Heritage

'Eileen Lake' needed a job, and fast. She'd been sleeping curled up in a ball on the floor of John Smith's hotel room for a week, and she felt awful about it. So John made a few calls and pulled a few strings, and found out that WORK IN PROGRESS

The food and table faded away as Lulu stopped maintaining the illusion; it was taxing, pushing her powers like that, but totally worth it. -I'm glad you like it. I know it's not the same as eating real food, but...if you're ever in the mood for a hot fudge sundae or anything else, just let me know, okay?- The telepath reached up and felt tears on her cheek, which she quickly wiped away. Judy didn't need her pity; she needed her friendship and someone to talk to now and then. -I'm sure she's fine if you get to know her; most people are. It's obvious she worries about you, and wants to keep you safe. I wish I had a big sister like that; I just have big brothers, and most of them are drunken idiots.-

1. Where is your hero from? Based on my accent, I appear to be English. Also I either went to the best schools, or I really want people to think I did, because I sound rather posh. 2. How would your hero physically describe him/herself? Is this different from how others would? In shape, attractive. Bit of a beanpole, really Also rather stretchy, for lack of a better word. I suspect most people would describe me exactly the same way! 3. Does your hero have distinguishing speech characteristics or recurring mannerisms? Well, the old RP is fairly noticible, I should think. I like to have room to stretch out, and I get a bit of a laugh when my flexibility unnerves people. 4. What is your hero's motivation? That one's rather easy, isn't it? To find out who I am, and then find some sort of place in the world. I'm...I rather think I was not the best person in my previous life, and I'd very much like to be better. 5. What are your hero's greatest strengths and weaknesses? I think my greatest strength...oof, that's rather difficult to answer, I'm afraid! I think...well, my flexibility, if you can pardon that rather ghastly pun. I believe I have a skill set that would be useful in a wide variety of situations. Also my sense of humor, which is very British. Helps me cope. As far as weaknesses go, well there's the obvious 'no memories' issue, but on top of that... I'm a bit cold; mmm. I'd like to be a bit warmer, I should think. Easier to make friends over here. 6. What does your hero love? What does your hero hate? I seem to love football; proper FIFA football, mind you, not that gladiatoral spectacle they call 'football' over here. Spicy food? And swimming! Love a good swim. The only thing I know I hate is pickles, but I'm not sure why. 7. How would you describe your character's mental and emotional state? Ha! The phrase 'very fragile' comes to mind. Actually, no. I'm a strong woman; I know that about myself. It's just...the not knowing part keeps me up some nights. 8. What does your hero fear the most? My past. I have this dreadful feeling I used to be a killer, and I...cannot abide that. 9. What is your character's greatest ambition? Recalling my past, even though part of me thinks that's not a good idea. And definitely to be a better person. 10. How does your hero feel about the state of the world and his/her place in it? The world is a very violent place. If I can somehow reduce that violence, I think that would be brilliant. 11. Does your hero have any prejudices? How does he/she get along with others? I don't care for idiots and foolish people, and sadly there seem to be a lot of them America. I'm not ready to write off the whole country, but it does take a lot of strength to not lay them straight out. 12. Where do your heroes loyalties lie? In what order? Right now, there's just myself, I'm afraid. I am looking forward to having actual friends again. 13. Does your hero have a lover or partner? How do they feel about the hero now? No, and I could really use someone right now. It's very lonely being an amnesiac in a city as dreadful as Bedlam. 14. Does your hero have a family? What is the relationship there like? I assume so, probably back in the UK, or perhaps some other part of the Commonwealth. 15. How would the people closest to your hero describe him or her? I'll ask them once I have somebody close to me. 16. Is your hero a role model? Absolutely not! What a dreadful thought! 17. How spiritual is your hero? Does your hero follow a relgious tradition? I'm fairly sure I'm an athiest. If I wasn't one before, Bedlam would have killed any faith in a higher power. 18. Is your hero part of a team, or would he/she like to be? Why? Alone again, naturally. I am interested in working with other people, which I sense is new for me. 19. How does your hero feel about the place of metahumans and aliens on Earth? We seem to make things much worse, or at least we do in Bedlam. Perhaps it's different in Freedom City, which just sounds nicer. 20. If you could give one piece of advice to your hero, what would it be? It's possible you've been given a great gift. Maybe focus less on unearthing your past, and more on building a new furure.

"We came here by accident," the 'giant woman' admitted. "We're a long way from home, and not sure how to get back there." Gretch normally would have left it there, but the tiny Lynn in her head nudged her forward, so she rolled her eyes and continued. "We would appreciate any help you could provide, Mr. Mayor." Craning her neck to look back towards Robin, the shopkeeper called out. "Hey...brown-haired girl! If you have any secret knowledge or abilities, now's the time to spill. We need all the help we can get to find our way back home. Otherwise we stay here forever, and your parents sue the store."

"Oh, okay; I can do that." The eager young intern dug around in her bag and pulled out her trusty Tascam DR-40X, a graduation gift from her mother. Casey then headed over to the group with long, confident strides. As she approached the gathered 'worshipers', she waved and smiled . "Good morning! My name is Casey Blankenship, and I'm a journalism major. Would anyone be willing to talk about your gathering here today? I promise not to take up too much of your time."

Casey, crouched down behind the building, winced as another gauss round slapped into the wall with a sharp crack. "Gah, it's like chewing on aluminum foil!" Her head blurred for a millisecond as she took a careful look around the corner. "Okay, they're pretty well dig in, so to speak. I'm going to try something a little different to see if I can draw them out." Prior to being stuck in this firefight, Casey and Terrifica had done a decent amount of research into Voltenstein and his merry band of lunatics. This had included watching newsreel footage of Doctor Goofball in action, and hearing a few of his rambling power-mad speeches. His followers were cult-like, and lived to see him return from his cryogenic sleep. Miracle Girl pulled out her iPhone, her fingers rapidly tapping the touchscreen "Just a quick visit to Google Translate...there!" She slid her phone back in its pouch, cleared throat a few times, then called out in an eerie approximation of Voltenstein's voice, but with considerable electronic crackle. >"MEINE FREUNDE...ICH LEBE! EIN VOLK, EIN REICH, EIN VOLTENSTEIN!"< The last was the mad scientist's personal motto, a megalomaniacal twist on a classic Nazi slogan. Casey waited to see the enemies' response.

For several seconds, Lulu said nothing; she just gripped her covers tightly in her hands as she stared straight up at the ceiling. Suddenly Judy's overly-cheerful front make perfect sense; this was a girl who was desperate to cling to a normal life as it slipped through her fingers. Finally the telepath worked up the strength to press forward. -I am...so sorry, Judy. That must be terrifying. I'm glad you have your faith.- Lulu gnawed on a fingernail, wanting to do or say something to help, but knowing there was nothing she could do. Unless... Judy, I want to try something. If you don't like it or it doesn't work, just say so and I'll make it stop. I'm not going into your head beyond projecting; your memories and your thoughts are safe, I promise. A bedside table gradually faded into view next to Judy's bed; on it were several plates, utensils and napkins, and a pitcher of homemade lemonade. The plates were piled high with a traditional Southern Thanksgiving dinner: roast turkey, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, biscuits and pecan pie. It looked amazing and smelled even better. -There! That's as real as I can make it; sorry it's my grandma's cooking and not yours. Take a bite and see how it tastes. Oh, and only you can sense it, so...don't wake up Ashley.-

Lulu's eyes widened for a second, and she temporarily lost the mental connection, and the thread of their superficial surface conversation. A few seconds later, she tentatively reestablished it. -You're right. I can't believe how stupid I was.- She looked over her shoulder towards the last place she'd seen the Harrows. -I'll have to apologize to them.- Looking back at Dee, a clearly shaken Lulu stammered out loud. "Ah'm sorry, ah...ah think ah should see what mah hosts are doin'. Ah didn't mean to wander off from them!" She laughed awkwardly. "It was nice meetin' you, ma'am." She did on odd little curtsey, then hurried off like Cinderella, lifting the hem of her gown as she went.

Lulu reappeared with a shimmer, cautiously looking around. "Yeah, we're not exactly a team yet, but if you need help, ah suppose we can try. Ah mean, some of us have more training than others, just so you know!" The redheaded telepath was all for helping out, but other than Corrine, most of them were still pretty inexperienced.

When the gym was mentioned, Lulu wrinkled her nose. "Ah'm not much of a 'gym bunny', but y'all have a good time! Nice to meet you, Davyd!" She smiled, waved and turned to leave, her adventurer's gear floating away into shimmering dust. She'd have to introduce him to Adam; maybe they could bring him into his game! Humming a Lynyrd Skynyrd tune, she went looking for her boyfriend.

"The Gauss rifles? Yeah, I hate those things; they always make my teeth ache." Casey snapped open one of the pouches on her belt, and gingerly fished out the remains of an iPhone. "Ohhh; I knew I should have left it back at the dorm. Jeez, I go through phones like nobody's business; rest in pepperoni, iPhone 8!" Luckily her water bottle was still intact, so she pulled it out and had a swig as she took a seat on the nearby curb. "What were those idiots after again? Some kind of super-retro tech from the Fifties?"

EDITED BY TT Miracle Girl Spent 5 of Casey's PP on skills, adding some new ones and improving a few old ones. I also cleaned up some formatting and edited her fluff. New skills: Disguise 5 Gather Information 5 Investigate 2 Knowledge (Behavioral Science) 2 Knowledge (Streetwise) 2 Old skills: Languages +1 (Arabic) Perform (Dance) +1 Swim +2

Poking this on Dok's behalf.

Oh no. Oh no. Casey had a flashback to her senior year at Claremont, when a guest speaker came to school to talk to the girls in her dorm about the potential dangers of Freedom's nightlife. You will be tempted to use your powers to sneak out and 'have fun', she warned, but there are predators out there that not even superheroes were safe from. And one of those types were vampires. The lady then went on to destroy any Robert Pattinson fantasies the girls had, describing vamps as souless killers who took advantage of their victims' pop culture-fueled misconceptions to lure in their prey. "You will not be Bella Swan, living forever," she stated bitterly. "You will be found dead in a dumpster." Lots of nightmares on her floor that week. So while there were many possible explanations to fit the facts, young people being invited to a goth party in a big house filled with sub-room temperature people, and given free drinks made out of sight, did set off a number of alarms. Casey decided to play the bubble-headed blonde role to the hilt as they were handed their drinks. "Oh, you know, we're open to whatever happens, I guess!" Her babydoll voice and girlish giggle made Darlene frown as she raised her drink to her lips. Nope. Not going to happen. Casey applied just a hint of her massive strength down on her precarious heel, snapping it clean off; this 'wardrobe malfunction' gave her the perfect excuse to pitch forward, knocking poor Darlene on her butt, and spilling both their drinks all over the place. "Oh, no," Casey whined like an entitled rich girl, sprawled on the floor next to her soaked sorority sister. "My Jimmy Choos!"

Aww, he was a sweet kid! His folks raised him well. "There's another reason we came to you, or at least I did," Lynn continued. "I'm working on a list of all the shapeshifters in Freedom, to create a sort of...partnership, I guess. The idea is that we can help each other out, and offer our services to someone in need. For instance-" And here she took on Davyd's form, her accent a perfect match to his Ukranian-inflected English. "If Davyd Palahniuk and your other identity, if you choose to have one, need to be someplace at the same time." Then she shifted into popular teen actress Millie Bobby Brown, dressed for the red carpet. "Or a celebrity has received a death threat, but still wants to make an appearance to draw out their tormentors." And then back to herself again. "Now, you're pretty young, and I have no interest in putting you in harm's way, but I just wanted to plant the seed, and also let you know we're here if you need us."

Leroy obviously loved the sound of his own voice, so much so that he often failed to see the impact his words. She wasn't sure exactly what it was that triggered Judy's departure; perhaps his cavalier attitude towards alien invasions? She last Ashley follow after her sister, figuring she knew how best to comfort her. So instead, she turned to Davyd, attempting to redirect the conversation. "All that theater and movie stuff sounds pretty cool! Ah'm good with illusions, but they can't be recorded, because ah make 'em in other people's minds." She gestured down at herself, and took on the appearance of her character from Adam's game, the elven nature cleric Elothien, complete with leather armor and shield. "But ah guess it could work for live shows!" She gestured again, and a column of flames fell from sky, harmlessly setting poor Davyd alight. Finally she acknowledged Leroy's question. "Ah don't think there's enough of us to throw off the balance; there's only a handful of us, and how many of those want to make movies?"

The first thing Adam heard was water, the gentle lapping of a lazy river. Then crickets and cicadas and frogs. Then he felt the thick damp heat, and smelled a heady mix of green things, mud and flowers, so many flowers! Sunlight danced behind his eyelids, reflected off the water. Yet he had no body beyond his senses, no weight, no mass. Then he felt the undeniable presence of Lulu beside him, could smell the shampoo in her hair, the soap on her skin, a hint of her perfume. The rustle of her denim, and her voice in his ear, just to his left. He had no eyes to open, but her presence was still very real and very comforting. "This is where ah come to relax. When the day's too hard, or ah'm feeling scared. A place where ah feel safe." And then Lulu embraced him, not with her body, but with her self, as though her spirit were a giant glove that gently wrapped around him, immensely powerful yet so soft. Maybe this is what a tiger cub felt like, nuzzled up against its vast and loving mother. "Ah love you so much," she whispered into his ear. "So, so much."

As always, Lulu had to fight the urge to go deeper into Judy's mind; there were tantalizing lie and half-truths swimming around down there! But they were none of her damn beeswax. Instead she focused on their shared experience. -Oh, Thanksgiving was always the best! Turkey with cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, buttermilk biscuits and mashed potatoes-- Then she stopped herself, and sent a few waves of guilt of her own. -I'm sorry. I've noticed...you don't eat anymore, do you? And you obviously miss it.-

Lulu rolled her eyes a bit at Judy's comments about sex ed, but said nothing; after all, it was the party line in most of Alabama and much of the South, so it was hardly surprising. -Yeah, I knew a few homeschooled kids growing up. Some of them were basically normal, a few we hardly saw outside of church, and one family were basically survivalists, like on that 'Doomsday Preppers' show? We all called their house 'the Bunker', and our parents told us not to talk to them.- She remembered a funny story about them, and decided to share it; Judy could probably use a laugh. -One Halloween, by brother Caleb dared me to go trick or treating to their house; I think I was dressed as Ariel. The mom came to the door, kind of stared at me, then gave me a chocolate ration bar and a pocket-sized botte of hand sanitizer. I said thank you, then ran all the way home!-

The redhead sighed and sank down into her bed, and put the pillow over her face; don't ever try to get between a Southern gal and her man. -Adam's not like most boys; he was basically home schooled by two doctors, and didn't have a lot of contact with the outside world. He mostly reads books on science and philosophy, which is what we talk about. Well, he talks more; I'm still learning.- She set the pillow aside and looked up at the ceiling. -He doesn't really know much about girls and dating, so he's a bit shy. I'm...a bit more experinced than he is. We're taking it slow.-

"'The Eel'," the black-clad woman muttered as she turned one of the cards over in her slender fingers; she'd pulled off her gloves and reflexively tucked them into an elastic loop at her waist. Then she stood up and sighed, still holding the card. "I think...I'm some sort of 'sexy cat burglar'. It certainly fits the facts: lockpicks, calling cards, a catsuit that looks like it was sprayed on." She looked between the two 'heroes'. "One of you lot should probably arrest me, if you can. Not that we know if I've commited any crimes." Eel dropped down to her knees and covered her face. "It's just...the whole thing's so bloody ridiculous, isn't it? I'm a living cartoon!" After a few moments, she swept all her possessions up, then tucked them back in her zippered pocket as she rose to her feet,. "Right, then! No more mucking about; after all, one must eat. I can't have you both calling me 'Eel', so...'Eileen'? 'Ellie' for short, for friends. Eileen..." She gestured towards the harbor. "'Lake'. A bit on the nose, I should think, but it'll do for now. Can I get your names, please? And you mentioned some place I could stay," she said as she turned to John.

The young woman squealed a little "Oop!" when Lars scooped her up and leaped to the rooftop, but otherwise seemed unpreturbed. Once up there, she regarded him and the newly-arrived Caroline carefully as she appeared to give their questions serious thought. She stroked her chin thoughtfully as she slowly shook her head. "I've actually...no idea. It's all terribly disconcerting, really. Obviously, I possess knowledge; I speak English, I know how to feed myself. But the personal details of my life remain elusive." Then a thought struck her. "Hang on a tic." She reopened the zippered pocket on her suit and pulled out several objects, which she stooped to lay out on the tarpaper in a wide arc. She studied them for several seconds. A small pair of binoculars, black and rugged, possibly military grade. A pair of hinged handcuffs, police grade, with keys. A small leatherette case, containing several thin, crooked metal tools. A Leatherman-style multitool, with rat-nose pliers, wire strippers, knife and hacksaw blades. A metal business card case holding black-edged cards inscribed with 'The Eel' in an elegant font. "Um...this is not promising."

Lulu saw Davyd put himself between her and harms way. She saw him grimace as she smelled his flesh cooking. Davyd was a friend of hers. Lulu's projection shook its head as it flexed its fingers, taking a few steps in the brunette's direction. "Boy, you done f###ed up." The illusion then winked out of sight midstride as the telepath shifted her focus to the one who'd fired the blast that cooked her friend. Lulu clenched her invisible fists and imagined herself squeezing the bastard's brain. Eat this, you sumbitch.

Cool! I'll have a post up tonight.