EIGHT
Darryl handed Phoebe a police report and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Technically, showing police reports to civilians was a big no no. But it was not the first time Darryl had let Phoebe or one of her sisters see police reports or evidence. Since it often helped them deal with matters the police weren't equipped to deal with Darryl felt that "bending" the rules was actually helping the police.
"So, this guy is human?" Darryl whispered, as Phoebe looked the report over.
"Yeah," said Phoebe. "Like I told you, a White Lighters' powers were transferred to him through a blood transfusion."
"Is that allowed?" Darryl asked. "Are White Lighters' allowed to use their blood for transfusions?"
"No," said Phoebe. "But the White Lighter is really young. And he's new at the job. He couldn't use his healing power to help the guy because it wasn't demonically related and there were other humans around. But he didn't think a blood transfusion would hurt."
"But White Lighters' aren't human, are they?" Darryl asked.
"No, they aren't," said Phoebe. "Timothy – that's the White Lighter – I guess he was just a bit overzealous. And he didn't realize what using his blood for a transfusion would do to a human."
"So, what do you guys plan to do about it?" Darryl asked.
"We aren't sure," said Phoebe. "We can't vanquish him. He's not a demon. In fact, he's helping people. And frankly, I'm not sure what we can do about him. We're thinking about letting the Elders deal with it. He may not technically be a White Lighter but he has their powers."
"Well at least it's nice to know it's not a demon this time," said Darryl. "Just some nutcase with White Lighter powers who thinks he's a superhero."
"He's not a nutcase," said Phoebe. "He's probably someone who just suddenly found himself able to do things no one else can do. And he must be a very caring person to take on the personae of a superhero."
"Well, just find him fast," said Darryl. "Another incident like that one that showed up on television and someone may decide to look into it further. I'm not sure how much I can help if that happens."
"Don't worry," said Phoebe. "We'll take care of it. And with this information we should be able to track down Mr. Jessup Worthington without a problem."
"Maybe not," said Darryl. "According to the investigating officer, he quite his job just after the accident. And he hasn't been home since then either. I guess he's throwing himself into the role of a superhero completely."
"We'll find him," said Phoebe. "Any idea what he was doing on the street the day he was injured?"
"No," said Darryl, "but there's a comic book store a couple of blocks down. The owner said he collected them. Apparently he had quite a collection of comic books."
"Comic books?" Phoebe asked. "He's, what, forty-three? And he collects comic books?"
"They're big business," said Darryl. "Some of them can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. And Mr. Worthington apparently had quite a collection of some very rare, and extremely valuable, comic books."
"Okay, thanks Darryl," said Phoebe. "We appreciate the help."
"Just don't let anyone know where you got the information," said Darryl. "I don't want to have to be explaining to my captain why I'm giving sensitive reports to a civilian."
"No problem," said Phoebe. "He won't hear about it from me. Thanks again."
Darryl went to put the police report away as Phoebe headed for the exit.
"So, still a White Lighter?" Prue asked after Leo and Timothy had orbed back into the manor.
"Yes, I am," said Timothy smiling. He seemed more relaxed than he had on his previous visit. "Leo was right. The Elders were understandably upset but they did understand what had happened. They said the same think Leo said. That it was bad judgment on my part but completely unintentional. I got this long lecture about thinking before I acted but I was worried for nothing."
"Well, that's nice of them," said Piper.
"Anyway," said Leo, "since this Blue Avenger is not technically a White Lighter there's not a whole lot the Elders can do about him. He suggests we find him as quickly as possible."
"Then what?" Piper asked.
"We have to convince him not to be the Blue Avenger anymore," said Cole. "He might think he's helping people but he's putting everyone's life at stake, including his own. Not to mention he's risking exposing magic."
"And what if we can't convince him?" Prue asked. "What then?"
"Well you do have a couple of options," said Leo. "You could bind his powers. Or strip them so he can't use them again."
"Wouldn't that be taking away his free will or something?" Timothy asked.
"Not really," said Leo. "They aren't forcing him to do anything against his will. They'd just be taking away a dangerous weapon from a child, so to speak. Not much different from taking a loaded pistol away from a young child."
"I guess I can come up with a power stripping potion," said Piper. "But in order for us to use it we have to know who this Blue Avenger is."
"His name is Jessup Worthington," said Phoebe, coming into the living room. Until the accident he was an accountant in one of the big businesses downtown. Just after the accident he suddenly quit. And according to Darryl he hasn't been home since the accident. And get this. He collects comic books."
"Comic books?" Prue asked. "What kind of adult reads comic books?"
"Lots of them do, actually," said Timothy. "Before I became a White Lighter I used to collect them. Some of them can be real valuable."
"That's what Darryl said," said Phoebe. "Which probably explains why he became a superhero when he got his White Lighter abilities. He was an accountant spending most of his time crunching numbers. And probably no one ever gave him a second thought. He was unmarried so he didn't have a family to occupy his time."
"That makes sense," said Leo. "Then he gets his powers and he suddenly finds that he can be an important person. Even if it is with a mask. People will look up to him and respect him like they do the superheroes in the comics."
"Right," said Cole. "That would also explain the strange language he used in the alley. He was actually talking like one of those superheroes from the comics."
"How would you know how the superheroes talk?" Phoebe asked coyly.
"I have a very well rounded education," Cole said.
"Well," said Phoebe, "at least we know who we're looking for now. But if he quit his job and isn't going home we don't have anyway to track him down."
"Not necessarily," said Timothy.
"You have an idea?" Prue asked.
"Well, it's a long shot," said Timothy. "But if he was a serious collector I doubt if he's given up on that just because he's a superhero now. It might be the one thing that he's really passionate about. If that's true he might continue to collect comics he doesn't have yet."
"That's not a bad idea," said Cole. "It's very possible that collecting comics was the one bright spot in an otherwise unremarkable life. He is trying to emulate superheroes. It stands to reason he'd want to keep fueling that passion."
"Darryl said there was a comic book store a couple of blocks from the accident site," said Phoebe.
"It's probably his regular hangout," said Timothy. "Most serious collectors have a regular supplier. Someone who keeps a lookout for specific books they're looking for. That store might be Worthington's connection."
"If that's true," said Prue, "then he might still be going there. All we have to do is keep an eye on the store until he shows up."
"Darryl gave me a picture of the guy," said Phoebe. "It's his drivers' license pic but it's all Darryl could find."
She handed the photograph to Timothy.
"Considering that this is kind of your fault," said Phoebe, "I figure you can help set it right. You can watch the store until he shows up. Then you can notify Leo and he can orb us there."
"Well, I guess it would help calm the Elders some if I did," said Timothy.
"Okay," said Piper. "I'll start on the power stripping potion. With a little luck we should be able to put this all behind us very soon."
As Timothy orbed out of the manor Piper headed for the kitchen to start preparing the power-stripping potion.