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44.68% My Stash of completed fics / Chapter 1241: 2

Capítulo 1241: 2

Initialization 1.2

It was only 5:43 pm according to my new phone, and I could probably get to the hospital in about 20 minutes with a different bus route, so I got off the bus after a couple of stops and began my trip to the hospital.

'Agate, is it possible for you to bring us to any of the parallel dimensions inside our local Reality Cluster?'

With some down time I was able to think through my options. If I could access Aleph or the other parallel dimensions, I would be in a much better position.

'Negative. Parallel dimension travel is a part of planned modules whose installation is not complete. I will require opportunities to observe parallel dimension travel to develop such a feature, or direct programming input from the user.'

'You can learn it? That's great!'

'Kaleidostick Agate was designed to be a self-learning tool that would expand its own capabilities. My ability to process information is comparable to an advanced alchemist with Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration,' Agate said without prompt from me. I wondered if that was pride at being praised.

'You know Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration? Can you teach me?' I asked eagerly.

'My apologies, User RandomBystander1. I do not know those spells and I could not teach you even if I did. My processing is based on an application of the Second Magic, using limited access to parallel analogs of me running in sync or slightly ahead of the current time. They are not the standard Atlas spells. You do not possess the Magic Circuits necessary to utilize any magecraft, so you could not learn the Atlas spells either,' Agate explained with a voice that actually sounded regretful.

I sighed. Of course it wouldn't be so easy.

'So…what else can you do?' I might as well learn Agate's full capabilities.

Instead of a voice respond, Agate seemed to do something akin to sending me data directly.

I saw in my mind's eye a list of capabilities Agate judged both "important" and "unlocked". Other than its reality phasing ability and the universe travelling, it had a sensor suite for detecting and analyzing magical energies and electromagnetic radiation, and it could share the user's senses when authorized. When not sharing the user's senses, it could only use its sensor suite to perceive the world. Anything sensed or shared from the user was recorded and could be accessed later. If allowed to share the user's senses, then Agate could also block mental attacks and even bestow Magic Resistance (unfortunately both features were very limited if the user couldn't generate prana or lacked Magic Circuits).

The core AI was capable of learning by observing, reading, and communicating, much like a human. There were many potential upgrades and functions Agate could develop in time, but we were severely hampered by my inability to perform magecraft.

That was more than I expected, but far less than I'd hoped. I was even a little disappointed that Agate couldn't give me a magical transformation.

It wasn't long before I arrived at the hospital.

There were a lot of people, but nobody gave me a second glance. I was wearing a jacket and casual pants that looked pretty dirty and beat up from the fight that destroyed the park, but I guess that was nothing special considering all the other injured people I saw.

The lobby was clean and bright, the seats packed with people. It was a busy place.

I walked towards to receptionist and was about to speak when I noticed a paper stuck to the bulletin board with important information.

PANACEA OPEN HEALING SCHEDULE, it said. That was convenient. I guess the hospital got a lot of people asking about it. Or wait. More information about Panacea could be found at the New Wave website. So it was part of their PR. Panacea was a miracle healer with her absolute control of biology. Her presence in New Wave was great for their reputation.

Apparently she would be coming in today for two hours starting… a few minutes ago at 6. And there would be open healing for anyone that walked in from 7:30 to 8.

That would be tight. How many people could she see in a mere half hour? Oh well, that gave me an hour to prepare.

Twenty minutes later I had bought a burner flip-phone and was sitting down at a nearby coffee shop eating a quick meal as I browsed the web with my smartphone using free Wi-Fi. I had three phones now including the one I grabbed off the mugger.

Over the next hour of browsing, I learned quite a bit about this world. As far as I could tell, it seemed to be following canon. Browbeat hadn't joined the Wards yet, and all the public information on capes in Brockton Bay matched with what I knew.

That was good, my knowledge wasn't useless. I made my way back to the hospital just before 7:30.

Right on time, a nurse came to the lobby and announced that Panacea would accept walk-in patients now, anyone needing healing should follow her. So I followed her with a bunch of other patients to wait in a line outside a room not far from the lobby.

Another nurse came over and addressed all of us while the first one started to let patients into see Panacea.

"Hello, I am nurse Angela, and I'm here to explain a few things about Panacea's open healing for anyone not familiar with the rules. Please listen carefully," she said as she looked around to make sure she had everyone's attention except for the people at the front of the line being processed by the other nurse.

"Anyone is free to come in for healing, but Panacea cannot accept all illnesses or injuries during walk-in. She is not your family doctor or emergency services. For your own health and the smooth running of our healthcare system, please go to the appropriate medical authority for diagnostics, emergencies, chronic illnesses, or severe injuries. During public healing sessions, Panacea can only perform quick healing on minor illnesses and mild injuries. Additionally, Panacea does not perform cosmetic enhancements. Nurse Jane will determine whether your medical issue is appropriate before letting you in. At 8:00 pm sharp, the public healing session will be over. If anyone is remaining at the end, you will need to come back another day or consult your family doctor," she explained with a clear and authoritative voice before leaving us to wait.

A few people left the line after hearing that. The line moved quickly. Patients were getting healed and shuffled out of the room in less than a minute each. This was pretty efficient, and the line wasn't long either, I suppose because many people would be too lazy to come if their issue was "minor". It was mostly made up of parents with their kids or seniors, and some sketchy looking people – like me, actually.

It seemed like everyone would be done with time to spare, so I started letting people move in front of me.

Five minutes before 8pm, I was the last one to enter.

It was a simple room with a medical bed and Panacea sitting on a chair. Her costume was really white. If she had a staff and lost the scarf I could see a White Mage. Hiding in her hood, she had a fairly plain face with freckles that looked bored. I didn't see any sign of exhaustion that fanfics usually emphasized, but I did feel the "I don't want to be here" vibe.

She gestured to the bed with a plastered smile. "Hi. What can I help you with?"

I sat down and smiled back.

"I fell off a tree, and now my body feeling's sore all over," I said. I got blasted away together with a tree but I did technically fall off of it mid-air.

"Were you saving a kitten?" She asked with an amused tone quirking an eyebrow. There weren't many other explanations for why a man in his early twenties would be up on a tree.

I sighed dramatically. "No, I'm afraid I was the one that needed saving."

She gave me an unimpressed look and held out her hand. "Hmm. Well I need to touch your skin to heal you."

I gave her my hand.

"A lot of bruising all over, some muscle strains, and a few bones are bit loose. Nothing too serious. Do I have your permission to heal you?" She asked.

"Yes." She nodded back to me.

Three seconds later I felt much better.

"Thank you, Amelia," I said in heartfelt gratitude with a textbook Duchenne smile.

"Sure thing—wait, what did you call me?" Her bored eyes came alive in an instant and her hand gripped tightly onto mine.

"Amelia, your name," I answered pleasantly.

"What are you talking about? My name is Amy, and it's Panacea in costume," she said in irritation.

I look in her eyes with a serious but warm expression.

"Amelia Claire Lavere, that's the name you were born with, Ms. Dallon."

Irritation turned to surprise, and she was silent for a couple of seconds.

"What do you know? Who are you?" She asked with a hint of suspicion and interest both.

"I know many things, such as who you were adopted from. I don't have any legal name in the world right now, but you can call me Kaleidus," I said mysteriously. Don't judge me. I couldn't come up with a good name on such short notice, and I didn't want it to be an obviously cape name either, just an unusual but memorable one.

"What do you want?" She asked in a low and almost whispered tone.

"Well I needed healing, and I wanted to give you something in return. I'd be happy to tell you what I know of your heritage if you want," I said. I could see her interest growing. But she was still suspicious that I wouldn't want anything else. After all, there were plenty of reasons for unscrupulous people to target Panacea the miracle healer. "Other than that, I have special knowledge of events to come and certain events in the past."

She gave me a disbelieving look. She must have thought I was crazy considering that I didn't have a Corona Pollentia or Gemma. But I continued unperturbed.

"I know you can tell if I'm lying with your power while you're holding my hand-" she glanced at our connected hands momentarily before her eyes flitted back to me in surprise.

"-and that I'm not a parahuman with the required brain structures, but I definitely have special knowledge of the past and future, or at least, possible futures, that nobody else in this world knows. That's how I know about your heritage. You are critical to this world's future, and I want to help you. It's also true that there are some things only you can help me with."

As I talked, I could almost see the gears turning in her head. My knowledge of her powers couldn't be explained easily, and the fact that I was essentially submitting myself to her lie-detection was quite persuasive.

It was to my advantage that there were many ways of "helping" her. After all, how to help depended on their goal, right?

"How is that possible?" Her grip on me grew stronger. "Did somebody Master you to say all that?"

"No, and I'm sure your power can check for abnormal biological reactions or brain activity showing a Master too," I responded. I was just guessing actually, but it made sense to me.

"Okay. I believe you think you have 'special knowledge'. But how do you know it's real?" She pressed me.

"I can prove it. First, my 'postcognitive' knowledge," I raised my fingers in air quotes as I spoke, "I know things about you that nobody could possibly know. A secret that you've never told anyone." She tensed and eyes widened before looking around the room as if checking for eavesdroppers.

I used my free hand to cup my mouth as if preparing to whisper. Then I moved closer to her ear and did just that, "Your special feelings for Victoria."

She froze. Her grip on my hand was so strong it was starting to get painful. And it was shaking. I felt a gleeful anticipation as I watched her. Yes, this girl had very dark secrets. Panacea the miracle healer, the kind, saint-like cape that everyone admired had a secret that was tearing her apart inside.

She lusted for her own sister.

"W-what are you talking about, don't bullshit me with vague-!" she hissed.

"I won't tell anyone. And you're not a deviant. It isn't your fault and there's nothing wrong with you. Something caused those feelings in you, but you're not ready to learn just what yet."

"You're lying! Stop messing with me!" She tried to let go of my hand and stand up. But I grabbed her hand myself and stopped her.

"If I was, you wouldn't be reacting like this. You know exactly what I'm talking about and that I'm telling the truth."

She glared at me and bit her lip.

I put a hand on her shoulder and gently guided her back down onto her seat. "Look, I told you I wanted to help you. I didn't say that to blackmail you. You have a key role to play if this world is going to survive." She kept glaring at me and stayed quiet.

If this world is going to survive. Only if it were better for me, of course.

After a moment, there was a knock on the door, presumably the nurse reminding Panacea of the time. I sighed. "On April 11th, Lung will be defeated. Armsmaster will take credit for the capture. You'll be called in to keep him stable. Here's my number if you want to get in touch." I took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote down my burner phone's number, putting it in her hand.

I patted her shoulder and prepared to turn and leave but this time Panacea grabbed my wrist again as I stood up and stopped me.

"Who…who were my parents?" She asked with her head looking down.

I paused. "Your father was Marquis. Your mother, I don't know. The Brocton Bay Brigade attacked Marquis in his home and he was defeated trying to protect you when the Brigade realized he was protecting something hiding in the closet."

"The daughter of a villain…?" I heard her muttering in a defeated voice as she dropped my hand and stood still.

Marquis was a very successful and powerful villain. He was the only parahuman in his gang but managed to fend off the likes of the Slaughterhouse 9 and the Teeth. His ability to generate and control bone was extremely powerful and versatile, which made him unbeatable before the Brocton Bay Brigade took advantage of his two weaknesses. He had a rule not to hurt women and children including enemy combatants that fell into those categories. And he had a daughter he genuinely cared for.

I lifted her chin up to face me. I could see her eyes beginning to tear up.

"Listen to me. You are not a villain just because your father was. That's Nazi thinking, and Carol should be ashamed of her prejudice. You are one of the most powerful and important heroes in the world."

Carol was traumatized from her youth and despised Marquis for irrational reasons. She never wanted to take Amelia and basically never treated her as a daughter despite adopting her legally.

Even worse, Amelia had once overheard Carol say that. That she never wanted her.

There was another knock on the door. We could hear a voice calling from outside, "Um, Panacea? The session was already over several minutes ago. Is there a problem?"

The girl wiped her eyes quickly and called back, "No, we're done here." She opened the door and walked past quickly. I followed after, getting a disapproving look from the nurse.

I looked away and walked quickly. Then when nobody was there to see it, I smirked. I felt great. This was almost certainly the canon storyline I was in.

Knowledge was power, and I had it.


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