Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Amelia, Ch 336- Victoria


"That's it?" Siphon asked, her voice sounding more than a little surprised. The small blond looked at me like she was afraid I didn't do anything at all. "I thought it would take longer. I was warned that it might take two or three hours, not fifteen minutes."


"The people who evaluate injuries are trained to assume the worst case scenario," Chevalier informed her. "In the case of Cerebral Palsy, there's a significant gap between best and worst cases."


"Yeah, worst case for CP is a genetic disorder, and those are really, really hard for me to work on," I confirmed. "But you only had what amounts to minor nerve damage, plus somewhat atrophied muscles. Nothing all that difficult for what I do. Oh, and while I was in there I gave you a basic augmentation package and adjusted your metabolism to compensate. It'll wind back down, but I highly recommend you just about double the amount of food you eat for, well, at least the next month. You just got something like sixty pounds of muscle added to your frame."


"I- thank you," she responded, standing up out of her wheelchair. "It's been almost a decade since I could walk without using my powers."


"I'd say 'pay it forward'," I shrugged. "But you're already a hero. So just keep up the good w-"


She interupted me with a hug, and started crying on my shoulder. I simply patted her back while looking over her shoulder at Chevalier. He just shrugged and smiled. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Thus far, Sveta was the most memorable. Nothing quite like having your spine and ribs broken to make something stick out in your mind. And if it wasn't me to remind her of just how deadly strong she was, it would have probably been someone far less durable.
Chevalier gave her a minute, then cleared his throat. "Umm, I know you were planning to be here a while, but I think you have friends waiting. And you should probably hit the gym and get used to how things work, now?"


"Oh, uh, sure," Siphon agreed, finally letting me extract myself from her grip. She looked at me for a second, and then rushed for the door, her emotions conflicted. "Thanks again, for everything."


"I'd say any time, but the goal is to avoid repeat customers," I joked, watching her leave the room. Then I looked over at Chevalier. "Thanks for the save, I was starting to worry that she was about to cop a feel."


I watched his emotions spike just a little, before he settled into doubt and suspicion. "You said that just to mess with me."


"Well, yeah," I confirmed, somewhere between a confession and bragging. "But it's true. Like I said, nerve damage. I'm the first human being she's ever been able to actually experience touching. I have to imagine she could get pretty lonely, physically alone for all those years. Throw in the usual gratitude, and... yeah. You should put that down in the notes for her post-regen therapy."


The therapy was originally only for the Case 53s, who needed time to adjust to being human. But after one of the heroes we healed got himself killed during a base jumping accident, and a few other similar accidents, it had become mandatory for everyone whose healing was truly life altering. Which, of course, was most of them.


"If you're sure," he replied, but he was already typing the notes. He trusted me not to make stuff like that up. Then his emotions started to spike showing apprehension. Fight or flight response. "So, what are your plans this weekend?"


"Nothing, really," my answer was far more casual than I felt. Is this it, is he finally going to make a fucking move? "I've got a family gathering planned for Sunday. But tomorrow's free and clear. So's tonight, for that matter. Turns out, there aren't any known supervillains left in Philly for me to beat the piss out of. I probably could have rationed my fun out a little better, huh?" Hopefully he'd pick up on the words 'tonight' and 'fun'.


"Incidentally, Tendril is threatening to sue the Protectorate for excessive force," Chevalier mentioned. Not what I wanted to talk about!


I shrugged. "He's a sex offender with regeneration," I stated dismissively. And he's only alive right now because I would have been caught. "And I am totes a media darling. Who do you think the jury's going to side with? Also, as my mother insists I say at least three times a day, I don't work for the Protectorate, the PRT, or any government agency domestic or foreign. So tell Dunn that your asses are perfectly safe."


"Not you," he replied. "One of the arresting officers opened fire on him when we were moving him to a holding cell. Six times. With a shotgun. Says he was resisting and... you may need to testify about how fast he can regenerate his limbs, because she claims it was a matter of self defense."


"Oh," I frowned. "Well that's... You should probably tell Dunn that she's not going to like my answer. The damage I did, and the Tinker-drugs I used on him? I'm surprised he was even conscious."


"I was afraid of that," he sighed. "But that's just speculation, they're still investigating. Everything I'm telling you right now is hearsay and nothing more."


"But it's not like I'm completely certain about this," I added, getting the message loud and clear. "I'm willing to admit that maybe the drugs didn't work as well as they were supposed to. Regen is hard to predict, and maybe he had secondary powers that helped him recover faster than he should have. If you can get a blood sample to our labs, I imagine Emma could give absolute, concrete proof. But I'm not sure how the law works for that sort of thing."


As I said that, I internally screamed 'no' and hoped Chevalier got the message. Our tranqs were based upon Newter's power, and thus pretty much absolute. They could drop a fully powered Lung with less than a raindrop worth of material. Nothing short of a power resisting Trump or a nonhuman Case 53 would have recovered in the couple hours between when I disabled him and when he should have been locked away. I could go up on the stand and say I wasn't sure, that maybe he has a power we didn't anticipate. Emma would have to run tests and then admit there was no way in hell he wasn't in a coma at the time.


"Understood," he responded. "I'm sure the Director will appreciate your... candor on this issue."


"Yeah," I agreed. "I can't imagine a trained officer would do something like that without good reason. Have you considered Master/Stranger influence? Anything from Mind Control to creating illusions... there's a lot of explanations."


"We're investigating that possibility as well," he responded. "There's also the chance that you were under the influence, maybe causing you to underestimate how durable Tendril was?"


"You have a point," I shrugged. Not even a little bit of a risk. When my power tells me I've done enough damage to put them down, it means they'll stay down. "Thanks for the warning that I may have overestimated my abilities and equipment. I'll certainly keep that in mind in the future. I'll consult with my lawyer about everything you just said, especially the legal issues. Should give me something to do for about half an hour after I get home."


"Maybe." I could tell he was smiling under the armor, relieved at the fact that I was willing to play ball about this instead, and working up the nerve to continue with what he really wanted to say. I decided he was kinda adorable when he was awkward. But I still definitely preferred when he took charge. "So, I know an excellent restaurant and was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat, and talk about things not work related. Just the two of us."


YES! Took long enough! "Sure, that could be fun," I smiled. "Wait, are you asking me out on a date to butter me up?"


His emotions spiked worry and a desire to clear up a misunderstanding, before he caught on a half second later. "You're teasing me again," he sighed. Of course he knew he didn't need to explain his intentions, not to me.


"Yeah, a little. I much prefer baby oil." Damn it's fun watching his emotions. "So, what should I wear?"


"Something casual and classy," he answered, eager to change the subject. He was still thinking about it, and he knew that I knew he was thinking about it. That's part of what made it fun. "It's a nice place, but you won't find fish eggs and goose liver on the menu, so don't go overboard. It also has private dining areas so we can actually talk and not worry about the whole secret identity. Or, not so secret in your case."


He's a bit worried, doesn't want to mention it... ah! "I'll meet you there. Look for the absurdly hot Asian girl in the dark blue blouse."


There was a flood of relief and disappointment both. Guess the whole public identity thing is going to get in my way with Chevalier just as much as it did with Dean. Or a little less, since now I can shapeshift. In a way, it was really sweet that he would have risked his identity getting revealed by being seen with me rather than simply ask me to make a temporary change of appearance for him.


"Meet you around, say, seven?" I offered. "That way you have a chance to talk to Dunn and I can pretty myself up. You have no idea how much work it takes to do my makeup in a way that looks good for two different races."


"That would be fine," he agreed. "I'll, uh, see you then."


Aww, he's so cute when he's nervous! "Sure, I'll let you handle the rest of the paperwork," I smiled. "Sorry it's always you that gets stuck with that."


"I knew what I was getting into when I took the job," he replied.


I turned around and then bit my bottom lip to avoid squealing. Then I regained composure and walked quickly out of the room. I noted that Siphon was still out there, surrounded by the rest of her teammates. She smiled nervously at me. Nope, no attraction, she was just caught up in a moment and now feels really weird about the whole affair. She'll be happier if I pretend I didn't notice a thing. So will that guy who was too busy looking at her to even give me more than a passing glance. Good for them. I waved casually and kept going.


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A/N- Yay Vicky!