Heritage

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015. 12:48 pm Gretchen waited until there was no one else in the store to knock on the door to Lynn's office, spiral notebook in hand. "Come in, Gretch." She knows it's me; not at ALL creepy! The tiny retail veteran poked her head in and smiled nervously. "Do you have a minute?" Her boss grinned and waved her in. "Yeah, sure, come in; I can keep an eye on the store from here." Gretchen took a seat and shifted about in the soft leather chair, idly running fingers through her hair. "So, uh...I get bored easily working here, mostly because I don't like people very much. So when I should be working, I've been doing Google searches on you, both as yourself and under Grimalkin, your hero name. And I've been talking to Kiki some, too." Lynn frowned, clearly not seeing where her employee was going with this. It took a few seconds for Gretchen to work up the courage to close her eyes and blurt out what she felt had to be said. "You're not a very good superhero." That caught the changeling by surprise. "I'm sorry?" "Since you've come back, you haven't done very much for Freedom." Gretchen flipped through her notes. "I mean, you did some things in Central America and Belgium, for some reason, but really not much around here." A suddenly defensive Lynn began to sputter In protest. "Wait, wait, I did that haunted house thing back in October; that was huge!" "Yes, and it was adorable, but what about crime? What about keeping this city safe?" Gretchen stood up and nodded. "I think you've overextended yourself between the store, going back to school and all your trips to Belgium. I think-" "That was one time!" "That you need a full-time personal crime-fighting assistant. And that would be me." "...huh?"

Casey stepped through the arch and was instantly confused; she had the jarring feeling of being in two places at the same time until she wrapped her head around the world Sakurako had designed. Her blonde hair was up under a sun visor and she wore a pair of big black sunglasses. Her red one piece swimsuit was largely obscured under an unbuttoned Madras shirt, and she had an oversized beach tote over one shoulder and a folding beach chair tucked under the other arm. Shaking her head in disbelief, she floated over to land gently beside her friend. "Wow, this is amazing!" She wiggled the toes of her bare feet in the sand. "Is any of this real?"

Casey was truly in her element; she'd been helping clean up parks since the time she could walk, though it was her first time doing it in a city this big. She couldn't believe how much trash people threw around! Luckily with her prodigious strength and stamina, she could do this all day. Wearing hiking boots, jeans and a down vest over a sweater, the blonde bruiser was dressed for the cold, though in reality she'd be just as comfortable in a pair of swim shorts and a T-shirt. She pushed up her glasses with a knuckle as she joined Sakurako by the water. "Well, I think I know why they call it 'Miller Park'". She held up yet another empty MGD bottle before dropping it in a nearby trash can. She looked around at all the students cleaning up and sighed. "I could clean this whole park in two minutes if no one else was here." Then her eyes went wide as an idea struck her. "Hey, we should totally do that! Sneak out after dark, hit a different park every night...garbage-picking ninjas!"

So are we in our street or heroic identities in this?

The Next Morning Most. Awkward. Monday. Ever! On the surface, nothing had changed beyond a few adjustments to the schedule, but of course everything had changed, at least in terms of the employer-employee dynamic. Kiki had not yet forgiven her friend's deception, which was completely understandable; to be honest, Lynn wasn't sure their friendship would ever recover, another casualty of her mercurial nature. Of course her assistant manager could not ignore her completely, but all their interactions were brief, superficial and painfuly forced. On the other hand, Gretchen seemed to be fascinated by her boss, and her eyes rarely left Lynn as they tracked her movements around the store, which made the fey very uncomfortable. The barista/cashier had also started muttering 'spaaaaace mutant' under her breath when she walked by, which the changeling's sensitive ears heard every single time. Finally an exasperated Lynn marched straight up to the bar and slapped her clipboard down in front of the younger girl, making her jump; when she spoke, the store owner's words came out as a frustrated hiss. "Okay, look, for the record, I am not a f###ing 'space mutant', whatever the hell that is; I am a dark Winter Court faerie, like Maleficent from 'Sleeping Beauty' or David Bowie from 'Labyrinth'. They're two entirely different things." She lifted up her hair to reveal one of her pointed ears. "See?" A wide-eyed Gretchen looked shocked and ashamed. "Yes, ma'am." "Good!" Lynn started to storm back to her office, but then she stopped herself; partly it was because Gretchen had never called her 'ma'am' before, but also because something the girl had said yesterday came back to her. Turning on her heel, she studied her cowed employee. "You knew." That snapped the girl out of her shock. "What?" "Yesterday when I made my big announcement, you cried out 'Yes, I knew it'". The changeling stepped back to the bar and rested her arms on it. "How did you know?" Gretchen appeared to consider her next words very carefully. "Uh, well, I knew you weren't human, or at least suspected it." She shrugged uncomfortably. "I mean, I thought you were a time-travelling robot who ran on coffee, but the underlying theory was sound." "What gave me away?" She was genuinely curious. The barista nervously pulled a notebook out from under the bar. "If it would please the court..." She flipped a few pages in and cleared her throat. "You never get sick. Ever. You never go to the bathroom, not even to text. You're normally very generous, but when you eat, you go to your office and never share. Conversely, when someone else is eating, you get this wistful look in your eye, but when they offer you a bite, you politely refuse. Sometimes when you talk, you sound like my grandmother. You speak too many languages." She paused to look up at Lynn before licking her lips and continuing. "Um, you have perfect skin. Your clothes always fit perfectly, and you have perfect hair. You always smell really good." She began to close the notebook, but then quickly reopened it. "Oh, and you really like coffee. Like, way too much." She closed the notebook again and primly folded her hands over it. "Here endeth my observations." Lynn was stunned; for several seconds, she couldn't say a damn thing. At last, she managed a heartfelt "Huh!" Gretchen shrugged apologetically. "Journalism major for three semesters". Her employer could only shake her head in amazement as she wandered back to her office and closed the door. The barista let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, and robotically returned to her work. "Nope, not at all awkward..."

Casey had remained in the air for a bit after the new arrivals showed, listening to both sides of the discussion; once Saku began to get prickly, as she was wont to do when irritated, the taller blonde dropped to the floor beside her friend. "Oh great, fresh faces to join the practice!" Her smile was warm as she offered a friendly wave. "Hi, I don't think we've ever met; I'm Miracle Girl and this is Endeavor." She stepped over to Saku's holographic display and shrugged. "Well, looks to me like a bureaucratic error makes us all winners; you seniors get to try out your moves on unsuspecting victims, and us sophmores get to learn some new tricks from the advanced students!" She raised both hands and cried out, "Woo-hoo!" This was a tactic she'd applied before, the 'overly cheerful blonde cheerleader' schtick; she always made it clear she was in on the joke, though not everyone picked up on it. At best, it elicited an ironic chuckle and broke the ice; at worst, it confirmed every negative stereotype of the 'dumb blonde' and made her work much harder.

Deep Freeze will continue the fight!

Casey sauntered up in her Claremont blue-and-golds, a gym bag over her shoulder; she raised a hand in greeting as she dropped the bag unceremoniously to the floor. "Hey Saku! What are we working on today?" The blonde rose up into the air a flew a slow lazy circuit around the large room, much like a figure skater would glide around the rink. "Rescue again?" From time to time she'd make a playful swoop towards her friend, then arch up and back towards the ceiling; she was really quite a graceful flyer.

I'm not even sure who's in what teams anymore; who's in both teams?

Hi Dok! Nice to see you here, even in this limited capacity. 2015 continues to be a watershed year; so much is changing! I do think you are putting this site's future into good hands. I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords; congratulations, AA and E! :D

Oh man! Sooooo gonna miss you, Cape! If you're on Facebook, PM me here for contact info.

Though no one could see her, the invisible Grimalkin yelled a soundless 'no' as the bright young teen was cruelly thrown by the apparent leader of this band of monstrosities. These things are bad news! We have to take them down fast! The changeling sidled up to the nearest of the creatures, which looked to be some kind of foot soldier; once she was good and close, she suddenly appeared out of thin air, slashing at it with her razor-sharp claws! But while the blows appeared to strike true, they had no visible effect; this left Grim exposed, vulnerable and looking somewhat embarrased. "Wow; you guys are tough!"

Are the robots considered to be Minions for the purpose of feats like Takedown Attack? Edit: Nevermind, you actually called them 'minions' in your post! Rolls and actions to follow! Alright, Grim's plan is to find a nicely-grouped pack of the minions, drop out of Concealment and take 10 as the merciless combination of Minions, Takedown Attack 2 and her Claws come into play. At this point her attack is DC 22 Toughness; anything I would need to roll? Actually the initial attack may well fall under Sneak Attack, and therefore be DC 24.

Lynn untangled herself from Kiki and looked up at Tona as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with the heel of her hand. "I dunno...I guess so? God, I've been so many people, I've lost track..." She handed Kiki her envelope, got up and poured herself a cup of coffee from the serving tray. Kiki contemplated the envelope, turning it over in her hands. "But if you're talking about my heart, then yes, I am the same; I guess as long as I feel like crap whenever I do something stupid or manipulative, there's hope for me yet." She began her ritual of despoiling her coffee with loads of cream and sugar. Meanwhile Kiki got up, clutching the unopened envelope to her chest, and shouldered her bag as she headed for the front door; her eyes were still wet with tears, but at least she was smiling. "See you tomorrow." Lynn nodded and raised her mug in salute. Her coffee now thoroughly tainted, the changeling slurped it loudly as she took a seat on edge of the table; she peered at Tona over the top of her cup. "Do you have any other questions?"

Gasping for breath, Ana practically dragged Ballus the last few meters back to the Xeno; with sime effort, she managed to open the main hatchway, where she sagged in the doorway. The moist, temperate air was like hot daggers in her lungs, until she finally remembered to initiate a full seal on her suit, the collapsable helmet unfolding from between the shoulders like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. The cryokinetic sucked in the sweet dry arctic air and immediately felt a thousand times better. "Alright, people, let's...let's go." The suit's external speakers amplified and distorted every breath. She staggered inside, her hand slidding along the familiar bulkhead wall as she slowly made her way back to engineering.

The shopkeeper took the ID and peered at it. "'Will Freeman', eh? Well that seems oddly appropriate!" Lynn fished out her keys and unlocked the office door. "Hey, whaddya know? You got the door open!" She motioned for the young man to enter, then followed close behind. The office was not too large, only nine by fifteen, with a pressed tin ceiling and no windows. All four walls were lined with dark wooden bookshelves, though a massive old desk and leather swivel chair were the most notable features. Ventilation was provided by a ceiling fan and an open transom over the door. The shelves were crowded not just with books, but all manner of chotchkies and bric-a-brac Lynn had picked up in her odd career: globes, vintage magic tricks, action figures, movie memorabilia. Behind and over the desk were a pair of unusual firearms, a revolver and a rifle, mounted and framed. She indicated Will should sit in one of two leather guest chairs as she placed the ID on the glass of a small desktop copier/scanner next to her computer and a green-shaded banker's lamp. "This'll just take a sec; help yourself to the candy bowl." - - - - Back on the sales floor, Kiki gratefully accepted Erick's card. "It's no problem, I can just type the number in; I'm pretty fast." Resting the card on the flatscreen monitor, she quickly began to enter the card number and expiration date. Just then Gretchen, who up to this point had been offering a super-fake smile, was struck by a thought, which prompted her to sidle up to the assistant manager and mumble, "Dude, you just made fifteen grand." "What?" "You just made fifteen thousand dollars; ten percent on every sale over twenty bucks." Somehow this hadn't hit Kiki until now, and her face took on an odd expression, half embarrassed, half thrilled; it took her the briefest moment to compose herself. "Would...you like that item gift-wrapped, Mr. Sloane?"

Casey toggled her headset. "Copy that, Miracle Girl out." She dropped down to just above the caps of the waved, then circled back towards the boat. She landed lightly in the compact deck and raised a hand in greeting. "Hey. So can any of you make anything out? I'm blind as a bat in this fog. I can scan for radio chatter, but we can probably use the boat's radio for that, too."

Keep her hands out where anyone could see them, Casey stepped forward, blocking half of Sakurako's body with her own; she offered these strange people a wary smile. "Hi! Looks like you four are having a rough night." She indicated the device 'Erased' was working on with a nod. "Sounds like 'engine trouble'; are you all stranded here? If you can explain the situation calmly, maybe we can help. Starting with your unconcious friend over there." Casey really hoped this could all be resolved peacefully, but she was more than willing to fight if that didn't prove to be the case.

Casey shrugged, then indicated the other Japanese girl nearby with a jerk of her head. "Well right now, I'm rooming with Haruko-san, but if that ever changes, yeah, I suppose so. As long as you don't mind living with a jock." She grinned. "But on the up side, I can get you Thin Mints for next to nothing! So there's that." Happy for some evening plans to look forward to, the blonde bruiser tore back into her jumbo-sized lunch with renewed vigor.

Is the kid's name on the card?

For the record, this is what I used to determine the price of the book; I adjusted for it being a second edition but also for the skin binding.

While Tona considersd her choice, Kiki and Lynn said nothing to each other; the changeling was still seated on the bar, idly picking at the wood with a thumbnail, while one of her oldest friends just stared at her from her seat, arms folded tightly across her chest. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Lynn finally cleared her throat and gestured towards the door everyone used to leave. "They, uh...nobody had any questions; kinda surprised by that." Kiki's voice dripped with ice when she replied, "Well you gave them all big checks; that kind of shuts people up." Lynn buried her face in her hands. "Look, Keek, I know-" "You said you hadn't changed." That stopped the faeling in her tracks. "What?" "You said you were the same girl who rode with me to the hospital when I broke my leg. But you're not, are you?" "No...I guess I'm not." The dancer pulled off her baseball cap and began rubbing the visor with her thumbs as she stared blankly at the logo. "I kept your damn secret; I didn't tell anyone, not even Rob." She and Rob had been together for five years. "And then you created this-" Kiki waved her hand vaguely in the air. "Bizzare character, to do what, spy on us? Learn our secrets?" She laughed without humor and shook her head. "I'm never going to watch 'Mrs. Doubtfire' again." Lynn smiled sadly and shook her head in response. "Don't say that; that's a really good movie." She picked up one of the envelopes and hopped off the bar, then took a seat next to her friend. "Look, I know I'm probably insane; I do these things, but...I never meant to hurt you, or hurt anyone. I know it's hard to be my friend; all the stuff I've asked you to do, the weirdos marching in here... And I know it's not fair. But I am really, really sorry; you have no idea how much this hurts." Kiki stopped sobbing and kneading her cap to look up at Lynn, who was crying now, too; she reached up and rubbed away a tear from the changeling's cheek with her thumb, then stared down at it. "Is this real? Are you really crying, or is that just pretend, too?" "One hundred percent real, kid; straight from our factory to you." That made the dancer laugh, which brought on the tears in earnest. Lynn reached over and pulled her into a hug; it was part mom-hug and part friend-hug, and it was warm and strong and fierce. She rocked them back and forth as she murmured, "I'm so sorry, honey; I'm so sorry..."

Deep Freeze (2) >Getting There Is Half The Fun 1 >Incursion: Blood in the Water 1 Grimalkin (16) >Coming Clean 8 >Empty Mirror 1 >Grim Demeanor 2 >Matter Over Mind 3 >Mysterious Circumstances 2 Miracle Girl (21) >Brain Drain 1 >Cyberpirates of the Atlantic Basin 4 >Double Booked 5 >Justice Like Lightning 3 >New Addition 2 >Ridic-Zoo-Lous 1 >The Sailor and the Scout 3 >Trash Talk 2 Grim's earned PP to go to Deep Freeze

Lynn felt conflicted; on the one hand, she'd been this kid, shoplifting and grifting when she was about his age, but on the other, she was now a responsible store owner with inventory to protect. And she did not want this kid to end up in the fast lane to prison. She folded her arms and considered him for a few seconds. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do; you're gonna take out your wallet and produce some ID. I will then make a copy of said ID and keep it in my safe. I'm not gonna call the cops today, but if I EVER catch you trying to pinch something in my store, I will turn it over to the cops. Are we clear?" Meanwhile Kiki was doing a search in the store's inventory database. "Okay, here we have it! De Humani Corporis Fabrica, second printing. And it's-" She made a face. "Bound in human skin; delightful. We're selling it for...wow." The dancer's eyes went wide. Intrigued, Gretchen stopped working on the register and leaned over to see for herself. "What, how much? A hundred and fifty thousand?!" "Shhh!" Kiki slapped her arm before lowering her voice. "Yes, that's the price we have listed for the item."

"F### this." Cred0 was up on his feet, jumping down the step to get a little in Lynn's face as he grabbed the envelope with his name. He ripped it open to check the contents; satisfied, he turned to head out the front door, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob as he glared back at his former employer. "You're sick, you know that?" Lynn nodded sagely. "Yes, I am aware of that, Stephen." It was the first time she'd ever used his real name. The young hacker slammed the door on the way out. The changeling hoisted herself onto the bar, her legs idly dangling down. "So, any other takers? Five thousand is a lotta bread." Gretchen looked at the others, then nervously held up her hand. "Uh, just so we're clear, are we allowed to take the five thousand and keep our jobs?" Lynn nodded slowly. "Yes, that is allowed." Gretchen, Lance and Maddy looked at each other, then bolted to the bar and eagerly snatched up their checks, making happy noises as they read their letters, which were indeed glowing. Lynn watched them, trying to gauge their reactions. "Sooooo, staying, going...?" All three said 'Staying!' at ths same time, then laughed. The changeling cocked her head to one side. "You guys aren't freaked out by the whole...non-human thing?" Lance shrugged. "Well yeah, a little bit, but I like it here; I like my coworkers, I like my job. My boss may be a hideous space mutant, but hey, she gave me a big-ass check!" He laughed, then got a bit more serious. "Look, you did something weird and wrong, and that is a little scary, but you told us the truth and you feel bad about it; that counts for a lot with me." Maddy smiled. "I trust you." She held up the check. "Thanks for this; we can really use it." Gretchen just shook her head. "Yeah, you're a terrifying freak of nature. I just hate job hunting in this economy." The three of them headed out, enthusiastically discussing their plans for their 'hush money', as they called it. That just left Tona and Kiki.