No Master Plan Here (Madness Runs in the Family) by Joel Burdick

top left corner of a woman with brown hair and eyes and light brown skin. Her features were soft, skinny. She had the look of a model, and not one of the overly skinny, starving-themselves-to-death variety, either. The name below the picture was listed as Ghost. Anansi tried to remember if he had ever met her before, and couldn't, so assumed he hadn't.
                  “Why? Why am I meeting someone?” he asked, irritation setting in. Kay was being abnormally tight-lipped today. He pulled up Ghost's file on his screen, finding very little in the way of criminal activity or news on the alias. Surprisingly enough, there weren't any other listed individuals who used the alias on the net. Maybe because it was so simple that people assumed it was in use.
                  “Isn't that what people do?”
                  Anansi looked behind him to the owner of the voice. She was tall, leggy, and wore a white tank top and blue jeans, her black bra showing slightly through the top. One of the norms that Anansi had noticed on the way in. Her eyes were green, her hair hung down to her hips and was bright red, and she had freckles that covered her face. She smirked at Anansi, slipping out of her seat and into the one across from him, a cup of some sort of beverage in hand. Anansi watched her with a cold gaze hidden by his helmet.
                  [I forgot to turn off the speaker, didn't I?] Anansi sent, being careful to not voice his thought. Kay sent him a series of emoticons and closed the link, leaving Anansi to the red-haired woman. Anansi muttered to himself before looking at the woman again.
                  “Not me, not usually,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair. The redhead shrugged and leaned forward. It offered Anansi a look at her cleavage, which he noticed had more freckles. She beckoned for Anansi to come closer, and when he didn't, she rolled her eyes and leaned back.
                  “You're not scared of meeting people, are you?” she said. Anansi started to respond when the barista called out “Cocoa for Anansi,” and waved Anansi to the bar. Anansi stood and took his drink with a nod to the woman, then proceeded to a table that wasn't occupied and well away from the redhead, leaving the her to his table. When she started coming over to join him, he sighed audibly, deciding he wasn't going to rid himself of her that easily.
                  She sat down beside him and frowned. “You're not particularly nice, are you? Nothing like I expected,” she chided, sounding disappointed and simultaneously playful. Kay reestablished the link with an emoticon.
                  [She's flirting with you.]
                  [She wants something. Women don't approach someone unless they want something, and she is using every distracting trick in the book. >:(] Anansi responded, coupling the emoticon with a strong sense of irritation at the meddlesome AI.
                  “And what were you expecting?” Anansi replied. He pressed a panel on the side of his helmet. He pulled a small straw from the hole that was revealed, extended it until it could reach his cup of cocoa, and placed it in the beverage. The redhead looked surprised.
                  “Are you going to leave your helmet on the whole time?” she asked, incredulity in her voice.
                  “If I can help it.”
                  “Why?”
                  “Have you ever considered the concept of secret identity?” Anansi took a sip from his drink. The redhead shrugged and leaned forward again.
                  “Don't have to worry about that, myself,” she said, and as she spoke, she changed. Her skin, eyes, and hair all darkened. Her facial features changed, her nose becoming a little wider, lips fuller, and her cheekbones less pronounced.