Even though Ceira was extrely good at Regenerate, it didn't heal injuries all at once. The main draw it had was that it could heal anything given ti. Multiple uses might be required, and spreading them out over a longer period of ti was easier on the body.
It was still magic, not so sort of miracle. There were limits.
One use was sufficient to stabilize Zeb, though. As for ? I would probably be fine without additional magical healing. Most of the lightning had been directed away from , and random other damage I took during the whole operation would also recover. The most troubleso recovery would probably be related to Gloom, but at least we had psychiatrists for that.
I already had one that worked for . I wasn't sure about Zeb, but she looked like she needed to find one if she didn't. She was newer to the Power Brigade, so she might not.
"How are you feeling?" I asked as we were discharged from the temporary dical suite set up for the operation.
"... Tired."
Wow. That was a first, maybe. Zeb was supposed to be… bouncy.
Would offering her magical assistance be useful? I took a good look, checking her over for active effects. I used a bit of Divination magic just to be sure, but I was certain that Gloom's power was gone. Not the aftereffects, but ntal Freedom would just be a crutch. Sotis those were necessary, and sotis they prevented you from trying to stand on your own.
"Let know if I can help," I said.
"Okay," Zeb said. "I think I'm just going to hang out for a while."
"You do have mandatory days off," I agreed.
It wasn't just encounters with Gloom. Any big missions for the Power Brigade had mandated rest. They liked to keep their supers employed long term.
-----
Psychiatrist's visit.
"If I couldn't feel your emotions," Doctor Patenaude said, wiggling his sensory stalks to make a point. "I would find your self-described ntal resilience concerning."
"Well, I do have magic," I pointed out.
He nodded, taking a few notes. "Yes, we've already gone over it. Most likely it reduces the imdiate impact and lowers side effects, but you still require sufficient ntal resilience afterwards to reach a positive state."
I thought for a few monts. "I'm not really feeling positive right now."
Doctor Patenaude shook his head. "That's not quite what I ant. Actual positive emotions without end can be just as damaging as negative. A balanced state is what we are looking for. That is what is best in most cases. Of course, we would hope to trend more towards said positive emotions."
"I'm a little worried about Spot's final results, but I'm feeling pretty good overall. I think."
"You are correct," Doctor Patenaude said. "As for the uncertainty, it is quite normal. I would say to minimize your reflection on the topic until a resolution occurs, but you might actually be able to enact a practical result. You can find the information."
I shook my head. "All I've gotten so far is a whole lot of rats glaring at ."
"Uh-"
"Rodentia took Spot." Doctor Patenaude preferred to minimize unnecessary details about super-related topics, but rats could be concerning otherwise. "So that's expected. Since I'm finding sothing, that probably ans Spot is still alive. Which is sowhat concerning, but I'm wouldn't bet on Rodentia doing anything positive to Spot. Squirrels fall inside Rodentia, and she seems serious about what she likes."
Doctor Patenaude pondered for a mont. "I believe I am missing so context."
I explained the thing with Bunvorixians. None of their affairs were really secret- except details about the resistance. But as a foreign civilization that had chosen to engage in warlike acts against Earth and New Bay, they didn't have much right to privacy about their dirty affairs. If I knew relevant tactical information I would have kept it among the right people, though.
"So you believe Rodentia is on your side in this matter?" Doctor Patenaude asked.
"I believe she's against the Bunvorixian governnt. And Spot is a high ranking general that works for them. He probably won't get off easily. Hopefully, neither will Darkstargirl and Gloom."
Doctor Patenaude nodded. "I'm not a legal expert, but I doubt they will. Supervillainy is one thing, but Gloom is well known for terroristic aspects. Just because that is how her power works doesn't an the public will forgive her usage of such powers on civilians. And Dark Star has been incarcerated before, without finishing her ti."
"She's super popular, though."
"She was?"
"Is," I corrected him. "Because people are dumb."
"Hmm. Indeed. But her association with Gloom likely won't do her any favors."
-----
"How you doing, buddy?" I checked in with Midnight. I could generally tell, of course. But it always made both of us happier to talk.
His tail swished in the happy pattern. "Quite well. Spot's abduction by Rodentia is an annoying wrench in our plans, but I do agree with you that he's not going to be able to cause us any trouble. Hopefully forever."
"Still got a lot of work with Celmoth?"
"So much!" Midnight complained. "I'm not even an official envoy, but everyone wants to contact . There are so many requests. And then there are people saying things like 'how could you do that to those poor doggies'?"
"Did you tell them how many 'poor doggies' we're saving?"
"Half of the people won't get it. But I do just have a link to a summary of the situation. It's annoying to have to repeat myself. We don't want to destroy all the Bunvorixians. They ca after us! Though we're totally going to topple their leadership."
"I an," I shrugged. "Not if the Resistance gets there first."
"As much as I respect them… they don't have the power of a planetary governnt."
"Maybe Rodentia will get them," I teased.
"She doesn't have teleportation," Midnight said. Then he looked at . "... Right?"
I thought about that. "Bunvorixians do."
"Fine, but interstellar…" Midnight grimaced. "It would take a lot more than you can put in so sewers."
"Super tech," I said. "But… I don't necessarily trust her to handle things elegantly. I hope we didn't screw up by tipping her off. Though New Bay would probably prefer to have her out of the way if she does go on so sort of interplanetary rampage."
"There's no way," Midnight said. "One person can't…"
"She's stole all sorts of tech from Doctor Doomsday. The only reason she isn't a top tier threat to the city is because…" I gestured vaguely. "Cheese rays. And dairy powered mini-reactors. Maybe I can contact Swarm," I suggested.
"He's unlikely to give up any information on her activities, and it would just tip her off."
A fair point.
"Maybe I should just contact Rodentia."
"Why?"
"To ask what she's doing with her Bunvorixian prisoners. I don't want the poor brainwashed soldiers to suffer. I know many of them are too far gone but…"
"But Zeb is one of the best people we know," Midnight finished the thought. Anyone who knew Zeb had to agree. "I guess that will be our next mission."
"Will you have ti?" I asked.
"It's related to matters of Celmothian concern. I'll make ti by telling the right people that so they leave alone."
"... I'm glad I don't have to deal with people that much."
"Sure," Midnight said. "You just get sent to talk to people like Rositsa and Raglubithex Raglubithex." Midnight coughed. "I can't believe you agreed to et it a second ti."
"Raglubithex isn't a bad person," I said.
"Bad? Probably not. Person? Debatable. Dangerous? I think we both have felt the answer to that."
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"I like my friends to be dangerous," I shrugged. "Also friendly acquaintances."
-----
I managed to catch sight of Great Girl at lunch. "You look exhausted," I said. "I thought you weren't going out on patrols right now."
"Worse," she hung her head. "I'm going on podcasts."
"... huh. Why?"
She just rolled her eyes at . "Image managent. I know you uh… kinda don't do that. But I'm a 'rising star'. Which is a stupid way for people to say it."
"Because Darkstargirl sucks?"
"Exactly!" she threw up her hands. "Hey, did you hear about Gloom?"
I made a face. "She didn't escape already, did she?"
Great Girl shook her head. "Not even close. Apparently, it seems that she's traumatized."
"Really?" I asked. "By what?"
"Your friend, apparently."
"Midnight didn't even fight her. And Zeb… the squirrels didn't really even get close."
"The one who caught her," Great Girl said.
"Oh, Raglubithex?" I asked. "It's not my-" I wondered if Ralgubithex would be offended if I kept denying we were friends. It did help out significantly, even if it wasn't on purpose. "I don't know if its species even has friends natively."
"Yeah, well," Great Girl pulled out her phone. "I'd assu it would require a certain type." She held up a photo. "That's a 'face' only a mother could love."
"I seriously doubt any of that is a face," I said.
"Yeah, probably not." Great Girl frowned. "It's kinda weird, but not like… that scary."
"Oh, how Raglubithex looks isn't the scary part," I explained. "It's the horrors of recursive comprehension that co with communication."
She tilted her head far enough to the side I almost wondered if she had a different sort of shapeshifting power. "... What?"
"Umm… I feel like if I had true comprehension of anything we said to each other my mind would lt or I would be stuck in an eternal loop of increasing specificity regarding the exactness of what I was attempting to convey." I shrugged. "I don't know if either is true, but it feels like that. I said a triple doubled phrase and I thought I was going to die."
She shivered. "I don't think I can punch that."
"Well you'd probably be fine as long as I don't cast Translation. At most, you'd probably feel uneasy around Raglubithex Raglubithex."
"But Gloom is showing signs of trauma."
Right. That was how we got onto the topic. "Well, it grabbed her. So… it probably wasn't fun." I pondered for a mont. "How do you deal with ntally unstable supervillains?"
"Power suppressors and a lot of checks. But also, super ntal wards are usually harder to escape from than the prisons."
"Hmm. We need mind healers," I said. "I don't know of any class that can really do that, though."
Great Girl nodded. "Yeah. Powers like that are super rare. Anyway, I have to go show my mask to so people." She stood up. "Height check?"
"Little taller," I said. She adjusted. "Perfect."
I wondered if her powers were influenced by her emotions. No, how much. Since Great Girl was constantly using her ability to hold a different body size, it would be easy to drift if she was careless. And having to talk to a bunch of people sounded stressful.
At least she didn't seem unhappy, though. Just tired.
I was a bit worried about Zeb, though.
-----
When I went to check on her, Zeb was in her apartnt covered in squirrels. Her posture made think she was depressed, but it was really a guess given the whole squirrel thing. Though the fact that so of them looked sad gave so things away.
"Hey Turlough," Zeb said.
Telling her she seed sad probably wouldn't help. "Are you doing alright?"
"Ceira ca to visit and finished healing . I don't hurt anymore."
That was… good. But it really wasn't the end. "Do you want to go see Rocky or sothing? I've still got days off. Though I mostly spend them training anyway."
Training was relaxing. The Power Brigade wasn't going to stop if I really enjoyed it. They would make sure I wasn't overdoing it, though. Besides, I took things easy during official break tis. Less sparring, even if that was how I got experience. I also didn't use big spells.
I wanted to test Maze. But I could do that after my break and try to get Master Spatial Magic.
Zeb sure wasn't talking, huh?
"So we stopped Spot," I said. "Without him, the Bunvorixians won't be able to bother Earth much."
"Yeah."
A couple of the squirrels were gesturing to Zeb, like 'see what we have to work with'? Hopefully this wouldn't last forever. Was this the right ti to suggest a psychiatrist?
"Hey Turlough…" Zeb raised her head slightly. "Can you do a favor?"
"Absolutely," I said. "I'll do almost anything."
"Ah…" she lowered her head. "Even if it's… kinda bad?"
I thought about that for a mont. "If you want to kill soone you'll have to give a good reason."
"W-what? No! I just…" Zeb didn't seem to know where to start. "You know how you can use Gate?"
"You need to get soone powers? We might be able to expose people to Rocky's rift to get Portal Powers. But I can probably convince another couple Humurruns to co to Earth. I've got so leeway with Extra because of that whole isekai abductions thing."
"That's… uh… not really it," Zeb said.
What else could it be?
"I can smuggle stuff for you, if you want. It's not even that hard with Storage. Is there so Bunvorixian tech that isn't allowed here that you need?"
"No! Well, maybe later?"
"Sure."
"But!" Zeb's snout protested from within the pile. "That's not what I need now. There's a person… a villain I need you to bring sowhere."
I thought for a few monts. Who did Zeb even know? There was Spot, obviously, but we didn't even have access to him. And most people we'd fought had been brought in. Maybe… could it be one of the mice? They might count as a villain. That seed like a Zeb thing.
She sighed. "I knew it was a bit much to ask."
"Hmm?" I tilted my head. "Oh, no. It's fine. Who and when?"
"Uh…"
"It's fine if you just tell when and where, I guess," I continued. As long as she wasn't under any sort of ntal influence, I fully trusted her. "But there really isn't a lot of ti and I can't be that far from the Gate, so secrecy won't be that easy."
Zeb poked almost her whole head out of the squirrels. "No, it's probably fine. I just didn't expect you to agree. Maybe you'd change your mind after you hear who."
"... Is it Doctor Doomsday? Because I'm not a huge fan of his. And anywhere he can't get on his own but wants to go… seems like a problem."
"No! Of course not! I don't even- why would I be in contact with him?"
"I an, he contacted once. It was a whole threat situation. I'm kinda glad that he shifted focus to other things and I haven't really run head first into his minions lately."
Zeb moved a bit more and I realized that she was not, in fact, sitting on an ottoman but on top of Fluffy as the crowd of squirrels moved about. "It's not him. But she's uh… still bad."
I shook my head. "I can get access to either Darkstargirl nor Gloom, and I wouldn't want to upset Sophia."
"Of course not!" Zeb said. "That would be an to our friend!"
"So… who?"
"It's… Rodentia."
"Oh." One mont of consideration. "We should probably figure out what she did with the Bunvorixians she captured first, don't you think?"
"I know," Zeb said. "She… braindirted them?"
I felt like I knew less than before Zeb had tried to explain. "What?"
"That's what she called it. Because it's the opposite of brainwashing. So you make it dirty."
"Poking around in people's heads is probably unethical," I said.
"It didn't even fix everyone," Zeb sighed. "But a few people want to join the resistance and she swears she didn't plant that information. Just, uh… what did she say? 'Revealed previous layers of paint' or sothing."
I pondered for a mont. "Throwing people into a machine is still probably a problem. It's not like Bunvorixian brainwashing is like that, right?"
"... It might be," Zeb said. "There are a lot of machines we stand in throughout our lives."
Despite my job, I did understand why people were wary of powerful governnts. Even so, they usually didn't- or couldn't- go that far. Advanced tech did make things more complicated, though. "I guess we'll talk to the resistance about that stuff to see if we can confirm. But as long as we think the Bunvorixians are safe to be around, we can send them through. But what about Rodentia?"
"Oh. Well, she wants to join the resistance. Along with ."
"Okay," I said. I wondered if I would have to keep it a secret why Rodentia stopped appearing? People would get worried. And a few fans would be disappointed. Except for people with particular phobias- or those who were directly involved in her incidents- many people found Rodentia rather codic. "I can bring her there, if you trust her. But we'll probably need to go over that in depth."
"She cares about squirrels!" Zeb said, offended.
Actually… yeah, that might be the whole thing. Bunvorixians weren't famous for dairy. I wondered how Rodentia would handle that.
"You'll be responsible if she screws things up," I said. "So probably don't rush into this."
"I'm already certain," Zeb said.
"We'll still need to talk," I said. "But I understand. I can do it."
"Great," Zeb said. "And… umm… I ant it. I'm joining the resistance too."
I tilted my head. "Aren't you already part of them?"
"... I'll be staying on Bunvorix. Leaving the Power Brigade. I already inford the people who needed to know." Zeb hung her head. "So… you won't be able to just co hang out."
Is that what she was worried about?
I reached out to pat Zeb on the head. "I see why you were worried. It will be hard, but we can keep in contact." Especially if the resistance prospered. "You do realize it takes less ti to cast Gate than to walk over to your apartnt, though?"
Zeb's eyes widened. "I… your powers are weird."
Bunvorixians were canines with teleportation technology. And I was the weird one?
"It'lll be harder for Ceira to spontaneously visit, though," I said. "Pretty sure Druids don't have any interplanetary stuff."
Unless Bunvorix was an elental plane. Though maybe if there was a tree?
Whatever. Midnight or I could bring her.
"I have to tell at least Midnight about Rodentia," I pointed out. "The Celmothians would hear about it anyway since they're coordinating with the resistance."
He would tell us if we were crazy. He had a good head on his shoulders.
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