Lokens eyes slowly opened to the sound of a child's cry, Blinking furiously from an unexpected blinding ray light. His right arm lazily flopped over his face in an attempted to drown out the light. A failed effort that caused a sleep-addled moment. Thoughts of what will I do today made Loken use the needed effort to sit up. The sound of the baby's annoying cry slowly faded away as Loken sat up to examine his surroundings. With a loud yawn Loken noticed his nice collection of water bottles that covered his cars dashboard as he sat in the middle of his cars back seat. A subtle frown grew as the calm of his awakening was broken, The feeling was always their. Always craving for more, Always. Loken leaned between the drivers and passengers seats grabbing a water bottle in each hand. Loken sat back down with a thud causing his black 1996 Chevy impala SS to rock for a a few short seconds.

Loken slowly started to drink the entire content of one water bottle before tossing its plastic container away. It was odd how many people take water for grated he thought before downing the second bottle within seconds. A particle of dust that brightly shined through the sunlight caught his attention so he watched it float around for about five minutes. He was in no rush to do anything, Thats one of the advantages of being a drifter is it not? Loken had no problems being a drifter, on a whim he could just get up and drive to Maine, California, or heck even Canada but he called New York his current home, sorta. He had just gotten back in town late in the night and decided to rest in a busy parking lot. Most of the time a rent a cop will start some drama but that is nothing he can't handle.

Finding it time to do something Loken got out of his car only wearing a pair of tattered black jeans and a white tank top. After a small trip to his trunk Loken entered the drivers side wearing a nice black unbuttoned dress shirt and a pair of black slip-on converses. Loken started to drive around for about an hour with no clear destination. New York was still so new to him even though he called the place his home, well most of the time at least and he is always amazed at what will make him fall in awe. Finding a saving grace Loken drove past a city bus with something having to do with central park on it, With a tire screeching U-turn he sped off.

*****

Loken parked his car and slowly made his way into Central Park. The trees where green the grass was, well green. Loken didn't really care to be honest. His destination was a true godsend. A smile began to appear as Loken noticed not many people around Bethesda fountain today. In all of central park this was his favorite place as the terrace looked over 'The Lake'. Loken took a seat and watched as the fountain filled the pool and that feeling just started to tug at him again like a drug and he didn't care that their where a few families around. After removing his shoes and rolling up his pants legs, Loken sat with his legs in the water. He felt utterly refreshed and would do anything to protect his present state of comfort, Kicking and splashing every so often.

Without a second thought Lokens legs started to change until only two long strands of water could be seen. Transforming was like a sudden surge of Nirvana especially being in water when doing so. The onlooking families all began to whisper and clear out of the area. A child shouted "Cool!". That made Loken laugh until the boys mother dragged him away. It was a fact of life, It was awesome being a mutant yet people will always hate him for the simple fact he could do such amazing things.

It was nearing noon from what Loken could tell or maybe one either way he wasn't leaving anytime soon. Today the Fountain was his.

Deirdra Sykes had decided that it was a perfect day to go shopping. It was nice out and she had recently come into about three thousand dollars. She strutted on the sidewalk past Central Park in a tight, blue dress that showed off a good portion of her chest and a lot of her legs. Her silver, 4 inch heels clicked against the pavement. The blonde’s hair was left down and she had decided today wasn’t the day to curl it. She was planning to just walk by the park until something caught her eye. That something also appeared to be in the fountain.

There was a man, practically playing in the fountain. She blinked a few times to check if she was seeing things or not. The woman began to walk closer to see what exactly was going on. She heard people muttering and noticed everyone else seemed to be leaving. As they got farther away from the man, she became closer. Deirdra was right next to the fountain when she finally stopped. She looked down at the man and realized his legs had turned into water or something that looked a lot like it.

The 22 year old woman put a hand on her hip and perched on the edge of the fountain. “Enjoying yourself, I hope.” Her right eyebrow was raised in amusement and she had a smirk on her face. “You really know how to call attention to yourself, don’t you, Aquaman?” Deirdra chuckled to herself and glanced up at the beautiful sky before returning her attention to the man. “I’m going to guess you’re a mutant. I’ve got pretty good knowledge on the subject, considering I am one myself.“ Even if he did play in fountains, Deirdra couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was. He reminded her of a model. “I’m Deirdra and you are…?”

Loken ignored the surrounding chatter letting his mind grow blank, which became easier as more people exited the area. Peace at last. Loken's now gel like legs began to swell as they absorbed a small amount of water. The sweet sound of a women's voice didn't break his dream like moment.

>>> “Enjoying yourself, I hope"

"Very much so" His eyes still closed as his legs began to slide along the water's top.

>> "You really know how to call attention to yourself, don’t you, Aquaman?”

The comment caused him to rock back and forth in ammusment. "Hey, its a 'public' fountain and I have the right to be just as comfortable as anyone else. Its not like I was splashing anyone... yet" Loken still smiling turned his head slowly toward the direction where women's voice came from as he opened his eyes. He let his eye wander for a few seconds not hiding the fact he was clearly 'ogling' her and came to the conclusion that the Angel of the waters must be looking out for him. She was bewitching. "... And your guess would be absolutely right. My Name is Loken Verma. It's truly pleasure to meet you Deirdra."

Loken stopped his ogling as he though about what Deirdra said. His hands now at both of his sides to support his weight as he leaned back, the two tentacles of water that made up his legs seemed to join together up until his knee's as if he was a watery merman. "Your a fellow mutant? So... what can you do? " His head slightly tilted resting on his shoulder as his smile turned to a interested smirk.

Deirdra smirked when she realized the man was looking at her. He said that it was a public fountain and he hadn’t splashed anyone else. She chuckled when Loken added the ‘yet’. “So you were intending on splashing someone if the chance arose, is that it?” The woman remained seated on the edge of the large fountain. When he said it was a pleasure to meet her, she gave him a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you as well. I’ve never seen any abilities like yours before, it looks interesting.”


Loken asked what Deirdra was able to do. She grinned. “The lower half of my body can shift into the body, tail, and legs of a scorpion. I’d show you, but my mutation’s not very subtle. My body is in proportion with my upper half, which means I’m a very large, black scorpion.” The woman watched his legs become one and tilted her head as it happened. She always found it intriguing every time she saw a new kind of power. It made her wonder if any two mutants had the same ability or if they were all a little different. “How exactly does your power work, if you don’t mind me asking?”

The thought of splashing Deirdra did come to mind. As soon as the thought came it vanished but Loken knew he could then dry her off if he wanted to anyway with a touch. "That is the plan. How long has it been since you last went swimming ?" Jokingly said as he dipped a hand into the water, the water didn't even drip as his skin absorbed it before he could flick it away.

Loken wasn't shocked to hear what Deirdra could do, turning into water everyday could do that to anyone. Yet, it didn't make it any less awe inspiring. "Wow, a scorpion? That's an amazing gift." He leaned back looking at Deirdra legs, which in themselves where amazing given a better allure by her silver heels and tried to imagine her as half scorpion. His own legs had been absorbing water for a short while quenching his thirst for what would be the rest of the afternoon. His legs began to split into two separate strands again before they slowly turned back to normal.

Turning around in his seat Loken properly sat on the edge of the fountain facing Deirdra. "I don't mind at all. My powers, obviously as you have seen, are water based. I am sure their is some long scientific explanation out their but in short, with enough concentration, I could turn my whole body into a water like gel. I think of what I want to change and it does." Holding up his right hand as it began to change and the rest of his arm staying flesh and blood. "Haha, Want to touch?" Holding out his hand out for a hand shake. The water in his translucent hand compressed making it solid so her hand wouldn't phase into his if shaken, but still wet to the touch.

Deirdra raised an eyebrow when he asked about the last time she had been swimming. She smirked. “Well, it’s been a while since I last swam. I haven’t really gotten many opportunities since I live in the middle of a city and all. I know that there are swimming pools, but I don’t visit them often. It’s probably been at least 4 or 5 months since I last swam.” She wondered what would happen to him if he went that long without a swim. She imagined it would be very difficult and maybe even life-threatening.

He told Deirdra that she had an amazing gift and the woman shrugged. “It’s different than most mutations I’ve seen. I’m thankful for my unique ability. I produce a toxin in my tail as well. It can be deadly if someone is stung three times, otherwise it’s just a paralytic.” She smiled and stuck her pointer finger in the water. She spun it in a circle and watched the rings move out from around it.

Loken explained his mutation to her and she touched his hand. It felt wet, but still kind of solid. She glanced quickly up at the man’s eyes. “That’s very interesting. So you can do that with your whole body? That’s very impressive. I must say your ability is pretty unique too.” After pulling her hand back, she poked his once more and shook her head with a smile on her face. "That's very cool.”