ic 8 Simple Rules...for Working with Jack (IC)

[Gizmo]

Jill stopped looking around the Underground, jaw slightly ajar, to turn and smirk at Lynn. "Well, you were doing pretty well right up until 'lame-o'," the teenager remarked, continuing her inspection with a resumed expression of wry detachment. "It's pretty amazing that you got all of this down-- wait." Stopping mid-sentence, the girl furrowed her brow. "The costume changes. That would mean... You're naked right now, aren't you." Jill's flat tone made it a statement not a question.

[Heritage]

"The costume changes. That would mean... You're naked right now, aren't you."

In an instant, the shapeshifter's face went beet red, all the way up to the tips of her ears.

"What?! No! Did Jack tell you that, because it's not true!" :oops:

She peeled a fingerless glove off her hand and waved it in the air.

"See, clothing! I can make it, but I can also take it off! Not naked!"

Grim looked around for a bit of floorspace, finally settling on the doorway leading to the team's quarters; as she did so, she rambled on in an agitated fashion.

"No one seems to get this; I am made of glamour but I can also manipulate glamour, which, like, hovers around in the ether or something. Or maybe I summon it from Avalon, I dunno. Look-"

She held out her hand, and a large Chippendale desk appeared, blocking the doorway completely.

"I just made this out of glamour, like I make my clothes, so I'm not..."

Realizing that she was officially taking this all way too seriously, she sighed and dismissed the desk with a wave.

"Look, I don't really know how it works, but I don't feel naked, and my clothes don't hurt if I tear 'em. Maybe it's me, maybe it's not, I dunno."

She began to chuckle at the strength of her reaction.

"What's that line from Shakespeare? 'She doth protest too much'." She looks down at her costume and sighs. "I probably am naked. Denial, thy name is Grim."

In a flash, her eyes dart up at Jill.

"You cannot tell your brother about this...or Colt, or any other male person you ever meet. Ya got it?" And then her face softened. "Please?"

[Gizmo]

Jill coughed awkwardly into a closed fist, though it wasn't clear if she was covering up embarrassment or a smirk. "Ah, yeah, no, don't worry about it." The teenager adjusted her dusty brown ponytail and straightened her fitted vest with both hands. "Trust me, I get enough... well, anyway, this is probably one of those 'never speak of this again' things, huh?" Jill's angular features arranged themselves into a look of serious contemplation. "Can you make like anything? Organ transplants, bulk food?"

[Heritage]

"Can you make like anything? Organ transplants, bulk food?"

The shapeshifter looked thoughtful. "You know, I've never tried stuff like that? Hmm, maybe I should talk to Dok A about running some tests someday, really pushing the limits, y'know?" She chews on a thumbnail. "I dunno, I can dismiss the the stuff I create with a thought, which I bet means someone else could if they really wanted to, and had the right powers or tech; that might be dangerous if I made someone like a magic lung sometime, and it just went 'poof' on them. As for the your other idea..."

She held out her hand, and a juicy apple popped into existence; at the same time, Grim took on a rather distinctive appearance.

"I don't suppose one bite would hurt..."

She took a big bite, chewed it with great thoroughness, and swallowed her mouthful, then shook her head.

"Mmm, no, this is weird; okay, the apple itself? Very tasty, great apple. But as it passes down my throat, I feel it dissipating into nothingness on its way down, like I swallowed a mouthful of snow."

Grim White happily continued to eat the apple, then shrugged.

"Y'know, in a weird way, this would be great if you were on a diet...or maybe it would make you want to eat even more, like your stomach was being teased or something."

With a flick of her fingers, the core vanished and she sighed.

"Well at the very least, thanks for introducing me to an evil new toy; I'm sure it will offer hours of amusement. So, you still wanna see the gym or training room?"

[Gizmo]

Jill instinctively placed a hand on her chest with a grimace at the thought of a suddenly disappearing lung. "Ugh. Easy come easy go, I guess." When Lynn mentioned dieting, the coltish teen shrugged. "Wouldn't know. Ah, the joys of a trick metabolism." By all appearances, she shared her brother's inclination toward lithe muscle layered over a slim frame. "Glamour purging sound like an intensely bad idea, though." Finally, she made a mock bow and gestured for Lynn to continue the tour.

[Heritage]

Shedding her Disney outfit, Grim returned to her maskless costume by default as she led Jill over to towards the training area, walking backwards and gesturing like a museum tour guide.

"So this is what we call the 'Wreck Room', and it can be a pretty darn scary place depending on what settings you use."

She went over to the control panel and tapped a few buttons to open the door with a woosh. Lights flickered on inside, revealing a huge open space with padded panels on almost every surface; high up on one side, the darkened windows of the control booth gaze down as the shapeshifter ran pell-mell into the room waving her arms and yelling like a kid at the zoo, made a flying leap and ended up clinging to the wall some twenty feet in the fair. Looking back over her shoulder, she yells back.

"C'mon in, it's set on neutral!" :D

[Gizmo]

Hanging back as Lynn clammoured into the training room, Jill looked around inside from the hallway, doubtful. "Hey, I watch TV. These things spend more time malfunctioning and trying to blow you up than they spend working properly," she accused. After a moment, however, her curiosity got the better of her, and she wandered a few steps inside. "Didn't know you could stick to walls," she mentioned absently as she walked in a small circle to view the Wreck Room's interior. "More magic?"

[Heritage]

"Hey, I watch TV. These things spend more time malfunctioning and trying to blow you up than they spend working properly,"

Grim shook her head as she made her way up the wall and started heading back towards Jill on the ceiling.

"What? That's crazy talk! We've only lost two team members in the Wreck Room, and both times it was totally their own fault!"

"More magic?"

The Jewish ninja pixie stopped directly above the teenager's head and peered at her hand.

"Yeah, pretty much, in the sense that I use my claws and my claws are magical."

She shrugs, then drops to the floor, turning over in midair to land in a perfect crouch.

"Ta-daa! Hey, I can show you a very basic routine, just acrobatic stuff, no combat. Vince, you there?"

A section of the wall opened up, showing Vince on the flatscreen standing in a white karate instructor's robe, bowing deeply. "I sure am, Malkie, and konichiwa! Oh, I see Jack's sister made it!" The AI beamed and waved. "Hi Jill, and welcome to the Wreck Room!" Turning back to Grim, he cocked an eyebrow at the faeling. "I dunno, Malkie; Jack will be a little ticked if he finds out you had his baby sister down here."

Grim waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, he'll get over it; besides, I'm just gonna show her 'Apples and Oranges', so there's no danger or anything."

"An excellent choice, my little pixie princess; Jill, I'm just gonna get you up and out of harm's way, just in case."

Part of the Wreck Room floor raised up, a ten by ten foot square complete with padded guardrails; at the same time, several panels rose out of the floor in various parts of the room and began flashing through a wide variety of colors, no two any closer than ten feet apart. Grim began to do a few stretches as she explained the game.

"It's basically Dance Dance Revolution for superheroes; up to four people can play, and Vince adjusts the timing and stuff based on the players. It's totally fun and addictive as hell."

"READY? GO! GO! GO!"

Suddenly the overhead lights switched off and the only illumination was the colored lights as a pounding dance beat began and Grim went into her dance, doing an amazing series of cartwheels, springs and jumps in perfect time with the music as she hit the lights in sequence with her hands, feet and occasionally even her butt.

[Gizmo]

Startled by the AI's appearance, Jill straightened her vest again reflexively, her expression defensive. "Hey, I'm older than you probably are, chips for brains!"

"No questioning the family resemblance, huh?" the gregarious Vince drawled with a wink toward Lynn.

Holding onto the newly formed railing, the teenager gaped as the diminutive heroine bounced around the room, then grinned and clapped her hands. "Haha! Oh man, I thought the shapeshifting was your whole thing!" she called over the blaring music. "That's incredible!"

[Heritage]

After three minutes of intense workout, the music stopped, the overhead lights came back up and the colored panels flashed in sequence, chasing each other around the large room.

"CONGRATULATIONS! NEW HIGH SCORE!"

"Haha! Oh man, I thought the shapeshifting was your whole thing!" she called over the blaring music. "That's incredible!"

A visibly pooped Grim, glistening with sweat, slowly made her way over to the platform, which lowered back down to ground level; she conjured a towel out of the air to mop her face and hair as she smiled and shrugged.

"Well, what can I say; I have many talents."

Her costume shrunk down to a sports bra and a baggy pair of workout shorts as she plunked herself down for a breather.

"Yeah, Jack's usual training routine is much more...combat-based, and Colt uses a lot of, y'know...pop-up targets."

She mimed shooting two pistols before falling flat on her back, arms and legs spread wide.

"Oh man! Whoo! I'm gonna need some serious water, and a cold, cold shower."

She turned her head to look at Jill, eyebrows raised.

"So, anything else you want to see? Before I...pass out in a pool of my own grossness over here?"

[Gizmo]

Jill coughed awkwardly as the sweaty shapeshifter finished her manic workout. The teens expression turned more serious when Lynn described the other Interceptors' preferred methods of exercise. "Mmm, mi hermano can be, ah, a little one-track about that sort of thing." She gave the older woman a serious look. "Is it really okay for Colt to be going around shooting at people? I know he's a good guy and all, but..." Jill trailed off, biting the end of one thumb worriedly.

[Heritage]

"Is it really okay for Colt to be going around shooting at people? I know he's a good guy and all, but..."

Grim nodded in understanding. "You share your brother's concern about the gun thing; makes sense. The West End is your home, and I'm sure you've seen some bad stuff in your time."

The shapeshifter sighed and rubbed her face. "I'll be honest, I'm not always so crazy about the gun thing, either; Colt comes from a world where gunplay is even more common that here, and it's just acceptable to him." She shrugs. "If he wasn't so damn good with them, I'd be worried, but the guy is like...I dunno, a surgeon or something. He's that precise. And he also uses lasers and other stuff, too, so he's not just layin' down lead all the time."

She does a kip-up and hops to her feet. "The fact is, Jack trusts him, most of the time at least, and I'd say have faith in your brother's judgment. He's about as anti-gun as you can get, and he's made his peace with Colt, and they work together great. So, there's that."

[Gizmo]

"'Concern', right. Understatement of the Year award..." the coltish teenager muttered, rubbing one arm absently. "It's... well, it's not complicated actually; we just don't talk about it really. Um." Jill cleared her throat. "As for Jack's judgment, I've bound way to many of his wounds for that to be a convincing argument but..." She sighed, running her fingers through the end of her ponytail and looking apprehensive. "I guess it's okay."

[Heritage]

"I guess it's okay."

Grim looked pensively at Jill for a moment, then summoned up a pair of chairs with a wave of her hand; she took a seat, still wiping off her face, and gestured for the teenager to join her.

"Look, I don't mean to pry, but I guess I'm about to, so..." She drops the towel which disappears into vapor the minute it hits the Wreck Room floor. "I, uh...I take it your family has a history involving guns; it would explain a lot, really." She holds up her hands. "I'm not asking any specifics or for you to, like, tell me how you feel or about your pain or anything like that. I know you guys don't go in for that stuff, which is fine."

Grim sighs and stares down at her hands. "I don't know what I'm asking, exactly...ah, hell..."

[Gizmo]

Jill poked the glamour chair uncertainly before taking a seat, shifting her weight around it experimentally. "Look, it's not like 'ahh we never talk about it ever doom', or anything, it's just the sort of personal info mi hermano likes to keep under wraps." The teenager let out a loud breath. "And, seeing as he's so careful about that stuff mostly for my benefit, well. Probably oughta keep it on the DL, right?" Jill ran her fingers through the end of her ponytail in what was become a familiar gesture to Lynn. "Short version? Something... bad happened, and Jack decided he wasn't going to stand by a watch it happen again, y'know? And I started studying to be a paramedic someday."

[Heritage]

"Short version? Something... bad happened, and Jack decided he wasn't going to stand by a watch it happen again, y'know? And I started studying to be a paramedic someday."

Lynn waved her hands and then zipped her lips. "Look, forget I even brought it up, okay? I know protecting you means everything to Jack, and he's a good friend and a teammate, so I gotta respect that." She looked over her shoulder towards the rest of the complex. "Um, I really gotta take a shower now, and rehydrate and all that. You don't have to leave or anything; you can hang her all day for all I care, but I don't want to be rude, so..."

[Gizmo]

"No, no, that's cool," Jill replied quickly, pointedly placing her ponytail behind her back once again. "I should get going anyway. Pulling a volunteer shift at the hospital tonight, so I should probably get in a nap or whatever." The coltish teen hesitated for a moment, then added. "So, uh, thanks for, like, having me over and all. Hope it helped. With mi hermano, I mean." The tanned girl's cheeks darkened a shade self-consciously.

[Heritage]

"So, uh, thanks for, like, having me over and all. Hope it helped. With mi hermano, I mean."

Lynn shrugged, like it was no big thing to have people over to your secret lair. "No worries. It was nice to see you again; come by anytime, as far as I'm concerned." Moping her face with the towel, she called out to the team's AI. "Vince, can you escort Miss Jill back to the surface?"