Heritage

Casey was stunned into silence by the sight of Aquaria bouncing off the screen; clearly some very weird stuff was going on! She went over to check on the unfortunate Deep One. "Are you okay? I guess we don't get in that way. Here, let me help you up." Once she knew Aquaria was okay, she went back to work. Grabbing the whiteboard eraser and marker, she created a new message in a flash, then signalled the protectionist to repeat the process. Then she turned to Doctor Deoxy and gently placed a hand on his shoulder as she guided him next to the whiteboard. "Um, Doctor, could you stand right here please, sir? Thank you." The sign featured a large arrow pointing right at the good doctor, and said: HI, I'M MIRACLE GIRL! WE HAVE A DOCTOR RIGHT HERE, AND HE'S REALLY SMART. HOW DO WE GET TO YOU? Then she stood on the other side of the board, drew an arrow pointing at herself, and turned to face the screen and smiled, like it was Picture Day at Claremont.

Notice is Casey's better check, so we'll go with that. 1d20+10=17 Meh; should have stuck with Skill Mastery.

"I don't need to cheat," Gretchen countered with a hint of pride. "All have to do is keep my face blank and watch the rest of you twitch, sniff and fidget. Gives me everything I need. And for the record, I can't read minds." She held up her left hand and let the Ring of Power catch the last few rays of daylight. "The Bearer of the Three Gifts has always had a companion, with whom they share a special bond." She shrugged and smirked. "I chose one who looks great in tight jeans." "See, this is the thing that no one understands," said Lynn as she raised her beer in Gretchen's direction. "Technically, I'm her sidekick." "Damn right." "Yeah, I've never liked Monopoly, either; my mom gave away our set after I punched my sister Eddi in the head over a game. No, if you really want to see who your friends are, you play Risk!" "Oh man, I love Risk," said Lance with great enthusiasm. "I haven't played it in years!" Gretchen raised a stern finger at her girlfriend. "Vanilla rules only. No nukes, no mutants, no zombies." "Fine," the changeling said as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Take all the fun out of it..." And so it went for the rest of the night, as the four of them laughed, made plans and polished off the rest of the beer and pizza; it was one of those rare nights when anything seemed possible, and the world felt safe and warm and made sense. Life was good, and Sam was home.

I'm holding off on posting until we see what Aquaria's action yields.

Lynn pulled out her smartphone and tapped the screen. "Let's see, what time is is in Sapporo right now...'bout eight-forty on a Monday morning? He might be free." She then began a text conversation with her big brother overseas. "I want to play poker," suggested Gretchen. "Keep it small, five dollar buy-in. Not enough to break anyone, but enough that you feel like you really fleeced someone when you win." "That...sounds nice," said Lance as he raised his eyebrows. Then a thought struck him, and he shot his fellow barista a scowl. "Wait, you're super-smart and you have a natural poker face; I don't see this ending well for me." "Hence the appeal," she replied with a slight smirk. "Okay, Benji says we'd probably do better with D&D fifth edition," Lynn offered as she responded to another text. "He says Gretch would be fine with Pathfinder, but that I'd be pretty useless, which is...well, that's fair." She smiled as she tucked her phone away. "So anyway, we don't have to settle on something right now, plus we can always mix it up now and then; y'know, boardgames one month, card games the next, etc." "Sweet!" said Lance.

"Oh, okay!" Lynn laughed and applauded, clearly caught off-guard by the young man's display. Then she wrinkled up her nose in thought as she tried to figure out the trick. "You...created an illusion of yourself while turning invisble? Is that what you did? I'm not sure." Gretchen actually did watch Cass work his mojo (her girlfriend's tricks, however, were hardly novel), and she nodded in appreciation. "Nice." "In my case, I'm using my glamour for a form of teleportation." She held out her hand, and a small statue of Cass appeared; it was wonderfully detailed and slightly stylized, like something you'd find in a glass case at a comic book store. "Anything I create is still linked to me; I can see and hear through it for surveillance purposes, or I can send myself through it to the other side." She set Little Cass on a nearby table, then sighed. "The only problem is, that means I can only go places I've been to before, though there are workarounds." She pointed at the little statue. "Like, if I sent that to you as a gift, you'd probably think it was cool and put it on your desk or a bookshelf, right?" She gestured towards it, and the figure changed; now it was slightly hunched forward, holding a dish microphone, and wearing a pair of headphones and a rather sinister expression. "And now I can spy on you whenever I want, as long as I'm within a two hundred mile radius." She winked and grinned. "Pretty sneaky, huh?"

To his credit, Lance seemed to pick up on Sam's unease, and deftly shifted topics. "Y'know what, let's just keep it 'staff only' for right now, just until we find our own rhythm." "Sure, that's cool," Lynn said with a shrug. Then she turned to Sam to address his question. "Pathfinder is a roleplaying game, kinda like Dungeons and Dragons; y'know, elves and dwarves and wizards and stuff? Actually, I think it's more like a sequel or spin-off to D&D, I guess? I dunno, my brother tried to explain it to me once; it's kinda confusing." She smiled wistfully. "Benji tried to teach me and my sister D&D when we were kids; we pretty much sucked at it back then, but I liked casting spells." Gretchen smirked and snorted. "You and your Harry Potter s###." "Hey, you read 'em, too!" "True. But I didn't want to live it." Now it was Lynn's turn to snort as she took a swig. "It's a little late for that, 'Hermione'!" Gretchen tried to make a snappy comeback, but it died on her lips as her eyes flicked down to the ring on her finger, which in turn made Lance chuckle. "She's got you there, Gretch!"

Lynn sighed and hung her head in mock sorrow. "Ah, you're probably right. It'll look better when the store is full; avoid that whole super-Photoshopped look that people pick up on, even if they don't consciously know it." Then she looked up and offered Cass a hopeful grin. "Hey, maybe by the time you get back, we'll have the AC back up and running; actually have a few customers in here." For her part, Gretchen looked a little bummed about her missed flirting opportunity, even though it technically would have just been her girlfriend in a different form...apparently dating a shapeshifter does things to your head, she mused. She returned to her perch behind the counter and resumed her reading. "Why don't you show him some more cool stuff," she said without looking up. "You never miss a chance to be a star." That made the changeling grin; to the average listener, that might sound like a putdown, but she knew Gretch well enough to know it was also half-compliment. Well, almost half; at least two-fifths. "Okay then, one more trick!" Lynn took a deep breath, and then collapsed in on herself, crumpling down to a puff of vapor until even that was gone; a few seconds later, she stepped back out of her office, smiling like an idiot and made jazz hands. "Ta-daaaa!" "Wow. So cool. Amazing." "Aww, you weren't even watching!" "Nope."

Casey nodded as she picked up the dry erase marker, trying to think of what to write for her first message. She decided to keep it simple, so she could write good and big on the board; she used big, black sans serif letters, all in caps: WHO ARE YOU? HOW CAN WE HELP? "Okay, here we go." She wheeled the whiteboard in front of the monitor, then pulled it back a few feet so the camera lens could fit the whole message. She turned to the protectionist. "Play the same scene at normal speed; then we wait a minute or two, rewind the movie, and then play it again, looking for any changes this time around."

Miracle Girl wrinkled her nose, nodded and winked. "Yeah, it's pretty much the same." Once they both out on the middle of the deck, the blonde heroine nodded and sighed. "Okay, this probably isn't going to be very dignified, but at least you can tell your grandkids about it, right?" She reached down and effortlessly picked the big man up in a bridal carry, the muscles in her arms barely flexing. "Arms around my neck; you can see what I meant about the 'dignity' part. Got a good grip? Okay, then off we go!" Miracle Girl lifted straight up into the air, her whole body softly glowing gold with power; she always tried to make her liftoffs a bit gradual, to accommodate possible sensitive stomachs. "You've probably worked this harbor most of your life; today you get a special view!" Keeping a sharp eye out for any copters in the area, she chose a gentle parabola to get a decent amount of height while still staying on target to land Larry back at the dock. "You should see the harbor like this at night," she said with a contented sigh. "Sometimes I just sit on top of the Centurian statue just to take it all in." As much as she loved to fly, Casey knew most civilians found it unnerving, so soon it was time to bring the tugboat pilot back down to Earth; she landed near the dockworkers so he'd be among friends, and quickly but gently got him back on his feet. "It was an honor working with you, Larry," she said as she smiled and once again shook his hand. "We make a good team!"

Did you see my post in the IC here?

"A lifetime of servitude and pain," Gretchen stated matter-of-factly around her mouthful of pizza. "Join my fantasy football league? We could really use a few more teams this season." "Don't worry about it," said Lynn as she popped open another Sammie with her jet-black talons before shaking then back into vapor. "I like helping people; a good Jew is supposed to be 'healing the world' any way they can. I don't really need much anymore, so I'm happy to give it away." "Tell them about Shabbat Game Night." Lynn's eyes went wide with excitement as she finished her swig. "Mmm, yes! So I was of starting a new thing; one Friday a month, we close the store early so I can cook you all traditional Shabbat dinner, and then afterward we play games. It can be boardgames or card games, or maybe my brother Benji can teach me how to run Pathfinder or something, I don't know. The main thing is, we nosh, we relax, we have some fun. The one thing we don't do is talk about work." Her eyes flicked from Sam to Lance and back again. "What do you guys think, maybe? We'd need to run it by Samantha and Maddy, too, obviously." Lance nodded. "I dunno, free food and games sounds pretty sweet to me; can we bring dates?" "Sure, sure, the more the merrier!" She looked over to Sam, eyebrows raised hopefully.

Sam's Apartment. Sunday, August 7th, 2016. 7:33 pm Come that Sunday, Lance drove his big white Ford van to Lynn's building to pick up Lynn and Gretchen to move Sam out of his old place; everyone wore old worn clothes (of course, Lynn actually conjured some up for the occasion) and eschewed the use of powers to make the process look all normal and legit, though of course all three of the magically-inclined heroes cheated a bit when no one was watching. Lance had gone to school on a full athletic scholarship, so his physical capabilities were never in question, but the two women, who were both barely over five feet tall, also gave it their all; it helped that they regularly trained together as part of their crime-fighting career, and were therefore a bit stronger than they looked. The move itself took no time at all, as Sam has predicted, so Lynn suggested they drive out to Ashton so Sam could pick out some reasonably priced furniture while they still had the use of Lance and his van. This seemed like a good idea to everyone, so Lance, Sam, Lynn and Gretchen once again piled into the E-Series and headed west on Frederick to the Land of Big Box Stores and Honey. It made for an enjoyable drive, with Lance and Sam up front talking about movies, sports and politics, while Lynn and Gretchen giggled like schoolgirls up to no good in the back, though they frequently chimed in as well. When it came to furniture, tools and home improvement, the big blonde from Iowa really knew his stuff, and he more than proved his worth by providing lots of tips and expert advice, helping Sam find some really nice stuff at good prices that would be easy to put together, as well as helping him pick out a decent toolkit to keep around the apartment. Gretchen also found some useful items, while Lynn found a lamp that she just had to have. At last, they loaded up the van and headed back east to get everything up the the stairs, unboxed and at least some of it assembled. Pizzas was ordered and a case of Sam Adams purchased, so that as the sun began to set and turn the sky to fire, four friends sat around a new table in Sam's dining nook, eating pizza, sipping on cold beer and feeling sleepy. "I don't give guys enough credit," mused Gretchen as she folded another slice of pie while she watched Lance work his magic on a partially-assembled bookshelf. "Sometimes they really are great to have around." Lance snorted and shook his head, though he was still smiling. "Oh yes, ma'am! We're not just for fightin' and procreatin'; we're good with tools, too!" "Be nice," said Lynn with a weary chuckle, very much sounding like the mom she used to be, before groaning and letting her head sag backwards in exhaustion. "Oh Lord; I'm gonna sleep good tonight!"

Lynn clapped her hands together and smiled. "Awesome! This is going to be great!" She looked around the empty store thoughtfully. "Um...could we do it right now? We gotta whole lotta store with nothing going on." Gretchen shook her head dubiously. "No one wants to see pictures of an empty bookstore. It's depressing as hell, and implies no one shops here." "Mmm, you're right," muttered the changeling as she gnawed on her thumbnail. Then her face brightened. "Oooh, I can play the customers! I mean, we can at least a few different ones in some of the shots, right?" Her partner tipped her head to one side as she looked thoughtful; finally a half smile touched her lips. "Well, then. You have to give me a cute guy to flirt with in some of the shots." Lynn snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, please. I'll give you cute guys, cute girls, whatever you want! You've never even seen me bring out the big guns!" Then she looked at Cass and shrugged. "Whaddya think? I mean, we probably won't get every shot we need in one session, but maybe just to give us a few ideas? Y'know, get the ball rolling, see if it's a good fit?"

Casey leaned in to peer at the monitor. "It's definitely creepy, but somehow..." She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, I just don't think he's a bad guy. I mean look at him; he's all banged up, he's looking out at us with his sad little sign- " She stopped suddenly as a thought popped into her head. "He's looking out at us; he's aware that we're out here, watching him." She looked at the others. "Does that mean we can communicate with him? What if we held up our own signs, asking him questions; do you think we'd see responses if we played the movies back again?"

"Normally this is when she offers you a job," blurted Gretchen as she headed back behind the bar so she could get back to her laptop. "Without looking at your resume or doing a background check." "I don't say that to everyone," groaned Lynn as she rolled her eyes, though in truth, her girlfriend knew her well; it physically pained the Jewish mother in her to see someone struggling to make ends meet. But it seemed that Cass liked the freedom of the freelance lifestyle, so just slapping a Silberman's apron on him probably wouldn't appeal to the young photographer. Meahwhile, Gretchen had managed to find both his heroic blog and his professional website, and was scrutinizing both of them intently. "Your web design sucks," she declared without looking up from the screen. "A better layout will get you more customers, make you look more professional. I can do that for you. Your photography..." She paused as she clicked around the website some more. "Some of it's good. You definitely show promise, but you only get better through regular work. Professional work, for a paying client." She powered down her laptop and closed it with a firm click before looking up at Lynn. "Hire him for a job." She shrugged. "The store's website could use an overhaul. He could use the money." Lynn nodded thoughtfully; once again, Gretch impressed her with her ability to help people while simultaneously not seeming to give a s###, a delicate balancing act that not many could pull off. Turning back to Cass, she shrugged. "Whaddya say? She's right, we could use some new pics on the site, and I like to support local artists."

"I'm sure as hell not ready," Lynn said, shaking her head. "But I don't think I ever could be. Let's just do this." She checked her hair, looked down at her apron and dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Not sure where I was going with that..." She reached out and grabbed Gretchen's arm. "How...how do I look?" Gretchen stopped, looked her boss up and down, and then shrugged. "You look amazing. The way you always do." Lynn nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Great. Thanks." She took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay, ready."

The changeling got all 'aw shucks' at Bonfire's compliments, as her cheeks and tips of her ears flushed a litle pink. "'Big league'? Maybe once upon a time, but three years away sort of resets the clock a bit; I'm still working to find my footing, or at least it feels that way to me. But a girl can't get enough compliments, so, y'know, keep 'em comin'! And please, call me 'Grim'." And with that, she shifted back into her civilian persona; it felt kinda weird walking around as Grim in the shop. "Or, well, 'Lynn' when I look like this. So, howd'ya like hero work? It can be a big adjustment in the early days." She shrugged as she took a seat on the edge of one of the reading tables. "I'm always happy to offer a hand to the rookies." Meanwhile Gretchen also changed back to her street clothes and took a seat beside her, entwining the fingers of her left hand with those of Lynn's right. She said nothing, but continued to study Cass intently; her gaze was unflinching, but not hostile, merely analytical.

Lynn Epstein was working in her office at Silberman's Books, making some last minute changes to next week's schedule. No Doubt was playing on her iPod (yes, she still had one; how retro!) and she felt she'd done a pretty good job of accommodating everyone's needs in terms of hours. Just then, her partner Gretchen intruded into her thoughts. -Hey.- -Hey. What's up?- -I was going through my newsfeeds and a really weird, disturbing case popped up.- -Oh, really? Disturbing how? -Headless woman found in a hotel room in Midtown.- -Oh...God! That's awful! Do they have any clue who she is?- -No, they don't. And it gets worse.- -Oh, God. Do I want to know how?- -It says she was...'posed'.- -God, people are...people are sick, y'know? That's just wrong.- -Also, that one hack mystery writer you like might be involved.- -Wait, which one? You mean...oh my God, you mean Steinbeck? Oh wow, that's the same scene...holy crap!- -Yep. And she was found in his hotel room...- Not long after, a tiny flitting creature landed in a dark corner of the alley behind the Holt Hotel, quickly expanding into the form of Grimalkin. Even though she normally did her best work at night, she felt she owed Ernest Steinbeck something; despite what Gretchen thought, he was good writer, and she always hoped to have him do a signing or reading at the store someday. At first, she thought of trying the direct approach, going in the front door and talking to the cops, but for some reason, she decided against it; it was a gut feeling, and she tended to follow her gut. So instead, she went invisible, cloaking herself in glamour so she could slip inside the front door like a passing breeze.

Tagged.

Gretchen clapped her hands loudly, then tapped her nose. "I knew it! I thought there was something familiar about you." She began to come out from behind the counter. "Earlier this year, maybe March or April. The break-in at Hinocorp Nautical Concepts." She stopped in front of Cass and sharply twisted the ring on her left hand, transforming her via a weird fluttering light into...the Shrike! The young man instantly recognized the silver bird-like mask and black hooded cloak from their previous adventure. "I remember you were good. Very professional." Lynn slapped her forehead and laughed. "Ohhhhh, so this is 'Smoke Head Boy'! I remember you talking about him. Cool!" When Cass asked she could do, the changeling shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, well, y'know, faerie powers are okay, I guess; they come in useful from time to time." Suddenly a swirl of mists surrounded her body, which began to grow and shift; when the mysterious vapors disappated, she looked...a little different. "Good for infiltration, misdirection, and of course, interrogation," she said with a sly wink and a sophisticated English accent. The Shrike could only stand there with her mouth open, looking up at her partner who was now nearly a foot taller than she was. "How...how are you doing that?" "It's all about proper mass distribution, y'know?" She waved a hand vaguely in front of her tummy, her tea and crumpets accent clashing with her words. "Just moving everything around." And with that, she shrunk back down to her normal height, with spiky auburn hair, a black domino mask, and a costume of black and midnight blue leather, then bowed with a dramatic flourish. "Grimalkin, the Mistress of Mystery, at your service!" She offered Cass a firm handshake and a cheerful grin. "Pleased to meecha, kid! Shrike told me all about you; some of it was even nice!" Behind the mask, she looked and sounded a bit like Lynn Epstein's little sister, but with pointed ears and impish features.

The two women exchanged looks, and Lynn looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, technically neither of us is actually a mage; I'm actually a faerie and Gretchen is...what would you call yourself, Gretch?" "A surly bitch with some magic shinies." "There ya go. Here, gimme a sec!" The lovely changeling hurried over to the front door, conjuring up a sign that read 'Closed due to no AC! Hope to be open later today!' on the way. She stuck the sign to the door, and then locked it before coming back. "For a bit of privacy." Meanwhile Gretchen continued to study Cass, her head titled to one side like a giant, inquisitive bird. "You do hero work. I'm guessing your powers have something to do with heat, speed or both. Unless you're just 'Captain Coffee, the Man with the Bottomless Stomach'. Which would be the best s###y superpower ever."

"Oh, uh, okay!" Lynn looked slightly taken aback by that, though she quickly recovered; clearly she hadn't fully realized just how crappy Sam's old place really was. "Why don't we eat lunch, and then we'll see about getting you moved in, alright?" Upstairs in Lynn's apartment, the trio sat around the kitchen table, enjoying the delicious stew, which was made with pot roast, potatoes and carrots. There was also fresh-baked crusty bread and hand-squeezed lemonade. "Lance has a van," suggested Gretchen as she dipped her bread in the hearty broth. "If we smile at him and look pretty, he might let us use it." "Good to know, good to know," murmured Lynn as she nodded her head sagely. She waved a hand over her bowl and conjured herself another serving of stew. "Sam, if you need more furniture, there's some stuff down in the basement; a couple of dressers, some chairs, maybe even a desk. You're welcome to borrow them, if you want."

The young man's lack of surprise did seem to suggest that he was 'in the biz' as Lynn put it, and both she and Gretchen relaxed just a tad. The young barista leaned over the counter to peer around. "Anyone else in the store?" The store owner's eyes went unfocused as she sent her senses throughout the building, using various glamoured items like magical security cameras. "Nope, we're alone." She blinked a few times as her attention returned to Cass. "Good." Gretch held up her left hand, and a book flew across the length of the store and into her waiting grasp; the whole time, her intense gaze never left Cass. "What do you know about magic."