Log:Rescue in Boston

2014/08/17 Paragon Porter 1

The past few days, Paragon's been out of town. She at least stopped by with some snacks and some time with Porter before announcing she was going to go to Boston to visit her teammates and let them know what's been happening. Paragon wanted to explain in person how the safe house was wrecked.

Paragon was supposed to be back last night, but there's been no word. On breaking news, there's live coverage of a massive villain attack in Boston that the Guardians are dealing with. From the chopper vid feed of the city, there's partially collapsing skyscraper with smoke rising off of it.

"...authorities and emergency crews are evacuating the building as we speak. Two of the Guardians are trapped in the sub basement levels and the rest of the team are pursuing the villains responsible. Emergency crews are unsure of how much longer the building will remain standing after last night's attack on the city. The villains took out the base support structure and..." a female reporter says into a microphone. The feed now switches to her at a street level, an almost safe distance form the collapsed building that's maybe 15 stories tall at most. There's debris and paper flying about and people are streaming out of the building, which shudders oddly. It sinks down a bit, then shifts up again and holds still for a while.

Channel surfing. Porter hasn't done a lot of that lately. Then again, he's not usually sitting at home. The events a week past did seem to warrant a bit of a vacation, though. Not that he'd spend it at home, recently, but... Well, he isn't normally expecting visitors on a schedule.

That made last night and today unusual. So now he's on the couch skipping through. Five million channels and still there's nothing...Boston. Meta villains. Guardians. What are the odds? Well, Porter /did/ turn on the television. He expects to see a familiar armored form in background... but doesn't.

Ok. Now what? Does he worry over what is probably nothing? Does he ignore it and hope for the best? Well... on the bright side, he can sort of do both. Just a quick jaunt. If everything's fine, he can always give Para a quick ride home. If not... he can help. Heck, even if everything's fine with her he can help. So he plinks at his handy little doohickey. Maybe Para can show him the real lake this time...

And with a flash and a THWUMP, Porter disappears from his apartment. And on his television screen, in the background near the emergency crew base center, there's a small flash and a rather unremarkable young man appears...

The emergency crews have some equipment set up with sonar to scan the building's lower levels. They coordinate on radio with the crews inside the building. "Top levels almost cleared? Copy that. Estimate on final evacuation?" says the fire department captain into a radio. He stops and listens for a response.

Holy crap. Screw you, gravity! Porter actually lands on solid ground. The unremarkable young man looks rather surprised. Then he looks around. Guy with radio is almost as good as newslady with microphone. "Hey! So who's still inside? How many? Where?"

The captain nods to himself as he listens to the radio, then suddenly gets surprised by the flash and the thwump. "Who-oa!" he stumbles and nearly drops his radio handset. "Don't think I've seen you before. Are you a new hero?" the captain says with a strong Bostonian accent.

"Yeah. Friend of the Guardians." Well, one of them. Porter nods and offers the fireman a casual wave. "Do you know who's where? Maybe I can help. Get people out and stuff."

A younger tech reviewing the sonar scans says, "Captain, we've found a series of air pockets in the first two bottom levels of the parking garage. The rest of the underground parking garage has collapsed, and there's no way for crews to get access."

The rotund captain frowns and strokes his mustache and peers over the scan results. "If there's anyone down there, they're probably almost out of air. It's not safe enough for dig crews to work there." He looks to Porter. "Friend of the Guardians, huh? Most of the civilians on the top levels are out. In about two minutes, the accessible parts of the building should be clear. Still no sign of Blackhawk or Paragon. I'm afraid some of your friends are still missing. But if my men haven't found them and they're inside, they're probably trapped down there somewhere," he points at a sonar image of the building and some large pockets of space beneath its center, several meters down.

Porter's face falls and he just... sighs. "Of course..." Now he looks to the sonar images on the screen. "So... most everybody's out. Except for those two. And there's two air pocket things down there. Where everything else has collapsed?" He points at the screen, then at the building. To make sure he understands everything. Two missing. Two pockets. Sounds really, really convenient. "How big are these pocket things? Para could probably have the building fall on her and not be too bad. Not sure about Blackhawk. But they probably both need to breath eventually..."

The tech shakes his head. "A few pockets. They're mostly connected. But there's one large one. We're not sure how many civilians may be trapped down there. The building's power has been knocked out, so you'll need this." He hands Porter flashlight from one of the other firemen. The tech turns back to scrutinize his screen.

"If I were to guess by scale? About 4 meters in height clearance at least. Less so in these areas where there's stress buckling," he points out. The scan looks almost like a series of caverns. He points to the biggest space, which has branching connections to other larger pockets. "This is about 20 meters around and seems to be centered where some of the meta fighting was reported. This huge column with the strange break at the bottom was a major support that was blown."

The captain comments, "BlackHawk isn't one of the heavy hitters of the team. More like they're uh...detective type, you could say. Smart fellow. Helped solve a lot of crimes." Porter takes the flashlight. "Thanks. Ok. So, building falling on him is a bad thing. Got it. I'll see who I can find." First, though, he'll see about getting in touch with the one he does know. Since Paragon will probably know way more than he does.

So as he walks for the building, he pokes at more buttons. He can network with her. Maybe he can triangulate, or cut through the rubble to connect up. Something.

SCANNING... SCANNING... Oh, hey, there she is. Porter's sigh is uplifted with a grin that can probably be detected through the network. <>

Somewhere, a smile is forming. <> An elated but exhausted mental voice responds. Paragon's thought are fuzzy. Unfocused. <>

Now that he has the link going, he doesn't have to search. More importantly, he can flip things back over to teleporting. And, since he now knows where she is, getting there is just a matter of another button or three. No need to even cross fingers, even.

The flash probably lights things up for just a second. The flashlight helps after. <> Guess she'll have to tell the truth, too, since he can probably see her.

With a flash and a thwump, Porter gets to where he's aiming for. There's a glimpse of the collapsed and crumbling sections of this part of the underground parking garage. There's a few cars parked, but not many. There's areas to walk around and enough clearance to stand, and something reflects some of the flash up ahead before everything goes dark. There's also a rush of the air he brought with him dispersing away. The air here is very thin. It's hard to breath, even with some of the extra air he brought with him.

As Porter fumbles with the Flashlight button in the dark, a pair of green lights flicker on. And then the flashlight turns on afterwards, illuminating Paragon. She's down on one knee, holding up the broken support column with both hands. It looks to have been shattered and Paragon's trying to keep it up as best she can, but it's gradually crushing her into the ground. She's strong, but not strong enough to hold an entire massive building by herself. It's more like she's guiding the support beam into a very very slow, gradual collapse. But other than the dusty debris on her armor and the strain, she looks undamaged.

<> Paragon thinks hazily. Her eyes flick to red as he looks around slowly. <> She grunts a little as she falters by a few inches, then pushes up again to maintain the building's integrity. Some dust and a few small rocks fall around here and there.

Porter now frowns. Her under the column could've turned out a couple ways. This could be the better possibility, but it still isn't great. <> He doesn't even try to ask about yanking her out now, or first. As much as he wants her safe, he knows she can handle way more of this than most people. And he knows she wouldn't go willingly before them, anyhow.

Lack of oxygen is making it hard for Paragon to focus, and she doesn't even need that much. She half thinks she's just imagining Porter's there. << I can.>> Her head turns to Porter's left. <> She looks back to Porter. <<...glad...the others are clear.>> She thinks back happily. She nods her head behind Porter. <> Then she cranes her head to try and look behind her. <>

Porter starts moving the first way she nodded, light leading the way. <> He's pretty sure that wrestling buildings can cause tension. << I've got to take them one at a time, though. Sorry.>>

Paragon can barely get out a breath or a grunt to laugh, but she's mentally amused. << I'll keep hanging on. Don't worry about me. Go save them, Hero.>> she thinks back encouragingly. It's hard to refuse a massage, but she's in little shape to argue at the moment.

The first man Paragon indicated is the closest, only a few meters away and sitting up leaning against a car, unconscious.

Porter is now on the hunt for people. Probably unconscious people. Hopefully still breathing people. <> << I think the building's...unnff...winning...and not even on a technicality. I was standing up when I first tried to hold it up.>> Paragon thinks back wryly.

The unconscious man is breathing, just shallowly. The lack of oxygen isn't quite like suffocating. The carbon dioxide in the air makes people very sleepy over a short amount of time until they fall asleep. But if they don't get air soon, they'll be more than just unconscious.

Porter can help with fresh air. "Hang on-" he stops to cough, "-buddy. Going for a quick ride..." He grabs hold of the man who he, thankfully, doesn't need to lift and carry anywhere. A button press and they vanish with a flash and THWUMP to... outside. Porter isn't picky.

There's bound to be police or firemen around most everywhere nearby. Porter waves his hands and yells, "Got a hurt guy here! Needs some air!" Hmm. Air. Firefighters. "And anybody got some fresh air I can take with me?!"

Porter notes <> Not that collapsed buildings are exactly unusual for Porter. At all.

Some firefighters making sure the building's clear and secured notice Porter and rush over. "Where'd you find him?" The first one to arrive says as he kneels down and checks the guys vitals. He and another firefighter pick the man up and carry him out of the building to get aid. A third fire fighter has an air canister slung across his back for dust inhalation. He slings it off his shoulder and hands it to Porter. It has a tube and a face mask connected to it. "Here. Simple to use. Turn the knob here, and secure the mask on," he instructs. "Did you find more survivors?"

Paragon thinks back << I guess I really will be the one that walks away. Since building's cant really walk. How about last person standing?>>

"Yeah, there's a few down there. At least two more, plus Paragon and BlackHawk. Maybe a few more." Porter takes the tank and mask, nods quickly. Hopfully it's simple enough even he can't screw it up too bad. "I'll be bringing more out, one at a time." Then he homes back in on Para and flash-THWUMPS back inside.

<>

Yeah, he's worried. But not /too/ worried. The air mask should go a long way towards being not worried as he turns it on and brings the mask up. Even heroines need to breathe.

Paragon blinks and looks up hazily at Porter. Her helm retracts and collapses away. She looks exerted and is sweating from the amount of strain it's taking to hold the building in place without getting completely crushed by it. Some of her hair even sticks to the sides of her face from dampness. <<Okay, Partner. Won't make you...>> she thinks sleepily. She takes a few deep breaths of oxygen. It goes a long way to making her more mentally alert and wakeful. <<That helps a lot. Great thinking! I'm feeling much more clearheaded now.>> Even her thoughts are more clear feeling and less confused. She takes one last deep breath. <<That should hold me off for a while. Keep it with you.>> She smiles warmly at him.

Porter grins at her. Even if it was just to make sure she didn't suffocate, he likes seeing her real face. "We've got to stop meeting like this.." He winks at her, then leans over to tuck some stuck hair out of the way. And while he's at it, gives her cheek a quick peck of a kiss. Not the most romantic of situations, so it's more for luck. That and making out might make her drop the building and that would be /really/ awkward to explain afterwards. <<See you in a sec.>>

Then he's off in the other direction for the other two that she pointed him towards. He'll be bamfing them out when he finds them, and give them a bit of fresh air while he's at it. Just in case.

Paragon grins at his comment and the kiss. For her, it's just another day. How else would they meet? It's 50/50 adventure/relaxation chances these days. << It's not so bad if you keep saving me and sweeping me off my feet. Makes being crushed by a building worth it. See you soon.>>

Porter can find a mother and child some distance away after climbing over some collapsed rubble. The mother is holding on to her young daughter and both are sleeping. The mother's leg is buried under some debris and appeared trapped. Nothing some teleporting won't help. Daughter and mother are bamfed safely above into fresh air and awaiting fire fighters who start treating the mother's broken leg. "Keep up the good work!" says one of the fire fighters.

Porter is glad they're asleep. Otherwise there'd probably be a debate on who went first. "Hey, get them well. I've got the easy part." And he THWUMPS again, back to Para. Since she is is anchor and beacon at the moment. In addition to her role as an impromptu foundation for the building.

<<Ok. Where was Blackhawk at?>> This one might be the hard part, since she said things collapsed. He keeps the light handy and on them, but not right in her face.

Paragon looks back behind her, not quite able to crane her head all the way. <<Back that way. The opening collapsed after him, but I can still see heat through the gaps.>>

Porter nods and heads 'back that way.' He can't see heat, but hopefully the flashlight will help see though cracks, too. "Anybody awake back here?!" Porter hopes calling out might help, too. Just in case.

It's a ways from where Paragon is, but he hears a muffled sound in response once he's half way there. As he draws nearer, he can see a faint light coming through the cracks and the sound of some rocks tumbling. Something blocks out the light momentarily as someone peers through the cracks. An older man's voice, calm and collected, says with some authority, "Over here. We've got wounded and can't move the debris to get out. We're trapped." "See you. I'll get you out." Porter is glad he can see somebody, even if he can't see much around them. Teleporting into solid rubble? Not a good thing.

Flash-THWUMP

Porter reappears in the other space, shining the light around. "How many? Can get everybody out, but it's one at a time. And Para can't wrestle this building forever."

There's a flare on the ground lighting this section. There's three civilians huddled around each other with various bumps and scrapes from fallen debris. A man with a black cowl and cape steps over to them. He has a respirator mask held up to his face loosely, which he then hands over to one of the civilians as they pass it around. The hero has a gray emblem of a hawk on his chest. So this must be...

"Para? You mean Paragon?" Blackhawk asks while appraising Porter with a critical eye. "Is she okay?"

Almost in answer to that, the whole structure shudders, causing a small rain of dust to fall down in places. The ceiling seems to sink a few inches. <<Uhnn...got it. Got it. I don't know how much longer though. I haven't got much energy left.>>

The last civilian hands Blackhawk back the respirator after they've all had a few breathes of fresh air. "Just these three, me, and Paragon," Blackhawk says. "Take the civilians first."

Porter frowns with the rumble. "Yeah, Paragon. She's holding the building up. But not for too much longer. Hold on!" He knew what the priority would be. Porter's already grabbing the nearest and THWUMPing away.

A few moments later, he's back and grabbing another. And repeating. By the time the third one's done, he's panting some. Apparently, having your molecules discombobulated and recombobulated can be taxing.

"Good work," Blackhawk says approvingly as he sees Porter's exertion. "That's all the civilians I was able to find in this section. This area's clear."

Which by Blackhawk and Paragon's count, should mean all the civilains trapped below have now been saved by Porter. Just two more left.

<<Get Blackhawk out of here and make sure the building's clear>> Paragon's thoughts travel to Porter with a sense of urgency.

Porter looks at Blackhawk and nods. "Ready?" Rather than just grabbing him, he offers a hand. Hugging strange men is generally a bad idea. And less fun than hugging strange women. <<Him and I are going out now. Pretty sure it's clear. You're next!>>

Blackhawk nods and takes ahold of Porter's hand. "Ready." The dark avenger, holding hands with Porter? If he had any idea of who Porter was, it may not be a hand he'd be grabbing.

FLASH-THWUMP

Porter gets BlackHawk out. And doubling over. "Is the building clear?!!" He wants confirmation. Not going to tell her otherwise without being sure.

"You alright, son?" Blackhawk asks with grim concern. The firefighters are getting the latest civilians Porter brought up out of the building. One firefighter remains and radios in, "Captain, confirm: Building clear?" He waits for confirmation while people at the base check their monitoring systems.

Porter wheezes, meekly waving a hand as he takes an impromptu breather while waiting for confirmation. "Not used to so many. So fast. But she's still down there..." He looks to the monitoring people anxiously. << I'm on my way. Just making sure it's clear. Just another second or three.>>

The firefighter listens to his headset. It's taking longer to confirm as base checks and double checks. Finally, an answer buzzes and the fire fighter nods to Blackhawk and Porter. "Just us and Paragon still in the building."

Blackhawk nods as the building gives another shudder. "Let's clear out," he says to the fire fighter. The fire fighter nods and jogs out the building and yells out, "Get clear!"

Blackhawk looks down at the wheezing Porter. "You going to be able to make that last trip, son?"

Porter nods to BlackHawk as he catches his breath. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. The building could come down when I grab her! So make sure you're clear! And hurry!" Now he has some air to yell out his worries to maybe help speed up the firemen, and make sure everybody's warned. <<Hang on, Para. You still Ok?>> Now that everyone else is clear or moving, he can worry more about her again.

<<Building...definitely winning...I...I can't...>> The building shudders again, sinks a few inches, and makes an ominous creaking, then goes still again. Blackhawk nods with admiration to Porter and dashes out of the building and into the clear. The surrounding emergency crews all start running back to get some distance as Porter yells. It takes precious seconds for the teams to evacuate to a safe enough distance. They're just human-speed, so it takes some time for them to run to safety. Enough time for Porter to catch his breath. And for the building to give another threatening shudder and sink a little more.

<< I'm coming!>> Hell with this. Porter smacks a button and FLASH-THWUMPS again. He reappears at Para's side and immediately puts a hand on her. In a way he's not interfering. <<We got everybody out. The firemen are all running out. You did it. Time for the building wrestling to tag out, I think.>>

When he sees her again, Paragon is pressed much lower to the ground than before and still straining to keep it up. She's still on one knee with both hands pressing up, but she's almost crushed in against herself with her torso now near parallel to the ground and her leg pressing up against her chestplate. It's luck a much more compressed and less comfortable Atlas. Her teeth are clenched tight as she tries to hang on a little longer. <<Knew you'd...be back. If everyone's safe...let's get out of here...>>

Porter chuckles. <<Anywhere you'd like to vacation next? Come on. Let's go.>> He gives her a pat since she wouldn't really feel a squeeze and then FLAH-THWUMP to the lovely destination of Not Under A Building.

<<Maybe in front of a runaway train next? Me and my weird vacation ideas.>> Paragon manages a bit of humor before Porter teleports them away. The new scenery couldn't be more beautiful, because it's no longer trying to crush her and others to death. They reappear a safe distance from the building, and Paragon and the building seem to collapse at the same time. She reappears in the same position she teleported away from, then collapses to her hands and knees, panting the gratefully abundant air. She was halfway there to begins with. Her body trembles even at the strain of staying in that position.

The building itself fairs considerable worse. Without its temporary support beam, it starts to crumble and collapsing in on itself, falling straight down as floors compact and collapse down, kicking up a huge dust cloud that engulfs the surrounding streets. The sound is thunderous.

Porter already has Para in hand, and does his best to catch and hold her. The embrace tightens when the building collapses and the dust cloud comes billowing out. He even turns his back to it. So what if she has armor. << I've got you.>>

Paragon leans into Porter as she's caught, practically dead weight in his arms. She can't even lift her arms to hug him back as he holds her, but he can sense she really wants to. She's never had to hold onto something so heavy for so long before, and she's completely spent. <<You always do. Thanks, Partner.>> she thinks as she rests her head against his shoulder, still trying to catch her breath. She shuts her eyes as the dust cloud hits them with a gust of wind, mostly shielded by Porter's body. The sound subsides until there's just the sound of debris tumbling. The air stays hazy for a few moments and starts to clear as the dust settles.

Porter coughs to clear his throat following the dust passing. "You're welcome. Partner." She isn't light, but he can manage to prop her up. Besides, he said he would make her the last one standing.

He also said not to make him have to prop her up. Or something to that effect. With some effort, Paragon manages to stay up on her own two feet. Only after Porter helps her get there. Getting up is hard. Staying up, significantly easier. Although she does sway a little and cough from the dust. And then she smiles at him through her exhaustion.

"Heh...my hero..." she says softly as she manages to lift her arms enough to slide around his waist. "You got everyone down there clear. You saved them," she smiles proudly at him. Of course he did. As soon as she saw him down there, she knew that he would.

"Knew you'd make me take you last," Porter smirks, "So you didn't leave me much choice." Not that he looks remotely incensed about it. Now that she's up, he doesn't have to hold her. But he still does. One hand just lifts up for her cheek. And a finger brushes one of those stray hairs back. Again.

Paragon grins a little sheepishly at that. "You know me pretty well. I guess I didn't really give you much of a choice, did I?" she offers in gentle apology, even if it isn't needed. Those troublesome stray hairs were probably tussled by the dust cloud. "Sorry I didn't come home like I promised," her words are murmured in those apologetic tones again as she gazes into his eyes. She almost forgets where they are or that they're in public as she starts to lean in a little. It's usually unwise to let villains publicly see or know who you're close to, but Para forgets that for just a moment.

Porter really doesn't care. Not that he wants to put anyone in harm's way. But he already limited his life to nothing out of fear and worry. If he still did that, he wouldn't have anyone to be close to. "I can always take you home when you're ready..."

He takes her leaning in as an invitation. Or maybe it's just a good way to vent adrenaline. Or maybe he just really likes kissing her. Because that's exactly what he does. Even if he might have to stretch a little to do so.

"I think I'm ready." Para's lean gets met half way and she closes her eyes, kissing him back warmly as she leans her head down a little to save him some of the stretching. Her arms slide a little further around his waist.

As the newscaster further way reports on the collapse, if one were to pay attention in the distance amidst the dust, they could probably see Paragon kissing...some random normal guy. Nah, can't be. He must just be providing her standing CPR after the rescue. The camera man's focus turns more to the building as they slide out of frame.

Somewhere behind Porter, a few meters back, a man clears his throat sternly at the pair of them.

It takes a moment for the throat clearing to register. Dust cloud. Going to be lots of throat clearing, right. Porter's brain eventually taps him on the mental shoulder and he releases Para. Well, enough to break the kiss and turn. Oh. Right... << I think we've got an audience.>> He doesn't make it sound good or bad. Just... there.

<<Uh oh. An audience?>> Paragon suddenly becomes aware of that most probably possibility. But she's at a bit of a loss to have the kiss end.

When Porter turns, he can see BlackHawk standing there with his arms folded over his chest. It's not quite a glare. But his expression is stern and aimed at the both of them. Like a disapproving father, although the man can't older than maybe his mid thirties. "This young man isn't taking advantage of you, is he now, Paragon?"

Porter is now the one to clear his throat. He should probably let Para answer that, but he does shake his head in the negative for BlackHawk. He may not be the actual disapproving father, but Porter falls into his role as the guilty teenage boy very easily. <<He /is/ a friend of yours, right?>>

Paragon's eyes widen in surprise and she looks just as guilty as a daughter caught making out with some boy for the first time. Well, it's really a lot like that, since it's the first time she's been seen doing a public display of affection by someone she knew. "N-no, he isn't!" she explains shyly, stepping forward to stand alongside Porter on his right. Her right hand rubs the back of her head sheepishly. She's not sure how to go about this. <<He's a teammate. One of the Guardians. He's usually...grumpy. Watchful. But a good hero.>> Her mental voice has some difficulty categorizing the stricter, more stern member of the team. <<Kind if an outlier.>>

While she nervously rubs her head, her left hand grasps around searching for Porter's hand to hold. "This is the person I told you guys about. Porter. He's a hero from Colonial Bay. He came all this way to help." <<How did you manage to find out and come to the rescue, by the way...?>>

"Hey. That's me..." Porter isn't sure what to say, and gives an uncertain half-wave with one hand. The other rubs the back of his head rather sheepishly. Almost exactly in sync with Paragon. Networking is fun, isn't it?

Then he recovers some to affirm. "No, I'm not taking advantage of her. Came out here when I saw the news. Figured she might be in trouble." <<Was channel surfing. Saw the news. Said something about the Guardians and some being stuck, so... was worth checking out.>>

BlackHawk looks between the pair of them. An eyebrow raises slowly as he observes the pair syncing up. "So this is your partner in the Bay?" BlackHawk asks rhetorically. A few moments of silence, and then nods once. "He saved a lot of lives today and came a long way to help you. Seems like a good choice, Paragon." He steps up to Porter and claps him approvingly on the shoulder. "You did a good job here today, son. Keep an eye on our Paragon while she's away, will you?"

BlackHawk then turns his head and smiles slightly to Paragon. "The Captain just radioed in. They caught the villains responsible. Thanks for staying to help. We still need to sort things out with the insurance company about the safe house. Apparently 'Acts of God' aren't covered in the clause. And leave it to you to get a god angry at you," he finishes with a smirk.

Porter nods. He can do that. "Oh, I will. Don't worry." Then he pauses. After which he promptly adds, "Not going to let anything happen to her on my watch." Now he grows a smirk as he glances sidelong at her. "No matter how hard she tries to get herself in trouble."

Paragon grins a little and looks rather embarrassed as she glances back at Porter.

BlackHawk notes the exchange and how Para holds Porter's hand. He smiles just a little bit more. "You're going to have your hands full, in that case," he says with a brief, amused chuckle.

Paragon protests, almost like a little kid, "I don't -try- to get into trouble--"

BlackHawk cuts her off with an incredulous look. Paragon falls quiet and admits, "Okay, so...maybe a little. I'm trying to be better."

BlackHawk nods approvingly at the more honest response. "That's more like it. Well, we're good here. I'm going to meet up with the rest of the team to deal with the arrest. I'll let the team know your..." his eyes shift to Porter, "...boyfriend came to take you back."

Paragon stiffens up a bit as BlackHawk just uses his own title to describe...whatever it is that she and Porter have. She hasn't really identified it as that yet. "Partner. Teammate," Paragon corrects shyly. She squeezes Porter's hand softly for assistance.

Porter grins and squeezes Para's hand. "All of the above works just fine, too. Don't worry. We usually run into trouble together, so the partner part really helps out."

Paragon grins a little as Porter seems fine with any designation. << I never really thought of what to call...umm...this. Us? Whatever makes you feel comfortable. We're suppose to go slow now, remember?>> "Yeah. We're pretty unstoppable together," Paragon says with a smile.

BlackHawk nods and clasps Paragon's free hand. "Take care of yourself out there. We miss you." Then he looks to Porter and extends his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Porter."

Porter takes and returns the shake. And he's probably glad BlackHawk isn't the bulldozer of the team. That could hurt. "You, too. Hopefully we can meet again a little less... weirdly." Not that he expects otherwise.

With Para in hand (or at least her hand in hand), he gives her a shrug and hits The Button. The 'Let's Go Home' button. Or maybe the Let's Go Home Before Some Other Crazy Thing Happens button? Yeah, that'd be better. <<Er. Sorry? It's a team decision thing. And up to you what you want to call us. Doesn't change anything, but partners is Ok with me, if that's what you want.>>

And then they're gone in a FLASH-THWUMP.