Thevshi

APPROVED

Slipstream Alice was just able to bring up one large hand between herself and Golden Star's powerful energy blast. She let out a small yelp as her hand absorbed the blast, pulling it back reflexively with a pained look on her face. Although she mostly seemed to weather the attack, something in her expression shifted, a look of confusion coming over her. "I…I didn't want to do any of this. I was just…" Alice stopped mid-sentence, pausing for a moment before her expression shifted back to the more aggressive one she had had during the fight. "You many have noticed, I'm not all there myself." She said, a sly grin coming to her face. And then suddenly the giant blonde young woman began to shrink, quickly going back to normal size, but not stopping there as she began to shrink even further. Arctus and Slipstream both tried to react as she was suddenly no longer in reach, but even as they managed to spot her among scattered overturned furniture, now only a few inches tall they saw an all too familiar portal open beneath her feet and Alice fell into it before the portal closed behind her. Lynn shrunk back down to normal size as everything seemed to go quiet in the atrium, not apparent threats in view. Victoria gave Sarah a hug as the older teen hovered near the exit to the restaurant, having gotten the younger teen clear of the fight. "Thank you." She said quietly. Just then, Ms. Houston recovered from being trapped in Dormouse's mental maze, taking a slightly stumbling step forward as she reoriented herself to the chaos around her. "What…what happened? Where are the other children?" She asked, suddenly in something of a panic.

Okay, going to fiat some Ultimate Toughness for her to make the save. Go ahead with your IC post.

Lynn (Slipstream) Lynn smiled as Jack mentioned shoulder messages on the beach. "Hmm, that does sound nice." She said. At his reaction to the house (which she had seen a few weeks ago when she had made a flight down from orbit with her adopted mom as part of her logging the necessary flight hours in the spaceplane), the blonde teen felt a little self-conscious, reminding herself that many of her schoolmates were not used to such luxury. While her parents in her timeline did not own a similar property in the tropics, she had been on several tropical vacations at equally luxurious accommodations growing up. As Jack offered to take the bags to wherever they needed to go, Sarah caught back up with the couple. "Just in time Sarah, we were just getting ready to head down to the beach, I expect Renee, Mattie and Diego have reached the section closest to the house by now." Lynn replied. The blonde teen then glanced at her boyfriend and suddenly became a rather familiar blur. *WOOSH* The bags disappeared in a blur as Lynn shifted to superspeed, taking Jack's bag to drop off at one of the bungalows a short distance from the main house, then doubling back to put her bag and violin case in the room she would be sharing with Mattie during the trip. She then changed out of her jeans shorts and t-shirt, which she had been wearing over a red bikini and put on a colorful sarong. Just a few moments after she was gone, Lynn was back, now dressed for the beach in her sarong and a pair of sandals. In one hand she had a small beach bag, in the other, a number of beach towels. "Well, I'm ready. Figured Mattie, Renee and Diego might need some towels." She said with a small grin. "Will just wait for you to change."

@Jack Sure, he could move up and ready his standard action to use the Aid action to assist Lynn in a Gapple.

Slipstream While Jack's attire, and lack of ice skates, did draw looks from many around them, those looks were brief, as most were not unaccustomed to strange sights living in Freedom City. As long as someone was not trying to freeze the entire city, or turn everyone into apes, or something similar, most were quick to just go back to their own business. Lynn's smile remained in place as she watched Jack move across the ice with ease, something that did not overly surprise her given his powers. The blonde teen continued to skate backwards, picking up some speed as she went into a gradual turn to follow the curve of the rink. But as Jack again hinted at his worry about meeting with her adopted mother, Lynn felt a pang of sympathy for her boyfriend. While his question unintentionally stirred memories of her actual mother, lost along with the rest of Lynn’s original timeline, she kept them in the back of her mind. Today was not about her…many anxieties and other emotional issues, it was about enjoying some time with Jack, and trying to help reduce his concerns about spending so much time with her adopted parents. She tried to keep her smile reassuring as she replied, "I suppose she can, but, she is a lot more easy going than you seem to think she is." She replied. "And yes, I think many boyfriends are nervous about meeting their girlfriends' parents. I think many parents would say if the boy was too cocky and unconcerned, that it is likely a red flag." Lynn then started to speed up slightly, before almost immediately sweeping her left leg out to the side as she bent her right, causing her to go into a sharp turn that curved to Jack’s left and carrying her back behind him. Standing back up as she finished the turn, the blonde moved forward again to slipped up under Jack's right arm, wrapping her left arm around his lower back as she matched his speed to skate beside him. As the pair curved around the perimeter open-air rink, Lynn looked up to Jack, her smile still in place. "But really, don't worry Jack. I am sure they will like you. What is there not to like?" She paused and gave him a reassuring squeeze with the arm around his lower back. "And if somehow they don't…that won't change a thing for us." The blonde speedster hoped that Jack would be able to relax and just enjoy himself for a bit. She was certain he would win over her adopted parents with his honest charm and protective nature. Her adopted mother had certainly been impressed when Lynn had shown her the violin Jack had given her for Valentine's Day, and recounted a bit of how Jack and Owen had earned the valuable antique.

@Supercape @Poncho @EternalPhoenix Also might as well get initiative rolls for you all so we are ready once EP makes an IC post

Liberty Park Freedom City, New Jersey Friday February 21, 2025. 5:30 PM During the recent long weekend trip to Fiji with their friends and classmates, Lynn had told Jack that her adopted parents (in particular her adopted mom) had wanted to have him over for dinner. Apparently, it was part of Megan Howell-Harrow's desire to get to know the significant others of her children (adopted or otherwise) a bit better. Lynn had tried to assure Jack it was not because of the number of times their dates, or just other time spent together, had ended up in some sort of super battle (again emphasizing how her adopted mother was well aware of how frequently that could occur). The blonde teen had also insisted it was not because her adopted mother questioned Jack's intentions with her sixteen-year-old adopted daughter (though Lynn had reluctantly admitted it might be a small part of it). Lynn had even noted that her parents were doing the same thing with Lawrence's girlfriend. Of course, it was hardly uncommon for teenage boys to be somewhat worried about spending time with their girlfriend's parents. The fact that Lynn's adopted mother was the world-famous superheroine Velocity and member of the Freedom League, likely did not make things any easier. So, to try to help with the anticipation, the couple had planned to have a little date before going to dinner. A little after classes ended for the week, Lynn had driven them over near Liberty Park, parking the BMW SUV in a parking structure near Millennium Mall. They had stopped briefly at the Liberty Perk coffee shop across the street from the east side of Liberty Park to get some coffee and then continued over to the park. They had briefly stopped outside the park, near the Southern entrance next to the grand lawn, to have a kiss at the spot they had first met eight months earlier. They then continued into the park, taking their time to follow the paved roads that wound through the park to eventually reach the northwest corner of the park, where the botanical gardens were located. The gardens were located among a series of smaller paths that radiated out from a central area like spokes, the rows of plants and trees set out between the many paths, although most of the plants were currently dormant for the winter. At the center of the gardens, next to the large greenhouse building for more exotic plants, was a large circular reflecting pool. With the cold winter weather, the shallow reflecting pool had been frozen over and was being used as an open-air ice-skating rink, which was operated by the City to help provide some of the funding for the gardens’ operation. The setting did feel rather special, being out the cold night air. To the east, across the north end of the park, could be seen the skyline of downtown Freedom City. To the west were several tall, high-end condominium buildings. To the north was the south edge of Freedom City University's campus, most prominent being the large stadium for the university's football team and other outdoor sports teams. Lynn skated out onto the large frozen reflecting pool with graceful ease, her superhuman agility and balance making her movements seem effortless. The blonde teen casually turned so she was skating backwards as she looked back with a small smile. "Come on Jack." She said as she continued to skate backwards. Tonight, she was wearing a pair of dark navy jeans, a white puffy winter jacket, along with a red scarf and gloves.

Yes, she can do that.

Yes, I believe that is why we have waited to resolve, to see if the others can help

Yeah, Reflex is Dormouse's best exotic save Anyway, we are back to Sarah's normal turn now! @Spacefurry

GM Seraphim's burst of light exploded in front of Dormouse, but the extra-large rodent was able to react in an instant, turning its head to one side as it raised one arm to help shield its eyes from the flash. Once the flash of light was gone, Dormouse was focused back on the scene around it. "Indeed Alice, we must away." It squeaked, as it moved over next to the unconscious lizard, touching the ground beneath it, opening a portal through which the lizard fell through. The large mouse jumped through, the portal closing up behind it.

Slipstream The wolf creature proved to be as fast as might be expected, not nearly as fast as Lynn, but certainly fast enough. It quickly moved around Jack to come at her, the blonde speedster confident that she was currently unable to be harmed by the creature. That overconfidence was quickly shattered, as she felt the claws starting to rake across her back. But Lynn recovered quickly, just as she felt the first pain of the claws, she twisted away from the wolfman, so as it finished its swipe it did little more than create minor scratches across her back, even as it created tears in the morphic molecules of her costume. But even as the physical effect of the attack was minimal, the blonde teen felt something….else, the cold grip of nothing seeming to claw at her soul. Still unnerved from the earlier appearance of that shadow creature, the speedster felt a panic grip over her. Even as Jack began to attack the wolfman with brutal ferocity, Lynn felt the need to run. *CRACK* In an instant she broke the sound barrier, moving at top speed away from the fight. A dull *BOOM* echoed through the zoo from the sonic boom she created, although this one without the destructive effects of the one she had created before. In seconds, she was miles away, running through suburbs far to the northeast of Hanover…

Dormouse gets a 29 on its reflex check. @Spacefurry Go ahead with an IC post for your using the readied action and I will continue its action.