Chapter 4-7

A cape's life is a violent one. When your job description is 'fight armed criminals with superpowers', getting hurt is not a matter of if, but when. Thankfully, Brockton Bay had Panacea, one of the best healers in the world. She can heal anything short of death or brain damage and was an absolute god-sent for the good guys.

It made me wonder how other cities managed. Did they have their own healers? Probably, I guessed. One major fight and two of our Wards were already badly injured. Extrapolate that and I'd recon every superhero's going to get hospitalized at least once a year. Having a healer is practically a necessity. After all, a superhero team wouldn't last long if half their members were stuck in a hospital at any time.

Luckily, we didn't have to worry about that. Looking at a very happy Clockblocker, Panacea lived up to her reputation. Good for him, his burn looked nasty.

"Okay, Banshee, you're up." Aegis said.

"Shouldn't you go first? You're in worse shape than I am." It's not like I really needed Panacea's services anyway. The only thing that happened was that a flash-bang grenade went off in my face. Just some buzzing in my ears, really. I've had worse, and with my power being what it is, it'd probably get fixed the next time I changed.

Aegis scoffed. "No playing Mr. Tough Guy. That's my job. Get going. That's an order."

I shrugged. Better safe than sorry, I suppose. Can't look bad when the tour group comes along. "Alright, boss."

Aegis grumbled something unintelligible in return.

Off I went, then. I finally got to meet the great Panacea. I idly noted that I wasn't feeling so nervous at the thought of meeting someone famous anymore. A bit of jitters, but nothing like what I felt two days ago when I got on the Rig for the first time. Probably for the best, I suppose.

When I saw Panacea, the first thing I noticed was that she looked tired. Slightly hunched over posture, slow breathing, deep bags under her eyes… The robbery must have shaken her up more than I realized. That could be a problem in the future if she didn't get some help. Maybe she should get a psychologist, or… No, it's not my place to say so. If there was something seriously wrong with Panacea, someone in the Dallon family would pick up on it. I shouldn't stick my nose in their affairs.

"Do I have permission to touch you?" The healer suddenly asked. Oh, I was staring. Way to make a first impression, Banshee.

"Right, yes, of course." I said, before adding. "Sorry. Not every day I get to meet a celebrity."

She smiled softly. "It's okay. Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"Keeping my sister from doing something stupid." The heroine said, almost apologetically. "She sometimes forgets that not everyone's invincible and if she thinks I'm hurt…"

"She is…intense." I admitted. "Driven too. But at least she cares. I suppose that's a plus, right?"

"Yes. Yes, it is." Panacea grabbed my hand and seemed to space out for a moment. Was I supposed to do something? I didn't feel any different. Maybe I wasn't hurt at all, or… "Wow. I don't even… just… wow."

I had to admit, her reaction scared me a little. Was there something wrong with me? "Panacea?"

"Holy crap. Okay, this is weird. Not the weirdest thing I've seen, but definitely in the top five." She suddenly looked a lot more focused, as if the fatigue I saw earlier had all but vanished. For some reason, I didn't find it comforting at all.

"Panacea, what's going on?"

"Huh? Oh…" The healer suddenly looked a little guilty. "Sorry, forgot my bedside manner. Umm, okay, how do I explain this without insulting you?"

"I've got a thick skin. I can handle being insulted."

"Right. Let me put it this way: it's like every cell in your body's infested with these…well, biomechanical nanomachine things, I'm not really sure. My power can't work with them. The cells themselves, though, are…well…I guess you'd say optimized. The nanites and your cells are working together beautifully. Can't tell exactly what they're doing all the time but…wow. Perfect combination of organic and inorcanic components. Whoever built you is amazing…"

"Built me?" I asked in surprise. Did she thought I was a machine, or something?

"Well, yeah, I mean, you're obviously engineered. Even with the weirdest case 53's and Changers, there's always a degree of randomness involved. On a cellular scale, things never fit together as perfectly as they do in your body and…" Suddenly, Panacea seemed to catch on. "And you're not really a robot."

"No."

"Or a cyborg."

"No?"

"Case 53?"

"I'm a Changer. Just a very limited one. I only have this form and my normal, human one."

The ensuing silence was deafening.

Even through her burqa-like costume, I could see Panacea's face turn red. "Oh god, I'm so sorry I just thought with the nanomachines and cells and I'm making things worse and…"

Oh, god, she was panicking. What did I have to do again? I tried to remember what Glenn told me: stay calm, keep your distance, act like you care, but aren't invested emotionally. Acknowledge that it happened and needs to be dealt with, but don't place the blame.

Right. Easier said than done.

I grabbed Panacea by the shoulders and the verbal landslide stopped. "It's okay. Just calm down. I've been called worse." I couldn't really bring myself to be pissed off at her for that. It was an honest mistake and I supposed that it wasn't that much of a stretch that I'd have some weird bits on the inside too. Besides, her embarrassment was punishment enough. "Now, is there anything I should be worried about? Health-wise, that is?"

The healer calmed down and touched my hand again. I felt the buzzing in my ears diminish a little. Was that her doing, or did that happen naturally now that I was paying attention to it? "Okay, you hava a little bit of damage to your inner ear. At least, I think it's your inner ear. It's in the same spot and it seems to do the same thing, although in a different way. The nanites are already fixing it, and I'm not entirely sure what'll happen if my use my power on you so it's probably better if I let your power deal with it on its own. I can take a look at some of the other…and I'm doing it again. God." Panacea shook her head. I wasn't sure if I should get annoyed with her or feel sorry for her. "I'm sorry, it's just… Look, human beings are practically copies of one another. I see dozens of people every day and, well, seen one cancer, seen them all." She lowered her head. "And now I sound like a spoiled brat."

I shrugged. "Makes sense to me. Anything gets boring if you do it every single day. Can't see why healing people would be any different. Just…human nature, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks." The healer replied. It sounded genuine. "Anyway, when I meet someone with a rare disease or a really weird biology like…well…you, I, uh… well, it's usually the highlight of the day. So, yeah…"

"Really? You're held hostage and I'm the highlight of the day?"

"Well, it's not like I can do much against a supervillain, aside from patching everybody up afterwards." She said defensively. I disagreed. With a power like hers, there could have been a dozen things she could've done to help. Didn't she realize that? Part of me wondered if I should stop here before I hurt her feelings, but my curiosity got the better of me.

"Can't you…unheal someone, for the lack of a better word? Snap some of their bones, make them fall asleep, that sort of thing?"

"Yes, but I'd have to get close enough first. My power doesn't work unless I'm touching someone."

I could see how that could be a problem. As far as I knew, Panacea didn't have any other powers that could help her get close enough. Unless… "What about morphing your skin into something bullet-proof, like what I have? Or just healing the damage away instantly?"

"Manton Effect. Can't use my power on myself."

After a few moments of pondering, I finally found the perfect solution. "A suit."

"A suit?"

"You can't affect yourself directly, but you can turn a pile of meat into a biological suit of armor and wear that, right? You can even modify it on the fly with your power. Claws, injectors with sedatives, a spray that puts everyone to sleep…"

The girl shifted uneasily. "I could but…" She sighed. "Look, I appreciate the ideas but I really don't like hurting people. It's a personal rule of mine. I'm a healer, and nothing else."

A little disappointing, but understandable. "I get that. Still, having a suit of armor might save your life one day, or your family's, if you give it to one of them. If nothing else, working on one would be a nice break from the boring, old cancers. It's good to have hobbies. Keeps you from going nuts when your life starts to suck. Believe me, I know." Doing cape stuff was all that kept me going the past few months, after all.

"I'll take your word for it." Panacea said, glumly.

I found her difficult to understand. The ability to change someone's biology with a touch was incredibly useful. Yes, you could heal with it, but that was just one thing. A suit of armor like I described would let her fight on equal terms with most villains. On top of that, she could make vaccines to every disease in the universe, grow super-crops and who knows what else. If I had her power, I would…

I would have used it on Emma, Madison, and Sophia the moment I triggered. I would have rearranged their faces, wasted away their muscles, or give them some sort of horrible disfiguring disease that modern science can't cure. I would have ruined their lives like they ruined mine, and I wouldn't even hold back because I could get my revenge without seriously hurting anyone, and once I've crossed that bridge…

Fuck.

That was what Panacea was afraid of, wasn't it? The slippery slope. One I just tried to push her off.

Fuck.

Should she be restricting herself like this? Was the risk really that great? I honestly didn't know. I nearly killed a man by accident with my current powerset. With Panacea's… On the one hand, I could solve half the problems in the world by the end of year if I really went all out. On the other, I'd have the potential to wipe out a city with a well-designed virus. Could I live with that responsibility? Was that why she looked so exhausted?

God, I'm such an ass.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that." A crap apology, but I couldn't think of anything better.

A moment later, she answered: "Guess we're both crap at making conversation."

I chuckled. "How do you do it? The whole celebrity thing, I mean?"

"I spend most of my day in a hospital and let Victoria do the talking." Panacea admitted.

I had nothing witty to say to that.

The healer looked at me and added: "Let me guess, first press conference coming soon?"

"Tour group this afternoon. I'm going to get gawked at by a class full of ten year olds. Scares me more than the Undersiders did. At least I can hit them without Piggot having me skinned."

Panacea chuckled. "Yeah, hitting schoolchildren is bad. Anyway, I should probably put Aegis back together." Great, now I felt even more guilty than I did before. "Oh, and if he ribs you on taking too long, just tell him it's his own fault for sending you up first."

"I guess he's a bad patient, huh?"

"You have no idea." The healer said, before sending me on my way.

I passed by Aegis, who simply nodded and calmly walked past me. He didn't judge me. A small relief, I suppose.

It did little to banish the dread I felt at the thought of having to deal with the tour group, though.