Chapter 2
Brockton Bay Hospital is having a good night today. Which is actually pretty rare.
With all the gangs running around, hospitals are always busy fixing up their messes.
Fortunately for tonight, the gangs are quiet. No wounded gang members or police, no Cape related injuries. Just normal stuff.
A newborn baby here, a sick little girl and various patients waiting for Panacea.
Panacea was a godsend to the hospital when she debuted. With her on the team, most fatalities in gang fights have been reduced. Her healing prowess was so accurate, professional doctors even go to her in tricky cases.
But Panacea doesn't profit from this arrangement.
Panacea heals for free. But New Wave accepts donations from her patient's and grateful people.
Due to her healing being free, the poor healer is always swamped with patients everyday.
Leading to a very grumpy healer.
"If I see another guy with something literally stuck up in their ass, I will make them shit it in public."
Amy Dallon muttered as she took a break after a freaky case of healing. Who's idea was to stick a dildo all the way to their ass is an idiot.
She is already tired after a whole day of healing but she persevered. She still needs to check on the other patients waiting for her. A few bunch with various cases of cancer. Most of them are out of town that traveled to the city just for Panacea and some are rich people who skipped the line by bribing.
Don't underestimate what a man can do when his health is threatened.
Suddenly, the door of the breakroom opened. A huge buff female nurse entered. This is Janet, Amy's favorite nurse.
"Someone is looking for you, Panacea." Janet's heavy and manly voice said.
Amy let out a grumble before answering.
"Tell them I'm on break. If it's not an emergency then they can wait just like the others."
" Can't. They say they are a healing cape and want to meet you."
Janet's words stunned Amy. A healing cape?!
Healing capes are far and in between. They are just too rare. Currently, only Panacea can be truly called a healing cape while others have healing as a by-product of their powers. Othala is one prime example. She can heal by bestowing regeneration powers to someone but not true healing.
With a sigh, Amy then followed Janet's lead to the presumed healing cape.
"Let's see what kind of joker I have for today."
It wasn't the first time someone tried to impersonate or claimed to be a cape just to meet her. Bunch of degenerates.
"There he is."
The buff nurse pointed which Amy followed. She immediately recoiled at the unexpected sight. A dirty looking person who looked like a homeless hobo. A piece of cloth was wrapped around his head to hide his identity.
"Are you serious?! Did you test this guy for drugs?!"
She asked the nurse, her temper rising at the joke in front of her.
"Hey! I'm fucking homeless, not a druggy! Bitch!" The hobo looking cape spoke out, feeling offended of being accused as a user.
Never in his life, he used drugs.
"If that's so then why are you here?" Panacea asked while crossing her arms.
" Do you even have to ask?! I'm just some random ass hobo on the fucking streets, living with scraps. One day, I just got healing powers, that's why I'm not full of diseases today. What do you think will happen to me if I join a gang?!" He ranted comically, complete with various arm gestures. It's actually funny to see it, she admits.
" I don't know? Enlighten me. " She shrugged.
Her nonchalant and uncaring behavior made the dramatic hobo downtrodden.
" Alright, I kinda thought a lot about this one but I can't join any of the gangs here. Period."
Amy raised an eyebrow but gestured to him to go on and elaborate.
" First, ABB. They're a bunch of Asian stereotypes. Me joining them is just a one-way ticket to human trafficking. "
" Two, Empire. What kind of American would fucking join the fucking Nazis?!"
"Wait? That's it?" Amy is surprised at the short but understandable explanation.
"What about the PRT?" she asked.
"What about them? They have been here for how long yet this city is the same shithole it had become when they allowed Nazis, extremist Asians and a bunch of druggies to run the city." he said, dismissing them.
Oh! She can hear the resentment and bitterness there. His anger is bleeding to his voice but remained calm thankfully enough to not go in a tirade of PRT hate.
" So, I decided to be like you. " he then pointed at her.
" Be like me? "
" A true neutral healer in endbringers fights." he elaborated.
Panacea can see where he was going.
Due to her being the only true healing cape and being always on duty in endbringer fights, an unwritten rule was made.
Don't touch the Healer.
It was a very serious rule. Panacea had become part of endbringers fights as a healer and became a norm. She was the only sole reason why endbringer fatalities aren't higher than they suggest. Panacea had become a necessity and part of the team in ensuring every endbringer fight wouldn't be a disaster.
That's just how important she was.
That's the only reason why New Wave is still functional. From donations and the reputation of being a successful Healer, Amy kept them afloat. Gangs don't even try to touch them, afraid of any retaliation. Especially if it comes from the triumvirate themselves.
And now, another one will join the team.
"Alright, I'll believe you. Janet, throw him in the showers and some extra uniforms with it, he stinks. We'll do a trial run after you clean up. " she relented, giving the hobo his chance.
Said hobo then got to his knees and clung to her legs like a limpet while saying thanks.
Janet had to pry the hobo off her before carting him away to a shower.
She hopes she won't regret it.
After a refreshing shower while ignoring the blushing girl inside of my head, I donned a nurse outfit and some bandage wrap on my head.
After that, we tested my powers.
And boy, it was promising.
Panacea was always by my side in testing my healing. First, we started to minor injuries. Torn muscles, bruisings and small wounds.
I healed them in a blue and green flash and their health is good as new.
Panacea panicked initially when I covered them in light but calmed down after she checked them in.
It was here we discovered my powers are a full body heal. I heal everything in the body when I heal. I can't do specific parts just as we tested to heal an old man's broken wrist with arthritis. I ended up healing both and everything about him. The old man then proceeded to do a dance feeling refreshed and younger.
Panacea theorized powers heal by regenerating the body to its optimal health.
That's when we moved to another level and discovered a new thing.
My powers purged all foreign bodies in the body. From bullet wounds to bacteria, I can purge them. The bullet that was inside of the police was just gone, his abdomen healed with no sign of being shot. The patient himself felt no discomfort or pain.
That is one of the things in my powers that Panacea can't do.
For Panacea to treat a bullet wound, she had to take out the bullet first before fixing the damage. My power skips that step.
But my powers had downsides. My healing also purges any medication they are taking, my power sees them as foreign entities in the body and will be cleansed. It wasn't so bad as the patient will be healed after but I had to be careful in healing while having this downside. I might accidentally kill someone if I wasn't careful.
After a few more tests, we went for the heavy stuff.
A cancer patient was my first test. One healing light, and the test was done.
The results aren't promising.
I healed the symptoms of the cancer, relieving the patient but didn't purge the cancer cells. Cancer cells aren't foreign entities in the body but abnormal cells causing damage in the body. They are natural in the body thus weren't cleansed.
After a few more tests to confirm the effects of my powers, Panacea decided to accept me in the team.
I'm now a healing cape.
And I then proceeded to offer my services to the hospital in exchange for a minimum salary and a place to crash in. Fortunately, the manager of the hospital is a kind man. He gave me a room in the hospital and officially hired me as a doctor, made me do the hippocratic oath and threw me to the first day of the job.
I was relegated to the trauma wards to heal various injuries.
Panacea got a little miffed about me for healing with a salary but accepted it in the end. I was a homeless cape with no money or support, I needed it. She wasn't that bad afterall.
And so that's how I became Brockton Bay's second Healer.
The Doktah, a name I took courtesy of a child with an injured wrist, failed to pronounce doctor but I liked it and just took it.
Chapter end
