He’d tell her about it later. Kealey nodded, it wasn’t like it was a subject that should have come up at some time over the last few months. Out-of-body experiences were a rare thing…definitely something that would stick with a person though.

For just a split second when Luke was complimenting her, Shin was jealous, but it only made Kealey smile. A little jealousy now and then was a good thing, it meant he cared. Kealey didn’t need jealousy to know that…but still. A girl liked to be appreciated.

On they moved, and Kealey nodded and listened as Shin and Luke spoke about their respective experiences. Kealey wondered for a moment where she’d bee through all of this then mentally shrugged. It must have been an X-Men sort of thing. She switched to thinking about the day she’d met Luke at the aquarium.

He’d been so nice, but so very sad, wondering if he’d ever manage to get his body back. It was a daunting concept even in memory. She listened with half an ear as Luke and Shin spoke, only returning her full attention to the conversation when Shin said something about tattoos.

Kealey’s head tilted to the side, and she looked at Shin, puzzled. She’d seen him in shorts, she’d seen him in a tank top…no tattoos to speak of. Was he talking about getting Abyss a tattoo while he was in his body? Surely not, Kealey couldn’t imagine something like that. Abyss getting Shin a tattoo, though…from what she knew of the brothers red…that was a definite possibility.

If the thing wasn’t on his arms, and it wasn’t visible on his legs in shorts…Kealey thought for another moment, trying to figure out exactly where it could be, then realized where her mind was going with an inadvertent little embarrassed squeak and jerked her attention back to Luke in time to hear him worry that he had tattoos he didn’t know about. That was another topic for later…if ever. Some things, after all, were simply better left unsaid.

Something about that clicked a reminder in her mind, and the things Luke had been saying finally fell into place. He was blind. Kealey had forgotten…or never known. She looked at him a little differently now, standing so relaxed in the hallway. He’d made it out there with no trouble and known Shin before even she had recognized the voice. That was impressive. His problem, however, was not.

Kealey frowned for a moment, mulling over ideas in her head, ”Maybe…ask…a really good friend to help you?” she offered lamely and trailing off into nervous laughter at the end of the statement.

”I’m glad we figured out the mystery though…” she said, ”And I’m glad everything worked out. It seems like you and Shin know each other…where did you two meet?” she said, firing the earlier question back at Luke and getting off of the embarrassing topic of tattoos and their location, at least for the moment.

>>"You were Abyss? That had to be... different.

"Oh yeah," Shin said. It sure had been. And being Juka? They'd both definitely had strange experiences. That had been a strange time for him. It was interesting having someone he could share that story with, who wouldn't stare at him blankly in confusion.

This was... an odd thing to feel camaraderie with Luke over. He hadn't felt that in a while. Hopefully, Luke was still in the X-men. It seemed like his power was working again. That would certainly help with that. Last time, he been 100% blind. Things had worked out for him in the end.

And... wait. Kealey'd been one of the few women he'd actually seen.

He couldn't hold it against Luke that the man would remember her. Shin knew he appreciated her.

He nodded slightly. "I get it. And yeah. It certainly made me look at things in a new light. I hadn't had a visible mutation before then... Streak actually glared at me, too."

It seemed the tattoo talk had made something click in Luke's head, and he 'stared' at him. He sounded worried. He wouldn't be able to... oh man. Kealey made her suggestions, and Shin cut in with his own thoughts.

"That's no good." Shin empathized. "We're in the same boat, though. I still don't know what my tattoo is... not... that you have one. You could always try and find out who your body was with during those few weeks? Ask them if you went off and did something strange? Though, this was Juka. He's nice. He wouldn't do something like this... Abyss, on the other hand... he got me a tattoo... and apparently... used my body to hit on Alexandra. If you..." He looked to Kealey, then back to Luke. "Need someone to check for you...? I don't think Juka would get a tattoo, but I could help ease your concerns." Really, it wasn't the world's worst idea. It was just a favor between friends.

Kealey asked how they met, and he looked to her. "Luke's an X-man... at least, last I checked."

"I'll take who that really good friend could be under advisement." Luke replied with the best smile he could offer. Yeah... he couldn't think of anything that he would disrobe for and ask them to check for tattoos. Especially since, from what he had heard, the gluteus maximus was a popular place for tatts. No, this was going to have to stay a mystery for at least the forseeable future.

So Shin had discovered how it felt to have a visible mutation. Luke knew how it felt, though not as well as some. The people he worked with in business knew about his mutation and many of them treated him differently because of it but at the same time he could easily disguise himself to blend in with the crowd. A good pair of reflective sunglasses would hide his eyes and let him slip through stores and shopping malls without anyone even giving him a second glance.

"Streak's had some issues with big red." Luke commented quietly, "Don't hold his glaring against him."

Turning the subject further away from his tatoo, Kealey brought up the interesting question of how Luke and Shin had met. At least this was more pleasant ground to cover.

"As far as I know, I'm still an X-Man." Luke replied with a small chuckle, "I've still got the communicator and everything." Turning his head slightly so that his sunglass covered eyes were looking toward Kealey he went on to explain. "I'd been around the mansion for a while when Shin first came around. Sam took him under his wing pretty quickly and since Sam and I were pretty tight, I got to know Shin through their relationship."

Even as he spoke, Luke had to admit that he and Shin had never been super close. Sure they'd been friendly with each other but it was more like friendly aquaintances that actual friends. He'd have to try to do a better job of being friends with people now that he'd come back. That was the downside to all the time he'd spend patroling the city as Wraith. All his alone time at night and work with his company during the day had kept him from making as many strong relationships as he might have liked.

"Hey Shin, have you seen Alexandra lately?" Luke asked as he turned his attention back to the shard master, "I'm trying to catch up with everyone but I haven't seen her around or even heard anyone talking about her." He had already seen Sara when he returned, he had a plan in place to meet up with Sam, and Streak and Calley were probably going to pretty easy to track down but Alex was a mystery.

What Kealey now felt from Shin was…empathy, something that always amused the blond. She was always empathetic, feeling it from someone else was an all together strange experience. From the conversation the feelings centered around, Luke and Shin had shared something similar. Kealey nodded her head like she was right there with them because in a way, she was. The whole concept was nearly spine tingling though. Switching bodies with another person…switching powers with another person. Kealey knew she wouldn’t wish her power problems on anyone, let alone a person who she’d never seen.

Shin pointed out that he’d gotten to experience what it was like to have a visible mutation and Kealey nodded her head again. For her, it was always a matter of whether she wanted to share her abilities or not, for someone like Abyss, people just knew. In away the upfront nature of the situation would be nice, Kealey mused…but for the most part it would simply complicate life.

Then. They were talking about tattoos. Shin commented that he didn’t even know what his was and Kealey’s eyes widened marginally before her eyebrow rose. How did you have a tattoo and not know what it was unless you’d never seen it. Shin kept talking, though, and Kealey had to shake her head and smile a little. ”That part, isn’t shocking…the hitting on at least. Those brothers all seem to have more than their fair share of debauchery. At least you didn’t switch with Venus, Lord only knows what would have happened.” Needless to say, he’d have been lucky to escape with something as mild as a tattoo. Momentarily Kealey’s mind wandered, curious if Venus’ dirty mind was a result of his mind or his body…she supposed she’d never know. Her attention returned to the current conversation just in time to hear Shin explain that he’d known Luke as a previous member of the X-men…maybe even still current.

Kealey grinned, they were well back in her comfort zone now.

”Oooh, if you’re a team member, I’ll be needing to make you a suit.” she said, ideas already forming in her head as Luke took on a whole new level of interest for her. Project-time.

Luke asked about someone named Alex and Kealey tilted her head at Shin, wondering if this was someone she should know.

The fact Streak had issues with Abyss, Shin had already known. He hadn't held it against him at all. Still, it was a talking point. Shin nodded understandingly. After what Abyss had done to him while in his body, he had a thing against the guy, too.

Kealey's comment made Shin arch an eyebrow. What was Venus's thing again? He had yet to meet the other clones on a name-to-name basis.. he'd only been right there next to them, pummeling Sam... Debauchery? Yeah, he didn't want to meet them. One couldn't blame him for being glad he got off light.

Luke didn't seem to jump on Shin's offer to help him check for tattoos. Shin couldn't blame him for that, either. Today was a very blame-free day. They never had been that close when he'd been around the mansion before he'd left. They certainly didn't need to bond over tattoos, now that he was back. There were far better things to bond over, like being an X-man, or sharing blind stories.

Yeah. He'd been blind. But that was hardly a topic to bring up now.

Nor, it seemed, was the tattoo. They'd distanced themselves from that topic. What were they talking about now? Ah yes. Alexandra. And costumes. He'd gotten distracted reminiscing.

"I haven't seen Alexandra in a while," Shin replied with a slight shrug, then glanced to Kealey, changing the subject. "What kind of costume do you think Luke should have? He might not be able to pull off a tuxedo like some people. Cool coat?"

Luke had seen the Abyss clones in battle but he'd never talked to them or even learned that they were brothers with very different personalities. No, Kealey and Shin knew far more about them than Luke ever wanted to know. What really mattered was that for the most part they were willing to sit in the background until it was time for a major battle and then they joined in with all of their brothers in arms. "And if I never face them in battle again, it will be to soon."

For a moment Luke was frozen and completely flabbergasted as Kealey grabbed on excitedly to a point he had never considered. Suit? Didn't everyone already know he had a suit? Except of course, he'd been thinking about giving it up but really... was now a time to be considering that? For a brief moment Luke was hoping the subject would shift on to Alexandra but with Shin's statement to the negative he knew that it was a lost cause. A new suit, costume, or uniform was in the works and apparently nothing could hold back the tides of progress.

"I'm curious to hear what you're thinking." Luke said slowly, turning his sunglass covered gaze on the blond woman, "I've worn something in the past but maybe it is time for a change."

He didn't really want to admit it but a part of him really was curious. Would he still have a mask over his face? Would there be some sort of visor or just plain sunglasses? Would it be leather? Cloth? God help her if she was thinking spandex! There were some lines that a man just didn't cross.

Kealey didn’t watch Shin as he reacted to the Abyss’ brothers, but there was definitely not an incredible amount of affection in his emotions when he thought about them. That was interesting, and Kealey added it to the mental list of things they needed to talk about. With the exception of Mars, who had been desperate at the time they’d met to find Lori, all the brothers had been more than nice to Kealey. Memories of their hospitality surfaced and Kealey chuckled and dropped her head slightly. Yeah, that was a discussion for later.

The mystery of the woman named Alexandra was apparently not to be solved and Kealey’s curiosity as to exactly who that was faded quickly once the conversation turned back to costumes. What kind of costume would she make Luke.

Shin asked about Jackets and such and Kealey shook her head for a moment then shrugged, ”Maybe, but I‘m not sure. Any long jacket that preserves movement might cause someone in Luke’s unique situation problems. You know how I feel about body suits though.” arms crossed across her stomach, Kealey tapped a finger against her lips and thought.

”I’d say something like Sam’s suit…but Luke doesn’t look like the type to wear board shorts. How do you fight?” she asked, all business now as she looked Luke up and down, making mental notes for later when he had her sketch pad.

Shin nodded. Kealey had a point. She was good at thinking these things through. If it worked against Luke's mutation, it wasn't worth it. He needed to be able to fight, after all.

He'd mostly been kidding about the coat, anyways. It seemed that costumes were serious business enough to avoid joking. He made a mental note of that.

As for how Luke fought... Shin hadn't really seen him fight often enough to know the answer to that. Instead of contributing suggestions, he held back, smiling, and let Kealey do her job. She was great at it. She'd help Luke out.

Luke had to admit that he was slightly impressed. Kealey wasn't just going for something that looked good but she was actually trying to come up with something that was functional and met his own unique needs. He wasn't sure that he'd actually take her advice when the whole thing was done but it was definitely interesting to hear her thoughts on the subject.

Lifting a hand he pulled off his sunglasses to reveal the sightless, cloudy blue/white eyes that were locked in Kealey's general direction though not directly on her. He had yet to master completely looking in someones face but he didn't think it really mattered. Most people had no desire to look into his eyes anyway.

"I keep track of my surroundings through a type of sonar so movement is actually less distracting to me than it is for most people. Unless someone is hiding behind a surface that completely reflects sound waves, I can still see what's going on behind it, though not quite as clearly as if there were no object impeding the sound." Luke said with a slight smile, trying to give the woman as much information to work with as possible. She and Shin were joining an elite club that would actually have a very good idea of how his ability worked. Up until now it had only been Raina, Sara, and Sam but now these two were being given membership cards. Though they didn't know it, they really needed to feel honored.

"I'm skilled in Bartitsu, which combines boxing, kick-boxing, and stick combat. Mainly I use that but I've been getting more experience with the use of sonic blasts to knock my opponents off their feet or even knock them out." Luke continued to explain. The sonic blasts were still more of an after thought, especially since he knew that danger of using that ability to much. Shin had seen him when he completely lost his sonar ability because of using the blasts to much and it was an experience that he didn't particularly want to repeat. Even though he was visually blind, the memory of complete blindness was still unnerving.

Luke’s costume was going to be slightly more difficult than first anticipated, Kealey decided as they continued to stand in the hallway and chat. Out of everyone she’d met and made costumes for in the Mansion, Luke was by far the most physical fighter. Sure all of the X-Men could defend themselves physically if need be…but they mostly relied on powers. Luke, it seemed, simply used his powers to enhance his fighting abilities.

When Luke removed his glasses, Kealey wondered if he was looking for a reaction. If he was…he was going to be disappointed, and the blond wondered why it was mutants were always looking to shock with their physical attributes. She simply nodded her head at him.

The descriptions of his exact fighting style were lost on Kealey, but she nodded her head anyway, making a mental note to ask Shin later.

”It sounds like whatever we make is going to need to be light and flexible. I have to admit, you’re a bit more challenging than some of the others.” Kealey said, all business now as the wheels in her head turned. ”Normally I have a real problem with body suits, but I think that’s the route we’re going to have to take with you.” she held up a hand before he could make the obvious argument, ”Don’t worry, I fully plan to stay away from spandex, and I wonder if I could find a way to build in some lightweight body armor. I’m still not sold on a jacket for you though, especially if you use a stick, I think any slits I made to accommodate movement would give you flaps of fabric that would get caught up on things…so length is out…but maybe…” Kealey trailed off, mumbling slightly and going over ideas in her head, the other people in the hall momentarily forgotten as she brainstormed.

Luke's mutation was really kind of neat. He was like a bat, or a submarine. He was like a submarine. Yes. That was the best way to describe Luke. Forget the bat comparison. Luke was a submersible vessel, made to travel almost-blindly through deep waters, and sink ships from below.

Shin imagined the SONAR ping. That was So Luke.

Awesome.

He was glad to know the way Luke's power worked. It sure improved his old understanding of Luke's power (which was basically nonexistent).

Luke went on to explain his fighting style, and Shin tilted his head. He got boxing and kick boxing. What was stick-fighting, though? Confusion bubbled up, then popped away. It had been replaced by two words.

'Sonic Blasts'.

Luke was so cool. Shin had just become a Luke fanboy.

Kealey was really serious about this and Luke actually found himself wondering how many costumes she had designed for the other X-Men. Was the whole team full of her handiwork or were they only being used by a few select individuals?

"I've been wearing a bodysuit with a cowl and visor for some time." Luke admitted, as he tried to remember of Shin had seen his costume before. He thought that the younger man had but he couldn't really be sure. "No spandex but it does some have body armor built in. I can always show it to you if you think it would help your process at all."

And it looked like the coat was going to be non-existent. He had kind of liked that idea but what she was saying made sense. Using a staff for fighting could be problematic if some wayward fabric could grab hold of it and throw him off his game.

Shin had fallen quiet and Luke turned his face toward the young man with a slightly questioning expression, "Did Kealey design your uniform Shin? When I left, I don't remember you having any sort of uniform yet."

Luke was super curious about what Kealey’s ideas for the suit were, and the blond couldn’t help but smile. It was nice when people wondered, and it was fun to have a challenge. Most of the others had given her pretty specific ideas of what they had and hadn’t wanted.

Shin was impressed by the run-down of Luke’s power, and Kealey grinned in his direction. It was a pretty cool mutation.

Luke pointed out that he already had a costume, and Kealey nodded her head. ”It might help if I had an idea of what you were already working on. Maybe I can work something out with a coat too…it’s hard to keep them looking masculine if they’re not long and flowing though.” she said, running various visions in her mind’s eye. ”I’ll probably have to do some sketching, maybe see what you’ve already got, then go from there. If you’ve got something functional already, that’s a step in the right direction.”

Luke had more questions, and one made Kealey cast a slightly vexed look in Shin’s general direction, ”He won’t let me make the one he really wants.” she said, then shrugged her shoulders ”But I’m working on something, whether he wants it or not.” she finished with a stubborn grin.

Suddenly, Luke took an interest in Shin's costume. Shin opened his mouth to answer, but Kealey had his back... er, side. He was leaning on her still. She had his everything. Best intentions were included in that package. He smiled weakly, and shook his head. She had every right to be vexed. He was certainly stuck on his future costume. That didn't mean, however, she couldn't make him look good.

"I've been thinking about that actually, Kealey. I think, maybe... you could make me something. Like, something serious to wear. I can't wear what I've got in mind on every occasion... and obviously, something needs to go under it. Otherwise, if I go near an Adaptoid... I'd go down to my skivvies."

He glanced to Luke, smiling earnestly, and rested just a bit more weight on Kealey's shoulders, with his shoulder-hug . "If Luke doesn't go with an epic coat, you should definitely make me one. Saejima Kouga style. I am undecided on the leather pants."

He was joking, obviously. Shin knew how some people felt about leather.

It was not for battle.

"You just go with whatever you think is best Kealey." Luke replied with a grin in the blond's direction, "If you don't think a coat will work then leave that off. I'm curious to see what you come up with."

But now the focus was on Shin and his future costume. From the comments it sounded as though he was talking about actually making a costume pieced together from the shards he controlled. Raising an eyebrow Luke tried to imagine how that might look. "Would you be able to keep your shards completely smooth up against your body?" He asked, simply going along with what he assumed was correct, "If you didn't then that could prove painful for a uniform."

As for leather pants, Luke didn't care for wearing the tight leather pants that seemed to be so popular in the night club scene but he had to admit that much of his current costume was made of leather. Leather was just such a strong and durable material that it made sense. Especially if the leather was then lined with protective armor and a softer cloth to keep any skin from chafing.

"Leather works pretty good for fighting. I should know."