Heritage

Dr Estelle de Havilland smiled pleasantly as she stepped up to the teller window while reaching into her purse. "Good morning, I'd like to get cashier's check for five thousand dollars?" It was something she'd been meaning to do for some time; making a donation to the Hero Boosters Club made her feel like she was actually part of the city, not just a dilettante or Jane-come-lately. She hoped she would be able to do this every year, but she had to see how it would fit in with the rest of her charitable giving. Oh well, at least my account will be pleased at tax time.

I am currently writing Grimalkin #1; I hope to have the first draft done by the end of September, and will link it here somehow. My plan is have at least the first three issues written to shop around at the new Chicago comic convention in April. The tone will be a bit darker than her stories here, though hopefully not too dark; I like to think of it as 'bubblegum noir' :D

Grim makes her way back to the group, gradually appearing out of the shadows; she's grinning like an idiot and rubbing her gloved hands with glee. She keeps her voice low, but it never quite drops down to a whisper; she's far too excited for that. "Oh ho ho, this is gonna be fun! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, we've got Nazis! Genuine bonafide Overshadow mooks in the middle of an WMD sales meeting. So we've got Nazis and gunrunners, with a lot of guns, many of which are scary and high-tech looking, so that part's a lot less fun." She looks eagerly from face to face. "So, who's got ideas?" :twisted:

You know what, let me throw Gossamer into this; she's a total badass who never fights anyone, and I want to get her some play She doesn't have a secret ID and doesn't patrol, but could still be in the area at the time of the attack.

Activating Blending, Stealth roll: 19 (meh!)

Grim nods as she steps a short distance away from the rest of the group, quickly fading until she's little more than a smudge in the air, ears alert for the slightest sign of trouble.

At the very mention of the word 'Grue', Gossamer's eyes go wide, she takes a step backward, and her hair arches forward like an angry cobra's hood. "The Grue? Though legally I'm not allowed to say why, the Grue are of particular interest to me." She drops down to a crouch to better examine the device; her hair forms into a pair of workman-like braids that loop out of the way under her arms like straps, except for a few tendrils that remain loose, to fetch a number of vials, tweezers and sample bags out of a case hanging from her side. "Do we have reason to think the Grue directly played a part in this misadventure, or do we merely suspect their technology was involved?"

Estelle nods, not listening to the words so much as how Erin says them; something about the tone of her voice just makes her feel so very sad. 'Heartsick'; that's the word. The labs are very impressive, almost comparable to the ones she used back at Harvard; clearly Summers and his staff spared no expense. It would be a pleasure to teach in these facilities. "If you don't mind, Erin, I'd like to see both the student and teacher living areas; that's where all the really import things happen at school, right?"

For just a second, Estelle finds her companion for the evening...well, terrifying, but the moment passes as quickly as it arrives. "My goodness, one can't say you aren't passionate about your work!" :shock: The lovely blonde takes a deep swig of beer to settle her nerves, then her warm smile returns. "Well, how very ambitious of you! If I can somehow participate without threatening my standing agreement with ASTRO, I would love to do so' send me a prospectus and any sort of documentation you've put together, I'd love to take a look at it."

"Okay, I'm gonna scout ahead for a bit, but I'll be right back. Hang tight for a sec." Quiet as a doormouse (well, actually quieter), Grim makes her way forward, ears alert for any bits of conversation she can make out as she approaches the unseen conversants.

It's not part of her Struggling status, it's a personal choice; if you could create any sort of clothing you wanted at will that is guaranteed to fit you, costing you nothing and saving on laundry chores, would you bother to own a lot of clothes? Plus the Immunity to Cold thing as well. Other than her cats, she's pretty much used to living out of a duffel bag; just getting an actual apartment is going to be a huge change for her. I am more than willing to either handwave it or spend a pp on any sort of feat, including something like Benefit: Faerie Garments; I just want to make sure this issue (and Grim herself!) is covered somehow before I start playing this version of the character. I try to anticipate these things early before they become issues far on down the line BTW, do I need two approvals on this version to get it up and running? I would expect so.

She can easily make something as complex as clothing, but since she can only make three objects, that would be like two shoes, a jumpsuit and nothing else. She mostly uses Create Object to make fake IDs and larger props for her disguises, like a suitcase or umbrella, or things she might have to hand over to another person.

I just thought of something in regards to this build Grimalkin, which might not have been adaquitly covered in pervious builds, either. Grim owns almost no clothing, as she normally just creates is for herself out of her own glamour. In the past, this was basically covered under Morph or Shapeshift while she was awake, and not an issue when she was asleep. However now with Morph being part of an array, I could see some, uh, wardrobe malfunctions cropping up. :? Would Quick Change be a good solution? It would sort of mean she always holds a little glamour in reserve to create her costume. If so, maybe I can scrounge up an extra pp from her quiz for next month.

I actually asked him to drop it; it doesn't quite fit this build, plus it looks like I could Stunt it as an AP if I really needed it. The Extra Effort means it wouldn't be something she does every day

This is the tale of Grim's adventures in Avalon, told in short chapters in traditional fairy tale form. It's just gonna be a narrative, with no die rolling or anything, but I'm putting an OOC up just to be thorough or in case there any questions.

Once upon a time, there was a small gray cat named Grimalkin who lived in a great city by the woods. One day she found herself in a part of the wood she'd never seen before, and she was quite afraid. "Oh man, I must be in Faerie now," she said, and surely it was true, for she was at the edge of the great forest of Avalon, which stretched on for miles and miles. The little cat sniffed the air and her whiskers twitched. "Wow, that smells really good," she said, and she followed the smell of sweet flowers until she came upon a small clearing, all dotted with hyacinths. In the middle of the clearing was a purple toadstool as wide as a wagon wheel, upon which a gathering of fair sprites danced and cavorted. They wore garments fashioned from cobwebs, dew and moonlight, and their dainty gossamer wings sparkled like diamonds. "Uh, excuse me," said Grimalkin. "I'm, uh, looking for something...or possibly someone. Answers, really. Can any of you...tiny little people help me?" The spites' merry laughter was like the ringing of tiny bells, but they did not cease their dancing. The small gray cat was not amused. "Okay, ha ha, laugh at the new kid, or cat, I guess; wait, why am I a cat?" At last, one of the delicate creatures took pity on the frightened cat, and flew up to Grimalkin, hovering right in front of her small wet nose. "You are a cat because you've always been a cat. Here in Faerie, all is truth and no one lies." Grimalkin laughed at the small sprite. "Um, yeah, I totally believe that; that's the way it always works in faerie tales. Look, can you help me or not?" The beautiful sprite stroked her tiny chin with her tiny fingers, and taped her tiny foot in thought. At last she smiled and flew three times around Grimalkin's head. "Yes, I will help you, Kitty Cat! You need to cross the great forest of Avalon to find the castle of Queen Mab. You will face many dangers, but I shall give you three gifts, to aid you on your quest!" The gray cat held up her paws in alarm. "Whoa whoa whoa, I know how this works; I'm not taking any gifts from you!" The little faerie sighed and shook her head sadly. "Very well, I shall not give them to you myself, but rather tell you where to find them, on your own, in the forest. Seek out the great dead oak in the Valley of Summer, and you will find three things inside, a cloak, a hat and a sword. Take these with you on your quest, free of all charges and obligations, but you may not take them out of Faerie!" Grimalkin grinned a kittenish grin and nodded. "Fine by me, and thanks!" And with that she marched off into the woods, her tail twitching behind her.

Do you want me to get this started, Blink?

Though her face is as white as a sheet, Estelle doesn't hesitate for a moment. "Give me five minutes." Six minutes later, two thick tentacles of golden hair loop gracefully up onto the roof, pulling Gossamer up behind them as she lands in an easy crouch; she's wearing her form-fitting blue and white jumpsuit from the FAR boys at ASTRO Labs, and it leaves little to the imagination :shock: "Sorry for the delay, Stephanie, this outfit is absolute murder to get into!" She notes Dr. Archeville's presence and smiles; her hair seems to move a bit more sinuously once her eyes land on him. "Viktor! So nice to see you again!" Finally she turns to the young man present. "And you must be young Mr Cale; I've heard good things about you, very good things." She offers a firm, crisp handshake before resting her hands on her hips as she approaches the sinister apparatus. "Well, well, here we have the...device in question; mind you, chemistry and biology are my strong points, but obviously I will help in anyway possible."

Estelle smiles and shrugs modestly as she returns the plate to its owner; at their table, she patiently waits for the good doctor to pull out her chair before taking a seat, her hair once again neatly twisted into her usual braid. She frowns over the top of her menu. "That is truly a shame; I can tell you from personal experience that too much lab time is bad for your health. I once had an upper respiratory infection I couldn't shake for nearly a month when I was back in school; it nearly turned to pneumonia, which actually could have killed me, I felt so sick! I took a week off from work, and bam!" She raps the edge of the table dramatically. "I felt so much better after a few day's rest. We can never let the mind rule us so completely that we lose sight of our physical and emotional needs." She pops a cold cut her in her mouth and neatly sucks her fingers. "Mmm, delightful! So, what is this work that will so completely consume your life?"

Cool new alternate form for Grim, courtesy of Sand! Black Dog Tracking 2 [2pp] Survival 15 [4pp] Growth 4 (continuous, Permanent, Innate) [13pp] No hands [-4pp] Claws and Teeth 5 (mighty, linked trip 8 [touch range]) [8pp] Also, Grim's Notice should be +11, due to WIS increase.

Grim felt completely out of her depth on this mission, and it was really starting to get to her; she'd never worked with this many heroes at one time before, and seeing folks like Phantom, Scarab and Dark Star, heck even Doc working his techno mojo, made her feel very young and inexperienced. She stood to one side, nervously chewing on a thumbnail as she whispered a question. "Uh, guys, what do you want me workin' on right now?"

Le sigh! Well, since that only gives her a +1 on her roll, better have her take 20 EDIT: To heck with that noise, here's the Hound of the Baskervilles, courtesy of Señor Sandman! Tracking 2 [2pp] Survival 15 [4pp] growth 4 (continuous, Permanent, Innate) [13pp] No hands [-4pp] Claws and Teeth 5 (mighty, linked trip 8 [touch range]) [8pp] ¡Arriba!

Once at the corner, Grim makes no mention of the coffee issue, but instead drops down to her haunches and starts sniffing the air, first one way then the other. Soon she is down on all fours, carefully sniffing the pavement and every piece of trash she sees. "I'm sure this looks pretty goofy, but I'm hoping to get a match on anything from the apartment; might take a minute or two." After a few moments, she shakes her head and laughs. "To heck with this, I'm doggin' it." Pale mist shrouds her figure, which expands larger and larger until a massive black hound is revealed in her place! The beast's eyes glow like coals as its huge shaggy head turns this way and that, in search of the elusive scent.

A former gang member? A refugee? A child soldier in some distant land? Ultimately Estelle decides to stop trying to figure Erin out; whatever made her that way more than likely made her cautious in other ways, too. If she ever wants to bring it up on her own, it will have to be her choice. The blonde scientist chuckles as she brushes her hair back over her ear, a somewhat outdated gesture she can't seem to shake. "Well, I'm qualified to teach chemistry and biology, but I'm fluent in French and Russian, too. To be honest, I'm willing to give almost anything a shot." After a few moments of walking in silence, she frowns. "Do you...like it here, Erin? Is the environment appealing to you?"