She'd argued with her father, earlier in the day, that the best and safest time to go out and heal people was at night, when most of the world was asleep and very few people would be able to see her walk in and out of their house. It made sense, too. Hospitals and Homeless Shelters were open 24/7; Taylor could make her way to them and back no one would be the wiser. It made sense. It was perfect. All she had to do was avoid the crime-ridden places. And that would be easy because she already knew where those places where. She even made a roadmap, of sorts, of where the gangsters usually hung out and gathered. She knew those places, memorized them. She'd be safe. Her dad didn't even have to accompany her this time. She knew where the hospital was and how to get there, and the same was true for the Homeless Shelter. She could do it.

Her father said she was rushing this, that she didn't have to rush this, that the streets were dangerous at night because that when all the cape activity usually happened, when all the people with superpowers clashed. Coincidentally, nearly every single crime in Brockton Bay also happened at night. But, again, Taylor was confident that she could avoid all of it. After all, she was rather inconspicuous already. As long as she kept to the shadows and walked slowly, then no one was going to see or notice her, until she actually started healing people. It made sense. It would work. She wasn't rushing this, because her plan made sense.

There were dozens of people she could heal, people on the brink of death. She could save them. She had 38 heals left from Sukuna. That was 38 people who could see their families again, people who'd have a second chance at life. Her dad said she was rushing, but what choice was there? If she had the power to save and heal, then it became her responsibility to save and heal as many people as she could. She'd be safe. If anyone attacked and hurt her, then she already kind of had a mode of defense in the form of Sukuna taking over in times of emergency, which her father didn't know anything about, but he didn't have to know anything about it.

Safe. She'd be safe. She had a plan. It would work.

And still, her dad said no. It wasn't safe. It was too risky. It wasn't worth the risk. She wouldn't be able to help others if a bunch of gangbangers robbed and killed her on the way to heal people. She understood, but he didn't. Her dad didn't understand that she'd be safe, that there was nothing for him to worry about. He was afraid to lose her. She understood that too. But this was bigger than either of them and there were things that were simply worth the risk. Helping people, bringing them from the brink of death... that was worth the risk.

Her dad disagreed and his word was final.

"I'm not letting you out tonight, Taylor," He said. "Go to sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning, okay, kiddo? I promise I'm not trying to hold you back or anything like that; I just want you to be safe. You understand that, right?"

"I understand, dad," Taylor muttered under her breath as she climbed and sneaked out her window, and made her way down, onto the porch, her arms and legs aching at carrying her own body weight – a stark reminder that she was not, in fact, physically fit enough to be playing hero. But she wasn't going to play hero. She didn't want to fight. She just wanted to help and heal people. She didn't need to be the fittest girl in the city for that. She didn't need to be able to run several kilometers without stopping. No, all she had to do was touch someone and Sukuna would do the healing for her.

Her dad was asleep. She checked. And he was a pretty hard sleeper. By the time he woke up, Taylor would be back in her room and he'd be none the wiser. He didn't have to know anything. Hopefully, he'd trust her enough soon to let her go out on her own. For now, he was just gonna have to stay asleep while she did what she was supposed to do.

Taylor breathed in the night air and thanked herself for choosing non-tinted swimming goggles all those years ago. The night was dark and cold and filled with shadows; old and broken streetlights flickered on and off, swarms of insects flying around them. Cats and raccoons and rodents fluttered about in the overfilled trashcans. There were stars in the sky, just hiding behind a thick gray blanket of clouds. It didn't seem like it would rain anytime soon, Taylor mused. And she definitely wouldn't be able to see any of this if her goggles were tinted even by just a little bit.

Taylor frowned as she breathed in. There was a little voice in the back of her head telling her this was a terrible idea, that she should just turn around and climb back into her room, fall asleep and talk this whole thing out with her dad when the morning came. She didn't listen to that voice. Taylor walked out and away from their lawn and turned to the direction of the hospital. She'd visited one Homeless Shelter and she'd healed the two people there who needed her most. The Brockton Bay General Hospital likely had even more people on the brink of death. Panacea was probably there, but Taylor wasn't sure about that.

If nothing else, her fellow healer would appreciate someone else there to lessen the burden of having to heal so many people.

The general hospital itself was in the downtown area, dozens and dozens of blocks away from her house. But she knew where it was and how to get there. She knew the roads and which turns to take. She knew where the gangsters hung about and how to avoid them. She'd be safe. Yes, Taylor repeated in her head. I'm going to be safe. Everything will turn out alright. I'm going to heal people and go home. And dad won't have to know anything.

Everything will be alright.

There were a few people on the streets, Taylor noted, likely the homeless who weren't lucky enough to find space in the Homeless Shelters or were simply driven out for one reason or another. They immediately avoided her when they saw her. People, in general, avoided capes whenever they could. It didn't matter of their power was weak or if they weren't sure at all if the cape was a cape; the smartest thing to do was to move out of the way and stay away. Her dad taught her that. He taught her how to keep herself safe. Everyone else, it seemed, followed the same general rule.

Her costume wasn't exactly subtle or muted. Bright white was clear to see even in the dark of the night. Even the ones who seemed like gangbangers, skinheads covered in Empire 88 symbols and Nazi insignia; they steered clear of her. They didn't know that she was running out of breath from just walking briskly towards the hospital. They didn't know that she was scared out of her mind whenever they passed her. And, despite that, a strange calm had befallen her. Immersing herself in the dark of the night pulled forth strange feelings from within her, a disturbing presence that threatened to burst right out.

Taylor frowned. She'd been getting these random inner outbursts ever since the incident at Winslow, discomforting and, at times, painful surges of unfamiliar sensations from somewhere within her, threatening to bubble right out. She didn't know what it was, but Taylor was fairly certain it had something to do with Sukuna's presence. She also didn't like it – whatever it was.

Gritting her teeth, Taylor ignored the sensation and pushed herself forward.

Contrary to everything she'd come to expect about Brockton Bay, tonight was strangely quiet. No gang wars or capes thrashing around, breaking buildings apart in their fights. It was just... silence. It almost felt like the whole city truly was asleep tonight. The streets were generally empty, barely a soul in sight. That was weird. Her dad always said that nights were rather loud and violent. Taylor wasn't sure if he was right or if tonight was simply an outlier. Still, she kept her guard up. You never really know what sort of chaos this city would unleash at random.

For all her doubts, Taylor reached the hospital relatively quickly. And, as she stepped into the main hallway, past the security guards who seemed to freeze on her approach, Taylor felt her heart blasting away within her chest. Was she in over her head? What was she even doing here? What if someone came and arrested her? Her dad was right. She was rushing this. She was rushing and now she had no idea what to do. "You're aware that this is a hospital, right? You try to steal anything or harm anyone here"

Taylor turned. She recognized that voice. Standing a few meters from where, when everyone else had given her very wide berth, was Doctor Halsey, a tired and bored look on her face. Taylor's voice cracked. "Doctor Halsey?"

The doctor blinked. And then, her eyes widened just a bit. The recognition must've been immediate. Taylor wanted to bash her head against the wall. Her voice. Anyone who knew her really well would know what her voice sounded like. Doctor Halsey sighed and brought a hand up to her head. "God fucking damn it, it just had to be tonight, huh.? Come on... err... what do you call yourself, kid?"

"I'm Asclepius," Taylor answered, steadying her heart and her breaths. At the very least, Doctor Halsey decided to play along, instead of revealing her outright. That was good. Maybe, just maybe, she could look at Doctor Halsey as an ally or something, someone she could trust.

"Ah, the scepter guy," Doctor Halsey nodded. "Come on, follow me. I don't think you'd rather stay here any longer than you have to. Lots of patients, lots of people to fix."

I nodded and took a step forward, before Doctor Halsey stopped me with a hand gesture. She then turned to the small crowd of people that'd gathered around us. "Everyone, please move out the way. This is Asclepius, Brockton's latest healer. She and I have a lot of patients to attend to and not a lot of time. Now's not the time to gawk."

True enough, no one stood in their way. But a lot of phones and cameras were raised, probably hundreds of pictures were taken within the next few seconds. Doctor Halsey led her into the ICU. "Panacea went home a few hours ago; she would've wanted to meet a fellow healer. Anyway, there's no shortage of medical emergencies in Brockton and we've got a dozen people here on deaths' door. Amazing, right?"

Taylor nodded. It wasn't amazing at all, but Doctor Halsey's message was clear. "I'll help who I can."

"How does your power work, exactly?" Doctor Halsey yawned, her eye bags dark and heavy. She looked like she was running on a kilogram of caffeine and about five minutes of sleep. Her hair was disheveled and her jacket was crumpled – not dirty, but ragged. And Taylor was pretty sure the clothes Doctor Halsey wore were the same when as when they first met. Did she go home at all or was she married to the hospital?

"I can heal anyone of any injury," Taylor said. "And I can do it instantly."

Doctor Halsey nodded. "I'm sensing a big 'ol but in there, somewhere. Spill it."

"There's a maximum number of people that I can heal before... consequences arrive and I'd have to isolate myself – away from everyone." Taylor answered. "Thirty eight. Right now, I can only heal thirty eight people before I'd have to get away from everyone."

"I'm not gonna bother asking why you have to run away after healing thirty eight people," Doctor Halsey said. "It's kind of weird, but I don't care. But, you're in luck, since there are only about a dozen people here tonight who'll need a miracle to stay alive. The rest are stable enough that we, normal doctors can take care of them. Come on."

AN: Chapter 9 is out on (Pat)reon!