effort in to find out,” Zoe said with a wink.

It took a few moments after she said that the animals listened to her because she listened to them, but then he got a suspicious look. Then he was stepping closer to her, but not too close, and he asked the question that her family had never thought to. Zoe shrugged. ”I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

He was just teasing, of course. He didn’t think that Zoe was actually some psychotic stalker of people. Even if she was, it wasn’t like she would admit it. However, again, he didn’t really like to give out his middle name as either most people didn’t believe him or were let down by the revelation of the unknown mystery. Therefore it was always better to leave people with a sense of wonder than pulling back the curtain and revealing the squat little con man pretending to be the wizard.

However, despite the logic, Booker still had to smirk a little, turning his gaze down when Zoe seemed...unsatisfied with his response.

>>“”What do you think that was? I asked the question myself to find out the information. Just because I was trying the easy route before doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t put the effort in to find out,”

He chuckled. ”Then may the odds be ever in your favor.” Nothing wrong with quoted a noted Young Adult series, The Starving Plays, one of his favorites. He really didn’t give it much thought, that Zoe would actually spare the time to search for his middle name, but he still wished her the best.

Eventually they turned to discussing more interesting matters, such as the apparent mutation of the lovely blonde. He arched his eyebrow, casually looked to the left and right, and in a careful voice made allusions to the notion that Zoe had some...paranormal abilities. Of course the librarian wasn’t suggesting that the young woman was some medium of the spirits or anything as out of left field as that. Rather, he was hinting at the notion that maybe, just maybe, she was a mutant.

>> ”I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

It was interesting. Booker was meeting so many mutants these days that it was getting harder and harder to keep track of them all. Not to mention that fact that his sister hid the fact that she was a mutant for years.

And still, despite the relative commonplace of hearing it these days, the librarian was nonetheless excited. He loved meeting mutants. He hated what he inadvertently did to them, but that was a dark splotch he didn’t need to acknowledge just yet. Besides, whatever her gift was (he guessed it had to do with animals), she wasn’t near any right now and she didn’t seem to be in any pain even though she was well within his ten foot radius. That was always a good sign.

”Well, if you’re acknowledging what I’m hinting at,” he gave her a brilliant smile. ”Honor to meet you.”

Booker laughed and, in a nerdy way, wished her luck with searching out the mystery of his middle name. Zoe grinned. Not that she was actually planning on trying to figure it out, but it was fun to joke about it. Even more so since Booker was playing along with it, even egging her on.

And then when she admitted that calling her a mutant was one way of looking at her ability to speak with animals, Booker looked even more excited than he had been already. Zoe cocked her head as she looked over at the man. At least he had moved closer when he asked about her abilities so he wasn’t speaking as loudly.

What he said next, with a large smile, floored Zoe. ”An honour to meet me?” Zoe questioned, her head still tilted slightly as she looked at Booker, though there was a small smile on her face as she spoke. ”Most people just mutter under their breaths that I’m weird and crazy as they try to avoid me.”

Then Zoe examined Booker for a moment, head tilting in the other direction. ”That’s gotta mean just one thing,” Zoe ended up saying thoughtfully. Then a grin broke out on her face again. ”You must be just as strange as me.”

Booker was really only teasing the blonde. He knew, more than likely, that after this meeting she wouldn’t give a second thought about his middle name. But it was fun to try and goad her on, just a little bit. This was a nice break in the slowness of his day and he was willing to carrying it on in order for it to last just a little bit longer.

But the conversation truly got interesting when Zoe hinted at the possible fact that she was a mutant. He didn’t ask her right out because the man had learned to be respectful about such things. Instead he lowered his voice, speaking in a more cryptic manner. When she confirmed that, yet, she was a mutant, the man could barely contain his excitement. He was just meeting mutants left and right these days, wasn’t he?

It was an honor to meet her, especially that she felt comfortable enough to reveal that side of herself. A lot of mutants didn’t feel that safe, especially in this climate with strange rips in spacetime opening up and accusing fingers being thrown about. Then again, there were those who simply didn’t care, but Booker didn’t peg Zoe to belong in that category. She still made her to lower her voice when she spoke about her nature and that was something he could respect.

>>”An honour to meet me? Most people just mutter under their breaths that I’m weird and crazy as they try to avoid me.”

He snorted. ”This is New York. You can’t swing a pencil without hitting someone who’s ‘weird’ and ‘crazy’.” He grinned. ”Besides,” he shrugged. ”I’ve met a few...similar...people. I’m nothing if not respectful.”

And that was true. He knew at least three X-Men, his own sister, and former fling, all of which were mutants and whom he never said anything about knowing them. He wanted to be trusted, just as much as he wanted to trust other people, so it was important to him that he act accordingly. If Zoe didn’t want anyone knowing she was a mutant then Booker was quite literally one of those individuals who could take that secret to his grave.

>>”That’s gotta mean just one thing...You must be just as strange as me.”

He smirked a bit sadly. Reaching over, he picked up a stray book that needed to be scanned as “in-use” and then placed back on the shelf. The job of a librarian was never done. But, getting back to Zoe question, he gently shook his head.

”Ah, as much as I wish, sadly...I am not.” He smirked and headed back to his cart, setting the book inside. If Zoe wanted to follow him as he pushed it between the shelves, sweeping for more stray books, he would continue. ”I’m just one of the average weird ones.” He corrected.

Zoe nodded. Booker did have a good point, there were a lot of crazies in the city. She was just the safe, not actually crazy type. But in a lot of ways, it was a lot better to have people think she was a little crazy and eccentric than for everyone who passed her to think that she was a mutant. Though, Booker had made that connection.

At least he didn’t see it as a bad thing. And he’d met other ‘similar’ people before? ”Sounds like you might have some interesting stories there,” Zoe said with a raised eyebrow. And, even if he didn’t, it would give her information about other mutants. Because it wasn’t as though she really knew all that many. The only one she had even talked to in the last few years was Jay, after all.

He wished that he was strange like her? That was a weird thing to say, especially before he started to slowly push his cart between the rows again. A slightly confused frown on her face, Zoe followed behind Booker. ”What do you mean you’re ‘one of the average weird ones’?” She asked as she came up to walk beside him. ”There’s nothing normal about being weird.”

Then she grinned before continuing, taking an obvious look at his hands, up at his eyes, his mouth. ”So what’s your weirdness? Six fingers? Six toes? Different coloured eyes? Extra teeth?” Not that Zoe really expected any of those, but she was curious now.

Yeah, as much as Booker wished that he was a mutant with some amazing powers, it was far from the truth. He wasn’t a mutant, he was just a guy, a guy who produced a rare aura that allowed him to completely shut off mutant abilities. He left that last part out, though. He didn’t know Zoe well enough to really reveal that side of him, besides, it wasn’t as if her powers being turned off was affecting her in any negative way. If she were constantly on fire or was forced to turn from a bug-humanoid back into a straight up human, then yeah, of course he would warn her. But, as it stood, he never would have guessed she was a mutant if she hadn’t told him.

So, for the time being, he would keep that bit of information to himself. Not everyone knew about adapteds and some mutants didn’t want any dealings with them. So it was just safer to err on the side of caution.

>>”Sounds like you might have some interesting stories there,”

He smirked. ”I always have stories,” he said with a slightly offended tone. ”I’m a librarian. All I do is read.”

Booker started to push his cart through the shelves, Zoe following as she clearly wanted to continue their conversation.

>>”What do you mean you’re ‘one of the average weird ones’? There’s nothing normal about being weird.”

A snort followed. ”Please, weird is the new ‘normal’,” he explained with a chuckle. ”Everyone is striving to be different, embracing those things that other people would think are odd. In a world full of people flying around or setting things on fire with their minds, everyone, even the Average Joe, is going to take the opportunity to let their weird fly, mundane or not.”

These days people were advised more and more to “be themselves” and to stop trying to conform to social standards that, in all honesty, didn’t exist anymore. People with weird quirks or likes that they normally wouldn’t express were now freely doing so. That was what he meant by “weird” is the new “normal” but very, very little was normal in this day and age anymore; weird has become the new standard.

He stopped to pluck a book that was lying flat on the shelf, rather than standing upright, from a nearby shelf and set it on his cart.

>>”So what’s your weirdness? Six fingers? Six toes? Different coloured eyes? Extra teeth?”

He laughed. ”Nothing as overt as that,” he commented. He just shrugged and gestured to his nerdy bowtie. ”I’m a big gaming and comic book fan and I freely wear things like bowties or vests that express that.” A soft smile accented his words. ”Not every labeled as weird has to be as grandeious as having an extra body part.”

He always had stories because he was a librarian? Zoe rolled her eyes a bit at Booker. ”If I want stories from books, I’ll just read them,” Zoe said. ”I’m interested in the stories that I can’t read myself. The stories you’d have to tell me or I’ll never know.”

Oh, Booker meant weird as in people weren’t afraid of letting their uniquenesses show. Yeah, that was not what Zoe thought of as being weird, that was just people being themselves.

He was just a comic book nerd? Zoe was honestly a little disappointed by that. Because there really wasn’t anything wrong, or even weird these days, about being a comic book nerd. ”I have to say, I’m a little disappointed,” Zoe voiced her earlier thought. ”The way you were selling it, I was expecting something more. I mean, I tell you I can understand animals, and all you’ve got in response is that you like comic books and gaming?

“You realize that these days you can barely walk down the street without running into a comic book nerd,” Zoe pointed out. ”I’m pretty sure those bow ties and vests just make you you, so I wouldn’t consider them something that makes you weird.”

SO maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Booker did consider himself weird, hell, his sister thought he was really weird, but it wasn’t in a manner similar to Zoe. He wasn’t a mutant, that much was for sure, but he was something more than just the average human: he was an adapted. He could cancel out the powers of mutants without really even trying so, yeah, he was more than just a geeky fan of comic books and video games -- he was more, technically, evolved. But, at the same time, it wasn’t an aspect of himself that he generally exposed to the world, let alone someone whom he had just met.

Still, it seemed that Zoe was a little unappreciative of his answer and made sure to tell him that as he moved along the aisles, picking up stray books.

>> ”I have to say, I’m a little disappointed,..The way you were selling it, I was expecting something more. I mean, I tell you I can understand animals, and all you’ve got in response is that you like comic books and gaming?

Booker snorted as he looked back to her, picking up another book and placing it in his cart. ’I mean, what did you expect?” he said with a cheeky grin. ”For me to tell you that I can fly or move things with my mind?” He smiled a bit sadly and shrugged his shoulders. ”Sorry, but I’m not that special. I wish I was…”

It was true. Growing up, Booker always wanted to be special. He wanted superpowers, like all his favorite characters in his comic books. When mutants started becoming more prominent in the news, he had hoped that he was one of those people whose X-Gene would activate when he was a teenager. He waited and waited...but it never came. Instead, it turned out he was the exact opposite of a mutant -- he didn’t have powers, he could take them away and that took some getting used to.

>>“You realize that these days you can barely walk down the street without running into a comic book nerd...I’m pretty sure those bow ties and vests just make you you, so I wouldn’t consider them something that makes you weird.”

Booker chuckled. ”You should tell my sister that,” he teased. ”She calls me ‘weird’ all the time for those exact reasons.”

Booker seemed a bit surprised that she had expected more weirdness from him. She shrugged. ”Well, a girl can hope, can’t she?” Zoe asked. ”Though, it's really not all it's cracked up to be, to be honest.”

She smiled slightly sadly when Booker said he wished he had powers. ”You don't have to be a mutant to be special,” Zoe told him earnestly. ”For example, I never expected to come across a librarian who was this interesting to talk with while working.”

As Booker continued, Zoe couldn't help but laugh with him. ”That may be because she's your sister. She's got to tease you about something, right?”

As supportive as Booker was of the mutant community, there was always going to be a bit of jealousy. He spend his life reading fantastical stories in comics and novels and short stories, he wanted to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound or battle a pantheon of gods with nothing but his wit and his demigod blood. But that genetic gift seemed to pass him by. More frustrating was the recent revelation that his own sister was a mutant. Talking about being jealous of your sibling.

>>”Well, a girl can hope, can’t she? Though, it's really not all it's cracked up to be, to be honest.”

He frowned a bit, nodding his head in reply. He had met enough mutants to know that they were not always blessed with the most amazing or easiest of gifts. His own girlfriend was a prime example, needed to balance exactly how much sunlight she took in everyday, lest she put herself at risk or risk harming others. Booker hated seeing her like that, especially when his adapted aura affected her so negatively. It was enough to give the librarian certain thoughts that he couldn’t considering thinking about too deeply.

>>”You don't have to be a mutant to be special...For example, I never expected to come across a librarian who was this interesting to talk with while working.”

Zoe’s words brought him back to reality. She reminded him that people didn’t need to be mutants to be special and he smirked. He then laughed out loud when she further clarified that even a humble librarian could prove to be interesting. Booker, chuckling, gave her a smile.

”You flatter this dredge from the shallow end of the gene pool,” he joked. He then sighed as he nodded. ”I know. You don’t need powers to be special. Still...would be something, wouldn’t it?” He grinned goodnaturedly. Still, he had to let slip that, no matter what, his own sister still thought he was weird.

>>”That may be because she's your sister. She's got to tease you about something, right?”

A snort followed. ”Please…” his said dismissively, then gestured to himself. ’How can you tease ‘perfection incarnate?’” He was joking, of course. He moved into another aisle, stopping to pick up a stray book before he turned back to his companion. ”Oh! Did you come here for anything specific? I am a librarian. We’re particularly good finders.” he shrugged. ’Plus, I GUESS it’s my job, or whatever.”

Zoe shook her head when Booker joked about him being from the shallow end of the gene pool. But he really seemed to wish that he was a mutant. ”It would be something,” Zoe ended up agreeing as she followed Booker’s slow path through the shelves. ”Not sure it’d be good, but it would be something. I mean, I had it pretty easy, really. Most people just thought that I was eccentric or crazy, not that I was a mutant.”

Zoe shrugged then, glancing over at Booker with a bit of a smile. ”But it’s not like we can change who we are,” she continued, a bit more serious than she had been. ”So we just have to find people who like us for who we are, right?”

Then Zoe smirked slightly, a more teasing tone coming into her voice as she continued. ”And, even if you’re not a mutant, I mean, I might be able to come to like you.”

How did you tease perfection? Zoe shrugged, continuing with the teasing. ”It sure can’t be easy,” she told him. ”She’s obviously jealous of your perfection.”

Oh right! She was at the library for an actual reason, wasn’t she? Zoe had kind of forgotten that fact by this point, she was having such a good time chatting with Booker. ”Hopefully you’re good at your job, after all the time we’ve spent talking,” Zoe said with a bit of a laugh. ”I’m looking for research into canine communication, specifically domestic dogs, but wolves and foxes could be useful, too.”

Booker had always wanted to be a mutant but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the life that he had. As a matter of fact, he pretty much did enjoy his life except for those few instances when he remembered that he wasn’t a mutant. At the end of the day, Booker would always be thankful for who he was and what made him into the person he was now; he wasn’t that much into self-loathing, after all.

Besides, Zoe reminded him as much as he wandered through the aisles, pushing his cart, picking up the minimal amount of stray books that had been left behind. Life wasn’t always easy for mutants, though some tended to have it easier than others. But there was no point in being bummed about it since you couldn’t change yourself like that. Booker guessed that there was that street drug he had heard about, M, but it was doubt that it was something that would work on adapteds; not that he would take a drug like that anyways.

>>”But it’s not like we can change who we are,..So we just have to find people who like us for who we are, right? And, even if you’re not a mutant, I mean, I might be able to come to like you.”

He chuckled and bowed his head gracefully to her. ”You have my utmost thanks for bestowing such a gift unto such a lowly individual as myself.”

Wandering on, he joking spoke of his sister, someone who judged him rather harshly but usually in a well-meaning way. Nessa would never willingly say anything bad about him behind his back and kept all of her teasing for when he was in the same room with her. She was an amazing sister and Booker knew that, no matter what she said, she would always love him.

>>”It sure can’t be easy...She’s obviously jealous of your perfection.”

’Pfft, clearly.” He smirked.

Huh. He should be doing his job. She was a patron and while it was fun chatting with her, he didn’t want to deter her from actually asking him for his assistance.

>> ”Hopefully you’re good at your job, after all the time we’ve spent talking...I’m looking for research into canine communication, specifically domestic dogs, but wolves and foxes could be useful, too.”

Booker paused from pushing his cart and stopped to think for a moment. It only took a few seconds for his mind to whirl through the possibilities before settling on the general area that he could point Zoe to. ”You’re going to want class Q, subclass QL for ‘Zoology’, specifically look for the shelf ‘QL 750-795’...for ‘Animal Behavior’.” He turned back to her and gave her a being smile. Yes. He was that good.

Zoe expected Booker to hesitate, to not have an immediate answer to her question about where to find books about canine communication. It wasn’t as though it was a common topic of research, at least not outside certain biology labs and possibly veterinarian clinics. And zoos. Though Zoe didn’t exactly work in the area of the zoo that would focus on canines at all, never mind how they communicated.

But Zoe was surprised, and it likely showed on her face, when a few moments later Booker told her exactly where said books would be found. Sure, since he said it was simply ‘Animal Behaviour’, it could be more than a couple sets of shelves, but in a library like this, that was still quite narrowed down.

”That is quite impressive, Mr Bookman,” Zoe said with a smile. ”I guess I should probably get to work if I’m going to learn anything today.”

Booker knew his books. He didn’t spend three years in library school because it was fun. Okay, it was a little fun for him but he also spent all that time actually learning how to do the job he is doing now. He knew how libraries were organized, he knew how to break down what people were looking for into the precise subject headings that the library system organized everything by, and, with his eidetic memory, it essentially made him a walking, talking, card catalogue. It was a gift that he was thankful to have because it served him well with his job.

He didn’t give Zoe a precise call number (he wasn’t that good) but the general area should be good enough for her. Besides, one is supposed to take their time looking over the library, finding other things of interesting, other items that they may need. The books in that general area should provide her with more than enough information on her chosen topic. All she would have to do is browse.

>>”That is quite impressive, Mr Bookman...I guess I should probably get to work if I’m going to learn anything today.”

A warm smile and he nodded his head. ”Of course,” he said, pointing her in the direction of the books that she needed to go. ”Far be it from me to take up your time.” He paused and then beckoned her to wait as he pulled out his wallet and fished out a business card. ”Here! If you ever need more help finding books or want more information on the library, this has my business line and work email.” A glance at the card. ”Also has a fax machine, but we hardly check that.”

With a grin he handed the card to her before he replaced the wallet back into his back pocket. If that was all, he would turn away and continue with a low whistle as he hunted wayward books through the stacks. That was a nice distraction for the day.

Booker not only told her what call numbers to look at, but he pointed her in the direction she would need to go. ”Thank you,” Zoe said as she turned in the direction Booker had pointed. She was planning on doing a lot of research that day, and she was already behind her planned schedule. Not that she really minded all that much, her conversation with Booker here had been quite fun and enjoyable.

But just before she was fully turned, Zoe saw Booker motioning for her to wait. So she turned back, a little confused. But a moment later as she realized why he wanted her to wait, Zoe smiled, reaching out to take his business card. ”Yeah, I don’t think I even know where I could find a fax machine,” Zoe told him, a teasing smile on her face. ”But this is great! Just so you know, I’ll be bothering you every time I need to find a book from now on.”

Giving Booker one last smile, Zoe tucked the business card into her pocket and turned in the direction that he had pointed out. She had a lot of books to read.