Returning to Kealey, Garrett found that she seemed to be in better spirits already. He assumed it had much to do with his relief of her pain, but hoped that something else was happening. Belief in hope. Garrett still clung on to the idea of hope with a death grip. Releasing it would be a sure spiral to his own disaster. She seemed to have it as well, her features already softening, short of the part that would require Sebastian's touch or a few weeks.

The taxicab moved from the curb and Garrett relaxed a bit, easing his posture in the seat. She was doing well enough and was seated, so he could become part of the conversation without having to watch over her. She seemed ready for some sort of normalcy as well, her one eyed face turning to speak to him.”As it turns out…you don’t have to worry about your public relations position, or your organizations stand on helping those of human persuasion. I’m a mutant too…that’s how I knew I could trust you. ”

The conversation would be a pleasant one, indeed. As little as her genetic information had mattered to him before, he was somewhat relieved to be in the presence of one of his own. He also knew that it would make the Sanctuary visit much easier. His recent purging of humans would not be so impressive should he start bringing new ones in. " I would have never guessed. I suppose many of us are fortunate not to get too many physical characteristics. My lack of body hair is my only physical trait. You seem to have come out quite well. I am sure without the bloody eye, you are quite lovely." He wasn't trying to hit on her, more of an attempt to lighten her mood.

He could see she was still in some sort of shock, as an involuntary shudder passed over her. He removed his jacket and offered it to her, believing it might help her warm up. He decided it would be an excellent time to question her lightly."So, what happened back there? I understand if you don't want to talk about it. Might help me explain to the others later." Sounded like just as vague and good of an excuse as anything else.

He was pleased that she was a mutant. That much was obvious as Kealey sat in the taxi cab next to the man who had helped her in the subway tunnel. Kealey was glad that she’d been able to at least make this a little easier for Garrett. It made her wonder though, what kind of mutants was she going to that their Public Relations director was greatly relieved that he wasn’t bringing a human into their midst. They couldn’t be too bad though, could they? They going to take her in.

Garrett mentioned his only physical mutation characteristic being an apparently total lack of body hair. Kealey couldn’t help it, she stared at her backseat companion through her good eye and after a close once over it appeared that at least from what she could see, he was indeed free of body hair. Kealey did crack a slight smile at that, “Ah…so many women would give a fortune for a physical adaptation like that.” He said that without the bloody eye she’d be lovely and in spite of everything Kealey felt her cheeks color slightly. ”Thank you…” she said softly, gauging his feelings only to find sincerity, as if he were stating a fact. It was a relief that there was nothing more there, then realized exactly what Garrett had said.

”Is it really so bad?” she asked, again resisting the temptation to reach up and touch her eye. ”It’s sort of easy to forget it’s there with what you did…I’m still a little light headed and woozy…but the pain is just completely gone. It’s amazing.” something about the thought made Kealey frown though, something brought to mind by her own powers. ”You’re not in any discomfort because you took my pain away, are you? If you are, please put it back…I couldn’t bear for you to be uncomfortable because of the help you’re giving me.”

Then Garrett asked the one question that Kealey had been hoping to avoid completely. They were alone in the cab, but the moment Kealey thought about opening her mouth to speak the truth those cold eyes and colder words wormed their way into her consciousness and she shuddered again. Almost subconsciously she took the jacket that Garrett offered, not putting it on like coat, but instead wrapping it around herself. What was she going to say? Calling it a simple mugging wasn’t going to work, her purse was in the cab with them and the assassin hadn’t taken a penny of her money. Her mind went suddenly blank and Kealey felt her eyes welling up with tears again, they stung.

”I…I’d really rather not…can’t talk about it.” she sniffed softly, pulling her arms tighter around herself under the jacket that Garrett had given her, Kealey just didn’t know what to do. She’d never been threatened that way before, and the man had been so capable at what he’d done. She closed her eyes and the silenced gun barrel flashed in her line of vision again. ”This…though…” she said, gesturing to the gash that was apparently still above her eye, ”Something hard…hit me…must have been a mutant.” Kealey’s mouth almost audibly snapped shut and she clenched her teeth for a second against the emotions. The cab driver was uncomfortable…he probably wasn’t used to carting around bleeding mutants to a mutant shelter. Kealey stared at the back of his head and noticed just how hard he was gripping the steering wheel. She sighed and concentrated, pulling the nerves and discomfort from the man and taking them onto her own, already frazzled, nerves. The man in the front of the cab relaxed visibly, though Kealey shook more steadily where she sat. She had to do something, anything to take her mind off the things rolling through her emotions. Then the cab stopped and Kealey looked out the window.

”Are we here?” Kealey asked.

Garrett thought it amusing that women would pay to be hairless. While it might seem fashionable at first, he was sure that the first dust cloud they had little defense from would change their minds. Lack of hair also meant there were no eyelashes nor nose hairs to catch little bits like that. He usually hocked lots of interesting things up out of the eye of others.She took the compliment gracefully, as he had hoped she would. He certainly didn't want her thinking he was the type to victimize a woman in need.

”Is it really so bad? It’s sort of easy to forget it’s there with what you did…I’m still a little light headed and woozy…but the pain is just completely gone. It’s amazing.”Garrett put on his nicest face, his head tilting from one side or the other has he surveyed the damage." Well, it doesn't look very good. I suspect you may have a slight concussion." ”You’re not in any discomfort because you took my pain away, are you? If you are, please put it back…I couldn’t bear for you to be uncomfortable because of the help you’re giving me.” Garrett's face became one of genuine serenity. " I don't feel a thing, Kealey. Well, nothing bad anyway. My mutation lies in neural manipulation. It isn't the pain that I am removing. More that I am telling your nerves not to feel and report it to your brain anymore." He thought about how unfortunate it would be to have to take the pain he took from others.

All was well until Garrett trampled the delicate subject. Perhaps he was just out of touch with people in general. he had indeed been isolating himself. Whereas it had been a thing of solace and reflection in the past, now his shutting off of others was simply unhealthy and equally unnecessary. Her previous chatty and shiny demeanor was quickly replaced with a morose and shivering dread as she no doubt relived the episode." I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He resigned to looking out the window.

She was mentioning her injury, he supposed, adding that whatever had hit her had come from a mutant. Again, the seeming irony which gave way to karmic assurance calmed him somewhat. Why were the mutants always gravitating to each other? Ever since his meeting with Iris, it had been a pointed question, poking around in his mind with a sharp edge. " Are we here yet?" His internal dialogue ceased and he looked up, indeed seeing the golden doors in view. The cab pulled up to the curb and the driver began to make change.

Garrett let himself out and came to the other side of the cab, opening the door for Miss Quinn. He then leaned in and assured the driver that he had dealt with things beautifully and to keep the change, which seemed to lighten his mood somewhat. Stepping over to the rear door, he took Kealey's hand and stepped out with her on the sidewalk, the great golden cathedral doors looming above them. " Welcome to the Sanctuary. I am sure we can get you fixed up here."

Kealey nodded as Garrett explained that he wasn’t feeling any ill effects from relieving her pain. That was a relief in and of itself to Kealey, who listened raptly as he explained his talent for neural manipulation. Such a powerful thing to be able to control, a person’s nervous system response. It was good that it was present in a person who seemed as full of good will as Garrett did. In the wrong hands that power could be devastating.

Kealey winced involuntarily as Garrett said, as nicely as possible that her face didn’t look good. From what he was feeling when he looked at her, it was pretty much worse than bad. Now people would stare, she’d have to feel what they were feeling when they looked at her. This was getting better for a minute. And a concussion? Kealey nodded and sighed, ”A concussion would explain the continued wooziness. I think I blacked out for a minute…”

He felt bad for the discomfort she was feeling as a result of her question and Kealey scowled out the window of the cab. That hadn’t been her intention at all, and if she felt this bad lying to one person, how was she going to pull it off with a whole shelter full of them. A whole shelter that they were apparently at. ”You didn’t make me uncomfortable…” Kealey said softly, ”I did.”

Garrett was getting out of the cab though and settling the fare with the driver. Kealey made a mental note to see if she could pay him back. That would be later though, right now she just wanted to get inside the building where she was pretty sure she’d be safe. Garrett came around to her door and took her hand and Kealey gingerly stepped out of the cab, only swaying slightly on her feet as her vision lurched. They walked forward and as Garrett spoke, Kealey focused her slightly blurry vision on the large golden doors. This was a shelter for mutants? Kealey had been expecting something like the plain concrete building she’d spent time in earlier that evening.

They moved to go inside and a thought occurred to Keaely that made her stop in her tracks. ”There aren’t going to be lots of people inside, are there?” she said, ”My power…I feel emotions…everyone’s…it might be too much right now.”

Garrett assured her that a crowd wouldn’t be the case and then opened the door to let her in. If Kealey had been surprised by the doors, the inside was a shock. It was a delightful mix of old fashioned and modern and a sharp looking woman wearing a neck scarf and sitting at an absolutely immaculate desk. Garrett had been right, there was nobody else to be seen, and other than an old fashioned elevator and a hallway that led off to who knows what the room was empty. “Hello Garrett.” She said with a smile and Kealey could feel the emotions coming off of the woman and only describe them as…efficient. That was odd.

Kealey almost forgot that she was hurt, ”This is a shelter? she breathed, ”My whole apartment would fit in here.

OOC -I think that's going to be wrap in NYC...if I'm not mistaken the thread will pick up at the Sanctuary.