Villain Chapter 3 - Amy's Day Out Part 1
AN: Just be aware that I'm playing a bit fast and loose with the timeline here. In actuality, there's less than a day between the Undersider's and Bakuda's first meeting, and the beginning of the bombing of the bay. Both of these take place just a day after the Bank heist in cannon, which seems far too short. So, I'm having it so about a week has passed since the bank heist, and there was a day or two between the bank heist and the Bakuda encounter at the storage yard in the last chapter.
I'm also playing around a bit with the POV, trying to focus more on a single character at a time and switching between them. Otherwise, enjoy.
… ARACHNE POV ...
Taylor made no move to hide her intentions as she moved towards the door, having eagerly awaited this event the past few days.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Danny asked with concern laced in his voice as he watched Taylor wince when she hefted the strap of her grey backpack onto her shoulder.
"Yeah, Dad, I'll be fine," Taylor replied, making sure to focus as she stared him in the eye, not letting the lingering discolorations or the aches and pains she was experiencing show any more than they already had. If she was being honest, it was a miracle she had managed to hide most of the after-effects of Bakuda's bomb these past few days, as let her tell you, it had not been easy.
The entire left side of her back was a myriad of bright yellow and black splotches, the bruising from where Bakuda had tossed her dud of a grenade, and don't even get her started on her nervous system. Even the slightest brush with cold water or a hot plate was enough to make her a little dizzy, her frazzled nerves not able to properly interpret the signals coming from them without fritzing out.
"Besides, I'm only going to the library to meet up with Lisa, and I'll make sure to stick to all the main roads," Taylor continued when she saw the unsure expression displayed on her father's face, noticing his reluctance to let her leave their abode but not letting it stop her.
That wasn't to say the aftereffects were all bad, however, as Bakuda's pain grenade actually had an upside. Her pain tolerance was off the scale now. When she had cooked the night before, still trying to regain fine control of her limbs, she had accidentally sliced her thumb, creating a moderately deep wound in the pad of it.
She was quick to grab the medicine kit, as this had happened occasionally in the past, but unlike her last incident in the kitchen, she had barely felt the wound. She still noticed the cut and was receiving the appropriate signals from it, but compared to the sheer agony she had experienced 3 nights earlier, the small cut on her thumb had barely registered as a blip. It had felt more like a pinch than anything else, one that she was easily able to ignore.
"Well...I suppose," Danny replied with hesitation, folding to her desire despite the strained smile this left him with. "And it will be good for you to get out of the house and socialize."
What, she hadn't been doing enough already, Taylor thought in first annoyance and then amusement. No, for the past two years and a half years, barring the past few months, she had spent as much time at home as possible, so she could give her father that one.
She was a certified NEET, you could say.
"Thanks, Dad," Taylor smiled gratefully, not letting any of her thoughts betray her, an action that came easy to her through her bugs. Feeling a little guilty? BAM! Straight to her bugs.
Depressed? BAM! It was gone.
Embarrassed when she had needed help getting out of the tub even if she had forced him to wear a blindfold? BAM!
She didn't do it constantly, of course, but after her experience with Bakuda, Taylor just couldn't help but find it easier to simply push any unwanted emotions away, choosing to only feel what she wanted to. No need to feel the fear and anxiety she was plagued with, nor the tremours that struck her hands. Some might say she was pursuing this action too freely, but those people would be wrong.
She wasn't doing anything bad. No, she was just…bringing out her inner extrovert, yeah. Those people didn't have negative feelings, right? And now neither did she.
Taylor ignored the thought in the back of her mind that stated she was lying to herself and that she should stop. That voice was never fun.
"I'll try to be back by dinner, and I'll call you if something comes up. Love you!" Taylor shouted as she burst out of the door, missing his slightly stunned expression as she went on her way, now free of the confines of their shared home.
Free to no longer force herself to act like her old self (something she had failed to do, not that she'd noticed). After all, people on the street aren't going to care if she acted overly happy or cold. This was Brockton Bay. As long as you didn't seem overly dangerous/insane, it was like the people had in-built goggles to ignore the world's bullshit.
Walking swiftly if shakily up to the bus terminal, Taylor peered at the times, looking closely due to the simple fact that she was not going to the library to meet up with Lisa, even if that would have been an acceptable activity as well.
"Hmm, Amy's address, which I did not find online through some stalking, no siree, is located in the nicer part of town. You know, the parts that have well-maintained roads, clean shops, and a low crime rate. Hell, they don't even have any drug deals in shady corners."
She wasn't exaggerating either, as inside the range of her bugs she could find three such deals taking place at this very moment. One of which involved her neighbor from the house two doors down, which was kind of disappointing.
"Jane makes such good cookies too," Taylor pouted, remembering the rare few times she'd been able to enjoy the delectable delights. They were so good that after eating one, she'd be calm and mellow for hours. "Oh well, her cookies are still delicious," she shrugged and purposely turned her thought process away from just what was inside of them as her eyes scanned down the bus sheet, finally finding the route she wanted.
"The 409," Taylor nodded, looking at her watch as she frowned, "…which won't be here for another 35 minutes. Crap."
Oh well, she could just spend the time snooping inside of people's private businesses like she had the past few days. They had such juicy secrets too, like Mr. Jensen two houses down across the street. Who knew an older guy could move so well on a pole?
…
The rickety old bus let out a belch of smog as it finally came to a stop on the corner of New Wave's street, the vehicle's aged brakes whining before the door hissing as it opened, letting a couple of disgruntled people exit the vehicle.
"Fucking finally," Taylor complained, making no effort to quiet her voice as a couple of people nodded in agreement, each of them heading on their own way.
Not only had the bus been late by 10 minutes (an all too common occurrence), it had taken another 30 just to arrive at her destination, as they'd been unlucky enough to receive one of the crappier busses for the day. Public transport was really hit or miss in Brocton Bay, but as she didn't have her license (or the money to buy a car), she was stuck with it. Hell, she couldn't even kill time on her phone as she didn't have one outside of the burner Lisa had given her for her cape identity.
The constant justling of the stopping and starting hadn't exactly helped either when it had made her various injuries ache, so the fact that she was finally off the bus was a godsend for her at this point. She kind of wanted to celebrate a little, maybe have a look around the nice part of town, but she was on a mission.
"Just need to find a good place to change," Taylor muttered as she hefted her bulging backpack, one that only contained a single outfit. Her 'work' clothes, as it were. Looking around the pleasantly clean, non-graffitied street, she was quick to find a public bathroom, one with private stalls.
Taylor made sure no one was watching as she entered, also remembering to check for cameras. Upon verifying she was in the clear, she got to work and pulled out the various pieces of black and spiky clothing that made up her 'Arachne' costume.
...
"Phew!" Arachne sighed as she hopped on one leg, finally tugging the last glove on and adjusting it to line up properly with the seem of her costume's bodysuit. "Man, this is so much harder without actual room to move."
Placing her civilian clothes in her backpack, she zipped it up and put it back on, not concerned about it leading back to her identity due to the simple fact that the place she had bought it from possessed about 1000 more.
Opening the stall, Arachne walked out confidently as she headed for the door, pausing slightly as it opened to reveal a shorter woman with brown hair and eyes, which was joined by an athletic body. Arachne could say this with certainty because her clothing was… let's say less than modest, consisting of a sports bra and a pair of shorts.
Well, and a large backpack, but Arachne wasn't focused on that as she stared at the woman who seemed to be in her 30s, looking her up and down as she nodded.
"Yep, you're hot. 9/10 easily, but if you wouldn't mind, I have somewhere else to be," Arachne said, gesturing at the door as the woman stared with her jaw wide open, making no move to get out of the way.
"Ahem?"
"R-right, sorry, go ahead," Brown-eyes replied hastily, a confused and slightly interested expression showing on her face even as she stepped out of the way, looking far less concerned to be in close contact with a villain than she should.
Oh well, Arachne decided, doing her best to put it out of her mind as she strolled out onto the street, earning surprised glances from the pedestrians standing around. A few were fearful even, while others seemed wary yet intrigued.
A few were even reached for their phones, which wasn't ideal for Arachne considering she was trying to stay lowkey.
"Great Cosplay, right? Looks just like the real thing!" She chirped, making sure to sound extra bubbly as she walked across the street.
"Yeah, it really is," A dude walking his dog said, a cute little pupper with black and white spotted fur that Arachne made sure to scratch the ears of, "almost scared the shit out of me in fact. Although," the man frowned here as he looked Taylor up and down.
Luckily, or disappointingly, he wasn't checking her out but was simply taking in her outfit, which was unfortunate. Then again, he did bear an awfully close resemblance to her father, being in the same age range and stature, so it was probably for the best.
"Are you sure it's…wise, to imitate a villain like that? You could be confused with the real thing and be attacked by heroes, or even worse, villains. And what about Arachne? What if she gets offended by you wearing her costume?" The man asked, sounding generally concerned.
"Well, starting last to first," Arachne began, reaching up to frame her face with the claws on her left hand, "from the videos about her, I kind of doubt she'd be offended by imitators, she seems to be pretty chill for a Villain. On the matter of being attacked by heroes and other villain's, well," she shrugged, "I'm black and live in a rich neighborhood."
"So it's no riskier to be dressed like that than normal," the man hummed, smiling sadly as his dog whined for more attention, which Arachne made sure to give.
"Exactly," Taylor nodded as she gave the scritches, the lie coming easily. "So if I'm going to be assaulted walking down the street, I'd rather it be for something I've actually done. I'm running a bit late though, thanks for letting me pet him."
"Your welcome," the man smiled, looking more genuine this time as he tilted his hat before walking off.
The public had basically calmed down by this point, content to let Arachne do what she wanted as she walked through the streets, which was quite a strange action for her considering she'd never gone out in costume in broad daylight like this outside of the bank heist.
The attention was kind of nice though, and she made sure to wave at anyone who seemed interested in her and gave a few children high fives. Hell, she even took a few photos with some particularly curious individuals, pretending to be a cosplayer the entire time while internally laughing her ass off.
Turns out that if you pretend like everything is fine, everyone else tends to think so as well.
Her fun had to come to an end at some point though, as she quickly walked the two blocks to the Dallon's residence, confirming that the pictures she'd looked up were accurate.
"Okay, I'm now at the home of half of the hero team New Wave, which could contain Glory Girl, Panacea, Flashbang, and Brandish, with the other half not too far away in case there's trouble. A wise person would probably turn around and leave as quickly as possible. On the other hand," Arachne dithered as she paused at the doorway, tilting her head to the side as she stood on the high-quality wooden porch, "I did come all this way, so…"
Without conscious thought, her arm rose from her side, swiftly pressing the doorbell as a clear ringing sound emerged from the inside of the house.
Arachne stared at her arm in faux betrayal, playfully glaring at it.
"Oh no…" Taylor snarked, "my arm has betrayed me, oh woe is me."
Chuckling, the girl lowered her arm, taking a step back as she patiently waited for the door to be answered, observing the interior of the house through her bugs. It was quite a nice house, at least in comparison to her own, as it was double-storied with a slanted roof, possessing a color scheme of grey and white. Unlike the Hebert household, the house was wider than it was tall, possessing a large garage and plenty of room for its spacious four-bedroom two-living area interior.
All up, she estimated that the place combined with the area must have cost at least a cool mill, a figure that Taylor could scarcely imagine using on just a place to live considering the Heberts lived in a house worth less than 150 grand.
Moving around inside the luxurious house, Taylor could sense four individuals, all in various states of movement. The house was quite clean, likely due to a rigorous cleaning schedule so there weren't any noticeable concentrations of bugs inside of it for her to take control of. There was, however, one species in particular that, despite best efforts, you just couldn't get rid of. A species that she could use, in a fashion.
Mites.
Yep, those nasty little buggers that lived in your eyebrows and eyelashes and on your skin, which you basically couldn't get rid of due to how prevalent they were. Too small to use in a fight or even makes sense of their senses, but more than enough to be able to detect the general presence of another human being due to spatial recognition.
Like the person moving towards the doorway, who was moving from upstairs to the bottom floor in a suspiciously smooth motion. If she had to guess, Taylor would say it was Vicky, as she was the only one who would fly like that inside the house.
The tallest of the four figures, based on Taylor's estimate, sat in the rear living area, which was probably Mark. In the office was presumedly Carol, the breadwinner of the family, while finally, up in the other upstairs bedroom, was likely Amy.
Perfect, it would have sucked to have missed her.
The sound of the door unlocking drew Arachne's attention to the space in front of her, making her watch as Vicky (Ha, she was right!) opened the door without a care in the world, not even using the handy dandy peephole set the middle of the rich, mahogany door.
"Yeah? Did you want…Arachne!?" Vicky began, pausing midsentence in surprise as a shocked expression appeared on her face. Thankfully, Taylor must have left enough of a positive impression on the other girl, as she didn't immediately try to detain her.
"Hello," Arachne waved, amusement bubbling in her voice as she stood eye-level with her conversation partner, something true only due to the fact that Vicky was hovering midair. "Is Amy in? Because, if possible, I'd like to take her out on the town."
"I…buh…you took Amy's little joke seriously?!" Vicky whisper-yelled, looking around the neighborhood suspiciously as she opened the doorway wider, gesturing for her to come in. "Hurry, before the neighbors see you."
Doing as told, Taylor stepped into the Dallon Residence, letting her admire the wooden flooring and pristine, white walls that didn't show a decade's worth of disuse. Well, aside from a few patches of scratched paint, which looked suspiciously like handprints.
"Nice digs, real fancy," she complimented.
"…Thanks'," Vicky replied, closing the door. "Now, let me return back to the elephant in the room…you want Amy to go out on a da-outing, in public, in the middle of the day…with you, a supervillain."
Taylor nodded with each point, ignoring how Vicky's face warped further and further into incredulity as she spoke.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," she agreed, tilting her head in question. "Why, is there something wrong with that? Amy did say she wouldn't mind hanging out...sorry, being 'kidnapped'" Arachne held her arms up, curling her fingers, "for a couple of hours for a break. Or does Amy not deserve to do what she wants?"
"No, no, she does," Vicky backtracked, off balance due to the topic but still caring about her sister "Like, she could use some relaxation now more than ever, and there isn't anything pressing at the hospital that she's really needed for to feel guilty about missing."
"You agree then," Taylor nodded, holding her black, clawed arms out at her sides to show that she wasn't carrying anything. "Amy needs a break, and I'm just here to offer her the chance. I'm not going to force her if she doesn't want to come, nor could I considering you're here." She added as an afterthought. A little praise went a long way with vapid people.
"Damn right you couldn't," Vicky agreed, looking like she was coming around to the suggestion. "But you have to admit, it's still a little weird for a self-proclaimed Villain,"
Taylor held up her claw, ready to interject.
"Sorry," Vicky rolled her eyes, "Super-Villain, to visit with the intention of inviting someone out." Taylor lowered her finger. "It's weird, is all I'm saying, but if Amy agrees," she paused, letting silence fill the air as she dithered before sighing with a slump as she nodded, "then I see no reason not to. I don't think you'll try to hurt her, and you're one of the few villainous capes in the city that she can actually deal with, what with the buggy bugs who are, you know, bugs."
"Yes," Taylor agreed with a laugh, holding her hand up to her mouth. Talking to Vicky was always fun. "my…buggy-bugs, are made of biological material, thus something Panacea can disable if they touch her skin."
"Yeah," Vicky agreed, pointing at Arachne, "that."
With nothing else to say, Vicky turned around and floated back up the stairs, not bothering to use them as she headed for Amy's room. It gave Taylor a magnificent view of her ass considering Vicky was dressed in a white crop top and blue sweatpants, the kind of ass that came from a lot of work in the gym and a carefully planned, high-protein diet.
Of course, considering Vicky was just floating up the stairs instead of walking, Taylor didn't think it was the kind of thing Vicky would be able to create naturally. But Panacea was her sister, and a little touching up never hurt anybody.
"Amy," Vicky called after stopping at the first door on the right, knocking on the brunette's door, "you have a visitor!"
"I do?! How about you tell them to fuck off? I'm kind of busy!" Amy yelled back through the door.
Busy was an understatement, Taylor thought with amusement and a touch of embarrassment, considering just what she could sense coming from Amy's room. An activity of… let's just say, adult nature.
"You sure?" Vicky called back with amusement. "It's your friend from a week ago, you know, the tall dark, and flirty one that I gave a nickname to."
"…but I don't have any friends?" Amy replied back, halting her activity as Arachne sensed her fixing her clothing and heading for her door. "At least none that I can think of."
Seeing an opportunity, Taylor rushed up the stairs, making it to the carpeted landing just before Amy made it to the door which gave her just enough time to lean against the banister and cross her arms as she languidly stretched her torso out.
Vicky gave Taylor a thumbs-up with a grin at the action.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I'm sure about that. They're all…your friends," Amy finished sadly as her door creaked open, the first thing she saw being her grinning sister before she swept her gaze to the side, letting her take in Arachne in all her costumed glory, the main difference from her last encounter with the healer being the light grey webbing covering the majority of the costume, giving her a less menacing appearance.
"Not this one," Vicky said with a shit-eating grin, enjoying, just as Taylor did, the way Amy froze at the sight of the Villain, standing with her jaw wide open on top of the red and gold pajamas she was wearing.
"Hey Amy, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" Taylor chuckled, not able to help herself as she pushed off the banister, walking forward a few steps to stand just in front of her. Well, above her really, considering Amy was quite short and Taylor was not.
"That…gah…did you really just use a corny pickup line?!" Amy finally asked, focusing on the simplest question she could ask.
Arachne tilted her head sideways, leaning forward as she did. "Yes, yes I did. By the looks of it…it worked~," she purred, reaching out to poke Amy on the nose playfully and enjoying the red flush that broke out on the shorter girl's freckled cheeks because of it.
This made Vicky giggle, earning a glare from Amy as she tried to change her expression into one of neutrality, not really succeeding in Arachne's opinion. "You, shut it," she glared at Vicky, only making the girl outright laugh, "and you…" Amy began reaching out to poke Taylor on the breastplate, the action jostling her slightly painfully.
"Did you really walk in bright daylight, into the home of one of the city's premier hero teams, in full villain regalia…so you could 'kidnap' me?"
"Yep," Arachne nodded.
"And no one saw anything suspicious about it? No one made a…made a fuss or ran away screaming?" Amy continued to ask, looking a tad frazzled.
"Sum's it up perfectly," Arachne laughed, reaching out to ruffle Amy's mused hair, messing it up even further. "Turns out that, if you act like there's nothing wrong, people will just believe you're dressed up as an imitation of a Villain and aren't the real thing. After all, no one would ever expect that the mastermind,"
Amy snorted.
"that is Arachne, would dare to walk in bright daylight just for shits and giggles. Why, only someone out of their mind would do such a thing. No, it makes much more sense that it's just some dumbass walking around in a high-quality costume. It'd work even better if I was with Panacea, the world-renowned healer. If she doesn't think anything is wrong and continues to act calmly, why wouldn't they?"
"Well, you're certainly a dumbass," Amy replied with a sigh even as a smile forced itself onto her lips as she looked up at Arachne with fondness.
"Probably," Arachne agreed, making no move to deny the claim. She had just walked into the Dallon house with zero chance to escape if they came to blows after all, thus the end of her career as both a Villain and a person with a spotless criminal record. "But, while I may be a dumbass, tell me exactly where my plan went wrong? Exactly where any of my assumptions were false?"
Amy opened her mouth to do so, ready to shoot down her nemesis's (friend's) plan, only to find that she couldn't, leaving her with an open mouth and a stupid expression.
"That's genius," Vicky interjected, choosing to reply for Amy.
"Thank you," Arachne bowed, folding her arm across her chest as she bent forward before she came back up, holding her hand out to Amy. "Now, would you, Panacea, be willing to go out on the town with this famed Villain, to confound and mess with the minds of the general public? To, as they say…hang out?"
Vicky looked like she wanted a bowl of popcorn from where she was watching Amy stare at the outreached gauntlet, a myriad of expressions crossing the healer's face before she finally settled on bemusement.
"You know what, sure," Amy replied, grasping the palm firmly. "It's been a couple of weeks since Vicky hospitalized someone, it's about time I do something stupid to replace it."
"Yeah," Vicky nodded, her mouth moving faster than her mind before she realized just what she had agreed to. "Hey!"
She was too late, unfortunately, as Amy had already closed the door, looking to change into…let's say cleaner clothing, leaving her standing with Arachne, who was looking at Vicky with confusion.
"What did she mean by...hospitalized?"
"Shit." Vicky cursed.
… VICKY POV ...
"Yeah…" Vicky sighed, watching as Amy and Arachne left, the door shutting behind them. "That's so not going to end well."
A soft silence dawned in the house's entryway, the 17-year-old enjoying the ambiance.
"On the plus side, at least when she gets in trouble, it will be for something she actually did, and not just some bullshit reason that mom made up. In fairness to mom though…walking the streets in full costume next to Arachne?"
An impressed expression dawned on the blonde's face as she crossed her arms, nodding proudly. "Ballsy. Real ballsy, especially since the last time the pair were together, they couldn't help but flirt the whole time. Yep, my little sis has got a real large set of lady balls."
Heh, lady balls. As a quick thought experiment though…could Amy give Arachne a set of real balls, you know…if she wanted to? Cause that would be mildly disturbing. And funny when seeing everyone else's reaction. Like Dennis, he would probably get a real kick out of it.
"Vicky!" A voice yelled from the top of the stairs, originating from the office.
"Yeah, Mom?!"
"Who was at the door?!"
"A friend of Amy's, they went out!"
"Without telling me?!"
Yeah, cause they would somehow get her permission for Amy to go out on the town with the newest villain of the bay, one who had already built up a reputation for being bombastic.
She should probably try to play this down for Amy though, god knows she'd done it enough times for her when she was out with Dean.
"You said you were busy! We didn't want to bother you, and the friend was a girl, so it seemed fine!"
Vicky waited for the response that she was sure was to come, but a few seconds passed without any reply hitting her ears. This caused a frown to appear as she went up the stairs, coming out on the landing to see Carol standing there with a frown and crossed arms.
"A girl? Just where did this girl come from?" She enquired, an eyebrow quirked in question on her severe face.
Well, she would call it severe to be polite, but if she was being honest, most would just call it Resting Bitch Face.
"They met at the bank," Vicky shrugged while flicking her hair, choosing to stay as close to the truth as possible. "Apparently, they started talking and got to know each other a bit, apparently well enough to want to meet up later on. I say good for Amy, she needs to get some actual friends of her own so she'll stop spending so much time at the hospital."
Carol continued to frown as she drummed her fingers along her arm, creating a steady rhythm. "I suppose. As long as it doesn't reflect back negatively on New Wave or her classes or time at the hospital. I still would have appreciated being asked before she went out, however."
Negatively affect New Wave. Yeah, there was no way that would happen Vicky snorted/worried inside the sanctity of her mind. A villain and a hero doing who knows what in the middle of the day where they could be seen? What kind of mischief could they really get up to?
… PANACEA POV ...
"So, you've brought me out into the city, on my day off I might add," Panacea snarked as she walked beside Arachne in uniform, finding the act to be quite weird but not disagreeable. "Feel like cluing me in as to just what we'll be doing today?"
Arachne paused at the question, tilting her head to look down at Panacea with amusement as she threw her arm around the girl, bringing her into a one-armed/one-sided hug. "Such a grump, Panacea. Thank you for demonstrating just why I'm doing this. You see, as stated previously, I need friends, as do you, and right now my options are limited to just my teammates, who are…"
"Assholes," Panacea piped in helpfully, squirming slightly as a few members of the public out in the daylight stopped to gawk at them.
"Yeah, that, even if I like them" Arachne nodded. "So, I felt like expanding my pool of friends would be a good thing. As for you, I noticed, with some later help from Tattletale, that you need a friend just as much as I do, more in fact. Month after month of dealing with medical emergencies has left you jaded and cynical, and that isn't healthy."
"Yeah? Tell me something I don't know, a bunch of nurses and my sister already talk about that too much," Panacea replied icily, starting to struggle a bit more in the villain's embrace before she felt the pressure increase as she was pushed even further into her armored side,
"Something you don't know, huh? How about this? With enough browsing online, you can find just about anything you like, no matter whether it's legal or not."
"And you don't have to care about legality, seeing as you spit in the face of it," Panacea retorted, making Arachne nod even as she followed her to wherever it was Arachne was moving towards. She hoped it wasn't anything embarrassing.
"Correct again, babe. Now, back to what I was saying, you can find some pretty interesting stuff online. Like, for example, the private accounts of a few of the Bay's premier heroes."
Embarrassing was starting to look more likely.
"You're joking," Amy said with concern, earning a quick shake of Arachne's head.
"Afraid not. While it's not everyone's, damn Armsmaster's good," she grumbled, "with the help of my talkative friend in the Undersiders, I've found some pretty juicy stuff."
That did not sound good in Panacea's eyes, but she found herself interested regardless. Like most hospital staff, she always loved a juicy bit of gossip.
"Nothing on the Wards, their security is left to Armsmaster, but a few of the Protectorate are not so lucky. For example, Assault and Battery, as you might know, are married."
"Uh-huh," Amy nodded, paying no mind to the stares they received as they walked through the streets, moving aimlessly into the more commercial parts of the suburb. "But that's common knowledge, not really a secret. Why, did Assault cheat on Battery?"
"Not quite," Arachne laughed, making shivers fall down Amy's spine. Why did a villain make her feel so…alive? Was it because she was so different from her normal daily activities? An activity that wasn't related to heroics or New Wave's reputation in any way. No wonder people acted out if it felt this good.
"No, there was no cheating involved, buts let's just say that Assault and Battery, aside from sharing a domain over kinetic energy, also like to share partners in their bed…from either gender."
"You're shitting me," Amy said incredulously, not believing the claim for a second. Sure, the fact that Assault slept around didn't really surprise her, he always seemed to be so carefree and lively when she had met him. No, him sleeping around wouldn't surprise her at all.
But Battery? She was a stick in the mud. Assault's stick in the mud, to be exact, the one that always shut down his antics, which could sometimes be funny, but other times were annoying.
Why the hell he had thought switching the Protectorate coffee to de-caff would turn out well was beyond her, but after a 30-hour shift at the hospital, it had been all she could do to not give the manchild a second asshole. Armsmaster was, somehow, worse, as what he had done to the man had required her intervention afterward.
An intervention that was pushed in front of all the other, standard cancer and long-term injury patients she had scheduled for that day. While the injuries he had possessed were too numerous to list, let's just say that the power to miniaturize technology gave for quite the variety in the Armsmaster's skillset, and leave it at that.
Back to Battery swinging with Assault though.
"What's to say that your source isn't false? Battery is literally the boring personality among the city's superheroes, even more than Ms-I-was-just-following-orders-Militia."
"Don't believe me, fine, I'll prove it then," Arachne replied, not even sounding put out by Amy's suspension of belief. "You can tell I'm being truthful through just touch, right?"
"Yes?" Amy replied distractedly, watching as her tall friend unlatched the clasps keeping her gauntlet attached to the rest of her costumer, pulling off the elbow-length glove to reveal pale, white skin on an unassuming arm. "It's how I use my power, letting me heal or knock out anyone I come into contact with. You do know you're still a Villain though, and I should really-"
Arachne shut her lecture down by shooting her arm forward, wrapping her hand around Panacea's in a tight grip as she held them up at eye level, leaving the two girls clasping each other's hands like Dutch and Dillion.
"-not be given the chance to take you down." Amy finished somewhat lamely, staring blanking at the smug figure in front of her, a fact she could tell not through her expressionless mask, but through the small ticks she could now sense in her body language. "You…you don't know the meaning of caution, do you?"
"Why would I need to be cautious?" Arachne asked curiously, not worried at all. "I don't believe you hold me any harm, and so long as I avoid hurting innocents or offending you, I don't think you will."
"I…but…you" Amy spluttered, unable to come up with the right words to say.
"Yes, I am great, aren't I?" Arachne said pompously, forcing a snort of laughter out of Amy's nose before she could help it, leaving her to embarrassedly reach up to cover her mouth with her free hand, splashes of red filling her cheeks.
She couldn't believe she had just snorted in front of the girl she lik-her friend, in front of her new friend.
"Now, as I said earlier, I am certain that what I said earlier, that Assault and Battery are swingers, is true. That Assault has taken his vibrating tool and used it to great effect on the men and women who have entered the pair's wedding bed, while Battery has waited for the opportunity of some high-speed love-making," Arachne stated casually, forcing a nuclear blush to cross Amy's cheeks as her power verified it as true.
"Arachne!" Amy yelled, realizing at the last second that she shouldn't have been so loud, but found that she couldn't help it. What would she say something…something so…crass right out in the open! In public!
Hell, she recognized the old woman walking across the street giving them a disproving look.
No, don't judge her like that Grandma Doria! She wasn't like that!
"What, I'm only saying the truth," Arachne shrugged, seeing no problem with what she had said. "Can you imagine it though? Being double-teamed by an older man and his wife, a pair of experienced professionals lavishing all that falls under the kingdom of Kama Sutra on you?"
Amy could, in fact, imagine it, and the instant she did she had wished she hadn't, as she knew the next time she saw either of the heroes she wouldn't be able to look either of them in the eye. That's why Amy turned her mind elsewhere, in an attempt to distract herself.
"That's not important right now," Panacea replied, trying to put on a serious face that she hoped didn't show the embarrassment and reluctant arousal she felt, a state that wasn't helped by how she was interrupted earlier. "Just what is up with your nervous system? The bruises I can understand, they look like you took a beating, but your nerves are firing either way too quickly, or not quickly enough."
"Oh...that," Arachne replied, sounding far less enthusiastic and a bit more cagey in Panacea's eyes. "Yeah, I may have had a littttttllleee bit of a run-in with that new Tinker of Lung's." Arachne hunched in on herself as spoke, grimacing under Amy's 'gaze' at the memory.
"He has a new tinker? That's news to me," Panacea replied with a frown, making sure to make a note to mention it to the other members of New Wave later. "But what's that got to do with your Gordian Knot of a nervous system?"
"Well, me and my teammates, who had stored our stolen money from the bank heist away from our base, didn't want to risk a tracker," Arachne began, making Amy roll her eyes at just how unashamed she was of the robbery, "and somehow Bakuda, that's her name by the way, discovered us, and laid an ambush. As you know, facing a Tinker with preparation time,"
"is like using a sandpaper dildo in terms of how fucked you are," Amy finished, earning a brief yet painful chuckle from the other teen as she nodded.
"Yep. What's even worse, is that Bakuda is a bomb tinker, and not just of the normal kind. You're looking at the recipient of one of her more special numbers, a certified pain bomb that, quite literally, is the most painful thing I can imagine. It was like she had bottled the very essence of PAIN and contained it in a ball. Nothing else I have ever experienced, and I have endured quite a lot without showing it," Amy thought she shouldn't sound so proud of that, "has ever come remotely close. Even now regular things should be painful, like getting a small cut, barely register. I guess my nervous system is still out of whack a little."
"Yes," Amy snorted, turning her metaphorical eyes on the problem for a closer look, "if you want to call the Hiroshima Bomb 'little', then that term is accurate. From what I can tell, up to 5% of your nervous system is currently sending pain signals at random points in time. To be honest, it's a miracle you're still standing."
"I'd like to say it's cause I'm tough as nails," Arachne replied confidently before slumping, looking embarrassed, "but it's probably cause I'm pushing off as much of the pain into my swarm as I can. I don't suppose you could do something about it? I may look fine, but I am still very much in agony."
Amy blinked at the request, surprised that it had even taken the girl this long to ask, but didn't see any reason to refuse. She'd healed more than enough skinheads and gangbangers in this shit-hole of a city to even think about refusing such a request, especially for her friend.
So she swiftly did as asked, letting the tight hold she held over her power weaken as the tendrils of it unfolded like a nervous pet, only this one possessed about 100 arms and none of the empathy. It was almost sentient, in a way, but Amy imagined that was more the image she had given it in her mind.
The thought of powers being sentient in any way was quite literally horrifying, so she did her best to believe that.
"Well, most of the damage is pretty easy to fix, it won't even make you tired when I do," Amy began, soothing the frayed connections and endings of all of the damaged nerves, converting the ravaged nerve tissue across her body back into healthy versions, "but that doesn't mean anything for the strained nerve centers in your brain. As much as I'd like to, I can't do anything about them," Amy apologized.
Seems like Arachne didn't hear her, as she was too busy giving off an explicit sound of relief as the constant signals of pain left the girl, actually shuddering under the relief it brought her. It was the sound that Amy had only ever heard through her adventures on the internet, and from that one time she had pushed her ear to Vicky's door when she'd kept it shut.
She had enjoyed the experience a lot, and likely would have tried to do so again, but she had almost been caught the one time she did due to how distracting the sounds had been, and no matter how much she desired to hear that same sound again, she couldn't find the courage to go for it. A die-hard lesbian she may be, but she was not shameless.
Not like Arachne seemed to be, as blood didn't even go to the girl's cheeks when she regained her equilibrium under the judging/interested eyes of the people around them.
"Oh yeah, that's the stuff. That's better than eating peanut butter with a spoon," Arachne laughed breathily, making Amy snort even as she felt secondhand embarrassment from the sounds Arache had been making. Or would it have been first-hand in this case, cause Arachne certainly didn't feel any of it? "Thanks for that, Amy, you've quite literally made my day."
"I can see that," Amy squirmed slightly. "But are you sure you're alright? Your brain is still going to be weird for another week or so, and you're going to act more impulsively and irrationally until your brain has recovered."
"Like I wasn't already," Arachne shrugged, waving at the people around them, causing a few to wave back. "I'm walking out in public with you in broad daylight after picking you up from your house, did you think I was normally that careless?"
Amy flushed and turned away, making Arachne laugh in a way that sent butterflies through her stomach. She had actually, considering her total experience with the girl was two meetings a week apart.
"Trust me when I say this, my short freckled friend," Arachne stated, pulling her hand away to put her glove back on before wrapping it around her shoulder, "this is not normal behavior for me, especially since I stopped dumping my emotions into my bugs. After being overwhelmed by the emotions that come from my day-to-day living? This is practically heaven. I feel good, Amy. Better than I have in years, and it's all thanks to you."
Amy mumbled under the praise, unused to receiving such honest words from something that she had been more than willing to do for no other reason than it was her duty.
"In return, I'm going to do the same for you. You've been frustrated with your normal routine, right? Well, we're going to change that." Arachne declared.
"Yeah? And how are you going to do that in a way that I won't object to?" Amy quirked an eyebrow, looking at her friend in question. She may not want to detain her, but she wasn't going to break the law for a little bit of fun.
"There's more than one way to crack an egg," Arachne stated, and while Amy was no longer scanning her through physical contact, she could still tell that the tall, stately villain was grinning widely under her mask. "Just let me show you."
While a voice in the back of her head screamed that this was a bad idea, one that sounded suspiciously like Carol, the one that sounded like Vicky was doing a cheerleading routine with pompoms and a short purple dress, and Amy had always liked Vicky more. So, despite her trepidations, she nodded, leaning a little further into the embrace.
"…okay, show me how to have fun. If you dare," Amy challenged, unable to help herself. She may be socially awkward, but she was not a pushover.
"Oh, my little firecracker," Arachne chuckled, wrapping her claws around her shoulder in a way that should have seemed villainous but wasn't, "I intend to. The fly is now in the spider's parlor, and it's feeding time."
Together, the pair continued to walk the streets, Arachne leading the way with Amy having no idea where they were going, unable to think about anything except how dirty the villain's last statement had been.
… ARACHNE POV ...
"First up on our mission of cheering you up, positive association," Arachne declared cheerfully to her slightly grumpy-looking companion, pulling her along in the direction her bugs told her to go. Specifically, she was leading the two of them to a veterinarian hospital, one full of sick and injured animals.
The pair paused in front of the blue and white building, one with a yellow pawprint painted above the entryway.
"Your solution to cure me of too much healing," Amy stated calmly, her left eyelid twitching, "is to make me do more healing? That's…bold."
"Indeed, just how I like it," Arachne laughed, amused at the way it made Amy twitch but paying it no mind as she walked through the sliding doors, pulling the more reluctant girl behind her.
"Just try it on a few of the patients, Amy, and then see how you feel. Or can you not spare a couple of minutes out of your day?" She asked, letting her yellow gaze rest heavily on the elder girl. It required a couple of seconds, but Amy eventually crumbled under the weight of the stare, grumbling under her breath even as she followed Arachne further into the building. It took barely any convincing on the orderly's part to let them into the recovery ward, although whether that was due to the presence of a Super Villain or Panacea was up in the air.
Regardless, the nice man by the name of Geoff led them to the cages holding the patients, stepping back after he showed them how to open them.
"Let's see here," Arachne said aloud, picking up the chart hanging on the front of the first cage, one holding the subdued and wrapped-up form of a juvenile golden retriever.
"Lucky, Female. Age: 15 months. Cause of Visit: Broken femur in the rear right leg," she read off, flickering her eyes upwards at the poor animal and confirming that its back leg really was wrapped.
"Oh, you poor thing," Taylor crooned, reaching between the bars to trail her claws down the dog's head, rubbing it softly in a way that made her eyes light up a little, a small wag coming from her tail. "Don't you worry little miss, my friend will have you fixed up in no time at all, and soon you'll be able to chase all the squirrels you desire."
Stepping back, she wrapped her arm around the healer's, urging the suddenly hesitant girl forward with a small push. Arachne watched with amusement as Amy hesitantly undid the cage, stretching her hand out to touch Lucky's golden fur.
"A clean break, with a recovery time for full strength of 12 weeks," Amy stated, her eyes glazing over for a second as she used her other hand to softly stroke the animal's head. "Do I have permission to heal you?"
The only reply she received was the soft whine of approval that the head scritches were creating, Lucky's tail wagging a little faster despite how unhappy she looked to be with her lack of mobility.
Arachne couldn't help but snort at the question, while Geoff softly chuckled from over in the corner, clearly finding the matter amusing as well.
"I don't think you're going to receive an answer, Pan-Pan."
"Right, I knew that" Amy replied with embarrassment, shaking her head a little to clear it as she concentrated. "And don't call me Pan-Pan. Vicky has tried to countless times in the past, and if it didn't work for her, it won't for you," she continued with a hint of annoyance, even while she performed her miracle work as Lucky quickly began to fidget, looking confused for a second before realizing that the pain signals she had been receiving from her leg was suddenly no longer there.
Hesitantly testing it, Lucky soon stood up in her cage, pushing her full weight onto her back leg and woofing happily when it withstood the test. Even though she seemed to be slightly tired, it didn't stop the energetic little girl from practically leaping out of the cage and into Amy's surprised arms, her squirming, furry form licking the sections of face her mask didn't cover.
"H-hey! Quit it," Amy said somewhat sternly, moving her face out of the way of the seeking licks. "I know where that tongue has been!"
Laughing even louder, Geoff moved forward to help. "Here, let me get her." With an experienced hand, he grabbed onto her scruff, directing her back into the cage and sealing it up again before he dusted his hands, turning the soft gaze of his thankful middle-aged eyes onto Amy.
"You have my thanks, Panacea. Lucky has always been a cheerful girl when she visits, so seeing her so down like that wasn't pleasant."
Hearing her name, Lucky gave a quick bark as a silly, dog grin appeared on her face, the animal looking extremely happy with herself as the room's occupants looked towards her.
Shaking her head, Amy couldn't help it as she reached between the bars to pat the happy girl on the head, a soft, genuine smile appearing on her face.
Just as Arachne had thought it would, she grinned from a couple of steps back. Animals were always innocent and would never spit on the gifts given to them by those more enlightened. No, they would happily accept it while returning the affection two-fold back to their benefactor.
They were a nice, safe healing option that would put any person into a good mood, let alone a teenage girl. She would know, considering she was one, and despite the cool/worldly persona she had put on for her time with Amy, she had still barely restrained herself from moving forward to embrace Lucky when she had jumped into Amy's arms.
"If you wouldn't mind, would you be able to look at Chester next?" Geoff requested hesitantly, pointing towards a grey tabby on the bottom shelf, an elder-looking cat that was definitely pushing the fatness scale. "He's got a serious infection in his intestinal tract that's not clearing up, and as you might be able to tell, he's not happy about it."
Really, you think? The glare on his squashed face and the growl from his grey, furred lips wasn't enough?
"Sure, if you want me to," Amy shrugged, attempting to sound bored, but not quite managing it. The girl looked eager to continue and barely moved at a reasonable pace toward the furry, fury-ridden cat.
…
Two dozen animals and a half hour later, a far more relaxed Panacea and Arachne left the blue veterinarian building, both of them giving off a happy aura after having been snuggled by a variety of cuddly pets.
"So, I'd like to say my plan of getting you to like healing more, through healing, has been a total success, or did you want to pretend the radiant smile currently on your face isn't there?" Arachne asked, leading the pair to the left of the building and pushing them towards the boardwalk.
"No, no, I'll admit it, I enjoyed that," Amy replied, smiling happily, and for the first time since Taylor had met her, looking like a 17-year-old girl rather than somehow in her late 20's. "Seeing how happy all the animals were after I healed them, without requests for anything extra, or silent expectations to make them completely better…it was nice. Less...intense, than when I normally use my power."
She then paused in thought for a moment, walking quietly beside Arachne as she pondered something, an act Arachne was happy to let her do. It was nice to be doing something good like this. Something that was actually a net positive for the city, rather than the long shot that was joining the Undersiders.
It made her feel less like a Villain, and more like the Hero she had always longed to be.
"The variety of non-human anatomy was also a breath of fresh air. Something that, while similar to what I had seen before, was different enough to not just blur together into a faceless mass of meat and bone," Amy said aloud after finishing her train of thought.
Although it was speaking like that that really made Arachne wonder just who was the villain and who was the hero among the pair of them. Granted, it was more of a joking thought, but the mere thought of Panacea turning evil was not a nice one. No, not nice at all considering her suspicions on just what the girl's power actually was.
For now, though, Arachne turned her attention back to more positive things.
"Well, that's good then. Doing something new and exciting is always a good thing. That's why I think you'll enjoy what we do next, as it isn't something to merely make your powers seem like less of a burden," Arachne stated, shaking her head in amusement as she tilted her head to the side, placing her hands behind her back as she pushed her chest out to give an innocent/sultry vibe.
"What we do now, we do for sheer amusement."
Amy grinned at the statement, looking excited for what it may bring.
"Bring it on…babe," Amy replied with the same level of energy, adding the term of endearment at the end with only a hint of hesitation, an action that made Arachne blink in surprise as she stared at her friend with assessing eyes before she decided to roll with it.
That way she wouldn't have to think about the growing attraction she felt to the shorter girl, and just what it might mean for the future prospects of their friendship.
… PANACEA POV ...
"Come one, come all, come see the forces of good and evil come to blows in the most intense form of combat known to man…Naughts and Crosses!" Arachne shouted, standing in the middle of the boardwalk next to an annoyed-looking Panacea.
"This is so stupid," she muttered, feeling the weight of the people staring at them, the dozens of people within earshot all looking towards the pair of them with a mixture of confusion, bemusement, and worry.
Truthfully, she didn't know how Arachne withstood the weight of those gazes without buckling, as most of the looks coming towards them were aimed at her. She was only receiving a few and already she wanted to go find a nice comfortable corner of the hospital to sequester herself away in.
"Now, some of you may be wondering just why this is so dangerous," Arcane continued under the eyes of her adoring crowd, sweeping her gaze across the bystanders watching on as she placed her hands on her hips.
Yes, explaining that would be appreciated, Amy snorted.
"I'm going to be honest here, it's not really all that dangerous," Arachne shrugged, making Amy facepalm at the stupidity of it all. "BUT, what makes it interesting is that powers are going to be involved."
Wait…what?
"Let the game begin," Arachne, the crazy bitch, declared with enthusiasm as she waved her arm forward, a wave of insects forming out of what seemed like nothing as they emerged through the decking of the boardwalk, shooting up in a formless cloud before they came together to float mid-air in a 3 by 3 grid of squares, a large 'A' taking the position in the center square.
"Of course, you would take the center square," Amy glared heatedly, even if she didn't actually feel that annoyed by the action. She was more exasperated by the general situation of it all, especially because she could see a multitude of phones already recording them. "That's the kind of basic bitch move I'd expect out of a dastardly villain!"
Hey, if Arachne wanted to make a game out of it, she might as well reciprocate the action. She had already come this far.
"Ha ha ha!" Arachne cackled, a small swarm of bugs vibrating in tune with the action to make for some real-time special effects. Hell, she even kept some buzzing around Amy, ready for some other shenanigans she suspected.
"I'll take the top left!" Amy yelled, punching towards the square as a vague wave left her fist, traveling towards the square before it seemed to impact the part of the grid she was refereeing to, the wave of bugs 'bouncing' off the grid in a way that made it seem tangible as a large 'P', one identical in size to the central 'A', appeared.
"Ah, a worthy opponent I see," Arachne replied with an impressed head tilt, looking fully like they were in a fight of some kind, rather than just a childish game. The sheer contrast of it all was strange, Amy had to admit, but it was also kind of fun. "In that case, I take the top right!"
A wave of the villain's hands directed the bugs forward, letting them move more organically like an actual swarm rather than some kind of force as they had for herself as a second 'A' appeared on the grid.
They continued this little game back and forth, clearing the board whenever it filled up. Each of them acted like they were taking it seriously, giving the proper accusations for the other's actions while defending their own, and as they did, more and more people seemed to gather as word spread of the spectacle they were putting on, entrapped in the displays Arachne was putting on with her powers.
A couple of minutes of their game passed before Amy directed Arachne to place her final 'P' in the bottom left corner of the fifth grid, blocking off the villain's victory for the game and giving her a feeling of satisfaction as the crowd around them groaned.
Just like Amy, they had also become invested in the little back and forth the pair were participating in, watching with intrepid eyes the spectacle of Cape Naughts and Crosses.
"It seems like we are in a bit of a stalemate. five games played, five draws made," Arachne boasted, projecting her voice loud so that everyone could hear her.
"Yes," Amy nodded grandiosely, similarly loud and feeling like giggling but keeping it inside to preserve the act, "it does. What do you propose we do about that?"
"Well, evidently naughts and crosses aren't getting us anywhere, as we find ourselves equally matched in our battle of wits. We could keep going as we have, but that seems a little…boring, don't you think?" Arachne asked with a rough drawl, a wave of her arm addressing the crowd. "Normally, I would suggest something else, but the kinds of conflict I know are far too…rough, for the delicate sensibilities of justice. As it is, I find myself able to think of only one way to move forward," she growled.
Amy tensed at the words, as despite the relaxed body language her friend still possessed, she was dressed up in a Villain costume, and her tone was quite vicious, enough that the crowd around them tensed at her voice, looking ready to bolt if it became necessary.
"We must…" Arachne began, a swarm of bugs surrounding her form like a cloud of miasma around a smokery, "make the grid BIGGER!" she yelled with a finger pointed to the heavens, her chest puffed with vigor.
The crowd, much like Amy, deflated at the statement from the bug cape, having all expected something much different than that from her, but as Amy shook her head in bemusement, she had to admit that that was to be expected of Arachne.
As she had shown with her public debut at the Bank, Arachne was unpredictable by nature, and while she seemed generally non-malicious, she could not be described as…conventional.
Take their little game for example. Instead of one 3 by 3 grid, there were now nine of them, each slightly smaller in size than the original, but still large enough to blanket the surrounding area in buzzing vermin as they hovered in a perfect square. With so many options to choose from, Amy was curious as to just how they would continue the game.
"Each of these nine grids represents a single square from a standard three-by-three grid," Arachne explained, which she was thankful for. "Whether it counts for me or for you depends on who is victorious on the smaller grids, and on your turn, you can place your marker wherever you want."
Nine grids, huh? That would make for a total of 81 squares to keep track of, something that might actually be a challenge. It did present a small problem, however.
"Just how am I meant to indicate where I want?! I don't want to have to spend a minute describing my move every time it's my turn!"
Arachne paused in her playful posturing with crossed arms as she seemed to come to a pause, looking confused as she tilted her head back, taking in the entirety of the grid matrix with her own eyes.
Apparently, she hadn't done so before, which was quite frankly stupid. She'd made the damn thing.
It didn't take the girl long to figure it out however, as letters ranging from 'A' to 'I' quickly appeared over the top of the grid, while numbers from 1 to 9 appeared on the side, much like for the grids of a chessboard. It would be far simpler now, as Amy would only have to shout out a two-syllable command.
"Okay, that's clever, I'll admit, but I'd like to think I have entertained you long enough," Amy declared, feeling bold as she gnawed on the meat of her lip, feeling conflicted but hyped up enough to go for it. "What's to stop me from just apprehending you, Villain?"
"Yeah!" One of the crowd members agreed, a young man who seemed to be on the cusp of manhood and dressed in a suit and tie. "You've got to make it worth 'er while!"
Him, him she liked, Amy decided. If she ever needed to treat him with her powers, she'd make sure to do something nice for him, like making him more resistant to cancer or curing any genetic weaknesses he possessed.
It'd be like the patients who had been particularly demanding of her, only instead of making sure they would go grey at 40 or lose their hair faster than they would have otherwise, she would make his life better.
"It is as you say, my lovely Panacea," Arachne bowed at her waist, wrapping her hand around her side before she straightened up, cocking her hip with her hand placed against it, her other hand held outstretched with slightly curled fingers.
"What is it you desire to continue playing, my fair lady? Money? A snack? Or perhaps even…me?"
Amy blushed once more at the provocation as Arachne inspected her reaction, shifting her weight onto her other long, elegant leg.
"Hmm, it seems the last has struck your fancy. Interesting. In that case, how about a wager on the outcome of this game, which will undoubtedly be our last?"
Their last? Why would it be their last, there was still plenty of time Amy thought in confusion before she looked at the crowd around them, specifically at the phones many of them were holding. Right, while they had been lucky so far, eventually someone would alert the authorities, and while Arachne was pretty low on the list of priorities, she was still on it.
"That depends on the wager!" Amy yelled back before she could convince herself not to, earning a few embarrassing wolf whistles from their adoring crowd.
"Oh, I like it when they flirt~" Arachne crooned, making Amy flush even deeper despite how pleasant the purr in the villain's words was. "Very well, my wager is this. You win, and I shall come with you to do whatever you wish, so long as it does not end up in my arrest. It could be shopping, it could be a chore you've been putting off, it could even involve giving crabs to some people you don't like, or making them wake up to a spider in their face."
Amy paused to shiver at the last item, thankfully letting her gloss over the way one of Villain's earlier suggestions had made her feel.
"And if you win?" She asked, needing to know what she would have to do if she agreed if only to fulfill her own (massively overdeveloped) sense of duty.
"If I win? Why, you must simply spend the day with me again, much like today. No innocents will be harmed, no crimes will be committed, but you shall spend the day with me and only me, and whatever that entails," Arachne said huskily, making Amy nod rapidly, quickly agreeing to the bet.
The way she saw it, she couldn't really lose, as the outcome of the game would only decide if she was in charge or at another's whims…for the day's events! God, that sounded dirty even in her mind. It would decide who was on top and who was on the bottom?
Nope, that was even worse.
"Right, have at thee!" Panacea declared, turning her focus to the complex grid in front of her, bringing all of her brainpower into winning for the simple fact that winning felt good, trying to ignore the possible benefits that would come after.
Unfortunately for her, her brainpower didn't seem to amount to all that much, as less than 10 minutes of banter and moves later she was left in quite a jam.
Her initial plan had been to just stay in the same smaller grid that Arachne did, paying the squares one by one to prevent her loss, but that would only amount to another draw, something that went against the spirit of the more complex version of the game.
So, she had sifted her strategy to focus on her own squares, immediately going for the central grid with an initial placement of E5. Go for the center and you can't lose, right?
Wrong.
Because while she had started in the center, Arachne immediately started filling out the outer squares, moving in a pattern that Amy couldn't quite read. Initially, it didn't make much sense, as Arachne seemed to give up the match while Amy completed the center and bottom right lesser grids without opposition, her opponent choosing squares at random as she cycled through the left three.
When Amy started to go after the top left square, however, she was immediately stonewalled as Arachne completed a vertical trio, one that she couldn't prevent due to the marks that had been placed earlier.
Figuring it was no big deal, Amy moved onto the middle left grid, seeking to block Arachne's advance that way only to find herself blocked once more by another win for the lithe teen. That's where Amy found herself in real strife, as an almost identical setup as the one she had just lost to occupied the final grid Arachne needed to secure her victory.
"I'm not going to win this, am I?" Amy stated with a sigh as she predicted the next few moves. A 'P' in the bottom right to block the diagonal of the two 'A's already present, only to receive an 'A' in the top right square, leaving Arachne with certain victory with either the opposite diagonal or the top row for the win no matter what square she chose. "Not unless you let me."
"No, you will not," Arachne nodded, gracious in her victory as she avoided bragging about it. "It was a good try though, with only one flaw."
"Was that flaw lateral thinking?"
"Not quite," Arachne shook her head, placing her fists behind her back as she lectured the surrounding crowd, many of who were exchanging hands of money. A gambling ring, great. "It wasn't lateral thinking that was your downfall, the game isn't that complex. It was because you have never played this version of the game before, and unfortunately for you, I have. Going after one grid at a time makes sense to the uninitiated, you'll get your mark on the greater board as soon as possible, but it leaves you vulnerable to me seeding the grids that I want. You assumed I would do the same as you and get my grids completed as fast as possible?"
"Yeah," Amy nodded with a huff, crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes. "I did. And because I assumed you would, I made an ass out of you and me."
"Just you I'm afraid, but if it's any consolation, it is quite a lovely ass," Arachne complimented, making Amy flush even as she shook her head. The girl would just not stop, and on a more seasoned flirter, that might not have worked.
But Amy had always been placed beside Vicky, and she was the center of attention no matter where they went. That meant little flirting for Amy, and the ones that did were guys. No one had ever picked up on the fact that she was gay until Arachne encountered her depositing her payslip from the hospital.
So, when Arachne had outright stated she had a lovely ass, she turned her head backward, looking down at her posterior to find that she was right. It was a lovely ass, one that was full and would jiggle wonderfully when smacked.
N-not that she'd ever done that and imagined it had been Vicky of course. No, not her.
"R-right, well, do it then. Finish me off," she ordered as she placed the 'P' at the bottom of the grid, watching as Arachne did the same at the top before Amy sealed her fate with one final tile, letting Arachne complete the game with a flourish that sent her bugs fluttering, the individual grids forming into large A's and P's depending on who controlled them before a line of fireflies flew through the A's, an explosion of bugs flying everywhere after they did as the game board collapsed to the clapping and cheering of the crowd.
"Thank you, thank you, your support is appreciated and welcome!" Arachne yelled, bowing to the crowd. "As for being such good sports about this thing, how about some photos? It may be your only chance to do so with an actual villain without being in danger."
That was evidently the ticket as an orderly line of people quickly formed up in front of the Supervillain, none of them dumb enough to be pushy against someone who could control bugs with their mind.
"Thanks for coming," Arachne said, leaning down slightly as she stood beside the same young man in the suit from earlier as another of the crowd took the photo using the offered phone. The man wasn't even that short either, Arachne was just tall.
"It was my pleasure," he replied with a roguish grin, holding up his fist to tap as he took back his phone with the other. Amused, Arachne tapped her own fist to his, making him laugh slightly before he walked off with a wave.
"Okay, whose next?" Arachne said, looking over to the head of the line, an action that Panacea would have normally not been bothered by after the past dozen photos, a number of which she was forced to be in under protest.
Normally being the key word here, mind you, as the person standing at the front…well, let's just say she wasn't normal, even to the members of the cape crowd that Amy normally dealt with as a healer. As a matter of fact, she was particularly interested in this person, as they had…quite the reputation.
"That would be me, my new rival!" The lady grinned, standing with her hands on her hips in her brown body armor, the apparel denoting her status as more than just a member of the crowd. The shield on her back and the sword sheathed beside it were another clue, but the most obvious was the helmet she was wearing.
Because this helmet possessed an advanced-looking visor, one blue in color that hid any discernible features aside from the wide grin on the woman's face, and sported a pair of large, circular ears on top. Circles with a brown outer circle and a pink inner circle, like ears on the top of a mammal.
"Mouse Protector," Arachne stated in surprise, her body language becoming more stilted at the appearance of the veteran hero. "I didn't expect to see you...ever."
"No one ever does," Mouse Protector agreed, striding forward with a confidence borne out of her experience. "But no one can stop this cheese of justice from shining its yellow light, not when it was faced with the presence of a new pretender of cheesy goodness!"
Cheesy goodness? What the hell was she talking about, Amy thought with a frown as she watched the interaction.
"No, there's nothing wrong with…cheesy justice, as you say," Arachne nodded, earning a pleased grin from the older woman for playing along. "But it's just…you're housed out of New York, and normally heroes with your...wealth of experience don't really travel out of the area for anything outside of Endbringer fights."
And of course, Arachne had to be blunt.
Experienced or not, it was still enough to draw out a grimace from MP for a moment before her grin was back in full force while she held her arms behind her back, stretching them out.
"Normally I wouldn't, being such an experienced veteran as you say, but a week ago I found the most curious video when I was browsing PHO. While the quality was quite bad, probably 'cause it was filmed on one of the cheap phones that are so popular nowadays, it showed the most intriguing debut for a Villain I've seen in a long time." MP smirked, the challenge clear in her tone. "After watching it, I just couldn't help myself, it was like a little voice in the back of my mind was going off."
Mouse flicked her head to the side, an action that would have flicked her hair if any of it showed under the helmet, but instead, caused a vicious crack that emerged from her neck to fill the air, one that made a few of the crowd members flinch.
"Do you want to know what it said?"
"…not particularly, no," Arachne replied, saying something smart for the first time of the day as she visibly tensed, gearing herself up to be ready to react to any action.
Amy didn't know whether to be intrigued or horrified. On one hand, Mouse Protector had just watched her lose a bet where she would have to do whatever Arachne wanted for a day, and was now getting into her face. On the other, Mouse was one of the tamest violence-wise of the well-known independent heroes, and would likely make a game out of it.
No one would deny she was strange, but as her rivalry with Ravager had shown over the years, as long as her enemies didn't cross a line, she would let them escape without an arrest. It was one of the reasons Carol didn't like her, seeing her as some ditz who only helped the villain's cause by letting them go.
It was also the reason Amy liked her, as she, according to the figures, had the lowest serious injury rate of any cape that actually engaged in combat. Parian and other rogues like her wouldn't be fair to consider after all, and even then a number still had a higher record than Mouse Protector in the case of self-defense.
So, if she kicked Arachne's ass a little, Amy would be content to sit back and enjoy the show.
"Mm, too bad, 'cause I'm going tell you anyway," Mouse grinned evilly. "They said, and forgive me for paraphrasing a little, 'Go show that uppity little cretin just who the queen of audaciousness really is' and 'just why she should stay in her lane'. Finally, they said, 'Visit Ms. Militia while you get the chance', but that's kind of unrelated," Mouse Protector shrugged, finishing her challenge a little awkwardly but still managing to get the message through.
Now Amy just had to see how Arachne would respond.
"Ah..." Arachne sounded, looking confused for a second before she reasserted herself, spreading her legs out to shoulder-width as she held her hand out in front of her, claws outscored as her brown hair waved in the background, "not what I was expecting you to say, but I guess I'll roll with it and tell you what the voice inside my head is saying."
The swarm of bugs that had only just dispersed began to combine back together in preparation for the fight, a small collection of them hovering to form a circle around their controller's back as lazy tendrils that moved erratically formed around her black and grey bodysuit.
"It's saying: Coming from the old school reject who's getting too old to run with the big boys, I'd like to see you try."
A tense standoff overcame the area, the boardwalk falling silent as the crowd cleared a space around the two tense-looking capes, a suddenly-pensive looking Panacea standing in between the two of them as she glanced back and forth between the two, wondering just how she had ended up in this situation.
Oh right, because she'd wanted to go out on a pseudo date and her hormone-addled mind couldn't come up with a good enough reason not to. She guess Carol was right about one thing, horny teens were a pain in the ass.
Now she just hoped that fact wouldn't become literal.
…TO BE CONTINUED…
AN: I felt like this was a good place to stop, as this chapter is already pretty long. Hopefully the next chapter won't take long.