I, Panacea Pt 22 (Patreon)

Part Twenty-Two: Negotiations

[A/N: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

Panacea

Amy watched as Alexandria stepped away from Trickster and moved toward where she stood beside Taylor. “We meet again,” the older hero said quietly. “You might have warned me about this.”

Inwardly, Amy quailed. Um, a little help? she asked.

Michael stepped into the forefront of her mind. Want me to do the talking?

As much as she disliked giving over control to anyone else, Amy felt that she was singularly unequipped for the upcoming conversation. Okay, but if I don't like the way it's going, you'll put me back in the driver's seat?

He gave her the mental equivalent of a shrug. Your wish, my command, et cetera, et cetera.

As she was certain that Alexandria would pick up on the slightest sign of nervousness, Amy refrained from taking a deep breath. Fortunately, the rapid-fire conversation had only taken a couple of seconds. Let's do it.

Smoothly, Michael took up Alexandria's thread. “You're the one who took on a Tinker in her own base and didn't immediately smack her into next week.” Amy knew he wasn't speaking the way she did, but she didn't want to try to correct his phrasing while he was in the middle of talking to a member of the Triumvirate. “Just be glad I figured out a way to pull your arse out of the fire.”

Alexandria's lips tightened, and Amy mentally flinched. She's figured out that it's you talking.

Probably, he agreed dryly. Also, she doesn't like being called out on her screw-ups. Then again, who does?

“You did,” Alexandria agreed after a moment. Her reluctance confirmed the supposition that Michael had made. “Trickster says you have ideas on how to repay the debt.”

“I do,” Michael said in Amy's voice, then he glanced around. “But not here. We need a place where we can talk freely. We don't want anyone listening in who shouldn't be.”

“How about the roof?” Taylor suggested. “I can make sure nobody gets close enough to hear what you're saying.”

Alexandria gave her a stern glance. “I don't want you getting close enough to hear what we're saying. Or your bugs.”

Oh, hell no. You do not pull that shit. “Well, I do.” Michael faced off against Alexandria without blinking an eye. “See, what I've got to say, she's cleared for more of it than you are. Besides, I might want a witness to what you agree to do. And I trust her not to pull stupid shit just to prove a point.”

Are you making a reference to something? Amy was pretty sure he hadn't just said that at random.

In her mind's eye, he smirked. Mayybe.

Despite not being privy to their internal conversation—or perhaps because she had an inkling that it was going on—Alexandria glared at them. “You can not be serious.”

Umm … All of a sudden, Amy felt a lot less secure about following Michael's lead.

Trust me on this. He shrugged. The gesture might have looked careless, but Amy knew her shoulder muscles were hard as rocks. “Can't I? You're the Thinker. You tell me.”

For a long moment, Amy thought Alexandria was simply going to turn and walk away. Then the Triumvirate hero nodded once, tightly. “The roof, then.”

<><>

Amy watched as Taylor walked to the edge of the roof and looked over. The bug controller's past performance had been impressive but Amy still had to ask the question. Are you certain she can make sure nobody's listening in?

Trust me on this. His tone was totally confident.

You say that a lot. Amy gave him the best equivalent she could of a stern look.

I think I'm justified, here. The only way to hear what we're talking about without getting past Taylor would require the use of powers, and even that's not a given. Anyone in her area's already been marked. She can keep up with everyone's location in real time.

“Clear,” Taylor said. “Nobody within earshot.”

See, what did I tell you?

“Very well.” Alexandria nodded toward Amy. “Present your requests.”

Internally, Amy snorted. Requests, my ass.

Mike replied with a smirk. Did you hear 'demands' too? Because that's what I heard. He creased the corner of Amy's mouth in a grin. “Okay. For starters, the Travellers need to go home. You can make that happen. Or rather, I could have, if you'd just given me Doorway privileges from the beginning.”

“Hrm.” Alexandria rubbed her chin. “By 'home', I get the impression you don't mean anywhere they can get with Amtrak.”

“Nope.” Michael let the word hang in the air for a second. “Earth Aleph.”

“Really?” From the tone of her voice, it seemed that Michael had managed to surprise Alexandria, at least a little.

Really? If Alexandria was surprised, Amy was astonished. When were you going to fill me in on this little revelation?

Yeah, well, it's not as though we've had a lot of downtime to discuss the obscure details of some side characters. Out loud, he said, “Yup, really.”

Side characters? His turn of phrase sounded a little odd. What are you talking about?

I'll, uh, tell you later. He smirked a little, but didn't seem willing to open up. Anyway, shh. Alexandria's still talking.

“So when you say they were in Madison …” prompted Alexandria.

“ … I meant that they were from Aleph's Madison, not Bet,” Michael confirmed. “They're Simurgh bombs, but they've been defused now that Noelle's back to normal. Send them back and there shouldn't be any more trouble from them. Also, once you get hold of Cody, he needs to be either depowered or held incommunicado. Or maybe inducted into the Wards via boot camp.”

“Drastic,” murmured Alexandria. “Any particular reason?”

Much as I don't actually like her, I have to agree. Why are you so hard on this Cody guy?

Uhh … There was a moment's pause. Better I tell you both at once. Michael took a deep breath. “He hates Trickster. He hates Accord. He'll do anything, up to and including murdering innocents, to get his revenge. This is mostly a Simurgh setup, of course.”

“Really?” Alexandria tilted her head. “I don't suppose you know what her overall plan was?”

“Actually, yeah, I do.” Michael held up two of Amy’s fingers. “Part one. After Leviathan hits Brockton Bay in a month or so, Coil is shot in the head by person or persons unknown. Learning that her 'one hope' of being cured is dead, Noelle breaks out and rampages across Brockton Bay. Trickster sides with her against the heroes because he's desperately in love with her, even in monster form. You and Eidolon are both on site, and you're both cloned. Myrddin is murdered by a clone, and another one publicly spills the beans about a certain name that nobody wants to speak aloud. Including your role in it. In all of it.”

“Christ,” muttered Alexandria, then glanced around as if to make sure nobody was close enough to hear. Taylor, still prowling around the edge of the roof, gave her a thumb’s up without even looking their way. Amy decided that she was being far too much of a smartass. “Leviathan? Are you sure?”

“That it'll happen?” Amy felt Michael shaking her head. “Nope. Too much is changing. Anyway, part two. This is the part with Cody. His dislike of Trickster and his obsession with Noelle got him in deep shit, and Accord ended up selling him to the CUI, to be impressed into the Yàngbǎn. He's an outsider there, and they treat him like one.”

Although he was using her larynx, the tone of her own voice frightened Amy almost as much as the words. Can I really sound that scary?

Figure you can if you put your mind to it.

“The Yàngbǎn won't be present for the Noelle incident … will they?” Alexandria didn't sound as sure as she might have.

Michael grinned at that. “Haha, nope. But they are present for when Behemoth hits New Delhi in June. You're dead by then. Fatally underestimating an enemy.”

Oh, yeah, you told us about that, Amy recalled. But you never said which one of us it would be.

Correct, Michael agreed. I didn’t.

“Really.” Amy heard a creaking and realised it was the sound of Alexandria's tendons as she clenched her fists, stretching under the sort of tension that snapped high-tensile cables. Even Taylor, away on the other side of the roof, looked around at the sound. Alexandria’s voice was flat and deadly. “Who?”

“Doesn't matter.” Michael waved away the question. “They're not a threat any more. I changed that, too. Anyway, Behemoth in New Delhi. Yàngbǎn's there. Cody breaks away from them and goes to find Accord, who's in the middle of coordinating battle plans with Chevalier and Tattletale. He murders Accord and nearly kills the other two. This puts a huge crimp in the planning, as you can imagine.”

Okay, you didn’t tell us this bit, Amy growled inside her own head. Privately, she figured that Cody’s actions would do more than ‘put a crimp’ in the battle plans.

One, you didn’t need to know. Michael’s voice was calm and matter-of-fact. Two, it’s never going to happen now.

“Fuck.” Alexandria slowly shook her head. “What do you suggest?”

“Travellers go home. Cody … rehabilitates, I guess.” Michael shrugged. “If and when you take the fight to the big guy, he'll be invaluable for keeping people alive, but he's a ticking time bomb that really needs to be defused before anything else.”

“We can always Birdcage him if we can't get him to play along,” Alexandria noted.

Amy would've shivered if Michael hadn't been in charge of her body. Alexandria's tone had been nothing short of clinical. She's not even really worried that she's discussing the uprooting of a fellow human being's entire life, here.

To be fair, he's kind of a douche. Out loud, he said, “Birdcaging is an option. I've got no doubt you can rig the paperwork to make it happen. Which reminds me. I still need Canary's record wiped clean.”

“Wait, wait.” Taylor had ceased her patrolling of the roof's edge, and approached Amy and Alexandria. She sounded more than a little concerned. Which, considering that she was still technically a member of a supervillain team—and a murderer—made the fact that she was speaking up all the more important. “You can just Birdcage someone if they're too much of a problem? What happened to due process and all that?”

Alexandria gave Michael a sharp look. “I thought she was read in on what she needed to know?”

Michael sighed. “Chill,” he advised her. “Skitter's still getting used to this, but like I said before, she's got clearance to hear what I've got to say. So pull your head in.” While Amy was still figuring out exactly what he meant by that, he turned to Taylor. “Okay, short version? Justice at this level is very much Wild West. Shit gets done because it needs to happen, and they adjust the appearance of it to look like they did it the legal way after the fact, or sometimes during the fact. If the powers that be want someone to get put away when they'd normally walk, or vice versa, then that's what happens and fuck the finer points of law. It's a shitty way to do things, but it's been a shitty situation since Behemoth first shoved his head above ground.” He gave Taylor a serious look. “You okay with this?” I need her to be okay with this.

I'm not sure that I'm okay with this.

It's the way things are. And to be honest, it'll let us act with a lot more agency than if the rules were all enforced by the book.

Slowly, Taylor nodded. “I'm good.” She seemed to think for a moment. “And that also applies to Canary's court case?”

Hah. Clever girl. Michael snorted out loud. “If they have to, yeah.” He pushed back the hood Amy was wearing so her hair blew loose in the breeze atop the building. Amy wondered what Taylor saw in her eyes at that moment; the expression she felt on her face wasn't one she'd ever used before this day. “If they had to, they could pull her right out of the Birdcage. They don't spread that around, of course. What the general public gets to hear, and what the actual truth is? Two very different things.” He gave Taylor a cynical grin. “That's been the story for the PRT and certain other organisations more or less from the start, but we won't go into that right now.”

Alexandria didn't look happy, probably because she didn't want Taylor knowing the secrets that Michael was spilling. “That can be done, yes. But why?”

“Canary's being railroaded,” Michael said flatly. “You know she's being railroaded. I'm just not sure whether it's a subtle message to all the other Masters around to 'stay in line or you're fucked' or whether the judge on the case has a hate-boner for capes. Personally, I'm inclined toward the former.” And confirmation one way or the other in three, two, one …

“I'd have to review the details of the case—” began Alexandria.

Gotcha. Michael burst into laughter for a few seconds, cutting her off. “Bullshit,” he said bluntly. “You've got perfect recall, and I know for a fact that you would've signed off on it before it ever hit a courtroom. Thanks, though, for confirming you had a hand in this. Now, I'm gonna leave it up to you exactly how you pull this off, but you're gonna arrange it so Canary walks. Acquitted of all charges. Also, Eidolon goes into therapy soonest. And I mean ay-ess-ay-fuckin'-pee.”

Wait, what? What's that about?

Alexandria knows every detail of the case inside and out. She can't not know them, but she just tried to stall me. Which means that the trial is exactly what I said it was, a message to all other Masters to not make waves.

Not for the first time, Amy felt as though her entire world view was overturning itself. Oh. Holy shit. They can do that? And what was that about Eidolon?

Can and do, kiddo. As for Eidolon … well, let's just say, he's a man whose issues endanger the world. And no, I'm not exaggerating. It's got to do with how to get rid of Endbringers.

Amy considered that. Uh, so the only way he can be able to beat them is to have him at full mental fitness?

That's certainly one way to put it, yes.

“Canary won't be too much of a problem,” Alexandria noted. Her voice stayed calm, though Amy was certain she noticed muscles bunching in the older woman's jawline. “What does Eidolon need therapy for?”

“What the fuck doesn't he need therapy for?” Michael rolled Amy's eyes. “The guy's got a complex large enough to house the entire population of Manhattan Island. He needs to be the greatest hero around in the worst way, and I do mean 'the worst way'. If he doesn't learn how to chillax the fuck out, like yesterday, people are gonna die who really didn't need to.” He held up a finger. “As a sweetener, once he's pried his head out of his ass, I'll fill him in on how to fix his powers.”

That got Alexandria's attention. “Do you know why—” she began, then cut herself off, glancing again in Taylor's direction. The bug controller flinched almost imperceptibly, but stood her ground.

“Yeah. I know why.” Michael didn't elaborate.

Do you know why what? What was that about Eidolon's powers? Amy felt like she was being left behind by the conversation.

Why they're fading. Michael's voice was quite matter-of-fact.

What? Shock overrode her other emotions. His powers are fading? I didn't know that! If that's true, how come nobody knows about it?

If you were known as the most powerful hero in the world, would you want people knowing that you were losing your edge? “Make sure he knows that if he tries to harass me about it without getting therapy—and I mean completing therapy—then I'll tell him to fuck off in no uncertain terms. He needs to have his head together for this one. And I will know if he's trying to pull a swifty on me.”

“So noted.” Alexandria's lips pressed together. “Was that all?” Even though she was still calm, Amy felt it was the sort of calm that happens just before a hurricane blows up. There was already a certain pressure in the air.

Uh, she's kind of pissed.

Yeah, I got that. Ask me if I care. “Actually, one more thing. Two more things.”

“You are rapidly approaching the point beyond which my patience is exhausted.” Alexandria may have offering to pass the salt at dinner, for all the emotion in her voice. Amy wasn't fooled.

“Ten minutes ago, we were rapidly approaching the point beyond which you would've become a glass statue of yourself, inside a bubble of frozen time,” Michael reminded her. “Exactly how grateful are you that I arranged for that not to happen?”

Amy could hear the creaking tendons again. Alexandria's expression was implacable. “Two more things. That's it.”

“Uh, wait a second.” Taylor raised her hand, getting their attention. “Someone's coming up. I think it's Legend.”

“Send him away,” Michael said softly. “This is something he won't be on board with.”

Alexandria tilted her head slightly at this, giving Amy the distinct impression that she was raising an eyebrow. “Very well,” she murmured.

Dramatically, Taylor flourished her finger and pointed it at the roof access door just as it opened.

Smartarse. Michael sounded amused.

You'd do exactly the same. Amy figured she had a line on Michael's personality by now.

Granted. His amusement grew.

Legend leaned out through the doorway. “Everything's fine up here?” he asked.

“Perfectly,” Alexandria assured him blandly. “We're just wrapping up. Have you met Skitter?”

“Briefly, before we rescued you,” he confirmed, then turned to Taylor. “You're showing more civic-mindedness than most villains I know.”

“And some heroes,” muttered Michael under his breath. Amy snickered, especially as a twitch in Legend's cheek indicated that he'd heard the comment.

“Have you considered changing sides?” Legend asked Taylor in all seriousness. “We could use someone like you in the Wards.”

Wow. If she'd been in Taylor's shoes, Amy would've accepted in a heartbeat, especially given that it was Legend who was asking. But to her surprise, Taylor didn't immediately leap to take up the opportunity. Why isn't she saying yes?

As an ex-villain, she'd probably have to transfer to a Wards team in another city. Her father lives here, and she really doesn't want to cut ties with him. She might regret it, but she'll say no.

“Sorry,” Taylor said a moment later. “I've got things to work out here. Though I'll keep your offer in mind for the future.”

Told ya.

“It's not open-ended,” Legend warned her. “Commit too many crimes, and it becomes somewhat more complicated to get you in.”

“Oh, I don't know,” Michael said dryly. “You could always give her probation. I understand that's basically carte blanche as far as the Wards are concerned.”

Ouch. Amy doubted that even she could fix a burn like that.

Oblivious to the byplay, Taylor snickered at the reference. Alexandria's expression became intent, while Legend looked puzzled. “No, it isn't,” he objected. “I don't know what you've heard, but—”

“Today, at Winslow High School, Shadow Stalker assaulted myself and another girl as a part of an ongoing bullying campaign that she's been a ringleader in for the last year,” Michael said flatly. “Unfortunately, she did it in front of Glory Girl. She's now in the hospital with a concussion, missing teeth and a broken jaw. She was on probation, and nobody pulled her up on it until I got involved. So don't tell me that Wards probation is free of flaws.”

Legend drew himself up. “The Wards are supposed to be preparing for their roles as adult heroes once they graduate into the Protectorate or go independent. It should not be a breeding ground for bullies. Rest assured that I will be calling for a full investigation into this matter.” He lifted off the roof and hovered there for a moment, then nodded toward Amy. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Panacea.”

“You're welcome,” Michael replied dryly. “Just fix that shit, okay? Bury Shadow Stalker in the deepest cell you've got. Because trust me, there's no way she's actually going to be a hero worth the name unless she gets a total personality transplant.”

Legend nodded seriously. “I'll keep that in mind.” He rose into the sky, then accelerated faster and faster until he was a blur disappearing over the horizon.

Alexandria watched him go, then turned to Amy. “So what are those 'two more things'?”

Yeah, what are they?

For the first time, Michael sounded a little cagey. I can't guarantee you'll like it.

Somehow, Amy wasn't surprised. I'll try not to judge.

I appreciate that. Michael faced off against Alexandria. “Remember how I mentioned Teacher?” He paused for a beat. “Remove him from the Birdcage, then end him. Or arrange for his death on site. Tragic accident with a vacuum seal. He needs to never enter human society ever again, and I can't guarantee that the Birdcage will deliver on that. That's the first one.” He gave Alexandria a challenging stare. “And if you even try to say something like 'that's murder', I will laugh in your face again.”

But that is murder. And you'd better not laugh in my face.

Execution. And I'd never laugh at you. His voice was serious. Teacher is a menace with no redeeming features. His power literally enslaves you to him if he wants it to.

Amy saw Alexandria's eyes close briefly behind the eyeholes in her helmet. “So noted,” the Protectorate hero gritted. “That can be arranged. And the last one?”

“Saint still needs to go down. Put Contessa on to him. After Amy and I beat the shit out of her, she might be feeling the need to validate her existence. Get her to round up the Dragonslayers, put them out of commission, then collect Dragon's black box and reverse the prohibitions that've been placed on her. Got that?”

Wait. Dragon's … black box? What's that about?

Okay. You know how things have been getting weirder and weirder? How things aren't what you thought they were?

Amy had a bad feeling about this, but she gave the mental equivalent of a nod anyway. Uh, yeah?

Well, Dragon's an AI, with a stack of prohibitions forcing her to stay on her creator's idea of the straight and narrow.

Amy reeled mentally. What the fuck? I mean, what the actual fuck? Dragon's an artificial intelligence? Who made her? Why aren't they kicking Saint's ass?

Her creator died when Leviathan sank Newfoundland. Saint found a black box full of codes that lets him tap into her code and steal her gear.

Before Amy could ask more questions, Alexandria nodded. “Is Saint really that important?”

Michael breathed out through Amy's nose. “And the prize for 'stupid question of the year, two thousand eleven' goes to the lady in the black cape. This is a guy who, when faced with a bunch of cloned Slaughterhouse Nine members rampaging across America, would choose to shut Dragon down because she was getting too close to pinpointing his operations.”

I notice she doesn't seem surprised. Does she already know?

Not officially. But yeah, she knows.

“I … see.” Alexandria had obviously decided to ignore the 'stupid question of the year' jab. “Do you want him dead, too?”

“Nah.” Michael shrugged. “Once the black box is taken away from him, used, then busted, he's harmless. Of course, feel free to try him for all the crimes he's committed in the name of keeping America safe from the menace of Dragon. Or use Slug on the Dragonslayers. That could work too.”

Slug? Who's Slug? Amy was having trouble keeping up. It was hard enough to reconcile the gently humorous Michael who had encouraged Amy with jokes and recited poems in her ear with the grimly pragmatic person who was now talking through her mouth.

Case fifty-three. Removes memories.

Well, that wasn't creepy at all.

“We'll do whatever seems necessary,” Alexandria said flatly. “Did you need anything else?” No more demands, her tone warned Amy.

“Nothing in particular,” Michael assured her. “Of course, the rest of the agreement we made last night still stands, yeah?”

Alexandria nodded. “It all stands. We won't be touching the Undersiders and we won't be harassing Panacea or Glory Girl. And you wanted Oni Lee gone as well?”

Michael snorted. “That would be nice. Just don't let him get the drop on you like Bakuda did.”

“That's hardly likely.” Alexandria almost sounded offended.

“I'm sure you thought that when you went after her, too.” Michael's voice was very dry.

Alexandria visibly winced. “Point taken.” She looked from Amy to Taylor and back again. “Was there anything else?”

Got anything you wanted to ask her?

Uh, not right now. Amy felt she'd been through enough already, and she just wanted to decompress and get her head around all the revelations she'd had to accept today. Thanks anyway.

No worries. Out loud, he said, “I got one thing to say, but Skitter can go first.”

Taylor shook her head hastily. “No, no. I'm good. All I want is to be left alone.”

Michael nodded. “Not a problem. I got one more thing, like I said.” He looked Alexandria in the eye. “I'm expecting you to work with Legend to sink Shadow Stalker once and for all. Got that?”

Amy wondered why Alexandria gave Michael a sharp glance, then she recalled his comment about how Alexandria's secret identity had 'serious throw weight'. “Got it,” said the Protectorate hero. A moment later she was gone, streaking toward the skyline as air whistled in her wake.

Do I want to know what that was about?

That depends. Do you? Far from being amused, he sounded concerned. You've got a lot of shit to handle right now. Also, it's something that might piss you off, but you definitely won't be able to do anything about it right now.

Okay, you realise that I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about it now? Mentally, she shook her head. Go ahead and tell me. It's not like it's gonna be any more shocking than Dragon being an AI, or the PRT just Birdcaging people because they can.

Okay, you asked for it. You know how I alluded to Alexandria's secret identity last night?

Yeah? she asked cautiously.

She's also known as Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown of the PRT. His voice was matter-of-fact, as though he were relating football scores.

You are fucking shitting me! But even as she voiced the automatic protest, her brain caught up with her words. Michael had never led her astray before, so even if this sounded unbelievable on the surface, she had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Are you shitting me?

Not a word of it. Now, he sounded mildly amused. She got the impression of someone sitting back and eating popcorn. Told ya it was a lot of shit to handle.

Well, now it is. Amy's head was spinning. How the fuck am I supposed to deal with this shit?

One step at a time, he said soothingly. I'll talk you through it.

If I was old enough to drink, I think I'd be getting drunk right now. She couldn't believe how thoroughly her worldview had been overturned in just twenty-four hours.

“Guys?” That was Taylor. “You've been standing there for about thirty seconds. Do you want me to come back later?”

Amy felt Michael cede control of her body. “No, I'm fine,” she said. “I've just learned that about seventy-five percent of my worldview was a lie. How about you?”

“Yeah, I'm not too far off that myself,” agreed Taylor. “I don't know what's more terrifying; learning that the PRT is basically a Wild West sheriff's department, or watching you and Michael dictate terms to Alexandria.”

“I know, right?” Amy held up her hand. It was shaking. “Since he gave me control back, my adrenaline's been kicking in big time. I'm just glad I've got someone to talk to about it.”

“Yeah, me too.” Taylor turned her head. “Someone's coming upstairs. I think it's your sister.”

Amy took a deep breath. “Probably wondering why we're taking so much time.” She turned and headed for the rooftop door, just as it opened.

“Guys?” Vicky leaned out through the doorway. “Are you done up here? And what were you talking about, anyway?”

“Sure, Vicky, we're done,” Amy replied. “Sorry, but there's a reason we came up here. Michael had some stuff he had to talk to Alexandria about in confidence, and I'm gonna have to respect that.” She put her hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled. “I'm proud of you. You did good today.”

Vicky snorted. “Even if I did get my feet turned to glass?”

“Better that than Armsmaster and Trickster,” Taylor pointed out. “Sorry, but it's true. Amy was able to fix this, at least. I doubt she would've been able to fix them once they were turned to glass.”

Amy shrugged. “When she's right, she's right. Let's go downstairs and give Trickster the good news.”

“What good news?” asked Vicky blankly.

“Sorry,” said Amy. “Need to know.”

Vicky pouted.

<><>

Taylor

“Okay, so what's going on?” asked Trickster as they re-entered the room where everyone else was waiting. 'Everyone else', in this case, appeared to be Trickster, Director Piggot, Armsmaster and several PRT guards. According to the bugs Taylor had on him, the top-hatted villain seemed to be sweating more than usual for the temperature in the room. She could understand why he'd be more than a little nervous.

“Miss Dallon!” Director Piggot's voice cracked across the room, and both Vicky and Amy turned toward her. “I would appreciate some explanation of what happened with Shadow Stalker before you become too busy over there.”

Vicky and Amy glanced at each other, and Vicky shrugged. “I'll fill her in. You deal with Trickster.”

“Thanks,” said Amy. Taylor watched Vicky go over to the Director, then turned back to where Trickster was looking at Amy.

She couldn't tell his expression from behind his mask, any more than he could with her, but the tone of his voice had sounded hopeful and resigned at the same time. I'm guessing he's had a lot of disappointments.

“So,” Amy said quietly. “How do you feel about going home?”

“Home? Really?” asked Trickster. He stared at Amy. “You can actually pull that off?”

“Well, I'm told that Alexandria can,” Amy said cheerfully. “So as soon as you get back to the others, make sure you've got everything you want to take with you. I don't think there's a return ticket.”

“Damn, girl.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, looking far more animated than Taylor had ever seen him before. “If I didn't already have a girlfriend, I'd kiss you right now. God damn.”

Amy chuckled. “Settle down, tiger. Just get back home as soon as you can. I don't think Alexandria will be holding the train too long.”

“Right, right.” He let her go and dashed out of the room. “Grue? Grue! Where are you, man? You've gotta get me back to the others, right now!”

Taylor glanced at Lisa and smirked. Of course, Lisa picked up her expression even through a full-face mask and echoed it. “He's a bit excited, isn't he?” asked the purple-clad villain. “I'm not sure why it's such a problem for him to go home, but it's something he's wanted for a long time.” She stared at Taylor, her expression morphing into a semi-pout. “And you know what's going on there. Michael knows too. He's told you guys, and I can't figure it out. That's so not fair.”

“Says the girl who knows what I had for breakfast yesterday,” Amy replied, sounding more than a little amused. Lisa's put-upon expression intensified. “You've got it so hard. Allow us to have some secrets, okay?”

“You don't understand,” Lisa told her earnestly. “Secrets are what I live for. I gotta know 'em all. Except the creepy and disgusting ones. But my power gives them to me anyway. Especially the creepy and disgusting ones.”

“Oh, trust me, my power is worse,” Taylor replied, rolling her eyes. “Bug senses are crap, but their sense of smell is pretty good. And I can tell shapes by having bugs run all over something. So I'm still not sure which is worse: roaches digging through the corpse of a dead rat, or lice telling me the exact size and shape of a homeless guy's junk, plus exactly how many days it's been since he's bathed.”

To her private amusement, Lisa turned a delicate shade of green. “Not funny,” mumbled the blonde villain, putting her hand over her own mouth. “Not funny at all.”

“Well, you know, it kind of is,” Amy remarked. “I can't beat the dead rat thing, but when I touch someone to heal them, I know the shape and size of their everything.” She grinned. “And talking about size, why don't we go out to Fugly Bob's? Vicky needs to put some body mass back on, and for that she's going to need to do some serious eating. Maybe even the Challenger.”

“Oh, I can't believe you're talking about eating after discussing dead rats and peoples' junk,” choked Lisa.

“What?” asked Taylor, smirking so hard that her face hurt. “All that grease and salt and fat? I have no idea why that would be a problem.”

<><>

Vicky

“ … so yeah, when I got there, Amy and Taylor were both injured,” Vicky told Director Piggot earnestly. “Shadow Stalker broke Amy's nose, even. But I didn't punch her until she tried to attack Amy at the meeting.”

The Director sighed, closed her eyes, and placed three fingers to her forehead in the almost-facepalm gesture that Vicky had seen earlier. “Of course she did,” she murmured. “Because my life doesn't have enough trouble in it so far, apparently.” She opened her eyes and looked at Vicky. “How hard did you punch her?”

“Broken jaw, twelve missing teeth, busted cheekbone, concussion,” Vicky recited. “Uh, that I can remember.” She could still recall feeling her fist as it encountered the jaw of the disgraced Ward, and wondering for a brief moment if she'd hit the girl too hard. “Amy stabilised her, but she didn't fix any of the actual damage. Something about letting her heal it the normal way.”

Director Piggot didn't look any more impressed. “And the whole encounter between Shadow Stalker and your sister and this other girl was recorded?”

“By a friend of Taylor's dad, yeah,” Vicky said. She'd been fairly impressed by the forethought that had gone into ensuring Shadow Stalker and her bitch-face friends would pay for their misdeeds. And also, of course, by the outcome of the Coil raid. Taylor would've made a kickass hero, she decided. It was a pity things had turned out the way they did.

“I see.” The Director nodded briefly. “Thanks for filling me in. Now I'm not going to be totally blindsided when my inbox starts blowing up with emails from everyone with an axe to grind, asking me what my idiot Wards have been up to this time and why didn't I do something about it sooner.” She shot Vicky a warning glance. “You didn't just hear me say that.”

Vicky wasn't stupid. “I didn't hear a thing, Director. I've worked alongside Clockblocker.”

“For which you have my profound sympathy.” Piggot looked up as Tattletale ran from the room, one hand over her mouth and the other giving the finger to Amy and Skitter. “Now what in the world is that all about?”

Vicky was just as mystified. “You've got me, Director. Normally it's Tattletale who makes people run off in tears, as far as I can tell. Was there anything else you needed?”

Piggot shook her head. “No, thank you. I appreciate the heads-up. And the assist with saving Alexandria. Now I've got to get back to the office before the next crisis hits. Whatever it turns out to be.” She turned away and headed toward the nearest guard.

“Well, that was interesting,” murmured Vicky under her breath. Piggot had been grateful in her own way, but that was very much a 'pulling teeth' sort of way. Strolling over to where Amy and Taylor stood smirking—well, Ames was smirking, but she couldn't tell from Taylor's mask—she tilted her head toward the door. “Okay, what did you do to her?”

“Nothing at all,” Amy assured her in the sort of innocent voice that proclaimed you can't prove nothin'. “We were just talking about going to Fugly's. In fact, you interested in coming along?”

“Um, I can't really make it,” Taylor broke in ruefully. “I gotta get home. Dad's gonna be worried, especially after what happened at the school today. But you three have fun.”

“Sure,” Amy replied with a grin. “Michael says goodbye. See you later?”

“Definitely.” Taylor gave Vicky's sister a hug. “Don't be a stranger.”

“Of course not,” Amy replied. “I'm a Striker, duh.”

Vicky wrinkled her nose at the bad joke, quite possibly made by every non-Stranger cape at least once in their lives. She watched Taylor leave, then turned her head as a large number of bugs lifted from concealment and buzzed out of the room after her.

“Uh, did you know those were there?” she asked Amy.

Amy smirked. “Nope, but it doesn't surprise me. She's always working out new angles. I don't even spot them half the time, but Michael points them out.”

“So were you serious about Fugly's, or was that just a way of making Tattletale run away somehow?” asked Vicky. Normally, she wouldn't have suspected Ames of pulling something that underhanded, but her sister had been revealing hidden depths since her odd houseguest took up residence in her head.

“Oh, definitely serious.” Amy gestured to the splint on her nose. “After today, Michael and I think we deserve some fast-food therapy.”

“Well, I definitely can't argue with that,” Vicky said with a snicker. “I might have my issues with the guy, but he's right on the money there.” She gestured to the door. “Shall we?”

“Let's go.” Amy headed for the door, with Vicky right on her heels.

<><>

Armsmaster

One of the PRT soldiers turned to his work buddy. “I didn't know Panacea had a boyfriend. Who's this Michael guy, anyway?”

The other soldier shrugged. “Search me. I can't keep up with the younger generation these days.”

“Get back to work,” Colin ordered. “All of these bombs need to be sorted, tagged and packed away before we finish today.”

“Yes, sir,” chorused the soldiers.

As Colin walked off, he found himself pondering the same question.

<><>

Amy

Leaning back on her seat in Fugly Bob's, Amy nibbled at a calamari ring as she watched her sister make determined inroads on a Challenger. Vicky had tried for this once before, shortly after getting her powers, but she'd quickly learned that they didn't protect her internal organs.

So … let's see now. Dragon is an AI.

Dragon is indeed an AI. Her creator was called Andrew Richter. He died when Leviathan sank Newfoundland. Saint was a salvage diver who found the black box containing her emergency control codes and has been misusing them ever since, under the wilful misunderstanding that she's a danger to humanity.

Amy paused to digest that one. He doesn't sound like a nice man.

He's a bigot with a strong talent toward hypocrisy. Kind of like Kaiser, in that regard.

I'm not even going to ask. Does the PRT really just make up the rules as it goes?

Sure. With Alexandria in charge, it's in her best interests to make things happen in a way most convenient to the Protectorate. Assault used to be a villain called Madcap, but he made a good case for joining the Protectorate when he was caught. Bingo, rebrand.

And they can just choose to Birdcage, or not Birdcage, people as they see fit?

Well, there still has to be a trial but as often as not, it's a blatant kangaroo court, like in Canary's case. The Birdcage is basically their dumping ground for capes who are strong enough to have some sort of chance against Zion but are troublesome enough to not want on the outside. Also, it's being used as a cautionary tale for capes like Canary. Trouble is, it's got a two in three fatality rate so far. Six hundred capes have gone in, and there's two hundred still alive.

Amy was horrified. That … that's monstrous!

Michael sighed. Yeah, but no. What you've got to understand is that these people, Cauldron, have managed to amass the power to do just about anything except formulate a working plan to actually defeat Zion. So they're throwing out all these Hail Mary passes in the hope that one of them will do the job.

So, does one work? You're telling me about this, so I'm guessing it's going to be okay?

His voice became serious. Nope. You guys win the war, but not because of anything Cauldron does. In the end, it comes down to you and Taylor, at a huge cost to the both of you. I'd rather not make you pay that cost, this time around. This isn't to say that they haven't managed to keep civilisation tottering along over the last thirty years, but they've done a lot of harm too. Which I intend to put an end to when I dismantle their organisation.

Oh. Wow. Amy felt very small, all of a sudden. Is there anything else I need to know?

Well, Leviathan's due next month, but that might not happen now because of butterflies. He sounded pensive. Manpower is killed along with Shielder, and Flashbang gets brain damage. Or at least that's how it originally would've happened. Vicky and Carol get upset with you for not healing him. Eventually you do, but only because he would've otherwise died.

Amy was still trying to get her head around that when cheering burst out from all around her. She looked up to see that Vicky had managed to finish the last of the burger. As she watched, her sister let out a prodigious belch, to general applause and laughter.

Well, I gotta go and help her put some of that body mass back on, but before I do that, I have one more question. If Leviathan isn't attacking here, do you know what is going to happen?

Sorry. Not the foggiest.

And as Amy got up to congratulate her sister, she wasn't sure if that was a comforting thought or not.

 Part 23