“Are you sure it will be safe?”
Amy huffed at the question, her sister had been up her ass about things ever since Taylor outed herself. Then she made the mistake of telling her what she was planning to do over the weekend and her sister just wasn’t letting up. At least she wasn’t dragging Carol into things, that would have resulted in a disaster by any standard of the word.
“Vicky, we’re literally just going to the Boardwalk,” she answered, the lie coming easily. She picked out a jacket to be safe since it was still chilly despite it being March already. “You know how it goes, movies, maybe something silly, Fuglys. There will even be a Ward with us if that helps!”
“Who?” Vicky asked, arms crossed in defiance.
“Surgeon,” Amy answered, causing Vicky’s steely facade to crack. “Really, you’re overreacting. You’ve known Taylor for months, she’s friends with Chris and Dennis and her girlfriend might be mouthy but she’s harmless.”
“Harmless?” Vicky said, her voice flat. “I’m pretty sure she’s Tattletale, you know, a villain?”
“And?” Amy sniped back. “The worst they’ve done is stolen from the gangs. If anything, they’re a hero team that was branded villain due to having Hellhound with them.”
“Why couldn’t you have made safer friends?” Vicky huffed. “Arcadia’s full of great people, so why did you choose Taylor?”
“I never told you about the time she was in the hospital, did I?” Amy said as she continued to get ready. “When I first healed her, she hadn’t triggered. I checked her again a few hours after she woke up, she triggered in that time. Taylor may be cavalier about how the PRT has tried to press her, but that first time they visited her? She didn’t have powers and they tried anyway.”
Vicky blinked, her tense arms falling slack. “You can’t be suggesting…”
“That a hero caused her trigger?” Amy snapped. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. He hounded her for weeks afterwards, trying to force her into the Wards in exchange for justice and healing. Believe me, nothing is black and white.”
Amy had to believe that, because she didn’t want to be evil, even if her power seemed made for it. She was more than her power. She was Amelia Claire Lavere, heiress to a legacy, but she wasn’t beholden to it. She wouldn’t become the villain Carol treated her as. She would become so much more.
She had been with Toybox for three weeks, and already she was sitting on nearly ten figures, and that was from healing three people and enhancing two others. When Number Man suggested offering a service to de-age someone, she had laughed at the idea of someone being willing to drop a hundred million to shave ten years off their age.
Then someone offered a billion if Amy was willing to take them back to their twenties. It was insane that people would throw their money away like that, but it wasn’t like someone could simply take it with them when they died. If it made them think about the future a bit more, all the better. Besides, it wasn’t like she was de-aging their brains, just their bodies. They would only get a few extra decades out of her service at best. That appointment was just days away and Amy still wasn’t sure if she was going to do it despite the lack of risk involved.
Amy shook her head, today was supposed to be a day where everyone relaxed. She could worry about work another day. She grabbed the last of her things, packing them into her bag, a thigh pouch that Taylor had recommended as practical and she had to agree. The last thing she grabbed was her Toybox transponder.
Her phone dinged, and a quick peek showed it was Taylor. They were just waiting on her. She pocketed her phone, turned the transponder on her wall and activated it. Reality shimmered and it seemed that Vicky forgot she could do that because she quickly moved from the door and into her room.
“Ames, please.”
Amy sighed. She loved her sister more than she should, which was why she needed to make other friends. She couldn’t just hang off Vicky’s coattails, risk falling deeper, she needed to forge her own path forward. Putting action to her thoughts, she stepped past her sister and through the shimmering portal, no matter how much it hurt her to do so.
The humidity of the room hit her full on, her lab practically a tropical paradise. Dozens of different plants were growing, each designed with something in mind. She ran a hand along one leaf, letting the biology map out in her mind. The fanged teeth of the heavily modified venus fly trap didn’t snap at her like it would any other warm-blooded creature. A smile came unbidden, because it was something she had created.
She had two other labs, each with different climates to grow various plants as she sees fit. The sooner she figured out something that grew in an arid desert, the better, because that would be an accomplishment worthy of throwing back in Carol’s sanctimonious face!
Amy took a deep breath and stepped away from her plants, she tended to get carried away when playing with her power. Today wasn’t the day for it, she had plans after all with a bunch of people who understood her better than anyone in her own family seemed to. Riley especially had taken to her presence without fear, embracing what she could do with genuine joy. Amy had a sister, but somehow the little brat had slotted herself into a similar role effortlessly.
She stepped into the featureless hall of Toybox, securing the door behind her, a single leaf from a marjuana plant marked her door, the sole differentiator from the rest of the unknown rooms surrounding her. She knew Vivian’s lab was the closest, but it was still two intersections down and one to the right. The place was overengineered, likely on purpose.
Amy huffed and started walking.
Her destination was the break room, where everyone had planned to meet before the day’s plans were put into motion. Amy had no illusions about being in any shape other than out of it, and walking the halls of Toybox was enough to drive it home. Riley could probably help her with that, but she was hesitant to allow the girl to work on her.
A light sheen of sweat covered her brow by the time she reached the proper door, and she began to reconsider Riley’s proposal. She didn’t knock, opening the door only for the inane chatter of a half-dozen people to wash over her. Taylor and Lisa were sitting on the sofa, Melissa across from them chuckling at something Lisa must have said if her smug expression was anything to go off of.
Riley wasn’t far off, being shown how to putt by Kurt while Jacob watched. Vivian rounded the group out for their planned outing, not that she knew exactly where they were going, just that the first leg was somewhere public.
“Amy!” Riley said, abandoning her putter to tackle her. The little blonde missile wasn’t big for her age, but she was heavy thanks to her enhancements. She also knew that Taylor had gifted her a cyber brain as part of their collaboration, with Vivian and Cranial also benefiting from the Tinkertech upgrade. “I’m so glad you could make it! I hope you’re ready to kick butt at mini golf!”
Amy couldn’t help it, she smiled. “Been looking forward to it all week, munchkin.”
“Hey!” Riley protested with an adorable pout. “It’s not my fault I’m this small. Once I talk you into making me a second body, she’s gonna be tall, you’ll see!”
She didn’t dare voice how strongly she was considering just that. It wouldn’t even need a brain since she would just swap her cyber brain into it. She would need some way to grow it, and that came a bit too close to Blasto for her tastes.
“Well, that’s a Tinker fugue if I ever saw one,” Riley said.
A round of laughter followed as Amy blushed at the sudden attention. After a moment, everyone began to get up, and Amy ruffled the munchkin’s hair despite her protests. Biology came to life in her mind’s eye, considerable enhancements built into her flesh, genetics completely altered through various serums and a blank space where her mind should be.
It was comforting to know that most of the people present weren’t at risk of her power changing them on a fundamental level. It was safe for her to be around them, she wouldn’t accidentally make one of them fall madly in love with her, or into a drooling buffoon. She could still turn off their organs, but Taylor’s cyber brains were resilient and could keep a mind alive for over six hours inside a corpse.
Spooky, but useful.
“What’s the plan?” Amy asked. “Aside from mini-golf, I have no idea where we’re going.”
Jacob chuckled, pulling out a brochure from a pocket. “There’s this lovely little place down in Orange City, Florida. It’s a lot warmer there than anywhere local and it shouldn’t be too crowded since I booked the place for the day.”
Taking the brochure, Amy frowned. “Family Fun Town? That sounds about as generic as it gets.”
“Oh it is,” Kurt said. “Just because I command a financial empire the size of several small countries doesn’t mean I have unlimited liquid assets.”
“He’s neglecting to mention that he owns the place,” Jacob added.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Kurt punched his arm and the two descended into friendly bickering. Amy rolled her eyes and looked around the assembled people. Taylor was the only person she knew outside of Toybox, though her girlfriend did tend to pick her up from school. Amy had twenty bucks on Taylor figuring out she was dating Lisa before the end of March, and she was certain she would take the pot.
Not that she needed the money, but junk food bought with victory always tasted sweeter and didn’t count towards her diet either. Jacob had everyone step back from the wall and opened a portal. The group filed through quickly, with Amy being next to last. Melissa rested a comforting hand on her back and smiled.
Stepping through, the first thing she noticed was the humidity. It felt like she was back in her lab messing with carnivorous plants. The sun was bright and more importantly, it was warm out. Ahead of her, Taylor took a deep breath, arms held wide as she grinned up into the sun. Lisa wasted little time scooping her up, holding her into the air as Taylor squealed in surprise.
“I’m so glad she’s been able to bounce back,” Melissa said, the last through the portal which winked closed behind her. “Taylor was a wreck when I met her, acting tough to hide her pain. She’s come a long way.”
“She’s a tough cookie,” Amy said, feeling more than a little jealous.
Lisa caught Taylor, holding her in a hug. She imagined Vicky doing that with her and had to stamp down the thought.
“There’s more to it than that,” Melissa said. “The people around her helped more than they know. You helped more than you know.”
Amy scoffed, only to feel a firm hand ruffle her untamed hair.
She turned a baleful glare on the older Tinker, only to be met with a thousand yard stare attached to a smile that nearly broke her. She recognized that look, from a memory long forgotten. Before she could even begin to unravel that, the moment passed and Melissa patted her on the shoulder before moving to join the others who were beginning to settle.
“Alright kids,” Jacob said with a clap. “You have eight hours of free rein. Everything is covered, so feel free to do whatever. Just try to avoid breaking anything too expensive, this is a money laundering front and repairs make balancing the books tricky.”
“You could be a bit more tactful,” Kurt muttered. “Right, all the employees here today know that you’re attending parahumans. They know Riley is Surgeon and brought some friends with her, so don’t worry about watching what you say. They know not to talk.”
Riley snickered and Lisa rolled her eyes at some inside joke that she would no doubt lord over them in the future. Jacob began to explain some of the rides, and requested the mini-golf course be rotated to avoid bottlenecks. The arcade was open and each of them would get a box of tokens if they wanted to play.
It was then that Amy noticed Vivian was a bit off to the side, fiddling with what looked to be some sort of Tinkertech. Deciding to be social for once, she took the meager steps needed to bring her beside the person she knew the least about within Toybox.
“You want something?” Vivian snipped but Amy was used to working the ER on graveyard shift in the middle of a gang war, that didn’t even rate on her scale.
“Not really,” she said. “Just feel like the odd one out and saw you weren’t too engrossed in things either.”
Vivian sighed, pocketing the device. “Never been one for this sort of thing, but Jacob insisted. Said it would count as a therapy session so I agreed.”
Amy hummed, because that wasn’t too far from the reason she had elected to join. Though, watching Riley get all excited at the prospect of go karts was rather amusing to see. She didn’t expect to enjoy herself, and could only think of how many people might be dying while she played literal games halfway across the country.
She shook her head, because those were the exact sort of intrusive thoughts that Jacob was trying to help her work through at the moment. She had a nasty habit of putting others’ needs before her own, and she couldn’t deny it. Carol’s needling left its marks on her, between asking if she made any mistakes to always telling her that her time was better spent healing rather than playing games.
Amy shoved those thoughts down into a dark pit. She was there to have fun, and to hell with what Carol had to say about it.
“Well then, maybe we can find something to be miserable about together,” Amy suggested. “Preferably with AC, because it’s hot as balls out here.”
Vivian snorted, but didn’t argue as the pair split off towards the main building. Blissful cool air washed over them as they stepped in, only to be greeted by a full featured arcade. Flashing lights of the various games were mixed with a wall of prizes, one of which caught Amy’s eye.
“Fuckin’ sweet, they have Guitar Hero!” Vivian exclaimed, already in motion.
Amy’s own excitement at the prospect was palpable but she restrained herself long enough to step over to the counter, which did have an attendant working behind it. The man seemed rather bored with himself given the day’s guests were all confirmed to be capes. She found the promised arcade tokens and grabbed two of them and hurried back to Vivian before she started cursing too loudly.
“Forget something?” Amy asked, handing one of the boxes over before placing her own down on the dual machine before examining the guitar. “Never played in an arcade before.”
“Guitars are usually fucked,” Vivian said, lifting her own up. “These look brand new though.”
The others had filtered into the building as she and Vivian got set up, the door into the outdoor portion of activities was inside after all, and it didn’t escape Amy’s notice that the balls and putters were behind the counter. Taylor and Lisa grabbed those while Riley was asking about the go carts.
Amy tested her finger placement and was satisfied with the buttons, they truly did feel new and a fair bit higher quality than the home controller. Vivian was quick to jump through the song list, grinning as she landed on something Amy was excited to see. They had the Aleph version of the machine, and Dragonforce was available.
“Through the Fire and Flames?” Amy asked sweetly. “Sure you can handle that one?”
“You doubt me?” Vivian said, setting the song to expert. “May the best score win?”
Amy locked in the selection as well. “You’re on bitch.”
She buried the butterflies in her stomach and focused on her own screen as the notes began to stream down, then her fingers danced. The frantic pace of the song left her scrambling, but she kept pace, missing only a few notes by the time things finished. She was practically panting, and grinned when she saw her score, only to feel cold despair settle in when Vivian’s perfect run glared back at her.
“Not bad, white mage,” the Tinker said, checking her nails. “Try again after you’ve had a tune up from Riley and Taylor.”
“You cheated?” Amy said with narrowed eyes. “No, that wouldn’t be cheating, would it? I just didn’t have all the information.”
“You’re learning,” Vivian said with a grin. “Did you have fun, that’s the real question.”
Amy looked down at the guitar, ignoring that their little duel had attracted an audience. She had enjoyed that, just getting to cut loose with something she enjoyed. Looking up to the screen, Amy tabbed over to some Black Sabbath and locked in the next song. Vivian chuckled and settled in, and Amy was surprised at how she was looking forward to getting her ass kicked.
***
Amy watched as her ball finally sunk in the final hole, and grimaced at the scorecard. For once, Vivian had been just as bad at things as she was, and Riley had kicked both of their asses rather thoroughly. Taylor and Lisa followed along, but didn’t participate. She knew the pair were likely talking through their cybernetics, carrying on a conversation none were privy to.
The sun had begun to set and Amy was getting tired of killing mosquitoes that landed on her. She ended up adapting the bacteria in her sweat into a repellent, but it wasn’t perfect and she wasn’t in the mood to tweak it enough to be completely effective while still smelling like lavender. She wasn’t the only one feeling the effects and so everyone decided to call it a day and return to Toybox for a movie before everyone headed home.
“Did we decide on what we would watch?” Vivian asked.
“Iron Man, Aleph superhero import,” Taylor said. “Guy’s a Tinker and makes power armor. I figured it would be good for a laugh and the second one just came out over there so it shouldn’t be long before we get it too.”
“Iron Man? What kind of name is that?” Amy asked.
“Like we’re any better?” Lisa said with a shrug. “We have someone named Hero of all things, so we can’t really hold the high ground.”
“Oh, we could watch Star Wars next time!” Riley said excitedly. “Get some of the stun sabers from storage and really have fun with it.”
Amy had seen those on the storefront, and scoffed at their price. “Do those even sell?”
“More than you think,” Kurt said. “They cost maybe a hundred dollars to produce, but sell for six figures because everyone wants a damn lightsaber, even if it isn’t lethal.”
“It’s a novelty product,” Lisa said, smirking. “People buy it despite knowing it isn’t worth the price, because it’s cool.”
“There’s a reason we recommend each of our Tinkers make one,” Melissa said. “Taylor’s is an operating system that she sold to PC manufacturers that doesn’t require Tinkertech to run. After Leviathan hit Seattle and took out Microsoft, good PC systems have relied on Tinker support to keep relevant, and she just revolutionized the market.”
Said girl blushed even as Lisa poked at her, getting a startled squeak out of her friend. Amy quietly swore, because there was one person that might actually beat her on their bet. She glared at Melissa, who was less than a week away from timing out of her current bet, the woman smiled back smugly, so Amy flipped her off by scratching her eye.
Taylor and Lisa claimed the couch, and the TV came on without anyone visibly doing anything, because ‘fucking Tinkers’ certainly applied in Toybox. She claimed the second sofa and was surprised when Vivian sat down beside her. Sure, the Tinker had stuck with her most of the day, and they both tended to handle things with a certain acidity that she found refreshing in someone else.
Most people saw her as Panacea first, and Amy almost never, but that wasn’t the case within Toybox. They had access to Surgeon and Cyber, effectively making her own brand of care less effective. Sure, she could enhance people physically, but not to the level that Riley managed. Tech had advantages biology lacked.
As the movie started up, Jacob and Kurt moved to a recliner, settling in together while Melissa flopped onto a bean bag. Riley looked between her options, then elected to sprawl herself across Lisa and Taylor’s laps instead. It was almost sweet, and made her a touch jealous that the girl picked those two, but she did seem closer to Lisa than Vivian, which might have made the choice for her.
The movie itself wasn’t what she expected, and the Tinkers spent most of the time picking apart the tech on display, but they did agree that the movie itself was pretty damn good despite that. The movie was winding down, and then the hero did the stupidest thing Amy could imagine.
He unmasked.
Popcorn was thrown, much of it ending up in her hair. She glared at Lisa, who smiled back sweetly. It was frustrating, and yet, it was warm. So many disparate people in one place, and all of them were as close as family. Amy had found a place that accepted her despite the danger she presented, and for that she would always be thankful.