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For a brief moment Luke hesitated at the offer from Raina but then, his smile widened just a little and he nodded. "It would be nice to... 'see' the sights with you but we shouldn't need to play up the blindness side of things unless we go inside where the glasses have to come off."

Turning towards the rest of the park Luke began to walk slowly along with Raina, stopping at any displays she or he found interesting. "Before I noticed you by the sea lions I was watching the seals swim around. I was thinking that they would put the best swimmer to shame but you just might give them a run for their money if your little exhibition was any indication."

It was strange to fall into conversation with a woman he barely knew so easily. Sure she was a mutant so it gave them some kind of common ground but Luke had never had a lot of female friends. In fact, he could count on one hand the female friendship's he had that had not been purely driven by physical attraction and sex.

"So how long have you been catching sailor's eyes and coaxing them out of their ships?" Luke asked, still enjoying Raina's embaressment, although there was nothing mean spirited about his teasing. It was rather interesting to hear that the tail had not always been a part of Raina's mutation and it made him wonder what might happen with his own mutation down the road. "What would I do if it were fins like this? Sonar is used underwater more than it is up here on the surface but I'm a land based man. No way that could happen to me... could it?"

Luke chuckled softly as Neena's question... the memory was pleasant enough now although at the time his 'battle' with the young man had been rather intense.

"I was on patrol in my hunting clothes and saw a young man busting a window and sneaking into a house." The blind man replied as he turned back to face Neena, "I figured he wasn't supposed to be there so I parked my motorcycle and slipped into the house. It looked like he was burglarizing the place so I attacked him. There was a struggle and after a few minutes he transformed into at tiger. there was no way I could fight him then so I slipped out and then doubled back around to meet him coming down the stairs with that sick dog in his arms. After... talking for several minutes I realized his intentions were a little more noble than I had previously thought so I let him go. He talked about the mansion, which I had heard about from a few other people so I asked if I could come with him."

It was a strange story and it was only as Luke told it that he realized just how strange it really sounded. What in the world would this young woman think? There was no telling and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.

"Anyhow... a quick change of clothes later and I was riding along with him on my way here." Luke finished, doing his best to keep a cheerful tone in his voice, "And apparently you're the night owl that normally meets people arriving at this hour."

"Well Luke, If you have time you really should visit our school. We've got in indoor pool and I could show you easily enough. You might find it very relaxing. You'd have to tell me a little more about your power though." Raina had said before turning her attention back to Duke and addressing him.

"It just kinda happens, but I can control it kinda. I'm guessing it'd be like your pill kinda control-ish." Duke said in reply just as Luke had grabbed his glass of water and begun to take a ship. Suddenly coughing the blind man put down the glass and did his best to clear his airway from the sudden laugh or chuckle that had been hidden by his drinking. Luke could control his gift rather well, thank you very much, but it was moving towards the edge of his time limit for having it completely turned off.

"Sorry about that... went down the wrong tube." Luke appologized after his breathing was back to normal. From the sound of it Sara knew most of the people Raina was talking about but she chose note to stay at the mansion. "I guess she's somewhat of a loner." He thought to himself before turning his attention back to Raina.

"My power... honestly the best way to describe it is a sonar. It allows me to 'see', although not with the clarity that normal vision provide unless I'm extremely close to something and even then only in certain situations. For example I can't tell any different between facial features unless I'm within two or three feet of someone and no matter how close I get to a painting or television all it seems to be is a flat panel. The sound for my sonar is below the range of normal human hearing so unless someone has enhanced hearing they don't even know I'm doing anything." For now Luke would leave out the nervousness that was asociated with these particular sound waves... after all there was no reason to give out to much information in this first meeting.

"Well..." Luke began slowly, as though somewhat unsure of the words, "As I said before, I've always been able to blend in with humanity which has sheltered me from most of the hatred but I have seen the wrongs that can be comitted by both sides. I've seen humans beat farmers and rape their daughters because they weren't paying for 'protection'. I've seen mutants that used their powers to help people and others that felt humans were beneath them."

It was strange to be explaining his viewpoints to someone else... he remembered trying to explain to Fausto but the boy had not been able to understand what Luke was saying. He was pretty sure that Neena would be different but there was never a guarantee that one person could understand another person's thought process.

"On my part, I've always viewed a mutation as a gift. Whatever the power or ability may be it is a gift that comes with responsibility. In my mind, at least part of that responsibility is to help those that are weaker than yourself." He continued, "Because of what my ability is and how it affects the world around me I've focused more on protecting humanity from itself. I'm not strong enough or powerful enough to fight against a lot of mutants that are out there but I can fight back against the scum that prays on their own neighbors."

With a slight shrug, Luke turned his head, as though scanning the room again though truly there was no need. His sonar still showed him everything but it was an action made to simply try and break the conversation up, "It may seem silly or even stupid to some but it's what I know and so it's what I do."

Ever since his meeting with Raina, Sara, and Duke back at the sushi shop Luke had been looking into information about sonar and its uses underwater. Seeing as how the ability helped him function on land he had never worried much about its aquatic strengths instead focusing on controlling its use on dry ground but Raina's off hand comment had gotten him thinking. Burying himself in books (either brail or on tape), Luke dug up whatever information he could find about sonar and the way it worked under water. Obviously man made submarines used sonar but he had never read much about the whales and dolphins that used echolocation in order to find food in the form of fish or squid. New York had an aquarium that had been around for some time and even though they didn't have any whales or dolphins, they did have fish and squid which would allow him an opportunity to see just how sonar worked when transmitting through water.

Luke knew people would look at him strangely if they realized a blind man was coming into the aquarium alone so he had to present a look that wouldn't draw attention. Thankfully most of the aquarium was outside, allowing sunglasses to be worn and not stand out. As long as the blind man left his special cane at home and didn't take the sunglasses off, he should be able to blend in without any problems.

Taking the bus in order to once again blend in with the crowd, Luke was able to arrive at the aquarium at a decent hour. Joining the lines of people buying ticket, Luke payed with a credit card to make sure he wouldn't have to bother fumbling with the change he would get back after purchasing his ticket. Picking up a map Luke made a show of looking it over though he was really paying more attention to the sounds he was hearing.

"Oooh, Dad, look! Sea otters! Can we go see the otters?!"

"No! I want to go see the ocotpus!"

"Both of you relax. The sea otters are right near the octopus exibit so we'll see one and then the other!" The rather exasperated father explained to his two children.

Smiling slightly to himself Luke fell into the flow of people, keeping track of the father and his children and their conversation as he slowly made his way towards his first destination. All around he could sense the fish swimming but knowing that octopus were the primary target of sperm whales Luke decided he should stick to that as his first test.

"Will we get to see the sea lion show?"

"Yes, we'll see the sea lion show. It's not until 2:30 so we've got time. Just relax and enjoy everything. We have time to see everything."

As the group moved outside of Conservation Hall and into the open once more, Luke felt the cool autumn breeze moving against his skin and closely cropped hair. The sun was shining brightly without the slightest hint of a cloud but the telltale signs of colder weather were still moving in.

"So we'll go see the otters first... they're right out here in front of the sea cliffs. Then from there we'll go to the octopus and seahorse exibits."

Already Luke could hear the honking and barking of sea lions and seals happily playing in their watery homes. Extending the distance and strength of his sonar the blind man smiled in appreciation, turning his head to focus on the seals darting in and out of the water like guided missiles. Without the slightest strain they performed twists and turns that would have put even the most athletic swimmer to shame.

"Things seem clearer in the water." Luke noted to himself as he moved closer to the glass encloser, "Probably because it's a liquid instead of a gas it carries the sound better than air. It would probably be even better if I was in the pool too but to do that I'll probably need to go to the mansion. I think Neena mentioned something about their pool."

The father and his children were continued to move away but Luke wasn't really concerned as he paused and watched the seals with the 'sight' he had been blessed with. He had all the time in the world and there were plenty of people chattering nearby that he could follow to the correct destination. Suddenly he noticed something at the edge of his sonar and changed his focus over towards where the sea lions were kept. There were some people up on the edge of the sea lion tank and one of them seemed very familiar. Walking slowly in that direction Luke continued his charade of enjoying the sights even as he focused on the one person that was sitting with their feet in the water, only they didn't look like any legs or feet Luke had sensed before.

"Where do I know her from?" The blind man wondered as he focused on the way the woman moved and gestured with her hands. "Park? No. Bookstore? No. Restaurant? Yes... sushi. Is that... oh... Raina... the teacher from the mansion. What is she doing here?"

For a moment Luke hesitated but then, apparently accepting the invitation the blind man picked up his food and drink and slide out of the booth. Once again he allowed the sonar to pulse gently, gritting his teeth as he did hsi best to focus it only about two feet out from his body, just long enough to take a seat at the other booth. Once again turning it off completely he could still feel the headache building but knew that he had at least another good twenty to thirty minutes before it became completely unbearable.

"Thanks for the invite... eating with company is always better than eating alone." He said as graciously as he could manage before popping another piece of sushi in his mouth. "Plate had eight pieces when it came.. I'm eating my fifth piece now so there should be three more left." Luke thought to himself, completely relying on his memory since he was currently forcing himself to be completely blind. "This is getting old fast."

“Security business? Sounds cool.” The other woman that was sitting across the booth from him offered, apparently having taken the time to read his business card. If Luke's buzzing mind remember correctly her name was Sara.

"Family business." Luke replied quietly as he reached out, carefully swinging his hand in a small arc until it came in contact with his glass. Gripping the vessel firmly he lifted it up and took a sip of water, sitting it back down in a practice motion as he began to be a little more sure about where things were placed on the table. "My uncle is in charge of day to day operations but I do a little with it."

"So, you guys are, you know, like me?" Duke spoke up, sounding rather unsure of himself.

“No Duke. I’m not like you. I’m furry, I have big ears, a big nose, and a tail. My teeth are bigger too, but you get the idea. So what is it that makes you like us?”

"So that's why the waitstaff was nervous... she looks like a cat." Luke thought to himself as he made the connection between Sara's statement and what he had sensed earlier from the other people in the restaurant, "No chance of blending in... poor girl."

"And I suffer from chronic headaches." Luke spoke up in a rather dry tone, turning his head so that it was facing the approximate place where Duke was sitting, "Or at least I have for the past week or so. You?"

This was going to be a strange situation but Luke had one of the members at his table pegged. Obviously Sara had a mutation that made her look like a cat and probably gave her increased senses, strength, and agility. He still had no idea what Raina could do and obviously Duke was a wild card. "How do I keep meeting people like this?" He silently pondered as he waited to see what information Raina and Duke would offer.