In Soviet Russia, Powers Control You! (IC)

[Geez3r]

Atlas waited in bated breath as Grim stalked about the room. She apparently had a really good sense of smell. He hadn't thought of that. When she sprang up on the bed, he had to strain to not move. It was really hard. When Grim finally sprang into action however, it was well worth the long wait to find him. While she was still in mid air, the pillows suddenly grew eyes which had the classic "oh shit" look plastered all over them.

The pillows twitched and shook almost as soon as Grim's fingers touched them. Atlas quickly reverted to a humanoid form, looking like an averaged sized version of Atlas. Between fits of laughter he called out"HAHA - No Stop! - Don't - heehehee. I'm not - hohehaha." After a few moments of rolling around like a fish out of water, Atlas manage to grab one of Grim's arms, and throw her onto the bed. "No!" he said, barely containing his laughter as he forgot for a moment that Grim was a shape shifter and this wasn't going to stop her if she didn't want it to.

[Heritage]

"No!"

For a few seconds, she just lay there panting, a huge grin on her face, and then out of nowhere, she kissed Atlas; her lips, hot from exertion, were like a match thrown on kindling, and she kissed him hard. But then her eyes went wide as a shock ran through her body, and she convulsed and turned to liquid, which ran through the big man's fingers and poured off the edge of the bed. It coalesced back into Grim, sitting on the floor with her back against the bed, breathing heavily.

"That was...that was good. Good workout...practice...whatever."

She rubbed her face with her hands.

"Do you have any, y'know, like Gatorade or something? Something cold?" :oops:

[Geez3r]

If had asked Atlas even an hour before hand if he would have kissed Grim, he would have been insulted at the very thought; Grim was in a steady relationship, and to a good guy at that. When the opportunity presented itself however, none of that even came close to entering his mind. In fact, his mind never entered into the equation. He locked lips passionately, his arm instinctively moving to support and embrace Grim.

But all too soon, the brief moment of happiness is replaced by realization and guilt. He stayed kneeling on his bed for a moment, his mind racing to catch up to what his body did. He desperately wanted to say something, but no words were coming. He silently left the bed room and went to fridge. It wasn't until he had poured two glasses of iced tea that he mind finally caught up and he came out of his daze. I messed up. Bad. Cripes. Colt's gonna legitimately murder me. But I deserve it. I should have never done this to Grim.

It was only then that Atlas realized he was back in the bed room. He handed a glass to Grim, and sat down on the bed. He tried to say something, but found that his voice had died in his throat some where. He just stared into his drink, unsure of what to do next.

[Heritage]

Grim silently took the ice tea, took a long sip, and placed the cold glass against the side of her throat, where her pulse was slowly coming back down to a normal level. She tilted her back and looked up towards the top of the bed, then had another swing of cool tea. After a few moments of silence, she held her hand out to the side, and a short wooden ladder rose up, poking over the edge of the comforter. With great deliberation, she climbed up to the top, glass in hand, and sat down next to Atlas, making sure to keep a good two feet between the two of them.

She took another sip of iced tea, sighed deeply, and turned to her fellow shapeshifter. "Hey. How're ya doing up here? You okay?"

[Geez3r]

Atlas was hunched over, shoulders sagging, as if he was carrying a tremendously heavy weight. The air itself in the room was awkward. Atlas's mind had again reverted to an empty buzz. He had realized he had screwed up, but now he was trying to figure out how he could rectify his mistake, and there was nothing coming to mind.

She took another sip of iced tea, sighed deeply, and turned to her fellow shapeshifter. "Hey. How're ya doing up here? You okay?"

Atlas just heaved his shoulders. "I'm in unfamiliar territory here." There had been a few times in a life when an upset woman approached him with a problem. But he had always given them a hug, made them feel comfortable and listened to their problems. He could do none of that here. "How're you holding up?"

[Heritage]

"How're you holding up?"

Grim could only shake her head. "I dunno, to be honest. I mean-" She made a little TV tray to rest her drink on, then turned to face Atlas. "All we did was kiss; I kissed you, and you kissed me back. Is it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong and stupid. Is it punishible by being burned at the stake? Not in this state, at least last I checked."

She sighed an she pinched her eyes and rubbed her nose. "Look, I think at least ninety percent of that was the powers talking; powers make everything sexy, even just...I dunno, calling directory assitance is sexier with powers. We made some dumb choices, like me getting all touchy with you earlier, and then the powers gave it juice."

She picked up her glass and started swirling her finger around the rim. "And I guess we did learn something; you don't have a kiss like...that if there isn't something goin' on underneath." She gave him a quick nervous smile. "Chemistry, y'know? So now we know there's that. And it also makes me think that maybe...me and Colt have gotten too routine, too safe. I dunno..." She took another sip of iced tea and stared into space.

[Geez3r]

Grim could only shake her head. "I dunno, to be honest. I mean-" She made a little TV tray to rest her drink on, then turned to face Atlas. "All we did was kiss; I kissed you, and you kissed me back. Is it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong and stupid. Is it punishible by being burned at the stake? Not in this state, at least last I checked."

In spite of himself, Atlas had to chuckle a bit. Even at a time like this she was still trying to lighten the mood. You could really grow to like a girl like that; which, as he found out, was a double edged sword. He took a drink and let her continue. She apparently was able to talk, so he'd much rather her get this off her chest than try and disrupt her.

"...powers make everything sexy, even just...I dunno, calling directory assitance is sexier with powers. We made some dumb choices, like me getting all touchy with you earlier, and then the powers gave it juice."

Atlas just nodded, not sure where she was going with this quite yet. He had to admit though, their both being shape shifters had something to do with it. It was like he had opened pandora's box; there was no closing it now. Yeah. At least we're on the same page. It was a mistake. Not necesaarily a mistake I regret mind you, but a mistake none the less. thought Atlas to himself, still remaining silent for the time being.

She picked up her glass and started swirling her finger around the rim. "And I guess we did learn something; you don't have a kiss like...that if there isn't something goin' on underneath." She gave him a quick nervous smile. "Chemistry, y'know? So now we know there's that. And it also makes me think that maybe...me and Colt have gotten too routine, too safe. I dunno..." She took another sip of iced tea and stared into space.

...

Full Stop.

Crap. So not used to dealing with this. The last time a woman this hot had been in his bed room it was Divine so yeah. And he thought he had problems properly forming a sentence before. He bit his lower lip as he tried to figure out what to say. He took another sip from his already empty glass of iced tea.

"Listen, Grim." said Atlas, changing back into Samael. "I like you, but not in that way." Samael was always a terrible liar, but even he couldn't buy that line. Shaking his head he continued "Okay, I like you. But, you should try and work things out with Colt. You've got a good thing going with him. You don't have to jeopardize that."

[Heritage]

"Listen, Grim."

"I like you, but not in that way."

A single gently upswept eyebrow rose, and Grim's nose twitched for second, while a hint of a smirk played across her lips, even though there was a sadness there as well.

Ah, the smell of BS in the morning!

"Okay, I like you. But, you should try and work things out with Colt. You've got a good thing going with him. You don't have to jeopardize that."

The tiny brunette sighed, put down her drink, and took both of Sam's hands in her own; the grip was friendly, but nothing more.

"Look buddy, that was a nice kiss, but it didn't exactly knock the Earth off its axis; don't think for a minute that I'm gonna throw away a good thing over one good kiss and a tickle fight."

She dropped his hands and stood up, pacing back and forth across the bed.

"I don't know what it means, exactly; me, I'm of the firm opinion that people cheat when they don't get what they need at home."

Grim stopped and pointed at her fellow shapeshifter. "And for the record, I do not consider one kiss cheating, but it does mean..." She dropped to the bed and held her face. "What it means...is trouble." Suddenly she slammed her fists on the bed and yelled, "Damn it!" before rolling off the edge of the bed and landing on the floor in a crouch. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why do we all have to suck so much?!"

She stomped back and forth around the room, flailing her arms about in inarticute rage; she was mad at herself for being weak, mad at Atlas for being so new and exciting, and mad at Colt for being so damn dependable. Finally she created a raquetball in her hand, and whipped it as hard as she could at the wall, sending it wildly ricocheting around the room as a stream of curses tumbled off her lips, culminating in a long drawn out, "Aaaaaaaargh!"

[Geez3r]

Atlas ignored the damage the ball did, even when it did make a rather bad sounding noise when it shattered one of the mirrors in the corner of the room. "Don't spare my feelings now." says Atlas dryly, but obviously not especially hurt. He kneels down in front of Grim, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We all suck because love's hard, for all of us. No matter how super you are, you can't change your heart..." he says pointing at Grim "... and it isn't bullet proof either." he said jerking his thumb back at himself.

"Maybe your feel like this because you didn't know what you were really getting into. You thought you were getting Dirty Harry, but got Billy the Kid instead. Maybe now you're just coming to terms with it. I can tell from the way you move and act, you didn't have an easy upbringing. You're not used to things going good for you, and now that they are, you're scared and sure that something terrible is going to happen. If you think like that, all you're going to do is fulfill your own prophecies."

After a small pause he added "But hey, if you ever get bored, I'm sure the cowboy could show you a few tricks with a rope."

[Heritage]

"Maybe your feel like this because you didn't know what you were really getting into. You thought you were getting Dirty Harry, but got Billy the Kid instead. Maybe now you're just coming to terms with it. I can tell from the way you move and act, you didn't have an easy upbringing. You're not used to things going good for you, and now that they are, you're scared and sure that something terrible is going to happen. If you think like that, all you're going to do is fulfill your own prophecies."

Some of the anger finally started to bleed away, but Grim was still a bit testy, even though it was tempered with humor. She narrowed her eyes and chuckled.

"Oh man, look at you being all perceptive and stuff." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, life hasn't always treated me so nice, and you're right, when things get good, I get suspicious. I don't trust happiness, because it has a tendancy to kick me in the stomach when I let my guard down."

"But hey, if you ever get bored, I'm sure the cowboy could show you a few tricks with a rope."

The tiny heroine laughed at the Russian's joke, but took a few steps away from him, looking to put a little distance between the two of them. Her next words are somewhat light, but still laced with a hint of bitterness.

"You know what, screw you and screw your sexy new powers; me and Colt are good together, and I love him." She waved her hand in Atlas' direction. "There's always gonna be some cute guy that makes me think dirty thoughts; hell, have you seen the ass on Jack of All Blades? It's a thing of beauty! And if you live in a city with Divine in it, you know your man is gonna think those thoughts from time to time. It's what us humans do."

She clapped her hands together and nodded sharply.

"So here's what we're gonna do: we're not gonna tell anybody. Because that helps no one. We move on and work past it. Capiche?"

[Geez3r]

"No."

Atlas was back in big red man form, standing at his full height, his arms crossed and a stern look on his face. "You do not lie about this sort of thing. We're going to tell Colt about this. Then you can move on and work past it. If you're going to have any semblance of a relationship, you should be able to at least be honest with your partner about any mistakes they make. We're going to do the right thing and tell Colt exactly what happened. Don't gloss over any details and don't exaggerate anything."

[Heritage]

"You do not lie about this sort of thing. We're going to tell Colt about this. Then you can move on and work past it. If you're going to have any semblance of a relationship, you should be able to at least be honest with your partner about any mistakes they make. We're going to do the right thing and tell Colt exactly what happened. Don't gloss over any details and don't exaggerate anything."

When Atlas got all big and truthful, Grim buried her face in her hands. "Oh god, I kissed Duddley Do-Right of the freakin' Mounties!" She started pacing in tight circles, hands on hips, shaking her head.

"Okay, the one thing we agree on is that the kiss was stupid; where we disagree is on the 'full disclosure in a relationship' thing. Crap." She stopped, bending over to rest her hands on her knees and just stays down there for a few seconds; when she finally comes back up, her arms are crossed tightly against her chest.

"Well, now I have to tell him, because you're going to tell him, even though personally I would rather never hear my boyfriend kissed a girl one time, because I trust him and would rather not think of her every time I kissed him."

Grim dropped down on and sat Indian style, laughing to herself. "Well, at least now we know we're never gonna date, so that clears that up." She fell back on the floor, arms spread wide, staring up at the ceiling. "So how do we tell him? Do we show up at our HQ in matching outfits, or do you think maybe a press conference is more informal?"

[Geez3r]

"Ouch. said Atlas after Grim had finished her tirade of hateful words and scorn (some of which was admittedly deserved). He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Folding his hands in his lap presented his counter point "You could also try and convince me that not telling Colt would be the better course of action. But I don't think you could do it, because deep down you know I'm right. But go ahead, see if you can lie to me for 5 minutes, and then think about how likely you are to lie to the love of your life for the rest of your life. But, if, by some miracle, you can convince me, I'll go along with it. If not, then we tell him. And as for how we break the news, I'm partial to shadow puppets, though charades could work."

Grim wasn't the only one who could be bitter.

[Heritage]

"You could also try and convince me that not telling Colt would be the better course of action. But I don't think you could do it, because deep down you know I'm right. But go ahead, see if you can lie to me for 5 minutes, and then think about how likely you are to lie to the love of your life for the rest of your life. But, if, by some miracle, you can convince me, I'll go along with it. If not, then we tell him. And as for how we break the news, I'm partial to shadow puppets, though charades could work."

The changeling took a deep breath and let it out slowly; still lying on her back, she started making her case.

"I'm not saying not telling him is right; I'm saying telling him doesn't help."

Grim sat up, then hopped to her feet, and began to pace, not unlike a criminal prosecutor.

"You ever see one of those cop shows, or even been at an actual trial, and one attorney brings up some point which the judge declares isn't relevant or whatever? The jury is not supposed to consider whatever they were told not to think about, right? So naturally, they just rewind the tape and tape right over it."

And here she stops and faces Atlas dead on. "Except they can't; that information has tainted their brains, and I bet you money it will affect their final decision. This is just like that; there are no takebacks on this kind of thing. Once we tell Colt we kissed, due to proximity, circumstance and spontaneous attraction, he will remember that for the rest of his life. Even though that kiss was meaningless, it will always be there, and he will doubt me whenever I happen to look at another guy's ass. I'm not saying it's gonna cause us to break up, but we'll have planted a seed of doubt in relationship that's less than six months old."

Grim folded her hands and rested her lips on her fingertips. "Doubt is like radiation, but with no half-life; it can only build up, never shrink or fade away. I love Colt and plan to stay with him for a long time, and I don't wan't to poison our relationship with doubt this early on."

She shrugged. "And I'm not even saying I'll never tell him; maybe in a year, when I feel we're in a better place with the relationship, I'll be able to tell him. I'd actually really like that. And if he asks me point blank in the meantime, I think I'd tell him."

And then Grim made her final point, raising a finger dramatically. "You talked about keeping secrets; hell, isn't that what we do best? I know the real names of several heroes in this city, and I've been trusted with that information, which I intend to keep secret until the day someone tells me it's okay to share it."

She took a step closer to Atlas, head slightly bowed down, looking rather menacing. "And I have lots of secrets, some of which I'm gonna take to my grave. Not every secret should come to light, my friend."

[Geez3r]

"You should be a lawyer." says Atlas in a much softer tone, having now returned to the form of Samael Nitorvich as he cracks a smile. He drops down off the bed, standing up at normal height "Alright, this time I'll let it slide. I won't say anything to Colt. But if you ever do decide to tell him, do me a favor and give me a heads up so I can get out of town alright?"

"So what now? Pretend that never happened and just go on our merry way?"

[Heritage]

"You should be a lawyer."

"Alright, this time I'll let it slide. I won't say anything to Colt. But if you ever do decide to tell him, do me a favor and give me a heads up so I can get out of town alright?"

Grim's eyes went wide; clearly she didn't think she was going to win this agruement. But then a huge smile of relief spread across her face, and she gave Sam a friendly but crushing bear hug.

"Oh God, thankyouthankyouthankyou! You have no idea what this means to me!" She suddenly let go, brushing her hair off her forehead with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I'll try to keep the touchy-touchy to a minimum."

She took a deep breath and bent at the waist, like she just finished a marathon. "Yeah, I will tell you asap if and when I tell him; you were decent enough to help me, it's the least I can do for a friend." And then she smiled. "Actually, my brother is a lawyer, in New York; maybe some of that rubbed off, huh?"

"So what now? Pretend that never happened and just go on our merry way?"

The tiny shapeshifter sighed and dropped into a futon chair she made for just that purpose; after a few moments contemplation, she vigorously scratched her head and shrugged.

"To be honest, I dunno; I've never been in this situation before." She laughed bleakly. "Usually my boyfriends don't live long enough for it to come up." A quick troubled side glance hints she might have said more than she meant.

"I mean, I guess...I dunno, we can still work together, I suppose; beating people up kinda monopolizes your thought processes. But socially..." And here she looked rather sad. "Maybe we should put the poker game on hold, at least for a little while; I don't see anything good coming out of the three of us at the same table, all liquored up."

Grim shrugged. "We move on, we deal. We act like adults."

[Geez3r]

Atlas hugged Grim back tightly, though he still remembered to watch his strength, though Grim probably wished he remembered a little better. Awkward situation or not, he hadn't been able to hug someone properly in over 7 months and he was going to be damned if he missed the opportunity.

Atlas stayed silent when Grim let it slip about her boyfriends, not knowing how sensitive the issue was. He did put a hand on her shoulder however to let her know that he was there for her. But to limit the "touchy touchy" he took his hand off shortly after.

"No poker?" says Atlas with a whimper, going full puppy dog eyes on Grim. "But how's Colt gonna take all my monies? Jeez. This is gonna throw off my whole man schedule here. I'm losing a night of drinking, smoking and gambling in one shot. Gonna have go start a fight at a monster truck rally just to break even."

[Heritage]

"No poker?"

"But how's Colt gonna take all my monies? Jeez. This is gonna throw off my whole man schedule here. I'm losing a night of drinking, smoking and gambling in one shot. Gonna have go start a fight at a monster truck rally just to break even."

Grim sighed and shook her head, a crumpled smile on her face. "Okay, maybe I was overreacting a bit; maybe I'll just take pass on poker this month, and I'll be fine for next time; you and Colt and whoever else wants to play, y'know, knock yourselves out. I'll just say I don't feel like it, which will in fact be true."

She clapped her hands and made a face like a psychotic cheerleader. "Okay, good session, class! I think we learned a lot today, don't you?" Then she laughed and rested a hand on Sam's arm. "Seriously, though, I'm glad you got your life back. And give some serious thought to keeping the shifting a secret; not from other heroes, but from the bad guys." She laid a finger along side her nose. "Always nice to have an ace in the hole, am I right?" ;)

[Geez3r]

"Ohh.... That gives me an idea for a new way to patrol." says Atlas as an uncharacteristically dark look briefly cross his face. "For some reason, most of thugs run and hide vhen zey see ze big red man coming at zem." says Atlas as he transforms mid sentence into the imposing big red lug. "But if I valk down some of ze back alleys looking a little less..." Atlas shrinks down to a 5'6" nerd that weighs 100lbs soaking wet with a brick in his pocket "...Imposing, I could really get some stuff done. Wonder how strong I am like this? But another question for another day." He morphs back to Samael "Zanks again for all of your help."

[Heritage]

"Zanks again for all of your help."

"See, you're getting the hang of it! And you're welcome." Grim smiled and pointed up at her head. "The only limit is your imagination, right? So my advice to you is do a lot of reading; this town has a lot of good schools and some great libraries; use 'em, buddy boy! Also, good old-fashioned people watching; go to the mall, the park, watch the suits down at City Center. When you go out to eat, eavesdrop on the people in the next booth. You gotta feed the battery, y'know?"

She got up, dismissed the futon chair with a wave of her hand, and looked around the room. "Well, I think my work here is done; you can call me if you have any other problems, but not when your at home, if you can help it, okay?"

She held out her hand in a very professional manner, though her smile was warm.

"Alright there, buddy?"

[Geez3r]

With a beaming smile, Atlas shook Grim's hand all professional like. He held on for a second as he looked at the handshake. "I'm normal sized again." said Atlas, sounding almost giddy as he thought about the possibilities. Letting go of Grim's hand he continued "Heh. People vatching vill be totally different now; I'm used to zem vatching me, now I can vatch zem. Zis is going to take some getting used to da? I can't say -"

Atlas cuts off mid sentence and looks down to see his cat Sprinkles rubbing up against his leg. He bends over and scoops her up, hugging her close to his chest as she nuzzles against his face purring loudly. "Looks like she approves. Zank you." says Atlas softly, his voice on the verge of cracking.

[Heritage]

"Looks like she approves. Zank you."

Grim nodded and smiled, an interesting smile that is both warm and weary as she scrathed between the kitty's ears. "Well, your welcome; now I gotta get outta here before that crazy 'Moscow fever' strikes again." She shivered and fanned herself dramatically.

Just before she turned to leave, the young shapeshifter stopped and turned back to look at Atlas. "By the way, just so you know-" And then she switched to flawless Russian. ""

And with an enigmatic wink, she faded from sight... ;)

[Geez3r]

"" responds an utterly floored Atlas in Russian. His mind is once again too preoccupied playing catch up to add anything else before Grim vanished from sight. Looking where Grim had just been standing, a smile made its way across Atlas's face. "" He absent mindedly scratches Sprinkle's ears for a few moments before setting her down on the bed. The cat meows in protest and Samael teasingly responds ""