45 Chances and Choices
POV Amy :
"Yes... Yes..." Amy sighs, "Yes, Vicky's alright, I've already healed her burns, just let her rest it off before you drag her in for random interrogations..."
"We wouldn't call it an interrogation, merely an inquiry on your sister's relationship with Kaibyo." the PRT agent neutrally states.
"R-relationship!? You think she allowed him to escape or something? Or maybe it was...-" Amy trails off as she stares at her window, where a familiar white cat had just jumped in from...
"Miss Dallon?"
"Ah-uh, err," she chews her lip, "Sorry, I just don't wanna see my sister hurt. All those burns, she should never have been allowed anywhere near that psychopath!"
"That is also under investigation, Miss Dallon. An inquiry from the Chief Director in Los Angeles has all but guaranteed it. With that said, are you sure there was no prior communication between your sister and the former ABB cape? There is another incident on file in which he managed to escape her."
"Not that I know of, I didn't even know they'd met before. I try to keep out of Vicky's business..." she stares at the cat sitting casually on her bed, "Is that all? I've still got homework to do."
"... Certainly. We'll be in touch."
*Beep!*
Amy tosses her phone aside and runs a hand through her hair, "Look at this, you're making me lie for your and Vicky's sake!" she jabs a finger at him, "Transform, now. Last I saw you looked like Anakin Skin-walker."
The cat does as told, his form stretching and contorting into his partly human-form. He was completely unharmed from his experience with Lung a few days ago, much to her surprise. She remembered healing his severed leg before, which should've healed if his regeneration was as strong as it seemed now. Or maybe it could do everything but recover lost appendages?
Regardless, since he wasn't dead or dying she could do this. "How dare you put my sister in danger!" she rears back and delivers the hardest slap possible to his cheek, unfortunately barely tilting in his head...
"W-what!?" she suddenly gasps, looking down at her hand in shock. It wasn't his lack of response or any harm to herself that'd caught her off guard, it was the fact her power hadn't given her any information about his physiology whatsoever.
"T-that..." she utters, brows furrowing as she steps closer and pokes him in the cheek.
"I don't mind getting frisky, but I came here for a reason..." he jokes to avoid the awkwardness of the situation.
"This isn't right..."
"Yeah, your parents would probably hea-"
"No! I mean my power's not working on you!" Amy cuts him off, now almost nose-to-nose with him, palming both cheeks. "I can't feel a thing! Not skin, not bone, no organs or brainwaves-"
"You're feeling my skin now-"
"Shut up!... When you were a cat I could feel you, why's it different now!?" she exclaims almost accusingly, eyes lidded in deep concentration.
"Maybe I'm more resistant? Like a supped-up Manton Limit?" Kieu gives voice to Amy's thoughts. Dr Manton had spoken of the limits of powers, the fact most telekinetics couldn't just rips someone's eyeballs out of their sockets or crush someone's heart was an arbitrary limit, especially for those who could lift and crush literal tons.
Amy had never found anyone truly immune to her powers before. Sure, there were Case 53's that were resistant to her powers, in that their forms would either give her a headache once touched or would revert back to abominations not long after fixing them, but this was different!
"But why can I feel you as a cat... Unless that's not actually you? I-I was joking about skinwalkers earlier but does it work like that!?" she asks, mind so abuzz with theories that she'd forgotten to take her hands off of him.
"As far as I know I just transform into a cat..."
"But then, how did it heal your leg if it was just a flesh-suit...? Is it like Alabaster?" she chews the inside of her cheek.
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POV Kieu :
I'd only come here to speak thank Vicky and see if she could help get Tieu out of PRT control, the girl hadn't responded to any of his texts so he was honestly worried about her... But how had he ended up getting groped by her sister!?
Removing Amy's hands from my face, she paces around the room for a bit before coming back for seconds, this time reaching to unzip my hoody...
"Your clothes don't transform with you because it's not your real body!" she mutters in realization.
As far as I knew I did actually turn into a cat. Which is why her next words drove a spike of fear into me...
"If you die as a cat, would you revert to your humanoid form healthy...?"
Alright, that's enough. HEAD CHOP!
"Hiiyk!" she yelps as I smack her on the head with the wrath of an angry god... Metaphorically.
"Snap outta it! Where's Victoria!?"
...
Amy blinked a couple times before pausing, a troubled look striking her not long after. "Sorry-, I don't know what came over me..." her eyes regain focus, "But that doesn't change what I said, you put Vicky in danger like that again and I swear, you're done." she growled. "Besides, Mom's grounded her for like two weeks after the stunt she pulled with Lung. If I wasn't able to heal she'd be scarred for life head to toe."
"Two weeks...? There's no chance of getting out of it?" I asked, more like pleaded. Without Vicky's help I'd have no real way to gather information about the PRT. Amy might be able to help but she'd need to go out of her way for it. She barely ever left the hospital, let alone visit the PRT.
Glory Girl was at least known to visit the Wards, as it is I wasn't sure if Tieu was being held on the rig or the city-based PRT HQ. Any news on the subject kept the 'ABB Victims' whereabouts undisclosed.
"Sorry, Brandish isn't exactly happy with anyone right about now..." Amy shrugged, still looking at him speculatively.
"So, what? I'm stuck waiting for your mom to let her go, see if the PRT for some reason lets Tieu go, or break in there completely blind?"
"Well, when you put it like that... I'll repeat what I said before though, the PRT won't hurt your mother. You might even be able to spin it like you were using her?" she tentatively adds.
"Spin it?"
"You weren't adopted by her for that long, so if you leave her maybe they'll assume you aren't as attached as they think?..." she spots my scowl, "Just spitballing, you have any idea how many of my problems just vanish when I ignore them?"
"They wouldn't believe it. I was only with the ABB because they were using her against me, plus my spat with Armsmaster during the bombing." I lie against her bed and palm my face, this shit just kept happening. I needed to be stronger, strong enough that even Alexandria couldn't force my hand. The magic was a good start, but still not nearly enough.
"Any chance I could get you to brainwash the-"
"No." she all but spits in my face.
"Yeah, expected that..." I sigh and walk to the window. "Lemme know if anything changes, until then, stay outta trouble." I say, turning back into a cat and vanishing into the night.
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"So how'd it go?" Sherrel spots me moping through the back door of our temporary base.
"Naught, nothing, and nada." I drawl, diving onto a ratty couch.
"Oof. That bad?"
I send her the best deadpan I can manage. "How'd you feel if all your plans fell apart due to a teen getting grounded?"
"Like all all my plans got shredded by a teen getting grounded?" she says, half answer half question.
"Nevermind..."
...
"So what's your plan now?" she cracks open a beer and falls into a nearby chair.
"Now?... Well... I guess I'll try and hunt down some of our old colleagues. The PRT wouldn't hold innocent people for too long, so those involved are bound to know where they're being held."
"And then we stage our breakout." she chuckles.
"Our?"
"Well, yeah, there's no way we can stay in the city after cracking open a PRT safehouse. We'll probably be run across the state until they give up."
"... You never did mention on what your plan from here on is. I thought you'd stick around here tinkering." I mutter. Things had been left unsaid, and personally, I half expected her to try for amnesty with the PRT. They'd bend over backward and suck a fart outta their own asses for a Tinker of her specialty.
"And leave this clueless kid fending for himself?" she shakes her head, "Get over yourself and accept some help... It's not like I have anything else to do than explore my powers. What better way than with a willing test subject?"
"I wouldn't go so far as 'willing'. Best you're gonna get is 'Reluctant'." I drawl, swiping the remote and turning on the T.V. Sherrel's specialty worked in surprising and obscure ways, even managing to use a car radio to set up a stable cable T.V connection...
"-numerations. And lastly," Directly Piggot pauses dramatically, everyone else in the press conference holding their breaths for whatever was important enough to be left for last.
She lets out a breath and leans on the podium, sending a glance at Miss Militia who stands at the side of the stage, "We at the PRT have come to a decision regarding the villain known as 'Kaibyo'. We intend to offer Kaibyo amnesty, in return for joining the Wards and participating in our rehabilitation program, this includes therapy and Master vetting."
"A MURDERER joining the Wards!?" someone shouts from the crowd.
"A child barely a year older than Vista!" Director Piggot angrily retorts, "Who, I remind you all, did not join the ABB willingly, proof and point his death match against Lung." she glares down at the journalists, "Can any one of you here seriously say the boy had a chance? Had a choice? The PRT prides itself on our empathy and proactivity to do the right thing. Could we truly say that if we scapegoated an, admittedly foolhardy boy who ended up being a major contributor to Lung's imprisonment?"
...
"I didn't think so." she states at the audience's lack of response. "Now, should Kaibyo be amenable to this he should either present himself unarmed to the nearest PRT office or get in contact with any of our many liaison officers." she shrugs, "Hell, send a message through PHO if you want, so long as you present no threat or hostility, we will greet you with open arms... Any questions?"
"Miss Piggot! There have been numerous cases of horrific murders which we now know are at the very least related to Kaibyo. How can you ensure the safety of the other Wards around him? A likely mentally unstable Case fifty-three?"
"Aside from the abundance of procedures designed entirely for that? Perhaps because we won't force the boy to join us. It will either be of his own free will or not at all."
"But if he doesn't join you will continue hunting him?" the journalist sneers, "Sounds like blackmail to me, Director."
Piggot sneers right back, "As you said, we cannot allow a known murderer to wander the streets. We must ensure he is not a threat to the public, no matter how dismal his situation. For now we are offering the best we can as we understand, understand that not everyone has a choice in their actions. But now, with Lung out of the picture, you do." she stares into the camera once more, "Make the right decision, Kaibyo, for everyone's sake."
*Bzzch!*
I look down and find to my surprise the remote had been crushed in my grasp...
"What the fuck..."
"Huh. That changes things, right?" Sherrel says, searching for a reaction, positive or negative.
...
"Yeah... It does."
