"Are you alright?" Glory Girl asks me. I shake my head. Pulling away. I feel weak. And I'd better postpone this conversation for later. Because right now I'm not ready for confrontation. Right now I have no strength, no energy, nothing, but I need to talk to her.
"Vicky, we need to talk," I tell her. "Urgently. In private."
"What? Of course. I'll take you home..."
"No. Somewhere else. Secluded," I say. "Just not home."
"Alright." She nods, helping me get to my feet. I'm wearing Panacea's dirty-white robes and all my movements feel like I'm underwater - my body responds with some delay. When Glory Girl touches me - for a moment I suddenly see all her internal organs, understand how each one works and freeze in admiration at the natural harmony of the human body. Glory Girl really is perfect.
And then suddenly realization hits me like a hammer to the head. Glory Girl is perfect. Face, figure, even her internal organs are all healthy and harmoniously developed. She's like a picture from an encyclopedia page, like Mary Poppins - an ideal of perfection. And there's only one person in the world who can appreciate beauty not just by the curves of a figure and firmness of an ass, but the beauty of liver, spleen, kidneys and heart... and that's Panacea. Understanding makes me freeze in place. Panacea had been changing her. All the time. Constantly. With light touches. Made her into her perfect doll... but didn't do anything to her head.
I stumble and nearly fall face-first to the floor, but Vicky catches me.
"It's alright, Amy," she says in a gentle voice. "I've got you."
"I'm not Amy."
"Yes, yes. Of course. Shall we fly?" She easily lifts me in her arms, as if I weigh nothing. Though, how much does Panacea weigh? Forty-five kilos? A sack of potatoes weighs more.
"Let's fly," I agree in a strained voice. Victoria throws open the window, not bothering to look for a door, and we soar into the sky. Outside - a pink strip of dawn, blue, transparent sky. Victoria presses me to her chest, to her perfect, made to the finest specifications chest, a work of art by Panacea.
All this time both sisters had been affecting each other. Victoria - with her aura made Amy admire and fall in love with her. And I can hardly blame her, I fell under her aura only a few times and was ready to prostrate myself at her feet. No, outwardly you control yourself, but inside this feeling of reverence and admiration arises. Outwardly you can behave independently and even boldly... but how long would you last? I wouldn't have lasted even a week, would have confessed my love to her, so what if we're sisters. And... most likely would have gotten branded a pervert, and Vicky would have started avoiding me. But Amy - didn't let on, she's been under this aura since childhood, she got used to suppressing herself and just biting her lips while looking at her closest person nearby.
But Amy also affected Victoria. Who knows if Vicky would have grown up such a beauty, if the bud of her perfect beauty would have bloomed, if not for the skillful gardener Panacea. And Amy restrained herself literally in everything... she could have even changed Victoria's brain - just a little, barely. Made it so Vicky would love her - not immediately, gradually. Slightly increase oxytocin and dopamine release every time they meet eyes, adjust neurotransmitters and hormones so that warm feeling in the chest would capture her every time they spend time together... and wait. Vicky herself would have quite quickly reached the stage where she'd blush just meeting Amy's gaze. No, what am I saying. Amy could have with a snap of her fingers stimulated centers in Victoria's head so she'd flow like a bitch in heat, she could literally drive her mad with desire for sexual satisfaction specifically with her. She could have made it so Vicky would get all joy, all happiness and all orgasms only from her, make her literally her slave, devoted and admiring. And all this - with a snap of her fingers.
Chills run down my spine. I haven't met a single cape more terrifying than Panacea. Would I have managed in her place? Could I have resisted the temptation to slightly adjust hormones in the head of a sister I'd love not as a sister? And if you adjust slightly... then you can do more, right? Give them an inch and they'll take a mile... because - why limit yourself to Victoria? I heard how they treat her at the hospital and in the family, she could have changed everyone. Everyone would love her and do what she says. She's more terrifying than Heartbreaker, because she would affect the body, and people would love her sincerely, believing these are their own feelings.
"Let's talk here." Glory Girl sets me down on the roof of a high-rise building. I look around. At any other time this would be romantic and beautiful - sitting on a high-rise, with a view of the Bay and the city. But today... the destruction left by Leviathan was horrifying. The city looked like it had been plowed by a giant plow, a picture of ruin and chaos. Rescue work continues on the streets, flashes of emergency beacons are visible and sirens can be heard. Here and there yellow spots of construction equipment rise up, clearing debris. I need to talk to Vicky, and right after that - let Lisa and the others know I'm alright. I'm sure they're going crazy there.
"Alright," I say. "We agreed no more lies. And this isn't easy, because right now I'm terribly scared."
"Amy." She places her palm on mine and I again see all the beauty of her internal organs. "That's an understandable feeling. Eric and Uncle Neil... died. I understand you. Many people died today. I feel terrible myself. Administrator... Taylor - died right in my arms. Yes, I know, you said she was a villain and mom said she was a villain, and she really wasn't the most heroic cape... she deceived me, manipulated me and all that. But... when someone dies in your arms - it's..." She turns her head away and falls silent.
"Uncle Neil was so strong," she continues. "Eric on the contrary - the weakest of us. I don't know what happened there, but you can't look at Aunt Sarah and Crystal without tears. So many people died. Kaiser. Blitzkrieg. Fenja. More than half the Empire's capes. And of course Administrator. But she's the Butcher! How could she die?! Or is she the Slayer now? If so, then..."
"That's not how it works. The Butcher after death transfers into whoever killed him," I say. "That's why I'm talking to you now."
"What?"
"Victoria. Listen carefully, understand correctly, remember for a long time. I'm not your sister Amy. I'm Taylor Hebert. Administrator."
"What are you saying, Amy?! Have you lost your mind? You work too much, you're in shock and..."
"Look at this." I raise my finger and fireflies immediately begin flying to it, dancing in the air and forming an intricate pattern. I let them land on my hand, forming something like a glowing glove. The edge of the sky was already turning pink and this didn't produce the impression it would have if it were completely dark, but still...
"Taylor?!" Glory Girl's eyes widen, and she immediately jumps up, taking a fighting stance. "You! How? Why? You captured my sister's body?!"
"Not exactly. Well... yes. But..."
"Taylor!!" Her eyes narrow, and her hands clench into fists. "What's going on here?!"
"If you don't attack me with your fists - then I'll explain everything... though about everything - I'm exaggerating here. I'd like to know a lot myself... however in general approximation it's clear to me." Despite my general weakness I'm confident I could take Vicky down any time of day and any day of the week. After the fight with the Slayer and with new powers I can quite afford the luxury of breaking her arms and legs and only then - talking calmly. As experienced doctors say - a securely restrained patient doesn't need anesthesia.
"I... will listen to you," Glory Girl says and sits down on the edge of the roof, two meters from me. "I've been hasty too often and don't know what to do, this damn day has exhausted me. Please, explain what's happening here, Taylor, I'm already going crazy."
"As far as I understand, your sister really wanted to protect you from me," I say, looking into the distance at the pinkening edge of the horizon. "Really, really badly. She's a talented bio-constructor, she has practically no limitations on what she can do with organics. The only thing - the law of conservation of mass, she needs organic mass. Here, for example..." I raise my hand with the fireflies and quickly form a large butterfly from them, with the letter "A" adorning its wings. The butterfly flaps its wings and flies away, its wings glowing with bright light, like a flying neon sign, like those that decorate the city at night.
"...okay. Continue," Glory Girl says. "So far I'm following your train of thought."
"I don't know what she created... though now I should be able to figure it out... but I need time. Basically she arranged it so that with our contact - any direct bodily contact - I would die. Well - fall into a coma. Panacea isn't stupid enough to kill the Butcher... only she didn't account for one thing - when someone is turned into a vegetable, the power reads this as the carrier's death. Yes, from a legal standpoint, if a person is breathing - they're still considered alive. However factually, if there's no brain activity - the person is no longer there. There's only their body. At that moment my body lived only because of the Butcher's regeneration, when I fell into a coma - the power shut off and I died. Well - my body. I don't know what happened first - my transfer or the physical death of my body, but it doesn't matter. The power made it so I transferred into Panacea's body. Your sister... she's still alive. She's curled up in some hidden corner and won't come out."
"Amy's alive?!"
"Yes. And somehow I'll let you talk - when she recovers from shock and can communicate normally. Right now she's too frightened and won't open up. It's like... mental protection, you understand? Most Butchers know about this, when you have so much in your head, the first reaction is shock. And building defenses. She's like in a shell now. I think it will pass."
"Wait. Hold on." Glory Girl stretches her hand forward. "Stop! But in her body now - it's you!"
"Uh... yes. Circus says that the PRT considers me the One and Only Butcher. Whoever kills me now - will be controlled by me and not the other way around. I'm not just a voice in the head. Figuratively speaking in any collective, I'll be at the helm of the ship. I suppose it's because of the peculiarities of my power to control insects and handle information flows."
"So Amy's alive. That's good... bad that you're in her place..." Glory Girl looks me over. "Not a word to anyone!"
"What?!"
"Shut up, you fool! Our mom already has problems up to her eyeballs, and now you too! Keep quiet, zip it, clear?"
"But..."
"Don't 'but' me!" Glory Girl crosses her arms over her chest. "I probably have obvious post-traumatic stress disorder, but I'm not even surprised. Too much has fallen on us here. And Amy... well... honestly speaking - she asked for it. I'm glad she's still alive and that you can sort out your differences there. Glad you're alive, despite everything... but don't you dare tell mom! For everyone you'll be Panacea and that's final!"
"But... I have my own business and..."
"I don't care! You practically killed my sister! Be so kind as to answer for your actions, Taylor! And don't give me that 'self-defense' crap, do you really want to look my mother in the eyes when you explain all this?!"
"No," I honestly admit. "Absolutely not. I don't want to. But otherwise it's weakness, and you yourself can't stand lies and..."
"There's such a thing as a white lie, Taylor," Glory Girl says and lands on the roof, her feet touching the surface and for a second I'm surprised - when did she manage to take off?
"When a person is dying, doctors lie to them," she says. "Amy told me. Damn!" She strikes her fist into her open palm. "I can't believe you're her! Well, that she's... arrrgh! Taylor! What's wrong with you, you're always around! I hate you! Can't stand you... but I have no strength to be angry. I look at your face, but it's not your face! It's my sister's face!"
"Sorry about that. I could peel the face off myself of course, but I'd hardly win any popularity contests that way," I say dryly.
"There! Amy would never say that! You still have a lot to learn! Acting like Amy... right now you're... you're some kind of thug!"
"Well. That's because I am a thug."
"Finally admitted it." Glory Girl tiredly sits down on the edge of the roof, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest and looking toward the Bay. "You know I so wanted you to - confess. And I would have taken you to the PRT. And then you would have been transferred to the Protectorate anyway, rebranded, chosen some stupid name, like 'Aurora' or 'Immortal'... and we could have gone on patrols together. That would have been right, you understand? But you... you never do the right thing, Taylor! You're... just a nightmare and catastrophe! Grrr..." she growls. "I'd give you such a beating right now, but I have no strength. I have no strength left. Just... don't tell anyone, okay?"
"But I can't indefinitely..."
"Don't care at all," she shakes her head. "You took her place - be so kind as to play her role. Mom and dad won't survive this, their relationship is already not great, and now there's grief in Aunt Sarah's family too. Basically - your screw-up, you answer for it. Now you're flying with me and playing the role of obedient daughter. How you'll deal with your thugs, manage your territory and terrorize the city - your problems. But you're multitasking, so you'll manage."
"Tsk," I say. "This will be inconvenient."
"Who cares about villains' problems, Taylor." Glory Girl turns her head to me. "I don't care at all. But for the future - in public I'll call you Amy. And - I'm your older sister, so in public you obey me, clear?"
"Damn. Fine. Give me your phone. Mine disappeared somewhere," I say, extending my hand to her.
"Here it is. I picked it up at the registration desk." She tosses me the black rectangle of a cell phone. I unlock it with my fingerprint. Start typing messages.
"Who are you writing to? The general public shouldn't find out that..."
"Dad. That I'm alright and that I'll be late at work. Tattletale - to hold the information and keep her tongue behind her teeth."
"You think she knows?"
"Tattletale? I think she knows what color underwear you're wearing and how many times you've washed them," I finish typing messages. "She's complicated."
"Do you love her?" An unexpected question straight to the point.
"I think so," I answer with complete honesty. "She's complicated, sometimes just unbearable. Can you imagine, the other day she posted my intimate photos on a forum!"
"Seriously? So those tits really are yours?!"
"You saw them?!"
"Well... everyone saw them..."
"Tsk... damn Tattletale." I say and shake my head. "She's going to get it..."
"Just don't be angry," Glory Girl says. "But... when you already died, well your body, I thought that Tattletale would be beside herself with grief, and then... then her name came up on the armbands."
"What?"
"A lot of villains died. Tattletale, I remember I just thought that - and the armband said her name... I even thought then that it was good... well I didn't want her to die, but if you had died, stupid thought. Yes, I understand. You were just so close and..."
"Tattletale died?!"
"The armband said so..."
"Okay. Take me to the base. Urgently. Or I'll go myself..."
"I'll take you."