The pain receded slowly, and with it came consciousness.
The first thing that returned was the awareness of my power.
Riddled throughout my armor were dead cells. Burnt, electrocuted and frozen in random patches.
After that came the senses: the smell of burnt wood, the feeling of the hard ground, the taste of copper in my mouth, and the sound of someone's voice. Then finally, sight, as I opened my eyes slightly.
The evening sky filled my sight. Slowly, wincing at the pain the movement caused, I turned my head to one side. A silver helmet met my gaze, its visor dark. There was a moment of staring, and then it clicked exactly what I was looking at.
Letting out a groan of agony, I forced myself to sit upright. Nothing seemed broken. It just felt like I had run a marathon.
"Oh thank God." Vista's voice dragged me away from my self-checkout. She seemed mostly fine, her costume singed or frozen in small patches. Her hair was standing on end, ringing her head in a halo.
"I was worried you both were hurt really badly. Are you okay?" There was relief in her voice as she stepped forward to offer me a hand up.
"Aching, but alive." My attention turned to my armor, leaving Vista there for a moment.
Her hand flinched back as she watched me work. The dead material fell off me like dust and bark, as the living material was repurposed into the armor. There wasn't enough for most of the plates, so I focused on only what was important. The bodysuit, the boots, and the helmet.
Once I was done I held my hand out. There was a moment's hesitation before Vista took it. We struggled for a moment to get me on my feet. My limbs felt like jelly.
"What's going on?" I had to lean on her, glancing around the park. The trees around us had suffered a similar fate to my armor, but far worse. Some were covered in ice, some had their bark burnt off, some split by lightning, and some had been hit by all three.
"I don't know." She admitted as she guided me to the fountain, helping me sit on the edge. "Whatever they did, it hurt. You and Gallant were passed out once it subsided. It's only been about a minute?"
"Where are Uber and Leet?" I glanced around the plaza again. They were nowhere to be seen, and a sinking feeling settled into my gut.
"No clue." She commented distractedly as she smacked a small earpiece against her palm. "I was too focused on you two to watch them. Odds are they had some kind of protection from that thing and ran off."
"Dammit." It was the only thing I could say. Despite everything, the bastards had gotten away.
"At least they don't have that new device." She gestured off to one side, where the still sparking remains of the device were. "We ruined their show, saved some people, and… You uh, saved me at the end there. Thanks."
"Least I could do." The fact I was the reason she needed saving was a bitter thought, but I didn't bring it up. "Your communication is down or something?"
"Pretty sure whatever happened fried it and Gallant's armor." Grumbling to herself, she'd shove it into her pocket. "Do you think his armor might have made it worse for him?"
"One way to check." I pushed myself upright and almost pitched forward. Vista moved towards me, but I stopped her as I got my feet back under me.
She stayed close to my side as we walked to where Gallant lay on the ground. There was no movement as we approached, or as we crouched down beside him.
This had always been something I wanted to do. But I could never find an excuse to let me do it.
"Wake up!" I yelled down at him as I smacked him across the helmet. Vista gave a surprised squeak and jumped to stop me from smacking him again.
"What are you doing?" She glared at me as she shouted, using both hands to hold my hand back.
"I'm waking him up," I said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's not going to hurt him with his armor. It's just noise."
"Aren't you supposed to avoid moving someone's head when they're injured?" Her glare softened as she gave Gallant a concerned glance. She didn't let go of my hand though.
"If they had a neck injury." I pulled my hand free and knocked on Gallant's helmet. "There's no way he suffered a neck injury in this situation. A head injury perhaps, but this armor should protect from hitting the ground. If he just passed out from the pain, then all we need to do is startle him awake."
There was a low echo groan from beneath us.
"Like that." Vista couldn't see my face, but she could hear the smug tone in my voice. It didn't matter though, as she grabbed Gallant by the shoulders.
"Are you okay? Anything broken? How many fingers am I holding up?" He let out another low groan as she held up two fingers and her thumb in front of his face.
"No... Don't think so... Two." She sat back, giving me a worried look.
"Something's wrong with him, I held up three." So she would see it, I altered my mask to reflect the same deadpan as my real face.
"Your thumb doesn't count." Gallant and I both spoke at the same time. I blinked once and looked down at him. Ignoring how Vista blushed and grumbled to herself.
"Think you can move?" I pushed myself up and offered him a hand. Even if I didn't like him... I was better than just leaving him to lie on the ground. Even if the urge was there.
"I can sit up… maybe." He slowly raised his arm, and I leaned down to grab it. Vista grabbed his other arm, and we worked together to get him into a sitting position. "Suit's not working. It handles a lot of the movement."
"So you're stuck until someone comes to fix it, or you get out." He just nodded at my comment.
"The PRT will be here soon. A response team had already been dispatched to take over for us. We ran into you not long after." Vista added from the side, making a small outcropping so Gallant could lean against it.
"They sent more than just a response team." I jumped at the additional voice, whirling around to face the source.
Dressed all in red, standing right behind me, was Velocity. He had his arms crossed and was staring at the three of us. Or more specifically, staring at me.
"Vista, Gallant, Sit-rep? Control got concerned when they lost connection with you, after whatever that wave was." His eyes didn't leave me as he spoke to the other two.
"Whatever happened fried our earpieces and my power armor," Gallant explained from where he sat, turning his head slowly to look at Velocity.
"We'll get you into the back of transport so Armsmaster can give it a look back at HQ. Vista?" He turned to look over at her, and she stood a little straighter.
"Right!" Vista launched into a quick run-down of everything that happened. I listened closely to what I hadn't been there for, but it wasn't too dissimilar from what I had gone through. What was coming next was obvious, and I stopped paying attention as I mentally prepared myself.
"Good work you two. You've saved lives here." Vista beamed at the compliment, though it was hard to tell how Gallant reacted. Despite the cold, I felt some sweat forming under my suit as he turned to look at me.
"What about you? Would you mind coming back to the HQ to give your statement?" It was exactly what I had expected, and it had been what I had been hoping he wouldn't ask.
"I would rather not. This was an emergency, and I have things I need to get back to." Part of me was worried Velocity would press, but he just nodded. Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out a small recorder.
"I have to insist on a statement, but we can do it here. Is that alright?" I had already prepared what to say during Vista's report, so I nodded in acceptance.
"This is Velocity, getting the Statement of the independent hero Sequoia in the field. Beginning the statement now." Finishing that off, he held the recorder out in my general direction.
Taking a breath, I started to explain the events that happened to me. Some details could have helped them realize Sequoia was Amy Dallon, so I left those out. It didn't seem to make him suspicious, as it just looked like a cape trying to hide information about their civilian identity.
I went from discovering the situation to saving people from dogs and started on the conversation with Leet when Vista interrupted me.
"The Snitch." We both turned to stare at Vista, who realized what she had done and blushed. "The drone. They call it the Snitch. For the record."
"Okay, he talked through the Snitch." Rolling my eyes at Vista, I got back to the point. The conversation with Leet, the fight, running into the two wards, the approach and fight with Uber and Leet. I petered out at the aftermath, before finally finishing with a shrug.
"Then you showed up. Don't think I'm missing anything important." At least, nothing important that wouldn't give away who I was. Part of me was worried he had caught on, as he gave me a curious stare before clicking off the recorder.
"Well Sequoia, I think we owe you some thanks." Velocity smiled at me and offered a hand. There was a small bit of hesitation before I reached out and took it.
"That's at least three people saved, six threats neutralized, one of the Wards protected twice, and two villains defeated. Hard to beat that as your first public outing, eh?" He gave my hand a firm shake as he spoke. The way he said 'public' outing made me stiffen slightly.
"I was just… trying to do the right thing." How much did the Protectorate know? Did they know I was Panacea? No way, they couldn't. He had to be referring to the two previous outings I'd gone on. "Can't call myself a hero if I just left innocent people to get hurt, right?"
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't get some thanks for doing the right thing." Vista jumped into the conversation without any hesitation. "I'm glad you were here to help."
"And if you want to continue doing the right thing and helping." Velocity used Vista's comment as a jumping-off point. "You should consider joining the Protectorate."
"I don't intend to join the Protectorate." I cut him off before he continued, making my tone firm. "Nothing against you, but it's not happening."
"Okay." Velocity raised a hand towards me, reaching for a pocket in his costume with his other. "I can respect your decision. Still, it's dangerous to be an independent hero. Even if you don't join, stay in touch. Maybe set up some joint patrols?"
He pulled out a business card and held it out. Thinking it over, I nodded and took it. It'd be suspicious to turn down even the card. Being able to get in touch with the Protectorate more easily while out as Sequoia would be useful. Even if I had no intent on ever doing a joint patrol.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the card." I used my power to open a small hole in the suit, sliding the card into my hoodie's pocket. "Any idea how bad the damage from this whole thing was?"
"We've got reports of a few serious injuries, but no deaths yet. I think mostly thanks to the fast response from all of you, and Uber hunting the animals for sport." Vista breathed a small sigh of relief, and I couldn't help but sag slightly.
"That Blow-Out could have been bad though. The trees helped break it up, but it probably would have done serious damage to the power infrastructure outside the park if Vista hadn't weakened it. As it is, all damage was localized to the park. Good job." Even as Velocity gave me a grin, I just grumbled.
"Still can't believe Uber and Leet got away." I glared towards where Leet's device was still lying on the ground.
"They crossed a line with this one." Velocity agreed. "If they're smart, they'll keep their heads low. It wasn't that they risked collateral for this. They showed a complete disregard for it in this instance. We'll be gunning for them after this. At the least, without the device, they should be weaker."
"I still can't believe Leet managed to make something that effective," Vista commented, staring at the frozen, burnt, and split trees surrounding us. "Usually they just blow up in his face."
"That's always the issue with Leet. He makes ten or twenty devices that aren't a problem. Then he pulls out something like this. Remember the portal gun he made?" He gave Vista a small look,
"Don't remind me," A small shudder ran up Vista as she waved her hands. "I still remember the nausea of getting launched into the bay because of that thing."
I vaguely remembered Vicky telling me about it, but I kept my mouth shut. A thought entered into my head. The news of this had probably traveled fast. Carol might have heard about it. Shit.
"I need to go now. Civilian life stuff." Stepping back away from the two of them, I turned. My eyes landed on Gallant, and I realized he had been silent the entire time. He was just staring at me, his helmet an impassive mask.
Gallant could sense emotions, Vicky had told me as much. Could he recognize me with his power? A chill ran down my spine at the thought. As I started walking away, I fixed him with my best glare. If you know, you better not say anything, you bastard.
"Wait!" Space pinched and Vista was suddenly stepping in front of me, holding a hand up. "Um… Thanks again. For helping me out back there. This entire situation probably would have been worse if you hadn't been here. Stay in touch?"
There was a hopefulness in her voice that made me stop. It was a bad idea to patrol with the Protectorate or the Wards. Gallant was a massive risk, but everyone might figure it out. For some reason… I couldn't tell Vista no.
"Again. It was nothing. Just the right thing to do… And I'll try." I gave her a nod before stepping past. Walking at first, once I was sure I was out of sight, I took off running. The sound of sirens grew louder as the response team arrived.
Slipping alongside a tree, I put my hand against it. It took a minute at most to merge the armor into it. My weapons were scattered across the entire park, and there was no way I could get them all. I hoped the PRT couldn't use them to connect Sequoia to me.
Flipping my hood up, I moved towards the edge of the park. Coming out far from any of the entrances, I was lucky. A PRT transport and an ambulance came around the corner just as I reached the other side of the street.
They started to unload and move into the park, and I just watched for a moment. A small lump of guilt formed in my stomach as I walked away. There were people hurt, and while I had helped stop the situation, I could still be helping.
I needed to handle something else first. If I didn't it would cause massive problems. I could help heal people afterward. Make it up to anyone who I couldn't protect.
There was already an ambulance outside of Babel as I reached it. Paramedics were looking over the people who had fled to it. The center of the scene made me pause. The woman I saved was hugging the little girl and the little boy. They were both crying into her shoulders.
As I squeezed past, I could hear what they were saying.
"I-I was a hero Mommy." I froze and stared as I heard those words slip out of the kid's mouth. "I was brave!"
"Yes, you were…" The mother murmured, almost on the verge of tears herself. "You were Mommy's little hero…"
"Mommy…" The boy started bawling all over again, and her mother shushed him as she hugged him.
A paramedic pushed past me, and he forced me to move. Despite the cold air, there was a warmth in my chest. Was this how Vicky felt, in the beginning?
Babel's bell chimed as I slipped through the door. There were paramedics inside as well, treating some of the wounded. The goth girl hovered nervously beside the counter, watching everything going on.
Walking over to where I had been, I finally found what I had accidentally left behind. Right beside my now cold cocoa, was my phone. Picking it up and unlocking it, I let out a quiet sigh as I read the one message I had.
Carol (5:48)
Uber and Leet attacked Ridgewell Park. Where are you?
Rolling my eyes at the message, I quickly tapped out a response.
Amy (5:52)
I'm there, helping heal the injured. Uber and Leet are gone now.
I turned to the nearby paramedics, shoving my phone into my pocket. Another sigh escaped me as I walked to the nearest pair working on someone's injured leg. The guilt left my gut, and an empty feeling remained.
Sequoia had fun. Panacea had to work.