Amelia, Ch 95- Taylor
At least I didn't have to go to school in a different vehicle, now. I thought.
Of course, that came with a price.
We drove through the hoard paparazzi type reporters. Less literally than I'd have liked, if we were being honest.
AnnoyanceExasperation.
The media storm would die, eventually. They would decide they had enough photos of Amelia and I together. Everything would go back to whatever passed for 'normal' in our lives. Or, at least, that's what I kept telling myself.
Amelia and I got out of the small limo that we now went to school in. With exception to Theo, all our identities were in the open. Naturally, Emma never came back. As Zach so eloquently put it, she'd have been lynched. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, honestly. A bit of satisfaction, I suppose. She turned a school against me, and I endured it for years. Same thing happens to her and she runs immediately.
Amelia got out first, and then offered me her hand. "Now look who's showing off," I joked as I accepted it and got out of the car.
"Hey," she joked back. "Gotta send the proper 'back off, she's mine' message to all the other girls."
Our summer school would be over soon. I hadn't quite decided if I'd be going back in the month and a half or so when the new year started. Zach, Theo and Clarice all would, of course. Clarice had friends now, even if Missy was the only one who was a legitimate friend, and enough experience that we didn't need to watch her the whole time. I still would, of course, but my range meant I didn't need to be here to do it. Thus far, Clarice's scarf had gone unclaimed by the few people dumb enough to try.
Amelia's locker was in a different section, since she was a senior and I was still a sophomore. Even if most of the classes I took were meant for juniors and seniors. We split at the doors and wouldn't see each other again today until lunch. But we always had our link.
....
Classes were peaceful enough, as always. These teachers had dealt with parahumans for years, usually, and they seemed to like the fact that I was one of the quiet ones that wanted to be left alone. Lunch was, as always, the pain in the ass.
"Taylor!" a girl shouted. I sighed, being rude would only hurt us in the long run. I turned. One of Amelia's 'friends' through Victoria, flanked by a couple others. They were nice enough people, I suppose. Reminded me uncomfortably of Emma and her friends, and that colored my interactions with them.
If I wasn't famous, would they even look my way? Doubtful. Certainly they wouldn't have come to my aid if I were still being bullied.
"We just heard," she said. "Did you really stab Leviathan in the ass?"
Who the fuck did they interview this time? "Uh... I don't think Endbringers have asses," I said. It was the first thing I could think of. "Just sort of an area where their legs meet their backs."
She laughed an exaggeratedly happy laugh. "You did!" she exclaimed. "You totally did!"
Another girl cut in. "Ohmygod! Weren't you scared? You don't even have powers that could help you against him."
"Terrified," I answered.
It was the truth. "And pissed. Mostly pissed."
Well, that cements my reputation for life, I thought to myself.
No matter what the future holds, I will always be known as the girl who stabbed Leviathan in the ass.
The girls escorted me to lunch, asking all kinds of other questions. "Were you really undercover as a villain?"
"Yes," I stated. I opted to leave out the part where I changed my mind about that.
"Did you really decapitate Mannequin?"
"Yes, but it really didn't matter since he kept his brain in his chest cavity."
"How does that even work?"
"He rebuilt himself as a cyborg."
"No, that makes a weird kinda sense," she responded. "How did he remove his own brain? Shouldn't that have killed him?"
I paused. "That's a really good question," I admitted.
For that matter, Riley did the same thing with her whole head. "I never thought to ask."
Amelia pushed her way through. "There you are," she said, smiling. "Were you avoiding me?"
"Not at all," I replied, all the while trying my best to convey 'help me get out of here' via my expression and our bond.
"Sorry, Ana," she smiled at the leader of this particular gaggle. "Gotta talk business, y'know."
Thank you so much, I thought at Amelia.
"That's code for 'makeout session', isn't it?" Ana laughed. A couple of the other girls giggled.
"We can do both," I responded.
HappyDesire. Amelia grabbed my hand and started walking away.
"Try not to do anything that gets you suspended!" Ana shouted at us.
EmbarrassedPleased. "Not when there's only three days left!"
"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you so much."
"I was telling the truth," Amelia stated. "Dragon's about to make her move."
"So soon?" I asked. "I thought they were waiting for the weekend."
"Last minute consultation with Dinah," Amelia informed me.
I nodded. That was explanation enough for me.
"So," she smiled, putting her head against my shoulder. "About that makeout session?" I blushed.
....
Amelia had made a new room in the Yggdrasil for us to use as a sort of meeting hall so we could watch this news together. And by 'we', I mean 'almost all of Pantheon and its peripherals'.
Vista and the other Wards we'd recently acquired clustered together, along with Clarice, Theo and Zach. Except Flechette, who was with Parian in their own corner.
Yum Kaax, and I was finally getting used to thinking of him as that instead of Blasto, was with Rapture. Amelia and I together. Everyone else scattered about.
"The scene in Montreal this afternoon as a white fog descended upon the city," the unseen reporter spoke. They showed a video clip of what looked like cropdusting. Several small planes, obviously tinker designed, flew across the city and surrounding areas. Most of us in Pantheon already knew that similar dustings would be taking place across many cities southeastern Canada.
The scene, and narration, switched. "The Guild raided the mansion of Niko Vasil, also known as Heartbreaker, at 2:58 eastern time." The home in question was badly damaged, alongside everything around it.
We were treated to watching Heartbreaker, wearing nothing more than boxer shorts, being escorted by a tall man in full body armor. Defiant, I knew. His armor had changed to be a deep bronze color, instead of the silver of before. He had what was no doubt a flight system, and his halberd had been replaced by a pair of spearlike weapons that crossed his back.
They had Dragon, Narwhal and Legend there to be interviewed at the mansion. Whomever was in charge opted to blur Narwhal's figure in some areas, apparently deciding her forcefields weren't a valid enough outfit for their news station.
"Up until now, the Guild has been hesitant to target Heartbreaker," the reporter stated. "Why the sudden change of policy?"
"Heartbreaker has always been a priority target," Narwal stated. "We were only held back by what was, functionally, a mass hostage situation. That has recently changed. Dragon, would you mind explaining the details?"
I remembered that. Once during my childhood, before they realized how powerful he was, he was arrested. A massacre followed. Over fifty highly public terror attacks across dozens of Canadian cities, all from people who'd been mentally influenced by Heartbreaker over the years. The message was sent, quite clearly. Going after him meant costing hundreds of people their lives. No one liked letting him live, but he was good at not pressing his luck enough to make himself worth what would undoubtedly be a staggering price.
"We've recently acquired a new technology, which I personally thank the hero groups of Pantheon and Haven for developing and perfecting." Dragon informed the camera. "The exact inner workings must, of course, be kept classified for fear of others developing a counter for it. The important detail is that it removes the influence of Master powers, and grants temporary immunity to them."
"That is remarkable," the reporter commented. "Will this work on victims of the Simurgh?"
"We hope that one day it might," Dragon stated. "We are still refining and improving the technology."
"A bit of a lie, that," Rapture stated. She was right, of course. We couldn't apply the drug to the Simurgh's power.
"Unless Dragon knows something we don't," Missy suggested hopefully.
"We should be expecting a public ass-kissing from the Prime Minister of Canada shortly," Lisa informed us.
"Halo's going to love every second of it," Rapture chuckled. "Thanks for having them use group names instead of individuals. I'm not really that... comfortable... with fame."
"Me, neither," I agreed. "I just wasn't given much of a choice in the matter."
"As I said during my resignation," Legend was busy talking to the reporter now. "I have no intentions of just sitting on my hands. I don't belong in the Protectorate, and I don't deserve to be a leader. That doesn't mean I can shirk my duties. If anything, I must work that much harder to attone for past failures. Working for heroes such as Narwhal and Dragon, stopping unrepentant monsters like Heartbreaker, and preparing for the next Endbringer battle. That is how I'll prove that my apology is more than just words."
My attention to the television was interrupted by the approach of a parahuman. Specifically, I felt my bugs dying around her.
Cold based powers.
"We've got company," I told them. "Doesn't seem hostile. Doing the swarm voice."
"I'll take point," Zach volunteered, moving toward the entrance, going through the first couple of our security layers. If anyone broke through, they'd have to fight him, and a complex layer of traps designed by our resident biomanipulators. Coupled with everyone else in this room right now? Whomever it was had better hope for her sake that she was friendly.
Lisa switched the camera over. The girl was solid blue and crystalline. Fog came off of her like she was made of dry ice. She wore those extra large sunglasses, and they too had frosted over. "Case 53? Breaker state?" I asked.
"Not sure," she answered. "Both, neither."
Meanwhile, I formed a bug decoy near the unknown woman. "Normally, our guests call first," I informed her. It was probably less friendly sounding than I meant it.
"Sorry," she said. "You probably wouldn't accept my calls anyway."
I froze. I'd gotten fairly good at distinguishing voices through the swarm. I was certain I recognized this one.
I stood and moved, walking briskly toward the door. Fighting down my anger.
ConcernAlertDanger?
Fuck, that was stupid, I thought.
Don't repress, accept. "Sorry," I said. "I'm going up to talk to her." I left our meeting room and ran up the stairs.
Zach looked at me, puzzled, as I stormed toward him at the entrance. "I've got it," I told him. I didn't bother hiding the outrage in my voice.
She was shorter than me, with a much fuller figure. The ice had started to 'melt' off her, revealing red hair that faded to frosted blue around halfway down. I stood there, staring at her, unable to come up with the proper words to express my incredulity. "Emma?"
"Fuck!" Zach exclaimed. He did not sound happy.
She managed to smile slightly, causing flakes of snow to fall away from her face as she took off her glasses. Her eyes had changed. They lacked pupils or other distinguishing features. Solid sheets of ice blue. They even glowed faintly of blue light.
ComfortAid?Worry. My hands were clenched into fists so tightly that my arms were shaking.
Don't resist. Accept and push through.
"Hey, Taylor," she said. "It's been a wh-"