Archive of Our Own

"The Cape goes by the name 'Freaky Friday', but despite the reference to the 1976 movie, they do not swap people's bodies. If multiple capes are in their radius of effect, then Freaky Friday is capable of switching their powers. The exact radius is unclear, but appears to be no further than 25 meters away from them. All powers switched by Freaky Friday return to normal after exactly one week (168 Hours) in all observed cases. Switched powers function exactly the same as they did before and do not appear to be affected in any way after returning to normal. The act of switching is intensely disorienting to the subjects in the first few minutes and has been used by Freaky Friday to effect escapes repeatedly. It can also cause significant harm - such as if a cape whose power makes them immune to fire happens to be touching flame and their powers are switched, or if a flying cape loses their flight while mid-air.

If encountered, only one Cape should ever get close enough or be close enough to him, as he does not appear to be able to swap powers with himself."

-Excerpt from an Internal PRT Alert about the Trump cape 'Freaky Friday'

Come on Vicky, you're not usually late to picking me up. Amy yawned, not bothering to cover up her mouth. It was late, Vicky was supposed to be picking her up tonight - if her sister had said she was going to be late, Amy would have grabbed the bus, but now it would be another half hour until the right bus going the right way stopped here. 

So she was stuck either way.

Victoria was probably caught up with Dean. She loved her sister, she really did - too much - but...

Of all the guys in the entire city you could have chosen to date, it had to be him?! Victoria's taste in men was baffling. 

"Panacea! In the flesh!" A man's voice said from nearby, walking towards her. Amy dropped her head into her hand, groaning. 

"I don't do requests, or autographs," Amy mumbled, not looking in the direction of whoever was talking. "And Glory Girl will be here to pick me up soon, so.." 

"Oh, even better! The more the merrier!" The man said, sounding positively delighted. "Come now, look at me Panpan, it's rude to talk to someone without making eye contact!" The voice reminded her of the court jester in a fantasy movie she'd seen last month, on one of those double dates her sister kept dragging her onto. Affected, slightly high-pitched, upbeat. Very cheery. 

"That's not my fucking name," Amy countered, not bothering to look at the clearly deranged fan. 

"My, such a rude girl." The man replied. "Turn that frown upside down!"

"What, is this the part where you tell me I'd look prettier if I smiled?" What kind of fucking creep was this guy? Was he trying to hit on her?

"Well, that's certainly true - it's true of most everyone - but mostly you should be smiling because I'm going to give you a rare gift." The man said, sounding like he was grinning. 

"I don't accept gifts. If you really want to thank me for my work, donate to the New Wave Foundation," Amy said, the words practically rote. At first, when healing had been a novelty and the thanks from people had actually meant something, she had accepted gifts - sweets, flowers, things like that. Unfortunately, that had ended when some freshly triggered asshole - so fresh he hadn't even had a cape name yet - had gifted her chocolates that he'd infected with a plague - his power was infecting objects with diseases.

Fortunately, her power killed the disease, and he'd been stupid enough to sign the box, hoping to take credit for killing Panacea. Vicky had gotten sick, but Amy had caught it soon enough to stop it.

The guy had gotten caught days after his trigger and was hopefully rotting in a sealed off cell somewhere. 

"Ah, but this gift is special. I'm going to give you the chance to walk-" He started, and then he was cut off by Victoria's voice shouting out.

"Hey! Get away from my sister!" Amy looked up to see Victoria hovering about ten feet up a short distance away. 

"Ah, Glory Girl! Right on time!" The man laughed - giggled, really, again, reminiscent of that court jester. Why was that the only thing Amy could remember about the movie? 

Well, that and how pretty the princess character looked. She'd looked like a taller Vicky that had swapped out her costume for a suit of armor and picked up a sword. 

But her sister usually didn't just shout at people for talking to her... even annoying people. At least not as a first resort. Blinking, Amy turned to look at the guy, then stepped back, cursing under her breath as she saw that he was a cape. 

He had to be anyway. Normal criminals didn't wear elaborate, colorful masks and outfits. His costume was an orange and blue three-piece suit, split down the middle, garishly clashing shades that made her eyes hurt. His mask was the same color-clash, and after a moment, Amy realized why it looked so familiar - it was the comedy/tragedy masks... but mashed together, with the orange half tragedy and the blue half comedy.

"Right, I'm here. So you can get the fuck away from my sister already!" Vicky snapped, swooping down to get between her and the masked cape. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Why me? I'm Freaky Friday. And I'm here to give you both a lovely little gift: Perspective!" 

The name Freaky Friday rang a bell - a movie? TV Show? - but before Amy could do anything more than have that thought, the cape, Freaky Friday, flourished his hands dramatically - Amy felt... something, like a sudden momentary absence, and then - 

She doubled over, feeling like she'd been hit in the stomach. She gasped, and heard Vicky do the same thing.

Amy tried to call out to her sister, to reach for her, heard Freaky Friday giggling and racing off and then -

Nothing.

"...and he said his name was Freaky Friday." Victoria repeated the story of what had happened for the third time in the last hour, controlling her tone. She'd told this to Mom, she'd told it to Dad, and now she was telling it to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Neil. Amy wasn't really up for talking, so that left her to do it. But three times was starting to grate on her, just a little.

She'd been going to the Hospital to pick up Amy, maybe try to talk her into going shopping for the double date tomorrow - her sister was pretty, if she'd just stop covering herself up with her robes or baggy clothes or whatever else - and she'd gotten there and there'd been some guy in a crazy orange and blue outfit and a mask. Some random cape was accosting her sister, and she'd seen red, for a moment. She'd held herself back, tried telling him to go away first, he hadn't, and then...

She'd collapsed to the ground, unconscious. She'd been standing on the ground at least... which turned out to be a really good thing when she'd been shaken awake by one of the hospital workers on a smoke break just a few minutes later.

Taking the man's hand to help her to her feet had been... insane. It was overwhelming, actually. She didn't know how to describe it, the sudden conception of the entirety of his body in her awareness. She wasn't seeing it, right down to the cells, but it was the only word that even kind of seemed right. She knew he wasn't eating enough, drank too much coffee, could see the build of tar and other shit inside of his lungs that would become lung cancer in a decade...

And she'd known, known she could change it all. The impulse, to do something to his body, to remove the buildup or change something anything -

That had been almost as overwhelming as the sudden assault of his biology on her mind. Holding back a bit of hyperventilating,she'd only been halfway to her feet when she'd pulled her hand back, staggered, nearly fell over again. It was everything all at once - it was too much, it was nothing like what she felt when she flew -

Hands on the ground, she could feel bacteria and god knew whatever else under her hands, on the sidewalk. 

Vicky was a lot of things, including blonde, and a jock. She was also, despite what PHO sometimes liked to say about her, not an idiot. Indeed, as she admitted herself, and as Amy frequently called it, she was a nerd. At least when it came to powers. It hadn't been hard for her to grasp, as she'd forced herself up to her feet, the comforting familiarity of her forcefield absent, that she had her sister's powers now.

Amy had had a hell of a time explaining what it felt like when she sensed someone's biology, and Victoria had pestered about it more than once over the years. Now she could relate to why Amy got frustrated with her about it so quickly. Just thinking about how to put it into words even in her own head left her feeling... inadequate? Dumb? Just a little, just for a moment. Powers were hard to explain in some cases, but she felt like she should have an easier time of it than this.

Waking her sister up - and the ache in her chest at the feeling of her own forcefield around her in the process - had been simple enough. Watching Amy freak out and float up into the air had been a lot less simple.

Their powers had been swapped. 

There could only really be one explanation - that cape. That jackass 'Freaky Friday'. His name made sense now. And what he'd said about gifting them with 'perspective'.

When she'd first gotten her power, her sister had avoided touching most people for a while, apart from her. Which she'd really appreciated at the time, because her sister had always given her the best hugs. But now that she had Amy's power, Vicky could sort of understand why Amy had taken a while to be willing to shake hands or whatever.

Amy's reaction had been somewhere between confusion and hyperventilating. Victoria would have been doing the same, probably, knew she was repressing, but she was repressing. Because the part of her taking Parahumans Studies classes at BBU was letting her focus on that, focus on the how of what had just happened, trying to work it out, what it meant. It was a distraction, but Victoria was good at those in general. It had given her enough presence of mind enough to let her call Mom, tell her they'd been attacked by some sort of Trump cape. She'd come to pick them up - even if Victoria had been willing to ask Amy to take that risk, there was no way her sister was in a fit state to fly that distance or carry her. 

"Well, then, Victoria, Amy, I have good news." Aunt Sarah said. "This... swapping of your powers is temporary."

"Oh thank god," Victoria muttered. Amy didn't say anything and she looked at her sister, who was looking at her hands in her lap. "Not that your power isn't really awesome, Amy, but I already miss being able to fly." She chuckled, reaching out to nudge her sister's shoulder.

And meeting her forcefield again.

Amy had been keeping that up the whole hour since they'd woken up. Does she not know how to be selective with it? Victoria had taken a few days to get all the ins and outs of her power, how to know how much her forcefield could take (okay, that one had taken longer, including nearly dying and Amy triggering for her to really get it) but she hadn't kept her family out. She bit her lower lip for a moment, resolving to ask Amy in private, once they had a moment.

"...how long?" Amy finally asked quietly, looking back down at her hands. Amy had been avoiding touching anything as much as she could too, afraid of breaking anything with her strength.

Suppressing a small laugh, Victoria had to admit that was a fair concern - even now, years after her trigger, Dad still kept a few spare doors on hand in the basement because she still didn't always reign her strength in when slamming the door. Usually after her latest breakup with Dean.

Amy doesn't really slam her door much, but... the image of her sister flopping down on the bed like she liked to do when she wanted to sulk, but doing it too hard and breaking the bed made her smile, just for a moment.

A flash of guilt roiled in her stomach a moment and she wiped the smile off her face. It was funny, but her sister was clearly having a hard time with this too. Victoria had to be there for her. She reached out and tried to squeeze Amy's shoulder through the forcefield.

Does she not - does she not trust me with her power? Victoria couldn't believe that, but it felt like it, a little stab in her chest...

She forced that thought away.

"A week. Exactly. 168 hours to be precise. Freaky Friday is a known quantity - he's been active for about a year, apparently." Aunt Sarah explained. "The PRT let me know he'd been sighted in the city a few hours ago, copied New Wave on an internal report about his power." 

"Uncharacteristically helpful of them," Mom crossed her arms in front of her chest. "They don't usually go that far about new villains in town. Not that quickly, at least."

"Well, Freaky Friday is potentially quite destabilizing. According to the PRT, his power only works if there's two other parahumans in his radius. So they wanted to make sure we knew that if one of us saw him-"

"Make sure we're the only ones approaching him." Victoria nodded. 

"Exactly. I was going to let your mother know when she left work... I didn't expect he'd approach you, Amy." Sarah had the decency to sound apologetic but Victoria didn't really hold it much against her aunt that she hadn't said anything.

"Do we know why he might have specifically targeted Panacea?" Mom asked, arms still crossed. 

"I mean... it's not like Amy's scheduled time at the hospital is a secret." Or that she snuck out at night to heal more. At least she wouldn't be able to do that for a week. Amy was never happier when she came home from the hospital, not when it was scheduled, and not when it was secret. "And Glory Girl watch on PHO always mentions me going to pick her up when I do." She didn't every time, but most of the time, she did. Hospitals in Brockton Bay were the closest thing the city had to neutral territory, and no gang had ever been stupid enough to try anything on Amy. No one had since that one asshole had tried to infect her through a box of chocolates... and gotten Victoria as collateral damage.

"So maybe... maybe he just knew that's where two capes would be to switch?" Victoria offered.

"Did his voice sound familiar, Amy? Maybe he approached you earlier, out of costume?" Mom asked. "Can you think of any reason he might have targeted you?"

"...no, I can't," Amy said, looking up, not meeting Mom's gaze. "And he didn't sound familiar either."

"No one who complained about you not healing them on request recently? They could be a friend or family member of Freaky Friday-" Amy looked back down at her hands, shoulders hunching again. Damnit Mom! Victoria inhaled sharply and interrupted, saving Amy from more beratement.

"Mom!" Victoria raised her voice. "It's not Amy's fault. Maybe he was targeting me? Or New Wave in general!"

"Maybe, but we can't rule anything out." Mom countered. Amy looked back at her, still not meeting her eyes directly, but she opened her mouth, about to say something more - maybe raise her voice, from the look on her face, but Aunt Sarah cut in before she could talk.

"Regardless, it's happened. And we'll have to make sure none of the rest of us get too close to him in groups." She let out a breath. "I'll call the hospitals and let them know that you can't attend as planned for the next week." Amy let out a breath and nodded, shoulders sagging. 

"I could-" Victoria started to offer, but Aunt Sarah shook her head.

"Victoria, the PRT isn't going to just approve you going in untrained and unpracticed to heal people. If it's an emergency and there's someone who needs help right in front of you, that's one thing, but -"

"Come on! It's not like Amy's power has any negative side effects! It's the same power. Amy has my forcefield and my flight and my strength... and probably my aura too." She looked at Amy, "Do you have the aura?"

Amy nodded.

I've always wondered what it feels like to experience. Really, this sucked, that she couldn't fly for a week, but there were so many questions she'd had about Amy's power, and being on the other end of her power and -

Now that she knew for sure this had an endpoint, there wasn't much point in freaking out. So she didn't even need to use all the interesting questions as a distraction from the problem. 

She was going to have to get Amy to help her out with this. Plus Dean. Would he suddenly be able to read her emotions? Would that upset him?

Dean liked that he couldn't get a proper read on her feelings, and Victoria preferred that too, even if it got annoying when he wasn't understanding her, but that was... that was what happened with normal relationships too. 

Still. What would I look like, emotionally to him? She was going to have to ask him all about that too, when she saw him at school. 

She bounced a little as she sat there on the couch, all the interesting possibilities she could do. And she could do Amy's healing for her for the week. Amy probably wouldn't want to do her patrols or anything, and that was fine, her sister didn't like fighting, but -

It was healing. It was cool! And Amy could do so much cool stuff with her power - she only told Victoria about everything she could do, but now Victoria could - she could heal Dad's depression!

Then her heart sank after the momentary elation. If she did that, everyone would know Amy was lying about not being able to do brains. And Amy would get annoyed at her, and probably sulk for weeks about it afterwards and -

But I mean - I know Amy's worried about what could go wrong, but... it didn't feel like healing that guy's early damage from smoking, or anything like that wouldn't go exactly like I told it too? 

She was jolted out her thoughts by Aunt Sarah finally answering her:

"Victoria, they made your sister go through three months of training and observation before they let her heal any civilians. And the only reason it was that short was probably because they had you as the first person she healed."

"But they know it's the same power now! All that testing was to make sure Amy's power didn't come with some... side effect, like mastering me or something, like with that one power-booster in the Birdcage. Ingenue," she recalled the name after a moment's thought.

Or Teacher. The people he gave powers to became his mastered slaves, basically. Or maybe just really susceptible to his manipulation. The literature on him, such as it was, wasn't settled. Probably wouldn't be. Which was a bit of a shame, but also probably for the best.

"And to make sure that she knew what she was doing. We didn't let you go out and fight criminals on your own right after you triggered either," Aunt Sarah pointed out. "If you make a mistake, it could cause serious problems for New Wave in general, and your sister especially, once your powers switch back."

Victoria bit her tongue, holding back a groan. She could do this! Maybe - okay, maybe a little coaching from Amy at first, a day to practice or something, but she could definitely do this! If she couldn't be a hero by fighting crime, she could at least make sure -

She looked at the expressions on her Mom's face, on Aunt Sarah's face. She looked at her Uncle Neil, hoping he'd be on her side, but he just gave her a momentary shrug, and a smile.

Victoria sighed. They couldn't stop Amy from sneaking out and healing, so they couldn't stop her from trying it, right? 

"So we just do... nothing for a week?"

"You can probably go about your daily lives, as long as you're careful not to use your powers too much." Aunt Sarah said. "Just no patrols, no going to the hospital - call it a week off."

"Okay." Victoria stood, "Is there anything else you need Amy and me for, or-?"

"Go ahead," Mom said, gesturing to the stairs. Amy stood up slowly, and headed for the stairs first. It took Victoria a moment to realize Amy wasn't dragging her feet like she usually did, especially after talking to Mom. "Amy! No flying in the house is still a rule!"

Amy dropped a few inches down onto the ground, flushing. "I didn't even realize I was..."

"Well, make sure you pay closer attention to what you're doing with your power, Amy." Mom scolded. "And be careful about closing doors."

"It's not like we don't have replacements handy if she breaks one." Dad interjected. He came out of the kitchen, two cups in hand. He handed one to her, and one to Amy. Hot chocolate. From the smell of it, the really good hot cocoa too. Victoria inhaled slowly, savoring it. Dad only broke this stuff out when someone really needed it. Memories of days in the past, when Dad had good days more often and could be more present flashed through her mind, and she blinked a few seconds. 

Dad was here now, and this helped.

"Thanks Dad," Victoria said, Amy muttering her own thanks as she took a small sip from her cocoa. He nodded and then Victoria continued upstairs behind Amy. "Come on," she gestured once they were there, towards her room. Amy hesitated for a moment, Victoria stared at her, and then her sister followed her into the room, closing the door way too gently behind her.

"You don't need to be that careful, Amy," Victoria grinned. She took a sip of her cocoa and sat down on her bed, patting a spot next to her for Amy to sit down. 

"Better safe than sorry," Amy said quietly. "How many doors did you break in your first month with your pours? Six?"

"Five... and one handle snapped off, but the door was fine." Victoria corrected. "Aren't you supposed to be on my side, Ames?" She asked, unable to stop smiling despite the faux-wounded tone she affected. If Amy could banter with her a little by bringing that up, she wasn't doing as badly as she could be. That was good. She let out a small breath.

Still.

"How are you holding up?" She didn't want to leap straight to the questions she really wanted to ask. Her sister didn't usually get prickly around her, the way she did everyone else, but sometimes Amy clammed up and got defensive with her too, and Victoria hated that. But she had 11 years of being an 'Amy Whisperer' under her belt. She knew how to handle her sister.

Amy started to open her mouth, but Victoria raised her finger, pointing at her. "And don't say you're fine." That was always her sister's answer. Amy was pretty much the best sister anyone could ask for, but she could be frustrating as hell, when she insisted on taking blame for things that weren't her fault, or when she made trying to help her like pulling teeth. 

"...I don't know how I'm holding up," Amy admitted. "I... I mean - I've been stuck with my power for two years and a half years and - now I don't have it but I have your power, and you have my power and - and-" she sagged, letting out a breath. "No offense, Vicky, but I don't want your power. At all." Amy added.

"Why not? You can fly! I mean, I know you don't really like getting into the fighting and all that, but why wouldn't you want to fly!?"

Flying was amazing - exhilarating. One of the coolest things in the world, and it was probably her favorite part of her power. Superstrength was nice, and the forcefield was awesome, and her aura could sometimes end fights before they started, but flying? Flying was hands down the best, the one part of her power she'd never want to do without.

"Your power is made for fighting."

Not answering my question, Ames. Why don't you want to fly!? Her sister was truly alien to her sometimes.

"And flying! It's not like anyone's expecting you to go out and beat up criminals, anymore than they're expecting me to go and heal people." Victoria frowned. "And like, fine, you don't want to fight, I get that." Her sister's power could be used to fight - touch someone's bare skin, instant knockout - but Amy didn't have any way to heal herself and her power didn't come with a defense. At least Dad could attack from range with his grenades. Amy didn't really have that option.

And her sister just... didn't want to fight. Didn't like it. Had never wanted to. "So you don't have to, but I want to go heal people. You save more people in a week than I could ever hope to! I - I'd miss flying too much to give it up forever, but since I have your powers..." she pouted, "But they won't let me."

"For a good reason, Vicky." Amy sighed, giving her an exasperated look. Victoria took solace in her sister continuing to return to form, rather than shrinking in on herself. "The training and testing wasn't just about making sure my power didn't have side effects. They wanted to make sure I actually knew what I was doing."

"Doesn't your power do most of the work? I mean, I told you you should have pushed for a Thinker subrating." Her ability to fly properly deserved a Thinker subrating, but god forbid anyone listen to her about that.

"Vicky, threat ratings aren't... prizes you collect," Amy paused in the middle, trying to find the right words, rejecting at least one phrasing before settling on what she did say. "And... Yeah, for some stuff my power does most of the work, or even all of it, but - it's easier to make sure nothing goes wrong with the healing if I understand the anatomy and biology. And biology is the one class I have better grades than you."

"Because your power lets you cheat." Victoria stuck her tongue out. Her sister wasn't stupid, but she didn't get enough sleep and she didn't make an effort in class and it showed in her grades. Victoria tried to get her to take school more seriously, but Amy just... didn't. Biology really was the one class Amy did well in, though her better grade was just half a percent more than hers.

And her power really did let her cheat.

Amy rolled her eyes, shaking her head slowly. "We can't all be nerds like you, Vicky. But seriously, Vicky, it's for the best. It took a lot of practicing and training to be able to use my power to heal anything complicated."

"You are no fun, Amy." Victoria gently shoved at her sister - to no avail, thanks to the forcefield. "How many parahumans get to find out what someone else's power is like to have or use? One way or another, I am going to convince you to try flying on your own." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Amy rolled her eyes and sipped at her cocoa. 

"I mean it." Victoria wagged a finger at her sister. "Flying is awesome, and you'll love it!"

"Only you could make enjoying something sound like a threat, Vicky," Amy shook her head, smiling for just a moment. 

"It's my specialty." She took a sip from her own cocoa and then, "Okay, now, the aura. Hit me with it." 

Amy sputtered, nearly spitting out the next sip of cocoa she'd taken. She covered her mouth with her free hand, then coughed after she swallowed. "Excuse me?"

"My aura. Or, your aura, right now. People have described it to me, and I know what it does on an academic level and all that," Victoria ignored Amy muttering 'nerd' as she went on, "but I have no idea what it actually feels like. Not really. This is a golden opportunity!"

"I don't want to experiment, I just want -" Amy cut herself off. "I don't know what I want. But             this isn't just... this is fun for you."

"It can be, if you'd play along." Victoria set her mug down on her side table and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Come on Ames! We only have a week, this is - this is a golden opportunity," she said again. "Golden! This is never gonna happen again, so - come on, hit me with it! It's the same aura as always, it's not like there's any long-term side effects."

The PRT had been worried about that when she'd first triggered, but she'd always known it didn't do that, and testing had proved that soon enough. 

"Vicky..." Amy said warningly, but Victoria could tell her sister was wavering, hesitating, seeing things her way.

"Look at it this way, you always complain I've hit you with it so much you're immune to it now, so here's your chance for some revenge!" Victoria stuck her tongue out at Amy. 

Amy tilted her head to the side. "...Okay. Okay." She hesitated for a moment, and then. "Done. How does it feel?"

For a moment, Victoria blinked. She wasn't feeling anything? She looked at her sister, and she loved her and felt safe with her... which was normal. But as she looked at her sister, she realized she felt all that... more. She felt like she did when she hugged her after a long, disappointing day. Or when she had had her latest breakup with Dean and she was on her bed, head in Amy's lap, her sister's fingers gently threading through her hair, making supportive noises of agreement when she listed off all of the things about Dean that annoyed her - at least when she wasn't dating him.

Absolute, unconditional comfort, safety... she let out a soft sigh, unable to tear her eyes away from Amy, feeling tension she didn't know she had bleeding out of her shoulders. She sagged a little. It wasn't all that different from how she normally felt about her sister, but it was more. More deep, more intense, more overwhelming. It was hard for her to really register that, think about anything other than how nice being around her sister was...

Then everything snapped back to normal and Victoria shook her head. "Woah. That was...that wasn't really what I expected." Amy frowned, lips parting a little, and Victoria shook her head, reassuring her sister quickly. "It was good, but it was - for a second, I didn't even realize I was feeling the aura at all. I just felt safe with you, and trusted you, and thought you were the best sister ever." She laughed, "Which I already feel all the time." She smiled as she watched Amy flush and look away, then  she took Amy's half-finished mug from her hands and set it on the bedside table and then pulled her sister into a tight hug.

"It was just... more. And nothing else. It was... weird, but it was nice." She smiled, feeling Amy's arms hesitantly - and very lightly - go around her as well. "Nice because I knew it was completely true. Love you, Ames."

"Love you too Vicky," Amy murmured, tightening her arms just a little more, relaxing into the hug. Victoria rested her chin on Amy's shoulder for a moment. The forcefield fell away and Victoria felt her sister's biology blossom in the 'sight' of her power. She could feel it, every cell, every fiber of her being. Her skin, or organs, her brain - she couldn't read Amy's thoughts, and the impressions her power was giving her of what Amy was feeling were vague - contentment, maybe? But there was an undercurrent of anxiety? Maybe, it was hard to tell, but her sister's heart was beating pretty fast and there was a buildup of what Victoria was, between the power-senses and her own knowledge of biology, pretty sure had to be cortisol - the stress hormone - throughout her body.

Amy... Her sister was terrible at relaxing. Always worrying about things, or getting anxious, even hyperventilating sometimes if something was really going wrong. Anytime Victoria got hurt, Amy stressed out. Amy stressed in general.

And she isn't getting enough sleep. 

She felt bad for making light of Amy sneaking out to go to the hospital just a bit ago now, as she felt just how little sleep her sister was getting. Amy would just say she had it handled, or that lying in bed not getting sleep about all the people she wasn't helping wasn't any better...

But it had to be, right? At least she was comfortable in bed?

If nothing else, a week of actually getting more sleep would do wonders for her sister.

Victoria pulled back from the hug. She had to admit, now that she really took the time to really flex Amy's 'biosense', that Amy had had a point. Knowing more about biology definitely helped her interpret what the power was telling her, and experience with it would make using it a lot easier. She picked up things from Amy's brain she couldn't place, didn't recognize, same with the rest of her body.

"And here I was thinking I wasn't going to get to see what your body felt like with your power," Victoria teased. 

"...that wasn't completely on purpose," Amy admitted, cheeks flushed. "I just - relaxed and -"

"Ames! Seriously? Not on purpose! Why are you so determined to keep me from being able to use your power on you?" She pouted, throat feeling just a little tight. "Are you - are you hiding something?" She reached her hand out for Amy's hand - the forcefield wasn't back up.

Victoria's breath caught. Was she sick? Had she gotten hurt and wasn't saying anything because she didn't want to be a burden? Had she caught something at the hospital and didn't want to admit it because they'd stop her from healing?

Well, no, it couldn't be that, Amy couldn't catch diseases... cancer? Could Amy still get cancer? Her sister had joked about smoking a few times, but her sister didn't actually smoke, and there was definitely no tar in her lungs or anything.

No. No cancer. Amy's... healthy. Apart from not enough sleep and maybe too much coffee? Her sister could do with more muscles, but getting Amy to exercise was like pulling teeth. Amy wasn't fat, not even close, but Victoria's various attempts to persuade her sister to come to the gym with her had always failed miserably.

"Vicky!" Amy pulled her hand out of Victoria's grasp. "I just - I don't want to know about my biology, okay? I've gone this whole time not being able to read myself and... I don't really want to find out anything." She let out a breath, slowly. "It's not like I'm worried you'll do anything to me, or anything, I just wanted to wait to let you use your power on me until I asked you to promise not to tell me anything about what you see."

Victoria stared at her sister for a moment. Amy's logic made absolutely no sense on a very basic level, because... well, why wouldn't Amy want to know more about her biology? On the other hand, it made perfect sense, because it was the kind of thing that was quintessentially Amy - absolute nonsense wrapped up in not wanting to confront or deal with issues.

Probably doesn't want to know how different her genes are compared to the rest of us? Victoria remembered one time, when her sister was... ten, she'd tried to bleach her hair the same color as the rest of the family, to fit in. And of course, Amy's hatred of her freckles - one of her best features! 

"Not tell you anything? At all? What if you - what if you had cancer or something?"

"Vicky, I don't have cancer!" Amy swallowed, licked her lips and then, "I don't, right?" Then she let out a breath. "Fuck!" Amy hit her leg lightly, visibly annoyed as she let out an exasperated growl.

Victoria giggled a little, but shook her head. "No, you don't have cancer. You're -"

Amy held up a finger, "Nope. Unless I have cancer or I like - catch some sort of horrible disease or something this week, don't tell me, okay?" Amy let out a sigh and looked down at the bed. "Please?" She added, quieter, suddenly sounding exhausted. She ran a hand down her face, then looked back up at her. "You don't understand it."

"Not even a little," Victoria smiled softly, lightly hitting Amy's shoulder. "But if you really don't want to know, I won't tell you." She looked at her sister, the bags under her eyes, the way her shoulders were sagging now. "I don't need your power to know you need more sleep though."

Victoria let out a sigh of her own. She wasn't physically tired, but she did feel a little mentally drained, the experience of everything just... kind of a lot to deal with. She wasn't ready for sleep, but she did think maybe some relaxing music and a bit of light reading was in order. An issue of Parahuman Studies Monthly had arrived the other day - Dean had bought her a subscription for Christmas - and she hadn't had a chance to read it...

"Sorry... it's just..."

"A lot, I know." Victoria nodded. "Go get some sleep." She hugged her sister one more time, quickly. Amy got off the bed, moving to her door. "Oh, don't forget," Victoria said as it came to mind - habit, really, reminding Amy about these because of her habit of 'forgetting' about them. "Double date tomorrow."

Amy turned back, stared at her, eyes wide, mouth dropping open. "Seriously, Vicky?"

"Yes, seriously Ames. And you can't even use work as an excuse to leave early or anything." She smirked, "Horrible fate, but you actually have to give this date a chance."

"I always give them a chance, Vicky. You just suck at picking guys for me." Amy muttered. She didn't wait for a response, opening the door and walking out into the hall. Victoria bit her tongue, holding back the response she wanted to give which was, Well I'd do better if you'd actually talk to me about what you wanted in a guy! Amy refused to answer that question, and she didn't really even seem to have any real celebrity crushes - she'd press Amy and Amy would give some name or another but it was clear she was usually just picking a name out of a hat. 

Really, was it so damn hard to work with her on this, Amy? And - she was starting to run out of viable guys to actually try to set Amy up with. Ones that were actually approaching good enough for her sister. Amy was such a good person, and when she made the effort, she could be funny - in a biting, sarcastic sort of way, but still. She was pretty when she made the effort - always at Victoria's behest - and her sister was obviously lonely. 

Fine, she was an introvert, but there were limits, and Amy deserved to have someone, like she had Dean.

She just had to find her the right someone.

Hopefully this might be a step in the right direction.

Amy wished she could say she slept well last night.

She couldn't.

Yawning as she stood in line at the bank to withdraw money for Vicky's stupid double date (really, insisting on the double date now, of all times?), Amy did have to admit she'd had a better sleep than she did some nights, but that...

That was a low fucking bar.

Amy wasn't sure how many of Vicky's friends knew about what had happened with that Trump, that their powers had switched. Probably some of them. Dean, definitely. Maybe a few of the other Wards. 

By now, with lunch halfway over, she had told some of her non-cape friends probably, but Amy had no way of knowing. 

What she did know was that keeping her feet on the ground was a goddamn nightmare. She kept accidentally floating up a few inches when she wasn't paying attention, and since she wasn't dressed as Panacea, and didn't want to attract anyone's notice... she had to keep landing and had to keep trying to focus on keeping her feet on the ground.

Vicky always said it was hard not to fly, when Amy brought up how her sister kept flouting Carol's rule of not flying in the house, but Amy had always figured that was just an excuse, just like those six criminals she'd crippled weren't really because Vicky couldn't control her strength, but because she couldn't control her anger.

But clearly, with flying, it really was that Vicky couldn't help it. 

I guess I owe her an apolo-

Amy was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of something bursting through a door up by the teller counters, a bunch of people crying out at the same time something that sounded vaguely like multiple dogs barking and growling - but all wrong, too deep and too loud and just... wrong all at once -

What the fu-

She tried to look in the direction of the source of it, but people were scrambling and in her way. She reached out to push someone out of the way, but hesitated just for a few seconds, worried she might break someone by shoving too hard... 

And then she saw it, darkness rolling in quickly, like smoke or thunderclouds (but low to the ground) filling the space, quickly covering her, blocking out her vision - and everything else. She couldn't hear anything but her own increasingly rapid breathing, couldn't see, couldn't -

Someone's robbing the bank. Supervillains. That had to be it. But who? Dogs and - and darkness - that rang a bell in Amy's mind but she never paid attention to the cape scene the way Vicky did. She knew the big hitters of E88 and she knew about Lung and Oni Lee and she knew about Uber and Leet, but she didn't know every cape in the city.

Darkness. Dogs. Vicky had mentioned something about that combo once but -

The bank was being robbed. Supervillains were here. If she'd had her normal power... there wouldn't have been much she could do... but she did have Vicky's power and she couldn't just - she had the ability to do something (once she could see someone, if she could see someone). She couldn't just do nothing, sit here and -

I need to text Vicky or the Wards or - She had texting Vicky down by heart, she could find her sister in her contacts without even looking. Her sister could tell Dean, or call Mom or -

Wait, fuck, isn't Mom at that event out at the country club with most of the Protectorate? Fuck. Whoever did that probably knew, because who the fuck robbed banks these days? Seriously!

She fumbled, reaching for her phone, hoping to god she didn't accidentally break it by pressing too hard - she started tapping out, not needing to see it to find Victoria in her contacts, or looking to need to type 'at bnk bng robed tell dean'. The darkness dissipated as she tapped out the last word, vanishing and she hit send.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, her breathing still coming fast as she closed her phone, tried to hide it in her closest hand as she got a look at who was robbing the bank -

There was a man in black, wearing a motorcycle helmet that looked like a skull. A blonde wearing a tight purple outfit - one that did look good, a small, traitorous part of Amy's brain noted - and domino mask. A guy with a renfaire-y poofy shirt, a scepter and a mask of a face, eyeholes and a mouth-hole. A girl wearing a jacket and a cheap dog-mask. 

And a girl with long, curly black hair and a bug-looking mask. 

Darkness, dogs, guy with a renfaire look -

Half the people in the bank were kneeling, or had fallen over, or crouched. Amy tried to keep her feet on the ground. Five villains, and three - three

Really really fucking big... Well, they looked like dogs crossbred with lizards and fed a diet of steroids for weeks or something. She wondered what her power would pick up if she'd touched them but -

That's way too many to take on. She finally placed the group though. Undersiders. Low grade criminals, get away specialists. The dog one, Hellhound, had been the one she'd been warned about the most, since she was a known killer... the rest - Vicky had mentioned them a few times. The girl with the bug mask was new, though...

Maybe, anyway. Maybe Amy just hadn't noticed her mention them.

She couldn't even remember the other ones' names offhand.

Amy looked around at the other patrons, more of whom were starting to get down, probably hoping that was the best way to avoid notice - Amy did the same. She could do something but -

Those dogs looked like they might be able to bite hard enough to break the forcefield... 

Take them out first. Or maybe Hellhound? She's the master, so that might work best -

They were here to rob the bank so at some point they were going to go for the vault door, right? They might spread out a little?

The girl with the bug mask - Amy decided to just call her 'Bug' - started to speak"

“Fifteen minutes,” she spoke in a calm, almost flat tone, loud enough to be heard through the bank. “We won’t be here any longer than that.  Stay put, stay quiet, we’ll be gone before fifteen minutes are up.  You’ll be free to give your statement to the police and then go about your day as usual.  This isn’t a TV show, this isn’t a movie.  If you’re thinking about being a hero, don’t.  You’ll only get yourself or someone else hurt.”

Cold bitch.

Hostages would make this harder - she couldn't protect them all and -

I could just wait. No one would blame me, I don't know these powers well enough, I don't - I don't - Vicky might not hesitate but she probably should...

But Amy couldn't just do nothing! She - she had to. She had to do something. She just - she just had to time it right. That was all. They'd spread out, right? And Arcadia was close, so the Wards would get here - they might even already have been on their way if an alarm got tripped, but she did text Vicky...

The bug girl held out one hand, and Amy saw a spider crawling over it. “If you are thinking about running, making a phone call or getting in our way, this is a good reason to reconsider.  This little creature and her one hundred sisters that I just brought into this room are under my complete control.” The spider dropped down on a thread of silk and then climbed the thread back up to her finger. 

“She’s a black widow spider.  A single bite has been known to kill a full grown human, or put them into a coma.  You move, talk, try to find or kill the spiders I just put on your bodies, in your clothes, in your hair?  I’ll know in a split second, and I’ll tell them to bite you several times.”

Bug master. Fuck. Amy looked and saw a spider on the back of the next of one of the people next to her, perfectly still. That had to mean there was a spider on her -  

Fuck fuck- If she'd still her her power she could have - she could have done something to it but now she couldn't if it bit her - and if she found it and killed it and then -

Wait.

She couldn't feel it. Too little pressure from its movements for any sensation to come through the forcefield? Which meant it couldn't bite her. 

...but they could bite everyone else.

Okay. Take out the bug master first. 

But not yet...

Amy looked away from the Bug as she scanned over the crowd. Balling her hands into fists, she waited...

People started murmuring, one even screamed, squirming, something about 'get it off, get it off!' but the others shushed her loudly, clearly not wanting to set any of the villains off. Amy watched as the villains started to move - the one in the fancy, poofy shirt went to the front, two of the dogs alongside, the rest started going to the back, the vault.

I could take out that guy... Amy didn't know his power, and there were still two dogs, and all the spiders on everyone...

Of all the times for some stupid jackass to mess with my power... she could see the spiders on other people, in a few cases, but not all of them. She could crush them easily, and they couldn't bite her in the process, but would the master know if she started killing the spiders? And have them bite everyone she hadn't gotten to? 

For the first time in a very long while, Amy found herself wishing she'd paid more attention when Vicky talked about powers and the theories of how they worked and - 

Fuck.

Amy's power was awesome.

Victoria was still sure she wouldn't want to give up flying in exchange for it, but it was kind of a close-run thing. Her sister had an absolutely amazing power and it could do so much cool stuff. 

She hadn't done anything with it yet, beyond getting a look at the biology of the people she touched, things she touched - trees were so much more interesting when you could get an intimate look at every little detail of their biology, every cell, every fiber of their being. Just touching it gave her so many cool ideas. She could have had it grow its roots out, connect to other trees nearby, and then they'd all be one organism. And then she could really be talking!

Her sister could do so many badass things with her power - she could probably make power armor out of trees, or create minions out of animals that made what Hellhound did with her dogs look like child's play. 

Amy could be one of the most badass parahumans out there - with enough time and practice she could be on the Triumvirate's level! - and instead, she dedicated her life to healing people. And she didn't want people to thank her, or give her gifts or anything. No praise, she didn't want fame or the spotlight. She just wanted to help people, heal people.

God, her sister was the best, wasn't she? 

And yet, Amy never believed her when Victoria called her the best member of New Wave, when she pointed out how she'd saved so much more people than the rest of them combined. 

Well, now I can point out I have proof because I know exactly what her power can do. She'd known her sister could do more than just heal, that Amy could sense information about animals and plants and all that but the sheer scope of what Amy could have chosen to do was insane. She was going to have to do something with it while she had it. Something fun. Maybe some sort of multicolored, cool flower?

"It's weird, seeing your emotions so clearly," Dean said quietly, standing next to her. "Though I don't need my powers to know you're fascinated by that tree."

"You would be too if you'd never felt something's biology so completely before." Victoria countered. "It's crazy just how much is going on in a tree, or even a blade of grass." She took her hand off the tree and crouched down to touch the grass. "I bet with a bit of practice I could make this grass a whole bunch of different colors."

"Well, maybe don't do something that your sister will have to turn back once your powers switch back?" Dean offered.

"I wouldn't do that. Amy's got enough stress in her life. Though she'd better actually try to get some sleep this week." Victoria sighed. Her sister had had lunch by herself today and then hurried off to the bank. "She's not taking the time to enjoy my power at all." 

"Maybe she just doesn't like it as much as you do?" Dean asked. Victoria crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her boyfriend. Dean stepped back, holding up his hands, "Your powers are awesome, Vicky, don't get me wrong, but maybe Amy just doesn't see them the same way?"

"It's flying, Dean! Don't tell me you wouldn't try if you could."

"I probably would, but I am not Amy," Dean said, lowering his hands. "Didn't you tell me once-" Before he could finish, Dean's phone went off. They were inside Arcadia's Faraday Cage, which meant that if his phone was going off, then it was his Wards phone. Dean pulled it out of his pocket quickly, looking at the text. "A silent alarm went off at Brockton Bay Central Bank. And we're the closest ones who can get there to help."

Why would that -

The Protectorate is at that fundraiser. And New Wave was there too...

Fuck. "Dean! Amy's there!" Victoria grabbed at her boyfriend's arm. "You have to let me come with you!" Who the hell robbed banks? The cops and the Protectorate would be there super quick, and it wasn't like there were ever oodles and oodles of money on sight at any given bank anyway. It was cliche and high profile and you had to deal with hostages and all it took was one civilian deciding to be a hero and then you were killing people.

Sure, plenty of villains had no qualms about murder, god knew, but it still brought extra heat most villains wouldn't want for what, a couple ten thousand dollars at most?

Amy could get hurt! It wasn't like her forcefield was invincible, and depending on who was there and -

Dean hesitated, and Victoria gritted her teeth.

"I shouldn't, there's rules about bringing people that aren't Wards on things like this-" He looked at his phone, which had another text, probably saying a PRT van was coming with their costumes.

"I'll stay back, but if Amy's hurt, or you guys get hurt or anyone else - I'll be right there!" She couldn't just stay here at school while her sister was in the middle of a bank robbery!

"...Right, okay. Come on."

And then Victoria's phone went off.

Amy's eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. It was only maybe ten minutes between when most of the villains went back towards the Vault that all of them started moving back towards the front, two of the dogs carrying bags that had to be full of the stolen money.

The darkness in front of those windows parted and Amy looked, seeing what they were seeing - the Wards, out front. She was far enough away she couldn't make them all out distinctly, but she recognized the costumes well enough on color scheme to pick out Aegis, Clockblocker, Gallant and Kid Win. And a fifth person she didn't recognize.

Okay. Now's the chance. Once a fight starts. Take out the bug master. Then the dogs? Hellhound seemed to be commanding her dogs with whistles and gestures and spoken commands, so maybe taking her out directly would stop her from directing her dogs? Or maybe that was just part of the mastering and then they'd go nuts without her reining them in?

The villains argued for a minute - apparently they'd known the Ward could come, but they thought there'd only three or four? Tattletale - the purple one - was the brains of the operation. Thinker?

Don't let the Thinker talk. Amy didn't get anywhere near as many lessons about cape fights as her sister and her cousins, but she had gotten the basics, and that was basically rule one for Thinkers. 

Grue wanted to run, but Tattletale said there was someone on the roof. Precog? Maybe some kind of sensory power? Or just going by the fact Vista wasn't there. So running was a no. Which pretty much meant some kind of siege - they had their hostages - or a fight. Either way...

Amy felt her heart pounding in her chest, she braced herself, hands in fists... 

“We can’t just stay here,” Grue said, “Sure, they’re getting cold and wet, but our odds aren’t much better if we force them to come in here after us, and if we wait too long, the Protectorate might show, too.”

“We have hostages,” Hellhound said, “If they come in here, we take out one of the hostages.”  

Amy heard someone let out a strangled, terrified moan. Hellhound was a known murderer, so it made sense she'd go to that. If she tried that... Amy would have to do something, she couldn't let one of those mutant dogs just... chow down on someone. 

“We need to catch them off guard,” Bug suddenly said. The rest of them all looked over at her.

“Sure, but how are we going to do that?” Grue asked.

“You guys are masters of the getaway, right?  So we change gears.  We fight them face to face.”

You guys. Not we. The bug girl was new. First job? Well, she fit in with Hellhound, if she was siccing black widows on civilians. Amy had treated a few black widow bites. They usually didn't kill normal adults, but there were a few older people in this crowd that might die, and even for the rest, it wasn't like there weren't serious risks associated with the bites.

There was a moment, and then Tattletale turned to the hostages, gesturing to several, quickly adding up to eight, waving a pistol as she did so. "You, you, you, you, you, you, you and you, get up, over here. When Grue here tells you to, you're leaving the bank!"

One tried to protest, not wanting to be in the line of fire, but a lunge and a bark from one of Hellhound's dogs made him shut up.

Canon fodder. 

Aegis and the Wards wouldn't be engaging with lethal force, and they wouldn't target the hostages, but that would do the job of distracting the Wards for the Undersiders...

The eight hostages fled out the doors, suddenly cloaked in more of Grue's darkness, and then there was more quick, hushed talking as Hellhound mounted up on one of her dogs and bounded out of the bank with them -

And then a fucking swarm of bugs - Amy couldn't even pick out individual ones - dropped down from the ceiling and went out of the bank, no doubt aiming for the Wards...

Grue and the renfair guy went out right after, to join the fight... Tattletale went back to one of the computers by the front desks, Bug went to watch the fight from a corner at the front...

Okay. Now's the time. Amy would have to be fast. She'd have to knock the bug girl out. She desperately tried to remember Uncle Neil's self-defense instructions... 

Something about going for the jaw? I think? The girl's mask covered her jaw, but with Vicky's strength, that wouldn't be much of a barrier, right? 

But if I'm too slow, if I -

She just had - she had to make sure she took her out and then...

Amy braced herself, shifting position, ignoring a hissed 'stay down!' from one of the other hostages.

I know how to fly.  She just... knew, now, like Vicky had when she first got her powers. At least the basics...

Amy didn't even need to push herself off the ground, she just needed to will herself to not stay on the ground anymore and then she was flying across the room, her fist in front of her, trying to mimic what she'd seen of Vicky when she sparred with the rest of the family and then -

Her fist connected with the bug girl's face, not quite the jaw, but her cheek - she flew forward under the force of the blow, through the glass, which shattered apart and the bug girl landed on the pavement right in the middle of the fight.

Everything paused for one moment - Amy looked at the bugs, which didn't seem to be doing much more attacking -

But then the fighting resumed, dogs snapping, Kid Win trying to use his guns - his aim kept getting thrown off every time, the renfair guy flicking his arm. The bug girl wasn't getting up, and the Undersiders didn't really have anyone to spare to go after her -

Tattletale- the thinker had a gun, and as Amy turned back to take her out, she was met by first one, then another bullet crashing into her.

Her shield shattered at the first one, and then second hit her in the stomach, sending her spiraling back and crashing to the ground, pain exploding through her. So much pain she couldn't think, couldn't process anything -

Vicky...

Amy was in too much pain to be dead yet. And she knew a shot to the gut was a slow killer... she'd healed way too many of those to not know that. 

She had... she had to get to her sister. Was she still at Arcadia? Was she -

It felt like she was surrounded by water or some sort of thick liquid, but she managed to get her hand to press down on her stomach, where she'd been shot, blood spilling through her fingers as she tried to put pressure on it, pressing down on her forcefield as it reformed, trying desperately to hold her blood in.

"....shit." She heard Tattletale's voice from somewhere nearby. "I thought it would take both bullets to fuck up your forcefield... I have no idea why Panacea suddenly has Glory Girl's powers, but I assume that means your sister has your powers? Right. Right. She's nearby. You're going to live, just stay there and don't try to move too much. Fuck, how did I miss that you were among the hostages? This is so fucked. I do not need a murder rap. Especially not for Panacea."

"...fuck you..." Amy ground out, closing her eyes, forcing herself to start floating up off the air, turning herself over quickly, blood now dripping from her stomach wound faster. What the fuck am I doing? Even Vicky would be trying to find her, get help, wouldn't be trying to fight - her eyes snapped open, looking for Tattletale, finding her just inside the bank, leveling her pistol at her.

"Jesus Christ Panpan. Just stay down. I will shoot you again. Or maybe, I could tell you about your biological father. Do you want to know all about your villainous daddy?"

Tattletale was right in front of her, but her words were still hard to make out. Amy tried to focus, but the pain was -

How does she - It wasn't like it was something anyone knew? New Wave didn't publicize - how did - Amy had only figured it out because she'd overheard Carol and Sarah and -

"I'm psychic. I know everything about you. I can tell you who he is, and you can spend the rest of your life second guessing yourself, wondering what's from you and what's from him."

Don't - don't let the Thinker talk... 

"So stand the fuck down or I will-"

Rocketing forward, light-headed, Amy crashed into the blonde Thinker, sending her sprawling, skating across the floor and her head hitting the wall and then she dropped to the ground, landing on her knees, pressing onto her stomach -

Everything hurt, breathing hurt, she fell onto her side, screwing her eyes shut.

Vicky...

"No, no, no, Amy-" Victoria gasped, tears in her eyes as she rushed forward. She'd heard the gunshot from the truck, right after the shattering glass, she'd said she's stay back but if guns were in play than someone could be -

And gotten out, and seen her sister, on the ground, blood all over the ground, outside, inside, dripped all around and -

No, no-

Her sister couldn't be -

Victoria's heart was in her throat, she couldn't breath - she crouched by her sister's prone body - she was - was she breathing - she was? She was - her hand touched the forcefield.

"Ames, please, I need to be able to touch you, fuck, please, no, don't die -" Was this what her sister had felt, right before she triggered? Helpless? Useless? Unable to - 

"You can't die you can't -" the forcefield let her through and her hand touched Amy's bare skin, blood all over her hand now but - 

Get the bullet out, repair - She acted on instinct, letting Amy's power figure out how to do it - she just had to keep Amy alive, she just -

She took control of Amy's body, forcing the bullet out of her, onto the ground... her stomach was ruptured, her blood was spilling out onto the ground -

Knit the flesh back together, and - convert fat to blood? Can I do that? Of course, right - 

"Come on Amy, come on, please, no, just -" she was - she could do this, she was doing this, Amy would be okay, she'd be okay, she had to be - she had to -

Flesh came back together under her hands, sealing up the gunshot wound, fat transformed into blood cells that Victoria forced back into Amy's bloodstream.... This has to work, this has to work...

Her sister suddenly let out a gasp, sucking in air, eyes snapping open.

"Vicky..."

"Amy!" Victoria flung her arms around her sister, hugging her tight. Her sister managed to get one arm around her, holding her. 

"Don't do that to me again!" Victoria ignored the tears in her eyes. "You're alright, you're alright -"

"...is... what - I didn't kill anyone?" Amy finally said after a moment. "The villains-"

"Hellhound got away with Grue and Regent, but the other two are..."

"Hit them hard..." Amy struggled to sit up, but Victoria pressed a hand to her sister's chest, forcing her to go back down. "...owe you an apology -"

"I'll check them out, make sure they're alive, stay down, okay?" Her eyes flicked back to the girl who had to have been the bug master, the one Amy took down, first, and then to the blonde wearing the purple outfit...

She stood, ignoring the blood on her hands, her sleeves, going to them each in turn, checking them and healing what appeared to be the worst of their issues.

Both were fine, but her sister had hit hard. Checking the bug master proved to be difficult without taking off her mask - until she found a small part in the girl's body-covering costume that allowed her to touch her neck. And verify that it was a girl she was dealing with.

The hair seemed a giveaway, but.

The blonde had a broken collarbone and damage to her spine, the bug master had a broken cheek and jaw, missing teeth - Victoria just repaired the worst of the damage, not bothering to regrow the villain's teeth. Bitch deserved it for trying to hold up a bank and setting all those bugs on Clockblocker like that.

Victoria looked back over at the Wards. Aegis had gotten what looked to be a hole punched in his chest - though he adapted and was fine, for the moment. Kid Win seemed okay, but she'd check with him. Browbeat seemed okay too - Victoria hadn't known he'd joined the Wards, but his power should let him heal himself, from what little she'd picked up from PHO. She could check though.

Dean was holding his side, and Clockblocker - wearing Aegis's costume - was dealing with god knew how many bug bites. 

"Is your sister okay?" Aegis asked, voice raspy. 

"She - she's okay. Fucking Tattletale shot her, but she's fine." Victoria looked down at her bloody hands - her sister's blood. She forced herself to take a breath. "I - I'm not supposed to use Amy's power to heal because technically something could go wrong and stuff, but I - I healed Amy, so I should be able to do you guys?"

"I can manage," Aegis shook his head. "Just give me enough time and I'll recover."

"And you'll have to miss like a week of school," Dean pointed out. 

"I'll take the healing if you're offering," Clockblocker cringed, "I'm about this close to scratching myself to death here. Those bugs were crawling over my eyes. My EYES!" He glared at the prone form of the bug master. "Fucking - creepy son of a bitch."

"Bug master's a girl," Victoria said absently.

"Okay, creepy bitch then," Clockblocker said, without missing a beat. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"She sicced black widow spiders on the hostages, you're not wrong," Amy said behind me. I turned to look at my sister, floating a few inches off the ground, arms wrapped around her midsection, blood stains on her shirt that would be a nightmare to get out. Not to mention the bullet damage. The whole thing was probably a lost cause. 

"Fuck. Do any of them-"

"I don't think she got a chance to have any of them bite, but you should check." Amy answered, swallowing. Victoria looked back at Clockblocker, who held up a hand.

"Check the hostages first, I'll - I'll manage." 

Victoria nodded and moved to the eight hostages out front, the ones who had been sent out as a distraction. Behind her, she heard Aegis:

"How are you feeling?" He asked her sister.

"...understanding Vicky just a little better. She's always hungry every time I heal her, and I'm starving."

Victoria smiled just a little, before she approached the first hostage and asked if they'd been bitten.

"Two villains taken down, but you got shot! If your sister hadn't been there, you could have died, Amy!"

"...What was I supposed to do, nothing?!" Amy demanded. I took down two villains, saved hostages from being bit by spiders and I still can't do anything right! "They were committing a crime right in front of me!"

"You don't have the training, the experience, the - you nearly died, Amy!" Carol repeated herself. "You shouldn't have taken the chance!"

"Because the Wards turned out to have it all well in hand, right?!" Amy snapped. Even as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. They'd all gotten pretty beaten up, and Vista especially had tried to keep them from getting away, but they had, in the end.

Echoing her thoughts, Victoria cut in: "Ames, that's not fair. They did their best. Hellhound's dogs aren't a joke."

"I know..." Amy said, voice quieter. 

"And that's another reason you shouldn't have done it! If one of those... things had gotten their hands on you -" Carol cut herself off. "Amy, having powers isn't enough, you need to know what you're doing. Your sister would have known to stay aware of the other cape behind you with a gun."

"Only after I got shot the first time, Mom!" Victoria cut in. "And if Amy hadn't been there and hadn't triggered, I'd have died then!" She added. "Amy got two villains, and she nearly died, can you just..." Victoria trailed off.

"Just what?" Carol demanded, then she closed her eyes and took a breath. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and then turned back to Amy. "Taking down the villains was the right thing to do, yes Amy, but there - you shouldn't have taken the risk! Part of being a cape is knowing when to pick your battles, when to not fight when you're alone, without support when you don't have a choice, and when you aren't prepared to fight."

"We're glad that you're alright," Mark finally said, speaking up for the first time, putting a hand on Carol's shoulder before she could say anything else. "And proud of you, for taking them down, for being brave enough to get involved. But this is why we train and practice."

"Learning to be careful is just as important as learning when not to be. It's clear we've neglected that part of your education," Carol said. "We'll have to work on that."

"I'm not going to have Vicky's power for long." Amy muttered.

"No, but would you have done nothing if you'd had your normal powers?"

Amy opened her mouth to say no, but then let out a breath. Would she have? Maybe, if she'd had no choice, but she could have - the spiders - maybe?

"If I could have done something to the spiders, maybe." Amy said after a moment. "I couldn't just let them rob the bank! They're criminals! I've seen what a black widow bite can do to someone, and that - that cold-hearted bitch sicced them on civilians! Hellhound was talking about using her dogs on the hostages! I could have done something to one of them, maybe."

Carol opened her mouth to say something, but Mark squeezed her shoulder, and she closed her mouth, then took a breath.

Just - I do the right thing and - and I get shot and - it still doesn't matter. It wasn't as if Amy actually thought it would, that Carol would hug her and say she was proud of her and that she loved her for taking down two villains, but - it would have been nice?! It would - it would be -

At the very least, Carol could... not be her usual stern, unapproving self? For once in her fucking life, could her adoptive mother not be constantly on her back? Constantly demanding? Constantly harping about every little thing she was doing wrong?

"Then the point about needing to revisit your original training still stands," Carol finally said. She bit her lip, and for a moment, Amy almost thought she saw nervousness in her expression, and then: "It's good that your instinct is to get involved, Amy. That says a lot about you. But just - losing your Aunt Jess was bad enough, I don't want to lose any more family members anytime soon. Just - be more careful." 

Amy stared at Carol, mouth open a little, but whatever she was going to say just sort of... vanished from her mind. Carol reached out and put a hand on her shoulder for a moment, just a moment, before stepping away. "We'll - we'll talk more about this after dinner." She stepped away. Mark stayed back for a moment, leaning down to give her a hug, and then hug Vicky. 

"You both did good." He said quietly. He left as well, and Amy stayed on the couch for a moment. She stared blankly ahead, trying to process that last thing Carol had said. She'd never said anything quite like that before, and she - it didn't sound like Carol. At all. 

"Mom's - she's-" Victoria started, but Amy stood, interrupting her sister.

"I'm - I'm going to go to - I'm going to my room. I need - I need to lie down." 

"Amy-" Victoria grabbed at her hand, but Amy pulled away, lightly.

"I'm - I -" she let out a breath. "I just need to lie down." 

"That's - Amy, just -" Victoria stood, following her up the stairs. Amy let out a small sigh and didn't protest when her sister followed her into her room, and Amy sat down on her bed. She wasn't still wearing her bloodstained clothes, and she'd scrubbed her hands raw at the PRT trying to get all her own blood off her hand - Vicky had done the same thing.

"I don't know why Mom can't just - You did the right thing, Amy, and you nearly died! She shouldn't - she shouldn't be so - so -"

"So her?" Nothing Carol had done or said before that last thing had surprised Amy. "That's just how Carol always is." Amy dropped her head into her hands. "Can you - can you all stop talking about the fact that I nearly died? Gut shots - they're a really slow. Even if you hadn't been there... I would have made it to the hospital and you could have healed me there." 

Amy didn't want to think about it. About nearly dying. About - about - about any of it. About how much it had hurt or -

Just... no. None of it. 

"Maybe if you hadn't insisted on fighting more! I felt how much blood you lost, Amy!" Victoria snapped, and Amy blinked when she realized there were tears in her eyes. "I could feel you dying right there in front of me. Maybe - maybe you weren't - maybe slowly but - Amy, you almost fucking died! I almost lost you!" She wrapped her arms tight around Amy, and after a moment, Amy  returned the favor, trying to focus on comforting her sister, who started crying softly. 

It took Amy several long moments to realize that some of the sobs were coming from her, no from Vicky. 

She had almost died. She'd almost died and she'd have never seen Vicky again if she had and then - and then Vicky would have - she'd have left her sister alone and if she'd died... 

She could see her sister losing it on Tattletale. On the rest of the Undersiders, even. And that - that wouldn't be okay. Vicky would... she didn't need - she wasn't a killer. But if she did, even by accident, or going too far...

It would destroy her.

And Amy would still be dead.

And Amy didn't want to die. Stop existing for a bit, maybe. Escape the inescapable black pit that was her life, sure. But die? No. No. 

"I don't want to die," Amy said softly, after several minutes of them both crying, holding each other. She inhaled a slow, ragged breath, sniffling a little. Amy knew she was an ugly crier - but her sister, of course, managed to still look pretty even with tears streaked down her face, a fact once again reinforced when her sister pulled back, sniffling herself a little, to look at her face.

"Good. You're not allowed to. If you die, I'll - I'll break the Fairy Queen out of the Birdcage and have her bring you back from the dead and - and - kill you again." Victoria laughed, though it was a choked laugh, thick with still unshed tears. 

"I don't - I don't think that's how Glastig Uaine's powers work like that?" Amy said slowly.

"Excuse me, Amy, but who's the power nerd here?" Victoria asked, laughing a little more lightly now, just for a second. "I mean it. You're not allowed to die on me. And - and - if you hadn't had my forcefield... if I didn't have your power..."

"They might not have tried to shoot me at all?" Amy said slowly.

"Maybe not, but - Mom was being... Mom, but she's not wrong that it's worth revisiting the self-defense lessons and stuff that Uncle Neil gave you after you triggered. And the other caping lessons. Once our powers return to normal... if you get hurt - there's no one that can heal you."

"I - don't want to get into fights..." Amy said slowly. The idea wasn't - the idea wasn't bad? Her sister wouldn't have made the same mistake she had, Carol was right about that. Victoria might make her own raft of mistakes, but not that one. 

But... she didn't want to do any of the fighting. 

"You don't want to, but what if something like that happens again? If someone tries to rob the hospital? Or - just..."

This was the Bay, though. And Amy knew it wasn't safe. Being Panacea... 

Turns out... bullets didn't care who you were.

"We can - we can talk about that more later," Amy said after a moment. "Please?"

Victoria nodded slowly. They stayed there, sitting next to each other, holding hands for a moment, before Victoria chuckled for a moment.

"What?"

Victoria let out a sort of 'wet' laugh. "I just... I mean the double-date is canceled. Like, super canceled. You got what you wanted, there."

Somehow, Amy managed to roll her eyes. "I didn't get shot to stop the stupid double date." In all the chaos of the robbery and the fight and getting shot and then the PRT debriefing and then Carol and Mark and Aunt Sarah and Uncle Neil all arriving and then - and then Carol being Carol and...

She'd totally forgotten about the stupid double date anyway. Just another forgettable guy she didn't want to waste time with.

At least if I died, I'd never have to put up with another one of those dates. Why couldn't her sister just accept they didn't work? She didn't - she didn't need a boyfriend. She couldn't have one. And - 

Why can't I just let myself be fucking happy? With having the most amazing sister in the entire world? Why did she want more? Why was she so fucked up and -

"Amy, you're stressing about something." Victoria said. Amy's heart stopped for a moment, until she realized there was no way her sister could guess what that was. Right? Please, right? She'd - she'd say something else if she -  "Seriously, Amy. Take a breath and - talk to me? Please? What's upsetting you?"

"Vicky, I asked you not to - my - don't read my biology!" She managed. "Or at least don't-"

"It's hard not to!" Victoria defended herself. "And I don't really need to have your power to know when you're stressing yourself out, Amy." She let go of Amy, holding her hands up a little. "You were thinking about the double dates, right?"

"You don't need to be a fucking psychic to know that." Amy muttered, letting out a long breath, taking another one in - the inhalation was sort of ragged, shallow, but she was trying, at least. "They never work."

"Because you make finding a guy for you impossible! You won't tell me anything about what you'd like in a guy, and so I'm stuck just trying to find someone that's at least close to good enough for you, and you just reject all of them!"

"Because I don't like any of them!" Because I'd rather be on the date with you. Failing that, the stupid dates would have a better chance if they were with a woman, but if Vicky realized she was gay, then her sister would have one more piece of the puzzle and god knew how Carol would react and Aunt Sarah would try to rope her into outreach and PR and -

"Then tell me what you like in a guy!"

"Why is it so important that you set me up with someone!? I don't need a boyfriend to be happy!"

"No, and I don't need Dean to be happy, but I'm happier having him in my life. Is it so terrible that I want you to have the same sort of happiness, Amy? Besides, they're a way for us to spend time together, and for you to get out of the house and go somewhere that isn't the hospital."

Spending time together is the problem, isn't it? Her sister would dress nice and Amy would focus on her more than on her date and -

Amy looked down, swallowing, "It's not - I know - I know you mean well, Vicky." Amy finally said softly. "I just - please stop with the double dates? They'll never work."

"I mean... my track record of picking guys for you sucks, but if you could just... give me something to work with." Vicky pleaded. "You're not happy, Amy."

Amy didn't have anything to counter that with. She wasn't happy. Amy couldn't really remember  clearly the last time she really had been one hundred percent, completely happy. Before her trigger, probably. Before she'd realized how she felt about her sister. Before she'd felt this crushing weight, from her powers.

Even free of them for a week like she wasn't hadn't been enough to let her get some sleep last night.

I helped people. I caught villains. I did what I could to help. And no one even needed any healing from any black widow bites, thankfully. So she had done the right thing going for the bug master first. That - that was good. 

Amy had nearly died, and... she didn't want to die. She'd known that before - it wasn't like she'd hadn't had countless opportunities to kill herself in a million and one ways if she'd ever wanted to, and she didn't, the occasional thought about how she might do it aside.

(Hanging. Definitely hanging. Get the noose just right and it would be quick and painless.)

But she hadn't really felt it, until she'd faced the prospect of dying, cold and alone on that bank floor... and -  and come out the other side.

She'd have died without... 

Without telling Victoria how she felt (not that she ever could), died without ever -

Died without ever having had even a halfway successful date or kissed anyone or - 

She'd have died alone and miserable, if that shot had gone higher, or hit somewhere else and her sister hadn't been so close. Gut shots were - she wouldn't have died from that. Not as long as Vicky could have gotten to her somewhere. But... if Tattletale had aimed for her chest, or - or the bullet had... ricocheted off a rib or something..

She'd have died.

I'm not happy. And i'd have died unhappy and - and I don't -

Amy couldn't ever have the thing she wanted most. The thing she couldn't want. The thing she didn't want to want.

But... did that - could she -

Sooner or later, her sister would suggest another double date, and they'd do the same song and dance and - and -

Could she really put up with another one of those? Did she have to?

She'd nearly died with... so little -

It wasn't like Amy wanted to be miserable. Wanted this crushing weight on her. Wanted to...

"Amy?" Vicky prompted. "Talk to me. Please."

A strange, uncharacteristic courage gripped her, and Amy inhaled slowly, a shaky breath as she looked at her hands. "I - was just... I - the gut shot - it wouldn't have killed me. But - but if Tattletale had aimed somewhere else, or... if the bullet had done different damage inside me or - I would have died and - I'd have died without..."

Without kissing you-

Amy clamped down on that disgusting thought and forced herself to focus. Or tried to. Mostly managed. Mostly?

"I- I'd have died without - without telling you or anyone or-" Amy felt the courage start to slip out of her fingers - she wanted to just -

No. No.

"I'd have died without telling you or anyone else that - I'm..." closed her eyes, inhaled, pressed her hands into fists, balled tight, clenched her knuckles almost painfully, "I'd have died without telling you that - that I'm."

"I'm gay, Vicky." She managed, finally.