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Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warnings:

Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceUnderage Sex

Categories:

F/FGen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationships:

Amy Dallon & Theo AndersAmy Dallon & Heith AndersAmy Dallon | Panacea | Red Queen/Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares

Characters:

Additional Tags:

E88!Amy DallonChanger!Amy DallonTrans Female CharacterBody DysmorphiaBigotry & PrejudiceInternalized BigotryNazisSexual AssaultChild Abusechild sexual assaultcannot stress enough that this fic has nazis doing nazi shitthe least incestuous guts&glory ficyou're welcome/i'm sorry depending on your preferencesthere will be explicit sex scenes in this ficbut most of them will not be purposefully eroticif extremely repressed teens pawing at each other does something for youfar be it from me to deny you that

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2025-02-04Updated:2026-02-04Words:161,471Chapters:28/49Comments:739Kudos:336Bookmarks:73Hits:19,486

Broken Crown

thevalleyarchive

Chapter 3: Ozymandias 1.3

Chapter Text

Then:

Amelia frowned at her new dollhouse.

It was a beautiful thing, almost as tall as she was, with four stories of intricately detailed rooms, occupied by an extended family of beautiful dolls, all dressed in fine soft clothes with fine soft hair of pure gold, and flawless creamy skin.

It had been a week or so since she'd come to live with Heith and her family, and it had been fine, except that she had to spend most of the day in her room, and it was boring . She got to come out and have breakfast with the whole family - Heith and Theo and Jessica and Mr. Anders. But after breakfast, Mr. Anders went to work and Jessica went to junior high and Heith had to run errands and Amelia had to go stay in her room while Theo's tutors came over, which wasn't fair at all! Amelia had had tutors when she lived with Daddy - she'd been excited to have tutors again.

But Heith had gently explained how important it was that Theo got their full attention, and Mr. Anders had sternly explained that if she was going to live in his house, she had to follow his rules. And one of those rules was to never ever bother Theo's tutors or the cleaners who came by every few days. She was to stay in her room and be quiet while they were here.

Amelia wasn't sure that she liked Mr. Anders, but she liked Heith. The idea of having to go live with a new stranger yet again was enough to make her heart race and her knees shake, and Heith said that Mr. Anders was a good man, that Heith followed his rules and that Amelia should too. So she did.

And most days it wasn't so bad! She usually got to come out for lunch, and that was usually just with Heith and Theo, and sometimes Heith would have time to play a game with them. But oftentimes she had to run more errands or go to meetings, and then Amelia would be bored again. Theo had toys, but he was protective of them, and Amelia didn't want to push; she didn't want him to tell Mr. Anders that he didn't like her.

She'd tentatively complained to Heith about being bored a few days ago, and Heith had hugged her and promised to get her her own toys.

And now she had this beautiful dollhouse and these beautiful dolls, but no one to play with them with.

She'd been so excited when Heith had shown it to her. She'd given Heith a big hug, and then Heith had helped her set it up in the living room, and when Amelia handed Heith a doll she'd smiled, but what she'd said was, "I'm sorry darling, but I have to run some very important errands."

"But I wanted to play with you," Amelia had said plaintively. She hadn't meant to, she didn't want to be a burden, but she just couldn't help it.

"Wait here for just a moment," Heith had said before getting up, and after several minutes of muffled screaming, she'd returned with a very sullen Jessica, her eyes red and puffy.

"Jessica," Heith had explained with a slightly strained smile, "got sent home early today for being disrespectful to her teacher, and she'd much rather play with you while I'm gone than have to explain herself to Max when he gets home - wouldn't you, Jessica?"

"I guess," Jessica had mumbled. She'd sat down hard on the floor next to Amelia and limply picked up a doll.

"Excellent!" A few minutes later, Heith had been gone.

After several seconds of blankly staring at the doll in her hand, Jessica had let it slide from her fingers, risen ponderously to her feet, and gone back to her room without a word, slamming the door behind her.

Which was fine. It wasn't like Amelia had really wanted to play with Jessica. Jessica was always grumpy and mean, and she never wanted to leave her room, which didn't make any sense! Amelia wanted badly to be allowed out of her room more - why would Jessica waste her freedom like that?

Maybe Jessica liked her room more because it had bunk beds. Amelia didn't have bunk beds.

With a sigh, she put her new dolls back in the dollhouse. She just didn't want to play by herself.

Her gaze drifted over to the door to Theo's room. Maybe he wouldn't mind playing with her if she let him use her toys? Hopping to her feet, she went over and knocked - Daddy had taught her it was always polite to knock.

Theo opened the door, rubbing his eyes. His short hair was cowlicked, and he was wearing footie pajamas. "Were you napping?" Amelia asked incredulously.

"Mommy said it was naptime!" Theo crossed his arms.

"Well, I don't have a naptime," Amelia replied haughtily. "What are you, three?"

"I'm four!" he protested angrily.

"Oh my god, you're a baby!"

"Am not!"

Amelia started to retort, but held back. She was six; she could be the mature one. And besides, she wanted Theo to like her. "Want to come play with me?" she asked instead.

He looked at her suspiciously. "You can't touch my Bionicles."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "I meant play with my toys. They're new, but you can touch them if you're nice."

He stared at her intently for another moment, then said, "Okay."

Amelia grabbed his hand and led him across the room to her dollhouse. She sat down and opened it up. Theo hesitated, but then he sat down too. He was reluctant to pick up the dolls at first, like he was afraid they were going to bite him or something, but he got the hang of it, and before long he was eagerly acting out the dolls' days with her. The daddy was a powerful supervillain, having his lieutenants over for tea parties while the mommy was at her business job. What the daddy didn't realize was that the mommy was actually a Protectorate superhero! And they got in big dramatic cape fights during the day, because neither of them knew who the other one was!

And the daughter had a secret baby that she was raising in the laundry room with her best friend, but she was also a PRT officer and a doctor who was playing the heroes and villains against each other for her own ends! And the son had a special mask he could put on that gave him light powers that were even better than Purity's and -

"Wait a minute, that's not how it works!" Amelia said indignantly, cutting Theo off. "Capes don't wear masks because they give them powers!"

"But it's how it works in Bionicles!" Theo protested.

"We're not playing with Bionicles," Amelia said primly.

Theo looked down. "Maybe you can play with them with me next time," he mumbled, then looked up, a sudden fire in his eyes. "But you have to promise to be careful! Nessa always took them apart and left the pieces lying around and I always got in trouble for it!"

Amelia was confused. "Who's Nessa?"

"Jessica's sister," Theo said. "She used to live with us before you did, but Mommy said she got hurt and had to go live in Valhalla. I bet she'll come visit sometime though!"

Amelia fell quiet. She idly turned the doll she was holding over in her hand. There was something there, some connection, but to make it, she'd have to think about the last time she saw Daddy, and she didn't want to.

The game they were playing had lost its magic. She didn't want to pretend the daddy was meeting his lieutenants at home for tea, she wanted to be having tea with Daddy. She wanted her family.

She looked at the beautiful dolls, with their beautiful skin and their beautiful blonde hair. Theo had blonde hair, and so did Jessica and Mr. Anders and Heith. They all looked like a real family. She didn't belong.

But she could. She could feel that bud of potential sitting at her center. She'd been ignoring it since That Night, but she could feel just how she would need to prod it in order to make it bloom the way she wanted, and before she'd really even considered it she'd done it. She could feel her curls relaxing, could see the dark brown brightening into a brilliant honey gold out of the corner of her eye.

Theo's eyes widened. "You're a cape?"

"I… guess I am," Amelia said. She hadn't really thought about it, but that was what she was, wasn't it? Her bangs were almost done changing, and she could feel the transformation beginning to spread backwards through the rest of her hair.

"That's so cool! What's your cape name?"

Huh. "I don't have one yet."

"I'm gonna be Baldr when I get my powers!" Theo said excitedly. "Everyone else in my family has them! I want to make light and shadows and shoot lasers like Purity and have sword armor like Father and - what else do your powers do?"

"I don't really know." Amelia ran a hand through her hair. It was so soft and silky, almost liquid, falling around her like a waterfall. "I can change myself." She looked closer at Theo, felt for the bud of potential within him. "I think I could change you too. Do you want me to?"

Theo nodded excitedly. Amelia smiled. "Okay," she said, and on instinct, she reached out and grabbed his hand; it made his potential feel more pliable, more reactive somehow. With a prod, it bloomed - not quite in the same way that hers had, but it would arrive in the same shape.

Immediately, his hair began to sprout, gaining length and luster until, in a matter of seconds, it was just as long and beautiful as her own. Theo yelped and pulled his hand away, running it frantically through his new hair. For a moment, he looked alarmed, but the look quickly turned to elation.

"That's so cool!" he exclaimed. "Can you give me swords for hands?"

Excitement bubbled up in her at the idea, and Amelia reached for his potential again, but found it… unreactive. Inert. Locked into its current shape.

That wasn't quite right though; it was shifting, ever so slowly, closing back up on itself and returning to its original shape. She could probably speed that along if she pushed, but a tentative prod in that direction encountered resistance and jarred her brain in a way that was impossible to describe, but distinctly bad.

"Sorry," she said. "Maybe once this wears off?"

"Aww, okay," Theo said disappointedly. "Wanna keep playing then?"

Amelia looked back at the dolls. "Something else," she decided. "Let's have a tea party. Where does your dad keep the nice cups?"

"The tall cupboards," Theo said. "Can you give me a boost?"

"More tea, Princess Amelia?"

"I'd be delighted, Princess Theo."

Theo giggled, nervous but smiling. "That's just a nickname. We're being fancy - you should call me Theodore."

"Of course, Princess Theodore," Amelia said, standing up so she could curtsy. "Forgive my rudeness." Her knee bumped the coffee table, making their teacups rattle. They hadn't been able to find any actual tea, but they'd gotten water from the sink. She sat back down. "How do I get a nickname?"

Mommy had used to call her something when she was really little, she thought, but she couldn't really remember it. Daddy always just called her Amelia, and though Heith called her darling, it wasn't the same.

"I can give you one!" Theo said, smiling wider. "I'll give you a really good one once you aren't a princess!"

There was the sound of a door opening.

"What the fuck is this?"

An older man with thinning blonde hair and a ruddy face contorted in anger was standing just inside the front door. Behind him stood Mr. Anders.

Across the coffee table from Amelia, Theo quailed.

The man strode aggressively towards Amelia and she shot to her feet, backing up instinctively.

"Don't you flee from me girl!" the man barked, and a knife materialized in his hand with a glint. "Take one more step and I'll make you regret it."

Amelia froze. The scabs on her face itched. Her knees shook. In her mind's eye, a velvet cape swished, a crown glinted, and Daddy collapsed.

"That's what I thought," growled Allfather. He continued to approach until he was looming over her. More knives were appearing in his hands in a myriad of cruel shapes. "This is the thanks I get for my mercy? I take you into my family, entrust you to my own son, and you poison my grandson? Trying to turn him into some sort of faggot, is that it?"

Amelia didn't know what that was, but she knew better than to ask, couldn't have asked through her chattering teeth. "I'm sorry," she managed to say, trying to shrink away from the terrifying man without taking a step.

"Prove it," Allfather snapped. "Change him back. And if you don't, if you aren't sorry? I will make you sorry." A knife struck the floor between her feet, point down, wobbling for a few seconds before vanishing. Amelia flinched.

Desperately, she looked over to Theo, who was pale as a sheet and curled up on the couch. She reached out to his potential, still in bloom but retreating faster now, and she shoved as hard as she could. A horrible frisson ran through her, shaking her bones, her teeth, setting her tummy twisting and her head pounding, and she cried out in pain, but Theo's hair was shrivelling, retracting, his potential rapidly returning to a bud. She could almost cry with relief.

Allfather snorted. "There might be hope for you after all." He looked over his shoulder to Mr. Anders. "Discipline the brats Max, and get James to put her through her paces as soon as possible. I'll be waiting in your office." He spared Amelia one more look. "Don't flinch," he commanded, and flung his fistful of knives up before walking away. They hung in the air for an unnaturally long moment, then fell, piercing through the air all around Amelia.

She whimpered, tears burning their way down her cheeks, but she did as she was told, and none of them hit her.

She barely had a chance to let out a sigh of relief before Mr. Anders was grabbing her by the shoulder. She looked up and saw that he was smiling, but there was something off about it. "So, Amelia," he said, "why don't you tell me just what you thought you were doing."

"I - we were playing, and I just wanted to look like you," Amelia said. She could feel her own change wearing off, her hair tightening back up.

"Well, I certainly can't blame you for that," Mr. Anders said in a very agreeable tone, but his hand squeezed even tighter. "But that doesn't explain why you had Theo sipping tea and looking like a pansy, does it?"

"I - I just asked him if he wanted to play with me, and he asked me to use my power on him!" Amelia protested desperately. She cried out as Mr. Anders' grip grew crushing.

"I see," he said in that same agreeable tone. "So you're saying my son wanted it, did he?"

Alarm bells rang in Amelia's head. "No!" she said forcefully, "He didn't want it, he just - I mean I just - I'm sorry," she said finally, as tears ran down her face.

There was a long pause. Then Mr. Anders let go. "I know you are, Amelia," he said kindly, and patted her on the head. "I accept your apology. It's not all your fault; Theo should have shut you down immediately. And I can't blame you for wanting to be one of us. But you can't just change your hair and pretend, you understand? You have to show me that you deserve to be one of us. Do you think you can do that?"

Amelia nodded vigorously, almost staggering with relief.

"That's good," Mr. Anders said. "The first thing you can do to start showing me that is by accepting your punishment gracefully. I think you're going to need a time-out."

Amelia took a deep breath. She could handle time-out. She'd been bad, but she was a big girl. She could take it. "Okay."

"Good girl." Mr. Anders ruffled her hair, then took her hand. He led her across the living room, back towards her bedroom, but stopped abruptly in front of a different door. Amelia only came to a stop when her arm pulled taught.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"My room?" she answered hesitantly.

"Oh! No, Amelia, no." Mr. Anders shook his head. He was smiling again, but different now. "That room is a privilege. We took you in in good faith and trusted you to follow our rules, but you betrayed that trust. You can have your room back once you've had time to think about what you've done." He reached out and opened the door, revealing a linen closet full of shelves. The shelves themselves were packed, all but the bottom. "Go on."

Amelia didn't think about the last closet she'd been in. She didn't. Very carefully, she got to her knees and crawled in.

"That's good, Amelia," Mr. Anders said. "That's very good. You stay right there until I come get you."

And he closed the door, plunging her into darkness.

Now:

Leah and Theo parted ways once they'd gotten past the metal detectors at the entrance to Arcadia - Theo to go talk to his friends, and Leah - who lacked those - to visit her locker. It wasn't that she was a complete social pariah or anything - even at her least sociable, some people still sought her out for her family name if nothing else. But Leah rarely had enough patience to endure her peers' inanity for long. None of them carried the burdens she did. Those few who might be able to understand what being a cape was like were her enemies. Then there were the undesirables who she had to pretend not to despise, and even when she did feel like putting up with all of that, she still had to endure the feeling of being the least favorite "friend" in whatever group she was trying to socialize with.

Better and easier, most days, not to bother.

After getting the books she'd need before lunch, Leah found a quiet corner to read another chapter of Shieldsister while she waited for the bell to ring. No need to seek out Victoria Dallon - they had math together in first period. If she was at school, she'd be there.

Leah really hoped she wasn't.

When the warning bell rang, Leah was one of the first to arrive. She nodded to the teacher, a stern man named Mr. Hanson, took her customary place at the back of the classroom, and watched. The rest of the class filed in over the next five minutes, and with each chair that filled, Leah grew more and more tense. Maybe, just maybe -

But just as the last bell rang, there she was. Victoria Dallon, tall, blonde, and beautiful, strode into class with the same perfect hair and perfect makeup as always, wearing her usual confident smile as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She plopped down in her usual seat three rows in front of Leah and leaned over to whisper a quick exchange with the black girl at the next desk over.

The sight made Leah's stomach burn and skin crawl, and she clenched and unclenched her fists several times. Victoria was the walking embodiment of Aryan perfection, and a cape to boot! That she would be so blessed and yet degrade herself by rubbing shoulders with niggers and worse made Leah want to scream.

Of course it had been too much to hope that she'd face consequences for tearing a loyal, unpowered soldier of the Empire limb from limb. The PRT were a bunch of hypocrites - they'd harp on and on about fairness and equality under the law, but they'd gladly look the other way when one of their favorites did something that would land an Empire cape a prison sentence.

Leah reined her righteous anger in. Victoria was here. That meant her job now was to get close to her, find out why she'd been missing in action over the weekend, and figure out if that had any implications for the Empire. She doubted it personally - most likely Collateral Damage Barbie had just thrown a tantrum about getting blood on her dainty hands - but it was what Father wanted. She wouldn't let him down.

So she waited for an opportunity. Mr. Hanson wasn't the sort of teacher who tolerated getting up and moving around to talk during class, so even if Leah was bold enough to just walk up to Victoria, that was right out. Every so often Mr. Hanson would assign group work in class, making them collaborate to prove some rule or principle that they'd just learned. Normally, these were the bane of Leah's existence, so it was just her luck that on this, the one day she would've welcomed one, there were none.

By the time the bell rang, Leah had accomplished nothing. She watched as Victoria stood up from her desk, now chatting with a different student - a white one this time, so at least she had a modicum of dignity - and tried to decide on an approach. This was their only class together today - she'd need to act now, strike up a conversation before second period, or she wouldn't have a chance until lunch.

Leah stood up, then hesitated. How was she supposed to do it, though? She couldn't just interrupt her in the middle of talking to her friend to say, Hello, I know we've barely ever said more than a sentence to each other, but could you tell me what happened after you brutally murdered a man that caused you to skip a weekend of heroing? It's just that you never take a weekend off, and don't worry about why I know your cape schedule so well. Thanks! She needed a defter approach. The only question was what?

Abruptly, Leah realized that Victoria wasn't in front of her anymore. She couldn't locate her with a quick glance around the room either. Hurriedly, she stuffed her supplies back into her backpack and tried to rush out into the hall, but the mass of students also trying to exit stymied her. By the time she'd actually made it through the door, there was no sign of the amazonian Alexandria package.

Fuck.

Her next class passed in a sickening blur of dread and anticipation. She'd have to confront her at lunch - it was the only other chance she was going to get. It wouldn't be hard to find her; Victoria was always at the center of the cafeteria holding court with her friends and hangers-on. But that was the problem; Leah would have to force her way into the swarm of sycophants and somehow strike up a conversation without making her motive completely transparent. It was like when her dad wanted her to socialize at a gala, except worse, because she had to get specific information and she couldn't bail and try again with someone else if she made a bad impression.

So when the bell rang and she joined the flow of bodies towards the cafeteria, she did her best to psych herself up. As she waited in line she planned her approach - what sort of casual greeting-slash-acknowledgment would make it seem normal for her to sit down at Victoria's table, how far away she should try to sit, how she could subtly steer the conversation towards talking about everyone's weekend and how she could prod Victoria without seeming pushy if she didn't volunteer the information. When she emerged with her tray, she was ready.

As expected, Victoria was at her usual table, with her usual gaggle. Leah walked towards it as confidently as she could manage. She was a god damn cape - if she could go toe-to-toe with Armsmaster, she could project confidence sitting down for lunch! She took a deep breath, she walked up to the table, and - oh god they were looking at her they were all looking at her Victoria was looking at her fuck fuck fuck - she kept walking. Dropping into an empty seat at the long table by the doors, Leah barely resisted the urge to faceplant into her tray.

It was fine. It was fine! She'd just - just eat her lunch, and then try again once they'd moved on from eating to just hanging out. Victoria's boyfriend was a Stansfield, and Leah had met a few Stansfields before! She was pretty sure his dad was a friend-of-a-friend of her dad's - not ready to openly support the Empire, but sympathetic to the cause when framed correctly. Maybe she'd met him. Maybe she could say hi to him, and transition from exchanging pleasantries into her actual objective, and maybe then trying to talk to Victoria Dallon wouldn't make her feel like her stomach was digesting itself.

She repeated this plan over and over to herself as she ate her mostly-tasteless lunch - chicken breast, mashed potatoes, wilting salad, and a pretty decent cup of chocolate pudding - and was in the middle of a long refreshing drink of still-hot coffee from her thermos when a loud slam made her choke. Spluttering, she looked up to see Victoria floating a foot above the ground, her face red. There was a dent in the table she'd been sitting at, and everyone else at the table was leaning as far away from her as possible.

The cafeteria was deathly quiet. Victoria revolved in the air, taking in her audience, and her expression curdled into something like shame as she alighted back on the floor. In the silence, her voice rang out like a clarion, a quavery and frail approximation of her usual carefree confidence. "I'm sorry. Don't mind me, I…"

She trailed off.

Her boyfriend, the Stansfield - Dane, maybe? Something like that - reached hesitantly for her, but before he could make contact she was off, walking as fast as someone could without running, abandoning her backpack as she fled the cafeteria.

After a moment's hesitation, Leah followed.

Victoria was much faster than her, but the trail of stunned students left in her wake made her easy to track, and it gave Leah an excuse to do something she very rarely risked at school; tapping into her resentment at Victoria's speed and stamina - and the way her flight let her cheat at both - Leah gave her own bud of potential a sharp jab, and broke into a jog as vital strength flowed through her legs and her lungs expanded to double their normal capacity. By the time she'd tracked her quarry to the girl's bathroom on the other end of the building, she wasn't even winded.

She entered cautiously. The bathroom seemed almost deserted, but there was a single closed stall right at the end. The sound of soft sobs echoed out from it.

Leah hesitated for several long moments before mustering her courage and saying, "Victoria?"

The sobs cut off abruptly. "Who's there?" came a shaky response.

"It's Leah - uh, Leah Anders. We have Algebra 2 together?" Leah grimaced.

"Oh! Hi Leah, um, did you need something?"

"Not really. I was in the cafeteria."

"Oh."

A sniffle.

Leah shifted uncomfortably. "Do you wanna talk about it? I know we're not, like, friends or anything, but… I don't know, maybe that's better?" She grimaced again. Stupid. Why would anyone want to talk to a stranger instead of -

Victoria laughed, a short, ugly, snorting laugh. "God, maybe," she said, then, "Dean broke up with me."

Dean, that was his name! Ugh, Leah hoped her dad didn't try to set her up with him next. "Is he retarded?" she said aloud. "You're way out of his league."

Victoria gave a huff that quickly turned into a half-sob. "I don't think I am. You… you probably heard what happened last week. What - what I did."

"A little?" Leah hedged. "I don't keep up with the news." The second part was even true - if any of it affected her, Father would tell her.

A deep breath. Leah waited impatiently, resisting the urge to tap her foot. Then, surprisingly steadily, Victoria said, "I killed a man."

Leah rolled her eyes, but tried to keep her derision out of her voice as she said, "I'm sorry. But he was the enemy, right?"

"He was scum," Victoria said fiercely. "He raped a trans girl and took pictures."

Any man who went out in public dressed like that was unquestionably asking for it, but somehow that didn't stop Leah from feeling a pang of pity for him and a mountain of disgust for their soldier. "Sounds like you did everyone a favor then," she said, and meant it - she didn't want men like that in her Empire. "If Dean doesn't see that, that's his problem."

"But I didn't mean to kill him!" Victoria practically yelled. She took a deep breath, and then continued, a little more quietly, "I just meant to hurt him. I've - I've done it before, taking down Nazis, hit them harder than I needed to to bring them down, dragged them around a bit before bringing them in, kicked them around when they mouthed off. It's just so unfair, you know? They kill innocent people, torture them, destroy their lives, and they get what, a few years in prison? And that's if we can make enough charges stick, if they don't take a plea deal, and it's not like they won't have plenty of sympathizers on the inside anyway!" It sounded like she was breathing hard. "And I can't actually do anything to help their victims, so the least I can do is make them suffer for it, right?"

"Right," Leah affirmed. It was galling having to sit and listen to someone talk about her people like that, but she also took a certain satisfaction in seeing the facade come down. Victoria could pretty it up however she wanted, but at her core she was exactly as brutal as the Empire. They just disagreed about who deserved to be brutalized.

"...I drop kicked him," Victoria said, and Leah bit down a snort of laughter at the incongruity between that mental image and the other girl's horrified tone. "I lifted him by the throat and dropped him, and I kicked him in the dick, hard, and I must've been a little off-center, because… because my foot went through his thigh. There was so much blood. And screaming. And I think I found a piece of bone in my hair later." She paused for a moment, then said, "You can run away screaming anytime you want, okay? I won't blame you."

This time she couldn't help it, Leah let a short snort of laughter escape. "I'll keep that in mind."

"How can you laugh about this?" Victoria demanded. "Aren't you afraid of me? I could do that to you . I wouldn't even have to try. It wouldn't even have to be on purpose."

Leah didn't correct her. "I don't know," she said. "Lots of capes can do worse than that, I guess. My dad lived through the Slaughterhouse Nine's visit, and he's told me stories. It's just a fact of life."

Victoria was quiet for a bit. "I guess it is," she said. "I think what actually bothers me most is that I didn't mean to do it. It doesn't seem right that I can just end a person on accident. If he deserved it, shouldn't someone have decided that?"

"Sounds like you should start killing on purpose as soon as possible then," Leah said with a slight smirk. "You can balance the scales by this time tomorrow if you really crack down on it."

Victoria made a choking sound that it took Leah a moment to recognize as laughter. "Oh my god, that's horrible!" she said. "My mom would flip! She and my aunt were apoplectic when they heard."

"Can I buy a thesaurus?" Leah asked snidely, then frowned. She knew what 'apoplectic' meant; why had she said that?

"Okay, my mom and aunt were hella pissed, yo, " Victoria said, and Leah laughed again. But then Victoria sighed and said, "Not that I'm their problem anymore."

"What do you mean?" Leah asked, trying not to sound too eager. This might be it!

"I'm officially out of New Wave," Victoria said. "The PRT might have been willing to tolerate a first-time killing in self-defense, but a suspect in custody? Absolutely not, especially once they took a closer look at my arrest record and connected the dots. I was told I could either hang up my cape or take a provisional contract with the Wards until I turn eighteen. They'll make the announcement next week. I'm benched until then - probably after, too."

A wide smile split Leah's face, and it felt like her entire body relaxed in relief. This was what Father had wanted from her! She had the intel! She'd done it!

And what a piece of intel it was! Already her mind was conjuring scenarios and possibilities. Glory Girl was easily the most marketable and profitable member of New Wave; losing her, especially under such circumstances, would be an enormous blow to their reputation and revenue stream. And without their flying brick, the team's flexibility and staying power would be significantly diminished. If they could arrange for a couple of high-profile, suitably humiliating defeats quickly, the team might disband altogether…

Abruptly, Leah realized that she'd left Victoria hanging. "That sounds like it sucks," she said, "Maybe a new team won't be completely terrible, though? Parents can be exhausting to work under sometimes - I bet," she added hastily.

"You have no idea," Victoria said obliviously, "but I've patrolled with the Wards before, and there are one or two that I'm not looking forward to working with right now. Oh!" she said abruptly, "Don't tell anyone about the Wards thing, please? It's supposed to be a secret until they announce it, so keep it between us?"

"Absolutely," Leah lied easily.

There was the sound of a bolt clicking, and the stall door opened. Victoria Dallon stepped out, and though it was clear from her eyes that she'd been crying, the rest of her looked as perfect and pristine as ever. Her mascara must've been waterproof. Leah felt that burning hatred in her stomach again as Victoria gave her a brilliant smile.

"Thank you so much, Leah," she said. "I didn't realize how much I needed that. Can I give you a hug?"

"I - sure?" Leah had barely gotten the words out before strong warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her tight against Victoria's chest.

She smelled like peaches. The heat in Leah's stomach was rapidly bubbling up into her chest, her face, the tips of her ears.

Victoria released her and gave one of her effortless, confident smiles, without a flicker of falsehood. "I'd better go get my stuff before third period," she said. "I'll see you around? I think we have English together tomorrow."

"Yeah, sounds good," Leah stammered. Victoria smiled again, then swept out of the bathroom.

Leah stood there, utterly nonplussed, until the sound of the bell jolted her into motion again.

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Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warnings:

Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceUnderage Sex

Categories:

F/FGen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

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Amy Dallon & Theo AndersAmy Dallon & Heith AndersAmy Dallon | Panacea | Red Queen/Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares

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Published:2025-02-04Updated:2026-02-04Words:161,471Chapters:28/49Comments:739Kudos:336Bookmarks:73Hits:19,486

Broken Crown

thevalleyarchive

Chapter 2: Ozymandias 1.2

Chapter Text

Then:

Heith had carried Amelia to the car and held her close in the back seat while she cried. At some point she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she remembered was being carried into a big, beautiful elevator.

"I wanna push the buttons," she mumbled blearily.

She felt Heith's soft laughter. "We're going to the penthouse. Can you press 'P' for 'penthouse'?"

Amelia let go of her shoulders and leaned away to reach the button. It lit up with a satisfying click , and then there was a soft ding as the door closed. It was almost enough to make her smile, but then she remembered Daddy lying on the floor, and the smile wilted.

"Do you know what a penthouse is, Amelia?" Heith asked as the elevator began to rise.

"No."

"It's the biggest, nicest apartment in the building, all the way…" Heith tapped her finger on Amelia's knee, then slowly raised it to eye level "...at the top!" And she booped Amelia on the nose.

Amelia couldn't help but giggle, even if it did turn into a hiccuping sob. She burrowed back into Heith's shoulder. A gentle hand rubbed circles into her back.

Much sooner than she would've expected, there was another ding , and Heith carried her out of the elevator. Amelia caught a few glimpses of a large, open living room, but the lights were off, and Heith didn't stop to turn them on. They crossed the space quickly, and then they were in a bedroom, dominated by a bed almost as big as Daddy's. The bed looked cozy, but something about it seemed cold. Heith pulled back the covers with one hand, then lowered Amelia into it.

"You've had a very scary night, Amelia," she said, "but you've been so, so brave. You must be so tired."

Now that she mentioned it, Amelia was really tired. She yawned.

Heith smiled and caressed her hair. "That's right. You go to sleep, and I promise you, in the morning it'll all be just like a bad dream, and you'll feel so much better. I'll be back to check on you soon, okay?"

"Okay," Amelia said shakily. She didn't want Heith to leave - it wasn't quite like the closet in here, but she could already imagine that she was back there, and that the next time the door opened it would be to see Daddy -

She buried her face in the covers. She didn't want to be back there.

Heith leaned over and kissed the top of her head. It felt - strange. Comforting and unnerving at the same time. "Goodnight darling."

She closed the door behind her, and left Amelia alone in the dark.

Amelia was pulled from her uneasy slumber by the sound of raised voices. Disoriented as she was, she didn't actually catch the words that woke her up, but she heard Heith's voice hiss a response. "Keep your voice down! You'll wake the children!"

A girl's voice, unfamiliar, angry, and loud, replied, "Oh really? Well, I'd hate to upset the children right now!"

Heith made a pained sound. "Jessica-"

"You left!" Jessica yelled, "You took Marquis's brat and just left me there with - with -" her voice broke."Nessa wasn't even cold, and you just left her!"

"Jessica, darling-"

"Don't call me that, you're not my fucking mom! If you loved us half as much as you said you did, you wouldn't have-"

There was a sound like a clap, followed by a long moment of silence. Then Heith spoke, voice tense with emotion. "I loved Nessa very much, Jessica. I'm sorry that my duties took me away from her, and from you when you needed me. I'll call your principal in the morning, keep you home from school tomorrow. We'll - we'll do whatever you need, together. Okay?"

After a long moment, Jessica answered, "Okay." She was quieter, and though her voice sounded subdued, it was still angry. "Kaiser wanted me to tell you that he's not going to be home tonight, but that you should keep an eye on things. I'm gonna go back to Allfather's, see what else needs doing."

"Jessica, wait, you should try to rest, you've had a hard-" Heith's words were drowned out by the sound of a door slamming. As the echo faded, she said something else, but it was too quiet for Amelia to hear.

Then there was the sound of footsteps drawing closer, and Amelia slammed her eyes shut. She waited with bated breath as the door creaked open. Amelia tried to reach out and feel for Heith's bud, just to confirm that it was really her looking in, but with her eyes closed, all she could feel was her own. A few moments later, her door closed softly, and she confirmed through slitted eyes that she was alone again.

Even once the sounds of Heith rummaging around in the rest of the apartment - the rest of the penthouse - faded, Amelia couldn't fall back asleep. Try as she might, she couldn't stop imagining things she didn't want to. Normally when she couldn't sleep, she'd go find Daddy, but Daddy was -

She got up anyway. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she was going to try to find it.

The living room was dark, and Amelia navigated it carefully. She kept her ears pricked; she couldn't shake the feeling that something was hiding in the shadows, just waiting for her to let her guard down.

So, when she stepped around the counter and into the kitchen, only to find herself face-to-face with an unfamiliar boy, of course Amelia screamed.

The boy didn't scream, but he did flinch violently, dowsing both of them with the contents of the glass of water he'd been holding.

"Gah!" Recoiling in shock, Amelia sputtered, "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the boy demanded indignantly. Sandy blonde hair was plastered wetly to his forehead. "This is my house!"

"This isn't a house, it's a penthouse!" Amelia retorted. " My house is a house."

Was it still a house without a roof? She shivered.

The light flicked on, making Amelia blink. She spun around and saw Heith, and blinked again. Heith had changed out of her blue-green dress and winged helmet, and Amelia almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing a lacy white dressing gown, and though the top half of her face was now visible, Amelia couldn't make out her facial features any better because her face was covered in a thick green goop - Daddy had called it a facemask, the one time he'd had something similar on. Her hair was honey-blonde, and it was in curlers. Only her bud of potential was the same, still with that odd elastic feeling that Amelia hadn't noticed in anyone else.

"Children," Heith asked, "What are you doing up so late?"

"I was thirsty," the boy said bashfully, looking at his feet. "Mommy, who's this girl?"

Heith smiled. "Theo, this is Amelia. She's going to be living with us. Amelia, this is my son Theo. I'm sure you two will be the best of friends."

Amelia felt a pang of longing; she hadn't had friends since she lived with Mommy. She regarded Theo appraisingly. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"You too," said Theo.

"Now then," said Heith. "It's very late. You two need to get back to bed."

Amelia bit her lip. She was only awake because Heith and Jessica - whoever she was - had been loud! But she nodded anyway.

Heith sighed. "Tell you what," she said. "Why don't you both come to my room and I'll read you a bedtime story?" She looked to Theo. "I'm having a hard time sleeping too, since your father is gone, but you can keep me safe until he gets back, can't you, my little warrior?"

Theo puffed up. "Can you read a story about Baldr?" he asked.

Heith laughed fondly. "Of course." She took Theo's hand, then offered her other hand to Amelia. "I bet you haven't heard any Norse stories before, have you Amelia?"

"I don't think so," Amelia said uncertainly.

"Oh you'll love them," Heith said with a smile. "It's part of your heritage, after all. Gods and warriors, vikings and valkyrie, brave heroes defeating terrible monsters! We can learn a lot from our ancestors. Now come along."

Hesitantly, Amelia took her hand and let herself be led.

Now:

Leah woke early, as always, after sleeping poorly, as always. She rose and pulled on a red day dress and black tights with quick, mechanical precision, not looking at the mirrored closet door, then slipped out of her room. The rest of the penthouse apartment was dark and quiet; Leah was often the first to arise, though Father hadn't always gone to bed at all. That didn't seem to be the case today. Quietly, Leah made her way to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee; once she had her cup, she pulled open the curtains on the enormous windows and settled into an armchair to watch the sunrise.

She didn't get many moments of peace - she tried to savor them when they did come.

Too quickly, her cup was empty, and it was time to get ready for the day. Leah trudged to the bathroom she shared with her brother - it was spacious enough, though smaller than Kayden's and certainly smaller than the master bathroom, and Theo didn't have much to clutter it with. She had showered after the previous night's outing, so she didn't have to squeeze one in this morning. Instead, Leah brushed her teeth and then reluctantly turned her attention to her reflection.

Makeup first. Color corrector and a heavy layer of foundation to mostly conceal her freckles, then blush to make her look less washed out. A bit of contouring to make her face look less flabby, though she was frankly atrocious at it and seemingly incapable of improving. Then finish with eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss so she looked like a proper lady - an Anders, not a slob.

There was no artistry to her work, no pleasure in beholding the results, but at least Leah could look at her own reflection without cringing now. Or she would be able to once she straightened her hair, anyway - right now she looked like a Jew.

Spray, brush, iron, repeat. Finally, Leah was halfway decent. It would be so much easier if she could delegate this part of her routine to her power, but she'd never been able to get those changes to stick more than half the day.

She emerged from the bathroom. It was still early, but not that early; she could hear Kayden's shower going. The rest of the house would be waking up soon; maybe Leah could read a chapter or two of her new book, Shieldsister . It was historical fiction, following the adventures of a band of Gaelic female warriors, and she was enjoying it immensely.

That delightful prospect was cut short by the sound of Father's bedroom door creaking open. Leah's heart plummeted, then did a somersault when she saw that it wasn't Father who was emerging. Jessica slipped out and eased the door closed surreptitiously behind her. She was clad only in a silky camisole and a barely-there lace g-string. Leah felt her cheeks start to burn and forced herself to only focus on details above the neck, but it didn't help - her blonde hair was tousled and her lips swollen in a way that suggested only one thing.

Shame and disgust curled in her chest.

Jessica turned around and froze, her eyes narrowing. The look of disdain on her face struck a spark of anger in Leah, which was a much more welcome emotion. She crossed her arms. "Are you sticking around for breakfast?"

"What are you even doing up?" Jessica hissed.

"The same thing I do every morning? It's 6:30," Leah said. "Guess you lost track of time."

Jessica's supermodel-gorgeous face contorted into a very ugly look. Leah felt her own lips curl to match. "If you are staying, the least you could do is help cook," she added. "I bet Kayden would really appreciate it." She glanced meaningfully towards her stepmother's side of the apartment - as far from her father's as possible.

"Suck a dick, Leah," Jessica said acidly.

"Seems like you're doing enough of that for both of us."

"You're just jealous." Jessica tossed her hair imperiously, then crossed to the kitchen.

Panic bubbled momentarily in the back of Leah's throat. Did she know? How could she - no, that wasn't what she meant. The panic turned to nausea. "You're disgusting," she spat, following behind, "That's my dad!"

Jessica took her time pilfering the fruits of Leah's labor, leaving Leah to hover impotently. She did not look as Jessica bent forward over her cup, causing her cami to ride up and almost completely expose her very, very nice ass.

Jessica turned back to face her, cup in hand. "He's as much your dad as Heith was your mom," she said with poisonous sweetness, then took a sip of coffee.

"Exactly," Leah said forcefully. "He's my dad."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Amelia ," Jessica said with a sigh. "I can't wait for your seventeenth birthday. How many months away is it now?"

A chill ran down Leah's spine. "Fuck you," she said. "I'm more loyal, more dedicated, more useful , than you could ever be. I'm twice the servant of the Empire you are, and Father knows it."

"And yet, I serve him in ways you never could," Jessica said in a tone that made Leah want to puke. Jessica took another sip of coffee, then poured the rest of her cup into the sink. She stepped forward, into Leah's space, and then she was towering over her in a way that made her wonder if Jessica was using her power for just a touch of extra height.

"Your coffee tastes like shit," she said softly. "Better make another pot before Daddy gets up."

Before Leah could form a response, Jessica turned and strode out of the apartment, still in her negligee. Leah stood there for a long moment, staring at the front door.

Fucking Jessica.

The sound of Kayden's shower shutting off jolted her into motion. If Jessica couldn't be assed to lend a hand, then Leah would. Kayden deserved that much from her.

By the time Kayden emerged, Leah had a new pot of coffee going, two frying pans heating on the stove, various containers of chopped vegetables on the counter, and was whisking a dozen eggs in a bowl.

"Good morning Leah," Kayden said with a smile no more pained than usual. She was one of the few people shorter than Leah, but where Leah was flabby, Kayden was petite, and though her hair was an even duller brown, it was straight and smooth. She was wearing a pantsuit, but she quickly threw on an apron before stepping up to take over the omelette operation. "Thank you for getting this started."

Leah shrugged uncomfortably. "Sure." She cast around for something else to say to her stepmother, and settled on the tried and true. "How'd Aster sleep?"

"Badly," Kayden said tersely. "I have questions for Theo about what he thinks counts as an appropriate bedtime story; she had screaming nightmares. It's not like I go out in costume often these days, or ask for much when I do." She gestured with the whisk, and Leah leaned back to avoid getting splattered. "Mark my words, Leah - men have no idea how to be gentle, even ones as sensitive as Theo. Don't let Max press one on you before you're ready."

Leah gave a vaguely agreeable murmur. Kayden barely reacted, and with no further prompting, launched into a diatribe about pushy clients. Leah tried to pay attention, but her stepmother's list of petty grievances wasn't enough to keep her thoughts off the humiliating disaster that was the last date her father had arranged for her.

In many ways it was typical. Father made them a reservation at an upscale restaurant that only catered to the right kind of people. Her date was a friend of the family, in this case the son of some magnate or executive that Father wanted to cultivate closer ties with; she couldn't remember the specifics, in spite of the fact that her date had talked of little else, boasting about how he'd be taking over as COO when he graduated from Harvard next year. She'd completely failed to carry her half of the conversation, unable to think of any questions to ask him, and her compliments and noises of interest had sounded feeble and half-hearted even by her standards. She was always complete shit at that part of courtship. And every other part. That wasn't unusual.

What was unusual was how open he was in his disgust and contempt for her. Usually her dates at least pretended not to find her repulsive, out of a desire to suck up to Father, but he'd just given her a long once-over, snorted, and ordered a bottle of wine with instructions to keep them coming.

And that was how they'd come to the end of the night, him red-faced and staggering as they left the restaurant. He'd grabbed onto her shoulders, and at first Leah thought he was just trying to hold himself steady, but then he'd shoved her up against a wall, stinking fumes billowing from his mouth as it drew closer and closer to hers, and she just couldn't take it. It had taken only the lightest push of her power to tip his already-rebelling stomach over the edge, and he had collapsed into a fit of vomiting, with her, unfortunately, directly in his path. It hadn't been a one-and-done either.

She refused to relive the dressing down Father had given her in the aftermath. He never shouted or threw things, not like Grandfather had, but Leah would've rather faced one of Grandfather's tirades any day.

She tuned back in just in time to hear Kayden say, "- just about done. Go set the table and check on Theo, would you? I'll do the same for Max." Her nose wrinkled in distaste.

Leah nodded and started opening cabinets. It was a relief to know that Jessica was already gone.

Tablecloth, napkins, cutlery, a decanter of water and a decanter of orange juice, mugs for coffee. A stack of plates for serving that she set on the counter. Once it was all laid out, Leah walked over and knocked on her brother's door. "Get up!" she called.

There was a groan, several seconds of frantic rummaging, and then the door opened to reveal her little brother in rumpled flannel pajamas. "Jesus Leah," he yawned, "How late were you out last night? I waited up for you for ages."

Theo did look exhausted. His sandy blonde hair was all over the place, and there were deep bags under his eyes. Leah shrugged. "You were asleep by the time I got back. Seemed stupid to wake you up."

"I wish you had," Theo grumbled. "I didn't exactly sleep well, worrying about you. Are you okay?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "I'm always okay. You don't need to worry so much about me." She meant it to sound long-suffering, but she couldn't keep a small smile off her face. "Now come have an omelette."

They returned to the kitchen to dish up and found Kayden gone but Father already there, loading his plate. Unlike Theo, he was perfectly put together, his eyes sharp and alert.

Father was a man of many smiles. He selected them from his arsenal with care and deployed them with precision. This morning, he was wearing his Indulgent Smile. That meant he intended for them to be at ease. Whether that meant being at ease was safe was another question entirely. "Good morning children," he said.

"Good morning Father," Leah and Theo chorused back to him.

He walked past them to the table. After a moment's hesitation, Leah grabbed a plate for herself. Theo had just done the same when Father called, "Juice or coffee this morning?"

"...coffee," Leah said cautiously. Father's voice was flatly pleasant, giving nothing away.

"Orange juice for you, Theo?"

"Yes, thank you Father," Theo said. He shot Leah a concerned look. Leah didn't dare make a gesture as overt as a shrug - instead, she pursed her lips and raised one eyebrow slightly, knowing Theo would understand.

They carried their breakfast to the table and took their seats. Father finished pouring. "James told me you acquitted yourself well last night," he said, looking at Leah. "I'm proud of you."

Leah shifted uncomfortably. She thought her performance had been lackluster at best; Brandish had successfully split her from her team and she hadn't even managed to deal with her on her own. Rune had had to bail her out. But she accepted the praise with a nod. "Thank you."

"It's gratifying to have a child who serves the family so fiercely." Something in his tone made Leah look up. Her father had traded smiles; now he wore his Sharp Smile. "What about you, Theodore? While your sister put her life on the line for your future, what were you doing?"

Theo stared at his plate. "I was here," he said, "taking care of Aster."

"My son the nursemaid," Father said faux affably. "How quaint. Clearly the future of the white race is in capable hands. Did you know, I killed my first nigger at your age? A ravening, rapacious beast, and I put him down. Brought his head to my own father, he was so proud." He discarded his smile. "Thank God your big sister is here to wear your pants for you. Let me know when you're ready to put them on. Until then, someone has to wear the dress, but don't expect me to praise you for it."

"I don't," Theo said so quietly Leah barely caught it. Father didn't appear to notice.

She wanted to speak up for him - she was hopeless with Aster, with babies and toddlers and all manner of small children. Theo wasn't just good with them either, he was incredible. Aster probably liked him more than she liked her own mother.

But any praise she gave him would just be more damning in their father's eyes. Under the table, Leah put a hand on Theo's knee and gave it her best attempt at a comforting squeeze. He stiffened momentarily, and she thought she'd made a mistake, but then his free hand found hers and briefly returned the squeeze.

A moment later, Kayden reemerged from her room with Aster in her arms. Father greeted her with his Winsome Smile. "Kayden, darling, good morning! How did our dear Aster sleep?"

"Very well. Thank you Max," Kayden said stiffly.

"Have a seat! I'll get you breakfast," Father said.

"I can serve myself."

"Nonsense!" Father waved her off, already on his feet and halfway to the kitchen. "You have your hands full. It's the least I can do."

He returned with a plate for Kayden and a plastic tray for Aster as Kayden situated her in her high chair. Then they all settled in. For a short time, things were quiet.

Then Father said, "I have a task for you today, Leah."

Leah took a deep, steadying breath. "Before or after school?"

"During. We haven't been able to get eyes on Glory Girl since she savaged our loyal soldier last week." Father leaned forward. "Find Victoria Dallon and find out where she's been. If she's not at school, then that's good information too. We need more intelligence if we're to mount an appropriate response."

"I can't just go up to Arcadia's ballistic beauty queen and ask what she's been up to since she ripped a man's leg off!" Leah protested. "It's not like we're friends." She didn't think they'd ever exchanged words that weren't part of a class assignment - if Victoria even knew her name, it would only be because of who her father was. She was at the beating heart of Arcadia - Leah was an awkward pimple on its face.

Not that Leah wanted anything to do with Victoria's band of degenerates and race traitors anyway.

"You'll figure something out," Father said. "You're a smart girl. You'll make me proud."

A promise and a threat, those words filled her with fear and longing in equal measure. "Of course Father," Leah said. The words felt like they were sapping all strength from her. It was going to be a long day; she'd grab another cup of coffee before she had to go.

Her plate was clear. "May I be excused?" she asked.

"Go," said Father. "You too, Theo. The driver will be waiting for you two downstairs soon. Get yourselves together."

Kayden looked up briefly from trying to coax another bite of food into Aster. "Have a good day at school."

"Thank you," said Theo.

They cleared their dishes. Leah poured herself that cup of coffee, then, on impulse, grabbed a thermos and poured the rest of the pot into it.

"Liquid courage?" Theo asked.

"Liquid patience," Leah said. "I'm going to need it to keep from giving the Dallon bitch a new asshole." She smirked at Theo.

Theo didn't chuckle, smile, or even snort. Something complicated flickered across his face, but all he said was, "Good luck."

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Chapter 808 - broken crown