2.x (Interlude; Victoria)

Victoria Dallon, also known as Glory Girl, a superheroine who can fly and project an aura of awe or intimidation, was pursuing a skinhead involved in a racially motivated assault. After a dramatic landing, she chased and confronted him, using her powers to intimidate him into revealing information about the Empire Eighty-Eight, a white supremacist gang.

“The woman you attacked was named Andrea Young,” she stated, her voice laced with barely suppressed fury. The man, a member of the Empire, denied involvement, but Victoria pressed him, “Andrea Young! A black college student was beaten so badly she needed medical attention! Her teeth were knocked out!”

Despite her efforts, he remained defiant, even insulting her. Enraged, Victoria threw him a considerable distance and then kicked a dumpster into him, incapacitating him. “Screw you too,” she hissed, her anger boiling over.

Realizing the severity of his injuries, she contacted her adoptive sister Amy, also known as Panacea, a healer with the power to manipulate biological matter. Amy arrived, expressing her frustration with Victoria’s repeated recklessness. “This is the sixth – sixth! – time you’ve nearly killed someone. That I know about!” Amy exclaimed.

Victoria pleaded with Amy to heal the man, fearing legal repercussions and damage to their family’s reputation, as they were a public superhero team with no government affiliation. “This isn’t just a team, Ames,” Victoria argued, “We’re a family. We’re your family.”

Amy, bound by her principles and concerns about enabling Victoria’s behavior, initially hesitated but eventually relented. She healed the man’s major injuries, leaving him with lingering numbness as a reminder of his actions and a deterrent against future wrongdoing. “He’ll be numb from the waist down for another three hours,” Amy explained, “His left arm will be iffy for about that long, too… He’ll also have numb toes for a good month or so.”

During the healing process, Victoria questioned the skinhead further, learning about the Empire’s plans to expand into the Docks, a territory left vulnerable after the imprisonment of Lung, the leader of the Azn Bad Boys. He revealed a power struggle with Coil, a villain with a well-equipped private army, and mentioned other groups, such as Faultline’s crew, the Undersiders, and various independent villains, all vying for control of the Docks. “Everyone’s going to make a play,” the skinhead warned, “It’s not just the major gangs and teams… The Docks are ripe for the taking.”

After extracting the information, Victoria and Amy left the partially healed skinhead, reminding him of Amy’s potential to harm as well as heal. “Did you ever wonder what else she could do?” Victoria threatened, “Ever think, maybe, she could break you just as easily?”

Victoria then contacted emergency services to pick up the incapacitated criminal, emphasizing the importance of accountability and the precarious position of their independent superhero team. “We’re not government-sponsored,” Amy reminded her, “We’re not protected or organized or regulated in the same way. Everyone knows who we are under our masks. That means we have to be accountable.” The incident highlighted the complex dynamics between the sisters, their differing approaches to superhero work, and the challenges they faced as a public, non-governmental team operating in a city on the brink of a potential gang war. The encounter served as a stark reminder of the delicate balance between justice, power, and responsibility in their chosen path.