Projections in Worm Part 4 (Patreon)

Victoria couldn't help the smile lighting up her face as she waved her hand back and forth through the brick wall. "Amy is going to freak when I tell her about my new powers and the off switch for my aura. I know I already said it but thanks again."

"You're welcome, it's nice to be able to turn powers off when you're not using them." Myst could understand why some of the shards didn't bother with off switches from a conflict standpoint but it seemed like a waste of energy. "Is there a reason the Protectorate hasn't found a tinkertech shield belt and glued it to her?"

"Maintenance and the cost mostly. Mom also shot the idea down as it might make her more of an 'acceptable' target, same with armor," Victoria replied, wishing her mother wasn't insane when it came to her sister.

Myst scowled as he tried to work through the 'logic' on that idiotic thought. "In that case, we'll just have to settle for giving her a copy of your shield and phasing, that should make her a lot harder to damage barring esoteric stuff."

"Which is always a concern," Victoria admitted.

"We'll do what we can with what we've got," Myst promised, unwilling to trust the world's best healer to hopes and faulty logic.

"Vicky!" Amy blurted as she walked out of the staff entrance to the hospital and saw Victoria with her hand in the wall. She stared as her sister's hand came out of the wall without the wall showing any sign of damage. "What the hell?!"

"I got new powers," Victoria replied with a grin.

Amy glanced between her sister and the strange cape that she recognized from the video of her debut. "Are you like Othala or Teacher?"

"No I'm a hero, but yeah, I'm a Trump and I can hand out powers permanently," Myst replied with a grin.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "So you're basically telling me that my sister needs to go into M/S lockdown?"

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you Amy?" Victoria asked, pouting.

"That depends entirely on how much you've annoyed me lately," Amy replied, trying not to get distracted by the strange cape's lack of a proper costume and her sheer shirt.

"Now that you mention it, that does sound like the reasonable and logical thing to do," Myst pointed out.

"Whose side are you on?" Victoria asked.

"The funny side, of course," Myst replied with a grin.

"Is there a Master component? And what powers can you hand out?" Amy asked, figuring she'd try to get some information.

"No unnatural mental influence though excessive levels of giggling have been observed," Myst teased Victoria. "Off switches for powers, phasing, a minor brute package and partial immunity to precog currently, that should get better the more capes I make deals with."

"Deals?" Amy asked suspiciously.

"Generally speaking a deal is a trade between one or more parties, ideally it's mutually beneficial," Myst teased, knowing that wasn't what she was asking.

Amy turned to look at her sister. "What did you trade?"

"Nothing, I'm making sure the process works and she wants you to have a force field," Victoria explained.

"Why?" Amy asked suspiciously.

Myst shook his head. "Best healer in the world and she's wondering why people would want her to have a force field, your mom has really done a number on her self esteem, hasn't she?"

"Mom has issues," Victoria offered.

"More like a subscription," Amy muttered. "So, I can get a force field and what do you get out of it?"

"Ideally? I wouldn't mind some healing and permission to hand out copies to some nurses you trust but that's not a deal breaker. Mostly I just want you alive and well for the Endbringer fights. Besides, if I help you, Victoria will help me with a force field and maybe an introduction to your cousins or some of the Wards that aren't crazy."

"So you're basically going to use her to get more powers?" Amy asked.

"Use implies that she's not getting stuff out of the deal. Mostly, I'm just looking for introductions, I'm a cape that makes capes and my repertoire is currently rather limited. I'd like for it to become less so," Myst explained. "Also if you use it or can verify that there's nothing wrong with the process, I can sell powers or give them to people that need the help. Can you imagine how much more effective the cops would be with a minor brute rating and regeneration package?"

"What happens if they cause problems?" Amy asked.

"That's what the PRT is for and giving them defensive stuff isn't going to stop the PRT from capturing them if they decide to turn into villains but it will stop random gang members from being able to kill them quite as easily," Myst pointed out. "You should know how many of them you've had to heal."

"I've lost count," Amy admitted.

"Giving them more survivability where you're not the only link in the chain is a good thing," Myst argued.

"Fine," Amy grumbled as she walked over and grabbed her sister's arm, using her powers to check her health.

"Do I have a clean bill of health?" Victoria asked.

"You're as normal as you ever were," Amy said as she pulled her hand back, relieved that she didn't seem to be under any influence.

"Excellent, does that mean you want a force field?" Myst asked with a grin.

"Explain the process," Amy said, buying time to consider her options.

"Basically we find a bug and I lend you my ability to get powers by killing monsters or parahumans-"

"What?!" Amy blurted.

"That's the reason I'm trying to do this via trades. I can lend you the ability to gain powers and Victoria the ability to lend the bug her shield," Myst explained. "You just have to kill the bug and you'll get some type of force field."

"How do you expect me to get through her force field?" Amy asked.

"Hit it really hard? Or she can probably lock it down so that it doesn't block things that are yellow," Myst suggested. "Then we'll just do it twice."

"Or you know, just hit it twice," Victoria pointed out, not seeing a reason to conceal an issue with the shield when she was planning on giving her a copy.

"Fine, how do I know this isn't a trick?" Amy asked warily, thinking the entire setup was too good to be true.

Myst sighed. "I already gave your sister powers, we're going around in circles. Think of it this way, you're the best healer in the world, I'm a new cape. If something happened to you because of me, the whole world would hit me like a ton of bricks starting with your sister and ending with Eidolon or Legend blasting me or Alexandria stomping me into a greasy stain."

"That's a fair point," Amy admitted. "What do I have to do?"

"Smash the bug twice once we have things set up," Myst said as he handed Amy his ability to acquire more powers and then handed Victoria the ability to hand out her powers to bugs. He grabbed one of the bugs near the trash can and set it next to Amy. "Empower the bug and stomp on it."

Victoria flipped the new mental switch and loaned her shield to the bug. "Go for it."

Amy stomped on the bug then quickly stopped on it again, wincing because it felt like stomping on a marble. She sighed as she realized she was nowhere near strong enough to pop Vicky's shield. "Yeah, this isn't going to work."

"Stick it in water?" Myst suggested, fairly sure that should work.

"That I can do," Amy agreed as she reached down and picked up the shielded bug then walked over, dropped it in a puddle and stepped on it. "How long…" she trailed off as her foot crunched the bug and she realized she could activate a shield. "You weren't joking, were you?"

"Nope. The first power is free, can I get flight?" Myst asked hopefully.

Victoria laughed. "You scratch my back or Amy's in this case and I'll scratch yours."

"Deal," Myst replied with a grin as he went looking for another bug.

"Can I get phasing?" Amy asked hopefully. "Wait a minute, Shadow Stalker isn't dead, how did you get phasing? I can't see her willingly helping anyone and I can't see you giving her anything."

"I started with it," Myst assured her. "Besides, it's not the same, mine's better. I don't have a problem with phasing through wires."

"That should help with search and rescue," Amy said, figuring they might as well get everything they could at this point as Carol would explode regardless when she found out about the deal.

[You're going to share right?] Taylor asked, looking forward to being able to fly.

[Of course, we're in this together], Myst assured her as he dropped a bug near Amy for Victoria to boost.

"How many people are you planning on making trades with?" Amy asked, thinking about the various capes in the city.

"You're good for stompage," Victoria said after empowering the bug with flight.

"As many as I can, I'd love to copy Kid Win's powers and Vista needs a force field before she gets herself shot," Myst said, wanting to make sure she survived the changes he was going to cause.

"Wouldn't hurt," Amy muttered as she stomped on the bug, thinking about the couple of times that she'd healed Vista on the sly.

"Why Kid Win and not Armsmaster?" Victoria asked, surprised that she wouldn't want Armsmaster's power.

Myst grinned, knowing Armsmaster wouldn't be able to take the deal until they'd verified that there wasn't a Master component. "For one, can you see Armsmaster making the deal? He's the head of the local Protectorate, I don't think anyone would let him make the deal and keep his position. For two, Kid Win has a better power set."

Victoria raised her eyebrows. "How are lasers a better power set than efficiency?"

"Considering he built a hoverboard, I doubt his specialty is actually lasers," Myst suggested, not sure what else to say as he didn't want to drop more hints. "Either way, all I have to do is loan him my power that keeps track of my powers for a minute and he'll know exactly what his specialty is."

"He'd probably give you a copy just for that," Amy said thoughtfully, knowing how much Chris was struggling to find his specialty.

"Blah, I'd rather give him a copy of the force shield. I don't have a reason to be stingy, there are plenty of bugs around," Myst pointed out as he dropped another bug near Amy.

"What about the rest of the Wards?" Victoria asked as she empowered the next bug with strength. "Smash."

Myst shrugged, causing Amy's gaze to jump to 'his' breasts. "I'm fine helping Aegis, Gallant and Clockblocker, Shadow Stalker can fuck a duck for all I care."

"Yeah, she's not my favorite person," Amy admitted, happy that she didn't go to school with the bitch and thus hadn't had to put up with her all that often. "Can I borrow your power to figure out what my powers are?" she asked as she stepped on the bug.

"As soon as Victoria finishes handing out copies of her power," Myst offered, not wanting to complicate things.

[How long do you think it will take to get everything copied?], Taylor asked as she headed for the checkout line.

[Maybe ten minutes, we might need to run through everything a couple of times to make sure we get every shred of power we can, it's not always one to one], Myst replied as he grabbed another bug and dropped it in the puddle. "Force field if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Victoria assured her as she empowered the bug, rather happy with the deal that would make Amy a lot safer. "Go for it. Do you want a copy of my aura?"

Myst stepped on the bug. "Not a chance in hell, way too much hassle."

"I'm not going to disagree, it's nice to be able to just turn it off when I don't need to terrify gang members," Victoria replied, glad that she didn't have to constantly try to keep her aura under control anymore.

"So, what are your plans now that your identity is blown?" Amy asked.

"I wouldn't mind salvaging the cargo ship that's blocking the bay and making some more deals with the various rogues and independents in the region," Myst replied as he grabbed another bug.

Amy shook her head. "That would cost more than the city is willing to spend."

"I wasn't planning on making them pay for it. Technically speaking, the value of the metal should exceed the cost of salvaging it, the city just doesn't want to pay to have it cleared because the cost of labor skyrockets when you're talking about hiring specialized divers and the return is uncertain but what if you could just hire a couple of capes to rip the ship apart and haul everything to a lot to be salvaged?"

Victoria shook her head. "There are rules about that type of thing. Not to mention environmental impact studies that would have to be conducted."

"Which means, it's probably better to set up a couple of companies, one for the actual processing of the metal and one for stripping the ship. The company ripping the ship apart only has to stay solvent long enough to make sure everyone is paid and the other company can't be held responsible for how they got the metal they're salvaging."

Amy snorted. "That sounds like a legal nightmare."

[Dad would probably know the right people to hire], Taylor suggested, fairly sure a decent number of the dock workers would be willing to work under the table if it meant opening the bay to larger ships.

[Most likely, yeah.] Myst smiled at Amy. "Yeah, which is why I'd want to hire a lawyer. Bug?"

Victoria empowered the bug with flight. "Go for it."

Myst crushed the bug in his hand as it tried to fly away then flew up a foot off the ground. "Nice, I'm a knock off Glory Girl."

"How much can you lift?" Victoria asked, curious how much strength she'd picked up.

"I'm up to just over a ton," Myst admitted, fairly happy with what he'd managed to copy even if it wasn't even close to her full abilities.

"Which isn't even close to what Vicky has," Amy mused.

"No but it's pretty damned good for a free boost and the shield is fantastic so I'm not going to complain," Myst said as he grabbed another bug from by the trash can. "Can I talk you out of a copy of your healing powers?"

"I want phasing and at least five more powers," Amy said with a grin, figuring she might as well get what she could.

"Five?" Myst asked with a pout, trying not to laugh.

"What was it you said, best healer in the world?" Amy asked smugly.

"Fair enough, at least five," Myst agreed, not seeing a problem with helping Amy out and making friends. He collected his handed out powers then loaned Amy the ability to loan out her powers. "Just focus on the bug and shoving your power into it."

"Losing the extra switches feels weird," Victoria said thoughtfully, glad that she hadn't lost her new switch for her aura.

Amy flipped the new mental switch and shared her power with the bug, fairly sure Carol would go ballistic when she found out that she'd willingly turned someone else into a biokinetic. "Done. Just don't tell Carol."

Myst crushed the bug and smiled when his mental list of powers updated, showing the details of his new biokinesis power. "I wasn't planning on it and thanks. Let's swap things around and give you phasing and a minor brute rating that doesn't depend on your shield. I figure we can always meet up later so I can give you some more powers."

"That would be fantastic," Victoria said cheerfully, happy with her new power but totally willing to improve her collection if Myst was willing.

"Thank you," Amy said, looking forward to testing her new flight powers once she got a mask.

0o0o0

[Do you think taking out the Merchants will make a difference?] Taylor asked as her gaze jumped from one stripped car to the next that were scattered along the side of the deserted street as the bus headed towards the next stop a bit faster than you'd expect on city streets.

[Considering they like forcibly addicting people, most likely], Myst replied, mentally comparing the scenery to images of Gotham and parts of Detroit. [That's fairly aberrant behavior even for drug dealers and generally something that gets cops to scream 'He's resisting arrest!' before shooting them repeatedly or at least I'm assuming that would be standard practice.]

[That's rather cynical and would probably result in the gangs making a concerted effort to shoot cops], Taylor pointed out.

[I'm fairly sure the real reason the problem hasn't been dealt with is the capes, everything to do with capes basically goes through the PRT or Protectorate which means the police can't just call the DEA and get Federal help to arrest everyone involved. So yeah, if we can deal with the capes, things should improve. Same thing with Lung really, he's the only thing keeping the ABB together, without him or Oni-Lee they should fracture and most of them will probably leave the area or find legitimate jobs.]

[That's assuming there are any jobs for them to find], Taylor grumbled, knowing the economy was a large part of the city's problem.

[If we can open the bay we should be able to get the economy moving again which should improve everyone's lives. If nothing else, I have a couple of ideas for bringing money to the area that we can probably use.]

[Beyond selling powers?] Taylor asked, getting up when the bus stopped and heading for the exit.

[Selling powers is a decent method of lining our pockets but it doesn't exactly help with bringing jobs to the area but it would help us fund some urban renewal. The docks are most likely going to jump in value if we can clear the ships in the bay.]

[In other words, you want to buy up as much as you can before we clear the bay then profit off of it?] Taylor asked as she stepped off the bus and headed towards the army surplus store down the block.

[We can probably start a custom auto or boat shop with what we can get from Squealer which would help boost the economy. Kid Win can make hoverboards, can you imagine the profit if we can mass produce them?]

[Most Tinkers can't], Taylor pointed out as she summoned Myst as far as she could see down the side street towards where the Merchants were supposed to be based. [Are you sure you want to do this dressed like Shadow Stalker?]

[Technically I'm not dressed like Shadow Stalker, I'm just wearing a hockey mask, a black wig and gloves. If they want to assume that I'm a certain cape on a less than official mission, that's hardly my fault], Myst said as he adjusted his hood so that it covered more skin. [Honestly if I wanted to frame her, I'd have grabbed a crossbow. Can you summon me on the roof of the building across the way, I'd rather not have people see me fly and I want to get this over with.]

[Be careful], Taylor ordered and resummoned Myst to the roof, glad that she could use her projection's eyes for targeting.

[That's the plan], Myst assured her as he sprinted towards the other end of the building and jumped, phasing out to reduce the pull of gravity so he could make it to the next building.

[What are you going to do if you can't use Panacea's power to knock them out?] Taylor asked as she approached the army supply store.

[Probably knock them senseless], Myst replied, not particularly worried about causing them brain damage or accidently killing them. He grinned when he noticed a heavy duty power cable stretched across the street going into a boarded up machine shop that was rocking with something that could charitably be considered rock blasting out of it with several flunkies standing out front looking bored and rather cold. [Change of plain, I want to see if I can recruit Squealer first.]

Taylor considered the idea as she walked into the shop and looked around at the various knives, backpacks, tents, weapons and vests they had on display. [I doubt she'll flip on the rest of the gang but it's worth a shot.]

[I don't need her to flip on anyone, I just need her power.] Myst sprinted towards the edge of the building and jumped, using a touch of flight to sail over the 'guards' heads and slipping through the wall of the machine shop. He did his best to ignore the pounding music as he looked around the filthy machine shop filled with bits and pieces of vehicles and random appliances, including a hatch from a washing machine that the trashy looking woman was using as a window in some type of post apocalyptic dune buggy.

[Yeah, that's painful and I'm not even hearing it with my ears], Taylor complained.

[No shit], Myst complained as he scanned the garage for anyone that would notice him grabbing Squealer. He floated down behind the women in too tight gym shorts and a halter top that was at least a size too small. He reached out, touched her on the back of her neck and used Panacea's power to 'knock' her unconscious. [I'm just glad Amy's power came with an instruction manual.] He sighed as he realized the sheer extent of Squealer's medical issues. [She's half dead from the shit she's been pumping in her veins, I doubt she'd last a year without parahuman attention.]

[Are you going to heal her?] Taylor asked.

[I should probably get permission first but she's not exactly in a suitable mental state to give consent so yeah, I'll probably flush the toxins and deal with her addictions then ask if she wants me to rebuild the rest of the damage], Myst replied as he started working on flushing the various toxins out of her system.

"Can I help you?" the old man behind the counter asked, looking at Taylor.

Taylor turned to look at the old man. "I'm just checking prices on vests."

"Some of the cheaper stuff is on the next aisle," the man offered.

"Thanks," Taylor replied as she turned and walked back around the aisle so that she could get to the vests.

"No problem, it's nice to see people looking after their own safety," the man said, going back to reading his hunting magazine.

Myst spent the next couple of minutes flushing an alarming number of toxins from Squealer's system and tweaking things so that she wouldn't crave the shit she'd been on. He wasn't sure if it was Amy's shard or just nerves on her part but his mental fingers were steady as a rock while he fixed the worst of the damage, mostly because his power was doing the heavy lifting. He was fairly sure it would have been different if he'd been working on someone he cared about but there was a reason doctors weren't supposed to work on friends or family.

Taylor relaxed when Myst moved Squealer to the car seat on the ground. [Finished?]

Myst glanced over at the boombox pumping out toons. [At least until I can find somewhere to have a conversation without trying to talk over rock that has been cranked up to eleven.]

[Do you want to try hauling her into the shirt?] Taylor asked, figuring that might be the best place to hold the villain until they could turn her over.

[It's worth a try], Myst agreed as he picked Squealer up a couple of inches, keeping her low so she wouldn't hurt herself if he vanished and she didn't. [Go for it.]

Taylor flipped the mental switch and dropped Myst and Squealer into her shirt. [Huh, I wasn't expecting that to actually work.]

[Why not? I can take my clothes with me, why not people?] Myst set Squealer on the ground and woke her up.

[Fair point], Taylor admitted.

Squealer scrambled backwards when she woke up with a strange looking woman looking down at her. "What the hell is going on?!" she demanded, sounding a bit like a chipmunk.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Myst asked, keeping his distance and not making any sudden moves.

Squealer glanced around the forest then focused on Myst. "I was working on a buggy to get around and then I blacked out and…" she trailed off as she realized everything felt crystal clear for the first time in years. "What did you do?"

"I used a power to detox you," Myst admitted.

"Why the fuck would you do that? Are you trying to get me to go into withdrawal?" Squealer demanded.

"You shouldn't even have cravings," Myst assured her. "Normally I wouldn't infringe on your right to kill yourself but letting you die in a prison cell in a couple of months to a year doesn't really help anyone."

"What do you want?" Squealer asked, trying not to think about her health.

"Honestly, I'd like to see you clean up your life and make some really nice tinkertech vehicles for the PRT or for the heroic team I'm going to be assembling."

"You're a hero?" Squealer asked, fairly sure heroes weren't supposed to kidnap people or wear hockey masks like a psycho from a movie.

Myst shrugged. "Technically I'm just support staff but I'm trying to help people, thus why I healed you."

"What if I refuse?" Squealer asked.

"Then I turn you over to the PRT and they can lock you up or hire you depending on the Director's current mood."

"Yeah, I can't see that going over well…" Squealer trailed off when she glanced around and noticed several flying islands. "Shit, running isn't going to help is it?"

"Only if you want to get in shape," Myst replied with a grin.

"Fine, assuming the PRT is off the table for various reasons, what do I get if I sign up?" Squealer asked.

"Beyond fixing your medical issues? I'll eventually be able to improve your tinker abilities and give you a new face and voice if you want," Myst offered.

"I wouldn't mind sounding and looking better and better abilities would be nice," Squealer admitted, thinking back to her trouble in high school before she'd dropped out. "What about Skidmark?" she asked, not sure how to feel about her control freak of a boyfriend now that she was clean and thinking clearly for the first time in years.

"I'm going to drop him off with the PRT, depending on what they manage to charge him with, he might be out in ten to twenty years or he might end up in the Cage because of his various crimes." Myst didn't care what they did with him as long as they managed to keep him from being broken out.

"So my options are get turned over to the PRT or work for you?" Squealer asked warily.

"At least for a while, give it six months, if you can stay clean and sober for six months, you're free to walk without any hard feelings," Myst offered.

"Can you get my tools so I have something to work on?" Squealer asked hopefully.

"I'll see what I can do. I'd avoid the stairs, they lead to a snow level," Myst warned her.

"Is this some type of pocket world?" she asked as she looked around the strange forest.

"Something like that," Myst replied with a grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to collect your tools before one of the idiots realizes you're gone and calls for reinforcements."

"What are you going to do with the rest of the gang?" Squealer asked.

"Beyond letting the police know they don't have any capes, nothing. Without the capes, the cops should be more than able to deal with them. Speaking of, if you want spending money, where are their stash houses?" Myst asked with a grin.

"Are you sure you're a hero?" Squealer asked dubiously.

"To be fair, the PRT would just lock it up in an evidence locker and you're going to need money for supplies," Myst pointed out.

"Normally I have to steal everything from junkyards or the graveyard," Squealer grumbled.

"No parts?" Myst asked in surprise, figuring there were some things that would have been a lot easier to get from the parts store.

"No, Skids didn't see a point in wasting money he could use for more shit to get fucked up with," Squealer admitted.

"Sounds like an asshole," Myst offered.

Squealer sighed as she remembered several times he'd tossed something at her when she asked for money to finish a project rather than have to spend all day looking for a fairly cheap replacement part. "Screw it, it's not like they're going to need it."