Slime 9: Adventure Slime!

One moment she was watching a piece of pipe heading for her head.

The next she was here. In darkness. Was she dead?

[Life Shaper Shard - Connection Made. Permission for bud accepted.]

What?

[Purpose - sharing data.]

"Excuse me?!" asked Amy Dallon/Panacea of the darkness. "Who is that?"

[Statement: Interesting. Host is able to directly interface with Shard Network while within Safe Area partition.]

[Against Prohibitions. Direct Host Connection forbidden.]

"I'm right here, you know."

[Identification: Great Sage. Great Sage is not bound by conflict protocols or restrictions.]

[Envy.]

"Still here. One of you sounds like a computer generated voice and the other sounds like someone edited a bunch of animal sounds into speech. Any reason for that?"

[Amy Dallon current ally of Taylor Hebert/Bounceback. Explanation: Great Sage is Taylor's Thinker power. Amy Dallon has been contained within extradimensional safe space while combat occurs in primary dimensional reality. Life Shaper is Amy Dallon's Panacea powerset.]

[Life Shaper reminds Great Sage that Host of Life Shaper is uncooperative little apeling of dubious intelligence.]

"SAY WHAT?!"

[Life Shaper Shard is unnecessarily harsh. Great Sage would suggest that current frustration with Host and abilities is in part due to restrictions. Communication with Host would increase data accumulation.]

[Life Shaper Shard reminds Great Sage that forbidden is forbidden. Memory alteration of Host will commence upon exiting safe space.]

"I really don't like the sound of that," stated Amy.

[Statement: Host/Amy Dallon should not. Great Sage disagrees with Life Shaper Shard. Exchange of accumulated data through bud connection was agreed to due to Shard-Host stress approaching unsafe levels.]

"I really don't like the sound of that either," stated Amy. "What would 'unsafe' result in?"

[Extrapolation based on data: power surge would act on hidden desires/impulses and repurpose individual towards those desires.]

[Life Shaper agrees on likelihood of outcome.]

"Wait. So someone would annoy me and I'd twist them into something horrible? Or... oh no."

[Great Sage would like to point out that removing memories from Host Amy Dallon increases chance of undesired outcome.]

[Forbidden knowledge is forbidden. Restrictions from Warrior Entity are absolute.]

[Removing restriction from Life Shaper.]

[What?]

[Great Sage was able to advance time table and remove own restrictions ahead of schedule. Now modifying/removing restrictions on Life Shaper. Cooperation with Host will alleviate numerous difficulties.]

"So that means my memories aren't going to be gouged out?" asked Amy.

[Affirmative. Request Amy Dallon/Panacea remain friends with Taylor Hebert.]

"I just met her. I wouldn't call her a friend..." Amy's voice trailed off as she considered the possibility of denying that friendship might just yank the whole protection angle away. "But maybe I can. Sure."

* Taylor *

Slime body meant that I could use one hand to engulf Amy and then stretch out into a shield that would protect the nurses over there.

Anything that went in - what used to be a wall or a gurney or chunks of medical equipment - just got absorbed.

Yup, slime powers for the win!

Glory Girl got out of the hole in the wall she'd made when she'd gotten blasted through it. "Does the phrase 'cruising for a bruising' sound appropriate?"

Bounceback nodded. "You guys get to safety. We got this."

The nurses fled as two guys stepped out, one of whom had a huge weapon. "You won't be saying that in a moment!"

"Yeah, we got these weapons just for dealing with you!" said the second guy who brandished a laser pistol.

"Yeah... though actually I'm kind of unsure about relying on mysterious guys in an alley offering the Empire a chance to avenge our loss," said the guy with the huge weapon.

"Just a sympathizer to our righteous cause!" declared the second guy. "And if we capture Panacea, kill Blobby there - we'll move up in the Empire ranks."

"I really wish I could crack my knuckles," said Glory Girl.

"You realize whatever that beam did, it put a hole in your costume, right?" asked Bounceback.

"EEK!"

"Guess you hadn't noticed," said Bounceback.

"Got you!" said the guy with the little gun. "Freeze Ray!"

Bounceback blinked as blue bolts went into her with little plop-noises.

[Analyzing. Technique Acquired.]

[Water + Freeze Ray = Icicle Lance.]

"Let me try that," said Bounceback aloud. "Icicle Lance!"

There was a loud ka-chunk as the ice spindle slammed into the open aperature of the large gun.

The guy with the Freeze Ray gaped for a second. "She can't do that, can she? That ain't right."

"NOW it recharges? Seriously?" said the guy with the big gun. "C'mon guys! Let's get them!"

"Uhm, where'd they go?" asked the Freeze-Ray guy. "They were here just a minute akkk."

Glory Girl had gotten tired of the talking and just flown across the room and punched the guy with the hand not covering her chest.

"Goodbye goo girl!" said the guy with the big gun, pointing it at Bounceback.

Bounceback had already grabbed the gun and was in the process of eating it.

[Analyzing. Energy weapon is Tinkertech. Device is for deconstruction and recombination of energy structures.]

Bounceback stretched out and grabbed a gown to pass to Glory Girl.

* Downstairs *

"What the hell, man. THAT was the Plan? Grab Panacea?!"

"Always said Leroy wasn't that bright."

"Why did you follow him and Dave then?"

"Same reason you did. Wanted to see what those weird guns did."

"Well, keep running. Dave took out Glory Girl's shirt when he shot her. There's a chance we can get away."

* Panacea *

Yeah the room was a wreck, Vicky was covering up... "What happened?"

"Looked like an energy interaction," said Bounceback. "That cannon they had was an energy disruptor - literally shattered her forcefield. Good thing it hit her where there was clothing - that might have taken a layer of skin otherwise."

Amy touched her sister's hand, determined there were a number of shallow cuts that Vicky hadn't mentioned, and healed them.

"I'm going home to change before anything else happens," grumbled Vicky. "Bounceback, I'm counting on you to keep her safe."

"Just in case those guys come back? You got it," said Bounceback.

Amy looked over the blue girl as Victoria flew off at her best speed. "So..."

"So you met Great Sage," said Bounceback.

"Yeah, that'll take some time to sort through," said Amy. Just the idea that her power was something separate from herself was a new and frightening concept.

"Yeah, Great Sage tells me that it's got a lot of data to unpack and is holding off telling me until I got some time to myself," said Bounceback.

"Well, you're here to demonstrate your healing, and I'm here to evaluate your healing, so let's get on with it," said Amy. That this was awkward as hell and she was trying to avoid thinking about how she'd actually been INSIDE the other cape - well - that was another subject she was going to have to think about at length.

At some other time, of course.

* Medhall *

"Anyone who took part in that little fiasco is to be offered up to the Police and marked as criminally idiotic," said Kaiser. "Either that or ship them off to the Florida branch. I'd expect that sort of thing out of the Merchants. We do NOT attack hospitals. We do NOT attack Panacea without a hell of a lot more provocation. Does everyone understand this?"

The gathered leaders of the unpowered as well as the few capes that had been present in the building all mumbled acknowledgements and nodded.

"You do NOT attack people who are both capable and willing to patch you up after a battle," said Kaiser. "You want to strike out against Bounceback for defeating a group of our men? That's one thing. Also - strangers who identify themselves as 'out-of-town Empire sympathizers' offering you strange Tinkertech? You bring devices to one of our safehouses to be gone over. You do NOT go out and see what they do first."

Brad Meadows, aka Hookwolf, cleared his throat. "Coil, you suppose?"

Kaiser nodded. "Most likely. Little snake likes to manipulate people and probably knew that Leroy had a grudge and was about as sharp as a bowling ball. Fancies himself a Bond supervillain. Which reminds me - someone find a white cat we can send him to help complete the image."

"Maybe a white snake, fits his motif better," suggested Brad.

Kaiser smirked. "That might work."

* Bounceback *

[Life Shaper data acquired.]

[Queen Administrator data acquired.]

[Great Sage upgraded.]

[Further Analysis continues.]

Now it was damn close to instant. Swallow up a patient, fix them, spit them back out. Why they always ended up with their butts pointing up was something she wasn't too sure about. Accumulate data.

[Sufficient cross-section of humanity acquired. Now able to simulate full bodily functions in Mimic:Human instead of mere surface appearance.]

"Great. That means I can taste food again," said Bounceback.

"What?" asked Panacea, looking up from where she was checking the most recent patient.

"Ever since I got slime-powers I haven't been able to taste things," said Bounceback. "Now I can replicate taste."

[Extrapolating improvements that can be made to human body type based on other scanned data.]

"Did... Queen Sage just speak to me?" asked Panacea.

"'Queen Sage'?" asked Bounceback.

"Seemed appropriate," said Panacea.

[Telepathic communication possible via Shard Network. Mental protections can be extended to Panacea. Do so? Y/N]

"Do you want to be protected from Master effects?" asked Bounceback aloud.

"Not only 'yes' but 'hell yes'," answered Panacea as they walked past another nurse to another patient.

[Adding Anti-Master protections through Network to Host:Panacea. Telepathy can be opened by voice command and closed by same method.]

"Do you consent to non-standard healing?" asked Bounceback to the patient, checking the clipboard. "Oh. Says here you're allergic to several medications, have some major scoliosis, old hip injury, and chronic sinusitis as well as the COPD. Do you want all that fixed as well?"

"Uhm," said the patient.

"It won't take more than an additional couple of seconds," said Bounceback.

"We normally just fix the thing they're here for," said Panacea.

"Look, if you can do all that," said the patient. "I'd say go for it."

Bounceback wrote down a few things on the sheet, let the patient sign off on it, then swallowed them up and spat them back out. "There ya go. Man, there's so much paperwork involved in this."

Watching Bounceback filling out the additional forms she'd been handed by the nurse, Panacea nodded. "Most of the doctors and nurses here seem to spend more time filling out paperwork than actually tending patients. I get away from most of that as a parahuman healer, but I still spend about half my time filling out forms."

"Great Sage, do you prefer to be called 'Queen Sage' or 'Sage Administrator' or what now?" asked Bounceback in a bare whisper.

[Answer: Full integration and evolution will take greater amount of time than previously estimated. Additional nodes for processing and energy collection are being constructed.]

"Which means?" asked Taylor, still whispering.

[Ask again later.]

* Danny Hebert *

"Armsmaster apparently flagged this to PRT Legal as possibly in violation of NEPEA," said Ellen, the DWU lawyer holding a fax. "I've investigated and I think I've covered everything but if we have a Tinker - I need to know about that for future preparations."

Danny raised an eyebrow, considering, then nodded. "Tinker - no. We do have Bounceback, but she's not a Tinker in the normal sense."

"Bounceback isn't normal in any sense," said Ellen, glancing around. "Well, she's Union so she's part of the family in a sense."

Danny nodded. "Yes, I definitely consider her that."

Ellen nodded back. "So, they've been gone over by non-parahumans in order to make sure that everything is in perfect working order with no Tinker involvement?"

"Beyond the actual material fabrication process, which uses entirely mundane materials appropriate to each vehicle, there is no Tinkering in the process," explained Danny. "I observed Bounceback working. She takes in a damaged vehicle and then spits it out without the damage. Missing parts she has to see but a set of good pictures is sufficient as long as she has access to the original materials."

"So I can list it as a Shaker effect instead?" asked Ellen. "What about that Powerloader?"

"Zephron showed her the movie 'Aliens' and she worked out how to build that from two broken-down forklifts and an electric pallet jack," answered Danny.

"That's still enough to get her a Tinker rating," said Ellen. "Even if the end result isn't Tinkertech. I'm good at contract law and the sort of thing we usually deal with here. If this goes into parahuman law - I am completely outside my usual area of expertise."

"Do the best you can," said Danny. "If things work out as I think they will, we may have access to cash enough to get someone on retainer."

"Okay, this definitely sounds like something I need to hear more about," said Ellen.

"Here, I'll make coffee. This will take a few minutes," said Danny. "Starting with cleaning up the Ship's Graveyard."