SIX

"Well," began Timothy, "as Leo told you I've only been a White Lighter for about a month. My charge, Stephen White, collects antique books as a hobby. He has quite a collection, including some first editions that are worth a great deal of money."

"We all need some kind of diversion," said Prue.

"Yes, well," said Timothy. "About two weeks ago we were at a bookstore on Henderson that Steve likes to frequent. They're able to get him some real good deals on books. On that day he picked up a first edition of Mark Twains' 'Huckleberry Finn'. It was even autographed by Twain himself."

"That must make it very valuable," said Piper.

"Very," said Timothy. "Anyway, as we were leaving the store we noticed a crowd had gathered on the street. Apparently there had been an accident while we were in the store. The police were all ready there but the paramedics hadn't arrived. They were tied up in traffic and weren't expected to be there for another ten or fifteen minutes."

"Was the man injured very badly?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, the paramedics hadn't arrived but there's a doctors office just down the street," said Timothy. "The doctor had come out and was trying to help the guy until the paramedics arrived."

"Conscientious doctor," said Piper.

"Actually, the law requires him to do whatever he can," said Cole. "Although I'm sure he'd do it anyway."

"The injured man had one of those medic alert bracelets," continued Timothy. "You know, to warn medical personal of any special allergies or conditions the person has when they can't speak for themselves."

"Yeah, we know the kind," said Prue.

"Well, his bracelet said that he was a hemophiliac," said Timothy. "What someone call a bleeder."

"That can be a dangerous condition," said Leo. "Their blood doesn't clot like a normal person. Even a relatively minor cut can become life threatening if it's not treated right away."

"Yeah, and he was bleeding pretty badly from the accident," said Timothy. "The doctor said he wouldn't last until the paramedics arrived. What we didn't know was that another paramedic truck had also answered the call. They showed up a few minutes later to take the guy to the hospital."

"So what happened?" Cole asked.

"Well, like I said," Timothy continued, "we didn't know the other paramedic truck was on its' way. The doctor said he'd be dead in minutes if he didn't get help right away."

"What kind of help?" Prue asked.

"I didn't think it would hurt," said Timothy. "We had the same blood type and the doctor said he was going to die. I couldn't let an innocent die. Leo will tell you that our primary responsibility is protecting the innocent. That's why we aid witches. Besides, it's not like there was any magic involved."

"What did you do?" Piper asked.

"It's a routine procedure they perform in hospitals every day," said Timothy. "I mean without transfusions they couldn't do a lot of operations. A lot of people would die without them. And it's not magical. Like I said, it's a routine procedure and there was a doctor performing it. I didn't see the harm."

"You gave a mortal some of your blood?" Cole asked.

"He was going to die," said Timothy. "And like I said, there was no magic involved. I didn't think there was much of a risk."

"So the doctor transfused some of your blood to this injured man?" Phoebe asked. "I don't see what the problem is. It's just blood."

"Do you remember when Piper got sick from that the Arroyo Fever?" Leo asked.

"Yes," said Phoebe.

"Do you remember what happened later?" Leo asked. "When Dr. Williamson was injected with the samples of your blood?"

"He went crazy," said Prue. "The magic in our blood was too much for him."

"I still blame myself a little for that," said Piper.

"It wasn't your fault," said Prue.

"He couldn't take it and your blood is human blood," said Leo. "Timothy's' blood isn't human. It's White Lighter blood. White Lighters' are magical beings, just like demons. Their blood may look the same but trust me it's not.

"I think what happened was that when the doctor did the transfusion Timothy's' blood also transferred his physical abilities to the recipient. The healing, orbing, telekinesis, flying, and other physical abilities. And when he discovered he has these new abilities he decided to use them to help people."

"This is bad," said Cole.

"How do you figure that?" Piper asked.

"Well, forget that it can expose magic to the mortal world," said Cole. "There's not guarantee this transfer is permanent. It's very likely that the transfer is only temporary. He might not know that. If it is only temporary and he suddenly looses it, he won't have his powers. That could put him or other innocents in danger."

"Besides that," said Leo, "what if he's flying over the city sometime when his newfound powers suddenly disappear. If he falls to the street below he would probably be killed. And he might hurt or even kill someone if he falls on them."

"Okay, now I see a problem," said Phoebe. "At least we know who our mysterious Blue Avenger is."

"Actually, we don't," said Timothy. "When Steve and I saw that news report on television we both figured out what must have happened. I did some checking. After the paramedics arrived they put him in the ambulance and transported him to the hospital. But he never got there. The paramedics said that halfway to the hospital he suddenly just disappeared from the ambulance."

"He probably orbed out," said Leo. "He probably didn't even know he could do it and it was an accident. That's how he found out about his new abilities. After that it would have been simple for him to practice and discover what other abilities he has."

"So we're back where we started from," said Cole. "We have a mortal with White Lighter abilities who's using those abilities to help people. And risking exposing magic to the mortal world. Only his powers may only be temporary and he could loose them at any minute. And we have no idea who he is or where he is now."

"Which means the next time the Blue Avenger strikes," said Prue, "someone could get killed."