Chapter 11 Pre chapter notes:

For extra fun, déjà vu can also refer to a sense of familiarity or recognition in a completely new place or with someone you haven't met before. Or, you know realizing the chapter title is the same, or the events in the chapter, and you know what? This note is done.

This chapter was very hard to write, and had at least 25k-30k+ words total written about alternative ways it could have gone that were scrapped and this version was selected.

In other news, this chapter had a beta! Thanks Wobulator for all your help!

As a reminder, this story is mirrored on Sufficient Velocity.

Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for DOS up to chapter 107/108.

Chapter 11: Shikako: / Meeting a healer/Why do I have such a strong sense of déjà vu?/ Wait… chapter 11? Who stole my chapter?

When I got to the M/S Cell, they asked me to leave my weapons behind. I told them it was impossible, and some of my equipment might be dangerous if I wasn't nearby to check on it in case something went wrong. They insisted, and I reluctantly gave them my scrolls though they let me keep my mask. They didn't know about my gelel stone, or hammerspace bracer so I kept those as well.

They gave me a chance to call my parents and let them know what was happening if I wanted, but I declined.

The M/S cell itself was surprisingly pleasant. They had a nice bed, and a separate spot in the corner for the bathroom. While they apparently couldn't summon the healer despite the fact that I had been shot and they didn't know I had healing powers of my own, they did give me food, water and just as important, strong pain medicine.

It helped, and I managed to heal some of my worst injuries with my chakra throughout the night, and fix my ears enough that I could hear without increasing my hearing through chakra. I wished I had kept up the medical part of our study group a little longer though, and gone to a few more sessions.

I had been hooked up to a lie detector, and asked some questions asking me about who I had met when I came here, and what I had said and seen.

They also asked me some questions through a glass screen and some through a loudspeaker to test the lie detector, such as the color of a shirt and directly asking me if I was being mastered.

Other questions were less expected. They asked if I remembered when I got my powers, long with several others. I wasn't what they were talking about, but I answered yes anyways.

They also asked me about what had happened during the patrol. "Why did you go to that area off the usual patrol?"

I had already told Vista and Gallant this, but it hadn't likely been recorded. Given the lie detector, I decided to tell the truth. "I had a sense that something was wrong there, and asked The Wards to check it out with me."

"Can you tell us more about this sense?"

" I thought this was about whether or not I was being mastered, not about what my powers were." I bit back.

"Yes, but its possible you were being mastered into luring the Wards to that location. Can this sense of yours be fooled?"

"You think that some cape out there is likely to be able to master me through my ability, instead of any other method that might actually apply to more than .0001% of the population?"

"It's possible." They said.

"Well, it turned out I was right, and the master didn't get either me or Vista, so I don't see how this could even prove I was being mastered."

They asked some more questions, and I managed to keep them from learning too much, while still cooperating and answering their questions.

Eventually, Gallant came by and also asked me some questions, most the same questions I had been asked before. I suspected he also had some secondary power to help tell if someone was mastered, via their emotions. I wondered why he hadn't used it when we were back there and I had caught "Vista". Oh well.

Now all that was left was to wait the predetermined time period to see if I showed any other symptoms and I would be free to go.

After the check, a doctor was sent to see me, to assess how bad the damage had been. I had a nasty gash on my left forearm from when Cricket had slashed me after her scream, as well as a variety of other cuts and bruises, and my bullet wound. The doctor helped clean my wounds, and bandaged them. Unfortunately, though there was only so much he could do, and after wrapping up my wounds he left.

I spent some time trying to think of how I could possibly get back home, coming up with a few things to look into, including using the Hiraishin kunai though that was low on my list. The Fourth Hokage had left dozens during his battles and they had never been reverse engineered so far, and considering that ability had made him the first flee on sight target ever, that would not have been from lack of trying.

Another problem was that the Hiraishin kunai was tuned to the Fourth's chakra signature, not mine, and even if I managed to recreate it, without a similar kunai in my original world, it wouldn't do much good. However, if I managed to get the jutsu working, I thought I could get around that particular problem through summoning trickery.

There were surprisingly few ways of traversing or accessing other dimensions, other than artificial ones like the ones in storage scrolls and ones that were out of my grasp like Kamui.

It seemed likely that if I wanted to get back home, it would have to be through something in this world, not from a miracle from Konoha.

After about an hour or so, I thought back to my time at the Library.

My first priority had been to try to let the people in Konoha know what had happened to me. Before I went in the library, I went into an empty building nearby (I couldn't sense anyone inside) and tried my summoning jutsu:

I made the hand seals, pushing chakra and blood into the summoning jutsu and pushed for the technique to work. I felt something, like the seal was trying to work, before it fizzled out.

I had felt the jutsu working, but I guess I needed more chakra here. I tried again, putting as much chakra into it as I could, hoping to clear the hurdle and actually complete the summoning technique. I really wanted this to work.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I called out again, louder this time. For a moment nothing happened.

Then a familiar young faun appeared in front of me. "Summon Lady! Summon Lady!" Nagaoka called out bouncing around. Where was Heijimaru? Could it be that even after putting in that much chakra I didn't have enough for him to come? Nagaoka looked around. "Wow. Where are we?"

"Nagaoka, listen to me, this is very important. If I write a letter, can you take it to Heijimaru?"

"Ok, but why?" His young eyes were full of excitement and curiosity.

"I'm stuck here for a while, but I'm not in great danger, and I haven't died or been kidnapped. I just want to let the village know I'm ok."

He looked at me quizzically. "How can you be stuck? There's lots of space to run around in." He hopped around for a bit to prove it. Then he stopped and looked away. "Though Papa was reluctant to let me come for some reason."

I smiled at him instead of frowning at that. "Can you please give Heijimaru the letter?"

He beamed at me. "Course I can!" Then he looked down shyly.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out a deer treat and he nibbled at it with an expression of pure joy on his face.

I sat down to write my letter.

Hejimaro,

I have been transported to another populated world. I am currently safe and looking for a way back home. I am not in immediate danger, or been kidnapped, as far as I can tell.

I need you to let the blackbirds know this so they can let their summoner know when he/she next summons one. If you can let any of the ninken or bat summons know, they might also be able to help pass on word.

Thank you.

The Deer Summoner

I didn't actually sign my name, or give information on the blackbird summoner, in case it somehow got lost or intercepted, but the summoners from Konoha would know what it meant if word was passed to them.

I also didn't include the other summons of Konoha since they lived in a different location in the summon world****** and wouldn't be able to be reached. I also didn't want any foreign nin to know all the summons Konohagakure had access to if the letter was somehow intercepted.

Hopefully they would also send me news through the summoning so I could find out what was happening back in Konoha.

Nagaoka took the letter in his mouth and I undid the jutsu, sending him back with the letter.

After the summoning jutsu, I went back to the library to do research. My first priority here had been to learn about the world I was in, and get an understanding of my surroundings and the people I had met. I didn't know if I would find a way home quickly and if I didn't then I needed to understand my surroundings to survive long enough to find a way back. It was stupid to be unprepared when you didn't have to. I included focused research on the Undersiders and the Protectorate as well.

Learning about Brockton Bay and some overarching basics about the world as a whole had taken most of my time, but I had made sure to leave enough time for a few other important subjects.

I had noticed that this world had been very similar to my original one, including most of history up through the 1970's, when someone named Scion had appeared.

To my surprise, I had learned that while Naruto did exist in this world, it had ended during the middle of the Zabuza arc when the creator had died in the Leviathan attack, and so most of the story was unknown. However, it still had a small cult following. I also thought I saw a reference to a scene that shouldn't have happened in the story by that point, but couldn't find another reference. Hopefully it was just fanfiction, but I resolved to look into it later when I had time.

I had also noted that according to the computer, I had been sent to a time only a few months before I had first died. I had decided to look myself up to see if I was alive on this planet. Neither I nor my original sisters had ever been born here. However, my parents were alive, married, and had a son just a few years younger than I was when I died the first time. I had an alternate dimensional little brother.

This greatly interested me, and made me wonder if there was a world where my two original siblings (and maybe even I?) still lived, but I had a new family now, and a brother who was probably (if time was passing there. It was unclear since apparently I had traveled back in time, 13 and a half years after I had first died) worried sick about me. I had to get back to him and let him know I was ok. Once I knew I had a way home, I could afford to go see my family here, but I needed to make sure I would be safe and that I could get to my second home if I needed to my priorities. I would not let myself get too attached to this world until I knew there was no way home.

I took a break from thinking over the Library visit to wonder about what was happening back in Konoha. If Shika knew that I was missing, he would probably do something stupid. I needed to let them know I was safe. Another thought struck me. What if the village was under attack? Things had been relatively peaceful, but disasters were known to come from seemingly nowhere all the time. For all I knew, I hadn't been the only one sent to another world. It might have been a group attempt to clear Konoha for an attack.

If it had been the start of an attack, then worrying about it wouldn't help matters. It didn't change my course of action. I still had to find a way back as soon as possible.

I did wonder why the thought of an attack hadn't occurred to me earlier though. Just a few days before I had attacked Sasuke for approaching me from behind without my sensing him (sure the sharingan raised my battle flags, but the essence of the incident was the same), and now I didn't think an attack could happen if I wasn't seeing it directly?

I thought back. When I had first gotten here, once I had realized it wasn't a genjutsu, I had almost immediately dropped the thought that it had been another kind of deliberate attack. True I was still alive and mostly uninjured, but that didn't prove it hadn't been a malicious attack.

Then when I saw Bakuda, covered in a bandolier of bombs, in an area that had obviously suffered some recent explosions I didn't immediately assume she was the cause until after I actually saw her throw a bomb. Yes, my mind was dizzy, lower on chakra than I had been a minute ago and in an unfamiliar (and at the same time shockingly familiar) location, but still, that lack of critical thinking and poor response time scared me.

During the fight with Lung I had also hesitated a second before I responded and took in that it was an attack. If it weren't for my reflexes, and the fact that I had recovered to a better state of mind by that point, I could have died there. Then during the fight with the new master I had been too slow to respond to the possible threat and allowed them to get their attack in that let them master Vista. I had thought at the time it might be due to my distraction over what I had learned, but I didn't get distracted like that during missions. If anything, I was more likely to be too quick to respond to a potential attack rather than too hesitant. No, that was likely the same problem as the earlier instances.

For some reason my mentality had been affected, such that I didn't seem to assume anything was an attack until it was proven to be one. While that could be useful if it turned out to be correct, it was more likely to prove fatal during an unexpected encounter with an enemy. I needed to figure out why this was happening.

I had also had a decreased sense of danger in general since coming here. I had been less on my guard, less tense, and more emotional than I usually was. I hadn't told Tattletale to stop using her power as strongly as I should have, I hadn't felt as creeped out by Skitter as I usually would have, and while Vista was adorable, I shouldn't have felt that attached to her that soon if she didn't have a power specifically for it, and she didn't. I had also named myself Hokage, which made no strategic sense whatsoever in hindsight. What would have happened if Naruto was well known here?

I needed to see if this was a long term problem, or if it had a specific cause and try to fix it. It was less important than finding a way home, but this slow reaction time could end up killing me, and that couldn't be allowed to happen.

It was possible part of the problem was that most capes' chakra didn't have much if any emotion behind them, so even if they were attacking you their killing intent was much lower. That couldn't account for all of my lackadaisical responses, but it might account for some.

It couldn't account for why I had felt so unsettled after reading about my alternate family though. I had almost lost the ability to concentrate, feeling such strong emotions. I had tried to push through, and then the emotions had greatly diminished. Thinking back, that wasn't natural, and couldn't solely be attributed to the lack of emotion in people's chakra.

I would have to work hard to make sure I was always on my guard. Ironic considering I had been training for the opposite in a way just a few days ago.

Now I needed to decide what I would do next after I had been healed.

Obviously I would research the book and see what I could about how it related to this world. I would also have to do more research and see if there was anything, or anyone here that could help me. There were a few other areas I should look into on my own as well.

I also needed to find some backup. It was dangerous to travel alone in an unfamiliar area, and I didn't have my team with me. What about the groups I had met so far? How much should I involve them and try to garner their aid?

First, the Undersiders. I highly suspected that winding up near them had not been a coincidence for a few reasons****, but I didn't think they were directly behind it. They hadn't seemed to know who I was any more than I knew who they were (other than tattletale, who might be excused).

How much should I involve myself with them?

So far they had been helpful, aiding me in the fight, making sure not to damage me through my shadow possession, giving me a phone and resources (though I would have to get a new phone soon, to be safe), and they had offered me hospitality. They were considered villains, but their behavior hadn't seemed akin to missing nin, even seeming friendlier and more open than Idate had been. I wondered what had happened to make them go against the heroes, but there were probably many, many possible reasons. The same could have been true in Konoha as well.

What would the downsides be of increasing my involvement with them? First, Tattletale could learn about where I was from if she hadn't already, and might find out some more secrets. On the other hand, considering the lack of information about the Undersiders (well, except Bitch, and to a lesser extent, Grue from before they had teamed up) she didn't spread information about her team around.

The Undersiders were also well known and disliked after the bank robbery they had pulled four days ago. If I was seen to associate with them, it could label me a villain, even if it was simply a misunderstanding and I was just meeting them to talk or find a place to safely stay (Keeping guards and seals active to prevent them from trying anything while I was asleep). This might prevent me from working with the heroes and neutral parties like the Toybox: a collection of "tinkers" that Tattletale had sent me a link about, though I wouldn't be able to afford their services without a large source of government backed currency.

Another risk was that since I had been seen working with them already, if I was seen with them again it would be likely for people to assume I was with them, regardless of my protests and lack of evidence that I had ever committed a crime.

It was also possibly they had darker secrets I didn't know about and could get tangled up in if I went with them. This might actually be what had brought them together. Grue and Bitch had very different histories, Grue doing small robberies, with careful planning and execution before slipping away, while Bitch would usually charge onto a scene, rob a place then run out not caring how much noise and destruction she left behind. Bitch was also confirmed to be from a different city, yet t had still somehow met up with Grue, Regent, Tattletale and Skitter here. I wondered what had brought them together to this specific location, since from what I read, it was not a place people usually willingly traveled to.

They also didn't have anyone on their team that could likely help me find a way home, except for maybe Tattletale if her power was stronger than she had shown.

What would be the positives?

I would have food and shelter without having to steal or otherwise create it myself. I had some money and so could last for a while, but unless I wanted to try selling my seals here, it wouldn't last for long.

I wouldn't have to actually join up with them or do any crimes. I could just treat them as acquaintances that I could use for information if I ever needed it and thought they could help more than others could.

Tattletale might be able to help me if I ever grew desperate enough to ask for her help.

If I actually joined, I would have backup in case I came into a situation I couldn't handle on my own.

What about the Wards?

Like the Undersiders, they had been pleasant with me, but they hadn't pressed too hard to learn about my background or secrets until I was put in M/S quarantine.

What would the downsides be of increasing my involvement with them?

I didn't trust that if they found something incriminating against me (such as where I came from) they wouldn't confront me and possibly blackmail me into joining them or force me to lose rights and access to some things I needed, but I didn't think they would actively search for a reason to blackmail me or hinder me in my goals if I stayed under their radar. Unfortunately, if I joined them, there might be more in depth searches, which would cause problems.

Additionally, if I officially joined them I would lose large amounts of time going to "school", going on patrols and doing busywork and learning their regulations. I would also be a new ward, and unlikely to have enough influence or rank to actually get access to the resources I needed. And if I succeeded in getting home with their or Dragon's help…

I felt cold. They would likely have access to an ability or piece of technology capable of traveling to my world. If a government I didn't know or trust had access to that ability, it could mean disaster for at least one of the worlds or countries. Considering that The U.S and Canada were each more populated than all the five elemental lands back home combined (by a factor of multitudes), and considering the warlike and destructive impulses of people with power in general, it would not be a good idea for that kind of transport to be easily available.

This world's relationship with Earth Aleph, (which I had only learned about right before I went on the patrol, and which I was going to research more), was only as good as it was because only media could be transferred, not people or materials. What I needed was more than that, and horrors might ensue.

I realized I could not become a Ward and would have to limit my dependence and involvement of the government in any attempt to get back home.

That said, if I was discrete about it, I could still probably use them for some resources, support, and knowledge, as long as they never learned why I needed it. Though this might be off the table if I was seen again with the Undersiders.

I would need to find some form of backup soon: Staying an independent cape was not a good survival strategy. This was why we were put in teams of 3-4 back in Konoha, and also brought back Aegis's point about independent capes not lasting long. However, I couldn't join the Wards and it wouldn't be a good idea to join the Undersiders if I didn't have to yet, since it would close too many doors.

I would hold off for a while, trying to maintain my independence and be on the lookout for those I could trust, within reason, to watch my back.

I mulled over some more thoughts and ideas, before finally managing to fall asleep, despite my tumultuous, whirling mind.

When I woke up I was asked some more simple questions, and then about a half-hour later I was let out, given back my equipment and a nice breakfast.

They told me that it was quite early, but Panacea had been called and should be by soon to patch me up.

I was lead to one of the break rooms near the front, just past the point where the public had access to.

I had learned Panacea was a healer from a hero group called New Wave. She had also been involved in the Undersiders' bank robbery incident on Thursday, though the how was unclear. She was considered one of the best healers in the world. I would get healed, and then start acting out my plans to get home.

"Just so you know, the offer to join The Wards is still open." Armsmaster whispered to me.

(Actually meets Panacea here).

About 30 minutes later, a girl in a white costume and a giant red + entered the room with Armsmaster. I noted that she didn't have a mask like the other costumed people I had seen. I also noticed she had deep bags around her eyes. She hadn't slept well for a while. Nor did she seem to be able to compensate for that with her chakra. I also noticed a bruise on the right side of her face.

"Is this her?" She asked somewhat curtly. Armsmaster nodded.

She turned towards me. "Hi, my name is Panacea, I need your permission, to heal you, for legal reasons. Can I proceed?"

I nodded my head and she touched my hand. Her eyes widened. I felt my body healing more rapidly than I ever thought it could before, even from Tsunade. My ears finished healing in a matter of seconds, and the other cuts, abrasions and other injuries from my fights I hadn't gotten to also healed extremely quickly. The gash in my arm and the bullet wound in my side was fully healed from the bullet, instead of merely closed from my mystic palm. My throat ended up also feeling healed, even though I hadn't even realized it had been damaged.

And yet, at the same time, all the fixes were physical. My chakra was untouched, only being affected indirectly by responding to the physical healing. It was almost like speaking by individually and distinctly forcing your lungs, larynx, lips and tongue to move in the correct way to make the sounds, rather than by trying to speak and having the organs and body parts reacting naturally to accommodate. It was very strange.

Panacea opened her mouth as if to ask a question, before closing it again. I assumed she had noticed something strange about me. Not good.

"Do you want me to heal your scars?" She asked.

She was very thorough. Considering she hadn't touched my chakra directly yet, I didn't think she knew about my chakra network. So what had she sensed that was so strange? I would have to talk with her after.

"No, leave them." I replied.

"I'm done." She said while still looking at me as if trying to figure something out. It seemed she was even worse than me at hiding things.

"Isn't she a little young to get into fights like that Armsmaster?" She asked.

"It wasn't meant to get that rough. It was a normal patrol in a fairly stable part of town. Apparently Hokage noticed something wrong and led The Wards a little off the path." Armsmaster responded with a warning tone.

"You noticed something?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I can sometimes tell when something is going wrong." I responded.

"Huh. Hey, do you mind if my sister comes in? She actually woke up early on a Sunday to meet with the new cape, and she never does that. If you don't meet her, well, she'll be very disappointed."

I thought about it. I didn't have much time to waste, but if things went wrong and I was stuck here longer than I thought I would be, being friendly with a healer would be a necessity. From what I had read, each person had a different power, and the number of people who could heal others like Panacea could was horrifically sparse.

Not to mention I could sense there was another parahuman in the next room, who I assumed was Glory Girl since I had sensed her come with Panacea until Panacea broke off to meet with me, and according to my research Glory Girl was Panacea's only sister.

"Ok, but I need it to be short." I told her.

She gave me a hesitant sad smile. "OK great." She went into the next room, while Armsmaster sat down in a chair nearby. He was probably looking at something through his visor. Less than a minute later, Panacea returned with a very muscular floating blond girl in what looked like a white cheerleader uniform. Either they were stepsisters or one of them was adopted.

Panacea's sister was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. She radiated majesty, beauty, and power. I felt excited, a sense of awe and admiration towards her, intimidated, and that I was in a genjutsu.

"Hi, Hokage right? De-Gallant told me you went on a practice patrol with him and saved Vista or something? He wouldn't tell me much." Glory girl (I assumed) said as I made my hand seal.

"Release!" I said quietly. It felt different from most genjutsu, but it was similar enough that the release worked. The flying cheerleader looked struck, and the sensations faded. Panacea looked startled as well.*

Now that I wasn't being manipulated I had time to consider that she was just casually flying! Well, floating, but still. That must feel awesome.

"What was that?" The flying girl asked me.

"You were trying to control me, I stopped you."

"Sorry about that. Wait, you can stop it?" She said.

"Yeah." I said. I needed to make this quick.

"So what, you have some sort of trump power? Seems kind of limited unless you have some other powers as well. Anyway, can you tell me what happened yesterday?"

"New master, can fully control people, and use their powers. They tried to get Vista, failed, but got away with Cricket."

Panacea instantly shifted and stared at me, while her sister shivered in midair. I felt a strong sense of fear towards her before I broke the genjutsu, saying "Release!" quietly.

"She fought that master?" Panacea asked. "Armsmaster, has she been screened?"

"Do you know about them?" I managed to beat out Armsmaster and Glory Girl's response.

She withdrew into herself a little before taking a deep breath and explaining. "Yeah, but before I explain, I need to know you've been screened."

"What? Ames, How would you know about some new master? I've never heard of anyone nearby capable of controlling other capes." Glory Girl responded. "And ugh. That sounds awful."

"Armsmaster?" Panacea hinted towards me.

"We checked her out and made sure she remembered what had happened last time we met. If she was being mastered, the master must have gained her memories. Also, testimony from Gallant implies that the new master had trouble controlling her, so we're pretty sure this is really Hokage." Armsmaster responded. 'Now what do you know about this new master?"

"Last night I was confronted by a group of E88 capes. The master had made Cricket kill Victor, and almost kill Othala. They made me heal her. They also told to me to pass on that the new master isn't perfect at imitating the mastered capes. Othala and Victor apparently had been able to tell something was off with Cricket before she attacked them."

"What? Why didn't you report this when we called you?" "You healed a supervillian Ames? Why? And why didn't you tell me about this?" Armsmaster and Glory Girl called out simultaneously.

"Glory Girl, drop it. Armsmaster, it happened last night, and you told me to come in this morning. I thought I would just tell you in person."

"Ames you can't just tell me to drop it! You were approached by supervillains, alone! This is the second time this has happened in four days! How could I not be freaked out right now?"

I released again and the aura faded. Glory Girl blushed then grew enraged and turned towards me before turning back to Panacea.

"Seriously Ames, we need to talk about this! I don't know why you were so freaked out at the bank, but you didn't even let me know that supervilllians approached you alone, again? You don't have to tell me everything but you have to know I'm here for you. How can I help if you don't tell me what's happening?"

Panacea withdrew again. "Christ, I didn't mean to make you feel worse, but seriously you can't go through this alone."

"Fine, but not now." Panacea said wearily.

"You said the second time. The first time was the bank robbery right?" I asked.

"Yeah" Glory Girl answered. "When I found out where Tattletale and Skitter are hiding away, I swear I'm gonna -" She looked at Armsmaster. "Take them in to be dealt with legally." She finished lamely.

"What actually happened?" I asked. There was surprisingly little info on what had actually happened during the robbery, despite all the witnesses.

"No." Panacea said.

"Sorry, if she doesn't want to talk about it here, we won't talk about it here. By the way, you never told me what happened when you went on the patrol. "

"I'm sorry." I told Panacea. That must be part of why she looked so terrible, possibly where she got the bruise.

"For what? You didn't do anything." Glory Girl asked confused.

"Just that Panacea and you had to go through something like that." I replied.

"Thanks." Panacea said after a moment.

"I hate that scum like the E88 and the Undersiders think they can just freely go about our city doing what they please. Someone needs to teach them a lesson." Glory girl responded angrily.

"Are the Undersiders really that bad?" I asked.

Glory Girl looked incandescent with anger and let out the strongest wave of intimidation yet. "Yes. They. Are." She growled out before the emotional pressure dissipated.

"Well, if there's nothing else then, thanks for healing me Panacea. I think I can go now." I said getting up.

"Already?" Glory Girl asked. "But you haven't told us anything yet! Hey wait. Are you going anywhere specific? Maybe I can drop you off."

"And maybe if you learned to control your aura, you wouldn't scare people off before they can talk to you!" I heard Panacea whisper.

"Maybe, can it wait till we're outside?" I said, hinting towards Armsmaster.

Glory Girl shrugged. "OK. I guess."

"Wait before you go. What did you do with Bakuda's bombs? I know she had more with her, the PRT team investigating said there was plenty of room in the Jeep and witnesses claim you did something with them." Armsmaster asked me.

" Are you accusing me of anything?" I asked.

"No" I could see him frown below his visor. "I just want to warn you that her bombs are dangerous and they might detonate from simply being jarred a bit, or even just randomly without maintenance. Since they are tinker bombs, they could have devastating effects. If you do have them, it would be in your best interests to let us look at them and make sure they don't go off."

"If I had them, then I can almost guarantee that they are at least as safe as they would be if you had them." I responded.

"I don't think you truly understand how dangerous they are."

I shrugged.

"Why would you think that you would be able to keep the bombs safely?" He asked.

"If I had them." I stressed. "And trade secret."

"I think you're making a mistake." He paused as he walked over to me. "Here's our number, in case you change your mind about that, want to officially join the Wards, or have an emergency." Armsmaster said as he came over to me and handed me a business card.

I already had it thanks to Vista, but I took the card.

"Also, Vista wanted you to know she is thankful for what you did for her." He told me.

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"Still in M/S protocols. She was possessed for longer, and her parents asked us to keep her there longer. We had to comply, unfortunately."

I absorbed that, and then nodded. I didn't agree with it either, and could have checked her personally to see if she was being mastered, but I couldn't waste the time and she was not in danger at the moment. Too much time had already been lost in this building as it was.

"Hey, can I keep the mask?" I asked Armsmaster before I left. Didn't want to be accused of theft.

He hesitated for a second before nodding.

I walked out with Panacea and Glory Girl.

"So where did you want to go so bad that you couldn't let Mr. Stick-Up-His-Protocols know about it?" Glory Girl asked after we had walked about a block away.

"Hey Glory Girl, do you mind if I talk to Panacea alone for a minute?" I asked.

"Not that I don't trust you or anything, but do you really think I'm going to leave my sister alone with another new cape?"

"It's fine." Panacea said.

"Well, ok. But I'll be watching you." Glory girl then flew away about 100 feet while Panacea and I sat down at the bus stop.

"So what did you want to talk about? Let me guess, someone you know needs my healing? I'm at the hospital almost every Saturday, and some weeknights, and I really shouldn't show special favoritism to families of capes." Panacea asked.

"No, actually. Can you keep a secret?"

Her eyes narrowed. "It depends on the secret. I really hope you're not trying to pull something here. You won't like the results."

I shook my head. "No, nothing like that. I just know that you're one of the only healers in the city, and I noticed you're injured." I hinted at her face.

"Yes, Obviously I can't heal myself." She said dryly. "Is there a point to this, or are you just pointing out the irony?"

"No, it's just that, if you promise to not reveal how it happened, I can heal that for you."

Her posture changed and her eyes widened. Then they grew mean again.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch, I just don't want people to know I can heal others. I'm trying to keep a low profile, and that really wouldn't help."

"You expect me to believe a new cape appears that can heal others, and they just so happen to come up and offer to heal me for free? What, is this your idea of a mean joke? Or can you really heal others, but the healing give you some sort of influence over me?"

"First, you healed me, I would just be returning the favor. Second, no, it doesn't give me influence over you, other than whatever you might feel towards a normal doctor for bandaging you up. I just don't want it to be known I can heal others." I replied.

"Why?" Panacea asked, with a strange hint of despair and accusation in her voice.

People never seem to listen. "First, as I said I'm trying to keep a low profile. Second, I can only heal minor damages like bruises, cuts, colds, and in special circumstances, weariness and Third? It's costly. There's a reason I didn't fully heal myself before you came. I also can't heal broken bones, or deep, or permanent injuries." I replied.

"You say you can heal yourself, and I did notice that some parts of you had healed much faster than others, but if you can't heal major injuries, how the hell did you survive getting stabbed in the heart? Your regeneration obviously isn't that powerful if you were still damaged that badly by the time I arrived. "

"About the heart healing? It… can't happen again."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I'm just under a lot of stress lately."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." I said.

She looked tempted, but hesitant. "I… I couldn't keep this a secret from Glory Girl. I would have to let her know beforehand just in case. I also won't agree to anything until I can get evidence it won't go horribly wrong. I'm sorry, but I don't know you very well, and … yet… no. I'm sorry but I can't accept your healing now." Panacea got out.

I nodded. "I understand. If you change your mind, and you see me again, just let me know. Also, my issue is I just don't want to be known in general that I can heal. If you think Glory Girl can keep it a secret, then you can tell her. Otherwise though, please don't reveal it."

"If I see you again? You don't have any other form of contact?" She asked, incredulous.

Well, I have a phone, but I'm probably going to replace it soon. I can give you that number if you want." I replied.

"Do you have an email?"

"No I don't."

"PHO account?"

"Nope."

"Do you have any form of contact?" Panacea was exasperated.

"Sorry."

She was clearly frustrated.

"How can you have no form of contact?" she asked.

"I'm a new cape. I haven't really established much of an identity yet." I half-fibbed. "I can go and create an email account, but how can I let you know what it is when I do?"

"I'm in the hospital every Saturday, most Sunday nights, and occasionally on weeknights. Just ask for Panacea. I'll tell the staff to let you in to see me." Panacea replied.

"Ok."

"By the way, how does healing yourself and others connect with "noticing when something's wrong" and stopping Glory Girl's aura?"

I smiled at her, though she couldn't see it. "They don't really. My power's just weird that way."

She looked at me warily, but nodded.

"Can I call Glory Girl back now, or was there something else?"

"Not really." I wanted to know what had happened during the bank robbery, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to press her about it.

"Ok." She said. We got up and walked over to Glory Girl.

"So what did you two talk about?"

"Not much, Hokage just gave me something to think about." Panacea answered.

Interesting. So she wasn't sure Glory Girl could keep my healing a secret? Or was it that she thought Glory Girl would pressure her to make a choice one way or the other?

"Really? Fine. Don't tell me. But if your not going to tell me about what you talked about over there, the least you can do is tell us about what happened yesterday with the master."

I had told her I would once we had left the PRT building. I supposed it was only fair.

"I went on the sample patrol with the Wards when we ran into the master. They might be an ABB member because they were hiding in a Caucasian man's body surrounded by ABB members. They tried to master Vista, and ran away. I pursued, and ran into Hookwolf and Cricket. I told them Vista had been mastered, they said they knew, had told the Protectorate, and were holding her there until they arrived."

"Wait, Hookwolf and Cricket called The Protectorate to pick up Vista? Now I know you're just messing with us." Glory Girl said.

"You talked with Hookwolf, and he just chatted back with you? No offense, but you have a recognizably foreign accent. Why didn't he just attack you?" Panacea asked.

"I'm assuming he didn't want to cause a war over Vista, and it's not that hard to fake an accent for a while."

"If you're gonna lie, you should probably come up with a better one than that. Hookwolf isn't exactly well known for avoiding fights, and there's no way he calls the Protectorate back and gives up Vista just to be a good Samaritan." Glory Girl said.

I shrugged. "You asked what happened."

"Yeah, what really happened. Not some fantasy that you created." Glory Girl insisted.

"Well, if you don't believe it, that's your problem. After that Vista tried to run, Cricket and I teamed up to hold her down, the master switched to Cricket and escaped." I paused. "Oh, as a warning, Cricket almost deafened me with her scream. Keep that in mind the next time you see her."

Panacea nodded "Thanks for warning us." Glory Girl looked at her with some concern on her face. She was probably thinking about last night.

"Hey, Hokage, want to grab brunch with us?" Panacea asked, after looking back at Glory Girl.

"Sorry, I already ate, and I kind of have something I need to do." I apologized.

She looked disappointed. "Oh well, maybe next time. Nice meeting you Hokage. It's good to see more heroes out on the streets." Panacea said.

"Yeah, it definitely beats having more villains." Glory Girl commented.

I separated from them and walked away towards the library.

I was going to check to see if the deer had managed to pass on the message, then I was going to do more research, and search for another route home.

Author's notes + *'s

* I know that Genjutsu releases might not have that effect on the genjutsu castor normally, but the sensation of her aura failing sent a feedback to Glory Girl that let her know what had happened, and she pulled her aura back when she was aware it was active again.

****A) They have similar powers to the tribes of Konoha. She has learned that each person has a different power, and the odds of this many people working together with powers that correspond are low. Yes Regent barely qualifies, but 4 out of the 5 is still far enough to raise suspicion, especially with how varied the powersets are.

B) She winds up in a world similar, but not exactly the same as her own, in a city very far away from where she lived originally. She didn't land in China either, which might have been expected given the book is Interesting Times.

C) They are only a few years older than she is, so would be more willing to work with her on an even setting than adults here might (this is a minor thing, but it is there).

****** Yes, I know in Naruto Canon that the summoned beasts are on the same world as the human summoners (Jiraya managed to actually walk to where he summoned the Toads from once) but in Dreaming of Sunshine at the end of chapter 108, Heijimaru says he comes from "the summon realm" so I'm making that the case for now. I am also saying that the Blackbirds and Deer summons live alongside each other.

Other Author's notes

1) Idea: Panacea has been put in traumatic, dangerous situations twice in the last four days. Additionally, she has just been told by the only other cape in the city who can heal others that they hate her, and likely won't heal her if she's injured or dying.

Panacea hates the E88 and never truly considered Othalia as a viable option for healing, but it was always there as a safety net in the back of her mind. Now, she's not so sure about that. It is possible, even if very unlikely that the new cape might be able to heal others, and Panacea's going to want to get and stay on her good side if she at all can.

2) There are a few reasons Shikako is let out so early.

One, she is a minor, and them keeping her for an extended period without Parent or Guardian permission when she hasn't been accused of any crime is illegal.

Two, they have no proof she is current;y being mastered, she has answered their questions, and other then waiting, they have no other method to further check she isn't being mastered.

Three, she needed medical attention, Possibly Panacea-level medical attention if she didn't have regeneration. Allowing Panacea to meet her basically meant they had to declare her unmastered because otherwise they would have had to take in Panacea for questioning, and that would not end well for them.

3) Shikako spent a large amount of her studying on learning about the local area and world she was in. She spent the last hour or so looking for ways home and learning about Earth Aleph.