"I don't understand anything," Carol frowns, crossing her arms on her chest. "Why did they cancel the ceremony? And I can't reach Sarah..."
"Maybe there are some technical difficulties. There's chaos everywhere in the city right now," Mark says. "Give them time. I think Sarah will definitely contact you."
"Yes, you're right. Most likely. Well, we'll wait. Amy! Stop slouching."
"Yes, ma'am," I reply, hiding a yawn. I overcome a strong temptation not to slap myself on the thigh, where hidden from prying eyes, I have a sample of the new biological first aid kit attached. No, I'm fine, but the effect this thing gives is simply magical—it not only regenerates the body to perfect form but also removes all effects of fatigue, tiredness, or sleep deprivation. If I package this liquid in tin cans and sell it as an energy drink, all the truckers in the country will pray to me. I can already see full-length photos of Panacea in a bikini on the cabs of their trucks.
Well... the ceremony is being canceled, and no wonder. Uncle Neil and Eric, Amy and Vicky's cousin—are alive and well. And even their heads are fine. A bit stunned, of course, but alive. And Vicky and I literally delivered these two "miraculously resurrected" to their home just a couple of hours ago, after which we returned to the Dallons. Of course, I was tempted to stay and watch Aunt Sarah Pelham's reaction, but we were already late getting home, so...
Although Vicky didn't see it, I—through my insects—could perfectly see how the door to the Pelham house opened and the woman standing on the threshold dropped something from her hands and sank to the floor.
I smile. It's not often in life that you manage to do something unambiguously good. Without all this balance of good and evil, without ethical contradictions and struggle between your dream and the welfare of others. And when it happens that your actions bring light to the world... these moments remain in memory. Sarah Pelham's face when she saw her husband and son on her doorstep—alive... I will preserve that face in my memory. Maybe Taylor Hebert the Seventeenth didn't do that many truly good things in life, but this is one of them.
"Amy!" Carol reprimands me. "Behave properly. Don't you have any heart at all? The family is in mourning! Vicky—what's wrong with you?"
"Huh?" Victoria tears herself away from her plate and blinks. She looks at me the way ancient people looked at forest fires—with awe and terror. And I understand her perfectly. Yes, right now I'm sitting at the table in the Dallon house having breakfast with pancakes with maple syrup and butter, there's a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in front of me. And simultaneously—I'm walking through my base in my own body, going to the briefing room, talking with Jane "Mama" Rodriguez, asking if she finally got some sleep. And also simultaneously with this, my bugs are doing tech work. Yes! Exactly doing tech work, creating insect-relay devices, growing organic first aid kits, conducting experiments with viruses and bacteria, growing protein farms deep underground, and also conducting research within the framework of projects "Plan B," "Valhalla," "Big Daddy," and "Now Stop That!"
Panacea's abilities... I can work with them at a distance, through my bugs, and this is wonderful. If I myself always had to change, touch with my hand and all that—it would greatly limit my possibilities... as for my original body, alas. There aren't that many miracles in the world. The allergen developed by Panacea reliably killed the brain in my former body and it practically had to be regrown from scratch. Otherwise, my body feels the same as Panacea's body, or the bodies of millions of insects. Like my own.
In my own body, the body of Taylor Hebert resurrected by Panacea—I enter the briefing room and wave to Lisa, who sits in an armchair in front of a laptop, thoughtfully chewing something. She's dressed in a simple t-shirt and short shorts, all hips and knees out, sitting in the chair with her legs folded under her Turkish-style, her hair gathered in a messy bun at the back of her head with pencils sticking out instead of a hair clip.
"Finally in your own body," she says without taking her eyes off the laptop. "Do you realize how much work you gave me? You owe me overtime pay. I've never worked like this before." She reaches into a small bowl, takes out a greenish ball of biological first aid kit, and puts it in her mouth. Slowly chews.
"What are you doing?" I ask, taking the bowl away from her. "That's not for eating!"
"They work on any part of the body, just press them to the skin. The mouth's mucous membrane is even better, faster... and it's close to the brain. Removes fatigue like magic. Better than any coffee. Can you make them with different flavors next time? Orange, apple, mint-kiwi, various ones..." Lisa says and props her chin with her palm. "Ah, if we just wanted to make a lot of money—we would have made it instantly."
"If we wanted to make a lot of money—I would just unleash you on the futures and derivatives market, just let you off the leash and that's it. Billions of dollars in a few years," I say, sitting next to her and placing the bowl with bio-first aid kits out of reach of her hand. "Listen, you should be more careful with these things, okay? I only invented them a day ago, what if there are some side effects?"
"Effects?" Lisa frowns, turns to me and shakes her head. "This is biotech from Panacea! The best biotinker on all of Earth. If something goes wrong—you'll fix everything. Besides, events will soon be galloping. I contacted Accord, he cooperated with Coil and is ready to cooperate with us. Generally, I would offer him a long-term contract and work for us, but he won't agree. He's too big a shot. When you grow bigger than him—visit him and bend him to your will. Or release your 'Obey Taylor!' virus."
"Lisa. It was necessary... and I..."
"Oh, I'm not judging you. I would have done the same," she waves her hand. "Absolutely correct deal—want to live—sign a contract with the devil. In our case—with you."
"You know this isn't a full direct control module, Lisa," I reply, in turn leaning back in the chair and putting my feet on the table. "It's more like a backdoor."
"You don't understand me, Taylor," she squints. "I'm not judging you for the fact that when reviving Manpower and Shielder, you reprogrammed their brains regarding 'when I need it, I'll give a command and you'll obey.' Not one bit. I swear. Moreover, I think that's exactly how you should act in all cases when they... that is, when your Panacea avatar will be required to resurrect someone. Ideally—create an 'Obey Taylor' virus and facilitate its spread. Don't confuse me with that little snot Glory, who doesn't know how the world actually works and which side of the sandwich has butter. She would immediately start squealing that you're a villain and want to enslave the world."
"So this doesn't bother you?" I raise an eyebrow. Lisa's lips curve in a slight smile.
"You're my girl, Taylor. If you didn't want to conquer the world, that would be sad. You should have healthy ambitions. Conquer the world, save everyone from hunger and disease. Grow an organic spaceship and spread humanity across the Milky Way. Fuck Armsmaster..."
"Lisa!"
"Hey, I'm not judging, everyone has their cockroaches. Like bearded men, so be it!"
"Do you know, young lady, how imprudent it is to quarrel with a biotinker? Remember Baron Harkonnen? Do you think he was always that fat? I can grow you such tits that you won't be able to walk. Before, I could only affect people with fists, now I have more powerful means at my disposal."
"Hmm. Right. I saw Coil today. I know," she nods. "You did the right thing. And with Bakuda too. Only you bypassed me. Why?"
"I won't interfere with your head without your consent, Lisa. And you know that," I say firmly. "Let's stop and..."
"I still insist," she says. "How am I different from others? Besides..." she licks her lips, "I'm not asking for much. What if something happens? You're a big shot now and if I get kidnapped, for example... do you know how many times I was able to resist and not tell Coil everything in his torture chamber in the parallel reality? Not once. If they start torturing me, then... and I know what it's like. I just look at him and I already feel sick. So... build me a kill switch, please."
"A kill switch?"
"Oh, you understand what I'm talking about, Taylor. A kill switch. So that once—and it's all over. And no way back. So that even you couldn't raise me afterward."
"Maybe something more like a rescue capsule? To preserve..."
"No, no, no. A kill switch. Once and for all. Maybe I'll get tired? Have the respect not to bring me back later, Taylor. But... you might listen, but what about others? I want a final kill switch. Will you give me such a gift?"
"I..." I hesitate.
"And you can immediately build in a backdoor and the desire to obey your commands. Anything," she spreads her hands. "And a kill switch."
"All right," I say. "You'll have your kill switch. First I'll figure out how, and then..."
"Super," she nods. "I expected nothing else from you. This is important to me. How are things at the Dallon house now? Has the good news about the resurrection reached them? I see that it hasn't..."
"Uh-huh," I say. "Everything's quiet so far. I'll go then, check on Noelle, try a couple of things..."
At the same time, I get up from the table at the Dallon house. The core, my mind, the mind of all the Butchers and Panacea—are located in Amy Dallon's body, everything else I simply control at a distance. It's a pity I couldn't revive myself, but Amy Dallon is extraordinarily talented in bioengineering and very poorly understands how abilities actually work. She wanted to send me into a coma, but as a result, the Butcher's ability considered this as death. That's it, boom, I'm now Amy, welcome, wipe your feet at the threshold before entering the brain.
"I'm going to lie down. I feel sick," I say into space. Nobody pays attention to me. Carol is trying to call Sarah, Mark is staring at one point, and only Victoria devours me with her eyes. I go up to my room, or rather—to Amy Dallon's room. I sit on the bed and realize that the absence of my favorite posters on the wall annoys me. There's no majestic Narwhal in her nakedness, covered only by force fields, or Alexandria in her tight costume and heroic pose, no Miss Militia and of course no that eighteen-dollar poster. On which Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl, is photographed. In a swimsuit by a pool. Water droplets on her skin... I swallow. What's wrong with me? Is Glory's aura hitting my head again? Or...
"Uh... Amy, may I come in?" Victoria's voice behind the door.
"Yes, of course. Make yourself at home," I reply and the door opens. Victoria enters my room... rather Amy's room. Hmm, I need to get used to it, this is now my room. For how long? At least until I figure out Panacea in my head. Is it even possible to separate me from her? Most likely not. Just allocate a body for control. Like with the other Butchers. The radius of my abilities has already grown, and a chain of relay devices connects the Dallon house and Coil's backup base. Former backup base of Coil, of course.
"Amy... that is, Taylor..." she fidgets by the door. "I... didn't believe. But when I saw with my own eyes... I can't wrap my head around it."
"Don't stand in the doorway, come in," I say, patting the bed next to me. "Sit down."
"Thank you." She sits on the bed and falls silent. Bites her lips.
"What exactly happened?" I ask. "I'm tired as a dog, I'd like to sleep a little."
"Oh... sorry. Of course. I just wanted to say—thank you," she says, turning her head. "It never really hit me that Uncle Neil and Eric died. Even when I saw their bodies... even then I didn't believe it. Only now I'm starting to understand. Crystal... Aunt Sarah... I understand you don't know them, but... Aunt Sarah wouldn't have survived. And Crystal..."
"I can't say 'you're welcome,'" I reply. "There is something to be welcomed for. But it was pleasant for me. I did it mostly for myself."
"You... sorry. I called you a villain. And cursed. And generally behaved like a hysteric, sorry. I don't know what's between you and Amy, but I'm sure she's in good hands. Communication with you will be good for her," she says firmly.
"What? Say that again, I think I'm having hearing problems... like auditory hallucinations..."
"I worry about Amy, but she started it first," Victoria says. "And she's... not completely dead, right? You can bring her back, right? Don't say anything, I believe you can. You'll figure out how. And... since you're in one body, you'll probably become friends. Finally. I always wanted you to be friends, but I never thought everything would turn out this way."
"Who would have thought. And about becoming friends because you're in one body... rather the opposite," I say. "Look how well I get along with the Butchers. Thick as thieves."
"Isn't that so?" she shrugs. "Nobody could negotiate with them before, only you they listen to."
"Simple logic, yeah. Managed to handle the Butchers, you'll handle my sister."
"Yes," she nods. "I believe in you. I was wrong. If I can somehow repay you—I'll do anything. Just say."
"Be careful with such words, Vicky, I might misunderstand..." I purr, looking her over from head to toe, and she immediately moves away from me and covers herself with her hands, as if I had X-ray vision in my eyes that lets me see through clothes.
"Ugh, you! Taylor! I didn't mean that! And besides, we're sisters!"
"Hmm? I have another body and..."
"But it's dead!"
"Well, I already raised it and even fixed a few things. Want me to show you? Now it's perfect! Not ashamed to show people."
"Taylor!"
"Pfft... weakling. And you said you were ready for anything," I tease her. "Where's the value of a heroine's word? And on Sunday mornings 'Heroes of the Universe' is on, where the court mage-goblin Wiz says that 'a hero's word is unbreakable.' So he's lying. A goblin, what can you expect."
"Grr... he's not lying. If you need it—I'll do whatever you say," Victoria says, stubbornly tilting her head. "And I won't even be ashamed. Because it's for the greater good."
"I never understood you. Either you're a naive fool, or on the contrary—too calculating a girl..." I say. "But, fine. I'll keep it in mind. When there's time, we'll definitely go to a love hotel together. Need to close Amy's gestalt, maybe she'll peek out right in the process."
"Taylor!"
"What Taylor? Your sister needs this. You think I need it? Taking you to a hotel, undressing, tying up, smearing oil everywhere, then paying for hotel damages... so much trouble..."
"Girls! Amy! Vicky!" there's knocking on the door. "Get dressed and come down! We're being called to PRT. Urgently!"
"Well then," I say, looking at the blushing Victoria. "The thorough study of Victoria Dallon regarding her sister complex is postponed. Next time I'll stock up on ropes and oil. By the way, do you know that your little sister could arouse any organism on Earth to such a state that it would literally be death by snu-snu?"
"I'm amazed by you, Taylor. Where does all this lewdness come from? That damn Tattletale is teaching you bad things."
"Hey! Speak well of the dead or say nothing."
"She's not dead! I saw her smug smile!"
"Girls!"
"Coming, Mom!" we say in chorus.