Heritage

I like it, TK!

Opted for the bat catch instead, since it's kind of a classic. Is it cool for her to crush the bat, or would that not work?

NO! In a flash, Casey was between the (teleporting?) driver and his intended target, her hand easily catching the bat in front of her face, before crushing it into splinters with her iron grip. Her golden aura flashed around her like the glare of an angry sun, and her eyes burned with a cold fury. "Not today, I'm afraid. You have to go through me before you hurt anyone here." She then did a quick IR scan on the two imperfect copies of the woman, to see if there were any clues as to their sudden appearance.

I am currently without book, but is it possible for Casey to fly down and do an Interpose to have the bat break across her face instead of splitting the nice man's head?

Initiative roll: 1d20+9=24

When Morgan threw the glass of ice water right in his own face, Lynn's jaw dropped; it had been a while since she'd hit a young man with both barrels, as it were, and she'd forgotten how...traumatic that could be for today's impressionable youth. Uh, Gretch? I think I broke the boy. We've talked about this. Is he bluescreening? Kinda, yeah. Let me know if you need the paddles. Will do. Thankfully, the young magician recovered quickly enough, enough to actually request an autograph! At that, Lynn couldn't hold it together, and she busted out laughing; it was not malicious, soul-scarring Mean Girl laughter, but in fact more like a good-natured guffaw. "Oh, I'm...I'm so sorry! I'm not laughing at you, I swear, more like...the whole situation. Oh, Lord! Yes, I will happily give you an autograph. Also a towel." As she rummaged around in her drawer for a silver Sharpie, she casually made a sort of helicopter gesture with her finger, and a big, fluffy white towel wrapped itself around the damp boy. "Y'know, I think I actually have a few old eight by tens lying around. Made them up a few years ago after I ran that charity kissing booth in Liberty Park; they would've had to take you away in a stretcher!" She grinned and gave Morgan a playful wink as she rifled through the drawers of her desk. "Ah, here we go; ooh, sassy!" She held up a full-color glossy of herself (or rather, Grimalkin) coquettishly looking over her shoulder at the camera, then wiggled her eyebrows with her nose just over the top of the photo. The changeling pulled the cap off the marker with her teeth, and then signed it and inscribed a personal message. "Here you go...enjoy! Always happy to meet a fan." Dropping the Sharpie back into her drawer, Lynn slid it shut and slapped both hands on top of her desk. "Okay, so, back to sanity and business! I am a young entrepreneur looking to protect my place of business from supernatural threats. Whaddya got for me?"

So. You dead yet? I think we're good here. Good. You're still a dumbass. Yep! For her part, Lynn felt just awful; she triggered this poor young man who'd just...damn it, she was so stupid! "Don't...don't worry about it, dude. I think we've found out that we each have our own biases and issues and blindspots, which just makes us both human, right? Here, you want some water? I can make some." Making sure to keep both hands in plain sight, she made a slight gesture and conjured forth a giant pitcher of ice water with sliced lemon, and two glasses. "Personally, I could use some myself." She poured two glasses, set one within arm's reach of Morgan, and then took a big swig of her own. Sinking into her chair a bit, Lynn sighed. "So actually...when I'm not selling books or scaring the crap out of magicians with PTSD, I actually fight crime, y'know? As Grimalkin, Mistress of Mystery." There was a swirl of mist around her, and then there she was, the spiky-haired elfin girl in black and midnight-blue leather. "See, good guy! Not very bright, but, y'know, still good!" She returned to her previous appearance and sighed. "So yeah. magical security systems! We've got one, but we might be due for an upgrade, am I right? I mean, what if some guy tried to kill me right here in my office? Scary!" Her tone was light, but she still looked deeply embarrassed by the whole incident.

Hey Gretchen? How go the negotiations? I done goofed. I think he wants to kill me now. He- what?! What did you say to him? I may have shown off my ears...and used magic...and looked a bit hungry. You. Are. An idiot. Yep! Now, I THINK I can still turn this around. But if not, I leave you all my cool posters and stuff. Dumbass. Yep! Love you! She was very careful to leave her eyes locked on Morgan during this whole exchange as her hands went up, and dear Lord, did she look embarrassed right now! <"I don't...actually know the Traditional manner, so I'm just going to say this as simply as I can. And I'm switching to English, okay?"> Deep breath. "I, Lynn Epstein, am a colossal f###ing idiot. I think having faerie powers is super-cool, and sometimes I forget that magic and faeries aren't a big joke to everyone, and just because I'm super-hot doesn't mean I can get away with dumb s### by smiling, batting my lashes and saying 'Oopsie!' in a cute voice. I apologize to you, Morgan Crowe, for insulting your intelligence and activating your 'Kill Mode'. I am, in theory, a responsible adult, and capable of having normal conversations that don't involve stupid magic powers. I can also explain that I was born in Atlantic City, and am the product of the Jewish day school system and not the misty courts of Avalon, even though my changeling powers derive from the Winter Court. I humbly ask your forgiveness, and offer in return a lifelong twenty-five percent discount and free shipping on all orders." And then she shrugged. "I am so frickin' sorry, dude."

Lynn pursued her lips and nodded as Morgan went into his patter; not so different from a stage magician's, really, though hopefully the boy (yes, that's how she thought of him) was not interested in misdirection. And yes, there was the blatant mention of low pay; frankly, she'd be disappointed if he didn't flop that right out there. It was traditional, after all. And he had that quality that many magicians had, where they appeared to be so boring or run-of-the-mill that no one gave you a second look; Lynn guessed it was cultivated in part because at its core, magic was cheating, a con, a negotiation for the highest return for the lowest risk. With all that on the line, maybe it was nice if the universe overlooked you most of the time? At length, the changeling leaned forward and rested her arms on the desk, those deep dark eyes looking the young man up and down as she silently consulted with Gretchen, her partner in all things, during which her eyes always went a bit unfocused. You did do a background check on this guy, right? I didn't hire anyone, but I did a very through search. And? He's clean in the criminal justice sense. Claremont grad, legitimate business license. His father was a Celtic-themed hero named Red Hand, which probably explains all the magic. Okay, good to know. Have you offered him a job yet? This is normally the point you offer someone a job. Shush! Lynn's eyes snapped back into focus, and she smiled not unlike the Cheshire Cat. "Before we go any further, I have a question for you, Mr. Crowe." Suddenly her hair began to move on its own, flowing upwards and off her neck as it twisted itself into a very flattering and fairly regal style, somewhat Greek in style, that completely exposed her pointed ears. <"Tell me, how do you feel about the Fair Folk?"> This last sentence was spoken in delightful, singsong Irish Gaelic, without a hint of an American accent.

Casey listened intently as Punchline told his story so far; she assumed the 'other me' was whoever the cartoon clown was when he wasn't being, well, himself. It sounded like he must have some fairly impressive tech skills if that was the case; his unique form of teleportation actually looked like some form of broadcasting, which raised all sorts of interesting questions. Was he currently using supertech of some kind, or was he actually transformed into a living TV signal? In Freedom, either one was equally possible. "So this 'Fanatic', do you know his real name, or did you meet online? Do you actually meet somewhere in real life, or was the whole things virtual? Even if you just have an email address or log-in name, that might be enough for us; we're working with the Feds on this one."

"Oh, awesome! Lynn Epstein, glad to meet you!" Her handshake was firm and soft, with just a hint of callouses from work. She theatrically gestured for Morgan to enter. "'Enter freely of your own will, and leave some of the happiness you bring.'" Once they were inside, she answered his question with a chuckle and a shake of her head . "Yeah, well, this is the mad fourth quarter blitz, so we're all going for broke, am I right?" In addition to her beauty, Lynn was also very graceful; the way she moved across the sales floor seemed like a dance, one that Morgan imagined she could do blindfolded with little difficulty. Intriguingly, mixed among the usual bookstore posters on the walls encouraging people to read were several colorful, classic posters from the 'Golden Age of Magic', announcing shows for performers such as Thurston, Kellar, Blackstone, Houdini and Al-Kazar; there was also a standing rack of magic tricks for beginners by the register. The overall effect gave the bookstore a unique feel, hinting at mysteries below the surface, which wasn't such a bad thing for a place like this. "Here, come on into my office; we can talk there." The small office had bookshelves on all sides, which were dotted with unusual bits of bric-a-brac, but the most distinctive item was the mammoth desk that dominated the center of the room. Behind it was a large leather swivel chair, and before it were two comfy leather chairs for guests. Dropping into the big leather chair that dwarfed her, Lynn Epstein somehow still managed to command the space as she smiled and pushed a candy dish in Morgan's direction. "So, tell me about yourself and your company, Mr. Crowe; I am very interested to hear what you have to say."

The holidays were rapidly approaching, and business at Silberman's Books was picking up. Acoustic Christmas music played over the store's sound system, and the air smelled of pine wreaths, freshly-roasted coffee and pumpkin spice, despite Gretchen's repeated pleas to 'stop the horrific cult of the Great Pumpkin before he devours all souls'. Old-fashioned looking Christmas ornements and lights were drapped over the bookshelves, and a vintage Christmas train set was choo-chooing its way around the table in the children's section. The store had a handful of customers floating around and was fully staffed; Maddy was on the sales floor, working her warm magic, Lance and Gretchen were working the espresso bar as a team (Gretch pulling shots, Lance steaming milk and pouring drinks) and Lynn was on register. By this time, with two holiday seasons under thier collective belts, Silberman's was working like a well-oiled machine. But something new was happening today, a visit from a 'supernatural security expert'; as was often the case on issues involving magic or superheroics, Gretchen was not convinced, but for once, her girlfriend Lynn wasn't either. They were having one of their mental discussions, courtesy of Gretch's Ring of Power while they worked. - - - Did you talk with Reena about him? She doesn't know a lot about him; she said he's a pro, but he's super-young and just starting out. Do not sign anything until I've had a chance to read it. Also scan it and send the PDF to your brother. He doesn't know anything about magic, but he's a lawyer, so he might catch something we would miss. That's actually...that's actually a really good idea. I'm very intelligent. Most of my ideas are really good. Ha ha; you really- wait, did you hear that? Somebody knocked on the front door! Why do you always ask that? I don't have magic pixie ears, so I didn't hear that. Let me see if I have a good angle on him...hmm. 'Hmm' what? Well, he's dressed like a lookout from a 1950s gangster film, which somehow makes me think he's our guy. That is sound logic. I know, right? Let me finish with this lady, and I'll go see. - - - A few moments later, the front door opened, and a beautiful young woman looked up at Morgan expectantly; she was just over five feet tall, with curly, shoulder length brown hair and deep brown eyes that danced with hints of mischief. She wore a Simpsons-themed Christmas sweater, boot-cut jeans and cowboy boots, as well as a brown Silberman's Books apron. Her friendly smile was a joy to behold. "Hi, welcome to Silberman's Books! How can I help you?"

Reputations for the store.

Casey nodded as she listened to Aquaria's explanation as she watched the strange satiate his hunger; she was never 100% sure she was following the Deep One, due to her unique terms and speech patterns, but she was pretty sure she got the gist of it. "I'll be honest, we didn't come here to rescue you, though of course we're happy to help; we're trying to find a supervillain who's kidnapping characters out of movies, believe it or not. One was taken from the movie you were trapped in; did you see someone wearing a suit of armor that didn't belong there? And how did you get stuck there in the first place?"

Link!Casey got the feeling there was more to the story than her friend was letting on, but she wasn't about to push; even an aspiring journalist knows when to respect someone's privacy. "Here's hoping we're just being paranoid," she said as she followed behind Saku, head down and plastic sword at the ready. "Yeah, I'm more of a Carrie Underwood/Taylor Swift kind of gal myself, though I wouldn't mind a little dancing." She kept her vision in the infrared, in case of any more surprises.

1d20+10=15 Ehhhh, I might want to spend an HP on that; she just earned one, and I really don't want Casey to be associated with any badness that's about to show up. 1d20+10=29 Okay, Extra Effort well-spent!

In case you wanted to know who did the previous spellcasting, here's Det. Colby's sheet. And a link to I've Got a Golden Ticket, the recent thread that discusses some of Al-Kazar's legacy. EDIT: I just updated Grim's Reputation page to include info on the store.

Is there a current reputation chart for Morgan? The one up now looks very high school.

Tagged! By the way, here's the floorplan to the store.

Lynn waited until Cass was outside the store to turn to her girlfriend and sigh. "Alright, tell me what I did wrong; you always have a list after we meet new supers." Gretchen stepped over to her lover and rested her head on her shoulder, which led to a hug. "Nothing too serious. The main issue was your terrifying panther trick, but he survived that, so...progress." They stood holding each other quietly for several seconds before the younger woman spoke again. "I'm not trying to tear you down. I want you to be the best version of you that you can be. I'm sorry if that sometimes feels like I'm harping or unhappy. I...forgot what happiness felt like, so I didn't recognize it at first. But now I do." "Mmm...I love you, too." The changeling took a step back and cocked an eyebrow mischievously. "So, do we want to work on our flirting skills? I mean, this photoshoot needs to look good." "Yes. Yes, we do." Fin

I am not the person to talk to about math, but I love her backstory and personality. Whenever you get approved, I have two PCs who'd be happy to be in threads with her!

Let me know if I need to make any more rolls.

Great, now I just look suspicious as all get out. She smiled at the guard with some embarrassment as she murmured, "I'm sorry, just feeling a bit light-headed; I'll see if a little fresh air clears my head." And with that, she stepped outside and went around a corner; once she was sure she was not on any security cameras or still in sight of the SUV, she quickly flew up to the roof and looked for a spot where she could still see the incoming vehicle if she raised her head a bit. Just to be on the safe side, she changed into her costume in a quick blur of motion, then hid her bag for later retrieval. Okay...let's see what you two are up to.

Take all the time you need, Ex. Sorry to hear you're feeling blue.