I, Panacea (Worm SI Fanfic)

[Ack]

Dafuq u just make me read...

Click to shrink...

The internet. Where the weirdness is not only visible, but it's dancing down the street in a clown suit.

 

[Galeiam]

The internet. Where the weirdness is not only visible, but it's dancing down the street in a clown suit.

Click to shrink...

Great now I'm remembering Pennywise...

 

[The Shadowmind]

Great now I'm remembering Pennywise...

Click to shrink...

Well Scion could kill that Spider-Demon thing that is "It" pretty easily.

 

[Galeiam]

Uh....You got that backwards....

Pennywise is like...a fundamental Being.

Like Galactus level.

It would lolcurbstomp Zion and then eat him.

He was only driven back due to circumstantial things....


But this has nothing to do with the story so...yeah....

 

[Ack]

Sorry about the delay. Things came up.

 

[Ack]

I, Panacea

Part Ten: Anger Management


"Okay … " began Amy, with the feeling of stepping through an open door into a darkened space, which may or may not be an open elevator shaft. "Vicky, I need you to keep a secret for me."

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Jeez, Ames, what else are you gonna hang on me tonight?"

Amy inclined her head toward the stairs. "Come on, let's get downstairs before we wake up Carol and Mark. I'll tell you there. But you gotta promise not to freak."

Vicky's eyebrows drew down in what Amy knew to be her 'worried' face. "Seriously, just saying that is kind of freaking me out already." But she followed on as Amy crept down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Amy turned to Vicky. "Okay. Now please, promise."

Vicky nodded in the darkness. "I promise. I won't freak."

Amy took a deep breath. "I'm going out to take down a supervillain."

There was a long moment of utter silence; Amy fancied that she could hear the house settling around them. Then Vicky spoke, her voice a harsh hiss.

"Amy, geez! Come on! What the hell do you think you're doing? Especially after what happened today!"

"Vicky!" Amy protested, in the same hushed tone. "I know what I'm doing. I'm not going alone. I'm going with some others."

Vicky blinked at her in the gloom. "What the fuck? Who's the supervillain? Who's going with you? And most importantly … "

She paused for effect.

"Why the fuck haven't you invited me along?"

What?

Oh, shit. I should have realised. Vicky's gonna want in on this.

She's gonna go nuts when she realises who's coming with me.

So break it to her. Really gently. If you can.

Amy breathed deeply again. "Vicky. Before I even let you in on this, you've got to promise that you won't do anything to screw the mission. Anything. At all. If you have a problem, talk to me before going off the rails." She hardened her tone as much as she could. "I mean it."

"Wow, geez, secrecy much, Ames?" asked Vicky.

Amy nodded her head vigorously. "Yes. Totally. And these are people you're not going to want to work with. But this mission has to go through."

"Mission against who?" asked Vicky.

She had to tell Vicky sooner or later. "You've heard of Coil, right?"

"Yeah, I've heard of him. Small-time crime boss. What's he done that's got you sneaking out in the middle of the night?"

Amy drew a deep breath. "Kidnapped the Mayor's niece. We're going to rescue her and take him down."

"Seriously?" Vicky seemed about to laugh, but she held back. "That's a Capes of Our Lives plot if I ever heard one."

"Well, it's true. Her name's Dinah Alcott. But I don't have time to argue about it. Like I said, I'm working with some people that you're not going to enjoy associating with. So if you can't do it, can't suck it up, let me know and leave me to it. But with you or without you, I'm doing it."

Vicky's eyes were almost glowing with her intensity. "I'm in. I don't care if it's Clockblocker teamed up with Shielder. There's no way in hell you get to pull a secret mission without me at your back."

"Okay. Just so long as you remember that you promised," Amy reminded her. She held up her hand, smallest finger crooked. Vicky hooked her own finger through it, completing the childish ritual.

"Pinky promise," she assured Amy. "So let's go meet the rest of the team."

Amy eyed her pyjamas. "Sure you're dressed for crimefighting?"

"Shit, hang on," Vicky muttered. "I'll just go and change."

"Not your costume," Amy warned her. "Something dark."

"Gotcha. Back in a sec."

With a whoosh of air, Vicky was up the stairs, leaving Amy alone in the dark. Her heart was racing; she knew that the next few moments were going to decide the events of the rest of the night. Michael? How's she going to react?

I have no idea. She's your sister. How binding is that promise?

She's never broken it before.

Good. Let's hope that holds. Or maybe we could make a break for it, get away before she realises we've gone.

No way in hell. She'd catch us before we got two blocks.

You're right. I wish you weren't, but you are.

<><>​

Moments later, Vicky returned, drifting silently down the stairs; now she was a ghostly presence in the dimness, wearing a long sleeved sweater as well as dark jeans, and her long blonde hair was even tucked up under some sort of cap. Amy felt the presence behind her eyes scanning her sister from head to toe, then she realised that Michael was just making sure that she didn't have anything bright on her.

For a moment there, I thought you were checking her out.

Okay, young enough to be my daughter, all right? Also, not the time and place.

Amy's reply held a tinge of mischief. Aww, you're no fun.

Shush, you.

She became aware that Vicky was looking at her expectantly. "So where are these people you're working with, Ames?"

"Outside, waiting for us." She eyed Vicky. "You know, last chance to go back to bed and pretend this is all a dream."

Vicky shook her head. "Not a chance in hell."

"Okay then." Leading the way to the front door, she unlocked it and carefully pulled it open. She had done this enough times to be familiar with it, though this time the long walk to the hospital did not lie before her. Vicky followed her as she stepped out through the door. Almost immediately, Amy spotted the newcomers waiting on the front lawn.

Despite the glare from a street light painting the scene a washed-out yellow, darkness slid away from Grue, roiling across the ground, hiding everything from the knees down. In contrast, Skitter stood in a shadow of her own making, cast by the thousands of bugs orbiting her. Bitch stood foursquare, arms folded, her dogs bulking menacingly behind her. Only Tattletale and Regent didn't seem to ooze menace and intimidation; the latter stood alongside Grue, while the former stepped forward with that cheeky grin plastered across her face.

Behind her, Amy sensed Vicky coming to a complete halt. She stopped and turned. Frozen in the act of pulling the door to, her sister was staring at the arrayed supervillains before them.

"Vicky … "

Vicky grabbed her shoulder. "Get behind me, Ames." Her voice was low and controlled. "Back into the house. Wake Mom and Dad. Now."

"Vicky, no!" hissed Amy.

"What? Go! I'll hold them off!"

Amy shook her head desperately. "No! They're the people I'm working with!"

A long, frozen moment. Vicky stared at her, then at the arrayed villains. "No. I refuse to believe this. Not this. No fucking way."

"Vicky. You promised not to freak. Listen to me. Please."

"Y'know," commented Tattletale, "if we were here to be hostile, we could've attacked by now. Amy's telling the truth. She's working with us."

Vicky stared at her, then at Amy, her mouth dropping open. "Fuck, what's happened to you? What's going on? What sort of hold do they have over you?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "They don't have a hold over me. I went to them."

Vicky looked as though she were having trouble processing this. "What? When? Why?"

"Look," Tattletale told her briskly. "Our boss ordered us to do that bank job. We didn't know that it was a diversion so he could kidnap the kid. Amy came to us, told us a whole heap of stuff, convinced us it was the right thing to do."

"Convinced you, maybe," muttered Regent, clearly audible to Amy.

"Shut up, Regent," Grue told him quellingly.

"So, just because you find out your crime's a cover for another crime, you've decided to go straight?" asked Vicky disbelievingly. "That's bullshit. I don't buy it."

"If it was as simple as that, sure," Tattletale agreed. "It would be bullshit. But there's more to it than that. He's an asshole. The type of guy who gives supervillains a bad name. The girl he kidnapped? She's a precog, a powerful one. He's gonna be drugging her, using her as a slave so that he's got full access to her power no matter what she wants."

"So wow," sneered Vicky. "You find out that your criminal boss is an asshole, and now you want amnesty? Sorry, it doesn't work that way."

"No," Amy told her. "They just want to help me take him down." She searched for a way to convince Vicky of her reasoning, had an inspiration. "Thing of it like our own personal Endbringer truce."

Vicky gave her a long, searching look. " … okay, fine," she admitted. "I can see that." She hooked her thumb at the assembled teen villains. "But what do they get out of it?"

"Not working for an asshole, for one," Tattletale put in. "Also, it's possible to be a villain and have scruples."

Vicky moved away from Amy, stepped up to the other blonde, looked her in the eye. "Really," she replied flatly.

"Really," Tattletale agreed. "I only joined his organisation because there was a gun at my head. Imagine how that makes me feel."

"And I never knew he was going to be kidnapping kids," put in Skitter. "I'm not standing for that."

Vicky looked at them both for a long moment, then turned back to Amy. "So where do you come in? How come you're joining them on this? When did you even arrange this?" She paused. "This afternoon. When you went out. How did you even know where to find them?"

Amy took a deep breath. "That's a really long and complicated explanation. One that we don't have time to get into now. Just … what we're saying is true. We need to take him down, tonight, and rescue Dinah, before he gets her addicted and working for him. So if you're going to help us, help us. If you're not, then please don't tell anyone."

Vicky shook her head. "Fuck, Ames. I was never not going to help you. I just didn't know it was going to involve supervillains."

Amy went to speak, but her voice didn't work.

Michael?

Shh. Let her work through it.

Oh, okay.

Tattletale waited, watching Vicky expectantly; Regent fidgeted. Skitter's swarm buzzed sullenly. Bitch waited, a glowering presence. Grue could have been a statue carved from obsidian; his darkness still flowed over the ground, almost like a living thing. The massive dogs panted silently, the puffs of steam from their nostrils highlighted by the street lamp.

Vicky raised her chin. "Okay, fine. Truce. I'll work with you to take Coil down, this one time. But after it's all over and done? I see you, I'll smack you down." She pointed at Tattletale. "Especially you."

Tattletale's grin widened slightly; Amy could tell that she was about to say something. Something that might just set Vicky off. "Okay, that's settled," she interjected hurriedly. "So, can we go?"

"Yeah," Grue agreed, his voice hollow and more than a little creepy. "Let's get on with this."

<><>​

It was a dark night, and there were very few cars on the road; the Undersiders galloped their oversized canine mounts down the middle of the street, with Vicky flying Amy above and beside them. The only sounds came from the huffing of the great beasts and the impacts of their paws on the road surface, so it was relatively easy to maintain a conversation.

"So where are we going?" asked Vicky.

"Coil's base," explained Tattletale.

Vicky waited, but the blonde supervillain obviously wasn't interested in explaining further. "And what're we going to do once we get there?" she asked, biting the words off.

"We're waiting for a little bit, then busting in," Tattletale told her with some relish. "You've got a job elsewhere first."

"She does?" asked Amy.

Remember the plan? We were going to send Bitch. Vicky can get there quicker.

Oh, right. Amy paused, thinking. This actually makes the plan easier, doesn't it?

That's the idea.

"Wait," Vicky objected. "Where am I going?"

Tattletale grinned. "To break and enter the house of a PRT strike squad leader, and beat him up if he's there."

"Wait, what?" Vicky stared at her. "Okay, now you're just fucking with me."

Amy shook her head. "She's really not. This is Coil's secret identity. You've got to bust in there, grab him, and beat him up. Hard. Let him know that you know who he is."

"Wait, wait," Vicky objected. "Coil's a PRT squad leader? Do you have any idea how unlikely this sounds?"

"It is what it is," Tattletale informed her blithely. "Getting cold feet?"

Vicky swooped down in front of the dogs and dropped to the ground, forcing them to stop or hit her. "No, but this stinks more every second. You assholes somehow convince my sister to come out with you to take down Coil, and now you're saying that this bastard's secretly a PRT officer? Shit, even if I believed you, that's a breakage of the unwritten rules, right there."

"Coil doesn't care about the unwritten rules," Amy pointed out, wriggling out of Vicky's grasp until she was standing on the ground. "He's got information on nearly every cape in Brockton Bay that they don't know about, and he'll use it to hurt us all if he has to."

"Yeah, I find that hard to believe, too," Vicky retorted. "Ames, I have no idea how they managed to get you to believe all that shit, but this ends now. I'm -"

"They didn't tell me," Amy told her desperately. "I told them."

Vicky frowned. "And where the hell did you get all this stuff from?"

Amy hesitated. Michael?

Yeah?

I'm going to have to tell her.

Ah crap.

Please?

An impression of a nod, and a sensation of resignation. Okay. Let's see how this pans out.

Thanks.

Vicky was still waiting for an answer. "Ames?"

Amy took a deep breath. "Uh, you know when I got knocked out in the bank?"

Vicky nodded, scowling at Skitter. The bug controller didn't show any emotion in return. "Not like I can actually forget."

"Right, yeah, well, when I woke up, there was someone else in my head."

Vicky's attention swivelled to focus on Regent. "You."

Amy shook her head quickly. "No, not him. Besides, he takes hours to get a proper hold on someone. It's someone else. From elsewhere. He's not a bad guy. He's been telling me stuff, helping me out. He's the one who told me about Marquis."

Vicky's face held an expression of deep suspicion. "If he's controlling you -"

"He's not," Amy told her hastily. "He could, but he's not. But it's why I've been acting a bit strange now and again."

"Strange or not, I don't want him in your head. Tell him to get the hell out, now."

Amy shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. He doesn't want to be here either. But he's got a job to do, and until it's done, he's stuck here. As far as I understand things, anyway."

Vicky frowned. "What the fuck? What job?"

Amy shrugged, very slightly. "As far as I can tell, he's here to save the world."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Vicky growled, rolling her eyes. "Let me talk to this jerk myself."

Michael, you're up.

Fuckin' yay.

Amy felt herself draw a breath, then she gave Vicky a nod. "Victoria Dallon," her mouth stated.

"And who the fuck are you?" demanded Vicky.

"Michael Allen, at your service," Amy heard herself say. "Once upon a time, I called myself Security. Not that you'll know either name."

"Never heard of you," confirmed Vicky. "What the fuck are you doing inside my sister?"

She must have realised what she'd said only after the words passed her lips; Tattletale's smirk widened slightly, Grue may have snorted inside his helmet, and Regent snickered.

Amy's expression didn't change at all. "I'm going to presume you didn't mean that to sound quite that way. What I'm doing here is that I ended up in your sister's head through no intent of my own. I'm not a hundred percent on what actually placed me here, though I have my suspicions. But like she said, I strongly suspect that my job here is to save the world, and just to make that job so much fuckin' easier, I've got to do it as the voice in the head of a traumatised sixteen year old girl. Joy."

Mentally, Amy winced at the biting sarcasm that came out in the last sentence.

Michael, am I really … that traumatised?

Trust me, kiddo. Nine out of ten people in this shitty old world of yours is walking wounded. You're hurting and you don't even know it. I'm just trying not to make it worse.

Accompanying the words was a fleeting sensation, as of a hug. Obscurely, she felt comforted. Thanks.

You're welcome.

"Wait, seriously, so that's it?" demanded Vicky. "That's all the explanation you're going to give me?"

"Vicky," Amy's voice told her patiently. "You're the one who wanted to come along on this expedition. Now, I've given Amy and the Undersiders all the information I can on how to take down Coil, and why it should be tonight. I'd much rather leave her out of all this, but I can't very well do that when she's all the mobility I've got at the moment. So do me a favour. Either come along and give us a hand, or back off and leave us to get on with it."

"Or I could just fly Amy back home," Vicky countered. "Wake up Mom and Dad, let them know what's going on."

Shit. She could too.

Michael, let me talk.

Amy felt control returning to her. Okay, go for it.

Thanks. "Vicky, no, don't, please," she urged her sister. "It's me, Amy. What Michael is telling you is the absolute truth. And you promised not to pull this exact shit on me."

Vicky hesitated. "Shit. No, the promise doesn't count. I didn't know -"

"Like hell it doesn't count," Amy retorted. "Have I ever broken a promise I made to you? Even if I didn't know all of what was going on, or if I'd get in trouble?"

"But this is more important -" began Vicky.

"No, it's not," argued Amy. "There's a twelve year old girl who's currently being addicted to drugs right now by a man who doesn't care at all about her, except that she's got a power he can make use of. That man is willing to make use of his authority as a PRT squad leader to cover up what he does as a criminal."

Well, I don't know that he does -

Would he? If he had to?

Shit, yeah. In a heartbeat.

Well then.

"And you know this for a fact?" Vicky asked reluctantly.

"Michael does," Amy informed her. "And he told me, and the Undersiders, stuff that no-one should be able to know. Stuff that convinced them to turn against their boss."

"So tell the PRT," Vicky suggested. "Put it out there. Let them know about it."

Tattletale slid down off the dog she had been sitting on. Turning to face Vicky, she shook her head. "No can do. Absolute best case scenario is that he disappears with her. Anything slightly less than best case? We each end up face down in a back alley with a nine-millimetre lobotomy. Because he can find us, and he can make sure that we die, and he can get away with it."

Vicky frowned. "Fuck." She stared at Amy. "You're certain of this."

Amy nodded. "Absolutely. I believe Michael implicitly."

The blonde hero grimaced. "Fuck," she muttered again. "Right. I said I'd back you up. Okay, fine. Who's this guy I'm supposed to beat shit out of?"

"His name is Thomas Calvert," Amy supplied. "Did you bring your phone?"

Vicky nodded. "I did," she confirmed, pulling it out.

"Texting you the address now," Tattletale told her, tapping away on her own phone.

"Wait a minute," Vicky protested as her phone chimed. "I never gave you my number."

Tattletale grinned. "No, you didn't, did you?"

Vicky set her jaw and took a step toward Tattletale; Amy felt her aura flare. Gritting her teeth against it, she put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Vicky, not the time. Please."

Slowly, Vicky nodded. "Okay, fine. I'll go beat this guy up." She took off straight up; her dark-clad form was quickly swallowed by the night.

"Well," commented Regent quietly, "I never thought I'd meet someone who produces more testosterone than you do, Grue."

"Fuck you, Regent," Grue replied, just as quietly. "And keep a lid on comments like that. Both of you."

Tattletale approached Amy. "You okay?" she asked the biokinetic, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Amy nodded. "Sorry about that. She caught me leaving the house."

"Figured as much," Tattletale told her. "Shit happens. Let's get closer to Coil's base. You can ride behind Skitter."

<><>​

Amy was glad for the tough fabric of her jeans, because the rough back of the grotesquely oversized dog-thing was not conducive to ease of sitting. She hung on to bony spurs and hoped that her hips weren't about to dislocate, as they felt they might; the roadway blurred by below them, for all that the gigantic dog was merely lolloping along at a steady pace.

"Much further?" she asked Skitter.

The skinny bug controller shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never been there myself."

"Oh, right. You said you'd only been working for him a short time." She still had a hard time connecting Taylor with the creepy-looking girl with the flat yellow gaze.

"Yeah." Skitter shrugged again. "When the heroes are dicks and the villains are actually nice to you, what are you gonna do?"

It wasn't something Amy had ever considered. She had been born into a family of superheroes, and Vicky had been cape-mad ever since she had known what capes were. Even when she got her powers, it had never been a matter of doubt as to what she was going to do with them. The decision had been made for her, it seemed, and she had never been able to find a good enough reason to overturn it.

Maybe I should have put my foot down. Maybe I should have asserted myself a little more.

Not sure if it would've done any good. You had constant pressure from Carol to be good or else, and from Vicky, expecting you to be a hero.

Well, I doubt that I would've become a villain.

So you reckon maybe just a healer for hire?

I don't know. Amy thought about that. I'd probably have just as much pressure on me as I do now.

Heh, no. He sounded amused. You know what the great thing about having sole access to a very rare, very in-demand commodity is?

Amy frowned. What?

Being able to set your own price. Also, your own working hours.

She felt somewhat disquieted. That makes me feel … cheapened.

Hell no. Expensive. Very expensive. Also, set a limit on how many people you see a day, and tell the ones who can be dealt with by doctors to see a damn doctor!

She blinked at his vehemence. Are you actually saying that's what I should do?

Nope. Not gonna tell you what to do. Just telling you what you can do, if you feel like it. You don't have to be a hero. You're under no obligation to keep putting yourself out there.

Amy was still trying to get her head around that when her phone rang.

<><>​

Vicky hovered in the air near the house. It was a typical suburban cookie-cutter dwelling, the same as every other house near it. Tapping in Amy's number from memory, she dialled.

"Vicky? What's up?"

She wasted no time on pleasantries. "Look, are you sure of your information? I do this, there's all sorts of consequences if I'm wrong."

"Vicky, I told you. He's a supervillain. Plus, Michael tells me that his power lets him think he can get away with anything. Especially with female capes that he's captured."

She felt a chill of rage go down her spine. "You mean he -"

"I mean exactly that, yeah." Amy's voice was equally cold. "And he's got a way of making sure that no-one ever finds out."

"Shit. Right. Okay." Vicky eyed the house. "So I bust in, grab him, beat him up."

"Yes," Amy told her. "Make sure he knows why you're doing it. Break a few bones. I'll fix any permanent damage." She paused. "You are at the right place." It wasn't a question.

"Checked it three times." She took a deep breath. "Okay then. I'll call back when I'm done."

"Okay. Kick ass."

"Always do." Ending the call, she slid the phone into her pocket. Momentarily, she considered walking up the front path and kicking in the front door, then she shrugged. Lining up, she accelerated at the front wall of the house.

If something's worth doing, it's worth doing properly.

<><>​

Coil's head came up as he sat at the computer console. In the other timeline, he had been awoken by a tremendous crash, as of the house coming down around his ears. He blinked as he tried to figure out what was going on; at the same time, he picked up his phone and tapped in a query. The answer came back immediately; the alarm system in his house had been triggered.

Who's attacking me, and why?

His other self scrambled out of bed, switching on the light and reaching into the bedside drawer for a firearm. A surge of terror nearly disabled him, the weapon slipping from his nerveless fingers and clattering to the floor.

"Coil!" a feminine voice screamed. "Coil! I'm coming for you!"

Fuck, how did this get out? And who is this?

He forced himself to pick up the pistol; he was terrified, but he could still act. The very fact that he was terrified puzzled him; he had been in far worse situations. Are my emotions being affected from the outside?

Whatever it was, it didn't affect the version of him sitting in his base, of course, but it was affecting the combat capability of his other self. He only knew of one female emotion-altering cape in Brockton Bay. Why is Glory Girl attacking me in the middle of the night?

His bedroom door smashed off of its hinges, and a dark-clad figure lunged through. The accompanying wave of terror turned his guts to water and made him soil himself, but he still managed to get off a couple of shots. One hit, but the other missed; she didn't falter in the slightest.

Enough of her face was showing that he was sure it was indeed Victoria Dallon as she blurred across the room and smashed the gun from his hands; next, she grabbed him and threw him at the wall hard enough to crunch plaster. The plaster wasn't all that crunched, either; he felt his shoulder and some ribs go.

"Why are you doing this?" he pleaded as she grabbed him again.

"Shut up, you bastard," she growled. "Thomas Calvert, aka Coil, I'm making a citizen's arrest." She threw him across the room again, back at the bed. He felt more ribs go, and there was something wrong with his legs as he landed on the floor.

"You can stop … hitting me," he grunted, racked with agony.

"Nope," she replied. "I need to hit someone, and you're it." She picked him up by the front of his pyjamas, just as he brought his hand up. Holding the pepper spray that had been on top of his nightstand.

He sprayed it liberally in her face, but of course she ignored it. Until he punched her solidly in the jaw. His fist stung, but she inhaled the cloud of spray, and doubled over, coughing and choking.

"Okay," he growled, grabbing her by the throat. "Who sent you after me, and why?"

Too late, he saw her straighten up, resolve in her eyes. Too late, he saw her fist coming up. It smashed into him.

Blackness.

That timeline ended.

Coil sat back in his chair, confused. Splitting the timelines had been a regular precaution of his for years, and occasionally it had proven useful. This time, it had saved his life. He just didn't know why Victoria Dallon had burst into his house, out of costume, with the clear intent to maim or kill him. And the fact that she was still out there posed a clear and present threat to his safety.

He split the timeline. This required investigation.

<><>​

Amy's phone rang again. She answered it immediately. "Vicky?"

"Ames? You sure this is the right place?"

"Absolutely certain. Why?"

"Because I just busted the place up and there's no-one here. And now I hear sirens."

"You'd better get out of there."

"But I can't find him."

"You won't. Trust me. I'll text you the address of where we are now."

"I'm going to need some explanations."

"You'll get it. Just don't get caught on site."

"Okay. See you soon."

Vicky hung up, and Amy sent the text, then put her phone away. Well, you were right.

It's what he does.

So if Coil wasn't there …

He's in his base. Vicky just flushed him there for us.

So why did we want him in the base and alert? Surely it would've been better if we separated him from his men.

He's got it wired to self destruct. And I don't trust him not to be able to do it remotely.

Oh. Oh yeah. Wow.

Yup.

At that moment, Tattletale's phone rang. She let it go for a moment, then picked it up. "Yeah?" she asked, yawning.

Amy didn't hear much of the conversation that followed, but it obviously had something to do with Glory Girl, and their encounter in the bank. Tattletale hung up just as Vicky came swooping in out of the darkness.

"Okay, someone please tell me why the fuck I just committed several felonies for no visible gain," the blonde hero snapped.

"Long story short?" Tattletale grinned. "He's a precog who can experience two timelines at once. One timeline he's at home, the other he's in his base. He'll shut down whichever one he doesn't like."

"So you sent me to his house, and in the other timeline I beat him up," realised Vicky. "How do we know it even worked?"

"Because he wasn't there," Amy supplied. "So we're in the timeline where he's in his base."

Vicky nodded slowly. "I've heard weirder things. So what do we do now?"

"Simple," Tattletale told her. "We go kick his ass."


End of Part Ten

Part Eleven

 

[edale]

Wow... Took me 3 hours to notice this was up. I must not be refreshing the page often enough.

 

[Ack]

Wow... Took me 3 hours to notice this was up. I must not be refreshing the page often enough.

Click to shrink...

Well, it took me a while to get it finished.

 

[Prince Charon]

This is good.

 

[Sheaman3773]

Vicky shouldn't know what Regent could do. Armsmaster knew who he was (fucking somehow) but canonically even Tattletale and Coil didn't know. They narrowed it down to a short list of possibles, but they didn't know for sure. There's no way Vicky would know--if Armsmaster had disseminated the information even within the Protectorate/PRT, then Coil's moles would have reported it back to him, and he'd know.

I also seriously don't think that Vicky's shield drops for actual seconds, whatever Tt said (while woozy, iirc); considering it's the source of her flight and invulnerability and strength, it dropping for seconds would have really serious consequences if she was hit while, say, flying. Or using that strength.

Hell, we see her fly through the bank wall, we know the shield went down, since it was seeing the dust underneath that tipped Tt off, but we certainly don't see GG slam into the ground and skid along the ground or anything, that she should if her source of lift suddenly cut out.

Good chapter in general. I didn't really mind the wait.

 

[Prince Charon]

Hell, we see her fly through the bank wall, we know the shield went down, since it was seeing the dust underneath that tipped Tt off, but we certainly don't see GG slam into the ground and skid along the ground or anything, that she should if her source of lift suddenly cut out.

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IIRC, the shield cutting out doesn't cut out the aura, so it needn't cut out the flight, either. Powers are fairly bullshit.

 

[The Shadowmind]

The shield cutting for even a full second if fanon, and bad fanon at that.
The shield was able to take the continuous Golden Beam from Scion. If it failed for a measurable period of time, then fractal!Victoria would of died instantly.
Every instant of damage causes to Victoria was when a substance was already on her, then the shield broke. The substance was then in-side the field, thus able to harm her.

 

[Galeiam]

Um...Continuous damage wont do anything to her shield.

Impacts knock it out momentarily.

This is why you should always Double Tap

 

[cyberswordsmen]

Um...Continuous damage wont do anything to her shield.

Impacts knock it out momentarily.

This is why you should always Double Tap

Click to shrink...

No because the time that it takes you to pull the trigger a second time is enough for the armor to go back up.

The real way of dealing with her is covering the shield in something dangerous and hitting her. The brief moment of vulnerability will let the thing in and allow it to do damage.

For example:
Bugs at the bank.
Acid against S9.
or more originally
cover her in rubble and shoot her before she can push it off.
have a high end brute grapple her. Choke with one hand and punch with the other.

The vulnerable moment is short enough that she isn't afraid of it getting her hurt, so it must not be something that she is going to encounter against foes that aren't aware of it and both automatic weapons and doubletapping are normal tactics.

 

[edale]

No because the time that it takes you to pull the trigger a second time is enough for the armor to go back up.

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Citation needed.

I'm not gonna dig through 1.75 mil words to find any, but I know there were several points where Vicky being vunerable for a time after her shield is knocked out is mentioned. My understanding is it took several seconds, possibly even up to a minute to come back up.

 

[Prince Charon]

Citation needed.

I'm not gonna dig through 1.75 mil words to find any, but I know there were several points where Vicky being vunerable for a time after her shield is knocked out is mentioned. My understanding is it took several seconds, possibly even up to a minute to come back up.

Click to shrink...

I'm mostly sure it isn't anywhere near a minute, but 'more than a second' is either implied or outright stated, IIRC.

 

[cyberswordsmen]

I'm mostly sure it isn't anywhere near a minute, but 'more than a second' is either implied or outright stated, IIRC.

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No all evidence suggests it is significantly less than that. Like less than a blink.

 

[cyberswordsmen]

Citation needed.

I'm not gonna dig through 1.75 mil words to find any, but I know there were several points where Vicky being vunerable for a time after her shield is knocked out is mentioned. My understanding is it took several seconds, possibly even up to a minute to come back up.

Click to shrink...

Look at every single example she is hurt. They all happen when something dangerous is already on her shield before she takes the hit that downs the shield. She is willing to engage in melee combat against other brutes which means her shield is going to go down after every hit she makes or takes and during that time she would lose the ability to fly. If the shield went down that long she would be basically useless as a melee combatant as she would die with a simple to hit combo and she wouldn't be able to defend herself for the second hit. Since even landing a hit herself would damage the shield that means she would be left helpless if they don't go down in one shot or they have a friend.

If it took a minute or even more than a second she would be next to useless in combat if she fought the way she does. She is not dead so that means her powers can in fact keep her alive in open combat. Since she is able to function like a normal Alexandria package the weak period must be short enough that it doesn't impede her ability to participate in fistfights or shrug off attacks, but still be long enough that dust/bugs/acid that settles on her shield can fall through it after a hit.

Also it is blatant hypocrisy to demand a citiation after one has been given and refusing to provide your own in the same post.

 

[Ack]

Okay. This debate's already been and done in the SB forum.

Lisa states that it takes 'a couple of seconds' for the shield to come back up. She can be wrong, but not that far wrong.

The reasons she's not already dead are as follows


1) people 'know' she's invulnerable to that first hit, so why try?
2) she tends to go out with her family,
3) accurate rapid fire is rare in super battles,
4) when people shoot at her, she takes the gun and puts it someplace uncomfortable.
5) fear aura makes people just tend to give up. Even if they don't, they aren't great at aiming.

Lisa twigged to the shield going down because dust had settled on her after she burst through the wall. Dust settles slowly. It had to be down for a significant fraction of a second for enough dust to settle on her for Lisa to notice.

Likewise, the bugs could not rest on her because there was nothing for them to grasp (frictionless). It would take a significant fraction of a second after the shield going down for them to reach her.

Her great power is that she can tank any shot, once. Once that shot lets up (either single impact or protracted blast) the shield cuts out for a fraction of a second. This is entirely in keeping with Worm powers; great in theory, dickish to the users.

 

[edale]

First, double-post.

Second, you're making statements several people are saying is wrong, not just me. In fact, I don't think I've seen a single post supporting your view. The burden of proof is on you, since public opinion is on the other side (and I don't have 4+ hours to scour through all of that).

Vicky's flight has nothing to do with her shield... Why would you even think it did?

edit- imped by Ack. I honestly trust his judgement better than my own on what is Canon for Worm, heh.

 

[Ack]

Vicky shouldn't know what Regent could do. Armsmaster knew who he was (fucking somehow) but canonically even Tattletale and Coil didn't know. They narrowed it down to a short list of possibles, but they didn't know for sure. There's no way Vicky would know--if Armsmaster had disseminated the information even within the Protectorate/PRT, then Coil's moles would have reported it back to him, and he'd know.

Click to shrink...

Gallant was at the briefing; he had a phone. QED.

 

[Sheaman3773]

Second, you're making statements several people are saying is wrong, not just me. In fact, I don't think I've seen a single post supporting your view. The burden of proof is on you, since public opinion is on the other side (and I don't have 4+ hours to scour through all of that).

Click to shrink...

I'm not going to continue this disagreement, since the OP asked otherwise, so this is more about what you're saying than GG.

Seriously, edale, are you lying, saying this to cyberswordsmen? I started this disagreement (albeit unintentionally) by stating the position he's defending, and The Shadowmind has also commented on it from that side. The other side is...you, and maybe/sorta Prince Charon & Galeiam. At best, the sides are equal in number.

Gallant was at the briefing; he had a phone. QED.

Click to shrink...

Checking your story, you never showed Armsmaster revealing information on Regent that wasn't released in canon.

Checking canon, he glosses over Regent, focusing only on Tt. Also, if he told them, then Tattle-"I spy on the PRT for fun"-tale would likely know, especially since she was looking into it on Coil's direction.

But the whole thing is moot, since you have Amy know what Regent does (in vague terms, at least) in the bank scene, way before they knew what he could do anyway. So whatever.

ETA:
So whatever = So whatever, I should have brought it up the first time, there's not much point in doing so now that it's already been established.

 

[Xilph]

A better approach to arguing against her shield being down for so long is that Tattletale didn't exploit it even when she apparently knew of it, unless she thought smothering in bugs was a better takedown strategy then shooting them with the healer nearby anyway. I mean the rest of the other stuff like never having been hit by two attacks or bullets in the same second can be shoved away with other stuff but that's the thing which stands out to me as an issue, if Tattletale knew that just firing two bullets would work why didn't they do so? Victoria would've been fine thanks to Amy so that's not really a concern, timing isn't a concern either as they apparently have a decent window to fire the second bullet given Coil managed to get two in without it recovering. Although the never been attacked with automatic weapons (you only need two consecutive bullets to hit, not general accuracy) or two goons firing guns at about the same time or anything like that seems dodgy but eh, I suppose it can be explained away somewhat, just seems incredibly unlikely she's never been a little unlucky even once in her years of heroing.

 

[doomlord9]

Completely unrelated to this fic and only tangentially related to the fic, but I've been wondering what Worm would have been like if Victoria was just a little more stupid/unlucky early on and took a full clip from an automatic to the head and chest thinking she was invulnerable and died from it.

No mindfucked Amy, Carol has to deal with losing her real daughter and seeing that her adopted one is even more broken up about it than she is, possibly having triggered with her canon power due to the desire to put Victoria back together, a more jaded and natural Amy who, while having a second-gen shard, has first gen trigger trauma.

it's an interesting idea but I can't really come up with anything beyond 'Worm but without GG'.

 

[Ack]

A better approach to arguing against her shield being down for so long is that Tattletale didn't exploit it even when she apparently knew of it, unless she thought smothering in bugs was a better takedown strategy then shooting them with the healer nearby anyway. I mean the rest of the other stuff like never having been hit by two attacks or bullets in the same second can be shoved away with other stuff but that's the thing which stands out to me as an issue, if Tattletale knew that just firing two bullets would work why didn't they do so? Victoria would've been fine thanks to Amy so that's not really a concern, timing isn't a concern either as they apparently have a decent window to fire the second bullet given Coil managed to get two in without it recovering. Although the never been attacked with automatic weapons (you only need two consecutive bullets to hit, not general accuracy) or two goons firing guns at about the same time or anything like that seems dodgy but eh, I suppose it can be explained away somewhat, just seems incredibly unlikely she's never been a little unlucky even once in her years of heroing.

Click to shrink...

Why didn't Tattletale shoot Vicky twice?
Well, let's see. She's basically an amateur shot. She could hit Vicky once, collapsing the field. Second shot, even if it hits, could go anywhere. That 'anywhere' could maybe lightly wound her, and once the field comes up again, you're facing a really, really pissed off flying brick who's willing to use lethal force. Alternatively, it could be a lethal wound (especially after Taylor KO'd Amy with the baton). That means New Wave hunting them all down, and maybe Birdcage. Finally, she has a dislocated shoulder, and firing a gun even once would be painful as hell. Twice would be no fun at all.

Taylor's bugs, on the other hand, are very unlikely to be lethal, will arrive on site accurately, will put Vicky down for the duration ... and will bind Taylor to the group more tightly than ever.

I will say this again. Vicky is widely known as an Alexandria Junior. She's weathered the biggest hitters out there. She could take a tank shell. People know this. Who's going to even try to shoot at someone known to ignore high-velocity rifle rounds, especially if she's also known to take guns off of people who try, and break bones in the process?

Also, and this is something that people seem to keep ignoring or forgetting. Vicky's aura was powerful enough to make Amy fall in love with her. It's also powerful enough to make her enemies utterly fucking terrified of her. When your courage is running down your leg in a steady yellow stream, you're not going to take the time to aim and brace and carefully double-tap the Alexandria Junior coming at you. You're far more likely to either give up in a blubbering heap, or make a run for the tall timber.

Finally, usually she has her family out with her. Are you going (once more) to shoot at the Alexandria Junior, or one of the other scary capes coming for you?

 

[edale]

Seriously, edale, are you lying, saying this to cyberswordsmen? I started this disagreement (albeit unintentionally) by stating the position he's defending, and The Shadowmind has also commented on it from that side. The other side is...you, and maybe/sorta Prince Charon & Galeiam. At best, the sides are equal in number.

Click to shrink...

OK, I had misread the thread while posting that, and had missed your initial comment. That said, it was you and Cyberswordsman (2) vs Prince Charon, Galeiam, Ack, and I (4). Not exactly "at best equal in number."

Whatever, I'm done with the argument, feels like I'm feeding the trolls at this point...

 

[Ack]

Yeah. Until someone comes to me with specific information regarding the duration of the recharge, I'm leaving the chapter as is.

 

[Sheaman3773]

OK, I had misread the thread while posting that, and had missed your initial comment. That said, it was you and Cyberswordsman (2) vs Prince Charon, Galeiam, Ack, and I (4). Not exactly "at best equal in number."

Click to shrink...

And The Shadowmind. Which I already said. And you already quoted me saying. If you already realize you screwed up, shouldn't you check better the second time? If you don't have the time to read what people say, then you shouldn't write back.

I tend not to include the OP as a part of these discussions, because they usually stay out of them. You were speaking of the disagreement going on, and Ack hadn't pitched in yet when you wrote that. Here's the citation:

edit- imped by Ack.

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But okay, pick someone who posted after the relevant comment was written. I'll do that too:

Sheaman3773, The Shadowmind, cyberswordsman, and Xilph (4) vs Prince Charon, Galeiam, Ack, and I (4).

Oh look. One could almost say that the sides are...equal in number.

(pseudo-edit: What mostly aggravates me about your latter posts here is that you picked a really bad argument for why the other guy should offer citation but you shouldn't have to. There exist justifications for that (generally arguments for complexity) but you weren't close to one. Yours was just advocating groupthink, i.e., "everyone already thinks this, you should too--you better have a good reason if you're going to try to disrupt the group consensus!" And on top of that, you're distorting basic facts...)

Whatever, I'm done with the argument, feels like I'm feeding the trolls at this point...

Click to shrink...

Ah, the vaulted "Get the last word in and then try to stop the argument" technique. Man, that's right up there with the classic "Scream something and immediately slam the door shut" maneuver.

 

[pepperjack]

it's an interesting idea but I can't really come up with anything beyond 'Worm but without GG'.

Click to shrink...

Worm but Panacea does brains. That's a pretty large-winged butterfly.

 

[edale]

Ah, the vaulted "Get the last word in and then try to stop the argument" technique. Man, that's right up there with the classic "Scream something and immediately slam the door shut" maneuver.

Click to shrink...

No, that's the "whatever else goes on in the argument, I'm not involved because it's basically degenerated into name calling at this point" technique. As you proved.