Mine 40

He watched as the grumpy healer left the room in a better mood. He did not think his healing would affect her like Alec since he kept it low. He did not want acquisitions of Mastering Panacea of all people spreading around. Honestly, he should have not offered at all but that girl really was running herself to the bone.

She did not crack until much later when the Slaughterhouse Nine broke her world apart but that was in a different world. He could not count on her being safe and somewhat mentally sound until then. The time-line was doomed for failure with his existence and his actions have flipped the board. So he was not willing to leave her to stew in her emotions all alone till then.

Not because he cared for her or even because the world really needed Panacea, but because he wanted to fucking live. If she cracked and fell apart god knows what she would do. He liked his skin as it was and a plague that melted organic material was just moments away if she snapped.

That was just one of the many ways he saw himself dying if Amy gave in to the Shaper’s prodding and went off the deep end. So it was in his best interest that she did not in fact jump off that cliff. There was also the point total he could gain from getting her off of her cannon route.

He was planning on treating her rather desperate dependency slowly for the coming months. Escalation may be a core concept of Worm but the slow and steady route here would be much better. Changing Alec from his emotionless doll state was fine because ultimately the guy was a mook but Amy. Well, she was one of the most powerful people on this planet.

She was certainly someone who could wipe a city off the map with minimal effort. Biological manipulation really was a power like no other when it comes to destroying Humanity.

He was near immortal with RCT and the Singularity aspect of his Body Double but a plague on humanity was something that could take him out. He could not fight something if he was not prepared for it after all.

So operation Fix-The-Basket-Case was only overshadowed by his need to find an answer to the Warrior. He still had the Deck of Many Things as it did not disappear after Coil died but that was always a gamble. He only risked it with Coil because he wanted to see if his Power could side step the consequences.

If he ran another gamble with a mind controlled mook it might turn out even worse. So the Deck was going to be sidelined until he felt confident enough to use it or things were at a point of no return and he needed a fucking miracle.

“You should not have offered to heal her.” Armsmaster spoke from the side with a frown on his face. Armsmaster was pretty clear about how he felt about the healing earlier even if he was quiet. The guy did not say anything earlier because of Cole’s delicate situation and denying the world’s greatest healer support was not something he could do publicly.

Cole looked over at him and frowned for a moment but sighed in the end.

“I know, my healing having an emotional aspect is a flaw but you saw her. She looked like she was moments away from dropping and she was only running off of spite and coffee. I could not leave her alone after seeing that. She certainly deserved the world with all the good she does.” Cole spoke out as he looked away from Armsmaster.

There was silence between the two men as Armsmaster took in his words but Armsmaster let out a sigh of his own.

“You are not the first person who is concerned about her but Panacea is not a member of the PRT so there is very little we can do for her. Brandish would have our heads on a platter if given the chance and any situation with Panacea is delicate considering her position.” Armsmaster spoke out with his own frustration clear in his tone.

Cole blinked beneath his mask and stared at the guy for a moment. He did not think the PRT was aware of how ragged Panaceas really was but it looked like they did. It made sense as anyone with a pair of eyeballs could see Amy was not in the greatest position but he let his Cannon thoughts dye his perception about this situation. 

He never really thought about the delicate balance the PRT had to maintain with independent Capes but it really was a problem. So despite knowing that things were going in a poor direction with Panacea they could not do anything about it.

“Well, it’s good that I am not technically not a part of the PRT yet. So me healing her right now is not something that can be held over us.” Cole spoke out as he looked over at Armsmaster.

Again there was a tense moment as they stared at each other but eventually Armsmaster nodded.

“That won’t work forever but it works for now. Were you able to get a handle on her current state? Or does your power simply heal without knowing the issues?” Armsmaster asked quietly. Cole raised an eyebrow beneath his mask at that question as he expected Armsmaster to take a hands off approach again but that was not giving the PRT the credit they needed.

They were not going to ignore information that fell right into their laps. Cole looked off into the distance as if thinking about something.

“It’s a bit of a mixed bag, I know what’s wrong but in a more general sense. There was a certain amount of wear and tear from not giving her body the care it needed but she was mostly fine even if she runs purely off of coffee by this point.” Cole spoke out after a moment.

He found out more than that. Her brain chemistry was a fucking mess and he downplayed the wear and tear he found but he was not going to snitch too much. He may respect this firmer stance from the PRT but telling him exactly how bad Panacea was would only bring up drama that might tip the scales for the girl.

The exploitative environment she grew up in and the mess from Glory’s Girl’s Aura would be a storm. Breaking the delicate mix over there would only lead to further problems for the girl and more importantly for himself.

So it was just easier to take a back step here even if the PRT had an inkling about how bad it really was. The PRT had a better gauge for how badly she was feeling in the form of Dean. It’s funny Dean was worried about the girl and he did not even scratch the surface of how messed up she was. 

The dumb boy thought he could handle it. Which was a fucking joke considering he was one of the driving forces behind her misery. Although to blame him for her feelings would be foolish.

Even without Dean’s relationship with her Sister Amy would still be in the same situation she was in right now. Sure, there might be less envy but the self loathing and the desperate want she feels would still be burning brightly.

Armsmaster took in his words and simply nodded as if expecting an answer like this. He was looking at Cole in a slightly different manner. The innocent and nervous teen act was slowly fading from Cole and it was starting to become noticeable.

He did not think he was acting too out of the character he displayed. Teenagers could be fickle at the best of times and spite usually had them breaking out of their shells. Him losing the nerves and speaking in a more frank manner could be accounted for by his irritation from the earlier mess but he should tone it down a bit. The last thing he wanted was to ruin the image he was trying to sell.

“The Troopers managed to get your friend here, I imagine you want to see her now.” Armsmaster spoke out after a moment after staring off into the distance. The equipment the guy was wearing really was convenient. Letting him communicate seamlessly with the PRT without skipping a beat.

Cole kind of wanted something similar but the bulky helmet would be irritating to wear and the amount of tech he would have to put into it would be frustrating. He was not a Tinker like Armsmaster and while most of the functions could be covered by normal tech it would still be irritating to combine something like that.

Whatever, equipment can wait, it was time to meet up with Tammi. They had a plan but things can get complicated.

“Great, having her safe and sound is…well it’s reassuring” Cole spoke out awkwardly as he looked over at Armsmaster waiting for him to lead the way.

The olderman looked at Cole and smiled in a way that was supposed to be friendly but came off as stiff for the most part.

“She is in the safest place she can be right now. The PRT can protect her from the Empire’s grasp and she will no longer have to hide around fearing the day she gets caught.” Armsmaster spoke out as he walked throughout the halls with Cole following along.

Cole felt his lips twitch as this guy was trying to sell this recruitment as his best option. Clearly, he knew that Cole and Tammi were valuable and he wanted to paint the PRT in the best light even if Cole did not have a lot of options right now.

The PRT was the only place who could get Tammi a pardon for her crimes and they were the only place who could stop the Empire from forceful recruitment.

That was not even certain as the Empire no doubt knew his identity but that was easier to handle. The Empire was more powerful than the local branch of the PRT but they knew if they touched a Ward the Main branch would come down on them like a hammer.

No one wanted Eidolon or Legend to stroll in here and clean up shop. So his newfound Ward status would protect him for the most part. Even if he was likely to face more propaganda from them from his father.

They could not even threaten him with his Father’s life as that was also threatening a Ward.

As they walked along the many many hallways Cole was reminded of Coil’s base. The long featureless hallways were designed to confuse and disorient those that are invading. Even if there were not quite as many winding paths as the sprawling underground base had.

It did not look like Armsmaster was trying to confuse him with the path they took at least. It looked like they were on a straightforward path towards the room they were going to. Which implied a certain amount of trust that he was thankful for.

Finally they marched towards one of the doors and Armsmaster opened up the room. Inside was Tammi sitting nervously at a desk with a cup filled with something in front of her. Vista was sitting at the same table trying to chat with her fellow blonde but looked like she was having a difficult time of it.

When they entered the room Tammi’s eyes snapped towards the door in an instant and the nervous look on her face dropped quickly as she stood up in excitement and rushed towards him. Before he knew it he was greeted with a tight hug from her.

He returned it without much thought.

“Cole!” She shouted out with joy as she snuggled her head in his chest. He let out a soft sigh and held her close and stroked her back to calm her down. This was not part of the plan but it was not an issue either.

The PRT knew how much Cole cared about Tammi and having her display the same amount of care would only give them less worries. He gave a cursor glance at the others in the room to see if he was right about that.

Armsmaster was looking at the two of them but did not seem too interested in what was happening. Vista seemed startled about the sudden hug session but she seemed fine. Even if there was a far too tight smile on her face as she looked at the both of them. She must have been really struggling to bond with Tammi if she was wearing a polite smile like that. Which was odd considering what he knew about Tammi.

“It’s okay Tammi, we don’t have to worry anymore.” He murmured into the top of her head as he rested his chin on it. She flushed a bit brighter but she snuggled deeper into his chest.

He figured it was best to sell the image that he was relying on the PRT here. As he looked over to gauge the reaction to that he felt a little confused as Vista seemed to have an even tighter smile on her face but that made no sense to him.