The Slippery Slope
Part Twenty-Three: Harsh Measures
[A/N 1: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]
[A/N 2: To repeat what I have said in previous chapters: I do not adhere to the white supremacist ideology. This fic is a thought experiment to see how someone could get dragged into it when faced with their recruitment techniques, especially when aided and abetted by a black girl repeatedly and maliciously (and unwittingly) pushing the victim toward such ideology.]
[A/N 3: If you're unsure about what went before, I've provided a synopsis at the beginning of the previous chapter.]
[A/N 4: Members of the Empire Eighty-Eight may express racist slurs and sentiments in this chapter. You have been warned.]
Clockblocker
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Hey."
Dennis barely looked around as the entrance to the Wards base slid aside and Triumph entered, along with Gallant. His casual wave was returned by the other two; Dean split off to head toward Kid Win's lab, where his armour was stored (he was wearing civvies and a domino mask at the moment) while Rory came over to the console desk. Dennis slid aside on the swivel chair so his team leader could look over the screens.
"Where's Shadow Stalker?" asked Rory as he leaned over to flick a trackball and scroll across one of the city maps. "Isn't she supposed to be backing you up on console duty?"
"Gym," Dennis replied idly. "No big. She's got a lot on her mind, because duh, and I'm good with her working out her tensions against the punching bag rather than being a big steaming heap of angst right here in the room. Besides, it's been totally quiet. Aegis and Vista have intercepted a grand total of two muggings down near the Boardwalk tonight. It's like the ABB and Empire have both decided to tell their guys to take the night off."
"Hmm." Rory didn't sound convinced. "You ever seen one of those movies where someone says, "it's quiet" and someone else says, "too quiet", just before all hell breaks loose?"
"Seen 'em? I love those type of movies." A moment later, the penny dropped, and Dennis realised what Rory was angling at. "Wait, you don't think—"
"I don't know." Rory rubbed his jaw. "With all the stuff that's been going down, I'd expect the Empire and the ABB to be puffing their chests out and putting on a show to prove they're both still in the game. Going silent like this doesn't sound like them. I'd be a lot happier if I knew what they were doing."
Dennis glanced at the alert button. Currently caged under a transparent plastic cover, hitting it would sound alarms at all levels of the PRT building. It was to be used only if the Ward on duty saw something that absolutely definitely required all hands on deck, no questions asked. He'd never actually seen it used, though he'd always harboured a sneaking desire to press it, just to see what would happen.
Or better yet, to have someone else press it, so he could enjoy the show without suffering the consequences.
"In a pressing-emergency sort of way?" he asked hopefully.
"Pfft, no," Rory replied. "Though I'd like to have everyone who's supposed to be here, actually here. You know, in case the Director decides to have someone audit our readiness or something. I'll watch the console; you go fetch Shadow Stalker."
This was something Dennis knew how to counter. "Ah, nope, sorry. I'm rostered on to the console, and here I stay. Besides, if I went up there and she decided to pull the whole 'you don't give me orders' crap on me, there's no way in hell I'd be able to actually force her to go anywhere."
Rory might have frowned, but it was difficult to tell behind the lion-face helmet. "Are you trying to wuss out of having to go up to the gym and tell her she's got to come back down here and pretend to do her job?"
If Dennis had been wearing the helmet that belonged with the rest of his costume instead of just a domino mask, Rory wouldn't have been able to see his smirk, but he didn't care. "Imma go with my version."
"Fine." Dennis would've bet his allowance Rory had just rolled his eyes. "I'll go up and get her. How long's she been up there, anyway?"
"Um …" Dennis shrugged. He hadn't taken notes. What do I look like, her personal secretary?
"For a guy with clocks all over your costume, you're not very good with time management, are you?"
Dennis tried to think of a comeback as Rory headed for the door, but all he could come up with was, "That's not what they're there for." Worse, the door closed again halfway through his witty reply.
Rolling his own eyes, he turned back to the console. When Rory brought Stalker down, she was going to assume he'd snitched on her from the very beginning, and the level of fuck-you in the room was going to rise by about a thousand percent. But there was literally no way he was going to be able to convey to her that he really, honestly, absolutely didn't give a fuck if she kept herself to herself all night without her either disbelieving him or taking it as an insult.
Which meant the night was due to take a sudden downturn in quality. Yay.
Dean strolled out of Chris' lab, now wearing his armour. "Where'd Rory go?"
"Up to the gym, to get Shadow Stalker." Dennis knew damn well Dean could see how he felt, so there was no point in hiding it. "She's gonna think I'm deliberately getting her into trouble, but he asked! How's that fair?"
"Hey, now." Dean patted the air placatingly. "She might not."
Dennis gave him a level stare and didn't even bother answering, at least not in words.
"Okay, yeah." Dean sighed. "I can maybe say something to her about it."
"Don't bother, man." Dennis shook his head. "She'll believe what it suits her to believe."
Dean nodded. "True. Though it would probably help if you didn't stare at her ass every chance you got."
Dennis spread his hands. "What can I say? She's got an amazing ass, and it doesn't help that Image stuffed her into the tightest costume they could find."
"Just because it's there doesn't automatically give you a license to stare at it," Dean said reprovingly. "She's a human being, not a piece of meat. Do you want to end up in another sensitivity course?"
"God, no," Dennis replied with a theatrical shudder. "I—"
"Triumph to console," his headphones suddenly crackled. "Which gym was Shadow Stalker supposed to be in, again?"
Holding up his finger in a 'wait one' gesture, Dennis spun his chair back around to the console. Selecting Triumph's radio channel so he didn't broadcast to the entire PRT network, he checked the screen and keyed the mic. "She's in the usual one, on level four. Her ankle-bracelet signal's loud and clear."
"Copy that." Triumph went silent again.
Dean pointed at the screen, indicating what Dennis had already seen; specifically, the locator in Rory's Wards phone. "He's in the level four gym." It was quite close to Shadow Stalker's ankle bracelet.
The difference between the ankle bracelet and the phones was that the individual Wards had the capability (bestowed after a gruelling legal clash with Youth Guard, years ago) to turn off the tracker function in the phones. Triumph usually left his on, while Shadow Stalker had always turned hers off.
"She's probably in the female locker rooms," Dennis decided. "At least, her bracelet isn't moving. Maybe taking a shower?"
"She's certainly dedicated to taking a long shower with plenty of soap after her gym sessions," Dean noted. "I wonder how long she's going to make him wait?"
Dennis snorted with laughter. "Until the water runs cold. Or he goes to find a female PRT trooper to go in there and roust her out for him. I guess it's one way to duck out of monitor duty."
"Heh, yeah." Dean idly reached out for the trackball attached to one of the screens Dennis wasn't using, and scrolled it sideways.
"Hey!" Dennis' rebuke was half-hearted at best. "How about you leave my settings alone until it's your turn for monitor duty?" Then he paused, looking at what had just rolled onto the screen, unsure of what he was seeing. "Hey, was Glory Girl rostered on for a patrol tonight?"
"Vicky? No. She said she was on tomorrow night." Dean was leaning in to stare at the screen as well. When he reached out to zoom the map image larger, Dennis didn't object. "That's … wow, that's up near the no-man's-land between the Empire and the ABB. Where the Merchants do their business, because they can. What's she doing up there?"
The icon denoting Glory Girl's Wards phone tracker was clear and bright on the screen, literally miles away from anywhere she should've been. Dennis shook his head. "I have zero ideas on that score, man. Maybe she took a fly around the city to clear her head?"
"Yeah, maybe." Dean frowned. "But I—"
"Triumph to console. I just found the ankle bracelet. Stalker's not here."
"What?" Dennis struggled to make sense of the words. "How did she—she can't slip an ankle bracelet, can she? I thought she had trouble with electricity."
"She does." Rory's voice held disbelief and anger. "It's been unlocked. She's escaped."
"Or she's loose in the building. With a grudge." Dennis knew exactly what he had to do. Reaching out, he flipped up the transparent cover.
"Clock—" But Dean was too late. Serious shit was going down. The time had come for all good men to stand up and be counted.
He hit the big red button.
Remote
"Glory Girl, you need to stand down right now." I put all the assurance I could muster into those nine words. Translated through the voice modulator into a deep masculine tone, they held the best chance of making her back off.
If she didn't, if she grabbed Victor now, all indications were that she would utterly ignore Othala's gesture of sneaking into the hospital to heal Panacea. The least she would do was fly him off to be arrested and charged. I very strongly suspected that she intended to physically harm him in retribution for shooting her sister; given how she had reacted at the Boardwalk, a lethal outcome was not something I could rule out.
Victor is a valued ally. Allowing superhero 'Glory Girl' to kill him is extremely sub-optimal.
He couldn't run, and he couldn't fight her. Othala was critically injured, and Rune and Kaiser weren't doing much better, which reduced our options considerably. Crusader and Menja were attempting to sneak the wounded away, leaving my armour the only protection that Victor had. It was damaged from fighting Lung, but still mostly operational.
"No." Superhero 'Glory Girl's tone harsh. Fists clenching. Preparing for physical altercation. Conclusion: she intends to fight. "He doesn't get to walk away again. Amy's not here. There's no innocents he can threaten. He gets what's coming to him."
I tried again. "Othala healed Panacea. Now, Othala needs Panacea's healing. Can you put aside your enmity for the moment?" Use of emotional appeal may tip balance. "Please?"
Glory Girl shook her head. Gesture indicating firm negation, not confusion. Attempts to dissuade her are failing. Combat imminent. "Ain't gonna happen. Step out of the way, or I'll take your Tinker toy apart like a sardine can. Victor's mine, and nobody's going to stop me from getting to him."
She began to fly toward me, then jinked up and around, out of my arms' reach. Fortunately, I had my auxiliary units watching, so that I could see where she was. I whipped my chain upward, wrapping around her legs and binding her tightly, in an attempt to bring her to a halt. The sudden wrench to the rear unbalanced the armour, so that I was forced to take a step back and swing around, but at least the chain held firm.
"Hey!" she yelled, slowing dramatically but forcing herself onward, swinging back and forth at the end of the chain, not unlike a large and very angry balloon.
The chain was dragged out of the storage-drum on my back, link by reluctant link. I slowed her down as much as I could without risking the chain itself separating into its component parts. At the same time, it did not seem to be harming her in any way—what I had heard of her invulnerability appeared to be true—so I increased the pressure to the maximum I could exert, to ensure that she couldn't wriggle out of it.
"I will not let you hurt him," I intoned, while wrapping more lengths of the chain around her legs. To release herself, I reasoned, she would have to bend over and pull at the chain, and while she was doing that, she would not be flying toward Victor. "You have already tried to murder him once."
"Fuck you!" she screamed, and doubled back toward me. The release of the tension took me by surprise, and I had no time to react as she drew her fist back and punched the armour squarely in the middle of the faceplate.
Three things happened in very quick succession. The first was that she punched the 'helmet' clear off the armour with a screech of tearing metal; I jerked my own head out of the way just before the lower end of the periscope would have done me a serious injury. Second, the blow lifted the armour off its feet and sent it skidding backward. I was left relatively unscathed; the padding and safety belt within the armour protected me from more than the sensation of having been shaken up like a box of dice.
The third thing that happened was more dramatic than the other two. On the screen (still barely functional) in front of me, I saw blood blossom all over Glory Girl's legs as the chains cut into her. Before I could slacken off their grip, the wounds were so deep that the chains were out of sight.
The reason for this was obvious after a moment or so of thought: even though the cutting blades had not been spinning, they had still been pressing against her skin when I wrapped the chain around her. When her invulnerability cut out (I still did not understand why that might be) the blades cut into her legs and the chains tightened even more.
In an instant, the tide of battle had turned. Glory Girl crash-landed alongside the armour, apparently unconscious, blood pooling around her legs. I had no desire to harm her any further, no more than I'd had to begin with. My only intent had been to dissuade her from harming my allies.
Analysis: Superhero 'Glory Girl' has suffered severe injury, and has gone into shock.
Additional information: Allies 'Othala', 'Rune' and 'Kaiser' are also in stringent need of medical attention.
Conclusion: get all four to superhero 'Panacea' immediately.
The armour was barely functional by now, so I had it sit up and open its front. As I climbed out, I detached two sections of chain to wrap around Glory Girl's legs (without presenting the cutting blades, this time) and act as tourniquets. If we were to obtain healing services from Panacea, we needed Glory Girl alive. I did not know much in the way of first-aid, but I was reasonably certain that blood needed to stay inside the body to be of the most use.
"Jesus!" Victor's eyes were wide, his breathing rapid. "What the hell did you do?"
Physiological reactions of ally 'Victor' indicating high stress. Strong potential for temporary reduction in judgement.
"I accidentally injured her with the chain-blades," I said. Assume positive control of vehicle designated 'Squealer's tank'. Commence disassembly of upper chassis. "You need to contact New Wave immediately."
He looked around as two of the turrets fell off the tank with a sudden clang, then stared at me. "New Wave? Why?"
"Othala, Rune, Kaiser and Glory Girl all require immediate medical attention," I explained. It was fortunate that I was under the influence of my powers at that moment, or I may have screamed at him or tried to shake him. As it was, I merely reaffirmed my prior conclusion that his judgement was likely to be temporarily impaired. "Panacea is our best chance for their survival. I am readying Squealer's vehicle to transport everyone. You need to arrange for them to meet us on the way. Do you understand?"
He blinked, and focused on my face. "… right. Okay, yeah. Good plan. I'll get right on that."
It was not a 'good' plan. In point of fact, it was a terrible plan, with many potential points of failure, but it was also the only plan I could envisage that allowed for the possibility of Othala, Rune and Kaiser surviving the night. This was, of course, assuming that they were injured as badly as I suspected. Neither Oni Lee nor Lung had been pulling their punches, either in a metaphorical or a literal fashion.
Glory Girl would also need to survive the night, which I wasn't sure would end up being a point in our favour with New Wave. She had already shown a marked disregard for any kind of restraint when it came to her vendetta with Victor; if this were a learned behaviour from one of the adult teammates, we could easily be going into another battle. But in my estimation, the risk was worth the reward. Kaiser, Othala and Rune were all people I valued as both friends and teammates.
I had the armour stand up and move the last of the pieces of Squealer's tank off the base chassis, then rolled it forward. "Everyone, get on board," I said. It occurred to me that the people I was giving orders to had far greater seniority than I did within the Empire, but I was the person with the plan. "Crusader, have your ghosts lie down to act as a mattress for the wounded. Leave room for Glory Girl."
"What the hell?" asked Crusader, making a gesture which I interpreted as anger. "Why her? She was gonna murder Victor!"
"Because she is our only hope of securing Panacea's cooperation," I explained once more. "And Panacea is our only hope of healing Othala and Kaiser and Rune."
"This shit is so fucked," Menja complained as she climbed onboard the ad hoc transport. "How the fuck did everyone know we were going to be here?"
I had thought it was obvious. "We were betrayed," I said, using the chain to lift and move Glory Girl onto the mostly disassembled tank, depositing her carefully on the layer of supine Crusader ghosts. Under my control, the armour climbed on alongside Menja. "Someone who knew we were coming to this area informed Lung. He holds a grudge with me, just as Glory Girl does with Victor. Is everyone secure?"
"Secure as we're going to be." Victor was hovering over Othala again. "Goddamn it, her vitals are so weak."
I started the minimalistic vehicle rolling. There would be no need for engine, drivetrain, brakes or even steering, so long as I was in control. "Check on Glory Girl as well. She needs to survive this experience, or Othala will not."
"Geez, you're a cold one … ah." He gave me a glance. Expression: apologetic. Conclusion: ally 'Victor' temporarily forgot the emotional blanking that is part and parcel with my powers. "Sorry. I'll get right on that."
"Thank you." Decision: courtesy will assist in encouraging cooperation between allies. "Did you contact New Wave?"
"Yeah. Head straight down McIntosh Road. They'll meet us along the way." He drew in air between his teeth as he bent over Glory Girl. Involuntary vocalisation: concern. Conclusion: superhero 'Glory Girl' is more badly hurt than first assumed. Further conclusion: she is very badly hurt indeed.
"Understood." I slowed briefly to navigate the turn, then accelerated along the designated road.
Very shortly, we were travelling at a speed that was not only well in excess of the posted speed limit, but would have been grossly unsafe for anyone not in personal control of each individual aspect of the vehicle in question. Wind whipped past us, causing me to squint behind my glasses, but I was literally unable to care at that moment. All that mattered was getting our wounded to Panacea.
Lady Photon
A Little Earlier
Sarah didn't recognise the number on the phone as she picked it up, but that didn't mean much. If it was a would-be con artist or snake-oil salesman with an opportunity that New Wave "just couldn't afford" to let slip away, they were in for a rude surprise.
And if it happened to be yet another Youth Guard rep looking to earn their spurs by ferreting out irregularities about how New Wave's kid capes were handled, they were due for an equally unwelcome revelation. After the last round of harassment, she'd taken her complaint up the chain to the very top echelons of the organisation, and quietly suggested that they back all the way off before she used her connections to open an equally stringent level of investigation into some of the less ethical means Youth Guard were rumoured to use. Since then there'd been only crickets, which was just the way she liked it.
Her thumb swiped the answer icon as she put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, Lady Photon. Please do not hang up. Glory Girl is badly hurt, and urgently needs the assistance of Panacea."
She sat upright on the sofa, gripping the phone so hard her fingers hurt and the plastic creaked. "Who-who is this?" she managed to ask.
There was a hesitation, but before she could speak, he was talking again. "This is Victor, of the Empire Eighty-Eight. I know how it sounds, but—"
"Victor?" Rage flooded through her, reducing her voice to a venomous hiss. "If you've—"
"It wasn't my doing." The conviction in his voice brought her up short. "I swear to you on all I hold dear, this is not a trick or a trap. Glory Girl is badly injured, and so are Othala, Kaiser and Rune. All four of them require Panacea's aid as soon as possible. We are bringing Glory Girl to you right now, as a show of good faith. Will you undertake not to attack us when we meet up?"
Her eyes went out of focus as she thought rapidly. "We can meet you on the way. Where are you coming from, and who's with you?"
"We're about to leave Merchant territory, near the old Archerville cinema complex. Travelling by road. Our unwounded are myself, Menja … and Remote."
Unconsciously, she nodded, though she wondered about the third name. "I'll be bringing Laserdream and Shielder, and Panacea of course. Come along McIntosh Road; it's quickest."
"That works for us. Hurry." Sarah heard the stress in his tone as he spoke the last word; paradoxically, this reassured her more than anything else that he was on the level. Someone as self-assured as Victor always tried to portray himself would never put on an act like that deliberately.
"On our way." She ended the call, then broke one of her own rules, levitating straight up out of the chair. "Kids! Emergency call-out! Go-go-go!"
Neil leaned through from the kitchen. "What? What's going on?"
"I'll call you and explain on the way," she said rapidly, then looked around to where Eric and Crystal were hurrying down the stairs, carrying their costumes. "No time for those. We're going in civvies. Every minute counts. Come on!"
Turning, she dashed for the door, wrenching it open and lofting into the air as soon as she was outside. "But what about Dad?" asked Crystal, following along behind.
"And how come it's so important we don't even have time to suit up?" chimed in Eric.
"Victoria's been hurt," Sarah said, dropping back a little so she could put a force field around all three of them, then accelerating as hard as she could toward the Dallon house. "Call Amy and tell her to come outside right now. We're on the clock, and we have zero time to waste stopping and explaining it to everyone."
Crystal nodded and started dialling, but Eric wasn't so easily shut up. "But what about Dad? Couldn't he help too?"
"Villains are bringing her to us," Sarah said crisply. "They don't want an ambush. I'd prefer to have fliers, in case they try an ambush. And I don't want people along who might start a fight when there's no need for one."
"Huh?" Eric looked puzzled for a second. "Oh, you mean Aunt Carol."
Sarah nodded. "Yes, but you didn't hear that from me."
Crystal put her hand over her ear as she kept talking. "Okay, yeah, just come straight outside. No, don't bother robing up. Mom's in a tearing hurry. She'll laser the hinges off the front door if you're not outside when we get there. Okay, good. Good. See you shortly." She ended the call. "Amy's got the message."
"Good. Did you tell her about her sister?" The last thing Sarah wanted was Amy passing that little tidbit on to anyone. Sarah loved Carol dearly, but she did not need her sister going off the deep end.
"Nope. Figured I'd leave it up to you to tell her." Crystal's tone held a distinct flavour of 'better you than me'. It still suited Sarah nicely.
"Excellent." Sarah peered ahead at a familiar-looking house. "We're nearly there. Eric, I'm going to drop the bubble. You fly down and grab Amy, then we'll keep going."
"Roger that." Eric tossed off a salute of some kind, then dived for the Dallon house as soon as Sarah released her force field. The front door opened as he descended; he barely had to slow down as he activated a bubble around her, then reversed course again.
Sarah started off with Crystal in tow, but a little more slowly than Eric's top speed. He caught up soon enough, and she put a force-field bubble around them all. Then she reshaped it with comfortable seating for all four of them, and made it much more aerodynamic.
"Okay, what the heck is going on here?" Amy, currently clad in pyjamas, looked a little more dishevelled than normal. "Crystal wouldn't tell me anything over the phone."
Sarah's phone rang; when she saw it was Carol's number, she declined the call. That's an argument I'm having later, not right now. "Okay, so I got a phone call just now from Victor …"
As the force-field construct raced on through the night sky, she told them what she knew, and they formulated a plan of action.
Taylor
I held to the centreline of the road, swerving neither to left nor right. The heavy tyres with which Squealer had outfitted her mechanical monstrosity (caterpillar tracks had apparently been too complex for her this time) thrummed over the potholed asphalt; I adjusted the suspension on the fly, smoothing out every last jolt and bump so that our progress was silk-smooth despite our headlong rush.
Menja sat at the back of the tank chassis, anchoring the makeshift mattress of Crusader ghosts, which clung to each other, as well as me and Justin at the front. Victor knelt next to the four wounded capes, checking on each in turn. While I could understand his lingering a little longer over Othala on an intellectual level, pure pragmatism indicated that Glory Girl should be getting most of his attention, for the very good reason that she was the ticket to getting the others healed at all.
But just as I was opening my mouth to mention this to him, Menja pointed. "There!"
Perhaps half a second later, Victor cried out desperately, "We're losing Othala!"
I couldn't help him—not that I had the expertise—so I concentrated on bringing the vehicle to a safe and steady halt. The most I could do apart from that was to move several lengths of my chain into place under her for support before she sank too far into the 'mattress' of Crusader ghosts.
The spearhead-shaped force field that Menja had spotted came swooping down as she waved her spear wildly. Two fliers detached from it and took up an orbit above us; I figured these were Laserdream and Shielder. The last flier would then be Lady Photon, carrying Panacea. It was a good solid defensive array, which suggested to me that they did not intend to attack without provocation. Still, I remained alert.
"Othala is dying!" I announced as the force field opened. "Please stabilise her first!"
Intent: commanding tone to get attention and pass on vital information. Use of courtesy more likely to engender cooperation from nominal enemies.
Unlike the previous time I had engaged with New Wave, I could not afford to stop using my powers. This was a high-danger scenario, and I might need to go on the offensive or defensive at any time. Fortunately, the fliers were not attacking. I remained cautious.
Panacea
Amy had occasionally wondered what her reaction would be when she saw Taylor Hebert again. She'd been more or less railroaded into healing people, then been shot in the leg for her pains. (Yes, she knew it was Vicky's fault she got shot, but it still hurt, and it never would've happened without Taylor's intrusion into her life). Would she thank the other girl for the new insights she had into her life? Punch her in the face? Or should she try to extricate her from the Empire Eighty-Eight?
Dragged out on this sudden mission—still in her pyjamas, no less—the last person she'd expected to see was the Hebert girl. Certainly, she'd wondered who the new member was; 'Remote' didn't offer much in the way of hints as to what their powers were. Eric had jokingly suggested that they could probably change TV channels at a distance. But as Aunt Sarah let Amy down onto the odd vehicle—a chassis frame, wheels, and not much else—there she was.
The immediate impression Amy got was of someone who had aged years in the short time since their last meeting. There was no trace of apprehension or fear, just a supreme self-confidence. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
"Othala is dying!" Taylor Hebert announced. "Please stabilise her first!"
Abruptly reminded that she was there to save lives, Amy turned her attention to the wounded. They were resting on an ad hoc mattress of Crusader ghosts, and yes, Othala was sinking into it, while Vicky (despite her legs being covered with what looked like fresh blood) was still being supported by it. She recalled from her briefings on the Empire Eighty-Eight that the spectral minions created and controlled by the Empire cape could only interact with living beings. This meant that armour and force fields were irrelevant to them … but it did mean that Vicky was still alive.
Without hesitation, fully aware that she was surrounded by villains who could kill her with relative ease, Amy knelt beside Othala and put her hand to the woman's exposed neck. She exerted her power, trying to reach some spark of life, but there was nothing. Rolling Othala onto her back, Amy went through a dozen chest compressions, then pinched her nostrils shut and exhaled air into her lungs.
If I can restart something …
Nothing. Her body remained blank to Amy's power.
"I'm sorry," she said, looking at Victor. Rumour had it that the two were in some sort of relationship. "I can't help her. She's gone."
An instant later, she was looking into the muzzle of Victor's pistol. "Try. Harder," he grated.
Lady Photon, still hovering above the vehicle, tensed, but it was Taylor Hebert who spoke. "Victor, stop. She tried. Allow her to assist the others."
Amy hesitated, glancing sideways at the Hebert girl, who hadn't moved. How's she going to stop him?
"She barely did anything!" protested Victor. "She has to try again!" There was real pain in his voice.
"No." Taylor Hebert shook her head. "She tried. Panacea, he will not harm you. Please assist the others."
"What are you doing?" shouted Victor, as he moved his pistol away from Amy's face. "Remote, stop that, or by God I'll—"
Holy shit, is she Mastering him? Amy began to wonder exactly what powers Taylor Hebert could bring to bear.
"Nobody interferes." The two words may as well have been carved into stone. "That was the deal. Panacea, please see to the others."
Jolted into action, Amy scrambled over to see to Vicky. To her profound relief, her sister was still alive, but any longer would've made it touch and go. Her blood pressure was so low it was terrifying; Amy closed her wounds, noting the chains acting as ad hoc tourniquets, then started ruthlessly breaking down body tissues to replenish her blood supply. Vicky's brain cells showed a worrying amount of oxygen starvation, along with what looked like a concussion and bruising down one side, but she could only deal with some of that.
Her sister was alive. Everything after that was a bonus.
Once she was sure Vicky was stable, with plenty of oxygen-rich blood circulating through her brain, Amy gave Aunt Sarah a thumb's up and moved toward Rune. The girl had apparently been stabbed—Amy pondered the wisdom of wearing a costume so heavy on the reds and blacks that it was hard to see where wounds were—but she'd only suffered moderate internal bleeding, and might have even survived to reach a hospital. Amy fixed the damage and scavenged the blood, but left her unconscious for the moment. The fewer awake villains I have to face, especially after I couldn't save one, the better.
"Full recovery," she said out loud. "She'll be fine."
That seemed to get a relieved reaction from Menja—Amy wasn't entirely sure what the naming convention was with that—but Amy was already moving on to Kaiser. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aunt Sarah's force field scooping Vicky up (more importantly, none of the villains were objecting to this) and then she placed her hand on one of the few parts of Kaiser's back that hadn't been shredded or seared.
This was absolutely the work of Lung. She'd seen it before. Kaiser's back armour had been clawed away with brute force, then Lung had tried his best to rip the Empire Eighty-Eight leader's internal organs out through his spine. Fortunately for the man before her, the ABB villain had clearly been interrupted before he could get too far, but the spinal damage was extensive, and she could see burn marks extending from first degree all the way through to third.
The first thing she did was get rid of the damage to his internals, and flatten out the system shock he was currently experiencing. Then she healed the burned tissue, regenerating it into healthy cells once more. A few more touches, then she renewed the skin on his back.
"He'll live," she said, kneeling up. "Lung more or less severed his spine, and inflicted internal injuries and serious burns. I healed the burns, fixed his internals, and reconnected enough nerves so he won't be incontinent, and he'll maintain sensation and circulation in his lower extremities. But he'll never walk again, sorry."
"What?" That was Crusader. "No! Fix him!"
"Yeah." Menja chimed in. "You can heal him all the way. Do it!"
Amy felt her heart thundering in her chest. "You called me in to save him. This isn't a charity thing. Kaiser will live a long and healthy life. He'll just have to do it in a wheelchair. I didn't damage his spine; I just chose not to fix it all the way."
"And Othala? Did you choose to let her die because she's our healer?" Victor's voice was full of pain.
"No." Amy shook her head, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. "She was already gone before I got here. I would never just let someone die. It's not who I am."
"But you'll let Kaiser be a cripple?" Crusader's tone was full of anger. "What is this, payback for hurting your sister? For Victor shooting you that time?"
"I believe so," agreed Taylor, her voice deadpan. "She would consider it justified. This would be a viable way of taking Kaiser off the board while still adhering to the terms of the agreement."
"Fuck the agreement!" snarled Menja, readying her spear. The tip looked very sharp indeed. Amy swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
In the next instant, lasers lashed down, slicing the haft of the weapon in half. At the same time, a force field snapped into place around Amy and yanked her upward. She looked around at her aunt's face as they ascended rapidly. "I think that was as good a time as any to pull you out," Sarah noted.
Amy nodded shakily. "Totally."
Eric and Crystal, shields both active, moved in close to Aunt Sarah's bubble. "We can totally take them," Eric said. "What do you say? Go for all the marbles?"
Amy shook her head. "No. We agreed not to attack them, and I want to stick to that, at least. Let's just go."
"I agree," Aunt Sarah said, and opened a portal in the bubble. "Come on in, kids."
Within moments, the Empire contingent was left far behind. Eric and Crystal stared with unabashed curiosity at Vicky as she lay on the force-field bed Aunt Sarah had made for her. "Is she going to be okay?" asked Eric.
"I … I don't know," Amy confessed. "There's some brain damage. She may come out of the coma today, or next week, or never. But she's breathing on her own, and I'm pretty sure the eating reflex is still intact. So … we'll just have to wait and see."
"And those Empire assholes did this to her?" Crystal, normally the peacemaker of the pair, clenched her fists in anger. "We should go back and—"
Amy shook her head tiredly. "It wouldn't solve a damn thing. I love her as much as you guys do, but they've lost people as well. Othala's dead, and Kaiser's going to be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. This isn't a contest. Everyone loses."
In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware that there'd been a time when Vicky suffering an injury like this would've had her seething with rage and pursuing the Empire Eighty-Eight until they were all appropriately punished. However, since her encounter with Scapegoat, she'd gone over her old worldview with a fine-tooth comb, and found much of it to simply not matter anymore. In fact, she was so chill these days that she'd actually taken up singing in the shower, to Vicky's (and Mark's) amusement and Carol's annoyance.
Long story short: wreaking disproportionate vengeance in Vicky's name just didn't hold the same appeal as it had before.
We're even. For now.
Taylor
Less than a minute after the New Wave heroes had flown out of sight, Rune coughed and stirred. "Ugh …" she mumbled. "What happened?" Slowly, she sat up and looked around.
"Lots of stuff," Menja said before I could think of something suitably comforting to say. "We got ambushed by the ABB, you got stabbed by Oni Lee, then shit really went sideways. How do you feel?"
Rune patted her torso. "Uh … not bad, actually. No pain, no bruising that I can feel. Why do I feel so good?"
"Because Panacea healed you," Crusader cut in. Analysis: Ally 'Crusader' speaking in harsh tone. Conclusion: Angry with me. "But—"
"Panacea?" That was Kaiser's voice. We all turned his way—I glanced, then got my eyes back on the road—to see that he was moving his head, looking around. "Two questions: if Panacea healed me, why don't my legs work? And how did you get her to heal me at all? Also, a third question: if it was Panacea who healed me, what is Othala's status?"
Victor, who was cradling Othala's body across his lap, lifted his head without speaking. Tears were tracking down his face. Expression: sadness.
Kaiser paused for a long moment. "Oh, no." Tone: unhappiness.
Crusader moved in alongside Kaiser. "Oni Lee killed her, then Remote killed Oni Lee."
"And Panacea?" asked Kaiser.
Menja took up the tale. "Glory Girl came in just before we chased Lung off, and went for Victor. Remote stopped her. Somehow she got through Glory Girl's invulnerability, and hurt her really bad. So we called New Wave in, and traded Glory Girl for Panacea's healing." She looked over at Victor. "Othala didn't make it to the exchange."
"And my legs?" asked Kaiser pointedly, leaning on one arm so he could slap his unmoving lower limbs with the other hand.
I spoke up. "We did not specify the bargain closely enough. All that was on my mind was saving your lives. Panacea carried out the terms as agreed, but refused to repair your spine all the way."
"We could've forced her—" Crusader snarled. He looked sideways at me.
Expression: anger. Conclusion: Believes I let him down by not insisting that Panacea complete the healing.
"No," I said. "We could not have. She carried out the letter of the agreement. If we had attempted to harm her, Lady Photon and the other two would have killed us all with minimal effort."
Kaiser looked from Crusader to me. "Lady Photon? The other two?"
"Yeah," Crusader said. "Laserdream and Shielder. It's like Remote says. They could've carved us up like Christmas turkeys if they'd wanted." Tone: reluctant agreement.
"I see. And Oni Lee is dead now?" Tone: optimistic.
"Sure as hell." Menja nodded toward me. "Remote shish-kebabed him, and threw him in Lung's face. No ash in sight."
"Good." Tone: satisfaction. "Let's get back to base. We have retribution to plan."
"Who against?" asked Crusader, as I made the vehicle pick up speed. "Panacea, for fucking up your legs?"
"No." Kaiser shook his head. "From the sounds of it, she did exactly as asked, and not an inch more. I can respect that. No, we will be going after Lung, and whoever told him where we were going to be." He pushed himself to a more upright stance. "I can survive without working legs, but betrayal that costs us one of our own is something I will not countenance."
Victor nodded, and spoke up for the first time since Kaiser had regained consciousness. "Damn right."
End of Part Twenty-Three