Heritage

Okay, set it up as per our Messenger conversation; let me know if that works for you.

"I'm fine," Shrike said innocently as she hopped up to her feet and dusted herself off. "I didn't mean to frighten you, but at least you put the fear to good use." Landing next to the terminal, she quickly scanned the monitor. "This is not good." She commandeered the keypad and rapidly typed, her fingers flying like a concert pianist. "Oh bloody crap. Someone has hijacked the system." She looked up at TL, her face filled with dread. "Someone else has the keys to the kingdom." Her eyes darted about the screen as her mind raced. "Let me try something." She held the Ring of Power against the side of the terminal, her eyes squinting with concentration as she cocked her head this way and that. "Please let this work, please let this work..." Finally she gasped in frustration. "Damn it, this thing is full of fail-safes!" She turned, fired a blast into the ground, then turned back to the terminal in one fluid motion, her face taught worry. "Sorry. Okay, I've got one last trick up my sleeve. If this doesn't work..." She sent a sending to her boss. - Hey. - - Hey, how's it goin'? I'm almost done with the inspector. - - We have a situation. - - ...What kind of a situation? - - The 'holy s###, we're all gonna die' kind. - - Holy s###. - - Yep, that's it. -

Disable Device: 1d20+12=13 http://orokos.com/roll/396423 Whaaaat?! I call shennanigans and blow my new HP on a reroll Reroll: 1d20+12=20 http://orokos.com/roll/396425 Since that's a rolled 8, I think I add 10 for a total of 30, right?

Knowledge: Technology check: 1d20+10=27 http://orokos.com/roll/396415

Notice check: 1d20+10=20 http://orokos.com/roll/396409 She's got full Visual Concealment from her Cloak of Mystery.

Oh lord, here we go.... Untrained Escape Artist roll: 1d20+2=11 http://orokos.com/roll/396005 Woo-hoo! Gretch manages to get all writhy!

Silberman's Books. Monday, April 25th, 2016. 9:56 am. Back in January, Lynn Epstein offered Samuel Steiner, a stage magician, ex-convict and would-be crimefighter, what amounted to his 'dream job': the opportunity to catalogue and itemize the collection of his hero Ira Silberman, formerly known as the Amazing Al-Kazar. To say that he couldn't wait to start his first day would be the understatement of the century. Yet wait he did; in February, the departure of her long-suffering assistant manager Kiki Knox came as a shock, and Lynn sent him an apologetic letter explaining that she wanted to bring her new AM up to speed and get everyone settled into a new routine before adding any additional staff. That the letter contained a check for eight hundred dollars did something to soften the blow. Then March came, and another apologetic letter arrived, with the same-sized check and a promise of work in April. Now April was almost over, and Sam feared his amazing opportunity had gone up in smoke, but then a third letter arrived on Friday, as apologetic as before, but now letting him know that he would finally be able to start that Monday, bright and early at 10 am. And yay, another check! - - - "Does he get an apron?" Lynn briefly looked up from her desk, where she was typing up a last minute email; her assistant manager and now partner in all things Gretchen McDaniels was limply holding up a brown standard-issue Silberman's apron, a bored expression on her face. "No, he does not get an apron; he will be an apron-less freak." "If I have wear one, he should, too. We should all be equal partners in discomfort and embarrassment." "Technically, he's not an employee of the store; he's an independent contractor. Plus he'd look really stupid with that thing over his coat and tails, doncha think?" Gretch looked over her shoulder back towards the sales floor and shook her head. "You really think he wears that all the time?" "Yep! Sleeps in it, showers in it, makes sweet, sweet love in it..." "Eww. Thanks for that disturbing visual." Lynn beamed cheerfully. "You're welcome! Now go ahead and open up while I finish typing this." "Yes, O master." Hunching forward and dragging her foot, Gretch lurched towards the front door like a hunchbacked assistant; behind the bar, Lance Bettendorfer, barista extraordinaire, cocked an eyebrow at her performance. "Everything alright there, Gretch?" "Breaking in some new boots," she deadpaned. Once she got to the door, she flung it open dramatically, still in Igor mode. "Enter, at your own risk!" She almost managed an expression there.

Grimalkin/Shrike (22) [Maxed] 5 Finger Discount (5) A Performance to Die For (3) Black Heart of Dagon (5) I've Got A Golden Ticket (2) Late Night Out (2) Ounce of Prevention (3) The Box of Delights (2) Miracle Girl (12) A Bad Case of the Runs (1) Brightly Polished 24 Carat Wits (1) Cold War Relics (2) Falling Star (2) The Reunion of a Scout and a Genius (6) All points to MG.

There was a good chance this pirate lady was on the side of thr angels, but her behavior was nonetheless alarming, and Lynn had patrons to think about; clasping her hands together, she shook her head . "Ma'am, I would love to discuss these things with you, but I'm going to have to ask you to either put away your firearm or else turn it over to me for safe keeping." She indicated the customers hiding under tables or behind bookshelves. "I cannot have you putting these good people in danger." - - - Meanwhile Gretchen, still floating and invisible, had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from freaking out at a scene right out of a Gahan Wilson cartoon; she then realized she was now shut in the room with the creepy-ass thing, and unsure how to get out! Thinking quickly, she used a fraction of the power of her ring to rapidly knock on the door of the apartment.

Gretchen heard the pop of the grenade, but it was moving too fast for her to follow it; by the time she spotted it, it was too late to move. All she could do was throw her cloak over her head and pray to God the enchantment could take it. The flechettes ripped apart the trees overhead, and the concussive blast and wave of steel drove her to the ground, but whatever magics the Magi had woven into the Cloak held; not a drop of her blood was spilled! She was about to crawl to her feet and jump back in the fray when another piece of advice from her boss bobbed to the surface of her rattled skull. If there are no innocents at risk, there is no shame in playing possum from time to time; it can make the bad guys drop their guard, or come in close, maybe even let slip a vital clue or two. But the minute the jig is up, be ready to fight, and fight dirty! So the Shrike stayed down, partially covered by shredded foliage, and waited to see what the thugs did next; as an afterthought, she stealthily pulled her hood back a bit, just enough to deactivate her invisibility, just like in the movies.

1d20+8=19 Nope! 1d20+10=25 Yes!

Still attempting to take out the 'head', Gretchen lined up another shot on Kite, determined to drop her and the throw the rest of the team into confusion. She still adopted a pistol stance, crouched on one knee, left hand up, right hand bracing her wrist; it would look a bit silly, if anyone could actually see her. With the female criminal dead in her 'sights', she fired again!

Sorry, I was under the impression she didn't want to discuss any of the files due to their sensitive nature.

Casey Blankenship was excited; not because she was getting the chance to do science experiments with an experienced hero, but because she was getting to ride public transportation! It might seem silly, but for a flyer like her, the opportunity to explore the city from the ground, without having to focus on all the variables of urban flight, was actually a special treat. Sure, it took a lot longer (two buses and three trains!), but Case was an earlier riser by nature, and packing for a day trip and studying bus and train schedules were her kind of fun. She got to do lots of people watching, too, which was also cool. At nine am sharp, the eager young heroine marched into the North Bay Yacht Club, scanned the marina with her amazing eyes, and quickly picked out Torpedo Lass based on her description. She quickly made her way over to the slip, wearing a navy blue sailing jacket over her Claremont uniform and a bright yellow waterproof bag over her shoulder. As was usual in her civilian ID, her hair was up and she was wearing her glasses, with clip-on sunglasses attached. "Hi, Torpedo Lass?" She grinned and waved. "I'm Casey Blankenship, from Claremont? Nice to meet you!" Her handshake was warm, with a nice strong grip. She flipped up her sunglasses and scanned the water, shielding her eyes with her hand. "Forecast's not too bad, considering; sounds like it won't get bad until tonight."

Boop.

Shrike frowned slightly at the phrase 'figured her out'; she never liked to assume anything as matter of course. And the paranoid part of her brain (which was a pretty large portion of it, really) couldn't help but get the sense that Kirkpatrick was trying to scoot them out the door for sinister purposes, but she could always have legitimate reasons. Slipping the comm into her ear, she did a quick test. "Check, check. Sibilance, sibilance." Satisfied the comms were good, she returned to problem at hand. "I can fly quietly at a decent clip, and I've towed boats before. I'd be happy to investigate the rig, along with anyone else who cares to join me."

Casey floated over to the pod and easily hefted the two yellow bags. "Nothing wrong with trying out a new look; I've been thinking about a more adaptable suit myself. Switchable from normal to stealth mode, maybe a few different styles of camouflage..." She looked around the small capsule. "Anything else we need to grab?" Words really couldn't describe how happy she was to have her friend back; Saku was always more of a doer and planner than she was, and she'd really missed the sense of direction the young inventor provided. "Also, have you eaten? You know I'm always up for grabbing a bite!"

1d20+8=23 I assume that's another hit? DC 23 Toughness, just a normal hit. A minor edit, I've since stated her blasts from the Ring of Power are red

Cool! I figure she's keeping it fairly broad for now, as she has no idea what she's looking for; I will definitely add a rank or two of Arcane Lore in her next edit!

Sounds like a feat I might want to look into! Casey has Quickness 12

Not sure how to address Casey's little magical crash course in terms of rules; taking 20 on an unskilled Knowledge: Arcane Lore roll, maybe?

"Great! I'll meet you guys there!" Holding the tattered remains of her costume around her as she flew, Casey made her way back to her dorm, careful to give El Hurican a wide berth out of respect for his secret identity. Once she was inside, she was back into blur mode, rapidly showering and changing her dressings. She was about to put on her replacement costume when her eyes fell on her beloved hard copy of the Encyclopedia Britanica, all thirty-two volumes on their custom-made shelf. Standing in her bathrobe, hair still damp as she gnawed on a thumbnail, her eyes flicked to her alarm clock and she shrugged. "What the heck; I've got time." She gave herself a little crash course on magic, with side trips into anthropology, theology, psychology and Freedom City history; the pages fluttered at blinding speed she as cross-referenced at a speed that most researchers would envy. At length, she came to an abrupt stop, visions of pentagrams and voodoo dolls dancing in her head as she rubbed her eyes. "Wow; that was trippy!" She turned the various ideas and concepts over in her head as she suited up; more than likely it wouldn't all stick, but if even one or two bits proved to be useful, it would be worth it. At the appointed time, she was floating just inside the gate to the school; she wasn't exactly sure where Terrifica meant by 'in front', but figuredon't this was as good a guess as any.

Good to have you back, man; ride the wave!

Gretchen shook her head as she drifted over to one of the crates. "Wow, you folded like cheap Chinese fan. Might not want to list that under 'Special Skills' on your resume. Employers might get the wrong idea." Waving her hand over the crate, she used the magic of the Ring to pry it open and have a look inside; this trick made her job at Silberman's Books so much easier. "Let's see what you were hired to steal. Might give us some insight into the two who hired you."