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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
imeanforever
wormcan
Glory Girl is stronger than the grip the offending tentacle has on Panacea, and she does break her free. But it becomes more offensive as it flops upward and snares both of them.
And then one of the most unwelcome people in the city appears out of seemingly nowhere. "She got both of you! This is even better than I hoped!"
The monster-girl snarls "You!" and several appendages slide harmlessly off Bonesaw.
And then one of the most unwelcome people in the city appears out of seemingly nowhere. "She got both of you! This is even better than I hoped!"
The monster-girl snarls "You!" and several appendages slide harmlessly off Bonesaw.
wormcan
"It's too late! You can escape, but there's another of you in the works already. Amy! We both know you're not just a healer, and your clone is going to know it too. She'll have powers something close to yours, and you'll have to counter whatever she does. It'll be more than you've used your power in ages. Won't that be fun?"
Amy just stares in horror, while their captor makes a herculean effort and manages to get the tentacle to loosen around them.
Amy just stares in horror, while their captor makes a herculean effort and manages to get the tentacle to loosen around them.
Glory Girl all but tackles her sister in getting her away from Noelle. There is not an evil Amy to punch yet, so she goes for Bonesaw instead, incandescent with rage.
wormcan
Bonesaw is unconcerned. But before her countermeasures become obvious, one of the monstrous mouths heaves and vomits and throws off Glory Girl's flight pattern in an unsavory kind of way. Out of the pool of vomit, two figures stand up. They look like the Dallon sisters, in a way the phrase "hideous mockery" was invented to describe. Both are misshapen, with the Amy having every single bone more curved than it ought to be and the Victoria proportioned like Leviathan. Both of their faces are wrong in a way that can't even be described. They also aren't wearing clothes, which is nowhere near the most important feature of this situation.
The Amy grins and says, "Hello sisters."
The Amy grins and says, "Hello sisters."
Victoria tries to spend a minimum amount of time being concerned about the vomit before going to sock the Amy really hard in the face. At least there will be no concern about mixing them up and having to feel in her heart which is the real sister.
wormcan
The Amy tries to dodge and ends up taking the hit. But she's not hit so hard she can't sit up again. "Don't you want to hear what we have to say?"
"Not really," says Victoria, and she draws her fist back again only to be interrupted by her own clone. Presently the two are brawling. The linoleum takes some damage.
wormcan
"I know you want her to hear everything, don't you, Amy? Before I bring down a pandemic on this city and kill you myself, that is."
Bonesaw, meanwhile, addresses the real Amy. "Or she might already have started! I hope you're checking every single microorganism so you can stop her, because no one else can!"
Bonesaw, meanwhile, addresses the real Amy. "Or she might already have started! I hope you're checking every single microorganism so you can stop her, because no one else can!"
"IF ANYBODY," yells Victoria, and her next word is interrupted by an uppercut. She continues, "CALLED THE PRT," she clotheslines her opponent out of the air only to be the victim of a sacrifice throw, "TELL THEM TO SEND PROMISE -" Ow, that looks painful.
wormcan
Someone has probably called the PRT, but no one has arrived yet. Amy makes her way over to the brawling Victorias and taps the cloned one when she sees an opening. The Victoria collapses, asleep.
Bonesaw cheers from the stands. "See? Your power as a weapon! I believed in you!"
Bonesaw cheers from the stands. "See? Your power as a weapon! I believed in you!"
wormcan
And Clone Amy isn't in a position to stop it.
Someone did apparently call the Protectorate. A hero runs in, rebounding off the walls on his way.
"What's the emergen– what is that thi– Bonesaw!" Assault is not having a good day.
Someone did apparently call the Protectorate. A hero runs in, rebounding off the walls on his way.
"What's the emergen– what is that thi– Bonesaw!" Assault is not having a good day.
"Bonesaw and evil clone spawning thing!" Glory Girl reports helpfully, making another fly in Bonesaw's direction.
wormcan
Her target ducks behind some of the limbs, pulling them around her so Glory Girl can't safely reach her. "It's the clones that are evil. The clone spawning thing is not at fault here." Bonesaw might not share other people's opinions on morality, but grammatical ambiguity is serious.
Amy agrees with Victoria's yell, "we're going to need Promise, if there are any more clones." Assault taps a device on his ear and relays that.
Amy agrees with Victoria's yell, "we're going to need Promise, if there are any more clones." Assault taps a device on his ear and relays that.
"You don't think you could fix her?" asks Victoria anxiously, reduced to hovering ominously over Bonesaw's tentacle shield. "If you only touched her ha- uh, would shaking your hand instead even help?"
wormcan
"It shouldn't be any different. All this is me now."
Bonesaw speaks up from behind a wall of legs imitating enough species that they shouldn't be on the same creature.
"You've done so well so far! How about this. That guy there," she points at Assault, "just made the mistake of breathing in. His powers should be gone...now, and now the brain damage starts. Do you want to fix him? You've got about five minutes."
Amy is shaking, but otherwise doesn't move. "I– I can't. I don't do brains."
Bonesaw speaks up from behind a wall of legs imitating enough species that they shouldn't be on the same creature.
"You've done so well so far! How about this. That guy there," she points at Assault, "just made the mistake of breathing in. His powers should be gone...now, and now the brain damage starts. Do you want to fix him? You've got about five minutes."
Amy is shaking, but otherwise doesn't move. "I– I can't. I don't do brains."
"Wait, what? Breathing what?" asks Victoria, on slightly less air than she might normally use to speak those sentences.
wormcan
"Not you, silly. That wouldn't be fair. Maybe if she doesn't fix him you can go next, she'd have to save you.
Are you going to fix him? I'm doing you a favor, really. You'll thank me."
Amy takes less convincing than she might have earlier. She can leave, quit New Wave, get orders to make sure she can actually stick to breaking her rules just once. As she makes her way to where Assault is lying, Noelle's form shifts and both sisters are half trapped under the palm of a gigantic six-fingered hand.
Are you going to fix him? I'm doing you a favor, really. You'll thank me."
Amy takes less convincing than she might have earlier. She can leave, quit New Wave, get orders to make sure she can actually stick to breaking her rules just once. As she makes her way to where Assault is lying, Noelle's form shifts and both sisters are half trapped under the palm of a gigantic six-fingered hand.
"FUCKING CONTROL YOURSELF," says Victoria, muffled and struggling energetically. "WEAR A GIANT SHOE."
wormcan
"If I could control myself I wouldn't need to be HERE!"
On the bright side, Bonesaw is equally squished. The bad news is: more clones. Two of each Dallon, this time.
On the bright side, Bonesaw is equally squished. The bad news is: more clones. Two of each Dallon, this time.
wormcan
"BELIEVE ME, I WANT HER DEADER THAN YOU DO."
Whatever Bonesaw did to make the normally sticky flesh slide off her apparently makes it easier to slither out. "Now. Your sister can't fight these ones for you, and you can't touch them. All you can do is change the microbes on your skin to spread a cure for whatever they do, so I hope you're watching carefully!"
One of the Amies agrees. "I hope you're watching carefully. You too, Glory Girl." Then she embraces a Victoria and kisses her.
She ignores Bonesaw's shout of "What? No! You're supposed to start a plague!"
Whatever Bonesaw did to make the normally sticky flesh slide off her apparently makes it easier to slither out. "Now. Your sister can't fight these ones for you, and you can't touch them. All you can do is change the microbes on your skin to spread a cure for whatever they do, so I hope you're watching carefully!"
One of the Amies agrees. "I hope you're watching carefully. You too, Glory Girl." Then she embraces a Victoria and kisses her.
She ignores Bonesaw's shout of "What? No! You're supposed to start a plague!"
The evil Victoria is surprised, but goes along with it, for values of "goes along with" that involve ass-grabbing. As long as she's making out with an evil Amy anyway.
"...The hell?" says non-evil Victoria. "That's, um, that's really weird but it's 2011, I'm not really getting 'evil', just weird?"
"...The hell?" says non-evil Victoria. "That's, um, that's really weird but it's 2011, I'm not really getting 'evil', just weird?"
wormcan
"She's right," agrees one of the continent's most feared serial killers.
The other Amy explains, "Don't you get it? Ask your sister."
(The real Amy, meanwhile, is wishing the ground would swallow her up. Being swallowed up by this giant hand is a close second.)
The other Amy explains, "Don't you get it? Ask your sister."
(The real Amy, meanwhile, is wishing the ground would swallow her up. Being swallowed up by this giant hand is a close second.)