Heritage

See, I never look at the baddies' sheets, since I figure my character wouldn't know that stuff, so I shouldn't either. Now I just feel dumb :(

Damn it, Giz was right; Grim should have Power Attacked the sumbitch.

"Thanks. AAAAHHHH!" The specter raised her arms in a menacing fashion, prompting the supremacist to curl into an even tighter fetal ball; satisfied, she returned to her normal form. "Yeah, looks like he's good and spooked, alright; lemme give the cops a ring." Grim flipped out her phone and hit speed dial. "You did pretty awesome, too, DH, but can you-" She grimaced slightly as she waved here hand at the revenant's state. "Uh, compose yourself?" She quickly explained everything to the police, then sighed as she put her phone away. "Sadly we can't re-inter the bodies ourselves, since this is technically still a crime scene; that being said-" She conjured up some ground cloths to drape over the remains, allowing the dead at least some dignity. When that was done, she made herself a low wooden stool and took a seat as she wearily rubbed her face. "I'll never really understand anti-Semitism, or grave desecration for that matter; sometimes people just make me sick."

Lynn winced and shrugged up her shoulders. "Sorry, honey! I just didn't want the cleaners to have to wash bits of Gillman out of it." And for perhaps the fifteenth time that day, the changeling's eyes began top water; she really had picked the right guy. Lynn spared Eli an appreciative nod, her eyes never leaving the wedding crasher. "Thanks, buddy; I owe you big time." Knowing her family was safe lifted a huge weight off her shoulders, and allowed her to focus on the problem at hand. An evil grin spread over the tiny shapeshifter's face and she swiftly and silently stepped behind the distracted Gillman, her tiny fist ready to make a hole clear through his head (metaphorically, at least). But then Dok dropped his bomb on the room, and suddenly it felt like the hole went right through her own heart. What? What?! For a few precious seconds, she stood there frozen, her arm cocked back and ready to fire as her normally mercurial emotions went into overdrive; what a sadistic bastard this guy was! But then a cold fury settled over her, and she popped him right across his jaw. "Oh God, that felt good!" But then she turned to her husband, to the man she'd just pledged her life to, and said words she never thought she's say. "Colt honey, it's your family, it has to be your choice." She looked towards the double doors Eli had rushed her own family out through, and her voice cracked. "I'd understand, if..."

The answer is yes, but with her tiny fist instead of her claws; since he's flat-footed, I take it she gets her Sneak Attack benefit? Sneak Attack! 1d20+12=28

Estelle returned within a few minutes, all geared up; unlike Supercape, she couldn't wear a helmet and thus take her hair out of the fight, so she instead she opted for a pair of self-polarizing snow goggles and a rebreather mask which would hopefully protect her from thin or tainted atmospheres. Of course if there was a life for on the planet, pressure and radiation shouldn't be a concern, at least not for the short time they would be there. Over her normal blue and silver protective suit she sported a khaki photographer's vest with many pockets, and what she couldn't carry in that she packed into a lightweight bag over her shoulder. Lastly she hefted a pair of the hypodermic harpoons, one for her and one for Fulcrum; several doses of the strong sedative she'd concocted were stuck in her vest, not unlike shotgun shells. Looking down at herself, she was reminded of a character out of a Star Wars film, but one of the good ones, not the blasted prequel trilogy (though to be fair, Episode III was actually pretty good, up until the very end.) She was also reminded of Hooper in Jaws, who might have lived in the movie but died in the original novel... With the goggles up on her forehead and the mask dangling around her neck, the clearly-delighted scientist gave them both a thumbs up. "Ready when you are!" - - - - So strange to be on the surface of an alien world! Almost unconsciously Goossamer's hair tendrils began fanning out to fill sample jars with the alien ice and bits of debris. The sound of her breath was amplified and slightly distorted through the rebreather's speaker system, further adding to the unworldly ambience. She dug into the bag and pulled out a pair of range-finding binoculars and began to scan the bleak horizon, various digital readouts dancing in her eyes. "You couldn't ask for a more desolate expanse of- goodness, that sounds odd!" She raised a hand to her throat, then looked first at Mona and then at Cape. "Wait a moment, let me just get this out of my system." She stood there slackly for one moment, and then dully recited, "'These are not the drones we're looking for.'" Then she sharply nodded her head, her smile invisible behind the mask but clearly audible in her voice. "Right, that's out of the way, then!" The chemist shrugged, her vest rustling slightly as it began to stiffen with frost. "Who knows, it might not have been native to this world; perhaps it was brought here as a beast of burden before going feral, like the Spanish horses that became mustangs. Or selectively bred here? There must be a dozen possible explanations, and we may never deduce the truth." "Oh!" Estelle blinked behind her goggles, only off-balance for a moment. "Very well then, Mona it is. And I'd love to do lunch sometime; just give me a ring at the Lab." She dramatically handed a loaded harpoon to the much taller woman. "Here is your weapon; use it wisely!" She mimed poking at the air. "Pointy end away from you, of course. So Cape, do any of your abilities allow you to track the beast?"

As far as the thin atmosphere and face protection go, can Goss do something about this with an HP? I was imagining some sort of face mask with goggles and a oxygen concentrator; think the masks Leia and Han wore inside the cave/worm creature in Empire Strikes Back . As a Lab employee, I would think something would be possible. Craft (Chemical): 1d20+10=28

Estelle grinned and tapped her temple. "I knew Viktor didn't just date you for your impossibly long legs! Nice to know you come with the full package, Fulcrum." She turned to Supercape. "I'm sure time is of the essence, but I'll need to return to my lab for just a few minutes; I'd like to put together a powerful general anesthetic, assuming a carbon-based lifeform, but it would be foolish not to have a back-up plan. I'll bring a portable lab kit in case we need to whip something up on the fly, assuming Mona can get us a blood sample first." Then she stopped and began to stroke her lower lip. "Delivery system. I'm not any good with tranq rifles, are you? If not, we might need a hypodermic harpoon so you can fly up to the creature and drive it through the epidermis yourself." The blonde scientist abruptly got up and practically ran to the door. "I'll be back shortly! I might need to get another suit as well!"

Lynn was less concerned about the Terminus energies than perhaps she should have been, but interdimensional physics and weird energies were not her forte anyway. However something else Dok said perplexed her much more, and reminded her of some discussions in her psychology classes. "Uh, Dok? This might sound kind of weird, but...have you ever gone sleepwalking, like when you were a kid? Or taken Ambien? Because I have a hard time imagining someone sneaking into your high-tech Wacky Shack without you knowing about it, but if it was more of an 'inside job'..." She nervously looked around at the others present. "I mean, there are cases of people doing crazy stuff in their sleep, like making food or driving their cars; one old guy hurt himself pretty bad playing football in his bedroom." Then she pointed at their mentor's forehead and laughed mirthlessly. "And with a brain as active as your's...who knows, right?" The shapeshifter took refuge behind her mug of coffee.

The blonde chemist nodded as she put away her 'lasso'. "Somewhat, mostly through Viktor; we're always at the same parties, but we never seem to have time to chat." "So it would seem." Estelle did her best to suppress a grin; there's just nothing like bookish English enthusiasm. Doctor de Havilland rose slightly from her chair to return the handshake. "Good to see you as well, Fulcrum, or do you prefer Mona? I myself also answer to 'Estelle' and 'Goss' in the field, if you're so inclined. And indeed I am involved, as the matter at hand is quite extraordinary." She shook her head sadly. "Hopefully we'll actually have a chance to chat for a bit; I'm afraid when I usually see you, I inevitably get sucked into conversation with your more Teutonic half." Estelle gestured towards their 'host'. "That I shall leave to 'Cape, as he so enjoys telling it."

Being a thorough and scientific person, Goss will probably opt for both; making the general sedative in her lab but bringing along a portable field kit in case her initial formulation is insufficient.

Go go Gadget Fear Effect! DC 25 Will save, punk! And no, it's not the the actual Kaddish prayer, because the Shema actually feels more appropriate.

She wasn't sure exactly what happened to the Nazi scumbag (was the ghost pooch up to something?), but Grim was more than happy to take advantage of his momentary distraction. She quickly spared a look in Dead Head's direction to see how he was doing...and instantly regretted it as she almost lost her lunch at the sight of him in full-on 'flying head and entrails' mode. With great force of will, she tore her eyes away from the horrific spectacle and back on her opponent; resuming her normal size, she landed facing him, hands defiantly on her hips. "Hi there, you bigoted hate-filled SOB! My name's Grimalkin, and I'm the little Jewish girl who's about to make you crap your pants!" With that, she rose up several feet taller, her face now pale and gaunt as she became as the Angel of Death; covered in a hooded cloak, she pointed a long finger at the so-called Knight and began to recite in Hebrew a prayer for the dying. "Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed. V'ahav'ta eit Adonai Elohekha b'khol l'vav'kha uv'khol naf'sh'kha uv'khol m'odekha..."

Estelle nodded as she stroked the bridge of her nose with a slender finger. "I suppose you're right; based on the facts, he more than likely is telling the truth, and if he isn't, how could we prove it?" She passed the two items back to him as she steepled her fingers and turned various ideas over in her head. "So yes, I'm willing to go; my suit provides protection from the cold, but I might have to have my techs make a few modifications, in case the planet's environment exceeds the suit's capabilities. As far as the actual capture goes..." The blonde chemist idly formed a lasso that she whirled over her head like a cowgirl. "Hmm, I'll need help, someone else with muscle or a strength-enhancing device; a flier or at the very least a jetpack would be immensely helpful, especially since we'll probably need to cover a lot of ground to find the specimen. And most importantly we'll need some means of restraining the creature, preferably a combination of sedatives and either a stasis field generator or low-powered neural impulse scrambler. What do we have available here at the Lab?"

Initiative for Grim. 1d20+22=26 I'm for giving Fly her HP back.

Hmm, by cutting to the dancing, we probably jumped over the point where JoAB would normally have made his speech; if'n you still want to do that, Giz, we can always futz with the normal order of events some. It might be a fun way to wrap up the thread, actually.

For their part, most of Lynn's family was utterly terrified, and sat frozen in their chairs; his worse rears confirmed, poor Ben actually wet himself a bit. But there's always the exception to the rule; Karl Epstein's face was actually glowing like a kid on Christmas morning as his eyes darted around the banquet hall, taking in all the heroes and the dumbass cowboy stupid enough to crash his niece's wedding. "This is so f@*#in' awesome!" He actually rubbed his hands together in delight, then pointed at first Thrude then Willow. "Hey, if I make it out of this alive, can I have a dance with one of you's?" Annabel Steele could not believe her charge right now. "You are certifiably insanse, do you know that?" she whispered in disbelief as she crouched behind the table and assessed the situation, her fingers resting lightly on the small automatic in her ankle holster. Karl, still completely unfazed, laughed, shook his head and leaned over to her. "What, I figured you'd be happy; I mean c'mon, how many marshals get to bust a genuine cowboy bad guy?" Despite herself, Annabel had to smile; the little guy actually was kinda cute.

Lynn's eyes boiled with hatred as she stared at the man; last year, her now-husband had told her some things about him, but for some dumb reasons she'd thought this chapter of their lives was closed. Her gaze wandered over her family and friends, all together under one roof, and she felt a twinge of guilt over putting them all at risk; then she started to mentally check off her guest list, and a little smile crept over her face. Sometimes it pays to be a paranoid neurotic Jewish girl. Lynn cleared her throat. "Uh, if you're gonna be yakking for a while, mind if I slip into something more comfortable? Because to be honest, as lovely as this dress is, it's a little bit itchy." At that, the blushing bride collapsed like the Wicked Witch of the West, her gown falling loosly to the dance floor, which elicited a gasp from Lynn's family, who had yet to see any major demonstrations of her fae nature. Seconds later Grimalkin reformed and rose up to her full...well, five feet three inches, but she was in her fighting leathers and her claws were out, which certainly made an impression. Once more properly solid, Grim shook herself loose and wiggled her fingers. "Woo, much better! I've been dying to get out of that for hours!" She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and began to drum her claws on her leather sleeve. "Please, continue." However when her various superfriends began to gear up, she held up a warning hand. "Guys, please be mindful of where were are right now, and of all my lovable but squishy relatives in the room; no unnecessary risks." She spared a glance at Thrude; her voice was tight but still with an hint of gallows humor. "Y'know, if you're at all familiar with the term."

I forgot how much if anything Grim knows about this guy; we were going to do that thread where we went over to Colt's homeworld, right? I think Colt mentioned some stuff about him there.

Lynn slowly sipped her cup of sickly-sweet, cream-drenched coffee as the others expanded on their unfortunate time adventures, pausing to rub her fiancé's arm when he mentioned 'a lot to lose'; however her expression began to darken the more she watched and listened to Dok as his guilt in the whole affair became increasingly obvious. The shapeshifter sighed and slowly shook her head. "Man, what is it with you mad scientist types? You always have to mess with stuff." She stepped over to the viewscreen and gently rested her hand against the smooth glass, as though the German uber-genius could feel her calming touch. "You're a good man, Dok, but sometimes you just...push that envelope a little too far."

Ben closely followed Mona's little testimonial, occasionally sipping his scotch (which really was very good) as he listened intently. When she was finished, he drained his glass, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and locked eyes with Lynn. "Look, Sher, I know I won't always be there to protect you, but that that doesn't mean I don't want to, or that I can even..." He choked up a bit. "You're my baby sister; I remember seeing Mom holding you in the hospital, your little red face peeking out of the blankets...you looked so pissed." Lynn laughed out loud as tears welled up in her eyes. "Aww, Benj; lucky for you I don't need to wear mascara anymore, or my face would be a mess by now!" That got her big brother to laugh, and he looked so grateful for it. "I know, I know. The point is-" He took her hands in both of his, and kissed them gently. "I am proud of you, Sher, and all you've done; maybe I don't need to know all the details, but it's nice to know you can take care of yourself, and that you're helping people." He took a deep breath. "Though I've got to admit, I am very happy to hear about this whole 'semi-retirement' thing. Grampaloo would be so happy you're taking over the store; he knew how much you loved it." And at that, a very tearful Lynn grabbed her brother Ben in a ferocious bear hug, which led to a sharp but happy cry. "Oww, ribs, ribs!" "Sorry, sorry!" - - - - Lynn was floating on a cloud; true, at least some of that was due to the large amounts of alcohol she'd been drinking at the big table, where her and her two siblings had been downing conjured shots like a bunch of frat boys. But beneath that alcoholic haze was a core of true bliss she'd never felt before in her life; all other previous happiness she'd felt paled in comparison to this day, this moment. For just one evening, all the people she loved in the world were in the same room, and there had been no hairpulling, no knife fights and no explosions; not too shabby. The happy bride smiled and murmured to herself, "If there is a heaven, it feels just like this." "Hmm? Oh, hell yeah!" With a bit of effort, the lacy cream puff got to her feet and glided onto the dance floor. There had been a lot of talk in the weeks leading up to this day about how best to blend the various traditions of Christian and Jewish weddings so that no one felt excluded; Lynn had insisted on a klezmer band and Billy getting hoisted up in a chair by the groomsman. but she happily acquiesced on a few more intimate dances before the delightful insanity of the hora was unleashed. For the first dance, she'd selected "All My Only Dreams" for the soundtrack of That Thing You Do!; her mom and sister had rolled their eyes, saying it sounded like something you'd here at the prom, but her dad, the musician and movie buff, thought it was perfect. Looking up at her big cowboy in his awesome hat as the song began, the tiny shapeshifter smiled, so glad that she'd stuck to her guns. "I love you."

Estelle eagerly rubbed her hands together as the burger wafted her way. "Mmm, thank you!" Focusing all attention on her newly-arrived food, she was able to successfully banish all thoughts of eels and jelly to the back of her mind as she took a big bite of the savory burger. Despite herself, her normal exposure and good manners slipped a bit as she spoke with her mouth full. "Oh dear God, that's heaven!" Her cheeks went a little pink as she remembered herself and simply gave the grillmeister an enthusiastic thumbs up. Rather than just talk to the one beachgoer in her own age group, the blonde chemist did her best to try and keep up with some of the other conversations going on, although some of them were just happy teen dating talk. Estelle shrugged. "Personally I think the most important part of school is the education, the actual broadening of the mind, and it's clear you received that without a traditional scholastic background, 'Fly. The social stuff-" She grimaced and wiggled her hand from side-to-side. "I really think it depends; for some people, it's a pointless distraction that gets in the way of the work. Other people throw themselves so eagerly into the social swirl that they miss the whole point of the exercise, and come away from school with a lot of fond memories but with nothing else to show for it. For what it's worth, I think you turned out wonderfully, Fly." She offered her a friendly wink. "Just ask your girlfriend, she'll tell you."

"Thank you!" She gladly accepted the offered seat, and easily caught the tossed alien artifacts with her shimmering hair; eyes wide with wonder, she turned them over as she studied them, passing each from tendril to tendril like ships on rolling waves. "Fascinating!" Still holding the objects, she shrugged. "Well, I'd be happy to help, if only for the chance to visit another solar system; perhaps if I'm very lucky I can sneak a few samples, though of course I would have to isolate them completely here in the Lab." She stopped and frowned. "Mmm; the potential risks might outweigh the benefits, though I will have to discuss the possibilities of further excursions across the universe in the future!" Then another thought struck her, and her frown deepened considerably. "About this Mr. Flowers...what do we really know about him? is he actually human, or another race entirely, and if so, how and why did he change his appearance? And is he actually a conservationist, or might he be some sort of...oh, interstellar poacher?"

Dr Estelle de Havilland received an email from her Lab associate Supercape, asking if she could stop by his lab to help him with a challenging situation; to be honest, she was happy for the interruption, as she'd been essentially hitting her head against a brick wall all day on her current project. She quickly saved all her work, locked down her PC and then her lab space, and took the elevator to Cape's floor. Still wearing her labcoat over her silver and blue jumpsuit, she gently rapped a knuckle against his door. "Hi Cape, it's Estelle; I came as soon as I could. May I come in?"

Grimalkin frowned. "No...I mean..." She wasn't quite sure what to say; she actually meant her statement as a compliment, but could now see how someone who didn't understand her sense of humor or her love of mischief and mayhem would see it differently. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "Look, I'm sorry, dude; I didn't mean to imply you were, like, less than honorable or didn't have good reason to hate faeries, because believe me, I totally get that." She stopped and held out her hand. "So can I just say 'nice job', we shake and then we're okay?" She smiled and hunched her shoulders a bit. "Please? I'm not gonna put the whammy on you, this is totally sincere."