Heritage

Casey jumped slightly when Sea Devil addressed her, much to her shame and embarrassment; it was like being caught surreptiously staring at someone with bad scars. "Um, well I am still in school, if that's what you mean, but it's like a special school. For kids with powers like me." She wanted to continue the conversation, because now that she'd broken the ice it was actually easier to just keep going. But the briefing was still going on, and she didn't want to miss anything. "Sorry, I-" She gestured towards the colonel and looked apologetic. As the discussion continued, she held up her hand again, and then looked between the doctor and Chalmers. "I'm sorry, but...wouldn't it be bad to follow him to his 'lair'? Then he has home field advantage; it may even be a trap, and he wants us to follow him." She looked a bit uncomfortable, as she didn't like questioning her elders. "My da-..., uh, I was taught that...you always want to dictate the terms of battle; you never let the enemy do that, or you play into their hands."

Alright, Grim's Kn: Arcane Lore check: 1d20+1=11 Stee-rike! Ugh, whatta stink bomb! Gonna let that sit there for now.

Grim stopped in front of the door, crossed her arms and nodded sharply. "Okay, this...this looks promising! Al-Kazar was a performer, so a dressing room door makes a lot of sense." But then a sudden chill went down her spine, and her eyes went wide. "Holy s###, what if, what if he's actually in there?! Like as a zombie, or even, just...dead? Like a corpse! What if my great-grandfather's body is in there?" It appeared that somehow, the full implications of what might be behind the mirror never occured to her, or at the very least she tried very hard to block them out. Gretchen did not want her boss to freak out, especially in the middle of being rescued by her, so she tried to apply logic to the problem. "You don't know that. Maybe the number on the door is a clue. Also, there was a sign on the elevator earlier that read...I want to say 'Tellus'? Do either the number eleven or the word Tellus mean anything to you magic-wise?"

Lynn took a sip of her mocha as she watched Sam leave the storage room; this left a large dollop of whipped cream on her nose, which she appeared not to notice. "He'll get over it, right? It's the right thing to do." "Absolutely," said Gretchen, trying very hard not to crack up at the sight of her partner's 'creamschnoz'. "Let's not think-fight in front of the kids again, okay? Promise me." "Okay." Lynn reached out and took both her hands. "Look me in the eye and promise me." Her eyes were so big and her tone so sincere that Gretchen finally busted out laughing, while the changeling pretended to be deeply offended, despite having to hide a smile. "Why do you find that funny? You're awful! You're an awful, terrible person!" - - - Out on the sales floor, Lance looked up from behind the bar and, noticing Sam's expression, offered a look of concern. "Everything okay, Mr. Steiner? You look like you lost your puppy."

Shrike could only shrug as she deadpanned, "I told them it was dangerous to play with fireworks indoors, but these kids today...they don't listrn." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm the Shrike. My boss Grimalkin got an anonymous tip on her website about kids disappearing at this club, and that the house band 'Black Fang' might be involved. Myself and another crimefighter who prefers not to be named came here to do some undercover recon." She indicated the scorch marks with a casual wave of her hand. "There were five of them, and they appeared to be vampires. Things quickly escalated into a fight for our lives. They burned up if you hit them hard enough, hence the mess." She shrugged again. "Sorry about the lack of physical evidence. I can work with a sketch artist if you want, maybe see if any faces match with any open missing person cases. " Gretch knew it all sounded ridiculous, but these were Freedom's Finest; they probably heard crazier stuff every day. To be honest, she felt a bit sorry for them; it must be hard working under the shadows of so many capes.

I used that very phrase in chat!

Vigilant is a non-statted, non-canon NPC who's part of Miracle Girl's backstory, though I might have partially statted him for AA once. One of these days, I should make him more official!

Casey took this mission very seriously, despite how silly it sounded; mostly this was because she really didn't want to get her dad in trouble by screwing up working for AEGIS, who payed for everything she owned, including (one day) her college education! She'd taken her reporter's notebook out of its waterproof belt pouch and was taking very detailed notes about everything Col. Chalmers said. ...which was a good thing, because it kept her from staring at her impromptu teammates. 'Sea Devil' was some sort of alien or mutant with a criminal past, 'Adept' looked, sounded and smelled like a walking anti-smoking PSA, and whoever this 'Doctor' was, he had super-creepy eyes. But her Mom taught her it was rude to stare, and the Girl Scouts taught her the importance of teamwork and working together with people from diverse backgrounds; this mission was not going to fail because she didn't do what was expected of her. Casey held up her hand earnestly. "Excuse me, sir? What time of day is the meet scheduled for? Is it during normal business hours, and if so, what provisions do we have in place to guarantee the safety of any civilians in the area?" There, those were good, important questions; Dad would be proud!

It makes sense, really; she's only been active in Freedom for two years, and their relationship really isn't common knowledge outside of the agency. Adept doesn't really keep track of kids!

Other than her secret identity, Miracle Girl is more or less an open book. She's in her late teens and been active in Freedom for close to two years. She can fly, is super-strong and really tough. Her most notable achievement was working with a group of other heroes to save a jet plane from crashing. She probably also has a reputation of being very nice and a bit of a 'goody two-shoes' Edit: okay, with that crappy roll, he probably only has a vague idea of her powers and maybe heard she's 'nice'; he might not even know about her connection to Vigilant!

Just a little bit of info about Casey's dad for those who know about AEGIS (I don't think this requires another edit, Soph): Miracle Girl (real name classified) is the daughter of Vigilant (real name classified), aka 'America's First Line of Defense!'. He's basically a bit of cross between Captain America and Superman who works closely with NORAD to monitor the skies over the US. (Depending on Adept's security clearance, he might know Vigilant's first name.)

Um, the name is Miracle Girl, not Wonder Girl Also, her dad works for AEGIS, which is another reason she might have been recommended.

Wow...I had been thinking of giving her Penetrating Vision, but your idea sounds way cooler, Durf!

So for an extra PP, would it cover her other visual senses? She also has Vision Counters Illusion, Invisibility and Obscure (Darkness).

So I'm working on my char edit for Shrike, and I want to make sure this power is street legal and how much it costs. The idea is to make the Helm of Truth's Magic Awareness (Visual) Analytic in nature, so Gretchen can better understand magical items and effects. And would that be considered one sense or a whole sense type for the purposes of PP cost?

Lynn stared at the ruby for a long time, then slowly shook her head. "Ira Silberman left this store and all its contents to my Grandfather Louis. And he left it all to me. So that means I'm the one who decides who to give it to from now on." Then she looked thoughtful. "But maybe...maybe I was a bit impulsive earlier. Let me consult with my colleague." Her eyes went a bit unfocused, a look which Sam was beginning to recognize; from time to time she shrugged or shook her head, and sometimes her lips moved wordlessly. Finally she nodded decisively, and then she looked at the magician with a smile. "Alright, a compromise has been reached; the amulet stays here, but you can study it on a regular basis. And maybe later we can run some tests at Rusty's for safety reasons. If you ever do figure out how to make it work, than we revisit the deal. Does that seem fair?" Before he could answer, Gretchen poked her head into the secret storage room. "He has to earn it now?" Lynn sighed and nodded. "Yes, he has to earn it." "Okay." She stepped into the room and presented the changeling with a very elaborate coffee-based drink, topped with an insane amount of whipped cream. "Then I made you this mint mocha." The store owner practically melted as she put her hand over her heart. "Aww, you're so sweet! Thanks!" They briefly kissed as Gretchen sat on Lynn's lap, and she rubbed the barista's arm with great affection. They both looked at Sam inquisitively. "So, does that work for you?"

Edited By Da Durf Okay, 20 power points spent on Miracle Girl! Here's the breakdown: 2pp = Dexterity +1 2pp = Wisdom +1 1pp = Reflex +1 1pp = Will +1 1pp = Precise Shot 1pp = Takedown Attack 4pp = Communication 4 1pp = Heatvision AP 7pp = 7 ranks of Immunity I think that covers everything!

Lynn looked thoughtfully at Sam for some time, occasionally glancing from him over to the strange, very glow-y amulet. At last, she abruptly snatched it out of the air and tossed at the startled magician. "Y'know what, keep it. If you can figure out how to make it work, it's yours." This was just a bit too much for Gretchen, and she said so, telepathically. - You have got to be kidding me. - - No...this feels right. - - He's an ex-con who shows up to his first day on the job, and you just toss a magical artifact of unknown power into his lap. You cannot possibly be so naive. - - I call it having faith in people. And you may be right; this could blow up in my face like an H-bomb, but I don't think it will. I have to believe in people, because otherwise I don't know how to do this job...I really don't. I can't live in a world without hope. - - Fine. For what it's worth, I hope you are right. But that's not the world I grew up in. - During all this, all Sam could see was the two women pacing around, eyes locked and arms tightly folded across their chests, clearly involved in an intense mental conversation. Finally, they broke eye contact and let out their breath at the same time. Gretchen addressed Samuel, though she had a hard time looking him in the eye. "You can keep the Amulet, but as a...professional courtesy, I request that you share with me what you find out about it. I am more than willing to offer my services as a research assistant." And with that, she stomped out of the room; Lynn held out her hand, looking like she wanted to say something, but then she just sighed, let it drop and looked away.

The two women untangled themselves and stood up, both as transfixed as Sam was by the beautiful ruby. "Wow," said Lynn as she gazed upon it. "It's so big!" For her part, Gretchen kept shaking her head and fiddling with her glasses, seemingly confused. "Uh, the, uh...the cape is perfectly ordinary. The clasp with the ruby...is a source of considerable power." The changeling looked back over her shoulder and frowned. "How do you know that?" The barista started to laugh but caught herself, clearly on the verge of hysteria. "Because the Helm...is telling me so." She reached up to pull off her glasses and stare at them in wonder. "This whole time I thought I was summoning the Gifts. But I've been wearing them...the whole time." She abruptly donned her glasses, twisted her ring counter-clockwise, and in a flash she was wearing a beautiful flowing ballgown in creamy pink. She twisted it again, and was dressed like a flight attendant. And then a cop! Lynn took a step backwards and made a T with her hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, timeout! One mind-blowing discovery at a time here, people! Yes, it looks like you unlocked some...quality DLC there, Gretch, but we need to-" She waved her hands at her partner's law enforcement uniform. "Just hit the reset button for now while we focus on the...'Amulet of Al-Kazar over here." "Fine," Gretchen said as she returned to her original street clothes with a smirk. "Not so fun when someone else is doing it, is it?" The fae pursued her lips and shook her head. "No, it's not; I guess I finally see your point now." At last, she turned her attention back to Sam and his amazing find. "Okay, so...big ass ruby! What do we think it does?"

The object in question appeared to be some sort of clasp or brooch, still attached to one of Al-Kazar's gold lamé capes; it appeared to be made of pure gold, but the real eye catcher was the ruby in the middle the size of a silver dollar. The whole thing was glowing with a light that was fascinating to behold. Just then, Gretchen roused and shook her head. "Huh!" She blinked her eyes a few times, then began to stare at the front and backs of her hands. "I, uh...I think I just downloaded a patch." Lynn punched her shoulder, good and hard. "Jeez, don't do that; you scared me half to death, you bitch!" "Ow! I don't always have control of this stuff, you know!" Then she noticed her head was in Lynn's lap, and her face softened. "You caught me?" And then the changeling smiled, and it was wonderous to behold. "I'll always catch you, kid. Always." This then led to a lot of kissing, which was very awkward indeed for Presto, until Gretchen finally came up for air. "Um, we should...Samuel." "Right, yes; sorry about that! Status report, Mr. Steiner!" She brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at him expectantly, her cheeks rosy pink.

Gretchen frowned thoughtfully. "Okay." She held up her ring. "This thing can lift up to three tons, so I could pick you both up and just fly over to the meet spot, and then we can teleport inside dramatically." Then she looked over her shoulders at their captives and shrugged. "As for them...let's secure them here and call it in. We could put them in the van, and I can force all the doors shut. They'll need the Jaws of Life to get them out."

Gretchen stared down at the ashy spot for several seconds without saying anything, then she took a deep breath, which she quickly regretted as she, too, got a snoot full of vamp. "Gah! We should probably...ahem!...we should probably do a quick sweep back here, see if we can find anything that might have belonged to any missing kids. Might be able to give some family some closure." Then she looked around the trashed room. "Cops will probably be here soon." She looked at Sam and shrugged. "I can stay and talk with them if you'd rather-" She made a 'poof' gesture with her fingers, then offered her a crooked but sympathetic little smile.

In that case, I vote for Miracle Girl; Grimalkin might be a little too powerful for this thread, and Casey is woefully underused right now.

I am definitely intrigued, but I'm not sure which of my characters woud be suited for this. Is there a particular PL or set of powers you're interested in?

Lynn was suitably impressed. "Wow, nice work, Lawrence; you'll have to be our official 'Ferret Wrangler' from now on!" She playfully touseled his hair, gave Robert a friendly hug, and then showed the trio into the living room. "Okay, so that's everyone! We're keeping it small today. So, some quick introductions here. Everyone, this is Megan and Robert and their son Lawrence. And here we have Gretchen, Samantha and Samuel." Then she looked at Lawrence with a hint of dismay. "Sorry there aren't any other kids to play with, Lawrence, but the ferrets are tons of fun, and I've got some cool books and games you might like." Then she looked over at her partner and winked. "Gretchen loves games, doncha Gretch?" The young barista's face went a little white at that suggestion. "I...yes, I enjoy games." "Cool!" Lynn clapped her hands together and turned to the new arrivals. "So, what can I get you guys to drink? We've got water and lemonade here, plus booze, pop and juice in the fridge."