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Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Wasn't the anti-master drug based on the manton limit (appearing to have the same DNA as the Master)? Maybe I've forgotten something, but wouldn't this mean that you would need to take one specific to the exact Master you needed to resist, and that the effect is mutually exclusive (if you take multiple versions, you only get the result of the last version you took).

Wouldn't make using it as a preventative impossible.. but it would be rather hit-and-miss unless social situations are being very strictly controlled.
 
Wasn't the anti-master drug based on the manton limit (appearing to have the same DNA as the Master)? Maybe I've forgotten something, but wouldn't this mean that you would need to take one specific to the exact Master you needed to resist, and that the effect is mutually exclusive (if you take multiple versions, you only get the result of the last version you took).

Wouldn't make using it as a preventative impossible.. but it would be rather hit-and-miss unless social situations are being very strictly controlled.
It works on the Manton limit, yeah. Nothing says it can't work on multiple Manton limits at the same time, especially since it works by basically signalling the shard that it is attempting to affect its host. So you just get lots of different DNA bits keyed to different parahumans. It's gross if you think about it, since it means that the people on the broad spectrum anti-master drug are basically just breathing a gas made up of Heartbreaker's kids' flesh.
 
Could also be amino gel, as in a gel made primarily of amino acids. One of the basic building blocks of life.

Wasn't the anti-master drug based on the manton limit (appearing to have the same DNA as the Master)? Maybe I've forgotten something, but wouldn't this mean that you would need to take one specific to the exact Master you needed to resist, and that the effect is mutually exclusive (if you take multiple versions, you only get the result of the last version you took).

Wouldn't make using it as a preventative impossible.. but it would be rather hit-and-miss unless social situations are being very strictly controlled.
DNA only had to be close enough, one tailored to Heartbreaker will also work for all of Heartbreaker's kids.

Though if you think about it....that should mean that heartbreaker's kids should be immune to Heartbreaker....I'm just gonna shrug it off as Tinker Wizardry.
 
Though if you think about it....that should mean that heartbreaker's kids should be immune to Heartbreaker....
I think that after they triggered, they were immune to him.

They also seem to be immune to each other.

So yeah, it seems like a thing that could be done: fake that they're him, and fake that they've triggered if they haven't already.
 
I wished I could talk to Ruth about this, but I couldn't imagine how she'd react to us keeping one of the most dangerous tinkers in the world like this. She was a wonderful woman, and I was prepared to even say that I loved her, but this was Bonesaw, here. That would be a bit much to ask her to accept.

Well if she is any kind of real Christian, she'd be fine with it. Forgiveness and redemption is a central tenet of the faith after all.
 
Sorry bout the mini rant. One of the down sides to being lawful good IRL, you tend to wax poetic about virtuous things. And just for solidarity's sake, I'm an Asexual male. That was really confusing growing up and it's kinda annoying when people don't recognize it and I have to explain, but, hey, it's kinda impossible to trample on my rights without delving into the realm of bad Harry Potter Fanfics.

*solidarity five*

Amelia, Ch 198- Rey


Riley and I examined our samples of Simurgh material. The crystalline pseudo-organics were incredible. "Nothing in this should allow them to be alive," I informed the girl. She no doubt already figured it out, of course, but I was as much asking her to educate me as anything. As much as it galled me to admit it, sometimes, Riley was simply a stronger tinker than I was. Besides, she was splitting her attention between this and watching as Emma and Chariot worked with Chevalier. I hadn't seen our bosses so excited about a power since Lily's anti-Endbringer capability was suspected.


"That confirms Lisa's suspicions," Riley responded. "Endbringer matter is merely a construct, and the real life form powering the creatures exist in another dimension."


"Like the Passengers?" I asked. I had long wanted to know where powers came from, and had read every transcript that Emma and Riley put out on the subject, as well as my own contributions to the theories and discussions. I wasn't as gifted as Riley, though I had Emma beat as far as tinkers went. Her advantage was she didn't have the Taboo holding her back like the rest of us. Still, my part in the dialogue mattered, and helped our research move forward.


"Possibly," she answered. "Lisa's convinced that the Endbringers are controlled by people, not Scion."


"So unless someone's found a way to take control of Passengers, it's a parahuman power involved," I concluded. I'll have to bring up the possibility with Ruth.


"Power combination, most likely," she volunteered. "A team of powerful parahumans, like us."


"A team with nothing better to do than torture our entire world?" I asked. "What kind of sick fucks would do that?"


"The Slaughterhouse Nine," she whispered. Congrats, Rey, would you like some bread with those feet?


"Sorry," I don't know how to handle things like this. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." I wished I could talk to Ruth about this, but I couldn't imagine how she'd react to us keeping one of the most dangerous tinkers in the world like this. She was a wonderful woman, and I was prepared to even say that I loved her, but this was Bonesaw, here. That would be a bit much to ask her to accept.


"I'll be fine," she answered, going back to her work. I frowned. There was a time when I thought she was far too childish to be the monster she was. Now it was the opposite. The child was far too young to act so old.


I went back to my work as well. It wasn't my place to get involved. She had her friends, good ones, and they would take care of her. I just worked here. Side by side with some of the most powerful teenagers to have ever existed while solving the problem of a space whale virus god that would destroy the world a decade or two from now.


"Riley, come look at this," I spoke up after about an hour more work. I was watching the clone sample of SEB tissue. She followed my instructions, of course.


"It's summoning mass from nowhere," she responded.


"A lot more," I confirmed. "By my calculations, its current density is akin to a hundred pounds of mass, yet it's only consumed a couple gallons of nutrient fluid material."


"Which means it's still capable of breaking the laws of physics, even without a Passenger connection!" Riley declared. "It actually is tinker tech!"


"It's like a nanotech assembly system that exists in multiple dimensions," I continued. "In fact, each nanite probably only exists partially in a single dimension, allowing them to..." I paused for a second. What was I talking about?


"The mass exists only partially in our own dimension," I continued. "But the properties of all its dimensions still exist in this one. In that way it is a lot like Chevalier's power, and even more like Theo's. His power does resemble the Endbringer mass, at least until a certain density is reached."


Riley's face darkened a little. "Theo's power looks like an Endbringer?"


"A little," I replied. "We know how shards evolve. Maybe one of the power synergies used to build them came from a Passenger that evolved from the same source."


"Maybe," she frowned. "We'll tell Lisa about the theory."


"Have to anyway," I informed her. "According to the computer, we tripped the Taboo at some point."


"Endbringers are Taboo?" she asked. "I always thought they were just power resistant. That's huge."


I pressed a couple buttons. "Flagged as priority," I informed Riley. "Lisa should get back to us right away on it."


"Taboo really sucks," Riley complained, going back to her computer. I went back to mine. This material was insane, and even if it had no other special features to exploit, there was no doubt the next generation of Zerg would be far more powerful. Especially now that we knew we could grow the tissue out of the amnio gel, instead of expensive and hard to manufacture tinker metals. Granted, we still needed those expensive components for shunting and power supplies, but now we only faced about a third of the expenses as before.


Of course, it would mean a new rebreeding program to adapt the zerg to their new physiologies, but at this point Khepri could do that on her own. There was no innovation to that process. Merely time and repetition. Building the new SEB growth shaping system would be far more complex. I started drawing up plans immediately while keeping an eye on the testing machinery. Powers testing would come later, as would 'breeding' it with other EB samples promised in the future, but we could give Emma a head start on her research into the energy properties of the materials.


I was still hard at work when Chevalier was finished with our battery of tests, six hours later. He looked exhausted when I came out, carrying the new weapon I'd grown for him. He looked up at me, then glanced at the gorgeous ivory sword. The SEB blade was flawless, and he wasn't even trying to hide his admiration.


"It is pretty," I said as I held it out for him.


"Very," he agreed.


"It's yours," I informed him. "One part apology for the ringer they put you through during testing, and another part proof of concept. Based upon our testing of your original weapon, this one's almost better even without your power behind it. A little heavier than your decorative ceramic sword, only slightly less durable than the giant blade. Its only real weakness, such as it is, is the size.


"Which is something I can easily fix," he concluded with a smile, taking the blade.


"Careful," I advised. "It's a lot sharper than your original weapon."


"Wait until you hear what else were gonna do for you," Emma's teasing could be mistaken for flirtatious. The girl had a tendency toward celebrity worship, and Chevalier was one of the big names. "Since all the durability is built into the SEB sword, we can replace your giant weapon with a tinker device."


"What would I be expecting out of it?" Chevalier asked, curiously.


"What do you want?" Emma replied. "The Protectorate's footing the bill for this baby, right? And I can make it the size of an RV and you'd still be able to make use of it. Which means I can set you up with forcefields, gravity sheaths, nanothorns, and have space to spare. How about a railgun? Adjustable output, of course, but it wouldn't be hard to build something awesome. Especially if you can use your power on the bullets. Depleted Uranium weight, plus Endbringer durability? In fact, I could probably make it rapid fire! I might have to create a secondary weapon-"


"Umm, Emma?" I interrupted. "You're starting to fugue." Of all the tinkers on the team, she was actually best about avoiding that, but she wasn't anywhere near immune.


"Uh, sorry," she blushed. Or, her body's equivalent to blushing. I doubted anyone who didn't know her would spot it.


"That's fine," Chevalier insisted, offering a winning smile to the pair of us. "I've worked with tinkers, before. I remember the first time I saw Hero come up with something that excited him. But he never thought of using my power to accomplish something like this. I mean, it all seems so obvious now that you've started doing it, but all those years going by without anyone really thinking to build specialized equipment to harness powers this way. You've accomplished something incredible, here."


The Taboo, I recognized. That's why it wasn't until Amelia broke through that we started seeing tinker-power augmentation, and power interactions. Of course, now that the idea had taken root in other organizations, it was only a matter of time until it became the norm instead of the exception. It made me nervous, however. Power interactions seemed vastly stronger than any individual parahuman. What would we do when we were faced with enemies using strategies like our own?


"Here," Emma offered him a card. "This has my personal email. I'll draw up a list of options for you, with a few estimates for costs and equipment requirements."


He accepted it. "Thank you, I'll get in touch immediately after I return home."


....


Ruth looked worse off than Chevalier did. The advantages and disadvantages of video calls. Tinker grade ones, no less. "Rough day?"


"Very," she agreed. "The Vasil children are starting to test their boundaries. Their father used fear to keep them under control, and that's wearing off. For some, it's a good thing. A chance for them to enjoy normalcy. Others are... well, they've started implementing the antimaster drug as a preventative instead of a treatment. It's getting to the point where some people are talking about giving up and locking them all away for life, instead of trying to help them."


"Masters scare people," I replied. "I should know, I am one."


"Fortunately, we haven't faced the nightmare scenario of one of them having a power on the order of Cherish or Heartbreaker himself in any of the children, it's basically the only reason this project still exists," she informed me. "We're trying to find homes for them within the Protectorate's system. So that when this implodes, hopefully there will be places for them to go."


"We came across one of those," I informed her. "Apparently they're implanting compulsions in criminals to stop them from using their powers. The bosses weren't happy to find out the way they did."


"That would be Florence," she sighed. "Tell them I'm sorry about that mess. It was part of our deal. Haven's taken responsibility for her and a few of the children who haven't had triggers. She's one of ones we have the most hope for."


"Well, that's a start, at least," I tried my best to sound compassionate. I was never good at conveying my feelings. Luckily, with Ruth I didn't need to be. Her powers meant that it literally was the thought that counted. She'd know what I meant, no matter how badly I bunged it up. Of course, it cut both ways. I couldn't fake anything past her even if I were the best liar in the world. "I know your powers make you a better expert than I could hope to be on psychology. But, one of the things they teach you early in med school is that you can't save everyone. You do your best, of course, but you have to find a way to come to terms with the idea that you're still human.


She smiled, genuinely. "A very smart, very good man said something like that to me before," she told me. "Thank you for reminding me."


"Hey," I said. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't share the wisdom I've accumulated? Just don't expect me to do it again, because that was all of it."


She laughed.


I hesitated, then asked anyway. "So... you know how we talked about Passengers, and how they try to compel us to use our powers to the fullest extent?"


"Yes," she responded, a little warily. Conversations on the subject tended to upset her a little, and she refused to share why.


"Lisa came to the idea that Endbringers have a human controller, or controllers, recently," I informed. "I was thinking, you could probably apply your power to how they work. You could probably get a lot of data off Dragon to help. It might help you relax some."


"If I can find the time," she quickly agreed.


=============

A/N- Woo, Rey gets an interlude! Actually, I'm glad I did his one... more of the loose ends being tied up from the last couple arcs.

Also, I might still do that Rune interlude. Maybe. Anyone know if her actual name is ever mentioned in the story?

Yeeees. Want Rune interlude. I must have A Betty and Veronica love triangle, where Betty can warp space and Veronica is a Nazi telekinetic.

Plus, it would be only fair that if Theo hooks up with Trevor for Missy, Missy should hook up with Rune.

OT4 created.
 
Well if she is any kind of real Christian, she'd be fine with it. Forgiveness and redemption is a central tenet of the faith after all.
yv4H1kQ.jpg


[ANGRY BAGPIPE NOISES]
 
Amelia, Ch 199- Emma
Amelia, Ch 199- Emma


I watched Chevalier play with his sword for a bit. I resolved to get his autograph, but only after I had something to show him from my tech. The SEB sword was cool and all, for something took no real effort and was grown in a vat. Its weight, durability, and ease with which it cut, well, I imagined Taylor would be overjoyed to have zerg encased in claws and armor like that, and she deserves to be. But Chevalier's folded space power was incredible, and I could do so much with it. What I built for him would be the stuff to impress our namesakes.


I left the boys to play with their toys, and started playing with mine. With some exception to the mobile command system, I had yet to work with anything larger than the biosystems of the zerg, and those were mostly Rey and Riley's project. So little of it was mine. Granted, the best of it was that part, but it still was something I couldn't claim real recognition for.


This sword would be mine, almost exclusively. Endbringer matter belonged to no one on this team, at least. When Chevalier used this weapon, I would be able to point to it and say I made that. I should really do some research on mythological swords for a name.


I retreated to the hidden expanse of lab, and caught sight of Riley doing her part on the SEB tissue. I was still in biotech state, it was best suited for analyzing Chevalier's power, and I hadn't bothered changing out of it, and that meant I instantly knew she was upset. Something that had been happening a lot lately.


I sat down next to her. "So, how's the garden, Mushroom?"


"It's good," Riley answered. "Rey had some new theories on the Endbringers and how they're made. I'm testing the tissue for more clues. If we can find out how the Endbringers are built, then we can find a way to shut them off."


God damn it, I sighed inwardly. I start designing a new superweapon, and Riley goes straight to 'find Endbringer off switch'. I'll never achieve recognition at this rate. "In the same way you can black out Taylor's power?" I asked.


"Kinda," she agreed. "Actually, that's a really good idea. We know they're controlled extradimensionally. Maybe we can reinforce the dimensional boundary and cut off their communications at the source!"


"Sounds like something you should send by Dragon," I suggested. "That doesn't seem like your specialty."


"I know," she admitted.


"What's really wrong?" I asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.


"Nothing," I didn't need my powers to tell me she was lying. She might have needed her powers to realize she wasn't fooling me for a second. "I just... there's this boy I like."


What? "Anyone I know?" God have mercy on whatever poor boy drew Riley's attention. "Has he managed to snag that scarf of yours, yet?"


"It doesn't matter," she sighed. "He's not interested in me. Doesn't even look in my direction like that."


Okay, this is something I think I can handle. "If it's Trevor, I'm afraid you're pretty much out of luck."


"No," she looked toward me. "Trevor's nice, but he's not... up to my standards. I have a number of highly desirable traits for a mate and expect the same in return."


"Ah, yes," I nodded. "I know that story well. Normal people use a number system. One through ten, where ten is the perfect combination."


"Eleven," she answered the unspoken question without a moment of hesitation. Oh, damn, she's got it bad.


"Come on, Tinker-girl, use your objectivity on this one," I insisted. "He has to have some kind of flaw. Everyone does. Come on, find something. If nothing else, he can't be that smart if he doesn't notice you."


"His girlfriend is prettier than me," she answered unhappily. "And nicer. And doesn't kill people."


Nevermind, maybe I can't handle this. "Oh. I can relate to that," I told her. Minus the murder part. Although, with the stuff Vicky was showing me, and my powers, I could be pretty good at it. And what I did to Taylor came so close to being murder that I avoid the label by technicality alone.


"Really?" she asked, her eyes showing the dampness of tears soon to fall. "What did you do?"


"Depends," I answered. "There was a time when I'd have trashed the other girl's rep and walked away with the guy, just because I could get away with it."


"I won't do that," Riley's tears were replaced by an angry determination.


"Neither will I, now," I agreed. "You want him to be happy, too, right?"


"Of course," she answered.


"And he is happy with his current girlfriend," I continued.


"Yes, and if he's not, I'll make him regret it," she added. "She's a great person."


Well, that's narrowing down who we're talking about, at least. "You're not into Zach, are you?"


"What?" she looked at me like I'd just suggested eating live scorpions. And she wasn't Riley who probably wouldn't have a big problem with that idea. "No, I'm not into Zach. That's just gross."


"He's not gross," I argued. "He acts like a dumbass, but once you get to know him he's smart, and funny, and nice, and gentle. Maybe a bit too gentle, honestly. The boy could really learn to be more assertive. Learn than girls don't need to be treated like spun glass."


"And you're still into him," the girl parroted my earlier words.


"Yes I am," I sighed. "But he's interested in Vicky, now, and she's been nothing but good to both of us. The idea of getting in the way of that disgusts me. So I'll just stay out of their way and wish them all the happiness in the world."


"But it hurts," the girl complained.


"I know," I confirmed, pulling her into a hug. "On the plus side, this is what they invented triple fudge icecream for."


"That sounds really good," she mumbled into my shoulder.


Our efforts to eat away our sorrows gave way to the obvious complaining about everything else. For Riley, there wasn't a lot to complain about. She loved school, she loved her new family, and talking about her old life was well outside our impromptu pyjama party. So it wasn't long until we distracted ourselves with something far more fun for both of us, allowing us to forget about things for a while and really enjoy ourselves with things that don't require boys.


....


By the time Chevalier's email came through that evening, we had built several graphical models of his new weaponry, complete with cost estimates and several optional features we might be able to include. There was no possible way we could build everything into a singular weapon. Really, there was enough there that we could build him three systems, and there wouldn't be a shared feature between them.


I could probably call up Kid Win and see what his theoretical modular tech specialty said about maybe creating a collection of systems for him to swap between when he deemed necessary. Then he could have all the options available for use. If, sadly, not at the same time. I mentioned that idea in my notes as well. Ultimately, the email turned out to be three pages worth of typed notes, and then two and a half gigabytes of attached schematics and designs, mostly in the form of 3D model images and schematics.


I left the computer labs near midnight, intent on seeing if Vicky or Zach were up for another late night session. Mom and Dad would just have to deal with me not coming home tonight, either.


"Sorry," Vicky's voice drifted from our exercise room. "You're a nice kid, but, it's not happening." I froze, shifting white. Superhuman hearing and the ability to suppress any noises I might make. Not the best stranger power in the world, but it's what I had to work with.


"Ouch," Zach responded. "May I ask why not?"


"Well, Emma, for one," Vicky insisted.


"Why?" he asked, and three bonus senses loosely related to hearing told me everything I needed to know about his feelings. "I don't want her. I want you." Ouch, indeed. Nothing I didn't already know, of course, but it sucks to hear.


"Living lie detector times a thousand, remember?" the undertones in her voice were more subtle, a result of her power. This hurt her, too. "You're cute in your own way, but I don't have feeings for you the way she does. She loves you. I don't. You're a good friend. That's the extent of it."


"But-"


"And you love her, too," Vicky interrupted. "So don't pretend this is some kind of hardship for you. I'm going to get changed for practice until five minutes after Emma shows up. You're going to apologize to her and she's going to take you back. Then you're going to tell me all about it and I'll congratulate both of you and mean every word of it. If not, there are three places on your body that I can use to make you wish I could kill you. Understood?"


"Uh... yeah," he agreed. Hints of concern and fear entering his voice.


I scrambled to hide around a corner as Vicky turned to walk out the door. "Just so we're clear. If you hurt him, I will punch you through the face."


====================

A/N- Emma hasn't had an interlude in forever, either.
 
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Well an Emma interlude, nice stuff about the tech for Chevalier, but most of all the girltalk with Riley in which it's finally spelled out that she has a thing for Theo...We also get to have Zach finally admit to someone that he still loves Emma,and Vicky being good about it and getting out of the way even though it seems she also liked Zach quite a lot, Nice update and the Pantheon is not an emotional clusterfuck AT ALL.
 
Someone needs to put a collar on Victoria, because this is getting ridiculous. People are allowed to not date who you want them to Damn it, regardless of what you feel. Lisa had a whole arc on it. She should share some of that knowledge.

Like, Vicktoria is going all loose cannon on everyone and if she isn't careful she might get hurt when she pushes someone at the wrong time.
 
I'm... a bit surprised at Vicky's conclusions about Zach's feelings. While it's certainly possible he does love Emma, what we saw of their relationship seemed a lot more shallow than that and ended rather fast for someone to develop feelings that deep. Her actions after the party reveal are all pretty easily able to engender pity, but any relationship based on that cannot be healthy in the long run, and Zach's reactions to them suggest any affection for her he's hiding came from before the party reveal.

Then again, Zach's a natural trigger, who are, by nature, mentally screwed up, and he did just get mind screwed by Dream Girl. He could be having issues there. Lisa did basically put forth the same plan, after all.

On the other hand, TanaNari just established how... imperfect and unreliable Vicky's Thinker power is in social situations. Given her personality, it would not surprise me if she misinterpreted Zach's feelings for Emma to be deeper than they actually are. I got the vibe that Lisa's plan involved manipulating them into a relationship where those feelings will grow from what they are now into something more stable (see: Taylia), whereas Vicky is assuming they already have such feelings.

This is probably going to blow up horribly. If it does somehow become stable, I can't see it being even as healthy as Taylia's codependency issues. Either way, should be interesting to see.
 
Ultimately, the email turned out to be three pages worth of typed notes, and then two and a half gigabytes of attached schematics and designs

Damn, I want that email provider, Gmail won't let me send anywhere near that amount :p

Someone needs to put a collar on Victoria, because this is getting ridiculous. People are allowed to not date who you want them to Damn it, regardless of what you feel. Lisa had a whole arc on it. She should share some of that knowledge.

Like, Vicktoria is going all loose cannon on everyone and if she isn't careful she might get hurt when she pushes someone at the wrong time.

In fairness, I would have roughly the same reaction - I never have any patience when I know two people 'like' each other, and there's no good reason for the to stay seperate. I imagine my feelings would be stronger in this sort of situation too - relationships are one of the best ways of stablising people, which is 'kinda' important when the people involved can pass for deities (or at least demigods).
That said, yes, she is kinda... indelicate, yes. Personally, I think it's a consequence of her natural personality (doesn't think things through) combined with her Thinker power - we've seen how Thinkers tend to rely on their powers too much, resulting in them being 'intellectually lazy.' And frankly, that described Victoria to a 'T' - She passes college courses, so she can think things through... she just doesn't like to. Combined with a Thinker power making it so that 9 times out of 10 she doesn't have to...
In a way, it's possibly the worst power for her future maturation/intellectual/emotional growth - Her favourite way of getting rid of problems, as said by... everyone, is by punching it. Guess what her power tells her how to do? :p
 

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