Heritage

Since arriving in Bedlam, Izzy had begun to set up a basic intelligence network to monitor criminal activity, especially anything with a Russian accent; this involved making several subtle inquires, a few very non-subtle inquries, and the judicious applications of bribes. Blackmail was one of the best ways to get intel, especially if you showed your asset some sympathy and only squeezed them now and then; textbook spycraft right out of the SIS manual, really. And so inch by inch, the former MI6 agent began to put feelers out into this delightful pustule of a city, and every one in a while, she'd feel a little tug on one of the strings of her web. Tonight that tug came in the form of text from an unknown number; it could have come from a cop with a drug problem or a low-level dealer hoping to escape the life; it read simply: Which was more than enough to pique Slither's interest, even at this late hour. She slid open the window of her downtown hotel room that looked out onto the fire escape, wearing her custom-made suit, and began to make her way towards the harbor across the rooftops, like a long-legged insect made of clear glass. Izzy was afraid her nightvision goggles might present a bit of a challenge as she approached the blaze, as their light amplifying lenses would be quickly overloaded by the bright light; however it seemed the fire was out before she reached her destination. Still, she decided to come around from the opposite side on general principle, her suit transforming her into a ripple in the air as she moved. Her eyes caught the flicker of an electric torch in the window, which told her someone else was here as well; that was enough to send Izzy inside to see who else was interested in this fire.

tagged!

"Yep, that was magic," ElsaGrim declared proudly as she watched with delight as the children enjoyed her creation. Then she picked up a little of what had Hammer so unnerved. "Look, it's perfectly natural to be freaked out by magic." The mist swirled around her again, only this time she looked and sounded exactly like Warp! "Unless you grow up around it, or like you come from a magical realm, it's always going to be super-weird, right?" She gave the real Warp a wink and 'shot' her with two finger pistols before returning to back to Elsa. "The key is to remember that no one can to everything; like, I can change my shape and do all this cool stuff-" She paused for a second to create another ice fortress, directly across from the first one, separated by about a thirty foot gap; this one was the 'monster' castle, with gargoyles (inspired by a nearby model!), stalactites, and a gate that looked like a grinning skull. Several kids broke off from the original group to claim the new fortification for themselves. "Good idea, by the way," she said with a wink before continuing. "But I can't go toe-to-toe with the heavy hitters the way a guy like you can; they'd clean my clock! Plus, you can always specialize; me, I mostly focus on supernatural threats, and leave the more straightfoward stuff to people like you and Warp here. There's plenty of craziness to go around, believe me!" Then she turned to address Warp's question. "Actually, all this stuff comes from up here." She tapped the side of her head with a graceful finger. "And it's as real as I say it is; terrifying, isn't it?" Her eyes widened as she raised her curled fingers in mock horror.

Miles from Nowhere Grimalkin and the Shrike They'd booked the cabin via Airbnb a month in advance, their first real trip off on their own since they started dating. Gretch really wanted to show her girlfriend the wonder of Maine in the wintertime, and Lynn eagerly agreed. Though they weren't like most couples in many ways (two sets of superpowers, Lynn's bizarre faerie body, etc.), they enjoyed the same things most people in love liked to share. Gretch insisted that they pack at least a few bags for a sense of normalcy, so in addition to the barista's clothes, they planned to bring books, boardgames, musical instruments, and ingredients for a few special meals. As the day of departure approached, the forecast grew increasingly, well, grim; the owner of the cabin sheepishly inquired via email, asking if the needed to postpone their trip? Nope! Absolutely not. They would be well beyond the range of any of Lynn's glamoured creations, so teleportation would be out of the question, and that much snowfall certainly made any sort of flying too risky. They would be well and truly trapped, just like any other couple snowed in up in the mountains; perfect! They took the train up to Portland, then drove their rental car up through twisting mountain roads through the woods; the views were truly breathtaking, and the Maine native was quietly delighted to see that wonder reflected in Lynn's face. And the cabin itself was delightful, a classic one room log cabin built over a hundred years ago, but with electricity and a working kerosine stove. Over the course of the weekend, Gretchen composed songs on her acoustic guitar by the fireplace, while Lynn struggled to read the new Player's Handbook. They shared several bottles of wine as they gazed into the flames and discussed everything from videogames to politics to Jewish history. They shared a wonderful big bed, and delighted in each other's bodies. And they did the New York Times crossword puzzle together while sipping coffee and wearing bathrobes on a lazy Sunday morning, hair still damp from the tiny shower. "Wow. We are so boring," muttered Gretch as they enjoyed their coffee on the couch. "Mmm," Lynn agreed, curled up in her lap. "Ain't it great?" And after a moment, Gretch smiled her little half smile, and kissed the top of her lover's head. "Yeah. I suppose you're right."

In a Deep and Dark December Miracle Girl One of the great things about having super-speed was that homework occupied very little of Casey Blankenship's day; she could easily complete a full day's assignments, including double and triple checking her work, in a matter of seconds, which meant she had lots of time to devote to Scouting or hero stuff. In fact, the amount of things she managed to accomplish in a typical day was simply staggering, although most of it was actually fairly mundane. But this particular weekend in December, even Casey was going to have a lot on her plate. - - - When she first heard the forcecast, Casey suited up and flew to various agencies throughout the city to let them know she was on call, and the best radio frequencies to reach her on; this included the FCPD, FCFD, Coast Guard, NJDOT, both airports and the major hospitals. Then she went home and did all her homework, checked in with her family via Skype, ate a truly tremendous dinner, and filled a big camper's Thermos with coffee. Then, with a bright red scarf around her neck and the Thermos slung over her back on a strap, she took to the sky as the first clumps of snow started to fall. Over the next 48 hours, Miracle Girl was all over the city, using her powers in a number of ways she hasn't even thought of before; using her heatvision to melt ice, spotting trapped cars by their heat signatures, plowing snow off of stretches of highway, delivering food, hot coffee and supplies to rescue workers out in the cold, carrying ambulances to and from accidents when whiteout conditions grounded medivac copters, you name it. The calls kept coming in, one after the other, and more often than not she was able to offer at least some assistance. Her warm and sunny personality was often appreciated almost as much as her physical aid, and she posed for more selfies than she would ever be able to recall. Of course, she ate a lot, too, but she didn't have to pay for any of it; appreciative families gave her fresh baked goods, store owners gave her pizza, egg rolls and cupcakes, and cops shared their donuts and coffee (the stuff in her Thermos was mostly for other people, when they needed it most) and swapped corny jokes. She rarely paused for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time, though a two hour nap on a hospital bed happened at some point. When Sunday night finally rolled around, a weary Miracle Girl finally flew home, wobbling slightly with fatigue; she had just enough energy to take a long, hot shower and enjoy a hot cup of herbal tea before collapsing in an exhausted heap on her bed. "Well...that was...fun...," she managed to mumble before drifting off to sleep.

What roll do you need from me, Quinn? In chat, you mentioned something about a Strength check?

Y'know what, I will accept the crappy rolls and deal with the consequences; one of the reasons I didn't make Casey tougher than she is is because sometimes you need to see the good guy down to rally behind them. I always loved how in the spaghetti westerns, Clint would get his ass seriously kicked at least once per movie, which just made his glorious comeback all the more triumphant! So does that mean Casey really can't do anything this round? I'm fine if that's the case.

When her drink came up, Izzy flashed the bartender a smile. "Cheers!" Seeing that the tense situation had more or less resolved itself, the newcomer cleared her throat and addressed the small group. "Sorry for the bother, but could any of you recommend a hotel where one might not be stabbed? As you can tell, I've just arrived, and I've yet to learn all the perils that Bedlam has to offer." She took a sip of her bourbon (Jim Beam; that'll do nicely, guv!) and patiently waited for a response; some might think it foolish for a woman traveling alone to admit she had nowhere to stay, but Izzy could take care of herself. And sometimes, looking like a mark could lead to rather educational experiences, especially if one was hoping to learn about the local criminal element in the first place.

Silberman's Books, 4:15 pm Lynn waited inside her office, sitting behind her desk as she continued to internet search about the Second Battle; Gretchen sat on the arm of her chair, idly playing with the lover's hair. The staff on the floor were instructed to send anyone requesting to meet with Lynn right one back. "Learn anything useful?" "Well, it was a fight between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians, which is a bit like saying a battle between the olds gods and the new, or the Aesir and the Jotuns. The two sides are enemies who's stories are very much intertwined." She sighed and rubbed her face. "The Tuatha are usually seen as the 'good guys' in these kinds of stories, though even the good guys can be dangerous. I think Morgan has ties to the Tuatha, so if there's going to be a fight, I guess that's what side I'll be on, too." "But what if the Tuatha are a-holes." The changeling chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I've fought for a-holes before..."

"Well if we're not going to be all paranoid and overanalyze everything, we oughta at least have some fun with all this." A swirl of vapor obscured Grim for several seconds and when it dissipated, she looked a bit...different, and significantly taller! "I know everyone's pretty much burned out on Frozen these days, but if ever there was a time that called for a little Disney magic, this is it!" She waved her arms dramatically, and a small fortress of ice and snow appeared out of thin air; there were battlements and stairs, and lookout towers on each end, and even a gate with a portcullis made of icicles (which the changeling was careful not to make too sharp). There were audible gasps of wonder, and then the kids began swarming all over it, followed by their nervous but equally excited parents. "There we go," said the stately 'Queen Elsa' as she dusted off her hands. "Now we're having some fun!"

Belated happy birthday, Tiff!

Casey sighed as Punchline swallowed the model; the Roger Rabbit comparison seemed to be increasingly apt, and their own Eddie Valiant was about to have steam coming out of his ears. "I might be able to help with the search, Agent Warne; my super-speed makes me very good at sorting through a lot of data quickly. And I agree, a two pronged attack may be our best option." The toon might not always be completely reliable, but she could try her darndest take up the slack.

Crap, I'll have to think about this; not for *days*, like my last post, but a few hours at least.

"Oh, hey Endeavor," the changeling said as she smiled and waved. "Figured that was you under there. I'm Grimalkin, by the way." She waved to the others. In response to Warp's question, she sighed and shrugged. "I mean, it could just be innocent, spontaneous fun; I'd like to think we live in a world where that can still happen. But I've been working this gig a long time, and I can say it never hurts to be at least a little bit paranoid." She indicated the various winter fun activities with a wave of her hand. "The big question you have to ask yourself in a situation like this is, 'who benefits?' Like, is this all supposed to be a distraction from a crime? Is there an evil faerie who feeds on happiness nearby? Is this holiday cheer caused by a toxin, or is it contagious? Or, y'know, is it caused by superpowers but it's entirely innocent? I mean, who knows?" Then Grim recognized the Gargoyle from the Freedom Hall holiday party, and she greeted him with a nod. "Hey."

Thanks for the reminder about Pilot and Stealth; I fixed the Wisdom-based errors, but forgot the Dexterity-based ones. Moved some skull points around to give her a boost in Notice. Traditionally I don't use the new build until new threads started after the update's been approved; I think it just keeps me more honest. Plus there's no way she wouldn't have used her Freeze Breath by now if she hadn't had access to it...although a Power Stunt isn't a bad idea at all... The ladies and their shotguns are really starting to annoy her, although not as much as the Irish git; she'll blow an HP on the following effect, targeting the Copy Errors: Freezing Breath, Selective Cone Damage 8 (Flaw: Full Round Action, 80' cone) DC23 Toughness Save. If they have any feats that apply to area effects like Evasion, obviously they would be active here. But I'm getting ahead of myself; let's roll some saves! Toughness save 1: 1d20+11=17 Oh dear, they're really starting to get through now; I think that means her next save is at an additional -1, then? Toughness save 2: 1d20+10=15 Man, they are pissing her off now! The cavalry can't arrive soon enough! Okay, hoping to avoid the hat trick with the Taunt here; let's call it a Will save. I'm fine with his Attractive applying here. Will save: 1d20+10=15 Jaysus Chroist, what a crappy set of rolls! Can she still use her Breath Weapon?

"It will be breaking & entering," Casey said with a sigh; part of her, a fairly big part, was still very disappointed in herself for going down this path, but she thought of the greater good, and moved on. "I've been given a flash drive with a worm on it; we just need to plug it into the right computer and let it do its thing, then pull it out and I give it back to our guy." She shrugged. "Easy-peasy frank 'n' cheesy. I did a lot of research on the company, but I have no way to get my hands on any floorplans or schematics; I'm just a kid, you know? If you do, that would be great." She popped open another can of Pepsi and took a swig, as she gave the new girl a chance to think it over some more.

"No, but she does," replied Gretchen as she indicated Lynn with a nod. And indeed, the changeling wriggled one arm free and snapped her wrist, and a large polka-dotted handkerchief appeared (because really, you had to respect the aesthetic), which she offered to the emotional creature. "Here, take this; keep it, in fact." Using her cat-like flexibility, she managed to slither out of the big woman's grasp and plop down on her butt on the floor. "Oof! Okay, so, please tell us about yourself," she asked as got to her feet, rubbing her backside. "What's your name, how did you meet Ira, what's with all this 'banishing' business, the whole shebang." "I'm going to get you an icepack," stated Gretchen as she left the room.

"See, now I fell like s###," said Lynn as she threw his hands up in dismay. "He was amazed he got as far as he did," stated Gretchen matter-of-factually as she continued to stare in the direction he left. "Usually they stop him at the door." "Doesn't it bother you to be so cold? You're pretty socially awkward; how come you're not more sympathetic to a guy like him?" If she was bothered by her girlfriend's estimation, she didn't show it; instead she merely shrugged. "I believe in protecting the few things I care about in this world. I don't trust him around you. No amount of sympathy is going to change that." The changeling rubbed her face and sighed. 'I guess...guh!" She looked over at the young barista and shook her head, a sad smile on her face. "A tiny Terminator of my own; how many other girls can claim that?" That elicited a coquettish little half smile. "And I come with so many labor-saving attachments." "Oh, don't you dare- Ahhh, stop, stop!" The tickling continued until morale improved.

2016 was one of those years when Christmas and Chanukah overlap; when this happened, the two sides of Lynn's family (the Epsteins and the Silbermans) has a special tradition. The Epsteins, despite their very Jewish name, were essentially Catholic due to Lynn's Grammie Maria running the home, except for Passover which Grampa Bernie insited they observe; the Silbermans were about as Jewish as you could get without going full 'black hat'. But years like this they found a fun way to compromise. On Christmas Eve, the Jews came over with a nice tray of cold cuts, a dreidel and some gelt, and fried up some latkes for everyone; Lynn's mom would not do gifts, but she would do food. This was the first year the changeling brought a girlfriend over, which lead to a few raised eyebrows from the older generation, but everyone else was very welcoming to Gretchen, especially Lynn's dad Butch, who was already a fan. The snarky barista was unprepared for the 'wall of love' a mixed Italian-Jewish family had to offer, but for once she didn't resist it, although the copious amounts of red wine may have helped. Someone suggested a jam session; Gretchen and Butch were professional level, but there were several talented amateurs in the family as well. With judicious use of superpowers, instruments were obtained and the finished basement was converted into an impromptu performance space. They were in the middle of the sound check when Gretch got a text. "Got a hit on the website. A mysterious spontaneous block party downtown has been reported." Lynn peered over her shoulder to look at her phone. "Does it sound sinister? Are there clowns in the area?" Gretch shrugged. "Unclear." She looked up at the 'band' that was tuning up with a pained expression. "I...can go check it out. You should stay with your family." The changeling snorted and slapped her lover's shoulder. "Are you nuts? I see these idiots all the time! Stay, rock out and be merry." Thr barista smiled a smile so big it made Lynn's heart grow ten sizes that day. "Thanks. I love you!" There was even a hug. Truly, it was a Chanukah miracle. - - - A few minutes later, a pixie descended out of the winter sky, only to form into the distinctive shape of the lovely and lithe Grimalkin in her black and midnight blue leather suit, although tonight her regular outfit was topped with a red and white Santa hat. She stood there for several seconds with her hands on her hips, surveying the crowd with confusion. "What the hell...?"

Bonfire soon got a series of responses by text from Lynn: Not long after, the pixie could be seen returning to the hall, dropping down beside Karla and her family as Grim returned to her full size and elegant gown from earlier in the evening. "Sorry about that! She'll be happier back at home, I think." Are you taking with the Amazons again? Yep! Ask them what the weather's like up there. Quiet, you!

ENERGIZED by Fox Okay, doing a few new things for Casey: 1. Adding 3 ranks of new skills. 2. Adding 4PP worth of Feats. 3. Adding new AP to Enchanced Strength. 4. Adjusting Heatvison slightly. 5. Adding X-Ray Vison to Super-Senses. 6. Adjusting skills slightly.

A stranger entered the bar, pulling a carry-on bag behind her; she was medium height and rather slightly built, and appeared to be of Eurasian descent. Her clothes suggested money, leather accessories with lots of tweed. She stopped her boots up and down to knock off some of the snow, then headed over to bar. "Hullo! Bourbon, if you please, neat. Maker's Mark, if you have it." Izzy was newly arrived in Bedlam, literally just off the train from Chicago; the trail of the 'Black Dragon' had led her all the way from Lahore to Istambul, and then from there to Paris and New York. Dragomirov was a sharp customer, always one or two steps ahead. Her sources told her that he'd joined the Vorovskoy Bratva, and was now working under the Red Queen, though the former SIS agent doubted he'd be satisfied to be her 'lapdog' for very long. There was a bit of a dust-up taking place nearby, but Izzy decided to be diplomatic and wait on the sidelines for now, in case one or another of the parties got in over their head.

Lynn was in her office, doing lots of work. Actually, that's a lie, a big fat lie; the changeling was watching YouTube videoes, and had been for the last half hour. Sure, she was over a hundred years iold, and a hero and a changeling and the operator of a successful snall buisness. But sometimes, she just liked to watch cat videos, just like everybody else. We have a problem. Wha, what? I'm...I'm focused, I'm focused! What's going on? ...Turn off the computer and come to the back room. We have a Poltergeist situation going on. I'm coming, I'm coming! The store owner quickly headed to the back room, where Gretchen and several Merges were gathering around the misbehaving tome. "What's going on?" "Watch." She repeated the same actions Merge did, with the same results. Lynn looked puzzled. "Okay, that is weird; any idea what it means?" Gretch already had her phone out as she conducted a quick Google search. "It looks like it refers to a battle between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians. Old Irish stuff." The changeling frowned. "So maybe someones trying to sends us a signal to tell us something?" Just then her phone buzzed. "And speaking of people sending signals..." She texted back: Sure, no problem.

'Scarlett' sat there for several seconds with her mouth open, her cheeks going a little pink at Mason's words. The guy was still just a kid, like any other boy his age; why on earth did she bust out the frickin' ScarJo? As if he didn't have enough going on to confuse him! "Uh, I think I have to explain a thing or two here." There was another swirl of mist, and Lynn was herself again. "I'm very flattered, Mason, that's...that's very sweet, but I am currently in a releationship right now." Plus I'm old enough to be your grandmother, fer chrissakes! Although to be fair, Gretch is only in her mid-twenties; she just seems a lot older due to her general orneriness. "Besides, you're in college now, right? You should be looking into dating girls your own age; believe me, there are a LOT of girls out there who are into magic and stuff like that. You'll be catnip to girls like that, I assure you." At this point, she just wanted to move on to another topic, pretty much any other topic. "So, what kind of things can you do with magic?"

At the mention of this 'spirit', an alarm bell went off inside Grim's head; how did they know this Zee was on the level? Maybe she was a servant of whatever was trapped inside Ira, and was trying to trick someone into letting her 'master' free? She needed to find out more before she went any further. "Tell me more about this 'spirit'; what kind of spirirt is it, and why did the Amazing Al-Kazar want to trap it. And did he have any ideas about how to get rid of it?"