The Protagonist System

208 Sing Like A Bird

The press conference was a huge hit. The crowd loved the announcement of a new healing cape and adding me to the roster as well. Atlas taking down Lung had been a newsreel highlight for days and they really reamed out Skidmark for running away, making it a comedy skit by adding pratfall sound effects. The only positive thing to come from that encounter was that Squealer turned state's evidence and joined the Protectorate.

When Amy took off her old restrictive Panacea costume that hid everything and revealed her new cape outfit that was a mirror of the one my mother wore, it shocked both the crowd and the reporters to silence... for about three seconds... then the crowd cheered and applauded and the questions from the press were not-stop about the change and how hot Amy was.

Thankfully, Lady Photon was an old hand at handling the press and let everyone know that it was time for Amy to show that she belonged with her family and was a valued member of New Wave... and she couldn't let the new healer show her up. That had Amy blush from embarrassment and the crowd laughed.

The picture of Nostrum hugging Panacea would become a best selling poster by the end of the month and would spark a lot of imaginations about the two healers going at it when in private. Even though someone, aka Glory Girl, let it slip that Panacea was dating Atlas, it only caused more speculation and a whole lot of fantasies.

When the press conference was over, Panacea and Nostrum entered the hospital in a great mood and cleared out the intensive care unit. They hit the children's ward next and cleared that out, too. With the two of them working at it, it only took time to talk to people and getting their permission for them to move on and deal with the next patient.

Atlas and Glory Girl were also close by, keeping an eye on both of them, and everyone appreciated having them there. Atlas also took the brunt of the attention and signing autographs, retelling his Lung story to keep people distracted from bothering Panacea and Nostrum while they worked.

When the scheduled work placement session was over, half of the hospital had been cleared out and the administration had tons of paperwork to fill out, with patients to discharge and insurance claims to file. The offer to extend the time and clear out the rest of the patients was politely rebuffed, since none of them were critical cases and could be handled later.

The four heroes left the hospital and weren't surprised there were still a few reporters and a small crowd waiting for them. Atlas fielded the questions, letting them know the first joint volunteer healing session had been a huge success and would be repeated during the next work placement session on Tuesday.

Glory Girl picked up Panacea in a princess carry and Atlas picked up Nostrum in the same way. The two healers waved at the press and the four of them flew off into the sky.

*

We landed on the roof of a building out of sight and both Amy and my mother dropped to their knees as soon as we let them go. They were trembling slightly and both Vicky and I knelt and hugged them in a huddle.

“H-how can you handle all that pressure from the press?” My mom asked, her voice shaky.

“It's usually n-not that bad.” Amy said and held onto Vicky like she was a lifeline.

“You two are really popular.” Vicky said.

“And adorably cute.” I added. “The public can't help themselves.”

“Is it too late to go back to my old costume?” Amy asked.

“Way way way too late.” I said and she glared at me. “They've seen how hot you are under it, so if you go back to it...”

“Dammit. They'll know I'm hiding from them.” Amy groused.

“They'll hound you even more to find out why.” Vicky said. “You shouldn't worry about that, though.”

“Why not?” My mother asked.

“Why else do you think Greg and I stayed right there with you?” Vicky asked and kissed her cheek. “We guessed they would be ravenous about getting to know you both as soon as you revealed yourselves and we took the heat for you.”

“Vicky has a lot more experience with the press and I had an interesting story to distract them with.” I said and kissed Amy. “It's our job to protect you, even from the press.”

Both Amy and my mom nodded. We stayed there for several minutes to let them calm down and for their shaking to stop. I gave Vicky a look and my eyes motioned to Amy and to my mom and she nodded. A quick exchange of hugging partners and I had Amy in my arms.

“Now that I finally have you alone...” I started to say and both Vicky and my mom muffled their laughs. “...relatively alone, I can say what I've wanted to say for a while.”

Amy's eyes widened. “I'm too young to get married!”

Vicky and my mom made snort sounds and laughed.

I had a hard time not laughing myself, actually. I took a moment to settle myself before I spoke. “Amelia, I love you.”

Amy looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights. She also looked too stunned to speak and that was not how I imagined this scene playing out, not after everything that had happened between us.

“Ames?” Vicky asked, concern in her voice.

“I... I... it's too soon.” Amy whispered. “I can't...” She took a breath and let it out. “I'm not ready to say that yet.”

Well, that put a huge dampener on everything. I thought and didn't let it show on my face. I did look at Vicky and she looked sad, probably for the same reason. If Amy wasn't all in like she was, then what did that mean for our relationship?

“There's nothing wrong with you, Greg.” My mother suddenly said and the three of us looked at her. “Some people just take longer to admit to themselves how they feel.”

Amy looked embarrassed and wouldn't look at me. Vicky did the same eye motions I had before and we exchanged hugging partners. My mother clung to me and Amy clung to Vicky.

“We'll meet up in half an hour for our patrol, Atlas.” Vicky said as she stood, shifted Amy into a princess carry, and flew off towards their home.

I sighed and stood as well, did the same move to carry my mom the same way, made us invisible, and flew up into the air. Surprisingly, my mom didn't complain about her being able to fly on her own and held on to me instead. I landed us in the backyard and made us visible again and walked over to the kitchen door.

I unlocked it and carried my mom inside, used my hip to shut the door, and walked into the living room and sat down with my mom on my lap.

“Don't lose hope, Greg.” My mother said.

“It's not that.” I said. “I just thought...”

“It's not your fault she's more interested in Vicky than you.” She said, wisely.

“But...” I started to say.

“She's loved her a lot longer than you've been in her life.” My mom said. “If Vicky had said it, or even hinted at it, she would have been all over her.”

I sighed and nodded, because I did know that. I had just hoped to become the bridge between them to allow them both to have a happy relationship without causing a huge amount of stress or blowback from their friends and family.

“I know that look.” My mother said and reached up to cup the sides of my face. “It's not your responsibility to fix her emotional problems, Greg. You can try and help; but, you don't have to agonize over it.”

I sighed again, because I didn't want to tell her that Amy eventually goes crazy if she keeps trying to deny how she feels, especially when it directly concerns Vicky. I was trying to head that off before it started and I thought I had succeeded, only to realize Amy wasn't as convinced I was genuine in my feelings as I thought she was.

“No, don't shut her out or shut them out.” My mom said and pressed her lips to mine in a chaste kiss. “You can pretend it didn't happen and things will go back to how they were. You can keep having fun and things will sort themselves out on their own.”

I opened my mouth to refute that, then sighed once more. It would all depend on Vicky's reaction when we met up for patrol. If she was her same bubbly self, then I could do what my mother suggested and I could ignore Amy not accepting my confession. If Vicky was polite and didn't act like her usual self, then I would know how Amy felt meant more to her than I did, despite her telling me she loved me.

“I need to go.” I said and my mom climbed off of my lap and sat on the couch beside me.

“Be careful.” My mom said and I knew she meant it in several different ways.

I nodded and left through the kitchen door and made myself invisible and flew off towards the hospital. I had a few minutes before I had to meet Vicky and thought about how I could fix things, then realized I couldn't. If I tried to take back what I said, then Amy would assume I wasn't genuine and her refusal was right. If I doubled-down and tried to force the issue, it would just push her away faster.

I made myself visible and flew over to the roof of the hospital and landed. I checked for cameras and microphones, then checked for any in the area. It was clear and I relaxed until I saw Vicky flying towards me. She landed and didn't jump on me, or hugged me, or even smiled.

“Ready to start, Atlas?” Vicky asked, her tone flat.

“Whenever you are, Glory Girl.” I said in the same tone.

We took off at the same time and flew the first half of the route, not seeing any crimes or anything even remotely illegal for us to interfere with. We landed at the same fast food joint as last time and grabbed some food, sat outside and ate in complete silence, and flew off to start the next leg of the patrol.

We doubled back to do the route backwards, just like the schedule, and nothing happened. Apparently, having the whole team of New Wave out in the city had scared off the normal criminals for the day. We ended the patrol back at the hospital and landed on the roof several feet away and facing each other.

“She won't talk about it, not even with me.” Glory Girl suddenly said, breaking the silence.

I sighed and locked eyes with her. “You know I can't take it back. It'll just make this worse.”

Glory Girl gave me a slightly angry look. “Do you want to take it back?”

“Of course not. When I say something, I mean it.” I said and she lost the angry look. “I just didn't plan on her not being ready to hear it from me or to cause her to doubt herself or how she feels.”

“I think she just needs time.” Glory Girl said, her hands forming into fists.

I knew what that meant. “As do you.”

“Ames is hurting and you're the cause, even if it was unintentional.” Glory Girl said. “I can't sneak around behind her back and have fun with you until that's dealt with.”

I didn't comment about the things she said during the press conference or how things are going to look if what she said turned out to not be true. “What about school?”

Glory Girl's face went through several different expressions before she settled on blank. “We'll deal with that when it happens.”

I didn't let anything show on my face at all. “As long as you don't make me out to be the bad guy, I won't make a scene.”

Glory Girl nodded and floated up into the air, gave me a sad look, and flew off.

“Fuck.” I whispered and watched her fly away. When she was out of sight, I ran to the edge of the roof and jumped off, letting myself freefall for a second, then I flew towards the bay. I had to work off some frustration and the boat graveyard full of old abandoned ships would be the perfect place to do it.

*

Paige Macabee arrived in Brockton Bay on her private plane around the same time a press conference had been called at the hospital for some reason. Thanks to that, she was unmolested as she went through security and left the airport terminal to climb into her rented limo.

The small television in the back showed the press conference and Paige smiled as she saw her unintentional benefactor had saved her from being mobbed by the press. She picked up the phone and dialed the number sent to her from the PHO account AllSeeingEye.

“What do you have for me?” Paige asked as soon as the call was answered.

“Lots.” Lisa Wilbourn said. “Some of it you can find for yourself...”

“I didn't pay you a small fortune to give me homework.” Paige cut her off.

Lisa chuckled. “I was just saying you can confirm it for yourself later.”

“I won't need to, unless you cheat me.” Paige said. “You won't appreciate what I'll do to you if you do.”

Lisa was quiet for a moment. “You've embraced your cape name fully.”

“Certain events had caused me to see how horrible trusting the system is, so why bother?” Paige asked and didn't wait for a response. “Now give me everything you have, no matter how inconsequential you think it is.”

By the time the limo arrived at the high price hotel half an hour later, Lisa had told her everything she had discovered, including several online identities for Greg Veder.

“Did you arrange the constant surveillance for the target of my affection?” Paige asked.

“Yes, I've hired a pair of local capes that have a stealth camera drone to follow him.” Lisa admitted.

“Good. Send me the information on how to watch the recordings.” Paige ordered.

“It's live streaming, actually.” Lisa told her.

“Wonderful. Just wonderful.” Paige said. “You are worth the cost of doing business with you.”

“Thank you.” Lisa said, proudly. “If I find anything else out, I'll send it along.”

“I would appreciate a copy of the press conference, too.” Paige said.

“I already sent the link to your email.” Lisa said, a bit smugly.

Paige let out a little laugh. “Yes, definitely worth the cost. Good day.”

“Good day.” Lisa said and hung up.

Paige left the limo and entered the hotel. She signed the register with her cape name and the clerk smiled happily at her. The bellboy followed her to the elevator and brought her many bags up to the penthouse suite and left with a huge smile on his face at the huge tip he received.

After putting a few things away, Paige couldn't force herself to delay her satisfaction anymore and unpacked her laptop and found the links to various videos and sites. She clicked on the live stream and watched as Atlas patrolled the city looking for crimes to foil, the blonde cape flying near him was completely ignored.

She grabbed a bottle of wine and sipped from a tall glass as she watched Atlas as he ate in silence with Glory Girl before they continued the patrol of the city. It wasn't until the scene on the roof that she knew something had happened earlier that she missed, so she let the stream play and opened another browser and checked the video from earlier.

Paige watched the little confrontation after the press conference and smiled as Panacea accidentally crushed the young man's heart. She went back to the live stream, only to gasp as she saw Atlas in the boat graveyard and tearing through several tons of steel, balling it up, and throwing it around like it weighed nothing.

She sat back and relaxed on the couch, sipped her wine, and watched the magnificent specimen of a man as he literally ripped apart several multi-ton shipwrecks and smaller boats like they were just toys. A bright energy blast from his hands disintegrated the large oil tanker blocking the bay and Paige no longer doubted that this was the man that destroyed the Birdcage and saved her.

“You don't need to concern yourself with those silly little girls anymore, Atlas.” Paige said and took another sip of wine as her fingertip stroked the laptop's screen. “I've come here to help soothe both of our broken hearts and neither of us will be alone anymore.”