Waking up is pleasant, oddly enough. It's always nice to lie in bed for a bit before I wake up...
Insert (Young Justice/Exalted SI)
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May 27 2011
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
Waking up is pleasant, oddly enough. It's always nice to lie in bed for a bit before I wake up, often enough it's the best part of the day. The moment inevitably ends, and I go to stretch... What the fuck? I'm in an alley. I mean, it's not like I've got anything against alleys, but I certainly didn't go to sleep in one. No, I went to sleep in my bed, which is where I should be. I scramble around, and find that I have a more pressing concern.
Namely, I'm not in my body. Instead of being tall, pale, and a little overweight, I'm short, thin and brownish. Oh, and female. Can't forget that, now can I? This person whose body I'm wearing would probably be pretty, If I weren't looking at it while having a panic attack and compulsively running my hands through my hair (I absently note that it's a bit longer now, and thinner).
I stumble towards the end of the alley, past a dumpster that is suddenly much larger than they used to be. Once outside, I notice a few things. It's a city street, and everyone is staring at me. Oh god, I think I had a nightmare like this once. I start to panic even more, and damn it that person's taking out a phone, and I just want them to stop.
And then they do. They stop looking at me and continue about there day. What the goddamn fuck? The shock is enough to get me out of the panic, and I start to notice more details. Namely, the architecture is rather gothic. And that street sign is advertising Wayne Enterprises razors. Fuck, I'm in DC. And Gotham, which think has a literal demon underneath it or something. Why couldn't I have landed in Marvel? I'm okay with Marvel. I like Marvel. The characters are so much more human, unlike DC's gods.
But I'm getting off topic. Okay, what are the facts? I'm in DC. Fact. I'm in someone else's body. Fact. I can make people ignore me or something? Maybe fact? Need to test that.
I walk up to someone, clamp down on the start of some social anxiety and say "hey." He turns and nods in my direction, a bit. I guess I'm not as powerful as say, Imp. I walk around for a bit, enjoying the feeling of not being watched at all, until I get someone to point me to a library. It's pretty nice, which is explained by the Wayne Enterprises plaque on the front desk. Of course. This place is practically a company town after all.
I sign up for a library card, which I can do, though I don't think the librarian will remember me at all, and get on one of the computers. Google lets me find some history, which will hopefully let me pinpoint what universe I'm in. Superman is a guy, and Batman started in the 90's. There were a bunch of heroes in WW2, then the main bunch got up and running in 2003, after an alien attack. They seem to have most of the main group, but instead of Zatana they've got some guy named Zatara. Since that's the only gender bend, and nobody's a monkey, I can cross two parallels off the list. The problem is I don't know which I'm in at all.
None of the ones I'm familiar match up, which probably means that I'm in some obscure one or something. I may not have much, but at least I have some metaknowledge. Not much though. And no money, or even another set of clothes. Admittedly, the ones I'm in are pretty nice. Sort of a togay shirt and jeans. I wonder if someone dressed me, and wow is that a freaky thought.
But first things first; I need money, I need to figure out my powers. I think of blackmailing Batman and immediately dismiss the idea. It's just plain dumb. Powers first. Maybe I'll have making money as a power. That would be nice.
I look around Gotham for what feels like a good twenty minutes before finding what I'm looking for; an extended fire escape. I climb up it to the roof, and once I'm assured of some privacy I try to activate a power.
"Activate. Fly. Laser Beam." As it turns out, my powers aren't voice activated. I try to focus on the feelings that led me to become unnoticed, and find nothing beyond the initial thing. Okay, maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. I sit back on an AC unit and try to focus on remembering. I clear my mind and cast my memory back to find...
Pain, Humiliation, Mutilation, Hide Where the World Can't Find You, Be Someone Else.
I remember a lot, though it feels like my brain's too small to think it all at once. It's like each though had twenty perspectives behind it, and I can only parse one at a time. But the fact remains that I can remember a way between titans and heroes. I can remember being mutilated within an inch of my life and hiding away within a city of green fire and brass. I can remember hiding away within a world that was also myself. I can remember Elloge.
I have the memories of an ancient Yozi from a second work of fiction. This is wonderful and horrible. I'm something like an Infernal apparently, which is my favorite type of Exalted, but I might be doomed to go crazy. And this begs the question of if there are any other Exalt/Yozi around. I can vaguely remember trying to do something to escape Malfeas, but I can't remember the specifics. Apparently it ended up with me here, in this body. Which implies that Creation and DC are linked somehow. Isn't there a group called the New Gods? Does Zeus remember the Primordial War? What the absolute fuck is going on around here?
Namely, I'm not in my body. Instead of being tall, pale, and a little overweight, I'm short, thin and brownish. Oh, and female. Can't forget that, now can I? This person whose body I'm wearing would probably be pretty, If I weren't looking at it while having a panic attack and compulsively running my hands through my hair (I absently note that it's a bit longer now, and thinner).
I stumble towards the end of the alley, past a dumpster that is suddenly much larger than they used to be. Once outside, I notice a few things. It's a city street, and everyone is staring at me. Oh god, I think I had a nightmare like this once. I start to panic even more, and damn it that person's taking out a phone, and I just want them to stop.
And then they do. They stop looking at me and continue about there day. What the goddamn fuck? The shock is enough to get me out of the panic, and I start to notice more details. Namely, the architecture is rather gothic. And that street sign is advertising Wayne Enterprises razors. Fuck, I'm in DC. And Gotham, which think has a literal demon underneath it or something. Why couldn't I have landed in Marvel? I'm okay with Marvel. I like Marvel. The characters are so much more human, unlike DC's gods.
But I'm getting off topic. Okay, what are the facts? I'm in DC. Fact. I'm in someone else's body. Fact. I can make people ignore me or something? Maybe fact? Need to test that.
I walk up to someone, clamp down on the start of some social anxiety and say "hey." He turns and nods in my direction, a bit. I guess I'm not as powerful as say, Imp. I walk around for a bit, enjoying the feeling of not being watched at all, until I get someone to point me to a library. It's pretty nice, which is explained by the Wayne Enterprises plaque on the front desk. Of course. This place is practically a company town after all.
I sign up for a library card, which I can do, though I don't think the librarian will remember me at all, and get on one of the computers. Google lets me find some history, which will hopefully let me pinpoint what universe I'm in. Superman is a guy, and Batman started in the 90's. There were a bunch of heroes in WW2, then the main bunch got up and running in 2003, after an alien attack. They seem to have most of the main group, but instead of Zatana they've got some guy named Zatara. Since that's the only gender bend, and nobody's a monkey, I can cross two parallels off the list. The problem is I don't know which I'm in at all.
None of the ones I'm familiar match up, which probably means that I'm in some obscure one or something. I may not have much, but at least I have some metaknowledge. Not much though. And no money, or even another set of clothes. Admittedly, the ones I'm in are pretty nice. Sort of a togay shirt and jeans. I wonder if someone dressed me, and wow is that a freaky thought.
But first things first; I need money, I need to figure out my powers. I think of blackmailing Batman and immediately dismiss the idea. It's just plain dumb. Powers first. Maybe I'll have making money as a power. That would be nice.
I look around Gotham for what feels like a good twenty minutes before finding what I'm looking for; an extended fire escape. I climb up it to the roof, and once I'm assured of some privacy I try to activate a power.
"Activate. Fly. Laser Beam." As it turns out, my powers aren't voice activated. I try to focus on the feelings that led me to become unnoticed, and find nothing beyond the initial thing. Okay, maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. I sit back on an AC unit and try to focus on remembering. I clear my mind and cast my memory back to find...
Pain, Humiliation, Mutilation, Hide Where the World Can't Find You, Be Someone Else.
I remember a lot, though it feels like my brain's too small to think it all at once. It's like each though had twenty perspectives behind it, and I can only parse one at a time. But the fact remains that I can remember a way between titans and heroes. I can remember being mutilated within an inch of my life and hiding away within a city of green fire and brass. I can remember hiding away within a world that was also myself. I can remember Elloge.
I have the memories of an ancient Yozi from a second work of fiction. This is wonderful and horrible. I'm something like an Infernal apparently, which is my favorite type of Exalted, but I might be doomed to go crazy. And this begs the question of if there are any other Exalt/Yozi around. I can vaguely remember trying to do something to escape Malfeas, but I can't remember the specifics. Apparently it ended up with me here, in this body. Which implies that Creation and DC are linked somehow. Isn't there a group called the New Gods? Does Zeus remember the Primordial War? What the absolute fuck is going on around here?
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
Thank you for your kind words.
Well, it's not exactly the same thing but it is very damned close. Rewrite?
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
Same concept. This one will take a different path.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Mgunh1
Not an AI, honest!
- Location
- Northern Luna Base, Module 5, Sublevel 15
Heyyyy! Gratuitous sarcasm that serves no purpose! Also can't forget no constructive criticism what so fucking ever.
That's what I was wondering as well.
I assumed the SI is wearing a costume of some sort, or is at least dressed somewhat unusually.
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
Because a random girl was having a panic attack in the middle of the sidewalk. If course, my social anxiety was making it sound worse than it actually was.
Vaalintine
Wild Wondorous Wolfalope
So perhaps not Elloge, but He Who Bleeds The Unknown Word?
May 28 2011
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
I'm not paticularly proud to admit it, but I start by shoplifting. It's easy when you'd have to be covered in blood for people to start noticing you, and even more so when you can turn inanimate objects into clumps of writing. I don't grab much, just food, a backpack, a bat, and some other clothes.
See, some additional meditation had given me insight into Elloge's mythos. Her Excellency's balls for fighting normally, but good at pretending to be someone else. If I pretended to be someone who is good at fighting, I should be able to use it to fight. Or so the theory went. So, I stole a black sweatshirt and a hockey mask to wear, and reinvented myself as Casey Jones, sports themed crime-fighter (pls no sue). Tests were pretty positive; when I acted as Casey, I was able to swing my bat with a lot more ease compared to when I wasn't.
I then began to to work on a strategy that I call reverse mugging. It's when you find criminals and beat them like crappy pinatas. Instead of candy you get cash and car keys. It is surprisingly easy to find drug dealers in a city like Gotham, where you have A Man Dressed Like A Bat and a preteen running around, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Once I found a shady guy standing on a street corner, I settled into a nearby doorway, secure in my don't-notice-me field. Once a customer comes up, I use one of the powers that I found through remembering being Elloge to convince the dealer that they just called them a pussy-ass bitch and that their mother was a whore. I absently wipe a tear of blood from my face as the two begin fighting, then jump in, swinging my baseball bat with great skill, like I've trained for years. The attacks are reminiscent of bo-staff fighting, and the two thugs are quickly on the ground moaning. I pat them down, finding a knife, a wad of cash, some drugs, and a flip phone that I use to call the police. I leave quickly, as I'd feel pretty damn stupid if I got arrested for assault, battery, and theft. You know Batman never bothers dealing with that shit.
I repeat the process a couple more times before I grab a car from one of the dealers. Then I find a cheap motel that doesn't bother asking questions and rent a room for the night. It's one of those cheap pay by the hour places, which is fine for now, as I'm just too tired to care.
After grabbing a quick breakfast, I head back to the library for more research, this time on a slightly different topic. Namely, I'm researching costume makers in Gotham. And not the normal type, the type that make bulletproof clown costumes for the Joker's henchmen. As it turns out it's a pretty thriving business in Gotham, as there are a whole lot of villains that I've never even heard of. I fire off a couple emails at some of the more promising ones, trying to get a quote.
Of course, even with my nighttime activities I won't have enough money to pay for a solid costume. I'll have to step things up a bit. Organized crime is apparently still alive and well in Gotham, despite the activities of Batman, and criminals tend to buy a lot of ostentatious things. Gold, jewelry, things like that. Robbing one of the rich mobsters of Gotham would see me with enough money for a basic costume. Bulletproof, black, and easy to move in. Nothing fancy, as materials science is apparently much further along here due to all the super-scientists.
Unfortunately for me, mobsters don't advertise where they live. So I abandon that part of the plan and decide to just rob a rich person who is not Bruce Wayne. I can turn a window into words and back, and I'm nearly impossible to notice, making me an excellent cat-burglar.
I look up the mayor's house to start with, as he's a fairly public figure. He's into big game hunting, and he's incredibly wealthy. After about fifteen minutes of searching, I find a news article that has his address in it. He lives in a suburb of Gotham, which seems a bit odd. I mean, that's just asking to be challenged by someone who's an actual resident. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to live in Gotham either. I return to the motel to wait until night falls.
After getting lost twice (I really need to find a charm that gives me directions) I finally find myself in a really rich neighborhood. The houses, or rather mansions, are almost palaces. I'd say that this is a caricature of how rich people live if I actually, you know, knew how rich people live. I park the car in a parking lot a few miles away from the neighborhood, and decide to walk the rest of the way on foot. I'll want to ditch the car later anyways, but for now it'll be useful. I pull on the hockey mask and start to jog in the direction of his house.
Once there I press my hand against the wall and dissolve it into a puddle of words. I step through the new door and allow it to reconstitute behind me. I carefully sneak up to the second floor, quietly opening each door as I go. My shoes make little sound as I open the door to the bedroom. I sneak through the room to an adjoining door, and slowly slip through. With the door closed I turn on a cheap flashlight I bought, holding it so that the light doesn't show through the door. I slowly search the dressing room, flinching at every creak, until I find the jewelry box.
And then a hand grabs me by the mouth!
See, some additional meditation had given me insight into Elloge's mythos. Her Excellency's balls for fighting normally, but good at pretending to be someone else. If I pretended to be someone who is good at fighting, I should be able to use it to fight. Or so the theory went. So, I stole a black sweatshirt and a hockey mask to wear, and reinvented myself as Casey Jones, sports themed crime-fighter (pls no sue). Tests were pretty positive; when I acted as Casey, I was able to swing my bat with a lot more ease compared to when I wasn't.
I then began to to work on a strategy that I call reverse mugging. It's when you find criminals and beat them like crappy pinatas. Instead of candy you get cash and car keys. It is surprisingly easy to find drug dealers in a city like Gotham, where you have A Man Dressed Like A Bat and a preteen running around, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Once I found a shady guy standing on a street corner, I settled into a nearby doorway, secure in my don't-notice-me field. Once a customer comes up, I use one of the powers that I found through remembering being Elloge to convince the dealer that they just called them a pussy-ass bitch and that their mother was a whore. I absently wipe a tear of blood from my face as the two begin fighting, then jump in, swinging my baseball bat with great skill, like I've trained for years. The attacks are reminiscent of bo-staff fighting, and the two thugs are quickly on the ground moaning. I pat them down, finding a knife, a wad of cash, some drugs, and a flip phone that I use to call the police. I leave quickly, as I'd feel pretty damn stupid if I got arrested for assault, battery, and theft. You know Batman never bothers dealing with that shit.
I repeat the process a couple more times before I grab a car from one of the dealers. Then I find a cheap motel that doesn't bother asking questions and rent a room for the night. It's one of those cheap pay by the hour places, which is fine for now, as I'm just too tired to care.
****
When I wake up the next morning I spend a solid five minutes panicking before I remember what's happened. So that was fun.
After grabbing a quick breakfast, I head back to the library for more research, this time on a slightly different topic. Namely, I'm researching costume makers in Gotham. And not the normal type, the type that make bulletproof clown costumes for the Joker's henchmen. As it turns out it's a pretty thriving business in Gotham, as there are a whole lot of villains that I've never even heard of. I fire off a couple emails at some of the more promising ones, trying to get a quote.
Of course, even with my nighttime activities I won't have enough money to pay for a solid costume. I'll have to step things up a bit. Organized crime is apparently still alive and well in Gotham, despite the activities of Batman, and criminals tend to buy a lot of ostentatious things. Gold, jewelry, things like that. Robbing one of the rich mobsters of Gotham would see me with enough money for a basic costume. Bulletproof, black, and easy to move in. Nothing fancy, as materials science is apparently much further along here due to all the super-scientists.
Unfortunately for me, mobsters don't advertise where they live. So I abandon that part of the plan and decide to just rob a rich person who is not Bruce Wayne. I can turn a window into words and back, and I'm nearly impossible to notice, making me an excellent cat-burglar.
I look up the mayor's house to start with, as he's a fairly public figure. He's into big game hunting, and he's incredibly wealthy. After about fifteen minutes of searching, I find a news article that has his address in it. He lives in a suburb of Gotham, which seems a bit odd. I mean, that's just asking to be challenged by someone who's an actual resident. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to live in Gotham either. I return to the motel to wait until night falls.
After getting lost twice (I really need to find a charm that gives me directions) I finally find myself in a really rich neighborhood. The houses, or rather mansions, are almost palaces. I'd say that this is a caricature of how rich people live if I actually, you know, knew how rich people live. I park the car in a parking lot a few miles away from the neighborhood, and decide to walk the rest of the way on foot. I'll want to ditch the car later anyways, but for now it'll be useful. I pull on the hockey mask and start to jog in the direction of his house.
Once there I press my hand against the wall and dissolve it into a puddle of words. I step through the new door and allow it to reconstitute behind me. I carefully sneak up to the second floor, quietly opening each door as I go. My shoes make little sound as I open the door to the bedroom. I sneak through the room to an adjoining door, and slowly slip through. With the door closed I turn on a cheap flashlight I bought, holding it so that the light doesn't show through the door. I slowly search the dressing room, flinching at every creak, until I find the jewelry box.
And then a hand grabs me by the mouth!
will408914
(slouching towards bethlehem)
- Location
- California
Man, I love Infernals. They're the best kind of Exalt.
Watched.
Watched.
Vaalintine
Wild Wondorous Wolfalope
If I remember correctly, Elloge's charmset (or the version I saw) excelled at being a person in the background that sets everything up. She's the Narrator, not one of the actors.
Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
Planning and long term manipulation is more SWLiHN,Ebbie, Ta'kazoa, and Szorney to a lesser extent. Elloge is the author, the character, the language, and the book itself. Lots of Shaping effects.
May 28 2011
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
I most certainly do not scream. If I did, it would not be high pitched and girlish, and we would not have been saved from discovery only by the fact that I had a hand over my mouth. I also did not jump a solid two feet, needing to be caught in order to prevent a loud landing. Not in the slightest.
I get shushed for my troubles, as my new-found captor/fellow thief/whatever lowers me to the ground. She fishes out a phone from a pocket on her suit, kind of looks like Black Widow's from the MCU... this is Catwoman, isn't it. What do I know about her? On-and-off with Batman, cat thief with a heart of gold, had a horrible movie, name Selena Kyle.
The phone Catwoman is now holding out to me reads 'robbing same house. Work together, divide loot outside? Nod if okay.' I nod quickly, and we set to looting the place. Several shiny bits go in my pockets, and more shiny bits go into her belt. After a few minutes of quietly working, she motions for us to go. I follow her lead as she shimmies out of a second story window, though my landing is loud whereas hers is almost silent.
Once we get somewhat deep into the woods, she starts to whisper, "What's your name kid?"
"Casey." It's the name I've been referring to this disguise as.
"No last name then. Parents?"
"Not an option." For somewhat different reasons than she'll likely suspect.
"This was your first burglary then. You were kind of hesitant. So you probably don't have a buyer in mind. Tell you what, if you're willing, I'll introduce you to one of mine."
I try my best to act suspicious, like a teenage runaway would be.. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me out of my payday? I kind of need this money."
She grins a bit. "Why, you can stay at my place, and we'll meet my fence in the morning. You get half the haul. In exchange, all I'll ask for is for you to work with me on my next few jobs. That trick you do where you make it hard to notice you is pretty useful, and you got past the security system too. There are a few jobs I can think of that could use an extra set of hands."
...I really want to accept. Catwoman is to thieves like Batman is to detectives, and it would be nice to sleep somewhere where there aren't rats breeding under the bed. The problem is to accept without breaking character. I could probably swing her going for it, but she'd be suspicious about it. "Eeh, sure. But I'm warning you lady, I've got a knife, and I sleep with one eye open. One eye. Got it?" I hope that will do it.
She's still smiling. I don't entirely trust people who smile to much, but I'm pretty sure I've got Catwoman down. "Great. Do you have a clean car?" I shake my head. "Then I'll drive you to my place."
After a bit more walking we get to her car, parked on an inconspicuous side road. It's an older model, not what I'd expect from the stupidly sexy cat-burglar. As we drive she asks me another question. "So how do you do that thing? You know, where people don't notice you?"
"I'm not sure. Magic?"
She snorts. It's oddly ladylike. "Magic isn't real. It's all just smoke and mirrors."
I'm skeptical of her cynicism. I mean, Superman can fly and shoot lasers from his mind, why's she drawing the line on magic? "Magic's real, isn't it? I mean, there's a magician on the Justice Leage."
"Yeah. A stage magician. He's just got some advanced technology or a metahuman power or something that he dresses up. Probably nano, or quantum, or something." Okay then.
"I can also turn objects into writing." I demonstrate on a box of tissues she has in the car. I don't trust people who have tissues in their cars.
"Huh. Neat. So that's how you got into the house. What's your limit." Don't say yeddim don't say yeddim don't say yeddim.
"About elephant sized. I just woke up one day able to do it."
"So you just... woke up with powers? Must be nice."
"I'd trade it away if... never mind."
She bites her lip and glances down for a second. "Sorry. Shouldn't have said that." We spend the rest of the ride in silence.
Her apartment is actually pretty normal. There are like three cats that all come to greet us, and there's wallpaper on the walls, and comfortable chairs, and stuff like that. Almost what I'd imagine Grandma's apartment would look like if she lived in one. I'm shown to a spare room, which I'd imagine means that this is a nice apartment, or something like that.
Catwoman- "Call me Selena when I'm out of costume" -makes up a bed, and, if this were a story, I'd say that I was out like a light. But it's not, so I wasn't.
Instead I'm left rolling over for what feels like a couple hours but is probably only thirty minutes, at most. I mean, I'm sleeping on the spare bed of Selena Kyle, Catwoman! I'm in a literal comic book! And it's an Exalted crossover! What are the fucking chances?!
And perhaps more importantly, what am I? The closest thing that I can think of to my situation would be an Infernal, but I don't have a demon in my head, and when I tested things my anima banner wasn't green; it was clear with purple words floating through it. And I didn't have a Solaroid Caste mark, just some writing I didn't recognize.
I have memories of Elloge, and I only have charms from her set. That seems to imply a connection, but I have a lot of trouble interpreting her memories. It's like, each thought is being thought by more than one person, probably her Third Circles, and their Second Circles. And I'm trying to interpret all those through one pitiful human mind.
With thoughts like those bouncing through my head, I slowly drop to sleep.
I get shushed for my troubles, as my new-found captor/fellow thief/whatever lowers me to the ground. She fishes out a phone from a pocket on her suit, kind of looks like Black Widow's from the MCU... this is Catwoman, isn't it. What do I know about her? On-and-off with Batman, cat thief with a heart of gold, had a horrible movie, name Selena Kyle.
The phone Catwoman is now holding out to me reads 'robbing same house. Work together, divide loot outside? Nod if okay.' I nod quickly, and we set to looting the place. Several shiny bits go in my pockets, and more shiny bits go into her belt. After a few minutes of quietly working, she motions for us to go. I follow her lead as she shimmies out of a second story window, though my landing is loud whereas hers is almost silent.
Once we get somewhat deep into the woods, she starts to whisper, "What's your name kid?"
"Casey." It's the name I've been referring to this disguise as.
"No last name then. Parents?"
"Not an option." For somewhat different reasons than she'll likely suspect.
"This was your first burglary then. You were kind of hesitant. So you probably don't have a buyer in mind. Tell you what, if you're willing, I'll introduce you to one of mine."
I try my best to act suspicious, like a teenage runaway would be.. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me out of my payday? I kind of need this money."
She grins a bit. "Why, you can stay at my place, and we'll meet my fence in the morning. You get half the haul. In exchange, all I'll ask for is for you to work with me on my next few jobs. That trick you do where you make it hard to notice you is pretty useful, and you got past the security system too. There are a few jobs I can think of that could use an extra set of hands."
...I really want to accept. Catwoman is to thieves like Batman is to detectives, and it would be nice to sleep somewhere where there aren't rats breeding under the bed. The problem is to accept without breaking character. I could probably swing her going for it, but she'd be suspicious about it. "Eeh, sure. But I'm warning you lady, I've got a knife, and I sleep with one eye open. One eye. Got it?" I hope that will do it.
She's still smiling. I don't entirely trust people who smile to much, but I'm pretty sure I've got Catwoman down. "Great. Do you have a clean car?" I shake my head. "Then I'll drive you to my place."
After a bit more walking we get to her car, parked on an inconspicuous side road. It's an older model, not what I'd expect from the stupidly sexy cat-burglar. As we drive she asks me another question. "So how do you do that thing? You know, where people don't notice you?"
"I'm not sure. Magic?"
She snorts. It's oddly ladylike. "Magic isn't real. It's all just smoke and mirrors."
I'm skeptical of her cynicism. I mean, Superman can fly and shoot lasers from his mind, why's she drawing the line on magic? "Magic's real, isn't it? I mean, there's a magician on the Justice Leage."
"Yeah. A stage magician. He's just got some advanced technology or a metahuman power or something that he dresses up. Probably nano, or quantum, or something." Okay then.
"I can also turn objects into writing." I demonstrate on a box of tissues she has in the car. I don't trust people who have tissues in their cars.
"Huh. Neat. So that's how you got into the house. What's your limit." Don't say yeddim don't say yeddim don't say yeddim.
"About elephant sized. I just woke up one day able to do it."
"So you just... woke up with powers? Must be nice."
"I'd trade it away if... never mind."
She bites her lip and glances down for a second. "Sorry. Shouldn't have said that." We spend the rest of the ride in silence.
*****
I was kind of expecting Catwoman's apartment to be super fancy, like the one at the end of Spec Ops: The Line or something. You know, rooms with walls made of glass and stairways that are glass, and two levels only the second level is only walkways and wow I'm bad at describing this.
Her apartment is actually pretty normal. There are like three cats that all come to greet us, and there's wallpaper on the walls, and comfortable chairs, and stuff like that. Almost what I'd imagine Grandma's apartment would look like if she lived in one. I'm shown to a spare room, which I'd imagine means that this is a nice apartment, or something like that.
Catwoman- "Call me Selena when I'm out of costume" -makes up a bed, and, if this were a story, I'd say that I was out like a light. But it's not, so I wasn't.
Instead I'm left rolling over for what feels like a couple hours but is probably only thirty minutes, at most. I mean, I'm sleeping on the spare bed of Selena Kyle, Catwoman! I'm in a literal comic book! And it's an Exalted crossover! What are the fucking chances?!
And perhaps more importantly, what am I? The closest thing that I can think of to my situation would be an Infernal, but I don't have a demon in my head, and when I tested things my anima banner wasn't green; it was clear with purple words floating through it. And I didn't have a Solaroid Caste mark, just some writing I didn't recognize.
I have memories of Elloge, and I only have charms from her set. That seems to imply a connection, but I have a lot of trouble interpreting her memories. It's like, each thought is being thought by more than one person, probably her Third Circles, and their Second Circles. And I'm trying to interpret all those through one pitiful human mind.
With thoughts like those bouncing through my head, I slowly drop to sleep.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
O ye of little faith...
- Location
- United States
I keep tissue in my car. Living with kids that sneeze, need napkins, or some third thing.
