"Everyone stay calm, the situation is under control." The camouflaged woman announced as she entered the bank and looked around. Seeing Armsmaster's prone form, she hurried over to him and kept her rifle pointed in the bug controller's direction while the armored soldiers spread out among the hostages.
Executing an unconscious prisoner probably wouldn't endear me to the local authorities... Oh well, I could always find her later to deal with her if I need to.
Since everything had been going well so far, minus the trouble over Tattletale's little indiscretion, Louise decided to continue forward with the plan. To that effect, she ran over to hug Amy and sniffled pitifully. The healer squawked at the unexpected contact and nearly fell over. Regaining her balance, Amy let go of her moaning sister's hand and tried to push Louise away, saying, "I need to fix Vicky... just... just wait a bit, alright?"
"I... I can help." The pinkette offered quietly, balling up some of the fabric of her dress in her little fists. Amy looked uncomfortable with the suggestion at first, but after a moment, she nodded and stepped aside. Casting her healing spell for just a second was enough to undo the damage to the blonde and Amy was quick to help her sister up.
As Victoria wobbled a bit on her feet, the curly haired healer pressed a finger to her exposed neck and sighed, "Well, the damage is gone, but it looks like L- um... Princess's power doesn't work on poison, so you're gonna feel a little woozy until your body metabolizes the venom."
"Heh, I'll take it." Vicky chuckled, giving Louise a thumbs up, to which the pinkette smiled. "Thanks kid, I owe you one. Rescued from a swarm of bees by a pretty princess, can't say I ever thought that would be a thing." Hearing footsteps approaching, Louise hid behind the Dallon sisters.
"Hello Amy, Glory Girl, do you mind if I ask for your view on what occurred today?" The camouflaged woman said with the warmth of somebody greeting an old friend.
Both teens looked at each other and shrugged, so Vicky began. "K, well... uh... I guess I can go first, since it's kinda my fault Amy was here in the first place... sorry sis. Anyway, after me and Armsmaster came in through the back, I came over to check up on these two while he fought the bug bitch. It was going fine until the girl in purple came out from wherever she was hiding and distracted him with her little peashooter, which ended up with him getting swarmed. Then the purple bitch-"
"Tattletale" Amy interjected.
"-Right, then Tattletale started threatening to shoot Amy and her friend before shooting the little girl in the stomach, so the two of us took her down."
The older woman looked concerned and her rifle became a swirling mass of green before turning into a baton when she asked, "She shot someone?"
"Yeah, but that's taken care of already." Amy answered smoothly. "Her teammate also had a swarm of bugs bite and sting Victoria bad enough to hospitalize her... Is Armsmaster alright? He got hit with the same, but I don't know how much his armor helped."
"Well... he managed to block his nose and mouth after the first few, but I'm sure he'd appreciate if you checked him over." The woman told Amy before asking, "Does our little friend want to say hello? I promise I won't bite, miss..."
Peeking out from behind the two sisters, the pinkette stuttered, "L-Louise V-V-Valliere." Causing Amy to slam her face into her hands. Refraining from laughing at the other girl's frustration, Louise stepped out and curtsied, though the blood soaked dress ruined the effect.
"Ah, Doctor Bailey failed to mention how young you are in his report." The woman said, sounding just a little bit smug at already knowing who she was. "Well, it's always good to meet a new parahuman. I'm Miss Militia... are you sure you're alright?"
Nodding, Louise gave a shy smile. "It hurt, but I'm okay now. My magic is strong."
"I'm glad to hear that." Miss Militia replied, sounding far more sincere than she should. Why would she care about a complete stranger. It could be concern over a fellow noble woman, but Louise had yet to see any signs of the woman possessing magic other than what might be an enchanted weapon. "How long have you been in America?"
The pinkette tilted her head in reply, "Almost a week, why do you ask?"
"Really? Oh, well... your accent, I suppose. When I first came to this country, I only knew a few words in English, so your fluency surprised me, that's all."
"Um... my grandfather is a great teacher."
The woman seemed to accept that, changing the subject back to something more immediately useful. "I see, well you're lucky to have him. I really should get back to work now. If there's anything you need to talk about or you find yourself interested in joining a team, feel free to call me."
With that, Miss Militia pulled out a card with a series of numbers on it and lead Amy over to where Armsmaster was. Louise shuffled her feet and brushed futilely at the front of her dirty dress. It was awkward being so close to a friend who didn't know her. Should she say something? What if she messed up and Vicky rejected her? What if that made the future Vicky she knew disappear? Maybe she already ruined her chances of meeting future Vicky by being there in the first place.
Suddenly Louise didn't want to leave the world. Anything she would probably just make things worse and her friend would be gone forever or worse, future-Vicky might hate her for something she said to past-Vicky. Her first real friend her age, abandoning her because she couldn't cast a proper recall and ended up in her friend's past.
Maybe I should just hide away until Master Cynric comes to get me.
"So... that was a pretty cool takedown back there. I'd say eight out of ten, 'cuz the PRT's not going to like that you went overboard on the bit- er... jerk... not that she didn't deserve it. Wanna leave before they come back, we could try to find you a new dress? That one's kind of gross." The blonde asked, unconcerned about the potentially dead friendship she knew nothing about as she tapped at her phone.
Status: Healthy.
Magicka: (12150/14000)
Choose 1 or more:
[] Return to the antique shop and wait.
[] Go with Vicky, it's too late to not meet her anyway.
[] Cast Imperfect Recall, anywhere is better than staying here to ruin things with Vicky.
[] Cast blind on everyone. Cast invisibility on Louise, Tattletale, and bug girl. Flee with prisoners.
[] POV Switch:
[] Cynric.
[] Write in.
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A/N: Sad Louise is sad again. On the bright side, sticking to the childish act rather than normal Louise means less direct questioning... for now. Anyone feel up to writing the debrief at PRT HQ or should I do it and save it for an optional interlude later?
