blink

Blink looked at the couple, for a moment perhaps wishing for that same intimacy. There was something special between these two that was hard not too see. Of course, she had been at least partially to blame, for which she would not try to cover the facts. "Natasha, your father wanted you back, Tony was of no consequence to him. Perhaps you want to explain what your plan was and why he wants you back so badly? All I know is that I was paid to bring you home, nothing more." She looked around at the various heroes assembled defiantly, knowing that she was on the wrong side of things, but unwilling to break into long and pointless apology.

Don't know how many you are looking for, but would you consider a redeemed villain? Blink is 23 and very much in the "bachelor" style of living. She is looking to turn her life around and this sort of thing would give structure to how she goes about life while still giving her an outlet for her adrenalin needs.

Just read through this thread and a huge thank you for doing all this. I love being able to see the reasoning behind all the decisions and optimizations that you propose. It helps me when I am thinking about what to do and how to do it. Seriously cool thread and that's some amazing insights.

Blink walked slowly through the Wharton State forest while deep in contemplation. Her hands were thrust deep into the pockets of her loose fitting athletic pants and every now and again, her feet flicked out to kick a pine cone or rock off of the gravel path. Being a cooler afternoon, she wore a pale cream fleece over the top of a tight baby blue tank top. Between the fleece and her own brisk pace, she was warm enough, and welcomed the exercise. Yet it wasn't a physical need that brought her to the part this afternoon. Even since the afternoon on the wharfs she had been questioning what she wanted out of life. Originally, it had been simple; provide enough money to care for her dad and make sure he never wanted for anything. Yet for all the money she had funneled to him, his lifestyle had changed very little. So if it wasn't for the money, why steal? The thrill of the chase, and the excitement of the job was a reason, but she didn't care for the hardships she had caused others. At the moment she could come up with no good reason other than force of habit to continue with her 'line of work'. To make matters worse, she had crossed a mob boss, and genuinely liked helping the young Natasha. With all of these confusing thought mulling over in her head, a long walk seemed like a good change of scenery. She hadn't been walking for more than a few miles when she heard something off the path. It sounded kind of like fighting, yet without the intensity that some kind of struggle would create. Her curriosity piqued, she quietly moved to see what was going on.

As they touched down, Blink whirled as Arrowhawk spoke. It had startled her and she inwardly cursed her reaction. Her answer was blunt and to the point, "yes, you are. I'm surprised your record isn't longer than mine. However... you are right, and your reputation precedes you." She felt fairly leery around all the assembled heroes and wondered when the other shoe was going to drop. Unknowingly, her stance was readied and she stood lightly on the balls of her feet. While she knew who Tony was, it was up to Natasha to fill the rest of them in.

Ecal, is Arrow at the mall, or is your post after DS teleported us back to you? It'll change how Blink reacts.

Blink looked over at Natasha and couldn't help but notice the small gleam of hope that rose unbidden. Heading... back? To the heroes? She had been mulling over that same idea, but under far different circumstances. Her version had been more of a smash and grab and take the boy. Although, she hadn't gotten around the multiple heroes who would likely still be there. That, as before, had been a sticking point. She looked down at Natasha, unused to the idea that she was responsible for the girl. What was best for her? Getting away from her father and probably running away with the boy and disappearing forever. Since she was not certain of her ability to escape, much less defeat Dark Star; her options were quite limited. With a deep sigh she replied, "ok... however, if that crazy guy so much as makes a move, then all bets are off. You seem... reasonable enough... but I'm not sure about anyone else. Trust doesn't come easy in my line of work." Turning back to Natasha she spoke quietly to the girl, "you've got no reason to trust me... but I give you my word, I'll do what I can to get the boy back and the two of you away from your father. This guy seems ok, and I say it's your only real shot. I made some pretty bad assumptions and... I'm... uh... sorry. I'll do what I can to make it up..." Even thought the words were true, they sounded small and lame. Especially when compared to what Blink had driven Natasha too. Still, what else could she do? "Ok Dark Star, let's go."

Natasha was likely right, and there would likely be a contract on Blink's head as well by morning... if not already. Failure was not really an option when you dealt with people like Natasha's father. Dark Star was waiting for an answer, patiently, which went against everything she had experienced so far with the heroes of the city. Blink wanted to trust him, to believe that he wasn't just going to use her words against her. Yet old habits held her tongue for far longer than a polite pause. Finally, some inner dam gave in and she shrugged, "Blink... and Natasha Vaslev." "As for how they got the weapons? How does a man like Grigori Vaslev get anything? He takes it. All I can say is that the team was in place and I was simply hired to lead and act as a specialist. Get the girl out, unharmed and home. However, I'm not kidding when I said you can't have her. I haven't saved too many people, but put her in a police station and you might as well give her back to her father. Should have let her jump at that point."

Blink hated tears. None of the men in her units had ever cried. No one in Afghanistan had cried. Since her mother had passed so many years ago, she had not cried. There was no time for sorrow when you lived on the edge. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she released the hold on Natasha, confident that she wouldn't just try and throw herself to her death. "What's to explain?" she said looking up at Dark Start, no longer surprised he had followed her so easily. "Her father hired me to return her home. Asked to make sure she didn't get hurt and was pretty convinced something would be happening. What are you going to do with the boy? The girl's not yours for the taking." Then to Natasha she said, "what's so bad about going back home?"

18. That was my question initially. So just at the age of consent/adulthood/I can tell my parents what I want to do anyway. Although I don't know if that's common knowledge.

Well... um theft is kind of a regular job, isn't it? Oh wait, that was before... now she's just unemployed, and confused. So anytime you wish.

Blink Star Crossed Lovers (18) Training in Wharton State Forest (7) The Interceptors #0 (19) Ghoulies and Ghosties (4)

As long as I have your ear. Should I be picking a color for my speech? I notice everyone else seems to do that.

Crashing to a heap on the ground, Blink had already ported around to get her legs wrapped around Natasha's chest, squeezing and pressing to keep the girl in place. "What are you doing! No one is worth that! No one! Just go back to your father and your pampered life. Enjoy what you have and don't throw it away over some infatuation!"

Ok posting results and then I'll wait for DS and/or others to post. If I'm going at the wrong pace, let me know.

For just a brief moment, Blink stared at the girl running towards the edge. She was going to jump... What was wrong with this girl? Or, Blink wondered, what was wrong with her. She had just driven the young girl to throw herself off a ledge. It was one of those moments that a life can be balanced on Occam's Razor. She could strip away all the trappings of money, loyalty, entitlement, and every other reason her life had gone the way it had. Here was a simple choice. Help the girl, or not. Finish the job, or not. She glanced to either side, looking for the hero who had so vexingly and effectively followed her. For this moment, he was not here to save the day; not here to stop what was quickly becoming a tragedy of epic proportions. That left her. Thankfully she didn't have to rely on her legs to get her to where she needed to be. With a thought she ported directly on the fleeing girl, trying to take her down.

Ok an attack to initiate a grapple 1d20+10 = 14 followed by the grapple to pin 1d20+30 = 33 Wow, the castle is bringing the pain back to me after that last roll. However, I am not really sure on the grapple procedure. Those are the two rolls that I need at some point. Not sure if they happen in one round, or how it really goes.

Very interested as it might give some real opportunities to do some heroing for a change :)

Good. We'll see if it happens or not, and I have no real illusion on what would happen should it occur. DS thanks for playing along. I think after Natasha's next response you could be there. Or you could have been listening in all along... either way is fine by me.

"Of course I'm no..." Blink began; the lie coming easily to mind, yet choking in her throat. What was she doing? Truly? The job was to get a father and his daughter back together. Nothing more. Kidnapping wasn't her thing, there was no thrill and the personal complications were more than Blink ever wanted to handle. She liked her operations military, precise, clean, and with a minimal of collateral damage. So what was the reason for the job? The money, of course. Yet even that rang false. She had a small apartment, with no doors or windows; spartan furnishing, few comforts, and some pretty decent gear. For each of her scores, she had given the payout to her father. Yet he still lived in the same junk apartment that she had grown up in. What was he doing with the money? She knew that the mob felt they had rights to her services, even if she wanted little to do with them other than contract work. Still, you didn't say no to people like Natasha's father without some serious repercussions. Even so, fear had never been a motivator for her either. The fact of the matter was that theft, and contract jobs let her live how she wanted without feeling like she was the kind of scum that stole someone's daughter. Or perhaps, even worse, returning them to their monster of a father. It was easy, people with money needed to share the wealth... with her father who deserved more out of life than he had ever received. She opted for truth seeing as there would be no porting the girl again, not in her agitated state. Morphing back to her natural state she replied, "look Natasha, your father asked me to bring you back. That's all. The thugs were there in case your boyfriend decided to make things difficult... or some supers showed. I didn't lie when I said that Tony's fine. It's just that I'm not going to get him, and there's no plan to get him. With the kind of lawyers his family has, he'll walk in no time. We need to get moving before that guy gets back, or there's going to be a lot of questions that I don't think you want to answer."

"Is that some kind of sick challenge?" Blink said, panting heavily. Porting with the girl was serious work, and she was straining her limits trying to get further and further away. "'Cause I'm just getting my second wind!" There was a large structure nearby, the spacing suggesting a retail outlet. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to find them in the crowd. Although, her mind raced in it's thoughts, that didn't seem very likely. Still there was no way she was giving up. Not like this. "Besides, who likes smoother?!" she said before blinking several times rapidly in succession angling each time closer to the mall. Twice, she was sure they appeared in someone's kitchen; once, to a startled and overly amorous couple. Yet they stayed in only one spot long enough to make the next jump. She was still fairly certain that the hero was still right with her. How he could follow her jumps so fast was still beyond her. His words, if any, were a blur as she pushed to get to the mall. Perhaps there the tables could be turned. With a final jump she found herself surrounded by a small crowd of shoppers. Gasping for breath she turned to the girl, "we'll get out of here... and back to your... home... I don't think he'll... stop us there..."

I know, there is some irony that other than a poor attempt at impersonating an officer, she's done really nothing wrong. I suppose there could be some racketeering charges if the link to the NPC's was established... but yeah, the no villain rule came before I ever really had a thread where she could do something wrong. The couple of rounds would be great, I just need her to get sick of being dragged around. As I mentioned, Blink's pretty stubborn... so she'd play cat and mouse until she passed out... which would likely be long before DS would. I also am hoping that she gets mad at Blink when she realizes that Blink is trying to return her to her father. Something of a "this is what's going to happen to me" kind of moment for some good guilt.

To be honest, I have no issue with you finding her without a roll at this point. We've established that you can track and follow her. It would be nice if I could get a round or so for a quick chat with the lady. For me it would make things easier, however, I'll leave that up to the both of you. Her next plan is to work herself towards a crowd of people to see if that confuses his tracking sense. Perhaps that could buy her the round or so to have the girl realize that Blink is indeed not going back for Tony. I'm waiting for that moment when she no longer is a willing participant in getting dragged around. However, I'll play along as anyone wants. It'd just make my thoughts on how Blink is going to evolve work a bit better. Finally, if I attack Dark Star, knowing it's a loosing proposition, does that trigger a VP for her complication of being reckless and compulsive?

"I guess, I didn't expect anything less," Blink said trying to keep the admiration out of her voice. She wasn't sure how he had tracked her, but he had to be fast. Still, how fast and how accurate remained to be seen. Still holding the girl's hand, she let her senses roam. There was a roof several hundred yards away, then another room beyond that. Her jumps were fast, and as random as she could make them without letting herself land in a wall or a room likely to hold people. She needed some time, and space and that wasn't looking likely. She wasn't sure why she didn't just jump him. She was reasonably sure she could have caught him off guard, and with any luck his powers wouldn't be as effective close in. Any other time she would have... did the job mean that much to her? To pass at a chance for glory?

Blink would have teleported to the second story on an inside room. The reason being that it would be less likely to encounter someone. Her assumption is that it will be a bedroom. Lol, just read the OOC, ok passing through walls will make things a little tougher. However, Blink is stubborn that way... might take a jump or two to see reason.