Chapter 47: Break

Guest - Well, one of those things is gonna happen.

Seven Foot Giant - Ask and ye shall receive.

Guest - She doesn't. I'm pretty sure her finding out is one of the reasons she goes off on her so much.

Xian0451 - Now that I've had time to think about it, I'm tentatively thinking about adding Amy to the relationship.

Remzal Von Enli - Yup. She's an even bigger bitch here too.

Guest - Yeah, all on the fuck Carol train.

TheFatGuy2020 - Thanks.

TehStorm - Cool.

KuroKatBone - Yeah, and here's the sledgehammer to pound it in.

Thorfaxdragonkin - Lol.

The romantic insanity - It's 50/50 right now, though that might change.

DarkBan - Yup.

ArashiNokitsune - Yeah, New Wave's boutta be fucked.

drizzit8555 - Well, one of those happens.

Sultan Asil Arslan - Not yet sadly.

Alkeniw Andlite - AmyxLisa does sound like a viable alternative. I wouldn't be against it either.

Anyway, here's this chapter. Enjoy.

[Amy's POV]

"Go and sit. We're going to have a long, long, conversation about your actions." I mentally scowled at the tone she used, like I was a fucking child with my hand in her purse, stealing her credit card. It wasn't like I'd just come back after spending 8 hours working on victims from a Slaughterhouse 9 attack, an attack I helped resolve, or anything.

(Not like she cares.) Despite how much I wanted to call her out on it, I didn't. I might have deserved the slaps, but if she kept pushing I knew something was going to give. So, knowing better, I kept the indignant reaction off of my face, keeping it blank as I went over to the living room.

It didn't take long to get to the livingroom table, sitting down in the nearest seat when I got there. Though, I had to take a second to readjust my sniper so it didn't dig into my back. Carol went to sit across from me, the hate/spiteful look in her eyes not leaving as she did.

With the both of us seated, there was a lull in the conversation. Despite that though, the tension in the room could've been cut by a knife. It was only after what I was pretty sure was a minute, that Carol spoke up. "I was led to believe that you were going to formalize an agreement with Pantheon and The Guild. That was what you, and they told me, correct?" Knowing she didn't want a verbal answer, I nodded. "And those were your intentions, correct?" Another nod. "Then why is it that I learned you were involved against the Slaughterhouse 9? Where exactly does that fit in terms of 'Curing the Case 53's?'"

Okay, to be fair, that was a good question. "It doesn't, b...-"

"Exactly, it doesn't." My jaw snapped shut at that.

(So this is where she's going with this.) It wasn't the first time Carol had given me a rant, so I already had an idea where this would go. (Just keep it in, She'll get it done with soon, then we can go to sleep.) I might've woken up a bit because of the slaps, but I was still exhausted because of earlier.

"You don't even know how foolish it was, do you?" Rhetorical. "Not even informing me that you were going out to be involved with the slaughterhouse 9, how irresponsible could you even be?" Rhetorical. "You'll need to thank Dragon, had it not been for her we wouldn't even know you had gone there, or if you died from this." I gripped the the hem of my robe at that, making sure to keep my face blank as she went on... And making sure to keep myself from sarcastically asking if she would even care. "Now, considering you're here, you clearly haven't died," Ignore it. "But your actions during the raid itself has had repercussions that I doubt you've even taken the time to comprehend."

(Jesus Christ here we go again.) I wasn't in the mood for another one of these, but apparently I was going to get it anyway.

For some reason her eyes narrowed at me. "Seeing as you haven't understood what I meant by that, I'll enlighten you." The tone she was speaking in made me stiffen, this didn't look good. "Due to you showing up on your own, people are, and will continue too, believe that you are breaking away from New Wave. While the notion itself is ridiculous," I twitched at the dismissive way she said that, as if me leaving them was inconceivable. "The belief that you will, as well as them believing that it's a possibility in the first place, will be putting unnecessary pressure on the rest of us. Questions will be asked, annoying and baseless theories will be crafted, and expectations will be placed on New Wave." I just kept my face blank.

She was going to keep talking anyway, so it would be better to just let it happen. "Already, a team meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, and we will discuss matters there in more depth then we will now. I will tell you now, you will ensure that you present a unified front with New Wave there, as well as afterwards in the public eye." The 'Or else' wasn't said, but I knew it was there. "That said, your conduct during the battle was atrocious."

I twitched, but managed to keep it at that. (And here it comes.) I knew what she was talking about, and despite how pissed this was making me, I knew she had a valid reason to be pissed at me.

"Your little outburst is all over PHO," Yup, knew it. "And it goes to show that you are not mature enough to be left to your own devices. I believed that you were, but it seems I was wrong." Another twitch, and I grit my teeth.

That wasn't fair, I knew it wasn't. "They w...-"

I couldn't even finish before she slammed a hand onto the table, her glare making my jaw snap shut. "You threatened innocents with a gun! That kind of behavior is unacceptable for a member of New Wave!"

(And cheating on your husband ISN'T?!) I forced that response down, but a part of me was starting to chaff at the direction this 'Talk' was going. (Bitch needs to start practicing what she preaches or I swear to g...-)

"But what else was I supposed to expect from someone like you." I froze. The way she said 'You' made it clear she was alluding to something else, while the rest of that sentence wasn't any better. Shaking her head, she ended up pinching the bridge of her nose, turning away as she closed her eyes. "It's a miracle your sister hasn't been influenced by your less then stellar behavior."

My entire body twitched, and I felt my hand inch towards the Hawkmoon before I stopped it. (This... This BITCH!) As bad as it sounded, Vicky was the worse influence between us, and I KNEW she knew that. There was a reason Vicky was called 'Collateral damage barbie', even now, she still had issues with treating the buildings and area around her as real things instead of paper. It didn't help that she sometimes forgot her own strength and treated people like that too. It was only thanks to me that Vicky hadn't accidentally killed or maimed somebody.

And here she was, having the AUDACITY to say I was the one with 'Less then stellar behavior?!' Before I could even say anything, which I wasn't because that never ended well, she opened her eyes as she turned back to pin me with a stare. "But it's to be expected. The company you're starting to keep should've tipped me off sooner." Another full body twitch, and I almost didn't stop my hand from moving towards the Hawkmoon again. "Khepri on her own is somewhat acceptable, but Anubis is most likely responsible for those inherited tendencies of yours being brought up to the surface."

Despite how pissed I was getting, that sentence confused me. (Inherited?) I knew I was adopted, I'd had a look at everyone's DNA at some point, and I could fucking see that I looked like no one in my family, so it wasn't hard for me to figure that out. But hearing her say that made me wonder about my birth parents again for a moment.

But only a moment. "After your little agreement with Pantheon is over, you'll be cutting ties with them. Being an accomplice to Anubis' slaughters is something that New Wave can't tolerate." My thoughts halted, my body froze, and I swore my blood froze. But despite that, probably not even noticing or caring, she went on. "You'll be getting rid of those," Her eyes flickered over to the Sentinel. "Guns, of yours, later. Be...-" I stopped paying attention to what she was saying at that point.

What was going on around me didn't matter while the words she just spoke were echoing through my mind. 'You'll be cutting ties with them.' It wasn't a request, she was ordering me to cut ties with my friends. The pair that had dropped into my life and given me the chance to be myself after years of being Panacea. She was telling me to get rid of the people that showed me that they CARED ABOUT ME! (How fucking DARE SHE?! What the hell has she done for me that gives her the right to pull this shit?!)

My mind flashed with all the times she looked at me like I was some kind of stain, the sneer that showed up when she thought I wasn't looking.

All the times she referred to me by name, never by daughter.

The way she obviously favored Vicky, even in the few times she was genuinely in the wrong.

Hell, the way she refused to have any physical contact with me, especially after I triggered... I twitched, blood pounding in my ears like drums. Putting it all together, and seeing how she was treating me now, the answer was obvious. She didn't love me, I doubted she ever did...

And now she wanted me to get rid of the two people that were genuinely trying to make my life better. That were making me HAPPY! (No... No. I can't... I WON'T LET HER!) Everything snapped into focus, my eyes zoning in on Carol as she... My lips curled into a scowl as I glared at the bitch. "No."

She must've never expected me to actually talk back, since the moment I did, she paused. Then her glare worsened, her hand slowly going back down to the table as she laid her palms on it. "I don't believe I heard you correctly. Mind repeating yourself, girl?"

If it was possible, I sneered harder, clenching my fists as I did. "I said, No."

I watched as Carol's hands clenched the table, eyes narrowing, shoulders and jaw tensing as her nails slightly dug into the wood. "And what," The threatening tone set me on edge, my hand reaching towards the Hawkmoon and gripping the guns grip. "Makes you think your opinion matters at the moment? Especially concerning this?"

"My opinion matters," I practically growled that out. "Because you're trying to fuck with MY life!"

"A life you clearly aren't capable of leading properly." Everything twitched. "Cavorting with a known mass murderer," I knew Phoenix had a body count higher then pretty much every Villain in the Bay, but he didn't hide the fact he was a sociopath that only cared for those he chose to care about. Plus, he was a sociopath that happily called me his friend, and cared about me. That was more that I could say about Carol. "Threatening innocent civilians...-" Oh fuck no!

My free hand slammed onto the table. "THEY WERE FUCKING TRAMPLING ME! IF I DIDN'T HAVE A SHIELD I COULD'VE FUCKING DIED!" The shield had absorbed all the injuries I would've taken, while Medusa confirmed that without it, I would've suffered a concussion at best, and multiple bruised bones and a fractured skull with the potential of internal bleeding at worst.

That would've been it, Panacea would've died due to sheep being sheep, and nothing would've been able to change that. It was only because of the pendant/necklace I had made from Pantheon's base that all that came from that was a bruised ego and a few kinks being worked out. It was thanks to them that I was still alive, and here she was trying to get me to turn my back on them! (Like hell I will!)

"And yet you're still here, so what is your point?" The sheer nonchalant way she said that made my earlier realization cement itself in my mind.

"You don't care about me at all, do you?"

"No. No I do not." Her instantaneous response made me freeze. "Really, I've just been waiting for the day you show your true colors." Carol pressed her palms against the table harder, the chair she sat on being pushed back as she slowly started to get up. That on its own would've been somewhat acceptable, but when she started to glow, I knew this was different. "Now, girl, you are going to listen, and listen well. Despite my justifiable reservations in taking you in," Fuckin bitch. "I did. We gave you a roof over your head, food to fill your stomach, put you through schooling, and provided you with a life far better then anything someone like you would've had without our intervention. So while you live under this roof, and are a member of this team, you WILL listen to me. Am I clear Amelia?"

"Oh it's real fucking clear Carol," The use of her name made her pause, a pause I took advantage of as I stood up, glaring at her as I palmed the Hawkmoon, the Tinker Tech gun letting out the reassuring hum I knew it would. "It's clear that you're used to using and spitting on everyone around you. Must've gotten alot of experience doing that to Mark and Aunt Sarah huh?" Her eyes widened, and her glow brightened. Too bad for her, but I wasn't fucking stopping now. I wanted this bitch to HURT for trying to pull this shit, and I would do it. I knew the skeletons in this family's closet after all. "DOES AUNT SARAH KNOW YOU SLEPT WITH HER HUSBAND? DOES UNCLE NEIL EVEN KNOW VICKY IS HIS?" I had no problem shouting at the top of my lungs, our identities were public knowledge, and by the dawn, this would be too.

I saw it.

The rage that flashed through her eyes would've been visible to a blind man.

I also saw it when Carol lunged, a golden glow around her as she flew towards m...- "MOM, NO!" Vicky shot out from the stairs, intercepting Carol, sending the both of them tumbling onto the ground. Probably because she wasn't expecting it, but Brandish didn't react in time, letting Vicky pin the woman to the ground.

At the same moment, the familiar sound of an engine being revved went off outside, and I idly recognized it for a moment before it got louder. Before I could finish making the connection, the door was broken open, an acidic green and black motorcycle crashing into the livingroom.

For a moment, everything went silent as we all looked at the motorcycle, which didn't seem to have a rider, confusing me.

Though, I wasn't confused for long. In the blink of an eye, thousands upon thousands of bugs flooded through the now broken door, a sea of chitin filling the room. The bugs took over, but made sure to give me space so I wasn't buried in them. Still, my eyes widened at the implications, and with a quick look to the bike, at Anubis' bike, I knew I was right. (They're here.)

Stepping through the door was another 'Swarm Clone', the mass of insects writhing and looking sorta agitated if the way they constantly squirmed in place. The clone walked over to stand by me, while seemingly glaring at Brandish, who was forming a bunch of light shields to keep the bugs from crawling on her. By her side, Vicky was floating, wearily looking at the bugs that started coating the walls, floor, and even ceiling. "Hello Brandish. Glory Girl." Now I knew for a fact that Khepri was blatantly going for the creep factor. "What a nice night, no?"

Despite the situation, I could feel my lips twitch. The sarcasm was a good thing, and with the presence of both of my friends, I felt some of the tension leave my body. "You're not welcome here, Khepri." No shit.

"Hmm. I wonder why." Taylor was really climbing up my small list of 'Favorite people.'

A moment after she said that, the bike beeped, and another familiar voice sounded off. "Might be the fact she's a controlling bitch, and she can't control us." And there was the final confirmation that they were both here. Brandish grit her teeth at that, the shields around her increasing as she glo...- Thunder rang in my ears, and I watched as a blue crystal bullet wedged itself into the floor by Brandish, piercing through a few bugs, and making her pause. "I can and will Cast Gun again if you try me. So don't... Or do, either or is okay with me." While his voice sounded amused, I could tell my green friend was serious.

Brandish and Vicky could tell too since they both clenched their fists, looking at the scene around them. Seeing that no one was saying anything, the clone Khepri made nodded. "Now, considering the state of the... Conversation," I almost snorted. "Before we intervened, I think it's safe to say that Amy would rather not stay here?" She was asking me, and we all knew it.

Still, that question had a kinda really obvious answer. "No, I d...-" I paused, my eyes landing on Vicky. My sister looked conflicted, like she was hurting, but at the same time I could tell she didn...- My eyes widened when I had a thought. (Vicky came from the staircase, and was able to react when Carol lunged at me... So she was listening in...) My stomach churned at that, the obvious answer coming to me in an instant. (She heard it...) That thought went off like thunder in my mind, and I would swear my heart was pounding just as loudly. (Oh fuck. Oh fuck ohfuckohfuck!)

"Amy?" The sound of Khepri's 'Voice' snapped me out of my mental panic, and I looked to see that both Khepri, and Vicky were looking at me. I ignored Brandish's glare, focusing on the other two. "Should we leave now?"

"Say yes. I'm tired, half naked, and ready to crash, so please say yes." I had to take a moment to process the 'Half naked' portion of that, because why the fuck would he say that?

When I did though, I shook my head, letting out a sigh. I had to get out of here, if I stayed after hurting Vicky, and having to deal with Brandish any longer, I'd lose it. I couldn't let that happen, Vicky didn't deserve it. "Yeah."

"Thank fuck." I ignored that.

The Swarm Clone nodded at me, but Vicky furiously shaking her head caught my attention. "Ames, wa...-"

I shook my head, getting her to stop. "I... I can't stay here Vicky." Looking at Brandish, and seeing the scowl on her face, I met it with one of my own. "I can't stat with her here." I was still pissed at Brandish, and I wouldn't put it passed myself to shoot her if I got the chance. Vicky looked like she wanted to say something, but after looking at Brandish, and flinching, she turned back to me and nodded, a weary smile growing on her face.

That done, I turned back to the Swarm Clone, doing my best not to look at Vicky or Brandish. The former would make me sad, while the latter would make me bring out the Hawkmoon. "Do you need anything?" I bit my lip at that, but eventually shook my head. All I had were clothes, some random shit that I didn't care about, and my school stuff.

Considering I wasn't going to be staying in the Bay, I didn't feel like grabbing that shit.

The clone nodded, and we turned to leave. "Ames." Looking over my shoulder, I saw the hurt smile on my sister's face, and felt something crack inside of me. "Call me?" I nodded, not trusting my voice, and she smiled just a little brighter. Turning back, I walked towards the door with the Swarm Clone, leaving the house.

The moment we were outside, I saw Anubis sitting on top of a car, his legs dangling off the side as he had his sniper out and resting against his shoulder. Standing besides the car he was sitting on was Khepri, her real form instead of the mass of insects that was following me out the door.

None of us said anything as the clone and I made our way across the street, and even when we did, and the clone dispersed, none of us spoke. Eventually, that changed when Anubis hopped off the roof of the car he was on, his gun disappearing as he landed in front of me. In a blink, his arms wrapped around me, making me freeze. I stiffened even more when Khepri joined in,

For... I didn't know how long, I was the meat of a Anubis and Khepri sandwich... And I liked it. They were here, they came for me, they cared for me... And it helped that the image of me between two attractive people helped me feel better. (God, this is NOT the time.) Beating the thought away, I unwrapped my arms from Anubis' body, I didn't even know when they got there, and looked at both him and Khepri.

There was so much I could ask or say, but I could tell the adrenaline was leaving me like an exodus, so I was probably going to crash soon. Knowing that, I decided to just not. "Can we... Can we just go?" Surprisingly, there was no witty retort or anything from Anubis, he just nodded, keeping an arm around me, while Khepri put a hand on his shoulder.

In another blink, the world distorted, and suddenly we were back in the mountain base they called home. As soon as we were here, both of them moved away to give me some space, both of their suits retracting as they did. The moment they were gone though, I froze again... But for a completely different reason.

Phoenix had said he was half naked earlier, though now that I was face to face with a well defined bare chest, I was finding it hard to think. (Nice.) It didn't help that Taylor was in an oversized shirt that hung off of one of her shoulders, draping over her thighs, while her bare legs were exposed for me to see... And see I did, cause both of them were attractive. (Extra nice.) A part of my mind was confused about the fact I was finding the both of them hot, I knew they were attractive before but this was different. The rest of me though was happily taking in the sights since it helped me ignore what just happened.

While I was having a good time taking in the eye candy, I missed Phoenix raising a hand up and flicking my head. "Motherfu...-" Seeing the highly amused grin on his face, and the small one on Taylor's, I huffed. "Fuck the both of you."

It was freaky when they both raised an opposing brow, and even freakier when they spoke. ""That an invitation?""

I twitched, opening my mouth to tell them both to fuck off, when I yawned. As soon as it ended, I reflexively raised a hand to my eyes, rubbing them. "Ah shit, here comes the crash." Phoenix snorted, but before I could glare at him for his insolence, I yawned again. (Damn, I'm gonna crash hard.) Shaking my head, I was about to move over to the couch, it wasn't that far away, when I stumbled. (Huh... Looks like I'm passing out.) And so I did.

The last thing I felt was a hand grasping the back of my neck by the hood. (Asshole can't even catch me right.)

And I was out like a light.

[Phoenix's POV]

Looking at the passed out form of my only other friend, Lisa didn't count yet, I held back on physically frowning, and instead made sure to carry her in a princess carry. Knowing that my Aunts were somewhat here, I made a mental note to get one of them to send me this for blackmail material. That aside, I turned to my girlfriend, mentally humming as I did. [We're putting her in your room, right?] Amy was sleeping now, and knowing how much she needed this, I decided mentally talking would be better. A good idea.

Taylor looked at Amy, a small frown on her face as Displeasure pulsed from her, not at Amy though, more at Brandish. |My room will work since we were going to sleep in yours anyway.|

I nodded, and after a quick readjustment to make sure I had a good grasp on Amy, started making my way over to Taylor's room, the aforementioned woman following half a step behind me. [I'm going to need to make another room, aren't I.]

Her Humor spiked, and I saw the way her lips twitched. |Yup.| Sighing, I idly wondered how this ended up being my life. |It started when an alien device did what it did.| My eyes snapped over to her.

I knew what she was doing, but at the same time, I was fine with going along with it. [It stuck upon his wrist with secrets that it hid.] The theme song came to mind, and I started letting it play as we walked over to Taylor's room. With the both of us singing along to it, I felt my Homicidal Annoyance, and her Fury, start to decline. Which is a good thing. [Not disagreeing.]

Neither of us were Amused at Brandish being a S-tier bitch, I ignored her snort and went back to my train of thought. The old bitch was lucky Aunt Erin kept an ear to Amy's phone, because if I found out she actually hurt Amy, I would've showed her just how effectively I could recreate Mimir's punishment. My girlfriend pulsed with Confusion, so I sent over an image of 'The Wisest Man Alive' pre-beheading. She hummed at that, which made me grin since her first response wasn't to say something against it. |Two reasons for that.| She had my attention now. |First reason is that you're a bad influence.| I scoffed at that, I was the best influence. |Whatever you say goof.| I grinned, idly entering her room as I did.

|The second reason...| Walking up to her bed, I laid Amy in it, picking up the knife, Sentinel, and Hawkmoon as I did. I noticed the Amused Fondness coming from my Other Half, but put it aside for now. |The second reason is that I don't exactly disagree.| Now that was a Surprise. From the corner of my eye, I noticed her shrug. |Don't know why you think that. I'm a vindictive and spiteful bitch. Amy is my friend, so hurting someone that wanted too, and even tried, hurt her, sounds like fair play to me.|

Putting the guns by the nightstand, and wasn't that a fuckin thought, I turned to my Other Half and grinned, one of her own meeting mine. [I'm such a good influence!] Taylor rolled her eyes at me, then turned to Amy, her eyes roaming the healer's robed form. Should I..? Knowing what she was thinking, I hummed. [I mean, you could take off the robe and pants maybe? Though there's the issue of Amy waking up in an unfamiliar room with less clothes on then she went to sleep with.]

My Other Half hummed at that, Accepting the point. |We could leave her a note?| I raised a brow at that, then paused as I turned to the nightstand. |That's a good idea. She'll obviously look for her guns first, and if we leave it there, she'll see it.| That was a very likely scenario...

Though, there was also another one there too. [And if she has some kind of introspective flashback sequence that lasts until she's hungry?]

The Exasperated Amusement just Amused me. |Do you have to refer to everything as a trope or cliche?|

[Life imitates art Mi Reina.] She scoffed, but didn't deny it. No point too, it works. [Of course it does, I've literally proved it twice just today.] I earned another eye roll, but she didn't deny that either.

Granted, I wasn't sure if it was one to one when Amy was alone on the roof, but I was just going to believe it was because it fit. That aside, I walked out of the room, leaving the disrobement of Amy to my girlfriend. As soon as the door closed behind me, I muted my thoughts, visibly frowning.

Brandish was lucky. There were no two ways about it. If GG wasn't there, if Amy wouldn't be just the tiniest bit hurt, if it wouldn't have gotten me shit from The Guild and my Aunts, I would've blown her brain out with my Longbow. Bitch had the fucking audacity to try and attack MY friend. Fucking emotionally hurt her in a way that'll need us to spend some time talking through it.

That alone would net her a pair of rounds to her knees, and probably her tits too.

Because fuck that bitch.

I'd need to wait it out, but when I got the chance to do so, Brandish was going to have an 'Accident.' XLR8 would be preferable, but with no exact idea of when I would be able to use my Ultimatrix, 'First thing the day after tomorrow.' I took that in, running the logistics of sneaking away that day with Savitar and putting a bunch of his kinetic feathers in Brandish.

Sure, it was possible, but the moment I left base I'd be found out. "Tch, lucky bitch." My Future Self just hummed at that. Though, now that he was here, I decided to go for it. "How much time do we have now?"

He hummed for a bit longer, but I eventually got an answer. '15 years.'

I took that in, idly scratching my chin as I did. That was good. Real good actually. In just 3 months I'd managed to build myself up to where I was at now, secured allies in The Guild, freed Dragon, built up a family, got a girlfriend that could kill a city in minutes, and removed one of the most dangerous variables from the board.

That was all in 3 months.

But in a year?

Maybe 2?

I was going to be running around with some Halo or Mass Effect level bullshit. Hell, I'd probably be setting up some fucking Gundam's by the end of the year or something like that.

So 15 years? That would be enough for me to shank God with some super sci-fi bullshit powered by the Power of Friendship or something.

I grinned at that thought, and was ready to go down that train of thought some more, but blinked when the door behind me opened up. Turning to my girlfriend, and getting a raised brow from her, I decided to leave the thought be. |Your mental roller coasters are crazy.|

That just made me snort. [Insanity is the norm here dear Alice.]

She blinked, momentarily zoning out as she had a thought. |Does the Mad Hatter even have a name?|

Now it was my turn to blink, and actually think about it. [I... Don't know?](He actually does, Google says it's Tarrant Hightopp) I shook my head. [Why would I know that anyway?]

Taylor shrugged. |You know alot of random shit.|

To be fair, I did. [That's cause of Twitter though. Well, that, YouTube, and the random conversations I listened in on whenever I was in public.] To also be fair, that was all true. [... And me being interested in a bunch of shit when I was younger.] For a second I remembered the caf of my high school, a bunch of my classmates and I doing a Reddit 50/50 and seeing what came from it.

A pulse of Interest came from her, and I hummed, the both of us starting to make our way to my room while I did. |Since we're leaving the elephant in the room be for now,| I snorted, 'For now' indeed. |What are we going to do now?|

I thought about it for a bit, then decided not too. [Sleep. Too tired to go Tinker, don't wanna go out, and I doubt we're gonna fuck now that we've adopted a stray.] My girlfriend idly smacked my shoulder for that, but I just let it be. [So that's a no.] The deadpan was answer enough, making me nod. [So, we sleep, then deal with this tomorrow?] Taylor nodded, and we walked into my room.

In moments we were on my bed, the cool air of the AC blasting into the room as we went under the covers.

By the time we were ready to sleep, Taylor was laying on top of me, her head burying into the crook of me neck, while my arms wrapped around her waist. With a quick kiss, and a last ""I love you."" We closed our eyes, drifting off to sleep way faster then before.

Made sense, we had a hell of a day after all.

[Melody's POV]

With the kids asleep, I turned to my sister, who was emulating her original by being surrounded by monitors and laying on a mat. Just with a quick glance, I could see some feeds from Michigan, one or two of them focused on the massive tree, and a few in Brockton Bay. Those aside, I looked at Erin, who knew I was here, but was still focusing on the feeds. "# So, how are we going to justify spying on Amelia? #"

My sister just scoffed. "! After THAT, and coming from a Slaughterhouse 9 fight? She'd be stupid to look a gift horse in the mouth. !"

I nodded at that, reclining back into the bean bag chair I'd created. "# True, yet she's also a teenage girl that just went through an emotionally draining situation. Logic is liable to leave her after what she's gone through. #"

That got a hum from her. "! Trueee. Buut! !" I blinked at her playful tone, but paused when she brought up a feed. Said feed was when our kids returned home, Amelia in tow. I wouldn't deny that my lips curled up at the sight of a lightly blushing healer looking at her friends/our kids. "! I think she'll be juuust fine. !"

Rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness of it all, I was about to add a little fuel to the fire, when I blinked, a thought coming through. (Wasn't Amelia supposed to be 'Victoria Sexual?') While the thought itself was a strange one, it was still important. "# Shouldn't she...? #" I trailed off there, not entirely sure how to properly phrase Amelia's Master Effect borne attraction to her sister.

Most likely knowing what I wanted to convey, my sister sighed. "! I don't know. !" I jolted, that didn't s...- "! Well, I have a few theories, but without shoving Amelia into a tank and probing her for all she's worth, I won't know for certain. !" Nevermind. "! For now let's just chalk it up to Shard Bullshit and leave it at that. Fuck knows if there'll be some better answer later or not. !"

That was fine for me.

It didn't even matter much either. Amelia was here, and it would be up to us to ensure she was taken care of. We could, and would, ensure she was happy and taken care of.