Heritage

Works for me, more than enough time for 'Lenny' to become 'Whisper' ;)

Ooh, Master P, I don't know if Nightrival has ever appeared on TV before - he's kind of a mysterious dude. However, you may well have heard his name through the criminal underworld grapevine. I will let Shadowboxer address these issues himself.

Both Oliver and Megan find places to change, he in a stall in the men's room, she in an unlocked janitor's closet, but unfortunately this means the somewhat sinister groups of boys are no longer visible by the time they are both in costume :(

Is there anyway Grim might know anything about Rant's sister from her own time, like a Streetwise roll or something? Trying to come up with an angle for her to play in the fight.

Grim does not have to be told twice; this thing could probably swallow her whole in one gulp, and based on his actions, he seems to have acute senses much like her own, a natural predator who lives for the hunt. This gives the young heroine pause; she is currently practically invisible, but Bloodseeker made no mention of her. Did he not pick up on her scent, or is he just too busy to pay her mind right now? And there was clearly a history between the Beast and Rant, something involving his sister which can't have ended well for her. This is not the sort of fight I can win if I throw myself into the thick of it, I would be almost instantly killed. This is a time to be sneaky and fight dirty, the things I do best, but what's my angle here?

Yes! It's like the way Leela left Doctor Who, back in the day! :evil: Friday goes from kick@ss warrior woman to baby machine in the blink of an eye; I have no problems with strong female characters having babies, more power to them, but in her case it was like a switch flipped and boom! no more action, lots of babies. One of the many reasons I loved The Incredibles was the fact that Elastigirl was allowed to do both. :clap:

Lynn appraises the girl for several seconds, then laughs. "Okay, I think you should know that you're a terrible liar; I can say this because I myself am a very good liar. That's not a criticism; it probably means you're a good person, which is nice." She sighs and has another sip of Coke before she continues. "Now, as to what you're lying about, I have no idea, and it's none of my business anyway, but I am gonna let you off the hook." She casually looks around to make sure no one else is within earshot, then leans over to whisper in Kizzy's ear. "I've got powers, too; nothing as cool as the shadow control or whatever you've got, but still fairly awesome. Here, check it out, look at my eyes." Lynn pulls down her wraparounds, and then her eyes shift from her normal dark brown to green then bright blue and finally yellow, like a wolf's, before they go back to their original shade. She winks and pulls her shades back up. "None too shabby, huh? I can do more than just the eyes, obviously, but we're out in public here, so that's all you get. I can do wicked tattoos, too."

So are we doing the private meeting in the same thread, or starting a new one? And how soon are they supposed to meet at the place, and just where is it?

Lenny notes the address and nods. "My girl will be there; she'll be carrying this." He holds up the napkin, The younger man shrugs. "Hard to say. She's a fox, so I'm biased; in my head, I like to think that all hot chicks are sweethearts and are into me, but that rarely turns out to be the case." He chuckles ruefully, finishes up his drink and bangs the glass down on the bar. "Yes siree Bob, we're all gonna find out one way or another, am I right?" Lenny gets up, drops a few bills on the bar and gives Sammy a nod. "Adios, muchacho! See you in the funny papers. I hope you and my girl Whisper get along; she can be a bit-" He wiggles his hand back and forth. "Much." Lenny gives him a salute and then strolls out of the casino, whistling a Van Halen song as he gets out his cellphone. "How ya doin', babydoll? Daddy's already got something lined up for you..." Of course, there is no one at the other end. So far, so good, thinks Grim. Wish I had time to take a shower, so I could wash my own layer of slime off.

Can we get a posting of initiative order for the fight with Avalon's brood? I'm not really sure when Grim gets to act.

Lynn frowns when Kizzy mentions her choice of hot dog toppings. "Boy, you really are from out of town; relish he should have, but ketchup he might not. If we're lucky, he might have a few pouches lying around for tourists." However Kizzy is in luck, and the hated condiment is provided by the vendor with a somewhat disgusted but not unfriendly look. Soon the girls are sitting at the spot the darkwielder indicated, happily munching away; the young biker takes a sip of diet Coke and squints at her new friend. "So you said you go to Claremont? I hear that's a good school. But don't all your little fingers of darkness freak everyone out? Or does paying that much for tuition tend to shut people up?" Even though going to a private school probably meant Kizzy came from money, she didn't have the usual attitude Lynn associated with rich jerks; hey, maybe she just got a scholarship, and had really good grades! That would help explain the coolness factor.

Estelle smiles and places an order for two steak dinners to go at Nathan's, a North End restaurant known for its steak and chops. "Okay, if we walk over there at a leisurely place, our order should be ready by the time we arrive." She tucks her phone away and gestures for him to follow her. "I can't imagine the profound sense of dislocation you must be feeling right now; I'm not sure when the last time you woke up was, but it must have been at least a hundred years ago. The world has changed so much since then: the innovations in technology that we've become so dependent on, our culture and outlook on life." She chuckles and shakes her head, sending cascading ripples through her hair, then she turns the focus back on Ullgir. "So just what do you do as a Champion of the Aesir? I know a little bit about your pantheon; Odin, Thor and Loki, and of course the Valkyries, mostly things I've picked up from Wagnerian opera."

Grim comes whistling up the street in full costume swinging two large bags from KFC, one original, the other extra crispy; usually when someone says bring chips, everyone thinks someone else is gonna bring some actual food, and all you get is chips. If you're lucky, someone might have grabbed a coffee cake at Jewel, but that's about it. The chicken and sides had set her back a pretty penny, but she was convinced it was a worthwhile investment in camaraderie. Obviously she didn't ride the bus over the river in her costume, but after a quick duck into a nearby alley, Grim was ready to show up at Monty's for the first meeting. She knocks on the door and waits to be allowed in, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Oh man, maybe I should have brought some drinks - crap!

Grim gets a 14 on her Initiative.

She tucks her head into the crook of his shoulder and sighs deeply as she closes her eyes. "No, no, it's fine; I've had...an unusually colorful life for a girl my age." Lynn chuckles. "You didn't know what kind of minefield you'd wandered into, you poor shmuck." She nods. "I know, or I guess I should say I believe you; soon I will feel it in my heart, and then in my body, and then I will know." She opens her eyes and looks up at him and smiles. "And then I will give myself to you, body, mind and soul. And it will be a great day." Then she yawns and stretches. "Man, I am beat; these rollercoasters really do take it out of you." She sits up and kisses Ren softly on the lips. "I'm gonna have to turn in soon, even if it is pretty early." Lynn stands and starts to clean up the meal. "I still want to have that glass of champagne, since I now have the the money to buy some nice things, but after that I needs me some sleep." She stops and puts a hand on her hip. "But now that I know you don't sleep, I feel kinda guilty about, y'know, not..." The young heroine grabs a pile of books from beside the bed. "Do you want something to read in bed? I have some books out from the library, mostly research stuff on the Mob, but there's also some fun ones, too, since the true crime stuff can get so depressing and creepy." She shudders and makes a face, then holds up a stack of brightly-colored novels. "Have you read any of the Oz books? Loved 'em as a kid, but they still hold up; I've got Land of Oz, Tin Woodman of Oz and Magic of Oz, all the ones they had in. They're a quick read and lots of fun."

I've read a decent amount of Heinlein, but still not many of his most famous ones. I loved Friday when I was in high school; that was around the time I found out I was attracted to strong female characters, like Friday and Molly from Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, which lead me to create the types of characters I make today. I should read Friday again, just to see how much I like it know that I'm older an more mature (yeah, right) ;)

Grim gives him a thumbs up and heads in; as she descends, she starts singing a song from Peter Pan, the play her class saw freshman year, but with an added new verse. I'm flying! Look at me way up high, Suddenly here am I I'm flying! I'm dying! Deadly traps all around will my corpse ever be found? I'm dying! She calls back up to Nightrival. "Sorry, didn't mean to go all defeatist! I'll shut up now!" Soon she is standing by the hatch on the floor, nervously awaiting her mentor's descent.

Sorry for the delay, look for a post from me today or tomorrow :D

Grim shrugs, and then realizes the pointlessness of the action, given her current state. "Oh, uh, sure." She drops her mysterious aura and appears with a grin. "Last one on the ground is an old man in tights!" With that taunt, she does a backflip off the roof to the ground below.

Lynn smiles nervously and sits beside him, twisting her hands in her lap. "I want to tell you something that might help, or might not, I dunno..." She looks away, then down at her hands as she gnaws on her lower lip. "I was fifteen when I ran away from home. I'd never had a boyfriend when I was in school; well, I kissed a few boys, held hands and stuff, but that's it, nothing...real." She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I had this idea about riding the rails, like hobos in old movies, or Natty Gann, my videotape hero; I could go anywhere I wanted, for free. I was the cat who walked by herself, and no one would ever catch me." She laughs and shakes her head at her childish naivete. "So I met this guy when I was out there; I don't even think I was sixteen yet. He was maybe seventeen or eighteen, and he was a runaway too. His name was Charlie, and I fell for him like a ton of bricks." She smiles a small sad smile and runs a thumbnail down the seam of her sweatpants. "He said he would take care of me, that he would protect me; he told me I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever met, and he kissed me on the forehead every night before I went to sleep." Lynn laughs again, but it's more than half sob. "He made me feel safe, and I trusted him, and I loved him." "Then one night, after we'd been together, I dunno, four or five months, we were out west, Montana I think; the boxcar door was open, and it was a warm summer night and the moon was out. It was magical." Her breathing becomes somewhat haggard. "He asked me...to do something, and I wasn't ready; I told him no, but he wouldn't listen. We were all alone in the middle of nowhere, and I was scared and he was stronger than me and he wouldn't let me go." Her body wracked with sobs, Lynn does her best to continue. "So I took my knife and I sta-stabbed him, in the hand, and he hit me, and I cut him and he hit me again. And then...I kicked him in the knee, as hard as I could, and I felt it snap, and he fell." Her face twists up in anguish. "He fell off the train. We must have been doing close to fifty miles an hour, in the middle of nowhere, nothing but trees and rocks and nothing out there." She covers her face in her hands and cries her eyes out for quite some time; when she finally recovers, her eyes are red with tears. "All the guys I was with since then, they never...they never knew me; I was always someone else. You're the first to see me, to see my face, to touch my skin...since that night. That's why it's so hard."

Lynn sits on the edge of the bed, looking like she's been stabbed; there is hurt on her face, and no small amount of anger. When she speaks, her voice is clenched and barely controlled. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were on a tight schedule; should we put a timeclock up on the wall in the apartment?" She gets up and gets right in his face, poking his chest hard. "I told you I was messed up, that I had some issues with guys, but I guess everything would be okay if I just put out, huh?" Suddenly she does a backflip and lands on the bed, bouncing up and down like it's a trampoline. "Because sex makes everything better! Everything's better with sex!" In midair, she becomes a blonde, blue-eyed cheerleader, complete with pom-poms and red jersey with ‘T&A’ in varsity letters across the chest. A maniacal grin is plastered across her face. “Whoo-ee, we’re having fun now! Thank goodness we had sex in a timely manner, otherwise I don’t know what would happen!†She finally stops jumping, the ridiculous outfit melting back into her sweats as she flops back onto the bed. She sighs, rubs her face and just lies there for a bit staring up at the flaking stucco ceiling. “I’m sorry, that was mean and unnecessary. And yes, I admit the couch thing was stupid.†She sits up, and so many emotions are flitting across her face it’s almost possible to pin down one. “The thing is-" She stops herself, winces, and switches gears. “I’m sorry if I’m driving you crazy; just be glad you’re not a telepath, because I’m sure reading my mind would make you dizzy.†She laughs ruefully, then vigorously rubs her hair. “Gah! Look, all I can tell you is I drive me crazy too, not that it’s any comfort to you. I have the same impulses and needs you do...though my sex drive is less likely to crash than yours.†She scrunches up her face and shakes her head. “Sorry, bad robot joke, I couldn’t help myself.†She climbs off the bed and starts pacing. “The point is, yes, I want to take this to the next level too, but my gut tells me to go slow, maybe slower than is healthy. We’re both freaking ourselves out here, and it’s going so good, and I’d hate to lose that, and I know me being moody makes that difficult either way.†She approaches Ren and takes his hands into her own, and she looks up at him with pleading eyes. “I want you to spend the night; I’m not gonna lie to you, you’re not getting more than sharing a bed and snuggling, but it’s what I can handle right now.†Lynn’s eyes get a little wet, and wipes then with the heel of her hand. “I’m sorry I’m such a basket case, and I know you’re ready and I’m not, and that sucks, but can you wait just a little while longer? Not long, I swear; soon.†She smiles through the tears, knowing she’s asking a lot here. “Can you do that for me, please? I swear I will so make it up to you; I can do the cheerleader thing and everything.â€Â

No, this is all good; they haven't had a real fight yet, and that's part of being in a relationship. Plus from a guy's point of view 2 1/2 months is forever :D

Across the alley, Grimalkin is perched on the very edge of a dilapidated house's rooftop, her body blending into the night sky; her pupils are dilated so wide that she would appear to have no irises, assuming you could actually see her eyes right now. She softly calls out to her mentor Nightrival, who's watching the approach to the suspected crack house from the other direction, about twenty feet away. "We've got activity; some kind of, I dunno, ninja dude on a bike, possibly a Ninja as well. Except, y'know...nevermind." The young heroine remains at her perch, drinking in the scene with her eyes as she waits for Rival to take action.

This time Colby actually does pull out her piece and she slowly takes a few steps towards the newly-formed path. "Either one of you ever seen Evil Dead 2? I am having major flashbacks here." She turns back to the other two women. "I suggest we stick to the path if at all humanly possible; most of your stories about going off into the woods warn about straying from the path. I'm gonna call this in real quick, and then if you two are ready, we can head on in." Keeping her weapon down at her side, she fishes out her cellphone and makes a hurried call back to the Department, keeping her voice low. "Okay", she says as she puts the phone away and returns her gun to both hands. "Ready when you are."

Ok, I'm not actually sure about the cellphones thing; I saw it on a TV show so I worked it in to my post. It's really an excuse for Lenny/Grim to head outside to fake his call to Whisper, so Grim could actually be wrong. ;)