The Reckoning (closed for CurtailedAmbrosia)

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

She had caught him by surprise but he was resisting, and if it weren't for the agonizing pain shooting up his arm from the pressure point he'd probably have already knocked her down.

Reckoning was on it however-closing the distance in rapid time he downed the guy just as she stepped smoothly back, huffing an exhale from the brief struggle. Her eyes had followed the man down, a wince as his head bounced.

Yeowch. Then again, he'd just tried to gun down a man- "Of course." She didn't wait around either-every moment that vortex spun outside her direct control was a moment too long. She moved in that direction at a short clip, blinking out of sight and reappearing on the other side of some crates to again extend her hands towards it, closing the distance once again. Reckoning was keeping the remaining men plenty busy, busy enough she was able to hold the stairs with her full attention. At least until an engine revved and Reckoning's distorted voice called out a warning.

Shit.

blink didn't hesitate, though perhaps she should have. Keeping one hand outstretched towards the stairs she threw the other one in the direction of the truck, a vortex about the size of the one she was already holding appearing in front of the truck-quickly expanding just as tires squealed and the truck shot forward two feet-and then appeared to stop. The wheels continued to turn faster than the eye could follow, but the truck went nowhere.

Inside the cab the escaping criminal cursed, his brow furrowed and a disbelieving stare ahead-the short drive out onto the street suddenly yawned before him, the building directly across from him so suddenly distant he could barely make it out. What the hell? "Fucking metahumans-" He ground out, flooring it.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////

blink can't do this forever. The width of the vortex and the sheer amount of power involved in lengthening the path before the truck into miles and miles, preventing it from moving forward in the real, physical world-not to mention the split concentration between that and the basement stairs behind her-she can't. She wasn't sure she could do it for fifteen minutes, maybe not even ten, maybe not even five. And as soon as she stopped, the truck would smash into the building across the way and no doubt cause severe structural damage, maybe flattening or burning enough to destroy evidence.

Not to mention the occupant would most certainly be killed.

Eva broke into a cold sweat, her heart rate climbing. Reckoning was on it. He was trusting her to hold it while he dealt with the driver, stopped him. She felt the edges of her concentration, that tight ball of power in her chest begin to crackle around the edges.

With a feminine noise of exertion she took her hand away from the stairs and that vortex winked out, sending four men flying through the mouth of it as if they'd been shot out of a cannon. Both her hands flattened in the direction of the truck, but she can hear the heavy footfalls of other men down below. It wouldn't take long for the rest of the basement's occupants to realize the stairs were just stairs once more.

"Throw it in reverse!" Her hands were beginning to tremble. She can't she can't she can't-

Finally both men were clear of the cab and she released the vortex with a short sound of pain-there was an audible collapsing of something, a rush of a strong wind in the alley to ruffle their clothes as the truck bumped into the dock.

Thank God-and she turned to throw up a construct JUST in time to catch the crowbar an overly muscled man had clearly intended to crack her skull with. She blinked out of existence and started in on the men who had made it up the stairs-but while graceful and moving efficiently, she was was taking longer to reappear and those constructs were starting to look a little fainter with each summoning.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

blink was starting to pull double duty and for such a young woman, he wasn't sure how strong her control over her power was at this point. Even so, the massive vortex before the truck was something to behold. He wasn't sure what he was looking at as he stared down the length of it, but he couldn't look for long. It was so strange that his brain couldn't make sense of it.

The men that tried to stop him were downed one by one, but it wasn't fast enough. The sweat pouring off blink and the pure struggle she seemed to be fighting made him hurry toward the truck. Flipping up and pulling himself up onto the roof of it, he ran down the length of the truck as fast as he could.

"Throw it in reverse!"

Richter changed his plan on the fly and leaped forward, crossing his arms as he grabbed the front lip of the truck cab's roof. Uncrossing his arms twisted him around and lined him up to drive both feet into the chest of the driver as he came crashing through the windscreen. A satisfying crunch and airy exhale knocked the wind from him and slumped him over in the seat.

Richter pulled himself in and stomped on the man's foot to engage the brake so he could instead put the truck in park, rather than reverse. He wasn't sure what was behind the truck and didn't want to risk running anyone over. As the tires stopped spinning, he saw the vortex before the truck disappear and nodded. One button click and one kick in the driver's side door later, and the driver was tossed unceremoniously onto the pavement as Richter pulled himself from the truck.

In the time it took for him to stop the truck, it looked like the people downstairs were through waiting. He clacked his stun sticks back out and charged at the back of blink who was holding her own at the top of the stairs. He saw his window, shouting "DUCK!" at blink.

As she dropped to the ground, Richter came sailing over her, both feet extending to drop kick the man at the top of the stairs. He came in with such force and speed that his momentum carried the both of them down the stairs, through those trying to come up. They all landed in a heap at the bottom and Richter started raining elbows on anyone still moving, knocking out one armed man after the next as he gave blink a window to join him.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

Duck?

blink did him one better and vanished, reappearing to the right of the stairwell and watching him down with widened eyes. She wasn't sure if he had an unhealthy disregard for his own safety or if he was just that confident and aware of his surroundings-either way she hurried down the stairs after him, a graceful but quick two at a time rather than blinking-trying to limit the amount of magic she was expending. She could feel some of the pull at her senses, that sudden sense of being so very, very tired...

She wasn't tapped yet, but she was getting close. Xander would have demanded yet more, but...

She cold clocked a man with her right fist, a dimmer blue construct flaring into life to protect her hand as she spun and elbowed another, wading into the fray alongside the vigilante-and holding her own. Gloved hands grasp a man by the shoulders and she rams her knee into his gut not once but twice, dancing back to deliver a sharp blow to another beside her, a flare of a shield to protect her upper body from the retaliation before she struck again in the aftermath.

Her lithe body's movements were swift and graceful, her blinks in and out of existence used strategically-even more so this close to tapped. It helped that she kept her constructs smaller and weaker, small bucklers on her forearms to deflect blows. She might be tapping out spiritually, but physically-she was in the great shape she'd always been, the former ballerina yet again performing-just in a different venue.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Once they moved into the lab section, the people running this drug operation saw two heroes working in sync. They protected each other's backs and helped each other finish off people as they go. Richter glanced and saw less and less blue light from blink, but she was keeping up just fine physically. Her moves and fighting style hinted that her dancer's body was made by just that. Maybe they could try something if she was running out of juice.

"Use me. Use my body as an anchor or frame," he muttered to her as they were so close.

She seemed to get what he was after right away. Richter would land a bunch, then the shorter blink would use his outstretched arm to swing her body up to drive both feet into someone's chin beside him. He would land a front kick and while lunged forward, leg bent, blink would use it as a step up platform to flip over another combatant and snap him to the ground.

Through it all, it was ear-marked by cooperative fighting styles that The League trained in day after day. He knew he was giving more away, but it was more important to take down these last few drug runners than is was to protect his identity from her.

Their cooperative moves soon morphed to look like something akin to a swing dance routine. Richter was strong enough to whip her around his body rather effectively, adding his strength to her strikes over and over until the last one went down and he held her like a cheerleader on his shoulder as the looked around.

"Did that work?" he asked incredulously. He'd trained on his fighting technique for ages, but never made use of it in combat. It turned out he was never in a situation where it would work. He helped blink off his shoulder and caught her as she bounced on her feet. Behind his mask, he smiled down into her excited eyes. "Nice work," was all that came out.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

"Have you-have you ever thought about dance lessons?" Eva says, feeling that familiar rush of a successful performance, of hard work well rewarded.

"And those were League tactics. Are those borrowed too?"

They were still standing close together, her hands resting naturally on his upper arms from where she'd been plopped down, a slight narrow and sparkle to her eyes that showed she hadn't entirely bought his earlier cover story.

But that dazzling smile fades as her brows furrow, a hand coming up to her forehead. She's tired. Very, very tired, and it settles nearly all at once, heavy in her limbs and dull in her chest. "Sorry-" The redhead says politely but also a little dazedly, unsteady on her feet. "I might've overdone it just a tad." Understatement of the year.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter smiled at her joke, but stifled a laugh so he didn't give away how much he was starting to like this rookie hero in his town. Just as he figured, she knew how he was able to fight around her and with her. He was about to say something when he felt her go limp a little, clutching at her forehead. "Do you need to get out of here? How do you recharge?" He asked, still not 100% sure on how her powers worked, but knowing there could be any number of things that help.

He looked around, cursing to himself. He wanted to secure everyone here and leave them for the cops, but if he had to help her get out of there, that might take priority. "Do you have enough to help me cuff these guys or is it more serious than that?" he asked, hoping it was the former.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

"Not here." blink says with a faint bit of worry to her pretty voice, a look around the room. She wasn't sure how much she wanted the public to know, and very -much- did not want the criminal element of her new assignment to know.

"I'd never leave a job half finished." She says with a faint, weary smile, stepping back and reaching into the breast pocket of her jacket for zip ties.

No, she wanted to be-and was, dang it-a boon to the city and possibly to Reckoning-not a detriment. She certainly didn't want to be in his way.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter gave her a firm nod and a pat on her shoulder. This girl was tougher than she looked and that meant a lot in her book. She could have folded her tent and gone off to recuperate, but she was sticking around. He could work with someone like that. "You handle the ones down here; I'll see to the ones upstairs." He reached inside his armor at the back, pulling out a bundle of ties. "I think I have enough if you need more."

With that, he hustled up the steps and started working his way from goon to goon, zip tying them and then scooping them all up and laying them out in a grid near the crates of drugs. He even opened a few to show how big this operation was.

After a good amount of time, he looked over to see blink bouncing up the stairs. Despite how tired she looked, she was light on her feet and had a certain spring in her step at all times. Oh, to be that young again...

He met her about half way. "Are you okay to get home? I can drop you somewhere if you need a ride." he offered, figuring that she might not have the energy to use her powers to get home.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

Eva had not considered that. She was so close to tapped she wasn't sure it'd be wise to step once, let alone the many, many blinks it'd take to get home.

"I wouldn't want to put you out, I can..." She almost said take a taxi, but fell oddly silent then, briefly distracted by some thought or memory.

Her arms cross loosely over her chest, hands resting on the leather upper arms of her jacket. Hazel eyes flicker back to him, an unsure smile. "That would be nice, thank you. I'm close to tapped."

She would follow him out, a soft, added explaination. "When I blinked that far across the warehouse...that's taxing. And the truck, the vortexes-of everything I can do, those require the most concentration, the most power." She sounds almost apologetic.

"My ma-" She nearly slipped, and for a moment the ease of the word leaves her mouth a little dry. "...teacher can do incredible things. Frightening things I can't fathom."

She favored him with a small smile. "I'm a neonate in the types of magic I do...but it was enough to join the League."

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter left one of his memory sticks in a conspicuous spot. On his way out, he activated a burner phone to dial 911 as he didn't hear the cops coming. As they walked, Richter listened as blink gave him an abbreviated resume about herself. He just listened, letting her talk it out and share as much as she was comfortable.

Despite being tapped, it was clear she was out of whatever powered her blue energy powers. She was keeping up with him pretty well for someone of her physiology as he led her back to his waiting truck. It was hidden by some scrap metal in an industrial yard not to far away. He moved it all back off, showing that moving such big metal pieces wasn't a big deal for him. He unlocked the door and opened it for blink before walking around and getting into his side. His father taught him to always open the door for a lady. Old fashioned, maybe, but a habit nonetheless.

When they were both strapped in, he roared the large truck to life and they were heading off out of the neighborhood just as he heard sirens in the distance. "Check the glove box. I keep snacks and drinks in there to help me recover after a night like tonight. Help yourself." He offered, driving toward the city center.

After a few minutes, he finally asked. "Am I dropping you at your door or close enough?" He was curious how much trust he had engendered by this point. He still hadn't removed his mask; he wasn't sure he trusted a League rep THAT much yet.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

Eva was mildly surprised by the door being held open, though perhaps she shouldn't have been. She kept her arms loosely folded in front of her once she'd strapped in, the large truck vaguely reminiscent of a tank. He had uncovered it with ease. The pieces hadn't looked nor sounded light. He had downed men easily, clearly had superior strength, speed, and training.

Something was off here. They had warned her off of him so strictly, but while abrasive he had accepted her help without much ado. The League signals, the paired combat...

She can feel the slow steady heart beats in her fingertips, the weakening of her pulse. She had definitely pushed too hard tonight. "Thank you." She said with a nod, checking the glove box and retrieving a single bottle of water, one of the miniature sorts. She untwisted the top, took a sip-and then realized he had begun driving without direction, yet oddly was heading the right way.

"...do you know where the League has me set up, out here?" Her question isn't accusing by any means, but there is clearly something on her mind. "Were you always The Reckoning?"

Or did you have a career prior to that...?

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter didn't take his eyes off the road as he and blink started to talk. In a world with superfast beings, it was folly to take your eyes off the road. "No, but I can make a reasonable guess. The League would put you up somewhere that gives you quick access to the city government and the Police command center. That means putting you downtown somewhere which is why I'm taking this highway." It all made reasonable sense and she was also being sensible in exploring the possibility that this wasn't as random as it actually had been.

He had a feeling the second question was inevitable after tonight. Between using The League's silent gesture language and their cooperative fighting styles, it was undeniable that he had to have worked with them in the past. He bit his lips behind the mask, thinking about how to answer. He liked blink; he just didn't trust her bosses. He wasn't sure they were at the point where she would keep what he'd say to herself.

"I was in the League, yes. But because I was in the League and am not anymore, that's all your getting for now. Maybe I'll give you the whole story. Maybe one day I'll even take off the mask..." He looked over to really make his point. "But that's not today." He wasn't pushing away. He just wanted to be sure she understood.

After that, they drove in silence for a short while before Richter piped up again. "It's not you that I don't trust. The League changed a lot since I joined and even after I left. I'm not sure of their motives anymore. So... I'll understand if YOU don't trust ME enough to pull up to your front door." He said, eyes still facing out the front of the truck. Despite its size and the roar she heard from it the first night they met, it was surprisingly quiet in the cab as they drove.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

"I was in the League, yes. But because I was in the League and am not anymore, that's all your getting for now. Maybe I'll give you the whole story. Maybe one day I'll even take off the mask..."

Eva watched him a moment, then faced forward again, looking thoughtful. Maybe he had been kicked out? Was that a thing the League did, revoke memberships? She wasn't about to ask him about it, wasn't the sort to pry just to sate her own curiosity.

But this development was a little troubling. The League was not likely to be pleased she had disregarded their stern warnings. But how silly of them to think she wouldn't run into him. They has sent her to this city, she hadn't sought the posting or Reckoning out. It was happenstance. If they had really been intent on her not meeting him, they had set her up to fail.

"It's not you that I don't trust. The League changed a lot since I joined and even after I left. I'm not sure of their motives anymore.

"It's the League." Eva said after a moment, quiet and without heat. "They want to make the world a better place, send heroes where they are needed. It takes cohesion and strategy to do that-rules and regulations aren't always bad."

She hesitated, then. "I'm glad to be a part of something bigger than myself." What she didn't say, what she didn't dare say to a near stranger, was without the League, she had no idea where she would be or what she would be doing. She hadn't started out alone in a city somewhere-she had gone straight there after...

After.

"...It's a red bricked building on Salem street." A show of faith. If he had been kicked out or if he had quit-she wanted to be a good representative, a diplomat. Besides-he was still a hero, even if he leaned towards vigilante at times.

"...and...my name is Eva." She smiled, but there was an oddly sad feel to it. "Now we both know something secret about the other." She said quietly, her beautiful voice calm and soothing.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter's heart sank. He wanted the League to be better, to be the bright light in the world that people could look to for hope. But after corporate money and sponsorship got involved, it felt like The League started losing sight of why it existed. Drawing a slow sigh, he felt bad that blink would never see what it was like back in the early days. Maybe it could get back there with idealists like her, but it would take more than one.

"...It's a red bricked building on Salem street."

Richter nodded. He knew the building well. He some times took cover on it while performing reconnaissance. Maybe even after blink had moved in. He grinned under his helmet at the thought of them meeting because of the hero business despite maybe being with in 20 feet of each other on multiple occasions. He turned off the highway, knowing that the surface streets were usually faster at this time of night.

"...and...my name is Eva."

He turned to her. It was so rare to use your real name in this line of work, even among other supers. It was a huge sign of trust to share that. "It's lovely to meet you, Eva... Look, don't let me or anyone else tell you that you're not welcome or you're not doing a good thing by being here. You are. This city needs all the help it can get to get back on its feet and out from under the thumb of corruption. Just make sure that your bosses want the same thing... or you may end up like me: an outspoken outsider."

He looked up and saw they were closing in on the building. Shifting off the roads, the large truck slid down some back alleys to stay out of sight. Flicking off the headlights and the engine, he let the truck coast the last bit to arrive behind the large building. "I think this is you..." he said, looking over. He looked into her trusting hazel eyes and something inside him wanted to tell her everything... but they'd only just met. It was too early to be this trusting of a new face.

"I hope we can keep working together. We both could use the other; I can let you take credit for the busts to make them stand up in court a bit easier and you can learn about the city and how you can help from me." Richter smiled behind his mask. Maybe this could be a beneficial relationship after all.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

"...outspoken outsider.

Kicked out then. Well, maybe not-

"Thank you." Eva said simply. "And they do. Why else would they have sent me here?" She believed in the League. She trusted her betters-and should they betray that trust... Well, she desired comrades and leaders, not masters. They wouldn't let her down, she was sure of it.

"I don't want credit for your hard work." She lifted her head from where it'd been resting against the back of the seat, a slightly surprised expression. "But...I am happy to help however I can. Maybe my involvement will help strengthen court cases just as well as my taking credit. You work hard for this city, Reck, you deserve recognition."

And whatever he had done or hadn't done, surely the League would eventually see that.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

"You work hard for this city, Reck, you deserve recognition."

"That's not why I'm here or why I do it. I just want this city to be better, to stand on its own free of what's been done to it." He explained. "I don't care who gets credit so long as all the takers, the criminals, the organized crime, all of it goes away or at least is reduced to something the cops can handle. There are good men and women still fighting for this city; they are fighting an uphill battle against everything that's stopping them from making an impact."

He looked out the window. "You better get inside; you looked like you could use some sleep." He said, trying to look out for her as he used to look out for his team. "At this rate, I'm confident that we'll run into one another soon." He looked over, trying not to ogle her, but it was so hard with how casually she lay back.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

"I...can certainly respect that." Eva doesn't know quite how to tell him how strictly she'd been warned off of him, or why she thought he needed to take credit-so she doesn't, removing the fingerless leather gloves from her graceful hands. She's a patient woman-willing to wait for the right words and the right time to use them.

There was a lot to look at with Eva, from her delicately boned, lithe dancer's body with subtle curves to her hazel green eyes and dark red hair framing a picturesque face-the navy lipstick adding a dash of daring along with her jacket, boots and gloves. Bombshell.

Yet at the same time, it didn't quite seem to fit. She had a quiet, patient grace to her that was comforting even when she was saying and doing nothing. She was a lady, neither posturing nor presumptuous.

She didn't notice his surreptitious gaze, looking out the window and up at the brick building. As she had left it, her light was on in one window-and not the other. It was a silly thing, her little security measure-but it put her mind at ease. Maybe someday she wouldn't need to resort to such things. "Just some time to re-center." She assured. "Though the sleep won't be far behind that, you're right."

She looked back at him with a smile as she opened the door, the overhead light illuminating her eyes and making them look more green than hazel. "I'll look forward to it, Reck. Take care until then?" And she slipped gracefully from his truck to the pavement, unlocking the back door and opening it-a last wave back at him before she disappeared inside.

She was gone, but inside the cab the faint scent of apple blossoms lingered.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter waved back as Eva slipped inside. As he sat there a moment, he picked up the scent of her body wash and closed his eyes. He reveled in what might be the only feminine thing he's experienced since getting back. It was so light and simple, not unlike Eva herself. She was effortlessly elegant in how she carried herself and how she moved. Her supple body felt so good as they fought around each other tonight. It was going to be hard to get her out of his head and clear the mechanism the next time he had to go to work.

He flipped the lights back on and started his truck. Pulling away from the building, he headed for home.

*****

Walking out of the bathroom, rubbing his short hair to dry it after a shower to cleanse himself of his work, Richter walked into the living room. The local news was reporting on how the police were taking Councilwoman Sandra into custody for conspiracy to create, distribute and sell a controlled substance. Already the wheels of justice turned.

He relaxed in his loose pajamas as he enjoyed yet another meal replacement shake. He frowned at it, but felt too tired to opt for cooking a big meal. As he sat, he smiled as they were talking about Eva and her involvement. Their file photo was out of date and really did not do her justice. He could picture the tapering and soft curves of her face. His day dream continued as he filled in the rest of her body.... then started removing layers. He sat forward shaking his head.

"Get her out of your head, Richter. She's just a kid..." he muttered to himself, sipping more of his shake. Slamming down the last of it, he set the glass in the sink and flicked off the TV on his way to bed. His words to himself did not help because all his dreams were about Eva. As such, he woke in a bad mood, knowing he shouldn't think like that.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

It had been the truck. No...not just the truck-though that had by far been the most space she had ever expanded-the entire night had been full of dangerous expenditures. Stepping so far, one end of the warehouse to the other to stop the gunman-that had been taxing, and the vortex she had left behind over the stairs...goodness.

Her magic required concentration and control. She was a power conduit, it'd been explained once. With concentration, she could limit how much power went into a vortex. Turn her mind away however, and suddenly the floodgates were open, her magic draining out of her at an alarming pace.

No wonder she felt so lethargic, that hollow in her chest sapping her physical strength so that she hardly made it to the center of her living room.

blink slipped out of her bomber jacket and sat down on the floor, crossing her slender legs and assuming the lotus position. She closed her eyes and imagined that empty space, the crackled glass-and in her mind's eye she saw flickering, fuzzy dots of light. Slowly they were drawn to the space, beginning to fill it once more as she let her mind drift into realms beyond.

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Freshly showered and feeling re-energized if a little sore, Eva stretched her arms over her head as she exited the bathroom, her red hair wrapped up in a towel and a satin robe belted loosely around her slender waist. She poured a handful of almonds into a yogurt cup and considered the night's activities. A good day, she decided.

And that fight! She had not been joking about dance lessons-he had talent, even if that talent had been used for battle. It was a reverse of her own experiences-she had been a professional ballerina and a dance instructor-and was now a dancer turned fighter. He was a fighter with the potential to turn dancer.

It'd been thrilling, she could not deny that. He had his own grace, and was so very strong. Hm. She finished her yogurt with a final lick of her spoon before washing her dishes with a shake of her head. Reckoning would no doubt disapprove of ANY such thoughts. It made her smile to think them, though. Maybe even to imagine his protests over them.

Moving gracefully through the small but comfortable apartment, Eva turned in for the night, content.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

The next few months were among the most successful for Richter as The Reckoning since he got back. With blink... no, Eva in town, it was easier to keep the gangs from killing each other or innocent people. Most criminals started staying home or operating in more clandestine ways. Richter was pleased with the progress. He also had someone he could count on if he needed to take down a big target or gather the right evidence to bring a corrupt official down. He felt that he was starting to turn a corner in his work.

He also felt like he was turning a corner is his relationship with Eva. He wasn't quite ready to take the mask off for her and she seemed to be fine with that for now. She didn't need to know who he was exactly to be able to work with him. It made a lot of their talks afterward go smoother. He was a bit worried though; he was starting to wonder how she would react to learn who he was after all this time. He hoped she wouldn't think he had been lying; he was just keeping the truth to his chest.

He pushed those thoughts away, though. Tonight, he was going to needs his wits about him. If his surveillance was correct, there was going to be a meeting tonight between someone in the Mayor's office, maybe even the mayor himself, and one of the crime families in the city. This would be a huge step in taking the city back. He had to get tapes and pictures of who was involved.

Since this was purely a surveillance mission, he didn't think he'd need Eva along. He parked his truck a few blocks away and carefully and quietly made his way toward the office building where the meeting was supposed to take place. There was a floor that was vacant and under construction according to plans and permits he had found; it was reasonable that the meeting would be there.

Richter was the picture of stealth as he made his way in through the utilities hook ups. The piping and conduit allowed him to climb up to the 3rd floor before the firewalls sealed the shaft closed. Moving through the building he found the stairs and took them up the building. It was late so he didn't worry about running into other people in the building, other than those that were there for the meeting. However, he had arrived with enough time that he could plant his bugs and leave before they got there.

The whole floor was quiet. Really only the load-bearing structure remains so he had pretty free reign to set things up and still get a good shot. He did see some plastic sheeting left behind to protect a portion of the floor, though. He was curious why it was there as the construction wasn't anywhere close to being ready for paint. As he drew closer, what he thought was a collection of tool bags and other thing, turned out to be a person, wrapped in garbage bags, laying there with an obvious bullet wound to the forehead. He recognized who it was: a low-level soldier in the family that was going to be here tonight.

"Shit..." was all he managed before the whole floor was bathed in bluish-white light from a spotlight. The spotlight hung from a helicopter hovering outside. The loudspeaker was calling for him to freeze, to stop where he was, but he couldn't be taken to jail. It was a death sentence. Anyone could be gotten to in jail in this town.

He exploded across the floor with blinding speed, throwing himself through the door to the stairs as bullets started flying all around him. "Dammit, you assholes, we're on the same team!" he cursed at them as the helicopter swung around the building, trying to get an angle on him. But Richter wasn't lying there anymore; he was already 3 floors up, moving as fast as his legs could carry him.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

blink had caught the transmission 10 minutes before, but she couldn't move fast enough to intercept-and she had no way to contact him still, even after several months. An oversight or intentional? She didn't know-she let him set the pace for such things, she didn't want to push.

But perhaps that had been a mistake-the 10-72 code had come through with his name stamped on it. She wanted to warn him, needed to warn him-but it was also ludicrous that she was about to work against the police on an apprehension. If she was found out...

But she was just so afraid they'd shoot first and ask questions later-and as she blinked across another alley, she found she was right-gunfire erupted and a helicopter inexplicably appeared from nowhere-how had she not heard it?

Ducking behind a billboard, Eva tried to steady her heart. She didn't dare draw attention to herself with a construct, but she didn't fancy getting shot either.

But she had to get over there, because Reckoning might be strong, fast, and tough-but he wasn't bullet proof, and letting him assault the police wasn't an option either.

Dammit.

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The stairs ended abruptly on the top floor, a set of locked double doors to his immediate right. Far, far below, the ground floor entry slammed open, boots and the sound of men charging in-just as the double doors opened, out stepping the bombshell in the blue jacket, her beautiful face and dark red hair instantly recognizable.

Hazel green eyes widen on him-and then she hurriedly steps back, holding the door open for him. It's a dead end-no apparent roof access in immediate sight, just an open area office with large windows and no seeming divisions, just a side door on the left-a closet.

"Reck, what is...the police scanner pegged you as here and with a gun-shots fired?" Her quiet, anxious tone was rapidly being drowned out by the sound of the rising helicopter still searching for him.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Richter rattled the locked doors at the top of the stairs. They seemed more solid than he was used to so he wasn't quite strong enough to burst through them with the limited run-up he had. Plus, they were hinged the wrong way around. He looked back down the shaft of the stairs. Flashes from gun-mounted lights below with the tell-tale thundering collection of footsteps told him that they were not playing around this time. They were coming for blood. But why this time? What was different now? Was it the man downstairs? Did thinking he killed someone cross some line with the police?

As he contemplated what to do, the doors behind him pushed open. His heart soared as he saw his girl, his new partner, Eva holding the doors open for him. She waved him through hurriedly. He didn't need to be told twice and stepped through, pulling the doors closed and using his zip cuffs to link the doors closed even more. He turned to face her and she was rambling, looking so scared as she stood there.

"Reck, what is...the police scanner pegged you as here and with a gun-shots fired?"

He was about to respond when he caught some of the bluish light from the helicopter's light creeping into this floor. Pointing at the side door on teh empty floor, he ran to it and held it open for her, turning in and closing it behind her as they stepped into the closet. This wasn't as big as he hoped and with his size, there wasn't much that Eva could do but press up against his chest a little more than friends might.

"Eva, breathe, we can get out of this. Just calm down... Someone set me up; there is a dead body a few floors down and they no doubt have images of me standing over it. That's who I supposedly murdered, but look at me, Eva... you know I don't use guns and I definitely don't kill people for exactly this reason... even if they deserved it... But you know I can't get out of here on my own... But you can help me... I've seen your powers. You can teleport. I'm betting you can teleport more than yourself." He paused, taking her hands and holding them up in front of him.

"Eva, I need you to save my life tonight. You can get me out of here and then we can get away together and figure this out... but first we need to get safe. Can you do that? Can you do that for the both of us?" He asked, trying to stay calm, but already he could hear the cops in the stairs. They were a few floors away still, but it wouldn't take long for them to get through the door. It sounded like they were weapons-free already so he was dead on sight if they got to him... or Eva. She was in this now if she helped him get away. "I trust you." he added, letting her know that they were together, thick or thin, from here on out.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

blink could not be seen here. Could. Not. She was the face of the League, she can't be aiding and abetting, she can't be flaunting the law-he moved to the closet and opened the door.

She hesitated a moment and then stepped towards him-disappearing and reappearing just to his left-moving into the closet and turning around just in time for him to also enter, closing the door behind him. It was close quarters-much too close.

He started in on her immediately in the dark, urging her to calm down but at the same time-dumping information at a dizzying speed. "I don't think you did this." She assures him, hot air against his collar bone in the dark, the two of them standing so very close. That apple blossom scent, her chest pressed into him, each inhalation and exhalation easily felt-and her voice, that unintentionally sensual, soft tone.

But you can help me... I've seen your powers. You can teleport. I'm betting you can teleport more than yourself."

Her heart sank and sped up at the same time. "No...no, Reck, I can't do that, I won't do that-it's too dangerous a-and you can't just run-" No, he couldn't do that. It would make him look more guilty. He took her hands and held them in front of him in the dark, asking her to do things she just-she couldn't possibly-

"My master could do it-" She didn't even notice the word slip past her lips. "But not me, I don't...I've never taken anyone with me-" Reckoning would able to pick up on her anxious uncertainty, the miserable self doubt.

"I'll go out there, try to settle things, get them to put down the guns..." She was saying, trying to work it out in her mind, trying to figure out how to smooth this situation over. He'd be taken into custody, but then she could talk to the commissioner, the League-somebody. Some legal representation and then-

 

[such_a_bad_man]

"I'll go out there, try to settle things, get them to put down the guns..."

"Eva, Eva..." He said, catching her chin to turn her eyes to look at him. "I'm sorry to put you in this position, but trust me when I tell you that those men out there aren't looking to give me my day in court. I don't know what set them off, but they are out for blood. If I had to guess, someone in the police is working with someone behind the scenes to take me out. I thought I had all the bad apples on my list, but it looks like I missed one. After we get out of here, we'll work our way back to them, but right now, I need a way out of this building that they can't follow..." He said, looking in her eyes.

"I know you think you can't, but I've seen heroes, time and again, rise above their role in The League and do amazing things. You just have to believe you can. Good... Bad... whatever the outcome, I'll be happy because you at least tried to get me out of here... I know you can do it." He said. She seemed so scared of her own power, so sure she wasn't strong enough, but it sounded more like she tried once a long time ago and failed badly enough to scare herself out of trying again.

Now was her second chance.

 

[CurtailedAmbrosia]

Reckoning caught her chin and tipped her face up to his masked one, his fingers surprisingly gentle, his words soothing even with the distortion of his voice.

He encouraged her with faith rather than commanded with disdained disgust. He even left room for failure, promising a forgiveness she didn't expect and found hard to reconcile with the world she had known before becoming blink.

blink...she was blink...

He'd feel her turn her face away from him, an inhalation. He might have thought her answer would still be no.

But then left hand takes his right, her graceful fingers threading through his powerful ones. "Just don't let go." Her soft voice was barely above a whisper, an anxious solemnity to the warning. Her lithe body and feminine form pressed closer onto him as she reached past him with her other hand for the doorknob. In the tight confines the movement caused him to twist slightly towards the still closed door, the slender woman brushing against him as she swapped their positions. Her hand tightened around his as she turned her palm upward, her forearm now up under his, her hip and shoulder against his side-as if to brace him should he fall.

"For the love of God, Reck-" An urgent whisper in the dark, that sense of -power- on the air again, a thrum-he'd feel it not just on the air but through him, his skin warm where it touched hers, a rippling feather like touch across the rest of him, as if he had just stepped into a cool misty fog. "Don't let go." Then the door opened, her other hand came up to grasp his strong upper arm-and that feeling of energy intensified before she led them forward with a graceful step-and the two of them stepped not through the door but into nothing.

He'd feel weightless but also heavy, blind but seeing-they were somewhere entirely different, an empty darkness for miles and miles around their two bodies, his feet on a small circular platform that faintly glowed a familiar bright blue.

Threatening red spikes jut through the twilight emptiness, malicious arcs of crackling red energy drifting through the air. He'd realize blink's teleportation was not instaneous-at least not from blink's perspective.

As oppressive and malignant as the world around them seemed to be, there was an odd sort of comfort in the touch and presence of the pretty redhead beside him. A glance would reveal her looking up at him, surprise evident-and then relief. He'd see that same faint blue energy encircling them both, a buffer against the darkness.

Here she was transformed-she was still Eva, but there was something otherworldly about her pale, luminescent skin, the sheen off her dark red hair and hazel green eyes. In this hostile place, she was the sole thing of beauty, of good. She was hope, faith, compassion, love, justice-the world around them seemed hungry for it, red arcs of energy darting in their direction-and repelled with the long strands of her own blue light swirling off that protective shield.

The dark energy knew she didn't belong here, and sought to consume her.

"They call it teleportation, and it is in a way." Her voice was quiet as the moved carefully across the nothing, small blue circles of light appearing beneath each delicate step, flaring wider to provide a path for him alongside her. "But it's really called stepping...and that's what we're doing, stepping out of the world, through this one, and back."

He'd realize they were sloping upwards, but it was difficult to keep his bearings. Eva seemed to know where she was going however, her fingers still linked with his, her other hand still tight on his upper arm, seemingly unconcerned with the malignant red energy that moved for her, was being repelled.