Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage

[MetaBettaOmega]

I shifted around on my seat, making sure most of my body was hidden by the bus stop's protective wall. I knew the bus didn't come by here for at least another fifteen minutes, and by then, I would hopefully be long gone. Or I would be, as long as the young girl I was keeping an eye on left her house when she usually did.

I paused, letting my previous thoughts run through my head, rolling my eyes when I realized how strange it sounded. It was thoughts like that, as well as a few other equally surreal moments, that made me stop and question my sanity. It had been nearly a week since I found myself here, in a world that, on the surface, seemed so familiar but, on closer inspection, was so radically different. I was currently sitting on a street that looked no different from any suburban street from my world. And yet, this morning, I saw a teenage girl flying through the air, dressed in a tiara and a golden outfit.

Hello, my name is William Kalus. I'm 28 years old, technically currently homeless, and stranded on a version of Earth that makes my Earth's 2020 look like a paradise of calm, certainty, and bountiful prosperity.

Oh, and I'm a mage. In a world where there was no magic.

That was a relatively recent development, actually. In fact, it was one of the several things about this new… life was the right word, I supposed, that made me question if I had lost my marbles.

You see, I died. I kicked the bucket, bought the farm, bit the dust, gave up the ghost, and cashed in my chips.

I died surrounded by people looking down at me, their phones out, recording as I gurgled and gagged on my own blood and shards of my ribcage. A car, some dinged-up old shitbox, had slammed into me going way too fast for the road they were on, flung me across the street, where I skidded to a stop along the sidewalk.

I remember my thoughts being remarkably clear at that moment. I knew instantly I was dying. No amount of doctors or medicine would be able to separate the shredded remains of my internals from what was supposed to be my skeleton. I could feel myself dying, slowly losing strength, my heart slowly stopping. Then, as the light faded, I slipped away. The last thing I managed to do in my old world was to lose control over what little of my bowels were still intact.

"Is everything alright?" A familiar voice whispered into my ear, coming from just over my shoulder, despite the fact that I knew no one was there.

"I'm fine, just thinking," I answered quietly, taking solace in the familiar presence that surrounded me.

I felt a comforting, slightly worried sensation wrap around me before it reluctantly pulled away. After a moment alone, my thoughts sunk back into my first steps into my current situation, this time slightly buoyed.

I had died, and a second later, I woke up, standing in some sort of ethereal dimension. It was beautiful, but it made me feel incredibly small, standing amid planets and galaxies like someone had taken all the best images of space and photoshopped them together.

Then, the entities came. There weren't any faces or anything I could even identify as a body, but I could still feel their presence, like a weight on my soul. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had been chosen, that I was being taken and sent somewhere to participate in a forced after-death adventure. I was then informed that there were no alternatives and that I had no choice in the matter.

I had the oddest sensation that someone had pissed them off.

Thankfully, they did give me two separate boons, a sort of reluctant apology since they weren't even pretending to care about what I wanted. The first was called Blank Spot, with a pinch of Someone Else's Problem added in, to keep me from being attacked immediately for not belonging or standing out. At the time, having no idea where I was going, I had only been mildly thankful. Being a Blank Spot would undoubtedly come in handy, after all, but most settings didn't really require that level of protection, right?

Turns out that was a stupid assumption. There was a lot I didn't know about this world, but even some short time at the Brockton Bay Public Library told me that any protection against what this world called Thinkers was a massive advantage. There were people in this world who could see the future, and the past, and could divine all sorts of information from seemingly nowhere. It was like Marvel and DC decided to have a kid, and it was born fully formed with a grudge against its own well-being and sanity. I didn't recognize it in the slightest, and that was perhaps the scariest thing of all.

Well, it would have been until I read about the Endbringers.

I suppressed a shiver, though my frown shifted to a smile as a warm breeze blew over me, washing away the encroaching panic.

"Thank you," I muttered, feeling the wind russle my hair slightly.

After spending a minute or so just sitting at the bus stop, stewing in my bad luck, I shook it off. I knew, eventually, I would most likely be able to handle the Endbringers, whatever the fuck they actually were, but reading about what they were capable of was still harrowing. It made me want to run away and hide myself in the middle of nowhere, where they would never go. It made me want to invest all my next recharge into something that would let me leave this world and escape to one not currently circling the drain.

But no, I couldn't do that. As horrifying as the realization had been, I now knew I was too good of a person to run from something like this. As much as I hated the entities for snagging me away from whatever afterlife I was heading towards, they had given me power and a mission to help this world survive its encroaching apocalypse.

Thank god I got something powerful enough to make that possible.

It was interesting because I recognized my power. Or, rather, I recognized what it was based on. Inspired Inventor, the ability to spend an allowance of recharging points to purchase knowledge of topics. I knew a few different versions existed, all from fanfiction, but I wasn't sure of its exact origins. Depending on just what version you were talking about, the user was restricted by how many points they received, as well as how expensive buying each stacking level was.

My version was different at its very foundation. Rather than tech or scientific knowledge, my version was focused on magic. I got six charges every two weeks to spend on the knowledge of spells, rituals, potions, and everything in between, with each level of knowledge costing its number in charges. So my two charges in healing spells cast three points, as did my two in lightning spells. My two in geomancy were free, but I'll get back to that.

I also got the opportunity to earn a few more charges in the form of quests. I wasn't exactly sure what activated the quests, I just knew that I would occasionally get new ones. My first and current quest was to prevent a young girl from triggering. Since the quest activated, we had been keeping a close eye on her, which was why I was creepily waiting outside their home at a nearby bus station.

"She is on the move," The whispering voice said into my ear. "Coming out of the front entrance, just like usual."

I nodded and focused on the moment. According to my task, sometime between two days ago and tomorrow, a young girl would live through something so terrible that she would undergo a trigger event, the process that was this world's power genesis.

According to what I read online, it was considered the person's worst day ever, something so terrible and horrifying that it would forever mark them psychologically, while also giving them superpowers. Interestingly enough, the theory seemed to be generally discounted and hardly talked about, despite my power clearly believing it was correct. It also seemed to think this particular young girl's life would be much better off without one.

Another breeze, this one a bit rougher, pushed at my back, and I stood up, accepting the nudge for what it was, a reminder to move. Just down the street, I could see the young girl step out onto her front porch, waiting impatiently for someone else. A woman, not old enough to be her mom, stepped out soon after.

Immediately, the young girl started to walk down the front steps, forcing the woman to hurry and catch up. When they got to the edge of the front walk, the younger girl clearly wanted to go left, while the older woman wanted to go right. For a moment, they debated before the woman sagged, and the young girl cheered, leading the way in the direction she had wanted.

Despite the woman losing whatever debate they were having, both of them were smiling and chatting as they walked, making their way down their street and towards the city. I was pretty sure they were on their way to visit one of the young girl's parents at work, but I wasn't sure.

I didn't want to invade their privacy too much, just enough to stop whatever catastrophe was supposed to happen from happening.

I followed after them from a distance, relying on the breezes and nudges to keep me on track whenever I lost sight of them. I didn't know when it would happen, I just knew that it would happen eventually. The pair continued to walk toward the city, the buildings getting more and more dense as they went. They were cutting through an area that didn't have a very good reputation, which was probably what the debate had been about.

I watched as, further down the street, the pair turned around the corner, disappearing from view. Suddenly, gunshots echoed through the streets. They were depressingly common in this city, but these came from the street my current target had just headed down, and I couldn't help but curse. Defying all personal expectations, I rushed forward, crossing the street and stepping around the corner.

There, only a dozen or so feet past where I had lost sight of them was the woman and the girl. The girl was partially cowering beside the woman, who was now lying on the ground, clutching her stomach. Beyond them was some sort of ongoing gang activity, the Azn Bad Boys, or ABB, if I remember their colors correctly.

Even as more bullets flew, shattering a nearby car window, I pushed and ran around the corner, ducking low. I approached the pair, finally in range to hear what they were saying.

"Dinah, go hide behind a car, it's okay, I'll be okay," She said, sounding weak already, even as Dinah was trying to drag her into cover with her. "Just go, sweetie, it's okay-"

"I got her girl, just go," I said, reaching down to grab the woman's arms and pulling her behind a car.

I wasn't sure, but I might have seen a few bullets slap and skip off the asphalt just about where the woman had been lying. Once we were behind cover, I started examining the woman's wounds. If the growing blood stains in her clothes were any indication, she had been shot three or four times.

"Is she going to be alright?" The girl, Dinah asked, ducking down as another bullet whizzed over us. "This is all my fault, I should have known the area-"

Before I could do anything, the woman passed out, her face pale from blood loss. Dinah screamed, reaching out for her in panic.

"It's okay girl, she is just unconscious," I explained, but I knew that it was a bad sign.

She was losing too much blood way too quickly. If I didn't do something now, she would be long dead before help got here.

"Alya, is anyone looking?" I asked, not looking away from the woman, waiting a few seconds for a warm, encouraging breeze to flutter around me.

"Alright then, leap of faith," I muttered, before reaching deep and pulling on my mana, guiding it into my hands as I placed them over the woman's stomach. "Sagitta de mea carne ventilabis."

My hands glowed for a moment, two small circles appearing around my hands. The circles glowed gold, as four arcane symbols appeared inside each one. The sigils pulsed, and my magic released into the woman, reaching inside her and pulling out four bullets. The small but lethal chunks of metal slid out through the holes in the woman's clothes, rolling off to the ground. Dinah gasped, her eyes wide as she watched me perform my magic.

"Reficere carnem, musculus et os," I intoned next, my magic flaring again in the same gold color. "Altiorem intensionem salutis! Imple corpus sanguine eget!"

This time, a pair of gold bands, made from my mana, expanded from my hands, wrapping around the woman's torso. More arcane symbols traced around the band, spinning around it as I added an extra boost with the additive second spell. I was using a good chunk of my mana to make sure this woman would be completely healed.

With a final pulse, the energy of the magic poured into the woman, heading right for her wounds. The blood and holes remained in her clothes, but I could feel the magic working, repairing almost all of the damage the bullets had done. When the glow subsided, the woman was looking significantly less pale, and her breathing had returned to normal. The young girl, Dinah, looked like she was struggling to figure out who she should stare at, me or the newly healed woman.

"You saved her!" She said excitedly. "Are you a cape? You can heal people!"

"Yeah, I did, but… Dinah, listen, I need you to keep this a secret for me," I asked, trying to impress just how serious the situation was to the young girl.

"The gangers are running, and the police are on the way," Alya whispered in my ear. "I'm keeping your conversation quiet, but you don't have long.

Trusting Alya to have my back, I focused on Dinah, who was looking at me while desperately clinging to the woman's hand.

"I'm not ready to debut yet, and I don't have my mask…" I pointed out.

Technically, that wasn't a hundred percent true, I just didn't have it with me. I had made one as a precaution, only to realize there was no way I would be able to follow after the two of them with a mask on. Of course, if I tried to put it on before coming to help, chances are I would show up too late.

"Oh my gosh…" The young girl said, "You're right! I won't tell anyone! I'll take your secret to my grave!"

"You don't have to go that far," I assured her. "Just tell anyone who asks you aren't sure what happened."

"Oh! I'll tell everyone I fainted after pulling Aunt Claire out of the street," She said, surprising me with the decent idea. "Does that work?"

"I think that works perfectly. Thank you."

"No, thank you!" She said, leaning over her aunt to give me a hug, surprising me yet again. "Thank you so much!"

"It's time to go," Alya whispered before I could say anything else, and I slowly pulled away from Dinah.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad I could help," I said with a smile as I stood, looking around and seeing that no one was really looking our way.

"Good luck!" Dinah called after me as I stepped away and jogged around the corner, out of sight.

Slipping away was easy to do with all the chaos, even as the police started to arrive on the scene. Alya guided me along through alleys and across parking lots until I finally recognized where we were and could make the rest of the way from memory.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, I reached the abandoned shop where I had been living. Its windows were all solidly boarded up, and its interior was pretty wrecked and covered in graffiti, but after some time spent cleaning it up, it was passable. Most importantly, it was dry. It was raining when I first arrived, and while it was surprisingly warm for December, the rain would have absolutely killed me if I had tried to sleep in it.

I pull off a loose plywood board from one of the back windows, jiggling it free of the board holding it in place. I then carefully crawled inside, disappearing into the abandoned shop's interior. Once inside, I reached out and lifted the board, sliding it back into place and hiding the entrance completely.

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

With the window now sealed, my eyes quickly adjusted to the dark interior. It wasn't completely dark, as there were too many gaps in the boards for that. I had also bought a battery pack that was currently running some lights, just enough to make the place livable. I charged them with a rather handy lightning spell.

I looked around, making sure that I was alone. Call me paranoid, but with thousands of parahumans, or capes as they were frequently called by the public, I was a bit slow to trust my surroundings.

The front of the shop had been a mess of broken shelving, cabinets, and other junk, which I had thankfully been able to sort through and break down. There was still a pile of trash tucked into one of the closets, but with the place at least partially cleaned up, I could almost pretend I wasn't squatting.

As I looked around the area, a breeze blew in, picking up as it passed me. Dust started to swirl a bit as, before my eyes, Alya took her physical form in front of me. Her hair, which was cobalt blue around her head, fading into white and dark gray at the ends, flowed over her shoulder, never quite going completely still. She could almost pass for a pale, rather tall human woman if not for her long ears, angular features, and swirling blue eyes. Also, her body had a tendency to flicker and fade, only to reform seconds later. I knew she could stop that if she focused, but why would she when we were alone?

"Well done, William," She said with a warm smile. "You did a fantastic job helping that woman and the poor girl."

"Yeah… Mission accomplished," I said, returning her smile. "Got a single point for it, just waiting to be spent."

"We both know that was just a bonus," She responded with a knowing grin. "You would have happily helped for absolutely nothing."

Rather than answering her directly, I shrugged, stepping by her to sit down at the old, ratty, but relatively clean couch I had grabbed from off the street one night. I could feel her clearly when she was this close, the connection between our souls making talking technically unnecessary.

Alya was my familiar of sorts, a soul-bound Air and Wind elemental, and my second boon for being stranded here in this world without my consent. She was carrying a small sliver of my soul, which bound her to me at a level that was far beyond anything I was capable of. I was unlikely to reach the level of magic to understand it for a very long time.

As an air elemental, she was capable of becoming invisible as she blended with her element, spreading her senses and consciousness around a vast area. She could whisper into my ear from long distances, muffle sounds around herself and move around incredibly fast. The downside to that was her durability or lack thereof. Anything more than ten or fifteen pounds of weight or force caused her physical form to almost pop, reducing her to rapidly dispersing clouds. Still, she had been an incredible asset and part of the reason I was still sane, keeping me grounded as I came to terms with my new situation.

Hell, she was the only reason I had money to eat and buy the few things I could, having spent quite a few nights spread out around the city, finding lost and abandoned things worth selling and even a few forgotten caches of cash, probably dead drops for the gangs. We stopped once we realized that showing up at the pawn shops with new stuff to sell every day was going to draw more attention than it was worth. Still, we had a couple thousand dollars tucked into the ceiling tiles above the back room.

"Have you decided what you will do with your reward?" She asked, floating down beside me on the couch.

I frowned and chewed the inside of my lip, shaking my head.

"It's a toss-up between saving it and what we discussed before," I responded, leaning back on the couch.

I closed my eyes and dove back into my mind, viewing the purely mental layout of my powers. It wasn't anything cut and dry, like a menu or a readout, but I could still sense it like I had somehow gained an extrasensory ability.

At first, my ability might seem complicated, but thankful the entities that stranded me here included a pretty comprehensive understanding alongside the power itself. I got six charges every other week, and at the very moment, Sunday night became Monday morning. I could spend that charge on any subject of magic that I could think of. If the subject was broad, the charge was more spread out, and while I was getting more knowledge, the potency was lower.

For example, if I spent a charge on healing magic, I would receive a spread of all healing magic, from enchantments and potions to rituals and spells. However, all of this knowledge would be incredibly low potency, with most of it being useless. On the other hand, when I spent a charge in healing spells, the information I gained was restricted to actively cast healing spells, but the potency of those spells was high enough to actually be useful. Even better, when I invested two more points to raise the topic to its second level, my repertoire and understanding expanded even more. As far as I could tell, I was the equivalent of a competent first-year college student, focusing on healing spells for his education.

I even got a decent download of basic first aid since several healing spells required some action before they were cast, like setting a bone before casting a bone healing spell.

On top of my purchases, I also had two extra additions. The first was a seemingly random gift that I had no control over. Shortly after arriving, but after Alya had found the shop, I randomly gained two levels of a topic called "Geomancy." It was honestly perfect and exactly what I needed, which made me think that whatever the source was, they were on our side.

Geomancy was a ritual adjacent form of magic that used something called a geomantic partional, basically, a unique ritual circle carved into stone, or in my case concrete, that allowed a mage to transfer certain properties of stone and metal to their own bodies. With two charges, I was capable of taking eight pounds of steel and transferring a significant portion of strength and durability to myself.

As a squishy, vulnerable standard human, it was extremely comforting and useful.

With my current setup and materials, it was far from perfect, but I still rarely left the shop without absorbing something, even if it was usually the subpar steel scrap from all of the shop's shelving.

Eventually, I would switch to something like tungsten or titanium, but that was once I had more money to burn and wasn't worried about attracting attention.

For a while, I briefly considered putting three of my future points in geomancy but ultimately dismissed the idea. While it would be interesting to see what a level three topic would look like, and I was sure there would be plenty of useful knowledge to gain, I was happy with the level I had now. Yes, geomancy very neatly filled a void in my magic, namely my strength and defenses, but I was satisfied with its capabilities for now.

I was also curious if its purchase had just been random and if I would get another random topic, which was actually kind of exciting. Honestly, I wouldn't be too upset if I got another level of geomancy, but the thought of another random magical topic at the same level of geomancy? That was exciting. Who knows what I would get, and who knows what sort of synergies I would be able to get out of whatever I got?

So that was my power. So far, I had two levels in geomancy, two levels in healing spells, and two levels in lightning spells. Alya and I had discussed my offensive options for a while, eventually settling on elemental spells, specifically lightning. We had chosen that because not only was it flexible for power output, in case I needed to take down a brute or unpowered civilian, but it also worked well with Alya.

Alya and my connection was soul-deep, as her consciousness was literally made around a tiny sliver of my soul and my magic. This meant that she was always going to grow with me, rising in power as I did. She couldn't perform magic per se, but since I now had some decent skill with lightning spells, she had gained a small sliver of storm aspect. It wasn't much, and using it really tired her out, but if I continued to grow in power, learning more and more lighting spells and further attuning myself to that element, so would her capabilities.

Besides, in a world where a bit of static shock could ruin a computer worth thousands of dollars, being able to generate something akin to a very low-level stun baton for a few seconds was more than enough to be useful.

"I think testing the waters is a good idea, but having a charge on hand for emergencies is more important," Alya said, repeating her earlier opinion. "Getting a preview of what you might need might be more efficient, but keeping it in reserve is safer."

"I know, you're right," I said, nodding in agreement as I opened my eyes. "Alright, I'll keep it for now. Can always just spend it later if I change my mind."

"Of course," Alya said, rolling her eyes at me. "I'm going to continue searching, William."

I nodded, giving her a wave before she disappeared, her physical form swirling away into the air. I could feel her close by, but diffusing herself like that meant the connection was a bit less direct. She was around, not standing next to me. That feeling shifted as she moved away, her invisible, intangible form no doubt floating above and through the building. Currently, she was looking for a large amount of slate, so I could remake my geomantic partional, the ritual circle I used for geomancy. My current one was currently carved into the concrete floor of the shop, which I had exposed by prying up the linoleum tiles.

Concrete, though, was heavily influenced by its man-made nature, meaning that it made filtering out unwanted aspects of the metal I was using extremely difficult. Even now, I could feel the extra thirty pounds weighing down on me. My enhanced strength stopped it from being detrimental to my movement, but I could feel it in my own momentum. I could also feel a slight decrease in flexibility.

I would be able to get rid of those unwanted aspects, as well as prolong the duration and increase the potency with a better setup, but that required materials. Most of them I could buy easily, but the slate wasn't exactly something I could buy cheap at CVS.

Alya was searching through abandoned buildings for slate countertops or slate tiling. It was unlikely we would find anything, but she disliked sitting still, and I wasn't about to stop her from helping out. She had made it perfectly clear that she was not human, so things like overworking her or me basically having complete control over her was not an issue. It still felt weird, but apparently, she was more than happy about the situation.

According to her, natural, unbound elementals were thoughtless aspects of nature that had no intelligence or emotions. They just simply existed, like a naturally occurring computer, in worlds and realities where magic steeped more deeply into the fabric of the material plane. Binding an elemental to yourself was incredibly potent magic, but in the process, she gained active thought, a sense of will and desire, and emotions. She insisted it was a more than fair deal, and she was happy to work for me until the day that I died, which she fully expected to be a very, very long time.

For obvious reasons, I was very interested in learning the magic required to replicate the binding process since she insisted it was beneficial to both parties, but she assured me it was likely to take several levels to fully understand the process, which I just couldn't spare at the moment. Even worse, I wouldn't be able to bond with another elemental until my soul had a chance to heal fully, or I risk damaging it.

Not exactly something I liked the sound of, so I reluctantly put the plans of an elemental strike force to the back of my mind.

Not long after Alya left, I started cleaning out the geomantic partional. The unique ritual consisted of seven circles that surrounded and connected to a larger central circle. Dozens of arcane symbols and lines were carved around each of these circles. At the moment, each of those symbols was caked in soot, but while performing the absorption they would contain my blood. It wasn't much, just a drop per symbol, but the whole thing was still a grisly process, only made palatable by a numbing and cutting spell from the healing spells topic.

I was really looking forward to when I didn't do that anymore, but at least there were only three or four dozen symbols. Generally speaking, the more symbols, the more complicated the spell or action you were attempting to perform with magic. That's what separated rituals from spells. Even the most skilled archmage could only control his mana through a dozen, maybe two dozen free-floating symbols. But rituals could contain hundreds, even thousands of those symbols, the mana guided through them through the caster's blood or other medium.

I was just finishing up the final circle of symbols when I felt Alya's familiar presence return.

"Welcome back," I said, sitting back and wiping my brow. "Find anything?"

"I have searched all surrounding abandoned buildings in this part of town and beyond," She responded, her form swirling into shape as she talked. "I'm afraid I have yet to find any slate."

"Yeah… I can't say I'm very surprised," I responded with a frown. "It's fine, I'll just have to buy some."

"A task for tomorrow," She said, not so subtly pointing out it was time for some rest.

"I doubt anything is open now anyway," I responded with a chuckle. "But it is time for some sleep."

I quickly washed my hands and cleaned up my work, before setting up my bed, which was just the couch with the back cushions removed to give myself a little room. I said goodnight to Alya, who responded in kind before she vanished. I could still feel her, but now she was all around the shop, keeping watch while I slept.

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

The process of getting ready for the day without running water was a bit of a pain. I had to get up, walk to the nearby gas station, buy my breakfast from inside, and then fill up a large water container from a spigot at the back. I would then walk home, strip down in the shop's carefully cleaned bathroom, and wash with the water. It took some getting used to, but it was better than not getting clean at all.
"You know, you wouldn't have to do this if you joined the Protectorate," Alya pointed out as I walked out of the bathroom, drying my hair. "They would surely provide you with a home."

"Alya, we've been through this. It wouldn't take them very long to figure out my powers are weird, even with me being a Blind Spot," I responded, shaking my head. "And I have no idea how they would react to that. They are all terminally terrified of Masters, which I can't really blame them for, but how would they react to knowing that at any time, I could dump a couple of charges into a Master topic? I'm not saying no. I'm just saying not right now."

In all honesty, I was tempted to join up, as the benefits would be nice. But something about the weird, PR-heavy focus turned me off. I understood that maintaining a good reputation was important, but their stance just seemed over the top. That, combined with my own issues being a one-of-a-kind anomaly in this world, made me very wary.

I was also nervous about superhero shenanigans. The one universal constant to all superhero realities was that people with powers, or engaging with people with superpowers, always ended up in weird scenarios and happenstances. I'm sure that I would stumble into my own weird stuff sooner or later, but staying out of everyone else's, for now, could only be a good thing.

With my morning ablutions complete, including stripping back down to apply a geomantic absorption, I headed out into the city. I had already found the address of a place where I could buy slate tile, so all that was left was to walk there.

As I walked, Alya followed along, invisible to everyone, including myself, keeping an eye out for threats or avoidable issues. So far, since I arrived here, she had helped me avoid eight pickpocket attempts and three muggings. She was also a godsend for directions.

As I walked, I considered how the previous day had gone. While I was glad everything had worked out in the end, I was worried about having to reveal myself to Dinah. If I had been following her more closely, I could have stopped her aunt from ever being hurt in the first place. The problem was that I had been following them around for three days at that point, so maintaining a healthy distance was essential to keep from being caught.

I'm pretty sure stopping her from triggering would have been nearly impossible from the back of a police cruiser.

At the end of the day, all I could really do was hope the young girl would keep her promise to keep my secret. She looked to be old enough to understand the concept, and she seemed eager to do so. That said, I only needed her to keep my face from being spread around. Everything else was just a luxury.

When I arrived at the tile store, buying the tiles was pretty easy. People didn't ask a lot of questions when you pretended to be confident, and while I got a strange look when I threw two packages of slate tile over my shoulder and walked out, I assured them my ride was parked nearby. In truth, with the steel I absorbed that morning, I could have carried a lot more without breaking a sweat.

Of course, I got plenty of looks lugging the large boxes through the streets, but there wasn't much I could do about that. The weight wasn't nearly enough to get me labeled as a Brute or anything. After all, the guy at the store had carried them just fine.

When we finally got back to our temporary home, I was eager to get to work. The first step was clearing out more of the linoleum since I wanted to keep the older partional for now. Once the space was clear, I laid down a seven-foot square of the slate. The lip of the linoleum was just enough of an edge to keep it all in place, and once the tile was down, I got to work.

"Fuse simul lapis," I muttered, directing a band of mana between my pointer and middle finger, an arcane symbol appearing at each one's knuckle.

I ran my fingers along the seam between the tiles, and for a moment, the edges on either side glowed before they fused together, becoming one continuous piece of stone. This was one of several very low-level earth and metal spells I had learned from my levels in geomancy, focused on preparing materials and creating and repairing partionals.

Once the seven-foot square of slate was all fused together, I started sketching out the design. My first partional had been a seven-circled diagram, a specific version used to help stabilize poor ingredients and materials. Now that I was making a properly planned and drawn diagram, I was switching to a nine-circled version. It used slightly more absorption material and required much more precision in carving, but it would greatly extend the absorption's duration and potency.

It took me an hour to mark out all nine circles, the central sitting space, as well as all the arcane symbols, then another two to slowly carve them with Scalprum lapis, another minor earth spell. There were nearly double the symbols in a nine-circled versus a seven, which made me very happy that I was switching from using just my blood to using a mixture of my blood and beeswax melded together with a specific preparation spell. Not only was it more stable, but it also wouldn't burn away with every use, as long as I gave it time to cool after every absorption.

When I was finally finished, I was more than happy with the results. The inlaid arcane symbols, and the precisely carved lines were all nearly perfect. This was just about the pinnacle of what I could achieve with my current level of geomancy. Any absorption complete with this partional would last at least eight hours, nearly double the old limit.



Not only would it drastically increase the amount of time between rituals, but I could also perform an absorption before bed, and I would be protected most of, if not the entire night.

I spent a few minutes admiring my work, during which Alya stopped in with her physical form to congratulate me.

"It all seems quite well made, William," She said, walking around the slate square. "Perhaps we should invest in some better metal?"

"I do want some tungsten, now that I have a partional that can handle filtering out its weight," I admitted. "But if I start walking around, trying to buy tungsten and titanium, It's gonna get some attention... not to mention I don't actually know where I would go to buy those metals. Can't exactly check Amazon."

We talked for a bit long, mostly about what she had seen around the few blocks she was watching over before she vanished again to resume her patrol and observations.

When she was gone, I made my way to the couch, sitting down and closing my eyes.

When I first arrived here, I was given a small introduction to magic and how it worked. It wasn't much, since the entities clearly expected me to use my charges to gain any real information. Still, just because it was basic didn't mean it was useless.

The first thing I learned was that mana was the fuel, or at least the catalyst for almost all magic, and was generated by any creature with a soul. Essentially, a soul would give off mana as a natural part of its existence. This process did not drain the soul or anything like that. I was not at risk for using up all of my mana, save for some minor discomfort.

Generally speaking, the more complicated a soul was, the more mana it generated. For example, a wolf would have much more mana than a dog, while a whole pack of wolves combined would have nothing on even the lowest forms of draconic lizards. It wasn't just based on intelligence, but it was generally considered to be a good first sign. Age also affects the complexity of a soul through experiences and maturing. That's why magic users grew more powerful with age.

You could also improve how much mana you could bring to bear with practice, either repeatedly casting spells and using your mana, draining your reserves over and over again, or by meditating and circling your mana through your body. Meditation also improved your body's condition, as your mana basically purifies your body. I wasn't going to turn into Steve Rogers, but I had already noticed a slight shift in my natural flexibility.

As I sat down on the couch and slowly began to circulate my mana, weaving out along my limbs, dancing it across my body, through my skin, and all around me, I let my mind wander. As of this night, I had exactly seven days left before I regained all of my Marvelous Mage charges. Combined with the singular point I had gained from my quest, I would have seven.

Plus, I had prevented little Dinah from triggering, saving her aunt in the process and keeping her from a life of… well I didn't quite know what her life would have been like, but Marvelous Mage was giving me the sense that she wouldn't have been having fun.

Hard not to be proud of that.

Alya and I had discussed a lot about what I would focus on for my next round of points. Eventually, we settled on an idea, or at least a general concept, one I would need to refine before using.

A common thread through a whole lot of magic-centric stories from my old world was the idea of the wizard's home. Whether it was a massive magical tower, a floating city in the sky or, a pocket dimension sealed away from danger and influence, or even just a small house with magic built into every board, they were a mainstay of the genre.

And I wanted one.

Not just because it would be cool as hell, because it would be, but because I needed a place where I was safe, protected, and secure. A place where I could work on my magic in peace, and start to really make a difference. There were a lot of aspects of my powers that would attract a whole lot of attention, and I needed to be sure that I had a place I could go to be safe from the worst of it.

Even more important, though, was the fact that I needed secure and permanent workplaces for my magic. Spells might go with me, but as in the case of geomancy and so many other types of magic, I needed a secure place to install cauldrons, carve in ritual circles, and purify workshops. While making the geomantic partional had taken a few hours and only cost me three or four hundred dollars in materials, geomancy was widely considered to be a very basic field of magic. What I knew was pretty close to its top level, and while I'm sure there was more to learn, its ritual-esque partional reflected its relatively simple scale.

Beeswax and blood were one thing, but there was no way I would make a gold inlaid healing ritual circle in some random abandoned shop, not until I could confirm it was safe.

That's why I was considering spending all six of my incoming charges on three levels of wizard homemaking, or something of that nature. Judging by what I got from two levels, having three would mean some serious information about making my own little slice of magic paradise.

Of course, it would also mean that I didn't gain anything else new, and while I was satisfied with my lighting spells, the durability and strength I gained from geomantic absorptions, as well as my healing, dedicating all of my points for a two week period to a single topic was a rather significant commitment.

The best case scenario, in my mind, was that after buying the first and second level of whatever the wizard home crafting topic settled on, I would be able to tell if I needed to invest in a third level immediately or if I could wait. The worst case scenario would be me spending any of my points, only to realize I had barely uncovered anything and that I had basically wasted the points. The chances of that happening were not zero, which was way too high for me to be happy with.

Overall, it was hard to plan what I wanted to do, at least beyond the basics, since there was no real way to know what I would get for each stacking level. I did know that if I ended up having points left over, I was absolutely spending it on something I could use to generate minions. I didn't really know what it would be, exactly, since I already knew elemental binding would be a high-potency topic that would require a whole lot of points before it was useful, but I definitely wanted more minions.

I continued to meditate until I felt my steel absorption run its course. Eager to test my new partional, I quickly distributed a few piles of steel rebar that had been scavenged from an abandoned construction site. Once I was done, I stripped down and sat in the center circle, letting out a deep breath.

I put my hands down in front of me, my fingertips just touching the inner circle. I pushed and guided my mana out of my hands and into the carved slate, letting it spread around until the whole partional was filled. It took significantly more mana than the seven-circle partional, but as the ritual was completed and I stood, I could feel the difference immediately. I was less stiff, and I could feel my steps were lighter as well.

I flexed and stretched for a few minutes, getting used to the slightly increased enhancement through jumping jacks and push-ups. When I was done, I was just about to sit back on the couch when I could feel Alya return. Before I could greet her, she whispered urgently into my ear.

"How much longer does your steel absorption last?" She asked.

"I just reapplied it half an hour ago," I said, now on full alert. "Why, what's happening?"

"There is a man, just a few blocks away. He is severely injured… his breathing is very shallow."

I cursed, hesitating for a moment. I could feel Alya holding back, waiting for me to make my decision. For a moment I almost asked her why she would tell me that, before realizing that that was unfair, considering I would be upset if she hadn't as well.

"Alright. I'll grab my mask."

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

I was out of the shop and walking quickly down the sidewalk less than a minute after Alya reached out to me. I was hardly even paying attention to where I was going, letting my soul-bonded friend guide with the blowing wind.
As I did, I made sure to duck into an alley or two, sliding on the black overcoat I picked up at a second-hand store. I had already pulled on my white shirt before I left, leaving me in a costume that vaguely paid homage to DC's Constantine. Love him or hate him, the newer versions of him rocked the punk, devil-may-care outfit. My get-up was a bit darker, lacked the red tie, and I covered my hair with a black beanie, but I had to stand out somehow.

The last bit of my costume was my mask.

I knew I would need one eventually, so I made it one night while I was bored, using a sheet of metal I bought for my geomancy. Normally, I wasn't the biggest fan of the idea of a secret identity, but having found myself in a reality with superheroes, I wasn't about to give up the advantage. I'm sure eventually I would fuck up, and my idnenty would leak, but until then, I would try my best to keep the mask on.

The mask itself was copper, made by pressing the sheet of metal against my face after a steel absorption, using my enhanced strength and resiliency to mold it to my features. The result, after a few minutes of work, was a pretty decent, vaguely human mask. A quick metal-cutting spell later, and it was trimmed to cover my features completely. It curled up and around my jawline, primarily to hide my beard, but with enough room for me to open my mouth and talk.

I cut the two eye holes last, before using my thumb to smooth over the edges, literally grinding down what would have usually been a dangerously sharp edge. It was attached to my head with straps from a hockey mask, comfortably and securely holding the metallic mask in place.

Having examined myself in the cracked but mostly intact mirror of the shop bathroom, I knew it was intimidating but not creepy, at least in my opinion. It showed just enough human features to identify with but not enough to look overly detailed. It was also obviously a rough design, one I would probably ditch as soon as I could.

With the helmet seated, I picked up the pace, my heavy footfalls echoing down several alleys as I jogged to where Alya was leading me. Sure enough, as I turned the final corner to see Alya appear over a collapsed figure, sprawled on the ground. I cursed and ran the final distance, kneeling beside the man.

"Sir? Are you conscious?" I asked before looking up at Alya.

"He is still breathing, but barely," She said, answering my unspoken question.

"Well he is unresponsive… Fuck it," I said, rolling the man over, only to curse at what I saw.

The man's shirt, a decent-looking outfit as far as I could tell, was littered with stab wounds, blood leaking out of them at an alarming rate. There were way too many to even think of just stabilizing him, and he didn't have the time for that. This man needed healing now, or it would be too late. I quickly put my hands on his stomach, where most but not all of the damage was done.

"Ad sananda vulnera quae hoc corpus penetrant." I muttered, using a particularly powerful healing spell specifically designed for stabbing wounds.

Both of my hands glowed, and several lines of energy extended outward from each of them, connecting to each of the man's wounds. When all of them were connected, disks of golden energy formed over each of them before sinking down into his skin. As the energy disappeared, five arcane symbols spun around each of my hands. After another long moment, I pushed the spell forward, activating the healing magic. This spell would continue to heal as long as I held it, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on the spell, maintaining the connection until I could feel each healing line pull away, their jobs done.

"Imple corpus sanguine eget," I muttered, using a blood regeneration spell since a significant portion of his was on the ground or in his shirt. The healing spell I had used to fix the stab wounds had been very specific, so it didn't help that much with replacing what was lost.

When my final spell had run its course, I leaned back. The man's breathing slowly returned to normal, and, after a moment, his eyes fluttered open. I idly noted that Alya immediately swirled and vanished when the man's eyes began to open. For a moment, he looked around wildly, his eyes darting back and forth, before eventually locking on to me.

"Jesus Christ!" He shouted, trying to crawl back away from me, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

"Hey, relax, it's okay!" I said, holding up my gloved hands, trying to show I wasn't going to hurt him. '"I'm not going to hurt you!"

After a few seconds the man stopped, his eyes still wide as he looked at me, trying to decide if I was about to kill him or not. Eventually after a moment, he calmed down slightly, letting out a long breath.

"Well… you don't look like any E88 shit I heard of," He said. "Who are you?"

"Don't really have a name yet, to be honest," I said. "Call me Mage for now."



"Well… Mage… What happened?" He asked, looking around at the alley.

"You tell me, I just found you here while… on patrol," I explained, the man looking back up at me. "I got here just in time to keep you from passing on."

That seemed to spark some sort of memory, because his eyes went wide again, and he hurriedly checked his body, hand sliding under his shirt, desperately checking where his wounds had been, only to find a bloody and shredded shirt covering an unmarked stomach.

"I… Those fuckers jumped me!" He said, followed by a long string of curses as he struggled to stand. "Those fucking Nazi fucks!"

"Woah, woah, hold on there buddy, I get the anger, but you just recovered from losing a lot of blood, give-"

The man managed to stand, only to immediately start to stumble backward. I rushed forward and managed to snag him before I was forced to heal him again, this time of head trauma. Thankfully my enhanced strength made it easy. I carefully helped him to the side of the alley, letting him sit on some sort of crate.

"There you go, take it easy, don't worry, that will fade, your body is still catching up to your blood loss," I explained, the man nodding in understanding, though I think it was mostly just reflex.

"Thank you, goddammit… that should have killed me... But you healed me, didn't you?" He said, looking up at me as his brain caught up with what was happening. "How? Sorry, wait, dumb question, you're a cape. You like Panacea or something? How come I ain't ever heard of you?"

"I'm pretty new to the scene, pretty much the first night I've been out in this," I explained, tapping my mask "And yes, I'm a healer like Panacea, though from what I've read our powers are pretty different."

"Huh… first night, you say?" He asked, shaking his head. "Damn, ain't that just the devil's luck! Jumped in an alley and cut up like a sirloin, only for the newbie to stumble by and fix me up!"

He laughed for a long minute, and for a moment, I was worried he might turn manic and begin to freak out. I spoke up, trying to keep him from spiraling.

"Listen, do you have a phone to call the cops or…?" I asked, looking down the alley nervously.

"What? Oh, there's… not much point in that, kid," He explained, shaking his head. "To many E88 sympathizers on the force, things tend to get lost when you call them out. And somehow, they always know."

That was disturbing news. If there was that level of corruption in the police force, and by a cape-back group of Neo-Nazis? That was all sorts of fucked, and made me very wary of dealing with them in the future.

"That's… disturbing to hear…" I responded, the man snorting at my understatement. "Though I gotta ask, you don't seem like their usual target demographic."

The man, who appeared to be maybe ten or fifteen years older than me, so probably around forty, chuckled darkly and shook his head. His skin was certainly white, and I was pretty sure he had blue eyes, though it was a bit dark to tell.

"I run a soup kitchen and homeless shelter on the outskirts of South Docks," He explained. "It used to be no man's land, but the E88 started to push into it during the fall. Now, they are trying to push the kitchens and shelters in the area to only cater to white folk. Worse, some of them started agreeing. It's all a load of bullshit."

"Shocking," I said in a flat voice, getting another snort from the man. "Well if you don't want to get the cops involved…"

Before I could even start to leave, the man held out his hand, his eyes looking hopeful.

"Wait! Listen, thank you for healing my dumb ass… I can't believe how damn lucky I am…" He said, his voice trailing off before he shook his head and focused back on me. "I hate to ask more of you but… I gotta know… Could you heal more people?"

I looked at him and frowned before realizing he couldn't see my frown, so I responded.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, could you fix up more people?" He asked. "We get a lot of sick people at the shelter and kitchen, and we end up turning a lot of them away 'cause if we don't, whatever they got will only spread. Lots of injured people too, too hurt to work, people who can't afford insurance…'

As he trailed off I nodded in understanding. In all honesty, I had considered a similar idea already. I knew Panacea healed at Brockton Bay Central Hospital, and not long after I arrived, I considered going down there to see if I could help. A mix of fear and uncertainty concerning the repercussions had kept me from going through with it. Now, hearing that people who couldn't afford to go to the hospital, people who would never see Panacea, needed help? It was a good motivator, even though I thought his suggestion could use some work.

"You realize me showing up at your shelter would mean a hell of a lot of attention," I pointed out. "Lots of gang attention. Lots of Cape gang attention."

"That's… a good point," He said with a frown. "I don't even know how I'm going to handle this."

He admitted, pulling at his shirt, which was torn, cut up, and blood-soaked.

"Maybe hire some security?" I suggested. "I bet you there are some homeless people out there willing to play bouncer for a reservation and food."

"... That's actually a pretty good idea," He admitted, rubbing his chin, clearly unaware he was spreading blood along his face. "I know a few boys who would jump at that…especially if I included a couple bucks under the table…"

For a moment, the man was silent, considering his new idea. I was just about to start retreating again when a thought occurred to me.

"What if I went out to them?" I asked. "I'm sure people group up, form communities? I could go out and meet them, heal whoever needs it, before moving on."

"That… would work, though it wouldn't get everyone…"

"Once I get some reputation, I can come by and visit the shelters. By then, it will be clear I'm just helping the less fortunate, not just visiting your place specifically," I assured the man. "It would be safer for everyone involved if I just showed up randomly."

"What would you need from me?" He asked, looking at me seriously. "These folks need all the help they can get, so what can I do to help?"

For a moment, I considered saying nothing, but I realized I would have to cross a significant trust barrier, before people started to let me help them, especially with an unknown power. I knew my healing had no side effects and no drawbacks, but it would take a while for people to just trust me outright.

"Would you be able to connect me to people?" I asked. "People those communities trust? A good word in the right ear will make this a lot easier."

"Yeah… yeah, kid, I can do that," He said with a nod, his smile returning. "I know just who to start with. You give me a day or so to find some people, knock on some doors… I can do that for you."

"Good, that's great. That would help immensely," I said. "I have a feeling those communities won't be quick to trust, but starting with a foot in the door would help me a lot."

"You don't know the half of it kid," He said, his energy growing again. "Maybe even get a couple guys to go with you, just in case. Nothing too obvious, but-"

"Actually, I would prefer you didn't," I said with a wince. "I can handle myself, and I'd rather run than try and fight anyone. Besides, a big group of people showing up will only make it harder to gain their trust."

"Well, now hold on, I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving you alone with a crowd like that," He said with a frown. "Most of the homeless in this city are decent people, but there's always the assholes."

I chuckled, before jabbing my finger out, a bolt of electricity jumping from my digit and slamming into a nearby trash barrel, melting a thumb-sized hole in the side. I chuckled when I looked back at the man, his eyes wide and jaw hanging down.

"I'm a bit of a grab bag," I explained. "I can take care of myself."

"I… guess so," He admitted, looking back at me. "Well, Mage, I look forward to working together."

"Same here, Mr…."

"Shit, my mom would slap me stupid," He said, shaking his head, sticking out his hand for me to take and shake. "Names Tony, Tony Capalli."

I chuckled and shook his hand, the man clearly excited about the good fortune he had somehow stumbled on. He quickly passed me a card, which had the address and name of his shelter and soup kitchen, Hope's Kitchen. I slid the card into my inner pocket, before promising to call him in a day or so. After that, we shook hands again and the man left, intent on heading home.

I had Alya follow him back, just to make sure he made it there in one piece.

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

It took me a few hours to fall asleep when I got back to the shop, mostly because I was wired from what I had just agreed to. I knew deep down that I was going to get involved with this world's cape scene. I had already mentally committed to helping this world, even committed to someday fighting the Endbringers when I was powerful enough. But all of that had been future concepts, not real hard steps. The power I would need to fight the Endbringers was astronomical, so far from what I was now that it hardly felt real.

This, though? It was a much more real step forward. A step out of my comfortable anonymity.

Okay, yes, showing up and healing Dinah's Aunt was my real first step, but that had felt different. I was just following the task my powers gave me.

I couldn't even consider going back on my word. Between Tony's contagious excitement and my own guilt and stubbornness, there was no way I would let myself step out on my word. I maintained that I wasn't a self-sacrificing hero, but I was hoping to at least be the kind of person who helps in general.

When I did finally fall asleep, it was the fitful, tossing and turning kind, where I spent most of the night barely dozing, rather than fully sleeping. I woke up just as tired, if not more tired, than I had been when I fell asleep. There was only one cure for a night like that, greasy food and a double shot of expresso.

I left the shop after cleaning up a bit, heading to a nearby breakfast cafe. Once I had my breakfast, I headed down to the boardwalk to enjoy my food by the ocean. It wasn't nearly as pleasant a view as you might expect, with the beaches covered in trash and stained with oil, and the view of the ocean itself was marred by the Boat Graveyard. I could see it clearly from where I was, though it would have been better if I couldn't. The whole thing basically looked like several mountains of rusted metal, half submerged in the ocean. There were at least two massive cargo ships partially sunk, with who knew what else shoved together and falling apart.

It was like staring at the physical embodiment of economic collapse.

A cold breeze blew at me, and for a moment, I panicked, looking around for trouble. Alya frequently used cold winds to warn me I had turned in the wrong direction or something was coming, so feeling one suddenly immediately put me on alert. I only stopped looking around furtively when a warm breeze blew over.

"Sorry, that one gust slipped by," Alya admitted, talking softly into my ear. "I was watching a pair of Enforcers."

"Anything wrong?" I asked as I lifted my egg sandwich to my mouth.

"They were just watching you, but they moved on," She assured me. "Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on them too."

I nodded and continued to eat, drinking my coffee and enjoying the morning. Eventually, when I was done, I leaned back on the bench.

"You're worried," Alya said, not as a question but as a statement.

"Can you really blame me?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee. "Once we start doing this, a lot of people are going to take a pretty big interest in me. I knew it would happen, but I was hoping to have some more to work with before I did."

"I'll be watching over you, as always," She pointed out, the crashing waves losing a lot of their volume as she muffled our conversation. "And I don't think you would be happy with yourself if you declined."

"Yeah… you're not wrong," I admitted, letting out a long breath.

I could feel her presence pushing by me, ruffling my hair before dispersing around me once more, watching over a significant portion of the area at once. It was impressive how much ground she could cover, but I knew from experience that while she could feel such a large space, she couldn't watch everything at once. Instead, her focus drifted, while anything aggressive, violent, or noteworthy would tug at her awareness, prompting her to look closer. She was not omnipresent, and if someone was subtle enough, they could get pretty close before she noticed.

Eventually, I stood from the bench and stretched, my back loosening after a moment. With one more look out over the ocean, I started making my way back through the city. I wanted to grab some steel scrap, so I had some stocked up. That would only take a few hours, but I would likely take my time exploring the city and looking for a place to eventually make my permanent home. I ended up spending most of the day doing that, returning to the shop as the sun started to set.

The next day, I realized I was lacking a critical piece of infrastructure, so I grabbed a bit of cash from the ceiling tile stash and headed Downtown. It didn't take me long to find a shop selling prepaid cell phones, and while one of the clerks tried to upsell me, I insisted it was only for temporary use, so I didn't need anything fancy. In all honesty, the phones in this world were kind of crap, both because it was fourteen years earlier than I was used to and because the world's tech industry kind of screeched to a halt when the Endbringers started crushing cities.

Even if I spent thousands of dollars on the best phone they had, it would still be pretty basic when compared to what I was used to.

I walked down the road, letting Alya guide me as I focused on booting up the phone and getting it started. When it was all set up, I punched in the number on the card Tony had given me. The phone rang twice before a familiar voice came through the phone's speaker. Even before I could say anything, I could feel Alya muffling our conversation.

"Hello? Who is this?" He asked.

"Tony, hello. It's Mage," I said simply. "You told me to call you?"

"Mage! Yes! I'm glad to hear from you!" He said excitedly. "Listen, I managed to get a hold of a few people, and one of them is interested in meeting you tonight. Could you do that?"

"Uh.. yeah, I can do that," I responded, scratching my cheek. "Where exactly would we meet?"

"There's a small park not far from where the kitchen is, we are going to meet there. It's a bit of a walk to his community, but he didn't want to bring you too close without meeting you first."

"That's fair. Alright, Tony, I'll be there."

The older man gave me some brief directions, directing me to an area a half dozen blocks away from the address on the card he had given me. After a few more words, I hung up and started heading back to the shop to reapply my steel absorption. I could feel I still had plenty of time on my existing charge, but I wasn't about to risk running out when I was out and about all masked up.

Why was I getting masked up when the meeting with Tony wouldn't be happening for five or six hours? Because, while I was determined to help, I fully realized there was a lot about this situation that I didn't know about. So, rather than flounder about and possibly mess things up, I wanted to talk to someone else who could heal like me.

I was going to seek out Panacea and ask for advice.

I left the shop after packing my costume into a small leather messenger bag, since there was no way I was going to walk across the entire city in my costume. Not only would I feel like an idiot, but the chances I would attract the wrong kind of attention skyrocketed the further I went.

I took my time walking across the city, making my way deeper Downtown, trying to find my way to the hospital. Luckily for me, there were clear and obvious signs that directed me to the Brockton Bay Central Hospital.

Eventually, as I got closer, Alya found a spot for me to change. I quickly pulled out my costume, taking off my shirt to reveal the same white shirt I had worn before. I threw on my mask, then my beanie, before finally pulling on my black overcoat. Finally, I folded up my shirt and slid it back into my bag, letting Alya partially manifest and carry it to the roof of the building I was hiding behind for safekeeping.

Once I was dressed, I admit it took a few minutes for me to leave the alley I had changed in. The night I rushed out the door to save Tony, I hadn't been thinking much about what I looked like. Even better, I had somehow managed to completely avoid any onlookers.

Now, I was about to step out into a heavily populated area, dressed up in what would have constituted a bad Halloween costume back home.

I didn't consider myself to be easily frightened or scared, but I had always had a weakness for public speaking, and being at the center of a large group. It wasn't quite social anxiety, at least as far as I knew, but whatever it was, it was certainly kicking in now.

"Could I make a recommendation?" Alya asked, picking up on what I was feeling through our connection. "Right now, with that mask on, you're not just William Kalus anymore. Your William Kalus, Mage of Brockton Bay. Healer and Master of Lightning. Step into that role and let it protect you."

I let out a long breath, letting her words roll over me, nodding along with her suggestion.

"You know, for being new to this whole consciousness thing, you are pretty wise," I pointed out, purposely standing up straight.

"The wisdom of youth, I'm sure," She responded with a giggle. "I don't see the world as complicated as you do, it makes seeing the truth easier."

"Must be nice."

I paused for another moment before finally stepping out of the alley before I could get inside my own head again. The effect was instant, with the people around me going silent and immediately focusing on me. I forced myself forward, though, ignoring them as best I could.

As I continued to walk, the stares turned to whispers, and soon those changed to people pulling out their phones, snapping pictures, and taking videos of me.

"Should I short out their phones?" Alya asked, and I had to bite back an instinctual urge to say yes.

"No, it would only cause problems," I said with a frown, though it was hidden behind my mask. "Best to save that ability for later."

After making my way across the last street, I was finally standing in front of the hospital. It was well maintained, with clean white walls and a bright, well-maintained sign. Even the street in front of it was newly paved. I nodded to myself before slowly making my way to the front door, opening it, and stepping inside.

Immediately, I could tell it was unnaturally quiet. The large open area was almost entirely devoid of movement, with nearly everyone focused on me. I resisted the urge to cringe away from the attention, and instead pushed forward, following the gentle, encouraging breeze. As I approached the front desk, the five people sitting behind it remained frozen, until finally, one of the older ones stepped forward. She reached out and pulled the two younger-looking women back, stepping forward to greet me. She even managed to smile.

"Hello, Welcome to Brockton Bay Central Hospital," She said calmly, standing directly in front of her coworkers. "Is there something I could help you with?"

"Yes, actually. I'm new to Brockton Bay, and I wanted to meet Panacea," I explained, smiling beneath my mask when the older woman frowned. "No, I'm not some groupie or looking for free healing. I wanted to shake hands with the fellow healer and discuss how it works here, mostly to avoid stepping on any toes or making a scene."

That surprised the older receptionist into silence again, though she broke through much quicker this time.

"You're a healer?" She asked, her eyes wide. "That's incredible, I-"

"Hey! What's going on here?"

A loud, brash shout came from down the hall, and suddenly, a costumed girl came flying down the hall, stopping just a few feet in front of me, her arms crossed. She was wearing a golden tiara on her head and a predominantly white costume lined with gold highlights. Even her boots were marked with gold. Despite the situation, the first thought through my head was that she must fly everywhere when wearing her costume, as her shoes were way too white to actually be used.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She said, her face colored with just the slightest hint of a sneer. It wasn't quite disgust, more along the lines of suspicion and distrust.

For a long moment, I was frozen, a creeping nervousness rising up through my head. Like I was an ant and a very annoyed giant was about to step on me. Before I could do anything, Alya was there whispering into my ear.

"She is influencing your mind," She explained. "I can feel it through your bond, it doesn't reach your soul but it reverberates through your feelings."

As if all I needed was permission to ignore it, knowing it wasn't real was enough for me to push through. I still felt like a small kid on the bad end of a big bully, but now I could fight it.

"I'm new to this, but for now, I am going by Mage. I assume you are Glory Girl?" I asked, recognizing the young woman from the many, many, many photos online. "Whatever you are doing with your powers, I recommend you stop. This is a hospital. It's no place for posturing."

For a moment, I thought she was going to push, in fact, I could feel her emotional manipulating power start to tick up, only for someone to reach around her and grab her arm.

"Vicky, calm down," the person said, tugging the teenager's arm. "They aren't doing anything wrong."

"They were asking about you," She responded, partially turning to reveal Panacea standing behind her, dressed in a white and red cloak.

"And? Everyone is asking after me here, it's the hospital," She responded, rolling her eyes before focusing on me. "Though it's more than a bit aggressive to roll in unannounced."

"I wasn't aware you made appointments," I responded, feeling the mental pressure pull back slightly.

"What are you looking for?" She asked, adjusting her cloak around herself, looking at me with eyes that... Well, they seemed a lot more jaded than I would have expected from her age.

They also looked incredibly tired.

"I don't do requests, and I don't do on-the-spot healing unless it is an emergency. If you are from out of town, you'll have to wait in line," the young heroine continued, gesturing behind me. I turned to look and found dozens of people sitting in the lobby, all watching us with wide eyes.

"Uh, no, I do not require healing," I assured her. "Rather, I came to talk to a fellow healer."

The robe-wearing Parahuman's posture changed immediately, and her barely restrained indifference disappeared, replaced by sudden interest, her eyes locked on me.

"What did you say?"

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

The young woman's sudden shift at my words was startling, but since healing was such a rare power to have, I could understand some strange reactions.

"I was hoping to get some advice from the city's best healer," I repeated. "Like I said, I would have-"

"You can heal?" Panacea asked, releasing her sister and taking several excited steps forward as she cut me off. "How does it work? What method? What…."

I withstood a barrage of questions, eyes wide and answering none of them. The young woman continued getting closer, eventually looking up at me. Despite me being several inches taller, I still took a small step back, overwhelmed by her rush. It took her nearly a dozen questions for her to finally realize I was still not responding.

"Perhaps we could talk a bit more in private?" I suggested before she could continue her tidal wave of curiosity.

"Uh… I'm not sure…"

"Glory Girl is welcome to come," I quickly added, suddenly aware it sounded like I wanted to be alone with her. "As well as any doctor or nurse you think might be a good addition. We can trade answers and discuss how this whole thing works."

As I talked, I could see that, at first, she was going to refuse my offer. That was fair, considering how it sounded. When I corrected myself to include her sister, as well as a doctor or nurse, she seemed a bit more okay with the idea, finally nodding in agreement.

"I suppose I could take an early break. Unless there are any time-sensitive cases?" Panacea said, looking over her shoulder to a doctor standing a few feet away.

"There's nothing that needs your attention immediately," He responded, looking down at the chart on his clipboard before looking at his watch. "I believe conference room four should be open at the moment, as long as one of the residents isn't using it to sneak a nap."

"Okay, let's go then," she said, heading back down the hall she and her sister had arrived from.

Panacea clearly knew her way around the hospital because she navigated it like she was born there. We went down a hall, weaving between nurses and doctors, before stepping into an elevator, which closed with a ding and started ascending. We stood in silence, with Panacea looking excited and eager, while Glory Girl was still watching me closely.

The doctor looked calm, as if this was just another Tuesday. After a few seconds, I reached out my hand to him, which he took and shook after looking at it curiously.

"Sorry about that, I was a bit overly focused, Dr…?"

"Dr. Pilota," He answered, returning my firm shake. "And I understand. Thank you for being polite."

"Of course, I came to you guys, after all."

Not long after that, the elevator door opened, and Panacea once again led the way, making a beeline for a door at the end of the hall. Once we were all inside, I sat down on one of the chairs, trying to set the tone as casual and, more importantly, calm. This prompted everyone else to do the same. For a moment, the room was quiet until Panacea cleared her throat and started talking.

"So… what were you hoping to learn?" She asked. "I'm happy to help another healer…but I'm not sure what you need."

"Well, first, I wanted to know if there were laws or rules regarding parahuman healing," I responded. "I tried looking online, but I couldn't find anything precise."

"Well, that's kind of a complicated subject," The healer responded with a wince. "Technically, all you really need to use a beneficial power on someone is their permission. But the PRT prefers you to go through their power testing first, so your abilities can get tested for any unfortunate side effects, or… well, they basically want to stop a repeat Teacher."

"Who?" I asked before I could stop myself, internally wincing for showing ignorance about this world.

"Teacher? You know, hands out low-level thinker and tinker abilities, but he Mastered anyone he gave them to?" Glory Girl responded with a frown. "He's in the Birdcage now, but he was pretty scary for a while. The PRT still stumbles on some of his minions occasionally."

"That's… horrifying," I freely admit. "How common are Master powers?"

"Human Masters are on the rare side," Glory Girl said reassuringly. "But the label of Masters also includes people who control other things. Like plants or projections. Crusader, from the Empire? His projections make him a Master."

"Could we stay on topic for now?" Panacea asked with a frown, giving her sister a look. "While technically all you need is their permission, the PRT will push for power testing. If you refuse, there is a nonzero chance they might find a way to strong-arm you."

"How?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "Are we talking about using the wordings of rules to trip me up or just straight up bending them to fit?"

"If you ask my mom, it's the latter or worse," Glory Girl responded with a frown. "But Gallant says he's only ever heard of the first one happening, and only when someone needs to be investigated."

While I wasn't usually one to harp over government conspiracies or assume they are always out to get us, trusting a government agency to only bend the rules when they really need to set off so many alarm bells. Still, I would reserve my own judgment for when I could back it up with my own experiences, not just secondhand gossip from a Ward's girlfriend.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Okay, now it's my turn," Panacea said, leaning forward eagerly. "How exactly does your healing work? What sort of limitations do you have?"

Now, there was the big question. Since Alya and I first arrived here and realized that powers all seemed to come from the same place, even if no one was sure where that place actually was, we knew I would have to come up with some sort of explanation for my own powers. In a Marvel or DC, I could have just said magic, and people would have shrugged and moved on. Here, though, people considered powers to be science they didn't quite yet understand, which meant everyone who claimed magic was looked at like they were slightly off their rocker.

Even a respected member of the Protectorate was seen as a little crazy just because he pretended to use magic.

Not only that, but the fact that I was gaining magic over time and would be able to guide myself to grow in new, powerful ways made me a Trump with hilariously potent potential. That was too much to reveal before I could defend myself.

Thankfully, Alya and I had plenty of time to come up with a reasonable excuse, one that would work to explain what I could do. Or at least it would hopefully work until I was powerful enough that it didn't really matter anymore.

"I'm a grab bag, kinda," I explained with a vague gesture. "I have an energy source inside me, and I can do a whole bunch of stuff with it. It all drains from the same source within me, so I'm not sure if it counts as many smaller powers. I can use it to heal, make myself tougher, or…"

I raise my hand and cast a low-level shocking spell, basically just making an arc of electricity jump between my fingers. It was simple, meaning I could control it easily without words or the glow of mana. All three of them jumped at the sound, but I only kept it going for a second, so none of them did anything more before I stopped.

"It's nothing crazy, and I can run out of power, but I like to think what it lacks in strength it makes up for in versatility. Also…" I trailed off, biting my lip and looking away, doing my best to look embarrassed. "It requires a lot of concentration, so I've found that rhythmic speaking helps me concentrate. Combined with some of the light shows that using the source makes… there's a reason my real name is probably going to have to do with magic."

"...But you don't actually think it's magic, right?" Panacea asked, obviously worried that the new healer was a nutjob.

"No, no, of course not," I lied, shaking my head. "But I have a theme, so I might as well stick with it, right?"

"Oh, thank god," She said, letting out an audible sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. You have no idea how crazy some of the 'powers are magic!' people are. Almost as bad as the ones that think they've been blessed by god. I've healed a few of them at Endbringer battles, and they… they can be a lot."

The young girl suddenly stopped, cutting off whatever she had been about to say. It seemed that she was more than a bit off-kilter, probably due to myself.

"Anyway, as much as it might suck to kowtow to them, just going through their power testing is probably your best bet," She continued. "The hospitals around the city require it, and the Protectorate won't be nearly as on your case as they would be otherwise."

"That's unfortunate," I admitted with a frown. "But I shouldn't be surprised that the government would insist on oversight. In all honesty, I will most likely be focusing away from the hospital since-"

"Wait, what? You're not going to be helping here?" Amy asked, suddenly a lot less calm. "Why not? Please, healing abilities are very rare. Please don't think you need to run off and fight to be a hero-"

"I never said that I wouldn't help out, especially in emergencies or critical cases like children, but I plan on focusing my abilities on the less fortunate population of the city, traveling between some of their camps and such to offer my healing," I explained. "I want to help, but I have my own things I need to do as well. I won't be able to dedicate all my time to the hospital."

While I thought I was being reasonable, but from the look I was getting from the young healer, it was clear she didn't agree.

"I assumed you were trying to be a hero, but I guess we shouldn't have." She said, her entire demeanor starting to change.

Her tone was cold and judgmental, such a drastic shift that I physically leaned back.

"I do intend to be a hero," I responded, more confused than angry at her tone. "But I'm not willing to spend my entire life here at the hospital. There are doctors and nurses here who I'm sure are perfectly capable of handling most cases. As I said, I will be going to some of the city's homeless camps, and eventually soup kitchens and the like to-"

"If you have a healing ability, then you're best off working here at the hospital, not off getting yourself killed fighting on the streets," Panacea fired back, cutting me off. "Going out to help the homeless is fine, but you have a responsibility to use your ability it as best you can."

The room was silent for a moment as all of us took in what the young woman was saying. Both Glory Girl and Dr. Pilota seemed shocked, though the former seemed more confused about the vehemence and tone, rather than what she was actually saying.

While I could feel my blood pressure rise from the young woman's tone and aggressive, holier-than-thou assertions, I quickly reined them in. This was essentially a child, a high schooler who was probably just repeating the opinions of people around her. More than anything, this behavior made me worried that someone was feeding her some very unhealthy opinions.

"I choose to help where I can, not because it's my responsibility, but because it's what I want," I said, frowning under my mask. "I owe nothing to anyone, and while my power is a part of me, it does not define me."

"What kind of hero would put themselves before the people that need help?" She responded, shaking her head. "You can't really consider yourself a hero if you are going to be so selfish."

Seeing the annoyance, almost disgust still on her face, I decided that enough was rough.

"I can see that, somehow, this conversation is no longer amicable," I said, standing from my seat. "I think it's best if I go for now, before anything worse is said. Thank you for your time, Panacea. Glory Girl. Dr. Pilota."

I left the conference room behind, letting the door shut as I walked away. I let Alya guide me out of the building, easily ignoring the stares and phones now that I had… whatever the hell that had been on my mind. Before I knew it, I was making my way through the alleyways again, looking for a place to change.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, feeling Alya's presence pull in tightly around me. "It was like a full personality reversal!"

"It appears she has formed some… unhealthy opinions," Alya said, floating across the alleyway in a half-formed, wispy state. "It was concerning to listen to."

"And the way her sister first intercepted me?" I pointed out. "It was like she was a few seconds from attacking me."

"You did read that she had a bit of an anger issue," my partner pointed out. "They are teenagers with superpowers. Not very hard to see how that might create some issues."

"Yeah… still kind of worried about what Panacea said," I admitted, finally stopping in the abandoned spot where I stored my back. "That… that didn't seem healthy."

"I agree," Alya responded before swirling away and returning with my messenger bag. "I may not have much experience with teenagers-"

"So about the same as me." I pointed out before gesturing for her to continue.

"But is it not normal for teenagers to struggle with questions of self-worth and responsibility?"

"I mean, yeah, along with a whole list of other problems..." I confirmed with a frown. "But that sounded like more than just a phase… Do you think I should tell someone? Maybe try to contact her parents?"

"I think that you are very early in your time here," she responded simply.

"Yeah… Well, I'm sure I will be rubbing elbows with her, despite her clear distaste for me," I guessed with a frown. "I'll give it some time. Maybe try to ask around?"

We talked a bit more while I finished changing out of my costume. When I was done, I made my way away from the alleyways and towards somewhere I could have lunch. After a few slices of pizza and a beer, I headed back to the shop. I still had a few hours before I was supposed to meet up with Tony and whoever he managed to get in contact with, and considering it was likely to be a late night, I decided a quick nap was in order.

I reorganized the couch into my bed and set an alarm on my phone before laying down and closing my eyes. Despite the rough afternoon, I still managed to fall asleep quickly, soothed by Alya's constant refreshing breeze.

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

I woke up a whole ten minutes before my alarm was set to go off, and I spent that time reabsorbing another batch of steel. I was already loving my nine-circle partional. Not having to clean the runes and reapply my blood every time I wanted to use it was amazing in and of itself, but the added time and lessening of unwanted aspects was a huge bonus.

I spent a few minutes cleaning myself up before heading out into the city. It was considerably darker by then, the afternoon having turned into the early night as I napped. Finding a spot to change was easy as we made our way to the pre-agreed meeting spot, as the city slowed down and the streets emptied out. The city of Brockton Bay was in rough shape, and while that didn't mean the sidewalks were empty, even at night, it was clear to see that people knew better than to walk around as darkness settled over the city.

As we walked, now dressed in my uniform, I quietly talked to Alya. Originally, I had intended to ask Panacea if any name requirements or guidelines weren't advertised to the general public. I was now fully aware that she was just a teenager, one clearly struggling with some less-than-healthy opinions. I would find no help from her, so I was back to square one.

I knew from reading PHO, an online cape forum, that some name conventions, like copying the names of gods and goddesses, were taboo. They also claimed that picking the name of a deceased cape was okay as long as it had been a few years. Thankfully, a few searches through the cape wiki attached to PHO showed that no one had the name I had been thinking of.

After a long walk, I finally stepped into the small park that Tony had directed me to. It took me a second to spot a car parked nearby, with Tony standing next to it. Next to him was an older man, at least fifty years old. He was smoking a cigarette while talking to Tony, both of them standing under the light of a nearby streetlamp. Tony seemed pretty nonchalant about what was going on, either because he was confident in something or because he was naive. The second man, on the other hand, was almost constantly looking around, much more suspicious about his surroundings and clearly waiting for something to happen.

Considering the differences in alertness levels, it was no surprise that the stranger spotted me first, saying something to Tony as I approached, nodding in my direction. Tony turned to see me, waving as I got closer.

"Mage, good to see you," He said, reaching out to shake my hand as I got closer. "This is John. He's gonna take us to one of the nearby encampments."

"John, nice to meet you," I said, reaching out to shake his hand. "And I actually settled on a name. Call me Arcanum."

"Well, 'Arcanum,' Tony is a good guy, but he is about as gullible as a puppy, so I'm going to need to see your healing with my own eyes," John said with a voice like gargled granite, taking one last pull from his cigarette, before dropping it to the ground and stomping on it.

"Understandable, I don't blame you for wanting to see my abilities firsthand," I assure him. "Do you have an injury, or....?"

Rather than answering, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shockingly large knife, passing it to Tony, who winced and accepted the weapon. He looked at it for a second, looking up at John, before looking back down. He was about to cut his palm when I spoke up.

"Hold on, just wait a second," I said, holding up my hand, Tony stopping immediately. "Two things. One, if you're determined to make Tony cut himself, at least let me numb his hand first. Second, there is an alternative. Just let me heal your lungs."

Tony visibly sagged in relief, pulling the blade away from his hand. He mouthed a thank you to me while John looked at me confused.

"My lungs?" John asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "What about them?"

"Well, you're a smoker, right?" I asked, gesturing to the crushed but on the asphalt. "I should be able to clean out the tar and smoke residue, plus heal some of the damage. Some of it might be too old for me to fix, but they will be better than they are now."

For a moment, he watched me, looking at me with discerning, suspicious eyes. After a few seconds, he reached out his hand to Tony, who eagerly gave him his knife back. When the weapon was once again hidden, sheathed in something behind his back, he focused back on me.

"Well, what do I have to do?" He asked.

"Nothing, just give me your permission to heal you," I said with a smile.

"Is it gonna hurt?"

"There's gonna be some golden light and a few strange-looking symbols. The energy I make is going to go into your body, but there won't be any pain."

"...I give you permission," He said, almost seeming to chew on the words. "But you should know, people know where I am and what's going on."

"Well then, we best not keep them waiting," I said, before stepping closer and raising my hands. "Ad tollendum venenum ex pulmone!"

A pair of golden vertical ovals appear around my hands, four arcane symbols surrounding each. Normally, that would be way too much for me to use at once at my current skill level. Thankfully, these were the same four symbols, just repeated, which made it significantly easier to handle. Once the symbols lined up with the ovals, they shifted forward, sinking into the man's body. This spell was specifically made for cleaning contaminants that were breathed in, something especially useful for alchemists and smokers.

"Ad tollendum venenum ex pulmone!" I cast again, waiting for the golden glow to fade again. "Sana damnum ad pulmones! Sana damnum ad pulmones"

I cast the cleansing spell again, just to make sure I got everything, before following it up with a healing spell focused on the lungs. It was very specific, which should increase the depth of what it could repair. It started as a relatively normal-looking spell before it dissolved into a mist that flew into John's mouth. It was all symbolic, as the energy could have just as easily gone through his chest instead.

The first spell caught him off guard, but since I warned him about the lights and weirdness, he managed to control himself. However, the golden mist going into his mouth and down into his lungs was too much. He stumbled backward, looking angry and reaching back toward his weapon.

"What the fuck was that?!" He asked, cursing at me as he recovered. "What the fuck are you trying to do to me? I ain't-"

He stopped mid-sentence, his brain finally catching up with his body, realizing that his last breath had been remarkably easy. He took another breath, his eyes slowly widening as he just kept breathing in, his lung capacity suddenly much closer to what it should have been at his age. I could see him wince, no doubt anticipating a hacking cough brought on by the deep breathing, only for nothing to happen.

"I… god damn, I knew it was bad, but… I had no idea I lost that much," He admitted, a smile growing on his grizzled face. "Alright, your mojo works, even if it's freaky as hell."

"Yeah, I know. It's why I went with a magic-themed name," I admitted with a shrug. "Technically, the chanting isn't necessary. It just makes it easier."

"Huh… well, it's weird, but I won't argue with the results," He said. "Okay, let's go."

Without much more to say, John turned around and walked away, heading across a nearby street and waving for us to follow. Tony was the first to move, clearly trusting his friend, and I was right behind him. I couldn't help but smirk as John chucked his cigarettes into a dumpster as we walked.

On the way, I answered questions about the uses and limitations of my "power." I explained that I could heal current wounds with no issues, clean infections out, and beat back most diseases. I also explained that the older the injury, the less I could do about it, and I could only ease the symptoms of genetic issues. Cancer was straight out of my wheelhouse. That was a limitation on my topic choice, as healing spells, as far as I could tell, were more about returning a body to its natural state. As genetic issues were part of a person's natural body, healing spells didn't do much for them. Cancer was more or less in the same boat since it was the person's own cells going out of control. It would be like trying to heal away a finger.

I wasn't a hundred percent sure, as my knowledge didn't extend that far, but I heavily suspected that this was an intrinsic issue tied to healing spells. As far as I could tell, a healing ritual or some other healing process would stand a much better chance of fixing those issues.

John seemed to get the distinction and assured me he would call me to the people I could help and warn the people I couldn't.

It took us ten minutes to finally arrive at the camp, which came out of nowhere. One minute, we were walking behind an old, abandoned car dealership when suddenly we were stepping into a shantytown. The camp had been completely hidden by a line of trees and a garage that ran at the back of the car lot, which I imagine was probably the only reason it existed. I had no doubt that people, including the police, knew it was there, but it was better somewhere hidden and out of the way, which people didn't complain about, than somewhere that detracted from the city's natural "charm."

It only took a few seconds for people to realize we were there, first spotting John, then Tony and me. I had a feeling Tony had been here before, but I was obviously a bit of a spectacle. People started stepping out of tents, opening doors to ramshackle structures built from pallets and scrap wood. As we walked deeper, I got John's attention.

"Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I got the feeling that Brockton Bay has a lot of abandoned homes. Why not try living in those?" I asked, thinking of my own temporary home inside the abandoned shop.

"Because if you start breaking and entering, the cops have to do something," He said with a frown. "It's a lot easier to ignore if we squat in somewhere nobody cares about."

"Plus, we need to stick together," Another voice said, startling me enough that I whirled around, hand raised, ready to cast. "If the groups are too small, we get picked off by Merchants."

It was a woman, somewhere around my age, with a shaved head and scars that ran along the left side of her face. The eye on that side was cloudy, and what little I could see of her left side, even her arm, was covered in wraps and cloth. When she stepped out from between two tents, John stopped as well.

"Picked off?" I asked, meeting her eyes. "How so?"

"Merchants are small time wastes of space," John responded, prompting me to turn and look at him. "Nobody joins them by choice. You get hooked, and then you join. Sometimes people get hooked cause they abuse, sometimes the merchants hook them on purpose."

"That… how often does that happen?" I asked.

"Not very," The scarred woman responded. "But enough to be a worry."

"E88 is worse," John said, practically spitting out the gang's name. "They take anyone not white for initiations."

I feel a rising anger in my chest at the horrifying conditions these people are living in. The homelessness is bad enough, but the constant threat from Fucking Nazis.

"Fuck. I…"

"Don't worry about it, we get it, hero man," The woman said. "No need to worry about us, the dregs and forgotten."

"Can't exactly stop that now," I said, shaking my head. "I can't do anything now, but I will help soon. The E88 is a fucking stain. The fact that they exist is an affront to just about everyone. I will do something about them when I can."

John didn't seem convinced, and neither did the mystery woman. Even Tony winced at my statement. I couldn't blame them, of course, not really. The Empire had a ridiculous amount of capes and resources. They also had a reputation for smacking down capes that stood up to them hard.

"For now, though, I can help by making sure everyone here is as healthy as I can make them."

"John mentioned Tony found someone willing to heal people," She said, looking past me to John. "The fact that he brought you here must mean you're not full of shit."

"He fixed my breathing," John explained. "I can breathe like I'm thirty again."

"Is that right?" She said, studying me for a moment. "I guess you aren't completely useless. Good luck then."

She gave me a sarcastic solute with her unwrapped hand, before walking back through the gap in the tents she had emerged from, disappearing from view. I frowned, opening my mouth to call her back and offer to help her when John grabbed my shoulder.

"Don't. She'd just say no," He said, shaking his head as I turned away. "She doesn't like people mentioning her marks."

"Who was that?" I asked with a frown. "I could have helped her."

"Goes by Mary, not her real name," John responded. "Showed up one day, asking for help. Pulls her weight, but she is… flighty."

He struggles for a moment to find the word, but when he does, he continues with a frown.

"She won't let you help, not the kind to want her marks gone."

I chewed my lip at his statement, wondering how he could possibly know that. Unfortunately, it was too late, and she was long gone, so there was no point in arguing about it. I turned back and gestured for John to lead on, the older man guiding us through the tents and lean-tos. Our first stop was one of the newest-looking tents. John leaned in the open flap, and after a few minutes, a younger man stepped out. He winced as he did, limping and immediately sitting near the entrance.

John introduced us to the young man, who was apparently the victim of a mugging, resulting in some cracked ribs and a slice across his thigh from a knife. He was clearly nervous, but John assured him I was the real deal.

After confirming I had his permission, I cast a few spells on him, cleaning out a minor infection and healing the cut on his thigh, before finishing off with his ribs. All in all, it took about two minutes to do, and while my magic had been reduced by a significant amount, it was almost full again by the time the young man finished thanking me.

"Right… Well, who's next?" I asked John with a smile.

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

Hello everyone! So, I just want to announce that I will be taking the first week of July, the 1st to the 5th, off for vacation. The normal posting schedule will resume the following week. Thank you!

---

After turning to John and asking who was next, several people around the camp started shouting, asking to be next. For a moment, I was worried the whole camp would rush us, and I would need to demonstrate my other magic, but John was on top of it. He quickly stood on a small stack of pallets and shouted for everyone to be quiet, and surprisingly, they listened.

"Hey! Everyone calm down!" He said, lit up by the various fires and lights that illuminated the otherwise dark camp. "I know everyone is anxious, but we need to do this one by one. Arcanum has already agreed to help everyone, so take it easy, and we will get to you, even if it takes all night."

People seemed to settle at his words, and he climbed down off his stage, nodding for Tony and I to follow. He led us through the crowd to a much older tent, one layered with ratty, hole-filled tarps. He climbed inside and, a minute or so later, came back out helping an older woman. She was struggling to stand up straight, and as John helped her sit back in a weathered old rocking chair, I could see the joints of her fingers swollen with arthritis. I wince when she whimpered in the process of shifting in her seat.

John gave us a brief introduction, and I quickly got to work. A half a dozen bone and general healing spells latter, she was doing much better. Usually, I wouldn't use such general healing spells, as they tended to decrease the effectiveness of other healing while also doing a poor job of actually fixing significant problems. However, in this case, I was using it to ease the signs of old age, which they did rather well. I was not de-aging her, simply healing a lot of the issues that crop up as people get older. Since it was so widespread, general healing spells were quite effective in soothing them.

When I was done, the older woman stood up straight, tears pouring down her face. She thanked me profusely, switching between praying for me and asking if there was anything she could do. I told her to live well and that I was happy to help. As John guided me to the next person, Tony stayed behind to talk to her, apparently familiar with the older woman.

For the next few hours, we traveled around the camp, taking care of dozens of different injuries, ranging from a simple case of the flu all the way to a serious issue with an older man's leg, which was infected from a dog bite. Of course, there were some things I couldn't fix, but even the genetic issues I found could be mitigated with some healing to wash away the symptoms. They would return, but some of them would take years. Several people tried to pay me, trying to hand me meager amounts of savings, but I, of course, refused, assuring them that I was happy to help.

I was about halfway through this when Alya whispered to me.

"The woman from earlier, Mary, is watching from the roof," she said softly, directing me to look up and back with a gust of wind.

Sure enough, Mary was looking over the camp from the roof of the abandoned car dealership. She was sitting with her legs hanging over the side of the roof, watching us as we worked. She clearly spotted me looking at her, but I simply waved before returning to healing. I had had time to think about what John had said, and I realized that he had mostly been right. Had she wanted my help, she would have stuck around, and I wasn't about to try and force healing on anyone.

When I finally finished healing everyone from the camp, I happily shook hands with John before saying goodbye to the few people who had been following me around, watching my work. I also passed John my cell phone number so he could call me if there was an emergency. After that, I picked up Tony, who had hung back to talk to a few of the people I had healed, before leaving the encampment behind. Quite a few people wished us both well as we left, stepping out of tents to shake our hands or simply say goodbye. As we left, both of us were quiet until we reached his car.

"You did amazing work today," He said with a smile. "The people you helped didn't have many options, and many of them would have been dead in the next few weeks, or been forced to do some unkind things to get the help they needed."

"Just happy to help, Tony," I said with a smile. "Any news on where I can go next?"

"The other people I knew were hesitant to agree to a meet-up," He admitted with a frown. "The only reason John did was because he recognized that a few of the people at his camp were really starting to struggle. I'm hoping that will change once the word of what you did today gets around. Give it a few days, and I'll know more."

"Sounds good. Thanks for setting this up."

"I was happy to Ma- Arcanum," He said, correcting himself and pointing at me with a cheeky grin. "I'll be in touch in a few days."

I watched him climb into his car and pull away, waving as he did. Once he was around the corner, I looked around to make sure no one was listening in.

"That went pretty well," I said, feeling the weight of Alya's presence as she pulled in close to focus on me. "Any thoughts? Notice anything weird?"

"Nothing worth noting," She responded, the wind tugging at my arm, pulling me towards home. "I did not notice anyone around the camp who didn't belong."

"That's good," I responded as I crossed the street.

I made my way through the city, stopping where I had changed the first time to stuff my costume back into my bag. When I finally arrived back at my temporary home, I climbed in through the usual window, sealing it back up after I did. By that time, I was starting to really feel the late hour despite having taken a nap earlier. It was almost two AM, and when I finished putting my bed together, I was out like a light.

The next morning, I woke up late, my mind foggy from the lack of sleep. I used a general healing spell, which washed away some of the fatigue and fog, but it wasn't a complete fix. I found myself finishing my morning routine slowly before making my way to buy some breakfast.

"I need better magic to mitigate sleep," I mumbled to myself, taking a long sip of a large coffee. "I have to imagine it's possible to do it with magic, and being able to cut down on sleep would give me a lot of free time."

A cold wind whipped around my legs, and I rolled my eyes, feeling pretty clearly that Alya was telling me to stop complaining.

With breakfast in hand, I made my way to the city library, which was my primary source of information for the last week. I quickly sat down at one of the computers in the corner, tucked away from prying eyes. I was pretty sure I would get yelled at for having a drink near the computer, but I would be careful.

It took me a few minutes to log in, but soon, I was scrolling through PHO. It took some time to scroll through the unfamiliar message board, but eventually, I did find the Brockton Bay string, immediately finding what I was looking for.

"Didn't take them very long," I mumbled, clicking through the post labeled "New cape sighting at BBCH."

I read through the thread, chuckling to myself at just how similar it was to some of the boards at home despite the crude structuring. I was half expecting a "and my ax!" joke to pop up at any second.

Details were, unsurprisingly, scarce about who I was, but people did notice that when I was leaving, I was moving quite a bit faster, almost stalking out of the building. The general consensus was that I was there to get healing from Panacea, and either she couldn't help because she couldn't do brains, or she refused to help, potentially because she was known to refuse people who made demands or ambushed her.

A few people commented that they were surprised that Glory Girl herself hadn't responded to the thread, as she had been tagged, and she apparently liked to pop in when she was, even just to confirm that she couldn't talk about anything.

I stopped after about ten minutes of reading, making sure that no wild theories had developed. I half expected to open it up and find the website filled with insane ideas, but everything seemed to be tame, at least for now. None of it was close to the truth, mind you, but I wasn't worried about that. I quickly shut down the computer, but stayed sitting for a moment, staring at the screen.

"What's wrong?" Ayla whispered into my ear.

"Kinda felt like snooping on Facebook, wondering if anyone was talking about me," I responded, grabbing my coffee and standing from the seat. "It's not a nice feeling, and it reminded me of why I deleted social media back home."

I tried to pull on the connection we shared, more closely showing her the emotional bundle that the whole FOMO, missing out, gossip rag bundle of issues that social media caused. It was a very particular combination of emotions, and I could feel her reaction as she studied the glimpse I was giving her.

"I can understand why you don't engage," She responded once I had pulled the familiar feeling back, letting it fade. "Will you not use PHO officially, then?"

"Needs must when the devil drives, unfortunately," I mumbled back as I left the library. "Apparently, a lot of cape business is done there. I'll probably have to set one up eventually."

Shaking off the funk, I focused on what I would be doing for the rest of the day. I could go out and find some more high-quality steel. I had enough for now, but since I was using between 16 and twenty pounds of it a day. It didn't sound like much, but considering I was basically stealing it in rebar form from abandoned construction sites and lugging it around the city, it was a pain and tended to go down quickly.

"Do you think it might be time to make a statement?" Alya asked, voicing a thought spinning in the back of my mind. "You have a few days before Tony gets back to you. Why not patrol the city?"

"... It's not a bad idea," I admitted, though I said it with a frown. "But I'm not prepared to start pushing back the gangs, not yet. I could take down some thugs, sure, but I'm not hedging bets on the capes. Also… The whole patrol thing feels so useless. What are the chances of actually stumbling into a crime happening while walking around the city?"

"Considering I would be guiding you?" She asked, holding back a chuckle. "Very high."

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, her words surprising me.

"Dammit," I said, shaking my head as I started walking again. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. Alya, please poke me when you think I'm forgetting about stuff you can do."

"I already do, when I notice things, at least," She assured me. "However, the gift of free thought I gained from binding to you does mean that I am just as capable of missing things as you are."

I nodded in understanding before heading down a street that would eventually lead us back to the shop. I had left my costume at home, so I would need to retrieve it before we could go out on patrol. The more I walked, though, the more I realized I had a problem.

"I'm too slow," I said, finally climbing through the window of the shop, sealing it back up with a practiced hand. "You might be able to find people who need help, but past a short distance, I won't be able to get there in time to actually help. "

"And there's nothing you could do to increase your speed?" Alya asked, reforming into her solid shape, following me as I walked further into the temporary home.

"Hypothetically, I could run until I was exhausted and then heal away some of the fatigue, but that only works so much, and it's still just running speed," I added. "Not fast enough. Technically, if I got my hands on some mercury, I could use that to increase my speed and buff my stamina, but it would only be double at max."

"Forty miles per hour is not bad in a city," Alya pointed out.

"Forty? You think I can run twenty miles an hour?" I asked with a snort. "Yeah, mercury would get me to twenty, maybe twenty-two, tops. No, I need something else. Besides, where the hell would I get that much mercury?"

"What else could you do?"

"Well… long term, we could start selling stuff again until we have enough for a ride," I suggested. "A motorcycle could work since a car would just get stuck in traffic. But even that would take a while and… I think I have a better idea anyway."

"The spare charge?"

"Yeah. It's only one, so I would have to be extremely specific and pick something relatively low-end in terms of power and complexity," I said, now standing and pacing around the room. "Maybe if I focus on a singular spell?"

"Do you know a spell you could focus on?" Alya asked.

"...no, at least not specifically enough to count," I admitted.

We spent a few minutes brainstorming ideas before eventually settling on some things to try. First, I tried to think of a lighting-themed teleportation spell, something that would ping off my two levels of lighting spells. Unfortunately, Marvelous Mage considered that to be too similar to the existing topic, so it wouldn't work.

Next, rather than trying a pure teleport spell like blink, which we assumed would be too powerful and complicated, we settled on trying to increase my speed and stamina. While I doubt it would get very far with one charge, being able to run a bit faster without stopping would drastically increase my range.

With the decision made, I dove back and reached for the charge. I pushed towards the concept, focusing as much as possible on physical movement enhancement spells, hoping to keep the category separate from any teleportation concepts.

The charge took to the concept easily, forming into a chunk of knowledge that flowed into my mind. Once it settled into among my other charges, I smiled and looked at Alya.

"I take it that it worked?" She asked.

"Yeah, and pretty well, to….come on, let's go out and I'll show you."

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

Once we were far enough away from the shop that I didn't feel worried about leading people to the area, I quickly donned my uniform. As I did, Alya and I discussed what my singular charge had unlocked.

"Almost all of it is low-level, very short buffs," I explained, securing my mask tightly. "Most of them are… well, they are kind of useless. A few of them might end up coming in handy eventually, but the time to cast is too long for them to be useful in a fight."

With my mask on, I pulled out my overcoat, pulling it on and tugging it straight. I then sat down on a crate to pull off my shoes and pull on my combat boots.

"There is a jump spell that increases my jump height and a spell to slow my descent from tall places, but they take a good six or eight seconds to cast," I explained, tying my boots before standing. "Handy if I see the issue coming and have time to pause, but like I said, I probably won't be using them in a fight."

"I thought you said you got what you wanted?"

"Oh, I did," I assured her. "It's a bit on the low end, but we expected that, having only used one charge. It's like a double buff, increasing my speed and burning mana to wash away the stamina drain."

"That seems... more advanced than I would have assumed a level one purchase would surrender."

"Well, it's a low-level buff, tied directly to how much mana I'm burning," I explained. "Higher levels might offer more efficient ratios, but I won't know for sure until I buy it. Plus, I have to hold the spell while I use it."

So far, almost all of my spells were functionally one-and-done. I would focus and chant the words, and the spell would form, and then it would cast. There were a few spells in the healing spells topic that I could cast and hold, the most useful of which would pump a trickle of healing energy into a person to just barely stabilize them, keeping them alive while using the barest amount of mana. There were also a couple of lightning spells, but those were even less like the new spell.

Basically, I would cast the spell and hold it, letting my mana trickle in to keep it active. While I was holding it, I would be unable to cast any other magic without first dropping the old spell. This didn't come without a benefit, though, as I could adjust how much mana the spell was burning to give myself a quick burst of speed, or to lower the buff down to the point that my mana regeneration would mean I could hold it forever.

"Okay, Alya," I said, settling into my uniform. "Go ahead and start-"

"There's a mugging going one block to the east," Alya immediately responded, not even waiting for me to finish. "Three men attacking a pair of women."

"Dammit," I cursed, already running out of the alley. "Lead me there!"

I ran out into the street, scaring the crap out of a few pedestrians before running along the sidewalk. As I did, I focused on the spell, casting it on myself as I ran.

"Marathona potestas cursus!" I called out as I focused my mana around my hands.

Several pale blue bands formed around my wrist, sliding down over my body, linking around each of my limbs and torso. Immediately, what little stamina I had used returned, and my speed increased. I adjusted the spell as I ran, quickly toning it down until I could hold it for a long while without running out of mana. I was still significantly faster than I was before, my boots pounding on the ground as I moved. If I had to guess, my speed was just around half again what I was usually capable of, so most likely twelve or thirteen miles per hour.

I wasn't exactly breaking any records, but the fact that I could essentially do it forever meant I could still get around the city pretty well, especially with Alya guiding me along the most direct route.

"Next alleyway," Alya whispered into my ear as I wove between people, skidding to a stop at the entrance of the alley.

Sure enough, fifteen or twenty feet into the trash strews gap between buildings was a small group of people. Three men stood leaning over a pair of women, all three of the men wearing ski masks. As I watched, one of the men was going through a purse, one already lying half torn on the ground. Both of the other muggers were armed with knives, and I could see a pistol tucked into the waistband of the one going through the purse.

"Hey!" I called out, somehow managing to keep the stutter out of my voice. "Put down the purse and put your hands on your head."

"Wh- CAPE!" One of the knife-wielding criminals said, pointing me out to his friends.

Funnily enough, the gun-toting guy did drop the purse, but instead of putting his hands on his head, he immediately reached for his gun. I jabbed out with two fingers, sending a small bolt of electricity out to slam into his arm, burning him and rocking him back. With his attempt to shoot me sufficiently delayed, I held out my palms.

"Attonitus imbre fulgur!" I shouted, three arcane symbols appearing around my hands before popping, lighting firing out, and washing over the three muggers.

The electricity made them jump and convulse, falling over and collapsing to the ground. As they were still recovering, I quickly walked over them, pausing over each man.

"Somnum scintilla," I said, mana dancing between my pinky and thumb, drawing out three sparking arcane symbols, which flared, pulled together and dropped from my hand.

The sparking charge dropped down and landed on the first man's chest, instantly sinking into his body. He clenched and arched his back as the spell overwhelmed his nervous system and knocked him unconscious. He would wake up four or five hours from now with a headache, feeling like he had been tased.

I quickly cast the same spell over each of the other muggers before finally standing up and turning to the two victims. They were both standing half a dozen feet away, one of them in front of the other, as if to protect her slightly younger friend. The one in the back was quickly developing a black eye, while the one in front had a busted lip.

"It's okay, you're safe now," I said, trying to sound confident. "They won't wake up for a few hours. Are both of you okay? Any serious injuries?"

It took a moment for them to respond, the one with the busted lip speaking first.

"N-no, I think we are okay…" She said, looking back at her friend to confirm, getting a small nod in confirmation. "I… Thank you."

"It's not a problem, Ma'am. I was on patrol and spotted these chumps," I said, shoving the closest man with the tip of my boot. "Giving you a hard time. Why don't we get you guys out of this alley and call the police?"

They both nodded, the protective woman leading the other out. I pointedly ignored the fact that the older one chose to step on the criminals in her path, rather than over. As I followed after them, I quickly rolled all three of the muggers into the recovery position before exiting the alleyway.

Both of the women had sat down on the curb. It didn't take long for the shock and adrenaline to fade, as within seconds of sitting down, the younger woman burst into tears. I gave them space, standing nearby as I called the police. They promised to send a squad car down after confirming that the victims were healthy and the aggressors were incapacitated.

"Arcanum, huh?" The older woman asked, having overheard me talking to the police. "I don't recognize you, so you must be new."

"Very, still trying to figure all of this out," I admitted, rubbing the back of my head. "Doing okay so far, I think."

"Yeah, I would say so, too," She said, giving me a weak smile. "I… I don't think that would have ended well."

"Yeah… Oh! Would you like me to fix that?" I asked, tapping my lip to point out her injury.

"...Fix it?" She asked, gently touching the cut along her lip, wincing as she did.

"Yeah, I can heal people," I explained.

"I…think I'm okay," She said with a frown. "No offense, but… You just admitted you're new…"

"No problem, I completely understand," I said, holding up my hands in acceptance. "I would be a little iffy about it as well, in your shoes."

We waited for a few more minutes in general silence, broken up by the occasional sniffle from the younger victim. There were quite a few people hanging around, watching and even recording, but I ignored them. I knew this was coming, and I just needed to push through it.

Eventually, a police cruiser pulled up and parked beside the sidewalk. Two cops, one older, slightly graying woman and a younger man, stepped out of the cruiser, both of them approaching slowly. The older woman said something to the man I couldn't quite hear before stepping closer to me. Her partner turned and focused on the victims, talking in soft, hushed tones.

"Arcanum, I assume?" She asked, giving me a look that told me she had seen it all and wasn't impressed.

"Yes, Ma'am," I said with a nod. "I was patrolling the neighborhood when I spotted those men making themselves a nuisance."

I nodded back down the alleyway to where the three muggers still were, lying on the ground in the mud, grime, and trash. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't moved, still lying in the positions I had put them in.

"They dead?" She asked, suddenly a lot more tense, her hand sliding down her side.

"No, Ma'am, just unconscious," I explained. "I have the ability to knock people out for a few hours."

"Your power is to knock people unconscious?" She asked with a snort, giving me another look. "I guess that makes me a cape as well."

"That's just one of them," I explained with a chuckle. "They will wake up in a while with a headache and some muscle aches like they were tased."

"Huh… well, let me take your statement, and then you can be on your way," She said, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.

I spent a few minutes describing what I had seen, and what happened afterward. When I was done, I helped them load the three unconscious men into the back of their cruiser, their arms locked up in handcuffs. The older cop expressed her thanks for the help before climbing back into the cruiser and pulling away. By that point, both of the women were long gone, having called for a cab.

"Alright, Alya, I guess you can start looking for another one," I said quietly, giving some of the pedestrians around me a wave and a nod.

With the police and victims gone, the crowds' pressing curiosity quickly got the better of them, and they began getting closer, many of them still holding up phones. Rather than have to deal with anything, I gave one final salute before running off, picking a direction and reapplying the running buff as I went.

I move through the city, ignoring pedestrians as I did, stopping a few times to get my bearings and adjust my course. For about an hour, nothing new happened, and I basically just crisscrossed the city a few times. I was tempted to push further into rougher neighborhoods, but a healthy dose of caution held me back. I was looking to help and start building a reputation for myself, but I wasn't confident enough in my powers to fight other capes.

Of course, I was running through what was normally considered Empire territory, but… well, I might have been deluding myself a bit about how risky what I was doing was.

After just about an hour went by, Alya once again whispered into my ear, warning me that there was a car accident just a few blocks down the street I was about to pass. I immediately cut and ran towards the accident, Alya once again proving how invaluable she was by guiding me there.

I arrived at what seemed like a pretty rough accident, with a crossover and a normal car both looking pretty mangled. Both cars were in the center of a four-way intersection, and at a glance, it appeared someone hadn't spotted what color the lights were. As my marathon spell faded, I jogged into the street, looking into the broken window of the nearest vehicle, the car.

Sitting there, partially hidden by the airbag, was a woman, probably around my age. She was dazed and had cuts along her face and burns along her arms. Her left wrist also seemed a bit rough, maybe broken from the airbag, which was probably where the burns were from as well.

"Ma'am, can you hear me?" I asked, looking past her to make sure there weren't any other passengers. "Ma'am?"

"I…. yes… Head…"

"Ma'am, you were in a car accident," I asked, reaching in and tearing the airbag cloth free from the deployment device. "I need you to focus on me. I am a parahuman, and I can assist you. Would you like me to help?"

She seemed to focus on me long enough to realize I was wearing a mask, and after a moment, she nodded. Not wanting to waste any time, I double-checked that the crumpled door was stuck shut before getting to work.

"Scalpere metallum," I intoned, focusing my mana on my hand.

My energy spun up and around my pointer and middle fingers, spiraling around it until it reached their tip. An arcane symbol flashed, and the small, glowing, three-inch white blade extended from my finger. It was just about the most basic metal-cutting spell out there, but it came free with Geomancy as a way to prepare metal for the partional, so I wasn't about to complain.

I quickly cut along the door lock and hinge before pulling the door away from its frame and tossing it to the side. The woman was starting to wake up fully, the daze passing. When I stepped back to her side in the frame of the door, I gave her a once-over to make sure she wasn't impaled or bleeding anywhere.

"Ma'am, I want to help you out of the vehicle, but I'm worried about your neck and head trauma," I explained, the woman wincing as she shifted in her seat. "The good news is, I am a healer. If you allow me to treat you, we can avoid all the worry."

"Healer?" She asked, focusing on me, her eyes locking on mine. "Are you… are there any side effects?"

"You might notice some fading in older scars, as well as any old injuries, but that's it."

She chewed her lip for a moment before eventually nodding, wincing a bit as she did. I reached in and quickly cast four different healing spells, fixing her wrist, which was definitely broken, her concussion, and the burns along her arm. She watched me with wide eyes the whole time, but when I was done, she smiled.

"T-Thank you," She said, starting to get out of her seat. I helped her out until she was standing steadily.

"No problem, Ma'am," I said with a smile. "Now sit tight. I need to go take a look at the people in the other car."

She nodded, pulling out her cell phone, while I turned to head to the crossover. In the distance, I heard approaching sirens, so I put a little pep in my step. I respected the hell out of any emergency service workers who kept up in a city like Brockton Bay, but I also knew this would be easier to do without them getting involved.

I hurried to the next vehicle and got to work.

Charges So Far -
Geomancy: [x][x]
Healing Spells: [x][x]
Lightning Spells: [x][x]
Physical Movement Enhancement Spells: [x]

 

[MetaBettaOmega]

Hey everyone, just a reminder that I have a Patreon! Being a supporter has a lot of benefits, like early chapters and access to my original content. You could get up to eight chapters early from this story and either four or eight from my other two. Board Members even get to vote on story beats, interludes, names, and the bonus unlock during Arcanum's recharge cycle! (The first vote was for Geomancy!)

If you are interested in those benefits or just want to support my attempt to become a full-time writer, stop by and show your support. Every dollar helps!

---

The next vehicle was in slightly better shape than the first, probably due to its larger size. All three of its occupants were thankfully better off as well. Two children were sitting in the back, with an older man in the driver's seat. Other than a little whiplash, bruises, and some minor burns from the airbags, all of them seemed to be in good shape. The children were terrified, but the father was actively helping calm them down.

I helped the dad get out first since there was no immediate danger, and he could help corral the scared kids. As I did so, I explained my ability to heal. The father considered my offer, eventually accepting the healing for himself first, then letting me heal his children when that went well.

Unfortunately, with everyone recovered, the father soon became distracted, spotting the woman from the other car. He immediately stormed off, his face set in an angry scowl.

"Where did you earn your license!?" He screamed, approaching the woman. "The light was clearly red!"

"I-I didn't see you!" She tried to explain, still clearly shaken. "I was pulling right, and I-"

"Then you should have opened your fucking eyes!" He shouted, arms up as he gestured, making the woman flinch. "I bet you were on your cell phone, not even paying attention! My kids-"

He took another aggressive step forward, looking like he was seriously going to lose it. While I understood the anger, he had just been in a car accident with his children in the car, and it certainly looked like the woman was in the wrong. I needed to stop this before it got out of control.

"Woah woah woah," I said, stepping in between the two, confident I could take anything the man had easily. "I know emotions are running high right now, but this is not the time or place for that."

"But she could have killed-"

"I know, sir, but screaming in the street while your children watch is not the best way to handle this," I pointed out, putting my hands on his shoulders and forcing him to step back. "I'm sure whatever happened here will come out in time, potentially with the aid of lawyers. But for now, why don't you go comfort your children. They just had a rather traumatic experience."

At first, I thought he was going to shout in my face, but mentioning what his children had just been through seemed to knock something loose in his head. He turned back to see his young children standing listless, looking lost and shocked. He nodded weakly before moving quickly back to them, wrapping them both in a tight hug.

When I was sure he was done yelling, I turned back to the woman.

"Are you okay?" I asked, getting a nod back. "Good, why don't-"

Before I could finish, an ambulance pulled up at the scene, as did a fire truck and a pair of police cars. The latter seemed to be a bit overkill, but considering all four of the police officers who climbed out of the cruisers made a beeline for me, they must have been specifically sent to handle me.

The following conversation was a bit tense, but overall, it went better than I had hoped, especially considering how poorly Tony had talked about the BBPD previously. They were mostly concerned that I had injured people trying to help, but when the EMT's couldn't find anything wrong with any of them, and all of them confirmed my healing, they backed off a little. During that time, Alya warned me that we had a pair of capes approaching, though they didn't appear to be hostile. I wanted to ask her for more info, but I couldn't exactly whisper a question when I was so close to other people.

"Listen, I get it, but spinal issues weren't anything I needed to worry about," I assured the officer, focusing on him for a moment. "Unless they were missing an entire limb, I could have fixed any injury they had. I was mostly concerned with them getting out of their cars."

The police officer seemed to at least let it go, though they didn't seem happy about it. I got the feeling that the BBPD wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the many capes that populated the city, a sentiment I could honestly understand. Hard to be happy about something when a good chunk of them were villains.

One of the officers took my statement and, begrudgingly, thanked me for my help. I shook his hand and wished them good luck before turning around…

And almost walking headfirst into one of the costumed heroes that Alya mentioned.

He was a taller man, dressed in a primarily red, lightly armored costume, with plates along his chest and arms. The top half of his face was covered in a red visor, which I had to assume was only opaque in one direction. As I turned, he took a step back while raising his hands. I recognized him from a few pictures I had seen online as the Protectorate hero, Assault.

"Woah, sorry, their buddy, didn't mean to sneak up on you," He said with a smile. "I'm Assault, and this here is Battery."

He gestured to the woman behind him, who I had completely overlooked as my attention was focused on Assault. The female hero was dressed in a dark gray, almost deep blue suit, skin-tight, of course, decorated with light blue, almost teal lines that mimicked internal circuitry. Her helmet covered most of her head, save the bottom third of her face. She simply nodded, leaving the talking to her partner.

"It's alright, no harm, no foul," I said, slowly extending my hand, making sure not to spook either of them with sudden movement. "Names Arcanum. It's nice to meet two of the Protectorates finest."

"Here, that Battery? We are the Protectorates finest!" Assault said, shaking my hand and shaking it, his smile somehow seeming even more friendly. "It's nice to meet you as well, Arcanum."

"So, what can I do for you two?" I asked, slowly walking around them and off the street. "I haven't done anything wrong as far as I know."

"No, nothing like that," He assured me. "The PRT gets contacted for anything cape-related that goes through the BBPD, so we decided to come out and say hello. We missed you at your first call, the mugging you stopped."

I nodded in understanding. By some unspoken agreement, we began to walk and talk, making our way down the sidewalk. People stepped out of our way, and Assault would wave and smile at people as we walked past.

"I see. I can imagine it's difficult to get a hold of us sometimes," I said, the older hero nodding.

"It can be, and it can be important since lone heroes… well, there's a reason there aren't many of them," He admitted with an unhappy frown.

"Other cities seem to have more," I pointed out. "They seem to struggle here. Unsurprising considering just who they are up against."

We stopped at a corner, where Assault and Battery both signed a few autographs. Despite no one knowing who I was, I was asked to sign a few as well. We all brushed off any questions, which I was happy to do. I was still thrown off by the autographs.

"You're not wrong. There is a lot to be wary of, especially for a new guy just starting out," He warned. "But enough about that, why don't you tell me a little about what you can do."

"Be careful," Alya whispered into my ear. "He has an earpiece in, and someone is pushing him to find out more."

I frowned behind my mask but realized that I shouldn't really be surprised. Of course, professional heroes would have people backing them up, and of course, they would be rather interested in what I could do.

"Well, I'm a bit of a grab bag," I admitted. "But not technically."

I gave them a general explanation of my powers, in that I fed them the same half-lie, half-underselling explanation I gave Panacea and Glory Girl. As I got to the end, I noted that Assault was being very quiet. When I finally finished, it took him a minute to respond.

"Jeez, when you said you were a grab bag, you weren't kidding!" Assault said, shaking his head. "Healing, lightning, and physical enhancement? A pretty impressive combination."

"Yeah, well… Just good luck, guess," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "I-"

"It might not be as good luck as you imagine," Battery said, speaking up for the first time since we started talking. "Having that many abilities puts a serious target on your back."

"Yeah… but they aren't that potent," I said. "It's not like I can heal like Panacea, right?"

And that was true, no underselling required. While my healing spells were very impressive, they were only two levels strong. Serious injuries required multiple casts of each spell, which reduced the potency of each repeat cast on a single person. Even then, I really couldn't bring people back from the brink of death. Dinah's aunt, which felt like weeks ago, not just a few days, had been on the far end of my ability and had required some of my most potent spells. Even then, I hadn't healed her completely. Yes, she wouldn't die, but her muscles would need a lot of time to heal back to full.

"My friend, comparing yourself to Panacea when it comes to healing is like comparing yourself to Hero if you're a tinker or Legend if you're a blaster," Assault said, shaking his head. "Just what you did today for the accidents was impressive, especially since there were no side effects or a ridiculous process. Well, other than speaking in a dead language."

"You're at risk for being forced into a gang," Battery said, folding her arms and earning a look from Assault. "You would be much safer working with the Protectorate, where you can get proper support on protection."

"I… understand the sentiment, but I am confident I can handle the danger," I assured them both. "It's not that I have anything against the Protectorate. I just think I can do more good on my own."

"How? If you work with us, we can help keep you safe, and you can use your powers in a way that benefits the most people," She said, directly challenging my statement.

For a long moment, I was silent, giving Assault a look, only to find he was equally surprised by Battery's aggressiveness. While I didn't doubt that both of these individuals had more experience than I did, her "we know better" tone grated heavily on my nerves. Still, making a good impression trumped any temporary need to fire back.

"Be that as it may, I want to work alone for now," I repeated, being a bit more blunt the second time. "Though, Panacea did mention that you guys can verify my healing as safe?"

"That's right, we can," Assault said, recovering from his partner's rather rough sell. "We can-"

He paused just long enough for me to notice, before continuing right where he left off.

"We can do that as part of our power testing."

"Power testing?"

"Yeah, we have facilities set up to test a variety of powers, from strength and durability to the potency and danger of blaster powers, even your electricity," He explained with a smile, though it seemed... less open than before. "Come in, let us do our magic, and we can make sure your healing is safe and symptom-free. Even if it's not, we might be able to come up with ways to mitigate any side effects."

The pause he made was highly suspicious, and I could see it in his posture that he knew I noticed it. Still, being a PRT, or Protectorate verified healer would mean that I could help more people, which was worth a little paperwork and a couple hours of showing off my magic. I would be more concerned about showing off what I could do, if that wouldn't change radically over the next week.

"Alright, I can agree to that," I said with a smile. "Should I set up an appointment or…?"

"That would be best. Our secretaries tend to get a bit jumpy when unknown parahumans show up out of the blue," He said with a smirk, prompting me to rub my face, only to feel the warm metal of my mask.

"Yeah, in hindsight, not my best plan to show up to the hospital like that," I admitted, shaking my head. "But in my defense, Panacea doesn't have a way to set up appointments."

"Pretty sure that's on purpose," He explained, before adding. "But you could have contacted New Wave through their website and set up a meeting with them."

I was quiet for a long, drawn-out silence before letting out a long sigh and shaking my head.

"Right, of course I could. Well, at the risk of tempting Murphy, I'm going to go. I will set up an appointment as soon as I can."

"Sounds like a plan, Arcanum," Assault said with a smile, reaching out and offering me his hand. I shook it confidently before turning and walking away.

Eventually, I cut into an alleyway, putting on speed while using the marathon spell to cut away my need to stop running through the city. At this point, it was starting to get later in the afternoon, so Alya subtly guided me back to where I had left my civilian clothes.

"You noticed that too, right?" I asked, finally stopping in the secluded spot not too far from the shop. "The pause Assault made?"

"I did. I couldn't quite make out what the person on the other side of their radio was saying, as the sound was pretty muted, but I could tell that they got louder just before he stumbled."

"Something to do with the power testing," I said with a frown, shaking my head. "I'll have to keep my eye open."

"You intend to go through with it?" She asked, slightly surprised. "I would have thought the pause would be enough to dissuade you."

"Normally, it would have, but I really want that PRT approval for healing," I said with a frown. "Maybe I won't have to spend so much time convincing people to let me help them if I was properly accredited. Let's just hope Battery isn't part of the process."

"She was certainly rude," Alya agreed. "I can't imagine her method of recruitment works very well."

"Which makes you wonder why they sent her," I wondered out loud. "Maybe a good cop bad cop routine? Trying to enamor me with Assault so I'm more casual around him in the future?"

I considered the idea for a moment, as I folded up my overcoat and slid it back into my messenger bag. After mulling it around in my mind for a minute, I shook my head.

"I can't just assume they were trying such an underhanded tactic on someone they were hoping to recruit," I guessed. "I mean, they should no better than to piss off random parahumans, right?"

"Perhaps you shouldn't assume competence?" Alya suggested, getting a snort out of me.

"Maybe, but assuming incompetence is way worse, right?" I responded before putting my messenger bag strap around my shoulder.

"I'm a little worried about how they reacted to me being a grab bag," I said with a frown. "They seemed shocked."

I did some research on grab bags before claiming to be one, but it's possible I misunderstood their level of potency. This meant I had been casually admitting to and showing off that I had multiple powerful abilities, attracting a lot of attention to myself because I assumed I was coming off as a mid-tier power at best. I had been naive despite trying not to be. Worse, this was going to get more difficult as I developed more and more magic.

I let out a long sigh, trying to shake off the admittedly disappointing attempt at subterfuge. I needed to focus on the fact that I was doing good, that I had helped plenty of people at the camp, and that I would continue doing that as long as Tony could find more groups for me to help. I may be bumbling through this a bit, but I was still doing good.

"Alright, I need to get something to eat, and then we can head home," I finally said out loud. "Mind finding me a pizza place, Alya?"

Rather than answer, a warm breeze blew past me, and I followed it out of the alleyway.