I got the small kit from my utility compartment and approached her.  She kept still while I got out the disinfectant, bandages and tape and covered the fingers Siberian had shortened by one segment.

“How can you even be teammates with her?”  Amy asked me.  “Are you friends?”

I would go so far as to say best friends.

It might have something to do with not having been on her bad side before.

“We are.”

“Everything that happened to me, it’s like it all snowballed out from the moment you assholes robbed the bank.”

What? How?

There were absolutely things that snowballed from that (including Taylor being outed as a mole in the Undersiders, in part because of Amy), but I see no connection between that – or anything else the Undersiders did – and everything later that negatively affected Amy. At least no connection that Amy should know about.

Is it the whole villainous father deal? As far as I remember, she already knew about the “villainous” part, though, just not which villain.

Me too.  I’d met and ultimately joined the Undersiders because of Tattletale, and everything had followed from that.

That’s true, though. She may not have been on Tattletale’s bad side, but she has been manipulated by her in ways that are fundamental to her story.

“It was one of the reasons,” Tattletale started, “Skitter-”

“Shut up!”  The words were a screech as they came out of Amy’s mouth.

Seriously, Lisa, I think you’re better off just listening to her. Maybe you can ask Taylor to ask Amy whatever it was, when Amy isn’t paying attention to the two of you.

Tattletale turned a hundred and eighty degrees, so her back was to Amy, and looked in the direction of Grue and I.  “I’m done.  No point, fuck it.  I’m going to try calling the others again while you handle this.”

I like this trait of Lisa’s, the consistent indignation when people refuse to listen to her.

There were a few long seconds of tension as we all stood there, Tattletale a short distance away, phone to her ear.

I decided to break the silence.  “How are your fingers?  You’re using your power to keep the bleeding down?”

She ca– oh, right, the microbe thing.

Amy glanced at her hand, and a dark look crossed her face.  “Yeah.”

Didn’t want them to figure that out, did you?

“I’ve got bandages, if you want them.  Only the most basic first aid supplies, but maybe they’ll help?”

“Okay.”

Thank you, Amy, for not refusing the help. You’re not in a position to be doing that kind of thing right now, and they did save your life at their own risk, regardless of why they did it.

Tattletale turned her head, “Hey, Amy, listen.  Can I ask you a quest-”

Not now, Lisa.

Also, maybe not you. You’re the one here Amy likes the very least.

“Don’t,” Amy snapped, shifting gears from self-pity to fury in a heartbeat.  “Don’t talk to me.  Don’t even look at me, you bitch.”

Yeah, this is not a surprising reaction.

“This is important.”

“What part of what I just said did you not understand!?”

“You’d think we didn’t just save your life,” Trickster said, folding his arms.

I mean, true. I’d be pointing that out myself if she were snapping like this at anyone other than Tattletale.

“You did it to delay Siberian.  Or so she said,” Amy replied, glancing at Tattletale.

I mean, that was one of the reasons. Another one of them was “save Amy”.

“My fingers,” she moaned, as she looked at her hand.  “I ran as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough.  She kept catching me.”

Hey, at least you’re lucky she was playing with her food.

“I know.  There was nothing you could have done,” I said.

“It’s not right,” Amy shook her head.  She was still backing away. “This isn’t the way things should be.  Superpowers and Endbringers and things like Siberian… it’s so fucked up.  We- there should be a way to fight back, but there isn’t, so much of the time.”

Hey, you know how I’ve talked about Amy and Taylor being similar in some ways?

This brings me back to 8.8, even though that was more specifically about the hero/villain distinction being a bit grayer than it should be.

“There is,” I said.  “It’s hard to find, but there’s always a way.”

This might be the most optimistic line we’ve ever heard from Taylor’s mouth.

But it’s not out of character in the slightest, because this is exactly what she’s been trying to do. She has practiced what she’s preaching, against overwhelming odds.

Taylor fights for hope.

“How many minutes has it been?”  Trickster asked, glancing at Bentley.

“Long enough I wouldn’t risk it,” Grue said.

Well. Guess we’re leaving the others to deal with Siberian and the remaining Nine on their own while we deal with getting Amy somewhere safe.

And with having her heal Taylor’s leg. There’s no way that’s not going to come back to bite Taylor in the, well, leg, if they don’t fix it.

I looked at Sirius.  I hadn’t noticed while we’d been riding him, but he was smaller.  His exterior tissues were fitting looser, in the same way skin tended to hang loose on someone who had been morbidly obese and recently lost weight.

Makes sense, given the whole thing about the hellhounds shedding flesh and such.

And just to his left, I could see Amy backing away, holding her hand.

Backing away from Sirius, or from all of them?

One of those things is completely fair.

“They’re not answering,” Tattletale reported, as she lowered the phone from her ear.  “They’re already engaged.”

Well fuck.

Also, looks like we’re going the route I described at the end of the intro post.

“You fucking idiot.  I swear,” Trickster stabbed one finger in her direction, “If Ballistic dies because you fucking gave it away-”

I was about to question him mentioning specifically Ballistic, but then I remembered that Genesis isn’t actually in danger.

Also it sounds like Tattle’s stunt was not part of the plan. This is a thing I’ve pointed out as a recurring flaw of hers before – her stunts keep putting others in danger without her meaning to.

I could see Tattletale’s eyes narrow, “My power told me there was a damn good chance she’d just run for it.  Eighty, ninety percent.”

It seems to have missed the chance that she’d use the faster tactic.

Maybe it’s Bonesaw. Maybe Lisa hasn’t noticed the relationship between the two of them (though she’s seen them together, which might be enough), and that’s what threw her power off the trail regarding just how motivated Siberian would be to get back to the others?

“Well, your power was wrong, wasn’t it?” Trickster retorted.

Tattletale ignored him, looking at me, “Anything?  Can you find him?”

No such luck yet, I’d imagine.

I shook my head.  “No.  I think he might be in a vehicle, so he can keep up with Siberian.  I realized it late, I haven’t been looking for one this whole time, but I’m sweeping the area now.”

Right, that.

“Shouldn’t we go?” Sundancer asked.  “We can go help Ballistic and your team.”

Yeah, what are you all standing around here for? Thank you, Sunny, you’re really the Travelers’ voice of reason.

“Would love to,” Grue said, “But Bitch warned us about using her dogs past the fifteen minute mark.

What?

Why?

It’s wearing off, they’re getting smaller and weaker, and if it gets to the point that they’re not comfortable carrying the load, they may lash out.”

Ohh, because she’s not there to keep it going. Fair enough, that makes sense.