Marvel: PS - Chapter 6 - Settling In (Patreon)

(Word Count: 2,122)

I was asked to come in over the course of the next few mornings to continue testing the limits of my powers and what exactly I could do. Teleport, there wasn't really much that I could influence. However, these scientists were big anime and comic nerds. The fact that they had someone with superpowers incited all of their creativity and instead of just moving on, they tried having me practice my accuracy/precision. Just how exact could I get when I target my teleports? How long did it take to activate the teleport?

And oh boy, did they get excited when they learned that it came with a limited spatial awareness. They had me go blindfolded and try to sense my way through a maze, or have me try to sense small objects around me.

When they realized that I could teleport something into another thing, even if it got shunted out, they tried having me do it on purpose to try and fuse the two objects together. Though it never worked, even if one of them tried to surround it, it would just pop out to the nearest available space, even if it had to phase through the scientists themselves. No matter how much the teleported object had to phase through, it would always pop out without any momentum. It was determined to be completely safe.

I should hope so! I specifically put in those safety measures so I didn't accidentally kill myself!

For Regenerate, they had me try to concentrate the effect of the healing to one specific body part. Now that I wasn't brain dead like I was the last time I tried, it worked to some extent. It turned out to be a lot harder to do than anything else I've tried, and I could only slightly affect the result by about 10%.

On my own, through a Shadow Clone that goes off by itself at night, I tried to copy the same practice I did with Regenerate with Disintegrate instead. It was kind of hard to see if I was actually influencing anything, because it just instantly turned everything I tried it on to dust. I had a feeling I could though. I did manage some better control over how the AoE was shaped though. From the standard cube to a sphere, or donut, or pyramid. It was getting easier.

For Shadow Clones, I couldn't think of any way to push its limits outside of the parameters. I did try to strike up a conversation about other superpowers that appeared in comics and anime, since they were big fans, and we had talked about how we would train those to their limits. When I brought up the basic idea for shadow clones, since Naruto didn't exist here (was that an opportunity to make some money?), they only went on to its potential in training other skills, not what to do to push the Shadow Clone skill itself. I was at a loss.

Regardless, I've made some good progress, and the descriptions of some of my skills even changed to match my progress.

Attack Skill: Disintegrate LVL 6 => 9 (60%)

Description: [-]

You wield destructive energy to reduce the given Area within Range down to its elemental composition. You can influence the concentration to focus on a specific area to increase the strength at the cost of reduced AoE.

Parameters: [-]

Range: [Touch], AoE: [4]in^3, Strength: [1], Cool Down: [30 => 20]min, Usage Limit: [4 => 5 => 10]/day

Defense Skill: Barrier Formation LVL 9 => 14 (70%)

Description: [+]

You can generate and manipulate 2D barriers at will, within given parameters. You can change the barrier's shape, color, and transparency.

Parameters: [-]

Range: [5]ft, Size Limit: [1]ft^2, Force Limit: [600 => 900 => 1,200]psi, Movement Speed: [1]m/s, Time: [1]hr, Cool Down: [30 => 20]min, Usage Limit: [4 => 5 => 10]/day

Mobility Skill: Teleport LVL 9 => 12 (92%)

Description: [+]

Parameters: [-]

Range: [20]ft, Weight Limit: [200]lbs, Passenger Range: [touch], Cool Down: [10 => 5]min, Usage Limit: [4 => 5 => 10]/day

Healing Skill: Regenerate LVL 9 => 13 (0%)

Description: [-]

You infuse a target within Range with healing energy that restores the target to its peak health and restores any lost parts or functions over the course of its duration. You can influence the concentrations of the healing to focus on specific wounds, to increase strength, at the cost of time of duration.

Parameters: [-]

Range: [Touch], Heal Strength: [4] for [4]min, Cool Down:  [1]hr => [50 => 40]min, Usage Limit:  [4 => 5 => 10]/day

Utility Skill: Shadow Clone LVL 4 => 7 (58%)

Description: [+]

Parameters: [-]

Clone Number: [2], Spawn Range: [5]ft, Time: [10 => 30]min => [1]hr, Cool Down: [40]min, Usage Limit:  [3 => 4]/day

With all of the tests finally done, Natasha and I are going to go shopping. We haven't had any real opportunity to get to know one another with all of the tests, nor have we been able to really settle into the house. Most of my things were still in boxes.

I went downstairs to see Natasha making some PBJ sandwiches. She looked like she just rolled out of bed. “Good morning,” I called out to her.

“Good morning, Amy,” Natasha said tiredly. She must have had a long night or something. She's usually able to hide her tiredness a lot better. “I made us some PB and J's for breakfast. I'm gonna go take a shower, then we can go shopping.” Natasha put the plate of sandwiches on the table, and shuffled back upstairs.

It was honestly pretty touching that she prioritized making breakfast for me over even taking a shower. I was just some kid that got pushed onto her. I looked at the coffee machine and saw it was empty. She had forgotten it. I loaded it up so she'll have a cup ready for her when she gets back down. 

I was already done eating when Natasha came back down and was watching cartoons. She stopped and was shocked to see a pot of coffee, looked at me over in the living room, and back. “Thank you, Amy. That was really sweet of you!” She came over and gave me a hug.

“Well, um… thanks for making sandwiches. You know I don't mind making my own breakfast? You don't have to come down so early for me.”

Natasha winced. “True, I'm not really a morning person, but making sure you have your breakfast ready in the morning is something that I want to do.”

“Okay… but you can take a shower first at least, I really don't mind waiting a bit if I come down first. I don't want to be too much of an inconvenience,” I muttered.

“That's nonsense, you're not an inconvenience at all. I'm just… new to this I suppose.”

“Well… if you're sure.”

Natasha just hugged me. “Of course I’m sure.”

After that, Natasha got herself a cup and drank that as we watched some morning cartoons together.

M:PS

“Natasha, look at this sign! We have to get it, won't it look so good in the entryway?” I held up the rustic looking live laugh love sign towards her. Her face strained to keep smiling.

“You know, I was thinking more along the lines of hanging up pictures instead. Maybe a landscape painting?” Natasha said.

I lowered the sign, dejected. “Okay… I’ll just go put this back I guess.” I sniffed, pretending to be holding back tears. Natasha's heart broke.

“Wait! Now that I think about it, I agree. It would look good, let's get it!” Natasha caved.

All signs of sadness gone, I cheered. “Yay! Come on, I think I saw a picture frame that matches this!”

Natasha gaped at me, then laughed. “You stinker! You tricked me!”

I giggled, “Of course not, I was being totally sincere over here.”

I ran over to the next aisle, and froze when I saw a family of three laughing. The mother was teasing the daughter who was sitting in the cart. It was a small gesture, but it reminded me of my own parents. Both sets of parents, from both lives. 

The loss of one resparked the pain of the other, and all the feelings came crashing back down on me. I struggled to hold back the tears. I've been keeping myself busy, distracting myself. 

Natasha noticed my change in mood, and came running over. “Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?” She knelt down and spoke soothingly. “What happened, Amy?” She looked over where I was staring and saw the family of three. She understood immediately and hugged me, hiding the family from sight with her body. “It'll be okay, Amy. It'll be okay.”

I started sobbing, clutching pitifully at her shirt.

Natasha just held me tightly, rubbing my back. There wasn't much else she could do, and she was mildly freaking out. She had no idea how to console a crying child. She didn't have to deal with this with Clint's kids. They were usually always happy when she came to visit. The few times that they were crying, it was from a scraped knee. She would just put a bandaid over it, kiss it better, and compliment them on how strong they were. That was all it took.

With the other men and women she works with, if someone dies on the mission and someone on the team is freaking out, which usually doesn't happen since they're all professionals, she would just tell them to pull themselves together and finish the mission. Then it was the therapist's job to worry about it.

This was neither situation. She couldn't put a bandaid over the death of Amy's parents. She couldn't tell her to pull herself together.

So, she just held Amy close.

When I was finally done crying, I pulled away, wiping away my tears. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean to break down like that.”

“Don't apologize, Amy,” Natasha said in a soothing voice, “I understand.”

She stood back up and held out a hand for me. “Should we head back home?”

I shook my head. “No, we can keep shopping. I'm okay now. I'd rather finish decorating the house as soon as possible.”

As much as I wanted to continue, our shopping didn't last very much longer after that. I was exhausted, and I couldn't really focus much on what would look good in the house or not. So we called it quits and came back with what we already had.

When we got back, I just retreated quickly to my room, got myself a book from my shelves, and wrapped myself in my blankets to read. I fell asleep quickly.

M:PS

Natasha watched as Amelia immediately ran upstairs to her room with concern. Again, she felt like there was nothing she could do. So she just gave her space, and focused on getting the things put away, and decorations up.

When she was done, she made some hot chocolate for Amy and went up to her room. The door was shut, so she knocked softly. “Amy? Can I come in?” There was no answer. She quietly opened the door a crack to peek in, and saw Amy wrapped up in her blankets asleep with a book falling out of her hands.

She smiled sadly and closed the door.

M:PS

I woke back up just in time for dinner that night. I wasn't really all that hungry, so I mostly just pushed the food around the plate. “You know… I've been thinking,” Natasha paused, feeling a little awkward.

“What?” I asked.

“I think it's best if I make you an appointment with a therapist,” Natasha said.

I shot to my feet angrily. “WHAT! I don't need any therapist!”

“I think you do. You've just lost your parents, Amy. That is a traumatic experience for anyone, but especially for someone as young as you are. You need to talk to someone about it, and I'm not the sort of person that's qualified for that sort of conversation,” Natasha said. “If you keep pushing it down as you have been, you’ll keep having these random breakdowns.”

I stood there, shocked, embarrassed, and angry. What? Was she embarrassed by my crying in public? “I'm fine! I don't need a therapist. It won't happen again.”

“There's no shame in it. I'm required to talk to one every few months, and whenever there's been a particularly hard mission. If you want, I can recommend you to him?”

“I SAID I DON'T NEED A D*** THERAPIST! YOU’RE NOT MY MOTHER, SO STOP ACTING LIKE IT!” I yelled, and ran back up to my room.

Natasha sat there for a moment, blinking away the welling tears.