Heritage

The changeling snorted at this comment and held up her hand to show off her unique engagement ring forged from extradimensional steel. "Yeah, you could say that; maybe if I was still single I'd have been okay at that size sittin' in some guy's lap..." She grinned mischeviously, then looked alarmed when she considered the full implications. "Well, not Edge's lap, obviously, since he's underage and all!" She turned to face Mona as she offered her own contributions to the tale. "So right after we all mount up, Marie Poppins throws a few switches and off we go, arriving in another version of Earth, quite literally with a bang. The darn thing was totalled upon arrival. And then we were greeted by lovable street urchins!"

Lynn's eyes went a bit wide and her mouth hung open as Etain spouted forth a stream of potent magibabble. "Wow, I have...no idea what you just said. I guess there's more spellcasters in town than I thought." Then she cocked an eyebrow. "Wait, these 'nihils', did they stand for nothing? And throw marmosets in people's bathtubs?" Remembering just exactly who she was talking to, the shapeshifter self-conciously waved her hand. "Uh, y'know what, forget it; it's a dumb pop cultural reference you probably won't get." Conjuring up a plush high-backed chair for herself, she had a seat. "So do you guys actually do spells and stuff together? Like sharing pentagrams and whatnot?"

"Gah!" At first Lynn shied away from this reflection of her 'true' magical self, but after a few seconds she calmed down a bit and was able to appraise it more objectively. "" She smiled, frowned, wiggled her upswept eyebrows and pointed ears, and watched as her purple reflection followed suit. "" Having more or less come to terms with her fae appearance, the shapeshifter turned her focus back to the remarkable house, randomly wandering about the lobby. "

Lynn's shoulders drooped as she sighed in defeat like Charlie Brown. "I always have to ask." She raised her fist in mock-defiance. "Curse you, kosher laws! Don't get me wrong, I love being Jewish, but sometimes being observant can be a pain. Oy." Resigned to her fate, she once again perused the menu. "Yeah, this whole story is like Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang brought to life; in fact, just picture Dick Van Dyke in your mind the whole time Carrie's talking, and it will totally come alive behind your eyes."

Grim looked over her shoulder uncertainly. "I dunno, you think? To me, its hard to pull off a cape if you're not a flyer, but maybe. Plus I always hear the voice of Edna Mode ringing in my ears, telling me they're a really bad idea..." Out of courtesy, she summoned forth a cape, which flowed majestically over the back of the chair and onto the floor. The shapeshifter stood up and turned around so both Wisp and the gathered crowd could have a look; she'd reproduced the same red-and-white color scheme as seen in the sketch, with red on the shoulders and the edges of the cape, a wide white bar down the middle, and the red diamond iconically placed dead center. Spreading her arms dramatically, she modeled a few classic poses: 'Arms Wide Wings', 'Peering Over the Arm', 'Wrapped in the Night' and a few others. "What do you guys think, should she go with the cape? Should I go with the cape?" She was having a lot of fun with the poses. "Wow, capes are fun! Maybe E was all wrong about these things..." The crowd was getting into it, though a few vocal 'anti-cape activists' made their voices hear as well.

Apparently tonight's poker game was also a Lifetime Movie Event about sisterhood, making tough choices and the importance of supporting of your friends. Finally Grim couldn't hold in the weird mixture of warmth, amusement and nausea that was bubbling just below the surface, so she fired a fist straight up into the air and yelled "GIRL POWER!" at the top of her lungs. Both relieved and embarrassed, she got a little pink as she looked at her cards. "Sorry, my safety valve went off." She cleared her throat and continued. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it; Colt's a great guy, and we're a good fit, so-" Holding her cards in one hand, she crossed her fingers and grimaced hopefully. I actually have a halfway decent hand here. She raised the current bet without comment.

Well fist of, Grim is clearly not holding up her end, and she's got some points to spend; at least one on her pp should go to Equipment this month.

Lynn smiled as Dok swept Mona off onto the dance floor; they really did make a grear couple. And speaking of great couples, didn't Derrick and Stesha look deleriously happy? Of course, the sight of her friends out there twirling about did make her regret going stag, but surely there was a guy out there for her? Scanning the various males in her vicinity not already dancing, she noted a bespecled older man, Mark's rather intimidating schoolmate who just radiated quiet menace (and could probably kill a man with a soggy gum wrapper) and the quiet good-looking guy who said he was what, a teacher? The shapeshifter wandered over to stand by him, her brown eyes following the swirling bodies like leaves in a pond. "So here we stand, the lonely and dateless; abandoned by friends and lovers, cast upon the rocky shore like dead fish, glazed eyes staring blankly into space!" After a few moments of quietly dramatic contemplation, she put her hands on her slender hips and shook her head in mock-disgust. "Y'know what, screw that!" Turning to Tarrant with a mischevious grin, she indicated the dance floor with a jerk of her head. "You wanna dance?"

My low posting rate for this week will most likely continue until the weekend, I'm afraid; work has been brutal and I've got a midterm on Thursday. Hopefully this weekend and beyond will show more chances for creativity.

Grim gets a 10; meh.

Grim frowned at Fusion's judgemental tone, even if there was some truth in her words. Reaching down into her costume, she pulled out her engagement ring on a slender silver chain and started idly spinning it around. "Well, I'll have you know that my fiance is in fact not a criminal; he just uses guns...a lot." Yeah, that was not gonna go over well. Damn it, what was it about Fusion that made her come off so badly? Maybe she should just keep her mouth shut for the rest of the night...

Lynn dropped her bike and helmet, which politely disappeared into vapour before they hit the ground, and took in all the ornate splendor through wide eyes. She stood gaping in the lobby, slowly turning about, not wanting to miss a single detail. "" Then she stopped and chewed on her thumb, a playful smile on her lips. "

Can we say the autoclave is a new, high-speed model from ArchTech that sterilizes in seconds? Otherwise we have to wait 15-20 minutes, my own dumb fault.

Lynn looked a bit uncertain before responding in perfect Latin. " She cast a glance around to make sure no one else was in earshot. "" Still toting her bike, she entered the gate and started heading towards the front door of the mansion, which she assumed was their destination.

PixieGrim landed a few blocks away from the address Etain had provided in the shadow of a carriage house and resumed her normal size, wearing fairly non-descript FC sweats, her 'default setting' these days. She conjured up a well-used mountain bike and hopped onto it, pedaling over the damp streets of Lantern Hill. Several minutes later, she skidded to a stop in fron tof an old but not terribly interesting looking house, surrounded by a high fence. On a nearby lawnchair sat a young woman wearing mutton chop sleeves and a hoop skirt, clearly the girl who'd invited her. "Hi Etain," Lynn called out as she hefted her bike over her shoulder and walked in her host's direction, her bike helmet tucked under her other arm. "What's up?"

Gossamer Outdoor Show There's A Little Grue In All Of Us Grimalkin A Fair Day Place Your Bets, Ladies! Near Mint Condition Somewhere That's Green Three of a Kind Whole Kit and Kaddishle

At the mention of the Japanese shapeshifters, Grim sat up a little straighter. "I actually kissed a kitsune once...though when I say it out loud, it sounds like a Katy Perry song. I wonder if he was part of the group you met, Fusion, or something else altogether? He helped me find a portal back into Avalon a few years ago, but I haven't seen him since..." Feeling somewhat wistful, she studied her cards absent-mindedly. "Never been to Atlantis; is it nice?"

Lynn looked stricken as she covered her mouth, her cheeks turning bright pink. "Omigod, I'm sorry! Mona's a teammate, so I...sorry, sorry." She wasn't quite sure what Carrie's deal was, though a idle comment by Miss Wells had suggested the young woman might be more than she seemed; perhaps she was unaware of whatever it was that made her special, or perhaps she wore a mask herself under some assumed name. Lynn didn't remember her doing anything extraordinary in the parallel world, though she had been uncommonly brave and willing to put her life at risk for a total stranger, which was more than most people would do. Hoping to move on from the awkward moment, Lynn buried her nose in the menu. "Mmm, probably safest for me to go with the vegitarian entrees...ooh, pasta shells with Portobello mushrooms, asparagus and garlic! Nummers!" She looked up at the others. "Are we doing appetizers?"

Grim shooked her head as she signed a high school yearbook. "No, not really; I started classes last fall at a college which shall remain nameless, so my TV watching has been slashed to the minimum; pretty much just Glee, Bones and Community nowadays." "That I do not know." The shapeshifter peered around, looking for store staff. "Hey Hans, do you guys run a mini-con here?" A short stocky man with sideburns and curly brown hair stepped from behind the counter. "We have four-day gaming weekends twice a year, but no con per se; we do have a booth at most cons on the East Coast, though." The Interceptor nodded. "That's cool." Then a thought struck her. "Hey Wisp, if you want me to model costume ideas, I'm game. Here, check it out!" Her body was suddenly surrounded by pale mist, which parted to reveal Grim now wearing the red-and-white costume design from the young artist's sketchbook. The crowd in attendance whooped in delight at the demonstration of power. Looking down at herself, the changeling grinned. "Snazzy!"

Estelle wagged a finger as she put on a pair of splash-resistant goggles. "I am a doctor. For the record, I'm not a licenced medical practioner; I have a doctorate in organic chemistry and minored in biochem as an undergrad. Not quite the same thing." Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, she grinned as she fetched an individually-wrapped syringe from a drawer. "Lucky for you, I also volunteered with the Red Cross during their on-campus blood drives." The blonde chemist nodded as she tore open the package. "Mmmm, yes I think so; are you familiar with autoclaves and centrifuges? If so, you can prep some test tubes for our samples." A long golden tendril zipped across the room to fetch a small rubber ball, which she dropped in Sam's hand, while a second slightly thicker tendril wrapped itself around his bicep as a tourniquet. "First, we need to find your vein; please give that a few squeezes, if you would. Then I'm going to take blood samples from you, both before and after you assume another form to see if your blood undergoes any changes when you change."

Lynn made her way to the back of the restaurant, enchanted by the decor and smells hanging in the air like an olfactory buffet. She was in her civvies, proudly sporting Freedom College sweats under a Gore-Tex parka, scuffed Converse sneakers on her feet and an alpaca hat perched on top of her head. The lightweight backpack over her shouldered hinted that she'd recently been studying. Waving her hand at her oversized teammate, she called out as she approached. "Hiya, Mona! Sorry if I'm late." Noting the young woman seated next to her, Lynn suddenly frowned. "Hey, I know you from somewhere..." After a few moments she snapped her fingers. "Freezonium! Wasn't that you?" Sliding in beside Mona, she shrugged out of her coat and took off her hat, revealing her non-pointed ears. “It’s Carrie, right? I go by Lynn when I look like this.†She held out her hand to offer a firm handshake.

Grim tossed her useless set of number cards down on the table. "Whole lotta nada here. Okay, new hand and a fresh start, alright? Out with the bad vibes, in with the good." As she waited for her hand to be dealt, she surveyed the other players around the table, truly a motley crew; the one thing they shared in common (other than Fusion) was their relative youth. Desperately wanting to take the energy in a new direction, she considered various topics of conversation that might get them started. Sadly, 'work' would be the most obvious choice. "So, uh, not to be a drag or anything, but has anyone faced any new threats in the city? Like a new gang or some costumed loser? I know shop talk can be boring, but..." She finally shrugged in defeat.

Grim had a look at the design. "Oh cool! I like your color choices. Mmm, this is a good idea-" She tapped the red diamond on the chest. "Anything that makes dumb bad guys look at your boobs is good; totally messes with their heads." She looked down at her own sleek gymnast's body. "Or at least, so I've been told." Turning back to her next teenaged fan, the shapeshifter blithely signed his spiral notebook despite his rather odd twitchy expression. She shifted topics as she signed a woman's cast. "There you go! By the way, not a fan of zombies; once you've actually fought them, and have to shower off the smell and get the bits out from under your fingernails? Not so much fun. Well, there is one cool zombie in town, named Dead Head. Creepy but fun; have you met him?"

Feeling the general vibe in the game room heading from genial to toxic, Grim stood up and spread her hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is supposed to be a friendly game, ladies; there is no need for hostile words or the flexing of tentacles! As my dad likes to say, 'We're all bozos on this bus', which means...well, I think it means none of us is any better than the others. As crimefighters or whatever we want to call ourselves, we're all a bit on the odd side, I guess, and by that yardstick we all pretty much measure up the same." Then her brow furrowed in thought. "Of course, my dad is a total pothead, so maybe he was talking about something else." She turned to address Fusion and Sage in turn. "I hear you guys, and you've got reason to be upset; some poorly-chosen words were said." And then she turned to face Sil. "And I'm sure you didn't mean to get under anyone's skin with that 'horrors' line, but, y'know, think it through a bit more next time, alright?" And then she addressed the entire group. "So can we please keep the tone a bit lighter, continue to enjoy ourselves and do our best not to piss each other off? For at least, like, the next ten minutes? I seriously do not want to scrub blood out of the floor; I've got better things to do with my weekend."

Yeah, I hearby apologize to everyone in this thread for how the poker part has turned out; we should have used a simple die roll from the begining. I'll still honor the rest of the discard PMs sent to me, for what it's worth. As for Grim's roll, she gets an 8. Heh, she still loses!