Look at this, another update so quickly. I don't exactly know what came over me, but I decided to strike while the iron was hot, so to speak.

To those of you who offered to be a Beta, thank you. But honestly, I couldn't in good conscience choose one of you over the other, because I would feel guilty at the unfairness it would be. I'm sorry that I asked it of any of you, but it's too late to cry over spilt milk, so I'll just say thank you.

So, I'll be honest here, I have a somewhat different read of Amy than the Canon, but part of that came from a reddit post I read a while ago that took the time to look at her character. Maybe I'm overcomplicating her, it is a trend of mine. And while I may muck it up somewhat here, what I do have kinda is going to serve for me to work on her here. But we'll see.

Anyways, here is the next chapter, hope you all enjoy it.

Awakening 1.z Amy

"May I have your permission to heal you?"

It was a testament to her distracted thinking that she barely paid any attention to the response. Then again, the answer in the affirmative was a foregone conclusion, as the hospital administration never put anyone who didn't want her services.

Still, that didn't take away from the fact that she was not even paying half a mind to the process working to repair the kidney damage that her power went through as it healed the patient. No, her mind was firmly upon the events earlier in the evening.

And the moral and intellectual quandary that was Taylor Hebert.

It had been an accident, she would swear until her dying breath. She had absolutely no intention to grab Taylor, but the girl had suddenly acted so out of character and she hadn't been thinking about the invasion of privacy that was a defining trait of her power.

But it had happened and there was no going back. And honestly, a darker, more selfish part of her was unashamed of what she did because what she had seen had been so fascinating.

In the two years since she had gained her powers, she had been exposed to a literal medical encyclopedia on the human condition. The list was extravagant on differences between each and every of her fellow man, from the minor to the major.

But what had been truly different had always been the various parahumans she healed. The effect being a parahuman had upon the body. It had always been a source of interest to see the biological changes that had been done once a parahumans power had been gained, to the point it was almost voyeuristic for her own power.

So when her power encountered Taylor, catalogued and analyzed what it was in contact with. It was...unsettling, to say the least. She had healed so many different parahumans, but they all ran some sort of common element between them based upon their rating.

What she had seen on Taylor, it was new, and to her power, exciting. It was different than anything she had seen from any parahuman before. Because not once, in her life, had she encountered a case where the corona pollentia had been subsumed into something else. The corona pollentia always stood alone, no matter the powers that developed after a parahuman triggered. It was even well-documented that this was the case.

So to encounter something like this, something so inordinately unique. Her power wanted to experience it again, to see how it ticked and what made it so special. What did the absorption of the corona pollentia do? What sorts of powers did Taylor Hebert have? Because there was no doubt in her mind that there was something to Taylor. One did not have a secondary and tertiary circulatory system that channeled an exotic bioenergy field throughout the body without some sort of use.

Releasing a deep sigh, she retracted her hand from the patient and got to her feet, not even giving a second thought to the thank you's spouted by the patient's parents. She was honestly tired of being thanked, because it never meant anything. Too often, the thanks were merely going through the motions and not the heartfelt thanks that they should be.

Yes, it was her being jaded, but after two years of this, there were just too many people who took her for granted. She was Panacea, after all, the cure-all who could heal almost everything. Too many expected it of her, not caring how much time and energy she put in so their expectations could be met. It was the type of empty thanks that one would get for getting their order correct and on time.

And maybe it was her fault for allowing it to happen. She had the power to walk away, to actually put her foot down and say no. She could make people understand what it cost her to be here so often, to pour so much of her time, energy, and sanity into healing people day in and day out for maybe a few fleeting moments of appreciation for what she did.

It would be so easy to just say no.

And maybe that was why she refused to do it. Because once she did it once, what would stop her from doing it again. And maybe again after that? What right did she have, with her power, to tell people that they simply had to die because she wanted to be selfish.

That's what Carol would say, and she couldn't help but find herself agreeing with it, as much as she hated the idea.

She couldn't do it. It was simply too callous.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose as she stepped into the small cafeteria that served the floor, she decided she didn't want to think anymore about it anymore. It would only end in a vicious cycle achieving nothing except make her feel horrible for daring to think about it. Instead, she forced her mind back to her previous distraction and she purchased a candy bar and soda from the vending machine, finding a table to sit down at.

She had to wonder if Taylor was using her abilities now. And if she was, what were they. Was she a cape? A villain? There were just too many unknowns that she couldn't have answered because she didn't have enough time to divine just what she did. Again, it somehow had something to deal with the bioelectric energy, but it could be anything.

Furthermore, she wasn't aware of any cape that use any sort of bioelectric-

She froze, candy bar halfway to her mouth.

Correction,there was one cape that used something similar. She had been called in to analyze a few cases of it early on in the appearance of the cape that PHO was starting to call Angel. Specifically the pieces of paper that had been affixed to the necks of criminals captured by her.

But that didn't make any sense, the bioelectric energy that was being generated by the piece of paper on the neck of the victim was different. It worked differently…working to stimulate parts of the brain to maintain unconsciousness.

Unless it was imbued. But how would that work? How would she imbue her energy onto a slip of paper.

But wait. According to what she recalled, Angel was only maybe five and a half feet tall, if that. Taylor was taller than that, so could they be the same person? Would whatever her power was enable her to change her appearance?

Why would she do that? What purpose did it serve? If she could change her appearance, why of all things would she choose to look asian, and have to deal with the baggage of being accused of working for, or at least, with the ABB, despite her actions against the ABB.

It made no sense.

She shook her head, discarding the idea. She was overthinking this. It was obviously someone with a similar power. There were enough capes in the world with similar abilities that only expressed themselves differently.

Besides, she was treading into dangerous waters anyway: The Unwritten Rules. While she had not violated them yet, per se, she was getting awfully close because of her discovery of Taylor as Parahuman. What she was doing now, a case could be made that she was working against them by trying to figure out if Angel was Taylor using her ill-gotten gains. To unmask a parahuman (if she had a make in the first place) was a violation, and even being who she was, would not protect her.

In fact, it would likely be worse for her, because of how she gained the information she did.

It wasn't fair, she thought with a bit of petulance, as she finished off the candy bar. It wasn't her fault that she had stumbled across something like this.

So what was she to do?

The obvious answer was to do nothing, and she knew that was unlikely to happen. She already knew the temptation to be back inside Taylor, to see exactly what it was that made her tick, to see what this unique structure could do, would be maddening as time went on. But she couldn't exactly walk up to Taylor and announce she knew what was she, that was liable to get her in a lot of trouble as well. Unwritten rules and all of that, not to mention how Taylor would react as well. As tightly wound as that girl was, she wouldn't put it past her that it might turn to violence, and she would rather prefer that did not take place.

So, that was what she was left with, she guessed. She could look, but not touch. Just the acknowledgement of denying that temptation was going to be hell upon her. Because for once, she was excited by something.

Sighing in disappointment she glanced at her phone and noted the time. Once again, it was going to be a late shift since Victoria had yet to call and check in. It meant either her patrol was taking a bit longer because she was involved in a crime, or she was spending time with her on-again-off-again boyfriend Dean.

Which meant more healing for her, she mused as she rose to her feet, walking toward the exit and making sure she tossed away her refuse. She had taken a long enough break as is.

So it came to no surprise when Nurse Dawes flagged her down, motioning her over to her station, even as she was having a small conference with several other nurses. Obviously they were just finishing up, as they broke away as she arrived, moving to wherever they were supposed to go as Dawes seemed to be getting herself ready.

"What happened," she couldn't help but asking the older brunette, not exactly looking forward to whatever it was that had changed the atmosphere in the hospital, as what had previously been almost sleepy was reaching a frenetic buzz of activity.

"That new cape again," came the response as the woman placed some papers on a clipboard, "Guess she took exception to the ABB, because she took out of their brothels. BBPD is sending us serious injuries and quite a few of the young girls that were kept there. Can you help us out?"

Dawes had always been one of the good ones to her, at least. She rarely imposed upon her unless it was something important and treated her with respect. It was one of the reasons she actually tolerated working so late at night certain nights. So if she was asking, it was because she would appreciate the help.

"Sure," she agreed, even though she knew it was going to be a long night if she did.

AND

Stifling a yawn, she rested her hand on the cool wood of the desk.

It had been a long night, between assisting on checking on the young girls, many of them underage to her fury, and filling out the various forms and reports that were necessary for the hospital's recordkeeping, she had not been able to get home til well after two in the morning.

A part of her was glad for the Angel, at least she was trying to do something worthwhile. Even if she did look poorly upon the violence that she had to clean up after the fact,. Several of the injured that were brought in were those that received the tender mercies of the parahuman. And by tender, she was being quite facetious, as they were brutalized in ways to maximize pain.

Not that they didn't deserve it, if what she had been able to understand from the girls as she healed them, but it had taken her almost three cases before she had even recognized that there had been almost a textbook pattern in how it was done. She actually found herself wondering if Angel actually had any medical expertise with how clinical she had inflicted those injuries.

If she was honest, judging by everything she had healed, it may have been even more than that. She had been there to heal another few cases that had been on the receiving end of the parahuman's ministrations, and the comparison between those and these were like night and day. It may be her reading too much into it, but there just seemed to be a lot of rage in what she had done, in how she inflicted those injuries. It had taken them nearly two hours to safely remove the acupuncture needles from the head of the brothel, after all, and if not for her intervention, the man would have been screaming the entire time.

While she was not certain as to what the source of whatever it was that drove the parahuman to the lengths that she did, she did know that it would not reflect well upon her with the Protectorate. From what she had heard from Vicky, the Brockton Bay Protectorate was already becoming somewhat leery of the rogue's vigilantism. At least enough that they were trying to take a more proactive approach to trying to approach her, probably to constrain her from escalating too far.

And while last night was not exactly the massive escalation they likely were expecting, it was an escalation in the brutality of her actions. No one was dead yet, but last night, well, just how far was she going to go, Amy had to wonder.

Her musings, however, were interrupted by a presence that had stopped by her desk, causing her to look up to the source of the interruption to find Taylor standing there.

"Sorry about yesterday," the brunette said, her gaze meeting hers for a moment, before turning her head away, "I wasn't exactly the best of partners. I was letting my own biases get in the way of our project, and well, I don't exactly have a very appreciative view of the Protectorate or PRT. It's a long story, but I don't want that to hurt our paper, so umm...here."

Taylor then placed a small folder in front of her, and Amy found herself picking it up and opening it, taking the time to look through it. Idly noting that the report was a whopping twenty-two pages long, with various notes and graphs..

"While I do have some disagreement with how its done, the Protectorate does serve a necessary purpose," Taylor said, turning back to look at her as she read through it, noting that a lot of the statistics now were ones that fit with what she had been arguing last night, "but well," she sighed, offering small smile that was closer to a grimace, "I'd rather get a good grade than have both of us fail because of my pride."

It was actually quite well written, Amy couldn't help but note, as she continued to leaf through it, professional even. Then again, outside of what happened last night, it made sense considering how Taylor carried herself.

Still...

"You wrote all of this overnight," she couldn't help but say, unable to not let a bit of incredulity tint her tone, only to be met with a nonchalant shrug.

"It was the least I could do after my little display," was her reply, "not like you have a lot of time to dedicate to writing a report up, and writing just happens to be one of my stronger points. So? What do you think?"

Amy found herself looking down at the report, before finally looking back up to the brunette. She had to wonder what exactly Taylor had been thinking that would cause her to actually take the time to write such an honestly exhaustive report. She could understand if Taylor had a poor opinion on the Protectorate that it would have possibly caused her reaction, but still, to write all of this…even as some sort of an apology, was a tad bit extreme.

Still, she wasn't going to sit here and judge her if she wanted to do it. It would be unfair of her to do, considering that Taylor was a transfer student and was obviously trying her best to perform.

With a shake of her hand and a sigh, she picked up the folder and handed it back to the brunette.

"It looks good," she finally said, "I would have liked to have written a little bit of it two, but I guess the saying of too many cooks may apply here, am I right?"

This earned a small smile at the joke, as Taylor nodded, "Undoubtedly," she replied, before reaching out and taking the folder, one of her fingers accidentally brushing against hers as she gripped the report.

It took every ounce of willpower for her not to react to the inadvertent touch, even as her power cultivated a massive influx of information it received as it took every bit of advantage it could with that single fleeting moment, cataloguing everything as quickly as possible like a parched man quenching their thirst.

Ah...so that's how it works...she thought dazedly, before being wrenched from her observations and back to reality as Taylor took the folder back, fingers breaking contact as she found herself returning back to reality. What she found to meet her, however, made her wish she didn't.

It was obvious almost immediately upon her return, that from the expression that Taylor was giving her, that she knew exactly what had just taken place. And she was certainly not amused at the gross violation of her privacy, despite the blank look upon her face.

But the eyes, oh, the eyes said everything she thought, that Amy felt herself freeze as a sudden pressure descended upon her.

And then, as quickly as it had been there, it was gone, as Taylor tilted her head slightly as she offered a small smile, leaving her the opportunity to breath again.

"Well, at least Mister Fitzgerald wasn't explicit on how we allotted the workload. It's a good thing we followed the rules he laid out, even if it was an unfortunate mistake that we didn't adhere to the spirit of it. At least he won't know," Taylor finally said, placing special emphasis on parts of what she was saying that drove home to her just how beyond the pale she was.

But it was also, she realized with a blink, an olive branch being offered to her in what Taylor was saying. That as long as Amy followed the Unwritten Rules in not unmasking her to anyone else, then Taylor would not act in accordance with those rules.

She released a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. But as Taylor's bored into her, she knew she had only one response she could give, as she nodded her head.

"Of course, Taylor. What he doesn't know won't hurt us."

Satisfied with the answer, her parahuman classmate strode away. Leaving her with a whole mess of feelings she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to deal with.