Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)

[dc2008]

"There is a strange crystalline structure in her, what was her brain," Amy said, fascinated. "No corona…" Amy turned to the nurse. "Are we sure this was a parahuman? I don't recognize the costume."

"Yes," said the nurse in a flat tone, making a note. "Dog tags place her from Kappa, she is wearing a standard issue protective uniform."

"Huh. Well, the crystalline structure is fascinating. It could be where the corona used to be, it is finely interwoven with the brain tissue. Could it be part of her power expression? I've never seen anything like it, it may be worth examining further." Seeing the nurse's expression, Amy hastily added, "after the event, of course."

"I'll flag it." The nurse turned a page on her clipboard. "Any dimensional, temporal, or spatial effects?"

"How would I even…?" Amy asked.

The nurse sighed. "Right, you're strictly biological. Anything weird?"

"Her right foot is about ten percent larger than her left, down to the cellular level. There are irregularities in bone density which appear to have emerged very recently, and her liver looks like that of an eighty-year old retiree?"

"Chart says history of alcohol abuse, that's the liver. I'll flag the rest, and we'll move on the the next."

 

[dc2008]

"Oy," Aisha said as she came out of the kitchen with plates of pasta. Shit got heavy. "You know where your cousin got to?"

"Uh," the boy with blue hair said, "I think they both went to do a medical thing? Amy to help take care of people and Vicky to take care of Amy?"

Aisha grunted, as she slid plates in front of the pint sized food vacuums, to vocal acclaim. "Can't even be mad, Amy works too hard."

"Can I help?" Eric asked eagerly.

"Your dad's getting the rest, but, after we eat you can supervise Derek and May doing dishes."

Elsewhere

Lisa glanced at the sticky note, before jotting down a few notes about the ongoing disaster recovery efforts. Part of her was offended that she needed such a simple crutch, but after watching her repeatedly space out Taylor had taken mercy on her and written it out.

Lisa switched channels, then glanced at the sticky note again. It said, "Box is a mad science Frankenstein superpower Wi-Fi booster."

---

Note: Don't think about the purple elephants.

 

[dc2008]

"Lisa," Taylor said seriously. With the announcement that Behemoth had gone back to the balrogs, her older counterpart had gone off to wherever she went. She'd been nice enough to leave the comms unit, but right now Taylor was more worried about Lisa.

"Huh?" Lisa blinked, and looked up from a blank page in her notepad.

"You are clearly incapable of letting this go," Taylor said slowly.

Lisa mumbled awkwardly in reply.

"Fine. Let's be systematic about this. I'll ask questions. I write down the questions, you write down your Power's answer."

Lisa nodded tentatively.

Taylor looked down the list of her own questions about the box. "Did the box contain a parahuman?"

Lisa dutifully wrote an answer, then returned to staring off into space.

Taylor walked around the table to read the answer. "Technically, it is not, not a host."

Judging that Lisa would keep, Taylor went back over her questions. If that's how Power was going to play things, a few tweaks would be in order...

Elsewhere

"Rawr!" Alec exclaimed. "Behold my ball of death!"

"Where did you get this game?" Trevor asked.

"It's a limited release of an Aleph port of a Japanese game, that inexplicably didn't sell well here."

"Maybe," Carlos suggested tentatively, "that's because you are now rolling up entire islands? Hits kind of close to home what with what happened to all those actual islands?"

"Come on!" Alec said in mock outrage. "How can you say that! Look at the little prince, he's not a baddie! He's too colorful for that! He just wants to make nice stars! Besides, isn't it time that island nomming was reclaimed for the forces of fun and happiness?"

---

Carlos, later: WHY IS THE SOUNDTRACK STUCK IN MY HEAD!

 

[dc2008]

Kamil forced himself to maintain an attentive expression as Dragon conducted a high-level debrief. They needed to project confidence, competence and professionalism, no matter how unprecedented the situation might actually be.

"… prioritizing closure of dimensional tears, however we believe we've got the ones opening into a biosphere. Sterilization effect has accordingly been dropped, facilitating emergency response. Monitoring will nevertheless continue…"

Kamil made a note. 'Sterilization effect' was the sort of thing some politicalian would ask about.

Even if anyone and anything in the affected area would be very dead anyway.

"…spatial distortions are receding in line with expectations, however anything with fine tolerances will need to be recalibrated or replaced…"

Another one for the pointless politician list.

"… controlling the dimensional tear proved more difficult than expected. The Bet side was contained, with significant secondary effects and casualties among the parahuman team. However, achieving this required deprioritizing control for the other end. Instead of a stable connection to a single alternate where Earth never formed, the breach chaotically bridged numerous alternates, and did not fully close."

That got Kamil's attention. "Is there a persistent connection to or from Bet?"

"No, but there is a persistent cross-dimensional anomaly crossing the alternates into which mass was deposited."

Kamil leaned forward. "Is it spreading? Is it stable?" Persistent and uncontained dimensional breaches had featured heavily in Dr. Weaver's debrief, and not in a positive light.

"Valkyrie has prioritized establishment of a monitoring…"

Kamil turned out the rest, and made a note. Not a 'no', and that was a problem.

---

Note: I'm quite pleased with how this came out. This wasn't actually the Endbringer fight I had planned. I had an entirely different thing planned. Then around the time that Kamil went to Valkyrie land I realized that I hadn't properly setup what I had planned and wound up making up the Garrison Dam engagement on the fly.

I also seem to have accidentally wrapped things up into a nice transition point for the story. There is a very definite sense of both the teen and adult characters moving into a new normal. Entirely serendipitous, and much better than what I had planned.

 

[dc2008]

"Weld has expressed concern about Impulse's mental health," Phil said, wearily. Emily nodded, already dreading whatever came next. Endbringer attacks were always stressful, even for those not in the direct line of fire. Having to host what amounted to a super-powered day-camp during the events did not help.

"In particular," Phil continued, "Weld is concerned that Impulse may be using inappropriate humor as a coping mechanism."

Emily blinked. As much as she didn't need Missy or the mayor's niece picking up such habits, tasteless humor was... actually, for one of Vasil's children, Emily would take it. "Points to Weld for observation skills," she said, making a note. "Oh," she added, "if you haven't already, pass this on to Yamada, since it looks like we're keeping her a while. And ask Hannah if she's noticed any similar issues with the sister."

Phil nodded, making a note of his own. He'd take care of it, and equally importantly pass the word on to the other departments hosting what Dr. Weaver, damn her eyes, had even Piggot thinking of as the Heartbroken.

Phil turned a page in his pad. "Thinktank has theorized that Grue's power might mitigate the effects of radiation for those within its radius. They have suggested--"

"--No," Emily said firmly. Fucking REMFs. Technically, Phil had the authority to quash this one on his own, but he was a family man. She knew why he'd teed this one up for her. "Grue is functionally the sole caretaker of a minor child. If this was a search and rescue situation I might be convinced but everyone in that area is dead. When you respond, copy the Chief Director's office and Youth Guard, have a quiet word with Dauntless, and if Thinktank pushes back pull in Dr. Weaver."

Phil nodded, with feeling. He would, Emily knew, take that as permission to have a few additional quiet words here and there to contacts of his own.

"Next," Phil continued...

---

Note: Emily has on this point (correctly) determined that the chain of escalation goes regional director, chief director, Dr. Weaver. Considering that Aisha is the minor child in question...

 

[dc2008]

Lisa slowly, and fuzzily, drifted back to consciousness. Not her bed. Hospital noises.

Medical center. PRT. Power over-exertion. BEST HOST with you.

Well. That was unusually helpful and straightforward. With a groan, Lisa sat up, and blearily examined her surroundings.

"Oh!" Taylor said, looking up from a notebook. "You're awake, we learned so much!"

"What happened?" Sure, Power had already told her some of it, but Taylor didn't know that. Oh, and a second independent viewpoint was helpful or something, that would be her story if asked.

Taylor shuffled awkwardly. "We were, uh, asking your power about that box thing, and then you got fuzzy headed and your nose started bleeding and wouldn't stop."

OK, well, that was the headache then. Still, answers were good!

"Right!" Taylor said, standing up, "the nurse said to give you water when you woke up if you wanted, here." The tall girl retrieved a cup and straw from somewhere, held it up for Lisa to drink.

Lisa allowed it.

---

Note: At this point Taylor's notebook, if properly reviewed, would be stupidly classified. Fortunately, a casual reader likely wouldn't even notice the Secrets Not Meant For Mortal Eyes, what with all the insect nightmare fuel.

 

[dc2008]

"So," Lisa said, less parched. "What was learned about the box of stickers?"

"It's really interesting," Taylor began. "It's a bio-engineered brain thing that counts as a person for power purposes but isn't actually a person or self-aware. It's connected to a power that, hmm."

The taller girl flipped through her notebook. "So," Taylor continued, "the power is very shouty and annoying. Other powers can't not listen when he starts talking, and he won't shut up. He got in trouble with, I think that's Valkyrie's power and my power, and…" Somehow Taylor maintained a tone of excited interest, even as Lisa wondered if it hadn't been a mercy that her Power previously stopped her from focusing.

Wait, why can I remember now?

{Redacted} is a cheating cheater who cheats, her power and mercy are great.

Well that wasn't comforting at all. Lisa held up a hand to pause Taylor so that she could process.. whatever that was, but then her stomach expressed a more urgent need, and Lisa felt a sharp craving for… wait a minute.

"Why am I having cravings like I'm coming off a hella bad period?" Lisa asked tentatively.

Taylor shuffled awkwardly again. "It was, uh, a really bad nosebleed.

---

Note:
L: … did you hold my continued health and sanity hostage until my Power cooperated?
T: Not intentionally?

 

[dc2008]

"So," Lisa said around mouthfuls of greasy PRT cafeteria chili mac. "Horrifying bratty power mastering powers to listen to him. Was that the extent of it? And why do I have a note that it knows what it did?"

"Sort of?" Taylor said, taking a sip from her even more disgusting protein shake, Brian was a bad influence on the girl.

"… 'words of power'? Or maybe 'command words'? Anyway he got in trouble for spoofing them. It let him bypass safeties and rules and things on other powers. I'm unclear whether it was him doing it on his own, or whether he was getting tricked into it, but it was a really big deal and bad."

That didn't sound good. That sounded, in fact, very not good. Visions of Nilbog and Eagleton flashed through Lisa's head.

Registering that Taylor was looking pleased with herself and wasn't talking any more, Lisa asked, against her better judgment, "… what kind of safeties and rules?"

Taylor shrugged. "Trump stuff mostly, expanding range and allowing secondary power expressions?" Taylor turned a page in her notebook. "Oh, and making more tinker things, and maybe plagues?"

Nope, nope, nope. Lisa very much did not like where that was pointing.

---

Note: This is my explanation for why, for example, Riley was able to do so much S-class shit that really should have been blocked on the shard side.

 

[dc2008]

"The Mann act?" Max asked. He knew more than most about parahuman and medical law, but he'd never heard of that one.

"And others," the lawyer said wearily. "They have evidence of you traveling with minors across state lines for 'immoral' purposes."

"What?" Just, what? He'd done a lot, but didn't diddle kids.

The lawyer sighed. "Apparently there are photographs, and either the Special Agent In Charge has gotten a lot better at poker or they have a solid case. From the sound of it, it would have been a years ago, possibly even before your father died, something with a teen girl or girls."

Oh. That.

Max forced himself to maintain a neutral expression, as his mind raced. This wasn't about Jessa or Nessa, this was about Heith, maybe, when they first got together? Or one of the 'celebrations' she had organized for him. Shit. There might actually be photos, they'd had a Polaroid that one time and…

But fucking how?

"… no statute of limitations," the lawyer continued, "and it's federal, not state. I'm going to need to bring in a colleague for this, my speciality is financial matters. Not… this."

---

Historically, the Mann Act had a reputation for being used to unfairly target politically disfavored people. E.g., happily married interracial couples.

 

[dc2008]

"Ugggghh," Amy's sister groaned, drifted blearily into the kitchen, escorted by Chekov.

Vicky looked like shit, which considering the noises emerging from the bathroom the night before, was reasonable.

Amy wordlessly passed over her coffee, as Chekov nudged Vicky forward.

Amy rolled her eyes, and went to get more coffee. That cat got entirely too much enjoyment out of his inability to actually trip Vicky.

"How you 'wake?" Vicky mumbled, as she settled into a chair.

Amy shrugged, as she double-loaded grounds into the coffee maker. "Same reason I don't get sick, Power chased out the nano-critter things. I did offer to do you, but you wanted to 'be solidarity'."

"Don' remind me," Vicky replied in a surly tone. "I feel like I crapped and sweated and peed out everything I ate or drank for the past week."

"Probably," Amy replied, turning away from the bubbling coffee maker to get out her sister's cereal.

"Jus' gimme the box," Vicky mumbled. "milk takes too long. Oh, also the pitcher of juice. And the drawer of sandwich stuff. And…"

---

Note: Teen appetite at work.