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When Amy got home from healing the Wards, she headed straight to her room. The last thing she needed was to talk to anyone. Today had stirred up way too many emotions and she had to get a hold of herself before she let something slip that she shouldn’t. As she lay on her bed, there was a knock at her door.
“Amy, can we talk?” asked Victoria. Amy sighed; she was not ready for this right now.
“I’m fine, Vicky,” Amy lied.
“No, you’re not,” Victoria said flatly as she strode into the room. Without a word she plopped a bowl of ice cream into Amy’s hands. Chocolate chip cookie dough, Amy’s favorite. Damn it, Victoria always cared enough to tell when Amy needed support and right now a loving and caring Vicky was not something Amy was prepared to deal with.
Amy grudgingly accepted the bowl of ice cream and sat up. If she was going to be showered with treats to make her feel better, she might as well enjoy it for what it’s was worth.
“Listen,” Victoria said, taking a seat on the bed with her own bowl of ice cream. “I get whatever secret that villain figured out is something you don’t want anyone else to know, but I’m your sister. If there is anyone you can trust, it’s me.”
“You’re the last person I want to know,” Amy mumbled into her ice cream.
“Come on! You know all sorts of shit about me that no one else does,” Victoria exclaimed, the broken muggers in back alleys that Amy had healed for her left unspoken between them. “Things that could ruin my life if anyone finds out about them. I trust you with that stuff.” The look in Victoria’s eyes was earnest. “You can trust me with this.” The look in Victoria’s eyes was earnest.
Amy gulped. She knew that Victoria meant well and was offering to share the burden Amy carried. The only problem was that Amy couldn’t let Vicky know. Maybe part of the truth would work. It would get some weight off her chest and might get Victoria to back off. “I’m a lesbian,” Amy confessed.
Victoria didn’t say anything for several seconds, narrowing her eyes at Amy. Finally, she spoke up, “Nope, that’s not it,” Victoria accused, pointing her spoon at Amy.
“Yes, it is!” Amy blurted out. She winced as she realized that her defense was a bit too quick.
“Please!” Victoria rolled her eyes. “I’m no homophobe and you know that. Hell, I’m basically as close as you can get to being a lesbian icon while being straight.” It was true, Victoria volunteered with acceptance outreach programs and was even mentored by Legend. “If that was it, I would be the first person you’d talk to.” Then Victoria smirked, “Plus, I already knew about that.”
“Wait, you did?” Amy exclaimed in shock. “Then why do you keep trying to set me up on dates with guys?”
“I wasn’t sure you knew, so I was trying to get you to admit it to yourself,” Victoria admitted. “Now, stop trying to sidetrack me. Keep talking.”
Shit! Amy thought. She isn’t going to let this drop. “You have to promise you won’t hate me,” Amy whispered.
“I could never hate you, Amy.” Victoria said. She sounded so sincere, but would she still feel the same when she knew?
Amy closed her eyes. It was too late to back out now. “Being a lesbian is part of it. Do you know what the Westermarck Effect is?”
“No…” Victoria trailed off clearly confused about where this was going.
“It’s a psychological taboo that prevents inbreeding.” Amy pressed on before Victoria could interject, taking refuge in the science of the matter. “It works by making it so that, when children are socialized with each other before a certain age they subconsciously don’t think of their peers as potential partners. In most cases, it applies to people who met when they were six or younger.”
“Okay…”
“I was seven when Carol and Mark adopted me.” Amy hoped Victoria didn’t make her explain further. It was one thing to be rejected, but it was another thing to be rejected after saying it out loud.
“Oh? Oh. Oh!”
Amy tensed, at least Victoria wasn’t stupid. She could put the puzzle pieces together when they were laid out. Amy just stared at her hands, finding herself unable to meet Victoria’s eyes.
“And you… me?”
Amy nodded, tears running down her face. “When I moved here, everyone was so nervous around me. Carol still is.” Amy couldn’t look at Victoria, but she felt like she had to justify herself. “There was one person who just accepted me. Who loved me unconditionally. Who brought me my favorite ice cream whenever I was upset.” She hefted her bowl of ice cream half-heartedly.
“Oh, Amy…” Amy braced herself for the vitriol that was sure to come. She was surprised when, instead, she got a hug.
“No!” Amy exclaimed as she leaped away from Victoria, “Don’t touch me!”
“Amy?” Victoria sounded hurt now.
“I’m not done,” Amy stated as she began to pace the room. “My power… I can heal brains, but I’m afraid. It’s so easy to just change it. To change who the person is.” She was rambling now, but she had to get it out. Amy knew she was dangerous, and now that the only reason to not explain how dangerous was gone, she had to warn her sister. “I know that you don’t feel that way about me, but I’m afraid that if I cross that line, if I lose control, I can make you love me.” Amy hoped Victoria realized how important this was. How close she was to being the worst of Nilbog and Heartbreaker if she let herself slip.
“Okay, I’ll make you a deal.” Victoria said flippantly, “Don’t do it on purpose, and be honest with me if you do it on accident, and I promise to not get angry if you do accidently brainwash me.”
“Vicky, this is serious,” Amy cried.
“I’m being serious,” Victoria stated with a firm expression, “You’re my sister, and even if I don’t love you that way, I do love you. You’ve gone out of your way to help me when I can’t control my powers, I can help you if you can’t control yours.”
Amy paced back and forth a few more times and then forced herself to calm down. “Okay,” she said. Victoria opened up her arms for a hug again, and Amy returned to her, accepting the hug this time.
“Doesn’t it feel better to actually talk about it,” Victoria murmured to her, “Now that stupid supervillain can’t hold it over your head anymore. Can you imagine what it would have been like if I found out because someone like her just blurted it out or you slipped up without saying anything?” That was such a Glory Girl way of thinking. Confront the problem head on so it can’t surprise you later.
“Yeah,” Amy chuckled, “I might have freaked out so hard I turned you into a mutated blob monster.”
The two of them laughed at that. Amy could never do something so horrible to her sister.