Ziss is still a bit disoriented about the sudden teleportation. She points her charged helix gloves at the soldiers while she takes some time to look around...
Arcana draws power to herself as she rises into the air. Blue energy crackles around her as she gets ready to respond to these soldiers if they do anything.
"You want me to-" She tries to say more before the teleportation, but ends up feeling just as disorientated as the rest of the team as they end up facing the soldiers again.
"...Well, this seems really bad," She mutters before taking a moment to assess if all the weapons were something she could handle.
" 'S not like she's gotta tell me twice..." Crimson jokes as she flings herself into the fray, snatching and swatting at the soldiers as quickly as they can pile onto her!
The soldiers quickly turn their weapons on 86 when her device fizzles, firing rubber bullets at the Treznak in an attempt to subdue her.
As Arcana charges up her powers, Ziss and Tumbler take stock of the situation. Ziss figures that if she can access the computer system, she can learn who is behind this facility. It would probably be handy to grab the hard drive of one of the devices, or maybe one of the techs to interrogate them! Tumbler sees the best way to end this quickly would be to destroy or disable the soldiers' weapons, as they don't seem to be supers. The cowering techs are probably the most vulnerable to her.
Crimson Tide barrels into the soldiers, their bullets bouncing off her thick skin as she sends them flying every which way! Her rampage gives her allies a breather as the soldiers are fully focused on the shark girl wreaking havoc!
Showing is faster than telling.
She very-speedily moves to a wall, taking Carbine with her. Her free hand delivers a single punch that bashes a 10’ x 10’ hole in the wall, and the chunk of wall destroys whatever happened to be in there. A single stomp on the floor causes several structural beams to buckle, causing the floor to partially collapse. The room below (adjacent to where the team is fighting) is a much bigger mess.
”You can tell me where you leader is—now—or I’ll knock you out and destroy this entire facility. Need me to demolish a few more rooms to prove I’m not bluffing?”
Before Carbine can answer, she finds herself being super-speedily zipped across the room above the fighting. Wendy waits a second—literally one, then punches another 10’ x 10’ hole. Like before, the chunk of wall causes a lot of destruction. Wendy raises her leg about to stomp, and waits a second.
Arcana quickly throws up a shield around 86, protecting her from the hail of bullets.
Arcana brings up a rampaging psychic army of Treznaks to sow confusion and create a lot more targets for the enemy soldiers.
With the soldiers and Carbine distracted, Ziss takes advantage of her small size and great maneuverability to slip around them and reach the computers and the other tech devices. She swiftly grabs a hard drive and then tries to access the computers.
"Oh come on. No need to run just because you don't have weapon that can-
"Oh."
As Crimson Tide goes up towards the soldiers, Tumbler sees that she's going to be too slow a second before they'll have a chance to hit her with a fusilade. But the magnetic thief reaches out with her powers and concentrates. She's not unlearned about how guns function, even if she doesn't use them. Because the easiest way to make an escape when they're chasing after you is to jam up their weapons. And firing pins have lots of moving parts that don't like it when you bend them out of place.
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK
The sound of soldiers pulling their triggers on Megan only to be met by sudden confusion that they weren't working was music to Tumbler's ears. "Let them have it!" She tells the shark heroine.
Ziss sees Megan about to engage their enemies, so she blasts them with her gloves, just in case.
Arcana raises a magical shield to deflect the bullets away from 86! Crimson Tide comes charging in, and as the soldiers prepare to open fire, Tumbler reaches out with her powers to break and jam the guns!
The soldiers scowl and resort to using their guns as clubs, beating on Megan relentlessly. It seems for a moment that she has bitten off more than she can chew! But then Ziss begins to blast the soldiers, holding the stolen hard drive in her off-hand. The distraction she provides is enough to give Megan an opening to break free of the dogpile, sending the soldiers flying as she swats and bites! Shaken and wounded, the soldiers wisely choose to surrender!
***
The Derby gently flies down with Carbine.
”’Vanquish’ is the person or entity funding this project. We’re going to take Carbine and Shell with us. I know enough about fembots that I can repair Shell.” She turns to Carbine, ”The Treznak have warned of a threat. If it spreads, your financial gains from opposing them will be meaningless. I’ll leave you in my aunt’s custody. The bullet to the heart will not be mentioned as long as you cooperate.”
Wendy is pretty sure the biggest legal treat to Carbine is shooting a minor. Aunt Maude will know more about how the law protects non-hostile aliens. Or if?
She then says to everyone. ”Get out. I need some assurance the Treznak won’t be bothered. Turning this entire facility to a scrap heap should do the trick.”
She patiently waits for people to leave, and take the unconscious with them.
The soldiers and technicians put up no further protest, quickly evacuating the facility!
To the rest of the party. ”Nice job handling the soldiers. Ziss… amazing work. Reversing the polarity of the teleporter to lead us here was sheer genius.
“Please follow the soldiers and nerds.” The blackness in her eyes dances like wildfire. ”What am I about to do will kill anyone in this facility. Except me.”
Ziss looks at Wendy, as she compliments her genius. "I won't pretend dat I did know you'd be able to follow me... I just wanted dem away from de rest of you, give you a chance, even if I needed to..." She then shrugs. "Well, it doesn't really matter at dis point."
”You followed your instincts, Ziss. Doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t know. You made a split-second decision. It was deliberate. Purposeful.”
Wendy has a proud look. She wants to say more, but her shadow is growing bigger, darker, inexplicably so as no light source causes this. One moment, Wendy is a proud sister, girlfriend, leader… and in the next, the team sees only black.
• • • • •
Once shadow-portaled outside, the team finds themselves standing in the snowy footprints left by the fleeing soldiers. They are facing the facility.
A crash, metal buckling, grinding, the tinkling of glass shards and some electrical pops are all heard at once. A cloud consisting of smoke, dust and powdery snow poofs upward as the base folds like a house of cards.
If anyone is wondering how Wendy could survive this, a ghostly feminine figure casually phases through the destruction. Pieces of ice converge onto Wendy’s body, reforming the divine armor.
She says, ”I need to get the Hat Wing before my powers fade. Can we do our Victory Selfie first?”
If so, Wendy levitates to make her best pose ever!
The Barbed Beret, who recorded the base collapsing on eagle-back, is more than happy to snap a group photo!
Arcana drops out of the selfie, allowing her male construct to take her place. A small inner voice asks her why she still cares, but she quiets it with some effort.
Once the fembot takes the picture, Wesley floats close to Wendy. She pulls her off to the side and away from listening ears. "What do you mean, 'when your powers fade?' Are you not... Aren't you... superpowered now?" She looks deeply worried.
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After being aided by Arcana, 86 looks back to her "Thank you for the assistance. Let's bring them down quickly." It wasn't long after she had said that even that the group had done the job leaving her little time to add anything more to the conflict. While the goons surrendered she quickly gathered up her failure of an anti-weapon device as well as going about to collect as many of the weapons as she could carry, which was quite a lot with magnetic clamps dotting her armor.
Then they were all outside again, she huffed a bit at the lost materials that Wendy simply destroyed which could have been put to use, but that was her prerogative. While they waited 86 moved to the automaton and shuddered at it's terran guise, plugging a pair of prongs into the exposed wiring she runs a diagnostic of the villains systems, including a scan.
Wendy shakes her head. ”I phased out of the wreckage because my punch dented a wall instead of breaking it. I also lost an ability to see on a different spectrum… I could see cold.”
She takes Wes’ hand.
”Wanna fly with me while I still can?”
She gives an encouraging tug, but her arm isn’t as strong as before. Wendy’s strength is roughly equal to Wes’, or possibly slightly less.
Tumbler looks relieved to see that things are finally calming down. She walks over to Megan, nudging her gently in the side. "Please don't charge directly into a firing line in the future. I wouldn't want to have to pick all the bullets of you," She tells her with some humor in her tone.
She looks up where Wes and Wendy have gone, looking a little more concerned. [b]"So...that thing with Derby was pretty nuts, right? Do you have any idea what that's about?" She asks.
Wendy shakes her head. ”I phased out of the wreckage because my punch dented a wall instead of breaking it. I also lost an ability to see on a different spectrum… I could see cold.”
She takes Wes’ hand.
”Wanna fly with me while I still can?”
She gives an encouraging tug, but her arm isn’t as strong as before. Wendy’s strength is roughly equal to Wes’, or possibly slightly less.
Wesley only nods, her brow furrowed deeply. She rises up into the air, slowly at first, making sure Wendy can keep up. They zoom off ahead of the others.
"I was afraid you'd died. I was afraid I couldn't w-- you know, 'w-word' you back. There was a moment where I thought that maybe your powers came from me? But that's not it, is it?"
”I’m sorry you were scared, Wes.” Wendy almost gets a little choked up. With so much power flowing through her, moments ago, she was emotionless.
Even now, the prospect of her own death isn’t so bothersome. She survived a bullet to the heart. That warrants a huzzah, if anything.
But hearing Wes say it, especially with those pretty Jinn lips…
”The first time we were intimate… that sea creature almost killed me.
“But what if it did?”
Blue energy flows along Wesley's form. Her eyes lose their humanity for a moment, but she shakes it off. "That's a long time ago. I would have been sad, but we hadn't... connected like we have since. Would you have come back then, too? Is this your power, then? Do you have to die to get a power boost?"
”It’s a theory,” Wendy says. ”Not one that I’ll test.”
She finds her fight is not quite as elegant. She needs to move the wind. She does. She’s not sure how long she can, so she reaches for Wes’ hand again.
”Heh… I always thought all Ian Malcolm and I had in common was our kaotic way of thinking.
“Now we have a second thing. We both cheated death.”
Wendy smiles nerdily (and stops herself from ranting about how Malcolm was alive in the second book).
Wesley can't bring herself to smile back. Her stomach feels twisted in knots, so she squeezes Wendy's hand tight. "Why can't you keep those powers? That doesn't seem fair."
Wendy isn’t sure why this hurts Wes… but it’s a nice distraction from the cold reality that she’s starting to feel.
”Oh, Wes… it’s exhilarating to fly and break metal and… phasing through solid steel is way more fun than it sounds!
“I just don’t know how my great-grandfather does it without phasing out of his clothes.”
She might demonstrate that soon. The ice armor is going to be extremely uncomfortable when invulnerability wears off!
”But I don’t mind losing the powers. I don’t really want them… our team works fine with Regular Me.
“Most people die when their hearts explode, so… unfair was in my favor.”
A tear escapes Wesley's eye. She reaches up to touch Wendy's hair and caress her cheek. "But with those powers..." you could replace me. "... we'd all be stronger. Safer. Isn't there a family member who could help?"
Wendy brushes Wes’ tear. (She tries to, anyway. Her Air Control power blows the tear away before her finger can touch it.)
”In a way, they did. Those powers are inherited… they’re in my blood. I simply accessed them.
“But I don’t know if we’d really be a team with me like that.
”Not having powers has always worked for me. After all the talk about me rushing into the fray… I do it because I’m surrounded by supers. I push myself to the limits and trust the rest of you to use your powers to do all the things I can’t.
“If I have so many powers I can do it all myself…”
Now it’s Wendy who’s tearing up. Because what if the powers aren’t fading? What if they just need to recharge? What if I don’t hold back and just take on an army myself? What if my father’s power makes me like him?
”I don’t want them, Wes… especially not my father’s power. I think it would change me. I don’t know how to explain it. When I was alone with Carbine…”
She clings tightly to Wes. Because she’s crying. And because she can’t fly.
Arcana holds her up. She keeps her in the air with her power. "Believe me that I know that powers change a person. I don't even think I'm Wes anymore." She takes a moment to look down at herself. She seems to accept it.
Looking up, she meets Wendy's eyes. "When I saw you supercharged like that... I was so happy for you. For us. Don't be afraid, I need you strong. I need you to be stronger than me."
She pulls Wendy into a desperate embrace.
Wendy holds her tight. She tries to be strong, but Wes’ words scare her a little.
”I can be strong for you, Wes… just not physically.”
But Wendy doesn’t exactly believe that. When Barbs makes that social media post, the athletic director won’t believe it. There goes my chance at captaining the field hockey team.
”Not all the time. Maybe by understanding the trigger I can study samples of my blood… I mean, if me being super is important to you, I can try.”
As they approach the Hat Wing, Wendy momentarily becomes a blur. Wes can’t feel her. The ice armor falls from her body and into the snow—and Wendy is suddenly clinging to Wes, in the nude!
”Wes… the c-cold is starting to b-bother me. There’s a f-fire blanket in th-the Hat Wing.”
Arcana's eyes go wide at Wendy's nude form. She quickly pulls her in close and telekinetically wraps her cloak around the both of them. Her own gauzy harem's costume allows her heat to easily transfer to Wendy.
She directs her flight toward the Hat Wing, but doesn't pick up speed (maybe she even slows down a little). Staying warm and cozy inside the cocoon created by her cloak, Arcana can't help but let her fingers slide along Wendy's smooth skin. "I want you to be happy. With or without powers. But I need you strong. I don't know if that makes any sense. It's just that... I'm afraid Ziss's wish did something. It gave him an opening. The lamp's gone, I'm a girl -- like really a girl -- and I'm closer than ever to losing who I used to be."
Wendy pulls Wes into a kiss.
She lingers, explores, doesn’t care if she’s wrapped in a cloak, outdoors, well above-ground. The warmth of the wrap, the magic(?), the affection (that is magic!)… she needs this as much as Wes.
She eventually stops kissing to use her words.
”I can be strong without powers. That is my strength. And you’re my future.”
Arcana keeps the cloak tight around them with her mind so her hands can be free to explore and hug her body close. Her soft lips caress Wendy's and keeps working down her neck when she talks.
She finally comes up for air as they float down to the Hat Wing's entrance. Her voice is soft and breathy as her temperature rises. "You say the best things," she says with a soft smile. "I'm your girl, you know that? I'm yours."
Her smile becomes cheeky. Wendy feels the gauzy fabric on Arcana slide across her own skin and wrap around her. Now she's the one that's clothed and Arcana is naked!
Wendy doesn’t know if her cousin’s immunity to the cold has returned to her, or if Jinn Wes is so hot she doesn’t care.
”I still have some powers.”
Wendy and Wes are enveloped in shadow. Here, there is no cold, no prying eyes, no interruptions… just Wendy and Wes and nothing more.
…except the fabric Wendy is wrapped in. She phases out of that!
Wendy spends what she expects will be the last of her power—
—to populate the darkness with a world she imagines:
Pink clouds - fluffy, cotton, you can stand on them. Rainbow sky - flowing like a sparkling waterfall, radiating colorful sunbeams. Flowers - vermilion, indigo, chartreuse, dotting the fluffy cloud like floor, providing a pleasant scent.
And Wendy herself—her athletic figure is as muscular and smooth as always. But here, she is as much the goddess of her domain as Wes is in her lamp.
She wants a strong woman. I may have overshot.
Wendy wraps her arms around her girl. ”You’re my girl. I’m yours.”
Arcana marvels at the sudden change in scenery, and that her little joke of trading costumes ended up with them both being naked. She lets her cloak fall into the clouds as she floats forward, drinking in the sight of her lover in all her glory. And glorious she was.
Megan's eyes widen as her sharky face contorts into a slightly grotesque mask of surprise as she leans in close. "Right?! So glad you said something, 'cause I sometimes tune her out when she's complaining about personal stuff again, and that seemed like a big thing to miss!"
She looks up pensively for a moment. "I guess I don't have to worry as much about her taking a hit like that if she's a healer too. 'S just as well - I don't scar forever, but they look gnarrrrly while they heal. If she wants to take a couple super-bullets or whatever, I won't tell her no."
A little more seriously she looks back down at Carmen. " 'S not the case for you or anyone else though, okay? 'S my job to take those hits if anyone's gotta."
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With Wesley gone 86 busies herself with her work, not being able to properly thank the one who shielded her. She looked on at Tumbler and Crimson sharing a bonding moment, or at least what she believe to be the case. Terrans were still alien but at least they had similar rituals of worrying about one's packmember. She calls out to Ziss in the meantime.
"Sis-Speaker come I require your knowledge on this technology, Terran-tech is not the same as Treznian so it is proving a bit difficult to patch into this automaton's systems. "
Though Wes and Wendy spent hours in the Mind Cloud, only twenty minutes have passed by the time the Hatwing appears in the sky…
Wendy is wrapped in a blanket when the door slides open. And barefoot. She does not step out.
”I don’t have ice powers anymore, so time to head back to a warmer elevation.” Seeing 86 and Ziss working on Shell, she adds, ”—when you’re ready. I’ll be in the cockpit. It’s heated, so no rush on my account.”
She’s feeling too good about the mission to hide in the cockpit, so Wendy lingers in the doorway, admiring her team.
She’s about to cry. That’s her cue to isolate herself in the cockpit.
While Ziss do join 86 in her efforts to repair Shell, she doesn't really know how she'll be able to help. "Right... not sure if you know, 86, but I'm only half terran and I've only been here for a couple monfs, so I don't really know much about deir tech eider..." She takes a look nevertheless, secretly looking for signs of Razzaran technology, remembering those cyborgs that came to Earth looking for her.
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Looking up from the data pad on her smaller wrist she hums something akin to a throaty growl, "I should have known, given your knowledge of things not of this planet. But to know you are a half-breed speaks to the versatility of the Terran genetic makeup. I am sure a Biologos would be giddy to examine you." There was a pause just long enough for her to realize that it was probably unintentionally rude. "Not to worry I am no Biologos, nor would I simply hand you over if they asked, but I'm sure it'd be mostly painless."
The Treznak artificer continues to plod through the data absently trying to make sense of the hairbrained Terran engineering. She made an attempt to reboot Shell in a severely underpowered state so that it wouldn't immediately go about trying to beat the ever living life out of everyone present. Certainly enough to keep whatever biological life inside would continue to survive.
The Wesley-construct posed for the selfie after bringing the Barbed Beret to the group. He didn't smile.
Wendy and the female-him flew off together, leaving him to stand with the rest of the team and be ignored. He pulls the hood of his cloak over his head and broods until the Hat-Wing arrives.
Guy-Wes boards the aircraft and eyes Arcana, who is sitting in the passenger cabin cross-legged, wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt. Her feet are bare. "So, you're still...?" he starts, looking confused.
"Yes," she replies, a warning in her tone. Before he can say anything else, her eyes flash blue as she stares at him. "Oh. You're where all my masculinity went. You can keep it for a while. I'm going to stay like this." She rises to her feet and puts a hand on his chest. There's a flow of energy from her to him.
"That should keep you around a while. Can't have you fading away until I decide what to do with you."
Arcanum scowls. "This is messed up, dude."
"Tell me about it. And I'm not a dude. Currently."
"I feel real."
Arcana shrugs. "Good. You can be Wesley. I'll be... this. For now. Until I get the lamp back and my memories sorted out. Then... we'll see."
"You don't need to take any bullets for me. I'm pretty good at keeping them from hitting me," Tumbler brags to Tide. "But I appreciate your concern. You'll make a lady blush," She teases.
"...So. You want to maybe go surfing together when we get back to Bay City? Just the two of us?" She inquires.
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While Shell reboots 86 looks over to the hat-wing. "Siss I am going to move this automaton onto the vessel." She scoops Shell up and begins to move, one arm hanging a bit limper than the other, a large unclotted patch of blood hangs in her fur and on the ground that she had been knelt by. The wound from the false ship shrapnel from Wendy's burst of power still bleeding openly in a brilliant orange. It's a bit hard to read for most, but Ziss, thanks to her time spent with a Treznak, could see that 86 was just putting on a strong face to look good for the group.
Once in the hat-wing and freed of the burden of Shell she thought of using her medical supplies to stop the bleeding. But if Wendy-Red could be shot in her inportant organs and function a mild wound couldn't be that bad. So she instead leans in a way that looks like she's not craddling the quivering limb.
"Good at stopping the metal ones anyways..." Megan mutters, stalling for time a bit.
"Surfing with you sounds like a lot of fun," she says carefully.
The Barbed Beret is seated atop a box with a giant + on it, and the words ‘FIRST AID.’
She looks at 86, taps the box, and says, ”Would you trust an Earthling, or half-Earthling, to apply emergency medical attention? I ask this because you require emergency medical attention. I do not need to be wearing my Candy Striper Barbie outfit to see that.”
She turns to Guy Wes, who is probably the second-least interested in Barbie of all humans aboard, and says if the mentioned outfit, ”It is from Canada.”
Wendy throws out a ”Where to?” but assumes 86 does NOT want to go to her people while Carbine and Shell are aboard.
So she suggests, ”Drop off prisoners first, then a few home runs sound good?”
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The Barbed Beret is seated atop a box with a giant + on it, and the words ‘FIRST AID.’
She looks at 86, taps the box, and says, ”Would you trust an Earthling, or half-Earthling, to apply emergency medical attention? I ask this because you require emergency medical attention. I do not need to be wearing my Candy Striper Barbie outfit to see that.”
She turns to Guy Wes, who is probably the second-least interested in Barbie of all humans aboard, and says if the mentioned outfit, ”It is from Canada.”
Narrowing her four eyes at the small automaton she speaks with a harsh bite. "I-I shall be fine Wendy-Red has sustained a worse injury, should she not receive your medical attention first?" It actually had occurred to her that her wound should have clotted long before now. Perhaps it was something in the atmosphere. "All Trezna-nak are trained in application of field triage. I shall defer priority location to you R-Red." Her eyes fell to the slowly growing mess on her armor and she turned to try and find someplace quieter in the ship to tend to her own wounds.
Opening up her own field kit with the nano-suture and scanner she found that the shrapnel from the ship earlier seemed to have nicked a major artery in her large arm and the cold location and chemical composition of Earth was making it difficult for her cells to clot properly. And the recent stresses on it weren't helping things. So with a shaky grasper she held the nano-suture up to the wound that is until Ziss approached her to which she quickly tried to hide the device.
Noticing the wound in 86's arm and then Barb's comment, Ziss picks her up and puts her aside with care, just to access the first aid kit. She fumbles around with a couple items as she reads them, but then heads towards 86. "Hey, let me take a look on your arm... anyfing I should know before doing dat?"
As she mentions helping Wendy first, Ziss adds, in a lower voice. "Also, I'm speaking from experience, but you better not be caught worrying about Wendy." While still saddened, Ziss appears decided to help 86 and her face betrays she'll not take a "no" for an answer.
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It is clear she was trying to hide the large, for human hands device in her grasper, but it wouldn't help against Ziss. "Wendy-Red is the leader of the pack. Has operational command, we go where she goes." It does become clear that being stubborn against Ziss would likely not lend to her own help, but 86 still has her pride to protect.
"I am a proud Treznak warrior I do not require assistance Though should I need it in the future I suppose it could not hurt to have another in the pack who knows how to... o-operate medical equipment." Ziss gets the impression she's spinning it to still make herself sound good. As she places the device in Ziss's mitts. "Nano-medifab, lifetime three-long cycles before it requires maintenance and re-energizing. Detects and applies appropriate growth stimulants, muscle contracting agents, and cyto-proteins necessary for rapid cellular regrowth. Nanites to aid in clotting in hazardous environments, using nanites which capture, breakdown, and recycle wayward tissue and redeposit to immediately strengthen the wound. Only functional for wounds smaller than six inches." She kneels down to the diminutive Ziss, placing a clawed grasper on various parts of the device.
"Do not aim at non-wound, wasteful. Refill nanite chamber with access slide here. Retain trigger discipline, restrain patient as necessary. Direct applicator above wound towards major vascular chamber first, apply anesthetic and inoculation trigger. Once applied pinch wound together if safe to do so, do not tear further, aim device and drag from one end of injury to other while depressing trigger." She seems to be reciting the entire usage from rote. "When injury is fully intact, cease application, restock as necessary, and continue treatment. If necessary contact vessel biologos for further medical analysis."
She stares at Ziss, "Understand Siss-Speaker?"
Barbs assures both 86 and Ziss, ”Wendy had temporarily displayed complete control over a multitude of known Hatrix Legacy powers, including a level of strength that exceeds that of Aunt Maude, a.k.a. the Bodacious Bowler.
“Wendy has not previously demonstrated abilities considered to be superhuman or greater. Please do not compare yourself, 86. Your physical strength is normally well beyond hers. I recorded her singlehanded destruction of the enemy base for review. The precise trigger of her power surge has yet to be determined.”
She turns to Ziss. ”I, too, am secretly worried.”
Ziss pays attention to 86's explanation, noticing her attempt to "not show weakness" and not commenting on the matter. "So... to summarize, it heals. Right." She jokes, noticing how the device would require more than two hands to be properly handled.
"I understood... despite your attempt to make it look much more complicated dan it actually is." With that, Ziss lets 86 handle the device while she busies herself with moving her fur away from the wound and then pinches the wound together once 86 has applied the healing substances.
To barbs, Ziss adds. "You better keep it a secret then, if you want to keep thinking."
Barbs does not respond to Ziss’ emotion, but with logic she anticipates Ziss may appreciate.
”My loyalty is to the legacy, by Wendy’s design. Aunt Maude has already received my recording, including footage that is not to be posted on social media.
”I did not witness the triggering event. If you wish to voice your concerns or details, Wendy’s trusted adults will appreciate the information.”
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86 stops herself from biting her tongue as Ziss aids her. "Y-yes in simple terms, it... heals." It didn't sit so well with her simplifying the science of the device down but there wasn't a denial that it did just that.
Shooting herself up with some anesthetic before she moved to the actual wound. There was a singed smell of burning plastic and ozone as she grit her maw and worked. "Knowing the deeper function of tools is part of my vocation. You'll have to excuse me from the lengthy explanation." The process was over quickly, but it was clear whatever was already spilled on the floor wasn't going to oxidize quickly and remained fluid for a while.
"Odd... knew it would take long to clot. But this cold makes it worse it seems." She rationalizes that she'll have to tell Tyr'Gal if he hadn't made the discovery already. "Why threaten the automaton for questioning it's creators safety?"
"Good at stopping the metal ones anyways..." Megan mutters, stalling for time a bit.
"Surfing with you sounds like a lot of fun," she says carefully.
"Great! It'll be nice to get away from hero stuff for a bit. I'll wax my board tonight, you can pick the beach," Tumbler tells her. Keeping things casual sounding for the most part.
---
On board the Hat-wing, Tumbler takes a seat next to Wesley, looking at him curiously. "So...is this going to be a thing now for you? Being twinned all the time? Or can we get you to fuse together like Ruby and Sapphire and be Garnet again?" She asks, trying to keep things light.
"But, seriously though, are you okay? You seem really stressed out. You need some time for yourself?" She whispers, dropping the 'devil-may-care' attitude. "I mean, your other half seems like she's pretty okay with this, but you're not exactly on the same wavelength..."
"If Derby's trusted adults could be really trusted, she'd not have been hurting herself so much, would she?" Ziss asks Barbs while tending to 86's wounds. "If you want to show anyfing to dem, you do not need today's events... just show every fight we've had so far. It will be enough."
To 86, she adds. "I'm not treatening Barbs at all, 86, quite de opposite. I'm warning her not to cross Derby about dis matter. I've learned my lesson."
Barbs seems to be thinking of something. She eventually replies, ”Are you insinuating Wendy is inflicting self-harm?”
Ziss frowns and thinks for a moment. "No, I'm saying she has no regard for her own safety and puts herself needlessly in danger... according to her she does dis to help her image, but to me dis is b!*#+!@+, nonsense, and even selfish of her, not to mention..." She trails off, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself again. "Sorry, I've promised myself not to care anymore."
She then shrugs. "All fings considered, to be honest, it would not shock me if she also harms herself on purpose."
Barbs does not respond to the accusation. She takes Ziss’ words as confirmation that Wendy has not harmed herself intentionally. Not recently, or not to Ziss’ knowledge.
”I record the battles. Wendy and your adoptive mother review them. Rather than dismiss her methods as bovine excrement, might I suggest you discuss these matters of tactics and optics directly with Wendy, Auntie Maude or both?”
Megan beams. "Sure! Wanna stick to some of the easier waves like before? Or head somewhere a little more aggro? Not too much though, no disrespect, but somewhere like Rebel Beach 's probably a little much, even when the rift is shut."
"Adoptive moder? Unless adoption on Earf is somefing done wifout consent of de minor and deir parents, Maude is not my moder... And if she reviews de recordings and is ok wif dem, I'm glad she isn't..." She says, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I'd like to request not to be addressed by you for de remaining of our flight. Is dis possible?"
The Barbed Beret looks at Ziss. I should not record this. She doesn’t. Since a polite way to exit the conversation involves addressing Ziss, she walks toward the cockpit and seems to will the apparently-electronic door to open a crack.
The door shuts behind her.