Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Amelia, Ch 303- Zach


"Wait, you told her she was pregnant?" I exclaimed. "Holy shit, Ems, how did you not get punched in the teeth?" Especially by Taylor and Amelia. I mean, I know Taylor says it's water under the bridge, but I can't believe she really means it. Not completely, and certainly not if Emma is going to start picking on everyone's favorite little girl that wants to be a grownup already.


"It was Lisa's idea," she responded.


"And suddenly everything makes sense," I concluded.


"I still feel pretty bad about it," she sighed. "Missy puts so much of her personal value on her powers. She'll have to go without them for months, just to undo the damage she's caused herself. Which she only did because she wanted to be useful."


Emma paused for a moment. "Uh, earth to Ems?" I prompted.


"Oh god, I just now realized why I felt so bad for her," Emma facepalmed.


"Pretty sure that's every parahuman, hun." I gave her a comforting hug. Over the months I'd gotten used to the fact that her skin would never really be more than lukewarm, but that didn't really make it the most pleasant experience in the world.


"I mean, look at us," I continued. "Let's leave Taylor and Amelia out since they're one beard shy of being actual gods. You Tinkers are the most obvious, throwing yourselves into your work and spawning whatever abominations come to mind this week. Riley, Trevor and Rey are the exact same way. Then you got the ultimate workaholics with Dragon and Halbeard."


"You keep calling him that and he's going to find a way to kill you for real," Emma warned.


"What? I'm just trying to help out his love life," I defended.


"How do you figure?" Emma scoffed.


"Every couple needs pet names for each other," I insisted. "It's a requirement, so they can be sickeningly cute with one another and horrify everyone who knows them. Those two are way too serious to come up with their own, so we'll have to do it for them."


"Every couple, huh?" Emma smirked. "So why don't we have any?"


"We have pet names," I smiled. "I'm 'you moron' and you're 'please don't hurt me'."


As predicted, she jabbed me in the rib. I grabbed my side and moaned in badly acted pain. "Oww, what did I just say about not hurting me!"


"You really are a moron," she laughed. I smiled wider. My favorite thing about her is definitely her laugh. "Speaking of which, I'm betting you haven't bothered to study your homework at all this weekend."


"But there was an Endbringer fight!" I protested. "I strained my brain muscles trying to fly in virtual pitch black darkness and fighting Leviathan clones left and right. I killed at least three of them. Plus a tacky looking statue outside of a used car lot. Truly my finest accomplishment to date. Even better than filling Hookwolf with acid."


"Well, you have six hours to cram before class, get your ass in gear."


"Yes, mistress," I whined, doing my best to pout as I turned and left. A quick slap on my ass and I hurried along. She was right, I really did need to hit the books at least a little before tomorrow started up. I didn't have superhuman intelligence, although I wasn't exactly stupid and my power probably gave me about five bonus IQ points. I also suspected Amelia did a little 'upgrading' when they figured out a way to heal me. I opted not to ask, and she was choosing not to tell.


....


"So, looks like we lost three more classmates over the weekend," I said in idle chitchat at lunch. Right now, it was just me and Theo. His girlfriends were sitting at their table, chatting with the few remaining girls. Our entire 'highschool' now had a grand total of thirty three students. Everyone else had been pulled off to either return to Bet, or their parents decided they liked Avalon enough to find a permanent home. In six months, this school would be gone. A thought I'd have liked better if words like 'private tutors' weren't being bandied about.


Theo was looking over at the girls, of course, he didn't pay attention at all. "Earth to the dude with the harem," I waved my hand in front of his face.


"Wha?" he jumped a little. "Sorry, just lost in thought."


"It's about Missy, of course," I concluded. As fun as it was to fuck with Theo, figuratively speaking, this was game face time. "Emma told me the basics. Powers down for a month or two, and I imagine she's pretty upset about it."


"She almost cried when we got to school," Theo responded. "We were two minutes late, and no one cared about it at all, but she was over there fighting to keep from tearing up. I... what do I say to her? I've only had my powers a few months, she's had them for almost half her life. Riley's the only one who really understands what it's like to have powers that long. And she's trying to help, but..."


"But it's Riley and she's going all 'Victoria' in trying to force Missy to be happy, when right now she just wants to be miserable?" I suggested. "So all that's going to happen is Missy getting more and more upset while Riley desperately tries to make her feel better until both of them manage to have second triggers, at which point Missy turns all of us into something out of a Picasso painting, and Riley puts us all together as a single horrific composite monster?"


"Where do you get these ideas?" Theo just looked at me like I grew a third head without taking the time to grow a second.


"Late late night monster movies are hilariously bad," I informed. "Point remains, though. Riley's brand of delusionally cheerful optimism isn't working, and I'm going to guess that your particular brand of quiet support isn't cutting it, either."


"Yeah, that," Theo responded. "I tried last night, I really did." Don't say it, Zach, do not say it. Comedy gold be damned.


"Hey, how about I give it a shot?" I offered.


"You?" he just looked at me.


"Yeah, I'm good at this sorta thing," I insisted. "Playing world's weirdest therapist is my calling in life."


"Sure, go for it," Theo shrugged. "If nothing else, maybe you'll make me and Riley look good in comparison."


"Awesome," I agreed. "And if I succeed, you three will have to support me in my bid for a royal title."


"Zach, I keep telling you there's no way in hell they're calling you that," Theo sighed. "No one's ever going to call anyone that. Not while they're sober, at any rate."


"That's okay, I have a whole list of other options to try out," I watched the clock for a minute. Wait for it, wait for it. Now! "So, do you think if I do a good job of cheering Missy up, she'll let me join her harem?"


"Dude!" Theo exclaimed. He was then interrupted by the end of the lunch bell.


"Too late!" I declared as I got up. "You already agreed to let me try!" I bolted from the cafeteria. Sure, Theo and I had the same class this period anyway, but I was laughing the whole way there.


....


After class was a simple walk back. We tended to avoid being in large groups. Clarice and I tended to head back together, because we didn't have secret identities. Missy, Theo, and Trevor sometimes went together, and other times Trevor went home alone. He was rather paranoid about his secret identity being found out. I wasn't quite sure why at this point, but it wasn't something that seemed to make him unhappy, so I just let him have his quirk. Not like I was lacking in pet weirdness of my own.


"Hey, Theo, mind if I cut in?" I asked, approaching the pair of them from behind. "I'll swap you mine," I gestured at Clarice. Riley already knew I was going to take a stab at this, so it was a surprise to exactly Missy.



"Umm, sure," Theo agreed. "I'll see you back at home."


He started heading off, and inspiration struck me. "But you have to promise not to get her pregnant." Perfect!


"Meep!" Clarice squeaked. And on this day, we learn that Riley built her doll with the ability to blush.


"Too late, no backsies!" I declared. "You kids have fun."


I watched the pair of them head off a bit.


"Man, I must be a really sad sight if they're sending you," she chuckled bitterly. "Am I really that pathetic?"


"You'll never hear me calling you pathetic," I responded. "Mainly because I'd like my ass to remain unbeat."


"Not what Emma tells me," she quipped.


"Nice," I laughed. "Seriously, though, you are anything but pathetic."


"I am until my powers come back," she countered. "I can't do anything now. The next Endbringer the rest of you fight, I'll be sitting on the sidelines instead of out there helping and it's all my own fucking stupidity."


"You did what you had to do to save lives," I responded. I wasn't sure if that was entirely true, but I wasn't above lying to make someone feel better, so I could certainly say something I wasn't completely sure about. "It may not have been the right choice in the long run, but you did it for the right reasons."


"That's a dumb excuse and you know it," she retorted. "Now I'm useless."


"You're hardly useless," I argued. "Missy, you're the heart of this team."


She froze for a second. "What was that?"


"You are," I insisted. "Everyone has their role to play. Well, you and Amelia. But she's more like the heart of the movement itself, of Pantheon as a whole. You're the heart of this team we've created for ourselves inside. Half of us would be miserable if not for you. Riley would still be alone and miserable, but you're the one who stepped up to make that work. Your powers had nothing to do with any of that."


"Well, I did have to use them to take Clarice's ribbon," she responded.


"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "You could have done that with the word 'please' and everyone knows it. Except maybe Theo. Because let's not kid ourselves, if you asked Riley to leave Theo for you, she wouldn't even hesitate. The only person that means more to her than you is Amelia, and I wouldn't want to risk money on that bet. You're the one who stands up for us when what passes for the 'parents' of this group are being dumb. The one that finds the solutions that make everyone happy, even when no one else thinks that's possible. Even if it means you have to sacrifice yourself to make it happen."


She hesitated. "Someone said something a lot like that to me. It was a lot of comfort, then. Thanks."


I put a hand on her shoulder. The girl would probably never reach half my current weight in her life. "Look, you went overboard and it cost you. I'm not saying don't give it your all, I'm just... when you do, remember there are a lot of others ready to help. We're a team, and when one of us is hurt, all of us suffer for it. Keep that in mind from now on. And get used to the idea that we're around to make you feel better, too."


She smiled. "Thanks. So... if I'm the heart, what does that make you?"


I laughed. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the sex appeal."


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A/N- Obviously, the most important part of this chapter is trying to guess Zach's desired title(s).