ic The Legacy of Al-Kazar: Happy Grimday! (IC)

[N/A]

"Elena! I must say, I vas not expecting you here!" He returned the kiss, "und, yes, I can still be taught a few dings."

[bg=#BF0000]"I honestly wasn't expecting the invitation myself. It appears more than one person in attendance here thinks more highly of me than I'd realized."[/bg]

"Elena, you of all people should know better than that. Just because I disagree with you on something, that does not affect my view on you personally or professionally."

[bg=#BF0000]"Fair enough. I'm glad to see we're on the same page."[/bg]

"I should have come by to check and see how you've been doing but I always seem to be so busy with one thing or another. I'll make time though, I promise."

[bg=#BF0000]"I have the same problem, so we make quite a pair."[/bg]

He glanced over at Tayla and then back to Scarab and back before shrugging and extending his hand. "It seems Elena has forgotten her manners in her exuberance. I'm Derrick. I know her from, uh, work. And stuff."

[bg=#BF0000]"Of course."[/bg] Elena turned away from Viktor. [bg=#BF0000]"My apologies. Derrick, this is Talya Browning, the love of my life twice over. Talya, this is Derrick. He goes by another name during our 'extracurricular activites,' but I'll leave it to him to elaborate. I will say, however, that he is one of the best of us, in every way."[/bg]

"Elena, I know you didn't think anyone could top your amazing gift, but somehow my Grampa Lou pulled it off...from the grave." She held out the letter, and turned her body to take in Tayla and Ace as well. "You guys have all been around for a long time - no offense, since you're all pretty much stunning - and I think I might need some advice from a previous generation or two. Y'know, about family histories, and the way they can turn around and bite you in the ass. Check this out."

[bg=#BF0000]"No offense taken, Lynn. It's not a contest."[/bg] Elena took a turn at the letter. [bg=#BF0000]"That's...that's a lot to take in all at once."[/bg] She stood off to the side, stroking Lynn's hair and shoulder comfortingly but still leaving room for Colt to hold her. [bg=#BF0000]"We can definitely provide legal help if you require it. It obviously meant a great deal to him for you to inherit his life's work, and aiding those who are no longer around to see to their own interests is how I spend a substantial portion of my time. That's really the only 'advice' I have for you in this matter. Your grandfather wanted you to have this store. You were the only one he trusted with his legacy. So you should honor that legacy, and you shouldn't let anyone stop you. Well, that, and the usual 'take a deep breath and relax.'"[/bg]

After a few moments, she added, [bg=#BF0000]"He obviously loved you very much."[/bg]

[Heritage]

"Where is this store anyways? And what kind of store is it?"

Lynn turned to Eli. "It's a bookstore, here in the West End. All kinds of stuff in stock, but mostly books on magic, both stage and the real stuff. I used to spend hours wandering the shelves when I was little."

"Time travel? You haff time traveled? Dat is fascinating! Vhat vas de method employed? Vhat did it feel like? Vhen did you go, und for how long?"

The changeling looked slightly embarrassed by the scientist's eager attention. "Well, it was a few years ago, back when I was patrolling the Fens; me and a few other folks got sucked back in time by accident, something to do with powers interacting funny."

She frowns as she tries to recall all the details of the trip.

"I don't think it was a straight trip back, maybe a little sideways? A few things seemed different; I did meet the Centurion, briefly, which was a trip and a half. He seemed very nice."

She didn't really like telling this particular story; it felt like bragging in some ways, but then there were also all the ways they'd royally screwed things up.

"And then we disrupted the timeline by introducing my teenage mother to the wrong guy, and when we returned to the quote-unquote 'present', it was all messed up. The city was trashed, like a warzone, and there were different versions of everyone, including me by a different dad..."

She was starting to get a headache; trying to remember what actually happened versus what was supposed to happen was making her a little dizzy. Rubbing one temple, she wrapped the story up.

"Uh, I don't remember everything, to be honest; we must have fixed things, because the world went back to how it was supposed to be. I just can't remember how we did it."

"I mean..., " he paused and cleared his throat, "I haff some experience mit family histories, und how dey can influence you, so if I can be of any help...."

[bg=#BF0000]"We can definitely provide legal help if you require it. It obviously meant a great deal to him for you to inherit his life's work, and aiding those who are no longer around to see to their own interests is how I spend a substantial portion of my time. That's really the only 'advice' I have for you in this matter. Your grandfather wanted you to have this store. You were the only one he trusted with his legacy. So you should honor that legacy, and you shouldn't let anyone stop you. Well, that, and the usual 'take a deep breath and relax.'"[/bg]

The young Interceptor smiled at the offers of help, happily accepting Elena's thoughtful stroking.

"Thanks, I could really use that. I know my aunt's been disputing Lou's will for years, but I never knew why; she's not my favorite person in the world, but it's not like she's evil or anything."

Then she held up the manuscript.

"This is what really worries me, though; I mean, I've obviously not had a chance to read it yet, but I'm kind of conflicted. Part of me would love to see my family's heroism shared with the rest of the world, but another part is scared it might bring bad guys out of the woodwork. Grampa mentions Wilhelm frickin' Kantor in the letter, and you just don't mess with guys like that."

[bg=#BF0000]"He obviously loved you very much."[/bg]

Lynn smiled as she looked at the letter again.

"Yeah, he really did..."

[quotemyname]

He glanced up inquisitively at Bill when he read the bit about Lynn's old squeeze, but didn't overtly comment. Popping the lid from his beer with his tarnished belt buckle, he smoothly stepped over to stand next to the cowboy. "She going to be okay?" he inquired quietly, pitching his voice to carry no further than the pair of them.

"Oh, I reckon so." Colt responded in equally hushed tones, "She's on a mission now. Y'know how she gits. All, 'one track mind' n'all. This all keeps up'n she won't have time ta be upset. Leastways not til she sort this whole thing out." Satisfied with his explanation, Colt stepped toward the now large gathering.

Passing the grill as he walked, he decided that there was probably enough meat cooked to last them for at least a long time, especially with the recent events in mind. Colt pulled the rest of the meat from the grill and covered the coals, knowing they would burn low eventually.

Colt stood behind Grim, placing his hand on the shoulder that Elena was not currently stroking. "Yer grandpa wanted ya'ta have th' place. I reckon I'm sure we c'n get ta th' bottom'a this. S'only right, anyhow."

[Electra]

Stesha laughed at Jill's comment about her brother. "Well, I guess the two of you would know. I'm glad you enjoyed the trip. It's a useful way to get where I'm going, but it's pretty fun, too." She looked around, then sniffed the air. "Looks like everyone's gathering around the grill. I think it may be time to sample whatever smells so good over there, and say hello to more people. It's quite a party!"

[Gizmo]

A wry smirk slipped onto Jack's face as Lynn described her adventure through time in nonchalant terms. It said something specific about the group gathered in the back yard that something so outlandish could be put into casual perspective. "Point," he agreed with Bill softly before adding more loudly, "Yeah, seriously, it's not like they can not follow his last wishes just 'cause. We'll get it sorted."

"Yeah, shockingly, hanging out with superheroes is basically the most awesome thing ever," Jill replied to Stesha dryly. "I can never get over how chill you guys are about all this stuff. 'Oh, yeah, I can totes throw stuff into the sun. Saves me from keeping track of garage pickup days, which is nice'," the coltish teen mimicked, holding her hands with the palms out and shaking them back and forth comically.

[Heritage]

Lynn looked about at all the supportive faces around her; she felt very lucky to have such awesome friends.

"Thanks guys; I'm sure we'll get it all figured out in no time." She turns to Dynamo and holds out the precious items. "Eli, can you be totally awesome and run these inside to the Underground real quick? Vince will let you know where to put them, then he'll secure it all."

She then clapped her hands firmly together and addressed the rest of the party with a grin. "Okay, I think I've satisfied the superhero community's crying quota for one day, so everybody dig into the grub! And remember to wait half an hour before hitting the pool!"

Minutes later, the changeling was happily lounging in a hammock chair with Colt, enjoying her kosher dog and some other goodies from a plate balanced precariously on her lap; she hadn't been feeling very hungry lately, but the food still felt marvelous in her tummy. She lifted her head to her boyfriend and smiled.

"Best. Birthday. Ever."

She gave him a mustardy kiss, then closed her eyes and sighed, deeply content.

[Geez3r]

"Can I never not be totally awesome?" asked Eli rhetorically. Immediately after saying that, he turned straight at Jack, pointing at him "Shush. And a preemptive one at that." After deflecting the comeback, Eli takes the gifts down stairs, being far more gentle than he would otherwise be, but damaging anything in the box would be all kinds of bad juju. He dumped off the items in the Underground after a moment's direction from Vince before darting right back upstairs.

She then clapped her hands firmly together and addressed the rest of the party with a grin. "Okay, I think I've satisfied the superhero community's crying quota for one day, so everybody dig into the grub! And remember to wait half an hour before hitting the pool!"

A sudden neon white streak darted across the lawn, as Eli sprinted across the lawn (at slightly above average human running speed) peeling off his shift as he went, his shoes already having gone missing. "Done waiting!" he called out mid air as he leapt unceremoniously into the pool. His head popping back out the water he called out "Water's fine!"

Eli however proved to be a little quicker than he let on; there was a gift wrapped box by Grim's hammock. Eli had made her a photo album. It is filled with 2 page, panoramic spreads of various famous cities and national landmarks from all over the world, take from high heights in most instances. The image on the right page is during sunrise, and the picture on the left is taken at sun set. Each picture "facing" the sun, so it creates a sort of 360 degree image of all of these landmarks, throw into sharp relief by the sun's rays.

[Heritage]

Grim set her plate down on a small end table she made, then eagerly unwrapped Eli's present; once it was open, she turned several pages, her eyes filled with wonder. She shouted over to the speedster in the pool.

"Dude, this is cool! I take back at least half of the bad things I ever said about you!"

She happily shared the marvelous book with Colt. "See? Pitchas!"

[Gizmo]

Jack wandered over to Lynn and Bill, one hand holding his drink and the other in his pants pocket. "Well, if we're doing the gift thing now, I uh..." The fencer looked uncharacteristically embarrassed. "So, I sort of got the feeling that maybe you were still kinda upset about that whole thing at the charity boxing match, right, so I had a talk with Vince." Taking his hand from his pocket, he shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. "Got him to make with the computer stuff and delete all the videos people'd posted of it online. There might be back-ups somewhere or something, but it won't come up as the top results on search engines anymore. So. Yeah, happy birthday." It was about as close as either of his teammates had come to hearing a genuine apology from Jack.

[Heritage]

"Got him to make with the computer stuff and delete all the videos people'd posted of it online. There might be back-ups somewhere or something, but it won't come up as the top results on search engines anymore. So. Yeah, happy birthday."

For a few seconds, Lynn did nothing, too stunned to even speak; then out of nowhere, she pounced on Jack, literally knocking him to the grass, where she kissed him furiously about the face and neck. She took a quick breather to look over her shoulder to Colt and wink.

"Sorry, new boyfriend, hope that's okay."

At last she rolled off of the stunned swordsman and helped him to his feet, laughing the whole time.

"Seriously, though, thank you so damn much; you have no idea what that means to me and my puny self-esteem."

Then she hopped up to give him a more sincere peck on the cheek and rubbed Jack's shoulder with genuine affection before climbing back into her actual boyfriend's lap.

"Huh, guess it was just a fling. Now, where we we...?"

[quotemyname]

As jack stood up, he could see Colt shaking his fist at him from the Hammock chair. But the cowboy had a good natured smile on his face. He knew it was all in fun. As Grim returned to the chair he gave her a smile and a hug, "S'okay, babe, I'll take ya back." he winked.

"Guess that brings us ta my gift, huh?" Colt asked as he squirmed in the seat a little. Finally, he managed to pull a small case out of his back pocket. "Mine's kinna like Jack's. Ain't really a physical thing. More ov'a promise, I reckon." He handed the case to grim. She saw that it was the cigar case he'd put in his pocket at the beginning of the day with the cigars he'd selected especially for today. "I'm givin'em up. Well, the real ones, anyway. It's gon' take me a little while longer'ta kick them plastic things, but leastways, y'all won't have'ta smell these no more." Colt smiled, and let go of the case full of cigars. "Weren't right fer me'ta smoke on yer birthday anyways. I know how much ya don't like'em." Colt smiled, and leaned back in the hammock chair. He sighed, and placed his hands behind his head. He'd been wanting to do that for a while. He was just hoping that he could hold himself to it now.

[Gizmo]

Jill moved to stand next to where her brother was bemusedly rubbing his cheek and punched his hard in the shoulder. "Stop that," she demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at the elder sibling.

"Hey, hold on, that wasn't my--" Jack protested, raising his hands in defense.

His sister interrupted him with a snort. "Uh huh. On a sidenote: you did good, hermano," she added more gently.

"So I did good and I should stop it?" Jack quirked an eyebrow.

Jill shrugged. "Like you're not used to getting conflicting information from the women in your life?"

"Point," the swordsman admitted with a lopsided smirk. "You brought my trunks, right?"

"Yeah, in the backpack. I left it inside, c'mon." Giving Lynn and Bill a modicum of privacy, the siblings retreated inside.

[Dr Archeville]

A cowboy that doesn't smoke? Well, now I have seen everything!

Oh, hush. It is both sweet and healthy, and it means one less contaminant for the Brownstone's filters to contend with.

With which they would contend.

Grammar Nazi....

Archeville extricated himself from Elena & Natalya's clutches and approached Lynn. "Mein gift is not much," he began.

We shouldn't give her anything, we already gave her this house and a monthly stipend!

We do, yes, but that does not mean we cannot help her celebrate this day.

He removed the envelop from his pocket, "in dis are letters -- receipts, more accurately -- describing some donations, made anonymously so dere are no tax issues, to a number of museums. Museums mit ties to your family... und to mein."

Lynn would find it was receipts for sizable donations to an assortment of Holocaust memorials and museums, in America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Oh, so impersonal! I still say we should've gone with my idea of giving her dear grandpa's journal, the one where he describes all those lovely experiments he did to her relatives!

We did not determine if those were in fact her direct relatives... and besides which, NO!

[Heritage]

"I'm givin'em up. Well, the real ones, anyway. It's gon' take me a little while longer'ta kick them plastic things, but leastways, y'all won't have'ta smell these no more." Colt smiled, and let go of the case full of cigars. "Weren't right fer me'ta smoke on yer birthday anyways. I know how much ya don't like'em."

Lynn took his hand in both of her's and gave him a warm, encouraging smile as her big brown eyes drank in the man she loved.

"I'm glad you did this for me, and I do appreciate it; I never wanted to nag you about it, but I've seen what cancer can do, and I want you to know this is the best gift you could ever give yourself. And I'm proud of you, Billy."

She kissed him something fierce, savoring him like a tasty morsel before she heard Doc approach out of the corner of her ear; she paused and tilted her head back to look at the mad genius upside down.

"Hiya, Doc! Happy me-day!"

"Mein gift is not much,"

"in dis are letters -- receipts, more accurately -- describing some donations, made anonymously so dere are no tax issues, to a number of museums. Museums mit ties to your family... und to mein."

When she noted his rather serious demeanor, the shapeshifter oozed out of her lover's arms and reformed standing at the good doctor's side, peering at the papers in his hands. When she got the full impact of his gift (including the reference to his family), her eyes teared up just a bit; not the full-blown waterworks she'd turned on twice so far today, but there was definitely a little extra sparkle there. She took the envelope and gently laid her soft hand against his cheek.

"Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad."

Then she stood on tiptoe (and actually grew a few inches) so she could press her forehead to his as she whispered an emotional 'thank you', before for stepping back with a tearful smile. Waving the envelope like a fan, she chuckled.

"Well I guess it's all downhill from here; I doubt this birthday is gonna be topped anytime soon."

She reverently set the envelope on the end table she'd made for her food, then suddenly ran full tilt towards the pool, her summery outfit shifting into a sleek bikini as she leaped ten feet in the air and curled up for maximum impact.

"CANNONBALL!"

~fin~