for Hostage Situation11/26 c14 fahri.uchiha
Kaiser a moment ago : "Purity, go and ask for Marquis and Panacea's cooperation"
Kaiser heard about a man and a girl who were present at the time of Purity's disappearance : "That must be Coil!"
Amazing conclusion, lmao
Kaiser a moment ago : "Purity, go and ask for Marquis and Panacea's cooperation"
Kaiser heard about a man and a girl who were present at the time of Purity's disappearance : "That must be Coil!"
Amazing conclusion, lmao
10/29 c14 Armiture
Oh my, what an amusing wrong assumption Max has made. I look forward to reading the mess that results in a future update.
Good to hear you took a nice vacation and I hope the last few days rock.
Thanks for the updates!
Oh my, what an amusing wrong assumption Max has made. I look forward to reading the mess that results in a future update.
Good to hear you took a nice vacation and I hope the last few days rock.
Thanks for the updates!
10/27 c10 WannaBeAShapeShifter
I like him a lot! It's good that Amy finally has someone firmly in her corner.
I understand that Vicky likes her, but she has never really "helped" her at all.
I haven't read canon, but from what I've seen, Amy has always been alone, in the end.
I like him a lot! It's good that Amy finally has someone firmly in her corner.
I understand that Vicky likes her, but she has never really "helped" her at all.
I haven't read canon, but from what I've seen, Amy has always been alone, in the end.
10/23 c2 Guest
TenchiSolutions: The only one who's closest to Panacea in terms of healing is Scapegoat and his comes with massive drawbacks to both him and the person being healed, refusing her means heroes in the ENE are crippled amd the 88 can run rampant because they know that if they injure someone they're out for a while whereas the 88 can just use Olatha. Your idea would also see her become someone who puts Nilbog to shame
TenchiSolutions: The only one who's closest to Panacea in terms of healing is Scapegoat and his comes with massive drawbacks to both him and the person being healed, refusing her means heroes in the ENE are crippled amd the 88 can run rampant because they know that if they injure someone they're out for a while whereas the 88 can just use Olatha. Your idea would also see her become someone who puts Nilbog to shame
10/23 c2 Guest
"Vicky, can you tone it down?" Panacea spoke up, peering cautiously up from the pile of boxes.
The cheerleader's glower disappeared, as she considered me. I lowered my glowing palm, dismissed the blaster charge. Weld shook his head and stepped back, and Tatzylwyrm found her way back to his side. I studied the mother, even as I ordered the pixellation suspended. I tied it to my vitals, so it would trigger again if I showed signs of fear.
"YOU WERE NOT INFORMED THAT DIRE WAS THE SPECIALIST IN QUESTION?"
"No. No we weren't."
"WOULD IT HAVE CHANGED YOUR DECISION TO COME AND AID WITH THIS?"
"In the end, no. But it would have prevented-"
"Yes," said Panacea.
That surprised the mother and the prom queen. I sighed. Yep, Tattletale's assessment had been correct. I'd have to play dirty. Goddamit...
"LET'S START OVER AGAIN. YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF DOCTOR DIRE, AND HER TWO MINDERS."
"Her?" Panacea seemed surprised. "I wouldn't have guessed."
"YOU ARE PROBABLY PANACEA. WHO ARE THE REST OF YOU?"
"I'm Carol Dallon. Brandish, when in costume. Mother of Victoria and Amy, and the Publicist of the New Wave effort."
I looked over. "THAT WOULD MAKE YOU VICTORIA, YES?"
"Glory Girl to the likes of you."
"THERE ARE NO LIKES OF DIRE. THERE IS JUST DIRE. SHE HAS NO PEERS."
"You've got no friends? Gee, what a surprise."
"FRIENDS? GOT'EM. EQUALS? NOPE."
Weld stepped forward. "This is counterproductive. Look, Doctor Dire has broken three other Grey Boy victims out of their loops. We've seen her do it. I'm sorry that you weren't properly briefed, I think someone screwed up along the way."
"MORE LIKELY, THEY DIDN'T DEEM IT WORTH THE SECURITY RISK. DAMN NEAR EVERY VILLAIN IN TOWN WAS HUNTING DIRE EARLIER TODAY, AFTER ALL."
"Point."
Carol picked up her briefcase. "That's the sort of thing we could have prepared for, had we been warned. What guarantees can you give us, that this won't come back to hurt us? It sounds like the risks are much greater than we were told." She was trying to negotiate.
"I'm not authorized to-"
I laughed, my voice filling the room, echoing around its concrete fastness. "IF YOU WOULD RATHER NOT AID IN THIS, THAT'S FINE. GO. LEAVE. PROVE TO ALL HERE THAT YOU WON'T STEP UP TO DO THE JOB THAT A SUPERVILLAIN WAS WILLING TO DO AS AN ACT OF MERCY."
"It's my daughter's choice."
"TRUE. WELL THEN PANACEA, GO. NO ONE'S FORCING YOU TO BE HERE. DEPART, AND DIRE SHALL DEPART AS WELL. AFTER ALL, HE'S WAITED TWO DECADES, STUCK IN THIS LIVING HELL. WHAT'S ANOTHER FEW YEARS?"
I strode forward, and they parted before me, as I moved over to consider Mister Lu more fully. An old man, somewhere in his seventies. Thin mustache, mottled skin from some scar or another on one cheekbone.
One second, surprise, hands go up. The next second, his shirt rips as blood sprays, his ribs pop open. The next second he collapses, and five more seconds as he lies there, his heart literally bleeding. Then a flicker.
And back he went.
Almost twenty years of this.
Did his eyes shift as I moved around him? Maybe. It was hard to tell.
"ANOTHER FEW MONTHS, ANOTHER FEW YEARS, ANOTHER FEW DECADES... THE WORLD HE KNEW MOVING FARTHER AND FARTHER AWAY FROM HIM. HIS FAMILY GONE, HIS FRIENDS DEAD OR DYING... WHAT'S A BIT MORE, HUH?"
I waved a hand through him. It was like waving a hand through smoke. A brief ripple,then nothing to show there had been a disturbance.
"BUT YOU GO AHEAD AND LEAVE. NO ONE'S STOPPING YOU."
Carol took off her glasses, closed her eyes. "Damn you."
"OH, DIRE'S QUITE DAMNED ALREADY. BUT YOU AREN'T, ARE YOU? NOT YET."
Panacea stepped forward. "I'll do it."
Glory Girl laid a hand on her shoulder. "Amy-"
"No. No, it's the right thing to do, right?"
"YES. IT IS."
Carol looked to me. "You're loving this, you sick freak."
"BELIEVE IT OR NOT... NO. WHAT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE NINE DID HERE IS DISGUSTING. IT NEEDS FIXING. THE FACT THAT DIRE HAS MADE QUITE A LOT OF MONEY FROM IT SO FAR IS JUST ICING ON THE CAKE. WOULD OFFER YOU A SHARE, BUT... WELL, THAT COULD BE CONSTRUED AS A BRIBE."
A thin eyebrow raised. "Money? How... Ah. The Kennedys."
"CAN NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY THAT. ALL FAMILIES OF VICTIMS DESERVE THEIR PRIVACY. AND THE LONGER IT TAKES THE NINE TO HEAR ABOUT THIS, THE LONGER IT WILL TAKE THEM TO REACT."
Now her eyes were open with alarm. "I hadn't considered that. This renders the entire situation even sketchier."
"FOR WHAT ITS WORTH, DIRE'S GOING TO BE THE PRIMARY TARGET, HERE. IN FACT, SHE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. FILTH WHO DO THINGS LIKE THIS..." I reached out and tore off a chunk of metal shelving, ground it between my fingers, absent-mindedly. "WELL. DIRE LIVES TO IMPROVE THE WORLD. SOMETIMES THIS MEANS GETTING RID OF FILTH."
Glory Girl whirled around to face me. "And shattering Vista's eardrums improved the world? Beating up Armsmaster and humiliating him made things better? Firing missiles at Miss Militia, and tossing around Kid Win like a sack of potatoes was a good thing to do?"
"VISTA. SHE'S WHAT... TWELVE?"
"Around that. Yeah, you beat up a kid, you bitch."
"Vicky..." Panacea laid a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"NO. IT'S FAIR. LET DIRE ASK THIS QUESTION IN RETURN, THOUGH. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF HEROES SEND A TWELVE-YEAR OLD OUT TO FIGHT MONSTERS?"
"She volunteered! Just like I did."
"DID SHE." I turned my attention back to Mr. Lu. "DIRE WONDERS ABOUT THAT. PEER PRESSURE, FAMILY PRESSURE, SOCIAL PRESSURE... COULD BE ANY AMOUNT OF COERCION ON HER, JUST BECAUSE SHE HAPPENED TO GAIN A POWER. HOW DO YOU TRULY KNOW WHAT GOES ON UNDER THE MASK? HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT MAKES A HERO OR A VILLAIN?"
"God!" Panacea yelled, and Carol and Victoria looked at her, surprised. She ripped the scarf down from her face, her skin blotched with emotion and no small amount of freckles.
"Let's... Let's just get this done with."
"FINALLY, SOME LOGIC."
I retrieved the pylons from their harness, started setting them up. "WELD, HAS THE PRT CLEARED THIS WITH CITY SERVICES?"
"I'll check." He tapped the headset, frowned, went up the stairs a bit then returned.
"Yeah. The tech team is unspooling the extension cord now, setting up the breakers."
"ALL RIGHT. PANACEA... OR AMY? YOUR CHOICE."
"Panacea now. I'm on duty."
"ALL RIGHT."
She stepped closer, just to the side of Mr. Lu. I watched her study him, squint one last time.
"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MUST DO?"
"Yeah."
"FOR THE RECORD, APOLOGIES FOR CAUSING YOU STRESS. YOU'RE THE ONLY KNOWN HEALER ON THIS COAST THAT CAN PROBABLY HANDLE THIS SORT OF THING."
"I know. That's the only reason I'm doing this."
"YEAH. DIRE'S IN THE SAME SORT OF SITUATION. ONLY ONE ON EARTH WITH THIS SORT OF TECHNOLOGY. RIGHT NOW, ANYWAY."
"Yeah?"
"GOING TO BE LEASING IT THROUGH TOYBOX, SOON. WITH A FEW SAFEGUARDS, OF COURSE. THEY'LL BE TAKING OVER THE BUSINESS END OF HELPING GREY BOY'S VICTIMS. CHARGING PAYMENT TO THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE ONES THAT CAN AFFORD IT, AND USING DONATIONS AND EXTRA FUNDS FROM THE PROFITS TO TREAT THE OTHERS."
"What's Toybox?"
"A RECLUSIVE COLLECTIVE OF TINKERS. GOT THEIR OWN PRIVATE POCKET DIMENSION TO HIDE IN, AWAY FROM THE FOLKS WHO WOULD FORCE THEM TO USE THEIR POWERS AGAINST THEIR WILL. THEY SELL WHAT THEY WISH, AND SHARE PROFITS. MOST OF THEM ARE ROGUES."
"That's... Interesting."
"YES. OF COURSE, THEY'LL HAVE TO SCRAPE UP SOME MEANS OF HEALING MOST OF THE VICTIMS. DIRE CHOSE BOSTON AS A TESTBED BECAUSE THE ONES HERE WERE FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF GREY BOY'S ATROCITIES... HE WASN'T AS SKILLED AS HE WAS LATER, AND HALF OF THE VICTIMS ESCAPED HARM. BUT THE OTHER ONES? THREE-QUARTERS OF THEM ARE MUTILATED SOMEHOW. SO TOYBOX WILL NEED TO LINE UP MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS OR CAPES IF THEY WANT TO OFFER A FULL- SERVICE REVIVAL."
She was quiet then, and I left her to her thoughts, concentrating on setting up the pylons and hooking the Chronometric engine into the array. Not especially difficult, just time consuming. After a time, Weld departed and returned with the heavy-duty extension cord.
"RIGHT. YOU READY?"
"Yeah."
"LISTEN, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT... DON'T ENTER THE FIELD UNTIL DIRE GIVES YOU THE ALL CLEAR. UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yeah."
I plugged into the cord, and started the procedure.
Ten minutes of lightshow later, with the hair of everyone in the basement standing on end (Save for Weld, of course,) the task was done. Mister Lu choked and coughed on the floor, fully present. And a puddle of dark blood started to spread beneath him...
"WAIT... WAIT... NOW!"
Panacea rushed in, and grabbed his face and hand, and concentrated. I watched, as the blood slowed and stopped while she kept up a running patter. "Trauma to the heart and sternum, easily fixed... Shock, readjusting the nervous system to concentrate. First signs of Alzheimer's, nothing I can do there, can't affect brains... Rheumatism, I can take care of that easily enough, same with the liver damage... Nicked lung, almost missed that... There. There, he'll be fine."
His face gasped like a fish out of water. Gasped, opened and shut... And then the thin sound of his crying filled the air of that darkened, crappy basement. Panacea looked surprised, as he reached up and patted her face, choking out words of thanks in Mandarin.
"Ah... You're... Welcome? I think?" She cradled him, and Glory Girl moved in to help hold him steady, as I moved around the trio, collecting my pylons.
"HE'S A BIT BEFUDDLED. TELLING YOU YOU'RE GUAN YIN, THE GODDESS OF MERCY."
"Oh."
She seemed a bit humbled by that. A bit surprised, too, as he grabbed her arms and cried into them. Weird. You'd think a healer would be used to effusive gratitude by now.
"AT ANY RATE, THANK YOU, PANACEA, FOR YOUR TIME. YOU SAVED A LIFE TODAY."
I turned, unplugging the cord, and heading toward the door. "ALL RIGHT. WELD, TATZYL, LET US DEPART. DIRE'S BUSINESS IS DONE HERE."
"Wait."
Panacea's voice.
I half-turned. "YES?"
"This Toybox group. They'll be doing this from now on?"
"YES."
"I want to help."
Her mother frowned. "Amy. I don't know that-"
"I want to do this."
"MM. YOU MIGHT WANT TO LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER. IT'D BE LOTS OF TRIPS AWAY FROM HOME. MIGHT BE ROUGH ON THEIR SCHEDULES, ESCORTING YOU."
"We can work it out."
Glory Girl seemed torn, looking between her mother and her sister. "Ames, there's school to think of..."
"It's almost summer break."
"TOO, THE LOGISTICS INVOLVED WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR ONE PERSON, LET ALONE THREE. DIRE WAS TOLD THAT YOU VOLUNTEER AT HOSPITALS. SURELY IT'S ALREADY A FUSS FOR THEM, ACCOMPANYING YOU ON THOSE TRIPS. THIS WILL BE WORSE."
"They don't join me at the hospitals. This won't be any different."
I stopped.
"WHAT?"
In a heartbeat I whirled around, and stalked over to loom above Brandish, Carol, whatever she wanted to call herself.
"LET DIRE GET THIS STRAIGHT. YOUR DAUGHTER GOES AND SEES PEOPLE AT HOSPITALS, DIAGNOSING AND TREATING THEM WHENEVER SHE HAS FREE TIME, AND YOU DO NOT ACCOMPANY HER ON THIS TASK?"
Carol crossed her arms, glared up at me. "You don't intimidate me."
"DO YOU NOT SEE THE PROBLEM HERE?"
"I-"
"HOW MANY TRAUMA WARDS HAS SHE BEEN TO, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT? HOW MANY TIMES HAS SHE SEEN PEOPLE AT THEIR WORST? HOW MANY TIMES HAS SHE BEEN DOWN AMONG THE DEAD AND THE DYING, FOR CHRISSAKES WOMAN SHE'S LIKE FIFTEEN!"
"You're being-"
"CHILD SOLDIERS! YOU PEOPLE MAKE CHILD SOLDIERS OF YOUR YOUNG! YOU KNOW HOW MANY ADULT DOCTORS BURN OUT ON THIS? DO YOU CARE? AND ON TOP OF THIS, YOU BLITHELY LET HER STROLL INTO PLACES OF SUFFERING ALONE? WOMAN, THIS IS HOW SUPERVILLAINS ARE MADE!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Panacea flinch. She whirled around to stare at the corner, face pressed into her hands.
"Hey! Back off!" I turned to an angry Glory Girl. "Where do you get off talking like that? You don't know our family!"
"NO. BUT FROM WHAT SHE'S SEEN, SHE KNOWS ENOUGH." I leaned down to look her in the eyes, watched her step back in spite of herself.
"YOU SEEM TO HAVE LOVE FOR YOUR SISTER. MAYBE YOU THINK ABOUT HOW HARD THIS IS ON HER, HM?"
She swallowed. Looked over to Panacea. "Ames..."
"Just go." Panacea was crying, now. "Just... Please go away and stop shouting."
"ALL RIGHT. DIRE SHALL PASS YOUR WORDS ON TO TOYBOX. THEY'LL CONTACT YOU LATER TO SEE IF YOU'RE STILL INTERESTED."
"Go!"
And I left.
Weld and Tatzylwyrm fell in behind me, as I returned to the van. My mood was... Rather foul, and that was being charitable.
Taking my seat, I watched them take theirs, and try to work themselves up to speaking.
"OH, GO ON AND SPIT IT OUT. DIRE WON'T TAKE HER TEMPER OUT ON YOU."
"That, uh, could have gone better." Weld said, his voice soft.
"DOUBT IT. THEY'RE ABUSING THAT POOR KID. NO SECRET IDENTITY EITHER. SHE'S THE HEALER, HER LIFE IS BEING THE HEALER, SHE HEALS. THAT'S ALL SHE IS, ALL THEY'VE LET HER BE, AND THEY'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT."
"And Toybox wouldn't?" Tatzylwyrm asked.
"HARD TO SAY. DIRE THINKS NOT... HER PROBLEM IS THAT SHE IS BEING TAKEN FOR GRANTED, AND TOYBOX IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS. NOW THEY WORK FOR THEMSELVES. ONE WOULD THINK THEY'D BE A BIT MORE SUPPORTIVE."
"Hence your shameless plug."
I shrugged. "MORE OF A POSSIBLE SOLUTION. SHE REALLY IS THE BEST HEALER AROUND, ACCORDING TO DIRE'S RESEARCH, AND ONE WOULD BE NEEDED FOR MANY OF GRAY BOY'S CASES. THE FACT THAT SHE'D PROBABLY EARN MILLIONS WHILE DOING THIS DOESN'T HURT EITHER. IN ANY CASE, IT'S MOOT. SHE HAS THE CHOICE TO GIVE IT A TRY OR NOT."
"She's still a minor," Weld pointed out.
"HER MOTHER DOESN'T EVEN GO WITH HER TO THE HOSPITALS. IF PANACEA WANTED TO GET AROUND HER, TOYBOX COULD ARRANGE SOMETHING. JESUS, THAT POOR KID. GET US OUT OF HERE BEFORE DIRE GOES AND DOES SOMETHING STUPID, WILL YOU?"
They took my advice, and the van started heading out.
And so I departed Boston. It had been a profitable trip, but it was time to get back to my allies, and tend to the simpler business of Brockton Bay
"Vicky, can you tone it down?" Panacea spoke up, peering cautiously up from the pile of boxes.
The cheerleader's glower disappeared, as she considered me. I lowered my glowing palm, dismissed the blaster charge. Weld shook his head and stepped back, and Tatzylwyrm found her way back to his side. I studied the mother, even as I ordered the pixellation suspended. I tied it to my vitals, so it would trigger again if I showed signs of fear.
"YOU WERE NOT INFORMED THAT DIRE WAS THE SPECIALIST IN QUESTION?"
"No. No we weren't."
"WOULD IT HAVE CHANGED YOUR DECISION TO COME AND AID WITH THIS?"
"In the end, no. But it would have prevented-"
"Yes," said Panacea.
That surprised the mother and the prom queen. I sighed. Yep, Tattletale's assessment had been correct. I'd have to play dirty. Goddamit...
"LET'S START OVER AGAIN. YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF DOCTOR DIRE, AND HER TWO MINDERS."
"Her?" Panacea seemed surprised. "I wouldn't have guessed."
"YOU ARE PROBABLY PANACEA. WHO ARE THE REST OF YOU?"
"I'm Carol Dallon. Brandish, when in costume. Mother of Victoria and Amy, and the Publicist of the New Wave effort."
I looked over. "THAT WOULD MAKE YOU VICTORIA, YES?"
"Glory Girl to the likes of you."
"THERE ARE NO LIKES OF DIRE. THERE IS JUST DIRE. SHE HAS NO PEERS."
"You've got no friends? Gee, what a surprise."
"FRIENDS? GOT'EM. EQUALS? NOPE."
Weld stepped forward. "This is counterproductive. Look, Doctor Dire has broken three other Grey Boy victims out of their loops. We've seen her do it. I'm sorry that you weren't properly briefed, I think someone screwed up along the way."
"MORE LIKELY, THEY DIDN'T DEEM IT WORTH THE SECURITY RISK. DAMN NEAR EVERY VILLAIN IN TOWN WAS HUNTING DIRE EARLIER TODAY, AFTER ALL."
"Point."
Carol picked up her briefcase. "That's the sort of thing we could have prepared for, had we been warned. What guarantees can you give us, that this won't come back to hurt us? It sounds like the risks are much greater than we were told." She was trying to negotiate.
"I'm not authorized to-"
I laughed, my voice filling the room, echoing around its concrete fastness. "IF YOU WOULD RATHER NOT AID IN THIS, THAT'S FINE. GO. LEAVE. PROVE TO ALL HERE THAT YOU WON'T STEP UP TO DO THE JOB THAT A SUPERVILLAIN WAS WILLING TO DO AS AN ACT OF MERCY."
"It's my daughter's choice."
"TRUE. WELL THEN PANACEA, GO. NO ONE'S FORCING YOU TO BE HERE. DEPART, AND DIRE SHALL DEPART AS WELL. AFTER ALL, HE'S WAITED TWO DECADES, STUCK IN THIS LIVING HELL. WHAT'S ANOTHER FEW YEARS?"
I strode forward, and they parted before me, as I moved over to consider Mister Lu more fully. An old man, somewhere in his seventies. Thin mustache, mottled skin from some scar or another on one cheekbone.
One second, surprise, hands go up. The next second, his shirt rips as blood sprays, his ribs pop open. The next second he collapses, and five more seconds as he lies there, his heart literally bleeding. Then a flicker.
And back he went.
Almost twenty years of this.
Did his eyes shift as I moved around him? Maybe. It was hard to tell.
"ANOTHER FEW MONTHS, ANOTHER FEW YEARS, ANOTHER FEW DECADES... THE WORLD HE KNEW MOVING FARTHER AND FARTHER AWAY FROM HIM. HIS FAMILY GONE, HIS FRIENDS DEAD OR DYING... WHAT'S A BIT MORE, HUH?"
I waved a hand through him. It was like waving a hand through smoke. A brief ripple,then nothing to show there had been a disturbance.
"BUT YOU GO AHEAD AND LEAVE. NO ONE'S STOPPING YOU."
Carol took off her glasses, closed her eyes. "Damn you."
"OH, DIRE'S QUITE DAMNED ALREADY. BUT YOU AREN'T, ARE YOU? NOT YET."
Panacea stepped forward. "I'll do it."
Glory Girl laid a hand on her shoulder. "Amy-"
"No. No, it's the right thing to do, right?"
"YES. IT IS."
Carol looked to me. "You're loving this, you sick freak."
"BELIEVE IT OR NOT... NO. WHAT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE NINE DID HERE IS DISGUSTING. IT NEEDS FIXING. THE FACT THAT DIRE HAS MADE QUITE A LOT OF MONEY FROM IT SO FAR IS JUST ICING ON THE CAKE. WOULD OFFER YOU A SHARE, BUT... WELL, THAT COULD BE CONSTRUED AS A BRIBE."
A thin eyebrow raised. "Money? How... Ah. The Kennedys."
"CAN NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY THAT. ALL FAMILIES OF VICTIMS DESERVE THEIR PRIVACY. AND THE LONGER IT TAKES THE NINE TO HEAR ABOUT THIS, THE LONGER IT WILL TAKE THEM TO REACT."
Now her eyes were open with alarm. "I hadn't considered that. This renders the entire situation even sketchier."
"FOR WHAT ITS WORTH, DIRE'S GOING TO BE THE PRIMARY TARGET, HERE. IN FACT, SHE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. FILTH WHO DO THINGS LIKE THIS..." I reached out and tore off a chunk of metal shelving, ground it between my fingers, absent-mindedly. "WELL. DIRE LIVES TO IMPROVE THE WORLD. SOMETIMES THIS MEANS GETTING RID OF FILTH."
Glory Girl whirled around to face me. "And shattering Vista's eardrums improved the world? Beating up Armsmaster and humiliating him made things better? Firing missiles at Miss Militia, and tossing around Kid Win like a sack of potatoes was a good thing to do?"
"VISTA. SHE'S WHAT... TWELVE?"
"Around that. Yeah, you beat up a kid, you bitch."
"Vicky..." Panacea laid a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"NO. IT'S FAIR. LET DIRE ASK THIS QUESTION IN RETURN, THOUGH. WHAT THE HELL KIND OF HEROES SEND A TWELVE-YEAR OLD OUT TO FIGHT MONSTERS?"
"She volunteered! Just like I did."
"DID SHE." I turned my attention back to Mr. Lu. "DIRE WONDERS ABOUT THAT. PEER PRESSURE, FAMILY PRESSURE, SOCIAL PRESSURE... COULD BE ANY AMOUNT OF COERCION ON HER, JUST BECAUSE SHE HAPPENED TO GAIN A POWER. HOW DO YOU TRULY KNOW WHAT GOES ON UNDER THE MASK? HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT MAKES A HERO OR A VILLAIN?"
"God!" Panacea yelled, and Carol and Victoria looked at her, surprised. She ripped the scarf down from her face, her skin blotched with emotion and no small amount of freckles.
"Let's... Let's just get this done with."
"FINALLY, SOME LOGIC."
I retrieved the pylons from their harness, started setting them up. "WELD, HAS THE PRT CLEARED THIS WITH CITY SERVICES?"
"I'll check." He tapped the headset, frowned, went up the stairs a bit then returned.
"Yeah. The tech team is unspooling the extension cord now, setting up the breakers."
"ALL RIGHT. PANACEA... OR AMY? YOUR CHOICE."
"Panacea now. I'm on duty."
"ALL RIGHT."
She stepped closer, just to the side of Mr. Lu. I watched her study him, squint one last time.
"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MUST DO?"
"Yeah."
"FOR THE RECORD, APOLOGIES FOR CAUSING YOU STRESS. YOU'RE THE ONLY KNOWN HEALER ON THIS COAST THAT CAN PROBABLY HANDLE THIS SORT OF THING."
"I know. That's the only reason I'm doing this."
"YEAH. DIRE'S IN THE SAME SORT OF SITUATION. ONLY ONE ON EARTH WITH THIS SORT OF TECHNOLOGY. RIGHT NOW, ANYWAY."
"Yeah?"
"GOING TO BE LEASING IT THROUGH TOYBOX, SOON. WITH A FEW SAFEGUARDS, OF COURSE. THEY'LL BE TAKING OVER THE BUSINESS END OF HELPING GREY BOY'S VICTIMS. CHARGING PAYMENT TO THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE ONES THAT CAN AFFORD IT, AND USING DONATIONS AND EXTRA FUNDS FROM THE PROFITS TO TREAT THE OTHERS."
"What's Toybox?"
"A RECLUSIVE COLLECTIVE OF TINKERS. GOT THEIR OWN PRIVATE POCKET DIMENSION TO HIDE IN, AWAY FROM THE FOLKS WHO WOULD FORCE THEM TO USE THEIR POWERS AGAINST THEIR WILL. THEY SELL WHAT THEY WISH, AND SHARE PROFITS. MOST OF THEM ARE ROGUES."
"That's... Interesting."
"YES. OF COURSE, THEY'LL HAVE TO SCRAPE UP SOME MEANS OF HEALING MOST OF THE VICTIMS. DIRE CHOSE BOSTON AS A TESTBED BECAUSE THE ONES HERE WERE FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF GREY BOY'S ATROCITIES... HE WASN'T AS SKILLED AS HE WAS LATER, AND HALF OF THE VICTIMS ESCAPED HARM. BUT THE OTHER ONES? THREE-QUARTERS OF THEM ARE MUTILATED SOMEHOW. SO TOYBOX WILL NEED TO LINE UP MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS OR CAPES IF THEY WANT TO OFFER A FULL- SERVICE REVIVAL."
She was quiet then, and I left her to her thoughts, concentrating on setting up the pylons and hooking the Chronometric engine into the array. Not especially difficult, just time consuming. After a time, Weld departed and returned with the heavy-duty extension cord.
"RIGHT. YOU READY?"
"Yeah."
"LISTEN, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT... DON'T ENTER THE FIELD UNTIL DIRE GIVES YOU THE ALL CLEAR. UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yeah."
I plugged into the cord, and started the procedure.
Ten minutes of lightshow later, with the hair of everyone in the basement standing on end (Save for Weld, of course,) the task was done. Mister Lu choked and coughed on the floor, fully present. And a puddle of dark blood started to spread beneath him...
"WAIT... WAIT... NOW!"
Panacea rushed in, and grabbed his face and hand, and concentrated. I watched, as the blood slowed and stopped while she kept up a running patter. "Trauma to the heart and sternum, easily fixed... Shock, readjusting the nervous system to concentrate. First signs of Alzheimer's, nothing I can do there, can't affect brains... Rheumatism, I can take care of that easily enough, same with the liver damage... Nicked lung, almost missed that... There. There, he'll be fine."
His face gasped like a fish out of water. Gasped, opened and shut... And then the thin sound of his crying filled the air of that darkened, crappy basement. Panacea looked surprised, as he reached up and patted her face, choking out words of thanks in Mandarin.
"Ah... You're... Welcome? I think?" She cradled him, and Glory Girl moved in to help hold him steady, as I moved around the trio, collecting my pylons.
"HE'S A BIT BEFUDDLED. TELLING YOU YOU'RE GUAN YIN, THE GODDESS OF MERCY."
"Oh."
She seemed a bit humbled by that. A bit surprised, too, as he grabbed her arms and cried into them. Weird. You'd think a healer would be used to effusive gratitude by now.
"AT ANY RATE, THANK YOU, PANACEA, FOR YOUR TIME. YOU SAVED A LIFE TODAY."
I turned, unplugging the cord, and heading toward the door. "ALL RIGHT. WELD, TATZYL, LET US DEPART. DIRE'S BUSINESS IS DONE HERE."
"Wait."
Panacea's voice.
I half-turned. "YES?"
"This Toybox group. They'll be doing this from now on?"
"YES."
"I want to help."
Her mother frowned. "Amy. I don't know that-"
"I want to do this."
"MM. YOU MIGHT WANT TO LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER. IT'D BE LOTS OF TRIPS AWAY FROM HOME. MIGHT BE ROUGH ON THEIR SCHEDULES, ESCORTING YOU."
"We can work it out."
Glory Girl seemed torn, looking between her mother and her sister. "Ames, there's school to think of..."
"It's almost summer break."
"TOO, THE LOGISTICS INVOLVED WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR ONE PERSON, LET ALONE THREE. DIRE WAS TOLD THAT YOU VOLUNTEER AT HOSPITALS. SURELY IT'S ALREADY A FUSS FOR THEM, ACCOMPANYING YOU ON THOSE TRIPS. THIS WILL BE WORSE."
"They don't join me at the hospitals. This won't be any different."
I stopped.
"WHAT?"
In a heartbeat I whirled around, and stalked over to loom above Brandish, Carol, whatever she wanted to call herself.
"LET DIRE GET THIS STRAIGHT. YOUR DAUGHTER GOES AND SEES PEOPLE AT HOSPITALS, DIAGNOSING AND TREATING THEM WHENEVER SHE HAS FREE TIME, AND YOU DO NOT ACCOMPANY HER ON THIS TASK?"
Carol crossed her arms, glared up at me. "You don't intimidate me."
"DO YOU NOT SEE THE PROBLEM HERE?"
"I-"
"HOW MANY TRAUMA WARDS HAS SHE BEEN TO, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT? HOW MANY TIMES HAS SHE SEEN PEOPLE AT THEIR WORST? HOW MANY TIMES HAS SHE BEEN DOWN AMONG THE DEAD AND THE DYING, FOR CHRISSAKES WOMAN SHE'S LIKE FIFTEEN!"
"You're being-"
"CHILD SOLDIERS! YOU PEOPLE MAKE CHILD SOLDIERS OF YOUR YOUNG! YOU KNOW HOW MANY ADULT DOCTORS BURN OUT ON THIS? DO YOU CARE? AND ON TOP OF THIS, YOU BLITHELY LET HER STROLL INTO PLACES OF SUFFERING ALONE? WOMAN, THIS IS HOW SUPERVILLAINS ARE MADE!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Panacea flinch. She whirled around to stare at the corner, face pressed into her hands.
"Hey! Back off!" I turned to an angry Glory Girl. "Where do you get off talking like that? You don't know our family!"
"NO. BUT FROM WHAT SHE'S SEEN, SHE KNOWS ENOUGH." I leaned down to look her in the eyes, watched her step back in spite of herself.
"YOU SEEM TO HAVE LOVE FOR YOUR SISTER. MAYBE YOU THINK ABOUT HOW HARD THIS IS ON HER, HM?"
She swallowed. Looked over to Panacea. "Ames..."
"Just go." Panacea was crying, now. "Just... Please go away and stop shouting."
"ALL RIGHT. DIRE SHALL PASS YOUR WORDS ON TO TOYBOX. THEY'LL CONTACT YOU LATER TO SEE IF YOU'RE STILL INTERESTED."
"Go!"
And I left.
Weld and Tatzylwyrm fell in behind me, as I returned to the van. My mood was... Rather foul, and that was being charitable.
Taking my seat, I watched them take theirs, and try to work themselves up to speaking.
"OH, GO ON AND SPIT IT OUT. DIRE WON'T TAKE HER TEMPER OUT ON YOU."
"That, uh, could have gone better." Weld said, his voice soft.
"DOUBT IT. THEY'RE ABUSING THAT POOR KID. NO SECRET IDENTITY EITHER. SHE'S THE HEALER, HER LIFE IS BEING THE HEALER, SHE HEALS. THAT'S ALL SHE IS, ALL THEY'VE LET HER BE, AND THEY'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT."
"And Toybox wouldn't?" Tatzylwyrm asked.
"HARD TO SAY. DIRE THINKS NOT... HER PROBLEM IS THAT SHE IS BEING TAKEN FOR GRANTED, AND TOYBOX IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS. NOW THEY WORK FOR THEMSELVES. ONE WOULD THINK THEY'D BE A BIT MORE SUPPORTIVE."
"Hence your shameless plug."
I shrugged. "MORE OF A POSSIBLE SOLUTION. SHE REALLY IS THE BEST HEALER AROUND, ACCORDING TO DIRE'S RESEARCH, AND ONE WOULD BE NEEDED FOR MANY OF GRAY BOY'S CASES. THE FACT THAT SHE'D PROBABLY EARN MILLIONS WHILE DOING THIS DOESN'T HURT EITHER. IN ANY CASE, IT'S MOOT. SHE HAS THE CHOICE TO GIVE IT A TRY OR NOT."
"She's still a minor," Weld pointed out.
"HER MOTHER DOESN'T EVEN GO WITH HER TO THE HOSPITALS. IF PANACEA WANTED TO GET AROUND HER, TOYBOX COULD ARRANGE SOMETHING. JESUS, THAT POOR KID. GET US OUT OF HERE BEFORE DIRE GOES AND DOES SOMETHING STUPID, WILL YOU?"
They took my advice, and the van started heading out.
And so I departed Boston. It had been a profitable trip, but it was time to get back to my allies, and tend to the simpler business of Brockton Bay
10/23 c2 Guest
Powers want to be used more specifically they want to be used creatively
Can push host to do so
Potential S-Class authorities dropped the ball
Powers want to be used more specifically they want to be used creatively
Can push host to do so
Potential S-Class authorities dropped the ball
10/23 c14 Guest
Panacea the force multiplier in Endbriner fights The Triumvirate the only parahumans more important and that's arguable that the are in fact more important
Better make it look like an accident, suicide, or frame someone else
Panacea the force multiplier in Endbriner fights The Triumvirate the only parahumans more important and that's arguable that the are in fact more important
Better make it look like an accident, suicide, or frame someone else
10/25 c14 Roarasaurus
Happy to have another chapter of this story!
Did you really go to all three days of PAX? That's crazy. I felt like one day was enough for me to see everything.
Happy to have another chapter of this story!
Did you really go to all three days of PAX? That's crazy. I felt like one day was enough for me to see everything.
10/23 c13 Guest
I really do love this story idea
I really do love this story idea
10/22 c14 Guest
wow
wow
10/23 c14 Mugen-Muse
Heh. Honestly, the best part about Coil getting blamed for something he didn't do is that no one even tried to frame him. Max and James simply came to the most logical conclusion based on what facts they could get and Coil's reputation. Though I doubt Coil would appreciate the irony of the situation. On the bright side, I imagine Coil will have a hard time framing Marquis for anything.
Heh. Honestly, the best part about Coil getting blamed for something he didn't do is that no one even tried to frame him. Max and James simply came to the most logical conclusion based on what facts they could get and Coil's reputation. Though I doubt Coil would appreciate the irony of the situation. On the bright side, I imagine Coil will have a hard time framing Marquis for anything.
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