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Topic: Panacea is on a Healing Spree!

In: Boards ► America ► Brockton Bay ►Requests

10CCsOfJustice (Verified Doctor) (Original Poster)
Posted on February 20th, 2011:

Our residential healer has been on an extraordinary healing binge lately.

At this rate, there might not be enough sick and injured for us regular ol' doctors.

Thank you Panacea!

(Showing page 1 of 2)

SquishyMortal
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

Can confirm. Went to the hospital after stepping on a nail. Y'know, tetanus shot and all that.

Low and behold, Panacea bothered to take a minute to check me out. And heal the hole the nail left.

Didn't think she bothered with things like that.

Edit: Not that I'm complaining, or anything.

HardHat
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

"Our residential healer"

Think you're forgetting about our other residential healer, OP.

White Mage may be new, but she's been doing a lot of hospital work, too. Gotta give her some recognition, too.

Supreme
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

To HardHat: While you're at it, Othala can also heal people. Doesn't she qualify as a 'residential healer'?

10CCsOfJustice (Verified Doctor) (Original Poster)
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

To HardHat: Sorry, forgot about her in the excitement over here. No disrespect to her, I just don't see her at my hospital a lot.

Wonder if it's because Panacea frequents us so often. Do you think healers can have their own turf wars?

To Supreme: No. Just no. We only count the capes who selflessly heal those who really need it, rather than just those with the 'right' skin tone.

HopefulMarshmellow
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

Guess this finally answers the White Mage vs. Panacea debate.

Good work Panacea!

► CapeFanatic21
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

To SquishyMortal: Wait, she treated something that minor?

I might have a chance to meet her, then! Off to the hospital to treat my oh-so-severe hangnail.

► Providence
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

To CapeFanatic21: You're a terrible person. I hope you know that...

Glory_Girl (Confirmed Cape)
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

Yeah, way to go Sis!

Though, I've kind of missing you lately.

Also,

To CapeFanatic21: If I catch you pulling that on sis, I'll make sure you get to her with an injury more worthy of her attention.

User Received a Warning.

Tin Mother: Threats are not allowed, no matter the reason.

HopefulMarshmellow
(Replied on February 20th, 2011)

To Glory_Girl: Aww, sorry to hear that.

Don't worry! She can't keep healing forever. :)

(~*~*~*~*~*~)

Amy seemed to be doing a lot better, if her newfound vigor was any indication.

It wouldn't be until a few days later when I realized how wrong I was.

Our next encounter started much like our first. The misery that was school had ended and I'd just gotten ready for my first round at the hospital.

And then...

Thwack! I hadn't even gotten off the elevator to the second floor before I'd bashed into something soft and tumbled to the ground in a heap of swirling white fabric.

Shaking my head, I looked at what had been in my way. Or rather, who.

Panacea lay in her own pool of eschewed cloth. Staring right back at me. It must've been an unusual sight from the outside, seeing two capes with near-identical costume schemes slamming into each other as if they had ran into their own reflections.

She recovered faster than I did, greeting me with a smile and a blush. She was probably realizing how embarrassing it was to bump into me after what happened a few days ago. You know, when she poured her soul out to me, before crying herself to exhaustion and falling asleep. On top of me. My mind wandered to that exact scene and I, too, flushed with embarrassment. Even as the memory filled me with a warmth not related to the blood rushing to my face.

I fought to control the heat afflicting my face. I refused to make our first friendly meeting awkward. Not after everything we went through. Not after she'd called me a friend.

"Hey, White Mage," she greeted as we both scrambled to our feet. Her words were short and succinct, as if she was rushing through them. Not a particularly friendly way to say hello, but I could still detect a hint of warmth buried within.

That's when I got a better look at her. There was some happiness in her features, if the faint smile she sent me was anything to go by. But the rest of her? It made me worry. The bags I'd become accustomed to seeing under her eyes had darkened considerably. She was sickeningly pale and looked like she had lost weight she couldn't really afford to lose.

"Hi Amy," I replied. "It's great to see you." I smiled, trying hard to not show my concern and worry. Friends were supposed to be supportive, right? "I haven't seen you at this hospital before. Did you come to help me out?" We didn't really claim medical centers, per se, but this one had become my main stomping grounds.

"Oh." She seemed to just now realize that I, too, had the power to heal. "I, uh, already fixed everyone up."

"You what?" It wasn't even 4 pm. This wasn't even a hospital in her usual rounds!

"Well, everyone they let me," she quickly amended, seeing my expression. "I couldn't heal everyone. There's a few new coma patients you can probably fix on the third floor. A couple brain tumors, too. Things I can't touch with my powers."

Did she really not see the problem here?

There was a faint buzz and Amy took out her phone. Her lips pursed as she read something on the screen and tucked it back into her costume.

"I've gotta head over to Brockton Hospice."

Apparently not. This wasn't a healing spree, this was self-destruction.

Damn it Amy, I'm not letting you do this to yourself.

She made her way past me into the elevator I had just come out of. The doors started to close and I had to swivel, dash and leap to make it back in. I'd somehow managed to not fall in the process and landed next to a startled Amy. The surprised yelp that escaped her was kind of adorable.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked out.

"I'm coming to help," I answered.

She didn't seem overly fond of this idea. "But what about your usual rounds?"

"Didn't you hear? They've been taken care of. Now it's my turn to help with yours."

(~*~*~*~*~*~)

My plan was a simple one. If Amy was going to go heal-crazy, I would just have to take as much of her workload off her hands as I could. It was working, too. At least for the first handful of hours. But, in the end, I just couldn't keep up with her.

Patient after patient. Emergency after emergency. She was non-stop, a veritable hurricane of restoration. I'd only managed to patch up about a third of the patients presented to us before I was worn out, nearing the limits of my power. Amy though? She kept going. And going.

She never really seemed to stop. Even after she could no longer suppress her yawns. Even as her eyelids threatened to flutter shut one last time and submit to her exhaustion. She was steadfast, allowing no distractions to slow her down. No matter how sluggish she was becoming or how much her stomach grumbled with hunger.

I put my foot down after the third such audible growl from her stomach.

"Amy, let's go get something to eat."

She tore her eyes away from her patient roster to glance at me. "After a few mor-"

"No. Now." I spoke firmly, broking no argument. She shot me an annoyed look for threatening to break her stride. I could tell she was about to fight this every inch of the way.

I decided to try a different tactic. "I'm really hungry. C'mon, eat with me."

'Smile Taylor,' I reminded myself, fixing one onto my face. 'She's your friend now and she really needs this. Even if trying to help her is incredibly frustrating.'

It worked. After another couple seconds of consideration she nodded and lead me to the staff cafeteria. I grabbed a plastic tray piled with spaghetti while Amy took out a few snack bars from within the folds of her costume. I made sure she tried some of my spaghetti and gave her the bit of garlic bread that came with it.

We ate for awhile. Amy stuffed her face with snack bars like a chipmunk, huddling into herself as she took quick nibbles out of the bar. I deliberately took my time with my pasta and sauce. She would have to sit here and not work for as long as I ate. Besides, it really was good.

See? A nice, simple dinner shared between friends. Even if the silence between us was unbearable. Interrupted only by the vibration of Amy's phone before she pulled it out and read a message, body tensing slightly.

"So," I began. "We should do stuff together. Want to catch a movie tomorrow?"

Subtle I was not. Amy recognized my weak attempt to interrupt her healing crusade, if only for an evening. Even if I did really want to spend time with her. Laugh, have fun, enjoy each others company. Something I hadn't gotten to do with anyone in such a long time.

No, this was for Amy...getting away from my own problems for a few hours was just an added bonus.

"Can't," she replied as she took the last few bites of her granola bar. "I already have plans." Noticing that I'd also finished my food, she got up and started to march away. "Thanks for having dinner with me. Let's get back to work."

I followed her out of the cafeteria, moving quickly just to keep pace with her.

"Are you really sure you don't want to see a movie with me? We can go in costume, watch some kind of horror show and make fun of the bad effects."

She kept her stride up, swiftly navigating through the hallways of the hospital. She didn't look back as she replied. Like she couldn't bring herself to look at me. "I told you, I'm busy."

"With what?" I demanded, temper finally boiling over as my frustration leaked out.

"Healing."

Enough! I was done with this. I grabbed her arm from behind, holding onto her until she stopped walking. She finally turned back to shoot me an angry, bitter glare. A glare that hurt more than I wanted to admit. Some part of it reminded me of Emma and I couldn't help but feel that this friendship would end in ruins, just like the last.

"Why are you doing this? You're going to work yourself to death."

"It's my duty. I have to-"

"No, don't give me that. We're friends now, right? I want to know the truth-"

Amy tried to stammer out more excuses, more denials and deceptions. Tried to obscure the root of her pain.

"-because I can't help you if I don't."

Something snapped in her. "It's all I have!" she screamed.

"My family's a mess. Mom doesn't like me, not really. Dad tried, at least, before he became too depressed to care. Victoria was the only person who seemed to give a damn about me. She was always there for me. But I can't even bring myself to talk to her anymore! Not since you 'fixed' me. It's like I've lost her, too.

"So now I have nothing left. Nothing but this stupid power and my responsibility to heal others with it."

My body reacted before I could control it, responding to the burgeoning, burning emotions bubbling within before my mind could tell it to stop. My hand lashed out and slapped Amy across the face, hard enough to leave my hand stinging afterward.

"Stupid!" I shouted at her. "Like hell you've lost Victoria! She's still your sister, and you still love each other. I know that. Because, even after I healed you, she still mattered. Mattered enough that you cried yourself ragged over those feelings.

"You said that Victoria's always been there for you, right? So talk to her, I bet she'll be there for you again."

"And..." I added, more gently this time, "You've still got me.

"That's hardly nothing."

Amy held a hand up to her face, covering the spot that I'd hit. She wasn't looking at me, instead casting her gaze towards the floor and hiding herself in the hood of her costume.

"Do you really mean it?" Her voice was soft and meek.

"We've been over this before. Your feelings for her weren-

"No," she interrupted. "Did you mean it when you said that you're here for me? That I've still got you?"

"I've stuck with you so far, haven't I?" Even if Amy had made it really, really difficult.

We both stood there. Amy continued looking away from me, head hidden by her cloak. The silence dragged on and on.

And on.

"I'm so tired," Amy finally said as her body drooped a bit.

"Well, yeah. You've been going overboard all day." I gently grasped her hand. "Here, let's find you a place to rest." I took her to the nearest empty room and helped her onto a bed. If any of the nurses cared that Panacea was taking up a room, then too bad for them. She needed my help, and as far as I was concerned she ranked higher on the priority list than the other patients.

She was getting comfortable when her phone buzzed again. She reached into her robes for it.

"Stop," I pleaded. Amy's hand froze just as she brought her phone out into the open. "No more messages. No more work. You need to rest. Please."

Her fingers whitened as she gripped her phone desperately, fingers poised over the phone and ready to answer it. She was still wearing herself out. Running herself down. Charging forward even as it destroyed her.

After everything I've done for her - after all my efforts - I couldn't fix her. In the end, I failed to heal the heart of the first friend I'd made since Emma's betrayal. It seemed the saying was true, you couldn't save somebody from themself.

And then she held her hand out, offering the phone to me. "Take it."

I had never before felt such relief at two simple words. I gingerly took it from her hands.

"Thank you."

She wrapped some blankets atop herself and closed her eyes. The past day, probably the past week, caught up to her all at once. Sleep took her immediately and I was happy to see her brow relax and hear her breathing become calm. She looked so serene that I couldn't help but smile.

I made my way out of the room and immediately plopped onto the ground. Amy wasn't the only one working hard, after all. The exhaustion of keeping up with her had finally gotten to me. The phone in my hand buzzed again, reminding me of its existence. I checked the screen, expecting to see messages asking for Panacea's help.

Instead, they were texts from Glory Girl:

- 'Come home tonight. I miss you.'
- 'We'll do something fun! Promise.'
- 'Please, sis?'

It could wait until morning. I was too tired to worry about it now. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep resting against the door.

(~*~*~*~*~*~)

A rumbling against my thigh woke me up early the next morning. It was Amy's cell phone, vibrating angrily at me. Still waking up, I fumbled for the phone and checked the screen with bleary eyes. It was a call from Victoria Dallon.

Before I could think of what to do about the call the door I was resting against opened up, leaving my upper body completely unsupported. An undignified 'eep' spilled out of my mouth as I fell backwards, arms flailing wildly, and ended up sprawled on the floor.

I looked up to find a much more refreshed Amy staring back. At the very least the bags under her eyes had diminished and there was a small but renewed sparkle in her eyes. Her skin was more flushed and less pale. She wasn't back to 100 by any stretch of the imagination, but she looked healthier and happier.

"Morning," I said up to her.

She smiled back at me. A true smile. One I hadn't ever seen her give before.

"Hi," she replied back. "Did you want to get up anytime soon, or just stay on the ground forever?" Her voice was a bit playful, a stark contrast to how terse she had been the day before. I laughed, more from the joy of seeing her happy than anything else.

With some effort, I got back to my feet. I stretched my arms and back, trying to pop out the kinks I'd gotten from sleeping in a weird position all night. "Are you feeling any better?"

Amy nodded. "I am. A lot better. In fact, I think I'm ready to go back home...and talk to Vicky."

"And take it easy for awhile," I added hopefully. It came out closer to a question than a remark.

"Yeah. I'll take it easy. Promise."

Amy's phone started buzzing again. Another call, this time from Carol Dallon. "Speaking of home," I quipped before handing her the phone. She saw the name on the screen and winced, just a little. She stared uncomfortably at the screen as the buzzing continued, demanding her attention. Much as she may have wished, she couldn't hold off this conversation forever. She answered the phone.

"Hi Mom," she greeted. Muffled voices were all I could hear from the phone.

Amy's face paled a bit as she listened. Finally, she replied with a "Y-yeah, I'll go." She told Carol which hospital we were at and hung up. She turned to me, ashen faced.

"Endbringer attack," she breathed out. "The Simurgh's landed in Canberra. Mom wants me on standby to help out. Vicky's on her way to pick me up."

...

"What should I do?"

"Stay here." She said it sternly but failed to hide the fear in her voice. A fear for my safety, scared about what might happen to me if I went along.

She continued, softer this time. "I'll want to see a friendly face when I get back."

(~~~~~~)

AN: Anybody willing to help me prep future chapters? Mostly with consistency, flow and whether it has the proper spark to it. Also, I don't have much confidence and having somebody give me the thumbs up beforehand helps.

The next chapter is giving me a lot of trouble. Trying to converge my ideas and emotions into a singular path.