Heritage

Before I post, is Gretchen badly hurt and/or unconscious?

At the mention of her soon-to-be roommate's villainous sibling, Casey put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Hey, how do you know I don't have a supervillain in the family? Maybe my brother Josh was beaned by a radioactive softball, developed evil shortstop powers, and now calls himself the...'Sinfielder'? Hey, it could happen!" But of course, she was kidding and couldn't keep a straight face; her big laugh and huge smile showed her mischief was entirely innocent. However, her face turned noticeably grave when she changed the subject. "Seriously, though, your sister, this Hardwire? She'll have to go through me first." She crossed her arms, tilted her head down and scowled; she did indeed look rather fierce, even in her Baywatch bikini. "And I don't move easily!"

Lynn followed her customer over, happy to note her enthusiasm. "Well as a used bookstore, we pretty much have whatever people sell us, either stuff that one of the local stores can't move, or somebody's collection when their wife tells them to grow up; sad, really." She picked up a slim softcover book and flipped through it, shaking her head. "I don't know what the hell 'Torg' is, but it keeps showing up like a bad penny." She slid a finger across the spines, going down shelf by shelf. "Everything's alphabetical by system, and then editions are in sequence, so like we've got AD&D, second edition, 3.0...my brother knows more about this stuff, though I played with him a bit when I was little." She smiled. "Princess Grisselda, the half-elven sorceress-thief; oh, the delicious irony..." Though there were indeed large blocks of games nobody really played (Silver Age Sentinels was very well represented), there were large blocks of higher quality games, especially from the 90s; World of Darkness, 7th Sea, Legend of the Five Rings, Ars Magica, Deadlands and various Star Wars rpgs all made good showings. There was also a locked glass cabinet with items that were either harder to find or signed by an industry star. After giving her customer a little time to browse, the storeowner spoke again. "Are you looking for a place to play? We have a nice big table over there with plenty of chairs, snacks and drinks. If you promise not to be too loud, I'm sure we could work something out."

Casey snorted and smiled. "Oh, totally! Well, you're fun to hang out, which makes it easy." She was eyeing the veggidogs uncertainly, but was determined to try new things. With the onions all chopped, she started working on some tomatoes. "Oh hey, I don't know if you heard this, but Haraku's parents pulled her out of school; some sort of family crisis, I guess." She shrugged. "Anyway, if you're looking for a roommate, my room is now officially available." The blonde powerhouse had tried to go slower, but she was still done cutting up tomatoes in a matter of seconds; wiping off her hands, she sighed. "Alright, what else can I do to help?"

Casey looked first at the weird leaf formation, then to her friends, her features clouded with confusion. "Do you think we should maybe...follow it?" She set aside her trash gathering gear and began to follow the odd little cloud, still trying to see if anyone nearby seemed to be controlling it, her eyes darting around the park and surrounding area. Then something occurred to her; maybe this was some kind of trap, like using a laser pointer on a cat? She really didn't want to use her powers in public, but at least she still had her shoulder bag with her costume safely tucked away inside if push came to shove. Miracle Girl could be on the scene in the blink of an eye.

Grim gets a 20; almost missed it!

Based on the description in the FC sourcebook, it sounds a bit like Chicago's Water Tower Place, though possibly less upscale.

If it's a big enough mall, it might have a wide variety of shops; maybe there's an electronics store like a Best Buy or an Apple Store that has a sale just at the Millennium Mall location, and he needs something for his phone, tablet or computer?

Gretchen had just returned with a foamy cup of Sapporo Black and a Coke for her boss when Lynn suddenly stopped singing, and cocked her head to one side. "Okay, one for you- what?" The changeling pulled off her hat and finger and started to look around, scanning the crowd anxiously, craning her neck first one way, then the other. Now her assistant began to look around nervously. "What is it, what's wrong?" "I dunno, there's something-" She shook her head. "I don't know what it is, but it's something bad. Grab our stuff." She took the cup of Coke, popped off the lid and downed it in one long swig, then stuffed it in their trash bag. "Ooh, that's a rush! Here, let's get away from these people, maybe get a pillar behind us; you don't want to be standing in the middle of forty thousand people if there's a panic. Also I might have to change." Gretchen did not like a single thing her boss was saying, but took some degree of comfort in how calmly she said it; she dutifully gathered up all their things, still darting glances over her shoulders, looking for she knew not what. Suddenly, Lynn stopped and turned around. "Here, y'know what, take this-" She produced a thick red rubber band out of thin air, and put it around Gretchen's narrow wrist. Then she took her assistant's hand in both of hers and locked eyes. "Hold on to this; if we get seperated or anything happens, I will find you, okay?" The young girl nodded mutely, simultaneously thrilled and terrified by the intensity of those dark brown eyes.Then they continued walking up the stairs, heading for the nearest structural pillar.

Unlike some girls, Casey was not much of a clothes horse; she didn't go to many parties or dances, had never really had a serious boyfriend, and was more of a jock than anything else. Also having an overprotective and somewhat conservative father in the military tended to squelch any fashionista tendancies. But part of going to school away from home was a chance to try and do new things, so when her friend Sakurako suggested a weekend shopping trip, she finally agreed to tag along. The Millennium Mall was a lot more glamorous than anything back in Colorado Springs; she'd been to few fairly swanky places when she visited her grandparents in Miami, but her father didn't let her buy very much. As usual, Casey was fairly covered up, even though cool temperatures didn't bother her at all; a navy-blue windbreaker, red flannel shirt and blue jeans were more or less standard for her, but the jeans were a bit more snug than usual, and she actually had on a pair of super-cute ankle boots. For Casey, this was downright daring; nervously fiddling with her glasses and constantly readjusting her shoulder bag, she was alternatively delighted and embarrased by the increased attention. Turning to Saku, she said, "Wow, this place is really big!"

Following!

The young mother's cheeks went a little pink when the sippy cup was returned to the stroller, while Lynn arched a graceful eyebrow at the display of the wand's power. "Lynn Epstein, owner and proprietor; pleased to meet you." She pursed her lips and nodded. "Claremont, eh? We've gotten a few in here, actually; a very sweet Welsh girl was in here, looking for some books on magic a few months ago. And one of the seniors actually works here after school." A somewhat sneaky smile spread across her face. "Good school, Claremont; I told Mr. Summers so myself when I spoke with him about a month ago." The petite brunette motioned for Sakurako to follow her. "Y'know I hate to admit, but we're a bit light on the harder sciences and engineering; I should probably work on that." She stopped in front of a narrow set of shelves. "This is what we have; as you can see, not a lot. If you don't see what you're looking for, I'd be happy to try and order it for you. Claremont students save fifteen percent on all purchases."

Gretchen raised her head slightly and frowned just a bit as she noted the Japanese girl's appearance; she looked her up and down for a few seconds before noting softly, "Genki girl at twelve o'clock." Lynn looked up and drew an invisible line in the air with her hand. "Mmm, I'd say that's more ten o'clock, really." She returned to her book, but then noticed Gretchen's complete lack of movement. "Aren't you going to greet her?" Her employee merely sighed, chin still on her crossed arms. "Can't; too busy." The bookstore owner rolled her eyes and swung her feet 'round the stool. "God, you're so useless sometimes!" "Yep!" Stepping around the counter, Lynn tucked her book in the pocket of her apron and offered a warm smile to the newcomer; bowing slightly, she cheerfully spoke in perfect Japanese. <"Good afternoon, welcome to Silberman's Books! What can I help you find today?">

Sorry that first post was so big; just felt I had a lot to set up.

If you'd asked Lynn Epstein if she ever planned to spend Passover in Japan as recently as a week ago, she would've looked at you like you were nuts. And yet somehow the fates had aligned to make it so; during the three years she'd been off Earth, her older brother Ben had been lured away from the Port Authority to join a large private sector firm that specialized in international transport and shipping. Now thanks to his new assignment, he and his family were currently living in Sapporo and spending their first Passover thousands of miles away from family and friends, in a country not particularly known for its large Jewish population. A tearful phone call home led to an impulsive decision on his baby sister's part; if he couldn't be home for Pesach, maybe a little bit of home could come to him! Leaving the store in Kiki's capable hands for the first time proved to be a little nerve-wracking at first, but a necessary step in letting go and having faith in her talented assistant manager. Complicating things slightly was Gretchen's insistance in tagging along; not only was she still unsure about the whole 'personal crimefighting assistant' concept, but having two people away from the store at the same time left a fairly large hole in terms of staffing. But Gretch not only argued that it would a good field test of her new responsibilities, but somehow managed to convince her former coworker Cred0 to cover her shifts for the week! So far, the field test was working out fine; her assistant handled all the travel arrangements, including drawing up list of things 'normal' people pack for international travel and procuring said items so the TSA wouldn't think Lynn was as she put it a 'bizzare superhero freak'. They had indeed breezed through customs and had an easy flight, followed by the connecting flight to Sapporo. Ben and his wife Sarah were ecstatic to see her, as were their three kids Cara, Amanda and Benji Jr. Tonight's seder had gone without a hitch, and then he'd surprised Lynn and her friend with two tickets to the ballpark! The stadium was a riot of sights, sounds and smells, and Lynn loved it; Gretchen was less a fan of crowds, but was happy to see her boss finally relax a bit. Both wore oversized foam cowboy hats in the Comets' away colors, and Lynn was waving a giant foam finger, a huge grin on her face. "This is so cool! MUCH cooler than the ball games back home!" Gretch winced slightly as she held her hands over her ears, but she still managed a slight smile. "Oh it's something alright; like a One Direction concert turned up to eleven." Noticing her empty cup in her seat's cup holder, she attempted to catch the eye of one of the cute beer girls in their caps and shorts, toting mini-kegs on their backs. "I'm getting a refill; you want anything?" "Nah, I'm good, unless you can grab me a Coke; at least they use sugar in their soda instead of corn syrup!" Then she joined the crowd in one of their songs, enthusiastically singing along in perfect Japanese.

The blonde bruiser blinkedclearly she was not expecting this question! She open her mouth once or twice without speaking, then scratched the back of her head as she looked around uncertainly. "A...duo? Like in what sense? Like a crimefighting duo?" Casey rubbed her jaw for a few seconds. "I mean, I guess so; to be honest, I thought each class was like its own team, all together. Isn't that how Young Freedom formed? I kind of thought we were already on one." She found a bag of onions and a knife, and began to slowly chop them; well, slowly for her at least. She needed the extra time to think; after a few seconds, she stopped, several cupfulls of chopped onions already waiting to top some dogs. Casey took a deep breath and smiled as she faced her friend and took both her hands in her own. "Look, I'm still not sure how everything is done around here, but if you want someone to trust and fight by your side, then yes, I'd be proud to call you my friend and partner." The blonde held out a hand for a firm handshake. "Deal?"

Following!

Never had Ana been so happy to be wearing an armored suit than this very moment; even the hard vacuum of space felt safer than being in the presence of the Gorgon herself. Itself? Whatever you call it, it was downright terrifying; she recalled the same feeling of existential dread she'd felt the first time she stumbled upon Alien one late Halloween night at the tender age of eight. The feeling that humans were utterly replaceable. Thank god Dragonfly brought up the subject of 'repair'; having a technical task to focus on might clear her head of the gibbering monkey-lizard thoughts flashing through her brain. Luckily she'd thought to bring her full tool kit with her, though as the weird hybrid biotech came into view, she had a feeling she'd need more than a few Allen wrenches to the Gorgon's projection system back in order. Turning to her fellow engineer, she nodded as she activated her suit's propulsion system and began to rise up towards the roof of the dome.

I have a PC named Grim who's pretty little Seriously though, I am interested, and Grim can speak Japanese! Can't read it worth a damn, though...

Silberman's Books. Friday, March 27th, 2015. 4:06pm Friday afternoons were always dead, especially when it was cold out. There were a few regulars, mostly elderly Jewish men who liked to enjoy coffee and a danish while they played backgammon or chess with one of the store's weathered sets. A young mother pushed her stroller around as she perused the Mystery section, her toddler banging his sippy cup against the bookshelves as they passed. Store owner Lynn Epstein was sitting behind the counter on a tall stool, reading a novel by Scott Westerfeld; in front of her stood her grandfather's old cash register 'Jezebel', restored by Detective Colby's magic, though now a fairly morbid 'Skello Kitty' figurine was glued on top of it as a sort of staff in-joke. Beside her, Gretchen McDaniels leaned on the counter between the register and the espresso machine, resting her chin on her folded arms. Neither seemed to be doing much this lazy afternoon, though yet another sippy cup assault caused Gretchen to finally frown and stand up. "I'm gonna kill that kid." Lynn responded without looking up from her book. "No you're not; that's infanticide, it's a horrible crime." "Well can I at least steal his sippy cup?" "Nope. Gretchen returned to resting her chin, looking comically grumpy. "Fine; I won't commit any horrible crimes." "Thank you!" The bell over the front door jingled.

Need another Claremonter, or has the thread already started? Miracle Girl would be up for a bit of shopping.

Vonnie calculated correctly: Casey didn't even break stride as the athletic boy vaulted over her head and quickly made it over the fence. She skidded to a stop and crossed her arms. "Oh, I can climb a fence, dude! Just give me-" She was interrupted by a loud thunderclap and flash of lightning as Endeavor's storm suddenly erupted overhead. Instantly soaked, she squealed and shook her head as she smiled grimly. "Somebody changed the perameters; probably someone outside the sim. Which means..." She closed her eyes then looked around, her infravision now active; she caught a brief glimpse of someone on a rooftop before they jumped out of sight, someone who's sailor suit had very distinctive thermal properties. "Saku's entered the game grid; excellent!" There was no sarcasm in her voice; she was genuinely happy her friend had returned. She turned back to Vonnie, hands on her hips. "You know what, I've always considered it bad tag form to just retag the person who just tagged you." She shrugged. "So, you live to tag another day, Grapple Boy!" Then she turned on her heel and sprinted away, shouting dramatically! "Sakurakoooooo?! I will find you, Rainbringer!" In infrared, the mock cityscape was stark black and white with blobs of dark and light to mark sharp distinctions of heat and cold; Casey could only shake her head in disbelief at the detail of the sim as she nearly slipped in a puddle. Is the water actually real? Guess there could be sprinklers in the ceiling, and drains in the floor...

Casey grinned as Saku made the 'water' disappear. "Neat! Much simpler than my usual 'spin dry' technique." She made a spriral motion with her finger as she dug through her friend's cooler looking for a Coke, which she popped open and literally downed in one long swig. When she finished, she crumpled the can into a small ball and produced a very unladylike burp, which led to an embarassed giggle as she covered her mouth. "Oh, excuse me! Ha-ha!" At the mention of diet restrictions, she waved her hand dismissively as she searched for a place to put her trash. "Nah, I'm Episcopalian, we eat anything; well, except right now during Lent." She sighed dramatically. "Alright, let's try the veggie dogs, unless you've got some turkey dogs in there." Once she tucked the tiny aluminum ball out of sight, she rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Can I help? I'm great at chopping onions!"

Lynn followed after Chris heading towards her office. "Here, it might be easier if I get the door for you." She entered her office and stepped behind her massive desk. The room had bookcases on all the walls, but this one was different; with a wave of her hand, part of it vanished, revealing a door knob behind it, which turned easily. The changeling looked over at the teen and shrugged. "No real reason to lock it, I figure." She pulled the concealed door open, the bookcase swinging clear to allow access to the room beyond; the air was cool and dry though a bit dusty. Lynn flicked on the lights and several soft white low-energy bulbs awoke in the darkness, illuminating several bookshelves, old-fashioned steamer trunks, and a few lurid posters on the wall advertising 'The Amazing Al-Kazar's' conjuring act. The posters depicted a man in gaudy Arabesque garb wielding a long curved sword to cut a pretty lady in half, levitating a cage full of snarling tigers, and the like. The bookseller nodded and put her hands on her hips. "Well, here you go; three generations of accumulated mystical books and paraphenalia mixed in with a lot of props and junk. You need a hand sifting through this, or should I fix you a sandwich? "

When the ship was... consumed, for lack of a better word, Ana grabbed on for dear life, even activating her 'sticky boots' in a desperate attempt to get more traction. The helmet slid out from inbetween her shoulders and over her head, pressurizing in case of hull rupture, which for a few terrifying seconds seemed like a distinct possibility! Once the vessel came to a halt, the cryokinetic finally released her white-knuckled death grip and took a deep breath, which was amplified and slightly distorted by her suit's external speakers. "Okay, well...what's one year off your life, right? I wasn't planning on using that year anyway." She reflexively checked the suit's seals and diagnostics for leaks or malfunctions, but everything seemed to be intact. Gesturing in the direction of the main hatch, Ana looked to the others. "Shall we?"