Little Birds of Brockton Bay
I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...
And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Victoria Dallon was worried. It wasn't an emotion that many people would expect the normally bubbly blond to be to familiar with, but those same people tended to forget that, while she was invulnerable, those around her were not. As such, she was understandably concerned when she arrived home from a long day of helping the PRT clean up after the bombings of the day to find that her Sister was nowhere to be seen, especially after the fight the sisters had had that morning.
While the Dallon sisters were no stranger to arguing, like all siblings adopted or otherwise, the one that morning had been different. Technically speaking, it hadn't been a fight at all, Vicky just pushed a little to far in teasing her sister over the obvious crush she had on someone while trying to weedle out the identity of said someone and the other girl had ended up storming off in a huff and avoiding her all day. Vicky had intended to apologize after giving Amy some time to cool off, but the bombings kinda put that idea on hold.
Truth be told, Vicky was getting worried about her sister. Despite her reputation for collateral damage, she was neither stupid nor blind. She knew her sister was under a lot of stress from...just about everyone thanks to her reputation as the Worlds Greatest Healer, a stress that she was unfortunately responsible for adding to when she went overboard taking down a criminal. However, lately she'd been even worse than normal, to the point that she'd looked genuinely ill and seemed to suffer from a lot of headaches. If it wasn't for the fact that Amy's powers made her basically immune to disease, she'd almost say that Amy was coming down with something.
With that in mind, she made the decision to sit Amy down once they both got home and have a long talk. Unfortunately…
"What do you mean shes not home yet?" asked Vicky, "Its getting dark out!"
"Shes probably still at the hospital," said Carol, "Considering the mess the bombings caused, theres probably a lot of people needing healing."
"But…"
"Victoria, Amy is a big girl, she can take care of herself," said Carol, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."
Carol turned back to her desk, leaving her Daughter to head back to her room in a bit of a daze. She dropped down on her bed and pulled out her phone, scrolling down to Amy's number. For a moment, her thumb hovered over the call button before she sighed and dropped her arm. It was late, but her Mother had a point. Considering the sheer number of bombs that went off, it was possible that Amy was still working and she really didn't want to distract her sister if that was the case. Still, Vicky couldn't shake of her worry and wanted to be sure.
She sighed and picked up her phone again, this time bringing up an App that only Protectorate affiliate Capes could get. It was a tracking app, designed to allow teams to keep track of their members in the event that they went missing. It was for emergencies only and Vicky knew that Amy wouldn't be best pleased if she found out that Vicky used it, but sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
She scrolled down to her sisters name on the list and, after another moment's hesitation, hit it. There was a moment's pause with a loading graphic, before a map of the city popped up, showing Panacea's crest moving across the city. Unfortunately, it was moving much faster than any car could possibly go in the city and in the opposite direction of the Dallon house across the rooftops in the direction of the northern parts of the docks. In short, a place where Amy had no business being.
Vicky scowled and jumped to her feet, snatching up her discarded costume and slipping it on with practised ease. Something was going on with Amy and she fully intended to find out what.
"So, where are we going?" asked Amy as I vaulted over an airconditioning unit and zipped across a set of phone lines.
"To talk to someone who knows a lot more about this stuff than me," I said, "Believe me, you'll need it. I can explain the basics, but you'll need an expert to fill you in on what it means to be a Sekirei."
"Whats a Sekirei?" asked Amy.
I hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. Might as well get some of the details out of the way now.
"Technically, its the name of the Japanese Wagtail," I said, "But its also the name for 108 superpowered beings scattered throughout the country."
"A team of Parahumans?" asked Amy.
"Not really," I said, "While they do have powers, they can't really be called Parahumans because they...aren't. They don't have Corona Pollentia. They also have different ways of activating their powers, although they can undergo something similar to a Trigger Event that gives them partial access to their powers."
"Hmm, and how do you know I'm one of these...Sekirei?" asked Amy.
"Because all Sekirei have a partner who can draw out their full power," I said, "The kiss and lightshow back there was the two of us undergoing that process."
I winced again as Amys grip tightened again.
"So what then, your my Master or something?" she asked, her voice tight.
I nearly tripped, but managed to keep my balance.
"Only if you're into that sort of thing," I said with a grin over my shoulder.
Amy's glare saw that grin die a quick death however and I rushed to reassure her before she turned me into a tree.
"Thats not how it works," I said, "The bond between a Sekirei and an Ashikabi is a partnership. While it is true that many pairs are romantically involved, that's not a requirement. I know a duo who have a sibling bond, although that is mostly because Riley's nine. However, the closer the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi is, the stronger the Sekirei's powers are and the bond helps to encourage positive feelings."
"You mean we're being Mastered," said Amy.
I snorted.
"Not exactly," I said, "Or at least, no more than a regular Parahuman is. No, you wouldn't have Reacted to me if we weren't compatible."
I pulled a face.
"Unfortunately, that will likely be the least of our worries," I muttered, "I'm not looking forwards to seeing how Taylor reacts to this."
"Whos Taylor?" asked Amy.
"My other Sekirei."
Before Amy could respond, I jumped off the roof and landed in the backyard of Izumo Inn where a vaguely amused looking Miya was waiting.
"Something to tell us Lucas?" she asked.
"Yeah yeah, hilarious," I grumbled as I let Amy down off my back, "Do me a favour and fill her in while I go take a shower. I stink."
"That you do," said Miya, before turning to Amy, "Hello dear, I'm Miya Asama…"
Her voice was cut off as I shut the door behind me and headed for the bathroom, stripping off my costume as I went.
"You know thats terrible for keeping your secret identity, right?" asked Uzume.
"Aww stuff it, its not like everyone here doesn't already know," I said, "Besides, leaving that creepy mask on the coffee table is even worse."
"Touche," said the Veiled Sekirei as I shut the bathroom door and finished stripping before hopping into the shower with a sigh of relief.
Half an hour later, I emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist and headed for my room. Normally I'd have taken a change of clothes with me, but I was desperate to get the smell of death and blood off me and kinda forgot. Plus, my room was only a short distance down the hall, so its not that much of a problem. I ducked into my room and tossed my towel aside as I started getting dressed.
However, I only had enough time to pull on my underpants before a feeling of dread washed over me and the door slammed open, revealing a rather annoyed looking Taylor.
"LUCUS YOU HAD BE...tter…" she trailed off as she saw that I was almost naked.
For a brief moment, we stared at each other, before Taylors eyes darted down and a luminous blush that ran from the tips of her ears to below the neckline of her top appeared. She let out a startled squeak and went to slam the door, but before she could, someone shoved her into the room and shut the door behind her. I barely had time to brace myself before Taylor tripped on my discarded coat and landed in my arms. I could practically feel the heat radiating from her face against my skin.
"My how forward," I deadpanned.
Taylor let out another squeak and pushed herself away, her face burning, and turned around.
"P-put some clothes on!" she yelped.
I chuckled and did as I was told, before dropping into my desk chair as Taylor took a seat on my bed, looking everywhere but me and with a massive blush still on her cheeks.
"Now, before you start tearing strips off me, I'd like to say that I had no real intention of Winging another Sekirei and I certainly wasn't expecting to," I said, "I knew that it was theoretically possible, but with how Sekirei work in this world and the fact that there are only 108 of them in the entire country, I was almost certain that I wouldn't meet any Unwinged Sekirei outside of the Single Digits."
I sighed and rolled my chair forwards so I was sat right in front of Taylor. I could feel my Sekirei's worry and fear through our bond. While the last couple of days had done wonders to fix the battering the Trio had given her confidence over the years, helped along by said Trio getting arrested, but that didn't mean that she was completely without emotional scars, especially when you consider just how it all started and Emma's betrayal.
"Taylor, look at me," I said as I took her hands.
The Bug Sekirei shifted slightly, before slowly looking up and meeting my eyes, her own eyes shining slightly and holding a certain amount of hurt and fear that made my heart ache.
"I swear to you Taylor, I will never leave you," I said firmly, "Even without the bond, you are my best friend and I can honestly see that becoming more soon enough. Adding more Sekirei won't change that."
Taylor stared at me for a moment, searching my face for any hint of dishonesty, before she teared up and flung her arms around my neck.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?" I asked as I hugged her back.
"You know perfectly well what," said Taylor, "I admit, I'm not totally pleased by this, but I can deal. Mom filled me in on the details after I sensed the new bond form."
She sighed and snuggled closer, now actually in my lap rather than just hugging me.
"How did it happen anyway?" she asked, "I thought you were helping at the Hospital."
"I was," I said, "I was taking Amy home when she accidentally revealed that she was unknowingly Reacting to me and, well, you know how that feels when it overwhelms you."
Taylor's cheeks pinked and she shivered slightly.
"Yeah…" she muttered, then blinked, "Wait, Amy? As in Amy Dallon?"
"Yep."
Taylor looked shocked.
"Panacea is a Sekirei?" she asked, "And now shes…"
She snorted.
"Good god, this won't go down well."
"Don't I know it," I grumbled, "I imagine we'll be getting a...visit from Glory Girl soon enough."
I sighed.
"Still, its probably a good thing in the long run."
"How so?" asked Taylor.
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, there was a knock at the door, which opened to reveal Miya and a slightly pale Amy, who frowned at the sight of me with Taylor in my lap. I suppressed a sigh as my first Sekirei tightened her grip on me and made a mental note to nip any fighting at the bud.
"You three need to talk," said Miya, before gently pushing Amy inside and shutting the door.
For a moment, there was an awkward silence as Amy and Taylor stared at each other, before I sighed and prodded Taylor in the side.
"Let me up," I said.
Taylor pouted, but shifted to the bed. I stood, walked over to my second Sekirei (and wasn't that a strange thought) and wrapped her in a hug. She briefly stiffened, before relaxing.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Mostly," she muttered, "I mean, how am I supposed to take the fact I'm an alien and basically bound to someone I barely know and who has another girl?"
"Hey, I was here first!" said Taylor.
"Ah, no fighting ladies," I said before Amy could shoot back, "I don't think any of us are particularly happy with this situation, but we'll have to live with it. Plus…"
I sighed.
"This actually makes some of the plans I had much easier."
Amy jerked away from me and fixed me with a strange look.
"Plans?" she asked, "What plans?"
I sighed and let her go, before indicating for her to take a seat.
"Sit, I think your gonna need it," I said.
Amy did so, not taking her eyes off me as I started to pace.
"Alright, Taylor already knows most of this, but theres a bit more specifically about you," I said, "This is going to sound a little unbelievable, but you still need to know this."
I took a deep breath and launched into the story I'd told Taylor, although I intentionally left out all the details about Taylors...alternate? Original? Not sure what to call her. That wasn't relevant to Amy after all.
It took a few minutes to finish the basics, by which time Amy was gaping and had gone a bit of a funny colour.
"Thats...all a little hard to believe," she said slowly.
"I know, but you're aware that alternate worlds exist and that travel between them is possible," I pointed out, "From there, its just a hope, skip and jump to reach the conclusion that there exist worlds were this one is fictional. Quite how travel between worlds that far apart would be possible I don't know, but I'm living proof that it is, even if I don't know how."
Amy nodded slowly as she stared down at her lap, apparently thinking hard.
"Alright, so what plans were you talking about earlier?" she asked eventually, "And how does me being...your Sekirei help with that?"
I sighed and rubbed my eyes.
"As I said, there weren't many people who came out of the story unscathed," I said, "Taylor ended up getting shot in the head after being turned into a barely controlled weapon to save the world. You...survived, but not without plenty of scars, physical and mental."
"What kind of scars?" asked Amy, now a little pale.
"The kind that resulted in you willingly walking into the Birdcage," I said bluntly.
Both Taylor and Amy gasped, with the latter going the colour of gone off milk.
"W-wha...how?!" she spluttered, "What could I possibly…"
She trailed off, looking like she really didn't want to know. I winced. This would be much worse than the talk with Taylor.
"Basically, you reached the end of your tether," I said, "In the original world, the Slaughterhouse Nine were a force to be feared. Without Sekirei, there were few people who were able to actually get close to Jack thanks to his powers, and they had the Siberian, Crawler and a Biotinker named Bonesaw, which certainly didn't help taking them down. They came here seeking possible recruits and you were one of them. They forced you to break a number of your self imposed rules, which, combined with the discovery of your Fathers identity, basically put you in a position where you had a breakdown and modified your Sister to reciprocate your feelings. It...didn't end well. She was also badly injured and you were in such a bad place that you completely messed up healing her, leaving her as a mass of flesh and bodyparts that could barely talk and was in constant pain. After that…"
"NO!"
Amy cut me off, now paper white and shaking. I winced. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have dumped all that at the same time.
"Amy…"
"No, your lying!" she shouted, jumping to her feet, "I couldn't...I wouldn't...no…"
She grabbed her head and stumbled away, tears running down her cheeks.
"Amy…" I tried again, standing and reaching for her.
"NO, DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed, backing up further as the floorboards suddenly erupted with branches that lashed out and curled protectively around her.
I quickly summoned my sword and sliced up the ones that came close to me and Taylor with a few wind blades. Then, I set the weapon aside and ducked through the tangle of branches to where Amy was curled up and shaking like a leaf. I crouched down next to her and pulled her into my arms, ignoring the startled gasp and brief struggle.
"I'm sorry Amy," I said as I stroked her hair, "I shouldn't have dropped all that on you at once."
Amy remained still for a moment, before her arms slowly came up to hug me back and I felt my shoulder start to get wet.
"How…"
"Hmm?"
"How can you be willing to come this close to me knowing what I'll do?" she whispered.
I snorted and pulled back so I could look her in the eye.
"Because I know you won't do it," I said.
"B-but you said…"
"Amy, it took being put through more pressure than most feel in a lifetime and being tortured by a group of lunatics hellbent on making you one of them to make you snap," I said as I brushed her tears away, "Regardless of what your Mother might believe, your a good person. I don't believe for a moment that you'd ever willingly harm someone without a damn good reason."
I glanced up as Taylor stepped through the branches and wrapped her own arms around Amy, making the Biokinetic squeak in surprise.
"I agree with Lucas," she said, "I can't say I particularly like this, but I'll deal with it. No one deserves to go through all that."
I grinned.
"Besides, you'll never be put into that situation here. Hell, even without me, you probably wouldn't."
"How can you be so sure?" muttered Amy.
"Because that crazy Biotinker I told you about lives down the hall and is only dangerous to people with a low tolerance for cute," I said.
"Wait, you mean RILEY is Bonesaw?!" asked Taylor, looking rather taken aback.
Amy blinked.
"Mrs Asama's Daughter?" she asked, "But…"
"Yeah, I was rather surprised to find that out as well," I said, "Now, can you do something about all this foliage? There are still some things we need to discuss."
Amy blinked and looked around, apparently noticing the plants for the first time.
"Huh...thats interesting," she said, "I didn't know I could do that…"
"Sekirei powers tend to be rather strong," I said, "The power you had before was only a small part of your full potential."
"Thats...worrying," said Amy.
She looked at the plants again and frowned, before closing her eyes. There was a beat, before the plants glowed and disappeared into a cloud of green sparks, leaving nothing but a few damaged floorboards as proof they existed. I stared at the disappearing lights, before looking down at my second Sekirei. That was...unexpected.
"Well that was...interesting," I said eventually, "I didn't know you could do that."
"Neither did I," said Amy, before she took a deep breath and gently pushed Taylor and I away.
We let her go and stood, allowing her to stand. She accepted the offered tissue from Taylor, who's pulled it from the box on my bedside table, before we all returned to our seats.
"So, what other plans do you have?" asked Amy once we were all settled again.
"Pardon?"
"You implied that you had more plans than just to help us," she said.
"Ah, right," I said, "Well, their less plans and more 'what ifs'. I'm the sort of person who likes to consider what I'd do if I ended up in a fictional world, who I'd help, who I'd stop, that sort of thing. Idol musings when I was bored, I never really thought I'd need them."
"Who were you thinking?" asked Taylor.
"Well, you two obviously," I said, "Others included Canary, most of the Wards, the Undersiders…"
"Wait, you mean the Villains?" asked Amy, looking surprised.
"They're only Villains because they don't have much choice," I said, "Besides, their petty thieves, hardly worth stopping compared with the likes of Lung, Kaiser and Coil."
"Wait, Coil?" asked Amy, "I get the others, but isn't Coil a minor player?"
I scowled.
"HELLS no," I said, "In fact, he is the single most dangerous Villain in the city. Hes utterly amoral and willing to do anything to get what he wants. You know Dinah Alcott?"
"The girl who was nearly kidnapped?" asked Amy, "They Mayor's Niece?"
"That's her," I said, "She's a powerful Precog and Coil wanted her. If Karasuba hadn't saved her, she'd be locked up in one of Coils underground bases, drugged up to the eyeballs and answering questions for the lunatic. He has spys everywhere and considers the Unwritten Rules to be a handy shield while completely disregarding them. If you get in his way, he'll off you without a second thought. And he'd probably succeed to thanks to his power."
"What is his power?" asked Taylor, looking a little pale.
"Basically he can split time and run two timelines simultaneously," he said, "He uses it to make two decisions and pick the one he likes best. In short, he gives the order to go in one and holds back in the other. If his plan succeeds, great, if it doesn't, he just drops the timeline and trys again later."
"Thats…"
"Yeah, not good," I said, "Plus, as I said, hes utterly immoral, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he hasn't used his power for...other uses."
Taylor and Amy were both rather pale now.
"Anyway, that brings us to one of the other people I want to help, namely Tattletale," I said, "She might be a Villain, but shes only one because Coil literally recruited her at gunpoint."
I frowned.
"Speaking of Tattletale, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she ended up joining our little party," I said.
"What makes you think that?" asked Taylor.
I grinned.
"Because, out of everyone in Worm, the two most common best friends for Taylor Hebert are Amy Dallon and Lisa Wilborne," I said, "Probably because your all of a similar age and in dire need of some proper friends."
Both girls looked rather surprised.
"Really?" asked Taylor, "Huh…"
There was a moments silence as the girls absorbed what I'd told them, before Amy frowned.
"Wait, earlier you said something about my Father," she said.
I blinked. I'm surprised she noticed that considering the state she was in.
"I did," I said.
"You know who he is?"
"Yep. Do you want to know?"
Amy hesitated.
"Hes...hes a Villain, isn't he?" she asked.
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
"Carol doesn't trust me," said Amy, "That much is clear. She's never come out and said it, but shes always kept me at arms length, especially after I Triggered. No matter how many people I help, shes always looked at me like she expects me to...I don't know, do something wrong or something. The only conclusion I can come to is that he was a Villain."
I nodded.
"That's about right," I said, "Your right, he is a Villain...kind of. I assume Miya filled you in on the whole test tube Alien thing?"
"Pretty much," said Amy, "Which makes the whole thing even more stupid. So who is he?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, my danger sense flared and I snatched up my sword and summoned a wall of wind, just in time for something very fast and white to hit the window sending glass everywhere.
And I feel incredibly bad for it, but I'm going to end it here. Next time, Vicky gets to learn that shes not the scariest beauty in town and why no one wants to get on Miya's bad side. I might do a PHO segment as well. Not sure yet.
I...actually don't have much to say here. This chapter was mostly exposition and dealing with issues. Next time should have more action if nothing else.
Until then, I'm actually going to sign of. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!