I watched the bus roll away from the stop, before turning to look at the street I was on. It was just another suburb of Brockton Bay. Didn't Vicky take me here for someone's birthday party? Shaking the vague sense of deja vu, I dug the slip of paper containing the address out of my pocket and started walking. 2044, gotta find 2044… Wait, I'm going the wrong way. With a twist of the heel, I went the other direction.
2036… 2038… 2040… Stopping for a moment, I stared at what I was pretty sure was 2044. Bog standard suburban two-story house painted grey. It was kind of obvious now that I saw it, considering its driveway was full. And it had multiple cars parked on the street around it. Just how many people did she invite?
I recognized two of the cars as belonging to Vicky's friends. The rest were unknown, probably her family or friends I didn't know. Not that I really knew Vicky's friends really well… A shiver of nervousness ran through me as I got closer. The curtains weren't drawn all the way, and I could just see people moving around inside. Slowly I made it to the driveway and started walking towards the door. Vicky's left you alone at parties before Amy, the only difference with this is that you've don't got her to fall back on.
Stopping outside the door, I took a breath to prepare myself… Only for the door to open before I was ready. It was Wendy, standing there with a big grin as she looked at me. "I was wondering when you'd get here! Was starting to get worried that I gave you the wrong address or something."
"Vicky wanted to decide my outfit." The response came out short and curt, mostly due to surprise. I winced a little as I saw her smile waver for a moment. It rebounded though. The ginger grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house, letting out a small laugh.
"Yeah, that sounds like her. At least she knows her stuff, it looks good on you." Blinking a bit at the compliment, I nodded and took in the party. It was a pretty casual affair like she said, people ranging from children to a few elderly scattered around the room. Slipping out of my coat, Wendy took it and hung it up on a nearby rack.
"We have drinks and pizza in the kitchen if you want something. Oh, and the bathroom's through there and on the left." She gestured to a hallway off to the side, before hurrying off to speak to an older guy, probably in his twenties. He was looking at me, and I could see a few of the people I knew from school looking at me as well.
Suddenly feeling anxious, I hurried off to the kitchen. Just something to break their line of sight. Luckily the kitchen only had a trio of older women gossiping away with each other. Set up on the counter were several pizza boxes as well as a pitcher of water, lemonade, tea of some kind, a couple of two liters, and some red solo cups. Grabbing one of the cups, I filled it with tea and took a sip for my dry mouth.
Unsweetened iced tea, it'll do. Swallowing it down, I closed my eyes. Is Victoria really that much of a safety blanket to me? Get a grip, you've seen people's entrails spilling out. You've been to parties before. Just talking to some people isn't that big of a deal. Now mentally prepared, I turned to leave the room and spotted the trio looking at me. Something in their stares set me on edge. Hurrying out of the room, my eyes scanned the living room.
Sitting on a couch chatting were two people I recognized from Vicky's friend group, Jackeline and Regina. Despite never having a conversation with either of them… They had an open seat on the couch next to them. Wandering over, I sat myself down and waited. There was an awkward moment where the two didn't notice me there before one of them actually looked over to see who sat and blinked. "Oh, hey Amy."
"Hey, Regina." That was that. The two went back to talking to each other and left me just sitting there on the couch. With nothing else to do, I just fiddled with the cup in my hands, taking another sip. At least until something bumped into my knee, almost causing me to spill the tea.
Moving to glare at whoever bumped me, I found myself staring into a pair of soft brown eyes. It was a dog, an older one if the grey around the muzzle and eyes were any indication. A fairly big one as well, probably standing at around two feet and fluffy with black, brown, and white fur. I had no idea what breed it was, even though it was definitely something I'd seen before.
It stared at me for a few more moments before moving its nose towards my hands. I pulled them back, causing the dog to stop and stare at me. My eyes glanced around the room, noticing an older man and woman watching me. The woman looked like she might be Wendy's mother. Letting out a silent sigh, I took one hand off my cup to pat the dog on the head. It leaned into my hand, letting out a happy little whine as I started scratching behind its ear.
Out of idle curiosity, I allowed the information my power provided to flow into me. It's not like I got anything better to do. Besides, not like I've looked at a dog's body in detail before. Might as well check it out. She was an old dog. If I had to hazard a guess she was probably around nine years old. It showed. She had arthritis and inflammation around both her hips and... elbows? She also had the beginnings of cataracts and deafness. Most worrying of all was a tumor growing around the dog's liver. It was small, but I could tell it would grow quickly.
Part of me was tempted to heal the dog right then and there. Another part of me was annoyed at the fact that I couldn't get away from work even at a party. I'd need the owner's permission before doing that anyway… The thoughts were interrupted as something wet came into contact with my hand. The dog was licking it, slowly coating my hand in its slobber as it showed its happiness. I could literally see its brain chemistry, though it took a second to understand what I was seeing. A mixture of contentment and… affection.
Screw it, I could at least get rid of the tumor. Putting my other hand on the other side of the dog's face as it continued to lick my hand, I got to work. It was easy to destroy the tumor completely. After that, well I had already gone in for a penny. Might as well go in for a pound. What followed was a quick tune-up. Reverting its vision and hearing back to normal, fixing arthritis and inflammation, just making the dog healthier overall. From the outside, it probably just looked like I was petting the dog.
Cutting off the flow of information as I was done, I just looked at the dog. She looked back at me
"Hey!" The loud voice at my side made me jump. Again. Turning to glare at whoever spoke to me, I found myself looking at the gap-toothed grin of a young boy. Black-haired and probably ten, the boy kept on staring at me for a few moments before speaking."Are you Panacea?"
Someone finally noticed… Well, said something. Still petting the dog, I gave the kid a nod. "Yes, I'm Amy Dallon."
"Wooooooow." He intoned, a blond-haired boy and girl of similar age behind him following suit. I hadn't noticed those two. Now excited, the boy bounced on the spot as he spoke to me. "That's so cool! I've never met a cape before! Can you make someone like, super buff? Or give them laser eyes? Can you give me laser eyes?! I want laser eyes!"
Blinking at the child's exclamation, I was about to answer when a voice came in from behind me. Sounding pretty amused. "You know Amy, that's a good question. Vicky's mentioned you can do more than heal before, but never elaborates. What exactly can you do?"
Turning to give Regina the best glare I could manage, I shook my head even as I started getting nervous. "I heal. I don't do anything else beyond that."
"Why not?" A third voice joined the little conversation, and I turned to look at who it might be. A black girl around my age I didn't know, sitting next to a redhead. She had a half-lidded look to her eyes, even as she stared at me. "Why only be reactionary? A mugger puts five people in the hospital. Stop that mugger at the first and suddenly there are four fewer people needing to be healed. Can you not fight or something?"
I bristled slightly at that, giving the girl a glare. "I've gotten combat training, there's just much better people in New Wave for combat. Besides, there are a lot more things that cause people to get injured than just violence. Accidents do happen, can't really be there for every car crash or fall. I spend my time helping as many people as I can."
"Sounds kinda like an excuse to me." The redhead beside the black girl spoke up, inspecting her fingernails. "It's expected though. A sister that can punch through walls, a mother that can create weapons of light, an aunt that can shoot lasers. What could you do, give someone indigestion?"
Both my eyebrows quirked up at the sheer audacity of this bitch. I could dissolve someone's bones inside their body and leave them a literal pile of gore. Super cancer was easy for me! My eyebrows came back down as I stared at her. "I could fight, it's just not worth the effort. One night to hunt down a mugger versus one night to heal a hundred at a hospital."
"Then why don't you prove it? Show off a little." The black girl chimed in, her grin infuriating me further. A small whine and wetness on my hand informed me the dog wanted more pats. Taking a moment to scratch behind her ears calmed me down.
"Because I'm not gonna use my power on a person. This is a party." The red-headed girl opened her mouth while looking at the dog, and I jumped to cut her off. "Nor am I gonna do something to the dog just to entertain you."
"Good, I'd have had words if you did." Wendy came in from the side, the guy in his early twenties beside her. Now that I got a better look, I could tell the two were siblings. Similar facial structures and both were red-heads. The guy was a bit taller than her, with glasses and a mop of curly red hair. Wendy for her part just crossed her arms and stared at the other red-head. "Emma, what are you doing?"
"Oh come on, we're not doing anything Wendy. Just trying to get your friend Panacea here to show off a bit. Not every day you get to meet a cape, and you're always talking about how Glory Girl shows off." That made me glare at Wendy, who shifted uncomfortably a bit. The guy was just giving me a curious look.
"Wait, that's Panacea? Wasn't expecting her to look so normal." My glare shifted over to him instead, even as Wendy gave him a jab in the side with her elbow. "What? Don't most capes have costumes? She just looks like a girl."
"Why would she wear her costume to a party, Finn? And she doesn't need to show off to anyone. I didn't invite her here just so you all could pester her about her powers." Wendy gave everyone a glare, earning either scoffs, stares back, or guilty looks. The blond-haired girl looked undeterred though, slipping past the boy to stare at me.
"Please Panacea? It would be really neat to see you do something! Doesn't have to be big, just something." Big puppy dog eyes stared at me, and between that and the expectant stares of the others… I gave in.
Letting out a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair with a grumble. My other hand was too busy petting the dog. "Fine, I'll do something. Not to anyone, nor the dog… Does anyone have a flower or something? Something alive?"
"Oh!" The black-haired boy let out a noise, digging into a pocket before pulling something out with a triumphant noise. He deposited it into my hand. It was a green walnut, probably one of the last to fall from the trees considering it wasn't rotten. Giving him a nod, I let my power flood me with info from it.
Power, why are you so weird? Tree bark would stop me from getting a read on a tree. The shell of the walnut didn't. Okay, so it's got a fair amount of material to use. Don't wanna go too crazy with this, just use it to make a plant or something. Could do a flower, flowers are nice. Maybe a little tree since this is a nut? No, probably best to just do a flower. Taking my hand off the dog, I ignored their quiet whine and cupped both hands around the nut. Mostly so no one could see it basically turn into biological soup.
Cell walls morphed, proteins changed, and I slowly spread my hands out. Sitting there between my hands, blooming, was a blue and purple flower. The kids let out a collective 'ooooooooh' noise, even as Emma and her friend scoffed again. Without anything else to really do, I passed the flower over to the blond girl. She let out a squeal of joy, took the flower, and then proceeded to lunge forward to wrap me in a hug.
Giving her an awkward pat on the back, the hug only lasted for another moment. Then the girl ran off to an older woman who'd been watching, excitedly showing her the flower. An 'awwwww' noise drew my attention back to Wendy, who was just smiling at me. "That was so nice Amy! You didn't have to do that."
I just gave an awkward shrug back at her, not really sure what to say. I could hear the black girl snort off to the side, but I ignored it. No, I really did have to do that. I'd just look like a bitch if I refused.
A few moments of awkward silence passed before Finn spoke up. "So… Panacea huh? Gotta admit, I wasn't entirely sure if Wendy was telling the truth when she said she knew you and Glory Girl. Pretty neat to meet you all the same!"
"... Nice to meet you as well Finn?" That didn't make things any less awkward. Luckily he didn't seem to care. Wendy took a seat in the remaining chair, and he leaned against the back of it. A moment passed
"So… Got any fun stories?" That got him a look and he shrugged. "Come on, you've gotta have encountered some pretty odd things in your line of work. Never had to remove something from somewhere it didn't belong?"
"Does a bullet count?" There was a bit of venom in my voice as I responded, work was not something I wanted to discuss. He was taken aback, and I could feel the judgmental looks boring drilling me. Way to go Amy. Just give him what he wants.
Letting out a sigh, I reached a spare hand up to rub my forehead. "They don't really have me deal with… those sorts of problems. Usually what I'm dealing with are more important issues. The strangest thing I've had to deal with is an intestinal rupture caused by someone eating screws."
"... I'm sorry, what? Someone… eating screws?" That came from Regina, and I just nodded back at her.
"Tore his lower intestines up pretty bad. I learned later from one of the nurses that he thought it'd give him powers. Trying to follow old comic book logic or something. Not sure if the guy was crazy or just desperate. Don't really find it funny though." Emma giggled, and the black girl smirked as well, even as I gave them a glare.
"Damn, that does sound crazy… How does getting powers even work anyway?" The question drew my attention back to Finn, who just scratched his chin in thought. "I know you mentioned that Glory Girl got her powers after getting fouled at a basketball game, Wendy… Did something similar happen to you Amy?"
My eyes widened as he asked that question, even as I tensed up. That question brought back memories I viciously tried to push back into the little dark corner they belonged in. What surprised me most, was who spoke up after that. The black girl jumped right in, flicking a chip in his direction. "Dude, you don't ask people about that. It's like, the first thing you learn on PHO. Never ask people about how they get their powers."
"Well, how was I supposed to know? I'm not a cape geek, and you said it yourself. No one talks about it! I thought based on Glory Girl, it couldn't be that bad." That just got a snort of derision out of the black girl and myself.
"That's the exception not the rule. You know Dauntless, the Protectorate Hero? He went on record as to what caused him to get his powers. Him and his pregnant girlfriend's car got caught in a mudslide, and he had to perform a C-section to save her and their son's life. Collateral Damage Barbie triggering because she got fouled only happened because if I had to hazard a guess, she's a wimp."
"Her name…" Compared to before, I sounded like a cobra with the amount of venom dripping from my words. "Is Victoria. And don't speak about something you don't understand. You don't know a damn thing about it, so shut it."
The girl bristled, cutting Wendy off as she tried to interject. "I know plenty enough. I mean come on, she got fouled. Did another player bruise her a little? Little princess couldn't take it and threw a tantrum? I've heard theories about second generation capes. Most cape kids tend to ger powers of their own, so it's probably easier for them to get them. I bet you got yours from what, accidentally cut yourself making a sandwich?"
"... A sandwich." Continuing to stare at her, my mind slowly started to fill with all the horrible things I could do to her. "You think, I got my powers, the ability to bring someone back from the brink of death to full health, from a sandwich." I could fill her eyes with lactic acid, make her have to rip them out to stop the pain. "What kind of bullheaded, ignorant, bitch are you?!" I could grow taste buds inside of her liver, so she can taste all the waste her body disposes of forever. "It's one thing to insult me, but my sister?! You don't know a damn thing about her, or what she was going through." Rewrite her nervous system from the neck down, inverse everything and make moving a living hell. "So why don't you just shut up, before I make you shut up."
"You think you can make me do that, huh?" The black girl started to rise from her couch and me as well, when Wendy bolted up and between the two of us.
"Enough! Emma, your friend needs to leave. Now." The red-head started to protest before Wendy cut her off. "Vicky's my friend as well, and she's causing a scene." It was at that moment I realized, all conversation had stopped. Everyone, literally everyone was just staring at us. Or more specifically, me. I'd started yelling without even realizing it. Emma just looked more annoyed than anything, rolling her eyes and standing up.
"I'll walk Sophia to the bus-stop. Come on, let's go." The two got up and moved over to the coat rack, even as Wendy moved over to pull me down into the seat. My eyes didn't leave Sophia though, catching her eyes as she put her jacket on. Despite the fact that I was trying to kill her with my glare, she gave me this infuriating smirk.
"I told her not to bring her. I told her, but she didn't listen." Wendy's voice forced me to look away, as she put a hand on my leg. "I'm so sorry Amy. Emma's a second cousin, her Mom and mine are best friends. Sophia's such a bad influence on her, I don't get why Alan lets them continue to be friends... Are you okay?"
No, no I'm not. I want to turn someone's knee caps into caltrops. I've got everyone staring at me for making a scene. There's equal want to scream or cry or do both. The only person I want to talk to isn't here. I'm not fucking okay. I forced my face into a more neutral expression and grit my teeth. "I'm… fine. Really. Just… I think I should go."
"But… You haven't met everyone." Wendy tried to object, but I was already standing. With those two having grabbed their coats and headed out, I was free to grab mine. She stared at me for a few moments before speaking up again. "Someone could maybe drive you home...?"
"No… I know the bus routes. I took the bus here to begin with." Their eyes were still on me. I couldn't take anymore awkwardness. Any chance the night had for that was soured, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't snap at anyone else tonight. Besides, I planned on leaving early anyway. At least this way I can tell Vicky I gave it an honest try at it.
Wendy was about to speak up again, when one of the older women interjected. "It's probably for the best dear. She's a hero, she can take care of herself." Looking at who I think I was her mother, she bit her lip for a moment before just nodding.
Feeling grateful for the older woman as I slipped my coat on, I gave it another moment before I slipped out the door. The cold hit me full in the face, and I pulled my scarf up against it. Finally free from everyone's sight, I took a long shuddering breath. My eyes and cheeks burned as a few tears slipped free and froze on my cheeks.
A fat snowflake slowly fell from the sky and onto my nose, followed by more. With the white starting to come down around me, I started to trudge towards the bus stop, hands in my pockets. The only thing on my mind right now being how cold it felt, and how much I just wanted one of Vicky's hugs. How much I failed.
A/N: Less than a month between updates? I'd say it's a record, but I've had much faster updates when I started writing. I had like half of this written within the first few days after the last chapter. I hit a block at the "Funny Stories" part, then managed to get past it. Hope no one was hoping for stuff related to the secret identity, this chapter's entirely just Amy Dallon.