Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 2:08 pm

The slow katas had morphed into full-speed attacks against her phantom opponents; the slow graceful near-dance of TaiChi exercise movements revealed as incapacitating or deadly blocks and counterstrikes.

Yet she couldn't fight the little voice in her head, replaying every thing she did during the mission that went wrong. Finally, she slumped, hands on her knees as she panted from exertion, her hair falling forward to curtain her face. It was her fault. She knew it.

She straightened slowly, her mind tracing a certain thread to find where he would be right now.

Yes. She knew that place. She'd been there. She would simply see if he looked in the mood to talk....

.... Silver eyes opened in Blackheart's apartment, momentarily confused as to where that particular shadow lay. Something large and white was blocking her view ... oh... it's the.

OH. Uhoh.
The Bathroom. He was in the shower.
No. BAD IDEA.

She retreated, slipping through the shadows to emerge in the hallway in front of his door. He might be mad at being disturbed, but not as mad as if she'd actually appeared in his apartment. Especially in the bathroom, with him in the shower.

Before she could lose her nerve entirely, she hit the doorbell, calling Blackheart out of the shower.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:26 pm

Blackheart stepped out of the shower, towled down quickly, and threw on a terry cloth road as he padded across his apartment. He opened the door. "Argent," he said. "What are you doing here?"

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:36 pm

In the short time it took him to get there, she'd nearly lost her nerve. She'd realized she was still in the sportsbra and leotard tights she'd put on before exercising. Her hair was probably still damp from her shower. She was already flushed from embarrassment at where she'd *first* teleported into his apartment. Had he been in just a towel, she'd have vanished and never looked back. It was a wonder the air around her wasn't painted with her nervousness.

"I..." she had to swallow before the words would come out. "I came to apologise...." and she could get no more out, and fell back on the only thing that came to mind. She bowed, as if to her grandfather, or to Zufu, inferior to superior.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:41 pm

"You might as well come in," he said, stepping out of the doorway. "What are you intending to apologize for?"

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:46 pm

She slipped in like the theif she was, careful not to touch him, moving silently over to perch on the edge of the couch nervously. She didn't even realize it was the same pose she'd taken at the party a few weeks ago, although then Saibot had been slumped in the couch, already starting to drink himself stupid(er).

"For... the mission," she said quietly, her eyes downcast.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:54 pm

"I'm sorry doesn't cut it sweet heart," said Blackheart. "Do you have any idea what you did?"

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:02 pm

That caused her to wince, because she knew exactly. The list of her wrongs had been a countdown even her hardest exertions hadn't banished. "Firt... I teleported the team too early. In a way, it caused Ga... Saibot to go off on his own. Second... I could not protect the team fully from the wall the Freaks had protecting them. I broke just as everyone reached where it got the strongest. Had it been thicker...." she swallowed, shaking her head.

"Then... I teleported you without permission... thinking you should be there, but fearing you'd be so angry you'd strike first and think later." She winced, eyes dropping further to the floor. "So I left your radio behind. Last........... I nearly got Blast and Hotfoot killed... because I caused Gar ... Saibot to get captured."

Each of her 'sins' was spoken flatly, her shoulders slumping more with each failure. To her, the whole mission was her fault, and her fault alone.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:07 pm

"I don't care about the small fry mistakes," said Blackheart. "They get made. You decided to change the mission all by your lonesome when we were already in the combat zone. You dumped a member into enemy territory without communications. Your emotional temper tantrums were bad enough, but how I am supposed to trust you after this? Your recklessly endangered everyone on your team and you disobeyed orders."

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:15 pm

Somehow, she doubted protesting she was in the room with him all the time, ready to teleport would help... but she had to make an effort. "I'd not left you," she admitted softly. "I was ready to teleport you instantly, if needed."

A slight wave of her hand, to show him she considered it a useless excuse as well. "As for trust ... did you have that to begin with?" A touch of bitterness crept out as she continued speaking. "A thief who attacked Ultima agents, given the choice of jail or working for you?" A soft snort, followed a slow shake of her head. "I should just try to run and let the nanites kill me...."

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:20 pm

"Go then," said Blackheart. "Taking responsibility for your actions would be out of character. It'll make the higher ups decision about what to do when you rabbit easier. You'll be just another crook on the run."

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:31 pm

She didn't manage to hide the wince from that dart well enough, though she tried to brush it off with a shrug. "I managed ... before. Nearly eight years, without a policeman touching us." But there was no pride in the words, not like before, when Ember had said them so often to her. Ember. Barely two months ago ... three? It would be so easy to blame her for this ... but I could have talked her out of it.

Another shake of her head, driving away the thought like a dog flicking a fly from its ear. "What will happen if I stay?" Somehow, she knew it wasn't going to be better than running.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:41 pm

"Don't know," said Blackheart. "Can't say my report was favorable to you, not that my performance was anything to brag about. You've been tilting in one direction or the other in emotional fits and then there was this. You keep talk about running. You don't sound reliable, haven't bothered to start sounding reliable at all. How do you think it looks?"

He shrugged. "You want to get out from under this, you need to go to the top and convince them you're a mark in the plus column."

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sat May 19, 2007 9:03 pm

"Why should I sound -- or even BE -- reliable, when I am nothing more than a caged bird forced to sing?" Lei snapped bitterly, a touch of her old self behind it, before slumping down again.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, drawing the shadows to her unconsciously, as if pulling a blanket about her. "Once again... I've failed you."

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sat May 19, 2007 10:36 pm

Blackheart's reply was cold"You're a thief and the lackey of a man who deals in slavery, extortion, and murder. Your crime boss master pimps out teenage girls. You were up to your neck in a kidnapping. You were given a second chance and here you are crying that you have to show some fucking responsibility! Guess what princess, I don't give a flying fuck about how you think you're oppressed. Why the hell should I go to bat for you?"

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun May 20, 2007 2:08 pm

Lei's head rose, a flash of silver burning deep in her black-on-black eyes. The shadows around her got thicker, darker as Blackheart ranted.

"Slavery, Extortion, and Murder?" she repeated, her voice deceiptively calm. "Amusing how you describe Ultima so well. Pot meets kettle, I believe"

She rose to her feet, the shadows following her like a dark cloak. "I came to apologise for my mistakes and to ask your help. I'd do better begging my grandmother for her love." As the shadows swallowed her, the silver dragon-eyes were cold. "Forgive me, I thought part of a leader's job was to aid and protect his team."

As a parting shot, it wasn't the best line. The way her empathy reached out to twist the guilt he'd been trying to drown in vodka was far worse. She pulled it to the forefront of his mind and left it there as she teleported away, a parting 'fuck you' gift to match the verbal blowoff he'd given her.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun May 20, 2007 2:43 pm

"Yeah, way to compare your crime boss to Ultima," Blackheart sneered. Unfortunately for Argent, the guilt he felt was tied to anger towards her. "That's your fucking problem in a nutshell Argent. You won't take responsibility to your past misdeeds and you're complaining about the sweet heart deal you got to get out from under. Your not spending a couple decades in a cell was conditional in you toeing the line and you decided you would do anything but and whine how tough it was. You came here to save your ass without admitting to the smallest mistake. Go fuck yourself. You choice was team or jail and you decided to be a shitty team player. Do the math bitch."

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:04 pm

"You made the comparision, not I, Blackheart," Lei said, the eyes hovering in midair atop a pillar of shadows. "You're a broken record when it comes to insulting me. Irresponsible? Ties to a man never proven to be a Gang Leader? Never a team player?" The sarcasm was thick.

"Go back to whatever BlackOps dragged you here, Blackheart, if you want teamplayers. Ultima just wants bidable little slaves. Or did you forget how they tried to kill me while being a 'team-player', when I med-evaced all the wounded away from Ultima and then came back as you ordered?"

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:19 pm

"Get out of here," growled Blackheart. "I'm not interested in criminal's excuses. Your came here to save your ass, not because you had a problem fucking over the team. The choice was go down the line hard for the team or jail. You chose to be un fucking reliable in the field so I can't and won't use you. So you get whatever Ultima decides to do with you. You're a teleporter, there's a lot of use for those outside of combat teams. You might not get prison. Hell, the might not even bother to read past the first couple lines of my report. It's not like I'm a glowing model of a team leader. Might kick you to someone else's team and see if they can get good work out of you."

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:28 pm

"Get out? Before you lose your temper and give into the Demon's urging to wring my neck right now?" A hollow bitter laugh came from the column of shadow. "I already know running means agonizing death, and stepping into Ultima next could mean getting hooked into the power scrambler Tarot locked me inside. Maybe I should stay and piss you off to the point you kill me for them. At least you're honest about hating me."

She should leave. She should leave now. His emotions were tied to the Demon, and her emotions were feeding off both, as well as her own anger. Dammit! I came to apologise to HIM, for failing HIM... Why couldn't he understand that!

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:36 pm

"I don't kill because I'm angry," said Blackheart, "I kill when necessary. Only when necessary. Always. The Space Wasp Larva thinks differently, but it isn't running the show yet. If you're trying to provoke me, you're wasting your time. Right now the only Ultima member needing killing is Tarot. He better hope my time runs out before I catch up to him."

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:39 pm

"Finally..." she drawled, her silver eyes slitting, "Something we can agree upon. Personally, I'd love to see you live long enough to pull his spine from his body."

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:45 pm

"Bad choice," said Blackheart. "Might give him time to do something. Flash frying him before he can do anything will work better, just in case he is less than three quarters charlatan . . ." his voice trailed off.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:45 pm

The silver eyes watch him warily. "What are you thinking, hmm?"

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:49 pm

"A possibility that hadn't occurred to me before," he replied.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:57 pm

"... and that is?" she asked, curiousity aroused.

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Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

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