15

Chapter 15

I, Panacea

Part Fifteen: Arrival

Friday, April 15, 2011

"Wake up, Ames. It's time to get up."

Amy Dallon shook off her sister's hand and rolled over, burying her face in the covers. "Jus' five more minutes," she mumbled.

"No, you need to get up now, or we'll be late for school," insisted Vicky.

"Don' care." Amy burrowed deeper. She was bone-tired, the type of fatigue she only got from walking to the hospital and back in the middle of the night. I must have had some really difficult cases last night. It was odd that she couldn't really remember them …

Nope.

She sat bolt upright, wide eyed, as adrenaline coursed through her system. The sudden movement startled a yelp from her sister, as Vicky fell backward away from the bed. She recovered herself, of course – flight was good for that – and came to a hover just in front of the dresser. "What was that about?"

"Did you – did you hear that?"

Vicky brought her feet down to the ground again. "Hear what?" she asked with a frown.

"That voice." Amy was panting now with repressed fear, her heart hammering, aware that she should be remembering something very important …

Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you. Remember me? Mike Allen? Security?

Her eyes very wide now, Amy stared around the room, looking for the source of the disembodied voice. And then, as her brain finally rebooted, she did remember. Oh. Oh, right.

Yup. The voice was very dry. Still here. You okay?

I … I am now. Sorry, I just took a moment to remember what happened.

S'okay, kiddo. No worries. So, now that you're awake, you want to get up?

Yeah, I think I will. Now that she knew what was going on, she felt her heart rate ease back a notch. Gotta shower quick and get dressed. Want to turn your back and close your eyes?

Too bloody right. Thanks for the heads-up. Oh, and by the way? Vicky still looks a little confused.

Oh. yeah. She focused on her sister. "Sorry. I temporarily forgot about Michael. You know, the voice in my head?"

"Oh, yeah, that." Vicky's expression did not seem overly joyful. "Still in there, is he?"

Nah, I went to Hawaii for the holiday season. Where the heck else would I be?

Amy repressed a grin at his exasperated tone. Shush, before you make me laugh. "He, uh, he says that no, he's still right there."

Vicky's eyes narrowed. "So how do you deal with …" She gestured vaguely at Amy's body. "I mean, this is a guy, right?"

Oh great, not this again. "He's also old enough to be my father, and he's a perfect gentleman besides." If just a little inclined to grab the wheel in times of crisis …

Ouch. I resemble that remark. But I have been getting better, right?

Admittedly, yeah. She cleared her throat. "So yeah, it was more than a little awkward at first, but we've worked out how to get around that. Okay?"

"If you say so." Vicky's expression was less than thrilled.

Amy was more than a little puzzled at her reaction. Why's she upset? We kicked ass last night. All due to you. She should be pleased that you're around.

She's being protective. You're changing in front of her eyes, and that's due to me as well. She's worried that I might not have your best interests at heart. But she can't do anything about me. If she punches me, she punches you.

Oh. Right. I see. "Anyway," she continued out loud, "I do need to have a quick shower now, or we'll be late for school, even with you flying me in."

"Uh, yeah, about that," Vicky commented. "Um, just presuming that what you told me last night wasn't you messing with my head …"

Is she talking about …

Yyup.

"Ah, no, that was all true. Sorry. Is true." Amy felt a blush beginning to colour her cheeks.

"Right. Well. And you're certain you're still okay with me flying you in to school? I mean, you don't feel awkward about it?"

Vaguely, she felt the presence within her withdrawing. Staying well out of this.

Thank you. Outwardly, she rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I feel more awkward with you asking me if I feel awkward than when you didn't know. Because then I start wondering if it's awkward for you, and you don't want to make me feel bad."

"Oh. Uh. Sorry. No, I don't feel awkward. After all, I've carried guys, and I'm pretty sure they were interested in me too." She gave Amy a sly grin.

"Smartass." Amy snorted. "But yes, I still enjoy being carried in to school by you." She paused. "But not in that way, no." Not that being carried like that didn't fuel certain fantasies, but Vicky was never going to learn about those if Amy had anything to say about it. Leaning forward, Amy rapped gently on Vicky's forehead. "You're still my best friend. And I'm not about to let stupid teenage hormones get in the way of my friendship with you. Okay?"

"Okay, cool," Vicky agreed. "But you'd better hurry up and get dressed. If we leave in the next five minutes, we can get to school on time, but that's only if I push it."

Which means that if I grab a shower now, I might make us late. Wonderful. She was only vaguely aware of Vicky leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

Well, you don't need to take a shower.

What do you mean? And were you listening to all of that? Delicately, she sniffed at her underarm. Shower is definitely a good idea. I smell.

Yeah, I was listening. Involuntary guest, remember? By the way, you handled that really well with her. Little bit of embarrassment on both sides, but you laughed it off and got on with the job at hand. Well done.

Uh, thanks. She smiled a little at the praise. I don't think we're ever going to be quite the same together again, but I want us to still be friends. But what do you mean, no shower?

Well, it looks like you're on the right path to keeping her as a friend. As for not needing to shower, that's simple. Retask your skin microorganisms to nomming down on anything that causes body odour. It won't feel as nice as a hot shower, but …

… but it'll work for today. You're a genius. As she formed the thought, she delved into the microcosm of the multitude of skin mites that lived on her body. Normally, she blocked that sort of thing out, so that she wasn't distracted twenty-four-seven by their activities, but now she had need of them. It took just a moment to plot out the required changes, then set them in motion.

Not me. I was just pointing out the obvious. You're the brains of the operation, remember?

Silently, she snorted. Some of the time, maybe. You're obviously very conversant with how my power works. How'd that happen, anyway?

The impression of a grin came to her. Let's just say I read the cheat sheet. So yeah, got my eyes closed and back turned. You can get changed now. Once more, she felt the presence retreating into the back of her mind.

Thank you. She reached into the closet and began to pull out clothes. But I'm taking a shower as soon as I get home. Even if I don't need one now, I still feel like I do.

Fair call.

Changed, she dashed downstairs, where Vicky was waiting with a couple of plates of toast spread with butter and jam. "Saved some for you," she told Amy cheerfully, holding out one of the plates. Then she went back to eating a piece off of the other plate.

"Ooh, you're a lifesaver," Amy told her, grabbing the plate. There was a glass of juice waiting on the kitchen bench for her, so she drank that down before starting on the toast.

"Only some of the time," Vicky replied in an amused tone. She popped the last of her toast in her mouth , chewed and swallowed. "Can you finish that on the way? We're pushing it as it is."

"Sure, okay," Amy agreed readily. She preceded Vicky out to the front porch, where her sister locked the front door then effortlessly scooped her into her arms. The cool morning air made her cheeks sting as they lifted over Brockton Bay and made a beeline toward Arcadia High.

Wait, shit, no. You're going to Winslow this morning, remember?

What? Winslow? Why? And then, belatedly, memory of the bus ride burst in on her, of telling the solemn-faced bespectacled girl that she would end the bullying forever. Oh crap. I promised, didn't I? I forgot all about that.

Don't feel bad about it. So did I, till just now. But yeah, we promised. Can we still do this?

Going to have to, aren't we? Aloud, she cleared her throat. "Uh, Vicky? Change of plans. We need to go to Winslow."

Vicky looked startled. "Winslow? What? Why?"

Amy heard an inaudible chuckle, then realised that Vicky had repeated what she had said almost exactly. Ignoring that, she went on. "Yesterday, I made a promise. Remember the Undersiders, last night?"

"As if I could forget." Vicky paused. When she spoke again, her tone was suspicious. "What kind of promise?"

"Well, at least one of them got that way because of bullying," Amy forged on. "She wouldn't have gotten powers without it."

"Okay, that's pretty horrible, but she still had the choice to not become a villain," Vicky pointed out. "We're not our trigger events, you know."

Pfft, yeah, right.

Amy didn't stop to ask what he meant. "Actually, in this case, yeah, she kinda is." She paused. "Because the bullying is still going on."

That was enough to bring Vicky to a halt in midair. "You're shitting me."

"I shit you not." Amy made her tone serious. "Yeah, she's a villain. Yeah, she uses her powers to commit crimes. But she's being bullied right now, and she's refusing to use her powers to retaliate. Tell me what sort of villain does that."

There was a very long pause. Vicky grimaced, as if in pain. "Seriously? Life was a lot simpler before this shit started." She didn't have to explain what she meant by that. "Okay, what was your promise?"

"That we'd go to Winslow, today, this morning, and sort this shit out once and for all. Name the bullies. Out them to the principal. Put a stop to it."

Vicky grinned. "Any chance I could get in on this action?"

Amy shrugged lightly. "I did say 'we', remember? I kind of thought you might like to yell at someone after last night."

The grin grew sharp. "Oh hell yes." She nodded toward Amy. "You're gonna have to make the call to Arcadia, tell 'em we're gonna be late."

"It's in a good cause." Amy tried to sound philosophical.

"Yeah, well, my first period was gonna be PhysEd. Think they even let me pretend to play basketball any more?" Vicky snorted. "This is gonna be so much more fun." She started toward Winslow as Amy dug her phone out of her purse.

"Oh, and one more thing," Amy told Vicky as they gained speed.

"What's that?"

"One of the bullies is a Ward."

Vicky stared at her, shocked. "Okay, now you have to be shitting me."

"Once again, I shit you not. Shadow Stalker."

"Fuck." Vicky set her jaw. "She's a bitch, but I didn't think she was that much of a bitch."

"Believe it."

"And she's been doing this for how long?"

Amy briefly consulted Michael. "September, year before last," she informed Vicky. "Before that, she turned this girl's best friend against her."

"Okay, wow, this is just weird." Vicky paused. "Uh, if we're gonna be saving this girl from bullying, I'm kinda gonna need to know her name …"

Amy grimaced. "I kinda promised her that I wouldn't out her to you."

"Okay, just her real name, then. And I won't look too hard at her to see which one she is."

It wouldn't be hard to tell, Amy knew. The three female members of the Undersiders had different body types, not to mention hair colour. Shit, I shouldn't have said she was one of the Undersiders.

Michael sounded unhappy too. Yeah. Fuck. Well, it's out now.

"You're not going to be using it against her?" Amy looked Vicky in the eye. "Because that would be the dick move to end all dick moves."

Vicky shook her head. "Cross my heart. They were actually all pretty cool last night. Even Tattletale, when she wasn't being a pain in the butt." She paused. "It's not Tattletale, is it? Because I really can't see her rolling over and allowing some high school bitch to bully her."

Amy shook her head. "I can't tell you one way or the other. Her name's Taylor."

"Taylor, huh? Okay."

"I rode on the bus with her. We had a good talk. She actually started out wanting to be a hero, but then Armsmaster was a dick to her. And the Undersiders saved her life. And the bullies kept on being bitches to her. So she joined the only people who'd been nice to her since she got powers."

There was a long silence as Vicky considered that. "And Shadow Stalker's one of the people bullying her." It wasn't quite a question.

Amy chuckled again. "Yes. You are correct. We are indeed flying to the crappiest school in Brockton Bay to go to the rescue of a supervillain who's currently being bullied by a superhero."

"Well, when you put it like that …" Vicky added a little speed. "You might want to make that call."

Amy made the call.

Vicky's sneakers crunched down on the gravelled parking lot outside Winslow's front doors. She let Amy down on to her feet, then stared up at the less than impressive frontage of the school. Graffiti slashed across the brickwork here and there, fresher colours overlaying more faded efforts.

"Fuck," she muttered. "This is a place I normally wouldn't bother going into without serious backup."

Amy stepped forward. "If you're scared, I can go in alone," she offered.

"Fuck, no. You go in, I go in. Let's go talk to the principal. What's his name?"

"Her name's Blackwell," Amy passed on as they started forward. "She knows that Shadow Stalker's a Ward, and she bends over backward to accommodate her in the school."

Vicky grimaced. "I hate it when that happens. I mean, I like being liked for being Glory Girl, but I wanna be treated the same as everyone else too, you know?"

Wow, does she even listen to herself?

Shush. Can you remind me of the names of the other bullies?

Which is it? Shush, or talk to you? She got a distinct impression of humour.

Mentally, she made a rude noise. Talk to me. Jerk.

Well, since you asked so nicely … she felt the grin. Emma Barnes and Madison Clements. There are others, hangers-on. One girl called Julia Morrow, a friend of Madison's. Taylor will no doubt be able to point out others.

Okay then, thanks. How have they been able to get away with this?

Emma's pretty and popular, plus her father's a lawyer, remember?

Oh, right, yeah. He defended Sophia.

Right. Sophia's athletic and popular, despite being a bitch. Madison's cute and petite. You know, classic high school clique?

I was never really part of that scene. I was Panacea almost from the start.

Yeah, nobody bullies the healer, right?

Especially with Glory Girl to back me up.

Heh, yeah.

"So, names you need to know," Amy informed Vicky as they made their way down the corridors. Subtle cues from Michael told Amy which way to go. "Emma Barnes. Her dad works at Mom's firm. She's pretty and popular."

"Right." Vicky grinned.

Wow, I think I just heard 'challenge accepted'.

Me too. Shush.

Make me.

Amy ignored him. "There's also Madison Clements. She's part of the same clique as Sophia and Emma, and she's got a friend called Julia. Pretty sure that Taylor can point out more."

"Okay then." Vicky cracked her knuckles; they were approaching the door marked PRINCIPAL. "Shall I kick it in, or knock first?"

So … very … tempted.

Yeah, me too. But we really should do this the right way. "Uh, knocking is probably a good idea."

Vicky wrinkled her nose. "Spoilsport." But she knocked anyway.

"Come in?"

Opening the door, Amy entered. There was a desk, with a secretary behind it. Her name badge read MARIE. Beside the desk was a door leading back into what Amy guessed was the principal's office proper.

"Hi," Vicky greeted the secretary. "I'm Glory Girl, this is Panacea. We're here to see Principal Blackwell."

"Oh, uh, do you have an appointment?"

Vicky grinned; Amy felt her aura start to press outward. "We do now."

Marie blinked a couple of times. "Oh, uh, go right in."

"Thank you." With a smug look at Amy, Vicky strode to the inner door and flung it open. "Good morning, Principal Blackwell," she announced, severely startling the narrow dirty-blonde woman behind the desk. "My name is Glory Girl, and I'm here to make your life easier."

Five minutes later, they were just beginning to get through to her. Blackwell still dabbed occasionally at the fresh coffee stain on her blouse – the corresponding pool on the desk had been wiped up – but she was paying attention now.

"You know of a case of bullying in Winslow, and you're here to put a stop to it?" she asked, somewhat blankly. "But you don't even attend Winslow." If only you did, the wistful tone in her voice proclaimed to one and all.

"Doesn't matter," Amy replied. "I rode on the bus yesterday with a girl from here, and she ended up telling me about what's going on here. So I asked my sister to come and help me deal with it."

"But … you're superheroes. Isn't high school bullying a little … well, beneath you?"

"Not if the bullying counts as criminal assault, it isn't," Amy declared. "Do you recall an incident at the beginning of the year? A girl being locked in her own locker?"

She could tell almost to the second when Blackwell's eyes clicked into focus. Oh shit, it's about that.

"Her own locker?" asked Vicky. "That actually happens?"

"It not only happens," Amy told her, "but it happened to one particular girl here at Winslow. The locker was first filled with used feminine products, and then when she opened it, she was shoved in, and locked in there. For more than an hour."

Vicky stared at her. "And you know this for a fact."

Amy's stare was dead level. "I do."

"Holy mother of crap." Vicky turned her gaze on Blackwell; Amy could feel her aura ramping up, and not in a good way. "You let that shit happen?"

"I – we – there was an investigation -"

"And nobody came forward. Right." Vicky's lip twisted in disgust. "Of course they didn't. And of course nobody wanted to listen to what the victim had to say, because she's a loner. She's nobody." She leaned forward, her knuckles on the desk, lowering her voice. "And because one of the perpetrators is a Ward."

Blackwell went so white that her hair looked almost dark by comparison. Amy seriously wondered if she was about to pass out. "I – uh – how -"

"I date a Ward, you …" Vicky bit off the insult she had been about to utter. "I know all their faces, all their names. So when Amy came to me with the names of the bullies …"

"Th-that's just hearsay. You have no proof -"

Vicky smiled now, razor-sharp. "Oh, good. Legal terms. I know just who to talk to about legal terms." Pulling out her phone, she dialled a number.

Blackwell glanced at Amy. Who's she ringing? Amy thought she knew, but decided to just shrug. She was enjoying the show too much to spoil Vicky's surprise anyway.

Okay, this is just awesome. All I need is popcorn.

It's kind of like watching a train wreck in progress. Only a good one.

Hah, yeah. This should be good.

"Hi, mom?" Vicky's voice was bright, cheerful. "I have a legal question for you. Yeah, sorry, not at school. Had a hero thing I had to take care of." A pause. "It's all right, Dean will give me his notes. So, the legal thing. Hang on, I'll put you on speaker." She clicked a button, put the phone on the edge of the desk.

"This is Carol Dallon. Who am I speaking to?" Carol's voice crackled out of the phone.

"You're talking to Principal Blackwell of Winslow High," Vicky informed her sunnily. "She has a student who told Ames about the bullying she's undergoing to this very day. But at the beginning of the year, she was locked in her own locker with toxic waste. She's told Amy who did it, but nobody else is listening to her. What does this sound like to you, legally speaking?"

"It sounds like a massive lawsuit to me," Carol stated flatly. "Does the alleged victim have any other proof?"

Vicky turned to Amy. "That's one for you, Ames."

Her own word, plus pages and pages of material she's written down since September, plus printouts of emails she's gotten.

"She's got lots of written evidence of bullying," Amy replied carefully, "but only her own word that it's the ones she's named. Plus a well-documented incident earlier this year."

"Well, even if the actual culprits can't be pinned down – and a good lawyer can do a lot with written evidence – it still sounds like the school is extremely liable."

"Okay, that's true," agreed Vicky. "But I've got one more kicker for you. One of the bullies named is a Ward. Which is why they've been covering it up all this time."

"Did the victim know that the Ward was a Ward when she named her as a bully?"

"No," Amy stated flatly. "Absolutely not. I recognised the name when it was told to me."

Carol did not second-guess her. "Who is the Ward involved?"

Vicky and Amy looked at one another. Amy drew a deep breath. "Shadow Stalker."

There was a long pause, so long that Amy checked the phone to make sure that it hadn't dropped out. "That's … actually plausible," replied Carol, eventually. "So what do you plan to do with this information?"

"Uh, get them called into the office, I guess," Vicky replied. "Talk to them. Have Taylor hand over the evidence. Tell them if it happens again we'll be back."

"That could work," Carol agreed. "Don't say or do anything that could lead to legal problems. And pull Shadow Stalker aside and let her know that if any more trouble comes of this, I'll be dropping a word in Armsmaster's ear."

"Oh yeah, one other thing," Vicky added. "One of the bullies is called Emma Barnes. Her dad works with you?"

"Alan Barnes. Right. I know him. I'll have a word with him about his daughter. If the school decides to punish her, he won't be interfering."

"Thanks, Mom. You're the best."

"That's all right, honey. Once you're done there, get to school, will you? Good grades aren't going to happen on their own."

"Will do, Mom. Love you." Vicky ended the call and put the phone away. She gave Principal Blackwell a bright smile. "So, answer your questions?"

Blackwell looked hunted. "Uh … I suppose. What happens now?"

Reaching across the desk, Amy grabbed a pen and a pad. She wrote down five names. "Call these people to the office. Please."

Taylor

They're not here. Amy said they were going to be here.

Taylor sat in her World Affairs class, not even caring that Madison and Julia were eyeing her like vultures. It was true that her new career as a supervillain had changed her outlook – being something like twenty-five thousand dollars richer overnight was only a part of it – but she had felt that Amy was someone to be trusted. She had said she was going to show up with Vicky and confront Blackwell about the bullying, but classes had started and she hadn't turned up.

Just one more person I can't depend on to have my back.

Taylor forced down the sense of disappointment and betrayal and tried to focus on what Mr Gladly was saying. She barely even heard the ancient public address system crackle into life.

"Will the following people please come to the principal's office … Emma Barnes … Madison Clements … Sophia Hess … Julia Morrow … Taylor Hebert … repeat, will the following people please come to the principal's office … Emma Barnes … Madison Clements … Sophia Hess … Julia Morrow … Taylor Hebert …"

It was with a shock that she heard her own name at the end of the list; across the room, Madison and Julia were both staring at each other in surprise. As it began to repeat again, her eyes widened as Emma's name and then Sophia's came up.

Oh shit, oh shit, it's happening. They're here.

Coming to her feet, she dumped her books in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Before Mr Gladly could even say anything to her, she was heading for the door. Once in the corridor, she started toward the office, long legs eating up the distance. But she wasn't fast enough.

"Taylor!" That was Madison, behind her.

"What the fuck?" Julia was chiming in. "Did you snitch to Blackwell?"

Snitch. As if it was a crime. "No, I didn't," she called back, without turning her head. "I don't know what's going on." Which was half a lie, but it would do, for the moment.

"No, that's not good enough!" Madison sounded closer; Taylor increased her pace. "You must have said something."

"Well, why don't we find out what the fuck's going on when we get there?" Taylor shot back, still not looking at them.

"If you say one fucking word about what's been going on -"

Taylor tuned out Madison's words, but then she heard running footsteps behind her; a quick glance showed Julia coming up fast. She only needed that impetus; she took off running. They gave chase, of course, but she had longer legs. Her morning and afternoon runs had improved her wind and speed, so she outdistanced both of them relatively easily. Their shouted taunts dropped away behind her, but she didn't mind. Words were just words; they didn't know the ones that hurt and stung, the way Emma did.

Vicky

When the office door opened, Amy and Vicky both looked up. A tall skinny girl with glasses entered, looking just a little flushed and dishevelled; she was breathing a little harder than normal. Blackwell looked at her disapprovingly. "Have you been running in the halls?"

"Yeah," the girl told her flatly. "Because Madison and Julia wanted to interrogate me as to why we've been called here. I didn't want to be interrogated. So they chased me and I ran."

"Are you all right?" asked Amy.

"Yeah, they didn't get hold of me," she replied. "Hi, Amy. Good to see you."

"Good to see you, too," Amy replied. "Taylor, this is my sister Vicky. Vicky, meet Taylor."

We've already met, Vicky thought quite loudly. You're the bug controller. The body type and the long dark hair were unmistakeable. But she put out her hand anyway. "Hi, Taylor. Pleased to meet you. Any friend of Ames is a friend of mine."

Since she'd gotten her powers, Vicky was less able to gauge strength in others. But Taylor's grip was at least firm, maybe a touch stronger than her skinny frame suggested. She shook Vicky's hand once, then let go. "Nice to meet you," she replied. "So has Amy told you what's been going on?"

Vicky nodded. "Some of it, yeah." She grinned. "I spoke to Mom about it. About the first word out of her mouth was 'lawsuit'."

Taylor blinked. "I don't -"

The door opened again, and a red-haired girl marched in, followed in quick succession by a petite brunette wearing sky-blue pins in her hair, a taller blonde girl … and Sophia Hess. Shadow Stalker. Neither the blonde nor the brunette were pretty enough to be the leader of this little pack, but the redhead was.

The girl who Vicky presumed to be Emma Barnes looked directly at Taylor, then at Principal Blackwell. Vicky was a little surprised that she hadn't taken enough notice of either her or Amy to recognise them, but then, they weren't in costume either. It was interesting to note.

"We're here, Principal Blackwell," 'Emma' announced. "What seems to be the problem?" What's Taylor been saying about us behind our backs? was reasonably understandable in what she didn't say.

Principal Blackwell straightened herself in her chair. "The problem, Miss Barnes, is that these people seem to think that you've been bullying Taylor Hebert -"

"Oh, we don't think that," interrupted Vicky. "We know it. You're Emma Barnes?"

Emma turned to look at her. "Yes," she replied sharply. "And who are …"

By the dawning expression of comprehension, she knew who Vicky was. Now, she recognises me. On Sophia's face, there was a look of sudden calculation. I know who she is, and she knows it. She's trying to figure the way out of this trap. The other two just had growing looks of horror on their faces.

"Yup," Vicky told Emma with pure satisfaction. "I'm Glory Girl, and I'm here to shut you down."

End of Part Fifteen