Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)

[dc2008]

Amy and Vicky were meeting with Dr. Weaver, and the topic made Amy distinctly nervous.

"Powers have limits." Dr. Weaver continued. "The Manton Limit," she nodded to Amy, "the blood-brain barrier."

Amy tried to suppress a shudder.

Dr. Weaver pretended not to notice. "They can be like training wheels. They avert accidents, but with time and training you can move past them."

Dr. Weaver's turned deadly serious, and she looked at first Amy, then Victoria. "And you better be damn careful when you do. Because the consequences can be much worse than a skinned knee."

Fortunately her sister, bless her hyper-focused heart, was on hand to play distraction.

"So…" Victoria began, "what do you think that might mean for my power?"

Later

"Oh, snap," Victoria said as they got home. "I forgot to ask her about ideas on how to make money!"

---

Note:
A: Neeeeerd
V: You're just jealous your power doesn't give you full body hugs!

 

[dc2008]

"Right," said James. He turned to Dr. Weaver, who was paging through the briefing materials with a thoughtful expression. The meeting had broken up, semi-pointless as it had been, leaving just himself, Emily, and Dr. Weaver. At this point, The Fairy Queen was going to do what she was going to do, and the ability of anyone else to change that was dubious at best.

"What is your take?" James asked the temporal refugee, who had been unusually quiet in the meeting.

She shrugged. "Better than we managed?"

Piggot snorted. "I refuse to believe you didn't have a plan for this."

"I did." Dr. Weaver replied guilelessly. "It was to fob it off on you."

"Mreow" added the cat under the table.

---

Note: Rebecca feels a need for the appearance of control (I say appearance because she generally does what Contessa suggests). Jaded!Taylor, in contrast, will settle for visibility and influence.

 

[dc2008]

"Taylor!" Aisha said from what she thought was Taylor's blind spot.

"Yes, Aisha," Taylor replied evenly, continuing to rack weights.

"One of these days I'll get you! Anyway, can you spot me until Bro gets back?"

Shortly thereafter

"Hey, Aisha," Aisha's very fit brother said as he walked up.

"And twenty! Hey Bro!"

"And, Taylor, was it?"

"Afternoon," Taylor replied politely, as she appreciated the view. Not with her eyes, of course, that would be rude.

"Sorry," Aisha said, getting up, "lost track of time. Taylor, keep him out of trouble while I get changed, maybe ask him about the talk thing, I think you'd like it."

---

Note: Aisha has a complicated relationship with plausible deniability.

 

[dc2008]

"Vista, Insight," Weld said patiently to the two preteens who were doing… something to a spoon to make it twitch ominously. "What are you doing."

"Metal fatigue!" Vista replied, still concentrating intently on the spoon.

Weld then noticed the brightly colored cans on the table. "What are you drinking?"

"It'sthisnewenergydrinkanditssogood!" Insight said excitedly.

Weld took a moment to parse that before responding. "How much have you had?"

Insight giggled. "MomsaidIcanonlyhavetwosodasperday! Butthesearesmall! Thatmeansmore!"

Elsewhere

Amy: U around?
Alec: Signs point to yes
Amy: wanna game? Done w hw early
Alec: sure come by

Laterr

"Amy, you get on pretty good with your sister right?" Alec asked while swapping discs.

"Sure?"

"Got any tips? We're trying to be nice and shit, but we don't really know how since growing up dad and the moms didn't make it easy."

…

"The fuck are you laughing for, I'm trying to have a moment!"

"Sorry, it's just," Amy said as she tried to stop laughing. "Oh my god, the idea that my family would be a good role model, I don't even. But Vicky, yeah, she's great. So, let's see…"

…

"Ok, got it, you love your sister and think she is amazing and want to have her babies, but how does that work and why are you blushing oh fuck I said something didn't I…"

---

Note:

Alec: I'm used to making people awkward and embarrassed on purpose, not on accident!

 

[dc2008]

"You sure you're OK?" Alec said. "I'm sorry I made a joke about teen preggers and incest babies, that was insensitive and inappropriate—wait aren't you adopted? How does that work? Would your parents be happy because they liked the in-laws and would have you for every holiday? Would they split you up so each could give one of you a shovel talk? Would your dad take it in turns? Would your mom have to get in fights with herself over the wedding planning and baby names? No, bad Alec, I'm—"

Amy, still clearly mortified, couldn't help but snort out a burst of laughter.

"Oh thank god." Alec said, clearly relieved. "I was worried I'd have to get Aisha or Lisa in here to fix this and they would never let me forget it. Plus they'd probably just help you in whatever revenge plan you came up with."

"Huh," Amy said, confused. "Usually it's Vicky people are scared of."

Alec looked at her seriously. "You are the most white mage white mage in, like, the entire world. Your costume is white mage. Your power is white mage. I have played enough games to know exactly what sort of unlocks white mages get as they level, and most importantly of all that you never, never, never fuck with the white mage."

He leaned back, and continued conversationally. "See, Vicky is strong and shit but she can only kill me once. You, you can make it so that I don't die for a very, very, very long time. And since you are the white mage, no one will come to rescue me, because lo, the wrath of the white mage is a terrible thing, and only a fool dares risk attracting it upon their own head. And besides, if they look the other way you'll heal their gout, or crabs, or whatever."

Amy smiled evilly. "I know what you can do to make it up to me."

Alex put on his attentive face.

Amy gestured to Alec's game collection. "I wish to learn more about this white mage you speak of…"

Elsewhere

"Heart palpitations." Emily said, unamused. She didn't enjoy dealing with the little shits but she didn't want one to die on her.

"Thank God Weld recognized the warning signs and had her go to medical." Phil replied.

"Were we able to at least get rid of that shit?"

Phil sighed. "We aren't providing it, they are. It is not illegal for them to have, and after that incident last year in Phoenix…"

Emily but back a curse. Some damn fool had tried to use withholding food as a punishment without remembering that one of the Wards lived on base and had dietary restrictions that meant they had to eat in the Wards area.

---

Note: Alec: Shit shit shit inappropriate jokes don't fail me now!

 

[dc2008]

Rebecca stared, gobsmacked, at the message that had just been handed to her by a former colleague. The calligraphy was beautiful. The paper, no, vellum was beautiful. The decorative fringe was beautiful. She could, no doubt, sell this as is to a collector for a substantial sum, particularly given the identity of the person on whose behalf it was produced.

It was just the contents that were insane.

"The official announcement, of course," her former colleague said, "need not be exactly the same. We are open to your thoughts on exact wording, timing, and so forth. However the basic message is as presented."

Rebecca re-read the early draft, informal, non-binding and unofficial statement from The Fairy Queen:

A rogue Fae, using as their instrument the human organization that called itself Cauldron, conspired to bring about the deaths of the Fae God-King-Father and God-Queen-Mother. Her majesty Valkyrie I, on behalf of herself and both her peoples, expresses gratitude to be free of the tyranny of the gods. However, Cauldron's grave crimes cannot be ignored, especially the desecration of their God-Queen-Mother's corpse using forbidden necromantic rituals.

Upon threat of war, Cauldron and the rogue Fae behind it have surrendered unconditionally to Valkyrie I. In accordance with the traditions of their people, Valkyrie has subsumed into her own demesne Cauldron in its entirely, including its worlds and the right henceforth to call upon the knowledge and skills of its constituents.

Valkyrie I recognizes that many human people have also suffered harms at the hands of Cauldron, including most especially those non-consensually subjected to necromantic and medical experiments. In recognition of this suffering, in honor of her human heritage, and in the hopes of furthering the cause of peace between humans and the Fae, Valkyrie I has directed trusted advisors liaise with appropriate human representatives in identifying and assisting these victims.

The disposition of certain persons whose services were co-opted by Cauldron will be similarly be discussed with appropriate representatives. Valkyrie I recognizes that their actions, however horrifying, were performed under malign influence, that their victims include humans as well as Fae, and that they were in their own way victims as well as perpetrators.

---

Note:
RCB: Why didn't you tell me?
DM: We tried? You hung up on us?

 

[dc2008]

Sabah was exhausted, but excited. The event had gone well! Really well! It was a lot of work, but she was making it!

"Parian?" An unexpected voice said from behind her.

Sabah startled and instinctively grabbing control of her "props" and their hidden defensive accoutrements. Turning warily, she was surprised to see… Glory Girl? Hovering just behind her, a few inches off the ground?

"Woh woh sorry didn't mean to scare you!" The blonde said, backing up.

"It's OK," Sabah said, trying to calm her breathing. "It's OK," Sabah repeated with more confidence. "How can I help?"

"So I was thinking," the blonde said confidently, "and you are, like, the rogue success story in town. And, well, I'm trying to figure out to make money? As a rogue, well, not as a rogue but still a hero but still…"

Right. Despite the girl's minor celebrity, she was still a teenager. A good contact to cultivate, but a teen nonetheless. Best start with the basics.

"Might I ask why you need the money? And how much? And how quickly? You don't need to be precise, but a general idea would be helpful?"

Later

"… my god," Sabah muttered. "I knew the statistics were bad, but I didn't realize they were that bad!"

"Yeah," said Glory Girl seriously, "it's not as bad as it sounds, there is a bias there since by the time the PRT take official notice of a rogue or villain something has usually already gone wrong for them somewhere."

Parian shuffled awkwardly. "I would really like to talk about this more, in a less public place."

"I'll give you my cape phone and PHO deets, you can message me and we'll find a time."

---

Note: Yay! I figured out something to do with Sabah!

 

[dc2008]

"Ok, the tour group will be here in about ten minutes," Aegis said with forced cheer. "Lilac, I know you haven't done this before, but don't worry, I checked and it's a bunch of middle school kids so it should be fine.

"Got it," Lilac said with a confident smile.

"Uh," Chariot asked, "aren't you going to get into costume?"

"I am in costume," Lilac replied with a wider grin, gesturing to her fashionable and color-coordinated jeans and sweater ensemble. "Just need my mask."

A few minutes later

"How come they get armor and you don't?" The small girl peered at Lilac curiously.

"They have armor because they go on patrol and it can be dangerous." Lilac replied with a grin. "My power though is a thinker power, so I stay at base and do research."

Lilac leaned in conspiratorially. "Also, my name is a color, so I get to wear comfortable clothes as long as it's the color of my name. They have to wear the heavy and uncomfortable stuff all. The. Time."

The girl's eyes widened.

A few minutes later.

"OK, good job everyone." Aegis said. "We've got about an hour until to the next batch. Feel free to take off some of the armor and cool off."

As the boys partially dissembled their heavy, uncomfortable protective gear, Lisa smugly leaned back in her chair.

---

Note: The only reason this works at all is because Lilac doesn't really have a public persona. For the others, they need to wear their costumes (or at least a facsimile thereof) because the kiddies are expecting to see The Real Wards(TM)!

 

[dc2008]

"I was told in no uncertain terms that the PRT is a domestic law enforcement agency, and that State would be managing relations with the sovereign nation led by The Fairy Queen!"

"Rebecca, why—" Keith tried to reply.

"Worse, Alexandria is being subpoenaed to testify about her participation in experimental power research! Subpoenaed! Me! Her! The Triumvirate! Like a lackey!"

"My life, my fortune, my sacred honor," David said gravely.

"What?" Rebecca said, knocked off her rent by the non sequitur.

"The oath I was desperate to swear," David explained. "I don't see why you are upset. We all agreed. We didn't do this for the power, or the fame. We did it to save the worlds and that's done. I didn't expect to survive, but now that I have, I am ready to face the consequences of my actions."

"But the job's not done!" Rebecca replied hotly. "Even she says so! And don't tell me you trust those clowns to do what needs to be done!"

"Rebecca," Keith said soothingly. "You are one of the strongest parahumans on the planet, and one of if not the best tactical commander. However, we have been made painfully aware of the dangers of over-relying on powers for strategic planning. Surely, you can see—"

"How much longer do you think they'll go on?" Fortuna whispered to Kurt, who had given up all pretense of not doing other work on his laptop.

Kurt shrugged. "Until an emergency pulls one of them away, or it's time for Keith to meet his family for dinner."

Leaning back, Fortuna carefully slipped the rim of her hat over her eyes. Feeling a small weight land on her lap, she reached out a hand and began lightly stoking the suddenly present kitten. She was rewarded with purring.

---

Note:
R: They're treating me like just some grunt!
D: That sounds amazing! Sign me up!

 

[dc2008]

"Dickering about Gondor's domestic policy rather misses the point of the story, don't you think?" Taylor replied, acerbically. "Tolkien clearly wasn't looking to do a study of economics or governance, and such details would have bogged the story down. His focus clearly was more on linguistics, culture, and myth. It's rather like complaining that Star Wars lacks rigorous scientific grounding."

"But it's all interconnected!" Vicky replied, excitedly. "Economic factors influence and shape culture!"

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about," Carlos asked Chris quietly, "beyond nerd stuff?"

Chris looked aghast. "How have you not read—"

"If that's what you are looking for," Taylor continued, ignoring the boys, "then maybe try some of his other works? They're basically on a sliding scale, with The Hobbit being the most accessible and least—"

Taylor abruptly ducked as a glob of vegetable matter soared through the space where her head had been to hit Vicky in the chin.

Victoria sputtered in outrage as she floated above the table to glare at the table of food-spattered underclassmen one table over.

"Vicky," Amy said wearily, "aura."

"Aura, nothing, they got goop on my new blouse! It was a gift!"

"Uh," one of the underclassmen offered, "it's actually spinach?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!"

---

Note:

Dennis to Weld: We should be doing more PRT recruiting at Winslow. This one girl from there, it's like some Sardaukar shit.