[Avengers] Assembling the Team

[Blink]

"Ohhhh that's good," Blink was sighing as a tingle went up her spine. She was injecting herself with an antidote on the Quinjet to counteract the tranquilizer that was used to put her down earlier. As the green liquid disappeared into her side, the two chemicals mixed inside her lilac-shaded frame and gave her a euphoric feeling. She rolled her emerald eyes back as she sat on the starboard seats in the Quinjet, feeling her senses start to come back. It was a good feeling in a lame situation, and she desperately needed it.

“Avengers!” Came a voice on the cockpit radio. “Retreat! We have been-“ Blink swiftly rose, almost a bit too fast as she stumbled forward on her way towards the forward part of the plane. It was The Vision's voice. She could tell that robotic, monotone sound anywhere.

"Vision?" Another voice appeared on the line. This was a deep male voice. She assumed it was Steve 'Captain America' Rogers. "Vision, come in!"

There was a pause. Blink stood there, staring at the control panel at the Quinjet. For a moment there, Blink had a very dark thought cross through her mind. She could leave. It wouldn't be difficult. Between the Quinjet and her own teleporting abilities, they would never find her. She could run from her mistake and never look back. It didn't sound like staying was going to have a positive outcome.

“Avengers,” Vision said on the line again. “Be advised. Charges have been set around the hostages, which will be activated depending on Ms. Ferguson’s proximity. It is very important that Ms. Ferguson stay in the Quinjet until the charges have been deactivated.”

Immediately, Claire's hand came down to her thigh. She had a pain there since she had woke up earlier. She couldn't feel anything poking around, but she did run her finger over a slight bump. "Damn," she cursed. She had been injected with something. It was likely what Vision was talking about. She was a walking, talking remote control to a bomb.

Vision spoke again, this time louder. “Captain Rogers, give the order to retreat. The code is: Simon Says.”

"What the hell does Simon Says mean?" Blink wondered aloud. It kind of bothered again that she wasn't brought into the knowledge base of code words and plans. The reality was that she wasn't a very good follower and she knew that. Being treated like the grunt of the team is what got her in this situation to begin with. Now here she was, once again depending on the orders of others to know her next step.

The voice line opened again. She stared down at the console. There was talking in the background; Blink was able to figure out that Rogers, Judy Hopps and Hal Jordan were all together. "Blink, come in. What is your location?"

The teleporter reached down and pressed a button on the communication panel on the console. "I'm in the Quinjet. What does Simon Says mean?"

"It means Vision is in trouble. Officer Hopps is going to head in his direction to intercept while Jordan and I go for the hostages."

Blink nodded. Sounded like a good plan. Jordan and Rogers were the muscle, and Hopps had already proven she was particularly adept at rescue missions. "I'll meet with Judy and we can-"

"Negative. You stay on the Quinjet."

"What the fuck?" Claire cursed, her green eyes contorting angrily as she stared down at the voice-box. "Are you freakin' benching me right now? I know that I can't go near the hostages but I can still help."

There was a brief pause. Her hands shook with rage at the idea that this star-spangled prick wasn't going to let her participate. "You're not being benched," Captain America said calmly through the radio. "You're our escape plan. If anything happens to you, then it's going to make extraction much more difficult."

If Blink was in a rationally thinking mood, then she would have agreed with his sound logic. But she wasn't thinking rational, for the second time in one mission. She was beyond team spirit and following orders. "This is punishment, isn't it?" She asked, annoyed. "You're keeping me locked up here because I split earlier."

"It's not a punishment," Rogers reiterated. He didn't go into further explanation, probably because he was busy with his own part of the mission. "Just sit tight. We'll handle it."

We'll handle it. That was typical. She glanced behind her, at the empty main space of the Quinjet. Then she looked down at the free cockpit seat. She could leave. It would be so easy. They would never find her. There was a brief moment where she considered maybe she should play it safe and sit there for Captain America, waiting on his call. Then there was an even longer moment when she debated taking the Quinjet and bouncing all together. She had her own team of heroes to get together.

But in the end, Clarice 'Claire' Ferguson did the predictable Exiles thing, and said fuck it. She put an earpiece in. "Judy, I'm in route," she said aloud. She didn't get any argument from the other side of the radio...either because Cap was busy or because he was tired of trying to talk her out of it. She glanced down the runway towards the buildings leading into the bunker...and blinked out of the Quinjet.