Heritage

Lulu furrowed her brow thoughtfully as she idly lifted her two stocking feet up into the air; when she spoke, she sounded miles away. "My powers first showed up when ah was ten years old. At first, started seein' things, like little flashes, kind of like deja vu? Like ah'd see somethin' right before it happened. Like Momma was about to drop somethin', and ah'd yell 'no', and then she'd catch it right before it fell over." "And then ah started to hear things, especially at night when ah was layin' in bed. Ah didn't know it at the time, but ah was startin' to hear people's thoughts! So ah complained to my parents, and said 'Can y'all stop talkin' so loud? Ah can't sleep!' And they just laughed and thought it was funny." And then her voice lowered and cracked a bit, as old painfully memories welled up inside her. She looked very small in her stocking feet. "And then it started to happen at school; ah was yellin' and coverin' my ears, beggin' everybody to stop screamin'. Ah got sent to the school nurse, and then the principal's office. And all the other kids started to make fun of me, sayin' ah was crazy or high on drugs. So they pulled me out of school." "And then one day my daddy figured it out; he remebered all them stories that'd been goin' 'round his family all them years. He said, 'My God, that girl's got the Sight! Hot damn!' And then he started laughin' and dancin' 'round, actin' like a fool. Because he'd figured it out; he found the goose that laid the golden egg! And it was all downhill from there..." She stopped speaking altogether, her eyes staring off into space.

Headmistress Summers now had Lulu's undivided attention; it appeared she was about to lay down the law, so she'd better pay close attention! Using her pen, she wrote down a column of numbers on the side of the page, leaving room for additional entries: 1. 2. 3. 4. Despite herself, she began to nervously chew on her pen, a bad habit she'd been trying to break for some time, but which tended to flare up at times like these.

As they finished up their drinks and headed back into the fray, Lulu pulled out her phone and opened the browser. "Ah bookmarked a few booties that looked nice; a few Calvins, and some Michael Kors. Ah think a nice, low stacked heel is probably best, since ah'll probably need all the help ah can get in the snow!" At Calvin Klein, she was back to being an excited kid in a candy store again, as she and Megan continued to develop her personal style through carefully considered purchases. While they were waiting for a salesperson to find another shoe in her size in back, the young telepath grew more thoughtful. "Can I ask you a question, ma'am? How old were you when you-" She looked over her shoulder, then spread her fingers wide as she made a somewhat stricken expression. She hoped it conveyed her intended meaning.

The young Alabaman's eyebrows went up; it wasn't very often that someone wanted their minds read. "Are you sure? Ah mean, ah promise ah won't go any deeper than surface, but even then, sometimes somethin' just bubbles up." Once Veronica convinced her it was alright, Lulu nodded several times, adjusted herself on her bed and rubbed her hands together. "Alright, okay. Now pick a nice clear thought or memory, and ah'll see what ah pick up, okay?" The telepath closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began. "Okay, alright...oh, this is a happy memory. That's good; happy memories are the best. You're layin' on your back. Ah think there's...ah think there's sand beneath you, like you're on a beach? Ah smell the salt of the ocean, and hear the surf. It's dark out, like real dark. You're far away from the lights of the city, and you're lookin' up at the night sky, and it's like a bowl of stars." Suddenly Lulu stretched out on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with closed eyes. "And you're lookin' up, and for a moment, it's almost like you're the one in the sky, lookin' down." She reaches up, fingers drawing invisible patterns in the air. "And you're holdin' up your hand, and you're tracin' the lines of the stars, the constellations. You're sayin' words, but ah don't know 'em...ah think they're from your Greek lessons? And the warm breeze is just...blowin' through your hair..." Lulu opened up her eyes and sat up suddenly. "Wow! You've got a really good memory! Most folks, it's like tryin' to watch a movie with your glasses off." Then she reached out, placed her hand on the back of Veronica's, and smiled. "Thank you, for sharin' that with me; it was a lovely memory."

The young redhead shrugged. "Ah mean, ah don't need that many clothes; hell, ah've been doing laundry since ah was what, six or seven? Momma always needed a hand around the house, because them boys sure wasn't goin' to do their own washin'! They was too busy drinkin' beers on the sofa and playing GTA 'til five in the mornin'..." A strong hint of bitterness crept into Lulu's voice, but then she took a deep breath and smiled at Megan. "Sorry, ma'am! Mah case worker said it's best not to dwell on the past. 'Focus on the future,' she says, 'because that's all you can control.'" She nodded firmly. "So that's what ah'm fixin' to do." Then she drained the last of her carmel frappuccino with a loud slurp.

Lulu was having a hard time forming intelligent thoughts, as she first listened to Veronica (The way she pronounced her name! Loui-suh!) and then Janus (His hair! His mouth when he spoke!) described their exotic and adventurous lives. She now felt impossibly dull and boorish, like she grew up in the mud flats with dirty feet and burrs in her hair. And yet, these impossibly rich and attractive people were talking to her; they wanted to know her story! "Well, there's not much to tell," she began, running her fingers through her hair. "Ah was, uh, born in a small town in Alabama, lived there mah whole life. When ah was ten, ah started to develop these..well, ah suppose you'd call 'em powers." She pointed at the side of her head. "Ah can do things, with mah mind; make people see things or hear things, or see what's goin' on in their heads. Here, let me show you..." She gestured towards an open spot on the floor, and a small apple tree sprouted right out of the floor! Wood splintered and carpeting tore as it reached towards the ceiling, the whole room now filled with the scent of growing things. "You can't actually touch it, but otherwise it seems totally real, don't it? Won't fool cameras, though, and ah hear some folks might be immune."

"Oh, well, come on in! Ah'm Louise Beaumont, but everyone calls me 'Lulu'." She held up her arms, indicating the small dorm. "Well, this is it! Not sure where my new roomie is yet, but ah expect she'll be 'round shortly." She began to dig into her backpack, years of Southern hospitality activated by having 'guests' over to visit. "Can ah get you anything? Ah think I've got some bottled water and trail mix; all ah can offer you on short notice." The two Dangers were both very attractive, Janus especially so; his Continental accent made her all tingly! She got the sense they came from money, as they both smelled like expensive soap and shampoo. But her momma always said, rich folks were no different than poor ones; they had people put their pants on one leg at time, just like everyone else. Taking a seat on her bed, she gestured for her two visitors to sit on the other. "Well, where are you from? Tell me about yourselves!" She had a little trouble making eye contact with Janus, self-conciously adjusting her cheap denim jacket.

"Oh that's right, ah forgot; you two really are like royalty." Lulu got along fine with Robert; she was brought up to be respectful to her elders, and was therefore scrupulously polite. Lord Harrow had that sort of English sense of humor: understated, slightly dry and sarcastic, but never mean-spirited, like she imagined it would be living with Hugh Grant or Colin Firth. Their son, Lawrence, however, was another matter entirely; he was very smart and grown up for his age, but there was something else about him that unnerved her, like a cloud that surrounded him. She couldn't put her finger on it, and it bothered her because by all accounts he really was a sweet little boy. So she was always a bit awkward around him, which he totally picked up on, because he was way smarter than her; by some unspoken agreement, they were perfectly civil with each other, but each chose to avoid the other as much as possible, which sadly was probably for the best. "So, can we hit Calvin Klein? And ah'd like to get some new shoes. Maybe even some boots!"

Claremont Academy. Third Floor, Rita Kord Dorm. September 4, 2018 10:05 am Lulu didn't have too much stuff to bring in; most of her clothes were still back at the Harrows' place across in North Bay, still in the boxes and bags from the mall. She was used to travelling light, carrying her most important belongings in ziplock bags tucked into a backpack and a gym bag. Growing up in rural Alabama, there were always floods or hurricanes or tropical storms that forced you to relocate for days at a time, pulling up stakes in a hurry as you grabbed some bottled water for the road. Most of the houses in Columbia were either trailers or simple uninsulated structures that were cheap to repair or rebuild. There was no real sense of permanence; God could wipe out everything you owned with a simple wave of His hand. But Freedom was very different; everything here was built to last, or even survive assault by supervillains. The walls and floors of Claremont were thick and well-worn, scuffed and polished by the passing of hundreds of youthful hands and feet. Everything was spotless and freshly-cleaned, yet you could still feel the history of the place. Lulu found room 309 with little difficulty, and stood in the doorway for several seconds as she took in the space that would be her academic home for the next three years. Two beds, two dressers and two desks in a pleasant, airy room that somehow managed not to smell like a hotel. She picked the left-hand bed at random, dropping her two bags next to it as she laid down on her back, staring up at the ceiling, idly flexing her sneakered feet this way and that. "Well...here we are."

The Alabama teen nodded; that was about what she expected. "Well, ah expect ah wouldn't be very welcome back in Columbia rignt now anyway. My brother Bobby is the main one ah miss right now. But we've got good family in Mobile and Tallahassee, too." Once they made it to the Gap, Lulu's mood improved noticeably as she excitedly oohed and aahed over each new piece of clothing they looked at; based on Megan's advice, she broadened her color palate with seasonal outfits that paired well with her pale skin and red hair, and her dark brown eyes sparkled as she tried them on. Based on her conversation, it became clear that while Lulu herself was quite bright, her schooling had been truly subpar, and Megan feared she might struggle with some subjects at Claremont. However, she was curious and eager to learn, and displayed an empathy and insight well beyond her sixteen years, attributes that would no doubt aid in her adjustment to her new life. "So your husband Robert is from England, right? Have you ever visited his family?" This question was asked as they sipped on drinks from Starbucks, seated at a small table near one of the mall's glass elevators, surrounded by bags from the Gap.

Estelle shrugged and crossed her arms, looking nonchalant. Of course, he had a point, as they were operating in a legal gray area, but right now he was their only solid lead. "Actually, we'd just like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right. A Mr. Figg indicated that you sold him some ingredients for use in his barbeque; is that correct?" Meanwhile, the WEST sensor equipment was approaching the van via a long, golden tendril, creeping up like a snake from the other side of the vehicle.

As soon as the headmistress entered the room, Lulu was all business. Her schooling back in Columbia had been pretty hit or miss, especially after her parents pulled her out to 'homeschool' her, but the young redhead wanted to make a good impression in her new school. She had five ballpoint pens in an array of colors, a brand-new three subject spiral notebook with flowers on the cover, and a solar powered calculator. Lulu turned to the first page, carefully wrote her name and date on the top of the page, and then patiently waited for Ms. Summers to begin.

Lulu chuckled as she considered her ensemble. "Ah, well ma'am, everybody wears jeans back home; jeans, T-shirts and blouses, or a nice sundress when you go to church. Ah mean, ah do have a few sweaters, but you just don't need 'em when our winters are so mild, know what ah mean?. Anytime there's any snow, they just close all the roads and everybody panics." The redhead didn't say anything for a while, just taking in all the various sights, sounds and smells of the mall as she walked beside her host, but then something Megan said earlier struck her. "Uh, ma'am, can ah ask you a question? Will ah be spending the holidays up here in Freedom? It's just-" She cleared her throat and looked down at her All-Stars. "I've always done the holidays with family, is all."

The teenaged telepath nodded as she listened to Megan's words, and in the end she sat up a little straighter as she carefully dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "Ah...ah suppose your right. Ah appreciate your kind words. It's just..." She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "A lot, sometimes. Ah'll be fine." Then Lulu looked around the mall a bit. "Ah'm going to need some jackets, aren't ah? And a warm coat? Winters aren't much to write home about back in Alabama, but ah hear up here they get downright nasty." Her mood definitely seemed to be improving at the thought of some quality retail therapy.

The young Southerner's eyes went wide as she put her hand to her mouth in shock. "No way! He actually turned into a girl? With like, all the...parts and everything?" She laughed and shook her head incredulosly as she smoothed out her jeans and primly crossed her legs. "Well, well, well...looks like we're in for a fun year after all!" In a way, Lulu found all this oddly comforting; it would be nice not to be the only weirdo in school!

Lulu nodded with her hands folded primly in her lap. She thought long and hard about what she wanted to say, took a deep breath and began. "Ma'am, ah want you to know that ah really appreciate-" She gestured around to take in the mall. "All this, ah really do, but...somehow it feels like...like ah dont deserve any of this. Does that make any sense? Like ah feel like ah should be being punished, but instead, ah'm being rewarded." She shook her head firmly, sending ripples through her long red hair. "What my daddy did, what we all did, was wrong. And now somehow, ah get to live this amazing new life, with all these fancy things..." Lulu looked up at Megan with tears in her eyes. "Is that right? Is that fair?"

The young girl hesitated, then scrunched up her face. "Uh, well ah suppose...the Gap? Or Calvin Klein, ah guess." She tugged at the hem of her jacket. "Guess you can see ah like mah denim." Lulu chuckled self-conciously, then stepped a bit closer to Megan and lowered her voice. "Is there...is there somewheres we can talk, ma'am? Ah just feel..." She nervously fluttered a hand in front of her stomach. "Ah just...ah just need a little sit down, is all." Lulu wasn't having a full-on panic attack (she was familiar with those), but she did feel a sudden need to get her bearings.

"Hi, y'all!" Lulu grinned and waved at everyone as she took a seat, before turning her attention back to Judy. "Well, ah'm from a small town in southeastern Alabama called Columbia? It's on the Chattahoochee River, right by the border of Georgia and Florida." She shrugged. "It's sort of a 'blink-and-miss-it' river town, but it's home." The redheaded squinted as she tried place the other girl's dialect. "Ah want to say...Texas? Or Oklahoma? Ah'm usually pretty good, with accents." Lulu casually pulled out her phone and began to check her social media.

A pretty young redhead nervously entered the assembly hall; Lulu Beaumont wore a lot of denim, most of it either pink or black, and she clutched a small denim purse and a bookbag like her life depended on them. There we so many different kinds of people in here, like turning a corner to find out you were in Disneyworld! For a few seconds, her senses were overwhelmed as she picked up all matter of thoughts and conversations in different languages, forcing Lulu to close her eyes and push them all out. But then she picked up a thread of conversation in a more familiar tone of voice, and she followed it to pair of young women in grey hoodies, sitting next to a very cute boy who looked interesting. "Ah'm sorry, is this seat taken," she asked as she approached Judy from the other side. She waved a hand absent-mindedly by her ear. "Ah just, happened to hear a little Dixie, and thought ah'd introduce myself! Lulu Beaumont, from Alabama." The girl offered a gracious handshake, and appeared relieved to have something in common with someone. "Pleasure to meet you!"

It was all still a bit too much for Lulu; growing up in a small town in southeastern Alabama, the largest city she'd ever been to was Atlanta when she visited Aunt Lorreta, and that had only been a handful of times. Freedom City dwarfed every other town she'd ever been to by a factor of wow! In fact, the house she was now staying at in North Bay was bigger than the entirety of Houston County High School! She kept thinking there'd been sort of mistake, or that she'd wandered onto the set of The Princess Diaries in a weird dream. There was no way this was actually her life. Slowly approaching the glamorous Mrs. Howell-Harrow, the young redhead clutched her left arm with her right hand, eyes somewhat downcast. She was wearing a pair of pink All-Stars, black jeans, and a pink denim jacket. "Well ma'am, ah mean ah'd love to shop at any one of these fine stores, but ah honestly don't think ah can afford to! Ah mean, ah just don't have that kinda money. Maybe there's an outlet mall we can go to somewheres?"

Estelle nodded. "Good eye, Queenie! Let's see if we can have a word." There was no way Gossamer could match Maybelle's speed, but then she didn't have to; she just had to move in position behind the truck while they were distracted by the irrate flying chef. Like something out of an H.G. Wells novel, the blonde heroine floated over to the monster truck, suspended high in the air atop shimmering golden coils, some of which were ready to wrap around a real axle if need be.

Did several adjustments based on help from chat (thanks, EP!).

Fixed Defensive Roll to fit House Rules, shifted 4PP into skill points, adding Diplomacy. (Based on advice in chat)

This is an old NPC I'm dusting off for a potential thread for Supercape and Tiff; she was originally a PC, back in the dark days when we could play villains. This was sort of my take on the type of character you might have seen in a Hellblazer comic, circa 1997. It will take a little bit to go over, just to see if she breaks any of the current House Rules.

Luckily there were no truly serious injuries amongst the crowd, though it looked like this Mr. Figg might have more serious burns. Even more fortunate was the presence of Maybelle McQueen, who appeared to have single-handedly extinguished the blaze. As soon as she finished checking the last of the injured, she approached the world famous chef, shielding her eyes with her hand. "Thank goodness you were here, Ms. McQueen! That fire was no match for your force creations." She offered a firm handshake. "I'm Dr. Estelle de Havilland, and this is Agent Sam Pepper. How do you do." At the mention of Figg's shifty supplier, Estelle frowned. "Well, let's have a quick look 'round, shall we?" She drove several strands of hair deep into the ground, and then hoisted herself up into the air with the rest, some fifty feet above the crowd to get a better vantage point.