Heritage

In case it wasn't clear before, PixieGrim is Tiny sized, which I think is less than a foot tall.

Grim loved her nose. She didn't talk about it very much, but her hyperenhanced sense of smell was secretly one of her favorite things about her new faeire body; food tasted so much better, people smelled much sexier (or much stinkier, sadly) and each flower was like a tiny universe unto itself. To be honest she didn't know Stesha very well, since they both really only knew each other secondhand through friends, but whenever she was around the plant-controlling heroine, the changeling's nose twitched with delight. A woman who worked with plants all day, who herself always smelled like a beautiful English garden after a light rain (due to some aspect of her powers, no doubt); well, the effect was potent and quite wonderful. And now she'd just whisked them all through some fascinating green world, a tantalizingly brief journey though a realm of half-forgotten dreams and memories... "Mmm?" It was several seconds before the Jewish ninja pixie was able to open her eyes; she blinked a few times and shook her head. "Ah, yes, well maybe you should change your look?" She cocked her head this way and that, appraising Stesha closely before holding out her hands; suddenly a pair of shopping bags appeared with various tops, pants and shoes in an array of colors, trailing thin streams of mist. "I'm not a hundred percent on your style, but anything in these will fit you." She indicated a patch of grass a few feet away. "I could make you a little changing booth...y'know, assuming you want to try some stuff on." She shrugged affably. "It's no big either way." Grimalkin frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, that's a darn good question."

Can we settle on a date for this thread? I want to figure out if Grim knows Cannon yet. September 2nd is no good, since that's when the Luxury casino gets all endomed.

Perhaps one day the craziness of the heroic lifestyle would seem passe and old hat to the tiny shapeshifter, but that day was not today! It sure sounded like Miss Wells' could use the help, but just looking at the huge hunk of deadly iron made Grim queasy. "Uh, I'd love to help, but I can't bear the touch of iron; it could actually kill me. Is this interdimensional travel fast? If so, maybe I could safely sit in someone's lap..." Hovering in the air, she looked at the two gigantic boys and swallowed nervously. "Preferably a female someone...?"

Grim's outfit reveals very little skin (only head and fingers exposed), but since it's form-fitting black and blue leather, there might be other issues. Of course at moment, she's Tinker Bell-sized with gossamer wings, though that's about to change.

Whew, finally caught up an reading all the posts! Carces, in the previous thread you'd said that Grim's scary-high Enhanced Charisma Diplomacy check would be enough for her to sway the crowd for a while. To explain my complete lack of posting here, can I say that she's been using her impressive persona to help disperse/protect the crowd, until she notices all the craziness on the floors above? If so, I will start my post that way.

Hearing an unfamiliar voice conversing with her teammates, Lynn frowned and set aside her textbook in the second floor reading room and softly padded to the top of the stairs. Once she got closer, she recognized the voice from the fight at the hospital. Oh God, she's here? The shapeshifter thought back to the file she'd first been handed on Wander: "Super-Soldier from Parallel World devoured by 'Zombies'. Steer clear if possible; do not confront." After seeing her kick some serious alien ass, she understood why. Still feeling bad about the nature of her Claremont mission, Lynn decided she owed the troubled young woman a chance to see her all exposed. She took a deep breath, then clomped on down the stairs barefoot, making as much noise as possible; her outfit was the same as when she was studying, an oversized Freedom College T-shirt and gray sweatpants. "Hey guys, who's over? Whoa, hey there! Wander, right?" She made to look around uncertainly. "Uh...nuts." Flashing a silly smile, she eagerly waved like an idiot. "Hi, I'm Lynn aka Grimalkin...we kinda met at that hospital fight, so...welcome!"

Overall, Lynn felt a feeling of tremendous satisfaction; it had been a good days work at the main branch of the library. Her PowerPoint presentation for Intro to Criminal Justice was nearly complete, she'd gotten a ton of the research done for her Intro to Psych paper and her English Comp essay was done and done. Once she got back to the Brownstone, she'd curl up with a giant mug of hot cocoa and knock out her reading for Jewish Stories and Storytelling in the appropriately-named reading room. Unless, of course, Julie Andrews decided to land printing press thing in the middle of 28th Avenue... "Oh for the love of God, not now!" With a sigh, the shapeshifter ducked into an alley and looked around for a good place to hide her messenger bag full of all her school stuff, including her almighty laptop; finding none, she conjured up a squat trash container with the words 'Do Not Haul Away' on the side, and stashed her bag in there. Now unencumbered by worldly possessions, she shrunk down to pixie size and zipped back into the street. She recognized Edge from both his costumed persona as well as her rather shameful undercover assignment at Claremont early in the year, but another hero she didn't recognize was also on the scene. However, as she drew closer to the odd device, she felt a horribly familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Uh, hi guys, Edge. I'm Grimalkin from the Interceptors. Is that thing made entirely out of iron?" :shock:

Posting from me shall occur tonight :)

I will post here tonight, I promise!

Grim's eyes went wide with delight at the siblings' revelation. "Oh my God; Jack finally came out of the closet! I mean Erik did, or whatever! Oh man, I just knew you had a last name!" She turned to their newest teammate. "And I'm gonna tell you right now, I will call you 'Jellie' from time to time...mostly as a mistake, but sometimes just to be a pain." The shapeshifter stroked her lower lip thoughtfully. "So are you gonna move in? We've got plenty of room and nice comfy beds." Grim laughed. "Well to be honest, my first instinct is for us to stay in, drink sangria and watch Mamma Mia! on the bigscreen while we all sing along at the top of our lungs, but somehow I don't see that being the popular choice." She idly scratched the bag of her head. "I dunno, pizza? Sadly a night of drunken debauchery might be less than fun for Ellie if she has to wait outside."

The changeling's jaw dropped open in utter shock. "Wait, they said you were going to destroy the world? I mean, Doc A I could see maybe, or a few other hero folks I could think of, but you of all people...you'd be on like the bottom of my list." Realizing that she had no idea who the other two heroes were, she placed a gloved hand on her tummy and bowed deeply from the waist. "I am honored to meet you, strange heroes I don't know! I am Grimalkin, Mistress of Mystery, but there are those who call me...Grim?" Once again upright, the shapeshifter looked from face to face, detecting a hard-to-define undercurrent the three heroes shared. "Um, so...when you say 'destroy the future', just how nasty are we talking here? I mean, the way I see it, the world is often in peril, but it seems like this time it's somehow worse..."

Saturday afternoons in the Brownstone were much different now that Lynn was enrolled in Freedom College; she spent hours in the second story reading room, far from the distractions of TV and the internet, cramming as much knowledge into her brain as possible. Now that she no longer needed sustenance, food and bathroom breaks were a thing of the past, so her study sessions got fairly intense, though from time to time she did whip up a snack out of thin air for the sheer pleasure of it. This particular Saturday, the tiny shapeshifter was curled up on the floor, her nose buried in her Intro to Psych textbook; having seen her share of counselors growing up, it was interesting to see things from the other side. She'd conjured up a some pita bread and hummus, which she thoughtfully chewed as she read. Suddenly the tastefully small flatscreen on the wall lit up, displaying a rather vexed-looking Vince. Lynn set the book aside and rubbed her eyes. "Hey, V-man, what's up?" The team's AI avatar nervously wrung his hands. "Well first off all, I just wanted to make sure you were here and alright...and not terrorizing a bank out by the navy base." Lynn frowned as she dismissed her food with a wave of her hand. "Doing what to who now?" Vince shrunk down to picture-in-picture size as security footage of the bank heist and its rather disturbing follow-up played the petite brunette's benefit; her eyes went wide as the events unfolded. "Oh my God, that is me...sorta. And a squid lady and...some other weirdness. Do we have audio?" "'Fraid not, Malkie, but my lip reading software leads me to believe these might be time travelers of some kind." Lynn groaned and did a slow faceplant onto the oriental rug. "Oh God, not again! I hate this wacky time stuff! Fine, I'll go check it out; let the team know what I'm doing, and I'll call 'em if I need back-up." "Will do!" Minutes later, Pixie Grim zoomed to the bank, and was sadly not surprised to see a massive hole in one wall. Looks like more work for Doc Metropolis. Zipping inside, she returned to regular size and offered the assembled heroes a crisp salute. "Hi guys, Fluer. A little computerized bird told me some version of me was up to no good. So, what's the story, morning glory?" Her chipper mood was a stark contrast to the knowledge the others now possessed.

At first Grim could only think of how fabulous Jill and Mona would look in the outfits her and her sister would come up with, but then she zeroed in on Jack's rather ominous statement. Her eyes nervously darted between the faces of the two siblings; this did not sound good at all. She stepped to Colt's side, found his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Uh...yeah, why don't you go ahead and drop the other big shoe."

Sorry for the absence the last several days; due to various home life complications, my computer access has been drastically impacted and I cannot guarantee posts every day. However I will do my best to remain more active.

Grim looked down at the dust spirals she'd made by spinning in her magicked gown; she lifted up the hem and made a face. "Eyugh; you said a mouthful there, pardner." Shaking herself like a wet kitten, her dress vanished in a cloud of vapor droplets, leaving the shapeshifter in loose New Jersey Devils jersey, a pair of well-worn sweats and comfy sneakers. A large push-broom appeared in her hand and she set to work. "Ooh, good call, honey!" Leaning the broom up against the counter, Lynn made a chalkboard on an easel off to one side; using some conjured chalk, she wrote 'Wedding Plans' across the top of the board, and then doodled in some bells and a little cake before putting the chalk down. "Okay, as we get ideas we can jot 'em down here, and then transfer them to something more portable later." Suddenly struck by a thought, she grabbed the chalk again and wrote some more. "Okay, that's all I've got for now, just a few things to think about." She set down the chalk again, then walked to Colt's side to give him a hug and a warm kiss; once she came up for air, she took a half-step back to search her fiance's face with her deep brown eyes. "Are you okay with a Jewish wedding? They totally kick ass, but you'd have to memorize some Hebrew..."

The shapeshifter made devil horns and nodded vigorously. "Hell yeah! We're gettin' hitched right and proper, as Colt's people would say." She scratched the back of her neck as she looked nervously between Jill and Mona. "Uh, you guys wanna be bridesmaids? I'm conjuring up the dresses myself with help from my sister Eddi, so they should both look and fit most awesomely. Kosher food, a Klezmer band and Colt smashing a glass under a cowboy boot; good times, ladies!"

A thin stream of dark liquid oozed out of a small hole in the ceiling; as it hit the floor, it formed a slender pair of legs in boots and blue-and-black tight leather, followed by a shapely waist, torso, arms and finally the familiar head of Grimalkin, with a mischievous grin on her face. "Hi guys! Trying out a new entrance; whaddya think, too freaky?" Suddenly she stopped and stared at the newcomer, head cocked to one side; she sniffed the air for a few seconds, and then a huge smile split her face. "Oh my God, did you join up?! Welcome aboard!" Once again forgetting the family's dislike of 'touchy-feely' crap, she threw her arms around Jill in a fierce hug before quickly letting go, eagerly holding up her hand to display her engagement ring. "Oh, oh, check it out! The big doof finally asked me!" :D

For her part, Grim began to giggle uncontrollably (technically something between a giggle and a sob) as tears of joy poured down her face as she held on to her precious cowboy for dear life. After a few minutes, when they were finally willing to release each other, she took a step back and then spun around, and a beautiful lacy white wedding dress flowed over her petite frame. Clutching a conjured bouquet of flowers, she sighed happily. Then a sudden idea struck her and her eyes lit up like firecrackers. "We should have the service right here, in the store! I don't want a million people anyway, and we could move the furniture in back for a while..." She started to pace floor as ideas flooded her head.

I'm happy to stay outside with Cape, if he'll have me; I like the cut of his jib :D

Lynn's heart did a somersault in her chest, and was now beating a mile a minute, which oddly enough made time move even more slowly, like overcranking an old movie camera. She watched as he lifted the beautiful ring out of the box, a ring so unique, so Colt, and each second was stretched out like saltwater taffy. In her mind, a film loop played of every conversation she'd ever had about marriage and husbands, for giggled conversations in the schoolyard to serious talks with her mom, dad and various aunts and uncles. One conversation in particular stuck in her mind, a conversation between her grandfather and her mom she overheard as a child. When her mom complained about the sacrifices she'd made to raise a family, Grampa Lou had chuckled. "Well, Pop always said 'life ain't for the faint of heart'; I guess that goes double for families." She shouldn't have stopped talking; she still had things to say, dire warnings and prophecies, all the whys and why nots, all the horrible, horrible ways everything could go wrong. If she allowed herself to be truly happy, if she let down her guard for even an instant, the forces of chaos would come crashing in and shatter them both... "I..." Her voiced squeaked in her throat, forcing her to gulp down air. She took the ring form Colt with trembling fingers and felt its weight in her palm. He was right, it didn't hurt her, but by some specially property it was not inert metal; it felt alive, a tiny spark of life that tingled her skin. Lynn swallowed and pushed on, her voice pitched slightly higher than usual. "I have never loved a man the way I love you, Colt, and I owe you an answer, but I have one more thing to share with you before I give it." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't eat anymore, or drink; I can, if I want to do, and the food goes...somewhere, I dunno. I don't feel heat or cold, I don't get sick. My weight has stayed exactly the same for nearly four years since my transformation, and though I can't prove it yet, I don't think I've aged a day in that time either." She met Colt's eyes with her big brown ones. "I'm not human anymore, Billy, and I don't think the process is over; I don't know who I'll be in a year or ten years or even farther on down the line. I do know that I love you, and I want to be with you as long as I can, as long as the laws of science, magic and the will of God allows." Grim smiled and shook her head. "I'm insane, unpredictable and moody as hell; in a lot of ways I'm far from the prefect girlfriend, much less the perfect wife. I've screwed up a lot, I've kept things from you, and for that I am so damn sorry. But whatever I am, you can have me." She flipped the ring up in the air, the diamonds sparkling in the streams of sunlight, and caught it. "Grampa said twenty-two is a big number for us in our family, and I guess he was right." She carefully handed the ring back to the man she loved, then extended her left hand like a proper lady. "August Twenty-Second, Twenty-Ten: the day one Sherilyn Epstein told one William Reynolds, 'My answer is yes'." :cry: :D

So is there still anything for Supercape and Grim to do outside?

Grim nodded and took a deep breath, still clutching the tiny precious box. "Okay, several months ago I got a call from Atlas; he sounded all weird and was clearly freaked out, and asked me to come to his house and help him out with something. he made it clear he couldn't really explain it over the phone. So I made with the the wings and flitted on over." She started pacing and gesturing as she often did while telling a story. "So I get there and Sam is all messed up; his body was all-" The shapeshifter stopped as she squinted, deep in thought. "There's a word for it; I think it's 'mimetic'? It's like when something copies another thing, almost like a reflection. So Atlas is pretty much becoming whatever he sees and has no idea why; he was like a mutant cat thing when I got there, though pretty soon he looked a lot like me, which was mega-freaky." Grim pulled out a chair, flipped it around, and rested her chin on her folded arms over the back. "He'd developed shapeshifting powers but didn't know how to control them; he knew I was a shapeshifter, so he asked me for help. And I did; pretty soon he was able to assume a lot of different shapes, including his old pre-Atlas self." And here Lynn paused, sat up straight and held up her hands. "Now up until this point, everything is pretty much hunky-dory; it's just one friend helping another friend through a tough time. But then it became a shapeshifting game, and then we had a friendly little tussle, and then-" Lynn squeezed her eyes shut in a pained wince. "I kissed him. And not just a little peck on the cheek; this was a hot and sexy kiss, with me kissing him and him kissing back. because in that moment, just for a second, I wanted him bad." She opened her eyes, her face the image of regret. "We broke it off immediately, both kinda shocked about what happened; Atlas wanted to tell you right away, God bless him, but I begged him to stop, and let me pick the time." She hung her head in shame. "It was still early in our relationship, and I knew it hadn't really meant anything, but I wanted to wait, until things between us got stronger, more concrete." Grim raised her big brown eyes up to meet Colt's, and there were tears in the corners. "I was weak, but just for a second; I knew I loved you and would never hurt you that way, but I was also ashamed and scared. And I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you, but there it is." Though she was still crying, it was clear from her posture that a huge weight was lifted off her slender shoulders.