Heritage

Boop!

Forgive me for not posting in this thread for a while, but I must admit to being vexed; I don't need to know what you have planned, but I just want to make sure you have a plan. I'm sorry if that sounds dickish, but just writing reaction posts for someone who pathologically underreacts is not as fun as it sounds, at least for me.

As Mark and his 'posse' blinked away, Grim looked somewhat crestfallen. "They hardly even looked at the model." The Shrike stepped over to her girlfriend and rested a hand on her arm. "They saw enough. They might even come back to take a look now and again." She paused to rest her forehead against Grim's. "He's used to being his own boss out in the field. The man is a force of nature with a bad haircut and a goofy tie. Don't try to corral him. Let him do his own thing." Then she took a step backward and smiled her weird little half-smile. "Let him handle Kiddieland. You and I can do the Tomb of Horrors." That got the changeling to smile, at first a warm and wonderful one, but then it morphed into something more Pennywise-ish. "Their blood will freeze in their veins." "There's my little sociopath." Gretch turned to Butch (and anyone else who remained) and gave them her best Kubrick stare. "Join us...if you dare." Then she took her lover's hand, and then two floated out of the barn like an evil Peter Pan and Wendy.

By all means add a third!

I don't get to use Grim and Shrike in tandem in combat type threads, so if you'd ever be willing to do so, that would be cool.

Grim's Search: 1d20+15=29 Shrike's Search: 1d20+20=17

MG is Interposing and Diplomasizing! Diplomacy: 1d20+17=25, 29 if Attractive applies.

I'll deal with the cryokinetic; you get Dr. Delacroix clear. There wasn't much time; that speedster would probably be here in a matter of seconds, so every second counted. Using her X-ray vision once more to double check the relative locations of Terrifica, Delacroix and the man of ice, once again Miracle Girl spun around like a top as she drilled her way down to their level, dropping through the roof a few seconds later. The cold! It was so intense she could actually feel it! But her own safety was irrelevant right now; she stood between Delacroix and his would-be killer, fists clenched and shoulders hunched forward. But she had to give him a chance; she had to. These poor people were as much victims as the doctor was, so she had to give them the chance to come peacefully. "Sir, I cannot begin to understand how much pain you're in, or how much you've suffered, but killing this man accomplishes nothing! Give us a chance to help you."

Boop!

Should be able to post here tonight after work!

Yay!

My brother suffered a very painful leg injury over the weekend, and I've been helping him out with basic needs stuff. Should be back shortly!

Go in peace, Rav! We'll keep a seat handy if you choose to come back.

"Captain, I believe this thread already exists." "Okay, thanks, Isaac." Yeah, maybe I've been watching too much Orville...

Lynn smiled and sighed. "Well, you know us Americans; commercialize and bastardize everything! But I think both Samhain-" (she actually pronounced it correctly) "And Halloween do have a lot in common; they're both a liminal time, when the boundaries between worlds are thin, and we have a chance to peek and see what's on the other side." (You don't own a magical used bookstore and NOT pick up some arcane knowledge) "As to exactly what we're looking for...Shrike, if you would please." Gretchen shook her head and smirked. "Not a problem." Then she held up her left hand, and the ruby on the Ring of Power glowed like captive fire as she looked up to the rafters. Someone (that would be Butch, with a lot of help) had hidden speakers up into the rafters, and at this very moment the opening chords of Carl Orff's O Fortuna could be heard ringing through the barn as the bird-masked heroine lowered a large 1:200th scale map of the corn maze from up in the hay loft. Gretchen couldn't help but throw in a slow lazy spin as it hovered into view, and Lynn conjured a table big enough to support the whole thing, with a good foot and a half on all sides to accommodate cups of coffee and anything else the designers might want to keep close to hand. Gretch actually timed it so it gently landed on the table as the classical movement drew to a close. The model was a wonder; not limited by the need for machining or construction, Grimalkin had conjured up this beautiful piece after she and her partner had spent the better part of a day flying over the property and surveying. One could make out individual trees and thousands upon thousands of tiny stalks of corn, as well as the barn, farm house, tractors and various other structures. The existing maze was visible, with dozens of pathways and a few cleared out areas. "And there we go; take all the time in the world to study it." Then Lynn slapped the sides of her face. "Ooh, I forgot the laser pointers! Shrike, did you-" "I've got you covered." Grim's partner brought out a small shopping bag, from which she dispensed several inexpensive helium neon laser pointers as though she were handing out candy to trick 'r' treaters. "Happy Halloween....Happy Halloween..."

Aladdin is Grimalkin's favorite movie of all time; I'm tempted to bring her in on that basis alone

So is the plan to keep the box with the egg with us while we slip off to the morgue?

Sorry it took so long for me to post; school has been a bear this term. Anything I should roll for my two intrepid sleuths?

"/Yes, thank you so much, Camila! That would be lovely.//" The two women began to unpack in their separate rooms, as always using their mental link to stay in contact. -We are not taking separate baths.- -Oh, of course not! You've got enough bits of me over there that I can join you the minute Camilla leaves.- -What about hidden cameras.- -Mmm; you could be right. My gut tells me El Presidente is too much of a gentleman to spy on his guests, but even if that's true, his security team might not be so honorable. We should probably check our rooms; they might not go in for cameras, but a bug or two seems likely.- Once the water was running, Lynn offered Camilla a generous tip (real US dollars, not glamoured) and sent her off. The minute she was out the door, both heroines began their respective searches, checking in with each other mentally from time to time.

Grimalkin grinned and waved at Blod, happy to see the young Welsh heroine, but at the mention of a 'rude woman', she and Gretchen exchanged comically confused glances across the barn. -Don't look at me. I've been with you all day.- -So who- ah, maybe it was Merge?- -Makes sense.- In response to Mark's question, the fae nodded vigoursly. "Yes, I'm a big proponent of having seperate, clearly-marked thematic areas, with the really scary stuff as far from the kiddies as possible; we want to cast our net wide, so I'm thinking G-rated, PG, and probably nothing harder than PG-13. Also wheelchair accessabilty and a well-stocked, fully-staffed first aid station are a must." Butch cleared his throat. "Also to be street legal, we need to pass building code and fire safety inspections, even if you guys are just, y'know, making with the I Dream of Jeanie school of construction." He folded his arms and blinked. Lynn looked up from where she was crouched down, inspecting Mark's 'Grim o' lantern' with smile. "Right! That's one of the reasons I wanted you to be here, Max, for help with fire safety. Also as a possible resource for a carny-themed area I was considering, unless you think that's in bad taste."

Darn it, I forgot Warne wanted to question them! Will need to edit my post. EDIT: sorta fixed it. Let me know if that works for people

Seeing as the two rescued women were willing to go, Casey was more than happy to get them to safety. "Ladies, if you could please stand on either side of me and hold tight." Then she turned to the AEGIS agent and spoke matter-of-factly. "If you want to keep questioning them, you're welcome to come along." She put her arms around them both, then gently lifted up into the air, her golden glow becoming more pronounced as she rose. There was no great need for speed, so flew much slower than she normally would in an attempt to minimize the Browns' discomfort. Once she spotted the nearest police precinct, she made a beeline for it, and dropped her two dishevelled passengers at the front desk, where she spoke with the officer on duty. "Good evening , officer. These women will need to provide statements, but if you could them some blankets and maybe something to drink first, I'm sure they'd appreciate it; theyve been through quite an ordeal." And with that, she flew back to the others at the fastest safe speed she could muster.

Grim beamed at Spitfire's arrival and quickly bounded over the table to give him a warm hug and a peck on the cheek. "Thanks so much for coming, Max; I really appreciate it." She turned to gesture towards the seated heroine. "This is my partner, the Shrike-" Gretch smirked and raised a hand in greeting. "And this is my...well, Butch is an old friend, and our general spookhouse consultant." The man in the bandana mask chuckled and shook his head, lifting up the bottom of his mask to allow him to speak more clearly in response to Max. "Hell, no; I wish I owned this much property! Nah, the Richardsons are old friends of mine; they agreed to let us spruce up their corn maze for Halloween in exchange for some of the charitable proceeds going to help out with John's medical bills. Farmers usually can't afford the best health insurance, and chemo ain't cheap." At Mark's arrival, Lynn shifted over to greet him...and then utterly melted at the sight of the infant in his arms. "Hi Ma- ohmigod, you had a kid? He's so little!" The clearly-smitten changeling turned to one side and with a wave of her hand conjured up a beautiful wooden crib with soft bedding next to one of the chairs. "There you go, in case you need a break." It took some effort to tear her eyes away from the baby when Torpedo Lass arrived, but somehow Grim managed. "Awesome, thanks for coming out! We may have a few more trickling in, but we might as well get started; help yourselves to the donuts and coffee." Standing in front of everyone, Grimalkin clapped and rubbed her hands together as she went into her pitch. "So, thank you all for coming! This is something I try to do every Halloween: put together a fun, scary activity with the help of other heroes to raise money for charity. The novelty of getting to experience superpowers up close and personal, or possibly getting to take a selfie with a hero, allows us to charge a bit more with the knowledge that this is an entirely non-for-profit enterprise. Our powers allow us to achieve effects you don't normally see outside a Hollywood movie set, basically for free." And here, Grim demonstrated by summoning a terrifying scarecrow into being with just a wave of her hand; it was seven feet tall, super creepy and incredibly lifelike. "See? Easy-peasy; I can do that all day. We also have access to a pool of highly-dedicated volunteers, aka 'Grim's Ghouls', to help us out; they're a mix of college kids, disabled veterans and retired amusement park technicians who live for this stuff and are eager to work with you and help out. We have ten acres of corn to work with and three worthy causes to support." She clapped her hands again and grinned hopefully. "So! Whaddya say?"

Grimalkin/Shrike (7) [Maxed] Children Of The Corn Maze (5) Room of Danger (3E) (1) Viva Val Verde (1) Miracle Girl (2) Lights, Camera, Action! (1) The Doctor is OUT (1) Ditra Fifty-Five (0) Grim's points go to Ditra Fifty-Five

Just for clarification's sake, the older man is Harold Epstein, aka 'Butch', Grim's dad. He does not own the barn, but was brought in as a consultant and general pain in the ass, much as he was on Grim's original haunted house project. You're fine, Evi, I can work with your post