Stopping By For A Nice Little Chat (IC, Closed)

[Heritage]

"And speaking of silver," he said, looking back towards the assortment of metal samples on the distant table, "are you up for some more tests? Your arm looks almost completely healed!"

Lynn peered down at the small pink spot on her arm, all that remained of her brush with iron. "Huh. Well whaddya know? Yeah, okay, bring on the next diabolical torture device, Herr Doktor!"

She laid back on the examination table with her hands tucked behind her head.

"Y'know it never even occured to me, but I guess you're right; I guess I kinda am a fairy princess." The changeling chuckled and shook her head. "Back in high school I called myself the 'Jewish Ninja Princess'; guess I was closer to the truth than I thought!"

As she waited for the next test, she thought back over her family tree.

"Well, my great-grandfather Ira was the Amazing Al-Kazar, as I told all you guys on my birthday; he did magic, so maybe his powers were faerie-based, too. Other than that, not much I can think of; my mom said she once heard a voice when she was up in the attic at my Great-Aunt Mo's house when there was nobody there, which really freaked her out. She was like nine or ten, I think."

[Dr Archeville]

"Do you think any of them would be amenable to coming in for some tests?," he asked as he flew over and gathered metal samples. "If all your abilities are signs of your fae ancestry -- if they are all inherent to you, and the Winter Queen merely activated latent parts of you, rather than give you all-new traits -- then a full genetic map of your family line would be an enormous help to my research!"

Yes, get the whole family in on this! Fun for all!

"Oh, before we begin the metal tests, one thing I would like to see first." He flew off to the chemistry lab section, and brought back a glass of water from one of the sinks. "I would like to scan you while you drink something that is not of your own creation."

After that, he slowly brought other small samples of metals to her: nickel, cobalt, gadolinium, and neodymium. All to no effect.

"... hunh. Well, that seem to throw the electromagnetic energy hypothesis out the window."

[Heritage]

"Do you think any of them would be amenable to coming in for some tests?," he asked as he flew over and gathered metal samples. "If all your abilities are signs of your fae ancestry -- if they are all inherent to you, and the Winter Queen merely activated latent parts of you, rather than give you all-new traits -- then a full genetic map of your family line would be an enormous help to my research!"

Grim shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so; my mom would probably be the one most likely to do it, since she works in the sciences, but I guess you could ask the rest at my wedding, if not before." She frowned. "Though I'm not sure how cool the rest of my Jewish family would be with being tested by the grandson of, well, you get the idea..." She looked rather embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"I would like to scan you while you drink something that is not of your own creation."

The shapeshifter nodded. "Okay." Then she got a weird look in her eye. "Hey, in fact I'll do it one better!" As she raised the glass to her lips, her skin, gown and digestive system became transparent, allowing the startled doctor to see the water work its way down her esophagus! By the time it reached her stomach, it simply seemed to disappear into body. When she finished, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and smiled; the affect was far from pleasant until she became fully visible again.

"... hunh. Well, that seem to throw the electromagnetic energy hypothesis out the window."

Lynn peered over to look at Dok's tricorder. "Hmm, looks like Magic thwarts Science once again. In your face, Science!" However her triumphant grin turned a little sheepish when realized she might have offended her host and employer.

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville nodded solemnly at the point about Lynn's family, "it... it might be better if you asked. Maybe... after the wedding. Give them time to wrap their brain around the idea of, well, me. I mean, in addition to whatever they have seen in the papers or on the news."

True healing can only come about if both sides work at it!

He laughed at her 'visible woman' trick, "I was not aware you could do it selectively like that! Oh, this is a nice surprise!"

Neat!

He appeared not all discomforted by the trick, though his attention to it drew his attention away from his scanner. He glanced back at it, then to her, back and forth. "Ah, interesting -- I am getting the same readings when you drink the water I gave you as I did when you drank the beverages you created. In both cases, they simply vanish before reaching your stomach. You are not digesting; in fact, you... well, hold on, let me do these other metal tests before going off on a tangent."

Her reaction to those was met with a smirk, "'magic' is only science that ha snot been properly explained yet. Which is the entire point of these tests."

I love a challenge!

"Besides," he grinned and tapped her on the shoulder, "I think astronomy, chemistry, neurology have beaten astrology, alchemy, and phrenology enough for Science to have a comfortable lead."

"Now, back to my earlier find!," he exclaimed. He manipulated the controls of the Screwdriver again, and a life-sized hologram of The Visible Grim appeared before her. Another manipulation, and the 'camera' zoomed in on the torso, and all the visible organs. "Right, now, your vital organs. Though in your case, that appears to be a misnomer: they do not appear to be doing anything. Your lungs are working, but there is no gas exchange -- I believe you are only breathing out of habit, not necessity. Your liver and gall bladder are both quiet, no bile production, which makes sense as your stomach is not digesting anything."

Organs not functioning? But what about... her heart?!

[Heritage]

"it... it might be better if you asked. Maybe... after the wedding. Give them time to wrap their brain around the idea of, well, me. I mean, in addition to whatever they have seen in the papers or on the news."

Grim nodded and said no more on the subject; at the very least, she was fairly sure her mom would be up for it, if only for the chance to talk with Dok one-on-one about science and stuff.

"I was not aware you could do it selectively like that! Oh, this is a nice surprise!"

"Me, neither! Well, I kinda had the idea as possible Halloween costume, but I never actually tried it until now. Hey, I bet I could visit medical schools and get paid oodles of cash for that stunt!"

"Right, now, your vital organs. Though in your case, that appears to be a misnomer: they do not appear to be doing anything. Your lungs are working, but there is no gas exchange -- I believe you are only breathing out of habit, not necessity. Your liver and gall bladder are both quiet, no bile production, which makes sense as your stomach is not digesting anything."

The news, while not exactly unexpected, was still unnerving; she wasn't really 'Lynn Epstein' anymore, not the girl her parents raised and loved so much. She was in fact an exact replica of that girl, who died alone and afraid in that frozen alley years ago. Still she loved her family, loved Colt and loved her teammates, and still cared deeply about things; in a way, she was like Data or that Doctor hologram on Voyager, a non-human creature who nonetheless felt emotions.

Boy, Mom's gonna freak out when she hears this.

As to her heart, it appeared to be beating happily away, actually a little rapidly considering how she felt right now. But if she needed no oxygen, no food and didn't even go to the bathroom anymore, why was it still beating at all?

Just like that, she stopped it cold. It hung in her chest like a warm bloody fist, doing nothing. And then it occured to her why it was still beating.

For Colt. I eat, I breathe and my heart beats for Colt, so he doesn't lie next to a corpse every night.

She swallowed (another residual human reflex) and then started her heart up again, as steady as a drum.

I do it all for you, my love. :(

[Dr Archeville]

"You probably could!," he said in response to her med school model plan. "In fact, perhaps you could help me sometime brush up on my anatomical studies. I had already put in a request to the city morgues asking for medical cadavers so I can keep my surgical skills from getting rusty, but a living visible model would be equally helpful!"

Still need to find out what that coroner meant about 'bodies walking all over the place.' I am sure it was nothing.

At around the time Lynn had willed her heart to stop, Archeville had removed certain layers from the holo-Lynn in order to get a look at her heart. When he saw it stopped, he did a double-take between the hologram and the real Lynn.

Then he squealed.

That is so cool!

"Ah-ha!," he said, clapping sharply, "Now, that does fit one of my hypotheses! Hrm!" In sharp contrast to the graveness of the discovery, Archeville waddled towards Grim, and began speaking in a very froggy voice. "Hrmmm! Your glamour, surrounds you and binds you, it does! Luminous being you are, not this," he pinched his arm, "crude matter!"

[Heritage]

"Ah-ha!," he said, clapping sharply, "Now, that does fit one of my hypotheses! Hrm!" In sharp contrast to the graveness of the discovery, Archeville waddled towards Grim, and began speaking in a very froggy voice. "Hrmmm! Your glamour, surrounds you and binds you, it does! Luminous being you are, not this," he pinched his arm, "crude matter!"

Grim gave Dok a look and shook her head. "Don't...don't do the Yoda voice again. Some thing's are just plain wrong." Then a thought hit her that made her laugh out loud. "Oh God, my parents are gonna be so upset; they're huge Star Trek fans!"

And with that, as if by magic, Grim felt much better; since she was a kid, she'd been good at finding the humor in things, a gift that had done more to keep her alive than any superpower. She drummed her hands on the examination table.

"So, I think therefore I am; got it. What's the next item up for bid? How next can I warp the the laws of time and space without actually warping them? And can I put my pants back on? I'm sure this table is cold, if I could feel it."

[Dr Archeville]

"Oh, pshaw," he said in his normal tone. Well, normal for him as of the past month and a half or so. "I have never understood why so many fans cling so tight to one of those two huge franchises and derides the other. They both share much in common!"

Exotic locations! Strange beings! Fantastic technology! Heroic acts of dering-do! Shakespearean actors!

"Next? Well, that is entirely up to you! Object creation? Shapeshifting? Reflexes, strength, endurance?" He made a wide sweeping gesture with his arms, "I have many, many ways I can test you! I even have a combat simulator, like the one I installed at the Brownstone!"

She is taking the potential revelation that she is a figment of her own imagination surprisingly well!

[Heritage]

"Oh, pshaw," he said in his normal tone. Well, normal for him as of the past month and a half or so. "I have never understood why so many fans cling so tight to one of those two huge franchises and derides the other. They both share much in common!"

Grim nodded vigorously at this. "I know, right? I mean, it's not like either one is actually a realistic portrayal of life in outer space! Where's the love, people? Why can't we all just get along?"

"Next? Well, that is entirely up to you! Object creation? Shapeshifting? Reflexes, strength, endurance?" He made a wide sweeping gesture with his arms, "I have many, many ways I can test you! I even have a combat simulator, like the one I installed at the Brownstone!"

Grim scratched the back of her head as her robe shifted into a maskless version of her regular costume; it was probably what she felt most comfortable in, at least down here.

"Hmm, good question there. I'm guessin' you've already got the footage from all our other workout sessions on disk or whatever, so I guess if we don't wanna just redo stuff you've already got... well, I haven't done so much with the conjuring, y'know, the item creation stuff."

She looked around the lab, craning her neck this way and that as she crossed her legs Indian style.

"So do you have like a special area where you'd want me to make the stuff, or can you just use your little tricorder thing right here?"

[Dr Archeville]

Harmony!

"I do have footage of your workout sessions," he said, pausing just long enough for her to wonder if he was going to say "and much more," "though of course footage can only tell so much. I have, in fact, often considered doing some training with you all. My own facilities do a good enough job, sure, and my sparring with my fellow members of the Freedom League are quite excellent-"

Especially Raven and Star Knight! They are harsh taskmistresses!

"- but, well, saying he League and the Interceptors have different styles would be one of the Top Ten Understatements of the Decade," he chuckled.

But differences can be good!

"Item creation! An excellent idea!," he exclaimed, clapping sharply. "We will need some space, though." He looked around the (somewhat cramped, even with its huge size) laboratories, "no, no... ah! The pool! This way!"

He lead her down a hallway off the electronics and robotics section, from which she'd smelled chlorine and water earlier. The floors gradually shifted from linoleum to tile, and soon they were at an Olympic-sized swimming pool! On the far end of it she could see an equally large gymnasium/weight room; hallways to the right would lead off presumably to lockers & showers, or maybe to a sauna or whirlpool.

"So, what is the biggest thing you have ever made?"

[Heritage]

Grim obligingly followed the German genius to the gymnasium, looking around at all the bits of excercise equipment with vague interest.

"So, what is the biggest thing you have ever made?"

"Hmm? Oh, I dunno; I guess the swiming pool at my birthday party back in June, but that was just, y'know, like a giant tub. Not a lot of mass or volume."

She started to pace out the floor, head bowed deep in thought.

"Biggest thing I ever made, biggest thing I ever made..."

Suddenly she held out her hands, sending tendrils of vapor outward that wove under and into each other, leaving in their wake...a gingerbread house! It was easily fifty feet on a side and had a sharply-peaked roof that rose two stories tall; all the windows were trimmed in licorice and snow made of white frosting laid on the ginger snap shingles. The style was vaguely Alpine and it smelled simply delicious.

"So, would you like a glass of milk to go with that?" ;)

[Dr Archeville]

Pretty!

Archeville actually laughed at the sight, a good, hearty, Bavarian laugh. "Oh, now, that is wonderful, Lynn!" He flew all around it, scanning it with his gadget and, yes, even tasting bits here and there.

Delicious!

"It checks out as real, all the complex carbohydrates one would find in a hand-made gingerbread house. And tasty, too!"

He tapped his chin in thought, "alright, now, let us go for something more complex. Can you make... an automobile? Not a kiddie, candy one, a real, working car?"

Hypothesis: she cannot, or at best can make something that looks like a real car, but it will not actually work.

[Heritage]

Grim couldn't help but beam with pride as the good doctor crowed with delight over her creation; sadly she could never get enough positive attention from authority figures, and she took this opportunity to bask in it.

"alright, now, let us go for something more complex. Can you make... an automobile? Not a kiddie, candy one, a real, working car?"

"Uh..."

She frowned somewhat uncertainly; whether due to some inherent mental block or just her own beliefs over how her powers worked, Lynn very rarely made anything 'modern' or even metallic. But was there any real reason why she shouldn't be able to? The Jersey girl had never, despite having a dad who loved machines and idolized Bruce Springsteen, been much of a car enthusiast, so it took her a few seconds to picture a specific vehicle in her head. But once one did bubble to the surface, she realized there was really only one viable choice.

The Blue Bomber. The Shuttlecraft. The USS Aerostar.

With a nostalgic smile on her face, Lynn closed her eyes and held out her hand as she pictured her dad's beloved 1986 Ford Aerostar in all its glory, her family's primary form of transportation throughout her childhood. It was a seven-person passenger van of wonder, cruising down the Garden State Parkway for lazy summer weekends full of salt water taffy, tuna melts and sunburn in the Wildwoods, featuring loud off-key sing-a-longs to her dad’s Lena Lovich tapes (“Ooh ooh OOH ooh!â€). Rides home from gymnastic practice frequently turned into manic space adventures, with Captain Commander Dad barking out orders as she frantically riffled through the glove compartment in search of those elusive dilithium crystals, yelling back in her adopted Scottish brogue that the Aerostar couldn’t take much more of this of punishment. The day she knew she loved her family, really really loved them, was the day her dad suddenly announced out of the blue they had to ‘brace for impact’, and all of them, even her frequently-difficult mom, shook from side-to-side in perfect unison.

She opened her tear-filled eyes, and there it was, in all its glory; stroking the side of the van with tentative fingers, she smiled as she spoke just above a whisper.

“I love you, Aerostar.â€

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville's eyebrows shot up as the 1996 Ford Aerostar materialized. "Wow!"

Yes, Doktor Archeville actually said "wow"!

"I prefer Audis myself," he chuckled, "but that is neither here nor there. Excellent detail!" He flitted around the van, touching it, prodding it, running scans with his Screwdriver.

The emotions playing on her face indicate this vehicle means a lot to her. Positive reminiscences about family... so nice to see in others!

"And it even appears to be made of metal!," he exclaimed after looking at the readings. "Not steel, though, more like aluminium... no iron in here at all... interesting."

If she is disrupted by iron, it would fit that she could not create it.

"And now, to test it..." He tried the driver's door, and found it opened with no problem. He sat in the driver's seat, looked about for the keys, and found them up in the sun visor. The key went in, the mechanism turned... but nothing happened. "Hrrmmm..."

He popped the hood release, got out and went around to the front of the van. Lifting the hood, he instantly saw the problem. "Ah, as I expected."

Lynn had approached, partly from marveling at her handiwork, partly just to touch the USS Aerostar one more time. She'd come around to the front and joined Dok in looking in... and saw nothing but a jumbled mess of parts, most of which she did recognize as being automobile parts, though a few appeared to be generic mechanical widgets. "This is a vehicle from your childhood, yes? But you never saw under the hood, did you? Or, at least, never studied what was under there, yes? You do not know how an automobile works, not on the level an automobile manufacturer would know, right? I would bet that the more complex an item, the more you must know about how it would be constructed for it to be a functioning copy, otherwise it is just a non-functioning shell."

[Heritage]

"This is a vehicle from your childhood, yes? But you never saw under the hood, did you? Or, at least, never studied what was under there, yes? You do not know how an automobile works, not on the level an automobile manufacturer would know, right? I would bet that the more complex an item, the more you must know about how it would be constructed for it to be a functioning copy, otherwise it is just a non-functioning shell."

Grim nodded as she leaned over to peer into the engine at Dok's side, her legs dangling into space.

"Yeah, I've done mostly furniture in the past because I kinda know it; I used to visit my dad at his workshop, and he and a few of his carpentry buddies showed my how the tools work, and like how all the joints fit together and stuff like that. But yeah, cars I don't know from Adam."

Then a thought hit her, and she dropped back down to her feet, her eyes wide with possibilities.

"Hey, I wonder if I could make something more complicated if I was linked to another person, y'know, like a mind meld? If they could project an image of the thing into my head, could I create a working car then? Oh my God, if you have like a gadget that does the same thing, I could make prototypes for you out of thin air!"

She smile slowly spread across her face as she stroked an invisible beard.

"Sehr interessant, ja?"

[Dr Archeville]

"Possibly..." the Doktor said after a moment's thought, "though messing with a mind like that is, I feel, uncomfortably close to mind control, one of the few avenues of research I do not pursue." He was chewing his lower lip; this was something he was not keen on.

And without my Other constantly pestering and trying to usurp me, I can finally know I am not pursuing anything like that! No more waking up to find I -- it -- had worked out a mind control crown while I slept! Also, I would not want to overload her mind with mine!

"Besides," he said, his tone lifting slightly, "before we delve into what you might could do, I feel we should explore what you know you can do."

He looked around the pool and the gymnasium beyond, then back to the Aerostar and Lynn. "When you create something, do you have any control over it? Could you, for example, make a marionette and have it move on its own, either as if by manipulated by some unseen hand, or by... 'putting a bit of yourself into' it, giving it some semblance of sentience? Like, ah, a golem?"

Go Lynn's Golems! Ha ha!

[Heritage]

"Possibly..." the Doktor said after a moment's thought, "though messing with a mind like that is, I feel, uncomfortably close to mind control, one of the few avenues of research I do not pursue."

"Okay." Lynn merely shrugged, her idle fancy flickering away from her mercurial mind as quickly as it appeared; she didn't appear to fully understand the depth of Dok's distaste for such work.

"When you create something, do you have any control over it? Could you, for example, make a marionette and have it move on its own, either as if by manipulated by some unseen hand, or by... 'putting a bit of yourself into' it, giving it some semblance of sentience? Like, ah, a golem?"

At the mention of this, the changeling's face became rather comical, her eyes bulging out as if she'd just swallowed a bug. It took her several seconds for her to regain her composure and find her voice, which squeaked a bit.

"A golem? Uh, you do know that story doesn't end too well from the rabbi's point of view, right?" She looked extremely uncertain, almost fearful at the prospect of creating something approaching life.

Of course Dok doesn't have a problem with it; after all, Frankenstein was German, too!

She dropped down onto a comfy high-backed chair that appeared beneath her, rubbing her jaw in very deep thought.

"Well, if I think of it in a different context...more as a faerie than as a Jew...then it's not so sacrilegious. I'm not creating actual life, but more of a shadow of life...what's the word, a simulacrum. A simulacrum..."

Grim slowly closed her eyes, then leaned forward out of her chair, with one hand extended into space; tiny pinpricks of sweat formed on her head and her brow furrowed. Once again mist flowed out of her fingertips and coalesced into a small figure some three feet high, the head forming just underneath Lynn’s palm. It looked to be a little girl, maybe three or four years old, but formed out of painted wood; in build and features it evoked both Disney’s Pinocchio and Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, with painted-on hair, a pretty red dress and large oval eyes, currently closed as if asleep. It also bore a certain resemblance to Lynn herself, or at least how she might have looked as a young child.

When at last Grim opened one of her eyes to take a peak, the little GrimDoll stretched her arms, silently yawned and looked around sleepily; at this, the comfy chair evaporated, dropping a very shocked shapeshifter flat on her butt.

“Oh good God; what is it?â€

[Dr Archeville]

"It is... you?" Archeville said incredulously.

Wowee!

"Or an unreasonable facsimile thereof. Fascinating!"

He knelt down and examined it, this way and that, though (through extraordinary willpower) he did not touch it. "Honestly, Lynn, I am surprised you could do this! Are you actively, directly dictating its motions? Or-"

Or is it some entity from the Winter Court, inhabiting a shell you created?!

The Doktor's face fell for a brief moment, but he quickly re-composed himself. He waved one hand in front of the GrimDoll's face, "hello, little one! Can you speak?"

[Heritage]

"It is... you?" Archeville said incredulously.

"Or an unreasonable facsimile thereof. Fascinating!"

Grim couldn't say a damn thing; her wide eyes were fixed on the tiny little girl she'd created, or summoned or whatever she'd done. The changeling wrapped her arms tightly around herself and hunched over slightly, as a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room sank deep into her bones.

"Honestly, Lynn, I am surprised you could do this! Are you actively, directly dictating its motions? Or-"

In a toneless voice barely above a whisper she muttered, "I have no idea..." The doll recoiled slightly from Dr Archeville when he got close to its face, but in general its demeamor seemd to be frank curiosity about the world it now inhabited.

"hello, little one! Can you speak?"

The GrimDoll held its tiny hands to its throat and sadly shook its head. Then it seemed to notice the real Grim for the first time, and there was a look of recognition in its eyes; it took a tentative step closer to Lynn, cocking its head to one side as though puzzled, then ran a small wooden hand down its glossy varnished cheek. Lynn drew her legs up close to her body, like she'd just seen a big black spider run across the floor

"Oh my God, it recognizes itself; that means its got, what, self-awareness, right? It came into this freakin' world knowing what it looks like! Oh s***! Oh God!"

The doll stopped with one hand extended when it saw the larger Grim react in fright, unsure of what to do next; then it looked back over its shoulder at Dok, a hurt expression on its face. Though mute and apparently composed entirely of wood, the doll was remarkably expressive.

[Dr Archeville]

"You should probably watch what you say around her," Archeville said, opening his arms to the Grim!Manikin as an uncle would to his niece. "We do not know how impressionable i- she is. Come here, little one, let me get a good look at you!"

It is so cute! But... what is it? Is she directing it subconsciously? Or is there some other intellect at work?

"It is probably best if -- to be on the cautious side -- we treat this little wunder as you would your own child." Archeville grinned, "speaking of, how are things with you and Bill? Not planning to move out of the Brownstone and into your own place anytime soon, are you?"

Shifting her focus should calm her!

[Heritage]

"You should probably watch what you say around her," Archeville said, opening his arms to the Grim!Manikin as an uncle would to his niece. "We do not know how impressionable i- she is. Come here, little one, let me get a good look at you!"

For the first time, Lynn felt a twinge of guilt about her treatment of her creation. Her own mother's emotions frequently blew hot and cold, and had made her childhood difficult; she didn't want to turn out the same way, even with what appeared to be a sort of temporary child.

For her part, little Grim!Manikin eagerly toddled on over to Dr. Archeville, who'd clearly been much nicer to the tiny doll so far; her glossy eyes were wide with curiosity as she held out her hands to touch Dok's ubiquitous labcoat. Watching the little thing move about, Grim's fear began to fade; a young girl's horror at the thought of dummies, mannequins and dolls springing to life was replaced by fond memories of her beloved Oz books, where sawhorses and pumpkinheads awoke quite innocently, and rarely harmed anyone.

She's actually super-cute, once you kinda squint your eyes and forget you're still awake; oh man, I hope she doesn't already hate me...

"It is probably best if -- to be on the cautious side -- we treat this little wunder as you would your own child." Archeville grinned, "speaking of, how are things with you and Bill? Not planning to move out of the Brownstone and into your own place anytime soon, are you?"

This line of inquiry caught Grim off-guard, and her cheeks and the tips of her ears went bright pink as she ran a nervous hand through her short hair.

“What? Oh, ah, things have been proceeding kinda slowly due to me going back to school, so we’ll have to see. I think I wanna get married in the spring, probably in late May; y’know, after Passover, maybe even on Lag B’Omer, which I think falls on the twenty-second next year. That way my Orthodox relatives won’t have an excuse not to show up, and it’s kinda like good luck and stuff…â€

As she spoke, she watched in quiet awe as the tiny childlike thing crawled up into Dok’s arms, a little spider monkey just like she was when she was little; a wave of powerful emotions swept through her, and somehow she knew right then and there that she and Colt would have a family.

“I wanna hold her next...â€

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville cradled the GrimManikin in his arms, and smiled at it.

Could Mona and I be doing this someday? I wonder...

"A solid plan," he said approvingly, finally tearing his eyes from the figure, "and I am very pleased to hear you are continuing your studies. And if there is anything I can do to help, please, let me know!"

He slowly, steadily walked over to Lynn and handed the Manikin off. "Heh, she has your eyes."

... oh! OH!

His face suddenly lit up. "Lynn, I think I may have a very special project for you, one that you will love." He was getting more excited as he spoke, though he did try to not get too loud, for the "baby's" sake. "Remember what I said last month, when we were all watching The Incredibles? Productions made by Metahumans, using their unique abilities to entertain in noel ways?"

[Heritage]

"A solid plan," he said approvingly, finally tearing his eyes from the figure, "and I am very pleased to hear you are continuing your studies. And if there is anything I can do to help, please, let me know!"

He slowly, steadily walked over to Lynn and handed the Manikin off. "Heh, she has your eyes."

"Yeah, my dad's Italian eyes; Mom's are gray like a wolf."

Ever so gently, Grim reached out for the tiny childlike doll, who at first seemed very nervous about the transfer, refusing to let go of Dok's arm. Grim offered her a hopeful smile and held out her hands.

"It's okay; I promise I won't bite. Mommy's just having a bad day, is all."

How weird to hear those words come out of her own mouth! At last, with one last look back at the Man in the Labcoat, the manikin let go, and made herself comfortable in Grim's slender but firm arms.

"Wow, you hardly weigh a thing! We need to get some matzo ball soup in you asap! Or we would, if you had like a stomach and stuff."

Should she let the small creature continue to exist, or was it best to soon dispell it before she became too attached? Probably too late for that already...

"Lynn, I think I may have a very special project for you, one that you will love." He was getting more excited as he spoke, though he did try to not get too loud, for the "baby's" sake. "Remember what I said last month, when we were all watching The Incredibles? Productions made by Metahumans, using their unique abilities to entertain in noel ways?"

The shapeshifter also found it was hard to take her eyes off her small creation, but she finally managed to do so. "Hmm? Oh yeah, that was cool!" Then her eyes narrowed and she grew somewhat wary. "Waitaminute, what exactly do you have in mind?"

[Dr Archeville]

"The Nutcracker!," he exclaimed, with all the excitement and exuberance of a kid on Christmas morning. "Christmas is only 62 days away, but imagine what a gift this could be to the city! Think of it -- you could provide the Gingerbread and Tin Soldiers. Fleur de Joie could provide the Christmas Tree, and make it grow when Clara shrinks to doll-size. I would be Herr Drosselmeyer, of course," he said with a deep bow. "You and Billy could be the mother and father... or would you rather be Clara? Hrm... do you think Erik would agree to be the Nutcracker? He does have a sword fight again the Rat King. Oh, who to cast as the Rat King? Hrm... maybe Wesley Knight... or Atlas! I know I could talk Rift into whipping up a good sound system, though we would need to determine where it would be..."

What fun it shall be!

"I am picturing a live show, perhaps in the park... ah, no, outside would be problematic, due to the cold, and what if there was inclement weather? Perhaps one of the television networks, maybe GBN."

[Heritage]

"The Nutcracker!," he exclaimed, with all the excitement and exuberance of a kid on Christmas morning. "Christmas is only 62 days away, but imagine what a gift this could be to the city! Think of it -- you could provide the Gingerbread and Tin Soldiers. Fleur de Joie could provide the Christmas Tree, and make it grow when Clara shrinks to doll-size. I would be Herr Drosselmeyer, of course," he said with a deep bow. "You and Billy could be the mother and father... or would you rather be Clara? Hrm... do you think Erik would agree to be the Nutcracker? He does have a sword fight again the Rat King. Oh, who to cast as the Rat King? Hrm... maybe Wesley Knight... or Atlas! I know I could talk Rift into whipping up a good sound system, though we would need to determine where it would be..."

"I am picturing a live show, perhaps in the park... ah, no, outside would be problematic, due to the cold, and what if there was inclement weather? Perhaps one of the television networks, maybe GBN."

Grim's eyebrows went up as Dok began to rattle off plans for producing the holiday classic.

Wow, he gets so enthusiastic these days!

She waited for him to pause for breath, then cleared her throat.

"Um, okay, yeah, I guess I'd be up for that. I'm a little fuzzy on the story, to be honest because, y'know, Jew, but I know it's some sort of ballet, right? With magic and pixies and toy solders and stuff?"

She chewed her lip a bit and looked down at the tiny doll cradled in her arms. "What do you think?" The mannikin merely shrugged in a gesture very much like her 'mother'. "Well, I guess I wouldn't be the first Jew to work on a Christmas pagent. Is there a video I can rent to get the basics?"