The Great Picnic Panic - Part Three

May 30th, 2011.

Morning of the Great Picnic Panic

Taylor skipped along. She had a pocket full of cash, the sun was bright, her two best friends were right next to her. Life was looking up for Taylor Hebert.

All the nice troopers had chipped in once she turned and asked them to help and the Simurgh went around the room collecting the money for her. She'd have to go back later and see if there was anything left to the bounty after they subtracted the three hundred or so they'd given her.

For now though, she was heading to the hospital to check up on Rune and maybe Panacea. Then she could pop on over to the supermarket before setting things up for the picnic. It was going to be awesome.

She paused as she arrived at the next intersection and huffed. The hospital was practically all the way across the city. "Hey, Unit Two, can I ride on your shoulder again? I've got to text Dragon and I don't want to text and walk."

{Affirmative.} Leviathan shifted until he was low enough for her to hop up onto his shoulder.

[Jealous. Can also carry Host-Queen_Administrator.]

Taylor blinked. "Well, yeah, but it would probably be a princess carry, and that's a bit much, no? Also, you're wearing a skirt, you shouldn't be flying too high."

[Indignant. Can fly.] The Simurgh tilted her head up, nose in the air.

She frowned and tilted her head to the side. "Aren't you afraid some pervert will, you know, take an inappropriate picture or something?"

[Clever. Can Predict movement of Organics. Manipulate Mental Faculties to Avoid Images.]

"I guess that'll do it," Taylor conceded easily as they started moving. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and opened her text-app thingie to see that she had over a hundred messages from Dragon. "She must be so worried."

>>Queen_Administrator: Oh my goshness, Dragon! I'm so, so, so sorry! I should have replied earlier.

>>Dragon: Taylor, are you well?

>>Queen_Administrator: Oh, I'm just fine. I'm going to go visit some friends at the hospital right now, then I'll be preparing for another picnic this afternoon.

>>Dragon: Are you sure that's wise? The Slaughterhouse Nine might interrupt again.

>>Queen_Administrator: Well, it's not really interrupting if you're invited, is it? Speaking of! Did you want to come this time?

>>Dragon: Yes. Yes, I want to go to your picnic.

>>Queen_Administrator: That's brilliant! What kind of sandwich do you want me to make for you?

>>Dragon: I'll have to be in my suit, I'm afraid. As for sandwiches, I prefer byte-sized ones.

>>Queen_Administrator: Great! I'll see you this afternoon!

>>Dragon: Please try to stay safe.

With a contented smile on her lips, Taylor slipped her phone back in place just as they arrived at the hospital. It was a lot busier than the day before. Probably because they weren't all breathing in weird tinkertech pathogen thingies.

Hopping down from Leviathan, Taylor expected to be picked up by a watery-whip, but instead her fall was slowed down by a faint pressure across her entire body. She giggled at the sensation and grinned at the Simurgh when she finally landed. "Thanks. So, I'll be in there for a little bit. Um, I don't want you two to be bored, not that following me around isn't boring."

{Unit-02 is Constantly Vigilant. Unit-02's Entertainment is a non-factor.}

[Pleased. Not bored.]

"Aww, thanks guys. Anyway, you two can have fun doing whatever. I'll just be inside for a bit. Don't do anything I'd tell you not to do!" she called over her shoulder as she walked into the hospital.

The waiting room was quite filled. Plenty of people had gotten cut the day before and some of the worse cases had yet to be treated.

She was rather thankful that she already knew where to go, because there was a huge lineup at the reception desk. Dozens of people stopped to stare at her as she waited by the elevators for a few long seconds before slipping in and pressing the button for the seventh floor.

When the doors dinged open she was quick to hop out and make her way over to where she'd last seen Panacea and Cass. The healer wasn't around, but sure enough, she found Cass twisting and turning in a bed right next to the room they'd been in yesterday. A room that was cordoned off with PRT tape.

"Hello!" Taylor said as she barged into the girl's room.

Cass jumped in fright, then turned an evil glare towards Taylor before seeing who it was. "Oh, it's you," she said.

"Yup!"

"Didn't think you'd show up after the massive fuck up yesterday. What're you here for anyway?"

"Don't swear so much, it's rude. Also, you're my friend, of course I'd visit you. Though, uh, I kinda forgot to bring flowers or a card, sorry?"

She snorted and scooted backwards up the bed. "No need for that. I'm all healed up thanks to Panacea. Thanks for bringing me over, by the way. Jack did a hell of a number on me. I was afraid I'd lose a boob at some point," she said while tracing over the spot she'd been cut.

"Uh."

"So, I have to ask. Did you leave me here on purpose after I got healed up, or was it just... you know, you being you?"

"I don't understand," Taylor said.

Cass grinned. "So it was you being you, then. Yeah. PRT folks asked me lots of questions after they cleared the building. They probably bugged the room too, so don't spout anything stupid, alright?"

"I'll try not to," Taylor replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I've never felt better. I've been healed before, but Panacea's little tune ups are crazy good. I could run a marathon right now. They won't let me go because they're being bureaucratic assholes and they want my id and whatnot to charge me. I think the way you brought me in is making them cool down on that, though."

"How come?" Taylor asked. She tilted her head to one side to take her friend in.

"Because you scare them shitless? Bonesaw had this place locked up tight you know. What with her sickness shit in the air and all that. Then you waltz and and twenty minutes later everything is right as rain? I mean, don't get me wrong, you did good, but that still scares 'em."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Oh, okay. So, I'm having another picnic later. Wanna come?"

Cass started laughing, then she saw the look on Taylor's face and laughed harder. "Oh, man, you're nuts. But fuck it, if you can get me out of this place, I'll go with you. Someone sane needs to keep you from doing something really stupid."

The door creaked as someone pushed their way into the room. "You were told to rest for a reason, you know." Panacea stepped into the room and, after staring at Cass for a bit, turned towards Taylor. "Hello Queen Administrator," she said with an odd note of... respect, fear, something that Taylor couldn't make out in her voice.

"Panacea!" Taylor said before she ran the short way towards the healer and wrapped her arms around the startled girl. "Thank you so much for healing Cass. I really, really appreciate it. I, uh, guess I owe you one."

"Hey, hands off the merchandise," Another voice said from just outside in the corridor. Glory Girl gave Taylor an almost timid wave. "Speaking of, I think I still owe you a lunch, right?"

Taylor nodded after backing away from Panacea. The healer moved her arms up then down, as if uncertain what to do with them. "Yeah, I kinda forgot about that, what with the PRT people being all angry at me for telling Unit Two to clean the city."

Glory Girl laughed but it sounded a little forced. "So, uh, can I come in, or will my aura be a problem again?"

[Self-Congratulatory. Unit-03 Counteracting Host-Aura_Projector Mental Influence.]

"Oh, that's nifty," Taylor said as she stopped focusing off into the open air. "The Simurgh just told me that she's counteracting your aura thingie. So it's all good."

Glory Girl froze. "The Simurgh's doing what?" she squeaked.

"Stopping your aura thingie," Taylor said. "I think it's part of the directive to keep me safe. Kind of like how Unit-Two stopped Skidmark and Squealer yesterday when they tried to hurt me."

"And, and what happened to Skidmark and Squealer?" Glory Girl said. Her confidence seemed to have left the building along with most of the colour on her face.

"Squealer was squished with these water tentacle things," Taylor said matter-of-factly. "And I think Unit Two just took all the water out of Skidmark all at once." To help her maybe-future-friends understand, Taylor made helpful explody gestures.

Panacea placed a hand on Glory Girl's shoulder in a show of solidarity.

"Dammit, Ta-- Queenie, you're scaring them," Cass said from her place on the bed. She'd moved around so that she was sitting on the edge of if while Taylor was talking. "Where're your two other buddies anyway?"

"I don't know," Taylor said.

Panacea let out a long, long breath, and with the patience of a nurse dealing with a very inebriated patient, she tried to ask pertinent questions. "What, exactly do you mean when you say 'I don't know.'"

"I told them to have fun while I was in here. Don't worry, I doubt they could get into too much trouble in like, less than twenty minutes."

The Dallon sisters contemplated how much trouble two Endbringers could cause in twenty minutes. "So, when's that picnic of yours?" Glory Girl asked. She had developed a keen ability to pretend that some things just didn't exist, an ability that started when she first walked into her parent's room while they were having alone time and that had only grown since.

"This afternoon! It's going to be great. Dragon's coming, and I'll be there, of course. And Cass too! Bonesaw might come." Taylor shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then focused down on her shoes. "I, uh, know that I invited you two yesterday. I don't know if your sister told you, Glory Girl, what with the way you were hurt and all... um, the invitation still on the table, if you want."

Panacea pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is such a horrible idea," she said.

"We'll go," Glory Girl said. Her sister whipped her head around to stare. "Think about it, Amy, Bonesaw's going to be there. You're one of the only ones able to stop her if she does something... bad."

Amy's shoulders slumped as if someone had just dropped a heavy weight on her shoulder. "Dammit, you're probably right."

"Heh, that's pretty much the reason I'm going too. Not the Bonesaw thing, but to keep an eye on Queenie here and make sure she doesn't do something the East Coast will regret." Cass was stretching where she stood next to the bed, an eye on Taylor the entire time.

"I'm not that bad," Taylor pouted.

There was silence in the room.

"So, where do you want to meet?" Glory Girl asked to break the silence. "And do we need to bring anything?"

"You know the park that's sorta near Immaculata?" Taylor asked and when both Dallon girls nodded she went on. "It's there. And if you want to bring something, um, I'm taking care of drinks and food, so anything else would be nice. I could use some blankets and maybe plastic cutlery?"

Victoria gave her a thumbs up. "Can do."

Taylor nodded. "Cool. So, Cass, you ready to go? Um, not that you have to come with me or anything."

"You can't believe how ready I am to get out of here," Cass returned. "Where're we going, anyway?"

"Oh, the supermarket first. Then the park to set up for the picnic. Unless you've got somewhere to be?"

Cass shrugged then started looking around the room. She found her clothes in a plastic bag off to one side. Just her shoes and some of the things she'd had in her pockets. The rest had been rather bloody. "Ah, shit. I've got no proper clothes. And, uh, no place to stay tonight either."

"You can stay at my place," Taylor announced with some finality. "Um, I don't know if my clothes will fit you, though."

"How about," Glory Girl began. "You two head on to the lobby and I'll fetch you some of my clothes. There's a gift shop next to the cafeteria too, I'm pretty sure they sell t-shirts and stuff."

"Cool, I appreciate it, Barbie," Cass said.

Glory Girl's smile when she excused herself to fetch Cass some clothes was rather sharp, Taylor noticed. Panacea watched her sister leave, then turned back to the others in the room. "That's my cue to leave. I'll make sure Vicky gets you something appropriate. And, I guess I'll see you both later," she said.

"Yup. See you soon, Panacea!" Taylor said. Once the healer had left, she turned to Cass. "We should get going."

***