Heritage

Grim gently laid a hand on Colt's arm and took a step between him and Tayla. "Okay, let's not deal with hows so much and focus on the whats and whys; besides, Tayla is dating Elena, who is both a friend and a powerful telepath, so I don't think we have anything to worry about." She turned to face Tayla, a warm but slightly stressed-out smile on her face. "So, faerie tales about princesses and wishes, eh? Well, that covers about half of all faerie tales. I think the French ones are more like Puss and Boots; y'know, a bit more fanciful than the Brothers Grimm stuff, what with all the people getting their hands and feet chopped off. Very hardcore, but hey, whaddya expect from the Germans?" She adjusted herself slightly and gave Erik a nod. "And you could be right, Jack; stories coming to life is pretty much what Avalon is all about, so who knows, it could be happening in our world." And lastly she turned to team speedster, pointing at him with both hands. "Eli, you've got to be the fastest reader here, even faster than Vince, I bet. Can you tear into this and give us a synopsis, without talking like a human encyclopedia? Maybe we can kinda figure out what's missing from what's left." Then Grim stopped herself and slapped her forehead. "Dummy, it's in French! Eli, can you be a pal and learn French real quick so you can do that thing I asked? Or do you think it would just be easier to have Vince give it a shot?" ;)

Push was able to easily lift the petite heroine to her feet, though surprisingly she had a grip like iron. "Howdy, Push, thanks for the hand up. And don't you normally say 'you're welcome' when the person actually needed help?" She placed a slender finger on her lip and looked comedically thoughtful for a second. "Y'know, I'm just not feeling the 'helpless female' thing today; I think I could have taken on twice that many guys, handed their butts to them, and sung the 'Magdalena Hagdalena' song at the same time." She nodded sagely. "In fact, I did that last week. In Sumatra." She couldn't keep a straight face any longer, and a wide grin spread across it. "Seriously, though, thanks. That was fun." She rocked back on her heels and tugged at her suspenders, which she conjured up just for the effect. "So, I haven't seen you beating up people before; are you newly arrived to our fair shores?"

Lynn beamed. "Exactly! You know me, always with the grandiose gestures! In fact, look up 'grandiose' in the dictionary, and you'll see my smiling face, giving you the thumbs up." His ex-girlfriend hopped up to her feet, and began pacing the small back room. "Okay, it should probably be someone in 'the biz', as I like to call it; it just makes things easier if you don't have to worry about each other as much." She stopped to stroke her chin. "Let's see, who do I know that's single..." Grim’s form shifted into the younger of the two Espadas siblings. “Well there’s Jill…†Then the eyes behind her mask went huge. “No no no, no Jill! She’s so mature, sometimes I forget!†In a flash Grim was back to herself, one hand covering her mouth. “Dear God, Jack would kill me like a thousand times! And God have mercy on her first boyfriend, whoever he turns out to be; Jack’s gonna run that poor kid through the wringer.†Once more composed, Lynn continued to run down her mental list as she continued pacing. “Well there’s always Moira…†She took on a simulacrum of the goddess’s shape as she swayed back and forth, thankfully not quite as radiant as the genuine article. "But you’re an old-fashioned guy, and I don’t see Big D settling for just one guy or girl or thing anytime soon.†‘Divine’ dropped back into her seat and slipped back into her own form. “Dagnabbit, why are all the good ones off the market? There’s got to be someone else…†As she pondered, her hair turned to burnished gold that cascaded down over her chair. “There is that Gossamer, but she strikes me as being rather high maintenance.†‘Estelle’ sniffed and flicked imaginary dust off her silver-and-blue bodysuit before melting back into a clearly-frustrated Lynn. “I dunno, are there any girls you’ve worked with that you like? This is harder than I thought.†:(

Grim laughed outloud; this guy was a fun fightbuddy, but she refused to be outshone by the new guy. Adopting a defiant pose, she shot Scarfboy a withering look. "Hey, I'm no kitten, alright? I'm a fricken' cat, man!" And with that, she dropped to all fours and turned into a lean and nasty black panther! The huge cat leaped towards the last of the goons and growled in a threatening manner; their eyes got so big it was almost cartoony. "Holy crap, screw this!" They ran down the alley, slipping and sliding as went; meanwhile, the panther fell on its side and reverted back to her human form, rolling around on the ground laughing. "Ah-haha! Oh man, that was classic! I love this game!" She surpressed her mirth for a moment and offered the newcomer a crisp salute. "I'm Grimalkin, by the way; welcome to jungle, baby!" :D

Grim nodded and said no more on the subject; at the very least, she was fairly sure her mom would be up for it, if only for the chance to talk with Dok one-on-one about science and stuff. "Me, neither! Well, I kinda had the idea as possible Halloween costume, but I never actually tried it until now. Hey, I bet I could visit medical schools and get paid oodles of cash for that stunt!" The news, while not exactly unexpected, was still unnerving; she wasn't really 'Lynn Epstein' anymore, not the girl her parents raised and loved so much. She was in fact an exact replica of that girl, who died alone and afraid in that frozen alley years ago. Still she loved her family, loved Colt and loved her teammates, and still cared deeply about things; in a way, she was like Data or that Doctor hologram on Voyager, a non-human creature who nonetheless felt emotions. Boy, Mom's gonna freak out when she hears this. As to her heart, it appeared to be beating happily away, actually a little rapidly considering how she felt right now. But if she needed no oxygen, no food and didn't even go to the bathroom anymore, why was it still beating at all? Just like that, she stopped it cold. It hung in her chest like a warm bloody fist, doing nothing. And then it occured to her why it was still beating. For Colt. I eat, I breathe and my heart beats for Colt, so he doesn't lie next to a corpse every night. She swallowed (another residual human reflex) and then started her heart up again, as steady as a drum. I do it all for you, my love. :(

Lynn winced as she spoke through a mouthful of glamoured delight. "Mmm, I'm sorry to hear things didn't work out with her; she seemed nice." Then she shrugged. "Me, I've been good, real good." She looked down at her left hand and smiled awkwardly. "Uh, me and Colt are..." She held up her hand to show her engagment ring; normally she loved to show it off, but now not so much. "We haven't set a date yet; I'm thinking sometime in Spring." Finally Lynn set aside her massive shake thing, and it faded away into vapor as she leaned forward, looking rather serious. "Look, this whole 'Grimpig' thing...I'm sorry it went down the way it did. And I'm really sorry that, well..." She sighed and looked away, ashamed. "Alright, maybe I'm being paranoid or self-centered here, but I kinda get the feeling that the way things ended between us, and this whole...Avenger/Pig thing...that you've had real trouble, y'know, makin' it work with someone else." She smiled, though there were tiny tears in the corners of her eyes. "I just want you to be happy, Wes, like really happy. And, I don't think that happens enough in your life." She reached out and ran a hand down his magnificent mass of braids. "We just need to find you the right girl, is all."

I dropped her Glamour array down to 7 ranks this month, but increased her effect to 3 pp per level (All Forms instead of Humanoids only), so she actually only had 16 pp to work with back in February. So should I try Healing now or wait a bit dramatically? :twisted:

Grim shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so; my mom would probably be the one most likely to do it, since she works in the sciences, but I guess you could ask the rest at my wedding, if not before." She frowned. "Though I'm not sure how cool the rest of my Jewish family would be with being tested by the grandson of, well, you get the idea..." She looked rather embarrassed and uncomfortable. The shapeshifter nodded. "Okay." Then she got a weird look in her eye. "Hey, in fact I'll do it one better!" As she raised the glass to her lips, her skin, gown and digestive system became transparent, allowing the startled doctor to see the water work its way down her esophagus! By the time it reached her stomach, it simply seemed to disappear into body. When she finished, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and smiled; the affect was far from pleasant until she became fully visible again. Lynn peered over to look at Dok's tricorder. "Hmm, looks like Magic thwarts Science once again. In your face, Science!" However her triumphant grin turned a little sheepish when realized she might have offended her host and employer.

Here's an Init roll for Grim, though I don't think she's gonna be able to use it right away. Initiative: 1d20+12=26 BTW, any possibility she could power stunt Heal or Regeneration as an AP off of Morph? She had 8 ranks back In February.

Ah yeah, I mistook you for someone else! Grim was just telling Dr Archeville about the trip to Avalon, and Ember was mentioned, but not by name.

Grimalkin's jaw dropped and her eyes got big. "Excuse me? Look here, Great and Powerful Trenchcoat, I was luring them into a trap; it's called a strategy, doofus." She turned to the nearest thug and did...something horrific with her face involving pus, veins and maggots. "Gimme a kiss, you big hunk o' man, you!" :twisted: The guy screamed, turned and ran straight into the wall behind him, knocking himself out cold. Her face once again pretty as a picture, she stood like a matador and did a little flourish. "See? It's all about finesse!"

Happy for the change of topic (she was starting to feel like a stereotypical heartless Hollywood scientist), Estelle cleared her throat. "Well, one of our teams at ASTRO has been working on a new spray-on medical foam for the treating of burn patients; as you may or may not know, traditional dressings can prove problematic for covering large areas of tissue damage, as the tissue integrates itself into the weave of the material as it heals, making safe and pain-free removal very difficult. This new foam is designed to act as a sort of artificial scab, forming a smooth unbroken crust over the afflicted area that will then fall away naturally, leaving the new dermis beneath healthy and intact. I've been consulting with the team on using the foam as a delivery system for various analgesics and antibiotics, encapsulated in microscopic droplets held in suspension." She sighed in frustration as she began doodling aimlessly on her holopad "The real challenge has been storage in the inert state, seeing as the suspended medications are currently breaking down rapidly, drastically reducing their effectiveness over time."

Heh, I think I need to back my hits up with rolls, but not tonight.

The pack of thugs were just about to pound on the helpless old lady, when a guy in a trench coat and fedora rode smack into the middle of pack, knocking Captain Hair Gel for a loop with some sort of polo mallet. Beneath layers of age and glamour, Grimalkin rolled her eyes at the newcomers arrival. Some nights this town drives me crazy... In a flash, the old woman swung a leg out to trip the nearest punk, did a kip up to her feet and slashed the pants right off of another juvie, exposing his boxers to the cold night air; it looked like he might need to replace them, too. "You just had to be a do-gooder, didn't ya?" :roll: The woman leaped in the air and executed a perfect butterfly kick right into Boxer Boy's face; as she took flight, all the stained and patched-up clothes melted away into the night, leaving a lovely and limber young woman in skin-tight leather standing defiantly in the middle of the alley with the thug at her feet. Her ears were pointed like a cat's, and wicked claws tipped each of her fingers. "I have this, Mister Scarf 'n' Hat; find you own kids to play with, alright?"

After pouring the hot water for tea, Grim accepted the book from Tayla and inspected it closely, flipping the pages and even smelling it for some reason. Lynn frowned as she continued flipping through the book. "Did it occur to you that it might be a sort of magical anti-theft device, like a computer disk that wipes itself if you pull it out of the drive?" She accepted Colt's kiss with a gentle smile, and returned it in kind. Holding the pages up to the light in the ceiling, she squinted as she sought any more clues. "Though if that was the case, I'm sure Good Magician Humphrey would have some way to make the ink reappear." She held the book up in front to one of Vince's hi-rez cameras. "Can you pick up any traces of the ink, Vince, or would we need to bring this downstairs?"

The Fens. Sunday, November 15th, 2010. 9:30 pm. There was a rustling in the alley behind the Fantasy Adult Bookstore and Novelty Gallery; behind a row of dumpsters, an old woman was putting together her cardboard home for the night. To keep out the cold, she wore several sweaters, two coats and a filthy Elmo knit hat. All her belongings were stuffed into a pair of plastic garbage bags that she dragged behind her, and she moved stiffly, like she'd known a life full of pain. A little ways down the alley, a pack of about ten teenage boys were sharing a stolen bottle of Jack Daniels. The oldest one, with his hair plastered with product, indicate the homeless woman with a jerk of his chin. "You see that crazy old bat? I seen her in this alley a few times this week, and sometimes on the street hitin' up the rich f***s on Braodway." He flashed a feral grin as he shook his head. "No way she already drank all that money away. C'mon guys; it'll be both fun and educational!" The other boys laughed as the followed him up the alley, grabbing shattered pieces of shipping pallets of the ground as they went, swing them back and forth like golf clubs and baseball bats. One of the younger boys waved his hand in front of his face when they got within ten feet of her. "Aww, dude, she smells like piss!" "Shut up, a-hole!" The leader cleared his throat and spoke with mock-politeness. "I'm sorry, miss? Ma'am? Ma-damn? I’m afraid we have to talk to you about how much you f***in' stink." The old woman stared up blankly from inside her cardboard refuge, shaking with fear...

Dolly happily took the vigilante’s order and his menu, as well as adding an Egg Beaters Denver omelet to go for Estelle, then headed back to the counter. Gossamer reached across the table and took one of his gloved hands in her own. "No, look, it's fine; I don't have a lot of experience in this area either, so we'll both just have to take things a step at a time." Deciding to change the topic, the blonde heroine scooted a bit closer to Mad Dog, a bit of a twinkle in her eye. "So what do you think; start closer to the river and work our way out, or begin in the Theater District and work out way in?"

Estelle nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, much! Only...will you be able to eat under there? Perhaps we should take our food to go and then find a nice dry rooftop nearby." She really felt for Greg; she had it easy, seeing as her identity was public knowledge, although there were other risks involved as well. Determined to make the evening work out as well as possible, she signaled the waitress to come over so he could place his order. Their waitress, one 'Dolly' according to her nametag, was a real pro; she guaranteed herself a good tip from Estelle when she addressed the two of them as if nothing could be more normal than serving two heroes in full costume. Of course with this being Freedom, maybe it wasn't her first time! "Good evening, sir, and what can I get for you this evening?"

It was the first time Estelle had ever seen Greg in his full costume, all the leather, chains and of course the dog mask, and it was rather odd; what worked well for scaring criminals in dark alleys looked positively bizarre plunked down in a booth at Denny's. Despite herself, Gossamer had to cover her mouth for a moment to suppress a giggle. Oh dear, I suppose I should say something. :oops: She leaned over to give him a quick hug, then smiled. "It’s vdery good to see you again, Mad Dog. Please forgive me, but seeing you in this...well, brightly-lit environment, you look..." She struggled to find the right words, so as not to in anyway hurt his feelings. "That is to say, I think the effect is quite different than what you had in mind." She offered him her most encouraging smile. “But by all means, eat; I’ve got hot coffee to go coming for us as well.â€

Grim ticked off the key points on her fingers. "Tayla's all hot and mysterious, Jackie B loves double entendres and his sister is the Queen of Snarkovia." She looked from face to face. "Did I miss anything major?" All silliness aside, the changeling indicated the slim volume in Bombshell's hands with a nod as she hopped off the counter to tend to the kettle. "So what's in the bookie-book?"

It was truly a magnificent orgy of opulence, and Estelle had to admit it was all pretty darn cool. But then the tiny devil of guilt reared its head in her chest, and once again she was struck by the pointlessness of it all. Shivering despite the warmth of her golden hair's embrace, she leaned over to the handsome young teenager and spoke with a voice tinged with sorrow and regret. "Treasure this moment, Corbin; some day the obscenely rich might not have so much to celebrate..."

Goodness gracious! Well I'm already emotionally commited to Critically Injured Grim. so let's put that free Diehard feat to the test, shall we?

Okay, her adjusted total on the roll was 12, which fails by 10. Folks in the chat told me that was Stunned and Staggered, which I'm letting her take for the drama! Cue Colt going bats*** crazy! :D

BOOM! Jack and Colt were horrified to see their teammate's head snap violently back as she slid back into her seat, blood oozing from her throat. Grim feebly reached up to clutch the side of her neck as her life seeped through her fingers. "Aaaah, God! What.....?" She slumped forward and hung in her safety harness, her knuckles white as her breathing became ragged.

They actually started dating in the fall of 2009, very shortly after the team started up; they, um, consummated the relationship in November, right after the Invasion of Hell. Okay, I'll see what happens to Grim's face in a second. :twisted: