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Chapter 38

Taylor was feeling better, things hadn’t truly calmed down but her talks with Lisa and Melissa had certainly helped. Unfortunately, her old body still had to attend school like a normal person. The Major was back at Toybox prepping for the coming cyber brain conversion of one Amy Dallon while simultaneously texting Shadow Stalker apologies for not being available.

At least she bought that there was too much heat on her for the moment.

She caught up with the biokinetic near Arcadia’s exit, but the girl had been waylaid by her sister and several Wards out of costume. Taylor slowed her approach for a moment, unsure of how best to approach before deciding that fortune favored the bold.

“Amy! You ready to go?” she called out, running right up without a care in the world. Dennis and Chris shared a look between them but she wasn’t about to let them get the first word in. “Lisa and Vivian are waiting for us, we don’t want to be late.”

“Who?” Victoria asked.

“My girlfriend,” Amy said with a world-class glare. “We’ve got a double date to get to.”

“Bullshit,” the pretty boy always hanging around Victoria said. “Everyone knows Taylor here is dating Tattletale, so why are you willingly hanging out with villains?”

“You just have to love these rules nobody follows,” Taylor said pleasantly. “Does anyone else want to play heroes and villains or can we get on with our day?”

“Fuck it, they’re not going to listen,” Amy said, fishing out a familiar device from her backpack and pointed it at the nearby wall where a distortion in space opened. “Taylor, you coming?”

She could only shake her head at the brazenness of it all, but dutifully followed along and found herself back in Toybox’s reception room. That was a bit of a surprise, as her own device could take her straight into her lab, but then again, was Amy’s lab even safe for someone without her powers? That would be something to talk with Harry about, seeing if he could create some garden rooms for her to play around with, maybe secure some animals and other critters too.

The procedure would come first, but it got added to her list of things to see done all the same. Taylor stepped beside Amy, who was clenching her fists and grinding her teeth, and pulled her friend close.

“Let it out, Ames,” Taylor said softly.

“It’s fucking bullshit!” she yelled, pushing away from Taylor. “I do nothing but heal, and when I finally make some friends, everyone assumes the worst of them. You’re harmless, Lisa’s a lovable jerk, Melissa is more of a mom than Carol, Riley is adorable, and god, Vivian is a bitch…”

That last one had been said so fondly Taylor couldn’t help but smile. “We’re a family.”

“We are,” Amy answered with a whisper. “I thought I knew what that was like, and as much as Vicky tried, it never quite felt real.”

She didn’t know Amy nearly as well as she probably should, given the girl was basically the first friend she had made since Emma stabbed her in the back, despite the rocky start. That her family life made Taylor’s look like a dream in comparison was an unsettling revelation and only got worse the deeper she dug into it.

“Remind me to show you Mom’s journals from her Lustrum days,” Taylor said, patting her friend on the back. “You’re mentioned in one of them.”

“What?” Amy exclaimed, moving to follow after her. “No, you don’t get to just drop something like that and keep walking. What do you mean I’m in your mother’s journals?”

“Lustrum and Marquis had several agreements,” Taylor began, not slowing in her walk towards the lab. “One of those was that if something happened to him, his daughter would be taken care of.”

“Lot of good that did,” Amy spat. “What, are you saying we would have been raised together instead?”

“Possibly,” Taylor said. “Arwen had a multitude of followers, Mom was just one of many. Unfortunate that the government seems to have conspired to ensure you got completely screwed though. The timing of Marquis and Lustrum being arrested raises a lot of red flags, and what I’ve uncovered hasn’t been pretty.”

Amy scoffed. “What, the entire government is in on it?”

“Think about it,” Taylor said. “Marquis is taken down thanks to an anonymous tip, Lustrum is captured hours later and suddenly the Nazis’ enemies are all taken care of. Both groups had been vilified over the years through careful attacks on their reputations. Lung pretty much forced himself into the city following all that. Now, you have the ABB which kidnap ‘good white girls’ off the streets, despite not one proven case existing, and the Merchants which deal to kindergartners. There’s probably shreds of truth there, but it reeks of propaganda, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Okay, so villains are targeting other villains,” Amy huffed. “Nothing new there.”

Taylor hummed. “True, but why does it seem that the local authorities always side with the Nazis? Just look at what happened when one of them was killed. Kaiser put a hit out on the Major and the PRT is doing what exactly?”

Amy blinked. “Keeping their heads down, looking to take the Major into custody.”

Taylor smirked as she opened the door to her lab, and the Major looked up from where she had been working and spoke. “Exactly. Heaven forbid someone actually stand up to the fascist pricks.”

Taylor could only laugh at the gobsmacked expression on Amy’s face upon seeing her shell again. She had made minor changes to her general appearance, and Amy hadn’t seen it since she first swapped her cyber brain over to the Major.

“I completely forgot that was your shell,” she muttered. “Fuck, I either need sleep or stronger coffee, I’m not sure which.”

“To be fair, I did cut my hair shorter,” the Major said. “It got in my eyes when Melissa and I were sparring.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“It’s still purple,” Amy said flatly then slapped her forehead. “I’m an idiot.”

“Sometimes we overlook the obvious,” Taylor said, stepping inside. “Melissa, Cranial, how’s it all looking?”

“Good,” Cranial answered. “Riley should be getting here soon, Jacob’s picking her up now. You of course know this because we were just discussing it prior to the arrival of your remote piloted body.”

“It was for Amy’s benefit,” the Major answered.

“We could always intentionally fuck with you,” Taylor said, then she and the Major spoke in unison. “We are the Borg, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile.”

“Dork,” Amy said, rolling her eyes. “So, just lie down on the table and go along with it?”

“What are you, British?” Cranial asked. “Then again, I don’t think anyone figured out Marquis’ nationality.”

“He was from Mexico, but raised in Quebec, which was where he picked up the name,” Melissa said. “Very interesting man, from what people have told me. Shame what happened to him.”

“Why does everyone seem to know so much about my father?” Amy demanded. “Carol never talks about him, and there are so few records online. Yet, all of you are better informed than anyone!”

“Some of us have been around for a while,” Melissa said softly. “Knowledge carries a burden all its own, but if you ever want to know more, you know where to find me. I’d be happy to tell you anything I might be able to share.”

Taylor regarded Melissa through one of the cameras in her lab, there was something there but she couldn’t place it. She was too young to have ties to Lustrum, and yet those pictures said otherwise. If she didn’t know better, Taylor would think she was collecting bits and pieces of other people’s lives.

There was a story there, one she was keeping to herself, but Taylor knew her mentor wanted to speak of it, to share her knowledge with those who had been close at hand. She wanted to pass that much along, to those she had come to care for. For all Melissa was, she was not a deceiver.

The door to her lab opened, admitting Vivian who had an excited Riley and bemused Jacob trailing behind her. The bomb Tinker strolled right up to Amy and pulled her into a crushing hug.

“How’s my little cactus doing?” she asked.

“Oh, I am so using that for blackmail,” Lisa said with barely restrained chuckles.

She was only watching through Taylor’s eyes, not wanting to crowd the lab too much. Even Jacob would be stepping out before the operation began. Amy would be the first person with a physical based power getting a cyber brain and there were some concerns. Amy was well aware of them to be sure, but had chosen to go forward despite the risks.

As things settled, Taylor moved forward, the Major moving in tandem with her. “Alright, let’s get you to sleep and see what happens.”

Amy smiled, leaning back on the operating table as Vivian feathered a kiss on her hand before retreating from the room. With all the formalities taken care of, Riley administered the sedative.

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Amy returned to consciousness slowly, and Taylor waited with bated breath. Only her shell and Riley were now present. Cranial had stepped out just to be safe in the event something went wrong. Riley’s own enhancements made her immune to most pathogens and the Major wasn’t flesh and blood. It was the safest option in the event Amy lost control.

“Take it slow,” Taylor whispered. “Your power is currently disabled, and we’re going to test that first.”

“Right,” Amy groaned. She rubbed at her eyes before freezing, then they shot open, all signs of fatigue lost. “My power, it isn’t there.”

The words had been spoken with reverence, and Taylor said a silent prayer that things worked. “Yeah. I’m going to give you control of the switch, okay? You’ll be able to switch it on and off at will.”

Amy’s head snapped up, her eyes still wide with wonder. “Right… Ugh, how does this work?”

Taylor smiled, and passed the control over. Amy blinked for a moment, then Taylor registered it being activated. Amy’s Corona and Gemma flared with activity and Amy reached for the nearby plant. She touched it, and immediately frowned.

“Something’s not right,” she said. “I’m not getting any feedback.”

Taylor moved to her readouts, looking over everything. All the connections were good, the signals were being passed properly, and yet nothing was happening.

“Damn, it’s as we feared,” Cranial said over their group connection. “Strikers are incompatible, we should assume any ability that requires the body as a medium will share this restriction.”

“Fuck, I just wanted—”

Amy’s words cut off as a dozen alarms sounded across Taylor’s monitoring suite and her friend began to scream. Her Corona and Gemma were surging with activity, and not the good kind. Taylor immediately activated the emergency sedation as Riley fought to get her back on the table. The girl had a Brute rating from her enhancements, yet still Amy almost overpowered her.

“A hand would be nice,” Riley grunted as the Major moved over.

It didn’t take long for Amy to be unconscious once again, her Corona and Gemma still wild with activity. Taylor huffed, getting her friend re-situated on the operating table, she wanted to cry for Amy, she really did.

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This time, Amy woke naturally. The room set aside for her recovery would be hers going forward, assuming she didn’t convert it into a greenhouse like her last room. The Major and Riley had sat with her, ready to help in whatever way, even if it was just a friendly voice. After another ten minutes passed before Amy sat up, groaning while gripping the side of her head.

“Why does it feel like I drank a gallon of moonshine?” she asked.

“You know what moonshine tastes like?” Riley wondered.

Another groan followed as Taylor slid a glass of water over. The biokinetic drank greedily. “Vicky drags me to parties with her, I’ve tried a few things.”

“I’d yell at you for being a smoker, but your power seems to keep you healthy,” Riley said with a huff.

“It didn’t work,” Amy cut in. Taylor wanted to curse that the distraction had barely lasted a minute. “I can sense everything again…”

“We’ll figure it out,” Taylor promised.

Amy threw her glass against the wall, shattering it as she screamed. “I just wanted a fucking off switch!” Taylor and Riley both moved, pulling their friend into a group hug. Amy broke down into tears immediately. “Why is that so fucking much to ask for?”

“Cranial and I will keep working on it,” Riley promised. “If a mechanical option is out, we’ll just need to figure out a biological one.”

“I don’t want a parasite in my brain,” Amy grumbled.

“There are options,” Riley insisted with tears streaming down her face. “I promise you we’ll keep working. This is important, you’re important, and don’t think otherwise.”

Amy cried harder and the three of them settled into the hug.

Taylor wanted to berate herself for not figuring things out, Amy deserved a moment of peace, to hug someone and not feel every scrap of their biology. She shouldn’t have to experience that each and every time she hugged a friend, or kissed her girlfriend. She decided then that the first shell after the dust settled would be for Vivian, if only so Amy could actually hold her without being overwhelmed.

Amy deserved all that and more.