(Pre-Show) The Park

[Blink]

There was always something riveting about the chase. It was exciting and nerve-wracking. But there was something about it that made Blink really enjoy it, that she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was because she hadn't got to do something like this in so long. It was probably that. She had deposited into a strange land and had no idea exactly what she was getting into - but somehow, she had managed to find something fun. Something innocent and silly. That's what it was. Something silly.

She slipped out of one of her rose-colored portals and hopped up onto the bench in front of her, turning to face the rift in space that she had left behind. A moment later, then young boy known as Neal appeared out of nowhere, as if bursting out of the fog. She flashed him a toothy grin - the first real smile she had released since appearing in this universe. "Giving up?" the boy asked, though he was panting and showing that clearly this was a work-out.

"Not quite yet," she told him, smirking. She turned her head to see where they were. They had traveled up hill a bit, but not quite to where the snow was. She looked back downwards, behind the boy and towards the entrance to the dome. "Let's head back down. To that fountain," she pointed so he could see where she was referring to. "Up for one more work out, or are you too tired?"

She could tell he was panting, but she couldn't make out if it was a lack of stamina or just him catching his breath. She was guessing the latter, seeing how eager he was to nod his head. "Let's do it!"

Claire smirked. She stretched her fingers as they began to glow coral. Her green eyes flickered with excitement. Now she could really stretch those cramped portal muscles. Rather then actually use a portal, she just teleported all together, leaving a 'blink' in space floating where she was standing on the bench.

On the other side of the teleportation, Blink began to run. She could hear the familiar sound of wind rushing through the gap in space-time when Neal jumped through her rift. She was already pretty fast, and now she was moving downhill, looking to get a load of momentum. She looked behind her to see how far ahead she was - as it turned, not as far as she wanted to be. Neal was right behind her, grinning, reaching out to try and catch her emerald garb. He had been rolling himself down the hill, catching speed, showing that his acrobats was a much better substitute for speed then running was. Just before he could grab at her, she teleported again.

Blink appeared right in front of a tree, where she lept up against the trunk. Neal tried to swipe at her from behind when he appeared, but she expertly flipped backwards behind him, landing on her feet. He was no slouch either, though, planting one foot on the bark of the hardwood oak and lept backwards, spinning in mid-air. He grinned, thinking he was just about to tackle her. He was close, too. She quickly dove sideways and rolled out of the way, just before he could snatch her ankle in mid-roll.

"Almost got you," he grinned, looking over at her. She already had that pink energy glowing in her hand, ready to fire another portal into space. "That tree was a dirty trick."

The pink creature smirked. She didn't respond verbally, but her eyes twinkled feverishly to show her eagerness. She turned sideways and threw a portal out in mid-run. Neal was already right behind her as she ran through it. They appeared in the snow, further up the mountain, running through the white clouds on the ground. They only made it about ten feet before Claire led them into another gateway, this one down by the lake, right over the balcony look-out. Blink was running on the concrete pathway towards the telescopes that let onlookers gave at the mountain. She looked behind her. He was running right behind her, leaping over a bench in his way.

She leaned forward to increase speed. She was running straight for the cliff. Her feet leapt off the ground, confident he wouldn't follow. She dropped off the vista viewpoint, looking to dive straight down into the water. In mid-leap, she disappeared from view and came flying out over the park, rolling freely onto the ground. She turned around, grinning as she assumed Neal didn't follow.

Out of nowhere, Neal came flying out face-first, obviously thinking she had dove into the water. He was quick to recover when he realized he fell into another of her rifts, bringing his shoulders up to catch her. She tried to pull up a portal to block him from hitting her, but it was too close. "Got you!" He shouted victoriously as he smacked into her and playfully tackled her to the ground. She even found herself laughing as he rolled over her and onto the grass himself.

They both laughed for a few moments. She was laying on her back, and him next to her on his belly.

"That was fun," he said, still chuckling as he pushing himself up to his knees.

She sat up and began to climb to her feet. She still had a smirk on her face as well. "It was," she admitted. "I think I really needed that, Neal." She looked over at the young boy as he stood up. He was looking at the hat that he had been carrying with a bit of a frown, as if he had suddenly remembered something about it. She didn't really care enough to ask. "I'm gonna go see what else I can get myself into. Thanks for the run, kid. It was good for me."

"No prob," he told her after peeking his eyes away from the cap. "Nice to meet ya. Good luck in the tournament."

She nodded her head and looked towards the entrance to the dome. She measured out the distance in her head and then looked back at him. "You too. See ya." Then she turned to walk away, disappearing in a flash of pink energy in mid-step.