Panacea
Amy was dead tired. For her today was too exhausting, too vivid for events and nervous.
She would lie if she says said that she was not expecting any trouble today. Monday morning didn't work out from the very beginning. Her weekend was troublesome enough with this whole Morti…Pantheon event. Her dreams for peaceful sleep were shattered with nightmares after her meeting with Pantheon's Projection. This... creature whatever it was, represented very antipode of Panacea's power, and its appearance... penetrated her soul much more than Amy could have imagined.
Not to mention meeting Isis. Amy wasn't ignorant, so it wasn't hard for her to remember that name. Mother Goddess of the Egyptian pantheon. She was the patroness of women and mastery over life. That she was.
Panacea still refused to believe in how Pantheon projections denied ordinary reality, all that she was used to. Instant tissue regeneration without reducing telomeres length and the use of free body mass. Panacea could have been a healer, but Isis could really cure.
So then, chewing a little undercooked toast and almost biting her nose in the plate, Amy could not get rid of the idea that right now there was someone extraordinary in Brockton Central.
Amy... didn't like Mondays. To all intents and purposes, she could not remember a single person who would love them. Especially if your weekend was not really a weekend, and you're having Science test at nine.
Despite having superpowers, Endbringers, and all the bacchanalia of madness, which was her world, Amy still remained a simple student, with typical school problems. However, the thought of an unexpected patient did not go away, even during the test, which, however, she managed to write on an honest "B".
As soon as she, Victoria and Dean sat down at the table, she heard the phone ringing. A special phone. Moreover, it was not just her phone call, but also that of Dean, Victoria and the other Wards, who had attended school and were now scattered around the dining room. A few seconds later, the general school evacuation siren sounded.
There was no time for hunger. It was rare for PRT to summon the entire Wards squad. And now they were summoning all of them and New Wave. Amy had a very bad feeling about this.
What happened in the next half hour, Panacea could not describe except by the word "pure chaos". Instructions as such were practically absent, all they've been told that the Pantheon had escaped from the hospital, badly wounding dozens of PRT agents. This would not have been a reason for such panic, if not for public display of Pantheon's Projections.
When they arrived at the scene, Amy was shocked. Because the sight of a huge, fifteen-meter tall albino tiger, shrouded in real lightning, was something definitely new.
Director sanctioned fire. Miss Militia was using a sniper rifle trying to tranquilize Pantheon. At least at the beginning. Because after Panacea heard real sniper rifle shots. But everything they were throwing at Pantheon was useless. Her projection – that giant tiger had some sort of lightning shield around him. It effectively disintegrated bullets and stopped Kid Win's lasers. The SKPs were afraid to use more firepower because of the sheer size of this thing, it's closeness to a hospital which was in the middle of the evacuation process. Moreover, PRT feared that the tiger possesses Changer ability similar to Lung. Nobody wanted to deal with Lung-like Projection.
Panacea watched with anxiety how gradually all the masks of the Protectorate City Department and their allies were pulled down to the scene. A Stalemate. Calm before the storm. Almost like an Endbringer fight. She was horrified with that thought of her.
However, the massacre was not destined to happen. At one point, she saw a familiar figure floating near the tiger. Appearing out of nowhere there was Isis, Egyptian goddess didn't looked like she is suited for combat.
They were too far away to hear anything, but the effect was immediate. Winged projection shone, and an ephemeral bundle of light separated from her sunshine headpiece, which had risen into the air and exploded in gold rain. Amy could sworn that she heard some kind of dirty joke from Clockblocker before Aegis muffled him. One drop touched her body, and Amy felt that her fatigue dissolves without a trace, giving her vigor. It was... an amazing feeling. At the same time, she realized that it was just a micron crumb of what it could do.
At the same time, the lightning bolts running across a tiger's huge body broke out, creating a blinding flash that managed to break even through the autoblackening filters.
When the flash went out, projection, along with Pantheon disappeared from the battlefield, leaving behind destruction and the prints of huge paws on the asphalt. And Isis. Goddess still floated in the midair.
And then... Then she spoke. About help, about healing and Pantheon's willingness to actually help them despite all what happened. Panacea didn't remember well what happened after, mainly because she spent the next eight hours in an endless run around the hospital, examining every patient Isis had touched and then talking to doctors and PRT specialists.
She was led by Victoria's hand, which Amy suddenly found on her shoulder, detaching herself from another patient, confirming his complete recovery. She did not understand why this was necessary. But apparently, the PRT required maximum confidence that Isis healing was not a joke or some kind of biotech time bomb.
"Hey, Amy, how are you? You look like zombie" Victoria said carefully looking at her sister's face.
"Mm-hmm. All I want to do now is get home and drown in a hot bath," she whispered to her sister as she walked out of the room.
"Me, too... How much more do you have?"
"These are the last of them, I think. Anyway, I have already gone around all the wards that I was asked to check. If nobody said anything, we're kind of done..." - she lost half her word, stuck on the corner of the medical cart, and almost fell, but at the last second she was picked up by Victoria's strong hand.
"Fine. You've had enough for today. They're slavedrivers. You're looking like you are going to lose consciousness. You can do as you like, but I'll call mother and we'll fly home from here!"
"But the patients..." Amy sluggishly tried to object, internally agreeing with her sister's actions.
"It would be worse if the only and unique Panacea fell unconscious and broke her nose! You can't heal your wounds!" - Victoria put her hands in her sides, hanging over Panacea. The only thing left to do was to be ashamed of her silence - her sister was in her right. Then Victoria took the phone out of her suit pocket and dialed the number. It took half a minute before someone answered at the other end of the wire.
"Hi, Mum. It's me. Look, Amy's practically groggy, can we go home now? - The girl was quick to stab her in the pipe. That was all she was, energetic, bright, powerful... Glory.
Amy looked at her involuntarily. Even Vicky being tired after, looked better than Amy ever could, it seemed, just radiating a positive radiance and inspiring confidence in her powers. Maybe it was the effect of her aura, maybe just her innate charisma, Panacea did not know. She... just loved watching her. As long as possible. As close as possible. But it is contraindicated to think about some things. And she knew it. Meanwhile, Glory Girl was answered.
"Yeah, thanks, mom. Okay, we'll eat. Got It, straight to bed. Yeah, bye-bye," Victoria, smiling, turned to her sister after the call.
"Mom says that's enough for today. Are you ready to take a ride via Vicky Airlines?
"Sure," Panacea nodded, hiding her flaming cheeks in a hood.
Her sister looked at her with excitement.
"Hey, hey, are you all right? You're all red! Maybe you need to lie dow...
"No, it was just a little stuffy in the last ward. And stress... I'm okay, honestly," Amy said, hoping it would calm down the "Hen mode" which her sister used to have from time to time.
"Mm-hmm. I see how it's okay. Your face is not the first freshness of a zombie. Well, I'll get this Pantheon... I'll show her how not to fuck with the New Wave"
Panacea jumped up.
"Vicky, don't! Don't even think about confronting her! And especially to fight! Haven't you read the letter from Director Costa-Brown?
shocked with her sister's sudden outburst Victoria stepped away a couple of steps aside. Looking at her sister's excited face, she rubbed her forehead and raised her hands in a gesture of conciliation.
"Hey, take it easy, sister dear. I'm not gonna rush in. I know that I am somewhat reckless, but not to that degree. But if we, accidentally bump into each other…" Glory Girl hit her fist on the palm of her hand.
"Vicky..." Panacea started quietly.
"What do you want?" Her sister didn't often speak in such a crowded and pleading voice.
"Promise me."
"Promise you what?" Glory girl did not understand.
"Promise me you will be careful if you meet her. What... what you saw today isn't everything. I know... There's more. There are more of these projections. I saw at least one more... The one that killed people there at . And..." with every word, her voice became more and more shaky. Yes, she was a doctor and saw the worst of humanity. But she hadn't had time to burn out yet, no. She still felt, had her empathy towards her patients. And she still had fresh memories of that Projection, of how her power was screaming, feeling it's antipode. But she wasn't destined to burst into tears. Strong but gentle women's hands hugged her, attempting to crush her ribs.
"Don't cry... I don't know how that thing hurt you like that, but I'm not stupid, Amy. This Pantheon, whatever happened to her, now is extremely dangerous. Mom says she's potentially even more dangerous than Lung and the Empire combined. If we meet... I'll be careful. I promise."
"Okay..." Amy exhaled, burying her head in Glory Girl's chest. So they stood still for half a minute before the tension subsided, and both of them, who had already lowered their steam a little bit, headed towards the exit from the hospital.
-linebreak-
It was cold. Hospital clothes were clearly not designed for any long stay on-premises without heating, not to mention the February streets. The first breeze of the dank winter wind made Taylor realize this with all seriousness.
She wasn't too picky, setting up Bai-Hu coordinates to move, which is why she found herself, along with [Persona], right on one of the streets of the long-deserted part of the Docks.
Away from the conflict, the Defender took his usual form, allowing him to move around the neighborhood without much trouble and without fear of being noticed because of Persona's huge size.
By breaking the barn lock on one of the doors (Bai Hu used of one his razor-sharp claws), she managed to get inside the most decent warehouse. Inside, there was darkness interrupted by the rare rays of light that fell from a few windows, illuminating small areas of space. It was foolish to hope for electricity in this part of the city.
But even the loneliness and roof over her head, which was so desirable, did not solve all the problems. More precisely... it didn't solve anything. And now she clearly understood that. Yes, she was healthy. Physically. But she didn't even have banal clothes, let alone money. Hell, even underwear wasn't there! And the worst part was that Taylor couldn't remember the last time she ate seriously. Everything was a little bit difficult with hospital food, as they fed it three times and something like liquid porridge, which practically didn't give it any nutritional value.
Acquiring money and food in this part of town was a very difficult task. However, as in any other part of the city. Taylor doubted that anyone in their right mind would want to sell something or lend clothes to a barefoot girl in a hospital gown alone for a naked body. To meet with the police or the PRT... Taylor had no desire.
She felt Isis leaving about half an hour later. Goddess was silent, but her presence seemed to warm to her.
Cuddling to the warm skin of Bai-Hu, she tried to warm herself up and think about what had happened soberly... As far as possible in her case.
Sophia...
Emma. Madison. Soph...
"Not now"! - She shouted at herself with a huge effort of will to keep the memories of that day away from her.
Sophia Hess was Shadow Stalker. This explained everything. Behavior. Impunity. Frequent "training". For Winslow, Stalker was not just a student, but a golden child with whom the Protectorate subsidized the Wards' schools.
It was painful. It really hurts to find out how those you consider heroes broke your life. And the more pleasant it was to see a broken figure of Hess, pulled into a suit, and Armsmaster taking her into custody.
She didn't hear everything from Yamada, but she heard enough. Madison is under arrest, Emma is under house arrest, and Stalker is within PRT containment cells… probably. That... was reassuring.
Perhaps they will finally get what they deserve. It won't bring anything back and it won't solve anything, but Taylor was quite happy that they will be punished for their deeds. She knew some things about how are things in colonies for minors proceeding. For someone like Emma or Madison, it would be literal Hell on Earth. Maybe if she was lucky, Hess would be sentenced to Birdcage. The most suitable place for someone like her, if you believe the rumors and the few official information.
But at this rate, Taylor is unlikely to live to see next week. Water was one thing, it's not so hard to find it in the city, it's much harder with food, let alone clothes. Perhaps she could have stopped by Kurt and Lacey's house, but... The thought of meeting someone connected to her... No. Just no.
She wanted to sob. She got out of one cage and got into another, bigger one. And she saw no way out. She was trapped here. In this Mad World. If only she could find a way out of this. Some kind of rabbit hole…
Something shifted behind the [Gate]. A new Presence appeared. Someone new. Perhaps even young.
Maybe this one will actually help her as Isis did?
The words were spoken by themselves:
[Persona]
Few people find a way out, some do not see it, even if they find it, and many do not even look for it.
Taylor was getting scared of how quickly she got used to the voices in her head. Perhaps because somewhere on a subconscious level, she realized that they simply could not hurt her. Therefore, when she heard a new voice, she only slightly twitched, more surprised than frightened.
The new voice sounded... Like a girl of about her age. But there was something in that voice. As if a cute little baby voice could snap into the ruthless cry of a banshee.
"What are you talking about?" she asked into nothingness.
The best way to explain it is to do it
Clothes. Clothes. Clothes!
At the very moment when these words were spoken, Taylor felt the movement of tissue all over her body.
As she looked at it, she found that her body was now dressed in other clothes in addition to her hospital gown. An ancient cut of a grayish blue dress with a white apron, which was tied on the back with a big white bow. On her shoulders, she found a wide and warm fur coat with a collar of some animal's wool.
"Are these... clothes?" - Taylor was surprised to ask.
What I tell you three times is true
Her voice sounded joyful And it was... refreshing. She wasn't like Thanatos – while she felt closeness with him, she cannot understand him. He is too… out of this world for her. Lucifer… it was painful for her to even think about how and why the father of Lies did what he did. But Taylor wasn't stupid enough to communicate with literal Devil more than needed. Isis… she was okay, even helpful for her, maybe even caring about her, but she was too adult for Taylor liking. Not that Taylor held something against adults. But recent events… well, she wasn't obliged to be rational.
New clothes were… good. Clearly old-fashioned, but good nerveless. Everything is better than a medical gown. Well, it looked like her power is more versatile than she anticipated.
Pleased by this outcome she let Persona manifest.
She just showed up. It was as if she had come out from behind an invisible door that separated them from each other. She was wearing an almost identical blue dress with an apron. Only her dress seemed more intense than Taylor's.
But... that wasn't surprising. Somehow. Taylor seemed for a second to look at herself as if she were looking at herself, reflected in a crooked mirror. They were too similar. Same height, same body proportions, same facial features. They differed only in the color of eyes and hair. The hair of the brightest gold fell on her shoulders. Together with her eyes that were so piercing blue that they seemed to glow in the dark, it made her so innocent and beautiful that Taylor unwittingly wondered if she herself might seem the same.
Her reflected copy smiled. Her smile did shine in the darkness.
"Never consider yourself different from what others think you are, and then others won't consider you different from what you want them to think you are."
Something in Taylor's head clicked, putting her thoughts in their places.
Lying on the floor, Bai-Hu snorted before looking at Taylor with his yellow eye. Feeling the dumb question, Taylor smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you, Defender. You can go now."
The tiger's last snarl was a glow of blue sparks. Taylor turned to another Persona.
"Welcome to Wonderland, Alice... Liddell." she said as she stood up from the floor. Taylor loved Carroll's fairy tale as a child, and Annette never missed an opportunity to talk to her daughter about her favorite subject. That's why she knew the real name of the prototype character girl. But is she really a character?
"Ah, nobody called me that for a long time... " Alice just answered, continuing to smile warmly.
"Perhaps I should thank you for your clothes?"
"There's nothing to thank for, Contractor. It's just the smallest facet of what we are ready to bring to the world by your command. It is not worth gratitude."
"Thank you anyway. I'm... not in the best condition, to be honest" it was pretty strange - to talk about a psychological state with a creature that just a minute ago was just a voice in your head. Not mentioning the fact that the same creature is the main character from a classical fairytale.
"Oh, how familiar I am with these words... But don't be afraid. We will not harm the Contractor. And now... do you want some tea?" With this magician's gesture, she took out a porcelain kettle from behind her sinus.
As if in answer to this question Taylor's stomach rumbled almost comically.
"In fact, I could use something more… nutritious" she said, embarrassed, turning her head away. God, she was ashamed in front of her own Persona. But she was becoming more and more hungry.
Alice's eyes were rounded off before they flared up even brighter. She put her hand to her mouth, almost caricaturically depicting the shock. Although Taylor doubted to some extent that it was on purpose. More like gesticulating was part of her... legend?
"Oh, poor Contractor. Of course, you're hungry! Oh, how could Alice forget about such a simple thing as she could..." - Alice, as if started to repeat the words about her own forgetfulness, pretty nervous Taylor with a sudden surge of emotion.
"Everything is fine," Taylor tried to calm down this session of verbal self-abuse.
Alice interrupted half-word to look at Taylor again.
"Contractor isn't offended? Oh, Alice is happy about it, so happy! And now... A meal! Meal! Meal!" - she clapped her hands three times, and the third cotton in the dusty darkness of an abandoned warehouse out of nowhere appeared table.
Taylor wanted to wipe her eyes. She knew that her abilities were working... in a very strange way, but she had never heard of anything like that before. No, she had an idea that Eidolon was capable of something like that, but that she would?
The table that came out of nowhere was breaking down from dishes half the names of which Taylor didn't even know. There was a Peking duck, something like fondue, Viennese schnitzel, and a couple of dozen other dishes that looked as delicious as possible. And all the magnificence that was now opening up to Taylor was smelling so tempting that it seemed to her like she was going to be out of her stomach for another second to fill herself with these truly luxurious delicacies.
"It's a little too much for the two of us..." Taylor said with uncertainty, slowly moving towards the table. There were several bright chandeliers in the middle of the many dishes that gave us enough light to make it easy to see the entire table. At one end of the table, there were two carved wooden chairs with high backs on both sides, next to which were clean plates with a set of cutlery.
"Ah, I'm afraid there's no need to worry about me, Contractor. I am only here by your will, and this food is only for you!" showed Alice on the table, smiling.
"But then why the second cutlery set?"
"My Lady doesn't need to be alone. I will keep you company!" - Alice walked around the table in a circle and sat down on her seat, and then gently moved herself to the table. So did Taylor.
"S-so much..." Taylor said, not knowing what to choose.
"You shouldn't give preference to one the thing when you can try everything at once," Alice said enthusiastically, putting pieces of delicious meat, seasoned with some subtle smelling of spices, into your plate with quick movements.
Taylor followed that advice to the full, putting a little bit of everything on her plate. She did not focus on what she ate, focusing entirely on the process of filling her stomach.
All of this... all of this, all of this seemed to her to be such a surreal, unrealistic and unimaginable illogical plot of some postmodernist stories without morals. But at the same time, with every piece of food rolling down her throat, she increasingly accepted what was happening as an objective reality.
But still, she was scared of the speed with which her reality was changing. If someone had told her a month ago that she would have had such a simple lunch with a real book Alice, she would have at least turned her finger at her temple... However, everything has changed. And, frankly, she had no idea what to do next. But... she could postpone planning her future steps to a later time.
After quenching her hunger and eating more for pleasure than necessary, Taylor leaned back in her chair and looked at Alice. Persona had already dealt with the portion she thought was necessary for herself, and was slowly drinking tea from a kettle that seemed to come out of nowhere. She felt Taylor's gaze and smiled warmly again.
Taylor sighed and looked at the glass of delicious apple juice in her hand.
"Say... I know it's a bit of a stupid question, but still..." she shut up for a second, going with spirit.
"Are you... are you real?"
Persona thought about it. For the first time in their brief fellowship, Taylor didn't hear an instant response to her words.
Half a minute later, Alice gently put a half-empty cup on a saucer before she started:
"Depends on what you think is real, My Lady. I am hereby your will. Pierce me with a knife and I'll bleed. Kill me and I will return to the Sea of Souls to be called by you again. Though, I can't answer either yes or no.
Taylor wrapped her arms around her head.
"No, no. That's not what I meant. Are you real? Stories, legends, myths, books, all this... Is it true?
Alice just laughed at it.
"Ah, My Lady. Certainly not. And, of course, we are," she sipped tea, looking directly at Taylor.
"I don't understand" - Taylor really didn't understand, because Alice contradicted herself.
Persona smirked.
"Ah, dear Lady Contractor. Think about what would happen with the world if actually existed. Fallen Angels, Seraphs, Demons, Devils, Rakshasas, Pagan Gods and Legendary Heroes. Fight Michael and his army with a ten-horned dragon in the name of Woman clothed in the Sun. Swam Leviathan through the oceans. That's why the stories of the gods and monsters are so good – that's because none of them really happened. However... I think you got the idea."
Taylor understood. She lived at a time when people had new Heroes and new Monsters. She was the victim of the system herself. But Alice continued:
"But, meanwhile, we exist. Beyond reality and the objective, we are. Each of us, be it a Hero or a Monster, an Angel or a Demon, a Saint or a Heretic. We remember our lives and our deaths, as long as they have been. For us, our history is a reality. That is the essence."
"That is... For you, it really happened? A story made up by people... created you? - Taylor was a little insecure about it.
Alice nodded.
"Yes. Human faith breathed life into us and gave us strength. But that was just the beginning. Created by human faith, we continued to exist outside of our own stories and inside them at the same time. It's hard to explain, but we've long been more than just living stories."
-"You [Persona] ... Aspects of the twenty-one [Arcana] Tarot, called by the power of the signed [Contract]" ... these words have arisen in her head by themselves, unknown knowledge.
"It does, My Lady," Alice nodded, drinking again from the cup.
"Alice... How…No, Why do you differ from them?" Taylor suddenly came up with a question. In fact, Alice was really different from the rest of the Persona that she had been calling up until now. Open, friendly, willing to help. Not that the other Personas didn't do it... Was Alice... simpler? Taylor couldn't give an unambiguous answer, so she decided to ask.
"What are you talking about, Lady?" - Alice looked almost surprised.
"You... are Different from Others I had called before. I don't know. I can't tell you why you're different. Thanatos... He saved my life. Isis healed, Lucifer showed me the truth, Bai-Hu helped me escape, but... You're acting differently for some reason. It was as if you didn't want to help because I was a Contractor. I know it sounds stupid, but..."
"You're right, My Lady." interrupted Persona, "I want to help not because you're Contractor, but because of you. I remember... the city. Like this one. On islands far from here. They brought me back to life, gave me toys... and left me alone. In the whole city. Only my toys, puppets, which quickly get tired of playing with... And that's why we are something alike, Contractor. Something incredibly small and infinitely large, but similar. So... let me tell you one more thing."
"Of course." - the voice of traitorous confusion, so serious and wise looked the girl in front of her, which was difficult to give more years than it was Taylor, if not to know that it was Persona.
"The Sea of Souls is not united, My Lady. Heroes and villains, gods and monsters... The same combinations. Stories that brought them together had long been mixed up and collided. And from that, there will be no end to their strife. Your words will obey the Legion and bow the head of the Archangel. But each of them will see his own way. They do not want any harm, no. But the ideas that lead them to lead to different outcomes. And only you have to choose where you go," Persona said, clutching an empty cup.
Taylor was silent. Millions of thoughts were buried in her head, unable to connect in a single chain. Everything was simple and logical, but at the same time, it didn't fit in her head. Finally, she asked:
"Who were you with, Alice Liddell?"
Persona smiled.
"Ah, Contractor, never liked "eat this" and "drink that". Truth is always somewhere in the middle. There are those who put someone else's interest above their own. But enough with serious conversations, My Lady. Would you like some tea?"
A teapot appeared in her hand.
"Of course" Taylor accepted Persona's offer with a tiny smile. Inside her for a second, the inner springs trembled and loosened, which had been so tense the last few days. Perhaps she had finally found an ally.