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The Doctor, who I later learned was Dr. Gomez, quickly left after I laid out what was going on and what my scans had picked up. I could tell that he was unnerved and unhappy with what I was accusing, but he was too much of a professional not to do his due diligence. According to him, the first step of the process was reaching out to the Department of Children and Families and making a report. From there, several nurses were in and out of Amy's room, taking various blood samples and the like.
I hung around for a while, using the excuse that I was healing people, picking up Panacea's slack while she was injured. Considering we were waking people up to heal them, I wasn't sure who actually believed that excuse. Still, it kept me close enough that Alya could keep an eye on everything while I kept out of view of the family, my partner giving me steady reports on what was going on with Amy and around the hospital.
Now, like most people, I was relatively ignorant of the DCF or CPS process, past understanding that people like Doctors were mandated reporters and what I had seen on TV. Once I passed it off to the doctors, I was cut out of the problem. My services were no longer required. I stuck around, though, because I still had an uneasy feeling about the situation. Despite my ignorance of the system, I was pretty sure that the family of the potential victim was not supposed to learn about the accusation so quickly, if at all.
That made Alya's warning that Carol Dallon was hunting me down through the hospital, followed closely by her sister and daughter, all the more concerning.
Rather than run and hide, I finished healing my current patient, a poor old woman with pretty severe arthritis and some lower back issues that I did my best to ease, I made my way to the nearest empty room I could find. The Doctor guiding me around looked at me funny as I walked into the empty room, but when Carol came storming down the hall, demanding where I was, he directed her inside before running away.
Smart man.
"Alya, blow the door shut when they come in," I whispered just as the older woman spotted me through the doorway, charging directly in with a thunderous expression, her daughter following her in.
"You fucking bastard! How dare you accuse me of abusing Amy!" She shouted, the door thankfully already shut behind Sarah Pelham. "What right do you have-"
"Right? What right? It has nothing to do with rights." I fired back, cutting her off. "I have a
responsibility as an adult to report any potential child abuse or neglect I see."
"I didn't push her down the stairs, she fell!" She responded, her fists clenched. "When she wakes up, she will collaborate that, and I will fucking bury you."
"I don't appreciate threats, ma'am," I responded. "Besides, I didn't report you for the injuries. I reported you for everything else."
"What else? I have never laid a hand on her!"
"I performed an in-depth scan of her before I healed her to make sure there wasn't something the doctors missed. It's something I do for all people I heal, at least when I have the time. Usually, it reveals some older injuries or some small thing like a stubbed toe or a pulled muscle," I explained, unable to keep the scowl off my face. "Amy's revealed she is a smoker, malnutritioned, and severely overworked. In total, she hasn't gotten more than twelve hours of sleep over the last four days, and I can see the effects of chronic sleep deprivation riddled through her brain. She has more stress in her body than any of the people I have scanned since I got my powers and way more than is even remotely close to what a girl her age should ever have to deal with."
The silence in the room was heavy, and I could see the tears starting to well up and fall from Victoria's eyes. Her mother and Aunt just stood there, dumbfounded.
"I also know that she spends almost every free waking moment at the hospital, enough time that I'm pretty sure the hospital is violating child labor laws," I explained. "I also know that she considers her only self-worth to be her ability to heal."
"I… That…"
"Knowing all of this, Ma'am, how could I do anything else but report it? Your daughter is suffering, and I will not let that slide."
"You… You're making this up!" Carol said, pointing an accusing finger at me, her shock morphing into rage. "I knew you were a villain. I knew it! Now you're trying to weaken New Wave, so we can't stop you! Well, we-"
"MOM! He isn't lying!" Victoria shouted.
A wave of admiration and awe flowed over me, and for a long, floating moment, all I could focus on was Victoria. Thankfully, before I could even start to think too deeply, Alya gave me a bit of a mental yank. It was enough for me to push down the emotions she was forcing on me, giving me a bit more self-control. Victoria was floating a foot or so off the ground, staring at her mom angrily. Behind her, her aunt was looking at her niece with the same awe I'm sure I had, but Carol was looking at her with wide, terrified eyes. Then, as quickly as it had arrived, it vanished, the emotional weight cutting off. All three of us took a moment to recover, but it seemed like Carol's anger let her push through first.
"Victoria Dallon, you did
not just use your Aura on me! I-"
"Just shut up!" the teenager shouted. "I'm sick of you ignoring me! I've tried to get you to see, I've tried to get Amy to see, but nobody will listen, and now, because I'm a coward and couldn't speak up sooner, Amy got hurt! Aunt Sarah!"
Victoria whirled around to look at her aunt, with tears still dripping down her face.
"Mom… Mom treats Amy badly. It's never violent, but she… She never shows her affection, never hugs her, never reassures her. She calls me her daughter but never refers to Amy like that. It's constant, and I can't believe I never noticed! She yells at her more, chastises her more, punishes her more! Amy can never do anything right, and anything she does well is ignored. Amy thinks… she thinks that the only thing that matters about her is that she can heal people. She puts it above everything, even her own health! And Mom encourages it!"
The weighty silence was back as Mrs. Pelham stared at Victoria, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. Eventually, it seemed that she had managed to process everything that Victoria had said, because her gaze turned to her sister, locking on to her with a hard stare.
"Is that true?" She asked, her willpower tested. When her sister failed to respond, she asked again, her hands starting to glow. "Carol Dallon, so help me god, is that true?!"
"Of course it's not true! I fed her, clothed her, put a roof over her head!" She shouted back, her ire redirected at her family. "I might not have loved her like my daughter, but I still took care of her!"
"So you did the absolute bare minimum?" Mrs Pelham asked, her voice filled with disgust. "Goddammit, Carol, she is a child, and you raised her like that? How… how could you do that to her? How did I not see it?!"
"You pushed her on me! I said no, and you insisted! And it's more than she deserves!" She shouted back, her face turning red. "It's only a matter of time before she turns into a monster like her father!"
The ranting woman stopped suddenly, having realized what she said, and immediately started to backtrack.
"No, wait, I didn't mean that," She said, shaking her head. "I'm just angry, she- I-"
I lunged forward, intercepting Victoria before the monstrous haymaker punch she was throwing could land. I barely made it, just able to snag the crook of my elbow along hers. I could feel my bones and muscles scream as her super strength completely out-scaled my own. Still, I was able to pull her back, mostly because I wasn't her target, and she didn't really want to hurt me.
"How could you say that! She has dedicated her life to helping people, and you call her a monster?" The teenager shouted as I pulled her back a few more feet, only managing to because she had stopped fighting me. "She… she isn't perfect, but she is not a monster, you are!"
"I'm… I'm sorry, Victoria… I-" She started to say, her voice much quieter.
"Sorry? SORRY?! I don't want an apology! You haven't been emotionally abusing and neglecting me!" She shouted back, her voice breaking as she sobbed. "No, instead, I'm an accomplice. I lived happily, smiling and feeling loved while my sister suffered. I don't want your apology… Carol. I don't want anything to do with you."
By the end of her rant, Victoria was no longer shouting. Her words were quiet, and her tone was cold. Carol visibly flinched when she called her by her name. When she was done, the teen hero pushed off my hands and gave me what looked like an attempt at an appreciative look before she walked out of the room.
The door slammed behind her, and I looked back to Carol, who looked lost and empty, while Mrs. Pelham looked tired, disgusted, and angry. She stared at her sister for a full minute before finally speaking.
"You will not interfere or interact with DCF or CPS except to answer their questions honestly," she finally said, staring down her sister, who barely reacted to her words. "Amy is going to move in with us, if they don't take her away completely. You will never be alone with her again, and if you attempt to push or pry at this, I will publicly kick you from New Wave and start the process of getting an official restraining order. At this point, I still might."
When Mrs. Pelham was done laying down the law, she turned to leave, gesturing for me to go with her. I nodded and followed the woman out, leaving her still shell-shocked sister alone. When I exited, Mrs. Pelham shut the door behind me. When the door latched shut, for a moment, she nearly collapsed, leaning hard against the door. I reached out to catch her, but the slightly older woman waved me away. She took a moment to collect herself before finally standing up straight.
"Arcanum, I…"
She trailed off, looking at me, clearly trying to figure out what she was supposed to say but unable to really figure out how to say it all. I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, I can't imagine how insane this is to you," I said. "I would say that you shouldn't blame yourself. We are often blind to the things closest to us, and that isn't more true than it is with family. Just promise me you'll get Amy real, professional help."
"We will, there… I already made a mistake convincing Carol to take her in the first place. I won't fail Amy again," She assured me before starting to walk down the hall, away from her sister. "A lot of things are going to change for us. I just hope our family survives this."
"Will Vicky be okay? Living with her?" I asked. "I know it's invasive, but…"
"No, after what you just witnessed, you have every right to question it," She admitted, shaking her head. "I will talk to her. Mark… Mark struggles with depression, I don't know…God, I don't know if he can take care of her… But she is seventeen."
"How long has he been dealing with that?" I asked before wincing and holding up a hand. "Sorry, that
was too much. I've gotten used to asking more questions when people tell me about injuries and maladies."
"It's fine, Amy is the same way," She admitted, though she didn't turn around. "And to answer your question, we aren't sure, but he has been treated on and off for several years. He played football when he was younger, it's how he got his scholarship."
I chewed my lip, my mask hiding my expression as I weighed the options for what I was considering.
"Listen, I only healed Amy's most pressing injuries, but I would like to finish the process now that… you know what's going on," I explained. "There is also a chance if it was caused by repetitive impacts, that I may be able to fix Mark's depression as well."
That got her attention, whirling around and focusing on me entirely.
"How?"
"I can't fix the natural state of the body, so old age and genetic disorders are out of my reach. But I can fix the symptoms, and I can fix
damage. If he has a natural imbalance, then there isn't much I can do for him. But if it was caused by playing football, constantly getting tiny repetitive trauma… I might be able to fix it. Old injuries are harder to work with, so… It's a toss-up. I apologize, I know this isn't the best time, but…"
"No, if you can help Mark, then now is as good a time as any," She said, shaking her head. "It is a lot, but I know you have good intentions."
I nodded, and we quickly headed back to Amy's room. Miss Militia and Assault were both still there, now sitting down across from the door. Mrs. Pelham stopped to talk to both of them while I stepped into the room. Victoria was sitting by Amy's bed, her head lying on the rail of the gurney. On the other side was Mark, sitting stoically by her bed. They both immediately looked in my direction, both looking at me with different levels of confusion. I wondered if Victoria had explained what was happening to her dad, but judging by his expression, he had no idea.
I quickly explained that I needed to finish healing Amy, and Mark simply shrugged, sliding his chair back to give me room. I quickly cast a half dozen spells, cleaning up her lungs, healing the damage, and wiping away some of the worst symptoms from her stress, poor diet, and chronic sleep deprivation. When I was done, Amy Dallon was the healthiest she had been in an unfortunately long time.
When I was done, I turned to Mark Dallon.
"Sir, I've been told that you struggle with depression and that you used to play football in college?" I asked. "Do you mind if I scan you like I did with Amy? There is a chance I might be able to help."
"You can cure depression?" He asked, looking skeptical.
"I can cure some of the brain damage that is often associated with depression," I corrected. "If you don't have that type of damage, I'm afraid there is very little I can do."
"I… wouldn't mind being scanned."
I nodded and reached out, placing my hand on his shoulder and quickly casting the scanning spell. He was, frankly, in near-perfect condition. His body was perfect, with zero health issues anywhere outside of his brain box. Inside that, however, was precisely the kind of damage I was worried about.
"Well, Mr. Dallon, you do, in fact, have some traces of brain damage consistent with repetitive trauma," I confirmed. "Would you like me to try and fix it?"
"I… what sort of effect would it have on me?" He asked, sounding thoughtful.
"Unfortunately, I have no way of predicting that," I admitted. "It's a very old injury. I might not be able to repair it fully."
For a long minute, he chewed his lip before eventually shaking his head with a frown.
"I need to talk about it with Carol first," he explained. "I'm already going to be in trouble for giving you permission so quickly."
"I understand," giving Victoria a look before she spoke up. "The doctors have my number, as does the PRT if you change your mind."
He nodded before silently retaking his position beside his now much healthier daughter. I gave Victoria a nod before quickly making my way outside the room. All three of the heroes were still there, now joined by Mr Pelham. All four of them turned to look at me as I shut the door behind me. Letting out a long breath I stepped closer, Assault stepping back slightly to let me into their little circle.
