42 Catching Up With a Friend

There's a bit of smut at the end, but it's light and you can figure out when it starts. there's no plot after it, so if you no want, just skip it.

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April 25th

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Under the late evening light, Mary lets out a huff as she chucks the last of the skinhead's bodies into the back of a waiting truck.

For the last three days she's been working basically nonstop running around the city to fight off a seemingly endless horde of racists trying to tough in on the Asian dominated sections of the city.

She literally hasn't had a chance to sleep yet, so her exhaustion is very much real. But she didn't let her fatigue stop her from rushing here when she got the call for trouble.

Unfortunately, she was a bit late, as the group of Nazis had already shot up a restaurant and killed a couple of people. She had to cauterize a few bullet holes to ensure that the number of dead didn't rise any higher.

At least, the number of dead amongst the innocent, as since she is not a Hero anymore, as was quietly announced this morning, she doesn't have to hold back anymore.

Which is why the skinheads are all being loaded into the back of a truck as corpses to be dumped into the bay.

With that done, she quickly hops over to the driver's side door and smacks the side twice.

"Make sure you aren't seen, yes?" She says through the open window to the guy inside, who nods solemnly.

"Hai, Sakuya-sama."

She doesn't respond to the name, having gotten used to it at this point. It started after she got into a fight with a few Empire capes. She asked about it and apparently some old lady watching the fight decided to name her after some goddess called Konohananosakuya, or Sakuya for short.

Apparently they're a goddess of volcanos and 'delicate earthly life', whatever that means. So when the old lady saw her, a woman literally on fire, protecting them from superpowered Nazis, who might as well be devils to them, she decided the name was fitting.

Then it kinda just caught on, and well, she planned to rebrand anyway, since this is her Vigilante arc, so she decided against trying to stop it. It's better to let the community she is ostensibly the protector of to come up with their own name for her than it is for her to try and force one on them.

Better for her long term presidency plan anyway. Sure, her reputation might have taken a hit in the big picture, but once this whole mess blows over and she has the gratitude of literally every Asian in the city, then the public opinion will swing again, as it is wont to do.

This is basically like Bush having a DUI. Worked out for him.

Turning away from the leaving truck, Mary moves over to one of the living victims, weaving through the controlled chaos of the street with ease.

These days, the community is really coming together. So once she'd dealt with the Nazis, a bunch of people came out to help care for the wounded and clear the mess, from the glass to the blood.

"Hey Mrs Chen, how you holding up?" She asks the little old Chinese lady who ran this restaurant. Naturally, she asks in Chinese, because she's multilingual like that, and Mrs Chen doesn't speak English beyond knowing ten different ways to call you an idiot.

She got pretty lucky, insofar as one can be called lucky with a bullet wound, by only getting shot in the bicep. Mary gives the bandages a once over while Mrs Chen responds.

"I survived three civil wars and the occupation of Chizhou. A little bullet is a mosquito bite."

Mary smirks at the old woman's response, and gives her a cheery smile. "I'm glad to hear that!" She pleasantly exclaims while lightly patting Mrs Chen's arm. Right next to her wound.

"Ahh! It hurts! Stupid woman!" Mrs Chen yells, and Mary laughs.

"No need to act tough, Mrs Chen. Wounds do not hurt less just because you have experienced worse. So stop it. It makes it more difficult to treat you if you refuse to acknowledge what's wrong, okay?"

Mrs Chen grumbles and glares, lightly ribbing her arm, but she does not her head.

It's nice not having to worry about a PR team yelling at her anymore.

"Sakuya-banchō!" A sudden shout draws her attention.

She turns around to find- She thinks this one is called Yoshio, -coming to a stop a respectful distance from her. For some reason, a lot of the former ABB have decided that she's their new boss. 

Most of the former ABB have just fractured into smaller, more ethnic-based gangs, but it's still not an insignificant number that apparently work for her or something.

"What is it?" She asks in English.

Which was her mistake, because then Yoshio decides to respond in English, a language he barely knows. "A girl here, uh, t-to, ah-"

"Just tell me in Japanese!" She snaps at him. Though, despite her tone, her amused smile is clear to see.

"Hai! A girl showed up asking to see you. She says she's a friend so we didn't want to send her away."

Leaning to the side slightly, Mary peaks past Yoshio and down the street. Through the throng of about a dozen people, she manages to make out a familiar head of fuzzy brown hair.

Pan-Pan!

Now ignoring Yoshio, Mary skips through the crowd and up to Amy, who is wearing a casual set of baggy pants and a burgundy hoodie instead of her costume.

Not giving the shorter girl any time to respond, Mary rushes forward and sweeps her up into a hug, spinning around twice before letting her down.

"Amesie! It's so good to see you! it feels like it's been ages," Mary says as she holds Amy by the shoulders and grins at her.

Looking at her however, Mary can tell that something is wrong right away. Her eyes seem tired, with noticeable bags. Her cheeks are somewhat shallow, and there are faint lines on her cheeks from tear tracts.

"It's only been like a week," Amy says before she can ask, a weak smile on her face.

"Really? Feels like it's been years."

"No kidding. A lot-" Amy's voice catches. Mary pretends not to notice it. "A lot has happened."

"Heh, you aren't wrong there," Mary agrees.

A moment of silence passes as they both look at the fading activity around them. Some people are still working, but a lot are starting to disperse by now.

"So, what's with all this?" Amy asks. "Did you take over the ABB or something? I know an ABB gangster when I see one."

Mary scratches her cheek and smiles sheepishly. "Yeah, well, I'm not entirely too sure myself to be honest. I was just fighting Nazis out of Chinatown and then they just kinda started following me around and doing what I tell them to and calling me Boss. So yeah, I guess I'm the new gang lord of the ABB now. Tremble before me~." Mary lets out a quiet snort. "A lot has changed indeed."

Noticing the somewhat sombre tone in her words, Amy turns and looks at her friend slash kinda crush in a new light.

She didn't really notice it before, but Mary isn't in her costume anymore. The only part of Falcone that remains is the blindfold. Other than that, she has her white hair flowing from a high ponytail, and is wearing a much less.. 'bright' outfit.

Instead, she is just wearing an unzipped, long-sleeved denim jacket over a simple grey shirt and a pair of black jeans. Her shirt hangs low enough to show her collar but not low enough to start being indecent. However, it does allow her necklace to be visible. It's just a ring with a thread ran through it, but Amy remembers Mary showing it to her before, apparently it's an old gift from an old friend. Not cryptic at all.

The whole outfit is lightly scuffed, with a few tears and loose seams. Testament to an active lifestyle without the high quality materials she's used to wearing.

But more than just the clothes, her entire aura has changed. Where before she seemed like a poster child Hero, with the perfectly measured smiles, the perfectly crafted lines and 'heroic' poses.

Now? Now she just seems so much more... Real. Her stance is more lose, casual, but no less dangerous for it. Her smile is less perfect, but so much more genuine. And the way she looks forward just seems down right inspirational, like she can see the way forward when no one else can, and will be happy to help anyone who stumbles.

Basically, she looks less like an action figure and more like an actual person you can rely on, and Amy is sure that everyone around her has already noticed it. It's probably how she has apparently been accepted so readily into this community that has never had the best opinion of Heroes.

"You've changed," Amy finds herself saying without even really meaning to, getting a raised eyebrow look in return. "It's just." She struggles to find the words to explain her feelings. "You've changed."

"Good change or bad change?"

That is a lot easier to answer, Amy thinks, and she feels her expression become just a little bit less pained as she smiles up at Mary. "A good change, I think."

"Cool. What about you?" Mary asks, leading her away from the crowd and down a side street. "I've been so busy recently I haven't been able to keep up with the news. How is everyone? Is everyone okay from the bombs? Have you been okay?"

Mary already knew how Amy would respond to her question, because she lied earlier about not having had the time to keep up with news, and knows exactly how Amy has been doing. That's why she led Amy away from the crowd.

But she still puts on a convincing expression of surprise turned worry when Amy stops walking and adopts an expression of pure heartbreak.

"Amy?" She asks, shocked. "What's w-"

She is cut off by Amy all but collapsing into her and starting to sob. Mary quickly adapts, rubbing soothing circles on Amy's back and whispering unheard reassurances into her ear.

Yet, as Amy shakes in her arms and soaks her shirt, Mary muses that this would be about when she should be feeling some deep sense of loss or something, maybe the fabled 'stomach-drop'.

But she doesn't. She doesn't feel anything at all. She does actually like Amy too, so she doesn't really understand why she lacks empathy. Probably some birth defect realistically.

Still, it is strange to her to think about sometimes. It's not like she is some emotionless robot, she actually feels a lot of emotions. Grief just doesn't really seem to be one of them.

Still, she pats Amy's back and does her best to be supportive. She knows it's an important thing to do, even if she doesn't really get why.

Eventually however, Amy does get control of herself and ceases her relentless sobbing, though, she doesn't leave Mary's embrace.

"S-sorry I-" Amy starts, only for her throat to catch.

"Shh shh, it's okay," Mary whispers in turn. "You don't have to apologise."

Amy slowly starts to relax her tense shoulders and leans a little deeper into Mary's hug.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mary softly asks, and after a moment, Amy slowly nods against her chest.

"Can we go somewhere else?" She quietly asks after looking around, and Mary gives her a grin.

Before she can ask why, Mary scoops her up in a bridal carry and leaps onto the nearest rooftop, causing Amy to let out a yelp. She then carries Amy over a few buildings until they land in the middle of private a rooftop garden.

"Nobody comes here anymore except for Miss Choi to water the plants every couple days," Mary says as she lets Amy down and leads her to a swinging three seater garden chair under a canopy of vines.

They both sit down, shoulder to shoulder, and simply enjoy the peaceful silence for a few minutes. Mary thinks about pressing for answers, but recognises the thought as a bad idea and simply lets Amy move at her own pace.

For a moment, she thinks that Amy has just fallen asleep on her shoulder, but eventually she does speak, her voice barely above a whisper and slightly croaky from emotion.

"It-," she catches herself, swallows, and continues with more confidence. "When the bombs went off. Vicky she. She got caught in one. Aunt Sarah too."

"Oh Amy," Mary croons, pulling the younger girl tighter into her embrace.

"It's-," Amy begins, only to stop. Because what was she going to say? 'It's fine'? It's not fine, and she's not okay. So instead of focusing on her feelings, she just pushes forward. "Aunt Sarah, we.. They couldn't find a body. But Vicky, she's not- She's not dead. She's just... she's still there."

Her voice is barely a whisper, and Mary matches her volume. "What happened?"

It takes another minute of silence before Amy can work up the courage to answer. "S-she got h-hit by one of those time bombs, same as Lung did." Mary squeezes her reassuringly. "I was-. When I found out. I've just been, sitting there. Talking to her. I know she can hear me, I just-. I couldn't just leave her alone."

"You love her," Mary simply states, and Amy would have flinched if she just wasn't so tired.

"Yeah," she whispers instead. "Yeah I do."

"And, not that I'm not happy to see you, what brings you here? Did something happen?" Again, she already knows the answer, but the process is important.

Amy gulps and tries to pull away, but Mary doesn't let her, and she gives up after barely any struggle.

"The Mayor organised some fundraiser or something. The Undersiders attacked it, stole some paintings and ran off. Then Carol," the quiet vitriol in her tone actually honestly surprises Mary, "Decided that I had to go heal them. It wasn't even anything bad, just some broken bones, they will be fine without me. I told her I didn't want to go, that I wanted to stay with Vicky, but she just wouldn't listen to me!"

Amy abruptly shoots out of their hug, jumps to her feet and begins pacing. Her voice starts to rise the more she talks, her arms gesticulation more and more wildly.

"I told her. I told her I had to stay with Vicky. But she just didn't listen! 'Heroes need healing' she'd say! 'It's your job to heal them' she said! But I don't care about any of them! Vicky was right there! And Carol, Carol acted like she was already dead! She's not! She's not dead! And I told her that! But she just wouldn't listen! But she had to listen! Had to understand! S-so I made her!" She finishes with a scream that seems to drain all her energy, leaving her slumped shouldered, her hair covering her face as she continues in a whisper. "I made her listen."

"Amy.." Mary begins, rising to her feet and wrapping one arm around Amy's waist and using the other to lift Amy's chin so she can look her in the eye. "What did you do?"

Her tone is solemn, but not accusing, and Amy meets her gaze as she answers. "I used my power. I-.. I Mastered her."

Her words almost come out like an accusation, a challenge. 

Inwardly, Mary smiles. She always planned to 'get' Amy, and she did have a plan for that. But Vicky getting frozen in time has sped things up considerably, and made her job a whole lot easier, so she's not going to complain.

Perhaps it makes her a horrible person to take advantage of a seventeen year old girl who is about as emotionally vulnerable as one can be, but Mary has claimed to be a good person. At least, not honestly.

Which is why she feels no hesitation to lean in, close the already small gap between their faces, and plant a chaste kiss on Amy's lips.

Amy recoils, but with Mary's arm on her waist, she doesn't get far.

"W-what-"

"The Amy I know," Mary interrupts. "Is a grumpy, snarky, bitchy girl with far too much of a dependence on caffeine. She can be a bit difficult at times, but she's always been a fun conversationalist. And, most importantly, that girl I know, has never been a bad person. I don't know what you were thinking, but I do know you, and you are a good person. So please don't cry."

As she speaks, Mary uses her free hand to gently brush Amy's cheek clear of a running tear.

"B-but I Mastered her, my own mother." Amy almost sounds as if she would have preferred Mary to yell at her, and perhaps she would have. It would certainly have been easier to just hate everyone, than it is to deal with someone who actually seems to care.

"We both know she's not much of a mother to you," Mary rebuts, "And you can't just say you Mastered her without including the context. You reacted. Is the effect permanent?" She asks, and Amy shakes her head. "Will it hurt her in any way?" Another shake of the head. "Then it's hardly the end of the world."

"How can you say that? I Mastered her!" Amy repeats, as if doing so will help Mary understand. "I used my power for evil!"

"Amy. Do you think I am a horrible person?" Mary asks.

"No, of course not," Amy immediately answers, thinking about everything Mary has been doing for the Asian portion of the city. And as she thinks about it, she notices through her power just how exhausted Mary's body is.

Meanwhile, Mary struggles to keep a straight face, but manages. "Really now? Then, have you forgotten that I used to be a Villain?" She asks, and Amy freezes.

She always finds it amusing how everyone seems to forget that little fact. She probably has the PRT's PR team to thank for that.

"People can make mistakes, or even do something bad on purpose. That doesn't mean you have to just blanket call them evil. Yes, you Mastered Carol, but fuck her, she's a bitch anyway. You've also healed more people than literally any other parahuman in the world. You could kill a thousand people and you'd still be a net positive."

"That's not how that works," Amy mumbles as she gives up on arguing and just falls forward into Mary's embrace once again, soaking up her warmth.

"Well," Mary says as she takes hold of Amy's hand and interlocks their fingers. "I trust you."

Amy looks up into Mary's eyes, not knowing when she took off her blindfold, and it's like she sees the entire world in those forest green orbs.

Without even really thinking about it, she rises onto her toes and returns the earlier favour, placing a light kiss on Mary's lips.

"T-thank you. For being there."

"Always," Mary easily answers, giving Amy another kiss, one that holds just a bit longer than the last.

For a minute that felt like an eternity, they both simply stared into each other's eyes in silence, a silence that is interrupted by a loud beep, ruining the moment.

Sighing to herself, Mary leans away and pulls her phone out of her pocket, checking it to find a text message from one of her 'followers' about another small group of skinheads approaching the area.

"Sorry," Mary whispers, "like I said, I've been busy. But before I go, if you need a place to stay, feel free to head over to my place. The PRT doesn't have the spare manpower to raid it, and Suzuya won't snitch. You can stay as long as you like."

With that said, Mary takes a step back, only she doesn't get far before Amy latches onto her sleeve. 

"D-do.. Do you have to go?"

"Uh, kinda yea?"

"What if I want you to stay?" Amy asks, stepping closer until they can feel each other's breaths on their skin.

"People are in trouble Amy, they need help."

"So what?" Amy whispers, barely sounding like the same person as ten minutes ago. "I've already broken my rules. If I'm going to break my rules, then I should at least get what I want out of it, right?"

"Amy..." Mary says, her tone low and warning.

Amy just leans even closer, her lips brushing against Mary's as she whispers, "Just.. Forget about all of them. Focus on me instead."

Mary pulls back slightly. "Amy, I really should- Mnng~," she cuts herself off with a poorly suppressed moan, and she nearly stumbles forward as her knees feel a sudden bout of weakness.

When she recovers from the sudden burst of pleasure, she gives Amy an indecipherable look. The girl in question however, does not look at all repentant about using her power to force Mary's neurons to light up with pleasure, only a look of smug satisfaction hidden under a haze of lust on her face.

"Are you making me horny right now?" Mary asks, part exasperated, part amused, and part struggling to hold herself back.

"Does it even matter anymore?" Amy answers as she pushes her power a little bit harder and Mary's lust a little bit higher.

Enough that Mary loses the battle against her restraint and surges forward, pressing her lips against Amy's and immediately beginning to explore her mouth with her tongue.

Amy moans into her mouth as her hands start exploring her body, grabbing handfuls of flesh and squeezing.

Not wanting to fall behind, Amy returns the favour, roaming her hands all over Mary's body, from her butt to her breasts to her toned stomach.

For a few minutes, that's all there is, just a relentless, almost animalistic desire to just be closer to each other, however they can.

It's only when they run out of breath that they pause, and even then they only pause long enough to start stripping each other of their clothes, tossing their jackets and shirts aside without a care and rushing right back into each other, now caressing bare skin.

A word isn't spoken as Mary pushes Amy to the thankfully well maintained ground.

Amy lets out a light grunt once her back hits the ground, and when she turns her eyes back to Mary she sees her throwing her bra to the side, leaving her entire caramel coloured torso on display.

Amy can't help but stare for a moment, admiring the curves of her breasts, the smoothness of her skin and the cut of her abs. And then Mary is getting closer, tearing off her own bra and immediately mauling at her breasts while bringing them back into a deep French kiss.

She feels bursts of pleasure shooting through her body as Mary's hands skilfully massage her, pinching her nipples just hard enough for her hips to arch upwards. Something Mary takes as an invitation to move one of her hands south and under her pants where she slowly rubs against Amy's dampening slit, barely pushing her lips apart.

They run out of breath again, and when they part, they spend a moment simply staring at each other with eyes full of desire, their heavy panting causing their chests to rub against each other.

A silent communication passes between them, and Amy's hands fall to Mary's jeans, while Mary's fall to her own. It's a brief struggle getting Mary's jeans passed her butt, during which she raises her hips to help Mary pull her own off completely.

And then, Mary sits up straight, tosses Amy's pants to the side and pulls her own off the rest of the way before sending them to join the pile.

Now only in their panties, white lace for Mary and plain black for Amy, Mary gives her a confident smirk and shuffles further down.

She knows what's coming, but that doesn't truly prepare Amy for it when Mary literally rips her panties off and brings her face to her most private spot.

Anything she was going to say gets cut off as a truly wonton moan leaves her throat. She's obviously masturbated before, but she's always been so busy that she's only done it a couple of times, and she is most definitely a virgin.

"Ahhnn~ Maa~ryyy~."

So the feeling of Mary's experienced tongue dancing between her legs is completely new to her, and leaves her barely capable of coherent thought as burst after burst of never-ending pleasure floods her body in ways it never has before.

"T-too much~~ It's- Hnnng~ I'm gonna~ Yesss~ Mary~."

Her hips arch and her fingers tighten in Mary's hair as she pushes her head even closer to herself and a whole new level of pleasure floods her body like it never has before.

"Aaahhhnnnnnn~~!!"

She thinks she whites out for a second, because the next thing she knows, Mary's face is right above her own, licking her lips clean of her juices and smirking down at her.

"Don't tell me you're one and done, Amy~," Mary whispers with a purr. "You started this, but we're not going to stop until I say so~."

Oh dear, Amy thinks to herself. Perhaps she wasn't quite as ready for this as she thought.

Unfortunately for her, it is far too late for regrets.

By the time they finish, the sun has set and neither of them can remember what they distracted Mary from doing.

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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

So, a little bit of lime at the end there cuz it's midnight and I'm too tired to think of more plot and I gotta finish the chap to post now for the sake of scheduling.

So yeah, Amy is with Mary now, Mary's kinda a manipulative bitch, what's new.

The smut probably sucked, but I'm literally going to go to sleep like 5 minutes from writing this.

The chapter's rushed cuz I watched the new deadpool and spent a lot of time writing a fic for that cuz Cassandra is fucking awesome and I wanted more than 15 minutes of her (literally, I counted). I posted a 10k opening chap for that in my (free) one shots on my patre0n (link in desc)