Amelia, Ch 262- Zach
I woke up gasping. How the fuck am I in pain?
"Don't panic," Emma's voice insisted, putting her hands on both my shoulders. That's when I figured out I was laying down on a bed or something. "We'll explain in a minute, but for right now, you need to stay calm, okay?"
"Y'know," I looked above my head at her. She looks worried. "I'm pretty sure the scariest words in the English language are 'you need to stay calm'. Either that or 'Honey, I think I'm pregnant'."
She smiled. "Stop being such a jackass." Good, it's not that big a deal.
"Okay, he's stable," Amelia's voice spoke up. "Couldn't hurt to get a little more of that biogel over here, however."
"This doesn't seem like the most efficient healing system," a male voice I didn't recognize spoke up. Considering we were obviously in one of our buildings, I'd have to... wait, healing? Well, this can't be a good sign. Oh, right, I remember. The new Endbringer. Copying the powers of others. I recognized Shatterbird in the mix. And Lily. I was stabbed by Lily's power.
"We can improve on that," Emma said, looking over to my side. I followed the glance. Oh, Chevalier, his armor looks different. "We have some very comprehensive scans of your power, and now a pretty good idea of how the human folding works. Size is only a passing limitation, considering how your power works. Give us a little time. I bet we can create a pocket sized organic doll that will let you impose your newfound power on almost any humanoid."
"You're sure about that?" he asked.
"Oh, and then some," Emma responded cheerfully. She's adorable when she slips into Tinker mode. "There are a number of individuals who can't be healed by conventional methods. Zach was one, but Alexandria is in a similar situation. Your folding power will, functionally, allow you to transfer any injuries to the copy, which we can keep suspended in a nutrient mix and give what are, effectively, regenerative powers to. It won't be able to repair brain damage, probably. You'd need to work with an actual parahuman regenerator for that."
"Could do even more than that," Vicky responded. "We know Case 53s regenerate back to their default state. But what happens when another type of regeneration gives them a different form? I could have done a lot more when linked up to Crystal's body. The changes that happened there were accidental, but if I actively push and control it, then I bet I can establish pretty close to human state. And my regeneration works on brains, too."
Emma leaned down and gave me soft kiss. Her mouth was cool to the touch, as was normal. "Be back in a second," she told me, before stepping away. I felt the temperature drop almost immediately. She paused for a moment. "That should work, with exception to nonorganic Case 53s such as myself or Weld. But the vast majority are still organic, if only sometimes humanoid. You won't be able to correct the genetic deviations, and it's possible that future healing or shapeshifting powers will undo the changes, but there's no reason you can't correct the physical shape, nerve system changes, and a number of other traits."
"Sounds like something I'll need to contact the Chief Director about," Chevalier replied. "However, I can't imagine a scenario where she'd say no. Finding a way to help the Case 53s, or most of them at least, is a major goal for us."
"Alexandria might be a little pissed to lose her badass backup," Vicky added. "But she's getting an eye and a leg in the trade. And since I like her, I'll even throw in a complete upgrade to her neural system. Wonder what she'll think about gaining the ability to smell and hear with better details than most humans can get out of their eyes. And if that works out, we can probably make a killing by charging people for biological upgrades. Think a million bucks per twenty IQ points is a fair trade?"
"I start making the phone calls," Lisa volunteered. "The Chief Director already told me to call her when I found some real results." Yeah, I bet she did. At this rate those two will be married before Taylor and Amelia. "Come on, Chevalier, let's go do beauracracy while the doctors and scientists do what they're good at."
The man moved away. "So, is it safe for me to get up, now?" I asked no one in particular.
"Yeah, you're in perfect health," Vicky spoke up. "Better than you were by a long shot. Ames might have taken the opportunity to tweak your biology while she had a way around your power's defenses."
"You caught me," Amelia replied. "Pretty much just the same things that the cloning tech gives by default, but angled toward more bulk and strength than normal. Your power means you don't need a more stamina focused build."
"Awesome," I sat up, and felt hair peel off my back and remain stuck to the table I was laying on. I shuddered involuntarily. Then I looked over at Theo, who was drenched in blood. "The fuck happened to you, dude?"
Clarice went to speak, but Theo interrupted him. "Nothing you need to worry about right now."
"Dude," I smirked at him. "I woke up half naked and sticky next to another half naked guy who's covered in blood, and surrounded by a bunch of fully clothed women, plus a couple other men. Something really fucking weird happened here. And I'm going to bet that whatever it is was probably both more strange and less fun than it sounds."
"Oh, come on, guys, it'll be easier for everyone just to come clean," Vicky declared. "You remember getting attacked by that last Endbringer, right?"
"Yeah, I remember," I agreed. And the couple hours that came after it before Rapture and Emma put together something that put me into a sort of coma.
"Well, that was two and a half weeks ago," she informed. "Since then, everyone's been worried sick about your dumb ass, and trying to figure out a way to fix you despite your power. We tried all kinds of things. Like this one parahuman that heals people by drooling on them."
"So... I'm covered in spit?" I asked.
"Yup," Vicky confirmed nonchalantly. "Miss Mushroom found a way that worked, by punching reality in the nuts and transferring your injuries to someone else."
Transferring my... "I had a hole in my chest big enough to stick my hand through!" I exclaimed, looking at Theo. Transfered injury. That is a lot of blood, and all of it is his. Amelia had a fair bit spattered on her as well, but from the looks of it, she'd been coverting it to plant matter. "You did that for me? Where the hell do you get your modesty lessons from?"
"It's not that big of a deal," Theo insisted. "People donate organs all the time. This was less heroic than that, since they don't get their organs back, and don't have parahuman surgeons and healers to make sure everything goes correctly."
At that time, Riley rushed into the room. I thought Clarice was being a little too still. He saved my life. How do I? "Thanks, man."
"You'd do the same for me," he replied. "We're a team, we got each others' backs." Riley hugged him at about the same moment, ignoring all the gore. "Case in point," he said, patting the girl's back. "She's the one who came up with this crazy plan."
"Yeah," I agreed. Would I have, situation reversed? Maybe. With some of the most powerful healers in the room to help? Yeah, I could do that. "Still gotta find a way to thank you, though. Tell you what, I'll let you win next time we break out one of the racing games."
"Let me win?" he scoffed. "I didn't give you a skill transplant."
"Theo's been thanked enough, I think," Vicky laughed.
Am I missing something? She smirked at me. Then tilted her head to where Riley was still cuddling against Theo. No fucking way. I looked at Missy, who had managed to find a place to touch his arm that wasn't covered in blood. She didn't seem bothered by this. "You're fucking kidding me," I declared. "Both of them?"
He blushed. "Thanks a lot, dude," he muttered. "I was trying to keep that a secret."
"From who?" Vicky asked. "Everyone knew. And I do mean everyone. Show of hands, did anyone in this room not know?"
Eric raised his. He was alone in that. "Guess I've been a bit out of the loop."
"Well, good for them," I smiled. "Theo, all I can offer you is pity. Maybe a place to hide if you need one." Missy and Riley both stuck their tongues out at me. "So, any other earth shattering news?"
"Umm... nothing you need to worry about," Vicky replied. "I'm California's favorite parahuman right now. Soon to be Philly's. I think it'll be fun."
"I bet," Crystal muttered. "Seriously, Vicky. What the hell?"
"Hey," she shrugged. "I have a type." A type? What the fuck are they talking about?
"As fun as this is," I interrupted. "I really need a shower right now." Also need to get away from all these people. I'm not good at this kind of shit. Especially when shirtless and covered in drool.
"Yeah, me too," Theo agreed.
"That's probably a good idea," Missy agreed. "You, too, Riley. A different shower."
"Dibs on the kitty shower!" Riley declared. No one fought her for it.
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A/N- Yay kitty baths.
