Log:No Good Deed

2019/12/21 	 Victory Grimm Lien

1

With the issue of bugs wrecking people's minds, Grimm figures it may be a good time to offer psychic training practice. She finds herself distracted as she arrives at the Workout Room, a look of outrage as she reads HeroNet. "Geez, read the frickin' OP, why dontcha?" she grumbles.

Victory is already in the workout room, having just finished off a pair of ninja, knocking them out.

Grimm starts making the mistake of starting a rage post reply. Then she takes a breath, delete delete deletes, and puts her phone back in her jacket pocket. She closes her eyes, lets the breath out, and tries to calm down. "Hey there, Boy Scout."

Victory smiles, "Hey there. How are you doing?" He turns off his shield, and it flickers out of existence.

"Practicing finding my inner zen," Grimm smirks and opens her eyes. "But honestly, being insulted by another hero who didn't read my original post or thread on the current Hive Mother situation really 'bugs' me."

Victory shrugs, "You have a bunch of heroes all working on their own. They're not always on the same page."

"Yeah, but when I post a warning about a shapeshifting threat and that we know one of its shapes was of a fellow hero and to call Starguard rather than engage, it takes a certain level of non-awareness to act like you came up with this brilliant correlation that a shapeshifter is probably behind the likeness and maybe we shouldn't use lethal force. When no force was suggested! Argh!" Grimm rants. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and lets it out, counts backwards from ten like the doctor suggested. She opens her eyes. "Sorry. I'm...working on that."

Victory shrugs, "You know that metas tend to be trigger-happy, right? Having more than one person pump the brakes is a good thing.

Grimm grumbles. "The way it was worded, it was like she assumed I was calling for blood." Grimm is totally reading into it based on her past grudges with Amelia.

"Anyway...whatever. It doesn't matter. Trigger-happy metas was exactly why I posted to contact Starguard rather than go after them. We don't know if it's a shapeshifter, or if she's being controlled, or what." She finally calms down. "Speaking of controlled, you up for some psychic practice?"

Victory nods, "Sure, I'm up for some practice."

Grimm rolls her shoulders, looking thoughtful. "So what's your experience fending off mentalists? And are there any limits I should be aware of? Buttons not to push? Things you don't consent to?" she lists.

Victory shrugs, "I've had some experience doing so. I managed to shrug off Brainbox's attacks on my mind. I...can't thing of any restrictions. But I suppose I'll likely find out after the fact." He chuckles.

Grimm raises a brow, smiling but skeptical. "No restrictions? Okay...how about a safeword in case you need me to stop?"

On the topic of practice, and possibly an inadvertent poster child for defense against the dark arts, in walks Lien. At least one of the others present is passingly familiar, whether in person or by reputation, though she pays them little initial mind. Instead, she heads for an unused corner to key up something on the console. A highly advanced simulation of ... a hanging heavy punch bag? Not so advanced, then. The question about safewords does draw a brief glance, though she doesn't make a comment.

Victory takes a deep breath and thinks about it. "Sure. How about...'Sukeban'?"

"Sukeban? Heheh, alright. So if you feel uncomfortable and need me to stop, just say that word. I won't do anything to prevent you from saying it. We're teammates, I want to respect your boundaries," Grimm says as she glances over at the new entrant and looks surprised. "Holy shick! I thought you'd still be a vegetable!"

Victory looks over to Lien, realizing who it is. After all, she was mentioned in a report not too long ago. "Hmm." He turns back to Grimm, "Well, I appreciate the concern. We can see how it goes."

Lien starts to turn for the 'conjured' bag when Grimm calls out. A brow quirks. Then shoulders roll.

"Oh, right. Hi, I'm Grimm. I'm the person that pieced your shattered mindscape back together so you could be a functional human being again," Grimm explains. She turns towards Victory and nods. "JULIUS, can you give me....hmm...an American flag, please?"

"Certainly, Miss Grimm," JULIUS informs. An American flag appears, floating holographically in the air above Grimm and Victory.

Grimm starts her lesson. "Okay, so. The more a mentalist knows their opponent, the more they can influence you. You're pretty well known, so there's a higher risk for you." She then commands, "Why don't you salute that flag?" It's a guess, given his patriotic father and his own choice of uniform.

Victory starts to do it. "Wait...was that something you were trying to force me to do?"

Victory grins, "Or have you not started yet?"

Grimm grins. "Search your feelings?" she says with a shrug.

Victory chuckles. "Alright. Ready when you are." He takes a deep breath and smiles.

Grimm thinks. o O (Wow, his mind is as solid as his....assets...)

Well, that comment certainly keeps Lien's attention. While she might, in truth, be grateful to reassembly, she doesn't recall it on a conscious level, along with a great many other recent events. The blunt mention, not to mention a reminder that apparently yet another was slogging about in her head is enough to provoke her to step towards Grimm and the little mental exercise.

Lien came here more for a workout of the physical sort, thus the bag. Some sweat-venting of frustrations doesn't hurt, either. Though it seems maybe she didn't need the bag, afterall.

Or so says the fist that jabs out with a retort at Grimm's jaw.

Grimm plans to tell Victory the truth about the salute once they're done training. It's as much practice for her as it is him. "A tricky mentalist can even pluck information from your mind to use against you if they don't know enough about you. Is there any memories or things you'd want me to--UNFF!!" Grimm staggers but keeps her footing, wincing. She didn't have her shadow shield up and definitely felt that. "Owwww!"

Victory shouts at Lien, "Hey!" He moves over to interpose himself between the two women, "Back off! She actually tried to heal you!"

Lien's scowl remains, though she doesn't take another swing, nor attempt to bypass Victory. Instead, she throws up her hands in disgust and turns to the console to rapidly, and forcefully, tap out a request/environenetal effect. An auditory one, in this case, and offered, not unsurprisingly, in JULIUS' voice,

"Wonderful. Anyone else wander in my head while I was out? Maybe I should set it up as a CENSORING PROTOCOL TRIGGERED motel. Charge by the hour."

Victory raises a brow, "The report that I read was that your mind was pretty messed up when you arrived at the hospital, after Radical healed your physical form."

Grimm rubs her jaw after getting sucker punched. "What the hell! I was helping you! You wouldn't even be walking in here to punch me!" She winces again. With a thought, she's outlined with a dark shield of energy to protect herself, but makes no attempt to attack.

Grimm looks to Victory. "Maybe...ouch...we should delay psychic training."

Lien pauses a moment, putting both hands on the console, not needing to look at either of them to hear them. Or to respond. All it takes is a flurry of keystrokes. It is a shame that tone isn't really conveyed by the sythesized voice.

"So, not in my right mind -or- in my right body. And now it's, what, required reading for StarGuard? Thank you so much. Makes vegetable not sound so bad."

After considering further comment, she steps away from the console to the bag to start striking it, as was her and its original intent.

Grimm glares at Lien. "Oh, I can fix that if you want. Undo what I fixed," she rolls up her sleeves.

Victory folds his arms, "You had contact with an alien life form. If you have a problem with my reading a report, I can tell you where to stick your opinion. It's my damn job to know what the situation is." He shakes his head and says to Grimm, "Yeah, training can wait."

Grimm starts counting backwards again. She's been counting a lot lately. "Since you're conscious, maybe you'd like to give a statement of what happened to you so we can stop the thing that did that to you and others before it changes more people."

Lien ignores Victory's comment, or at least a retort to it, venting instead at the holographic punching bag with several more strikes. After Grimm's comment, she pauses, dropping hands, as well as her head for a moment. She sighs and turns to look at the both of them, stepping to return to the console.

This time, her response is in the form of a floating holo text box (more common for her, for those familiar).

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY? WHATEVER HIT ME, I NEVER SAW IT COMING.

"Yeah, you definitely saw it coming," Grimm smirks. "Seemed like you were looking right at her at the time."

Ok, now Lien smirks at Grimm. Whether that's a good sign or not... well, she isn't swinging? It may also add some connotation to her response.

IT WASN'T HER. I KNEW WHERE HER HANDS WERE.

"Funny. You SURE she wasn't using other parts of her body on you? Or you on her?" Grimm smirks harder.

Lien's smirk deepens for a moment, then dims as she taps out more direct, less snark.

LOOK, WE CAN FLIRT ALL NIGHT, BUT YOU DON'T WANT THAT ON RECORD FOR YOUR MECHANIC, DO YOU? WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO KNOW?

"You didn't report her missing. Which tells me you KNOW she was behind it. Otherwise you'd be worried your hook up was a bug, too. So you know what I think? I think you're protecting her because you know she was the one that did it." Grimm says coldly as she tries to get Lien to talk. "She didn't even bother to report you being changed into a bug, you know. No one knew you were missing. You were found in an alleyway alone by some others. So why don't you come clean?"

Lien blinks, and her eyes remain narrowed afterwards, never fully re-opening. She doesn't look away this time, even as she types.

AMAZING, SHERLOCK. WHEN THE $#@! WAS I SUPPOSED TO REPORT ANYONE MISSING? I'VE BEEN OUT OF THE HOSPITAL ALL OF A DAY. I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HER, SO MAYBE SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER, TOO. $#@! IF I KNOW. GUESS I OWE YOU MORE THANKS, NOW, FOR POINTING OUT NOBODY GAVE A $#@! ENOUGH TO NOTICE I WASN'T AROUND.Shehe scowls, more, adding,

DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU WERE IN MY HEAD? SO YOU'RE THE PSYCHIC. WHAT THE $#@! ARE YOU ASKING ME ANYTHING FOR, THEN? YOU ALREADY SEEM TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAN I DO. AND THAT JUST PISSES ME OFF MORE.

"Right now. You've been out of the hospital for a day? That's 24 hours to act on it. You think something happened and it wasn't her? Why didn't you immediately think the thing that attacked you got her to? Pretend to be outraged all you want. I think you're full of shit," Grimm says firmly. "I stopped looking through your broken mind once I found out when you got changed. I could certainly look back further if you want."

She smirks darkly. "I don't need you, anyway. We've already got an APB out for your girlfriend. What I want to know is why YOU didn't report it. Because by now, you would know or suspect something happened to her: You had a day. Your girlfriend wasn't there when you were a bug. She wasn't at the hospital if you haven't heard from her. You're telling me you didn't call her as soon as you got out? All that adds up to you knowing something must've happened to her. So...are you protecting her from getting apprehended out of some misplaced allegiance?"

Yeah. This is a heck of an interview. Lien doesn't quite match smirk for smirk, or smile for smile. She just shrugs.

CONGRATS. YOU'RE A $#@!ING GENUIS. SINCE SHE HASN'T ANSWERED MY MESSAGES YET, MUST BE GUILTY. SINCE I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED, I MUST BE GUILTY. AND SINCE YOU WERE IN MY HEAD, YOU WERE OBVIOUSLY COVERING UP $#@!, SO YOU MUST BE GUILTY. I CAN PLAY CONSPIRACY THEORY, TOO. MAYBE WE SHOULD GO ALL NIGHT? MAKE A SLUMBER PARTY OUT OF IT? YOU ACCUSE ME. I ACCUSE YOU. YOU CAN PAINT MY NAILS. I CAN BRAID YOUR HAIR. FUN TIMES FOR ALL.

"No one's reported her missing, either. Thought you'd like to know, so she most likely isn't a bug," Grimm lets out another barb. "I'll be sure not to help restore your melted brain the next time your girlfriend turns you into a bug. You aren't worth the effort. We'll be keeping an eye on you." With her trainee gone, and Lien being useless, Grimm vanishes into darkness as she teleports away. That's one way to get in the last word.

On the bright side, Lien can now see about venting more on that holo bag. Perhaps it will be more therapeutic after she alters it slightly to put a nice smug little face on the front of it...