Reaction 3.5
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Amy
I hated hospitals.
It was always the same, here.
Sure, they looked different from time to time, maybe when a local artist gets brought in to liven up the walls of a wing or something, but that oppressively sterile, bleached feeling would never leave. Not really. The discordant cacophony of clicks and beeps echoed to such a point that I could still hear them long after I'd gone home, and the way some of those patients kept trying to out-moan each other, as if that'd summon some nurses faster, grated my ears even more. At least the machinery noises were predictable, and rather easy to ignore.
At this point there was a good chance that I'd spent more time in medical facilities than at school. With the grace of an angel, the worst of ailments vanished; an act of god and a mere dozen minutes, and the deadliest of wounds were better than they ever were. Because of me, Brockton Bay was now home to medical tourism and, if you ignored gang-related violence — what a laughably naive idea — one of the healthier places in the country.
Most days, the reality of how diseased the city truly was made me want to vomit.
Yet, for the people who worked here, it was always, always the same: put on a cheerful face, then try to stay optimistic — the sacks of money getting worried was a
no-no, after all. On and on and on, year after year, seeing the most depressing shit the world had to offer. Overdoses, gunshots, brain tumors — you name it — all the despair coalesced
here.
Walking through these halls was an ordeal in its own right, having to endure all those damn glances, hushed words and hopeful, almost
reverent expressions. So many people idolized me, put me on a pedestal; it was revolting. I was a cure-all in their eyes, a miracle made manifest, a lifeline.
Or, to be more specific, it was my power; not me. Nobody cared about Amy Dallon, the forgettable girl hiding behind her red scarf. Just a single magic touch was what they craved, and then they were gone. Then came more patients. Then even more.
All they remembered was 'Panacea'.
"Panacea! O-oh god, please help me!"
I shouldn't be here.
"Do I have your permission to heal you?"
I didn't
want to be here.
"Y-yes! Please…"
I
had to be, however. I was taking too many breaks already.
"Rapid heart rate and breathing," I muttered quietly to myself, "Pale and cold skin, crushed fibula and tibia of the right leg, internal bleeding, swelling, superficial abrasions…" Relatively simple, I'd give it about ten minutes to deal with. Piecing all the bone fragments back together and inducing regeneration was the hardest part here.
Last night, in comparison, was a waking nightmare. The ER was
overflowing with new patients, and all the staff was working overtime even more. Oh, and the PRT idiots decided to pester me later as well — mostly to check out some 'mysterious golden liquid'.
The liquid was, obviously, the paralytic agent from Taylor's new knife, although it was a fair bit diluted by what I could only describe as sewer water. It was amusing to see PRT personnel go straight to
me about it, its creator, even if they didn't know of that fact. Not that I was willing to do much — the one carrying the ampule said they wanted to try and replicate it, and I was
certainly not about to give that piece of shit Calvert more toys to play with. I told them that it's tinkertech — which was not really far from the truth — and that was enough for them to fuck off.
Crisis averted for now.
"Done, though remember to eat more."
At least Lisa and Taylor were okay, the heroic fools.
"T-thank you so-"
Still — we should've prepared better. More gear, more
something.
"Next."
I sighed. I could really use a hug right about now. Or more coffee. Or both. I was just so goddamn tired…
…But more work was still waiting for me.
This next one was fucked up by Hookwolf, the left side of the abdomen minced rather thoroughly, and as they were asleep I didn't need permission to start, which I did momentarily. There were dozens of fresh new victims getting rolled in due to him and Lung today, and with it being only the start… I wasn't hopeful for the near future.
At least the cunts endured some losses of their own, if not enough of them — Cricket and Lee both bit it during a clusterfuck with the former's transfer. She, as well as Stormtiger, were being moved somewhere last night;
I hoped that it was the Birdcage, but maxsec seemed more likely than that. Regardless, the relocation began less than an hour before the bombing, and both Crusader and Oni Lee showed up to duke it out on the streets. Ghost boy had, naturally, gone straight to breaking his teammates out, while the wannabe ninja attempted to sabotage him.
It didn't end well for the latter.
I wasn't told any details on the particulars of the fight, but I could imagine what sort of chaos two capes with clones could cause. What I
did know was that Oni Lee kept dropping seemingly-useless bombs — they didn't affect Crusader's ghosts, nor did they change the terrain at all. The pair kept going at it for a while — though there were still a few casualties amongst PRT forces — until the Docks decided to blow up.
Then, Oni Lee blew up with them.
Or, well, sorta — the effect was attributed to another bomb. When I saw his body later on, he looked warped as fuck, barely recognizable. It was similar to something that Vista could do if she had the ability to affect organic matter, much like that one Japanese guy's story about human-shaped holes in a cliff.
Cricket was rather fortunate not to get caught by whatever
that was, but she wasn't lucky enough to dodge another 'useless' bomb from the ABB cape. She dropped to the ground like a puppet without its strings once it went off; according to the officer's retelling, Armsmaster compared it to an organic EMP.
"Woah, Panacea? Are- can you make my chest bigger after this? I'll pay!"
Complete and total brain death.
"No. Do I have your permission to heal you?"
Good riddance. Lee too. Fuck them both, and their gangs while we're at it.
"Aw. Well, worth a shot. Go ahead, heal away."
I didn't give a fuck about 'speaking ill of the dead'.
So much goddamn misery… Ugh, this city was hell.
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Another patient, another question, another analysis; another crispy Lung victim, much like the last guy. Girl? I couldn't really remember. It didn't matter, anyway. This one was still awake, though, and the moaning was driving me nuts.
…And they had
another deep gash as well. God fucking damnit, it was so
trivial. This could've
easily been avoided were I allowed to do more than just heal. I could reinforce all the tissues, all the muscles, make them stronger… Maybe add a reactive healing factor, increasing regeneration post-injury…
Hell, why stop there? Changing the layout of most internal organs wouldn't be easy, but definitely worth it — there were several more efficient configurations that I could think of off the top of my head. Yes, some things would need to be redone completely, and a few were redundant enough to warrant removal, but-
"Panacea?" Doctor… Banners, was it? Yeah, Doctor Banners. He was looking at me.
I hummed in lieu of a question.
"...Are you done?"
Probably. "Yes." I woodenly turned to the patient. "You'll be feeling hungry for a day or two, which is normal, and both the burns and the wound are now healed. You also had an epidermoid carcinoma — an early type of cancer — in your bladder, which I took care of as well. As of now, you're one hundred percent healthy." I returned my tired gaze to the doctor. "Add the cancer to her history, then get me the next one."
He raised his head a bit, as if to nod, but paused for a moment. "I think you should take a break, actually."
Weakly, I protested. "There's still more-"
"There will
always be more, Panacea, and your last break was three hours ago. Go freshen up, or eat something, or go home; I don't know. You've done enough for today, that's for certain." I could still be doing
more.
I huffed, standing up and grumbling something that was unintelligible even to myself, and shuffled out of the room into the adjacent one; then, the corridor. I didn't have the energy to complain even more at the moment. Yawning, I shambled to the cafeteria, ignoring the looks that I was getting.
Why couldn't things just be simpler? Like when we were younger, half a decade ago? Hanging out together, just the five of us, no adults… No care for the world, either; no responsibilities, much less stress…
My nostalgia trip was cut short by Vicky, whom I'd spotted striding closer. Huh.
"Ames? There you are!" She stood at the opposite side of the table, looking at me with an uneasy smile before slowly sitting down. Normally, I'd settle for a hum of acknowledgement, but the tinge of relief in her voice was concerning. Did something happen on her patrol? She rarely showed up like this without a heads-up.
"Well, yes?" I said, "I am? Just got kicked out like five minutes ago."
"And did you consider telling
us that?" I heard from the side and promptly flinched.
Carol, still in her cape clothes, was standing next to the table's right edge. Her arms were crossed, her lips were taut, and her steely gaze pinned me down like an insect. I almost choked on a piece of salad that I was chewing at the time, but quickly washed it down with some water. How didn't I notice her?!
…And why was she more pissed than usual?
"Or," mother continued, "At the very least responding to our calls? I understand that you knew you weren't kidnapped, however
nobody else did." Oh.
Cringing, I looked at Vicky, who was nodding with worry on her face. "I called you, but you didn't answer." she said, "Five times in a row, too!"
"I… didn't hear it ring," I confessed while withdrawing into my robe a bit further. At the same time I tried scouring my pockets, and fished the damn phone out after a few attempts.
Oh. It was off. I tried powering it on again, but failed. I must've forgotten to charge it, too tired to bother after that hellish night.
"I trust this won't happen again," Carol stated. "Am I correct in my assumption?"
"Yes, Carol." Bitch. "I'll try to remember to keep it charged." I then punctuated my response by finishing my water, suppressing a yawn.
Vicky opened her mouth to say something else, but Carol resumed her verbal torture a moment sooner. "See that you do," she said, nodding to herself. "Now, then. Your phone."
"Huh?" I managed numbly, handing it over without any complaints.
Carol tried powering the device on again, but when nothing happened she returned it to me. "It's out of charge and thus functionally useless, so you're not to leave Victoria's side until you get home. While the tracker may work separately, I'd still prefer to keep in contact." I wished she didn't. "It's late, and I still have an errand to run, so I'll trust you two
not to get yourselves into trouble while I'm gone."
With that, broaching no argument, the woman turned around and left.
Exhaling, I slowly deflated, glumly staring at the leftovers in front of me. I didn't feel hungry enough to continue eating, so I just slid the plate, glass and utensils to the side. My eyelids felt heavy and my vision blurry as I focused on looking back at my sister, and I yawned yet again.
"So…" She began, looking uncomfortable.
Tiredly, I hummed, ceding ground in the conversation.
"You shouldn't worry about what mom said. She's… not had a good day today. Or, uh, night."
"I-" I sighed. "...It's whatever." At least she didn't berate me for longer. "How was your patrol? What ticked her off this time? Hookwolf?"
Vicky shook her head before shifting slightly, getting one hand to support it like she often did when tired. "No, it's just the whole bombing thing's getting to her, I think. Also, we sooooorta ran into Alabaster..?"
I blinked. "Did you punch him?"
Her lips curled upwards for only a moment, and then she was back to looking vaguely disturbed. "I wish," Vicky said, staring at some random spot on the table. "He- he was stuck in a
Gray Boy bubble!" That last part was whispered, but it rang in my ears. "Like, is
nothing sacred anymore?"
Sparing a second to check for eavesdroppers, I leaned forward a bit. "
Please tell me that was a joke." I knew that it wasn't, which made me feel even more fucked up than before.
"No!" Vicky shook her head again. "I swear, I saw him in there. And I also took a video-"
"-Of course you did-"
"-Just in case, you know? Here, look."
She took her phone out, unlocked it and slid it over across the table. The video was already pre-selected, only twelve seconds long and a fair bit blurry. I made sure that the sound was off, both in the video player and overall, then pressed 'Play'.
Yikes. Yeah, that
was Alabaster. He was on the ground, shaking and yelling, with a delightfully
agonized expression. There were no other moving objects within, so whatever was used to torture him must've been elsewhere. He writhed, clawing at nothing in futility; cried, with face warped in a grimace. And at the ninth second of the video, the bubble refreshed, and the pain did with it.
A man who could live forever was bested by torment everlasting. What an ironic way to go.
One less nazi, too. That, I could certainly live with. I let the video loop several more times, then exited back into the Gallery.
I was prepared to return the phone now, but one of the recent photos I saw made me pause — it was of me, Taylor and Lisa; the three of us posing for Vicky at the arcade. She'd insisted for me to be in the center, so the others were hugging me from the sides. All of us were smiling, lost in the moment. Happy.
"...What's with the wistful look, Ames? You're starting to creep me out."
I rolled my eyes. "No reason." Swiftly, I went back to the main menu, and then offered her phone back. "Here."
She took it with a raised eyebrow, but shrugged and continued, "So yeah… That's that, I guess. The rest of it went by smoothly."
"How many gangers did you catch today?"
A self-satisfied smile graced her face. "Thirty four and a half."
What. "'And a half'?" I sure hoped she wasn't talking about bisection…
"Eh, some bystander getting mixed up in everything by accident. He was let go pretty quickly, apparently."
"Ah. Okay." I shrugged.
Vicky looked around awkwardly. "And you're still here, I guess, huh."
"Far too many injured."
"Yeah, but, like-"
"
Please don't start on this too."
She, of course, pouted. "Fine."
Where was all this heading to? I didn't know, so I cut straight to the point. "Are- are we going home now? Or do you have plans, still?"
She shrugged a shoulder. "It's been a long day but with everything going on, I'm not ready to go to bed
just yet," and I was rather jealous of that fact, "I was thinking of flying around a bit more. Like, we'll only be returning to school on the day after tomorrow, so-"
"Tomorrow," I cut in.
"Huh?"
"We're returning tomorrow. It's Thursday already."
She blinked, then checked her phone. "Well damn."
"Anyway," I said, rising up a bit, "I'll go to the bathroom, and then we can go, then. Might as well punch a nazi or two myself for once."
"Oh?" My sister grinned in surprise. "I know that we gotta stick together thanks to your phone, but I didn't think you'd be so enthusiastic about it. What's gotten into you lately?"
Shrugging, I didn't answer. There wasn't much I
could say on the matter. Yes, I had never liked combat, having seen what it could result in firsthand; there were so many ways a human body could be damaged, disabled, maimed. Still, Taylor was right about my potential on the battlefield — I had many things I could capitalize on, including both my power and medical knowledge. If I just got over this half-rational cowardice, we'd be just a little bit safer in the end.
Plus, Lisa expected Coil to notice us within a month, and that scared me more than I'd like to admit. I had…
nightmares a few times already. I needed to become more effective if I wanted to truly be part of the team — restricting oneself only to healing was Panacea's thing, anyway, not Nymph's.
"Want me to grab you a coffee, then?" Vicky offered, still partly intrigued. She took my demeanor in stride, though, which I was thankful for.
I paused for a fraction of a second, but the caffeine-adoring part of my brain won in the end. "Yeah. Yeah, sure."
She gave me a thumbs up as I stood fully, and we both went our separate ways. I was somewhat worried, but it was drowned out by exhaustion, my head lightly spinning while I tried to focus. The outing would just be us flying, maybe knocking some non-cape heads together — really, it wouldn't be dangerous. And, if anything, I still had that taser.
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The air smelled oddly fresh, and it seemed like I'd missed a storm, somehow. In hindsight, that explained Carol's hair — it was wet and slightly messy, even though most was still tied in a bun. Vicky, thanks to her forcefield, hadn't been affected by the weather at all, which was part of why I didn't notice anything until now. Oh well.
That, plus the cup of coffee made me feel just a smidgen more awake as both me and Vicky flew through the sky. From up here, I could see much of the city, even past the high-rises of Downtown. Car lights and glowing windows, streetlights and shining puddles made my eyes glaze over, much like they often did in such moments.
Without all the context, it was a deceptively peaceful display, though it was simple to notice what was wrong.
In the western part of Downtown shone a blinding light, like a beacon. It hung in midair, never stopping completely, and beams just as bright sometimes struck the ground below it. Said ground was best described as a scar, one of fire and destruction and
more fire. There was also a glowing green speck, faintly visible, on the roof of an untouched building.
Beyond the flashiest clash of them all, I could spot a few others going on at the same time, as I had long since learned how to discern PRT vans from so high above the city: one fight was at the Boardwalk, closer to the north end of it; another two at the Docks, the more southern one making me worry. It was a good… ten? Yeah, ten seemed right enough. It was ten blocks away from Taylor's place, and I hoped things wouldn't cause it to get any closer.
A sobering thought lanced through my mind — what if they were in trouble
right now? They were definitely patrolling, I knew
that much. Fuck, and my phone was busted, too — the only way they could contact me was through Vicky. And
that would open up a whole other can of worms. Shit.
God, I felt so fucking useless. Absolutely pathetic. I could end the world in a day, but failed to maintain a simple line of communication? What- what did Lisa and Taylor use? Burner phones? I'd get some as well, then. Carol didn't mention my taser so far, which I'd kept exclusively in my Panacea robes, so I didn't think she'd rifle through my stuff without a reason. I just… had to keep quiet and not give her that reason…
I calmed down my quickened breathing eventually.
"Huh," I heard Vicky mutter, "What's that sparkly stuff?" Then, louder: "Ames, do you see that?"
"See wh- Oh. Yeah, I think so." I squinted, tracking the odd, yellowish shimmer with my tired eyes. It was traveling across a rooftop, moving at average walking speed. As we closed the distance a bit, I noticed a second figure next to it — unlike the starry, glowing one, this one was almost black.
Not seeing my dawning realization, Vicky hummed to herself. "Who are those two?"
"Uh, Vicky-"
"Wait, do you think it's those new heroes Armsmaster told mom about?"
Shit.
I wracked my brain for an excuse or diversion, but couldn't think of anything good. We'd gotten closer now, with Vicky hovering about three stories above them. Tailing them. Watching.
As Taylor and Lisa — and it was
definitely them — slowly walked to another edge of the roof, Vicky seemed satisfied. "Hey!" she called out, then waved.
Instantly, the pair spun around, alert and looking up at us, and not even a second had passed before several black, reflective objects surged forward from behind Taylor's back. Her thorns, heading at us-
They stopped.
As my sister staggered back in the air, Taylor seemed to have recognized us, looking mortified. She made the thorns disappear and then looked at me, which for some reason caused her eyes to widen further.
For a second or two, we just kept staring at each other. A small wave from me, though, broke the spell. No longer as tense, Taylor looked at Lisa, who waved back, a bit slowly.
"Fuck," Vicky half-whispered. "That was scary. Ames, you good?"
"
Pristine, but…
try not to jumpscare any capes next time?" While I did like the aesthetic of Halloween, looking like a pincushion didn't sound very fun.
"Yeah…" She answered, and when I looked at her, she was squinting. For a moment I thought that she'd realized who they were, but it didn't look like it. Soon, Vicky shrugged. "Alright. Going down now?"
I hummed, which Vicky took as a 'yes'.
"Two whole members of New Wave? Wanting to talk to
us?" Lisa asked, smiling knowingly as we descended; completely unphased by what had transpired. Taylor, meanwhile, was still looking at me. I gave her a weak smile, and she returned a lopsided, guilty one.
Before answering, Vicky touched the ground, and put me down from my bridal carry. I tried not to wobble
too much, opting to sit on the edge of a smokestack.
"Quick question," my sister said, "Can we please forget what just happened?"
Taylor cringed and nodded once. "Yeah, sorry, I-"
"No, no, it's fine. I was being stupid."
"Um. Okay..? Still, I'm sorry."
Lisa put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Yeah, this is going
swimmingly." She then pointed — first at her, then at Taylor. "Nebula and Black Rose, though I'm sure that you already knew that." I was relieved to see both of them in person, but god
damn was that grin insufferable. Her meeting my eyes with that look of hers only made me roll mine, and lightly sigh.
"Oh! Nice!" My sister smiled. "I wasn't wrong, then." She looked at me and then back at them. "Well, I'm sure you two know who
we are."
The star-speckled blonde chuckled, her grin widening a bit. "Yep, that we do." Yeah, Vicky, they went to the arcade with you.
I was kinda surprised by the fact that Vicky hadn't recognized either of them yet, considering neither covered up their hair, nor used full face masks instead of dominos. The holographic effects from their Tinker brooches
were quite distracting, I was willing to admit that much, but still — those flowing gold locks? Those wonderful, cared-for curls? Vicky was
way too clueless about things sometimes…
…Then again — Lisa's mask, for example, altered her visible face structure rather well: those pretty freckles that I was jealous of, annoyed by the light splotchiness of my own, were hidden beneath the near-white yellow fabric. Her cheekbones stood out more thanks to that effect, too. The violet lipstick made her lips demand more attention, especially when she smiled. Or grinned, like right she was doing right now, watching Vicky with naked amusement.
Taylor's mask, meanwhile, didn't change her face as much — her expressive mouth was on full display here, as were her eyes, meeting my gaze evenly. The only thing likely to throw someone off was her lack of glasses — the mask had lenses instead. That lean figure, as well as those legs… They were certainly
eye-catching, for one. Her constantly hiding them while in civvies annoyed me greatly, and Lisa too. Even here, she stuck to the shadows, what with that color scheme of hers.
But yeah, Vicky was oblivious.
I suppressed a yawn again.
"Are you okay?" I heard Taylor ask, and the silence made me realize who she was talking to.
"Huh? Yeah, I-" Fucking yawns, Jesus. "Ugh. 'M fine. Just tired." I opened my eyes, only to see everyone staring at me. "...What?"
Taylor looked sad when she answered. "...Nothing."
I tried sitting up a bit straighter.
Suddenly, Vicky's face lit up with surprise and something else, and she turned to face the brunette. "Wait!" She exclaimed. "It's you!
That's what felt so familiar!"
…Did I just fucking jinx us?!
Lisa must've noticed the burst of panic in my eyes, as she shook her head ever-so-slightly. What the hell did she mean by that? Not to talk? Or something else?
"Wh- Excuse me?" Taylor asked almost tonelessly. I could also see some black sand roiling behind her in a small cloud, too far away from her hair to be made by her brooch.
"You're the one Ames told us about! You- you were at the market!" Vicky stepped as close to Taylor as she could get. "You healed her spine! Oh my gosh, just- Thank you, thank you
so much!"
Oh.
Oh. That was it?
That's- Wow. Silently, I chuckled — I couldn't really help it. Thank
fuck it was only
that. And here I thought we'd have to tell her about Nymph…
…But now Vicky was
excited, her fatigue all but gone. Welp.
"Can I hug you? Please let me hug you!"
"Okay..? Um, wait- Whoa!"
"Vicky," I groaned, "Don't make me heal
her spine by the end of this."
Vicky paused. "Oh. Yeah, sorry."
The two separated, with Taylor looking as winded as I'd expect her to be. I grasped with one arm at her like a zombie, and she understood me, coming closer.
Why wasn't she touching me, though?
…Right, the permission. Have to keep up appearances. At least she wasn't as tired, 'cause Vicky would've probably found my silent treatment suspicious.
Heh. Puns.
"Can I use my power on you?" I asked.
Taylor nodded and offered her hand, taking a seat next to me on the smokestack.
Vicky frowned. "Rose, wait, you gotta take off the glove first — Amy needs contact to work her magic."
"But-"
"The fingertips of our gloves are thin enough for most Striker powers to work through," Lisa explained, sashaying a few steps closer to us. "Originally only for Trump reasons, but…" She trailed off, waving at us.
"Oh yeah,
both of you are Trumps!" My sister nodded to herself. "'Kay, that tracks."
Taylor leaned over to whisper. "This is so uncomfortable."
"I know, right?" I mumbled back. A fair bit louder, I asked her a question: "Where'd you get all these cuts?"
"Those… those were from yesterday." She winced and looked away.
I still didn't know what they were up to last night, and these wounds felt far too odd to be from a knife or anything similar. Not messy or deep enough to be Hookwolf's work, and no burns to point to Lung. Maybe they ran into Stormtiger again? After the cunt fled from the scene?
Regardless, I patched Taylor up, not letting her endure her wounds more than necessary. Away went the bruises as well, and-
"Oh, you two were out there?" My sister asked, because
of course she did.
"Unfortunately," Lisa answered. "What about you two?" She flicked her eyes to me for barely a moment.
"I was on patrol with my cousin when the Docks went crazy, so we waited for the adults to catch up before going there."
"...I see." Lisa crossed her arms. "
We were there pretty early on, and stuck around for a few hours. Kinda weird that we didn't bump into each other."
Vicky hummed. "Were you south of the crater?"
"Yep. Southwest."
"Ah. We were southeast. Well, for the most part, at least."
Lisa shrugged. "Oh well. Fair. And Panacea?"
"She was-"
"Healing people.
Obviously," I said with a tired voice. "Speaking of which, it's your turn." Bet she had more of those cuts, at least judging by the way she winced. Unless she was overusing her power again, in which case later we would have
words.
"My, what a magnanimous offer-"
"Yeah, yeah. Christ, just get over here while I'm still offering." I almost let loose a 'Lisa' there, but held my tongue at the last moment. I needed to pay more attention… "Do I have your permission to heal you?"
"You sure do."
My sister watched us three with a thoughtful expression,
still somehow clueless about the pair's civilian identities. "So… How do your powers work? Like, I know Rose has those stabby things that steal powers, but that's about it."
A thorn coalesced into existence. "They're called 'thorns'," Taylor said, looking at it. "And they- Oh." For no reason at all, the thorn floating in front of her turned golden. Still, it remained see-through, and there was a ribbon-like cloth moving inside. Was… was this Vicky's? Or was someone else affecting us?
Speaking of whom, Vicky flew a bit closer. "Wow." She touched it. "Why'd it change?"
"It's yours. Your aura threw me off back at the market like this, too."
"Oh. Shit." Vicky shrunk into herself a bit, offering me a guilty expression. I shrugged — things worked out fine.
"Question: do any of you see a forcefield around it? Glory Girl?" Lisa cut in. There was supposed to be a forcefield?
Vicky was just as confused. "Uh, no?"
"Wait." I squinted. "Can you make it vertical? Have it point its long tip up?" As Taylor nodded and did what I asked, I stared a bit closer after rubbing my eyes.
With Lisa's hair glowing in the background, I could see miniscule motes of dust. Most just drifted through the air, but some got caught on something invisible, like a slope. I reached out, and was proven right — it was solid, and as smooth as thorns themselves were.
"One more mystery solved," Lisa remarked with satisfaction.
"Huh," Vicky intoned, trying for herself. "Feels like a skirt." …What.
Half-heartedly, I raised an eyebrow. "What sort of skirts do you wear that are
that smooth?"
"Not that, Ames, I meant the shape. It's pretty angular, but still sorta skirt-like."
"Yeah," Taylor said. "She's right. Unlike you three, I can see it. If you pretend that the thorn is a person, then where the pyramids connect is the hips."
"Ooh, you can see it?" Vicky piped up while continuing to watch the thorn, as if willing the forcefield to become visible. "What color is it?"
"Gold."
She pumped her fists. "Sweet. My power's the best- Oh! Can you do Ames?"
"Sure, I guess?" Taylor looked at me. "Am- Panacea?"
Shrugging again, and yawning for the umpteenth time this night, I put a hand out. "Go ahead." Might as well.
Just like several times in the past, I watched as the obsidian turned into water, the thorn retaining its solidity even while the surfaces shimmered in ways only liquid could. In the center was a point of pure sunlight, radiating outwards in every direction. Somehow, it wasn't blinding.
That was
my power. That was
me.
Vicky's smile was illuminated by the glow of the powered thorn. "Like a piece of the ocean…" She mused. "Do all powers look so pretty?"
Taylor yawned. "Um, maybe? We haven't encountered many yet." She furrowed her brows, and started counting under her breath. "Nebula, Glory Girl, Panacea… Stormtiger and Cricket… Battery and Assault… Seven in total, I think. Unless I'm forgetting something." I noticed that she didn't mention her taking Grue's power as well. Or Shadow Stalker's, for that matter. Seemed like the need for sleep was contagious.
Quietly, I wondered: what would the combination be like? Taylor looked like she had the same question, but after a few seconds of waiting, she shook her head. I knew that her ability to combine thorns was supposed to stay secret for now, but as the thorns crumbled into black sand all I could do was stew in curiosity.
A loud crash echoed from somewhere Downtown, louder than what was 'normal' to most. It came from loosely the same direction that I'd spotted Purity and Lung from, earlier. Once you lived in the Bay for long enough, you learned to tune out the dragon's roars, but in moments like these, with the city going to shit, it just stood out as yet another problem.
An unsolved one.
"Do you think either of them will lose today?" Vicky asked seemingly no one.
"Fingers crossed?" Lisa replied. "There's only three ways this can go, really. One: with how Purity goes for dramatics, she'd probably fail to dodge in time." A finger was curled. "Two: Lung keeps ramping up until everyone runs away, as per usual." Another finger. "And three: someone finds a silver bullet and slays the dragon." Hopefully permanently.
Vicky glanced at me for a moment, but then continued watching the destruction. "Yeah." Sighing, she took a deep breath, and a light smile appeared on her face again. "So… where were we?"
"Thorns and powers?" Taylor guessed.
"Right!" My sister turned to Lisa. "You didn't yet say what yours was!"
Lisa reminded me of a cat that had caught the canary. "Simple: I'm psychic!" Here we go again…
"Nope!" Vicky grinned. "You're lying.
Real psychics don't exist! You'd need to have a much higher brain capacity to process all the information that you're getting, and-"
"Ah, but where's the proof, hm? You know how bullshit powers are, and simple scarcity is far from enough to write off an ability like that. There's no reason for psychics to
not exist because there are way more complex powers out there. Or what, do you think you're flying thanks to a prayer and a pinch of fairy dust?"
Something about Vicky in an awkward fairy costume made me snort.
She was, meanwhile, working her mouth soundlessly. "Well uh,
no… But-"
"Just because you take extra college courses doesn't mean you shouldn't verify everything you hear." …And the smug bitch just winked at us. Oh my fucking god.
Vicky was now gaping in shock, but that expression slowly turned to a smirk. "Oh wow. Okay. So you wouldn't mind a test, then?"
The nascent grin was met with another. "Shoot."
"What number am I thinking of?"
"I'd say… zero."
Vicky nodded. "What did I have for breakfast?"
"Cereal, side of bacon, OJ and… jammed toast. You were out of eggs, so no omelette."
"Yeah, we forgot to do groceries."
"You mean 'I'?" I cut in.
She flashed me a smile. "Yes, Ames. I." Vicky then looked back at Lisa. "Okay… What color was the skirt my aunt got me for my birthday?"
"Trick question: it was a top. Hmm… pastel blue? With leaves?"
"Branches, but you did get the color right. What's my favorite toy, then?"
"Plush toy? You got many, and several favorites. How about the shark you had to patch up?"
My sister's eyebrows shot upwards. "Goddamn. How the hell..? okay, what about this one-"
"What did I call the stray cat that I would pet on my way to school as a kid?" If we were going to screw with Vicky, then I wanted in.
Lisa's grin almost split her face. "Hairball."
"Correct." I missed him. "What video game have I spent the most time playing within the last half a year?"
"Dota 2. It's still in beta, and you got your key..? Invite? Whatever. You got it in October." Yeah, that I did.
I was kinda surprised she remembered that.
Meanwhile, Lisa raised her chin a bit in an almost regal fashion, still gazing at me. "Also, contrary to public personas, you're the one to have a sweet tooth while your sister prefers more sour stuff, you like thunderstorms while she's slightly scared of them, your dad taught you how to use the grill after she broke his favorite pair of tongs, she used to dot her 'I's with hearts but stopped in middle school after your mother commented on it — though she still does it to this da-"
"Alright, I think that's enough for now. Psychic as hell, this one," I declared before any of us could get a headache. Technically, I already had three; or, uh, two — Taylor wasn't up to anything dumb yet.
Still, it was kinda hilarious that we could prank Vicky like this, especially when most of the answers Lisa'd already known from my random anecdotes. I was even looking forward to seeing how Vicky would react to the reveal. Heck, maybe I could record it? Lisa would surely approve.
Shellshocked, my sister surrendered. "Fine, Nebula, you win. Thinker five is an understatement…" Lisa, understandably, preened. "Oh, by the way, I have a friend who- well, you'd love her. She likes talking about power stuff too, just like you. Bet you'd get along like a house on fire!"
Really?
Really?
"Oh? She sounds smart."
No fucking way.
"Yup! Wicked smart!"
…She couldn't keep getting away with this.
Me exhaling while suppressing a grin — which turned into another long-winded yawn — seemed to attract their attention again. "By the way, Ames, did you thank Rose yet?" Vicky poked me. "I don't think I heard it."
"Clearly, that means you're deaf," I deadpanned. "Also, Nebula was there too."
Lisa nodded. "Guilty."
Vicky looked at her, surprised. "Oh! Thank you too, then!" …And turned back to me. "Do you really not want to thank them?"
"I already said 'thank you'!" The hell else did she want me to say?
"And that's it? C'mon, Ames."
"I think she's just shy," Lisa traitorously added.
"Is that it? Do you want me to give you privacy?"
I threw my hands up in the air. "Fucking-
Fine. Whatever. Yes." At least I could talk to them
properly.
Vicky gave me a nod, and then her smile vanished. "Do anything to her, and I'll find you," she told the others. While I couldn't see their biology through my power at that moment, I could swear that I felt goosebumps spring up on
all of us.
"We won't," Lisa replied politely. "Don't worry."
Taylor nodded.
Pleased with the answer and throwing Carol's orders out the window, Vicky then nodded too, beginning to float before looking at me. "I'll go check the surrounding area, see if there's any gangers snooping around. If you guys need me, I shouldn't be far. See ya in five minutes!"
We quietly watched her fly away, until she vanished behind some warehouse. Yet again, I yawned, blinking twice to keep the sleep out.
"Christ, Amy," Lisa murmured. "You look like death warmed over." Much like before The Dinner, her face looked pained as she met my eyes.
Taylor, too, still seemed sad. "I thought you were injured." Oh. Fuck. So
that was what that look meant.
Shaking my head, I shrunk into my robes a bit. "...The last few days weren't great." And, of course, I killed the mood again. Motherfucking typical.
I didn't really notice who was the first to reach over and hug me, but just seconds after I fell silent I was between them in what felt like heaven. Lisa was still at my left side, and Taylor was at my right. We remained on that dirty smokestack, and, in spite of the cold metal, warm.
For a moment, I wanted to relieve my arms of my self-hug so I could reciprocate. Before I found any will to move, though, their hug on me tightened slightly; it was as if they were telling me to let go, that I was safe, almost cocooned. This… this was so cozy, and I felt like I was about to tear up.
Content, I shakily sighed. If only I could fall asleep like this…
With her face still in my hair thanks to my hood falling down a short while ago, I felt Lisa let out a long breath. "Wish you could just quit."
"Yeah." So did I.
"What's stopping you?" Taylor asked. "Aside from your mom, I mean." Just like with Lisa, her speech was muffled.
"Obligation? The people?"
Lisa huffed in annoyance. "Yeah, well, the people can go fuck themselves. Also, you're not a robot."
"What would they say-"
"You matter; they
don't. Their opinions, especially, are worth throwing right into the garbage."
"I think…" Taylor trailed off, rubbing her cheek against the crown of my head, "I think you'd be able to save more people out in the open instead of the hospital. It might be tiring, but less… monotonous? With biokinesis, you'd have more options, at least."
That made me open my eyes a bit, and I turned, slightly frowning, to her. To my annoyance, this ended the hug, and the two drew away. I exhaled. "Are you sure about the 'more' thing?" Most of my ideas in regards to that fell into 'exponential', which, in turn, made me think of viruses. Eugh.
"Well, yes?" Her eyes met mine. "It just makes sense? …I'm not sure how to put it into words, though. Um-"
"I got this," Lisa announced. "'Kay, Amy, how about this: what is the same thing that both you and the Protectorate are doing?" I tried to guess, but she didn't stop. "You're
reacting. If the gangs are a disease, then you're only dealing with the symptoms…"
"...While we can head straight for the source," I finished with her. Shit, she was right. "But why hasn't the Protectorate done that already, though?"
Lisa shrugged. "Complacency. They cling to their status quo like it's something holy, while innocent people suffer. Look around, Amy," she said, gesturing towards the city. "Does this look like something worth preserving?"
"Fuck no."
"Case in point."
Shrugging too, I hummed. As I turned to stare into the distance, I noticed Taylor still looking… off. "What's up with you?" I bumped our shoulders.
"Oh, I… couldn't use your thorn on Victoria," Taylor said. "It was like she wasn't there."
…Shit. "Why?"
"No idea. Is it the same for you, or..?"
"No. No, I can heal her just fine." I frowned. "Maybe her forcefield's what's messing with you? Lisa?"
The blonde crossed her arms, annoyed. "Not enough information. Power says that's possible, but I don't trust it." Damn.
I leaned back and looked at the sky. "Hope we can find out soon."
"Hmm… Hey, before Vic returns, mind sharing anything juicy that you had picked up on?"
"Like..?" I looked at Lisa.
"Well, I know that your dear sister is shaken up by something she-"
"Oh. That. Yeah, Alabaster got Gray Boy'd."
Lisa blinked long and slow. "And you're not- Fucking hell. And you have a video? I
need to see it."
Shuddering from a gust of cold wind, I replied: "Jeez, Lisa, calm your tits. It's on Vicky's phone, but I'll try asking for it." Though she'd probably think that I'm a sadist or something…
Eh. Oh well. That's more problems for future Amy to handle.
"Anything else?" Taylor asked, squeezing my hand. "I know you were busy, but maybe..?"
"Lee and Cricket are six feet under, Crusader sprung Stormtiger from a transfer… Oh, and Calvert's goons tried to ask me for more of your paralytic, but I flipped them off. Not literally." Even if I wanted to.
"That… certainly changes things." The brunette exchanged a glance with Lisa. Then, she froze. "Wait. Assault lied? He said they were locked up!"
Lisa's current face made her look constipated. "Well, he
might've not known, buuut…"
Taylor groaned into her free palm. "What is it with heroes and being so- Ughhh!"
"All of
us did pretty well, at least."
"What
did you two do, actually?" I asked. "Those cuts weren't from knives."
Lisa leaned against me. "From thorns, funnily enough." From- "No, not the Rose kind. One of the bombs made a shit ton of sorta-sentient vines that almost took over a whole building. Had to team up with A&B, storm the thing and stab the heart." She sighed. "Fun."
"...This city is fucked up."
"What, you just noticed? Also, there was a video call between PRT Directors during the day."
"Did-"
"Nah, couldn't even peek in — we don't have the tech for that. All I know is that it happened, so maybe there'll be some backup." That would probably be nice.
…Weird. Purity just dropped out of the sky for some reason.
"Someone got the racist lightbulb," Lisa commented.
"Good," Taylor said alongside me.
"Have you-"
"Ames!" Came from our left. Oh, Vicky was back.
She looked distressed, which wasn't a good sign, though I saw no injuries on her yet. "What?" I asked. "What is it?" And then I saw the phone.
Not mine, of course — that one was still somewhere in my robes. Vicky was holding hers, clutching it tightly in her right hand. She wasn't angry, or scared, or panicked, which meant there was no outright danger, but the way she cringed meant one thing...
"Carol," I guessed, resigned.
Vicky nodded with jerky motions. "Y-yeah, she called when I was on my way back here."
"And..?" I felt a pit open up in my stomach. This… this sounded bad.
"Well, it's already past 2 AM, and she'd just called and you weren't with me… And I forgot to turn off 'Don't Disturb' mode until ten minutes ago, so…"
Ignoring the comforting way Taylor and Lisa patted my back, I hid my face in my hands, groaning loudly. "Oh my god, she's going to kill us."
